Sweet Water by Christina Baker Kline

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publish Date: May 1, 1993
Format: Hardcover
Pages:285
ISBN: 978 0060190330

When a grandfather she never knew bequeaths her a house and 60 acres of land in Sweetwater, Tenn., a restless young artist leaves New York to recover her past and rethink her future.  Cassie Simon’s mother Ellen died when Cassie was only three; raised in Boston by her grieving father, she never knew her maternal relatives.  Unprepared for the thick veil of mystery that surrounds them, Cassie is especially bewildered by her brusque grandmother, whom rumor credits with hiding a terrible secret about Ellen’s death.  In alternating sections told from their respective points of view, Cassie and her grandmother fight their separate battles to cope with the truth about the tragedy.  The result is a powerful, immensely readable tale of loyalty and betrayal, family and memory, made fresh by Kline’s often beautiful and always lucid prose.

My Thoughts

I had recently purchased Orphan Train and then this book came up in a book club and realized it was by the same author.  Sweet Water is Kline's first novel and the first I have read of hers.  Yet again it is one of those tricky 3 star books.  There were a number of good aspects to this novel and then there were some that were not so good.  I liked the concept, of a young girl needing to find herself, and part of the search is to know who her family is and where she came from.  Returning to her birth town after the death of her grandfather, whom she had never met, she starts to develop relationships with her grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins.  While the description states that the book is shroud is mystery...the mystery was a real let down.  Instead of having the mystery aspect woven it I would have rather preferred for the whole novel to focus on relationship building, self discovery and letting go and moving on.

I liked hearing Clyde's point of view and why she was so stand offish - which in my opinion was unnecessary.  I would have preferred Clyde and Cassie to have a typical grandmother granddaughter relationship.  Yes I understand her heartache, but it was not Cassie's fault for everything that happened in her grandmother's life. The ending was terrible - in that it didn't really end.  It almost seemed like the author just got tired of the story and just said the end.  I was also not a fan of the character Troy.  I found him as a love interest was just wrong.  While I liked that the author gave her a love interest I just did not like that it was him. 

You could defiantly tell that it was a first novel by an author - and I'm sure that writing her following novels she developed more depth.  Well I'm hoping so anyways, as I plan to read more of her. 

My Rating: «««

Buy it Now!

The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Publish Date: March 8, 2011
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
ISBN: 978 0385523394

With a career, a boyfriend, and a loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the reckless young woman who delivered a suitcase of drug money ten years before.  But that past has caught up with her.  Convicted and sentenced to fifteen months at the infamous federal correction facility in Danbury, Connecticut, the well-heeled Smith College alumna is now inmate #11187-424 – one of the millions of people who disappear “down the rabbit hole” of the American penal system.  From her first strip search to her final release, Kerman learns to navigate this strange world with its strictly enforced codes of behavior and arbitrary rules.  She meets women from all walks of life, who surprise her with small tokens of generosity, hard words of wisdom, and simple acts of acceptance.  Heartbreaking, hilarious, and at times enraging, Kerman’s story offers a rare look into the lives of women in prison – why is it we lock so many away and what happens to them when they’re there.

My Thoughts

Everyone is raving about the Netflix tv series Orange is the New Black and friends kept telling me that I have to start watching it.  So I finally gave in and said that I would, but I needed to read the book first.  Everyone's first reaction was "There is a book?"  Yes there is a book.  So instead of basing a review on comparing the tv show to the book I needed to do the opposite.   After finishing the book I then watched the 2 seasons of the show in just a few sittings.  While the tv show is solely for entertainment purposes the book is fact, and I enjoy that much more.  Not saying I didn't enjoy the tv show, I just find it quite far fetched to what prison is actually like (although I can't say for sure having never been there.)

I really enjoyed Piper's story of having to fess up to a crime that she committed nearly 10 years ago and reading about how she dealt and coped with her ordeal.  I found the "characters" she encountered while in prison quite entertaining and liked seeing prison through her eyes - from someone who you wouldn't think would land them self in prison.

Was it a memoir that tugged at my heart strings and left me wanting more?  No, not at all.  While I did enjoy the read it wasn't one that I probably would have read without encouragement.  I felt like the ending was a little rushed and just abruptly ended and I would have liked to seen an afterward of where she is now.

My Rating: «««

Buy it Now!

The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

Confessions of a Wild Child by Jackie Collins

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publish Date: February 4, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 304
ISBN: 978 1250050939

Confessions of a Wild Child takes you on trip and navigates the teenage years of a wild child who will eventually rule an empire. Lucky Santangelo is a powerful and charismatic woman. But how did she become the woman she is today? Many people have asked, and in Confessions of a Wild Child we discover the teenage Lucky, and follow her on her trip to discover boys, love and how she fought her father, the infamous Gino Santangelo, to forge her own individual and strong road to success.

My Thoughts 

I have long since been a huge fan of Jackie Collins - she is to me the original smut writer.  Her Lucky Santangelo novels are what she is known for.  While this is her 9th installment of the series it is probably the weakest.  You don't need to read the first 8 novels (I haven't) to understand this one.  This takes you back and reiterates everything about Lucky's teenage years that you have already found out if you have read any other books in the series.  This one just seemed like a time filler while Collins contemplated her next move with Lucky. 

My Rating: «««

Buy it Now!

The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

The Paris Architect by Charles Belfour

Published: Random House Audio
Publish Date: October 8, 2013
Format: Audio
Discs: 9
ISBN: 978 0804190817

Like most gentiles in Nazi-occupied Paris, architect Lucien Bernard has little empathy for the Jews.  So when a wealthy industrialist offers him a large sum of money to devise secret hiding places for Jews, Lucien struggles with the choice of risking his life for a cause he doesn't really believe in.  Ultimately he can’t resist the challenge and begins designing expertly concealed hiding spaces – behind painting, within a column, or inside a drainpipe – detecting possibilities invisible to the average eye.  But when one of his clever hiding spaces fails horribly and the immense suffering of Jews becomes incredibly personal, he can no longer deny reality.

My Thoughts

I love all things Paris period.  When I saw this haunting cover I knew that it had to be add to my Paris must read list.  During a trip to the library I happened to see this available on audio so I snatched it up.  I loved the narration minus one small factor-he was not very good at dialogue especially the women characters.  But that was such a small aspect in a much larger picture.  While it wasn't an amazing work of fiction that will withstand the test of time, it was an amazing novel.

WWII was such a devastating time period that I sometimes find novel set during this time very difficult to read, especially when children are involved. I believe that 1942 Nazi occupied Paris is a very important time in history and this novel gives a glimpse of just how horrifying this time was.  There is so much historical details that is portrayed very realistically.  Be warned though - this is not a light hearted story and can be pretty graphic at times.  I loved the plot, loved the characters.  This novel was powerful, heartbreaking and uplifting.  Oh, and a lot of great architecture.  Read. This. Book.

My Rating: ««««

Buy it Now!

The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

Publisher: Harper
Publish Date: April 3, 2012
Format: Kobo ereader
Pages: - 
ISBN: 9780062098061

The Fateful first meeting of Enza and Ciro takes place amid the haunting majesty of the Italian Alps at the turn of the last century.  Still teenages, they are separated when Ciro is banished from his village and sent to hide in New York’s Little Italy, apprenticed to a shoemaker, leaving a bereft Enza behind.  But when her own family faces disaster, she too, is forced to emigrate to America.  Though destiny will reunite the star0crossed lovers, it will, just as abruptly , separate them once again-sending Ciro off to serve in World War I, while Enza is drawn into the glamorous world of the opera…and into the life of the international singing sensation Enrico Caruso.  Still Enza and Ciro have been touched by fate-and, ultimately, the power of their love will change their lives forever.

My Thoughts

I've said it before and I'll say it again (and probably again) I am a total sucker for a tragic love story.  When it comes to any story, fictional or not, some stories are just meant to be.    Although slow, and extremely over descriptive, I was captivated and drawn into the lives of Ciro and Enza.  I found the first three quarters of the novel the best part and would just get lost in their love story, but then the last quarter that span several decades and managed to be rushed but at the same time dragged out when it could have ended much sooner, although it would have been on a sad note, it would have made this tragic love story more compelling.

As I mentioned, this was a highly descriptive novel, and was clearly well researched, but it all didn't seem necessary to make the story flow, the characters were developed enough that the rest was just mumbo jumbo.  The positive aspect of this is as I was reading, I could easily see this as a movie.  The description used to illustrate each character and plot line consistently had a movie like aspect that I just couldn't get out of my head.  I loved every minute of it.

My Rating: ««««

Buy it Now!

The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.