NORA WEBSTER by Colm Tóibín

NORA WEBSTER by Colm Tóibín

 

Pages: 310

Date: October 18, 2015

Grade: 3+

Details: Book Club Read

Library

The blurb:

It is the late 1960s in Ireland. Nora Webster is living in a small town, looking after her four children, trying to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. She is fiercely intelligent, at times difficult and impatient, at times kind, but she is trapped by her circumstances, and waiting for any chance which will lift her beyond them.

Slowly, through the gift of music and the power of friendship, she finds a glimmer of hope and a way of starting again. As the dynamic of the family changes, she seems both fiercely self-possessed but also a figure of great moral ambiguity, making her one of the most memorable heroines in contemporary fiction.

The portrait that is painted in the years that follow is harrowing, piercingly insightful, always tender and deeply true. Colm Tóibín's Nora is a character as resonant as Anna Karenina or Madame Bovary and Nora Webster is a novel that illuminates our own lives in a way that is rare in literature. Its humanity and compassion forge an unforgettable reading experience.

My thoughts:

I’m going to be in the minority here. As far as I can tell most people think this is a fabulous book. Critical acclaim has been widespread and lavish. It is quite possible I missed something, but as with Brooklyn before, I was not so much unimpressed as under-impressed with Nora Webster.

The story idea was fascinating. Being a widow with four children in Ireland in the nineteen-sixties must have been very hard, and the same is true for being forced to go back to work when you didn’t expect to ever have to do that again. I recognized the way small town Ireland is described on these pages – not so much has changed in 45 years after all. The curiosity of others and the way people seem to study you, as if to make sure your dealing with your grief in the ‘right way’, were easy to recognised.

My problem with the story was not what it was about but how it was written. To me it felt as if it was being told by a distant narrator, or a narrator trying very hard to keep his distance. Since this is apparently the story of Colm Tóibín’s mother dealing with her grief when Colm was growing up, it is quite possible he wrote it that way deliberately. The thing is, it just didn’t work for me. Although there were some moments when I could almost feel Nora’s pain, loneliness, and desperation, I felt separate from her and her feelings for most of the story. And, to be honest, I couldn’t really bring myself to care very much either; not about her, and not about her children. And I really didn’t enjoy reading about her lack of involvement with those four children.

There were parts I did like. The moments when Nora crept out of her lethargy and decided to stand up for herself or one of her children, or when she made tentative moves to create a new life for herself, were easier to read. Those moments were few and far between though. For the most part I felt bogged down by Nora’s internal dialogue—which never seemed to go anywhere— and her passivity.

Between very little happening in the story and the writing style almost forcing a distance between the subject matter and the reader, I ran into several occasions when reading on felt like a chore. I’m not sure if I would have finished the book if it hadn’t been a bookclub read. Not because the book was hard to read but because I didn’t feel as I was getting anything out of it. When I finish a book I want to be left feeling emotional in one way or another. This book just left me feeling ‘meh’. And to be honest, only two hours after finishing the book, most of the story seems to have evaporated from my mind. And that does not bode well for having to discuss it, twenty days from now. J

KING JOHN by Edmond Manning

KING JOHN by Edmond Manning

 

Pages: 245

Date: October 15, 2015

Details: no. 4 the Lost and Founds

Own / E-book

The blurb:

English attorney Alistair Robertson can’t quite believe an astonishing tale of kingship and transformation he hears at Burning Man, the annual counter-culture art festival in the Black Rock desert. Who are the Found Kings? Is “being kinged” as magical as it sounds? 

Determined to find the mysterious garage mechanic named Vin who helps men “remember who they were always meant to be,” Alistair catches his quarry amid the extravagant sculptures, fire worshipers, mutant cars, and lavish costumes. After searching for three years, he’ll finally get to ask the question burning inside him: “Will you king me?”

Wandering together through the desert, Vin Vanbly and Alistair explore Burning Man’s gifting culture and exotic traditions, where they meet the best and worst of their fellow burners. Alistair’s overconfidence in Vin’s manipulative power collides with Vin’s obsessive need to save a sixteen-year-old runaway from a nightmarish fate, and the two men spiral into uncontrollable, explosive directions. 

In this fourth adventure of The Lost and Founds, beneath the sweltering summer sun and the six billion midnight stars, one truth emerges, searing itself on their hearts: in the desert, everything burns.

My thoughts:

Allow me to start this review at the end: Really, Edmond Manning, I mean really? You’re leaving me hanging on not one but two cliffhangers? I’ve killed for less—that’s all I say.

Okay, now I have gotten that off my chest I should probably warn you that the chances of this turning into a coherent review are slim at best. It’s far more likely to turn into a quote-riddled gush fest, and you want to bear in mind I will have deleted numerous quotes which touched me as much as the ones I’ll keep did because, well, because this is supposed to be a review, not a novella J

I don’t want to say a lot about the story beyond what you can find in the blurb, I’m not sure I could do the story justice. My words are too clumsy, my interpretations too personal. Besides, the stories in this series should be experienced by the reader. It is more than ‘just’ an amazing reading experience. The Lost and Founds books provide us not only with fascinating characters and settings, they also force us to look at ourselves, our lives and the people around us. They invite us to ask ourselves if we are limiting ourselves and if yes, why we are doing that.

“Alistair, quit pressuring yourself. Kingship means something different for every man. Quit trying to box it up and get it right.”

As true as this is for Alistair in the book, I believe it’s equally true for us readers. I think while we all get the general message from these pages, we all discover individual truths in its words as well.

This is the fourth King story but it felt different from the previous three. The men in earlier books, Perry, May and Terrance, didn’t know they wanted or needed to be kinged, didn’t even know there was such a thing. Vin’s struggle was to keep them on a course towards a destination they didn’t know they wanted or needed.

Alistair on the other hand wants to be kinged. He searches out Vin and then refuses to follow Vin’s rules. This time it is Vin who needs to be constantly reassured that his protégé indeed wants what he says he wants, and realizes there’s a price to pay; a price both Vin and the reader fear may be too high for Alistair. But dealing with a man eager to find his inner King while reluctant to surrender to the process also forces Vin to look deeper into himself; is this hard because he’s dealing with a fraud or because he’s looking into a mirror showing him everything he needs to overcome in order to stop being a lost King?

“His King Weekend will be a huge disappointment, unless he stops seeking approval outside himself.”

“He wants to be discovered. He wants someone to find him, to reach beyond the iron fortifications he constructed, and see him. Love him, I know. We are cut from the same cloth.”

Alistair may be a lot like Vin, I think he’s also a lot like many of us, trying to learn lessons most of us could benefit from.

“The problem with a man like Alistair is no amount of praise, flattery of loving from the outside will impact his core. Not love from me, not love from any of the kings.”

“I don’t need you to be sorry, Alistair. I need you to understand the price you pay for getting your way. For choosing not to submit.”

“I don’t need to know your secrets, but as long as you don’t let anyone in, you’re trapped with them.”

This story hit me harder than the previous books did, the subjects it deals with are darker—dare I say it—uglier. And yet, while the tension grips you and the fear makes you read faster, they are dealt with in a loving, if not necessarily beautiful, way. It is tempting to go on about this. To spell out exactly what I mean, but I can’t do that without revealing those issues and that would mean spoiling the story for others, so that's a no go. I ask you to just trust me, to take my word for it. This story will shake you, may at times become very hard to read, and yet it will open your eyes and heart.

“Maybe I can’t become a Found King because I don’t remember who lives underneath this façade. Maybe this isn’t a façade at all and the real me is just really lost.”

“The more a man knows about his kingship, the less likely he himself will cross over.”

And Vin—oh Vin—I want to wrap him in my arms, hug him close and whisper in his ear that he already is a Found King. Because it takes one to know one. Because his love is huge. That all he needs to do is believe and it will be true. I want to tell him he makes me cry every time he recognises that another man is blocked because he’s made something huge out of a circumstance or past occurrence he never had any power over, while failing to see the same applies to him. Vin touches me in ways few, if any, fictional characters touch me. He’s more real to me than fictional characters have any right to be.

It’s the quiet, easy to miss, observations Vin makes about himself that break my heart. They’re in the story as if they’re passing thoughts, hardly worth our notice, and yet I feel they hold the key to the deeper truth Vin is looking for.

“I revel in how ordinary this feels, as if I could do this back home. Take a date out dancing. Hang out with friends. I can’t. But here—here at Burning Man—freaks fit in. I’m one of the gang. I’m normal.

Burning Man is the closest I’ve ever come to family.

Burning Man is like home.”

As with the previous Lost and Founds books, King John has left me both shaken and stirred. I’m emotionally wrecked and cursing the fact I’ll have to wait several months at least before the story will continue. And yet I feel enriched too. It is as if my heart has expanded, as if I can now see, understand and feel things that were just beyond my grasp before I started reading. And for that I am grateful. I thank Edmond Manning for making me think and feel, for allowing me to look at the world through a different lens and thus showing me things which were always there, just not always visible. I bless the day these books were suggested to me and will treasure them for as long as I have eyes to read or a brain to remember them with.

As predicted the piece - I wouldn't go so far as to call it a review - I wrote is a rambling mess. I'll therefore end it with one more quote. Because both the author and his protagonist are far better with words than I can ever hope to be.

“Though our roots be earthed in misery, and nurtured with our humbled tears, tomorrow’s hope is today’s firm green sprig, pushing upward, barely seen. Eager to unfold, to manifest the unknowing directions, we grow. We are all destined for Spring.”

DEVOTED IN DEATH by J.D. Robb

DEVOTED IN DEATH by J.D. Robb

 

Pages: 374

Date: October 13, 2015

Details: no. 41 In Death

Library / Hard back

The blurb:

“It's a new year in New York city, and two star-crossed lovers have just discovered an insatiable appetite...for murder.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has witnessed some grisly crimes in her career and she knows just how dark things can get on the streets. But when a much-loved musician is found dead, Eve soon realises that his murder is part of a horrifying killing spree, stretching right across the country.

Now the killers have reached New York, and they've found themselves another victim. Eve knows she only has a couple of days to save a young girl's life, and to stop the killers before their sadistic games escalate. Eve's husband Roarke is ready to put his brains and his considerable resources behind the search. But even as the couple works closely together, time is running out...”

My thoughts:

As any follower of my reviews may have noticed, I’ve switched genres over the past two years or so. In the process I’ve started to neglect some series I used to read compulsively. Right now they’re just not calling my name and until they do that again, I’ll leave them be. The In Death books by J.D. Robb are an exception to this rule. Whenever a new instalment arrives in the library I make sure to be the first person to bring it home, eager to catch up with Eve Dallas, Roarke and the rest of their crew again.

These books are my go-to comfort read. I know exactly what to expect before I read the first word. There will be a gruesome crime(spree), a hard to solve mystery, an enticing and sexy ongoing romance between Eve and Roarke, lots of snarky and laugh-out-loud conversation and not a single dull moment. Yes, I guess these books are formulaic, but as formulas go, this one works very well.

As even the characters in Devoted in Death agree, the crimes in this book are more horrific than what we’ve seen in previous books. In fact, it makes me wonder about the way the author’s mind works. She describes the feelings and motivation of the killers so well I could almost believe she knows what she’s talking about. But I guess, that’s part of the magic; the fact that J.D. Robb / Nora Roberts has this wonderful gift when it comes to portraying characters – both the sympathetic ones and those you’d never want to meet in real life.

It feels as if I’ve build a relationship with the characters in these books. With Eve and Roarke for sure, but also with the other regulars. All their stories progress as the series moves on and it is fascinating to observe. And because I’m totally wrapped into all their stories now, it is safe to say I’ll continue reading the In Death books for as long as J.D.Robb continues to write them – regardless of what direction my reading taste may veer off in otherwise.

A SILENCE KEPT by Theo Fenraven

A SILENCE KEPT by Theo Fenraven

 

Pages: 80

Date: October 10, 2015

Details: A Ghost Story

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“Manhattan-based Mikal Gray rents a summer getaway and discovers there's already someone in residence: a very persistent ghost. His friend, Alice, sends help in the form of a sexy ghost hunter named Seth. Together, they unravel the mystery behind the haunting and discover the heart always searches for what it needs...and often finds it.”

My thoughts:

This book is a gem, and it doesn’t reveal its full sparkle until the very last sentence on the very last page. This story achieved the impossible in that it left me both heart-crushingly devastated and joyfully happy. I’m an emotional mess right now and hard pressed to articulate how I feel. I have a smile on my face while feeling sad, and it’s kinda wonderful J

In fact, the whole book is like that. A Silence Kept is a wonderful mixture of spooky and sweet, sad and happy. One minute I would find myself reading with my heart in my throat only to have a smile stretched across my face a few paragraphs later, just before my heart was crushed by the palatable despair one of the characters conveys. And the progression from one emotion to the next was so unforced, smooth, and natural, my own reactions took me by surprise occasionally.

I liked Mikal and Seth and how they interacted. The connection between them is almost instant which could have been too much of a good thing, except that the situation they’re in forces them to take it slow-ish. Besides, I’m a firm believer in love at first sight. It happened to me and twenty-eight years later I can vouch for the fact that sometimes what you feel the moment you meet someone is very real and can be very lasting. So, not only do I buy insta-love, I enjoy reading it because it brings back wonderful memories.

I liked Mikal’s relationship and connection with Thomas, his ghost, as much as I liked his interaction with Seth. The way Mikal approached Thomas, once he got over his fear, made him a rather wonderful character. It’s hard not to fall for a man who would hug a crying ghost because he’s sounding so very desperate.

I don’t want you to think this was a soppy story though. There’s a constant underlying threat of danger. While Seth seemed very certain that Thomas was unlikely to hurt either Mikal or him, I found myself constantly afraid he might be wrong and reading along on the edge of my seat—literally waiting for something (else) to go boom in the night.

I’m almost sorry we didn’t also get the story from the ghost’s point of view. Because I have my theories about what might have been going through Thomas’s mind while he observed Seth and Mikal trying to figure out what had happened to him and why. Having said that, the ghost’s actions, and the way they changed, gave a very clear impression of what he had to be thinking and feeling. A clear case of ‘showing not telling’ done very, very well.

You’d think I’d be used to it after all the books I’ve read by this author, but his ability to bring a place or person to life using only a few, very well chosen, words still takes my breath away. I felt the heat while reading this story and the chills were so graphic I found myself moving closer to the electric heater, just to stay warm. Theo Fenraven’s skill with the English language takes what are intriguing stories to a whole new level of awesome. I read his books as much to lose myself in the fantasy as to admire the beauty of the language and the masterful way in which he uses it.

It’s funny. I rarely read ghost or other scary stories. It never occurred to me to look for Halloween themed books in October as I do for Christmas reads in December. And yet, this is the second ‘spooky season’ in a row during which Theo Fenraven has me reading a seasonal book. Last year I lost myself in The Haunted Maze—a story that still plays on my mind occasionally, and this year I decided to dive into A Silence Kept. The authors for whom I happily leave behind my tried and trusted genres and delve into something new and potentially uncomfortable, are few and far between, Fen is one of them.

BANE by Amelia C. Gormley

BANE by Amelia C. Gormley

 

Pages: 279

Date: October 8, 2015

Details: no. 2 Strain

            Copy received from Riptide 

            Publishing

            Through NetGalley

E-book

The blurb:

The weapon that nearly destroyed humanity may be their only salvation.

Rhys Cooper’s unique immunity to all three strains of the virus that nearly annihilated humanity has brought him the unwanted attention of Clean Zone scientists. They’ve summoned him for testing—ostensibly in the hopes of finding a vaccine—but Rhys’s partner, Darius Murrell, has good reason not to trust any government. He and his comrades in Delta Company were unwitting test subjects for Project Juggernaut, the military experiment that gave them superhuman abilities and unleashed the pandemic. Doubting the government’s intentions, Delta Company refuses to let Rhys go alone.

Fear of infection has kept Zach Houtman and his lover Nico Fernández apart for a decade. They meet rarely, just long enough to coordinate their spying on the head of the government’s virus research division. Secretary Littlewood is a vicious predator, and they suspect he’s trying to acquire the strain of the virus that would make him superhuman. To stop him, they need the perfect bait: Rhys.

For Rhys, helping them might cost him his relationship with Darius—or his life. For Zach and Nico, even if their plan succeeds, they still face the ultimate question: can infected and uninfected people ever live together safely? 

My thoughts:

I’m not entirely sure what to say about this book. I mean it was good…very good. More than that, Bane gives a satisfying conclusion to the story that started in Strain. But that is also my problem, this is the conclusion of a story I’ve lost myself in. From the moment I met Rhys and Darius in Strain I have been spellbound by their story and it is sad to have to say goodbye to them, Zach and Nico and all the other Juggernauts now.

Don’t get me wrong, I can’t fault the way the story ended. I’m delighted that Amelia C. Gormley managed to find a way to give the book a positive and hopeful ending without asking me to accept implausible or too good to be true scenarios. When I finished reading the epilogue I could see a possible future for the characters I’d grown to love and the world they live in. It was also clear that the struggle to rebuild a world had really only begun. The chances of getting it right had improved greatly, but there was no guarantee humanity would get it right this time around either. If the story had to end, this was an ending I could happily live with. I’m just not happy the end had to come.

A lot happens in this book. All the threads from Strain and Juggernaut are pulled together in Bane in a credible fashion. The characters were as captivating as they had been in the previous books, and I find they’re still playing on my mind even though some time has passed since I finished the book.

Unlike with the previous books I don’t really want to get into the storyline, for two reasons. First of all I don’t think I can do it justice. I’m both as afraid of saying too much as I am of not saying enough, so I’ll let the blurb do the outlining for me. Because, and that’s my second reason, I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this book without prior knowledge, without knowing what to expect and without having any idea how a positive ending might even be possible. I would not want to deprive other readers of what was, for me, an exhilarating reading experience.

I’ll keep this review short and sweet so, and will end it with the same words I ended my review for Juggernaut with, because they are as true today as they were then, and apply to the full trilogy.

“I’m very impressed with everything Amelia C. Gormley has achieved in these books. Her writing is masterful, her characters multi-dimensional and her devastating story-line draws you in and holds you captive long after you’ve finished reading the last chapter.”

Ps. There’s a part of me that will never stop hoping to meet these characters again at some point in their future.

                          

BACK FROM THE EDGE, A Free Read from K.C.Wells

BACK FROM THE EDGE, A Free Read from K.C. Wells.

13,000 words. Previously published in the anthology Burning First Kiss

Cover by the always wonderful Meredith Russell
The blurb:
When Seb’s golden retreiver Honey runs off along the cliff during his early morning walk, the last thing he expects to find is Phillip, standing there at the edge, the sea pounding the rocks beneath him. So Seb isn’t really surprised to hear the voice of his dead partner in his head…

Do something, love…

When Honey won’t leave Phillip’s side, Seb does the only thing he can think of – invites Phillip to come home with him for breakfast. Something in the quiet man touches him, and he wants to know more.

And leaving Phillip standing on that cliff is not an option.

Buy links:     ARe              Smashwords

Goodreads link

MINE TO LOVE by Lea Bronsen: Promo post

I’m delighted to welcome Lea Bronsen to my blog today with her new release, Mine to Love, the second book in the Hot Model Mine series. Sit back and enjoy the blurb, book trailer and exciting excerpt.

****

Book two of the Hot Model Mine trilogy is finally here! Did you wonder what happened to erotic romance author Andrea and her irresistible cover model, Yushka, after the conference in Cannes?

In book one, The Perfect Shoot, things were complicated for the couple. He was much younger than her—practically the same age as her twins—and she'd spent half her life without a man. After much reflection, she ended up giving into her desire and takingMr. Hot Model forlover. But what then after theytraveled back to their separate lives?

Wait no more: They're here to tell the continuation of their sizzling love story J

BLURB:

The writing conference in sunny Cannes was fantastical, a dream. Back at home, reality catches up with author Andrea Johnson and the sexy cover model of her book, Yushka. With tough working schedules, challenging family relations, and seductive temptation from all sides, the couple’s explosive romance is put to the test.

Will their love be strong enough to have a future?

BOOK TRAILER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ievwhCy6FOc

EXCERPT:

While Yushka gets his duffel bag in the back seat, I lean against the side of the Corolla and stretch my arms on top of its roof. “You got everything?”

“Yeah.” He lifts the bag over his shoulder and tilts his head in direction of the front door. “We good to go?”

My pulse beats a little faster at the thought of him dropping that bag on my bedroom floor and lifting me in his arms instead. I’m so excited to be with him, I simmer inside, aching to touch and hold him. I want to have all of him at once, right now.

A spark of amusement plays in his gorgeous Asian eyes as he waits for me to make a move. “What’s on your mind, Princess?”

Holding his gaze, I smile, my fingers tapping a beat on the car hood to buy some time because I don’t know what to reply. I have a feeling whatever might come out of my mouth now, like I can’t wait to rip those clothes off you or I’m going to make you scream, will sound too cheesy. Why do we need to put our attraction into words, anyway? Once we’re home, there’ll be no reason to talk that much. We’ll do the talking with our more-than-capable hands and … um … mouths.

I tap a quick rap before stepping back from the car. “Come on.”

“Okay.” Widening his smile, he follows me to the front entrance.

I unlock and push the wood door open. “I hope your bag’s not too heavy. The elevator doesn’t work.”

“When are they gonna fix it?”

“Huh, good question.” I step forward, but when in the doorway, I spin to hold the door open for him. “I have no idea.”

“No?” With a raised brow, he passes me.      

Just then, I move toward him, chest-to-chest, blocking him and his thick bag between myself and the doorframe.

“Oh!” He laughs.

As the door pushes into my back, squeezing me tighter against him, I put my hands on his waist. First above his clothes––the thick leather jacket and his shirt––then sneaking underneath both of them, my fingers splaying on his warm skin and stroking him.

Completely stuck, he tilts his head and stares into my eyes, his own sparkling with playfulness. “What are you up to?”

“You have a problem?” I move my hands out from beneath his shirt and go downward to palm his tight ass cheeks, pulling his crotch to me. My lower stomach and increasingly heating inner thighs seek to meet his. I want to be so near him he’ll feel my lust, and I want his lust to grow, too. I need us to join and be a match, a melting pot of desire, irresistible and untamable.

“I have to bribe you?” he asks, voice lower, and leans down to kiss me.

How did he guess? At the warm touch of his parted lips, delight rushes through me as if I’d had a shot of alcohol.

He retreats his face a few inches, enough to have a view of what he just kissed. “This good enough for you?” His voice comes out husky, a bit short of breath. With his free hand, he strokes and kneads my butt.

 “One more,” I mouth with the next exhale of air. Though the door bores painfully into my back, I don’t want to move, loving the feel ofbeing so close to Yushka, so intimate. It’s amazing how instantaneous and intense our connection is. Just wait till we get our clothes off.

Again, his warm lips land on mine, and we kiss greedily, nose-to-nose, wet tongues playing with each other. My inner pussy muscles clench, remembering too well what it’s like to have his cock inside. I breathe faster. A growing hardness in his crotch presses against me, provoking more tightening. Oh, God. Hot wetness glides down my pussy, wetting my panties. So ready, so soon… I mew into his mouth, and he rewards me with a guttural response, our mouths practically eating each other.

But this isn’t the right place. We need to move and play this torturous game and its grand finale somewhere else.

Releasing his lips, I gasp from our separation, but still manage to pull away.

“Fuck, you’re hot.” He inhales deeply and looks up, feverish eyes widening and trying to refocus.

As I step backward, forcing the door to open again, cold evening air sneaks between our heated bodies. “Let’s go,” I say with a croak, my chest heaving.

He gives a small nod and steps inside the low-lit lobby.

WHERE TO FIND MINE TO LOVE:

Evernight |Amazon.com| Amazon.uk| All Romance eBooks | Bookstrand| Smashwords | iTunes

Add the book to your Goodreads list, and check out my inspiration on Pinterest!

Would you like to read the first book, The Perfect Shoot? You can find it here.

AUTHOR BIO:

I like my reads hot, fast, and edgy, and strive to give my own stories the same intensity. After venturing into dirty inner-city crime drama with my debut novel Wild Hearted, I divide my writing time between psychological thriller, suspense romance, and erotic contemporary romance.

I love to hear from my readers! Write to leabronsen@yahoo.com or meet me on:

Website |Lea's Crazy Nights Blog |Facebook profile | Facebook page | Twitter| Amazon