Spring Book Reviews
1.) This Must Be The Place by Maggie O'Farrell
I am a fan of Anne Bogel of The Modern Mrs. Darcy blog and her podcast What Should I Read Next? I have gotten some great book recommendations from her and this book came highly rated and raved about. I was excited to read it as I enjoyed Maggie O' Farrell's book The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. Unfortunately, this book left me feeling quite disappointed. Ann Bogel rated this novel as one of her favorite books of 2017 and loved it so much that she selected it for her MMD book club. I have no idea why.
From Goodreads:
Meet Daniel Sullivan, a man with a complicated life. A New Yorker living in the wilds of Ireland, he has children he never sees in California, a father he loathes in Brooklyn, and a wife, Claudette, who is a reclusive ex–film star given to pulling a gun on anyone who ventures up their driveway. Claudette was once the most glamorous and infamous woman in cinema before she staged her own disappearance and retreated to blissful seclusion in an Irish farmhouse. But the life Daniel and Claudette have so carefully constructed is about to be disrupted by an unexpected discovery about a woman Daniel lost touch with twenty years ago. This revelation will send him off-course, far away from wife, children, and home. Will his love for Claudette be enough to bring him back?
This story is told from the view points of various narrators. Each chapter jumps to different characters and time lines. The novel's timeline twists and turns back on itself. Then it jumps forward and back again. I enjoy this type of story telling and the prose was subtle and wonderful. Those were the highlights.
This is the story of a marriage between two flawed individuals...Daniel and Claudette. The novel follows the highs and lows of their complex marriage which is always... even in their good times...mildly depressing...as are the consequences of their actions. Daniel and Claudette are often so unlikable...especially Claudette who was an absolute bore. I kept waiting for things to get interesting with her and they never did. Daniel was a bit more fleshed out and slightly more interesting.
Now for the low lights. There were so many loose ends in the plot. What was the point of Rosalind? Johnny DeMarco? Even with the characters of Timou and and Nicola you were just left hanging. Why? There were so many interesting directions that the plot could have gone. So many interesting twists and turns that it could have taken and didn't. Instead the book was long and heavy and the plot just dragged. The other book that I read by Maggie O'Farrell ended with a twist and a crazy ending that left me saying...What?! This book just left me saying...What was the point? No real questions were resolved. No great revelations. Just an "Oh, is that it?" ending. It's too bad.
My Rating: Disappointing.
2.) Grace Not Perfection by Emily Ley
Emily Ley has a planner and stationary company. She also has a gorgeous Instagram feed and is a Christian writer. The book itself is beautiful but its content is nothing new or in any way original. It is full of the same ideas that are being touted by multiple writers these days: simplifying, decluttering, organizing, meal planning, getting rid of mommy guilt, and having gratitude.
Emily is a young mom with three children under the age of five. I had to laugh when she said that she had struggled for "years" with mommy guilt. At the time of the writing of the book her oldest child was three. She seems to be a kind, thoughtful, and obviously talented person but she has limited life experience in many of the areas that she is advising others about. This book would be good for a super young mom or a young adult just heading out into the world. It's full of common sense but has a rather limited scope. That said, a non LDS book that quotes President Harold B. Lee isn't all bad!! I loved reading that.
From Goodreads:
As a busy wife, new mother, business owner, and designer, Emily Ley came to a point when she suddenly realized she couldn’t do it all. She needed to simplify her life, organize her days, and prioritize the priorities. She decided to hold herself to a standard of grace rather than perfection.
My Rating: So-So.
3.) Capital Gaines by Chip Gaines
I am a fan of Fixer Upper and of Chip and Joanna Gaines. I enjoyed their book
The Magnolia Story therefore I was looking forward to reading this book by Chip. I don't know exactly what I was expecting...maybe more of his side of their story...which it kind of was for the first few chapters and then it became more of a motivational book with Chip giving advice about life and business. It is kind of a weird amalgamation of Chip-isms and his views on life and being an entrepreneur. If you are a fan of Fixer Upper and/or an entrepreneur you will probably really enjoy it. If you aren't...you probably won't. It is pretty heavy on the business and entrepreneurial side.
From Goodreads:
The funny and talented Chip Gaines is well known to millions of people as a TV star, renovation expert, bestselling author, husband to Joanna, and father of 4 in Waco, Texas. But long before the world took notice, Chip was a serial entrepreneur who was always ready for the next challenge, even if it didn’t quite work out as planned. Whether it was buying a neighborhood laundromat or talking a bank into a loan for some equipment to start a lawn-mowing service, Chip always knew that the most important thing was to take that first step. In Capital Gaines, we walk alongside him as he relives some of his craziest antics and the lessons learned along the way. His mentors taught him to never give up and his family showed him what it meant to always have a positive attitude despite your circumstances. Throw in a natural daredevil personality and a willingness to do (or eat!) just about anything, and you have the life and daily activity of Chip Gaines.
I enjoyed much of the book. Chip is hilarious and I often found myself laughing out loud which is always good. Even though I am a small business owner myself; some of the business parts of the book made it drag. I wanted more about Chip and Joanna and their relationship.
Chip jumps around on various topics...such as faith, hard work, following your dreams, and taking risks. The first part of the book read more like a memoir and the second half read more like a self-help book. He has an interesting outlook on life and a *unique* approach to decision making. There were some good bits of advice and Chip is a great cheerleader...if sometimes an over-the-top one.
I liked this quote:
We were created to live passionately--all of us, no matter our personality type or circumstance. The human heart was made to swell and jump and stir; that's a fact. It took me a while to figure out what makes my heart feel that way. But that is perhaps one of the most crucial things to know about ourselves.
And this one...about social media:
Some people show enormous resistance to modifying even a fraction of themselves. They're not about to shift the way they think or what they think they know. They simply expect others to get with the program--to adjust their mindset and fall into their way of thinking. How ignorant for any one of us to assume that we have a monopoly on right perspective and no one else holds even a piece of the puzzle. and how arrogant to just demand that people change for us without ever making the effort to know them as human beings or understand where they're coming from.
I wonder if being angrily shouted at or arrogantly debated with has ever swayed a single person? Are human hearts moved by being ridiculed and mocked? When people fling accusations with the presumption of knowing another person's intentions, what possible outcome could they be hoping for? Who would ever move to their enemy's camp under such circumstances.
This book was a quick read. I think it would've been great to listen to it as an audio book. Chip narrates it and I am sure that would've added some extra enjoyment.
My Rating: Good...especially if you are a fan of Fixer Upper and Chip and Joanna Gaines.
4.) Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
This was our book club pick for March. I am not a mystery fan. I very rarely read the genre but Agatha Christie is such a legend that I was excited to read this book. I read the book
And Then There Were None when I was in high school but that was it as far as Agatha Christie books go. I also haven't seen the latest movie remake either. I was excited to get reading and to see what all of the hubbub was about.
From Goodreads:
What more can a mystery addict desire than a much-loathed murder victim found aboard the luxurious Orient Express with multiple stab wounds, thirteen likely suspects, an incomparably brilliant detective in Hercule Poirot, and the most ingenious crime ever conceived?
This was a quick read. It was mildly entertaining but certainly not thrilling or terribly exciting. The ending had me annoyed and I felt like it was a cop out. Despite that I enjoyed the luxurious setting on board the Orient Express and all of the exotic locations that were mentioned. The cast of characters was interesting. I thought that it would be fun to try and piece together all of the evidence and guess who the murderer was myself. But with the final reveal you find out that only Inspector Poirot had all of the information due to his fantastical deduction and leaps of logic. The reader never stands a chance at solving the mystery. Poirot's guesses seemed a bit far-fetched and reaching to me and required a suspension of belief. Also, the plot and pacing is very methodical like Poirot himself.
People love this book. It was written over 84 years ago by one of the most prolific mystery writers of all time. It is definitely a classic and I can see why it was a best-seller...particularly in its time. I was just hoping for a little more drama and suspense.
My Rating: Okay. A classic murder mystery.
5.) If You Only Knew by Jamie Ivey
I love Jamie Ivey's podcast The Happy Hour. She interviews amazing women who are doing wonderful things! I love following her on social media too. She is so uplifting and fun. I was super excited to read her first book.
From Goodreads:
What if you knew all the moments of my past that I am not proud of? What if you really knew me, the messy parts that I’ve hoped to forget and worked hard to conceal? For so long, my greatest fear was what you might think of me if you only knew the whole story. It’s exhausting, this guarding of our stories and struggles. Fear of being found out had caused me to hide—but I wasn’t just covering my flaws, I was unintentionally blocking the beauty of God’s grace. My journey to real freedom began when I quit running from my mess and started trusting Jesus to make something beautiful of it.
This is most definitely a book about Christianity by a Christian writer. It was 90% preaching and 10% the author's personal experiences. It was heavy on the preaching/sermon side. I am a church goer and I found myself thinking...wow...this is a lot. I wanted more of her own story. When she tells her life story and then ties it into the gospel it's wonderful. I just wish there was more of that. Her podcast isn't this way...it is definitely a Christian podcast...but she speaks with so many amazing women that it doesn't seem heavy handed at all...but this book did.
Don't get me wrong. I love Jamie Ivey. She is an incredible human being and her bravery and vulnerability are amazing. I appreciate her message of love, forgiveness, and redemption. It is a message so needed in the world today. I will also read anything that she writes because I love her. I just wish there was more of her personality in this book.
I loved that she encourages women to be vulnerable and to share our stories even the really hard ones and to not live in shame. All of our experiences help us to grow and by sharing our experiences we help others to learn and grow as well. I truly believe that connection comes from vulnerability. We do no one any favors...least of all ourselves... by pretending to be perfect. I also really appreciated her thoughts that the Christian community needs to get over "Sin-Shock". I 100% agree. This is huge and it is a stumbling block for many trying to find their way back to God. We are all sinners. We all stand in need of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We cannot act shocked and horrified when people share with us what they are going through...this is the antithesis of Christ like love. Nowhere in the scriptures is Jesus "shocked and horrified" by sin. Not once. I see both of these concepts as real issues in my faith. People have a hard time returning to church when they feel like they are shameful and unworthy to attend church with *perfect* people who are shocked and horrified by the things they have done. This is something I REALLY want the world and my children to understand. Church is where we go to be healed...not to be judged by impossible standards.
I once was in a church class that discussed this... our teacher handed out white stickers...and we had to write all of the things that we are on them and stick them on our bodies: mother, teacher, daughter, wife, child of God etc. Then she talked about what if we had stickers that we wore representing our sins...liar, gossip, jealous, addict, mean, judging, lazy, back-stabber, frenemy, cheater, hypocrite, untrustworthy, unlawful, greedy etc. She talked about how we would all be covered with stickers because we are ALL sinners...we all fall short and need the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We would be surprised by the number of stickers we wore if all of our sins were made visible as well as those of everyone around us. But also how much more understanding we would be of others when we read their stickers that were the same as ours and how powerful the words "me too" would be. We would be so much more compassionate, empathetic, encouraging, supportive, and loving. We do ourselves no favors by pretending...and it is pretending...to be perfect. That message really resonates with me.
Jamie Ivey's message is a powerful one and a courageous one. I look forward to reading more from her. I just want more of her endearing personality to shine through next time.
My Rating: Good...but lots of sermonizing. Although the message is beautiful, empowering, and needed. Listen to her podcast. It is amazing!
6.) The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
First, ignore the cheesy book cover...all of the editions have terrible covers! But when I am in need of a good enjoyable escape book I ALWAYS turn to historical fiction and despite the cheesy covers Philippa Gregory always delivers. This book was just what I needed. Plotting royals, forbidden love, a touch of magic. It was a fun and entertaining read. This novel is the start of her Plantagenet and Tudor series.
From Goodreads:
Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of Europe, was married to the great Englishman John, Duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI. Widowed at the age of 19, she took the extraordinary risk of marrying a gentleman of her household for love, and then carved out a new life for herself.
Sometimes you just want to curl up on a rainy day with a blanket and a good book. This book was great for that. All of her books are!! I liked the protagonist Jacquetta of Luxembourg and I particularly liked that this novel focused on the strong women behind the scenes more than the men that history has made famous. The author does a great job of bringing the stories of these women to light. It was an entertaining historical read.
My Rating: Enjoyable! I immediately downloaded the next book in the series too.
7.) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This was our book club pick for April. I am not a big fantasy reader so I approached this book with a bit of trepidation. It has come highly recommended over the years so I decided to trust in that and jumped in. I LOVED IT!!
From Goodreads:
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
What can I say? This book was an experience. A feast for the senses. The setting was atmospheric, lush, vivid, and magical. The world building was utterly fantastic! The writing was smart and multi-layered. The prose was elegant. It was a pure reading pleasure. I have read so many poorly written books lately. This was a welcome breath of fresh air. The imagery and detailed descriptions only enhanced the reading experience. I enjoyed the nonlinear story telling and overlapping timelines although it did require a lot of flipping back to the start of the chapter to recheck the dates quite a few times. The story is also told from the points of view of quite a few interesting and intriguing characters. This was also very enjoyable.
I loved the story too. An ancient dual between two schools of magical knowledge: old and new. The two magicians fighting by proxy through their talented students. I thought that the plot was rich and complex and full of interesting themes and symbolism. I loved the steampunk vibe of magic in the Victorian Era. It had a super cool retro-futuristic feeling.
There were so many awesome quotes too... that really makes a book for me as well. Here are a few:
"Magic", the man in the grey suit repeats, turning the word into a laugh. "This is not magic. This is the way the world is, only very few people take the time to stop and note it. Not a one of them even has an inkling of the things that are possible in this world, and what's worse is that none of them would listen if you attempted to enlighten them."
"Life takes us to unexpected places sometimes. The future is never set in stone, remember that."
"Good and Evil are a great deal more complex than a princess and a dragon, or a wolf and a scarlet-clad little girl. And is not the dragon the hero of his own story? Is not the wolf simply acting as a wolf would act?"
"Most maidens are perfectly capable of rescuing themselves in my experience, at least the ones worth something."
"People see what they wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told that they see."
"I have seen a great many things that I might once have considered impossible, or unbelievable. I find I no longer have clearly defined parameters for such matters."
"You are not destined or chosen, I wish I could tell you that you were if that would make it easier, but it's not true. You were in the right place at the right time, and you care enough to do what needs to be done. Sometimes that's enough."
"[Stories] are important. Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost...there is magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they could never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someones soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words."
"And there are never really endings, happy or otherwise. Things keep going on, they overlap and blur, your story is part of your sister's story is part of many other stories, and there is no telling where any of them may lead."
"Time is a peculiar thing. You'll learn that eventually."
See! Some absolute gems! And there were so many more great quotes in the book too. That really added to my reading enjoyment.
This book was an unexpected pleasure. It will stay with me for a long time. It also had such memorable opening lines too. Ones that I won't soon forget. I loved this book and would highly recommend it. Our book club all really liked it too!! Also, the audiobook is wonderful! I went back and forth between the audiobook and the paperback book. It is narrated by Jim Dale who narrated all of the Harry Potter audiobooks and I loved the audio version too!!
My Rating: Fantastic!
8.) The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
This is the next installment in Philippa Gregory's Tudor and Plantagenet series. I enjoyed the first book in the series The Lady of the Rivers and I quickly moved onto the next book. This is the story of Jacquetta's daughter, Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of King Edward the IV and this novel continues the War of the Roses saga.
From Goodreads:
The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores this most famous unsolved mystery of English history, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills.
This was a fun quick historical read. I liked learning more about who is who in the history of England and its kings and queens. I like that the protagonists in Philippa Gregory's books are women and that we get to watch history unfold through their eyes and their stories. This book was more about the battles and had a bit less plot than some of her other novels. That said, I did enjoy learning more about the mysterious "Princes in the Tower" a mystery that is still unsolved and I enjoyed Gregory's take on what might have happened. I like this book but I like some of her other novels better. Regardless, I will go on to read the next book in the series The Red Queen.
My Rating: Good. A fun quick read.
9.) Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury is a treasure. His writing is gold. I love and adore him. Imagine my delight at finding out that Something Wicked This Way Comes is the second book in a series!? It was like an unexpected gift. I immediately checked it out from the library and began to read. I loved Dandelion Wine. I loved the stories, the characters, the structure...which reads like a collection of short stories that are connected by the character of Douglas Spaulding and his family.
From Goodreads:
The summer of '28 was a vintage season for a growing boy. A summer of green apple trees, mowed lawns, and new sneakers. Of half-burnt firecrackers, of gathering dandelions, of Grandma's belly-busting dinner. It was a summer of sorrows and marvels and gold-fuzzed bees. A magical, timeless summer in the life of a twelve-year-old boy named Douglas Spaulding—remembered forever by the incomparable Ray Bradbury.
Bradbury's writing is unique, beautiful, rich, and poetic. This book is a lovely tribute to the writer's own childhood. It is nostalgic and magical without being overly sentimental. I loved his honest take on youth, aging, and our own mortality. It is a wonderful glimpse of life through the eyes of a 12 year old boy in a small town in the summer of 1928.
I particularly loved the story and friendship of 95 year-old Miss Helen Loomis and the young and admiring newspaper man, Bill Forrester. I loved their connection and his ability to see her as the young beautiful girl that she once was rather than who she has become. The writing is fantastic and it reminded me of my own elderly widowed grandmother and our many conversations about how she never stopped feeling about 25 years old and how she would tell me that her young self was still there but just trapped in the body of an old lady.
Helen says, in talking about her former youthful self:
"..I haven't seen her for years. I can't even remember what she looks like. I feel her, though. She's safe inside, still alive; the essential swan hasn't changed a feather. Do you know, there are some mornings in spring or fall, when I wake and think, I'll run across the fields into the woods and pick wild strawberries! or I'll swim in the lake, or I'll dance all night until dawn! And then, in a rage, discover I'm in this old and ruined dragon. I'm the princess in the crumbled tower, no way out, waiting for her Prince Charming." (pg. 143)
Such fabulous writing!!
While I enjoyed all of the stories...my favorite part was...oddly...the introduction entitled: Just This Side of Byzantium. Bradbury discusses his own background, his word-association process and approach to writing and how the memories of his childhood live on. It is really beautiful.
"The wine still waits in the cellars below. My beloved family still sits on the porch in the dark. The fire balloon still drifts and burns in the night sky of an as yet unburied summer. Why and how? Because I say it is so."
My Rating: A wonderful coming-of-age story written by one of the world's most wonderful writers.
10.) A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
This book has been on my "to-read" list for years. I finally got around to reading it and can check it off of my list.
From Goodreads:
In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.
I *liked* it but I didn't love it. I definitely don't think it lived up to all of the hype. The Goodreads blurb says that, "Harkness has created a universe to rival Diana Gabaldon...." UM...NO. Not even close. Not even in the same league. But... it was kind of a fun-ish fluffy read...vampires, witches, a love story. You get the idea.
I thought that the novel got off to an interesting start. The protagonist, Diana, is a historian who studies alchemy. She spends most of her time in a library in London doing research when a mysterious manuscript comes into her hands and all kinds of people start to come into her life who want the manuscript too. The character of Matthew started off interesting and then both he and Diana become boring. Diana isn't just boring (all that sleeping?!?! What the heck?!); she is also sort of unlikeable too. I thought that maybe once their romance got going it would get a little more exciting. Not really. It isn't until the last third of the book that the action begins. There were also some really cheesy parts too; like the aunts' house with a mind of its own. But if you are in the mood for a light mindless beach read...you might enjoy this. I need another beachy read so I just started the second book in the trilogy. So far...not that great.
My Rating: Didn't live up to the hype.
