The Prisoner’s Wife – Review

Genre: Historical Fiction / Historical Romance

Good for fans of: The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

 

CAUTION: This review contains spoilers.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, so I was extremely excited when I got my copy of The Prisoner’s Wife. This incredible story takes place during World War II. A young woman, Izabella, falls in love with a prisoner of war, Bill, and the two of them run off together in hopes of living life together and escaping the war. However, they experience several setbacks along the way, which we read about in the novel. Because Izabela is a woman, Bill helps disguise her as a man in order to keep them together and to protect her from the brutes in prison. The two confide in a few of the other prisoners, creating a hodgepodge of a family within their confounding walls.

To know that this story was based on real events, and that a woman was able to disguise herself at a time where gender was extremely binary and significant is truly remarkable. However, I felt that the historical aspects of this novel were the bread and butter, and that the story itself lacked.

As a reader, I was really hoping to see the characters develop in different ways. At one point in the book, Izabela finds out that Bill was once a “supporter” of the Nazis, or that he had attended and subscribed to some of the speakers around that time. They fight and she tells him she feels like she does not know him. There was a piece of me that hoped that at the end of the war, her and Bill would not end up together. She left her family to escape with a man she barely knew, even though she was not in any inherent danger (a luxury of that time), and I had hoped she’d realize that that was a rash decision, and grow from her experiences.

Rather, we got a story where she and Bill did end up together, but I didn’t feel satisfied. It didn’t feel as though she grew, just that she survived. I’d have liked to see both. However, I have to remember that if this was truly based on someone’s life, it isn’t for me to say what the story should have or could have been, but to appreciate how it was. The fiction lover in me wanted more for the characters, but the realist in me can appreciate the ending.

 

Smile Brilliant – Review

I usually come on here to review books, but today, my 5/5 star review goes to a toothbrush … hang on for a minute, let me tell you more about it.

Life isn’t all books and reading, as much as we bookworms wish it were. There’s a significant portion of my life that isn’t spent reading; it’s spent at work, playing around with hair and makeup, dancing, writing, watching trashy television, and practicing self-care. In the category of self-care is brushing my teeth. I’ve struggled for quite some time with plaque build up. Every time I go to the dentist, I feel like she spends an hour on my routine cleaning and by the time I leave, my gums are bloody and raw.

Gross right? Well, I started using my Smile Brilliant toothbrush about a month ago, and when I went to the dentist last week, I was in and out in 20 minutes. No blood, no pain. She told me my teeth looked phenomenally better.

Don’t worry, I photographed it with books, just so you know I’m still my book blogging self. See here in the photo that the toothbrush has multiple settings, each designed for a different purpose. I have sensitive gums, as I said above, so I often use the “Sensitive” setting when I am working on my gums. The toothbrush also is timed; after 30 seconds, it pauses the brushing so you know it’s time to switch to the next quadrant of your mouth.

I’m a reader, guys. I don’t like to think about my teeth, or worry about them. I like to think about books! This toothbrush is giving me the help I need to be healthier with little to no effort on my part… and more importantly, it WORKS!

If you are interested in purchasing your life-changing toothbrush, let me know! I’d love to help you get 15% off so that you can enjoy the kind of clean I’m talking about!

Now – go get back to reading (and brushing!)

The Sun Down Motel – Review

Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Suspense / Horror Fiction

Rating: 5/5

 

Since reading The Broken Girls by Simone St. James, I’ve loved her writing and have been craving her next book. That book, ladies and gentlemen, is finally here, and it did not disappoint.

The Sun Down Motel follows Viv, a 20 year-old young woman in 1982 and her pursuit of finding a serial killer in Fell, New York, and that of Carly, her niece, in 2017, who is looking for her Aunt Viv – who went missing in 1982.

The book is ghostly and disturbing, but not in a Stephen King way… no, Simone’s writing is unique and can be entirely paranormal while also not making me jump out of my skin. I think part of that are that the ghosts she creates as characters are ones that you feel empathy for, rather than fear of. I digress, as not to give away too much of the story.

I was entranced by this book and finished it quickly. I found it incredibly suspenseful, and relevant in the serial crimes against women.

In Five Years – Review

Genre: Romance / Domestic Fiction (I’d argue it’s not a romance at all)

Rating: 3.5/5

PLEASE NOTE: This review contains spoilers.

I really enjoyed this book and read it within a day; I pretty much sat down and read it the whole way through, with the exception of minor disruptions. In regards to catching the reader’s attention, this book gets a perfect score; however, the end of the novel was disappointing to me, which is why I did not score it higher.

The book begins with our main character, Dannie. Dannie is a hardworking lawyer who has just gotten engaged to the love of her life; everything seems perfect, until she has a dream of her life five years from now, where she is wearing a different engagement ring to a different man, whose passion overcomes her within the dream. When she wakes, she can’t shake the feeling that the dream was real, which is especially true when she meets the man of her dream – her best friend’s new boyfriend.

Her best friend, Bella, is arguably the most lovable character of the book, and I found myself drawn to her aura. I felt, as the story went on, that perhaps this was a love story between best friends. However, that didn’t stop Dannie from kissing Bella’s boyfriend while she was dying of cancer in the hospital… which gave me pause, and made me seriously dislike Dannie.

This whole five years that Dannie experienced post-dream/premonition seemed almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy, and by the time she and this boyfriend get together, we realize it’s just a one-night stand and she was experiencing grief of loss, as opposed to love.

I wish her premonition / dream had been of her AS Bella, showing her that Bella was indeed loved by her boyfriend and had this beautiful life before she left it behind, as opposed to it actually having been Dannie doing something ultimately shitty. I think the ending was awful, and could’ve been a lot stronger. I’m very disappointed.

However, I give it the rating I did because it did keep me reading down to the last page.

 

The Second Home – Review

Genre: Family Saga / Coming-of-Age Fiction

For fans of: The Last Romantics, The Most Fun We Ever Had

Rating: 5/5

This book was such a pleasant surprise that fell into my lap, and I am so glad that it did because it is now one of my favorite reads. I found the description alluring on Netgalley, but had never heard of the author and decided to request based on description alone. It turns out, it is her first novel, which is why I had never heard of Christina – but let me tell you, after this book comes out, we will ALL have heard of her… she will be very well known!

This family saga follows three siblings: Ann, Poppy, and Michael. Ann and Poppy are a year apart, and Michael is their adopted brother who came into their lives as teenagers. However, Ann and Michael have a bit of an unconventional relationship that they are trying as hormonal teenagers to navigate, and one ill-fated summer will change their lives forever.

I loved getting to know these characters and feeling entirely empathetic for each one at different times, and found myself enthralled by the plot. I tend to be one that reads to get to know characters as opposed to the story, but I loved the way this story came together through the actions of the characters.

If you are someone who enjoys character development and family dynamics, this book is for you!

 

Things In Jars – Review

Genre: Mystery / Novel / Gothic Fiction

Good for fans of: Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances

Rating: 4.5/5

 

This book was incredibly written by a talented writer. Jess Kidd, you are amazing. I could not get over how lyrical, mysterious, and perfectly crafted this novel was. It took me quite some time to read it, but I enjoyed slowing down and taking in each word. It’s my assumption that the vast majority of readers will agree with me.

The novel takes place in the mid-1800’s and follows our main protagonist, Bridie, as she seeks to uncover the mystery of a stolen child with unnatural characteristics. I loved getting to know Bridie and her path to being this superb fact finder, and all of the interesting and unique characters she met along the way.

I especially loved her relationship with Ruby, who we meet at the beginning of the novel and whose friendly ghost follows Bridie throughout the story. It was a subtle romance that I latched onto, and my only qualm with the novel is that I am still not entirely sure that I know how the two were connected in real life. I have an assumption, but I am conflicted in my understanding was different perhaps than what Jess Kidd intended. I wish that had been a bit more clear; however, perhaps it is, and I just misinterpreted something.

All in all, I felt this was a fabulous book that fantasy and fiction lovers alike will enjoy!

 

Educated – Review

Genre: Memoir

Rating: 4.5/5

Good for fans of: Heartland by Sarah Smarsh, Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

I really enjoyed this story, but not as much as everyone else did. I initially tried to read it and found myself disengaged, but once I got the audiobook, I definitely latched on to the story and was able to be much more attentive. I felt that the story was a bit redundant in places, in regards to Tara’s father and his mistakes, his stubborn and combative nature, the physical trials and tributes that her family endured at the expense of her father’s personality and control, in which they were not allowed to use modern medicine… it was strange, and hard to read because of how little her was willing to change and how he cost these children their mental health and their physical safety.
Tara’s story is one that we read to be entertained, but it’s one we need to read to be educated – after all, that is the title of the book! Her father was able to use their religion as a way to control his family, as a way to brainwash them, and isolate them further from the society he didn’t believe in. The family was ridden with guns, legally obtained, despite her father’s clear mental illness. We need to read this book as an example of how some families live… perhaps not all of them as Mormons, but there is a truth to how Tara was raised that seems more universal and less unique than we might imagine.
So my suggestion: read this, but read it for the right reasons and learn something from it.

 

Before and After – Review

Genre: Nonfiction

Rating: 4.5/5

Good for fans of: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

A beautifully-written continuation of Before We Were Yours. I absolutely loved this nonfiction account of Georgia Tann’s scandal. It’s amazing how Before We Were Yours brought all of these victims together, and incredible that Judy and Lisa decided to capture the true stories alongside the one Lisa wrote about Rill and her family. This book was so important for those that experienced the orphanage, and for those who didn’t, those who otherwise wouldn’t know who Georgia Tann was. I am one of those people; I’d have never known about this scandal, but it’s such an important part of history. I’m glad someone finally told it.

I was shocked to find that so many of the victims found themselves as somewhat lucky; that they were raised by loving families and were given opportunities that they otherwise wouldn’t have had. It bothered me because I found myself thinking that it might have been ethical to scoop these neglected children up from their biological families and giving them to families that could give them a better life; and in some cases,

I do think that some of the children were probably better off. However, the overall idea that Tann stole children, that she neglected them in her own right if they had any abnormalities… it’s awful. I think that was my only qualm with this book versus that of Before We Were Yours; I felt as though the fictionalized account was much darker than a lot of what the nonfictional testimonies indicated; however, most of those that were interviewed were babies upon adoption as opposed to young children, and it’s clear that young children were treated quite differently and were much more likely to experience psychological abuse.

All in all, I think those who enjoyed Before We Were Yours would enjoy this continuation and find it to be extremely educational.

This Tender Land – Review

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 5/5

Good for fans of: Where the Crawdads Sing, Before We Were Yours

Wow, this is my first book by William Kent Krueger and it certainly will not be my last! I found this book a charming, coming-of-age epic following our fearless narrator, Odie, and his band of miscreants (Albert, his older brother, Mose, a mute boy of Native American decent, and Emmy, the adorable orphan who the boys are bound to protect).

This group of outcasts are stuck in Lincoln School, a terrible place full of terrible people (adults, mainly – the children are merely victims). The group escapes, but barely, and are now on the run from the law. With no family of their own, they cling to one another and find themselves interacting with several unique characters along their journey to freedom.

I loved how special and one-of-a-kind the story was. Yes, it reminded me of other books, but not in that they were the same, just in that they had child narrators that were on their own. William did a great job writing this group, each one significant. It was also a refreshing book to read, in that it took me out of the world I’m in, and put me in the innocent mind of Odie as he experiences things for the first time; love, loss, and fear. The story truly took me out of 2019 and placed me with the misfits in their canoe, and for that, I am grateful. What a lovely escape!

 

 

We Were Eight Years in Power – Review

Genre: Nonfiction

Rating: 4.5/5

Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of my absolute favorite authors. I think he is completely brilliant, and he talks about real-world issues regarding race in America. “We Were Eight Years in Power” refers to the eight years in which Barack Obama was President of the United States, and black people were “in power”.

Coates discusses what Obama’s presidency did for black people, but also how it negatively impacted our community in that lots of white people found Obama’s presidency to be threatening. I found Coates to be insightful and elegant in how he explained this; he talked about the ways in which Obama failed the black community, and how he didn’t always use his platform.

However, he also follows up with why Obama could NOT use his platform, as a black man, despite his title. There is a very real racial divide in this country that we often turn a blind eye towards; well, Coates is making us stare right at it in this book. We grow in our discomfort, and I think this book, which at times uncomfortable, shed light on the truth we try to deny, and I think it’s time to stop denying it.

I highly recommend this book for those who are interested in racial inequality, and, on the flipside, those who are unaware of why this country is so polarized and fail to see racial inequality. My father-in-law is one of those people; he doesn’t understand the concept of white privilege, and I think a lot of white people struggle to see and understand it. This would be a good book for those people, as it educates on these divides and inequalities.