Party of Five

I have loved to read since I was a little girl, however, when I found myself a single mom of 4 kids, reading became my escape from the grime of daily living. I love to read books from most genre, but YA romance and contemporary romance is my favorite. Some favorite authors are Colleen Hoover, Tarryn Fisher, Lexi Ryan, Kasie West, and Sarah Dessen. As much as I like reading them, I like reviewing them just as much. Hope to connect with my fellow readers through this blog.

Atheists Who Kneel and Pray

Atheists Who Kneel and Pray - Tarryn Fisher, Ellie McLove Atheists Who Kneel And Pray

Oh what I wouldn't give to have someone love me like David loves Yara. The kind of love that heals the broken and makes the runner stand still. Tarryn writes complex characters, women who are for various reasons unstable. There is always a motivation, a reasoning, a thought process you can relate to. Real Love is messy. It isn't always rainbows and sunshine. Reality is given in her books, but Tarryn has a way of making even reality something beautiful.

On the Fence

On the Fence - Kasie West I have been a fan of Kasie West from her very first book, and I have enjoyed each and every one. That being said, On the Fence was my most favorite book of hers yet. West took a serious plotline and mixed it with witty dialogue and family bonding. The brothers and Braden ganging up on Charlie were some of the best comedic passages the book had to offer. It's a story about Charlie getting out of her comfort zone, learning to be a girl and realizing she can still like sports and wear makeup and bejewelled jerseys. Losing a parent is tough, and there are secrets that need to be revealed of Charlie can handle it. There was so much I loved about this book, and nothing that I didn't. It was perfect in every way.

The Devil's Arithmetic

The Devil's Arithmetic - Jane Yolen Hannah is a bored preteen, tired of her Jewish family's traditions and her weird grandfather's outbursts. On the night of Passover Seder, she opens the door to greet the profit Elijah, but instead enters the past. Now she finds herself in the train being shipped to the camps for processing, were every day is one more day she's alive. This book is important. Told in a manner preteens can understand, it tells of the horrors of life in the camp. Little it held back. There are better books of this time period, like Someone Named Eva, and there are way worse (Boy in The Striped Pajamas), but this book is one of the few for fifth grade and up that tells of camp life. Families are separated, Children die, tears are silent, and rebellion comes in the form of witnessing and remembering. Too many remain with tattooed numbers on their arms with their own stories to tell and yet, too many still deny it happened. Until evil is vanquished, books line this need to remain. I read this book so that I could determine if my son was capable of reading this book. I will be handing it to him tomorrow. Why? Because this book is important.

Without Merit

Without Merit - Colleen Hoover With Merit

Colleen Hoover is known for relatable characters and even more relatable storylines, with themes that hook a reader in while giving their heart an emotional squeeze. Fans of Sarah Dessin will love this book. Solidly YA, but fiction all will enjoy. Won't ruin the book by trying to give a synopsis when anyone that reads this review can gain a synopsis from any other review on Amazon or Goodreads. Suffice it to say you won't regret spending a few hours with the Voss family. They're quirky and dysfunctional to the nth degree, but it's when secrets get told that the redemption begins.

Bad Mommy

Bad Mommy - Tarryn Fisher SWF

This book is twisted, in an obvious Single White Female kind of way. Just when you get to the point of not being able to listen to the inside of Fig's head anymore, the point of view shifted with a new narrator, and the book gained my interest a thousand times over. This book relays the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath with startling analysis into the psyche of deeply flawed characters, and the writer that knew them. Those last few sentences made the entire book.

Mud Vein

Mud Vein - Tarryn Fisher Suspense and intrigue

I did not know what to expect going into this book. The reviews are all over the map. This is my fourth book by this author, with the first three being the Love Me With Lies series. I can tell you that the synopsis does not do this book justice. There's enough suspense and intrigue to move the story along at a fast pace, but that is not the sum total of its parts. 50% mystery, 25% horror, 10% romance, 10% drama, 5% self help, this book hits every emotional focal point. At times you dislike Senna to varying degrees, but you always love Isaac. Everyone trapped in a cabin needs Isaac. The end wraps up a little too tidily, but I'm not sure there could have been any other ending than what it was. The author has a reputation of not delivering on a HEA, but the reader gets the ending that's right, not always the ending that's wanted. Anyone that would stay away from this book thinking it was a romance should give it a rethink. This book has the emotional mind f@*! with the likes of Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, and by an Indie author at that. Five stars!

Thief

Thief - Tarryn Fisher It's a rollercoaster

It's will they or won't they, they are now they're not, they can't and they won't, they do and they don't. It's messy and neat, unjust and yet fair, tragic and heartwarming. There is pain and there is joy, there are lies and brutal honesty, there are manipulations and resolutions. This is messy every day life, but in the end souls should always find their match. The question is... Do they?

The Opportunist (Love Me With Lies, #1)

The Opportunist (Love Me With Lies, #1) - Tarryn Fisher This book pulled on every emotion

Olivia and Caleb. I love them together. I hate them together. The have an intense love for each other. The heap an incredible amount of hurt on each other. Still, the ending was unexpected, atypical, and yet the right one. Not a cliffhanger. Not really. Though the story is definitely not quite finished and there is a book 2 and 3, you can end at 1 and be ok if you want to. I'm not doing that though. This was my first book by Tarryn Fisher and I most definitely have to read book 2 and 3 now, just because.

Fallen Heir

Fallen Heir - Erin Watt Another cliffhanger

There were several things I didn't like about the first three books, but my biggest issue with them was the over the top drama and dragging story line. After his initial over the top sexual harassment of Ella in the beginning, Easton settled into a charming brother-ish friend to Ella. I wasn't sold on the series as a whole, but everyone raved about a Easton's story in the reviews, so I have it a shot. What a disappointment! He spends the ENTIRE book drunk and apologizing for his over the top selfish behavior. I keep waiting for someone that claims to love Easton to drag him to rehab, but no, his dad restocks the liquor bar and continues to ignore the behavior. Harley is boring and you wait until 95% in before you get her story. The ending though, yet another cliffhanger?! This story could Havre/should have been told in one book. I feel like I wasted my time and my money on this book to get no resolution. I don't understand the hype at all.

Wonder

Wonder - R.J. Palacio Amazing story!

August Pullman was born with a facial deformity that attracts a lot of attention, and not in a good way. Stares, screams, people moving away from him are all normal occurrences. He has avoided leaving the house when at all possible, until his mom enrolls him in school for fifth grade. Previously home schooled, this is the worst thing Auggie can think of. But he goes, and an amazing thing happens. He makes friends! Not at first, and not without some ups and downs, and not without a lot of bullying from some and courage from others, but he ends his fifth grade school year in a completely different mindset than when he started. Amazing writing, believable narrators, alternating points of view, great story!

Gus

Gus - Kim Holden This is book two in the Bright Side series, and a continuation of events from book one. This book explores the aftermath of events in the first book. Gus starts out in terrible shape and has to work his way back to happy. Scout helps in this regard. I absolutely love that this was not a quick romance. Their relationship goes from disdain, to civil, to friendly, to attracted, to relationship over the course of a year. It was so refreshing to have a realistic growth in that area. Ended well. Need more Keller. I think I liked book two better than book one.

The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls I don't understand all of the positive reviews on this book. The writing style killed me. There were not a lot of stopping points or page breaks so the story seemed to be one long stream of consciousness that went on forever. The sentence structure was not complex, and the sentences very short and more than a little repetitive. Lot of "us kids" or "we kids".

As far as the story goes, I understand it is a memoir, but it seems unrealistic to think that she would remember the detail she did, as far as full conversations that happened when she was 3 years old. And there is only so many times as a reader I want to read about a potential, attempted, or actual molestation of one of the four children. These kids had terrible parents and were let down by every adult in their lives, I get it, but the story became boring in its continual dire doomsday story telling. I should have felt sympathy for the author having to eat out of garbage cans or coming home to find her money stolen by her drunken father, but I had become immune to the story by that point.

I feel like this would be one of those rare cases that make a better movie than a book, but I just didn't care about the author at the end of the story. And when I say "end" I say that loosely, because that is what happens, it just suddenly ends. I feel like there should have been more of a "where are they now" ending with regards to the author and her siblings.


Sonia, a goodreads reviewer, put it in much better words than I did, so I am going to share her review:

Normally, addicting books have amazing characters. That is why they are addicting. How could you stop reading when their destiny is written on the next page? It's the secret to Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Gone with the Wind -- any book containing characters that resonate throughout literary history.

However, I cannot say the same for The Glass Castle. How could a book be so addicting yet have such a bland and romanticized heroine? While I read this book in one sitting, I became more and more detached to the narrator Jeannette as the book went on.

Jeannette's childhood is horrific, with neglectful parents, molestation, and starvation as just a few of the atrocities. However, when Jeannette retells these events, she is emotionally flat. She lacks insight into both her youth and herself, leaving the readers with a boring character who seems to have no flaws. If you asked me to describe Jeannette's personality, all I could come up with is "terrible childhood" and nothing about the woman herself.

I understand that since this is a memoir, it can be hard to write accurately about yourself and portray your own character in a negative light. However, memoirs are the perfect place to analyze your own flaws and weaknesses. Since Jeannette does not seize this opportunity to shed light on herself, she comes off as a flat Mary-Sue, defined by her terrible surroundings. She never portrays herself in a negative light, not once, making me lose respect for her.

Besides the shallow lead, this book has a steady and stagnant tone, never varying from uninteresting detachedness. Jeannette tells everything in the same tone, from being literally burned alive to marrying her husband. The addictiveness of this book stems not from any dynamic characters or varying tones, but from the horror of what's happening to her.

While Jeannette's story is fascinating, she herself is not. In fact, this book makes me feel manipulated: She relies on horror or her surroundings and edits out her flaws to make readers like her.

I give this book three stars for sheer readability and addictiveness, nothing else.

Hollywood Dirt

Hollywood Dirt - Alessandra Torre True five star read!

Summer is wasting away in a small town, ostracized by the town's elite. Cole heads to Quincey to film his latest movie and lick his wounds after being served divorce papers by his cheating wife. Summer takes an instant dislike to him, but Cole sees nothing but her fierce attitude and strong character, and immediately casts her in his film. It's hard to tell if the movie is hot because they are hot, or if they are hot because the movie is hot, but the more time they're around each other, the more the sparks fly.

This book was fantastic because of so many things. First, Cole is freaking hot. Second, Summer is no simpering damsel in distress. Third, the town is just as much a character in the story as any other character in the story could be. Fourth, there's genuine humour and witty dialogue that flows naturally. And last, everyone needs a Ben in their life.

I loved that it wasn't love at first site. In fact, love comes so naturally much farther into the book that it comes across as realistic and natural, not forced. This book reads like a movie, and in fact is being developed into a movie as we speak. I've read several Alessandra Torre novels, and until now, Moonshot was my favorite. But Hollywood Dirt just took the lead. Amazing story.

Edit: Living in Florida, I was irked robin and that Quincy was labelled a Georgia town because it is without a doubt a Florida town. The author acknowledges that in the author's notes at the end of the book, and did that to keep it a work of fiction. Restored my faith that the error was intenttional and not an error at all.

All the Lies We Tell

All the Lies We Tell - Megan Hart This story is about two brothers and two sisters who live across the street from each other on what was once a dead end lane. Ilya and Nikolai and Jennilynn and Allie. The story is told in current events and flashbacks. The premise was really interesting. Allie and Ilya were married and divorced, and now Nikolai was back in town and Allie realizes she may have married the wrong brother.

The reality of this story was another matter. It couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Was it a mystery? A romance? What it is is a dark and depressing tale of death, loss, betrayal, nostalgia, secrets, missed opportunities, and unsecured futures.

Ilya and Allie have been divorced for ten years, longer than they were married. They're still neighbours and business partners to a dying business. Nikolai comes back to town when their grandma dies. Allie and Niko pick up where they left off 20 years ago. They keep going with the"we shouldn't", "we must" until I was ready to throw the book at them. Neither would tell each other the whole truth, neither would relent on the emotional front. The dialogue was complicated at times. The Russian background led to the dark feel of the storyline. What really happened to Jennilynn? Are we ever supposed to know? Will that get resolved in the second book? Can I, as a reader, stomach reading a book from Ilya's narcissistic, juvenile, drunken perspective? The author didn't give him many redeeming characteristics to care enough about the next phase of the storyline.

This one was not a solid hit for me.

Letters to the Lost

Letters to the Lost - Brigid Kemmerer Juliet's mother is a famous photographer, often away for months at a time on assignment, and who kept in touch with Juliet mainly through letters. She is killed in a car accident on the way home from the airport, arriving early at Juliet's bequest. The guilt over her role in her mother's death eats at her, and she continues to leave letters to her mother on her gravestone.

Declan is doing community service in the cemetery, comes across the letter and reads it. He identifies so heavily with the guilt and the grief, having also lost a family member and feeling responsible for it. So he writes back.

Neither knows who the other is, but the pen pal relationship they share becomes one of the most necessary in relieving their hurt and getting their story told to someone who relates like no one else can. Each has been failed by their parents in some way. Juliet's story is more straight forward. Declan's is told over time and explains his layers, his wall that he uses to keep people at bay so he doesn't get hurt any more than he already has.

There is without a doubt some cliche moments, but the heartfelt real emotion told throughout more than makes up for it. I find myself with tears in my eyes and my heart in my throat on several occasions. The grief felt real. The emotion believable. This author did a fantastic job telling a genuine story of two people healing through their shared experience.

The Wedding Dress

The Wedding Dress - Rachel Hauck I thought the premise of this story was really interesting...one wedding dress with three different brides being sold at random to a bridal boutique owner. The mystery of it all was very appealing.

What I liked...
- The history of the dress
-Emily using the designer she did to create the dress.
- Hillary's story, and Charlotte's answer to Hillary as to why Hillary and Joel were married.
-Dixie was a great friend and support for Charlotte, though her character was not developed in any meaningful way.
-Daniel - he was the very definition of a good man.
-The supernatural way the dress fit each bride it was intended for. But...who is to wear it next? This was never mentioned.

What I did not like...
- The way the author threw mention of Jesus, God, Church, Faith, Speaking in Tounges, etc in throughout the story as if they were plug and play commentary to reinforce the idea that this was a faith based book. I have read many many many faith-based books where the religion and relationship between the characters and God were natural and unquestionable when reading the story. Instead of flowing, the faith aspect felt forced.
- The characters Charlotte and Emily came off as weak, not knowing their own minds and feelings, bowing to societal pressure, unsure of the path they should take despite obvious evidence to persuade them otherwise.
- Tim's character. He was not a good man, though the author told us he was and reinforced that theory by the end. He was wishy-washy and insulted not one but two women with his indecisive ways.
- Charlotte talks to the dress. I repeat - Charlotte talks to the dress. This was just corny.
-The man in purple. He was a caricature of what an angel would be, but his mysterious comings and goings without any explanation was more confusing than supernatural.
-Mary Grace and Thomas - healing a boy with Polio and making it rain? I believe in miracles, but I have yet to see a preacher genuinely heal a person's sickness. So again, a caricature of what a charismatic Pentecostal preacher would be rather than what one really is.
- Katherine. What reason, please tell me, did she possibly have for hating Charlotte? It wasn't clear to me, and I kept waiting for it to be revealed that Katherine was in love with Tim. Nothing else made any real sense for the amount of dislike she portrayed.

Bottom line, I wanted to like this book and it did have many positive aspects, but it was not a believable story to me, nor could I relate to any of the characters.

Currently reading

Keeping Up Appearances
Elizabeth Stevens