The Dunning Man, by Kevin Fortuna

Sometimes, life is not neat and tidy.  Sometimes folks are just doing the best that they can.  This collection of stories helps us meet characters that we might normally simply dismiss as lowlifes, the dregs of society.  Their stories help us remember that rarely is anything black and white, all good or all bad.

This book was a very quick read, but that does not mean that it was all easy and breezy to get through.  On the contrary, I found the characters to be complex, and the stories to be quite compelling.  I found myself wondering about the characters, long after their stories ended.  That is the sign of some pretty powerful writing.

Anyone who has ever struggled (and who among us has not?) at some period of his or her life will be able to connect to the stories in this book.  Sometimes, life is hard, and we may not always handle it as well as we could.  I found that the writing was raw and honest.  This is the kind of book that really stays with you.  I am now interested in reading more by this author, perhaps something novel length.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours.  See the rest of the tour here.

The Heart Does Not Grow Back, by Fred Venturini

Dale was just your average high school guy.  So when he realizes, after an unfortunate incident involving his dream girl, Dale realizes he has developed the ability to regenerate limbs, he realizes he can no longer pass for average.  Eventually, Dale gets a chance to use his strange ability for extreme good, but it may his downfall.

I am a fan of dark comedy; it certainly is not for everyone, but for those who do enjoy dark or gallows humor, this is a great book.  Sometimes that darkness sheds the most light on the truth of life, and I think this book does just that. This is an incredibly mix of humor, body horror, and stark reality regarding the politics of everyday life.

The characters in the book are strongly written, and really drive the action in this story. Dale is damaged in ways to which readers will easily relate.  I found the writing to be fresh and new, and I am quite excited to see where Venturini goes from here.  All in all, a great book.

I received a review copy courtesy TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

The Serpent of Venice, by Christopher Moore

The envoy of the Queen has been invited to dinner, but not all is as it seems.  The invitation is a trap, set by three dastardly plotters- a merchant, a senator, and a naval military officer.  You see, the envoy is in the way of these men; he blocks their quest for wealth and power.  They simply must get rid of him.  But rest assured, he will not go quietly.

I have had many books by this author on my "to read" lists over the years, but this is the first one I have actually gotten to read, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.  I consider myself to be a great fan of classic literature, and while I do hold it in some reverence, I am also a fan of a good satire or parody.  So I was quite happy to see that the author does a great job of parodying some classic literary tropes and mechanisms in a humorous way.  The book left me chuckling numerous times.

From what I gather, the character of Pocket is one that has been previously introduced in the author's writing.  However, I did not feel like I had was out of the loop, having not read any of the previous books.  Perhaps if I were to read them now, this book would become even more enjoyable to me, but nevertheless, I feel like the characters and the writing stood on their own.

While a good understanding or familiarity with Shakespeare is helpful for the full enjoyment of the book, it is not entirely necessary.  Most importantly, one should go into it with an open mind and a sense of humor.  If you do that, you will find yourself in the middle of a highly entertaining book.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

Clever Girl, by Tessa Hadley

Stella grows up in post-WWII England.  She lives through the tumult of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  Along the way she falls in love a few times, makes friends, becomes a mother, works a variety of jobs, and pursues her education.

I have to say I found this book terribly boring.  It started off strong, when Stella was a child being raised by a single mother.  The anecdotal stories from her youth were engaging, and in their own ways, beautiful.  All of this changes when Stella's mother remarries, and Stella develops into a bit of a brat.  She begins acting out and rebelling, and ends up, quite predictably, in trouble.

The rest of the book is so unremarkable.  It simple outlines the remainder of Stella's life, all the poor decisions she makes, the few redeeming choices she has, and basically a summary of an dull, ordinary life.  I found myself wholly unable to care about Stella as a character.  She seemed flat and undeveloped from a literary character standpoint.  The plot was also very plain, and nothing about it grabbed my attention in the least.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

The Supreme Macaroni Company, by Adriana Trigiani

Valentine is determined to have everything she wants from life.  A member of a strong Italian American family, she is highly involved in the family shoemaking business; she is also engaged to an Italian man.  The couple must learn to juggle family with career, and make compromises.  Valentine also has to adjust to her husband's first family, and fact that each has a history that the other does not share.

If ever there were the perfect book to start off a new year, this is it.  I completely adored this book.  Trigiani's writing is a sensory delight; she spends a lot of time discussing smells, tastes, sights, sounds, and feelings to the extent that you, as a reader, feel as if you are part of the story.  In fact, I took a nap after reading the scene revolving around the family's Christmas dinner, and I dreamed about cannoli.  

I really fell in love with Valentine as a character.  She was a strong woman, but she was also flawed.  I found myself really relating to her.  Apparently, this book is the end of a trilogy, yet despite the fact that I never read the two previous books, I found myself completely absorbed in the story, and did not feel like I had missed anything.

I loved the strong emphasis on family in this book.  It made me wish I was from a big Italian family myself.  All in all, I thought this was a solid story, and it made me want to read more of Trigiani's writing.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

   

We Are Water, by Wally Lamb

Every family has its secrets.  When Anna Oh falls in love with a woman, and decides to marry her, a slew of controversy is created, and those secrets surface.  We meet various members of the Oh family, we learn their history, their joys, and their traumas.

Despite his bestseller status, this is my first foray into Wally Lamb.  I have not yet decided if there will be a second.  I found aspects of the book incredible.  I thought that the characters were really well  developed.  Even if you do not always like them (and some are certainly unlikable), you at least understand them, and feel like you know them.  That is a true art form.

However, getting to the point where you do know the characters and care about them was a bit of a struggle for me.  I really plodded through the beginning of the book (and the book is longer than most contemporary novels), and honestly, there were times I thought about giving up.  It was all just a little too verbose for me.  Detail is great, too much detail is grating.

There are a lot of unpleasant topics covered in the story; racism, trauma in various forms (emotional, physical, sexual), homophobia.  Some of these issues are described in a manner that is fairly graphic, and may serve as a trigger for readers with a similar history, so be forewarned.  

I think the story and characters were solid, it was just a bit of a difficult journey to get to the end of the book.  I am not completely giving up on Wally Lamb, but someone will have to do a good job of selling me on him in the future, because this was not a fantastic first impression.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. See the rest of the tour here.

   

Margot, by Jillian Cantor

What if history got one tiny detail wrong, and Margot, the less famous older sister of Anne Frank, actually survived the Holocaust?  Perhaps she moved to America, and started a new life.  In this fictional revisionist history, Margot has become Margie Franklin, and she lives in Philadelphia in 1959.  She lives the life of a gentile, and is fiercely protective of her secret.  But as the whole country is talking about Anne Frank, Margie is forced to face her past.

This book was so incredible, I read it straight through in one sitting.  First off, the premise of the story is fascinating.  Many of us are familiar with The Diary of Anne Frank, and I would guess that most of us have given little thought to Margot Frank.  We forget that she had a story, and a diary, and that her voice, along with countless other victims, has been lost over the years.  So the idea that this minor historical figure may have not only survived, but totally changed her identity to hide in plain sight, is pretty fascinating.

Margie, as a character, is incredibly complex, and richly written.  We learn about her experiences through a series of flashbacks interspersed with her present life in America.  Because she had not really dealt with her past, she carries complex emotions regarding her sister.  While she loves Anne, and feels responsible for her death, she also feels forgotten and neglected due to Anne's fame.  Margie also mourns the loss of her father, despite the fact that he is still alive; he would not be happy to learn she survived instead of Anne.

A large portion of the book deals with Margot's secret romance with fellow annex dweller Peter Pels.  Most people think he and Anne had a romance, and once again Margot is a historical footnote.  She struggles with letting go of that romance, and her past bleeds into her present.  It is almost as it Margot has been emotionally stunted by her past.  You really feel for Margot/Margie, and you desperately want for her to be happy.  

This book will certainly appeal to fans of historical fiction, particularly those who are interested in the Holocaust.  It will also appeal to fans of contemporary fiction.  All in all, I thought the book was really exquisite.  

I received a review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine program in exchange for my honest review. 

Telegraph Avenue, by Michael Chabon

Nat and Archy are best friends and proprietors of  a record story in the an area known as Brokeland, where Oakland and Berkley meet.  When an ex-NFL star announces plans to open a mega store nearby, the friends begin to worry that it will ruin their business.  At the same time, their wives are navigating rough waters with their midwife practice.  Add to that the fact that Nat's son Julie is in love with Archy's long lost lovechild, Titus, and you see that lives intersect in ways you never considered.

I have long been a fan of Michael Chabon, and I have to say, this is pretty representative of his work.  His style can be a little too long winded and florid for some readers, but his style is one of the things I like best about his work.  He uses very indirect language and really makes the reader work for the story, and I like that.  I would not like to read books like that all the time, but this made for a welcome change from the typical, trite, predictable contemporary novels.

The author also creates some very vivid characters, with their own distinct story arcs.  One of my favorite characters in the book is Gwen, Archy's pregnant wife.  She sort of gets a raw deal for a lot of the book, but she has tremendous heart, and I really respect her as a character.  I also thought the dynamic between the two sons was interesting, complex, and brave.  There are a lot of issues touched upon in this book: urban life, racism, misogyny, gentrification of neighborhoods, nostalgia.  This book is a real cornucopia of themes, leading to a rich story.

This is the kind of book that you need to read more than once to fully grasp it.  I have re-read several of Chabons books, several times each, and every time I find something new.  I cannot wait to see what I find when I re-read this one.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours, in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

   

Early Decision, by Lacy Crawford

Anne has an interesting job; she helps children from wealthy families get into college.  She helps groom them, polish their essays, and match them with suitable and realistic college choices.  She makes sure all applications are submitted on time, and then waits for the praise when the acceptance letters roll in.  But this can be a very delicate business, balancing the desires of the child with the desires of the bill paying parents.  Along the way, Anne realizes she had provided guidance to everyone but herself.

This book was a tough one to review.  On the one hand, I enjoyed the author;s writing style.  My own experience working in the field of higher education leads me to believe this is a frighteningly accurate portrayal of what the elite kids go through.  Often times the writing was wry and witty, heartbreaking and poignant, and overall the book serves as a decent introduction to life in the real world for teens.

However, I thought that the book smacked of white privilege and cynical snobbery.  The kids in the book, for the most part, are kind of one dimensional, and, along with their parents, sort of unlikable.  The majority of college students in the country do not deal with these situations, so it makes it hard for the everyday reader to relate.  I thought most of the characters were whiny, spoiled, and vapid.  The one "real" character is more of a caricature, someone on the opposite extreme; poor, minority, immigrant.  Do I know that these situations exist for elite families?  Sure.  But in no way do I have sympathy for these entitled offspring.

I think this author shows a lot of promise; the subject matter just struck a sour chord with me.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. See the rest of the tour here.

  

Sea Creatures, by Susanna Daniel

Georgia, her husband Graham, and their son Frankie have moved to Miami, Georgia's home town.  The family dynamic is strained; both parents have sleeping disorders, and the little boy has selective mutism.  The family is struggling with their version of normal.  While Graham is away at his job, Georgia and Frankie befriend a man named Charlie, and sudden changes occur in the family dynamic.  Suddenly Georgia can see exactly what she does, and does not, want out of her life.

The first half of this book had me really intrigued.  The characters of Georgia and Graham were complex, with their disordered lives.  I liked hearing the back story of how the two met, their histories prior to meeting each other, and the chaos they have survived together.  But halfway through the book, I found my attention waning.  I am not really sure why.  Perhaps there were too many minor characters (parents, step parents, friends of parents, hermetic husbands of friends of dead parents), or too many sources of drama (sleep disorders, mutism, tragic accidents, sickness, natural disasters), but I simply found myself not caring about anyone or anything in this story.

The book is well written, and I loved the descriptions of the Miami environment.  It made for a good summertime read, simply based on setting alone.  And I liked the descriptions of Charlie's drawings, they really came to life.  The writing is attentive to detail, which I really liked.  I think the thing that was missing, for me, was a certain dynamic between characters.  A strong bond with the characters, and among the characters, would have taken this book from good to great.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

  

The Butterfly Sister, by Amy Gail Hansen

Ruby dropped out of college just short of graduating.  The reason for her hasty departure has remained a mystery.  After ten months of attempting to heal, Ruby is thrust in the middle of a mystery.  One of the girls that Ruby went to college with, Beth, has turned up missing.  In attempting to help unravel the truth of the situation, Ruby realizes that she and Beth may have more in common than she first realized.

This book.  THIS BOOK!  I have read over 100 books so far this year.  This book?  The best I have read all year.  I am so overwhelmed that I am not even really sure where to start.

The story revolves around Ruby, a woman who has been fractured emotionally.  I really adored Ruby's character.  I found her to be relatable and sympathized with her often.  I think so many of us have been in similar situations at some point in our lives, heartbroken and despairing.  But as I reader, I saw strength in Ruby that did not even realize she possessed.  

Probably the best thing about the book is the writing.  It is luxurious and gorgeous.  The author pulls very heavily from classic female literature, many of my personal favorites, and incorporates the deeper themes in a new, fresh way.  The plot moves quickly, with a lot of twists and turns, and it kept me hooked from the very first chapter.  This is contemporary novel that rivals the classics.  I never anticipated the ending, and I loved every moment of the journey getting there.  I am simply amazed that this debut novel hits it completely out of the park, and I cannot wait to see more from this incredibly talented author.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. See the rest of the tour here.

  

The Exiles, by Allison Lynn

Nate and Emily are striking out on a grand adventure.  They are leaving the rat race of Manhattan and starting a new life with their infant son in Newport, Rhode Island.  But the adventure gets off to a rocky start when the couple stops to get the keys to their new home, and their car, full of all their belongings, is stolen.  Over one long weekend, the couple is faced to come to terms with both the impact of their pasts and the trajectory of their future.

I was so excited to read this book when I read its description.  The idea of a couple being exiled from their new life seemed intriguing.  But I really felt like the story falls short.  The premise and concept are both solid, it is the execution that I struggled with.  I never felt like I got to know Nate or Emily.  They were just not as developed as I would have liked.  As a result, it was difficult for me to feel any empathy for them or their situation.  The part of the story that did make me empathize, however, was Nate's family history, and the hereditary disease he may be facing.

I did not care for Emily, or her substory.  I found her actions to be selfish, and I just could not believe, based on what little information we had about her, that she would have done the foolish thing she did.  The book is fairly short, but for me it was a slow read, and I struggled to keep my attention focused.  Fans of contemporary literature may appreciate this book more than I did.  For me, it was just lacking in a certain richness and depth.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

 

Zinsky the Obscure, by Ilan Mochari

Ariel Zinsky thinks he is unlike most men his age.  A thirty year old bachelor still scarred from an abusive childhood, Ariel has trouble having healthy relationships with women, and pours all his blood, sweat, and tears into his dream of creating a publication centered on the annual NFL draft.  While everyone else around him seems to be growing up and moving on, Ariel is stuck in the same patterns he has had since he went through puberty.

I really found myself strangely compelled by this book, and by the main character of Ariel.  Throughout the narrative, Ariel feels isolated, and unlike other men his age, but I think, in reality, his experience of adolescence melting into adulthood is pretty common among men.  I can imagine a lot of twenty and thirty something males reading this and thinking it sounds just like them.  While, at times, the subject matter may come across as juvenile (there is a lot, and I mean A LOT of talk about masturbation), I think instead the book is honest and starkly realistic of how life is for many lonely, wounded, socially awkward people.  

The thing that struck me about this book is how smart the writing is.  There are clearly a lot of allusions throughout the text to The Great Gatsby, as well as several other classic literary works, but there is also a blending of pop culture and modernity with those classical ideals.  The result is really fascinating.  Well read readers will appreciate the hidden nuances in the text.  Sure, there are things throughout the book that may make the reader a little squirmy and uncomfortable, but I see this as a strength of the writing.  This book is deep, and left me looking at my generation in a much different way.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

 

The Illusion of Separateness, by Simon Van Booy

Sometimes, the world is an amazingly small place.  And sometimes, lives are more interconnected than we could ever imagine.  This novel follows a cast of characters that include an American couple that married during WWII, an elderly German soldier who was disfigured, a blind museum curator, a successful movie director, and worker at a retirement home.  These lives have histories that span the continents, yet somehow, small acts will bind them all together forever.

This book was simply beautiful.  Once I picked it up, I could not stop reading it, and finished in just a few hours.  I really thought it brilliant on so many levels.  The writing itself is so moving, the words tender and honest, poetic without being overly florid.  And the way the stories are woven together, past to present and back again, was like watching an intricate dance.  All the movements were lovely, but the overall essence of the piece is stunning and breathtaking.

I am a huge fan of literature set during the 1930s and 1940s, so the fact that much of this book takes root during that era was a real draw for me.  Yet as the story transports us back and forth between past and present, the thing that stuck with me the most is that human nature has changed so little over the course of time.  All people have choices to make in life, choices that impact countless others in ways unimaginable.  This book help cement in my mind the importance of those small, seemingly everyday moments.  The acts of kindness, or forgiveness, or bravery, which will change the course of history in countless ways.  I also liked the concept of interconnectedness, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.  There is just so much to love about this book, I wish I could better put it into words.  The best suggestion I can make is to simply read it for yourself.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

  

Big Brother, by Lionel Shriver

Pandora loves cooking, to the point where she once had her own catering business.  Lately, however, her husband has become health obsessed, and he turns up his nose at her cooking.  When Pandora invites her brother, Edison, to visit, she is confronted with the fact that he has gained a tremendous amount of weight.  Pandora is forced to evaluate her relationship to her husband, her brother, and most importantly her relationship to food, and determine if she is willing to make some truly difficult choices.

Reading the number of books that I do, it is really rare that a book completely knocks my socks off, to the point where, once I complete it, I must immediately discuss it with someone else in order to not be haunted.  Yet that is exactly what this book did to me; and even after discussing it, and recommending it to some specific people, I find it still haunting me, hours after I have finished it.

As someone who had struggled with weight and food issues, this book hit so close to home for me, and I was really able to relate, separately and in very different ways, to the three characters of Pandora, Edison, and Pandora's husband Fletcher.  In many ways, I think the characters form sort of a bell curve model for the way humans relate to food.  Fletcher and Edison serve as the outliers in each direction, while Pandora struggles to maintain her position in the middle.  And that is a very poignant metaphor for what happens emotionally in this highly triagulated relationship as well.

I found the writing in this book very brave.  Many people do not want to talk about obesity in literature, yet here all positions are thoroughly and at times painfully covered.  And I appreciated seeing the ugly truth behind the situation.  It made all the characters more likable (even when doing or saying ugly things to each other), because it made them seem real.

This book was really appealing to me, as someone who has weight issues, and I think others who have struggled will really connect to the book as well.  Because of the mix of male and female characters, I think it will appeal to readers of all genders, particularly fans of contemporary fiction.  It will take a long time for me to shake off this book, and, truth be told, I am not sure I even want to.  It was just that good.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

  

Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver

At 17, Dellarobia found herself pregnant and married.  Over the ten years since, she has settled for her life in a small Appalachian town in Tennessee.  While her husband is a good man, her life with him is dull and ordinary.  When an odd event takes place in the wooded land where Dellarobia and her in-laws reside, it changes the way she looks at life, and helps her to consider a world beyond the boundaries of her small town.

This book has so much potential here, but it just sort of missed the mark for me.  Do not get me wrong, there are things I very much liked about the book.  The writing, the very words the author uses, are vivid and gorgeous.  I could see very specific mental images of the characters, and some of the scenes that played out, but the storyline, for me, was not entirely cohesive.  This amazing natural phenomenon occurs, and suddenly people show up to evaluate it from a scientific perspective.  And no one seems to question this or put up much of a struggle.  Dellarobia is suddenly a student of science, spouting a mixture of fact, homespun wisdom, and cornfed fables.  It feels...false.  It felt false that the town would not question these outsiders more.  It felt false that these scholars would take in a self proclaimed redneck as a researcher.  I would not have been surprised had the book ended with it all being a dream, that is how false it felt (it doesn't by the way).

I really felt like Dellarobia was a well developed character.  I felt like I was fully able to understand her, and her motivations; but I never really felt all that connected to her.  And at times, things she would do and say felt slightly out of character for her.  It forced me to keep her at arm's length.  There is clear theme of attempting to rectify the gap between science and faith, and there is also strong emphasis on child loss.  The feeling of the book is very green, and pro-conservation, so nature lovers and the ecologically conscious will like that aspect of the book.  It is a decent example of contemporary literature, it just fell a little short for me personally.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

  

A Far Piece to Canaan, by Sam Halpern

When Samuel and his family moved onto the Kentucky farm, they did not quite know what to expect from the Appalachian people.  Samuel never expected to meet, Fred, the best friend he would ever encounter, and he certainly never imagined that the boys would become embroiled in a local mystery.  As an adult, Samuel returns to Kentucky to visit the old land, and to make peace with what happened all those years ago.

Sometimes, a book is so unexpectedly wonderful, you need extra time to process.  Such is certainly the case with this book.  A story filled with mystery, memories, and the reckless abandon of youth, this novel felt like I was listening to a tale spun by someone's grandfather.  The main character of Samuel is rich and complex.  We meet him as an adult, and then again as a child.  Seeing him at both stages of his life, and hearing both stories unfold simultaneously, allows us to get a very clear sense of not only who he is, but also how those years on the Kentucky farm shaped his life.

There is an emphasis on religious faith in the book, with Samuel's family being a bit unusual due to being Jewish.  The other boys are Christian, and at one point, Samuel attends a tent revival, but in all reality, the land is its own form of religion, and the boys adhere to it faithfully.  The land is where they work, where they play, and where the biggest mysteries of their young lives unfold.  The story is layered, and dense, not in a way that makes it difficult, but in a way that pulls you deeper and deeper in.  This is storytelling at its best.

The only thing that cause me to struggled even the slightest with the writing is the fact that the characters often speak in the patois of Appalachian Kentucky.  It was awkward to read words misspelled and misinterpreted, even though it was a realistic picture of that particular dialect.  I found myself having to re-read dialogue more than a few times.

Fans of contemporary literature will like the book.  But I would also recommend fans of memoirs to try it as well, since it has the feeling of a memoir despite the fact that it is fiction.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

 

A Half Forgotten Song, by Katherine Webb

Zach has spent his life becoming an expert in the life and work of artist Charles Aubrey.  He goes to the Dorset coastal village where Aubrey spent three summers with his mistress and children.  There, Zach finds that one of the women who would pose for Aubrey, Mitzy, is still alive and can shed some light on the mystery of Charles Aubrey's life.

It is really rare that a book can completely change my initial reaction, but this one certainly did.  When I first began reading this novel, I found it incredibly dull.  The first hundred pages really seem to plod on.  It takes quite a long time to set up the backstory and explain the story world.  But once that happens, and the story can start in earnest, the book gets so much better.  I thought I was going to hate the book, based on those first 100 pages, but in the end I really liked it.

I think the author painted some really rich characters, particularly in Mitzy.  We are never entirely sure how accurate Mitzy's version of events is, even when the story is fully revealed.  I liked the way the past and present unfold simultaneously, I feel like it gave us a much richer view of the story and the characters.  They story itself is quite unique, and I certainly did not predict the many twists and turns.

My biggest complaint was those first 100 pages, setting up the story.  It was just too much.  By eliminating a couple of aspects (like Zach's ex-wife and daughter), the fat could have been trimmed a little, giving the reader a more engaging story.  I could see some readers giving up within those first 100 pages.  Fans of romance and of mystery will appreciate this book, since both genres are artfully intertwined.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

  

The Perfume Collector, by Kathleen Tessaro

Grace is shocked to learn that she has received an inheritance from a mysterious stranger.  She travels from her home in London to Paris, where she meets with the lawyer in charge of the estate.  Determined to learn why this strange woman willed her everything, Grace goes down a rabbit hole of sorts, leading her to an abandoned perfume shop, where she learns about the intimacy of scent, and discovers her true self.

I adored this book so much.  This is the second book I have read that deals with perfumery and scent, and I have to say I am amazed at how sensual this topic can be.  I was completely drawn in by the detailed descriptions of scents in the book.  The writing is luxurious and intriguing, and I was unable to put the book down.  Despite the fact that the book is well over 400 pages, I read it in less than a day, because the story is just that engaging.  Although I have never been to Paris, I felt immediately transported there as Grace explored the city.

I really enjoyed Grace as a character.  I felt like she developed well throughout the story, and found that several times, she surprised me, and I love when a character can do that.  I also really enjoyed the dual timelines, winding together the story of Eva and Grace across the decades.  I felt like the timelines were well written, unfolding at an equal pace, until they would inevitably cross.  

Many of the scents in the book are described as having an initial essence, with contrasting or enhancing tones underneath.  That is also a good description of the book.  Initially, we are presented with the story, but underneath there is an eroticism and sensuality that has very little to do with sex, and much more to do with understanding the very basic nature of people and the world they live in.

This is a book that really stays with you.  Fans of contemporary literature will enjoy the book.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.