Book Review: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Release Date: January 13^th, 2015
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Pages: 323
Price: $26.95

“The holes in your life are permanent. You have to grow around them, like tree roots around concrete; you mold yourself through the gaps.”

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

This book was a wild ride from start to finish. It was a fantastic mystery that kept me guessing every step of the way. I had a few theories and I eventually figured out what happened before the big reveal, which was a big reveal because I didn’t see it coming for most of the book. The change in narrator is a bit confusing at times, particularly when Rachel drinks heavily because she can’t remember what happens and as a reader that is so frustrating because I can only know as much as she does. There were points where I got so frustrated with her drinking that I would just sit there and  say, Rachel come on, we know what happened last time you did this and it didn’t turn out well. I felt really horrible for Rachel because the entire book she was beating herself up over the state of her life, which to her credit she really did mess up, but it wasn’t completely her fault. She had help. With that said, every character was crafted in a way that kept you reading and wanting to know more about them. The mystery was fantastic and every clue sent you in a new direction. Definitely a highlight of my book reading thus far.

Rating 4 Stars

Book Review: Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

Release Date: September 9^th, 2014
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 275
Price: $17.00

“A well-wielded pen is a woman’s best weapon.”

Jessamin is an outcast in a country that deplores her kind. She’s a native of the island Melei, sent to the shores of Albion to further her studies and better her chances at a future. It is here that she meets the mysterious Lord Finn Ackerly who charms her with golden shimmering locks and sincere kindness. Finn introduces her to the world of nobility, a place with money, power, greed, and perhaps a little bit of magic.

When this new world threatens everything Jessamin has tried to build, a new life, friends, and people she loves her world becomes smaller and smaller. Finn has secrets that become integral to the vicious Lord Downpike who has been waiting to find a weakness in Finn. And now he has one…Jessamin.

I found several issues with this novel, mostly little things. First off, the girl depicted on the cover looks white—Jessamin is described as black or someone with deep brown skin as she is from an island. I’m not sure why that was done because it totally disrespects the main character and it makes no sense as to why the cover wouldn’t have depicted a more realistic version of her skin tone. Second, the book was a little too reminiscent of Cassandra Clare’s books, more specifically The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments. The main character has ‘golden’ hair, described similarly to Jace from Mortal Instruments. There is also the use of shadows, similar to shadowhunters, and she even uses the word ‘infernal’ a few times. Not that Clare has ownership of that word, but it just seems fishy considering there were some very real similarities between the books. Despite this, I enjoyed the book. Jessamin was strong and she refused to be a damsel in distress. She wanted to save herself and I admire that. I felt like the story was too short, everything became too tidy at the end and it all happened within 10 pages. Much too short. It had great potential, and I think it was still successful to an extent, but I just wish there was more.

Book Review: In The Woods by Tara French

In the Woods by Tana French

Release Date: January 1^st, 2007
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 429
Price: $16.00

“What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this — two things: I crave truth. And I lie. ”

*THERE WILL BE SPOILERS*

Detective Adam Ryan grew up in a small Dublin neighborhood.  It was quaint and calm until one day Adam went into the woods with his two friends and only one of them returned. The events of what happened in those woods have long haunted him, despite the fact that he can remember nothing about what happened. He was found gripping a tree trunk while standing in a puddle of blood. With limited memories of his past, Adam reinvents himself, utilizing his middle name instead of his first name, Rob.

Now, twenty years after the disappearances of Adam’s friends he gets called on a case in his old neighborhood. Another child has gone missing. Adam and his partner Cassie begin their investigation, searching for clues in the new case as well as anything that might lead them to answers of the horrors of the past. As the case becomes more complicated with suspects coming and going, Adam has to get a grip on his personal involvement in the case and the questions that have haunted him for twenty years.

First things first, you do not find out what happened to Adam’s friends. I was really annoyed by this fact because even though some new things come to light throughout the story, I still want to know what happened to his friends and why he was the only one who survived. That was the only big problem I had with the book, I needed French to curve my curiosity about the old case, but she didn’t. Adam was also a difficult character to like. I kept second guessing him because he tells you right off the bat that he lies. So how are we as readers supposed to believe him? And he lulls you into these periods where you begin to believe everything he says until you remember that he lies, which just makes him extremely untrustworthy even though he’s the narrator. He had a very odd sense about him, which would make sense considering what he went through, but he still felt so cold. The mystery was intriguing and I got answers, just not to everything. I would be interested in reading other Tara French novels because it was a really interesting case, but I just hope I would get more answers next time.

Book Review: The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

Release Date: January 1^st, 2006
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 736
Price: $16.00

“Her grey eyes sparkled with passion as she spoke. Sid looked into them and for a second he glimpsed her soul. He saw what she was – fierce and brave. Upright. Impatient. And good. So good that she would sit covered in gore, shout at dangerous men, and keep a long, lonely vigil – all to save the likes of him. He realized she was a rare creature, as rare as a rose in winter.”

India Selwyn Jones has a mission. In 1900 England, she plans to open a clinic for all those suffering and poor in the East End. Having just graduated from the London School of Medicine for Women, India is privy to the privileges she has kept most of her life. Yearning to make a difference, India refuses warnings and advice that heeds her to take root in a medical facility in a fashionable neighborhood. It is here that she meets the infamous Sid Malone, one of London’s most notorious gangsters who dapples in everything from opium dens to gun shipments. He is rich with money, power, but most of all secrets from his past that haunt him.

It is with Sid that India becomes enchanted, along with life in East End and with the idea that she could help save lives along the way. It isn’t just India who feels a magnetic pull towards Sid, but he feels it too, worrying that she would throw away her dreams or worse end up in the center of one of his messes. When loyalties are tested and villains emerge, India and Sid have to choose to save themselves, each other, or their dreams.

Unbeknownst to me, this is the second book in the Tea Rose series by Donnelly. I purchased it several years ago, but it sounded like a standalone book. I wasn’t confused really by anything that was hinted at, I was really able to dive right in and understand what was happening and who these characters really were. Donnelly is one of those authors that I continuously come back to. The first book I read of hers was a wonderful YA book called The Northern Light, it was my first introduction to the idea that I could be a writer and it made me love literature and words with such a fierce passion. In a way, that book started my identity and my journey as an author and a writer. Her characters are always wonderful and achingly heartbreaking. India felt so tangible, such a modern woman in a time when woman were still show pieces and breeders. She had such bravery and intelligence. She gave all of herself to her craft and to her dreams, but most of all she never stopped believing in something better. Sid *sigh* he was a heart stealer. He had this tough exterior that I wanted to crack and when I was let inside, I was surprised to find the heart and the soul of a young boy who had shut out the world long ago. I was enveloped in these characters and I felt so close to them. Donnelly will always get high praise from me.

Book Review: Beautiful Disaster by Laura Spinella

Beautiful Disaster by Laura Spinella

Release Date: November 23, 2010
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Pages: 370
Price: $15.00

“I have more faith in you than you do. You see a single disaster when you look into that mirror. I see the whole beautiful man.”

Mia Well’s career is about to take off. Her eco-friendly office building designs are about to become a long awaited reality when a shocking piece of Mia’s past comes hurtling into her present. The man who was always in Mia’s dreams, the one who never disappeared from her mind, has suddenly resurfaced. With his arrival come memories and emotions that Mia has kept at bay for twelve years.

Mia was a college student in Athens, Georgia studying interior design when Flynn asked to buy her a beer. His mysterious background leaves a lot to be desired, half a name, and no ties to anything or anyone, except for Mia. His edgy and mysterious exterior calls to Mia and her love for a man as enigmatic as Flynn grows with each passing day. When she learns his secrets, Mia remains faithful, holding onto the mystery until he resurfaces.

After all those years of questions Flynn is back in Mia’s life and unconscious in a hospital bed after a nasty accident left him almost dead. Mia remains by his side at the hospital, afraid that she will never get to say goodbye and afraid that a twelve year old mystery will never be solved. Ever since he left, Mia had an empty place in her heart that not even her husband could fill. Mia’s what-ifs build and build until the answers are revealed and a twelve year old ache is diminished.

This book did a lot of things to me. I was in an emotional place and it brought up a lot my own fears. With that being said, it was a really terrific book. There was romance and passion and a sizzle between Flynn and Mia that made me rather jealous. I wanted to know about Flynn’s past and when it was revealed, everything made sense. It killed me how things disintegrated between Mia and Flynn, but she held strong for twelve years—their love was that strong. It’s one of those things that I hope for my own future. And sure, it could have ended differently because life is always uncertain, but I’m glad it ended the way it did. Definitely looking for her other books.

Book Review: The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

Release Date: February 11, 2014
Publisher: Doubleday
Pages: 314
Price: $14.05

“Madness is always a wonderful excuse, don’t you think? For doing terrible things to other people.”

Small towns carry old legends and folklore that are passed around the dinner table like hot biscuits. Secrets, whose nature could be dark or light, suddenly become heavily guarded treasures of the past. People die, but secrets are forever; except when the secret is a person and that person can never die.

West Hall, Virginia 1908: Sarah Harrison Shea is found dead in the field behind her home only months after the death of her young daughter, Gertie. It was believed her husband shot and killed her, but not everything is so black and white. Sarah and her husband Martin had a good marriage. They had lost several children in infancy and a son Charles, when he was a year old. Gertie was their miracle baby and she soothed the grief that Sarah felt over the loss of her precious Charles. When Gertie dies, everything in Sarah’s world collapses. She becomes desperate for answers and desperate to have her daughter back. But Sarah has secrets from her past, dark secrets that return when she meddles with magic that she has no control over.

West Hall, Virginia Present Day: Nineteen year old Ruthie lives in the same farm house as Sarah, with her mother Alice and her younger sister Fawn. They live off the grid, much to the dismay of Ruthie, especially when Ruthie awakens one morning to find that her mother is missing. While Ruthie and Fawn look for clues as to her whereabouts they find a gun and Sarah Harrison Shea’s mysterious diary hidden beneath the floorboards of their mother’s bedroom. Soon, Ruthie becomes pulled into Sarah’s fate and the secrets that surround her own identity. She quickly discovers that she isn’t the only one looking for answers and that some secrets don’t stay buried.

McMahon’s books have been a point of contention for me. On the one hand, her writing kind of creeps me out and gets into my head. On the other hand, I fly right through it because it’s so suspenseful and mysterious that I NEED to know what happens. It’s been a few years since I last read one of her books and I wasn’t disappointed with this novel. I thought that it was eerie and dark, yet suspenseful and full of mystery. I had to make myself read it during the day because it freaked me out too much at night. It’s not scary, but it’s just creepy enough to linger in your mind for a while. All of her books have that underlying creepiness and a mystery that you need to unravel for your own sanity.

Book Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Release Date: January 1, 1991
Publisher: Bantam Dell (Random House)
Pages: 850
Price: $9.99

“But just then, for that fraction of time, it seems as though all things are possible. You can look across the limitations of your own life, and see that they are really nothing. In that moment when time stops, it is as though you know you could undertake any venture, complete it and come back to yourself, to find the world unchanged, and everything just as you left it a moment before. And it’s as though knowing that everything is possible, suddenly nothing is necessary.”

Many of us believe in doorways to other worlds, perhaps we believe in magic and superstition. Everything happens for a reason, or so we sometimes like to tell ourselves when things occur in certain ways. We never know for certain the journeys we have in life and the bumps or kinks in the road ahead. Everything in life is so uncertain. But what if you were to live two lives? Which pathway would you choose and what regrets would you simply have to release?

1945: The war has just ended, leaving many families torn apart and couples separated by more than miles. Claire Randall and her husband Frank journey to Scotland for a second honeymoon after having spent six years apart; Claire on the frontlines as a combat nurse while Frank tended to classified matters of the British government. The charm of the Scottish countryside dazzles them as they explore the mysteries and enchantments of the rolling hills. Picking Scotland as their destination wasn’t just happenstance, Frank wanted to trace his family lineage and discover more about his ancestors. With little to do, Claire finds herself tagging along with Frank, learning his family history along with him. With everything going seemingly well, the couple reconnects—until Claire walks through the ancient standing stones of Craigh na Dun waking up in a time that is not her own.

1743: Scotland and England are at war. The Scottish highlands have become a dangerous place for those who are against the English, even more dangerous for an outsider, a Sassenach. In a time of clans and lairds, spies are a threat, and when Claire lands herself among the Scottish people she is lost and confused. She knows she came through the ancient stones, but how? Quickly racking her mind for old customs, Claire portrays herself as a young widow who was traveling towards France when she was ambushed my English soldiers. Even with a slightly believable story, Claire’s background is suspect, leaving her an outsider; a Sassenach as the Scottish call it, in a world where anything but clan is dangerous. But in this strange land, Claire finds Jamie Fraser, a strong handsome lad who gathers her friendship before acquiring her heart. Claire becomes torn between faithfulness and yearning, and between two men who hold her heart in different ways and different centuries.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Outlander. I started watching the series on Starz and told myself that I should really read the book (as is my usual rule for anything bookish to be made for the big screen). So I skipped a couple episodes to get myself ahead of the storyline and low and behold, I finished well ahead of the episode line ups. I really enjoyed Claire as a character, here she was this modern woman (for the time) and she didn’t take crap from anyone. While I deeply appreciated that aspect of her, there were times where I wanted to tell her to tone it down. The time period she was in didn’t lend itself to any sort of women’s rights and so her behavior didn’t always look favorably on her situation. Despite this, she had spirit and I think that was the main thing we were supposed to get from her feistiness and stubbornness. Then we have Jamie Fraser—the man who made me weak at the knees and sent audible sighs through the candle lit room in which I read. I adored him from the very beginning. He was sweet and slightly shy, yet strong and reliable. He took Claire under his wing and tended to her like a proper friend. As their relationship grows, we learn more about Jamie and his past. He hasn’t been given the best deal in life, but Claire shines some happiness amidst his darker clouds. Towards the end of the book the story gets very dark. *TRIGGER WARNING* (I won’t go into detail but if you are an avid reader or up to date on rape culture, trigger warning is for those who have been the victim of any kind of abuse and this warning allows them to steer clear of literature containing anything that might evoke memories of their past.) It is at this point that the author truly goes dark and enters a realm of the story that I hadn’t seen coming. I became visibly upset at what the characters had to endure, and it was extremely difficult to read. At first I was unsure about continuing on with the series, there are 8 books all together and it is a relatively large commitment, but the way the book ended basically lent itself to me needing to continue on with the story. I didn’t come across anything that I hated about the book. I guess the only thing that could be negative was that it seemed as though it could have ended earlier without the darkness and it still would have been a great book. The world itself was great and it was such a unique idea that everything was intriguing. It wasn’t just a romance story; it had politics, rebellion, death, magic, and so many other things. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m sure many more readers will.

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Read: December 18^th, 2013-December 23^rd, 2013

Release Date: May 24, 2012
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (Division of Random House Publishing)
Pages: 415
Price: $25.00

“There’s a difference between really loving someone and loving the idea of her.”

Driving down a winding road is one thing, but driving down a winding road, on the side of a cliff, in the dark, with absolutely no idea where you’re going is a different story. This book falls under the second scenario. You may think you have it all figured out, but you don’t. Even when things are revealed, you still don’t know the whole story until the very end. Don’t for one second believe that this story has a happy ending. In fact, the ending was the worst part of the book. There were chapters where I was cursing things that rhyme with truck and runt, but the ending was the cause of my real hatred. With all of that aside, the book was suspenseful. I wanted to know what happened. I needed to know how everything played out. You’ll receive all of that and so, so much more.

Nick Dunne: Quintessential husband of the year except for a few dirty details: his alcohol habit, his temper, his tall silent type disposition, his lack of romance, and his all-around careless approach to life. Mix all of these things together, and when Nick finds his home ransacked and his wife missing he feels—nothing. On the outside. Inside he is somewhat worried about Amy, recalling the fight that they had had the night before; how he could barely stomach being around her and yet he still loved her. Their move from the big apple hadn’t gone as well as he would have liked, leaving Amy miserable in his hometown of North Carthage, Missouri. He escaped their now boring lives by going to work at the bar his twin sister Margo, “Go”, bought with him when he moved back home a few months before. And, when Amy goes missing it’s his alibi—until it isn’t.

Amy Elliot Dunne: Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Being the inspiration for a highly acclaimed child’s series is a lot of pressure on a girl. Amy Dunne was a spoiled little rich girl who usually got everything she wanted. With a trust fund deep enough to last a lifetime, Amy has little to worry about. Nick was her perfect man when they began their courtship. He made her laugh and didn’t treat her with kid gloves the way her parents still did. After all, they were banking on their ‘Amazing Amy’ series modeled after their perfect daughter. Her journal entries paint a life of love and happiness until Nick’s mother becomes ill, forcing them to uproot and move to a town where nobody knows Amy and everyone remembers Nick.

As the police descend upon the case, Nick is their prime suspect. He is cooperative and gives the police full disclosure of his home, his business, and his daily activities. The house suggests a struggle, upturned furniture, the front door wide open, all leading to a pool of blood in the kitchen. With his life becoming front page news, Nick isn’t doing himself any favors by remaining cold and secluded. As the investigation continues, Nick begins to weave a web of lies, deception, and some inappropriate flirting with a search volunteer. The pressure builds as the walls begin to close in on him. He is bitter, angry, and ambiguous—but did he really have the cojones to kill Amy?

Trudging into the line of fire, Nick pleads innocence to anyone who will listen. But the public can’t seem to trust him, wondering if he didn’t do it—who did and where is Amy? Who would have taken her and why? And what is the secret hidden in the back of their closet? All will be revealed as the anniversary scavenger hunt commences, but there are more than love letters and gifts hidden inside those little treasures—they’re clues.

Told from the perspective of Nick, and journal entries from Amy from five years prior leading up to the present, the book blows open the doors on the typical husband/wife relationship. Leading with lies and deceit from the very beginning, the story is—for lack of a better word: wild. The amount of crazy captured in this book is astounding and nothing is ever as it seems. I went back and forth between how I felt about both characters. I liked Nick in the beginning, but then I started to not trust him. Amy was a whiny child in her journal entries so I wasn’t her biggest fan from the get go—but I still wanted to know what happened to her. In the end, I hated both of them for completely different reasons. I hated Amy for what she had done, and I hated Nick for what he hadn’t done. You may be angry when you finish, but curiosity killed the cat, and you’ll just have to live with yourself for reading to the very end to unravel the mystery

Review: Dream With Little Angels by Michael Hiebert

Dream With Little Angels by Michael Hiebert

Read: November 27^{th, 2013-} December 2^{nd, 2013}

Release Date: June 25, 2013
Publisher: Kensington House Pub Ltd.
Pages: 304
Price (Paperback): $15.00

Abe Teal is a precocious eleven year old boy keen to the changing ways of life. His older sister, Carry, just started dating her first boyfriend, leaving no time to play with Abe or his best friend Dewey, a pastime that she used to find enjoyable. Leah, Abe’s single mother, was left widowed feeling more than distraught and anger at her late husband’s passing. The only thing keeping Leah sane is her job as the sole detective in small Alvin, Alabama in 1987.  But, her sanity isn’t long lasting.

Life takes a sudden turn when fourteen year old Mary Anne Dailey vanishes after getting off her school bus at the end of the day. With Mary Anne, not that much younger than Carry, Leah becomes shaky as memories of her first missing person’s case begins to resurface in her mind. The town goes on high alert, searching the mountains and swamp areas for any sign of the missing girl. Days later, Tiffany Yates, a black girl around the same age as Mary Anne, disappears leaving Abe and Dewey as the last witnesses to see her alive. With all the nightmares beginning to resurface, Leah decides to allow Abe to shadow her in the investigation, as he is technically a witness in Tiffany’s disappearance.

As time passes with no new leads, Abe begins to realize that racism is still very prevalent in their town despite his mother’s persistence in both missing girls’ cases. His all white church prays only for Mary Anne Dailey, while the local Baptist church prays for both girls’ safe return. Abe finds this odd, as he believes all people are God’s children, and he can’t seem to shake the uneasiness he feels as the cases go on longer with no new leads.

Abe can see the toll that the cases take on his mother, leaving her exhausted physically, emotionally, and mentally. He presses her for details about a case that haunts her – one that has stayed in her mind from long before Abe was even born. Twelve years prior, Ruby Mae Vickers went missing, and for months, the entire town searched for her. Her body was finally found posed beneath a willow tree with various means of torture apparent on her cold, lifeless skin. Leah was never able to forgive herself for not finding Ruby in time, and it has plagued her every single day since.

The town goes into high gear as the case takes on a new urgency, and Abe is brought onto the front lines of the case with Leah at the helm. She is more determined than ever to bring a little girl home. Forced into facing the darker side of life that children rarely see, Abe accepts that his childhood is over and that becoming more mature means that he has to sacrifice some of his innocence in order to help his mother catch an age-old killer.

Told from the perspective of eleven year old Abe, the story slips through the time of his childhood innocence to a time when he becomes more mature and understanding. A demeanor that emerges as more of the case becomes evident. He makes use of his ears, listening to his mother argue with her boss over the case. Even during interviews, in order to get the reader the insight that no eleven year old would ever be exposed to in normal circumstance.

Abe was an intelligent boy, making deductions about people, the case, and ultimately life through his experiences. He dangled the killer in front of the reader’s face, but didn’t provide enough information for any guess to be made based off evidence, as there was very little. However, I made a wild guess, saying to myself, “How funny would it be if _____ was the killer?” Clearly, the matter at hand was not humorous at all, but the writer in me thought it would have been an interesting turn of events, and it just so happened to work out that way.

The end explanation of the murders seemed a little rushed to me. It felt as though it was slapped onto the end as a way to explain why the deaths occurred, but at the same time, the explanation wasn’t as creative as it could have been. As I said, it felt rushed, and I didn’t feel like justice was served for the victims and their families. The main characters’ lives returned to normal afterward, with Leah finally being able to bury her demons. Even with that knowledge, I thought the ending fell flat in comparison to the rest of the book.