Review: Without Merit, by Colleen Hoover

Without Merit, by Colleen Hoover

Simon & Schuster Audio - 2017
General Fiction
Audiobook
Narrated by Candace Thaxton

9 Hours, 13 Minutes

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have to say, I almost DNF'd this one. Now that I am done I am glad I didn't, but it was a close call there for a bit. 

I found it to have a very slow start that just didn't seem to entice me. It seemed like it was just a story about an overly odd, quirky family - I found it all just a little over the top. I was just about to call it quits when the story finally started to get interesting.  

Once that happened though, I found the remainder of the book to be pretty good.  

At the beginning,  Merit Voss seems a little socially awkward, she collects trophies she hasn't won, and lives in a converted church with her siblings, father, step-mother, and here's the kicker, her mother. In the course of the early part of the story, there are a few other characters added, no less odd and quirky than the rest.

As the story goes on however, at about half way through, it starts to have feeling and meaning. 

Merit seems to be the one person in the family burdened with all of the family's secrets. She is being crushed by the weight of them all.  What none of them understand - Merit included is the context in which each of them is living their own reality. When Merit finally breaks down under her burdens, they all learn about forgiveness, truth, and perception. 

I am glad I didn't give up on this book. My perception of the story changed drastically between the beginning and the end - I guess the Voss family were not the only ones to learn a little something about perception. 😉

Narration was performed by Candace Thaxton, and I couldn't imagine there being a better match for this story. Her performance was skilled and believable. Wonderful cadence, tone and range of emotion as well as character. 

 While slow to get going, this book ended up being a very good and moving story.

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: Down Among The Sticks And Bones

Down Among The Sticks And Bones, by Seanan  McGuire

Wayward Children Series - Book 2
MacMillan Audio - 2017
Fantasy
Audiobook
Narrated by Seanan McGuire

4 Hours, 04 Minutes

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

In Every Heart A Doorway, the first book in this series (review of that book can be found HERE), we were introduced to a group of characters. All of the characters had traveled through their doorways to other realms.  In this the second book in the Wayward Children series, we take a closer look at the story of Jack and Jill.

In this installment we are treated to the back-story of the twins Jaclyn and Jillian. Raised by parents who treated them each very differently, their personalities were like polar opposites.  One always dressed in frills and lace, the other a tom-boy. 

When they are twelve, they find an odd and hidden staircase in their grandmother's room and descend it.  They enter the dark and magical land called the Moors and are separated shortly after arriving there. One resides in a castle with her master, the other living with and assisting a doctor of sorts.  

They spend many years there before it all goes awry and they are ejected back into our realm, where of course they will ultimately end up at Eleanore West's School for Wayward Children where we met them in book one.

McGuire certainly has a fantastic imagination.  While many fantasy books explore other realms, this series has multiple realms all integrated into one cohesive story. 

McGuire narrated this one herself.  In my opinion it is not always the best idea for an author to narrate their own audiobooks, and at the beginning I wasn't sure how I felt about McGuire narrating part of they story that to me should have been narrated by the previous book's voice - Cynthia Hopkins. It didn't take long however for me to get used to the change, and McGuire actually did a fine job of it. 

While these books are short, they are well imagined, well written, and a pleasant diversion. This book could be read as a stand alone, or out of order, but in my opinion they are perfect in the order they are published (so far at least!). 

I am looking forward to book three Beneath The Sugar Sky.

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: Killing Season, by Faye Kellerman

Killing Season, by Faye Kellerman

HarperAudio 2017
Thriller
Audiobook
Narrated by Charlie Thurston

19 Hours, 05 Minutes

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐1/2

When Ellen Vicksburg went missing, her family yearned to know what happened to her. A year after she vanished, her younger brother Ben found her in a shallow grave. The loss of his older sister and the circumstances of her death deeply affected young Ben, and he dedicated his life to finding out who was responsible, and protecting his younger sister from the predators in our world.

Ben Vicksburg is a math prodigy. He has an intensely analytical mind. He is very good at recognizing patterns. He scrutinizes and studies any information he can find on his sister's case and other missing and murdered girls. While the police suspect a serial killer known as "the Demon", Ben disagrees and suspects another serial killer. When the new girl in school "Ro" starts to show interest in Ben, she gets pulled into his obsession. With Ben licking at his heels, the killer has his sights set on someone else close to Ben.

I loved Ben's character.  While he was incredibly mature in general intelligence, but still showed the emotional intelligence of a typical boy his age.  Somewhat impulsive, and constantly pushing boundaries. He had the know-how and intelligence to investigate and to solve his sister's murder, but not the emotional restraint that comes with maturity.  In my opinion, this contrast is what I would expect from a teenager of unusually high intelligence, which made his character more believable. 

In a book this long, it would be easy for a thriller to lose its edge, but I the story line  was very good and easily kept me engaged. There were no crazy plot twists, but plenty of suspense to keep me happily listening every chance I had.

One aspect of this book that did not do well in my personal opinion, was the relationships between the teens. I found some of the general dynamics between them less than believable. Of more note, I found the dialogue around some of the more intimate scenes awkward and well...cringe-worthy. I would have no issue with these scenes if I felt they were necessary to the story or the characters, but in this case it just felt gratuitous, and being between teens who are awkward at that...ugh. Oh well, that's just my (probably unpopular) opinion.

Narration by Charlie Thurston was very good. Clear with pleasant cadence and tone, well distinguished characters and good emotional range. A good match to the story.

A taut and suspenseful read that kept an edge in spite of its length!

Happy Reading,

Christine

Sunday Summary - February 17 - 23, 2019

Welcome to my Sunday Summary.  A look back on my bookish adventures for the past week.

Another week come and gone.  How is it that the days go by so fast, but winter seems to drag so slow?   

I remain behind in writing and posting reviews.  I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that I can catch up this week.  

Books Reviewed:

There were two reviews that I posted this week.

First is Joanna Schaffhausen's debut novel of suspense - The Vanishing Season.  A serial killer on the loose in a small town, and the only person to see it is herself a survivor of a serial killer. You can read my review HERE

The second review was also of an author's debut.  House On Fire, by Bonnie Kistler.  A suspenseful novel about a blended family and the loyalty of blood.  Is a blended family ever truly blended?  You can read my review in THIS POST.

Ramblings and Miscellany:

Nothing bookish this week.  Wednesday was Love Your Pet Day. Our little fur-baby is a recent addition to our family. Part of the reason I am behind in my reviews is all the shopping for food (we are having trouble finding one that she likes that is good for her and hypo-allergenic), and reading a lot of articles on house training an older dog.  The house training is going well though, and she is absolutely loved!

Advance Reading Copy (ARC) Books Previously Reviewed and Released this Week:

Nothing this week.

Currently Reading and Notable Titles on Deck:

I am currently reading The Binding, by Bridget Collins.  I have just finished listening to Without Merit, by Colleen Hoover.  

I have a few books already published on deck. Smoke and Summons, by Charlie Holmberg - author of the Paper Magician series.  I am also looking at a crime thriller by Indie/small publisher author Ed Duncan, titled The Last Straw.  Of course there are also some ARCs lined up and I am always adding to the list. 

Happy Reading, 

Christine

Review: House On Fire, by Bonnie Kistler

House On Fire, by Bonnie Kistler

Simon & Schuster - Available March 12, 2019
General Fiction
Page count: 416

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for this Digital Review Copy provided via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kistler has created a gripping family drama that is definitely in tune with our society. 

Leigh Huyett knows about family tensions. As a divorce lawyer, she sees how families crumble under "normal" everyday stresses, and she knows that second marriages have additional stresses and issues that lead to an even higher failure rate. Not her family though. She and her husband Pete Conley have the perfect blended family - or so she thinks. 

While out for dinner, celebrating their perfect union, they start to receive frantic phone calls. Her daughter Chrissy and step-son Kip were in an accident. Chrissy and Kip both say he swerved to avoid a dog, but he is facing drinking and driving charges. Then the unthinkable happens, and Chrissy dies. At first Leigh harbors no ill will towards him, after all it was just a youthful mistake with tragic results, but Kip then recants his statement and says that Chrissy was driving even though she was underage. Pete is thrilled to hear this and rallies behind his son, but Leigh is astonished that he would lie and tarnish Chrissy's memory to save his own skin. Without definitive proof about what happened that night, Pete stands by his son, and Leigh stands by the memory of her daughter.

Can any family survive this situation? In a time when blended families are common, Kistler spins a story that could easily happen to many of us in today's society. What happens to a family when one child is being blamed (rightly or wrongly) for harming or killing their step-sibling?  This is the kind of thing that would be difficult enough within a nuclear family, but even more so when it is a blended family where loyalty will likely fall along blood-lines.

While I really did like this story, I felt it was a little longer than it needed to be (last year my books read averaged 345 pages, this book is 416 pages). There were some sub-plots that I felt were really unnecessary and dragged out and clouded over what was otherwise a very good story. Because I liked the main story so much, I am still scoring it pretty high, but I think I would have scored it higher had some of the unnecessary elements been removed.  I think Kistler has some real talent and some great story ideas, I just think that this - her debut novel, would have benefited from a little restraint.  I would certainly consider reading any books she puts out in the future.

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: The Vanishing Season, by Joanna Schaffhausen

The Vanishing Season, by Joanna Schaffhausen

Blackstone Audio - 2017
Thriller/Suspense
Audiobook
Narrated by Lauren Fortgang 

8 Hours, 58 Minutes

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Very good debut thriller!

Ellery Hathaway lives an anonymous life in a small town.  She works for local law enforcement and keeps to herself.  Nobody in the small town of Woodbury knows about her past.

Once Ellery Hathaway lived in the big city and had a different name.  On her 14th birthday, she was abducted. She was the only survivor of a prolific and famous serial killer. There was a well publicized trial, and the killer was sent to prison. Everyone breathed easier knowing the  killer was locked up. 

So who then, is the anonymous person that has been sending her birthday cards for the last three years? And why are people going missing under eerily familiar circumstances around her birthday for the last three years?

Ellery tries to raise concern with the police chief, but those concerns are quickly dismissed. Nobody here understands that she has a special insight into the mind of this monster. With her birthday coming up quickly, she knows that someone very dangerous is lurking in the shadows of this small town.  She calls the only person she feels will help her - Reed Markham, the FBI agent who rescued her all those years ago.  Together they try to put the pieces together to catch this dangerous predator before he kills again.
 

More of a suspense than a thriller - there weren't a lot of knock-your-socks-off twists, but I spent a good deal of time on the edge of my seat. I liked Ellery, and I especially liked her side-kick "Bump".   Ellery is a survivor, but she is not unscathed.

Narration was performed by Lauren Fortgang, and was a good match for the story.  Excellent cadence and tone, as well as a good range of character and emotion made listening enjoyable. 

Schaffhausen has recently published a second book featuring Ellery Hathaway and Reed Markham - No Mercy hit the shelves January 2019.

Happy Reading,

Christine

Sunday Summary - February 10 - 16, 2019

Welcome to my Sunday Summary.  A look back on my bookish adventures for the past week.

Is it just me, or is February flying by?  Seems like January just ended, and yet Valentine's day has come and gone now.  My little guy and I baked and frosted cookies for his class party. So much fun!  I am glad it is a long weekend here though.  Things have been busy at work and at home, but an extra day off work is most welcome!  Maybe I can catch up (at least a bit) on my reviews. This may be wishful thinking though. 

Books Reviewed:

I have posted two reviews this week, and have two more to do in order to be caught up.

I reviewed a humorous title - The Secret Diary Of Hendrik Groen, by Hendrik Groen in THIS POST.

I started a new (to me) Fantasy series with Every Heart A Doorway, by Seanan McGuire. My review of this title can be found HERE. 

I have finished and will be reviewing Vanishing Season, by Joanna Shaffhausen and House On Fire, by Bonnie Kistler
  

Ramblings and Miscellany:

Advance Reading Copy (ARC) Books Previously Reviewed and Released this Week:

Nothing this week. 

Currently Reading and Notable Titles on Deck:

I am currently reading my most anticipated book of of the year - The Binding, by Bridget Collins. 

I am listening to Killing Season, by Faye Kellerman. 

I am not sure what will be next, I have some pending requests out which may shuffle things up a bit. 

Happy Reading, 

Christine

Review: Every Heart A Doorway, by Seanan McGuire

Every Heart A Doorway, by Seanan McGuire

MacMillan Audio - 2016
Fantasy
Audiobook
Narrated by Cynthia Hopkins

4 Hours, 44 Minutes

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book has won numerous awards, and for good reason!  Awards and honors  for this book include: 
Winner: 2017 Hugo Award
Winner: 2017 Alex Award
Winner: 2017 Locus Award
Winner: 2016 Nebula Award
Nominated: 2017 World Fantasy Award
Nominated: 2017 British Fantasy Award
2016 Tiptree Honor List

Pretty impressive!  

I love how this story opens with a nod to some of fantasy's most well known and beloved stories of children passing through a "doors" to other worlds.

But what happens when these children return to our world? Some will continue to pass back and forth often and with ease, and others are unable to find their doorway again. They no longer fit in to our world but are unable to return to their other world. They spend their life searching for their missing door.

Nancy found a door once.  She went to an underworld realm. When she found herself back in our world, she was unable to cope, to fit in.  She changed while she was gone. Her parents learn of a private school that will help Nancy re-assimilate after her "kidnapping". 

Eleanor West's school for wayward children.  While parents think they are sending their kids to this school to learn to cope with the time they were missing, they are really there to learn how to cope with being present in our world, despite their burning desire to return to their other world. While all the children here hope to find their doorway again some day, some would do anything to find it again.

This book is short, but it packs a punch! It is original and imaginative and despite its brevity the characters are well developed.

Narration was skillfully  performed by Cynthia Hopkins, with good tone and cadence as well as very good range of character and emotion.  It made listening a pleasure.

This book may be short, but it is the first book of The Wayward Children series.  I will definitely be getting into the next title in the series - Down Among The Sticks and Bones.

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, by Hendrik Groen

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, by Hendrik Groen

Translated by Hester Velmans
Hachette Audio - 2017
General Fiction
Audiobook
Narrated by Derek Jacobi

11 Hours, 53 Minutes

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Delightful and humorous! 

This book has the warmth of A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman, and the humour of The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules, by Catharina Ingelman Sundberg. 

Hendrik is living in a seniors facility in Amsterdam. He starts a diary to document the day to day happenings at the facility. 

Obviously the residents are "old", but they are not dead!  There is fighting and bickering, mischief and shenanigans,  and love and friendship.  Told with much charm, lightness, and tenderness, this book was a pleasure!   I laughed, I cried, I thought about my aging loved ones.  Groen's story while fictional, looks at the reality of aging, showing you are never to old to have fun, and that you should grab life by the horns as long as you are able. 

Narration was by Derek Jacobi and I could not imagine a better match for the story! It is no surprise that he has an impressive list of acting credits to his name. 

Groen has written a sequel to this title - On The Bright Side: The New Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen - The English translation print edition will be available on March 19, 2019.  I don't know when the audiobook will be released, but I believe this one is in my future. 🙂

Happy Reading,

Christine