Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Children's

Black Beauty is a beautiful horse with good manners. His mom and first master taught him well so that he doesn't stir at loud noises or abnormal behaviour from other animals or humans. This story tells us the ups and downs of Black Beauty's life as he's passed from owner to owner. The start of his life is great and he is free. Not all of his owners are kind and Black Beauty has to suffer through them. Thankfully, this is a child's story so everything comes full circle and the reader is left with a happy ending.

Once we learn the core beliefs of Black Beauty and his basic personality, the book becomes much more about the situations he's put in. Black Beauty's character doesn't develop much beyond what we learn about him in the first few pages but it doesn't need to because he has such a strong morale base.

This book does a great job of illustrating how abuse feels to animals. Though I'm not sure how a young child would take to either the abuse these animals went through nor the loss that was experienced. It could be rather sad, though the overall message is quite sweet.

First Line: "The first place that I can well remember was a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it."

Rating:
(4.5/5)

Name of the Devil by Andrew Mayne

Mystery

Jessica Blackwood, magician turned FBI agent, is back for a second book (see the review Mayne's first book in this series, Angel Killer). Jessica is called in on cases where things can't be explained. This time, a church exploded, leaving absolutely no traces of multiple people known to be there, and not leaving much in the ways of clues as to how the church blew up. The clues lead Jessica down to Mexico with a possible gang connection that puts her in danger.

I remember exactly where I was when I read the first book in the series, Angel Killer, which is pretty unusual for me. It was a very unique book and one that I enjoyed. This book is no different. We get to explore Jessica's background even more and the troubles her grandfather and father had raising her. She's a great character; one that doesn't really fit in but that you can still connect with.

This novel felt more like a normal mystery compared to Mayne's previous book, which had much more magical elements to it. It was still a great read and one that had me guessing the entire way.

A complaint I had with the last book was that Jessica's ex-boyfriend gives her clues or bails her out of situations whenever the team gets stuck which felt like a bit of a cop out. This is still happening in this book but it didn't bother me as much as the first in the series.

This is a great summer read!

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for letting me be a part of this book tour!



First Line: "'You know what you have to do,' said the distant voice at the other end of the phone."

Rating:
(4/5)

About the Author Andrew Mayne is the star of A&E's magic reality show Don't Trust Andrew Mayne, and has worked with David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, and David Blaine. He lives in Los Angeles. Connect with him through his website, Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.

Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida

Fiction

When Clarissa's father passes away, she doesn't have many people left in the world. Her mother left her when she was young, her brother is disabled and lives in a home, but her fiance is trying to help her get through this. Going through her dad's stuff, Clarissa finds out that she isn't her dad's biological kid and that her fiance knew about this since she was a child. Clarissa leaves without telling anyone and heads to Lapland (Finland) to find some answers.

Her mom is from this area and it's possible that a Sami priest (native people to the land) may be her father. She searches around in this unusual terrain for answers.

The writing style is straight forward and a little clipped at times. This may be part of the reason why I couldn't warm up to Clarissa. I didn't understand her relationship with her fiance so when she got so upset at him for withholding information and left without telling him, it didn't make much sense to me.

I expected the ending but was a bit disappointed by it. There was one major piece that was overlooked. What about Clarissa's brother? It would have been better for her to be an only child because otherwise this book doesn't wrap up as nicely.

First Line: "It was three in the afternoon when my plane landed at the Helsinki airport, but outside my window, dusk was already settling in like a bruise."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Mercy by Jodi Picoult

Fiction

When the cousin of the police chief Cam McDonald drives in to town with his dead wife beside him, he confesses to murdering her. Jaime McDonald's wife had stage 4 breast cancer and was deteriorating every day. She asked Jamie to kill her and because of his deep love for her, he obliged. Some people are touched by what he did, others think he should go to jail. Cam's wife Allie is one that thinks Jamie did the right thing, but she too has a deep devotion for her husband. When Cam's attentions waiver as a new girl comes in to town, their relationship is put to test over the duration of the trial.

This book has two parts: the murder of a terminally ill wife and the affair of a somewhat distant husband. The first part is good but not very suspenseful although I'm sure it's supposed to be. The second part is awful. Cam doesn't treat his wife that well to start with, then starts a relationship with a new girl and within 3 days is in love with her. It's not that plausible and fairly annoying. I expected more from Picoult than this trashy book.

First Line: "When she had packed all the artifacts that made up their personal history into liquor store boxes, the house became strictly a feminine place."

Rating:
(2/5)

Into the Forest by Jean Hegland

Fiction

Nell and her sister Eva live miles outside of a small town in California. Their mother has recently passed from cancer when the family starts to experience rolling blackouts. Then the electricity doesn't turn back on. Nell, Eva, and their dad need to learn to live without luxuries of modern day life. In their last trip in to the town, on fumes of gas, they notice not many people left in the town and not much left for supplies. When their dad dies from a tragic accident, Nell and Eva are left to fend for themselves.

I liked the premise of this novel. It isn't so much about the lack of electricity as it is about what two sisters do when they are by themselves, in the middle of no where, without any electricity to rely on. Keeping care of the house and animals, gardening, rationing; these are all things that must be considered. The girls also have to be weary of any strangers that do come by.

Not everything is perfect. The two sisters argue like any sisters do, but love prevails. I loved the way they pulled each other through the tough times.

This book is a great 'what if' book. A great point is raised that humans have been living without electricity for such a short period of time in our existence, why couldn't we go back to living without it?

First Line: "It's strange, writing these first words, like leaning down into the musty stillness of a well and seeing my face peer up from the water - so small and from such an unfamiliar angle I'm startled to realize the reflection is my own."

Rating:
(4/5)

Second Life by S.J. Watson

Thriller

When Julia gets a call saying that her sister Kate was found dead in an alleyway in Paris, Julia is in shock. Julia has to deal with her grief but also help her adopted son, who happens to be Kate's biological son, through the emotions that he's feeling. When the police have no leads, Julia tries to take matters into her own hands, viewing the online dating sites that her sister did. This leads down a path of horrible choices for Julia and she is wrapped up in an affair that starts great and ends dangerously.

Having loved S.J. Watson's first book, Before I Go To Sleep (you can see my review here), I was very much looking forward to this one. In some ways it met my expectations and in some ways it did not.

The big elephant in the room will be the ending. Some people will hate it and some people will love it. Personally, I don't mind open endings in books but can understand why people don't. If you're one of them, this book will not be for you. Looking beyond the ending, I found myself disappointed in a few things. The first was the twists to get to the ending. I felt like there was a huge buildup and then the twists fizzled out the story line for me. The second was Julia's decisions.

Julia starts up an affair with a man from a website, thinking that he may know something about her sister's death. Eventually they meet, and of course have sex. This is when I start to question Julia's judgement. And that's ok, I fully expect to do this for characters. But by the 10th time she's made a completely idiotic decision, I can't chalk it up to building suspense anymore. The character is a complete moron and I care slightly less about what happens to her because of it.

The build-up in the book kept me up late, turning pages, waiting to see what would happen to Julia and whether the killer would ever be caught. While I was reading I felt satisfied but it was once I put the book down that I felt a bit of dissatisfaction bubble up. I think part of it was because of the expectations set from Before I Go To Sleep. Having not read that book, I think this book would rate as a good (not fantastic)thriller and one that I would recommend.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for letting me be a part of this tour!

First Line: "I climb the stairs but the door is closed."

Rating:
(4/5)

About the Author S. J. Watson was born in the Midlands and lives in London. His first novel was the award-winning Before I Go to Sleep, which has sold over four million copies in more than forty languages around the world. It was recently adapted into a major motion picture starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong. Find out more about S.J. at his website, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Cork Boat by John Pollack

Travel/Memoir

Since he was a kid, John Pollack has been fascinated with boats and has been saving up corks to build his own cork boat. As an adult, working as a speech writer on capitol hill, John still can't shake the dream. He sends out some emails to friends asking for calculations on how many corks would be needed and to see if anyone would be available to help. A team comes together and eventually they determine they need over 150,000 corks. Collecting from businesses and friends, they find a place to store everything and then start determining how to build the thing.

This is a childhood dream come true. It's one that seems rather impossible at first. A cork boat isn't something that's easy to build, and yet they find a way to make it happen. There are many problems along the way but they still find a way to make it happen.

Primarily, this book is about making a childhood dream come true. However there's also some interesting historical facts on cork, rubber bands, and wine. John also gives us a little bit of background about his job as a speechwriter in the White House (having written a bit for Clinton). All of these put together make for an interesting and fun read.

My only complaint about this book is why the hell is there not a picture of the cork boat in this book!?!? The guy spends the whole book talking about this amazing boat and the reader is left to dream about what it actually looks like.

First Line: "My first boat sank."

Rating:
(45)

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

Fiction

When Takeo witnesses his step-father murdered and knows that his mother and the rest of the village have been captured, he runs off into the forest. There, he is found by Lord Otori Shigeru who shelters him and then takes him back to his home, eventually adopting him. Otori is the head of a powerful clan, though his uncles want some of the power for themselves. Otori is told if he wants to adopt Takeo, he must marry Lady Kaede though his heart is with another. The family travels out to enemy territory in a facade for the wedding but really hoping to murder a top tribe rival. Takeo has realized that he has special abilities, including very sensitive hearing and the ability to appear as a mirage to others. He's sure he can use these against the enemy.

While this book is set in Japan, it doesn't seem to have any historical correctness to it. I doubt stuff like this ever happened and the descriptions of the terrain felt like it could have been anywhere. The author would continuously mention earthquakes in the book, as if that would make this seem more accurate and more like Japan but instead it just seemed to cause weird breaks in the narrative.

Taking away the historical inaccuracies, this book is fairly entertaining. A few of the characters have special abilities that provide for some interesting scenarios throughout the book. Becoming invisible or splitting yourself in two is unique and can make for some stealthy attacks. The main three characters Takeo, Otori, and Kaede are all likeable and have come from tough situations. It's easy to want to route for them.

This is the first book in the series. I have the second so I'll read it and see whether it's enough to want me to go through to the third.

First Line: "My mother used to threaten to tear me into eight pieces if I knocked over the water bucket, or pretended not to hear her calling me to come home as the dusk thickened and the cicadas' shrilling increased."

Rating:
(3/5)

Disclaimer by Renée Knight

Thriller

Catherine is looking for a book to read, picking up one from around the piles of boxes in her recently moved-into home. She picks up a fiction called A Perfect Stranger and very quickly recognizes herself describing a secret she's been holding for a very long time. Who wrote this book? How did it get in to her home? Catherine has many questions and doesn't want to re-live this part of her life. Then her son receives the book, and eventually her husband. Her secret is exposed to those closest to her.

This book is perfectly balanced, showing us that there are two sides to every story. Catherine and the author of the book written about her narrate. It's a constant pull between the two on which one the reader should be angry at and which they should feel sympathy for. I usually try to shelf my emotions when an author does this knowing that it will all wash out in the end but I couldn't help but feel like they were both up to something. This feeling of the truth being hidden had me constantly turning pages and staying up until way past by bed time!

While at times I felt a bit frustrated by Knight not revealing any clues in the middle of the book, it didn't negatively impact my thoughts of this. The end of this book was everything I could have hoped for. I haven't been this satisfied by a story ending in quite some time (right down to the final outcome of Catherine and her husband's relationship. I was very happy it ended that way!).

We aren't half way through the year yet, but I think this is going to be a top 5 book of 2015 for me.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for letting me be a part of this book tour!



First Line: "Catherine braces herself, but there is nothing left to come up."

Rating:
(4.5/5)

About the Author Renée Knight worked for the BBC directing arts documentaries and has had TV and film scripts commissioned by the BBC, Channel Four, and Capital Films. In April 2013, she graduated from the Faber Academy "Writing a Novel" course, whose alumni include S. J. Watson. She lives in London with her husband and two children.