The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead held great promise. The novel had an interesting idea of the Underground Railroad being an actual railroad, unfortunately, that is where it ends. The Underground Railroad was an undeveloped idea that never turns from a cocoon into a butterfly. The characters were rather dull and, despite all they had […]
Nicholas Sparks is a very formulaic author. He designs two star-crossed lovers living on opposite sides of the tracks and despite all odds come together. Even if I had not seen the movie before hand I could have seen where the story was going. Although, being predictable was not my biggest complaint with The Notebook. […]
I cannot believe Fates and Furie was Obama’s best book of 2015. Yes, this is a story of marriage but not a realistic one. The majority of the book focused on their sex-life, with Lotto and Mathilde coming off as sex-crazed teenagers and was more information than I needed. Fates and Furies is split into […]
I never thought I’d say it, but I preferred Mandy Moore to Nicholas Sparks. A Walk to Remember was my first foray into Nicholas Sparks and I have to say, I was not impressed. I knew the premise before I began, I knew I was in for a tear-jerker. However, I did not expect the […]
First Impressions: The Night Sisters is first perceived as a murder/police procedural novel; a genre I eat up — bring it on! Novel Impressions: I have mixed feelings about The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon. Like the The One I Left Behind this novel is told in flashbacks of Amy’s mother Rose and the events […]
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman has a very interesting premise, a couple who run a lighthouse find a baby and raise it as their own. I was intrigued and looked forward to reading of the consequences this act would invoke. I enjoyed the sections of the book that described Tom and Isabel’s courtship. […]
I typically don’t read young adult unless it is in the form of Harry Potter. However, a new-to-me young adult book usually gets me out of a reading slump and A Monster Calls was my pick up of choice. It is a depressing book, dealing with the impending death of a child’s mother, but “happy […]
The best way to describe the novel The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney is to compare it to The Royal Tenenbaums but without the understated humor. The Plumb children were self-absorbed, entitled and while adults acted like children. In short, the characters were all unlikable and were not the reason I became invested in the […]
I am a lover of true crime and have reread the disturbing true crime novel Helter Skelter several times. Therefore, when The Girls by Emma Cline was released I knew I had to read it. I will admit, that I was a bit skeptical at first as both of Cline’s parents are in the publishing […]
I first read The Devil’s Arithmetic in sixth grade. I remember being amazed not only by the subject matter but also by the way Jane Yolen laid out impending events. Even at eleven years old I was astounded by the atrocities that occur in the book and left an impression on me. Twenty years later […]