Tag: fiction

Book Review:  The First Christmas, by Stephen Mitchell

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Title:   The First Christmas
Author:   Stephen Mitchell
Genre:   Christian
Rating:  2.0 out of 5

In The First Christmas, Stephen Mitchell brings the Nativity story to vivid life as never before. A narrative that is only sketched out in two Gospels becomes fully realized here with nuanced characters and a setting that reflects the culture of the time. Mitchell has suffused the birth of Jesus with a sense of beauty that will delight and astonish readers.

 In this version, we see the world through the eyes of a Whitmanesque ox and a visionary donkey, starry-eyed shepherds and Zen-like wise men, each of them providing a unique perspective on a scene that is, in Western culture, the central symbol for good tidings of great joy. Rather than superimposing later Christian concepts onto the Annunciation and Nativity scenes, he imagines Mary and Joseph experiencing the angelic message as a young Jewish woman and man living in the year 4 bce might have experienced it, with terror, dismay, and ultimate acceptance. In this context, their yes becomes an act of great moral courage.

 Don’t read this thinking it’s true to biblical accounts or even historical extrapolations. It isn’t. This is pure fiction. And, while it is imaginative, it takes profound liberties with the Bible and skews it to suit the author’s purpose. If you want to read fiction based on the Bible, don’t read something written by an author whose website says he’s been “de-educated through intensive Zen practice.”

Stephen Mitchell was born in Brooklyn. The First Christmas is his newest book.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Heard It in a Love Song, by Tracey Garvis Graves

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Title:   Heard It in a Love Song
Author:   Tracey Garvis Graves
Genre:   Fiction
Rating:  4.2 out of 5

Layla Hilding is thirty-five and recently divorced. Struggling to break free from the past—her glory days as the lead singer in a band and a ten-year marriage to a man who never put her first—Layla’s newly found independence feels a lot like loneliness.

 Then there’s Josh, the single dad whose daughter attends the elementary school where Layla teaches music. Recently separated, he’s still processing the end of his twenty-year marriage to his high school sweetheart. He chats with Layla every morning at school and finds himself thinking about her more and more.

 Equally cautious and confused about dating in a world that favors apps over meeting organically, Layla and Josh decide to be friends with the potential for something more. Sounds sensible and way too simple—but when two people are on the rebound, is it heartbreak or happiness that’s a love song away?

Both Layla and Josh’s stories were compelling and kept me fully invested in this story. I enjoyed seeing the glimpses of their pasts in the flashbacks, as it let me get to know them as individuals, and not just as two people who are potentially interested in each other.

Their attraction grew so slowly and so naturally, that it just felt right. Norman was an enjoyable addition to the story, too, as were the bits with Josh’s daughter. This was just a sweet read, full of hope for the future, as two people learn from the mistakes of their pasts.

Tracey Garvis Graves is a bestselling author. Heard It in a Love Song is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  The Brightest Star in Paris, by Diana Biller

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Title:   The Brightest Star in Paris
Author:   Diana Biller
Genre:   Romance
Rating:  5 out of 5

Amelie St. James, prima ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet and the people’s saint, has spent seven years pretending. In the devastating aftermath of the Siege of Paris, she made a decision to protect her sister: she became the bland, sweet, pious “St. Amie” the ballet needed to restore its scandalous reputation. But when her first love reappears, and the ghosts of her past come back to haunt her, all her hard-fought safety is threatened.

 Dr. Benedict Moore has never forgotten the girl who helped him embrace life again after he almost lost his. Now, he’s back in Paris after twelve years for a conference. His goals are to recruit promising new scientists, and, maybe, to see Amelie again. When he discovers she’s in trouble, he’s desperate to help her—after all, he owes her. 

When she finally agrees to let him help, they disguise their time together with a fake courtship. But reigniting old feelings is dangerous, especially when their lives are an ocean apart. Will they be able to make it out with their hearts intact?

I ended up loving this read! I didn’t realize this was linked to The Widow of Rose House until about halfway through the novel, but that made me enjoy it even more. I loved the characters the most, although the ballet descriptions were wonderful, too.

Amelia is such a nuanced character, and I loved her voice and personality. I can’t imagine having to live with the façade she put up for the world in her efforts to keep herself and her sister safe. And Ben is lovable, and kind and I liked him a lot. His family is wonderful, and they made the whole book so much fun.

Diana Biller lives in Los Angeles. The Brightest Star in Paris is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Digging Up Trouble, by Kitt Crowe

Image belongs to Crooked Lane Books.

Title:   Digging Up Trouble
Author:   Kitt Crowe
Genre:   Mystery/thriller
Rating:  3.0 out of 5

Life is sweet when you live in Confection, Oregon. Or, at least, that’s how it’s supposed to be. But on a summer day, when tourists and locals alike gawk at the majestic mountains, quaint Craftsman houses, and lovely flowers–particularly the renowned Confection Rose–the last thing anyone has come to see is a dead body, unearthed from a shallow grave by a curious dog.

 A bathrobe-clad Lexi rushes next door to her neighbor’s backyard to find her pooch, Cookie, stalwartly sitting watch over a body in the vegetable garden. Cookie, encrusted in dirt, grips a copper pipe between her teeth. Was this the murder weapon? And was Lexi the murderer? It sure looks that way, seeing as she was spotted squabbling with the victim just the day before. The case becomes all the more perplexing when the real murder weapon turns out to be a garden stake. Then where does the copper pipe fit in? And might a more likely suspect let Lexi off the hook? 

All the volumes in the Sweet Fiction Bookshop, and all the specials at Eats n’ Treats, prove of little help in jogging Lexi’s brain to find a solution. Fortunately, Cookie is not finished digging up clues. As the fur flies, can this trusty border collie mix save sweet Lexi from a bitter end?

Sometimes cozy mysteries featuring pets are so charming and well-done and sometimes I think they’re cliched and overblown. Cookie felt like a caricature, not a believable animal. That’s too bad, as that made the whole thing feel like a cartoon. And Lexi…felt pretty self-absorbed and oblivious. This could all just be a “me” problem, as the writing was solid, but the story was on the verge of boring because of the character issues.

Kitt Crowe is fueled by caffeine. Digging up Trouble is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Oh William!, by Elizabeth Strout

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Title:   Oh William!
Author:   Elizabeth Strout
Genre:   Fiction
Rating:  3.0

Lucy Barton is a writer, but her ex-husband, William, remains a hard man to read. William, she confesses, has always been a mystery to me. Another mystery is why the two have remained connected after all these years. They just are.

 So Lucy is both surprised and not surprised when William asks her to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secret—one of those secrets that rearrange everything we think we know about the people closest to us. What happens next is nothing less than another example of what Hilary Mantel has called Elizabeth Strout’s “perfect attunement to the human condition.” There are fears and insecurities, simple joys and acts of tenderness, and revelations about affairs and other spouses, parents and their children. On every page of this exquisite novel we learn more about the quiet forces that hold us together—even after we’ve grown apart.

It’s possible I should just avoid reading literary fiction. I liked the voice in this—but I really didn’t like the character it belonged to. Lucy is whiny and selfish. William is even worse. And the plot, what there was of one, was lackluster and boring to me. Good writing, but the style just isn’t for me.

Elizabeth Strout is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Oh William! is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Eight Perfect Hours, by Lia Louis

Image belongs to Atria Books.

Title:   Eight Perfect Hours
Author:   Lia Louis
Genre:   Fiction
Rating:  4.5

On a snowy evening in March, 30-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear.

 The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again, but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence.

This was such an enjoyable read!  From when Sam and Noelle met in the snow on the highway to all of their heartwarming “coincidental” run-ins, this made me laugh, smile, and just sigh sometimes with the perfection of it. I loved how all of the things from their pasts melded together and lit up their present. This is perfect for a binge-read.

Lia Louis lives in the UK. Eight Perfect Hours is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Atria Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: A Reckless Match, by Kate Bateman

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   A Reckless Match
Author:   Kate Bateman
Genre:   Romance
Rating:  4 out of 5

Maddie Montgomery’s family is in debt, and her hope rests on the rival Davies clan missing their yearly “pledge of goodwill,” ceding the land that separates their estates. With Maddie’s teenage nemesis, Gryffud “Gryff” Davies, Earl of Powys, away, hope is in reach.

 But then, Gryff shows up and is stunned that the tomboy he once teased is now a woman. When Gryff and Maddie discover contraband on their land, they realize it can benefit both families. But they’ve also uncovered a dangerous plot, and they need to work together to get out alive. Soon, their hatred for each other starts to feel more like attraction.

 This was an enjoyable read. I like the enemies-to-lovers trope, and with the addition of a centuries-long family feud, this was even more enjoyable. Maddie was a fun character, and she and Gryff made a good clash of personalities. I like the set-up for later books in the series as well.

Kate Bateman splits her time between the UK and Illinois. A Reckless Match is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review and Blog Tour:  You Can Go Your Own Way, by Eric Smith

Image belongs to Inkyard Press.

Title:   You Can Go Your Own Way
Author:   Eric Smith
Genre:   YA
Rating:  4 out of 5

No one ever said love would be easy…but did they mention it would be freezing? 

Adam Stillwater is in over his head. At least, that’s what his best friend would say. And his mom. And the guy who runs the hardware store down the street. But this pinball arcade is the only piece of his dad that Adam has left, and he’s determined to protect it from Philadelphia’s newest tech mogul, who wants to turn it into another one of his cold, lifeless gaming cafés.

 Whitney Mitchell doesn’t know how she got here. Her parents split up. She lost all her friends. Her boyfriend dumped her. And now she’s spending her senior year running social media for her dad’s chain of super successful gaming cafés—which mostly consists of trading insults with that decrepit old pinball arcade across town.

 But when a huge snowstorm hits, Adam and Whitney suddenly find themselves trapped inside the arcade. Cut off from their families, their worlds, and their responsibilities, the tension between them seems to melt away, leaving something else in its place. But what happens when the storm stops?

I know basically nothing about pinball games, but this was a fun read. I loved the banter between him and Whitney. Whitney….the people in her life kind of suck (except her mom). Seeing her realize that and change what she could was a positive journey. This was a really solid read, perfect for a lazy weekend afternoon.

Eric Smith lives in Philadelphia. You Can Go Your Own Way is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: I Am Margaret Moore, by Hannah Capin

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   I Am Margaret Moore
Author:  Hannah Capin
Genre:   YA
Rating:  3.0 out of 5

I am a girl. I am a monster, too. 

Each summer the girls of Deck Five come back to Marshall Naval School. They sail on jewel-blue waters; they march on green drill-fields; they earn sunburns and honors. They push until they break apart and heal again, stronger.

 Each summer Margaret and Rose and Flor and Nisreen come back to the place where they are girls, safe away from the world: sisters bound by something more than blood.

 But this summer everything has changed. Girls are missing and a boy is dead. It’s because of Margaret Moore, the boys say. It’s because of what happened that night in the storm.

 Margaret’s friends vanish one by one, swallowed up into the lies she has told about what happened between her and a boy with the world at his feet. Can she unravel the secrets of this summer and last, or will she be pulled under by the place she once called home?

This book just didn’t work for me. I found it very disjointed and confusing. I figured out the twist—if you can call it that—pretty early on, but that didn’t make the confusion any less chaotic. I also wish I’d known when the girls were at the school, as that might have made it slightly less confusing.

Hannah Capin lives in Virginia. I Am Margaret Moore, is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  The Alchemy Thief, by R.A Denny

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Title:   The Alchemy Thief
Author:  R.A Denny
Genre:   fantasy, history
Rating:  4 out of 5

When the secrets of the past threaten to destroy the future… 

A tale of hope, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of a woman, this sweeping epic spans the Atlantic from New England to Morocco during the Age of Exploration. 

2019: A young woman finds a relic engraved with a mysterious symbol off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. Terrorists in Morocco steal a 17th-century book engraved with the same symbol. As the woman struggles to unravel the secrets behind the symbol, her life changes in ways she could never have imagined. 

1657: Transported back in time, she meets the alchemist, John Winthrop, Jr. who is plotting to lure the greatest scientific minds to the New World. But the more she learns, the more she fears for the lives of the loved ones she left behind. 

In a stunning twist of fate, a modern terrorist has traveled into the past, where he has become a Barbary Corsair. He has plans of his own. And he will stop at nothing to succeed.

This was quite an interesting read. I haven’t read any time travel novels set in Puritan New England (Well, before it was actually New England.), so that kept me interested. Peri was just an innocent in 2019, so she fit right in in the past—in a manner of speaking.

The writing here is solid, and the characters, even the Corsair from the future, were intriguing enough to keep me engrossed in the novel. There’s a lot going on, but it blends together to make for an entertaining read.

R.A Denny has a law degree from Duke University but chooses to do just what she loves:  write. The Alchemy Thief is her newest novel, the first in the Pirates and Puritans series.

(Galley courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.)