Bookish Review: One Thousand White Women

Although fictional, the book is written as if a descendant found the actual journals of his great great grandmother. The author takes actual historical events and weaves a fictional narrative. A Cheyenne chief requests 1000 white women as wives for his men. In truth, this request was never fulfilled, but in this book, Fergus imagines what might have happened if it was. I came to really care about the characters, and as Fergus weaves in actual historical events (like the slaughter of Indians as more white settlers want to come look for gold in the Black Hills), the book will leave you in tears. A great read.

Bookish Review: Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood

Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood is a re-telling of Sense and Sensibility for today's teens. When Hallie and Grace Weston's father dies, he leaves everything to their step-mother and half-brother and they--and their mother--are left with nothing. Luckily, their mother has a generous relative, so they find a place to live, but it is in LA, not their hometown of San Francisco. Everything seems to be turned upside down, and Grace is the only one taking their situation seriously. Can Hallie and Grace both find love and a way to start over in their new life?

Fun read, clever retelling. Teens should enjoy.

Note: An e-ARC of this title was provided by the publisher via NetGalley, which was much appreciated, but did not affect the content of my review.

Bookish Review: A Bat in the Belfry

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I was expecting a typical cozy mystery, but this was less fluffy than I expected. The book has a lot of characters and multiple points of view. The main character is Jacobia--aka Jake--Tiptree. Her son Sam also plays a role, as does Sam's friend, who becomes a suspect for the murder of a young girl in town. The book is set in a small town in Maine, and the setting is almost a character in its own right. The ending was a little anti-climactic, but overall it was a very enjoyable read. It was more compelling than I predicted, and kept me turning pages. The book is part of a series, but I haven't read any of the others--you don't need to to read and enjoy this one. But I may pick up another mystery from Sarah Graves for my next vacation read.

Note: An e-ARC of this title was provided by the publisher via NetGalley, which was much appreciated, but did not affect the content of my review.

Bookish Review: Frozen Solid

Frozen Solid is Tabor's second book featuring heroine Hallie Leland. I didn't read the first, but Hallie is a strong and compelling character. Readers who enjoy thrillers, especially those involving secret government agencies and intrigue should enjoy this one. Hallie is sent to replace an old friend who has died suddenly while doing scientific research on the South Pole. Hallie is no stranger to dangerous places, but the South Pole is the most extreme setting she's ever ventured into, and when she discovers that her friend's death was no accident, she realizes she may be in over her head. Hallie's mentor and her boyfriend back in the States begin to realize that there is something happening on the Pole, but with communications down and weather restricting travel, is there any way they can help her before it is too late?

This is definitely a page-turner. I still have a question about the ending, but for the most part, a very enjoyable and exciting read.

Note: An e-ARC of this title was provided by the publisher via NetGalley, which was much appreciated, but did not affect the content of my review.

Bookish Review: Keep No Secrets

Keep No Secrets is a sequel, and it absolutely reads like a continuation of a story, but the author does enough recapping that the reader does not feel lost even if she hasn't read the previous work. The main character is the DA, who is trying to rebuild his marriage after a brief affair that was splashed all over the media. This is made more difficult, however, when his son's girlfriend accuses him of rape and his former lover returns to town. The characters are not wholly likeable (though perhaps reading the previous book would have helped with that), and the escalation of his court case for rape, given that he is not guilty, and his accuser never intended the lie to go so far, seems a bit improbable, but the book really is a page-turner and kept me reading til the end. The revelation at the end is not as surprising as perhaps it was intended to be, but it was still a very entertaining read.

Note: An e-ARC of this title was provided by the publisher via NetGalley, which was much appreciated, but did not affect the content of my review.

Bookish Review: Belladonna

Belladonna is historical fiction for tweens/teens. At least one of the characters is a real historical figure, but not one that I was familiar with. Set in 1757, a young Englishman stumbles upon a mysterious French girl in the English countyside. He is soon captivated by her and gets involved in trying to help her reccover her horse. As time goes on, she involves him in new opportunities and schemes and the path of his life is forever changed. An interesting and fun read, which horse lovers in particular will enjoy.

I got my hands on an ARC of this somehow, for which I thank the publisher, Candlewick Press, but the free copy did not affect my review.

Bookish Review: Her Fearful Symmetry

Her  Fearful Symmetry is a book about secrets, ghosts, and twins. Elspeth and Edie are twins who have been separated most of their adult lives. Elspeth has never met her twin nieces, but nonetheless leave them her fortune and her London flat when she dies--but she stays in the flat, too. One twin desires to separate herself from the other, to discover her own life, whereas the other wants nothing more than for them to be together forever. Valentina decides the only way to escape her twin is to fake her death, and ropes her ghostly aunt and her aunt's former lover (also her current love interest) into going along with her plan. But all does not go as planned...

An interesting and fun read, but unsatisfying ending.

Bookish Review: Gone Girl

Gone Girl has recieved a lot of press and critical acclaim, and it was a great read. The book opens with Nick's wife disappearing, and is told alternatively through his and her point of view. About halfway through the book, you feel like you've about got it figured out, and then you realize you haven't got anything figured out. The second half of the book is definitely a page-turner. A great psychological thriller. I didn't love the ending, but it made for a much more disturbing book. Highly recommended.

Bookish Review: Off Armageddon Reef

This book was recommended to me by my boyfriend, and was an enjoyable read. He loves sci-fi and historical fiction, particularly if it involves naval battles and swashbuckling, seafaring adventure. So, I could clearly see why he loves this, because it's kind of Horatio Hornblower in space. The beginning is a bit slow, but once it gets going, it's very entertaining. The book is set in the future, and humns are forced to start a new settlement on a new planet, hiding from alien enemies. To remain hidden, they need to eschew modern technology. To facilitate this, the founders start a new religion that forbids technology that is not wind or water powered and sets themselves up as archangels. Hundreds of years pass. However, there is one being that remembers why the humans have had to restart their civilization, that the religious dogma is not true, and who believes the threat of the enemy is not over. This being begins to orchestrate changes in the society and naval battles ensue on the new planet. At this point, it's an exciting read, with a fairly happy ending, but it's just the beginning of the fight. I haven't yet read more in the series, but I am looking forward to it.

Bookish Review: Mathilda Savitch

This book is not a beach read. I took it on vacation without really remembering/knowing what it was about. It's not light-hearted, it's not fun, and consequently I did not enjoy it very much. It is not poorly written, just depressing. Mathilda is an unreliable narrator, trying to deal with her family falling apart in the wake of her sister's death. Mathilda can no longer make sense of her life and doesn't know who to blame for her sister's death. Her mother is a depressed alcoholic, her father doesn't know what to do, and Mathilda is caught between crying out for attention and wanting to destroy herself.

This is not a fun read. But it's not poorly written. If you like depressing books, you may enjoy it.

Bookish Review: The Weird Sisters

The Weird Sisters is the story of 3 approximately 30-something sisters whose lives have not turned out the way they wanted. Daughters of a prominent Shakespearean scholar, their semi-dysfunctional family communicates in the language of the bard. But it is hard to find the words when mom is battling cancer, the eldest is worried about her engagement falling apart, the middle daughter is a disgraced thief, and the youngest is a pregnant wanderer. All 3 are home together again for  the first time in years.

Some of the characters are annoying because they have gotten themselves in some stupid messes, but  the Shakespeare references are fun and you do come to care for the characters and hope they turn their lives around. Good read overall, nice ending.

Bookish Review: A Dance with Dragons

The 5th book in the Game of Thrones Series (I know that's not the official series name, but it's how everyone knows it) was confusing, but good. I had forgotten that the book overlaps with the 4th, so I was very confused about the timeline at first. Once again, Martin introduces dozens of characters, so it's a challenge to keep them all straight. Despite the fact that I know no one is safe in Martin's books, he surprised me yet again with who he seemingly killed off in this one (can't be completely sure,but I'm 99% confident the person is dead). He always makes me want to throw the book across the room in a rage when he does that, but I keep reading! I was happy to see more of Arya,Tyrion, Bran, and John Snow in this one. Martin better get writing--I want #6!

Bookish Review: The Sisters Brothers

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book. I don't remember why--maybe I won a contest? At any rate, the fact that I received a free copy did not affect my review.

I had read numerous glowing reviews of this book before I read it, but the descriptions didn't make it seem like my kind of story. A Western about a pair of assassin brothers? Not my usual cup of tea.

However, the reviews were right. The book is imminently readable and DeWitt has given the narrator a unique and compelling voice. It's a very different and unusual book, but I recommend it. DeWitt might consider a new author photo, though.

Bookish Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars is the latest from YA author John Green. I became a fan of the Green brothers through their YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers) long before I read any of John's books, so I was very excited when I heard that both John and his brother Hank were coming to my town on the Tour de Nerdfighting to promote this book. Even before it was released, this book was getting a ton of buzz and has been widely lauded as Green's best book to date, as well as being on the NYT bestseller list. John has said that he worked on this book for over a decade, and the end result is lovely. The book begins with a sense of doom, since the main character has terminal cancer. But, she's not dead yet, and the book talks a lot about how life changes and what your life should be--if it should be any different--knowing that it is about to be over. John has said that being a parent helped him write this, and the scenes with the parents of the terminal characters are some of the most heart-wrenching because what is more terrible than outliving your children? There are a few predictable and a few outrageous scenes, but overall the book is funny and touching and heart-breaking and very hard to put down. Highly recommended.

Bookish Review: P is for Peril

P is for Peril is the latest addition to Sue Grafton's series. I have read other books in the series, but it has been so many years since I read one, I could not even tell you which ones, though I am fairly certain A is for Alibi was among them. The main character, Kinsey Milhone, is a private investigator. In this one, she has been charged with finding a doctor who just disappeared, seemingly into thin air. There is also a side plot line involving the new landlords she gets herself involved in. Some things are rather far-fetched, but it's overall a quick, pretty enjoyable read. You can absolutely jump into the series with virtually no problems from not having read the earlier works. Not a must-read, but not bad.

Bookish Review: Falling for Hamlet

Falling for Hamlet retells Shakespeare's "Hamlet" from Ophelia's point of view, set in the present day. In this one, Ophelia is not crazy and doesn't kill herself, just pretends to. The book is sprinkled with lines from the play (and some from other Shakespeare plays), but the majority is re-written prose. Hamlet is a college student and Ophelia is a modern-day high schooler who lives in the building with the royal family. They're together, though their families do not approve. When Hamlet's father dies, things start to fall apart. The book was an enjoyable read, and the transition of the classic story to the present-day is pretty well done. It seems this could be used to pique teen's interest in the play.

Bookish Review: Second Glance

I think this may be my favorite Jodi Picoult novel yet (she's written a lot more than I've read, but I have read a few). Her books are usually somewhat hard to read and tackle difficult topics. This one focuses on a ghost story, which was an interesting departure. It also touches on suicide, eugenics, selective breeding, rare diseases, discrimination against American Indians, and love--so, you know, nothing too complicated or controversial! It's set in Vermont and weaves together stories from the 1930s through today, mainly focusing on the impact loved ones can have on us, what family means, and some paranormal activity. Quite an enjoyable read and not as bleak as some she's written. Oh, and the eugenics information she includes is based on real-life happenings in the 30s, which I had not heard about. Pretty interesting--and scary.

Bookish Review: The Family Fang

The Family Fang is an interesting book about the damage parents can inflict on their children and whether those children can overcome the damage. Mr. and Mrs. Fang are performance artists and when they have children, the children become an integral part of the art. They refer to their children as Child A and Child B more often than their actual names and the question becomes whether they actually love their children or just love what they can do for their art. When their parents disappear, Annie and Buster must determine whether something has actually happened to them or if this is just another piece of art, and whether they should go along with it this time or not.

I wouldn't call this a fun read, but it is interesting and pretty well-written.

Bookish Review: The Magicians

I have mixed feelings about this book. I had read Grossman's previous work and I was not a huge fan. But, this came recommended by friends and got a lot of buzz and good reviews, so I thought I'd give it a short. There are definitely a lot of Narnia and Harry Potter allusions, as perhaps you'd expect. The book is about a teenager who's a bit obsessed with a Narnia-like series of books and then discovers that magic is real, but it's a lot harder than it seems in books. All hunky-dory so far. Grossman's writing of teenagers can be a little cliche, but it's not unbearable. My problem is, as we all know, I like a happy ending, especially with my magical realism/fantasy. There's no happy ending here--no ending, really, since there's a sequel (I'm not sure how many books are planned). The problem is, I didn't love the characters enough, so I probably won't read the others. If you're a Narnia fan who's grown up to hate saccharine endings and like a little darkness in your novels instead, you may enjoy this. Me, I'd rather read Harry Potter.

Bookish Review: Heads You Lose

If you've read other reviews on the blog, you probably know I love Lisa Lutz's Spellman series. This is a departure; it's a murder mystery written in alternating chapters by Lisa and David Hayward. The story is kind of odd, but the fun part is the snarky letters Lisa & David write to each other preceding each chapter (as well as the footnote comments when one reads the other's work). I didn't love it as much as the Spellman books, but it is still pretty entertaining, particularly if you enjoy the writing process or if you have ever had to collaborate with someone on a project and it didn't turn out quite as you hoped. They wrap up all the loose ends by the final chapter, don't worry. Overall, an enjoyable romp.