LOVE SHOULD COME WITH WARNING LABELS — A REVIEW

Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is–and what he’s willing to do to make her stay.

Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won’t let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough….

And so begins the story of an obsession that takes over the lives of Clara and everyone she loves. In alternating chapters, veering between the past and the present, and in Clara’s first person narrative, we learn how the love began and where it all led. Like most things about our emotions, even when we see the red flags and hear the warning bells, we are sure that we can still control things. That we can stop the bad things from coming.

Learning the lesson about how little control we have is Clara’s story and the core of Stay, a thoughtful and provocative glimpse of love gone wrong. As Clara and her father settle in to a beach town outside of Seattle, surrounded by islands and the whole aura of the sea and a lighthouse, we also experience with them the idyllic moments when it seems as thought life can start over. That the past can be gone. And we live through the glaring awareness that nothing could be further from the truth.

What will happen to ultimately show Clara and her father that sometimes the past cannot disappear, even if we want it to do so? I like this excerpt near the end that shows us that we don’t actually have a lot of control:

“Our memories and the events of our lives are untidy things. We wish that we could file them away and shut the door, or we wish the opposite–that they would stay with us forever. You want to banish that remembrance of a tight hold on your ankle, a rope under a bed, the amber-colored medicine bottles of your father’s, the door your mother slams after a night of too much wine and jealousy…But the images are all wild things that will do what they wish….”

I loved the characters, the settings, and the message of this story. Recommended for anyone who has ever been in love with the wrong person. Five stars.

MAY READING WRAP-UP: ANOTHER GREAT MONTH! — JUNE 1

 

Another month is behind us!  Here’s what happened in my reading life this month.

What did your month look like?  Come on by and share….

 

MAY 2013:

1.      Bodyguard & the Show Dog, The, by Christy Tillery French – 298 pages (suspense) – 5/13/13 (Sequel Challenge)

2.     Cocktail Hour (e-book), by Tara McTiernan – 348 pages (contemporary fiction) – 5/4/13

3.     Don’t Go (e-book), by Lisa Scottoline – 376 pages – (contemporary fiction/suspense) – 5/20/13

4.    Engagements, The - J. Courtney Sullivan – 377 pages (historical/contemporary fiction) — 5/2/13

5.    Finding Lily (e-book), by Lisa Ellis – 160 pages (contemporary fiction) – 5/11/13 (Rev. to be posted on 5/30/13)

6.    Fly Away, by Kristin Hannah – 400 pages (contemporary fiction) – 5/8/13 (Sequel Challenge)

7.    He’s Gone (e-book), by Deb Caletti – 352 pages (contemporary fiction/suspense) – 5/30/13

8.    Husband’s Secret, The, by Liane Moriarty – 394 pages (contemporary fiction) – 5/28/13

9.    Instructions from a Heatwave, by Maggie O’Farrell – 290 pages (contemporary fiction) – 5/10/13

10.  Just Breathe, by Susan Wiggs – 470 pages (contemporary fiction) – 5/17/13 – (Mt. TBR Challenge)

11.  K Street Affair, The (e-book), by Mari Passananti – 362 pages (suspense thriller) – 5/24/13

12.  Some Are Sicker Than Others (e-book) – 390 pages (contemporary fiction) – 5/21/13

13.  Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine (e-book) – 234 pages (historical fiction) – 5/19/13

14.  Summer on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber – 361 pages (contemporary fiction) – 5/5/13 – (Sequel Challenge)

15.   Sweet Salt Air, by Barbara Delinsky – 402 pages – (contemporary fiction) – 5/27/13

16.  Walled-In, by J. Elke Ertle, 329 pages – (memoir) – 5/13/13

***

BOOKS READ IN MAY –   16

PAGES READ IN MAY –  5,543

BOOKS READ YTD –   85

PAGES READ YTD –   27, 208

FAVORITE FICTION READ:  Fly Away, by Kristin Hannah; and Don’t Go, by Lisa Scottoline

FAVORITE NONFICTION READ:   Walled-In, by J. Elke Ertle

CHALLENGE PROGRESS:

      COZIES — 3/7

      SEQUELS — 20/?

      MT. TBR — 12/24

     WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB – 2/4

***

This month, it was really difficult to pick favorite reads, as there were so many!  How often does that happen?

 

LIVES UPENDED IN THE AFTERMATH OF TRAGEDY — A REVIEW

 

 

 

Twenty-five years after her fifteen-year-old brother Ben supposedly murdered her mother and two sisters, Libby Day is struggling and at a point in her life when she must find a way to bring money into the coffers. The fund that sustained her after the tragedies has dried up, and Libby flails about, seeking a solution.

And what she finds is a group of individuals devoted to proving her brother was innocent–and willing to pay for mementos and information.

Libby was seven years old when the murders happened, and the only survivor. Her testimony put her brother behind bars, but now she is wondering if things happened the way she believed it did. She reexamines the “darkplaces” to figure things out. And starts meeting with people to find out more, too. She also dreams about the events, with different scenarios each time. And she recalls how life as the orphan has changed everything for her, too.

The setting is a Kansas farm in a small town filled with gossipy, mean-spirited individuals seemingly bent on shunning the Day family long before the tragedy struck.

In alternating narratives, Dark Places: A Novel takes us back to 1985, to learn bits and pieces of that fateful day from the mother, Patty Day, and from Ben, the alleged perpetrator. As more is revealed, we begin to have our own doubts…and as we follow Libby’s first-person narration in the present, watching her accumulate data, the questions begin to grow until we wonder if there will ever be any definitive answers.

All of the characters are flawed individuals, but beneath the surface of each, there is a hint of how they could be redeemed. If only…

What mysterious person did Patty Day meet that night? Why is Ben so secretive about the events, and why is he denying having a girlfriend named Diondra? What, if anything, did his friend Trey have to do with the tragic events?

Like a tornado sweeping across the flatlands, the events come full circle until finally the reader knows it all. And there were definitely some surprises. Another unputdownable read from Gillian Flynn. Five stars.

FRIENDSHIP, SUMMER BREEZES, & SECRETS — A REVIEW

 

 

Charlotte and Nicole were once the best of friends, spending summers together in Nicole’s coastal island house off of Maine. But many years, and many secrets, have kept the women apart. A successful travel writer, single Charlotte lives on the road, while Nicole, a food blogger, keeps house in Philadelphia with her surgeon-husband, Julian. When Nicole is commissioned to write a book about island food, she invites her old friend Charlotte back to Quinnipeague, for a final summer, to help. Outgoing and passionate, Charlotte has a gift for talking to people and making friends, and Nicole could use her expertise for interviews with locals. Missing a genuine connection, Charlotte agrees.

When Charlotte agrees to join her best friend Nicole for a summer on Quinnipeague, the island in Maine that was their favorite vacation spot for years, she is filled with trepidation.  For she hasn’t seen Nicole for ten years, and the underlying betrayal that has increased her feeling of distance from her friend is not enough to keep her away.  But Nicole, a blogger with a huge following, wants to write the cookbook and needs Charlotte’s help with the interviews.  Nicole has her own secret, one she has kept for four years.  Will she be able to share it with Charlotte?  Will she feel as though she is betraying her husband Julian?

Will the friendship bonds help them traverse the distance between them?  What will the summer bring?

Herbs and other island productions will be the centerpiece of the book, along with Nicole’s menus and presentations.

On the island lies Cecily’s Garden, as well.  A mystical presence, the woman’s herbs have a huge following of their own.  Will her mysterious son Leo allow them to photograph the gardens?  How will Charlotte connect with Leo and why does she keep coming back to him?  What is his secret and how will it impact the budding relationship?

I loved how the author showcased the foods, the herbs, and the island ambience…so much so that I could literally feel myself transported there.  I could definitely smell the Sweet Salt Air.  The revelation of the secrets was well-paced,  and even though part of Charlotte’s secret came out fairly soon to the reader, the rest of it was unexpected.  And the consequences of that one act of betrayal would have an unexpected outcome.

My feeling of connection to the characters alternated, as sometimes I was annoyed beyond words with Nicole and her little-girl voice and attitudes.  Charlotte had her negative qualities, too, but in the end, she was the one I could most relate to.  4.5 stars.

DECEPTIVELY SWEET PLACES WHERE DANGER LURKS — A REVIEW

Tess Monaghan’s roots are in Baltimore, where she grew up in one of the blue collar neighborhoods. As a P.I., she has traversed most of the neighborhoods and is familiar with their history. She and her father are close, almost like pals, so when he asks for a favor, she obliges. An old friend of his, Ruthie Denbrow, wants to know why her brother Henry was killed in his early weeks in prison after confessing to a crime.

The crime, referred to as a Jane Doe murder, because the victim’s identity has never been found, seems fairly straightforward: find out who she was, and the answers will follow.

The Sugar House: A Tess Monaghan Mystery is not just a mystery, but a story of a city. Its culture, the politics, the corruption: all figure into the mystery, and in the end, more lives will be lost and more danger will loom, but Tess is courageous, determined, and even when her father tells her to stop, she won’t. She can’t. That’s who she is. While there is an actual Sugar House in the story, an old Domino Sugar company, its neon sign protectively guarding a mountain of sugar, Tess’s quest takes her to other versions of a Sugar House: places that look sweet and safe, but only from the outside.

Why is someone trying to hide the victim’s identity? After more than a year, why has there been no clue as to who she was? And when Tess finally figures it out, the mystery is even deeper, as the answer only leads to more questions. Who is trying to bury something deep and dark, and is willing to keep killing to hide their secrets forever?

A real page-turner, my favorite parts were the descriptions of the neighborhoods, the characters, and how they all came together to create a cozy world for Tess, even as the dangers mounted. I have read one other book in this series, but now I want to know more. Especially since Tess seems like a friend now, and I want to visit her world again. The ending came together a bit too easily, in my opinion, but it was still a satisfying read. Four stars.

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SWIRLING RIVERS OF LIFE — A REVIEW

 

 

When Neil Kazenzakis and his wife Wendy are on a trip with their son Chris, the unthinkable happens.

Neil is listening to a speaker at a conference, while his wife and son are enjoying the pool in the hotel. A helicopter medi-vac hovers overhead, and soon someone is airlifted away. In the next few moments, Neil is summoned and learns that his wife was involved in a near-drowning.

When the story picks up a few years later, we see the aftermath of Neil’s life: his son is ready to finish high school and is planning for college; and his wife is in a vegetative state in a long term facility.

The story is narrated in Neil’s first person voice, and we learn through flashbacks and memories about his journey forward, replete with all the pain of the loss and the continual reminders of what was and what will never be.

Living in Port Manitou, Michigan, on the farmland owned jointly with Wendy’s widowed mother Carol Olsson, Neil has fashioned a kind of normalcy for himself and son Christopher. He teaches science at the local high school and coaches the girls’ track team. He has started a relationship with Lauren, the hospice nurse who works with Carol. But the two of them are keeping their relationship a secret until just the right time for Neil to tell his son.

But unfortunately, life doesn’t hold back its punches for just the right moment, and soon Neil is engulfed in a horrifying scandal regarding an event at his school…and he could lose everything he loves. Again.

The Banks of Certain Rivers is a captivating story that leads the reader through all of the swirling rivers of life that can engulf a person, much like the dangers of the river that flows through the property. Will Neil manage to work his way through the allegations against him? Will his relationship with Lauren and with his son survive the onslaught that descends upon them?

Finding out kept me rapidly turning pages until the satisfying conclusion. I loved the characters and the author’s ability to engage me and draw me right into the midst of the emotional morass that swirled about them all until the very end. Five stars.

ENTER A FUTURISTIC WORLD WITH CAPTIVATING CHARACTERS — A REVIEW

In this first book of a captivating series, Naked in Death, we meet Lt. Eve Dallas and discover her passion, her commitment, and her focus for solving murders.

Almost immediately, Eve is caught up in a murder investigation that takes over almost everything in her life, and also puts her in the path of a handsome, compelling, and super-rich man named Roark. He follows his own rules without straying too far over the line.

When the first murder turns into a second and a third, Eve and her colleagues begin to suspect that the perpetrator is someone who knows the system well.

Will they find the perp before the killer moves on to Number Four and more? Will Roark turn out to be involved, or is someone trying to frame him? And how will Eve avoid the powerful chemistry between the two of them? Or will she give in to his charms?

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, their chemistry, and the futuristic world in which they live (2058), a world in which guns are illegal, prostitution is legal, and many techno gadgets make life seem much more convenient. I also liked how the author revealed some of Eve’s background so that we can understand what drives her. I can’t wait to dive into the next one! Four stars.

A FASCINATING JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY — A REVIEW

In 1930s London, esteemed artist Nick Bassington-Hope falls to his death the night before a much anticipated exhibition of his latest work. While the police determine it to be an accident, his twin sister Georgina has doubts. As a result, she hires Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator, to conduct her own inquiry.

As Maisie begins the process in her own unique way, she interviews those closest to the victim, while at the same time, learning more about the art world and the victim himself.

Unexpected events draw her into the strange underworld as she follows the paths she discovers along the road to her final outcome.

What familial connections will lead her to some of her final judgments? How will she ultimately discover the hiding place for the missing last work? And how will she bring her investigation to a close?

In this fourth Maisie Dobbs novel, Messenger of Truth (Maisie Dobbs) reveals bits and pieces of Maisie’s earlier life and some of what transpired in previous novels. As this was my first read in the series, I realized that it would have been helpful to read the other books first. However, I was able to maneuver through this one and come to understand Maisie as a character. Her style of investigating was intriguing, as she used meditation, internal dialogue, and a map that charted her progress. In the absence of the kind of technology contemporary investigators take for granted, her style felt like a fascinating journey of discovery.

A story of war, social injustice, and familial disputes led me along new pathways in my discovery of a talented author I had previously not read. The author showed me the contemplative process that defined Maisie Dobbs and made her intriguing. She also showed me the world of London after the war and during a time that meant hardship for many. On the cusp of a new beginning, that world in which the wealthy and the poor interact in a socially proscribed manner is all set to change in unexpected ways. Four stars.

WEAVING A COMPLEX TAPESTRY OF FAMILY LIFE — A REVIEW

In the opening scenes of The Tin Horse: A Novel, we meet Elaine Greenstein, sorting through boxes that hold the memorabilia of her life and the lives of her parents.

Elaine has had a rich and full life as an attorney, and the causes she took on have made her something of a celebrity in her ranks. A young man named Josh, an archivist, is helping her decide which of her mementos to donate to USC . Because Elaine is finally leaving her home in Santa Monica for Rancho Manana, a retirement home that she has dubbed the Ranch of No Tomorrow.

Elaine’s wry sense of humor comes through as she tells the story in her first person narrative. A story that sweeps across the miles and the years to the homes where her ancestors lived, in the Europe of the Nazi years. Starting over in the Jewish communities of America would be like a fulfillment of their dreams. But what happened to each of them, including the struggles, the bigotry, and the reversals, would inform their lives forever.

Moving back and forth with the story, we are sometimes in the present as Elaine moves and settles into her new life. And then we move backward, watching as the answers begin to unfold. We learn many of the secrets, fears, dreams, and longings of the first and second generations of the Greenstein family. And when the secrets are revealed, we see the betrayals beneath them.

What has created the special link between Mama and Barbara? What is the significance of the tin horse? And how will Barbara’s impulsive behavior lead to something she does right after their high school graduation? How will her actions leave a hole in Elaine’s heart, and change the choices she makes from then on?

What will Elaine discover in the boxes that ultimately provides answers about her sister, and how will she finally discover what happened to her?

Richly layered with history, emotion, and the complex tapestry of family life, this is a story with true-to-life characters and settings that fully engaged me. Five stars.

A LIFE OF LOVE & FRIENDSHIP — A REVIEW

Callie Perry is a happily married photographer with two wonderful kids, a lovable sister, Steffi, and a best friend, Lila. Problems are minor: Steffi can never settle down, Lila has finally found love but the guy has a nightmare of an ex, and Callie and Steffi’s divorced parents, Honor and Walter, haven’t spoken in 30 years. But then Callie, a breast cancer survivor, is diagnosed with a rare and incurable complication of the disease. Suddenly realizing that she has only months to live, she begins the painful process of saying good-bye.

For most of the story, I was caught up in the lives of these characters that felt like people I would love to know. While Callie seemed almost too good, I enjoyed Steffi’s quirks and poor choices in men, and loved seeing her slowly find her niche in the little country house in Sleepy Hollow. I enjoyed that she was a chef who reveled in her cooking. Her nurturing side flourished and added dimension to her character.

Another rewarding aspect to PROMISES TO KEEP was seeing Honor and Walter meet each other again for the first time in years and begin to appreciate each other despite the differences and the enmity between them.

How will Callie find a way to celebrate the rest of her life? What special joining together will help them all find a way to deal with her loss? And what unexpected joys and discoveries will come along?

Predictably, there was sadness and loss…and in the end, hope. As some of the characters found love and new lives, we could revel in the whole “life goes on” theme. The author’s epilogue and her final tribute to a friend, Heidi, who died and to whom this book was dedicated, left the reader with feelings of closure.

After each chapter, there were recipes: a kind of homage to Steffi and how she brought joy to her family and friends through her cooking. A feel-good story with moments that brought me to tears, I enjoyed this one, even though it fell into place quite predictably. Four stars.