The Blue Moon Circus by Michael Raleigh

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publish Date: March 1, 2004
Format: Kobo
Pages: -
ISBN: 9781492616498

Together with a magician, a snake handler, a Russian animal tamer, and a nine-year-old orphan, ringmaster Lewis Tully tours the American West in 1926 with his circus act for one last time before settling down.

My Thoughts:

A book I've never heard of by and author I've never heard of.  I know no one who has read it and a synopsis that is almost non existent.  What an awesome little gem I stumbled upon.  There are few quirky subject I really enjoy and get really excited when I can read a novel about them: Circuses, Pirates and Motorcycle Gangs.


I love the time period, and the idea of the story, a washed up circus guru giving it one last go.  Beautifully told and warms your heart.  The greatest stories are the ones you least expect.

My Rating: ««««

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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.

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publish Date: July 1, 2014
Format: Audio
Discs: 10
ISBN: 9781611762730

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever

My Thoughts

Jojo Moyes is an author that I either really love her work or it is just so-so.  I really wanted to love this book but it was just so-so.  I listened to this on audio and found it enjoyable to listen to and thoroughly enjoyed all 4 narrators, even if they were British, but the story itself I just didn't love.  I am really struggling with why I didn't love it and have yet to come to a conclusion and for that reason this review will be short and sweet.  I did enjoy that last quarter though and even found myself getting a bit choked up over Norman - how can you not love a huge lug of a dog?

I would still recommend this novel - 3 star books are still worth reading.


My Rating: «««

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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.

China Dolls by Lisa See

Publisher: Random House
Publish Date: June 3, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 376
ISBN: 9780812992892

In 1938, Ruby, Helen and Grace, three girls from very different backgrounds, find themselves competing at the same audition for showgirl roles at San Francisco's exclusive "Oriental" nightclub, the Forbidden City. Grace, an American-born Chinese girl has fled the Midwest and an abusive father. Helen is from a Chinese family who have deep roots in San Francisco's Chinatown. And, as both her friends know, Ruby is Japanese passing as Chinese. At times their differences are pronounced, but the girls grow to depend on one another in order to fulfill their individual dreams. Then, everything changes in a heartbeat with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Suddenly the government is sending innocent Japanese to internment camps under suspicion, and Ruby is one of them. But which of her friends betrayed her?

My Thoughts

Lisa See is an author I have long been wanting to dive into and I was somewhat disappointed.  This book was just ok and I expected a lot more with all the novels See already has under her belt.  I couldn't relate to any of the characters and they all just fell flat and frankly were boring and shallow.  The whole thing just left me scratching my head wondering why these 3 girls were ever friends.  Each chapter was narrated by either Grace, Helen or Ruby and I had a hard time keeping track of who was narrating.  I would have to go back to the beginning to find out who's POV I was reading about. Also sometimes the story was choppy - there wasn't good flow going into the next chapter.

The writing was terrible, terrible, terrible (see what I did there.)  I found it juvenile and poorly put together.  I've read other reviews who stat her other books are beautifully written so I don't know where she went wrong with this one.

I really enjoyed the history and cultural tone of the novel and the Chop Suey Circuit is something I had never heard of prior to reading this novel.  The rich history and detailing of the era is what saved this read for me. 

My Rating: «««

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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.

Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

Publisher: Plume
Publish Date: September 25, 2015
Format: Download library
Pages: - 
ISBN - 

Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and departs to work the night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has vanished. Outside, she finds his beloved teddy bear lying face-down on an icy street, the snow covering up any trace of his tracks, or the perpetrator's.

Seattle, 2010. Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge, assigned to cover the May 1 "blackberry winter" storm and its twin, learns of the unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth. In the process, she finds that she and Vera may be linked in unexpected ways...

My Thoughts

Cover love! I really really enjoyed this read, even better than Morning Glory which I listened to earlier this year.  Having read 2 of her novels and the synopsis for The Bungalow (which is up next) I have quickly noticed a pattern to her writing style, but I'm ok with a reoccurring theme in her novels as long as the story intrigues me.  I was so engaged with both story lines and Vera and Claire that it was hard to put this one down.  I love how the stories were woven together and although each story line was a little bit too neat and predictable I still really enjoyed this read.

Sarah Jio has very quickly become a must read author for me and can't wait to dive into the rest of her novels. 

My Rating: ««««

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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 Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K Lee

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Publish Date: January 13, 2009

Format: Audio

Discs: 9

ISBN: 978 0143144410

Exotic Hong Kong takes center stage in this sumptuous novel, set in the 1940s and '50s. It's a city teeming with people, sights, sounds, and smells, and it's home to a group of foreign nationals who enjoy the good life among the local moneyed set, in a tight-knit social enclave distanced from the culture at large. Comfortable, clever, and even a bit dazzling, they revel in their fancy dinners and fun parties. But their sheltered lives take an abrupt turn after the Japanese occupation, and though their reactions are varied -- denial, resistance, submission -- the toll it takes on all is soon laid bare. 

Enter Claire Pendleton from London. Months after her husband is transferred to Hong Kong in 1951, she accepts a position as a piano teacher to the daughter of a wealthy couple, the Chens. Claire begins to see the appeal of the sweltering city and is soon taken in by the Chen's driver, the curiously underutilized Will Truesdale. A handsome charmer with a mysterious limp, Will appears to be the perfect companion for Claire, who's often left to her own devices. But a further examination leaves her with more questions than answers.

My Thoughts

Talk about a yawn fest.  The book was so boring to listen to that if I wasn't driving I would have probably fallen asleep.  I should have listened to this as my bedtime story to lull me to sleep.  The story had so little to do with Claire - the piano teacher - and more to do with Trudy and Will.  I have to say that the only storyline I found remotely interesting was Trudy's and would have maybe enjoyed this book more had it focused on her.  But probably not because I didn't like her.  None of the characters were likable and by the end I just felt frustrated and deflated.  

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.