4 stars I like Carey Lewis’ books and I’m always ready to read and review an ARC. I loved the first book in this series and I was looking forward to this one, but it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. This episode picks up where the last one left off, and I was pleased to be dropped back into Cooper’s life. It was heartbreaking and brought me to tears. His pain was described in stark detail and the unfairness of it was striking. Desperate for help, he goes to the police station to talk to his old boss. The best he can do is offer him a business card for a shrink. “Cooper stared at the card, wondering how much of his world could collapse before he fell into the oblivion.” I would have liked to spend more time with him, even if his life is depressing. There’s a good person underneath it all and I’m rooting for him. Joe Clark is becoming more and more unlikable. It’s clear he’s on the road to doing something he’ll regret, and I’m having trouble believing I’ll feel sorry for him. There’s very little about him that arouses my sympathy. He’s selfish, self-centered, self-pitying, and has a constant chip on his shoulder. However, there is a scene described in which Joe and his friends are in a local tavern and the despair and hopelessness of these people who are just trying to make ends meet and carve out meaningful lives for themselves is palpable. The author takes the time to describe each character in this group of friends by describing their appearance, their occupations, and the dreams that they never achieved. Somehow, the description of Jacob, Joe’s closest friend and co-worker is all-too-believable. I could see him clearly in my mind’s eye: “...Jacob, the ex-junkie who was a little slow and very shy. Skinny and with a hunch to his back, the guy represented simple folk everywhere that were happy to have a job and a person who cared about them.” All in all, it’s a sad statement about where we are as a society when people who work so hard are forced to struggle and be happy with scraps. Steve Clark is a more complicated character and likable enough, but I still can’t quite get a feel for what kind of a person he really is. I am curious to learn more. Unfortunately, the part of this story that I found most difficult to digest is the part of it that is most essential to the plot. It’s a police story, with characters on the periphery. I was more interested in the characters than in the procedural aspects of the job they were doing. At times, I got confused and couldn’t keep track of who was who and what was happening, but I’m afraid that’s on me. I got the broad strokes and understand who are the mostly good guys and mostly bad guys, because there’s no clear-cut good and evil characters. But the conversations between the cops went over my head. There were words used that I’m sure are authentic, but not being in that field myself, I had to figure them out and sometimes there wasn’t enough context to help me fill in the blanks. Also, there were so many cops and sometimes they were addressed by their first names, but other times by their last. I can’t help but feel that if I were watching a TV show with all of these characters, it would be much easier to keep track because there would be visual clues. I don’t know how to address this in the book though, other than having a list of characters available for readers to use as reference. In fact, I would recommend a list of all “cast members” at the beginning of each episode to help refresh the reader’s memory, while also offering a quick reminder when a name pops us and the reader isn’t quite sure who that is. I suspect that would solve my biggest issue, and I have to think I’m not the only one. For the most part, I enjoyed the book and I’m looking forward to the next episode (crossing my fingers there will be a reference list to help jog my much-too-rapidly-aging memory). November 29, 2020
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5 stars I’m always prepared to cry when I read something from Kate Meader, but for some reason I keep signing up for her ARC list anyway. I admit, I enjoy it. She’s just so good at evoking emotions and getting readers fully engaged in the lives of her characters. Or maybe it’s just me. I don’t think so. To be honest, I was wrecked after reading Man Down, Gunnar and Sadie’s story. I wasn’t so sure I could survive another, but the plot isn’t as raw here (man loses his wife and two young children in a car accident is tough to beat in the sympathy arena). This emotion level here is more similar to InstaCrush (Theo & Elle), two people clearly drawn to one another, clearly falling in love, but both unsure of the others’ feelings. There aren’t so many complicating factors, other than the psychological barriers they’ve each erected. I like that Cal is best friends with Vadim while Mia is Vadim’s little sister, a potential stumbling block. On page two, Kate Meader had me chuckling as she managed to insert the phrase “ew, David.” I hope that reference will age well, as quality TV comedies tend to do. The first encounter between Cal and Mia, in this book anyway, is not the best. Mia is disgusted with him and he’s a bit ashamed. She posts a thinly-veiled description of the encounter on AITD (Am I the dick?) She does not anticipate seeing him again so when he shows up to see her brother the next day, she’s markedly uncomfortable. “The first rule of pranking is that if you don't have the stomach for it, you shouldn’t spend time with your victim in the immediate aftermath.” Cal has figured out that she was behind the post, but wants her to squirm. At one point, “He grinned at her with the most obnoxious, fuck-you, if-you-come-for-the-king grin in his arsenal.” There was another interaction, once they’d gotten to know one another better that made me laugh out loud. Mia had been raised in Brooklyn, while Cal had been raised in Boston, thus having a natural team rivalry. They were in Boston together and Cal asked Mia what she had planned for the day: “...Grab a can of spray paint.” “He cocked an eyebrow. “For?” “Just a little redecorating job at Fenway. Is “Losers” spelled with one O or two?” “It’s spelled Y-A-N-K-E-E-S…” I love Kate Meader’s way with words. Vadim decides that Cal and Mia should train together, and Cal, already feeling the stirrings of an attraction for her, thinks: “This was...a terrible idea?” Mia decides that she wants Cal to teach her some moves to attract the male she has decided is a good choice. Cal is very hesitant and Mia says, “Are you saying you’re afraid of my brother?” Cal responds in a way that made me laugh, “I most certainly am saying that…” And although she has a great sense of humor and manages to make the reader laugh with statements like, “Moving faster than a Grizzly on a honey-soaked jogger…,” it’s really her ability to elicit empathy with exactly the right formulation of words that keeps me coming back. Mia and Cal share a kiss and both are blown away by it, but both are fearful of expressing their feelings. As far as Cal is concerned, “He wasn’t going to talk about the kiss because it would mean he had to hurt her again. He couldn’t tell her he regretted it because he didn’t. He couldn’t tell her it meant everything because it did.” It’s a slow build, each of them revealing their feelings a little at a time, even to themselves. At one point, Cal says Mia’s name and she says, “There you go again with the name thing. Like it’s an answer to something.” “It is.” “What’s the question?” “I don’t know, only that your name’s the answer.” Honestly, at this point, she should have figured it out, but they still have to work through some issues—both of them. Each is hiding a wealth of pain and they need to wade through their past to start building their future. In typical Rebels fashion, the team is totally behind them, rooting for them all the way. And we have another HEA. November 29, 2020 5 stars Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book from an author I have come to love. This is the story of Riley and Rae, estranged marriage partners who have been in love for as long as they can remember. Rae has carried a secret that she has allowed to fester inside of herself and create a rift in the marriage. Riley, having no clue what caused the rift, is determined to wait her out, to wait until she comes back. Meanwhile, they can't keep their hands off of one another. Rae announces she wants a divorce and Riley explains that since they live in a small town, it's best they remain friends. He convinced her she needs his help in order to hit the dating scene because otherwise people will think they're still together. Of course, it's just his underhanded way of helping her to see they belong together. I love this description of an encounter in which he helps her move a few boxes, allowing her to think he was just on a date with someone else: "See?" he drawled, making a meal it of it. "Isn't being friends great?" Of course, he knows how uncomfortable she is with the whole thing. "And Riley left her there, her cheeks red and flustered, and her mouth full of lies, and found himself smiling all the way home." Later, Riley experiences his own discomfort, trying to keep up the pretense of friendship when he feels so much more for her: "... he waited, trying to exude friendliness without any strings attached. Not an easy thing to do when he thought sometimes that he was made of strings. Woven together, gnarled and matted, and her name imprinted on each and every one." I think what I particularly like about this story is the storytelling. Caitlin Crews uses short sentences that compel you to read the next one. She creates a rhythm that keeps the reader moving forward, in almost the same way that our internal thoughts propel us from one thought to the next. There always seems to be an extra little fragment of a thought tagged onto the end of a sentence. Like we do in our thoughts. Much like I’m attempting to do. There were a few descriptions that I loved for their originality, like this one: "Rae couldn't control her face. She could feel the shapes it was making, but she couldn't seem to do anything about it." The passion between Rae and Riley is inescapable and undeniable, but it is understated, allowing the reader to fill in the blanks. The author's skill with understatement is on full display here, when Riley lets his friend know, in no uncertain terms, that he is not interested in discussing his relationship with Rae: "Riley invited his best friend to perform an unlikely anatomical feat. Brady declined." I liked this observation, which combined not only the author's penchant for understatement, but also her ability to state something profound in simple words: "She shook and shook. And was sure one human body couldn't contain such joy. Which was probably why it was so much better shared between two." It's an emotional read, one which had me feeling the pain of both Riley and Rae, and I was so relieved when they finally figured things out. I loved these characters, their story, and the storytelling of Caitlin Crews. November 27, 2020 4 stars I received an ARC of this book because I’m a big fan of Norma Hinkens. It’s another thriller/mystery, but for me, it tended more toward mystery than thriller. The main character, Heather spends the book trying to figure out who is targeting her and her friends and it seems to be related to something regrettable she did as a teenager. There’s plenty of mystery as the reader tries to guess who did it, and as always, it’s a surprise. Of course, the clues were there for the observant person, but there’s also an unexpected twist. For the most part, I enjoyed the book, but there were a few things that could have been better. I never really connected with Heather. There were a few offhand comments about her missing out on having a relationship and feeling hesitant to connect with people, but it wasn’t explored a lot. It felt like it was injected into the story just to build a possible romance with Josh. I would have liked a bit more emotion so I could relate to her and feel her feelings better. The villain (and I’m being really careful not to reveal anything here) was a bit cartoonish in their evilness, and maybe a bit too all-knowing, but I could buy into it, so it was okay. The main issue was the lack of connection with the characters, and that could have been me just as much as it could have been the writing. Descriptions were vivid and it was easy for me to visualize the action and the settings and the story was easy to follow. Pacing was good too; the story moved forward consistently without ever dragging or feeling rushed. November 26, 2020 5 stars Another fun story from Bianca Blythe, featuring amusing, albeit unlikely circumstances, clever characters, and witty repartee. Portia suddenly finds out she needs to marry before the end of the year or lose her inheritance, and conveniently, her much older guardian not only failed to tell her in time, but also offers himself to “save” her. She is determined to find someone else or find employment because she will NOT marry him. He has other ideas. Meanwhile, Colin is enjoying life as a single Duke—until he meets Portia. She doesn’t believe he wants to marry her and he thinks she doesn’t actually care for him, and as a result, silly assumptions follow. Their journey is punctuated by appearances from other characters in The Duke Hunter’s Club series, most memorable being Portia’s friend Daisy because Daisy is in a wheelchair and I cannot think of any other series/author who features a disabled person in their books. The conclusion, though predictable, takes several detours along the way, adding tension and a bit of anxiousness. The journey for the reader is quick and enjoyable, something readers of Bianca Blythe’s books, no doubt, assume will always be the case. November 22, 2020 5 stars I've wanted to read this for a while and finally decided I needed to own the hard cover. This should be required reading for anyone who dares to use the phrase "Russia hoax." Also, anyone who values democracy, which sadly, seems to be a different cohort. I could talk about the documentation of facts. I could talk about the damning evidence against Trump, and far too many others in power. I could talk about the multiple failures of anyone to act in time to prevent this nightmare from which we seem to be unable to escape. But I'll leave that to other reviewers. I want to talk about the writing, which I was pleasantly surprised to find is heartfelt, sincere, and relatable. It's engaging storytelling. Sarah Kendzior could be angry, and she'd have every right to be, because despite her repeated attempts to warn people in advance of the 2016 election, she might as well have been screaming into the void. It's not just the media that failed us. The FBI played a big part, as did many in positions where they might have intervened. Still, she manages to explain things intelligently, without denigrating her readers for not knowing any better. She talks about her love for our country and for our people with a passion that brought tears to my eyes. Despite all she knows, and despite her unspoken predictions, she still has hope. She still sees the potential for a bright future, but there are no shortcuts. We all have to work if we want to create a better tomorrow, and the first step is recognizing where we are and how we got here. At times, while reading the book, I feared I might fall into despair. Then, and I don't know quite how she did it, Sarah pulled me back from the brink with a glimmer of hope. Somehow, she struck the right balance for making an urgent call to action without creating so much fear that it results in inaction. Her voice is one that needs to be front and center as we work together to pull ourselves out of this morass and create a blueprint for defeating kleptocracies, here and around the world. November 21, 2020 1 star I love the cover for this book. I lost count of the number of times I wanted to stop reading this book, but I’d requested an ARC so I felt obligated to complete it. Anyone who has read my reviews knows that I love the retelling of a classic fairytale and this one was supposed to be about Hansel and Gretel. Aside from the main characters being named Hansel and Gretel, with the last name Lederhosen, in a truly ham-fisted attempt at a German last name, there was no allusion to the fairytale until near the end. The lead up to that was both stupefying in its banality and disheartening in its lack of finesse. This is one of the most poorly written stories I’ve had to read in recent memory, and I’ll be the first to admit I’ve stumbled onto some stinkers lately. There are some books that are so bad you want to move on quickly and forget about them, writing as little in the way of a review as possible because it’s just not worth the effort. There are others that are so bad, you find yourself compelled to share some of the atrocities as if you can gain some sympathy for what you survived. This was one of the latter. I try to be as compassionate as possible when writing a review if I don’t like the book. Not everyone is going to love every book and I admire anyone who takes the time to pen something that can be so daunting and put it out there for others to judge. But sometimes, the need to judge the literary quality of someone’s book outweighs the ability to be empathetic. Sometimes we need to concern ourselves with the readers more than the writers. I don’t want anyone to waste their time, or more importantly money, on this book because it does not warrant the expenditure of either. The book starts with some inexplicable late-night horror involving the Lederhosen family. There seems to be some kind of monster trying to get into the house and the parents (Hans and Phoebe) decide to take Hansel and Gretel and move away. Without any semblance of a transition, the next chapter begins with a recently-widowed Gretel and her teenaged mixed-race daughter. We follow Amodiya (the daughter) to her first day at school and Gretel to her first day at work, as a pediatric doctor in a hospital. Gretel meets her new boss who asks her about herself. Gretel explains her medical background, finishing by saying, “I have been able to do some amazing things with the help of God.” Here is the the actual dialogue that follows that statement: “That’s really great but not what I was asking you about. I want to know more about you...your personality.” “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you meant my work stuff. I am recently a widower. I have a fourteen-year-old daughter, who’s truly amazing. I like to read, paint, and crochet. I am an outgoing person who is fun to work with. Is that what you meant?” “Yes. Samantha (the boss) got up from her chair and walked over to the desk. She pressed the buzzer and Monica reappeared. “Please show Dr. Cyprain around, Monica. Gretel, it is a pleasure to welcome you to our team.” (All of that was taken directly from the book.) Talk about awkward. Your boss asks you about yourself and as soon as you finish, she dismisses you without responding in any substantive way. Just, “yes,” and now you can go. I wish this was the only example of awkward exchanges. The narrator goes back to Awodiya at school, complete with rude teachers and students (and no new friends, but possible interest from a boy she meets just before leaving). One of the teachers introduces herself and then the bell rings and everyone leaves class. That was the second class of the day and then the school day was over and she went outside to wait for her mom. Meanwhile, Gretel gets a tour of the hospital in the morning, picks her daughter up after school and brings her to work with her, only to get a second tour of the hospital and be shown the location of her office. It didn’t make any sense. Then, the scene shifts again to Phoebe, Hans, and Hasel, vacationing on Miami Beach in Florida. After a mishap that causes Hans to be taken to the hospital, Hansel calls Gretel and guilt-trips her into dropping everything to come to the hospital. At the hospital, the doctor asks if Phoebe needs a translator and she responds, “Nien.” When responding to a question about whether you need a translator, it’s generally considered a good idea to answer in the language in which the question was asked to avoid confusion. Gretel and Awodiya fly to Florida to be with the family. They need to go to the mall to buy some necessities because they left town without going home to pack first. Awodiya has to stop herself from getting excited about being at the mall. “She got some nice clothes and couldn’t wait to show her friends back home.” But she had no friends back home, as we were clearly shown at the beginning of the book. I don’t want to take the time to break down the entire plot of the story, except to say it was tedious and senseless. When Hansel asks his mom what she’ll do after her husband dies, she says, “I will take some time to mourn and then we shall all move in with Gretel.” Nobody bothered to check with Gretel; it was just assumed. There were so many inconsistencies to this story, I started to question my ability to remember things. For example, Awodiya and Phoebe get into an elevator at the hospital, leaving Gretel and Hansel behind, and Awodiay tells Phoebe something and then says, “Right, Mom?” Another example: they all fly to Gretel’s new home and ship the father’s body there for the funeral. She is sad that her father will never see her new home. “Her parents were supposed to come visit but something always came up.” The next day (I think), they go to the service for her father and the church is full of his friends. Where did they come from? If they lived so close by, why didn’t her parents ever come to visit her? Dialogue was stilted, there were no transitions between scenes, and characters were two-dimensional caricatures. On a few occasions, “passed” was used in place of “past.” The characters kept working in statements about God, but this was my favorite. In the hospital, Gretel asks the doctor, “What are his chances?” The doctor replies, “Only the good Lord knows the answer to that.” What Twilight Zone hospital did they step into where doctors say they don’t know anything and only God knows? I was getting close to the end and thought, if nothing else, I could see the author’s take on the Hansel and Gretel story, but just as it was getting to that part of the story, it ended. No, the story didn’t actually end. The book ended like this: “Hope you enjoyed this little excerpt, be sure to order a copy if you liked it!” I did not. I won’t even bother critiquing the grammar/punctuation of that last statement because I’m just done. I was told I was receiving an ARC, not a partial ARC, and after making the effort to read what I was sent, I feel manipulated. This was a complete and utter waste of time. (If you want to read a truly original take on this fairytale, try this: https://www.mumbermag.me/2020/04/03/hansel/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=a_post_apocalyptic_hansel_and_gretel&utm_term=2020-11-25. It’s free too.) November 17, 2020 5 stars This is the first part of a multi-series story, reminiscent of a cop show, with a number of varied characters being introduced as well as a number of plot threads. I was most intrigued by Coops, the undercover cop, and Steve, the cop hiding a few unexpected secrets. The first person we meet is Coop, a drug addict looking at his cracked and dirty image reflected in the mirror of a public bathroom. This scene is vividly described as every disgusting bathroom you’ve ever had the misfortune of needing to use while travelling. Shortly thereafter, the action commences, introducing a vast cast of characters named during a chaotic stakeout. I was worried I would have trouble keeping track of everyone and the sequence of events. Had it continued in that vein, I might have found that to be true, but then it switched POV and the reader was introduced to Joe Clark. Then, it almost seamlessly switched to the POV of Steve Clark. I especially liked how the transition was achieved—the reader follows Joe to a family gathering and then follows Steve home. Of course, I kept wondering what had happened with Coops/Cooper Holden, so I was happy to get another glimpse of his life. He’s a complicated character whom I found relatable in some inexplicable way. I felt he was one of the more altruistic players, a cog in the machine who still managed to maintain a willingness to be kind to others. In some weird way, he seemed unaffected by the horror he’d subjected himself to for the past three years. I’m anxious to see how things progress in his personal life in the next installment. Joe Clark was not a particularly sympathetic character. He was more of a chip-on-his-shoulder, unhappy-with-his-life-choices kind of guy. He was convinced everyone was judging him as somehow “less than,” and I have to say, as a reader privy to his thoughts, I saw him as “less than.” Some people are so busy begrudging the success of other people, they never take the time to be thankful for their own bit of happiness. There’s a scene in which his friend Jacob tries to explain this to him, by way of a metaphorical roof that doesn’t need repairing because it offers sufficient shelter and protection, that I found brilliant. It was surprisingly philosophical and insightful for a working-class ex-drug addict. Steve Clark is more of a conundrum. I’m not sure whether to like him or not. Clearly, there’s a part of him that is considerate, respectful, and kind, yet there’s another part of him willing to manipulate the good will of others for his personal gain. He cloaks it in a desire to prevent hurting someone else, but it’s obvious there’s a selfish aspect to it. It makes him very human and real. One of the things that impresses me about Carey Lewis is his command of dialogue in storytelling. Every bit of dialogue feels authentic and carries the story forward, minimizing the need for explanatory narrative. It helps the story to flow and keeps the pace quick, something this kind of story desperately needs. I’d say it ends with a cliffhanger, but it’s more of a standing-at-the-edge-looking-over-the-cliff kind of ending. It’s the kind of ending you’d expect from a TV series. The immediate story seems to have been resolved while the larger story needs more time. We still need to learn more about the main characters and I expect there will be other major events that allow for the action to reveal the personalities, strengths, and foibles of these characters as they grow and become either better or worse people for the trials they endure. I’m looking forward to more from the series. November 15, 2020 |
Elizabeth J ConnorWriter. Editor. Proofreader. Archives
September 2022
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