Books – Page 66

Categories: Books

Book Review: The Ramblers by Aidan Donnelley Rowley

The Ramblers is a novel that’s about a lot of things, but it’s mostly about us. It’s about who we grow up to be and all the twists and turns that led us there.

For Clio, one of the novel’s protagonists, it’s about a family tragedy and her tenuous relationship with her father. It’s about how her rocky childhood made her wary about fully investing in people and relationships.

For Smith, another protagonist, it’s about being single after a serious, long-term relationship, a relationship that seemed to be perfect until it wasn’t. It’s about her family and the closeness that could be envied from afar, but up close is repressive.

For Tate, our last protagonist, it’s about separating from his wife, a cross-country move, and the realization of a dream. It’s about taking the road less traveled, even when that road is dark and scary.

All of these people… these stories are my story. I could see myself in each and every person. In Clio, who has trouble committing and tends to get caught up in her work to counterbalance that. In Smith, who isn’t sure what true love is anymore and doesn’t know who she is or what she really wants. In Tate, who just wants to live his passion and screw anyone who says differently.

The problems they face… yes, you could say they are “rich, white people problems” but I don’t see it like that because I am not rich and I find myself consumed with the thoughts and feelings of these characters. I understand them. They are hurting and happy and uncertain and confident. They are just trying to live their lives the best way they can, to move forward in their lives after their worlds have essentially fallen apart. It’s piecing back together a life that has meaning and purpose after everything has crumbled. That’s what these characters do. That’s why I found such kindredness in them. That’s why I loved this story.

This novel, The Ramblers, was slow and meandering, even though it only took place over a few days. It was a simple journey of discovery and triumph. It’s not a page-turner, but that’s okay. And it was poignant. Beautifully written. Nearly poetic in parts. I found the author’s voice to be refreshing, unique, and engaging.

It’s not a heavy read, nor is it necessarily a fun, light-hearted one. It’s a character-driven story about the power of choices and what it means to live in your truth.

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

For fans of J. Courtney Sullivan, Meg Wolitzer, Claire Messud, and Emma Straub, a gorgeous and absorbing novel of a trio of confused souls struggling to find themselves and the way forward in their lives, set against the spectacular backdrop of contemporary New York City.

Set in the most magical parts of Manhattan—the Upper West Side, Central Park, Greenwich Village—The Ramblers explores the lives of three lost souls, bound together by friendship and family. During the course of one fateful Thanksgiving week, a time when emotions run high and being with family can be a mixed blessing, Rowley’s sharply defined characters explore the moments when decisions are deliberately made, choices accepted, and pasts reconciled.

Clio Marsh, whose bird-watching walks through Central Park are mentioned in New York Magazine, is taking her first tentative steps towards a relationship while also looking back to the secrets of her broken childhood. Her best friend, Smith Anderson, the seemingly-perfect daughter of one of New York’s wealthiest families, organizes the lives of others as her own has fallen apart. And Tate Pennington has returned to the city, heartbroken but determined to move ahead with his artistic dreams.

Rambling through the emotional chaos of their lives, this trio learns to let go of the past, to make room for the future and the uncertainty and promise that it holds. The Ramblers is a love letter to New York City—an accomplished, sumptuous novel about fate, loss, hope, birds, friendship, love, the wonders of the natural world and the mysteries of the human spirit.

You can connect with Aidan Donnelley Rowley on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Her book is available to buy from Amazon, HarperCollins, and Barnes & Noble.

Click here to add this book to Goodreads!

I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions, unless otherwise stated, are my own.

No affiliate links were used in this post.

Categories: Books

Monthly Book Review | September 2016

Wow, what a month of reading it was for me! In total, I read 12 books and that is mostly because I read a ton of romance and had a ton of downtime to commit to reading. (Not writing two blog posts a week will do that for you!) I am going to try to keep my comments about the books short and sweet because that’s a whole lot of book reviews to read. I can easily say my favorite book this month was In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero. That book forever altered the way I view immigrants and immigrant reform.

Rescue My Heart by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆)

Shalvis truly writes the best contemporary romances… stories that provide such a comfort to me. This is the third book in her Animal Magnetism series and both Adam and Holly have been a small part of the previous two books. I was excited to read their story, even though Holly didn’t come off too favorably in those other books. Thankfully, Holly’s character was redeemed and the romance was so perfectly written.

Dog Crazy by Meg Donohue (★★★★☆)

This was a quick, charming novel about Maggie, a pet bereavement counselor who is dealing with her own set of demons that has caused her to lose a bit of confidence in her work. Then, she gets a new client: a young woman who is forced into counseling by her brother who wants her to accept that her dog is dead. (She just believes he was stolen.) This new client, who asks for Maggie’s help in finding her dog, is the catalyst for Maggie to make change in her life. The novel could get heavy at times (I hate thinking about dogs dying!), but it was a beautiful novel about the impact that pets have on our lives.

Waiting On You by Kristan Higgins (★★★☆☆)

I thought this book could have been a bit shorter, and there was a lot of time devoted to developing the back stories of the characters, when what I really wanted was more action in the present day. Even with those faults, it was still a great read. It is the continuation of Higgins’s Blue Heron series about a small town in New York. In this novel, we learn more about Colleen, who has played a small role in the other two books, when her first love Lucas comes back to town due to a family emergency. It’s a delightful novel and perfect for contemporary romance lovers who want more story and less sexytimes.

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn (★★★☆☆)

This is the first novel in a Regency romance series about a family quartet that is phenomenally awful at playing music, which is just an insanely unique idea and Julia Quinn gets all my accolades for that! It was a fun read, an easy read, but nothing particularly stood out for me. Good, not great.

In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero (★★★★★)

If you read any book off this list, let it be this one. I implore you to read it. Diane Guerrero has such an important message, and this book forever altered the way I view immigrants and immigrant reform. In this memoir, Guerrero details her life, from childhood all the way to now. She talks so openly about the pain and tragedy of her parents being deported when she was just 14, leaving her alone in America, and the effect that had on her and how she lived her life. To be honest, the book isn’t very well-written, but it didn’t really matter. The point wasn’t the writing, the point was the story. And the story is one everyone needs to read.

A Rake’s Guide to Pleasure by Victoria Dahl (★★★☆☆)

There was something lacking in this novel, something that kept me from fully understanding the characters and their motives, and thus, it was hard to feel invested in the romance. It kept my attention, but was also really easy to put down.

Into the Dark by Cindy Gerard (★★★★★)

Very few people can write romantic suspense like Cindy Gerard. She’s one of my favorites! This novel finishes up her Bodyguards series and this is the third time I’ve read through the series. If you love a good thriller novel that’s less about crazy twists and turns and more about a fast-moving plot, I highly recommend this author!

Be My Love by Lucy Kevin (★☆☆☆☆)

There’s not much to say about this novel – underdeveloped characters, silly plot, unrealistic romance. Blah.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom (★★★★★)

We read this for book club this month and we all loved it! This novel follows the story of Lavinia, whose parents passed away on the ship coming to America from Ireland. She’s young, alone, and totally scared. She is taken in as an indentured servant at a plantation in Virginia where she works in the kitchen house and develops close relationships with the slaves working there. But as much as she feels that she’s the same as them, she really isn’t: she’s white and therefore has more rights than them. It was a difficult novel to read at times, but the writing and the characters pulled me in and about halfway through, I could barely put it down.

In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins (★★★★☆)

My second Higgins novel of the month! Obviously, I was in the mood to read fiction that was light hearted and romantic. This book ticked all of my boxes, and I was so happy to get Jack’s story after three books of him as a secondary character. He was delightful, as was Emmaline. It was just a sweet story, and I think I finished the last 150 pages on my couch, not moving an inch until I finished it.

One Sweet Ride by Jaci Burton (★★★★☆)

This was such a fun novel! It followed the romance between a successful NASCAR driver and a woman who is working on his estranged father’s campaign for Vice President. The woman, Evelyn, is tasked at getting Gray to help out on the campaign and garner votes from his fan base. Obviously, we all know what happens here: they fall in love and spend the novel fighting their growing feelings for one another. Easy story that I devoured in a matter of days.

Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin (★★★★☆)

This book is the perfect example that sometimes, you read a novel at the wrong time. I tried reading this book way back in 2009 and eventually abandoned it. Seven years and a whole lot of life experiences later, I came to this novel with an entirely different perspective on life and relationships and found the novel utterly enjoyable. It was a well-paced novel with an interesting moral dilemma. Even though there were times when the main character frustrated me because I wanted her to be more proactive about her life, I still enjoyed her and could understand and relate to her. Not my favorite novel of hers, but not my least favorite either.

SEPTEMBER BOOK STATS

Number of books read: 12 (4,083 pages)
Format breakdown: e-books (10), physical books (2)
Genre breakdown: romance (8), fiction (3), nonfiction (1)
Number of diverse reads: 3 out of 12 (25%)
Where I got my books from: Overdrive (8), library (2), Amazon (2)
Money spent on reading this month: $1.99

What was the best book you read in September?

Categories: Books

Monthly Book Review | August 2016

I have something super exciting to share before I get into August’s book reviews: my book club has gone digital. Inspired by the What Should I Read Next? podcast that my book club leader has been listening to lately, she brought up the idea of forming an Instagram account where we share what we’re reading and where we’re reading, along with other book-loving goodness, with other people in the hopes we can help them find their “next great read.” We coined our account “Our Storied Lives” and I’d love for you to give us a follow! It would mean the world to all of us! (We’re signing our posts with our initial and an emoji. My emoji is the anchor, because of course.)

So, with that bit o’ news shared, let’s jump right into what I read in August. I felt like this was a slower reading month, probably because I was busy with freelance work and packing and shopping for my new place, so reading fell a bit on the back burner. I still read 6 books, most of which were romance.

The Unwilling Executive by Miranda P. Charles (★★☆☆☆)

This was a free Kindle book that I bought a while ago because I thought the premise sounded interesting: a woman is tasked by her boss to hand-deliver a message to his estranged son and to try and get the two of them on speaking terms again. It’s a completely inappropriate request, but she does it and, surprise, said son is a hunk and the woman falls for him. The book was okay, but did solidify for me why I stay away from free or cheap Kindle romances: they usually aren’t very good. This was a self-published title that could have really used a strong editor because it just lacked a bit of depth. I also laughed at the disclaimer: “This book is for adults only. It contains hot sexual scenes.” LOLZ. It’s a romance novel; that’s kinda expected.

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (★★★★☆)

I really loved this novel. In fact, I’m surprised at how much I loved it because I didn’t think I would. It follows a very dysfunctional and fairly unredemptive family, the Plumbs, after one of the siblings, Leo, gets into a car accident with a woman who is most assuredly not his wife and has to draw from “the nest” to pay her off after she’s badly injured. This “nest” is what all of the other siblings have been waiting for and now, because of Leo, they realize they won’t be getting a multimillion-dollar payday. They’re getting a $50,000 payday. Ouch.

While I did feel like the author had too many side plots going on (I really didn’t understand the point of the story of the man with the stolen statue…), I still loved this novel because I love dysfunctional families. Novels like this help me feel less alone. I felt a kindredness with the Plumbs. I think, in the end, they all found their own kind of redemption, even if it may not be the neatly tied-up version we always expect.

Heat Exchange by Shannon Stacey (★★★☆☆)

This book was okay, but I have really high standards for my romance novels and this one failed to live up to them. The dialogue didn’t seem to be true to life and the characters were a bit underdeveloped. I found the misogyny in the book to be hard to handle, too. Since this book was about firefighters, I am going to assume some of the misogyny is authentic to what happens in a firehouse, and that’s fine, but it needs to be addressed. This should have been one of the main themes of the novel and I think if it had, this book could have had a major impact. Instead, I don’t think I care to continue reading this series or this author.

Under the Wire by Cindy Gerard (★★★★☆)

If the previous novel is one that doesn’t live up to my high romance standards, then this book is completely different. Cindy Gerard can write a romantic suspense novel like nobody else, and I loved rereading this story for… the fifth or sixth time. Heh. I think I first read this novel way back in 2007 when I was a struggling college freshman and felt very sad all the time. I found this book in my college bookstore and decided I needed to read it immediately because it seemed like it would take me out of my misery. And it did! And I’ve continued to reread this novel and all her other ones, since then. This story sucked me in and I finished it in less than 24 hours. Yessss!

Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl (★★★★★)

This might be my favorite Dahl novel ever. I could relate to the female protagonist so much and I loved how Dahl wrote the character of Veronica. She was slightly sassy and naughty, but also incredibly sweet and joyful. She had a ton of heart and I was drawn to her immediately. And the male protagonist? He was hot, hot, hot. And a librarian to boot! I loved his character and he felt so true and authentic. Dahl just knows how to write a romance novel, no bones about it. She’s one of the romance novelists I am so inspired by and aim to be like in my writing. This book ends the Girls Night Out series, and now I’m finished with all of Dahl’s contemporary novels! Time to get started on her historical ones.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (★★★★☆)

This book is a beast at 871 pages. A beast, I tell you! I wanted to finish it before the move so that a) I didn’t have to lug this tome to my new place and b) Roomie and I could watch the accompanying movie for our last Roomie Date Night (wah). I would probably admit that this book is my least favorite in the series, but like, that’s not saying much because I still totally loved this novel so much! As expected, I hated Dolores Umbridge with fiery passion. And the disconnect between Harry and Dumbledore made me really sad. I love their bond so much. This novel moved a bit slowly until the last 300-400 pages, and then I just never wanted to put it down. I’m so excited to watch the movie!

AUGUST BOOK STATS

Number of books read: 6 (2,550 pages)
Format breakdown: e-books (4), physical books (2)
Genre breakdown: romance (4), fantasy (1), fiction (1)
Number of diverse reads: 3 out of 6 (50%)
Where I got my books from: Overdrive (3), a friend (1), library (1), Amazon (1)
Money spent on reading this month: $0

What’s the best book you read in August?

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Categories: Books

My Bookish Confessions

I have some bookish confessions to make today. Let’s not waste any time and get right into them…

***

I have a hard time abandoning books.

I don’t like to admit this because I really believe in abandoning a book if it’s not grabbing your attention. But still, I feel guilty when I do it.

This guilt comes from many different places. On the one hand, I get worried that there’s something wrong with me and that’s why I’m not enjoying the story. I’m just not literary enough to read this book! I should only read romance and chick lit and easy fiction from here on out! The other place the guilt comes from is this worry that if I abandon one book, I’ll fall into this downward spiral of abandoning book after book after book. I very rarely get into reading slumps and the thought of it happening is scary since reading is my all-time favorite hobby.

But the real truth is that abandoning books happens. We all come to books with different personalities and backgrounds and opinions, and so a book that other people rave about may not tick the same boxes that I need for an enjoyable story. It doesn’t mean anything other than the fact that reading is intensely personal.

And really, there are too many books to waste time reading something that feels more like a chore than a fascinating adventure.

***

It’s really interesting to me how worked up people get when books are turned into movies, and the movie is vastly different than the book.

I never, ever expect a movie to follow the same storyline as the actual novel. I always believe it will be loosely based on the book, and while major storylines should remain intact, the way the movie gets to the conclusion may differ from the book.

Think about it: we’re talking about two entirely different mediums. With a book, we’re able to delve deep into a character’s mind and understand their thoughts. We can’t do that with a movie. A movie is more about external actions. And a movie has to cut out certain scenes from the book because there’s a time limit.

Look, the fact is the book is always better than the movie because the book allows us to dive deeper and explore more internal thoughts and feelings with our characters. I just don’t see the point of complaining about all the changes that had to occur to turn the book into a movie. That’s just what happens when you take one type of media and put it into a different type of media.

I just think we need to take a step back and realize that the movie is based on the book. It is not the book in movie form.

***

I don’t like to recommend books to friends. The reason is that I only recommend books that I wholly loved and had an emotional connection to, so when I recommend a book and the friend, for whatever reason, ends up not liking it… it feels like a personal affront.

Because reading is so personal. It is a personal journey that is individual to every reader and the features I may like in a book are the features others may dislike.

Everyone has their own taste in books, but it’s hard when I recommend a book where I feel “safe” in my choice and then the friend comes back and tells me s/he didn’t love the book. Or even like it. My heart plummets. I feel responsible. I feel hurt.

But isn’t that the beauty of being a reader? What will impact one person may not impact the other. What I liked in one story may be what my friend dislikes in that same story.

And feeling hurt that someone hated a book you loved isn’t a bad thing. It just means you care deeply about reading.

***

How do you choose the books you read? My system is so complicated that I don’t know how to explain my method. But I will try.

For starters, I batch books into four categories: complete author works*, nonfiction, on my Goodreads TBR list, and books I’ve purchased but haven’t read.

(*Complete author works refers to reading the entire works of one author. I’m currently reading through Kristin Hannah and Emily Giffin’s works.)

And then I select one book per category and list them out as books I will be reading in the coming weeks.

Another part of my reading life is that I’m trying to read as much romance as I can, due to the type of novel I’m writing, so I also have a list of romance titles I will read in the coming weeks.

Then, I take both lists and combine them. I take two books from the first list, then two books from the second list, and back and forth until I have a list of about 6-8 upcoming books to read. (And then I can hit up my library and request the copies I need!)

Now, this method doesn’t always work in a smooth line because I have to add book club books, review books, and Harry Potter books (since I’m rereading the series this year) into the list, so it usually takes me a while to get through one full go-round with my four categories. And sometimes I put popular, front-list titles on hold at the library and if they come in for me sooner than I expect, I have to add them to my list, since I usually have to finish them quicker than a normal library book.

So, for instance, right now I’m reading the fifth Harry Potter novel, and here’s what my upcoming books list looks like:

Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin (complete author works)
Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl (romance title)
Rescue My Heart by Jill Shalvis (romance title)
Dog Crazy by Meg Donohue (book I own but haven’t read)
In the Country We Love by Diane Guerrero (nonfiction)

It’s a complicated system and I’m sure there’s a way to streamline things, but I kinda like how odd and complex my book selection process is. It allows me to spend a lot of time perusing book lists and finding titles I’m excited to read next.

Okay – your turn. Confess something bookish to me!

Categories: Books

Monthly Book Review | July 2016

July was a pretty fantastic reading month for me. I read 7 novels, 5 of which I gave four or five stars.

If you pick up any of the books from this list to read, make sure it’s Jane Steele. That book was bonkers awesome, as my gals on the All the Books! podcast like to say.

Here are the reviews!

Over the Line by Cindy Gerard (★★★★☆)

This was a reread for me, but I read the novel years ago (apparently before I had a Goodreads account since I didn’t have a record of having read it). This was such a fun novel and I read it in less than 24 hours. This was a typical romantic thriller where the twists and turns kept me guessing right up to the very end. Cindy Gerard is one of the best in this genre.

The Regional Office Is Under Attack by Manuel Gonzales (★★★☆☆)

In this novel, we follow the story of the Regional Office, which is a group of female assassins dedicated to protecting the world from annihilation, as it comes under attack due to a defector from within. The novel starts out strong but then splits off into a million different directions and became disjointed really quickly. And, in the end, I truly didn’t care whether the two main characters (Sarah and Rose) lived or died, so I guess that gives a good understanding of how I felt about the novel.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (★★★☆☆)

Half of this book is a memoir and half of it is a primer on writing. Interestingly enough, I enjoyed the memoir much more than I enjoyed the writing advice. I thought some of the advice was dated and common sense, though there were some fantastic points made that I’d never thought of before. Still, this is a must-read for writers, if only to learn about how Stephen King got his start in the industry.

The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins (★★★★☆)

This was such a fun, cute read – it’s perfect for summer! In this novel, Honor has been “dumped” by her friend-with-benefits who then becomes engaged to her best friend. Heartbroken and lost, she impulsively decides to marry Tom, a cute British professor whose visa is expiring and who needs a green card immediately. Of course, this is a romance novel so we all know where this is going, don’t we? The whole let’s-pretend-to-be-in-a-relationship-whoops-we-fell-in-love trope is one of my most favorites in the romance genre, and Higgins did a great job of allowing the relationship to evolve at a natural pace.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (★★★★★)

This is my favorite book in the series, and it remains so for many reasons. I love it because the Triwizard Tournament is just so much fun to read about. I love it because there’s so much drama and angst, and it feels so lighthearted when most of the novel feels so dark. I love it because there’s a lot of Ron action between fighting with Harry over the tournament and then with Hermione over the Yule Ball, and since Ron is my favorite character, I just loved him in all his terrible glory. I’m nervous to start the next book, but I also can’t wait!

Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas (★★★★★)

This is the final novel in Kleypas’s The Hathaways series, and I must say that I am sad to say goodbye to these characters. They were truly sensational. Through the last four books, I watched little Beatrix grow up and get in trouble. I had no idea what kind of man would be a match for her, but Christopher Phelan was absolutely perfect. Christopher was a soldier with whom Beatrix had a deceptive correspondence, as Beatrix was writing these letters as if she was her friend, Prudence, a former suitor of Christopher’s. There is so much to love about both these characters, and I could just feel how much Beatrix loved Christopher and, while I knew a HEA was imminent, I didn’t know how everything would turn out, which kept me on my toes.

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye (★★★★★)

Jane Steele is a reimagining of Jane Eyre (a novel I’ve never read), except with a slight twist – Jane is a serial killer. Frankly, the men she offs deserve it and you’ll understand why as you dive into the book. Everything comes to a head when Jane becomes a governess at Highgate House, the home she lived in until she became an orphan, and the place she believes rightfully belongs to her. During her time there, as one does, she ends up falling for the captivating Charles Thornfield and has to decide how to tell him about her, er, problem with murder. This book was everything I want in a novel, and I’m already planning on buying my own physical copy so I can read it whenever I want. It might just be the best book I read this year!

JULY BOOK STATS

Number of books read: 7 (2,931 pages)
Format breakdown: e-books (4), physical books (3)
Genre breakdown: romance (3), science fiction (1), nonfiction (1), fantasy (1), fiction (1)
Number of diverse reads: 3 out of 7 (43%)
Where I got my books from: Overdrive (4), a friend (1), library (2)
Money spent on reading this month: $0 (yay libraries!)

What was the best book you read in July?