Monday, June 20, 2016

Bookmarks Magazine July/August 2016

I had a wonderful day working at home, going in the pool with Ozzy Poozer at lunch and finishing up early. After work, I did my nails and decided to brave our 120+ heat to check the mail box....and am I glad I did as there was my Bookmarks! What a fabulous start to the week. Here are the books that I have put in my queue. Let me know what you are reading or want to read so I can have it on my radar.


      

      


     

My library didn't have these ones in but I still want to read them. Maybe once I get through my queue, they will have them in.

   





Thursday, June 16, 2016

The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young

My rating: 4.0

This starts off with a young woman having a dream about a missing child, that she then is reality on the tv news. Since she just lost her son, she isn't sure if she is going crazy or should trust her dreams.



It has lots of twists and turns and, despite some formula romance misunderstandings I enjoyed it. A fun light beach type of read that held my interest.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante

My rating: 4.8

This is my third Ferrante book, the second in her Neopolitan series, and her talent continues to amaze me. Her books are a joy to read due to her eloquence and phrasing.

This continues to the story of the friendship of Lila and Elena. They are now in their twenties and their relationship gets even more complex. Ferrante not only captures Italy but she brings each of the characters to life. I found that listening to this on audio made it flow beautifully and helped me keep track of the many characters despite each of them having various nicknames.  Ferrante is not a happy or uplifting author but, I love her depth and ability to capture so much where I feel that I know her characters. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

My rating: 2.0

I absolutely loved Cleave's first book Little Bee (which I strongly recommend) so initially I was happy when this book about WWII was picked for a book club.  I tried.  I really did. I got almost 60% of the way through before I gave up.  



Cleave can be a wonderful writer but I didn't care for any of the characters. So many of the story lines were recycled.  Everything felt flat and contrived and I truly did not care. It is so sad when Cleave is talented that this comes across as trying too hard and just didn't grab me.