books

Book Review: I’ll be Your Blue Sky

Kate CullinanLeave a comment

Imagine a terrific, deep, true love story combined with an empowering coming- of- age novel. Now add a little mystery, twists and turns and a second love story and you have Marisa De Los Santos’ I’ll be Your Blue Sky.  I have not felt wowed by a book in a few months. Don’t get me wrong I’ve read some quality novels, but even though the characters were there and the plot was there, I just didn’t feel 100% satisfied by the end. You know that feeling when you don’t want a book to end because you want to just keep following the characters through their lives? That is what I felt when I closed this book.

Clare is a young twenty-something who we meet on the eve of her wedding day. She is marrying a successful, handsome man but we quickly learn her heart is not completely in it. Coincidently (or not) she meets an elderly woman, Edith, at the hotel where the wedding is taking place. Edith is quick to pick up on Clare’s nerves and Clare opens up to her about some concerns she has for her future with her fiancé. She describes how much Zach adores her and how she would feel guilty abandoning him when he has had a troubled past. Edith replies, “You’re his blue sky. When everything else is darkness. But is he yours?” Edith quickly became my favorite character and what I thought was a brief cameo was actually the introduction to her story, which is told in parallel to Clare’s.

In the past Edith had a great love story of her own. Although it was cut short when her husband died of cancer shortly after their marriage, she held on to this love for the rest of her life and celebrated it through her photography. We learn that Edith is not only empathetic but extremely brave. When she was a young woman, after her husband’s death, she used their home as a safe house for battered women.

If you are wondering how these stories are connected, you are not alone! I thought we would be journeying with Clare as she decides what to do about her almost marriage- but this event is just the beginning of the story. Will she take the advice of a complete stranger? Is Edith a complete stranger? How are the two connected? What is Edith’s story and how does her involvement in a secret escape route for domestic violence victims impact Clare’s life? You will get the answers to all of your questions (and more) once you delve in to I’ll be Your Blue Sky and you will not be disappointed.

books · Memoir

Book Review: Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered by Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff

Jess DoranLeave a comment

As much as I love the podcast My Favorite Murder, I didn’t have high expectations for their debut book, Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered. The podcast with a cult following is entertaining as hell, and I’ve been following Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark for some time now and although I love their podcast and hearing from them every week, I was very hesitant to get excited about this book. Boy was I wrong.

The book is a joint memoir written from both of their perspectives in sections framed by popular sayings on their show like “stay out of the forest,” and “f*** politeness,” urging women to protect themselves first. The stories these women choose to tell are enlightening and explain how society has shaped them into the people they are today, for better and for worse. Not lacking in curses and exclamations, the book stays true to their authentic style. You can tell they have written the chapters because as a fan, you’ve been listening to their voice, their point of view, for so long.

On the surface, Karen and Georgia have led privileged lives. Two girls from California with middle class families. I’ve led a privileged life as well and I have always said that my life is not something I think anyone would want to read about. Middle class white girl. Not creative. There’s not enough grit. There’s not enough hardship. Karen and Georgia have changed my mind about that.

Karen and Georgia’s life affirming experiences could be considered “white people problems” from afar. Karen details her struggles with alcoholism, speed and diet pills. Georgia, her issues stemming from her parents divorce, childhood rebellion and drugs, anxiety, and ADHD. Both of them struggled with eating disorders. It all sounds basic and privileged but after engrossing myself in the story there were some extremely hard hitting stories that brought up emotions that I recognized within myself. And yeah, maybe some of that comes from privilege, but suffering is suffering. Struggles with mental health are real struggles. Hearing two women validate these struggles and honor them as difficult and painful was refreshing. They don’t preface anything with “I know people have it worse” or “I’m sorry for complaining, I know I’m lucky.” They speak their truth without apology. Which, I realized, is not just what we want as females, but what we need.

We need women who are going to bite the bullet and speak up about the things that may seem mundane and small, but that are factors of our lives that make them hard.

Georgia and Karen are such good role models. And I say that without anything held back. They teach us that being yourself is the most important truth and that doing that isn’t easy. Reading this book felt like getting a hug from a best friend, someone that is very much like yourself. And that’s why I won’t doubt myself, or my story, again. Because if Karen and Georgia can tell theirs, so can I. And I know they’d be happy to hear that.

books · Mystery

Book Review: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

Jess DoranLeave a comment

Oops, I did it again. I got overly excited about a book with rave reviews, a book that’s absolutely blowing up online and on social media, and I got a little let down. Miracle Creek has been #1 on my TBR list for awhile and I’m a little bummed that I wasn’t totally into it. However, there are a lot of redeeming qualities to this book and I did enjoy it! Just maybe not as much as I hoped.

The story follows a family of immigrants from Seoul and a few other key characters as they navigate the aftermath of an explosion and a subsequent murder trial. The Paks own “Miracle Submarine,” a hyperbaric oxygen chamber that is used to treat a variety of medical conditions, including the symptoms of autism, cerebral palsy, and infertility.

Although some consider the oxygen treatment to be “quack” medicine, the Paks are excited to finally be living their American dream and hoping for the success of the future.

The author of the novel, Angie Kim, does an excellent job telling the story from multiple point of views. This writing technique upped the mystery and enticed the reader to understand how the crime possibly could have been committed by multiple characters in the novel. Each POV showed the motivations of a different character. 

Kim’s overarching and triumphant rhetoric on motherhood throughout the story is overwhelmingly troubling, but it’s also raw and shows a masterful understanding of the complexities of being a mother. She taps into the varying emotions of love, unquestioning devotion, but also the moments of weakness that motherhood forces one to confront: pain, hatred, and the occasional desire to be free of the tether of having a child.

Elizabeth’s story, however troubling, elucidates an ever-shamed aspect of motherhood. Her story brings the question of what constitutes abuse to the forefront. In today’s cultural climate, one that simultaneously shames women for breastfeeding but also hinders the rights of women to conceive, raise and treat their children, this story line was eyeopening and necessary.

Elizabeth, the mother of an autistic child, Henry, is accused of his murder. Without physical evidence, the prosecution resorts to attacking the way she has cared for his child over the course of his life. She’s subjected him to alternative therapies for his autism, treatment after treatment, to try to perfect his focus, his speech, his attention to detail, and his behavior itself. Her near-obsessive desire to “fix” Henry becomes the sole argument, the most damning evidence against her – deemed as “unnecessary” and overkill. Henry was getting better, why was she trying to make him perfect?

Elizabeth’s inner debate is fascinating. She questions herself. The conversation stemming from Elizabeth’s plight makes for great food for thought. Although some of the other characters fell a bit flat for me, I thought Kim’s personification of “the mother” through multiple characterizations showed how motherhood is different for everyone, there is no right way to parent, and those that force their opinion on other parents are often doing more harm than good.

Beach Reads · Romance

Book Review: Drawing Home

Kate CullinanLeave a comment

Jamie Brenner’s Drawing Home transports readers to Sag Harbor for the summer. Here we find Emma Mapson and her daughter Penny who are Sag Harbor natives. Emma is a single mother who has been a concierge at the town’s most highly rated establishment, The American Inn, for about a decade. Her fourteen year old daughter Penny is an anxiety stricken teenager trying hard to fit in. Penny often spends afternoons at the hotel while waiting for Emma to finish her shift. At the hotel Penny forms an unlikely relationship with Henry Wyatt, a well known artist who settled in Sag Harbor when the hustle and bustle of New York City became too much for him. Henry mentors Penny and helps her use her art as an escape from her anxiety. When Henry dies, he leaves his multimillion dollar estate to Penny which houses his art collection. This comes as a huge shock to both Penny and her mother, who struggle to make ends meet. Penny sees it as a change to escape her mundane life but Emma is weary of the artist’s decision.

Henry’s decision to bequeath his estate to a fourteen year old stranger also comes as a shock to Bea Winstead, Henry’s longtime manager, business partner and friend. It was Bea that first noticed Henry’s talent and was the founder of the first art gallery to show his work. Although the two lost touch later in life, she questions the validity of his will and decides to travel to Sag Harbor herself to handle it. When Henry first decided to leave the city and settle down in the seaside town, Bea thought he was crazy. When Henry built his estate he told Bea that he wanted it to one day be made into a museum of his work for the residents of Sag Harbor to cherish. This explains why Bea is convinced Emma and Penny swindled their way into Henry’s will.

As Bea begins to investigate Emma and Penny she comes to find out exactly why Henry decided to leave them his estate.  As the novel progresses Penny begins to evolve from a nervous, eager to fit in teenager to a more self confident young adult. We also see Emma figure out how to be a dedicated single parent but also take care of herself and follow her own dreams and desires. An unlikely but entertaining friendship develops between the Mapsons and Bea, and Henry’s plan for the three of them unfolds just the way he imagines…well, almost. Mix up your favorite cocktail and sit on the porch with this quick but worthwhile read.

Fantasy · Mystery

Book Review: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

Jess DoranLeave a comment
The river knows the secrets of small towns, and they won’t stay secrets long.

I initially became interested in Diane Setterfield when hearing the rave reviews about Once Upon a River. Not being able to get my hands on the book right away (moving expenses make it hard to buy new hardcover releases!) I settled on purchasing The Thirteenth Tale.

Although similar, Once Upon a River was miles above and, in my opinion, showcases how an author can grow and come into their craft.  

The story started slow, with such an elaborate cast of characters, introductions were lengthy and tiresome.  I wasn’t overly excited from the first few chapters.

What resonated in this novel, compounded by my reading of Setterfield’s works before, is that her writing is symbolic – sometimes overly so. In The Thirteenth Tale I was exhausted by it. I felt like the message was being beat into me. But in this novel, she really embraces the idea of the river as a focal point for the story. The tale flowed, indeed, like a river.

The Thames is the soul of several separate, intricate stories, but as Setterfield points out, it could be any river and this story could take place in any town. She writes, “And now, dear reader, the story is over. It is time for you to cross the bridge once more and return to the world you came from. This river, which is and is not the Thames, must continue flowing without you. You have haunted here long enough, and besides, you surely have rivers of your own to attend to?”

I love the addressing of the reader, the inclusion creating a prescient atmosphere. Setterfield attempts to bring a story to life as something that lives and breathes, and she achieves it. Her snaking, slick storytelling is a microcosm of the tale itself. Storytelling exists in this book in it’s most enticing form: from beginning to end, wrought with details and imagery. She leaves no stone unturned.

It is almost as if she biographizes the story: she plays with how a story is created, how a story is told and digested, how a story evolves, and how those whom the story touches evolve as well.

Like her emphasis on the symbolism of the river, Setterfield also explores the topic of duality, and how we as humans reach for the familiar even when we know it isn’t real or appropriate. We cling to mimicry in the hope that our past loves, losses, and comforts will return to us.

Setterfield stays away from the mundane, and draws the story to a satisfying conclusion without compromising realism. The mystical and magical elements and drivers in the novel act as catalysts for the characters to find their happiness in the actuality of their lives and their existence, rather than letting them lose themselves in illusion.

Above all, Setterfield has created a story, a realistic one, where real people find their happy endings in the face of adversity. Don’t we all love that?

Historical Fiction · Romance

Book Review: Next Year in Havana

Kate CullinanLeave a comment
Next Year in Havana

Chanel Cleeton’s Next Year in Havana is the perfect early summer novel. Not only did I fall quickly for Cleeton’s characters but she describes Cuba in such detail that you feel like you are there (Think Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights ). The novel flip flops between 1958 and 2017 but the connections between the characters and their circumstances are very prominent.

In 1958 we follow Elisa Perez, the daughter of an elite sugar plantation owner in Havana. Elisa is witnessing the Cuban Revolution from the walls of her mansion in the wealthy part of town. She and her siblings are very privileged and shielded from much of the cruelties that come with the revolution… at least initially. Elisa’s father supports Cuban dictator Batista whom the U.S backs at the time. The rebels are fighting with Fidel Castro who is supporting a revolution and promising the poor an end to the Cuban elite. Elisa falls in love with a rebel fighter, Pablo, very unexpectedly while out at a party. Their love story is brief as he is often away fighting for the cause but their connection remains strong through dozens of love letters over their courtship. When Castro’s rebels are finally successful at running Batista out of the country, many of Batista’s supporters decide to leave Havana due to the fear that they may not be safe under the new ruler. Elisa’s parents and siblings are one of these families and she leaves Cuba with much more than a broken heart.

While we delve deeper into Elisa and Pablo’s love story the novel also introduces Marisol Ferrera, the granddaughter of Elisa Perez who in 2017 is a freelance writer of fluff pieces for a travel publication. She too is the product of a wealthy family living in Miami, Florida where the Perez family settled after leaving Cuba. She has a close bond to her grandmother Elisa and after her death, she is left with the task of taking Elisa’s ashes back to Havana to be scattered. Elisa leaves little instruction on where she wants her final resting place to be but she is confident that Marisol will figure it out. In 2017 after Castro’s death the travel ban between the U.S and Cuba had been lifted and Marisol is finally able to visit Havana, a place her heart longed for her whole life. While there she meets Luis, the grandson of Elisa Perez’s old next door neighbor. Luis is also a revolutionary for his time, eager for new leadership after Castro’s death and hopes for progression for his country. Ultimately Marisol learns a lot about her grandmother’s past all while growing to love Cuba as much as Elisa did.

While reading this novel I found myself thinking a lot about what I would do in Elisa’s circumstance. What if I loved someone who was from a completely different background with very different beliefs? What if our love was literally separated by a revolution and our happiness depended on the outcome of war? I would hope that I would be as brave as Elisa and Pablo were and fight not only for my relationship but also for the livelihood of my family and my country. This novel was enlightening and I learned a lot about Cuba’s history while enjoying the plot and character development. Overall Next Year in Havana was an enjoyable read and one that I would recommend to all fans of historical fiction.

Beach Reads · Romance

Book Review: The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

Jess DoranLeave a comment
The Simple Wild - K.A. Tucker
A city girl stuck in the Alaskan bush. What could go wrong?

In the past two weeks, I’ve read books set in the Australian outback, the islands of the Azores off Portugal and the Alaskan bush. Books really do allow you to travel the world! The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker was refreshing, a light, pithy, romantic ride that satisfies the need for some romance reading.

Calla Fletcher is a mid-twenties girl, freshly fired from a bank job, who finds out that her long-lost father, who resides in Alaska, has lung cancer. The story of their reunion is the classic redemption tale – it’s poignant, heartbreaking, and well done. I really enjoyed it.

One issue I took with this book is Calla is made out to be a narcissistic bi*** in the beginning (that’s fine, we all know those people do exist) but she makes a total 180 into a flannel-wearing, no-makeup having lover of a bearded, lumberjack Alaskan man. He teaches her the true meaning of family and love and blah blah. I did really like their story, it just wasn’t thoroughly original.

Overall The Simple Wild kept me entertained and hooked on the characters. A nice segue into light summer reading.

books · Mystery

Book Review: The Lost Man by Jane Harper

Jess DoranLeave a comment
The Lost Man by Jane Harper, The Lost Man
Three brothers at odds in the Australian Outback.

I was excited to dive into The Lost Man by Jane Harper. It has been awhile since I’ve read something set in the current day, but in a place totally foreign to me.

The Lost Man takes place in the Australian Outback. In my opinion, the description of the setting is the redemption of this novel. Harper’s portrayal of the Outback is unforgiving, labored, and effusive – a fitting parallel for the Australian desert itself.

Uneducated as to the harsh realities of the Outback, I embraced the feeling of imminent danger that the characters could be confronted with at any time as I was reading. In the beginning, the possibilities of the mystery seemed endless and the excitement made me eager to read more.

But other than the rich backdrop, the characters were not convincing or relatable or fun. Or any superlative for that matter.

The Lost Man himself, Cameron Bright, is supposedly a well-liked, all around great guy. He takes a quick (really quick) turn mid-story into a character that, well, pretty much deserved to die. I suddenly felt a lot less eager to find out what happened to him, which isn’t exactly what you strive for with a “who-dun-it.”

I cataloged this in “Mystery.” Because although it is marketed as a psychological thriller, I thought it was very lacking to be categorized that way.

The story is paralleled by the story of another man lost in the Australian wilderness. I found the old legend of “The Stockman’s Grave” to be far more interesting than the story of Cameron’s death: not a great sign.

I wasn’t overly surprised at the ending, I now know way more than I need to know about the exponential dingo population in the Outback, and I officially don’t want to visit because of all the ways I can think for someone to murder me, none of which the author used.

Crikey. The verdict is to kangaroo-hop around this one.

Historical Fiction · Romance

Book Review: The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams

Jess DoranLeave a comment
The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams

I just Love. Beatriz. Williams. In my opinion, I could end this review there.

That being said, The Summer Wives was not my favorite of her novels – it is significantly less astounding. This, however, is not as much a criticism of the book as it is praise for the author. I truly feel taken in by each one of Williams’ novels – just some more than the others.

I think that I knew this one may be a little flat. The hardcover copy of the novel has sat on my bookshelf for nearly a year. Perhaps the mediocre reviews permeated my subconscious.

Still, I’m glad to have read it. Quick and vigilant, the story marches, like trained troops, towards its realization. The main character of Miranda Schuyler marches like a soldier through her own story, rather than taking the lead as General.

In comparison with other Williams heroines, Miranda was a bit feeble, and not particularly determined to own her story. That’s okay, there are all different types of characters, but I felt like Miranda rolled over and let life happen to her rather than living it.

The one thing she does for herself throughout the noel is to become an actress, and even this wasn’t her own dream, but the dream of her former lover for her. She doesn’t do a lot of thinking for herself, which troubled me.

Miranda’s mother is a complete waste of space. She never defends her daughter or acts in her best interest, choosing to wallow away in the shadow of her husband’s death – who was a di**.

Hugh Fisher is the example of all that is wrong with society, he is rich (or acts like it) and takes and takes from everyone around him, living like a parasite off the emotions of people he has deemed lesser, and who allow him to take advantage.

I am a huge proponent of flawed characters, but overall, there were too many, in roles that were too standard.

The romance, the picturesque setting, the lyrical prose – all magnificent. Williams truly has a way with sentence structure. I am really looking forward to her next novel, The Golden Hour, due out in July. I hope the next novel reflects all the true writing prowess Williams possesses to tell a story and to make the reader completely bereft at the thought that they can’t be a part of the story itself, upset every time they have to close the book. Williams has given me that feeling before, and I’m looking forward to it again.

Beach Reads · Romance

Book Review: The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

Kate CullinanLeave a comment

Image result for the light we lost

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both” – Robert Frost

Everyone has a moment- a defining moment in life where there are two paths, two options for how life will go, and you have to choose just one. For some this is encountered in deciding practical things such as which college to go to, what to major in, which job offer to take. For others it involves love and the person you end up spending your life with. Or maybe it’s both. Maybe you have a lot of moments you forever look back on and wonder, “where would I be if…”

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo is a story full of individuals making decisions that affect the course of their lives. Lucy is an ambitious, smart woman who falls in love, twice. She falls in love first with a boy she meets in college. They are young and full of life. Their love is passionate and raw. Their love is something that she is never able to fully move on from. Their love also breaks her more than once and eventually, this love leaves her. She goes on to find another love a little later in life. This love is more practical, more reliable and in many ways makes more sense. This love is mature and safe. Readers follow Lucy as she grows from a college girl, in love, to a full time working mom, also in love, and listen as she recounts all of the decisions that she makes and their consequences.

The novel captured my attention very quickly. I am a sucker for a good love story- and in this book there are two. Although Lucy alludes to a not so happy ending more than once, I did hold out hope that she would end up finding her way back to her true love. I’ll leave it up to you to decide who you think that is. The Light We Lost is definitely worth a read.