Review 159: The Fallen Architect

The Fallen Architect by Charles Belfoure
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked the story, but I didn’t like the writing style.

There were too many moments of telling, and this telling was something to a modern reader how things were during that time period. It was awkward and every time it pulled me out of the story. These things didn’t need to be explained!

August 16, 2020 – Started Reading

August 18, 2020 – 

page 79

 

 23.51%

August 19, 2020 – 

page 100

 

 29.76%

August 20, 2020 – 

page 122

 

 36.31%

August 21, 2020 – 

page 151

 

 44.94%

August 24, 2020 – 

page 194

 

 57.74%

August 25, 2020 – 

page 246

 

 73.21%

August 26, 2020 – 

page 258

 

 76.79%

August 28, 2020 – Finished Reading

Review 158: With or Without You

With or Without You by Caroline Leavitt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I fell for this book. I really enjoyed reading it. It is very much a relationship book. A couple in their early 40's are having the fight, get married, have a kid or not, settle down?  Simon is a musician and has an opportunity across the country, while Stella, Simon’s long-time girlfriend, wants him to give that up and get something more stable, and live a more normal life. The night before he leaves Stella ends up in a coma and Simon must decide if he will stay with her or go try following his musical heart.

Quickly we find the answer to that question. There is such a strong sense of all of the characters, not only Simon and Stella, but also her friend and doctor. I liked the viewpoint of Stella while she was in a coma, then in recovery too. I love the growth we see here as well.

 Something here grabbed more. Maybe it was just a better book than the string I've recently read.

Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 157: The Bee-Loud Glade

The Bee-Loud Glade by Steve Himmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a different sort of book entirely. Partly creepy and partly sedate. Not a lot happens in the book.

Would you accept a job to be a hermit that is watched constantly? I'm fairly sure I would not, where is the privacy? Yet this job seemed to have some freedom for Finch. At least he found it better than the desk cubicle job.

some good lines, such as...“I allowed myself to be provoked, others dictate my own feelings for me, others I don't even know"

Review 156: Road Out of Winter

Road Out of Winter by Alison Stine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My reading interests sometimes gravitate towards the post-apocalyptic or dystopian types of books. Unfortunately, this one didn’t grab me as a good entry in the genre. The beginning of the book seemed solid enough. But as the story progressed it weakened for me.

The book is slow paced. When the characters are on the road although they seemed to be driving forever they didn’t get far. They story really bogged down here and took up nearly the rest of the book. The writing felt misleading. How fast were they going, or how often did they stop for gas? Maybe the small details aren’t needed but at times it felt like weeks and other days, it was very unclear, but certainly they should be going somewhere, unless it was in circles.

This was one of the areas that pulled me out of the story. The story wasn’t linear, it would look back to her friend or her mom and boyfriend, how thing used to be. Some of that expanded as we moved through the story but then other situations started to appear that felt like they were convenient for this novel, but not true to what the character development. I don’t want to give spoilers, but it didn’t ring fully true for me.

It got to the point where I did want the book to end and stopped caring what happened to our main characters. Yet I feel like it wasn’t a horribly written book, just not as good as it could have been. There’s a lot of potential that didn’t quite work out well.

One the bright side, if you read this during the heat it may help you feel cooler as this world is frozen over.

Book rating 2.5 stars, rounded up for the strong beginning and atmosphere.


Thanks to Harlequin/MIRA and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 155: Coffee

Coffee by Dinah Lenney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

upon finishing reading (Aug.19.2020): learned more about the author and her family than about coffee, yet well written....more thoughts soon. 

 

This book is one in a series called “Object Lessons” where the focus is on one object, this book is clearly enough about coffee. I love the idea of this series, and I have a few of the books checked out from the library, yet this is the first one I’ve actually read. I thought it would be more focused on coffee but instead it was more a meandering with the author’s life.

After reading the book I found that is actually within the scope of the series, so it was my misunderstanding. Okay, but still I did want a bit more about coffee than I did get here. I understand it isn’t to be fully comprehensive, there are other books for that. But even within the pages, Lenney tells us early on about a survey she sent out to people about coffee for writing this book but it seems to drop off early on and we didn’t get much out of that. It felt odd to bring it up so thoroughly yet not discuss it in details.

In any case the book is enjoyable, the writing decent. I liked the coffee diaries entries, and overall the light tone of the book.

Book rating: 3.5 stars

Thanks to Bloomsbury Academic and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 154: Leave the World Behind

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book had some interesting moments but overall I wasn’t a fan of the book.  It is certainly an AirBnB rental that doesn’t go well. It could be stuff of nightmares. Not only do the owners (so they say) show up late at night, but they bring bad news, something is going on out there. What, exactly, no one can say for certain. Being in a secluded area, no cell service or tv, it could be anything. Suggestions are made, a few alerts popped up before all information is cut off.  Yet, the book turns not so much as an apocalyptic but, a study into what does a family, or two, do when thrust in this odd situation.

Each character gets a moment of being the center focus of the omniscient narrator. It is smart and jabs at stereotypes, classism, racism, and stuff of everyday life. Things are revealed that none of the characters will ever know, at least in the confines of this novel. And yet it is the unknowing that pulls the story along.

The end I found unsatisfying and mediocre, somewhat how I felt through a large portion of the book. For myself it may be the genre or type of book this is, or trying to be, that isn’t what I’m much of a fan.

This book does feel like it will reach a wide audience and likely many will enjoy it much more than myself. I can recommend the book, if only for your own experience, to discover if this is what you like, or don’t.

 

I listened to the audio book and found the narrator handled the material very well. Her voice changed enough for character distinctions.  I would give the narration a 4.5 stars.


Thanks to Harper Audio and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Brief Review 153: The Toll

The Toll by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good third book, and satisfying conclusion to the series.

Previous books in Series: Arc of a Scythe:

• Book 1: Scythe - 4 stars
• Read June 18-20, 2018

• Book 2: Thunderhead - 5 stars
• Read February 27-March 03, 2020

Read all books in series via audio

Review 152: Migrations

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is a bit of a mystery in this book, and it’s about our central character’s life, Franny Stone. What happened in her past? She is obsessed with birds and since nearly all are now gone, she has taken it upon herself to follow the Arctic Terns migration from the north to Antarctic.

Franny certainly has a penchant for swimming in icy cold oceans. In the first pages she jumps into the cold waters to rescue what looks to be a drowning man. And her luck is with her as he turns out to be a captain of the fishing boat she was looking to join.

The book is dark and bleak, with nearly the entirety of animals gone from this world. The story is told by going from present to past and various points in the past. I really loved the part where she and her husband meet and grow to know each other. Fanny is one who leaves, and gets that wandering from her family. Franny is never easy on herself, and it seems to come out even more during her sleep while sleepwalking she can do terrible things, or nearly.

Despite how difficult the book was to read at times I did enjoy it. The language had a feel of poetry and it drew me in right away. I wanted to know what happened with Franny, her past, her family, and slowly it was revealed. This is not a long book, but it is on that can stay with you long after reading.


Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.