TLC BOOK TOUR REVIEW: Playthings by Ilan Mochari

 A Review of Playthings in poetic form 

These poems arrive like riddles in disguise,

small locked boxes that beg for your eyes.
I turned them around, tried each clever key,
ruminating on what they meant to me.

The author writes love notes to life, to the wild and the weather,
finds the sacred in spiderlings, bubblegum, feathers—
the mundane gets lifted, given wings, given flair,
proof that wonder hides in the mundane somewhere.

Some poems made me laugh, some left me undone,
tragedy and comedy sharing the sun.
Every page beautiful, none of them thin—
an aperitif that leaves you wanting seconds again.

So, call it a snack, an amuse-bouche, a bite—
but I finished it hungry, and read into the night.

About the Author

Ilan Mochari is the author of the poetry collection PLAYTHINGS and the novel ZINSKY THE OBSCURE. His short stories and poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Cincinnati Review, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Salamander, Hobart, Juked, J Journal, North Dakota Quarterly, The Louisville Review, Valparaiso Fiction Review, and elsewhere. His work has been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes, as well as the Derringer Award for crime fiction, and he has been the recipient of a Literature Artist Fellowship grant from the Somerville Arts Council.

PLAYTHINGS is now available on Bookshop.org and Amazon!

My Rating:

I would like to thank TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. 

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through TLC Book Tours and the author in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. 

QUICK REVIEW: Upward Bound by Woody Brown

 

Synopsis

Upward Bound is not a place anyone dreams of spending their days. The dreary adult daycare center for Los Angeles's disabled community is, for many of its clients and staff, a place of last resort. This includes Carlos, a young aide who lost his mother as a boy and now works there alongside his beloved sister Mariana; Jorge, the gentle nonspeaking giant whom Carlos seeks to befriend (and prevent from escaping); Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy, who pines for Ann, the summer lifeguard at the center's pool who feels out of her depth; then there's Dave, Upward Bound’s director who came to L.A. to pursue an acting career but now channels his passion into staging an overly ambitious holiday show starring the center's irrepressible clients. Framing these intertwined narratives—and connecting them in surprising, shattering ways—is the riveting and sometimes ironic testimony of Walter, a recent community college graduate who, after a family tragedy, must return to the company of his disabled peers.

In Upward Bound, Woody Brown has created an indelible, authentic, and profoundly moving group portrait of autism and other disabilities, all illuminated by his empathy, sly sense of humor, and enormous gifts as a novelist. With remarkable sophistication, insight, and creativity, Brown depicts a community too-often invisible in literature and society. Filled with characters you won't soon forget, Upward Bound will inspire and touch you, teaching you as much about yourself as the tender, miraculous world behind the center's doors.

Format 208 pages, Hardcover
Published March 31, 2026 by Hogarth
ISBN 9780593979976 (ISBN10: 0593979974)

My Thoughts

The story unfolds through the first-person perspectives of both patients and workers at an adult day care center — a world that doesn't often find its way into fiction, and one that turns out to be quietly rich with humanity.

What makes it work is the angle. Rather than observing these characters from the outside, you're dropped directly into their inner lives — their small victories, their frustrations, their moments of unexpected connection. It feels fresh in a literary landscape where the same settings and storylines seem to recycle endlessly.

That said, don't go in expecting a page-turner. Upward Bound is not a story that grabs you by the collar. It's more of a gentle companion — the kind of listen you settle into rather than race through. As an audiobook it worked particularly well for that reason, fitting naturally into quieter moments of the day.

My final word: Upward Bound took me by surprise with its setting and approach. It won't be the most thrilling thing you listen to this year, but it's a genuinely pleasant diversion with more substance than you might expect. Sometimes that's exactly what you need.

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

QUICK REVIEW: Mental Exercises for Dogs by Susan Swanson

Synopsis

Do you feel overwhelmed by the behavior of your energetic dog?

Have you ever wished that your dog would obey commands, stay calm and be the perfect companion in every situation?

Do your dog's signs of stress and anxiety make you anxious?

🐶🐶🐶 If the answer is "YES", then read on because this is the book you have been looking for! 🐶🐶🐶

I get it. Dealing with an energetic dog who never seems to get tired, especially with just the basic exercises, can be nerve-wracking. Perhaps you've tried to train your dog using common sense and personal experience, only to find that he still won't listen or remains problematic. You may not know where your dog came from or how he was treated in his early years. Perhaps past training mistakes have left their mark , making corrections seem more daunting as time goes on.

You're not alone in this challenge. But here's the good there is a way to engage your dog's mind and keep him mentally happy and calm. "Mental Exercises for Dogs" is the solution you've been looking for!

👉 FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS! EVEN IF YOU'VE NEVER OWNED A DOG BEFORE, THIS STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE WILL GIVE YOU REAL, LASTING RESULTS!

⭐⭐⭐ As you read this book, you'll discover: ⭐⭐⭐

✔️ COMPREHENSIVE Dive into effective and proven training techniques curated by a professional dog trainer.

✔️ EARLY & LATE Whether you're starting with a puppy or an adult dog with a history of behavioral problems, you'll find strategies tailored to each stage.

✔️ STAY IN Learn to manage large breeds or particularly energetic dogs to ensure the safety of the elderly or children around them.

✔️ STEP-BY-STEP Follow detailed, easy-to-understand steps for each workout.

✔️ PROFESSIONAL You will benefit from the experience of a professional trainer who has dedicated his life to dogs and has taken his dogs to the highest levels of international competition.

✔️ BUILD STRONG Techniques that focus not just on obedience, but on creating an enduring bond between you and your furry companion.

👉 Imagine walking into a café or a friend's house with your dog at your side, obedient, calm and perfectly at ease in any situation. Imagine the nods of approval, the compliments and the sense of pride that comes from knowing you've given your dog the best training to ensure both his and your happiness.

Now this dream can become your reality. "Mental Exercises for Dogs" is the tool that will bridge the gap between chaos and calm. Thanks to the techniques explained in this book, you can now take your dog with you wherever you go and share every moment of your day with him. Are you ready for this transformational journey?

🐕🐕🐕 IMMERSE YOURSELF IN A WORLD OF EFFECTIVE DOG TRAINING. 

My Thoughts

I wanted to like this book. I have three dogs and would love to learn some tricks to challenge them. Unfortunately, I found it wanting. While it may be a good fit for some who are new to dogs, most of this book just covers the basics of obedience training taught in any introductory class and basic tricks like "Shake", and then just dabbles in things like an introduction to agility training. Additionally, the book would have benefited from a good proofreader, as it is riddled with typos and grammatical errors that I found a distraction (even the synopsis says the author is a trainer who has dedicated "his" life to his dogs. Perhaps the author has opted for the pronouns he/him, but I'm guessing it is instead an error.) Overall, I found it just mediocre for anyone with any experience with dogs and basic training knowledge.

Buy Now:

Amazon

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

My thanks to the author for the free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

QUICK REVIEW: Neverhome by Laird Hunt

Synopsis

An extraordinary novel about a wife who disguises herself as a man and goes off to fight in the Civil War.

She calls herself Ash, but that's not her real name. She is a farmer's faithful wife, but she has left her husband to don the uniform of a Union soldier in the Civil War. Neverhome tells the harrowing story of Ash Thompson during the battle for the South. Through bloodshed and hysteria and heartbreak, she becomes a hero, a folk legend, a madwoman and a traitor to the American cause.

Laird Hunt's dazzling new novel throws a light on the adventurous women who chose to fight instead of stay behind. It is also a mystery story: why did Ash leave and her husband stay? Why can she not return? What will she have to go through to make it back home?

In gorgeous prose, Hunt's rebellious young heroine fights her way through history, and back home to her husband, and finally into our hearts.

Hardcover, 256 pages
Expected publication: September 9th 2014 by Little, Brown and Company (first published September 1st 2014)
ISBN  0316370134 (ISBN13: 9780316370134)


About the Author

Laird Hunt is the award-winning author of a book of short stories, mock parables and histories, The Paris Stories (2000), originally from Smokeproof Press, though now re-released by Marick Press, and five novels from Coffee House Press: The Impossibly (2001), Indiana, Indiana (2003), The Exquisite (2006) Ray of the Star (2009) and Kind One (2012), which was a finalist for both the 2013 Pen/Faulkner award and the 2013 Pen USA Literary Award in Fiction and the winner of a 2013 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction. A new novel, Neverhome, will be published in the United States by Little, Brown and by Chatto in the UK. His translation of Oliver Rohe’s Vacant Lot was published by Counterpath Press, who also published his co-translation with Anne-Laure Tissut of Arno Bertina’s Brando, My Solitude. He is published in France by Actes Sud, and has novels either published or forthcoming in Japan, Italy, Spain, Germany and Turkey. His writings, reviews and translations have appeared in the United States and abroad in, among other places, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, McSweeney’s, Ploughshares, Bomb, Bookforum, Grand Street, The Believer, Fence, Conjunctions, Brick, Mentor, Inculte, and Zoum Zoum. Currently on faculty in the University of Denver’s Creative Writing Program, where he edits the Denver Quarterly, he has had residencies at the MacDowell Colony and the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France, and was in residence at Marfa (Lannan Foundation) this past summer. He and his wife, the poet Eleni Sikelianos, live in Boulder, Colorado, with their daughter, Eva Grace.

Check out the author's website
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My Thoughts

I think we both of us knew from the start where the conversation was wending but we talked on it, took it every angle, sewed at it until the stitch stayed shut. I was to go and he was to stay.

During the heat of the Civil War, young Constance changes her name to Ash, and dressed as a man she leaves her husband Bartholomew and their home in Indiana to join the fight.

I'm a little conflicted with this book. On the one hand, it was a bit slow and meandering. I noted early on that the writing could be a bit boring at times.

However on the other hand it was an intriguing story line, with little bits of human observations that were spot on. I loved little things like the time she talks about when she was preparing to disguise herself as a man, she would put on pants at night and run until it felt natural. You see, women don't run or wear pants, and if she was going to portray herself as a man, running and wearing pants would have to be natural. Besides it was just plain fun, running with abandon and without self-consciousness!

Sometimes I would get the feeling that there was a deeper meaning to life hidden within the words...

The rain came down hard through the lilac bush. I don't know why I was sitting under it. There is shelter and then there is the idea of shelter. Shore up under the second all you want. You still get wet.

Unfortunately I found that this book was sort of like TV with me-- I found that I missed a lot. I would read mention of something later in the story that I didn't even remember happening to begin with.

My final word: This was a pretty good story, but it felt a bit disjointed and superficial. For a first person narrative, I felt surprisingly detached from Constance/Ash, and much of the story felt like flashes of images and small glimpses into the person that Constance truly is, preventing me from feeling as if I really knew her. And I was especially not fond of the ending of the book. But overall it was a pretty good story. It just fell short of my expectations is all, and I think it's a book that won't linger with me for the long haul.

Buy Now:

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Amazon
IndieBound
Hachette Book Group


My Rating:

Disclosure: 

I received a copy of this book to review through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.

QUICK REVIEW: 100 Tough Questions About God and the Bible by Stephen M. Miller

Synopsis

A bestselling author tackles 100 tough questions both Christians and nonbelievers ask, reporting popular viewpoints among biblical scholars and inviting you to draw your own conclusions.

Paperback, 236 pages
Published April 15th 2014 by Bethany House Publishers
ISBN 0764211625 (ISBN13: 9780764211621)




My Thoughts

The author says “Not being a preacher, I’m not inclined to preach at you. So please don’t expect me to tell you what to think. I did graduate from seminary, but before that I was a news journalist-- a newspaperman…Think of me as Switzerland. Neutral. I’m a journalist covering the Bible beat. I’ve tried to round up the best answers I can find and report them to you for your consideration. I think you’ll be surprised at some of the answers I found...”
 
The author covers questions like "Given what we know today from science, why do so many Christians say the universe was created in six days, a few thousand years ago?", "Jesus said we shouldn't judge one another, so why do Christians do it so much?", and "If God knows everything, why did he test Abraham's faith by asking him to sacrifice his own son?"

I saw another reviewer complain that at times this book was more agnostic than Christian, and that’s exactly why I loved it! The author really did do a great job at being unbiased and presenting information of varying perspectives, then allowing you to come to your own conclusions.

Overall I liked the relaxed manner in which the information was shared, but there were times when it felt he was trying a little too hard to sound unbiased and all cool with it. Sort of like a teen’s dad trying to act cool, and coming off sort of dorky instead.

My final word: I liked this book so well, I bought a copy even after I'd read a free copy obtained through Netgalley. A great book for the open-minded who don't want to be told what to think, but to simply have the information to reach their own conclusions.

Buy Now:

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Amazon
IndieBound

My Rating:

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

QUICK REVIEW: Close Reach by Jonathan Moore

Synopsis

In a riveting tale of suspense and terror on the high seas, Bram Stoker Award nominee Jonathan Moore pits human beings against nature—and something far deadlier: one another.

Kelly Pratihari-Reid and her husband sail their yacht into Antarctic waters, thinking their gravest concerns will be ice and storms—and their cracked marriage. A British girl shrieking across a short-range VHF frequency ends that illusion. It’s coming, she screams. It saw us and it’s coming back! Her voice is drowned by a tide of signal-jamming static, and Kelly sees a target on the radar screen: A ship is coming for them.

Thus begins an unforgettable cat-and-mouse game across stormy polar seas and dire landfalls. Kelly’s pursuers will test her to the limits of her endurance—and beyond. For the ship in her wake is crewed by pirates, with a young leader trained to use the most sadistic tortures in pursuit of his ultimate objective . . . a goal as shocking as it is horrific.

Ebook, 200 pages
Published May 6th 2014 by Hydra (first published January 1st 2014)
ISBN: 0553390945 (ISBN13: 9780553390940) 


About the Author

Jonathan Moore is a Bram Stoker Award nominated author of dark thrillers.

Before graduating from law school in New Orleans, Jonathan lived in Taiwan for three years, guided whitewater raft trips on the Rio Grande, and worked as an investigator for a criminal defense attorney in Washington, D.C. He has also been an English teacher, a bar owner, a counselor at a wilderness camp for juvenile delinquents, and a textbook writer.

Jonathan majored in creative writing at Interlochen Arts Academy, and later attended the (now defunct) New College of California for more of the same. While at New College, he wrote three novels that you will never see. Jonathan and his wife have lived in Honolulu since 2007. He tries to split his time between his sailboat and his back porch.

Jonathan’s debut novel, Redheads, was published in November 2013. He wrote Redheads largely aboard his ‘classic’ 1970 Tartan sailboat, and he would like to thank his diesel engine for being so uncooperative that between 2009 and 2011, he did more writing than sailing.

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My Thoughts

The timer above the narrow pilot berth started buzzing at 2:50 a.m., but Kelly had been awake at lest an hour, thinking of the last radio call.

A couple is sailing out in the middle of no where when they hear a woman on the radio screaming for help, and then the radio is jammed by the sound of heavy metal music. Later they find themselves being pursued by a boat, and their own radio jammed by heavy metal.

I'm sort of on the fence with this book. It started out great! Initially the detail in the book was very good, leaving me feeling as if I were right there. I know nothing about sailing, but the author had a way of relaying the boat and the functions of the sailors in such a way that I could envision exactly what was going on. The author's love for sailing was evident. However once the characters Dean and Kelly were off the boat, it got less detailed and felt more fragmented. I found it hard to keep track of the bad guys. They were like flashes of images and without much depth.

In the beginning the story was really creepy and eerie. These people in the middle of no where, being chased by unknown people. Heavy metal music blaring. What do these pursuers want? What can this couple do to protect themselves? However about halfway through the book, I made a note that the story was getting a bit preposterous. It just started to feel a little bit like a crazy fantasy you might dream up while sitting around in your broken down car, waiting on the tow truck for two hours.

My final word: The story felt a bit one-dimensional. It started out great, but the last half fell flat for me. While it was really eerie in the beginning, it wound up becoming just brutal and a bit excessive. I initially felt that this story had the potential for being a great frightener, but it fell short and wound up just being the equivalent of a slasher film. Okay for a quick read, but no real substance.

Buy Now:

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Amazon
IndieBound

My Rating:

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through the Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.

QUICK REVIEW: Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko

Synopsis

Spirited and intelligent, Morayo grows up surrounded by school friends and family in busy, modern-day Ibadan, Nigeria. An adoring little sister, their traditional parents, and a host of aunties and cousins make Morayo's home their own. So there's nothing unusual about her charming but troubled cousin Bros T moving in with the family. At first Morayo and her sister are delighted, but in her innocence, nothing prepares Morayo for the shameful secret Bros T forces upon her.

Thrust into a web of oppressive silence woven by the adults around her, Morayo must learn to fiercely protect herself and her sister from a legacy of silence many women in Morayo's family share. Only Aunty Morenike—once shielded by her own mother—provides Morayo with a safe home and a sense of female community that sustains her as she grows into a young woman in bustling, politically charged, often violent Nigeria.

Paperback, 329 pages
Published April 10th 2012 by Penguin Canada
ISBN 0143186116 (ISBN13: 9780143186113)


About the Author
from Goodreads

Yejide Kilanko was born in Ibadan, a sprawling university city in south-western Nigeria. She read just about anything she could lay her hands on and that love for reading led her to poetry writing when she was twelve. It was the best way she made sense of the long, angst-filled teenage and young adult years that followed.

After a big, loud, African wedding, she joined her husband in Maryland, USA. For a decade she stayed home to raise their three children, moved to Canada and went back to school to become a social worker.

Yejide started writing her debut novel, Daughters Who Walk This Path, in 2009 and it was published in Canada (2012) and in the USA (2013). Prior to 2009, she didn't think she could write a novel, so she’s living proof that life can bring new dreams when least expected.

Yejide currently lives in Chatham, Ontario, where she's working hard on her second novel. Set in Nigeria and the USA, the novel will be released spring of 2014.

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My Thoughts

My first memory was of Eniayo. I was five years old. 

Town/Environment/Setting:

This story takes place in the city of Ibadan in Nigeria.

Attribution: Dassiebtekreuz at en.wikipedia

This story follows the life of Morayo, a young girl growing up in the city of Ibadan. Her little sister Eniayo is albino, and she has to deal with a certain amount of ridicule and discrimination due to her condition, especially since it is believed that albino children bring bad luck, or are a symbol of God's punishment on the family.

There is a tragic event involving Morayo and her cousin Bros T which leaves her world shaken, but she recovers with the help of her aunt Morenike, who herself suffered a tragic event as a teenager.

“Run away the instant a stranger offers you a smile,” Mummy would tell us. But no one told us that sometimes evil is found much closer to home, and that those who want to harm us can have the most soothing and familiar of voices. (p.23)

I loved the way this book gave me a taste of the culture and lifestyles of the people of Nigeria. There is a formality to relationships, in the way that the younger people bow down and prostrate themselves in greeting and respect to their elders. Even the way that wives and husbands refer to one another…

...while her mother laughed happily and knelt in front of her husband. “Daddy Ibeji, thank you. May you live to enjoy the fruits of your labour over these children.” (p. 137)

My final word: A sweet and tragic exploration of the Nigerian culture through the eyes of a young girl growing into a woman.

Aunty Morinike had explained that the sentence carved in the plaque was a quote from Nadine Gordimer. I whispered the words under my breath: “The truth isn’t always beauty. But the hunger for it is.”

Buy Now:

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Amazon
IndieBound

 My Rating: 

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release. 

QUICK REVIEW: The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier

Synopsis

The Lost Sisterhood is the new novel from the author of Juliet, an Oprah's Book Club Pick published in 30 countries which has been picked up by Universal to be made into a feature film. The Lost Sisterhood tells the story of Diana, a young and aspiring--but somewhat aimless--professor at Oxford. Her fascination with the history of the Amazons, the legendary warrior women of ancient Greece, is deeply connected with her own family's history; her grandmother in particular. When Diana is invited to consult on an archeological excavation, she quickly realizes that here, finally, may be the proof that the Amazons were real.

The Amazons' "true" story--and Diana's history--is threaded along with this modern day hunt. This historical back-story focuses on a group of women, and more specifically on two sisters, whose fight to survive takes us through ancient Athens and to Troy, where the novel reinvents our perspective on the famous Trojan War.

The Lost Sisterhood features another group of iconic, legendary characters, another grand adventure--you'll see in these pages that Fortier understands the kind of audience she has built with Juliet, but also she's delivering a fresh new story to keep that audience coming back for more.

Hardcover, 585 pages

Published March 11th 2014 by Ballantine Books

ISBN  0345536223 (ISBN13: 9780345536228)

About the Author

from Goodreads

Anne Fortier grew up in Denmark, but immigrated to the United States in 2002. She holds a Ph.D. in the History of Ideas and co-produced the Emmy-winning documentary Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia (2005). Her first novel in English, JULIET (2010), was published in over 30 countries and became a New York Times bestseller. Her next book, THE LOST SISTERHOOD, will be out on March 11, 2014. 

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My Thoughts

The young men completed their training row in record time. 

Diana is a professor at Oxford, and she has a very personal (and well known) passion for the legend of the Amazons. She is hired to fly out to an excavation of a purported ancient Amazon site, to try and translate an ancient language that was unearthed. She winds up being teamed up with Nick, and adventure ensues!

This story really reminded me a little of a YA or romance novel. It could be a little silly and ridiculous at times, and it read like a romance novel much of the time.

And sometimes it was just plain fun:

If Nick was indeed, as Rebecca had predicted, horseman number four, then-- I decided then and there, with a scorching gush of exaltation-- I was more than ready to straddle the apocalypse.

“You can tease its mane all you like, but you can’t turn a house cat into a lion."

At times some scenes had an overly-dramatic feel.

“Now let us all thank the Goddess--” continued the High Priestess, holding out her arms so that the flared sleeves of her garment spread like the wings of a phoenix. “Thank you, kind Mistress, for sending this young woman to train us. Please help her strip away our folly and weakness that we may once again stand guard around your radiant majesty with our bows strung.”

Occasionally the writing could get a little hokey…

...a tangerine burst of sunset cut through the remaining haze to remind us who was the king of heaven after all.

...but most of it was engaging and pulled me along with the story.


My final word: Overall this was a pretty fun story, full of adventure, if a little ridiculous at times. It was unusual and original, and well worth my time. And I absolutely love that cover!

Buy Now:

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Amazon
IndieBound

Cover: A
Writing Style: B
Characters: B+
Storyline/Plot: A-
Interest/Uniqueness: A

My Rating:  B+


Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.

QUICK REVIEW: The Troop by Nick Cutter

Synopsis

Lord of the Flies meets The Ruins in this frightening novel written in the bestselling traditions of Stephen King and Scott Smith.

Boy Scouts live by the motto “Be Prepared.” However, nothing can prepare this group of young boys and their scoutmaster for what they encounter on a small, deserted island, as they settle down for a weekend of campfires, merit badges, and survival lessons.

Everything changes when a haggard stranger in tattered clothing appears out of nowhere and collapses on the campers’ doorstep. Before the night is through, this stranger will end up infecting one of the troop’s own with a bioengineered horror that’s straight out of their worst nightmares. Now stranded on the island with no communication to the outside world, the troop learns to battle much more than the elements, as they are pitted against something nature never intended…and eventually each other.

Hardcover, 368 pages
Expected publication: February 25th 2014 by Gallery Books (first published January 1st 2013)
ISBN  1476717710 (ISBN13: 9781476717715)

 


My Thoughts

EAT EAT EAT EAT

Simple premise. A boy scout troop on an isolated island off Prince Edward Island. A contagion spreads rampant across the island.

I'd initially wondered whether this was going to turn out to be a story for pre-teens. Uh, no. While it was mainly about kids, it was vulgar and violent at times, and definitely not geared toward kids.

My final word: Creepy and gross with a Dean Koontz-esque kind of feel, I really enjoyed this story. It's a quick read, fun and will make your skin crawl! It's rare that you find a horror novel that not only has a good plot, but is so well executed and written. And I love that cover!

My Rating:

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through Netgalley and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

QUICK REVIEW: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Synopsis

On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar with her boardinghouse roommate stretching three dollars as far as it will go when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker with royal blue eyes and a tempered smile, happens to sit at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a yearlong journey from a Wall Street secretarial pool toward the upper echelons of New York society and the executive suites of Condé Nast--rarefied environs where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.

Wooed in turn by a shy, principled multi-millionaire and an irrepressible Upper East Side ne'er-do-well, befriended by a single-minded widow who is a ahead of her time,and challenged by an imperious mentor, Katey experiences firsthand the poise secured by wealth and station and the failed aspirations that reside just below the surface. Even as she waits for circumstances to bring Tinker back into her life, she begins to realize how our most promising choices inevitably lay the groundwork for our regrets.

Hardcover, 335 pages
Published July 26th 2011 by Viking Adult (first published 2011)
ISBN  0670022691 (ISBN13: 9780670022694)


About the Author
from his website


Born in 1964, Amor Towles was raised in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale College and received an M.A. in English from Stanford University where he was a Scowcroft Fellow. From 1991-2012, he worked as an investment professional in New York. He continues to live in Manhattan with his wife and two children and serves on the boards of the Library of America, the Yale Art Gallery and the Wallace Foundation.

Mr. Towles is an ardent fan of early 20th century painting, 1950’s jazz, 1970’s cop shows, rock & roll on vinyl, manifestoes, breakfast pastries, pasta, liquor, snow-days, Tuscany, Provence, Disneyland, Hollywood, the cast of Casablanca, 007, Captain Kirk, Bob Dylan (early, mid, and late phases), the wee hours, card games, cafés, and the cookies made by both of his grandmothers.

His novel, Rules of Civility, was published by Viking/Penguin in July 2011 and reached the bestseller lists of The New York Times, the Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times. The book was rated by The Wall Street Journal as one of the ten best works of fiction in 2011. The book’s French translation received the 2012 Prix Fitzgerald. The book has been published in 15 languages. In the fall of 2012, the novel was optioned by Lionsgate to be made into a feature film.

Mr. Towles’s novella, Eve in Hollywood, which follows one of the characters from Rules of Civility, was published by Penguin as an ebook in June 2013.

Mr. Towles’s only other published work is a short story cycle called “The Temptations of Pleasure” published in 1989 in Paris Review 112.

My Thoughts

On the night of October 4th, 1966, Val and I, both in late middle age, attended the opening of Many Are Called at the Museum of Modern Art-- the first exhibit of the portraits taken by Walker Evans in the late 1930s on the New York City subways with a hidden camera.

I'm doing a "quick" review of this book, only because I got sidetracked and didn't review this one quickly after reading it back in October, and now too much time has passed for me to do a thorough review (I can never remember details for long). And this is sad, because I really loved this book.

This book was the November selection for my book club, on the recommendation of a friend of mine. The characters were so well fleshed out, and there were layers to each of them. There were a lot of characters, yet all of them were invaluable to the story.

One of my favorite characters was that of Anne Grandyn ("godmother" to Tinker). A powerful and confident older woman, she runs into the main character Katey at the race track, and gives her a little advice. Pointing to a couple nearby, she tells Katey about Jake and his fiance Carrie, and how hard Carrie worked to get her position by Jake's side. In a day when women had fewer expectations or options in life than to be a wife and mother, or a decorative adornment on a wealthy man's arm, Anne advises Katey to have loftier pursuits.

"...But if I were your age, I wouldn't be trying to figure out how to get into Carrie's shoes-- I'd be trying to figure out how to get into Jake's."

That encapsulates Anne Grandyn perfectly.

There were many little tidbits that I felt showed brilliant insight into the human condition.

It’s a bit cliche to refer to someone as a chameleon: a person who can change his colors from environment to environment. In fact, not one in a million can do that. But there are tens of thousands of butterflies: men and women like Eve with two dramatically different colorings-- one which serves to attract and the other which serves to camouflage-- which can be switched at the instant with a flit of the wings.

There is an oft-quoted passage in Walden, in which Thoreau exhorts us to find our pole star and to follow it unwaveringly as would a sailor or a fugitive slave...the real problem, it has always seemed to me, is how to know in which part of the heavens your star resides.

“If we only fell in love with people who were perfect for us, he said, then there wouldn’t be so much fuss about love in the first place.”

And there was one passage that one of the book club members read out loud as one that struck a chord with her. 

If only someone had told me about the confidence-boosting nature of guns, I’d have been shooting them all my life.

Funny thing is that this was a quote that really struck a chord with the women in the club who have shot a gun-- even those that have always thought themselves pacifists. That includes myself.

My final word: I loved this book! The characters were so full and rich, that I mentioned at our book club that I could read additional books based on each of the other characters. Brilliant, sweeping, intriguing, fast moving. This is one grand tale!

Buy Now:
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My Rating:
A

The 110th Rule of Civility “Labour to keep alive in your Breast that Little Spark of Celestial fire Called Conscience.” 

QUICK REVIEW (incomplete): The Secret History of Las Vegas by Chris Abani

Synopsis

Before he can retire, Las Vegas detective Salazar is determined to solve a recent spate of murders. When he encounters a pair of conjoined twins with a container of blood near their car, he’s sure he has apprehended the killers, and enlists the help of Dr. Sunil Singh, a South African transplant who specializes in the study of psychopaths. As Sunil tries to crack the twins, the implications of his research grow darker. Haunted by his betrayal of loved ones back home during apartheid, he seeks solace in the love of Asia, a prostitute with hopes of escaping that life. But Sunil’s own troubled past is fast on his heels in the form of a would-be assassin.

Suspenseful through the last page, The Secret History of Las Vegas is Chris Abani’s most accomplished work to date, with his trademark visionary prose and a striking compassion for the inner lives of outsiders.


My Thoughts

Unfortunately this book expired before I had time to complete it, what with the busy holiday period. (I didn't realize you are given so little time to read the books from First to Read. It can be difficult to squeeze into a schedule of books you've already agreed to read/review by a certain date.) I only got about halfway through the book, but did enjoy what I read. There were a couple of moments that seemed a little ridiculous, but overall I thought that author Abani is a brilliantly captivating writer. My one big gripe is the lack of quotations in the dialogue, which always makes me go back and re-read the dialogue a second time, once I reach the end of the line and see something like "Salazar said", and realize it was dialogue and not thought or narration. I always sigh when I begin reading a book and discover the lack of quotations, because I know it will add an extra level of tedium to my reading. But generally a good story from what I read, and I will probably try to get my hands on the finished release at some point, to see how it all ends.



Disclosure:

I received a free advanced copy of this book through First to Read, with no obligation to review it. The opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

QUICK REVIEW: Red Sky in Morning by Paul Lynch

Synopsis

It's 1832 and Coll Coyle has killed the wrong man. The dead man's father is an expert tracker and ruthless killer with a single-minded focus on vengeance. The hunt leads from the windswept bogs of County Donegal, across the Atlantic to the choleric work camps of the Pennsylvania railroad, where both men will find their fates in the hardship and rough country of the fledgling United States.

Language and landscape combine powerfully in this tense exploration of life and death, parts of which are based on historical events. With lyrical prose balancing the stark realities of the hunter and the hunted, RED SKY IN MORNING is a visceral and meditative novel that marks the debut of a stunning new talent.


My Thoughts

Night sky was black and then there was blood, morning crack of light on the edge of the earth. The crimson spill sent the bright stars to fade, hills stepping out of shadow and clouds finding flesh. First rain of day from a soundless sky and music it made of the land. The trees let slip the mantle of darkness, stretched themselves, fingers of leaves shivering in the breeze, red then goldening rays of light catching. The rain stopped and he heard the birds wake. They blinked and shook their heads and scattered song upon the sky. The land, old and tremulous, turned slowly towards the rising sun.

I got nervous with this first paragraph, with its rather ostentatious narration that had me second-guessing my decision to review this book. However I am happy to say that, while this story remained highly narrative, it settled down with all the pomp and circumstance.

Coll kills a man and goes on the run, leaving behind his pregnant wife and family. This story primarily follows his escape and time on the lam.

Occasionally I got confused over who the narrator was, as it kept changing perspectives. It would just say “she”, and I’d have to try and figure out who “she” was.

There are some other characters beside Coll, but he is the main one. His wife Sarah is barely mentioned, but I did like the way she was described as having "a face built for sadness".

The writing was so stilted that it read like one of those movie scenes of chaotic imagery, flashing from one scene to another with very little dialogue.

This book reminded me of “The Wake of Forgiveness” by Bruce Machart, I recognize that this novel is well-crafted, but I found myself a bit bored at times. As stated earlier, it is primarily a narrative novel, and I enjoy dialogue.

My final word: There is a fair bit of vulgarity, but it stays true to the Irish culture and characters. I didn't really like Coll. There were few times that I really viewed him as a vulnerable and likable man...

“...til he could shake no more and he lay there sodden in the moist arms of grief…”

...but most of the time he was just a selfish coward. Overall I liked this story, but it was a little slow for me.

My Rating: B


Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through Netgalley and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.

QUICK REVIEW: The Wildlife-Friendly Vegetable Gardener: How to Grow Food in Harmony with Nature by Tammi Hartung

Synopsis

This one-of-a-kind book shows you how to create a peaceful co-existence between your vegetable garden and the wildlife who consider it part of their habitat. By understanding and working with the surrounding environment instead of continually fighting it you ll reap a larger harvest with much less stress and effort. Tammi Hartungexplains how to start with a hardy and healthy garden, create beneficial relationships through smart planting, attract helpful insects and pollinators, intentionally create habitats for wildlife, and much more.



Paperback, 144 pages
Expected publication: December 31st 2013 by Storey Publishing
ISBN 1612120555 (ISBN13: 9781612120553)


My Thoughts

This book may be a guide to helping gardeners coexist with wildlife, but it doesn’t read like a reference manual. It is almost like a memoir of the life of a gardener. 

It is full of wonderful ideas for attracting wildlife to your garden, and living cordially with them when you succeed.

The author suggests keeping a “nature journal”. The author will sit in the garden with the journal and jot down her observations-- what she did (fertilizing, trimming, planting), what she saw, problems noted-- so she can see how her actions affect the garden, and what changes she may need to make. She also notes wildlife spotted, and what can be done to keep them coming around without causing conflict in the garden, or where they may need to be deterred.

This book was chock full of little ideas and lessons, many of which I had never heard:

• There are lots of pollinators you have never considered, including bats and flies.
• Bumblebees are attracted to blue flowers.
• Honeybees aren’t native to the US, but were brought here by the colonists from Europe.
• Butterflies and moths are often attracted to flowers similar in color to themselves.
• Weeds aren’t always a bad thing. Some are edible (if you don’t treat your lawn with pesticides and the like), and many are food sources for wildlife.
• Ants don't like cinnamon. Put a line of ground cinnamon on the baseboard at the entrance to your kitchen, or around lettuce and strawberries.
• Sprinkle crushed chili peppers where animals dig (although this didn't work with keeping my cat out of my potted plants when I tried it years ago).
• Birds have no sense of smell
• Use decoy plants, like radishes to lure flea beetles away from broccoli, or sunflowers to lure birds from berry bushes.
• Mint repels rodents

She also mentions a crafty way to deal with hornworms. One person grows an extra tomato plant, and whenever she finds a tomato hornworm, she just moves it to that plant in order preserve the others. It's a win-win!

The author also gives examples of how nature will take care of things, if you just leave it alone and allow it. She relays an example of discovering horned tomato caterpillars. But when viewing them with a magnifying glass, she then noticed little white rice-shaped bits on the backs of the caterpillars. She realized that parasitic wasps had laid eggs on the caterpillars, and those eggs had hatched into larvae which were now feeding on the caterpillars. Problem solved!

...I didn’t need to use an organic pesticide. The larvae of the wasps took care of the whole situation efficiently, and as nature intended, keeping my tomato plants safe.

This book helps you consider things you may not have otherwise.

...putting up a nest box for solitary bees (i.e., bee species that, unlike honeybees, are not communal) in a tree near a birdbath could result in the bees becoming snacks for the bathing birds. Better to put the bee box in a different part of the garden landscape.

If you are a gardener, or if you enjoy welcoming wildlife into your yard, but want to avoid conflict with it, this book is for you! Interspersed with charming, homey illustrations, it is like taking a walk with the author through her backyard while she teaches you a thing or two about nature and living harmoniously with it.


My Rating: B  


Disclosure: 

I received a free copy of this ebook through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

QUICK REVIEW: Die For You by Lisa Unger

Synopsis

Isabel Raine thought she had everything–a successful career, a supportive family, and a happy marriage to the man she loved. Then one ordinary morning, her husband, Marcus, picks up his briefcase, kisses her good-bye, and simply vanishes.

That day, all her calls to him go straight to voice mail; the messages she leaves at his office go unreturned, too. Panicking after finally receiving a call from his cell phone in which all she can hear is a man’s terrified cry, Isabel calls the police. But they aren’t interested. Men leave, they tell her. They leave all the time. Desperate to find her husband, Isabel races to his office. But instead of finding him, she finds herself in the middle of an FBI raid. Hours later, she awakens in the hospital with a severe concussion and a homicide detective by her bedside waiting to question her about Marcus Raine–the real Marcus Raine.

Now the only thing Isabel knows for sure is that her husband of five years is gone. Where is he and who is he are questions no one seems able to answer. But Isabel will not rest until she discovers the truth about the man she loves, even if it means risking everything–including her own life.

Bestselling author Lisa Unger takes us on a nightmarish journey from bustling, glamorous New York City to the murky, twisted streets of Prague, seeking the answer to one bone-chilling question: What if the man you love, the one sleeping beside you, is a stranger?

Hardcover, 368 pages
Published June 2nd 2009 by Crown (first published January 1st 2008)
ISBN 0307393976 (ISBN13: 9780307393975)

My Thoughts

We read this book for my book club, and it was my first exposure to author Lisa Unger. One of my issues with this book is the constantly changing perspective. This person to that person to this person to that person. I always have trouble with shifting perspectives. There is always a moment of disorientation as I realize that someone else is now speaking, and figure out who it is. Add to that the fact that it would shift from past to present, and I found myself often left confused.

I began the book enjoying the first half. It was gripping, keeping me turning the pages, wondering what would happen next.

She knew then that he really saw her, that he might have been the first and only person who ever had, other than her sister. The face she wore for everyone else, the demure and polite smile, the unfailingly kind demeanor, the proper girl who did everything right...he didn't even notice it. When he looked at her he saw straight to the heart of her. (p. 123)

At moments I loved the turn of a phrase and where the author was taking me.

She never thought of that night anymore. It lived inside her like a room she never entered in a big drafty old house. She might walk down the dark hallway might even rest her hand on the knob, but she never opened the door. (p. 170)

But then the last half of the book took over, and the story just wound up sort of preposterous.

In the end, most of the book club rated this book around a "C". I said that I would give the first half an A-, and the last half a C+. So maybe a B- overall.

My Rating: