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obsidian_blue's reviews
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Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
3.0
I read and previously loved Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen, and The Girl Who Chased the Moon: A Novel. I read The Peach Keeper: A Novel (Random House Reader's Circle) and found it to be lacking in the same magical realism that I loved about her older novels. There was a lot going on in that novel and not all of it gelled together naturally. Unfortunately when I finished with Lost Lake I had that same feeling.
The novel is about lakeside cabins called Lost Lake. Eby Pim and her deceased husband George saw a postcard with the cabins and bought and restored them. Living out there for decades Eby is starting to feel as if it may be time to move on from Lost Lake and see the world again like she was planning on doing when she was a newlywed. Eby's niece Kate comes to Lost Lake with her young daughter Devin to re-visit a time in Kate's life when she was happy. We have Kate dealing with the loss of her husband and finally coming back to herself after a year where she was "sleeping".
One of the best things about Sarah Addison Allen's novels is that she always interweaves a sense of magic in her books. The way her novels are written she can have a person believing that yes these things/events could happen. However, this novel is missing that feeling of wonder that I had when I read her other novels. I just felt that a lot of the writing and events that happened were flat. It felt to me like well of course this is the way that it happened and that was about it.
I ended up giving this novel just three stars because of the lack of development of the two leads, way too many plot lines, and a cliched and rushed ending.
I thought that Eby was an interesting character I wish we had delved more into her life back when she was married to George and what about him made him wonderful besides a few stories thrown out about him here and there. Also the character of Kate suddenly reversing herself about what her marriage was about I thought did not really work. There is nothing wrong with a character having been married before and finding love again. I don't like it when you read novels that somehow have the widow or widower somehow finding some random flaws in their former spouse that then allows them to move on easy peasy.
There was the plot-lines of Eby selling Lost Lake and Kate dealing with her grief over the loss of her husband. Frankly that is honestly all this novel really needed. Then we started to include so many other side plots that just did not work in this novel from other characters such as Lisette, Bulahdeen, and Selma. We also throw in the character of Wes and his issues and everything got to be too much.
The ending in my opinion was just one cliche after another. I think that since we have so many characters in this novel Ms. Allen made sure that all of the plot-lines were wrapped up though some of the wrap up felt really rushed to me while I was reading. Also certain things did not make a lot of sense (such as Kate's mother in law's complete transformation at the end). Also it was telegraphed pretty early how the novel would end so it was not a big surprise to me when everything was wrapped up in a nice neat bow.
The novel is about lakeside cabins called Lost Lake. Eby Pim and her deceased husband George saw a postcard with the cabins and bought and restored them. Living out there for decades Eby is starting to feel as if it may be time to move on from Lost Lake and see the world again like she was planning on doing when she was a newlywed. Eby's niece Kate comes to Lost Lake with her young daughter Devin to re-visit a time in Kate's life when she was happy. We have Kate dealing with the loss of her husband and finally coming back to herself after a year where she was "sleeping".
One of the best things about Sarah Addison Allen's novels is that she always interweaves a sense of magic in her books. The way her novels are written she can have a person believing that yes these things/events could happen. However, this novel is missing that feeling of wonder that I had when I read her other novels. I just felt that a lot of the writing and events that happened were flat. It felt to me like well of course this is the way that it happened and that was about it.
I ended up giving this novel just three stars because of the lack of development of the two leads, way too many plot lines, and a cliched and rushed ending.
I thought that Eby was an interesting character I wish we had delved more into her life back when she was married to George and what about him made him wonderful besides a few stories thrown out about him here and there. Also the character of Kate suddenly reversing herself about what her marriage was about I thought did not really work. There is nothing wrong with a character having been married before and finding love again. I don't like it when you read novels that somehow have the widow or widower somehow finding some random flaws in their former spouse that then allows them to move on easy peasy.
There was the plot-lines of Eby selling Lost Lake and Kate dealing with her grief over the loss of her husband. Frankly that is honestly all this novel really needed. Then we started to include so many other side plots that just did not work in this novel from other characters such as Lisette, Bulahdeen, and Selma. We also throw in the character of Wes and his issues and everything got to be too much.
The ending in my opinion was just one cliche after another. I think that since we have so many characters in this novel Ms. Allen made sure that all of the plot-lines were wrapped up though some of the wrap up felt really rushed to me while I was reading. Also certain things did not make a lot of sense (such as Kate's mother in law's complete transformation at the end). Also it was telegraphed pretty early how the novel would end so it was not a big surprise to me when everything was wrapped up in a nice neat bow.
When Girlfriends Find Love by Savannah Page
3.0
I have been reading the "When Girlfriends..." series for the past year or so. This series is about a group of six girlfriends who all met in college and have remained close and live in Seattle. The group of girls consists of Sophie, Robin, Lara, Clarie, Emily, and Jackie.
"When Girlfriends Break Hearts" was novel #1 in this series and it was kind of a rocky novel in my start. I thought that Ms. Page had an interesting premise but I thought some of the characters needed to be developed.
"When Girlfriends Step Up" was novel #2 in the series. I really thought having this novel focus on Robin was a smart move due to the events that happened in the preceding novel. I didn't think I would be a fan of hers but I honestly ended up loving this character.
"When Girlfriends Make Choices" was novel #3 and focused on the character of Lara. I actually felt for Lara throughout this novel due to the choices that she makes that begin to have an impact on her, her friendships, and her job.
"When Girlfriends Chase Dreams" was novel #4 and focuses on the character of Claire. Clarie for me was the most annoying character (next to Jackie) in the girlfriend group. She grew on me a little bit in this novel but pretty much ruined any warm feelings I had for her in the next three novels. She is 100 percent childish about certain things and I felt like she would get old quick.
"When Girlfriends Take Chances" was novel #5 and focuses on my favorite character, Emily. Emily is a globe trotting trust fund baby who has a unique perspective on life and what she wants out of it. Since I used to travel a lot a few years ago I can honestly say that Emily's novels brought out my wanderlust again.
"When Girlfriends Let Go" was novel #6 and focuses on the character of Jackie. Jackie's novel in my eyes could have been so much more but just had uneven character development and an ending that I was honestly surprised by. Next to Clarie I think that Jackie ended up just becoming my least favorite of the girls.
"When Girlfriends Find Love" is the final novel in the series and it ends focusing on the character of Sophie. I honestly found the novel focusing on Sophie to be the weakest out of the series but did up until this novel like the character of Sophie.
I think the main reason why this novel ultimately did not work for me was that I found that there were a lot of characters telling Sophie what she should do with regards to her love life but I honestly did not find her and the other love interest in the novel believable at all. I was afraid that this was the way the novel would go when I saw hints of it in the other novels which is why I think it would have been a good idea for Ms. Page to throw in an entirely new character to have Sophie actually become involved with.
It also didn't help that there was way too many info dumps going on via the character of Sophie too. I think the entire first chapter was just inside Sophie's head and there is no dialogue at all. i just found myself getting extremely bored while reading this sadly. There was no real tension while reading this novel since the ending was a foregone conclusion.
I really think it would have been a great idea to have this novel have all of the girls that we have come to know and love alternate chapters especially because this is the last novel in the series. That way we could follow up with all of them and we can actually see what is going on with them instead of them regurgitating information at Sophie. There were so many interesting plot-lines that I felt like got the short end of the stick just so we can have Sophie flash-backing to her previous relationship and romantic dalliances.
I still think Ms. Page is a talented writer I just which she had stretched herself with this novel a bit more.
"When Girlfriends Break Hearts" was novel #1 in this series and it was kind of a rocky novel in my start. I thought that Ms. Page had an interesting premise but I thought some of the characters needed to be developed.
"When Girlfriends Step Up" was novel #2 in the series. I really thought having this novel focus on Robin was a smart move due to the events that happened in the preceding novel. I didn't think I would be a fan of hers but I honestly ended up loving this character.
"When Girlfriends Make Choices" was novel #3 and focused on the character of Lara. I actually felt for Lara throughout this novel due to the choices that she makes that begin to have an impact on her, her friendships, and her job.
"When Girlfriends Chase Dreams" was novel #4 and focuses on the character of Claire. Clarie for me was the most annoying character (next to Jackie) in the girlfriend group. She grew on me a little bit in this novel but pretty much ruined any warm feelings I had for her in the next three novels. She is 100 percent childish about certain things and I felt like she would get old quick.
"When Girlfriends Take Chances" was novel #5 and focuses on my favorite character, Emily. Emily is a globe trotting trust fund baby who has a unique perspective on life and what she wants out of it. Since I used to travel a lot a few years ago I can honestly say that Emily's novels brought out my wanderlust again.
"When Girlfriends Let Go" was novel #6 and focuses on the character of Jackie. Jackie's novel in my eyes could have been so much more but just had uneven character development and an ending that I was honestly surprised by. Next to Clarie I think that Jackie ended up just becoming my least favorite of the girls.
"When Girlfriends Find Love" is the final novel in the series and it ends focusing on the character of Sophie. I honestly found the novel focusing on Sophie to be the weakest out of the series but did up until this novel like the character of Sophie.
I think the main reason why this novel ultimately did not work for me was that I found that there were a lot of characters telling Sophie what she should do with regards to her love life but I honestly did not find her and the other love interest in the novel believable at all. I was afraid that this was the way the novel would go when I saw hints of it in the other novels which is why I think it would have been a good idea for Ms. Page to throw in an entirely new character to have Sophie actually become involved with.
It also didn't help that there was way too many info dumps going on via the character of Sophie too. I think the entire first chapter was just inside Sophie's head and there is no dialogue at all. i just found myself getting extremely bored while reading this sadly. There was no real tension while reading this novel since the ending was a foregone conclusion.
I really think it would have been a great idea to have this novel have all of the girls that we have come to know and love alternate chapters especially because this is the last novel in the series. That way we could follow up with all of them and we can actually see what is going on with them instead of them regurgitating information at Sophie. There were so many interesting plot-lines that I felt like got the short end of the stick just so we can have Sophie flash-backing to her previous relationship and romantic dalliances.
I still think Ms. Page is a talented writer I just which she had stretched herself with this novel a bit more.
The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier
3.0
I have never read Anne Fortier's previous novel, Juliet. Apparently that was her re-imagining of the Juliet character from Romeo and Juliet. With her latest novel, "The Lost Sisterhood" she re-imagines a world in which the ancient Amazons existed.
This is novel is told from two points of view. The first point of view is set in modern times with Diana Morgan as the lead character in the narrative. Diana is a lecturer at Oxford who focuses on the Amazon mythology in her lectures. Though she is often ridiculed by other colleagues, Diana is trying to prove that the Amazons did exist. We found out through flashbacks (that were throughout this entire novel) that Diana's grandmother believed that she was an Amazon and disappeared one day when she was younger. Diana meets a mysterious man that lures her to North Africa on her quest to prove that the Amazon dis exist.
The second point of view is told from Myrina who lived in the Bronze Age. Myrina and her sister Lilli at a young age are forced to flee their village and go to a city to see about the moon goddess that their mother spoke of to them. We get to see Myrina and Lilli's travels and the people that they meet (some mentioned in Greek mythology) along the way.
The reason why I ended up giving this novel only three stars was that except for the points of view told from Myrina's character I did not really care for the rest of the novel. When the novel first began with Diana I thought that Ms. Fortier did a very good job of laying out that character and you get a very good idea of why she became fascinated and then obsessed with the Amazons. However, the modern portions of the novel quickly turned from Diana being brought in to find out more about the Amazons to a Indiana type jones adventure that quickly lost me.
It also didn't help that we have Diana dealing with a love triangle that was quickly telegraphed (at least to me) who was going to come out the winner in the end.
Additionally, there were way too many flashbacks of Diana remembering some event with her grandmother. It became too much since we also had Myrina's story to read as well.
Also, Diana herself as a character was utterly boring and seemed to not possess any type of common sense. It was just shocking to me how childish and at times dumb she would act.
Finally, the ending really did not make a lot of sense. I don't want to spoil to potential readers but to have the ending that occurred just strained any kinds of credibility. I like the idea of the Amazons but the way that the Amazon legends linked to the modern world portion of the novel I just rolled my eyes at...a lot.
The portions of the novel with Myrina were excellent and I think that Ms. Fortier does a good job of interweaving Greek mythology to her fictional world. Frankly I would have loved more details about Myrina and if the novel had consisted of just her this would have been a five star read for me.
I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program.
This is novel is told from two points of view. The first point of view is set in modern times with Diana Morgan as the lead character in the narrative. Diana is a lecturer at Oxford who focuses on the Amazon mythology in her lectures. Though she is often ridiculed by other colleagues, Diana is trying to prove that the Amazons did exist. We found out through flashbacks (that were throughout this entire novel) that Diana's grandmother believed that she was an Amazon and disappeared one day when she was younger. Diana meets a mysterious man that lures her to North Africa on her quest to prove that the Amazon dis exist.
The second point of view is told from Myrina who lived in the Bronze Age. Myrina and her sister Lilli at a young age are forced to flee their village and go to a city to see about the moon goddess that their mother spoke of to them. We get to see Myrina and Lilli's travels and the people that they meet (some mentioned in Greek mythology) along the way.
The reason why I ended up giving this novel only three stars was that except for the points of view told from Myrina's character I did not really care for the rest of the novel. When the novel first began with Diana I thought that Ms. Fortier did a very good job of laying out that character and you get a very good idea of why she became fascinated and then obsessed with the Amazons. However, the modern portions of the novel quickly turned from Diana being brought in to find out more about the Amazons to a Indiana type jones adventure that quickly lost me.
It also didn't help that we have Diana dealing with a love triangle that was quickly telegraphed (at least to me) who was going to come out the winner in the end.
Additionally, there were way too many flashbacks of Diana remembering some event with her grandmother. It became too much since we also had Myrina's story to read as well.
Also, Diana herself as a character was utterly boring and seemed to not possess any type of common sense. It was just shocking to me how childish and at times dumb she would act.
Finally, the ending really did not make a lot of sense. I don't want to spoil to potential readers but to have the ending that occurred just strained any kinds of credibility. I like the idea of the Amazons but the way that the Amazon legends linked to the modern world portion of the novel I just rolled my eyes at...a lot.
The portions of the novel with Myrina were excellent and I think that Ms. Fortier does a good job of interweaving Greek mythology to her fictional world. Frankly I would have loved more details about Myrina and if the novel had consisted of just her this would have been a five star read for me.
I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program.
4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie
5.0
I have to say that for any mystery enthusiasts out there you have to make sure that you read Agatha Christie. I cannot get over how many books this woman wrote and how she manages to surprise me every time with her endings.
4:50 from Paddington begins with Mrs. Elspeth McGillicuddy taking a train to visit a friend in St. Mary Mead (we all know who this friend is if you have ever read a Miss Marple novel before) for the Christmas holiday. After awakening from a nap, Mrs. McGillicuddy sees a woman being strangled to death in a train that is running parallel with her own. When she arrives at Miss Marple she is relieved to see that her friend believes her. Though Mrs. McGillicuddy has planned trips abroad and leaves, Miss Marple continues to investigate.
There was a unique cast of characters involved in this story and I was very happy to read the remarks made about previous cases such as "A Murder is Announced" and that we get to hear from previous characters from prior novels such as Griselda from "The Murder at the Vicarage".
Miss Marple through some more investigating determines that if someone did strangle a woman the only place that the body could have been thrown is at one particular stretch of land that is owned by the Crackenthorpe family. With some help from a companion that stayed with her years earlier, Lucy Eyelesbarrow is employed by the Crackenthorpe family and begins to investigate the family and grounds and reports back to Miss Marple.
I found that the main mystery of who the young woman was that was strangled and how was she connected to the Crackenthorpe family was very well done. I am going to say that the ending was a total surprise to me and I once again guessed the wrong person as the murder. There was a little intrigue left up in the air at the end of this novel which drove me bonkers.
Additionally, I thought that the introduction of Lucy was very good and I wish that we would have seen more of this character in subsequent Miss Marple stories.
I am very excited to get to the next book on my Agatha Christie list, "A Caribbean Mystery".
4:50 from Paddington begins with Mrs. Elspeth McGillicuddy taking a train to visit a friend in St. Mary Mead (we all know who this friend is if you have ever read a Miss Marple novel before) for the Christmas holiday. After awakening from a nap, Mrs. McGillicuddy sees a woman being strangled to death in a train that is running parallel with her own. When she arrives at Miss Marple she is relieved to see that her friend believes her. Though Mrs. McGillicuddy has planned trips abroad and leaves, Miss Marple continues to investigate.
There was a unique cast of characters involved in this story and I was very happy to read the remarks made about previous cases such as "A Murder is Announced" and that we get to hear from previous characters from prior novels such as Griselda from "The Murder at the Vicarage".
Miss Marple through some more investigating determines that if someone did strangle a woman the only place that the body could have been thrown is at one particular stretch of land that is owned by the Crackenthorpe family. With some help from a companion that stayed with her years earlier, Lucy Eyelesbarrow is employed by the Crackenthorpe family and begins to investigate the family and grounds and reports back to Miss Marple.
I found that the main mystery of who the young woman was that was strangled and how was she connected to the Crackenthorpe family was very well done. I am going to say that the ending was a total surprise to me and I once again guessed the wrong person as the murder. There was a little intrigue left up in the air at the end of this novel which drove me bonkers.
Additionally, I thought that the introduction of Lucy was very good and I wish that we would have seen more of this character in subsequent Miss Marple stories.
I am very excited to get to the next book on my Agatha Christie list, "A Caribbean Mystery".
At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie
5.0
Two more books after this one and that is the end of reading anymore about Miss Jane Marple.
At Bertram's Hotel has Miss Marple taking a holiday at the previously named Bertram's in London. We have Miss Marple reminiscing about an old beau in her youth and her staying at the hotel with her family. We also have Miss Marple referring to events in other novels such as A Caribbean Mystery which keeps the events in that novel fresh in readers minds.
While staying at Bertram's Miss Marple overhears a conversation between Bess Sedgwick (an adventuress) and a member of the staff at Bertram's and starts to take note of other guests such as Elvira Blake (a 20 year old heiress) and Canon Pennyfather.
At first things in the story were rather muddled to me until we have Miss Marple becoming involved after Canon Pennyfather goes missing. Pretty soon a case is afoot and readers along with Miss Marple will start to question why Bertram's always seems so perfect.
When a commissionaire at Bertram's is accidentally shot we finally start to get more pieces to what is going on at Bertram's. Everything in the end ties together and makes sense, however, I have to admit that for a while there I was totally lost at what exactly was going on. What was great to me though is that we have Miss Marple's sense of justice and what is right prevailing in the end and though we don't get a satisfactory ending with certain individual(s) I like to think that they did pay in the end.
At Bertram's Hotel has Miss Marple taking a holiday at the previously named Bertram's in London. We have Miss Marple reminiscing about an old beau in her youth and her staying at the hotel with her family. We also have Miss Marple referring to events in other novels such as A Caribbean Mystery which keeps the events in that novel fresh in readers minds.
While staying at Bertram's Miss Marple overhears a conversation between Bess Sedgwick (an adventuress) and a member of the staff at Bertram's and starts to take note of other guests such as Elvira Blake (a 20 year old heiress) and Canon Pennyfather.
At first things in the story were rather muddled to me until we have Miss Marple becoming involved after Canon Pennyfather goes missing. Pretty soon a case is afoot and readers along with Miss Marple will start to question why Bertram's always seems so perfect.
When a commissionaire at Bertram's is accidentally shot we finally start to get more pieces to what is going on at Bertram's. Everything in the end ties together and makes sense, however, I have to admit that for a while there I was totally lost at what exactly was going on. What was great to me though is that we have Miss Marple's sense of justice and what is right prevailing in the end and though we don't get a satisfactory ending with certain individual(s) I like to think that they did pay in the end.
Nemesis by Agatha Christie
3.0
I have already read Sleeping Murder so for me Nemesis is my last Miss Marple mystery. I am saddened by that a great deal but Nemesis ended up being just a four star read for me which was very disappointing to me after reading and loving "A Caribbean Mystery" and "At Betram's Hotel".
Nemesis has Miss Marple reviewing the obituaries and realizing that a man she previously met during the events in "A Caribbean Mystery", Mr. Jason Rafiel has died. Miss Marple is then surprised to receive a note through attorneys representing Mr. Rafiel asking her to look into a crime and if she solves it she will inherit $20,000 pounds. Miss Marple is perplexed by what Mr. Rafiel could possibly want her to look into and revisits Ms. Esther Walters (also from "A Caribbean Mystery") and Miss Marple starts to put clues together to figure out what crime she is supposed to be looking into.
Miss Marple is then surprised to find out that Mr. Rafiel also bought Miss Marple a place on tour of famous British houses and gardens. Miss Marple starts to look into the other people on the tour and meets a family of sisters that Mr. Rafiel asked prior to his death for them to allow Miss Marple to visit with them. Miss Marple finds herself intrigued by the three sisters, Lavina Glynne, Clotilde and Anthea Bradbury-Scott.
"Nemesis" I found to be a very intriguing mystery. However, for the first time ever I was able to correctly guess the murder. I think that was due to so many clues that practically smacked me on the nose that I was able to figure it out so easily.
The main reason why I gave this novel just three stars is that I found it quite disconcerting to read about Miss Marple and others views on lesbianism and rape. I was actually surprised that Agatha Christie even tackled these subjects in this novel but it definitely came from an out of date thinking. While reading I found certain characters saying things such as this about rape:
"Girls, you must remember, are far more ready to be raped nowadays than they used to be. Their mothers insist, very
often, that they should call it rape."
"Earlier cases of assault and rape. Well, we all know what rape is nowadays. Mum tells the girl she's got to accuse the young
man of rape even if the young man hasn't had much chance with the girl at him all the time to come to the house while mum's
away at work or dad's gone on holiday. Doesn't stop badgering him until she's forced him to sleep with her. Then, as I say,
mum tells the girl to call it rape."
And here are the quotes about lesbianism in the novel:
"No. Verity did not want anyone to know, and I should say most certainly Mike did not want anyone to know. They were afraid
of being stopped. To Verity, I think, besides love, there was also a feeling of escape. Natural, I think, owing to the
circumstances of her life. She had lost her real guardians, her parents, she had entered on her new life after their death, at
an age when a school girl arrives at having a 'crush' on someone. An attractive mistress. Anything from the games mistress
to the mathematics mistress, or a prefect or an older girl. A stated that does not last for very long, is merely a natural part of
life. Then from that you go on to the next stage when you realize that what you want in your life is what complements
yourself. A relationship between a man and a woman. You start then to look about you for a mate. The mate you want in life."
There are some more but that would spoil the ending of the novel and I don't want to do that. So all in all I really did not like this novel. I thought it was an interesting idea to have Miss Marple go forth as "Nemesis" and bring the perpetrator(s) to justice in old murders but the comments constantly about girls faking being raped, having a character we hear about being charged with rape but it being patted down as if it was just random girls who were asking for it so what did that matter, and making it seem as if the only normal thing in life is the love between a man and a woman was off-putting.
I am glad that Sleeping Murder was the last of the Miss Marple novels and that Miss Marple didn't end on this disquieting note.
Nemesis has Miss Marple reviewing the obituaries and realizing that a man she previously met during the events in "A Caribbean Mystery", Mr. Jason Rafiel has died. Miss Marple is then surprised to receive a note through attorneys representing Mr. Rafiel asking her to look into a crime and if she solves it she will inherit $20,000 pounds. Miss Marple is perplexed by what Mr. Rafiel could possibly want her to look into and revisits Ms. Esther Walters (also from "A Caribbean Mystery") and Miss Marple starts to put clues together to figure out what crime she is supposed to be looking into.
Miss Marple is then surprised to find out that Mr. Rafiel also bought Miss Marple a place on tour of famous British houses and gardens. Miss Marple starts to look into the other people on the tour and meets a family of sisters that Mr. Rafiel asked prior to his death for them to allow Miss Marple to visit with them. Miss Marple finds herself intrigued by the three sisters, Lavina Glynne, Clotilde and Anthea Bradbury-Scott.
"Nemesis" I found to be a very intriguing mystery. However, for the first time ever I was able to correctly guess the murder. I think that was due to so many clues that practically smacked me on the nose that I was able to figure it out so easily.
The main reason why I gave this novel just three stars is that I found it quite disconcerting to read about Miss Marple and others views on lesbianism and rape. I was actually surprised that Agatha Christie even tackled these subjects in this novel but it definitely came from an out of date thinking. While reading I found certain characters saying things such as this about rape:
"Girls, you must remember, are far more ready to be raped nowadays than they used to be. Their mothers insist, very
often, that they should call it rape."
"Earlier cases of assault and rape. Well, we all know what rape is nowadays. Mum tells the girl she's got to accuse the young
man of rape even if the young man hasn't had much chance with the girl at him all the time to come to the house while mum's
away at work or dad's gone on holiday. Doesn't stop badgering him until she's forced him to sleep with her. Then, as I say,
mum tells the girl to call it rape."
And here are the quotes about lesbianism in the novel:
"No. Verity did not want anyone to know, and I should say most certainly Mike did not want anyone to know. They were afraid
of being stopped. To Verity, I think, besides love, there was also a feeling of escape. Natural, I think, owing to the
circumstances of her life. She had lost her real guardians, her parents, she had entered on her new life after their death, at
an age when a school girl arrives at having a 'crush' on someone. An attractive mistress. Anything from the games mistress
to the mathematics mistress, or a prefect or an older girl. A stated that does not last for very long, is merely a natural part of
life. Then from that you go on to the next stage when you realize that what you want in your life is what complements
yourself. A relationship between a man and a woman. You start then to look about you for a mate. The mate you want in life."
There are some more but that would spoil the ending of the novel and I don't want to do that. So all in all I really did not like this novel. I thought it was an interesting idea to have Miss Marple go forth as "Nemesis" and bring the perpetrator(s) to justice in old murders but the comments constantly about girls faking being raped, having a character we hear about being charged with rape but it being patted down as if it was just random girls who were asking for it so what did that matter, and making it seem as if the only normal thing in life is the love between a man and a woman was off-putting.
I am glad that Sleeping Murder was the last of the Miss Marple novels and that Miss Marple didn't end on this disquieting note.
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
5.0
I thought this novel was phenomenal.
This novel is told in alternating chapters by Eleanor and Park. Both of these characters are two 16 year old teenagers living in Omaha in the 1980s.
Park has an American father and Korean mother and except for those things comes from a home that could rival the Cleaver family at times. Park does his best to stay out of firing range from the cool kids on his bus. Feeling like a disappointment to his father and not very interested in girls he just likes to listen to music and read his comic books.
Eleanor comes from a broken home and is finally after a year long absence allowed to return home to live with her mother, little brothers and sister. Due to her stepfather's constant rage Eleanor tries her best to hide while at home and feels as if school is just something to get through. She sits down besides Park one day on the school bus and starts a reluctant arrangement of sitting with him everyday.
Park finds himself drawn to Eleanor and slowly they start to turn from a awkward friendship into something more.
I really don't know what else to say about this novel besides it was phenomenal. Ms. Rowell is able to write Eleanor and Park so well that they felt like living and breathing people to me. I found myself at times wincing at things that Eleanor said to Park. Or feeling Park's pangs when he finds himself doing his best to fit in and feeling shallow when he is ashamed of Eleanor. She writes them like teenagers and I know it seems silly to say but a lot of authors have a hard time writing as teenagers. Either the characters feel way too grown to me by using language that I doubt they would use or the situations would feel so fake. The story of Eleanor and Park seems timeless to me even though the plot takes place in the 1980s.
This novel brought back good memories of the first boy I ever loved. I remember the first time I held hands and was kissed by a boy (his name was Noah). It is something that stays with you. Your heart beats faster, your pulse is jumping in your throat, you feel like you are going to puke. And then it's like being warmed from the sun inside and out the first time you hold hands and kiss. Sigh. This novel brought back all of those memories for me. I even made myself slow down and just absorb the novel slowly. I didn't want it to end.
I would love to read a sequel starring these two characters since I now want to know how the story ends. Or maybe I will just imagine a happy ending for them.
I definitely recommend!
This novel is told in alternating chapters by Eleanor and Park. Both of these characters are two 16 year old teenagers living in Omaha in the 1980s.
Park has an American father and Korean mother and except for those things comes from a home that could rival the Cleaver family at times. Park does his best to stay out of firing range from the cool kids on his bus. Feeling like a disappointment to his father and not very interested in girls he just likes to listen to music and read his comic books.
Eleanor comes from a broken home and is finally after a year long absence allowed to return home to live with her mother, little brothers and sister. Due to her stepfather's constant rage Eleanor tries her best to hide while at home and feels as if school is just something to get through. She sits down besides Park one day on the school bus and starts a reluctant arrangement of sitting with him everyday.
Park finds himself drawn to Eleanor and slowly they start to turn from a awkward friendship into something more.
I really don't know what else to say about this novel besides it was phenomenal. Ms. Rowell is able to write Eleanor and Park so well that they felt like living and breathing people to me. I found myself at times wincing at things that Eleanor said to Park. Or feeling Park's pangs when he finds himself doing his best to fit in and feeling shallow when he is ashamed of Eleanor. She writes them like teenagers and I know it seems silly to say but a lot of authors have a hard time writing as teenagers. Either the characters feel way too grown to me by using language that I doubt they would use or the situations would feel so fake. The story of Eleanor and Park seems timeless to me even though the plot takes place in the 1980s.
This novel brought back good memories of the first boy I ever loved. I remember the first time I held hands and was kissed by a boy (his name was Noah). It is something that stays with you. Your heart beats faster, your pulse is jumping in your throat, you feel like you are going to puke. And then it's like being warmed from the sun inside and out the first time you hold hands and kiss. Sigh. This novel brought back all of those memories for me. I even made myself slow down and just absorb the novel slowly. I didn't want it to end.
I would love to read a sequel starring these two characters since I now want to know how the story ends. Or maybe I will just imagine a happy ending for them.
I definitely recommend!
Ex-Girlfriends United by Matt Dunn
3.0
This is the second novel written by Matt Dunn about Edward Middleton and his best friend Dan.
If you have not read the first novel in the series, look away, look away.
Edward has moved on from his ex girlfriend Jane and is still doing his best to keep up with the positive changes he made in his life while attempting to get her back, see "The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook".
With Edward happily dating and feeling better about himself than he has in years, his best friend Dan is going through a dating downward spiral. No matter what Dan does he seems to be turning women off left and right. Dan eventually finds out that all of his exes have rated him on a website called, "SlateYourDate.com". Too bad for Dan that all of his exes have nothing but negative things to say about him.
Though many women (and men) out there will loathe Dan I have to say that once you get into his reasoning for why he was dumping women left and right you will find the humor in the situation. Dan is not a very bright character, but definitely has some insights into women that Edward needs to listen to since Edwards keeps treating women like they are this rare species that he has no understanding of at all.
The main reason why I gave this novel only three stars (I dithered between three and three and a half) is that I think Mr. Dunn would have had a stronger novel, with even more hilarity if this story was told from Dan's point of view. Reading the book summary for "Ex-Girlfriends United" you would think this novel was told from Dan's point of view.
Instead the novel is told from Edward's point of view and you just deal with his problems through the whole novel (problems of his own doing by the way) and you have him insecure and questioning everything that his new girlfriend says and does.Frankly if I were Dan I would have told Edward to go see a shrink since his constant indecision about everything started to drive me mad by the end of this novel.
Readers do finally get to "meet" Edward's ex, Jane. She is definitely a flesh and blood character in this novel and I could understand her anger and jealousy on how Edward moved on and got his life together after she dumped him. Besides Edward "helping" Dan here and there with how to get his exes off of Dan's backs we as readers do not get to witness any of the things that Dan does, we merely hear about them after the fact when Dan is re-telling stories to Edward.
If you have not read the first novel in the series, look away, look away.
Edward has moved on from his ex girlfriend Jane and is still doing his best to keep up with the positive changes he made in his life while attempting to get her back, see "The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook".
With Edward happily dating and feeling better about himself than he has in years, his best friend Dan is going through a dating downward spiral. No matter what Dan does he seems to be turning women off left and right. Dan eventually finds out that all of his exes have rated him on a website called, "SlateYourDate.com". Too bad for Dan that all of his exes have nothing but negative things to say about him.
Though many women (and men) out there will loathe Dan I have to say that once you get into his reasoning for why he was dumping women left and right you will find the humor in the situation. Dan is not a very bright character, but definitely has some insights into women that Edward needs to listen to since Edwards keeps treating women like they are this rare species that he has no understanding of at all.
The main reason why I gave this novel only three stars (I dithered between three and three and a half) is that I think Mr. Dunn would have had a stronger novel, with even more hilarity if this story was told from Dan's point of view. Reading the book summary for "Ex-Girlfriends United" you would think this novel was told from Dan's point of view.
Instead the novel is told from Edward's point of view and you just deal with his problems through the whole novel (problems of his own doing by the way) and you have him insecure and questioning everything that his new girlfriend says and does.Frankly if I were Dan I would have told Edward to go see a shrink since his constant indecision about everything started to drive me mad by the end of this novel.
Readers do finally get to "meet" Edward's ex, Jane. She is definitely a flesh and blood character in this novel and I could understand her anger and jealousy on how Edward moved on and got his life together after she dumped him. Besides Edward "helping" Dan here and there with how to get his exes off of Dan's backs we as readers do not get to witness any of the things that Dan does, we merely hear about them after the fact when Dan is re-telling stories to Edward.
The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook by Matt Dunn
5.0
I went to the bookstore a few weeks ago and bought a lot of new books, i.e. never read the author beforehand. I saw this novel and decided to give the book a chance. I am glad that I did this little experiment since I have really enjoyed reading this novel and the next two in this series starring Eddie Middleton.
In The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook, the main character Eddie gets a "Dear John" letter from his long-time girlfriend of 10 years, Jane. Jane leaves Eddie for Tibet for three months. Additionally, Jane, tells Eddie that she left him because of him. Listing all of Eddie's flaws and why she felt the need to move on inspires Eddie to transform himself in the 3 months that Jane is gone into a boyfriend that she will want to be with. With the help of his best friend Dan, Eddie goes on transformation alphabetically for Jane.
I have to say that I really did like/love this novel a lot. Matt Dunn definitely writes very well and there are several laugh out loud moments in this novel that left me gasping. The characters such as Eddie and Dan were very well drawn and I wanted to read more about them (why I bought the other two books via my Kindle right after I finished with this one). I loved each chapter beginning with the current date since we have Eddie counting down to Jane's return from Tibet.
Eddie is definitely a sympathetic character. You feel for him while he goes back through what exactly he did wrong that made Jane leave him. Frankly I don't think too many men would do something like Eddie and would probably be thinking "good riddance."
Dan was outright hilarious. Seriously I would have loved a book told from Dan's point of view because though it was often offensive he definitely gets women more than Eddie does.
The only reason why I gave this 4 and a half stars was that the woman in this novel that Eddie is doing this for, Jane, was just written badly. Jane is a full blown caricature of a shrewish woman come to life. I think it would have made it a stronger novel if we had a prologue showing Eddie and Jane together and them being happy. Having Eddie flash-backing or chatting with Dan about Jane did not make her a real character to me. Frankly, I had a hard time understanding why Eddie was so in love with Jane based on the remembrances that are shared with readers. It would have definitely made the ending stronger if we as readers got to see why Eddie was so in love with her at first and what made them work and we could get his dithering about what he wants his next steps to be when Jane gets back. For me, the ending was a forgone conclusion because of the above.
That said, I am very glad that I picked this book up!
In The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook, the main character Eddie gets a "Dear John" letter from his long-time girlfriend of 10 years, Jane. Jane leaves Eddie for Tibet for three months. Additionally, Jane, tells Eddie that she left him because of him. Listing all of Eddie's flaws and why she felt the need to move on inspires Eddie to transform himself in the 3 months that Jane is gone into a boyfriend that she will want to be with. With the help of his best friend Dan, Eddie goes on transformation alphabetically for Jane.
I have to say that I really did like/love this novel a lot. Matt Dunn definitely writes very well and there are several laugh out loud moments in this novel that left me gasping. The characters such as Eddie and Dan were very well drawn and I wanted to read more about them (why I bought the other two books via my Kindle right after I finished with this one). I loved each chapter beginning with the current date since we have Eddie counting down to Jane's return from Tibet.
Eddie is definitely a sympathetic character. You feel for him while he goes back through what exactly he did wrong that made Jane leave him. Frankly I don't think too many men would do something like Eddie and would probably be thinking "good riddance."
Dan was outright hilarious. Seriously I would have loved a book told from Dan's point of view because though it was often offensive he definitely gets women more than Eddie does.
The only reason why I gave this 4 and a half stars was that the woman in this novel that Eddie is doing this for, Jane, was just written badly. Jane is a full blown caricature of a shrewish woman come to life. I think it would have made it a stronger novel if we had a prologue showing Eddie and Jane together and them being happy. Having Eddie flash-backing or chatting with Dan about Jane did not make her a real character to me. Frankly, I had a hard time understanding why Eddie was so in love with Jane based on the remembrances that are shared with readers. It would have definitely made the ending stronger if we as readers got to see why Eddie was so in love with her at first and what made them work and we could get his dithering about what he wants his next steps to be when Jane gets back. For me, the ending was a forgone conclusion because of the above.
That said, I am very glad that I picked this book up!
How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky by Lydia Netzer
3.0
The main plot of this novel is about Irene and George. Both of them have a love of astronomy and science and eventually come to meet up in their hometown of Toledo, Ohio working for the Toledo Institute of Astronomy. Irene and George without realizing it were both raised to be each other's soul-mates.
I thought this was an interesting plot to follow since it is an interesting premise to look at to see if you can raise children to fall in love with one another when they are grown up. I think that if the novel had focused on this aspect more I would have loved it. Instead there were way too many side plots going on with other characters.
This is the first novel I have ever read by Lydia Netzer and I have to say except for a few key parts of this novel I ended up not really liking this book. To me it was between a 2.5 and 3 star read and I ended up giving it three stars.
I really think that for the novel to work it would have made more sense to have it start off with George's mother Sally, and Irene's mother, Bernice. Having the story about these two women told in fits and starts and in dream sequences was a bit much to wade through as I was reading. If the novel had worked from these two characters to the present day I think that the novel could have ultimately been a great read for me. Additionally, a side plot with Irene's ex-boyfriend made no sense at all to me to include. And there is another plot that I don't want to discuss too much since it would be giving too much away. However, at the final reveal of that plot at the end of the novel I just ended up rolling my eyes.
I know that Ms. Netzer is hugely popular because of her first novel, Shine Shine Shine. However, except for me enjoying certain words and phrases that she employed in this novel, I definitely would not recommend this novel to anyone else to read unless they were a fan of her previous work.
Please note that I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program. This novel will be released on July 1, 2014.
I thought this was an interesting plot to follow since it is an interesting premise to look at to see if you can raise children to fall in love with one another when they are grown up. I think that if the novel had focused on this aspect more I would have loved it. Instead there were way too many side plots going on with other characters.
This is the first novel I have ever read by Lydia Netzer and I have to say except for a few key parts of this novel I ended up not really liking this book. To me it was between a 2.5 and 3 star read and I ended up giving it three stars.
I really think that for the novel to work it would have made more sense to have it start off with George's mother Sally, and Irene's mother, Bernice. Having the story about these two women told in fits and starts and in dream sequences was a bit much to wade through as I was reading. If the novel had worked from these two characters to the present day I think that the novel could have ultimately been a great read for me. Additionally, a side plot with Irene's ex-boyfriend made no sense at all to me to include. And there is another plot that I don't want to discuss too much since it would be giving too much away. However, at the final reveal of that plot at the end of the novel I just ended up rolling my eyes.
I know that Ms. Netzer is hugely popular because of her first novel, Shine Shine Shine. However, except for me enjoying certain words and phrases that she employed in this novel, I definitely would not recommend this novel to anyone else to read unless they were a fan of her previous work.
Please note that I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program. This novel will be released on July 1, 2014.