Review: The Midwife of Hope River, by Patricia Harman

I picked up this book on a recommendation from Amazon, it was on sale and it had some pretty good reviews. Plus I wanted a bit of a change after reading some fantasy books. I have always said that I think I was born in the wrong era, and books like this remind me of that. Patience Murphy is a midwife in the 1930’s, and there’s so much struggle in her life it seems overwhelming. The reader is constantly reminded of what a harsh world Patience lives in, with very little happiness shed her way.

That being said, when she does get to experience a bit of happiness, you really feel for her. The author takes the time to flesh out each character so that even though Patience is disconnected from her community, the reader doesn’t feel the same way. In fact I found the writing so well done that it was one of those very few books that I could not put down, and I think I finished reading it in two or three days.

I didn’t agree or enjoy everything about the story, especially Patience’ past that always comes up to haunt her. It sounded a bit too unbelievable to me but the writing was fantastic, and I was able to bypass these small discrepancies. It was the perfect book to curl up on the couch with, a nice hot mug of tea in hand.

Reading about the births and deaths that Patience attended, and how she coped with each one (and how the families coped with each one) really made me appreciate what I have in my own life. The author did a wonderful job of conveying the emotion felt and the miracle of birth. Over all I was incredibly pleased with this spontaneous purchase.

4/5 stars

Review: Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey

I am not sure how on earth I ever missed reading this book way back when, but miss it I did, and just discovered it in an old used bookstore here in Kelowna. Sure, I’m quite partial to the books I have on my e-reader, it’s easy to bring them where ever I go and simple to pick up books depending on my moods, but there’s something to be said for the feel of pages between your fingers, especially if the book has been owned previously. Anyway, I’m getting carried away here.

I typically don’t enjoy science fiction. Spaceships bore me, and space discovery has never been something I was interested in reading. However. When it comes to Anne McCaffrey none of these issues seem to bug me. There are a handful of authors that have this effect, where it doesn’t seem to matter what their genre about, I will drink it up and be eternally grateful for the chance to read their work, and this book was one of those.

Killashandra Ree.

She’s a stubborn girl who starts off by being let down by the world. Turned away from her main career choice, she ‘randomly’ meets a handsome stranger who cuts crystal for a living. The main requirement is perfect pitch, which she has (of course) and a few other specifications that I don’t want to spoil for readers.

I found the whole story to be incredibly well written, even though I can’t exactly pinpoint why. The genre is one that typically doesn’t interest me but because it was written in such a descriptive way, I felt like I was almost there, through her trials and tribulations. As Killashandra learns to become a Crystal Singer her class mates came to life, and in most cases they were actually more interesting than her – plus there’s that interesting love affair with her — well, I don’t want to spoil it. Lets just say this was a great read, and I’m sad that it took so long for me to finally read it. I have already picked up the second book and can’t wait to start.

Review: The Next Always by Nora Roberts

I’ve been a fan of Nora Roberts for years now, ever since my Mom introduced me to her books. I think I was lucky growing up, books were always a big deal and we always lived close to a library if I didn’t have the money to buy a book. These days it’s even easier with ebooks. Anyway.

The Next Always starts out with three brothers restoring a hotel, and a mother who has three boys, recently widowed. They live in a comfortable country town, and the hotel that is being restored is haunted by a ghost – but she plays a very minor role, which is a bit of a shame because I think the story could have been told better (maybe it will in future books). Anyway, the book follows down the usual romantic path. Mother falls in love with one of the brothers, is being harassed by a man in the town, brothers come to her aid, story ends up happily ever after.

I’m not saying it was a bad book, but it wasn’t as fleshed out as I would have liked. Maybe I just wasn’t interested in reading a romance, or maybe over the years I’ve just gotten bored of this style of writing. It feels like Nora Roberts books are all the same, and I can easily predict what will happen. For some people this isn’t much of an issue, but for me it just didn’t settle as well as I would have liked by the time I finished reading.

3/5 stars

Review: The Hole in the Middle, by Kate Hilton

A free book I picked up from Amazon, I’m not sure what enticed me to read it, but I’m glad I did. The basic story was not that profound but the characters and their decisions throughout really hit home for me. It’s about Sophie, who is about to turn 40. She is married, has kids, has a stressful job, and of course has a past that involves another man. Throughout the book she is constantly questioning herself and her decisions. She wonders if she has made the right choices, if she would be any happier had she travelled down another path and this is something I think we all end up asking ourselves at one time or another (or maybe it’s just me).

Her coping mechanisms are those of any person under stress. At first she tries to ignore it, tries to feign that everything is fine to anyone in her world, but eventually that falls apart and she is left upset and vulnerable. I thought that the book was headed down a particular path around mid way through it, but the writer surprised me and went another direction that I think worked out really well, and reminded me that some times that we just think the grass is greener on the other side but it doesn’t always have to be true.

All in all, a nice easy read with memorable characters and a surprising ending.

4/5 stars

Review: The Novice, by Trudi Canavan

This is book two in The Black Magician Trilogy, and I was incredibly disappointed. Sure, I didn’t rate the first book that high (3/5 stars) but I was hoping that by the second book things would have picked up a bit and the author would have found her groove. Instead things seemed to fall apart.

I had high hopes for Sonea as she progressed into the Magicians Guild and attended her classes, but instead she turned into an incredibly weak, meek, shy girl who refused to stand up for herself. The entire novel she let people push her around and did nothing about it. She didn’t retaliate, didn’t ask anyone for help, just sucked it up and dealt with it. I found this incredibly obnoxious and it spoiled what I thought of the entire story. I can overlook plot holes, I can get by with weak descriptions so long as there are outstanding characters and this book simply fell short. Of course by now I have read too much and I will have to continue on with the third book, but I really hope Sonea has grown up a bit.

Yes, the story line did move along, and parts of it were interesting, but they were ALL overshadowed by the weak woman that Sonea turned into and it just simply did not resonate with me at all.

2/5 Stars

Review: The MacKinnon’s Bride, by Tanya Anne Crosby

I’ve said this before and I’m sure I’ll say it again. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like thinking. I picked up this book back in April when I was doing a lot of travelling and I completely forgot to write a review when I finished reading, so it’s a bit late. It helped that I also got the book free on Amazon during a promotion. You can never go wrong with free books.

This highland romance novel was about Iain MacKinnon and his son (who is kidnapped at the beginning by the English). In retaliation for the kidnapping, Iain captures the daughter of his enemy, expecting to use her as a bargaining tool. Things don’t work out in his favour though as the English laird doesn’t want her back. She is of course, furious at being kidnapped, and in a typical romance story sort of way, they fall for each other while the rest of the MacKinnon clan look on with disapproval.

I didn’t start getting into the story until the last 25% or so. It felt like there was a lot of “filler” material throughout, as though the author was trying to meet some sort of page deadline. I enjoyed the basic story, but the characters (for me) fell short. I grew frustrated with Page as soon as I met her. One minute she seems hell bent on getting her way and is a ferocious lion and the next second she’s as brainless as a scarecrow without any real reason.

Still, it was exactly the type of book I was looking to read, and I suppose I got what I was looking for.

3/5 Stars

Review: The Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grisson

I love books that are historical fiction, and was surprised to hear that this was Grisson’s first novel. It’s about a white woman who grows up as a servant girl on a plantation, experiencing life from that perspective. Yes, the book does have stereotypes and they can come across strong at times – but – the writing was really well done, and I loved the story. It was one of those books I couldn’t put down.

The life of the servant girl is one of a lot of pain and heartache. Lavinia loses her parents while on a ship from Ireland, and is taken in by the servants of the plantation. She witnesses all of the horrible things that happen at “the big house” and eventually as she gets older, she moves from the servants quarters to the big house because of the colour of her skin. She’s shown that she is not like the servants, even though she has no desire to treat them ill or begrudge them in any way for her upbringing.

The book isn’t sunshine and roses that’s for sure. There’s a LOT of heartache that goes on, a lot of angst and pain. Life was hard, and Grisson does a wonderful job of conveying that feeling. The characters are colourful and detailed, and you really get a sense of what the plantation would be like – something that almost always pulls me into a book.

Highly recommended, though keep in mind it does follow stereotypes and isn’t a very happy novel. I still feel that the writing style and the story itself is able to overcome these things.

4/5 stars

Review: Red Rising, by Pierce Brown

This book has been going around my feeds as ‘the next big thing’ as far as books-to-read go. A few of my friends read it and loved it which is always a good sign that I may also enjoy reading it.

While I DID enjoy the book, it reminded me far too much of movies like Ender’s Game, and so I didn’t find the story unique at all. Darrow lives on Mars, and works beneath the surface at a very dangerous job. Some things happen that cause him to question what he’s doing, and who he is doing it for. Eventually through a series of events he gets recruited into an organization hoping to overthrow the caste system, but in order to help he has to impersonate one of the ‘higher’ races. He has to move through their ranks, starting with University, which is an us vs. them tactical game of capture the flag. The game turns all too real as the students are pitted against each other, and the teachers get involve taking sides. There are political undertones to the whole thing, which just makes the twists and turns more enticing.

The writing was fantastic and like I already said, I did enjoy the book but it was pretty much (to me) Ender’s Game, with more fantasy than space in certain parts of it (the university capture the flag game happens on a planet). Still, I do recommend picking up the book and giving it a read. The writing more than makes up for a repeat story, and it’s not COMPLETELY like Ender’s Game, it just reminded me a lot of it.

4/5 Stars

Review: I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai

I knew even before I started this book that I was going to love it. The story is about Malala, a girl who was shot in the face by the Taliban because she wanted an education. She stood up for things that most of us take for granted. The whole book was incredibly powerful and served as a constant reminder to me about how life is so very different across this world. It reminded me that not everyone has what I have. It made me feel grateful for my life, for my education, for the things that I have.

When I was reading reviews a lot of people seemed to dislike the political and historical turns that the pages brought, but I actually enjoyed those parts the most. I loved learning about the Swat Valley and how it has changed over the years. I liked reading about the political history of Pakistan, and I found that it was woven into the story of Malala very well.

It was one of those books that made me think the entire time I read it, made me feel anger, happiness, sadness, fear, all of these emotions ran over me as I made my way through the pages. While the book is certainly a far cry from my ‘typical’ choices, I’m glad I branched out. I don’t want to spoil the actual book because I feel that it’s one of those books you really have to read for yourself. Keeping in mind that the novel was written by a young girl (a very well spoken one) may help overcome some barriers readers might face.

5 / 5 stars

Review: The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

After reading a lot of books from one genre I like to relax with something completely different. The Rosie project was the perfect book.

Don Tillman is a scientist, and he’s every single stereotype in the book. Socially awkward, single, devoting all of his time to work. He attempts to look for a wife by creating the Wife Project, a complex questionnaire with the purpose of finding a lifetime partner. It’s supposed to eliminate candidates that don’t match and thus save him time, but that was before he met Rosie.

Rosie is the complete opposite of everything he is looking for, and she needs his help. She’s looking for her real father, and since he’s a scientist with access to a lab, he can help by running DNA tests. They team up and begin the Father Project, eventually concocting elaborate schemes to obtain DNA samples to test. Don starts diverting from his strict schedule as he and Rosie work together, and he spends a lot of time thinking about how enjoyable the entire process is.

Predictably the pair begin to fall for one another, and this process is filled with all of the social awkwardness that you would expect. I found Don’s interactions amusing, and you can’t take it too seriously. The book is lighthearted and a quick read with some twists and turns but nothing particularly astounding. Some nights, that’s exactly what I’m looking for.

4 / 5 stars