A Strange Scottish Shore

Title:  A Strange Scottish Shore

Author:  Juliana Gray

Publication Information:  Berkley. 2017. 400 pages.

ISBN:  0425277089 / 978-0425277089

Book Source:  I received this book through the Penguin First to Read program free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "The man stood near the corner of the booking offices as I emerged from the ladies' waiting room, pretending to read a newspaper."

Favorite Quote:  "Haven't I always warned you not to judge a man by the mask he wears?"

Juliana Gray is a pseudonym for Beatriz Williams. Between the two pen names, she is the author of many books in several different series. Her tag line as Juliana Gray is "the author of elegant period adventures." This series is the Emmeline Truelove series, Scottish adventures that begin in 1906.

Emmeline Rose Truelove, with quite the memorable name, was the secretary of a duke. With his death, her job shifted to that of assistant to his heir, Maximilian Haywood, the new Duke of Olympia. Let's just say, adventures of the most unusual sort seem to find the new Duke. Emmeline along with the very handsome, unscrupulous Lord Silverton come to his rescue often. Society, including Emmeline's mother, deems her adventures quite inappropriate, and rumors abound about her relationship with the new duke and with Lord Silverton.

In this book, the Duke finds himself an unusual object in the north of Scotland. Emmeline is beckoned to assist. Lord Silverton appears to follow. The object has historical and scientific significance. It comes from a different time and place. The adventure of the search for its origins begins. Of course, the Duke is not the only one interested. Opposing forces enter the picture. The mystery, adventure, and growing love story continues to a dramatic conclusion that clearly leaves the door open for the series to continue.

This book and series reminds me of the Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn. The setting among English/Scottish nobility, the strong female lead, and the tension of a growing romance all create a similar feel. For both, I happened to read Book 2 in the series. I do wish I had started at the beginning. Having read book 2 in a mystery and adventure series makes it challenging to then go back and to read the first because you already know what happens. However, not having read the beginning makes it more challenging to enjoy the second.

This book then takes the story in a direction that is more reminiscent of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. The Scottish setting, the time travel, and an underlying love story give the books a similar feel. Both stories have the shows of violence although there is considerably less in this book than in Diana Gabaldon's books.

This book eventually claims its uniqueness by embedding the story in the Scottish folklore of the selkie, seals who shed their skins to become human. They live among the humans for years, forming relationships and family. One day, however, the selkie reclaims its skin and returns to the sea. Selkie stories are often tales of romance and love. This one incorporates a mystery in the middle of it all for a different twist.

Sadly, I did not know that this book is the second in a series. Be aware that my enjoyment and consequently my reviews suffers from the fact that I have not read the first book. Background from the first is needed to really understand the characters, relationships, and plot of this book. Reading this one alone is entertaining but feels incomplete without the background.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

I'm the One Who Got Away: A Memoir

Title:  I'm the One Who Got Away:  A Memoir

Author:  Andrea Jarrell

Publication Information:  She Writes Press. 2017. 176 pages.

ISBN:  1631522604 / 978-1631522604

Book Source:  I received this book as a publisher's galley through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "Susannah was murdered just before Christmas but I didn't find out until after New Year's."

Favorite Quote:  "Pleasing someone else is easy for me, but enjoying my own pleasure takes a different kind of letting go."

Recognizing the need for change takes courage. Change takes courage. Life takes courage. Writing that story down and sharing it with the world takes courage. That courage is what this memoir is all about.

Andrea Jarrell and her mother escaped an abusive relationship. Over her life, she saw her mother time and again return to a controlling and abusive situation. As a child, she learned what she saw - not the leaving but the returning to such a relationship. This pattern led to two things in Andrea Jarrell's life - an extremely close relationship with her mother and a tendency towards similar decisions as an adult. It took a lot of self-examination and work to break that pattern. That is what this memoir is all about.

This book starts with a death. That moment seems to symbolize an epiphany for the author to make a change. The "why" of that is never really explained other than a statement that the death occurred by the hand of the woman's boyfriend. The fact of that death has very little to do with the rest of Ms. Jarrell's story. Why did that moment become a trigger for change? What finally awakened the realization that a change was needed? Is it simply because the death was of someone she knew as opposed to the many such news stories that sadly emerge almost daily? The opening seems more a dramatic launching pad for telling this story rather than an integral part of the story itself.

The story itself is written as a series of nonlinear vignettes, essays strung together to create a picture. Based on research, it appears that parts of this book have appeared previously as stand-alone essays and have begun as short stories. The story-like approach is also clear in the fact that the memoir includes quoted conversations from before the author's birth (for example, from her parent's first meeting) and from her childhood when she would be too young to remember. Clearly, artistic license is used in creating a readable story. This story-like, self-contained approach does make the book a very quick and easy read.

What stands out about this book is that the story and hence the author is relatable. The book feels like a conversation with a friend. I find myself nodding in agreement in places and wanting to express an opinion in places. The flip side of that is the fact that the story is not about dramatic moments that I, as a reader, I look for. It is a quiet story of an individual navigating the challenges of life as we all are.

What stands out the most in the book is the character of Ms. Jarrell's mother. Here is a woman who marries a controlling, abusive man at the age of sixteen. She becomes a young mother. She finds the courage to take herself and her daughter out of a damaging situation. She creates a life for the two of them. Yet, time and again, she reverts back to that same relationship. How and why? Now, her perspective is a story I want to know more about.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

SaveSaveSaveSave

Sing, Unburied, Sing

Title:  Sing, Unburied, Sing

Author:  Jesmyn Ward

Publication Information:  Scribner. 2017. 304 pages.

ISBN:  1501126067 / 978-1501126062

Book Source:  I received this book as a publisher's galley through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "I like to think I know what death is."

Favorite Quote:  "There's things that move a man. Like currents of water inside. Things he can't help. Older I get, the more I found it true ... Some days later, I understood what he was trying to say, that getting grown means learning how to work that current: learning when to hold fast, when the drop anchor, when to let it sweet you up."

The accolades this book has already been awarded...

• Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction
• Finalist for the Kirkus Prize
• Finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal
• Publishers Weekly Top 10 of 2017

The author Jesmyn Ward is also a recipient of the 2017 MacArthur Fellowship (aka the MacArthur Genius Grant) for "exploring the enduring bonds of community and familial love among poor African Americans of the rural South against a landscape of circumscribed possibilities and lost potential."

Awards speak to critical, literary recognition. What speaks to me is the characters and the story. For its many layers and its complex characters, the book is difficult to describe as the description may not capture the depth of characters and emotion in the book. This is a book that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Jojo and Kayla are being raised by his grandparents. Their grandmother Mam is ill and sadly close to death. Their grandfather Pop loves the children but also fights his own demons. Their father Michael is in jail. Their mother Leoni is a drug addict. Because of the racial divide, Michael's parents have rejected Leoni and their own grandchildren. Poverty is a way of life. This is a Mississippi world that Jesmyn Ward has brought to life in her other books. "Sometimes I think it done changed. And then I sleep and wake up, and it ain't changed none."

The plot is about a "road trip." Michael is getting out of jail. Leoni takes the kids and a friends and decides to go pick him up. The road trip though becomes both literal and metaphorical. It is the nightmarish actual trip and a trip through the lives of this family. Ghosts, again literal and metaphorical, play a big role on this book. The fates two actual ghosts, Given and Richie, come back to the issue of racial inequality and injustice.

The central theme that emerges is the search for and the ability to find home, whether home is a place, people, or a resolution to the injustices of this world. Jojo and Kayla never want to leave home for this trip and then cannot wait to return to the love of their grandparents. Pop's stories of the past are that he physically returns home, but a piece of him stays in the unresolved decisions of his life. For Michael and Leoni, home seems to be wherever they are together; unfortunately, that does not seem to include their children. For the ghosts, sadly, home means that the ghosts can finally be laid to rest.

The story captures the racial history and the mysticism of the South. What I will remember most from this book is the character of Jojo. Though a child himself, he is forced by circumstance to shoulder adult responsibilities. He is watching his grandmother die and trying to ease her way. He listens to his grandfather's stories of the anguish and pain of the past. He deals with his parents who are really more about their own relationship rather than their children. He emerges as the one who can see and hear the ghosts who need their deaths resolved. Perhaps most heartbreaking of all is the love between a brother and a sister, a "man of fifteen" and his baby sister. Jojo is brother, father, mother, caretaker, and protector to his little sister Kayla.

Memorable characters and a memorable book.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

SaveSave

The Art of Hiding

Title:  The Art of Hiding

Author:  Amanda Prowse

Publication Information:  Lake Union Publishing. 2017. 288 pages.

ISBN:  1611099552 / 978-1611099553

Book Source:  I received this book as a publisher's galley through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "Nina caught the red light only a spit away from the entrance to the boys school."

Favorite Quote:  "And if ever the real world feels too big or too scary, remember that is is nothing more than a little ball travelling through space and it fits right into the palm of your hand and the more courage you have, and the braver you are when facing it, the easier it is to conquer!"

The Art of Hiding is a rags to riches to rags story. Nina McCarrick is a first generation immigrant from Denmark and comes from humble beginnings. She falls in love and marries into wealth. Finn McCarrick is an up and coming businessman who wants nothing more than to take care of Nina. And she lets him, giving up on her independence and her dreams. Years pass, and they build a beautiful life. Two handsome young boys. A mansion in the suburbs. A private school education for their children. Nina never worries about money; Finn handles all of that. Nina never feels like she quite fits in, but life is good.

Then, Finn dies, and Nina discovers that her life is not at all like it appears. Bankruptcy drives Nina and her boys back to the modest neighborhood in which she grew up. Fortunately, she has the support of her sister Tiggy.

Such a premise sets up a story of survival and the courage to move forward. At the end, the word that comes to mind is sadly cliché. Unfortunately, for a couple of reasons, the story fails to engage me.

First is the stereotypes and extremes that the book builds its world on. Nina finds no friends in her life with Finn. She lives in a mansion, but it is more like a gilded cage. She portrays everyone in that life as money minded, shallow, and unpleasant. Back in her own modest neighborhood, she meets only people willing to lend a hand and help things work out for her and her boys. Perhaps, the intent is to depict the effect Finn's control on her life and the release from that control as Nina rediscovers herself. Unfortunately, what comes through is just the stereotypes because even after Finn's death, none of those relationships change.

Second is the character of Nina herself. She comes across not as a woman trying to survive a catastrophe, but as a self-centered woman not giving thought to those around her. Unfortunately, shallow is the word that comes to mind. This particularly manifests itself in her relationship with her sister Tiggy. Tiggy cares for Nina both as big sister and mother after their mother died. Yet, Nina leaves her behind when she marries Finn. Again, perhaps the intent is to depict the effect Finn's control on her life but what comes through is that Nina walks away. Tiggy is the first and only person to truly come to Nina's assistance when Finn dies. However, Nina is not appreciative of that support and certainly does not give thought to the challenges and struggles of Tiggy's life.

Finally, there are aspects of this book that leave me frustrated. First and foremost, Nina is completely clueless about the state of their finances when Finn dies. Does that happen in real life? Sadly, yes. Should it happen? Absolutely not. No one should be content with being told essentially to "not worry your pretty little head about it." (That cliche is mine not a quote from the book.) Secondly, one reaction is missing in Nina throughout the book. I wait for it, but it never comes. Anger. Anger towards Finn who treated her in such a manner and who managed to wreak such havoc with their lives. Nina never finds that anger, which seems completely unrealistic.

At the end, a story that should have been about courage and survival turns into one about shallow characters and stereotypes. Not the book for me.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

The Little French Bistro

Title:  The Little French Bistro

Author:  Nina George

Publication Information:  Crown. 2017. 336 pages.

ISBN:  0451495586 / 978-0451495587

Book Source:  I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "It was the first decision she had ever made on her own, the very first time she was able to determine the course of her life."

Favorite Quote:  "Every woman is a priestess if she loves life and can work magic on herself and those who are sacred to her. It's time for women to remind themselves of the powers they have inside."

As with Nina George's first book The Little Paris Bookshop, the premise of this book sounds like it could be a powerful story. A sixty-some year old woman remains in a controlling, abusive marriage for over forty years. The only way out visible to her seems to be suicide. That suicide attempt is how the book begins on the banks of the Seine River in the beautiful city of Paris.

As you might expect, Marianne's attempt is unsuccessful and lands her in the hospital. Her husband returns home, leaving Marianne to recover alone and then follow him home. Instead, Marianne runs. A found object, a painted tile, sets her on a path to Brittany. The name of the Finistére region on the west coast of Brittany comes from the Latin phrase meaning end of the earth. For Marianne, it seems fitting that she will end her life there.

As you might expect, she does not. Instead, she rediscovers life in and around a little French bistro in the small village of Kerdruc on the coast. A host of characters enter her life. Each brings their own back story. Each touches Marianne's life in some way, and Marianne leaves each one changed, providing just the right words and actions at just the right time.

As you might expect in a story about escaping the past, the past often comes to find you. The final step of the escape of course is the reckoning with the past. Oddly, the aspect that is never explored is why Marianne marries this man in the first place and why she stays in the marriage for over forty years. The corollary that then does not follow is how after a lifetime, she manages rather quickly to find her independence and her voice. That lack of development means that as a reader, I don't completely buy into Marianne's story. I don't ever feel that her character is fully revealed.

Unfortunately, as with Nina George's first book, this one ends up in a place that belies the strong premise. What sets up as almost a coming-of-age story for an older woman scatters into many other things. The book introduces a wide cast of characters and follows their stories in addition to Marianne's. While interesting in their own, following a wide array of stories means that no one story gets developed in depth.

What should be the story of a woman finding her strength also turns into a romance. I would love for a book about a woman finding her voice and her independence to remain about that. I would love to see the point made that coming out of a relationship, first learn to be yourself and by yourself before entering a relationship again.

Finally and unexpectedly, the book also introduces a magical element which is completely unnecessary to the book. Magical powers? Healers? Druids? Why not just people? On the other hand, that is the one unexpected element in this book.

Sadly, despite its premise, the plot and the characters fail to develop, making this not the book for me.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

The Waking Land

Title:  The Waking Land

Author:  Callie Bates

Publication Information:  Del Ray. 2017. 400 pages.

ISBN:  0425284026 / 978-0425284025

Book Source:  I received this book as a publisher's galley through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "I felt safe that night in Laon, safer than I had any night before in the city."

Favorite Quote:  "we have to be merciful ... If we're not, then what are we?"

When Lady Elana Valtai is about five years old, she and her family walks into what is essentially an ambush. No blood is shed, but Elana is kidnapped and held as insurance such that her father will no longer threaten the king in power.

Fast forward about fifteen years. Elana lives as a princess, having been cared for like a daughter by the king who kidnaps her. What she knows is the king's version of history and the fact that her family never came back for her. They seemingly left a five year old and never looked back. The secret Elana holds is of her past and of her magic, one because of guilt and the other because magic is a forbidden art.

Then, her world changes yet again. The king dies; rivals emerge; and Elana is on the run for her life. Her escape leads her back to her childhood home and her family. Here, she learns that there is another version of the history she has been taught and another side to the story. Allegiances are questioned and questioned again. An epic struggle for the kingdom ensues, with sorcerers, handsome princes, princesses who can defend themselves, and all the intrigues of royal politics.

Battling for the empire with kidnappings, rival kingdoms, armed soldiers, and sorcerers is unfortunately not quite the exciting, adventure-filled story I expect it to be. Unfortunately, the "epic" is not quite so epic. Primarily, this has to do with the depiction of the main character, Lady Elana. Warranted that at a young age, her world has been upended twice. It would be natural for her to question beliefs and actions. However, that uncertainty and that questioning somewhat takes over the book. Considering that she is the narrator of the story, what the reader sees is her internal monologue of uncertainty more so that the story itself. This also makes the pace of the story seem really slow, which does not work considering the plot line. Every plot twist seems to be accompanied by Elana's questions. Should I? Shouldn't I? Who do I trust? What do I do?

I am also disappointed in that the romance and Elana's romantic thoughts take over what should have the story of a strong, independent young woman capable of standing on her own. Not every story needs a love story, and not every princess needs a knight in shining armor. I would much prefer the story of the princess who is a brave knight.

The magical element, particularly the power of the earth, is present but not really developed as a main point in the book. Given the cover and the title, I expect there to be a greater importance placed on the land itself and on the role of humans as the stewards of the land. That message is really not the objective of this book.

The most interesting aspect of this book is the world the author creates. Admittedly, the reader gets a limited view through Elana's eyes. However, what is visible sounds like the forests of medieval England, Ireland, and Scotland with the addition of modern weapons. Royal palace intrigues usually make for an entertaining story, and this book is no different. It just falls short of the being the grand adventure it could have been.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

Something Like Happy

Title:  Something Like Happy

Author:  Eva Woods

Publication Information:  Graydon House. 2017. 432 pages.

ISBN:  1525811355 / 978-1525811357

Book Source:  I received this book as a publisher's galley through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "You can't always pinpoint the precise moment that your life goes wrong."

Favorite Quote:  "...sometimes it's in the contrasts. Hot bath on a cool day. Cool drink in the sun. That feeling when your car almost skids on ice for a second and then you're fine - it's hard to really appreciate things unless you know what it's like without them."

Polly and Annie are strangers, until they are friends. One is living while she is dying. The other one is dying while she still has a lot of life to live.

Polly is a terminal cancer patient with a brian tumor that will lead to her death soon, really soon. Yet, Polly is determined to be happy and live every one of the days she has left.

Annie is physically healthy, but emotionally in pieces. Her marriage ended, ending many friendships along with it. She is working in a dead-end job and living in an apartment which she has not yet made home. Her mother suffers from dementia, with lucid moments becoming more and more rare. Annie has a lot to be sad about.

Polly and Annie meet at the hospital, and Polly makes Annie her project, if you will. She is persistent and edges her way into Annie's life, determined to have Annie join her project of a hundred days of happiness.

The book proceeds predictably with its repeated message about making the choice to be happy, about looking around and seeing the blessings in life, and about taking control of your own happiness. As you might expect, other friendships an romances emerges.

The serious moments in the book emerge from different sources, some predictable and the others more unexpected. The predictable one of course is Polly's story. How could a story of a lovely young woman struck down with a deadly disease not be sad? Beyond that though, it turns out that Polly has a story that goes beyond her illness. It is a reminder for Annie that all of us have a story. Thankfully, many are not catastrophic like Polly's but each life has sadness and joys. It depends on where you keep the focus.

A serious aspect of this book is embedded in a side character's story. One of the doctor is portrayed as aloof, abrupt, and focused. However, behind that demeanor is a story of an immigrant and a refugee trying to build a new life and devastated by the grief of the suffering of family left behind. Polly makes the point broader, "You know, nearly every doctor I've had in here is foreign. People say its' a bad thing, but what I'd like to know is, who would be doing those jobs if there weren't here? Thank goodness they can, is what I say!" Again, the point becomes that everyone has a story, but we have to choose to listen.

Another serious statement is found in the story of Polly's brother. His is the story of a fear of rejection, abuse, and the courage to emerge from both. The smooth, polished actor surface of his persona hides the story within. Again, a story exists. Joy and sorrow exist.

The book is predictable, sad, and sweet. There is nothing subtle about the points it tries to make. However, the central theme is a reminder that we all need at times. "How about a hundred days of doing our best to be alive - even if it's sad, or ordinary, and we want to cry most of the time? That's what living is, I think. Letting it all in. The happy days, the sad days, the angry days. Being awake to it."

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.