Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

BookTalk

The Owen’s women have always been different. From the of their line, Maria Owens, these women have inherited a penchant for love, beauty, grey eyes, and magic.

Our story opens with the generation of Sally and Gillian. Sally is a prim and proper utterly boring vegetarian who desires nothing more from life than to obtain the ever cultivated status of ‘normal’. While, Gillian is a living Venus, a beauty whose impetuous nature lead her to three marriages that last about the length of a minute. Two sisters who are nothing alike, and yet, who both are the epitome of an Owens woman.

Sally finds and loses her normal as Gillian searches for love and finds abuse. As women the girls are about to learn that to run away from the Owens tradition will only lead them straight back to their roots to fix their problems.

Told in four parts Hoffman’s magic pervades each page with fantastical flower gardens, and lessons of love we’d all do better to head.

Review

If your first introduction to Practical Magic was the movie, Step Away from the book. [for a second anyway] Have no fear in picking up the novel…But, I’m here to tell you it is nothing, NOTHING, like the movie. So much so that I found myself distracted while reading…

What do you mean the main story doesn’t take place in the Aunt’s house?

What do you mean half of the book is about Sally’s teenage daughters?

Will Sally ever catch a break in love?

Seriously I could go on and on. The differences are so vast as to make me wonder how Alice Hoffman ever sold the movie rights. She must have been fuming with the final product!

That being said…I really should have known better. Anyone who has read Hoffman in the past knows that a chick-lit story like Practical Magic (the movie) would not have been written by her. Hoffman’s tales are always more broken up, more cryptic and yet seriously detailed. In the book, the Owens’ tale is broken up into four parts. Sally’s daughters are teens and just as involved in their own life/love stories as their mother and aunt.

The book is really about how three generations of women adapt to life. How they run away from things, run into things, miss things, and hit the nail right on the head. It’s also a novel about sisters. How they interact and love each other. How no one will be there for you like a sister will. But mainly this book is about love its dangers and its beauty.

As always it’s Hoffmann’s ability to use magical realism to point out universal truths that really sings. While I’ve never seen air change color or plants react to my emotions. We’ve all felt the magic of the evening air, and had the scent of a flower bring out a longing for love. While in real life we find inspiration in nature…rather than nature finding inspiration in us! But Hoffmann’s writing is so expressive I dare you not to start to look for changes in the world around you.

What I love best is that Hoffmann leaves me with so many delicious quotes. The beauty is in Hoffman’s writing more than in her plot. That being said I’d like to complete this review with some of my favorite quotes…Because I love Hoffmann’s writing…

“A woman who was head over heels and wanted to make certain her love was returned would be happy to hand over a cameo that had been in her family for generations. One who had been betrayed would pay even more.” (19)

“They could see how love might control you, from your head to your toes, not to mention ever single part of you in between” (19)

“Certain facts of love she knew for certain” (30)

“Anyone else might assume Gillian is lying or exaggerating or just goofing around. But Sally knows her sister. She knows better. There’s a dead man in the car. Guaranteed.” (57)

“Antonia would be completely and utterly mortified to know that I’M A VIRGIN is printed across her back in black letters” (78)

“He wants it all to be the same and all to have changed.” (133)

“But not a day goes by that she doesn’t think about the boy she loved. Not a moment passes that she doesn’t wish that time were a movable entity and that she could go backward and kiss that boy again” (176)

“Although she’d never believe it, those lines in Gillian’s face are the most beautiful part about her. They reveal what she’s gone through and what she’s survived and who exactly she is, deep inside” (178)

“There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.” (190)

Rating: 3/5 I can’t help it Alice Hoffman…I fell in love with the movie first…

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The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

BookTalk

“Anyone who’s had something truly crappy happen to them will tell you: It’s all about Before and After.” (6, ePub ed.)

So begins this tale of After. Laurel Meisner and her once-friend-turned-bad-boy neighbor David ditch their respective families plans to grab ice cream after a seder dinner. David claimed calculus homework with a friend. But given the fact that he’d practically quit school this past year…his excuse was fooling no one. Laurel, however, was in the middle of an intense round of SAT studying. I.E. unyoke: meaning to separate. During Before her SAT Prep mental image for the word was separating the yoke from the white of an egg. When a police officer appears at Laurel’s home hours later to inform her of the car accident that has killed her family her first thought is that she now has a whole new SAT Prep image for unyoke: to separate.

Now begins the After. The grief, the breakdowns, the breakthroughs, and the survival skills. Laurel’s journey is real and at times it’s not pretty. Best friends don’t always know how to be supportive. Hot guys are just trying their best. And maybe the one person she should not fall for is the one she does. After is a hard place to be…but theres no going back to Before. And Laurel will learn that living her life on her own terms is exactly what she needs.

Review

This story was just so real. I personally lived through a death in my family while I was in High School. Granted it wasn’t the mass casualty situation that Laurel lived through, but losing my sister was more than enough to have me empathizing with the main character. So much of what Castle was writing was exactly how I remember feeling. Laurel was doing things and responding to stuff the same way I did.

I mean I had no major breakdowns in public places. And I didn’t hit the low that Laurel did but some of the little things. The allowing yourself moments of pretending everything was ok…that the people  you loved were still here…just out, or down the hall, or asleep. I got that.

I know that this book has had some mixed reviews. And it’s for sure not everyone’s idea of a pleasant read. But I think that as adults we sometimes forget that teens can feel a need to and/or even enjoy watching a fictional character go through something tragic. It’s what realistic fiction is all about. Watching a person deal with a situation in a true life kind of way. It appeases that voyeuristic need in all of us.

Really, that’s about it. There is no big bang, no perfect coming of age, no white horse to save the day, or paranormal angel to reconnect the family. What I can tell you is that this book is real. So real it makes me feel like Castle must have experienced something similar in her own life. When Laurel’s potential boyfriend hugs her delicately she thinks “Seriously, Joe, you can touch me without breaking me. In fact, you might even put me a little bit back together.” (142, ePub). My own potential boyfriend at the time showed up at my house during my own day After…he gave me the biggest, warmest, most crushing,  bear-hug I’d ever had. It was a hug that touched me so deeply I wrote about it in our wedding vows 9 years later.

In the end this book might not be for everyone. But if you’re a lover of realistic fiction this well written novel will fit like a glove.

Rating: 9/10 One of the best realistic fiction novels I’ve ever done.

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Putting Makeup on Dead People by Jen Violi

BookTalk

Donna Parisi has been wandering through her high school years. She’s acquainted with a nice group of people but they really aren’t friends. She gets good grades and is accepted to the University of Dayton, but her heart’s not in the choice. Donna is drifting. She prefers finding solace in her father’s memory rather than live a life in reality.

Then Donna attends another funeral. For the first time back at the funeral home that held her father’s own wake Donna sees the place with new eyes. Donna decides that she could be very good at this whole funeral director thing. She could be really good at Putting Makeup on Dead People.

With the support of her new amazingly cool best friend Liz, the guy with a secret crush Charlie, and a super supportive team of brother morticians, Donna is about to leave the nest. After years of wandering this sudden change in focus and direction causes a ripple effect through the family. Donna’s mother is worried about the freaky career choice, her sister responds with a green hair dye job, and her brother is about to announce his own life changing choice. The Parisi family is in for a wild ride. A struggle that will give them a new lease on life.

Review

The synopsis that I had read for this title make it seem as though this tale is about Donna’s coming of age. But really this book encompasses an entire family’s rebirth. The Parisis lost their father to cancer a few years before the beginning of this novel and the plot opens while the family is still in some sort of stasis. The mother remains loyal to her husband, not dating, not socializing. The younger sister, Linnie, is rebellious in the form of wild hair color choices, and Donna herself is slightly withdrawn and maybe a little morose. Only the eldest brother seems to have cleanly moved on succeeding at college and a healthy relationship.

It was a quiet novel. What starts as Donna being portrayed as a quiet girl is slowly revealed to be a girl changed by her father’s early death. She’s very much in her own head throughout the book. I think that’s why you don’t notice how little interaction with others Donna really has; I felt like at first she could just be super quiet. Her reactions to things are quirky and unexpected. When her new BF Liz is called a ‘spitfire’ Donna asks if this means Liz is like a dragon. Perceptive, yes…normal response, no.  Donna’s mother would like nothing more than to see her daughter at the local University of Dayton working towards a degree in communications. Apparently under the misunderstanding that a communications degree will help Donna learn to interact with people better, lol. But it’s this unusual view, the inability to present to the world what they want to hear that allows her to become such a sympathetic mortician.

Yep, Donna’s great goal in life is to become a mortician. Lets just say that a girl withdrawn after her father’s death becoming obsessed with a career in funerals freaks everyone out. Freaks! But seeing how well Donna takes to the job’s unusual skill set, how happy the job makes her, clears away any stray thoughts of the depressing. It also helps that the brothers running the local funeral home are happy, normal, and super supportive. It was cool to see the insight into this career the book gave. It really seems like it could be super rewarding…That is if you can get over putting the makeup on dead people.

Also the afore-mentioned best friend, Liz, really jump starts Donna’s transformation. Liz helps bring Donna back into a relationship with her Aunt Selena who is a witch. Another sub-theme of this book is a discussion of religion. Donna’s family are devout Catholic. Thus, Aunt Selena has been banned from the family because of her Wiccan religion. While Aunt Selena’s views on life may not be Donna’s, a big part of Donna’s coming of age is understanding her own religious viewpoint and how it may differ in some ways from her traditional upbringing.

Like I said, this was a quiet read. I think it remained realistic and could have a great impact on someone if read at the right time in their life. Someone on the brink of change, heading off to college or dealing with the death of a loved one. For myself, while I understood the text, and felt for the characters…it didn’t pack as big of a punch. Though I’ll chalk it up to reading it at the wrong time. Put this one in your back pocket for a rainy afternoon or a suggestion for a teen dealing with a lot of change in their life.

Rating: 6/10

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Exclusively Yours (Kowalski Family #1) by Shannon Stacey

It’s Kowalski Family Week!

So last week I fell in Love…with a books series! I started Shannon Stacey’s series about a large, loud, loving family from the North East. I read the first book and then quickly devoured the rest. So my booktalk/review posts of the week feature the three books currently released in the series. The week ends with an interview with the Author herself to give us a peek into writing about Kowalski family.

Without Further Ado…Kowalski Family #1: Exclusively Yours…

BookTalk

Joe Kowalski was Keri Daniels’ first…Her high school sweetheart, her first serious boyfriend, and her first lover. Together they created memories to the tunes of Whitesnake on lover’s lane. And that fresh young love is still the best sex she’s ever had. But at graduation Keri surprisingly drops Joe heading to the west coast to pursue a name for herself in journalism.

After years of no contact Keri finds herself one step away from the masthead of a major celebrity magazine and Joe has become a bestselling but reclusive author. Once, Joe had been in a relationship splashed across the tabloids, it ended in lawsuit mystery…and no one knows what happened behind courtroom doors. Now Keri’s boss has found out her childhood connection to Joe and has laid an ultimatum at Keri’s feet: Get an interview, and the dirt, on Joe and the promotion she’s worked her whole career for is hers…Fail and she’ll find herself with a pink slip searching for a new job.

Keri wrangles the interview…In exchange for spending a two-week vacation in the country with the Kowalski family Joe will answer one question a day. You see, Keri isn’t the only one with an agenda. Keri is the girl Joe never got over, and after seeing her again he doesn’t plan on letter her go anytime soon…But can a high school love stand the test of time?…and the test of two solid weeks with the family?…

Review

I’ll admit I wasn’t so sure of this book at the start. The main characters were close to 40 and while I’m not ageist, it does tend to mean that the romance is going to be of the mature variety. Full of romantic meals and steamy scenes that end at the bedroom door…what’s happening in the sheets not meant for the readers eyes. While that can be enjoyable it wasn’t quite what I was in the mood for…

So I guess it’s a good thing that this was NOT that mature romance book…Steamy scenes, witty banter, and hot muscles abound!

Keri and Joe had chemistry in high school and from the first time they meet in Exclusively Yours they have it again. The references to the couple’s 80’s love are sweet and funny. Full of clichés including big hair, bad cars, and Whitesnake. What really got me was when Joe puts Keri in “the Locker Pose”. The one where a girl would be leaning against a locker and the guy has one leg in-between hers with either hand on the locker beside her head. I suppose I’m describing this poorly…but I could just picture that pose from high school! Where the couple of the moment flaunted their relationship for the whole 5 minutes between periods. Like a pre-Facebook relationship update.

This family is definitely of the down-home American kind. For the family vacation they take off to camp grounds (granted in a few luxury RV’s because Joe is a famous millionaire author) to take ATV’s (four wheelers) off-roading and cook some smores by the campfire. The family is honest, sweet, and completely involved in each other’s lives. But some of my favorite relationship moments came from the other family couples…

An extravagant anniversary gift that cleared up any hesitation about love in the marriage…

The purchase of an ugly marble table and shoes with sex…

Honestly, the scene with the couple and the table (don’t want to spoil anything!) had me rolling on the floor laughing out loud…an honest to goodness ROTFLOL moment. It was sooo sweet too.

I liked Stacey’s characters. They were real people with real issues. Which makes seeing them reconnect their love over these everyday issues all the more squeal-worthy and heart-warming.

This is the first of a series of 3…and I’ve already started book 2, Uniquely Yours. The promise of the hot, ex-cop, ab-baring, younger brother falling in love was too much to bear! And from the start it seems even better than the first.

Rating: 8/10

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Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater *Spoilers*

Click Here to enter to win a Signed copy of Forever

*Spoilers*

Review

This was by far my favorite book of the series. I know it ends without resolving the wolf/human problem…but still, it seemed strangely finished to me. Having that last image of a fall leaf as a wedding band around Grace’s finger is a beautiful one. Leaving the couple on the verge of transformation and future. Whether that future be a traditional marriage and family, or a life in the wild as wolves remains to be seen. But I guess ultimately the reader feels as though whatever the choice, the love between Grace and Sam will have its forever together.

I think Isabel and Cole will also have a future. Maybe if Cole is ever cured he’ll join Isabel in California. Their relationship was always far more realistic than Sam and Graces…never an instant forever attraction…instead it seems like one that will grow over time. Not everyone needs to find marriage at 17.

Now for just a few things I loved about Cole and Isabel’s relationship this book:

• The little black mustang Isabel gave Cole, and that scene where Cole drives the car around Isabel’s body. Seeing Cole play with it at inopportune moments. Very endearing.
• The scene where Cole and Isabel are hiding underneath the lab table – making out!? – and getting caught by Isabel’s mom…who (luckily, lol) just kind of rolls her eyes and lets the two of them off the hook.
• Isabel watching Cole give his life for Sam and Grace and then rolling that SUV off the road to save the pack. She, more than anyone, has given to a cause that has done nothing but hurt her throughout this series. For that I will always love Isabel as my favorite character from Mercy Falls. That girl has heart and guts and deserves the kisses and affection of that hot St. Claire boy.

*sigh*

Now more random notes about Forever…

I also loved the scene in the beginning of the book where Isabel loses it at the Italian restaurant and her mother again saves the day with understanding rarely seen in parents in this series. The way her mother instantly understands the situation and helps her daughter was unique and heartwarming. It was just perfect to see Isabel finally show some emotion over all that she’s been dealing with and then getting the support of her mother. That scene made me very happy.

Another happy moment was when Sam and Grace drive off to see the northern lights. Throughout these novels Grace and Sam get one good scene per book. One happy, uncomplicated, field trip where they just get to be two crazy kids in love. The whole thing reminded me of getting lost in the country with my hubby when we were teens. Granted he was never lost because he has a good sense of direction…where as I couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag with a map. Still it’s the thought that counts, and it’s always kind of romantic to be alone in a car watching the stars with the man you love.

I guess I’m a little sad to be leaving Mercy Falls. Part of me wishes I knew what really happened to all the characters in the future. But I think that the strength in the ending is really that Stiefvater picked her battle. She chose to focus on the struggle to find a new leader of the pack and the escape from the shotgun of Tom Culpepper. Her characters matured and are now ready to face their lives as adults. At the age of 18 there’s no way to ensure a happily ever after anyway…Because fans of Mercy Falls are all hoping for a long life and relationship between Grace and Sam and to have a full life is to have one full of both joy and sorrow. The ending of this series is really the beginning of life for its characters.

Who else is hoping for a 10 year update? lol. Maybe Stiefvater will return to the falls someday…

Rating: 9/10

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Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls #2) by Maggie Stiefvater *Spoilers*

*Spoilers*

Review

One of my favorite parts of this book was when Grace told off her parents. I normally don’t support this type of outburst from teen characters. I often find that either the adult they are ranting at was such a caricature of a person that it seems unfair…or that they aren’t seeing a valid adult point of view. Not so in Mercy Falls. Grace’s parents aren’t super strict or super unfair, they just kind of ignore the fact that they have a child. And they have a good child. A cooking, homework completing, friend-having child. And that they finally care after all these years…after Grace has finally assembled her own support system is both realistic and the epitome of the word injustice. I read the section where she tells them off twice! And my only critique was that if I was Grace…I would have run away that night!

And Sam had his own bit of empowerment. In this book Sam really begins to come into his humanness. It’s like watching the thaw from winter to spring. Even when Grace is dying/changing into a wolf, Sam is still secure in his choice to stay human. It’s what makes their love so heart-wrenching…They’re obviously meant to be together but both are driven by what’s inside them to desire wolf or human. Neither feels the need to force the other to stay one way or another. You can’t help but fall for the connection these two have. Everyone who sees them feels it.

Now to the eye candy of the novel…I’ll say this first, Cole is hot! But he’s so self-centered. I just don’t think that his issues stand up to his attitude. I mean, I get that stuff went wrong in his life – jaded rock star and all. But others in these books have more valid issues and less trouble interacting with others…Sam’s parents tried to kill him, Isabelle’s parents are on the verge of divorce and she’s lost a brother, and Grace could be dying. What’s so wrong with being Cole St. Claire anyway? He’s a rock star genius whose parents believed in him. Wow, bad luck with that one. When he throws Sam into the bathroom with the tub, or is unable to help Victor…to watch Victor die because of Cole’s decision. I was really seeing no redeeming qualities in Cole. Until he saves the day at the end of the story by finally getting with the program and helping, I was ready to kick Cole out of the pack…call up Tom Culpepper!

But wait…if we got rid of Cole we wouldn’t have the relationship between Cole and Isabelle. There were those scenes where they began to break down each other’s walls. So amazing. Probably my favorite part of the book. Watching them begin to save each other – to see the life and the fight come back to each of them was invigorating. Between the kissing, muscles, and opening up I was hooked. They keep dropping lines claiming that their love is nothing like Grace and Sam’s but I think they aren’t seeing how special it is that they are able to open up to one another.

In the end I admit, sometimes in these novels I get a little lost. There’s so much seriousness…the looks, longing, moments to read into. I can get a little bogged down. But then Stiefvater writes those endings. Victor’s burial where Cole cracks, Grace’s hospital bed yearning for Sam, Cole stepping in at the 11th hour to save the day. Seeing it all come together is worth all the heavy setup. It makes me even more excited to finish the series. For an author who is so amazing at endings the finish of a series should be the ultimate read. Excited to see what she does with it.

Rating: 8/10

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Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

BookTalk

Emma thought her life couldn’t get any worse. Within a year she’d lost both her mother and her twin brother leaving her with a grieving alcoholic of a step dad to take care of her. After her stepfather wrapped both of them around a tree Emma is left not only with a massive scar on her arm but a wounded soul as well.

Brendan is the creme de la creme of New York society. The richest, most attractive, athletic guy at Vincent Academy. He doesn’t even own a hairbrush…that’s how naturally hot his features are…straight out of bed he’s rock star perfect. But he’s sickened by the cliques that come with wealth. He’d trade it in a heartbeat for something wild and real.

Emma will move to New York and as the wounds of her past begin to heal she’ll find herself involved in a thousand-year old curse…and find her soul mate in Brendan. But their path is not straight, instead full of ancient history, witchy spells, and the gossip mill that is an Upper East Side private school. They’ll have to trust in each other because the only thing worse than a curse is a trashed high school reputation.

Review

I. Loved. This. Book.

It surprised me, it was so funny from the start. Emma is kinda snarky, a little geeky, and super funny. I officially liked her when she referred to super-sweet-teen-perfume as a “unicorn fart”. Where has that expression been all my life?! The writing was witty, and the way Emma narrates her experiences was by far my favorite part of the book. From random comments about teen life, to watching her fall for Brendan, the way Emma described it all gets an emotional response from the reader.

And now for the insta-love. I’ll admit in the beginning of this book I wondered if this was going to be too much like the Fallen series. It’s hard not to compare the two as Spellbound is about soul-mates finding each other. The plot involves the souls of Emma and Brendan being reincarnated again and again over the span of 1,000 years which is very Fallen-esque. But, I was happy to find that aside from the reincarnation/curse aspect the two tales are very different.

First off, neither Emma nor Brendan are aware of the curse. Sure, Brendan admits to it being an old family joke, but nothing that he’s ever taken seriously. It was cool to see these two fall into insta-love and figure out their connection. It was a great twist that it was a new concept to both of them, rather than one being more knowledgeable about the situation than another. Plus, they have a lot of swoon-worthy moments over their brief courtship. Brendan plays a little bit of the too-cool-for-school guy in the beginning, but it’s the little things he does for Emma that make the reader swoon.

Another thing that I loved was that this book was a stand-alone. The whole story was wrapped up in one book. Shultz gives a teaser at a potential companion novel starring Angelique, but the curse that is the center of this story concludes within the pages of a single book. The end action may have happened a bit dramatically in comparison to the rest of the novel but it was an end I didn’t see coming and I’m always happy when that happens. I am now excitedly awaiting more info on Angelique’s title…If Spellbound was any indication it’s bound to be a fun and funny romp filled with lots of love.

Rating: 9/10

P.S.

Brendan is always joking that Emma is a ‘musicologist’ but really both characters are constantly pictured in the book with ear buds in their ears…Shultz has taken this obsession one step further for Spellbound fans by creating a playlist on iTunes featuring songs that are special to both Brendan and Emma. Check out the back of your book for the reasoning behind each song choice.

Download the Playlist on iTunes: Brendan & Emma’s Playlist

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

BookTalk

Do you remember the stories of your childhood? Tales of magic and creatures who lived among us? When do we stop believing in them? When do we lose the faith? What happened if little red riding hood and the wolf showed up in your backyard? Better yet, what if Queen Mary did appear after three “Bloody Mary’s” spoken into a mirror at midnight?

I’ll tell you what would happen…Everyone would call you crazy

Then we’d hype you up on antipsychotic medications and send you to a shrink. At least that’s what happens to 16 year old Jacob. Jacob grew up on his Grandfather’s tales of the freakish. You see, his Grandfather claimed to have grown up on an isolated Island in Wales, “Miss Peregrine’s home for Peculiar Children”. Jacob was fed stories and photographs of the levitating girl, the invisible man, and the girl who ate with the back of her head. Yep, a full set of teeth under her glorious curls.

But when Jacob’s Grandfather dies Jacob sees the killer, and the killer is decidedly not a normal human. Across the seas, Jacob will search to find the root of his childhood stories, and to find the history of his Grandfather. And there is no way to prepare Jacob for the reality that all of his childhood tales are true…

Review

This book had me at hello. I mean, look at that cover…how can you not want to simply tear into this book. And that freaky victorian-art deco-gothic-horror vibe continues throughout the story with photos. Yep, it’s a multi-media type read. Riggs scoured photography collections featuring the old and freaky so all the photos within Miss Peregrine’s pages are real! Super cool.

But wait…it doesn’t stop there. Riggs’s writing style conjures up instant images with his word choice. The first time Jacob enters Miss Peregrine’s decrepit home well written. There are walls fuzzy with mold, walls splattered with food burst from jars, rooms with trees growing due to exposure. For me this was by far one of the creepiest parts of the novel.

That being said, maybe it’s just me…but I wasn’t all that scared. If I had to judge a book by it’s cover (haha) I was expecting a ‘scary story’ and I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or not that this didn’t turn out to be the point. Surprisingly, this novel was run-through with themes including WWII, father relationships, and the contemplation of the choice between a single safe, perfect day of the extraordinary (Ground-Hog-Day style) or a life time of ordinary. Jacob is beginning to realize that a 70 year old family hurt has passed down from the holocaust to bombings, to an abandoned son, to a stress disorder. It’s amazing to see how big a role the sins of the father play in this novel. So family issues…check…scary scenes…miss.

As for the famous creepy kids of Jacob’s youth? Peculiar is truly the best word for them. After the reader becomes aquatinted with the group they seem surprisingly ordinary and yet extraordinary at the same time. While I’m not saying that if a levitating girl and an invisible boy popped up in the middle of my day I wouldn’t be freaked out…Riggs presents it all with a normalcy that is usually found in magical realism novels or tall tale movies like Big Fish.

I’m not gonna lie, I was really hoping for creepy…maybe a little sleeping with the light on…if that’s what you’re looking for this isn’t the title for you. However, what you will find is a delightfully written tale with surprising twists and turns of language that make the reader feel like you’re there. But Warning: this seems as though it’s not a stand-alone book. You follow the final frantic chase to one big cliff. I was a little disappointed in this I think that simplifying the story could have resulted in a strong stand-alone. Not sure that this is a cliff I’m gonna jump to the next book…we shall see what the teaser summaries result in.

Rating: 6/10

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Genuine Lies by Nora Roberts

BookTalk

As a child Julia was adopted into a loving family. While she had no record of the woman who gave her up, her childhood was idyllic. Then, as a pregnant teen Julia found herself faced with the same heartbreaking decision…keep her child or give him up.

10 years later Julia Summers is famous for her celebrity biographies. Working with the rich and famous she tells the tales of their lives with panache. Now, Julia and her son Brandon find themselves on a plane to glamorous L.A. to live and research the life of Eve Benedict. The ultimate star for over half a century in a business that chews up and spits out actresses. This story will switch from Eve’s numerous love affairs to the modern romancing of Julia and Eve’s surrogate son, Paul.

But as Eve’s life is revealed man by man, and secret by secret Julia and Eve are about to encounter mysterious people who will stop at nothing to prevent seeing their secrets in print. Secrets that will place some in jail and ruin other’s lives. Unwilling to edit Eve’s legacy Julia and Eve will pay the ultimate price.

Review

Holy 80’s!…Ok, so the book was originally published in 1991 but really, we’re splitting hairs. Eve and Julia walk around in coral colored silk jackets and elegant leisure pajamas. And the trainer Fritz…OMG this quote had me cracking up!

“Standing beside Eve as she lay on a weight bench doing leg curls was Mr. Muscle…He had to be nearly seven feet – a Nordic god whose bronze body bulged out of an incredibly brief unitard.”

Seriously?!…Unitard?!…Sexy?!…

Only in the 80’s (-ish) could this be possible. Don’t worry Mr. Muscle ends up being gay (could explain the unitard) but he is still continuously viewed throughout the book as some sexy, unitard wearing, eye candy. Love It! Aside from the dated cultural references this book still pleases the romance fan. Julia and Paul’s relationship doesn’t get a whole lot of development or play. What is more interesting is Eve’s long history of men.

Roberts traces Eve’s romantic history from her very first husband/lover to the multiple affairs still in Eve’s life at the age of 67. This woman has it going on. What’s so refreshing is that Eve’s character is able to look back on her history and honestly relate the specifics of each relationship. She admits when she’s made a mistake, and also proves true emotion where most tabloids have written her off. It made me wonder about the celebrities we all follow, and the judgements we place at their feet. There’s definitely a lot we don’t know and a lot we take for granted. To see a fictional account of a celebrity life made me interested in real celebrity relationships. What really went down with Bennifer? Brad and Jen? Brad and Angelina? heck, I’d even like to see an honest breakdown of the Speidi ordeal.

Maybe I should pick up a celebrity bio…anyone have a good suggestion?

Anyway, back to the book…Alongside Eve’s romances are a slew of industry secrets and lies. Seriously, I had no idea who was threatening Julia and Eve because so many people were accused of hideous ordeals in Eve’s stories. S&M sex with the underage, torrid secret affairs, aborted love children…murder. This woman was mowing people down with her tale. Just about anyone had more than enough reason to want to stop the story. How all the secrets wind together is really fun to see. And the big shocker of the book is one you’ll probably see coming about halfway through (Paul tipped me off) but it’s not a secret you’ll see coming from the start of the book…definitely a really good twist.

In the end what I enjoyed most about this Roberts title was that it was different. The big love story of this tale happens in Eve’s past…not Julia’s present. It was fun to go back in time to the golden days of Hollywood and see all that old school romance. This book is full of champagne, love affairs, and secrets. It’s a fun romp through the 80’s with a murder mystery to boot. A good choice if you’re in the mood for some retro-trashy-romance.

Rating: 8/10

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Legacy by Cayla Kluver

BookTalk

A Crown Princess

A Scandalous Crush

A Kingdom on the brink of disaster…

Alera is crown princess of Hytanica, on the eve of her 17th birthday the countdown begins to the day of her wedding…her 18th birthday. Alera is headstrong in a culture of male domination. Far too inquisitive and spunky Alera will not go swiftly into that good night that is marriage. Especially not to golden boy Steldor. True, he’s hunky, victorious in battle, and a really good kisser…but Alera isn’t interested. Instead she feels trapped by the choice being forced upon her by her father.

In walks Narian, the mysterious Corkyian who has ties to Hytanica. He’s attractive and willing to take Alera on the adventures she longs for…giving her attention her heart desperately needs. But with an ancient prophesy claiming Narian as part of the destruction of Alera’s kingdom…Choosing between her heart and her loyalty to the kingdom will prove to have more casualties than Alera could have imagined.

Review

Did I like this book? I think I liked it, I kept wanting to go back and read it. I think my problem with this book was that I didn’t really like the main character of Alera. I found her for the better part of this 500 page book to be extremely immature. The storyline has Alera on the verge of adulthood, she’s one year away from having to pick a husband and step into her role as queen. Add to this the pressure of her father, who is ready to put down his crown and is pushing Alera toward his pick for future King.

It’s this situation that exacerbates Alera’s immaturity. You see, Alera does not want to marry her father’s choice, Steldor. She finds him to be egotistical and self involved. Fair enough. Even if Steldor is the golden child of the kingdom that doesn’t mean Alera needs to be attracted to him. The problem is Steldor doesn’t bother the reader as much as he bothers Alera. This quote sums up the relationship perfectly:

“You are more than ‘a little disagreeable,’ Alera. You can’t conceive that anything I do has merit, is good, is right, has potential. At least my so-called arrogance is backed up by my actions – I can do the things of which I claim to be capable, so that I do not boast, but rather state fact. You, on the other hand, oppose me without thought or reason! Better to be justifiably arrogant than irrationally contrary. If it were not the case that we must marry in order for me to assume the throne, as is our fathers’ desire, I would not suffer your company, and I don’t think many men would.” (291, Bound Galley Ed. Feb. 10, 2011)

Seriously, in the history of the beautiful douche Steldor takes the cake…look at that smack-down…I LOVED it. Because it’s true. Sure, it’s more than obvious that Alera doesn’t want to marry Steldor, but at the same time she’s never given the guy a chance. She’s a witch-with-a-capital-B when it comes to interacting with the poor guy. I mean, he’s fighting tooth and nail for a chance and she is irrationally set against him. Honestly, aside from the few times that Steldor attempted to get a jealous rise out of Alera he seemed like a decent guy. Well…a self-centered guy, but one that is more than qualified to step in as King. And, one that was wiling to change his attitude toward her when she pointed out a fault. Compare that to the fact that Alera is completely aware she’s not treating the guy well and yet she still doesn’t change her actions. Her younger sister has more manners and tact and ends up seeming older than Alera. At points in this book I was ready to vote Alera off and Miranna in. I mean Alera couldn’t even finish one royal party without storming off to her room. I just wanted to say to her “Grow Up!”

And Yet…After all of that

I still enjoyed the end of this book. The action and meaty part of the plot happens in the last 200 pages. I loved the relationship between Alera and Narian. Narian is a mystery and it’s really sweet to see him opening up to Alera. In this relationship Alera seems older, more sure of herself and less petulant. Seeing the two of them sneak around the castle is exciting, and basically everything Alera’s relationship with Steldor is not. But alas, because of Narian’s divided loyalties (born Hytanician but raised Corkyian due to a prophesy) Narian is not a candidate for King. It must be obvious because even Alera sees the problems with the match.

I found myself becoming most interested in the prophesy and the history of the Hytanican and Corkyian nations. This book begins a lot of plot threads. Alera’s personal guard London’s history, Narian’s childhood, the prophesy, the Corkyian people in general…and there is not one answer to be found within these pages. Nope, not even the relationship question is answered (though the book ends on an unconsummated wedding night…leaving lots of options for guy switch-ups in later books).

I think I’m going to stick around for the second book. I’ve already put 500 pages into this story, and it ended up being total build up. I think the story could have been told better had the writing been better. The writing really is the weak point in this novel. You can tell the author is young, the plot points and writing in general was the downfall of this book. And yet, I kinda want to know where this is all headed. I’ll be reading Allegiance…but not without a little bit of trepidation, and hope for stronger author skills.

Rating: 5/10

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