Review: Rainshadow Road

Title: Rainshadow Road
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Length: 308 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffen
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Chick-Lit
Source: Goodreads Giveaway
My Rating:
Synopsis (from Goodreads): Lucy Marinn is a glass artist living in mystical, beautiful, Friday Harbor, Washington, with a boyfriend, Kevin, who she believes is her soul mate. She has always had a magical side - a gift that finds its way into the breathtaking glasswork she creates - and she struggles to keep it contained. But when Lucy is blindsided by the most bitter kind of betrayal, she questions many of her choices. Her boyfriend leaves her and his new lover is none other than Lucy's own sister. Lucy's bitterness over this devastation is multiplied buy the fact that she has constantly made the wrong choices in her romantic life.

Meanwhile, facing the severe disapproval of Lucy's family, Kevin asks his friend Sam Nolan, a local vineyard owner on the San Juan Island, to "romance" Lucy so that she can more easily move on. But when Sam and Lucy begin to feel real sparks between them, Lucy must ask herself if she can easily risk her heart again.

As Lucy questions her beliefs about love, loyalty, and old patterns, mistakes, and new beginnings, she explores the possibility that some things in life - even after are being broken - can be re-made into something beautiful. And that is the only by discovering who you really are that you can find the one who truly deserves you.

My Thoughts: This was a fun book! An easy read, beautiful setting, a little magic, a heart-melting hero, and a happy ending. What more do you need? The backgrounds of both main characters were a little extreme but not necessarily implausible, though they did make the characters a little hard to relate to at times. There were a lot of quirky side characters and you could pick out the budding romance for the second book in this trilogy, which I will happily read! The one thing I would have really liked to see more of was the magic. I do not feel like this aspect was fully developed.


If your looking for a nice summer read, go ahead and add Rainshadow Road to your list!

Review: The Cranes Dance

Title: The Cranes Dance
Author: Meg Howrey
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Vintage Books
Genre: Fiction
Source: Vintage Books
My Rating:
Synopsis: (from Goodreads):  I threw my neck out in the middle of Swan Lake last night.
So begins the tale of Kate Crane, a soloist in a celebrated New York City ballet company who is struggling to keep her place in a very demanding world. At every turn she is haunted by her close relationship with her younger sister, Gwen, a fellow company dancer whose career quickly surpassed Kate’s, but who has recently suffered a breakdown and returned home.

Alone for the first time in her life, Kate is anxious and full of guilt about the role she may have played in her sister’s collapse.  As we follow her on an insider tour of rehearsals, performances, and partners onstage and off, she confronts the tangle of love, jealousy, pride, and obsession that are beginning to fracture her own sanity. Funny, dark, intimate, and unflinchingly honest, The Cranes Dance is a book that pulls back the curtains to reveal the private lives of dancers and explores the complicated bond between sisters.

My Thoughts: **3 1/2 ** I found this book to be incredibly interesting. It's like a behind the scenes look at a ballet company and one dancer's life. Fascinating! Kate Crane is a very reliable, likeable narrator. I felt her pain, drive, guilt. I liked that we followed Kate through both the ups and downs. This is not a book that glorifies ballet or ballet dancers. It is a real look at what it takes to be a ballerina.


For those of you who crave a little extra drama you will not be disappointed in Gwen's appearances in The Cranes Dance. I feel like that story line is one better left explored on your own.


As an extra bonus, as I hang my head in shame, I now know the story line of Swan Lake. I have never seen Swan Lake but am now looking forward to an opportunity to arise for me to do so.


If you are interested in performing arts, family dynamics, and enjoy a compelling read I would suggest picking up The Cranes Dance. If you do, I would love to know what you thought of it!

Review: The Solitary House

Title: The Solitary House
Author: Lynn Shepherd
Length: 340 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
Source: Publisher as part of Early Bird Reads
My Rating:
Synopsis (from Goodreads): London, 1850. Charles Maddox had been an up-and-coming officer for the Metropolitan police until a charge of insubordination abruptly ended his career. Now he works alone, struggling to eke out a living by tracking down criminals. Whenever he needs it, he has the help of his great-uncle Maddox, a legendary “thief taker,” a detective as brilliant and intuitive as they come.

On Charles’s latest case, he’ll need all the assistance he can get.

To his shock, Charles has been approached by Edward Tulkinghorn, the shadowy and feared attorney, who offers him a handsome price to do some sleuthing for a client. Powerful financier Sir Julius Cremorne has been receiving threatening letters, and Tulkinghorn wants Charles to—discreetly—find and stop whoever is responsible.

But what starts as a simple, open-and-shut case swiftly escalates into something bigger and much darker. As he cascades toward a collision with an unspeakable truth, Charles can only be aided so far by Maddox. The old man shows signs of forgetfulness and anger, symptoms of an age-related ailment that has yet to be named.

Intricately plotted and intellectually ambitious, The Solitary House is an ingenious novel that does more than spin an enthralling tale: it plumbs the mysteries of the human mind.

My Review: The Solitary House was a gripping, if somewhat confusing, novel of suspense. Lynn Shepherd did an excellent job of making her reader feel as if they were a part of 1850's London. While reading this book I felt transported which always makes for a better read. As dreary a place as London in the 1850's could be, I enjoyed being there, feeling it, smelling it.


I found Charles to to be a bit naive/brash on occasions which caused me to feel a little upset with him at times. This, however, only took away slightly from the overall feel of the book. I loved how Shepherd used perspective in her writing. Writing as if we were an audience watching the story with her. The feeling that we were "in the know". I don't think I've ever read a book from that perspective before.I also must admit that Inspector Bucket became quite  favorite at the end!


The sub-plot was introduced and played out in a very intriguing way. The ending was a surprise to me and I felt as if there were a few loose ends that weren't tied up. That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in suspense, mysteries, historical London, and an overall good story.  I am looking forward to reading Ms. Shepherd's first book, Murder at Mansfield Park!

Review: When Morning Comes

Title: When Morning Comes
Author: Francis Ray
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Fiction, Romance
Source: LibraryThings FirstLit
My Rating:
Synopsis (from Goodreads): In this unforgettable new novel, Francis Ray delivers an emotionally powerful tale about the families we build, the choices we make, and how we find love and family along the way.

My Thoughts: I have very conflicting thoughts on this book.  This novel is actually two different stories woven together through the two female protagonists being best friends. Other than that, and the very unrealistical ending, which tied everything up into a nice, neat, happy little package, they are almost completely separate. I'm not sure how I would normally feel about this arrangement but in this book it worked OK because I was really irritated by the secondary female lead character and it was nice to be able to separate the two in my mind.

Sabrina and Cade's story was one I would have really enjoyed.  There were two strong characters, engaging plot, very interesting subplot, and who doesn't love a happy ending?

Kara and Tristan's story was not at all enjoyable. Tristan was an awesome male lead, strong, supportive, rich, handsome, trustworthy, etc. Kara on the other hand drove me crazy. I understand what Ray was trying to do with her character but it just angered me. Kara was such the victim and continuously allowed it to happen. It was to the point where I didn't believe she deserved the guy. There was even a fairly substantial plot point that was never wrapped up.

Ray would have done well to keep the two stories separate.  Unfortunately she didn't. I give When Morning Comes as a whole 2 1/2 , Sabrina and Cade's story 3 1/2 . If you like chick-lit and romances I wouldn't say don't read it. Give it a try yourself. I think everyone will probably have a different reaction to this story. If you read it I would love to hear your opinions on it!

I will definitely read another book by Francis Ray if given the chance!

Review: Calling Invisible Women

Title: Calling Invisible Women
Author: Jeanne Ray
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Crown
Genre: Fiction
Source: Goodreads Giveaway
My Rating:
Synopsis (from Goodreads):  A mom in her early fifties, Clover knows she no longer turns heads the way she used to, and she's only really missed when dinner isn't on the table on time. Then Clover wakes up one morning to discover she's invisible--truly invisible. She panics, but when her husband and son sit down to dinner, nothing is amiss. Even though she's been with her husband, Arthur, since college, her condition goes unnoticed. Her friend Gilda immediately observes that Clover is invisible, which relieves Clover immensely--she's not losing her mind after all!--but she is crushed by the realization that neither her husband nor her children ever truly look at her.  She was invisible even before she knew she was invisible.
   Clover discovers that there are other women like her, women of a certain age who seem to have disappeared.  As she uses her invisibility to get to know her family and her town better, Clover leads the way in helping invisible women become recognized and appreciated no matter what their role. 


My Thoughts: What a novel! It brought forward so many points to ponder in such an open way. It was such a quick easy read that I finished it in one day! I will be thinking about it for many more.


You must go into this novel being able to give a little suspension of disbelief. Some things, no matter how you look at them just don't fit, are hard to picture. However, for me, this took nothing major away from the rest of the story. What is the definition of invisible? Is it not being seen, not being able to be seen? What can cause one to be invisible? What does one do when one is invisible? Where does a person's worth stand? In them or in the fact of their visibility? All questions brought to light in the fairly unassuming character of Clover, who could actually be many of us. This is story for any woman.


Ray even manages to bring in the subject of big pharmaceutical companies and their ethics without being overbearing. Does the end justify the means? Are there such things as acceptable casualties? Can "Invisible" people make a difference? 


This is an incredibly engrossing and thought provoking read! I highly recommend that you pick it up, read it, and take a look in the mirror! Enjoy!

Review: Temptation

Title: Temptation
Author: Douglas Kennedy
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Atria
Genre: Fiction
Source: Publisher
My rating:
Synopsis (from Goodreads): From the New York Times bestselling author of Leaving the World comes the brilliant, breathtaking story about a Hollywood screenwriter whose “overnight success” brings about his biggest downfall. Like all screenwriters in Tinsel Town, David Armitage wants to be rich and famous. Finally, after eleven years of disappointment and failure, big-time luck comes his way when one of his scripts is bought for television, making him the new toast of Hollywood as the creator of a smash hit series. Suddenly a major power player, Armitage begins to reinvent himself at breakneck speed, quitting his day job, trading in his Reagan-era Volvo for a Porsche, and leaving his wife and daughter for a sleek, young producer. Enter multibillionaire film buff Philip Fleck, who proposes an unsavory collaboration to the screenwriter. Armitage takes the bait and suddenly finds himself entering a decidedly Faustian pact—and unknowingly hopping an express ride to the lower depths of the Hollywood jungle.

My Thoughts: Douglas Kennedy takes his readers on a roller coaster ride in Temptation. It comes complete with ups, downs, twists, and surprise turns. Temptation was an easy read but I found that I never knew what to expect next and that kept me turning the pages.  The ending came as a surprise but not an unwelcome one.


As a character I found Armitage to be shallow, selfish, weak, and over the top. These are traits that are usually not good in a character but I think they work here, and he does eventually redeem himself. 


Don't let the cover fool you. This is not a book about sex. It is about control and the lack of it, fame and the cost of it, money and the effects of it.


There was one character where I felt the bad language was a bit much. I know what Kennedy was trying to do with it but I found it a bit off-putting. On the other hand, I absolutely loved the character of Alison, Armitage's agent. She also had some off colored language but it did not seem as out of place.


This was an enjoyable read and more like  3 1/2 , but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. I would suggest giving it a try yourself if it sounds at all interesting to you. Temptation was an interesting peak into Hollywood and it's players.

Review: The Man Who Changed The Way We Eat

Title: The Man Who Changed The Way We Eat: Craig Claiborne And The American Food Renaissance
Author: Thomas McNamee
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Free Press
Genre: Non-fiction, Biography
Source: Publisher
My Rating:
Synopsis (from Goodreads): From his first day on the job as the New York Times food critic, Craig Claiborne excited readers by introducing them to food worlds unknown, from initiating them in the standards of the finest French cuisine and the tantalizing joys of the then mostly unknown foods of India, China, Mexico, Spain, to extolling the pleasures of “exotic” ingredients like arugula, and praising “newfangled” tools like the Cuisinart, which once he’d given his stamp of approval became wildly popular. A good review of a restaurant guaranteed a full house for weeks, while a bad review might close a kitchen down.      Based on unprecedented access to Claiborne’s personal papers and interviews with a host of food world royalty, including Jacques Pepin, Gael Greene, and Alice Waters, Tom McNamee offers a lively and vivid account of Claiborne’s extraordinary adventure in food, from his own awakening in the bistros of Paris, to his legendary wine-soaked dinner parties, to his travels to colorful locals from Morocco to Saigon, and the infamous $4,000 dinner he shared in Paris with French chef Pierre Franey that made front-page news. More than an engrossing biography, this is the story of the country’s transition from enchantment with frozen TV dinners to a new consciousness of truly good cooking.

My Thoughts: This was a fascinating book. My friends consider me a "foodie", though I don't agree. I love to eat at nice restaurants, try new dishes, and experiment with my cooking club. None of those things however make me a true "foodie". I am just not that knowledgeable. Craig Claiborne was a "foodie", perhaps the first in our country, and he brought a desire for that knowledge to a large percentage of people just like me. I never read one of Claiborne's columns but had I, I would have been one of his devoted followers. Learning about the life and career of such a man was a wonderful discovery for me.


McNamee makes Claiborne come alive. As I was reading the book I found myself making the journey with Claiborne and wishing that I was more than just a voyeur. I wanted to be a part of the lavish dinner parties, on the trips to Europe to explore the newest restaurants, and to have written some of the amazing cookbooks which carry the Claiborn byline.

However, as is true with anyone, Claiborne was not just his public persona. He had an unseen, and for that time period, scandalous personal life. He lived with the same demons a lot of us do and had the same character flaws too. This does not distract from the persona of Claiborne but serves to make him someone that more of us can relate to.

If you are interested in food at all I think that this biography is definitely worth the time to read. I not only learned a lot about the food revolution in America but I was left with a respect for what it took to make it come about, not to mention a compelling need to go out and buy The New York Times Cookbook.

Mailbox Monday #5

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Martha from reviews from Martha's Bookshelf this month. This meme allows bloggers to showcase the new books they have received over the last week. Warning: this meme can definitely lead to book envy!

This week I have also decided to participate in two new memes. The first is Stacking The Shelves hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews and the second is The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. Stop by and take a look!

Won

On Celestial Music by Rick Moody

Calico Joe by John Grisham

Storms Of My Grandchildren by James Hansen

 

For Review

True Believers by Kurt Anderson - Thank you Random House

The Cranes Dance by Meg Howry - Thank you LibraryThing and Vintage

Shelter by Frances Greenslade - Thank you Free Press

The Solitary House by Lynn Shepherd - Thank you Random House

Temptation by Douglas Kennedy - Thank you Atria

The Moment by Douglas Kennedy - Thank you Atria

Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray - Thank you Goodreads and Crown

The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones - Thank you Goodreads and Harper

IF by Jena Rausch (not pictured)

Purchased

Love Always by Harriet Evans

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

What goodies did your mailbox bring you this week?

Review: The Folded Earth

Title: The Folded Earth
Author: Anuradha Roy
Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Free Press
Genre:Literary Fiction
Source: Free Press
My rating:
Synopsis (from Goodreads): An evocative and deeply moving tale of a young woman making a new life for herself amid the foothills of the Himalaya. Desperate to leave a private tragedy behind, Maya abandons herself to the rhythms of the little village, where people coexist peacefully with nature. But all is not as it seems, and she soon learns that no refuge is remote enough to keep out the modern world. When power-hungry politicians threaten her beloved mountain community, Maya finds herself caught between the life she left behind and the new home she is determined to protect.
Elegiac, witty, and profound by turns, and with a tender love story at its core, The Folded Earth brims with the same genius and love of language that made An Atlas of Impossible Longing an international success and confirms Anuradha Roy as a major new literary talent.

My Review:  I'd first like to direct you to the beautiful cover! Doesn't that cover just draw you in? Make you feel as if something beautiful is waiting within? An awesome cover has me from the word go.

I found this book to be both beautiful, engaging, and frustrating all at the same time. The book is broken up into two parts. Part One just seemed to lay the groundwork for Part Two. Part One was very hard for me to get involved in. Part Two was very engaging. I fell in love with many of the local village characters. I was anxiously waiting to see how Charu's story turned out and whether Veer was really the jerk I thought him to be. The writing made you feel as if you were there with the characters. I came to feel as if I knew Ranikhet, the village where this story was set. I actually found myself wanting more from many of the main characters. This story ended too abruptly, it left me with unanswered questions even though the story lines were all completed.


If you enjoy a well written story, read this for the feeling of village life in India, the quirky characters, the beauty of the mountains. Anuradna Roy showed me a place I'd never been before.