obsidian_blue's reviews
3065 reviews

I have never read a book by Dana Reinhardt before but after reading We Are the Goldens I plan on checking out her other books. Told in the first person from Nell's point of view you get to see a young woman trying her best to step out of her older sister's shadow. Nell loves and in equal measure is jealous and at times hates her sister. I thought Ms. Reinhardt did a great job with Nell's voice and the confusion that she feels at falling for a boy and being jealous that this boy may like her sister more than her. I did feel at times that Nell's voice was a bit too old in certain parts. It only happened a few times, but other than that I thought Ms. Reinhardt did a great job capturing a teenager's voice.

I also thought it was very good that Ms. Reinhardt wrote the book in such a way that it seemed that Nell had written a letter to her sister to explain why she did what she did. You know in the beginning that something horrible is or did happen so that leaves the book with a very good deal of tension while you read.

I will say that though I liked the book I did not care for Nell. You don't have to love the narrator in a story you are reading and the fact that Ms. Reinhardt writes this book in such a way that you can sympathize with Nell, feel pity for her, and also realize that a part of her is happy that her sister is not so 'golden' anymore. I wish that part of the book had shown Nell being self aware enough to love her sister's downfall instead of her having her feelings of righteousness throughout her letter to her sister.

I would like to read a follow-up to see what happens at the conclusion of this book. Or to see a book written by Layla's point of view.

Please note that I received this book via the Amazon Vine Program.

I have loved previous Liza Palmer books, seriously go out and read Conversations with the Fat Girl and Seeing Me Naked. Some of her books I could not get into fully, see A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents and others I just didn't care for at all, see More Like Her.

I thought that Girl Before a Mirror was at times brilliant and other times frustrating. I really did love reading how Anna came to see romance novels as not something to be ashamed of, but something to celebrate and that the whole concept of "be your own heroine" is something that many women need to be in their day to day lives.

I did find the first few chapters a bit stilted at first, but after Anna meets Sasha and they begin their campaign idea together the book started flowing much better. Sadly, the times that Anna is with Lincoln the book seemed to turn itself into another book entirely so I often found those passages to also be super slow and they did not flow very well in my eyes.

There was another side plot going on with Anna having a very popular romance writer becoming her mentor but it seemed to fizzle out. I still can't understand how this woman was Anna's mentor. She seemed to just be a person that Ms. Palmer inserted to be Anna's fairy godmother.

I think the book would have worked much better without that being indulged in since the whole concept of this character coming along and doing what she does in the end took me completely out of the book. Everything else in the book I found to be very realistic except this part.

The idea that many women do sit and wait for that guy to come along and be our white knight instead of sitting up and being their own knight and then finding the guy was very thought provoking.

I at times read a passage in this book and would just find myself nodding along. Anna in a way is a perfect stand in for many women who have been through a marriage and divorce in their early 40s still trying to figure out what do they want. I thought her getting her eyes opened during a romance writer's conference was great and I loved that many people talked about how they were treated differently be people when they found out that they read romance novels. Also the parts dealing with women who are afraid to admit that they like the things that they do since they want to be thought of as smart as intelligent and not less than other people was a very good discussion.

However, to go from that aspect of this book to one in which Anna is trying to decide to just take a chance on Lincoln was in my eyes aggravating.

There was no real obstacle between Anna and Lincoln being together besides Anna's own self imposed obstacles she threw up so I was pretty much over the 'what are we going to do dance' she kept indulging in. One thing that always bugs me in romance novels is when the heroine and hero have no real reason to be kept apart, but the author keeps them apart to just lengthen the book. If the Anna/Lincoln relationship had been the only thing going on with this book I would have marked it down to 2 stars. However, besides Anna taking a hard look at her life and how to be her own heroine, I loved her friendship with Sasha and her finally acknowledging that her brother needs help. I did tear up at one key scene with Anna and her brother and I know exactly how she feels when you want to fix everything for your sibling, but know that you cannot.

In summary, I liked the writing, the character of Anna, and thought her romance with Lincoln actually took away from the overall book.

I also really love the idea of "be the heroine, find your hero".

Please note that I received this book via the Amazon Vine Program and this book will be released on January 27, 2015.

I am not going to lie. I was initially hesitant to start this book because I was worried that the character of Cora's investigation of her parents deaths was going to turn this book into a hybrid of magical realism/mystery thriller. I do think at times the book got pretty close to that edge, but the magical realism angle pulled through and in the end I found this book to be a really great read.

There are a myriad of characters in this book but I promise you that you can follow each character and their individual plot lines. Besides Cora an her grandmother Etta, you have several other characters.

Walt, the owner of a bookstore that Cora frequents and her childhood best friend.

Dylan, who works as a producer on a radio show.

Milly Bradley, who is still recovering from the loss of her husband ten years after he has passed away.

Detective Henry Dixon who is still trying to put his life back together after his wife left him.

I would also say that the shop itself is its own character, changing the silk on the walls depending on the season, just knowing what music to play for when a woman or a man enters the doors. I loved everything about the shop and just wished a place like this really did exist.

I think that if you are a book lover you are really going to love this book. Besides the dress shop, Walt's bookstore plays an important part in this story, along with several books that come into play.

I also like that though Etta does have the power to provide each woman that walks into her shop a way to realize her dreams, she has a blind spot when it comes to herself.

The writing to me at times was lyrical and evoked different emotions and feelings in me as I read it. This really did remind me of the best of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen's books. I still re-read Alice Hoffman's The Red Garden every year because that book just makes me feel awe, sadness, hope, love, everything all at once when you start reading the tales that make up the story of the fictional town of Blackwell, Massachusetts.

I can say that I have become a fan of magical realism books and books like these have become one of my favorite genres to read. I plan on going back and trying to read Menna va Praag's older books.

I read the synopsis of The House at the End of Hope Street and promptly bought that book.

For those that are interested here it is:

When Alba Ashby, the youngest Ph.D. student at Cambridge University, suffers the Worst Event of Her Life, she finds herself at the door of 11 Hope Street. There, a beautiful older woman named Peggy invites Alba to stay on the house’s unusual conditions: she’ll have ninety-nine nights, and no more, to turn her life around.

Once inside, Alba discovers that 11 Hope Street is no ordinary house. Past residents include Virginia Woolf, Dorothy Parker, and Agatha Christie, who all stayed there at hopeless times in their lives and who still hang around—quite literally—in talking portraits on the walls. With their help Alba begins to piece her life back together and embarks on a journey that may save her life.

I was really surprised that Ms. Andrews told this story from Cara and Jack's perspectives. I was also pleasantly surprised that the story as told from Jack's perspective actually read like a man his age and circumstances would speak or think.

Cara was written as a strong woman and I liked that you slowly get to find out about her past and the kind of upbringing she experienced. I like it when we are able to slowly unravel characters and not have someone or them info dump to clue in the reader.

The love scenes I thought were done just well, but honestly I was not that interested in them because I was more interested in reading about Cara and her trying to keep her business afloat while dealing with her father and his constant undermining comments that he made to her.

The main reason why I gave this book four stars is that we read about the rival florist Cullen Keane and there seems to be a hint that he is out to get Cara because of something that occurred between the two of them or maybe someone in Cara's past. But then he kind of got ignored at the end which I thought was an odd choice. Also the epilogue was a bit confusing since you don't really know how long it was after the events in the last chapter happened. I hate it when I read a book and the author doesn't clue you into timelines. Heck just add something that says 'One year later..." or have a character say "gee I can't believe it has been two years". Other than that I found this to be a really fast and engaging read.

So I read this book as part of the Horror Aficionados book for the January read. I bought this book last winter, but never got around to reading it.

I really really loved Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. I know that a lot of people had issues with it since they felt like the ending ruined the entire book for them. I now know how these people feel since I feel the same about Dark Places.

The movie is broken up by three different character perspectives. We get Libby's mother Patty's point of view from the past, Ben's point of view from the past, and then Libby's present day point of view.

I think it was great to include Patty's point of view since out of everyone I had the most sympathy for her character. Her struggles to provide for her kids and her pain at seeing her son Ben pull away from her was heartbreaking.

You know right from the start that you are not going to like Libby's character and even Libby admits to being a horrible and selfish person. She initially gets involved with the "Kill Club" since they will pay her to talk to people involved with the murder. She does this since being paid to look into the murders is better than her actually working. You have a smidgen of sympathy for her since to be the lone survivor of a killer has and did mess her up a lot. However, all sympathy for Libby becomes completely eroded when you start to read her private thoughts about people, things that happened, and how she can take advantage of people around her.

Ben as a character was an enigma a good 3/4 of the way through the book for me. You feel for Ben because he is in a house of women and doesn't feel like a man. He is struggling to be something and upset that the world is determined to keep him in this little box.

Ms. Flynn does a great job with the writing for all three characters. All of their voices are quite distinct so even if you get to a different chapter and don't realize it, you quickly know you are reading Patty's, Libby's, or Ben's point of view.

The description of people, places, and smells actually at times put me in those scenes.

That said, I still gave this four stars since the ending didn't really make much sense and I didn't find a lot of enjoyment at the end. I know that Flynn likes to write endings that are open-ended and I actually like it when an author leaves it up to the reader to what happens next. However, the ending just kind of happens and some people do a complete 180 that I didn't get at all.

I really did enjoy this book and thought that everything worked very well together.

Mental note. Never ever read two dark books back to back again. I seriously had to take a reading break. Dark Places and Cold Cold Heart just made me long for sunshine and rom-com movies.

Dana’s harrowing story and her return to small town life have rekindled police and media interest in the unsolved case of her childhood best friend, Casey Grant, who disappeared without a trace the summer after their graduation from high school.
Terrified of truths long-buried, Dana reluctantly begins to look back at her past. Viewed through the dark filter of PTSD, old friends and loved ones become suspects and enemies.
Questioning everything she knows, refusing to be defined by the traumas of her past and struggling against excruciating odds, Dana seeks out a truth that may prove too terrible to be believed…

This is a continuation of the story from Tami Hoag's last book, The 9th Girl. We find out about the serial killer who eventually kidnaps Dana and rapes and beats her repeatedly with the goal of turning her into his "9th girl". I have to say I have a tough stomach, but others who may get triggered by books that go into rape and abuse may want to skip this one.

I think the reason why this one stuck in my head so bad was because Dana creeps into your skin. When we first start the book we are taken back to her about to be taken and killed by the serial killer, Doc Holiday. However, through the thought running through her brain that

Where there is life, there is hope


Dana manages to save herself.

The change in her face and personality to everyone around Dana makes you cringe and feel for her. Going from a good looking woman excited about her career and then turning into someone that can't stand for anyone to touch her with nightmares that would have grown men weeping was a lot for her to take.

Prayer. She had prayed and prayed and prayed, but no one had come to save her.

I thought Ms. Hoag realistically showed the trauma that Dana goes through and her recovery. How many times do you read a book like this and the person magically wakes up and is all better. Maybe they have a nightmare or two and the hero comes in and holds her so it makes everything all better.

Reading Dana calling herself "Before Dana" and "After Dana" and realizing that not many people were interested in "After Dana" just pulls at you. Throwing herself into finding out what happened to her best friend Casey I thought was very interesting. I was more invested in Dana and her interactions with other people though than her figuring out what happened to Casey. There was also an odd side plot that involves Dana and her stepfather that never really gets resolved so I am curious about that. Maybe Ms. Hoag will take that up in a future book.

You do want to shake Dana's mom a lot in this book since she seems to have her head fully buried about her husband, and that her daughter is not going to be the same person anymore. There was a scene where her mother is encouraging Dana to go out on a date with a former boyfriend that I cringed at.

We eventually get to what happened to Casey and who was involved though the identify of the killer didn't surprise me. If you read carefully, you could tell who it was going to be and why.

We do get a welcome look at Kovac and Tinks again. I hope that Ms. Hoag brings them back for another book. I love Kovac and Tinks.

That said, the ending just kind of happened and as I said there was the lack of resolution between Dana and her stepfather and that's why I gave this book only four stars.

Though the synopsis only mentions Alba and Peggy there are actually two other women in this book as well. We also have Carmen, who is hiding something dark in the garden of the house. And we have Greer, who is fresh off dumping her fiancee after finding him with someone else.

The house itself is an entirely other character. Seriously I wish this house existed and I could visit it.

When Alba wakes all she can see are books. Thousands line every inch of every wall and the ceiling, some drift through the air like birds, lifting off from one shelf and settling on another; precarious stacks are spread across the room like skyscrapers. For a moment, Alba thinks she is dreaming.
The house does mysterious things and we also have former residents who in Alba's case she can see and talk to via the portraits on the wall.

So here's the thing. I really did like this book a lot. I really love the magical realism genre and wish that there were more books out there in this genre. However, looking back at it a day later I realized there were a lot of execution problems with this book that made it veer all over the place. I think if we had just had Alba as the main character with Peggy it would have made the book flow better. However, including Carmen and Greer's stories just made the book feel like three books in one. I was not wholly invested in anyone's story's at all throughout the entire book. And in Greer's case I was tired of her storyline by the end.

That said, the epilogue also just kind of happens and everything was wrapped up way too neatly.

I wish we had seen some of the things happen that get mention in the epilogue occur naturally in the book.

I do have to give Ms. Praag kudos for totally fooling me on a plot concerning the next house caretaker though. Other than that, this was a quirky book that I liked. I still love Ms. Praag's The Dress Shop of Dreams much better though.

This is the second book in the Waverley Family series by Sarah Addison Allen. I suggest you read Garden Spells before starting this book since many events from Garden Spells are referenced in this book.

Look at the cover. I seriously fell in love with that that before I cracked a page open on the book. I told myself to wait to start and finish this book but I needed a nice happy book after Dark Places and Cold Cold Heart. Little did I know there was going to be some dark subject matter in this book as well.

So I loved Garden Spells. I thought it was wonderfully written and it made me want to go out and investigate a tons of plants and flowers to see how I could include them in my cooking. This sequel I found though was pretty jumbled. There seemed to be a lot of things going on which were not really tied together like they were in Garden Spells.

We still touch about Claire and Sydney, but not enough for me.

Claire still has the ability to grow and cook things using the flowers in her garden. She has now changed careers from a caterer to making homemade candies though she feels lost now since she is no longer able to use the plants and flowers from her garden most.

Sydney is devastated that she can't get pregnant and wants to give Henry a child. Sydney is still able to style a woman or man's hair that seems to bring out something from inside them.

Bay is Sydney's 15 year old daughter who always know where things should go and is proud to embrace her Waverley heritage unlike her mother.

Things that I liked in this book.

One, the character of Bay. Two, the fact that we get to see how close Sydney and Claire have gotten in 10 years. And three, the introduction to other strange people in the town of Bascom.

I think if the book had just been focused on Bay that would have worked better. Bay and her entire plot really did work for me. Ms. Allen is able to write Bay very well and I wish she had more teenagers featured in her books. I really loved The Girl Who Chased the Moon and thought that she wrote the characters of Emily and Win. There were some shades of "Twilight" in there with those two characters, but thank goodness the other characters and plots in that book saved it from falling too deeply into that writing and storyline.

Instead we get a very weird side plot with a mysterious man that comes to town focused on Claire. That plot didn't work and it made the whole book feel off to me. I actually found myself getting annoyed by this guy and wish that he had not taken up so much room in this book. I really wish that Ms. Allen had left him mysterious instead of getting into his past. That's the part of the book that is pretty dark. It is never outright said but you find out this man was abused as a small boy.

Sydney's plot and ultimate resolution was so obvious it was almost painful.

We also don't get enough of the men in the Waverly women's lives at all. There are little asides to Henry and Tyler, but compared to the last book I wish we had got to see more into these characters' heads this time.

I wish that I had liked this one more than I did (I gave it 3.5 stars but Goodreads only gives full stars so I rounded up to a 4). I think the main problem was that the story was told from Amy Leatheran's point of view.

Amy Leatheran speaks in an older voice during the course of this story though she was apparently a young nurse when this story takes place. The foreword was written by Doctor Giles Reilly (another character in the story) who mentions that it was four years ago when these events take place so she had to be in her early 30s or mid to late 30s by the time the story is told. However, she spoke as a woman in her late 50s in my opinion. She just seemed quite old in her mannerisms and thinking and how she spoke. Perhaps Ms. Christie should have aged the character. She can write younger female characters and has done so quite well before. Perhaps Ms. Leatheran was a stand in for a Miss Marple type character.

The flow of the novel through 1/4 of the story was quite slow. I found myself having trouble keeping everyone separate and trying to figure out how everyone was connected.

I was actually relieved when the actual murder took place since that meant that Poirot was soon to be on the scene.

I do always enjoy reading other character's points of view of Poirot. Ms. Leatheran talks about how short, old, and foreign Poirot is in her eyes. She even dislikes him through a good portion of the book until she realizes how smart he really is. We eventually have Ms. Leatheran stepping in for the missing Hastings and helping Poirot with his investigation of who killed Ms. Leidner. Once Poirot is on the scene the book flows much easier.

I can say that for once I guessed at who the murderer was correctly. I just didn't understand how they possibly could have done it. Once the solution was laid out it seems perfectly understandable and I felt foolish for not putting it together.

Also though I guessed the murderer it still made no sense to me how a woman like Mrs. Leidner could be totally in the dark about the identity of her killer. I just had so many questions there. I don't want to spoil for those who haven't read, but my first thought was one of incredulity when I realized who the murderer is and who they could possibly be.

I then promptly watched David Suchet in Hercule Poirot's "Murder in Mesopotamia". This one had Hastings assisting Hercule and we once again get to the same murderer. However, the set up is different with Hercule in place before Mrs. Leidner is murdered.

I do want to say a good thing for me that I did watch "Murder in Mesopotamia" this weekend. Netflix then recommended to me "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" and I promptly watched all of series 1 and 2. I am now in love with Essie Davis. I will have to pick up these books sometime in the future since they sound right up my alley. When I am done with Poirot it will be nice to read another novel with another female protagonist since I am now done with Miss Marple.