Book Review: Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy) by Karina Halle

Shooting Scars by Karina Halle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing


Summary:  When Ellie Watt offered herself to her thuggish former lover Javier to save Camden's life, she never imagined the twisted game Javier had planned for her. Trapped by him and his entourage of killers, Ellie is forced to commit a dangerous, heinous crime-or Javier will kill Camden. Now ex-con artist Ellie must find a way to stay ahead of the game . . . before it destroys her and the only man she ever loved. 
Camden McQueen can't forget Ellie Watt. Seeking revenge and pursued by the authorities for a crime he didn't commit, the talented tattoo artist does things he never thought himself capable of to save Ellie. As Camden straddles the line between love and retribution, he vows to do everything in his power to get her back. But if Camden unleashes his dark side, will Ellie still love him?

I really enjoyed this follow up to Sins & Needles & I fully admit that I've pre-ordered the final installment Bold Tricks already. Yes, it was that good.

Picking up where we left off in Sins & Needles, the action rolls on as Ellie has left with Javier to save Camden, his ex-wife Sofia & their son, Ben. I already felt all was not well because I didn't like or trust Sophia from the first book. Sadly, Camden is not as suspicious a person as I am. Had he been, he would have seen the betrayal coming. Even though I expected it, it was hard to read & watch the events unfold over poor Camden. That made my Sophia hate deepen & I really hope she gets her comeuppance in the final book. I am unashamedly #Team Camden & he did not disappoint in this book. I do worry for him because of how far he's willing to go to safeguard Ellie (I'm still cringing from the tattoo gun interrogation). It's like he's trading away little pieces of who he is & becoming someone else. I'm not entirely sure their relationship won't be the sacrifice for her safety.

Now to Ellie. She is still my hard to love heroine. Actually, she pissed me right off in this book. She has some serious problems & makes what I consider a fairly unforgivable error but I still want good things for her & can't help rooting for her. When she messes up, she goes big. I get why she is flawed & damaged but I keep wanting to know where her final line is. What's the point she won't cross no matter what anyone says to her or where she is in the moment. Oddly enough, it seems Ellie is trying to work that out too, so I'll have to hang in and see.

I am so not a Javier fan. I don't care about his obsession, damage or that he loves Ellie in his own way. None of that sways me because I really don't trust him & cringe when Ellie gives anything he says credence. He's never fully honest with her, fully admits that he may do her actual harm & especially after Uncle Jim, I just can't be bothered with his whole thing. But, I don't want him dead. I need him around because he causes me such consternation & annoyance that there'd be no story without him. There were many instances in this installment where he made me want to toss my Kindle across the room & if anything fatal happens to Gus, I'm holding him responsible & will want Camden & Ellie to make him pay.

Speaking of Gus, he is awesome & I hope we see him again in the final book. I'm wondering if the woman that he was in love with was Ellie's mother. The Coffeemate thing was great & added a great bit of suspense in that moment. Overall, there was a good amount of suspense in this book. I did feel a bit of a lull waiting for Ellie to connect to Travis between the hideout fish shop & the hotel in Veracruz but everything did seem necessary. The final reveal at Travis' home was a thrill & all I can say is I really need to know how the thing with Ellie's parents resolves. I think I'm more concerned about that than the Travis situation. Anyway, great second installment & I very much look forward to the last.

Review: Captive in the Dark

Captive in the Dark by C.J. Roberts

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Summary:   Caleb is a man with a singular interest in revenge. Kidnapped as a young boy and sold into slavery by a power-hungry mobster, he has thought of nothing but vengeance. For twelve years he has immersed himself in the world of pleasure slaves searching for the one man he holds ultimately responsible. Finally, the architect of his suffering has emerged with a new identity, but not a new nature. If Caleb is to get close enough to strike, he must become the very thing he abhors and kidnap a beautiful girl to train her to be all that he once was.

Review: The Last Night at the Ritz

The Last Night at the Ritz by Elizabeth Savage

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I was in the mood for a classic type of literary fiction & so I finally got to this on my Kindle. I'm very glad that I did. Our narrator is unnamed & not wholly reliable but she has a wit & way about her that really makes the story. She & her married friends Gay & Len are boozing it up one "last" time & as the drinks flow, so do some not so pretty truths & long held secrets about each of them. At just over the midpoint I was getting a little bored of her tangents & the Boston references but I was all in for the reveals about Charley (this was the heart of the story for me), Len and the rest. It's what I would consider a period piece (set in the late 60s & heavily references a 20-25 year span) but not quite historical fiction. I definitely had a bit of a curve to understand some of the references to the time but it was worth sticking with it & calling my mother to ask some questions about the 60s & 70s. The story's conclusion is open-ended but I took it as hopeful (no matter which way it goes for our narrator) & I really enjoyed it. I was just glad she had finally decided to call Sam. ;)



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Review: When Empires Fall

When Empires Fall by Katie Jennings

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I really enjoyed this family saga. Grant/Quinn were really the heart of the story for me & the characters I most invested in. The close runners up are Madison & Kennedy. Madison & her relationship with Cyrus is deliciously twisted & I look forward to seeing where Madison's allegiance to him takes her in the next installment of the series. I'm quite interested in Kennedy mostly because she is so little mentioned in comparison to the other siblings but is often mentioned to be most like the ill-fated Win. Charlene is still very one-dimensional for me but she has potential. I honestly never became invested in Linc/Lynette. Linc is fairly flat as a character as a counter to his brother Grant & Lynette is always referred to as a "girl" not a woman (as the other women in the story are) so I had some difficulty seeing her as a woman involved with a 27-28 year old man. Their angst was all related to her parents & felt like over-wrought teenage drama. I wasn't sure what the author was trying to convey (was it ingenue vitality & innocence because she's a prima ballerina or some "just legal" status?) but it just felt off in the telling.

The murder mystery (or murders, really) are a compelling angle of the story & even if the details to the triple homicide seemed a bit pat, I liked it. More than anything, I just want to see what the knowledge of the circumstance will bring out in the characters next. And finally, who left Madison that note at the end? I can't wait to find out & what the Queen will do when she finds out.



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Review: The B-Team

The B-Team by John Scalzi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is the first of thirteen installments (93 pages) & I really liked it. The characters were crisp (Wilson & Schmidt had great banter) & made for an easy read. The mystery of what happens to the Polk unfolds smoothly & I'm really looking forward to the next part.



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Review: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I don't know how I feel after having read this book. It was interesting but I found it overwhelmingly sad. From the detailed foot binding to the low worth expressed for girls & women, to Beautiful Moon's death & the estrangement of Lily & Snow Flower, I was constantly hoping for more light at the end of the tunnel. It ends on what I can most optimistically call a bittersweet note but by then I was basically just glad that it wasn't a longer book & that it was over. Lily had run her course. I was glad she shared and more than happy that we wouldn't need to visit again.

I tried not to let my modern sensibilities intrude on my enjoyment of the story but I must admit that I kept hoping that Lily & Snow Flower would break from the constraints of their lives with more than the nu shu. Perhaps that's limited of me but there always seemed to be glimpses that Lily & Snow Flower were not satisfied with the treatment they received but in the end, they fulfilled their dictated roles. I do think that it was realistic and certainly not a typical way to close the character arcs & that did keep me reading & interested.



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Review: Quiver

Quiver by Holly Luhning

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



2.5 stars. I had this on my Kindle for about a year & have decided in 2013 to get some of the lingerers read & done. The best thing I can say is that my task was completed & I finished reading this book. It was well written but a true slog.

Dani annoyed me for much of the story because I was able to see that Maria was a serious problem & not a very nice person but Dani was pulled in & dismissed just about everything because she believed Maria's story about Bathory's diary. It just reached a point with the chaos ensuing that I no longer cared about Dani & her obsession. Foster was quite interesting but even that bit of the story unravelled for me. The excerpts of the diary were fairly harrowing but they didn't really anchor anything else going on with the story to feel to me as anything but a macabre sideshow. I lost the will to gawk long before Dani so it was a bit wasted on me. The epic finale/showdown fell a bit flat because of course that was going to be the outcome & the reader figured it out hundreds of pages earlier. That said, Dani does have growth as a character by story's end, so that's better than nothing.



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Review: World of Shell and Bone

World of Shell and Bone by Adriana Ryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I came across this book in my Amazon recommendations & the title & cover caught my eye. I downloaded the sample & as soon as I'd finished reading it, I bought the book. I had to know where this was going to go. I am happy to say that I enjoyed where it did go & I've found out that there's going to be another book to follow, so I'm looking forward to that.

There were some things that didn't seem very fleshed out & the progression of time was hard to get a handle on (save one instance where the fact that two weeks have passed is mentioned at the outset of a chapter). There certainly was no insta-love between Vika & Shale & it is shown that they do have feelings that are deeper than the original matching of them but to have refer to him as the man she loves was a bit jarring. Up to that point, she had never made any sense of her feelings & expressed mostly wonder at them. She lives in a society in which there are no "boyfriends" & no opportunity to have crushes on the opposite sex, so I didn't know how she made that leap. It's never even established that she's had a girlfriend so that she has some knowledge of experience with romantic love. Still, that .

Vika also seemed to pick up a few "skills" out of nowhere (driving the bus) & was strangely lacking in others. She's given a pistol but has no knowledge or experience using them, yet it is not a concern in any way to her or thought that she should maybe ask someone how to use it (how she gets it back after Drew takes it from her is also a mystery). We're told often that the matriarchal society in which she lives is one that sees men as inferior & inherently dangerous physically but it does not appear that any of the women have taken the time to learn basic skills of self-defense, just in case. I had to wonder how that planned infiltration & takeover of China is really going to go down successfully. Part of me loved that after repeated situations that turned more complex & not quite what was told to her, Vika had an openness & willingness to trust that remained. It seemed nice even if it were also foolhardy. Just as a facet of self-preservation, I wanted her to be more critical & circumspect & not keep thinking that things would just work out. I wanted her to be a planner & take on more of her own agency to reach her goal instead of relying on what others told her. But, this is just the first book & she grew quite a bit, so I temper my expectations.

Even so, there were many moments that I found fascinating, endearing & memorable. Vika's interactions with her mother, Mica & Ceres are all wonderful & the characters shine. I almost felt some sympathy for Vika's mother when she's rendered as the poster child of futility in their society. I never stopped wanting to know more about Mica because his appearances were always reminders that his life has been as much a mystery to Vika as it is to me. I was just glad Ceres turned up alive & Vika found her and their interactions were truly special. The scene where Vika braids Ceres's hair & the other girls with flowers really struck me as beautiful. I really wanted some vicious retribution to come Moon's way early on (she was a great character) & it only increased when she reappeared at the end of the story (though how she goes from administrative code enterer at BoTA to qualified for heading up a group of acid hose toting Maintenance workers sent to clear up the "secret" camp in the desert many hours outside of Ursa is still a mystery. Moon displayed calculating vitriol & opportunism not leadership & trustworthiness.) The ending isn't a typical cliff-hanger & could serve as a good ending to a stand-alone story but it did leave me wanting to see what will happen next in Vika & her companions' journey.



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Review: The Wild Rose

The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The melodrama of the Finnegan siblings comes to a close in this third installment of the trilogy. I have to admit that while I'm satisfied with the ending, this did not rank as highly for me as the first book. Like the others, this one is well written & filled with lush detail. I liked Willa very much initially but there was so much back & forth with she & Seamie that I honestly began not to care (especially because I figured the formula for the prior two books would prevail & starcrossed lovers would get their happy ending). The happy ending is a bit more bittersweet for Seamie & Willa but it exists nonetheless. I had true care for Jennie but she lost me when she & Josie embarked on their scheme. I lost a lot of respect for Jennie & knew (per the prior two books) that the trope would play out in such a way that she would lose everything. So that, much like a lot of the story, was just waiting for the inevitable. There were also what have now in the series become, reliable conveniences to make things work out or not. This being the third installment & the mains being less endearing, it plays out as more unforgivable contrivance than the same did in "The Tea Rose". Also, there's enough reference to the happenings in the second book (& some of the first) that one really can skip the middle book & not miss much.

All that said, I did find this one more enjoyable than the second in the series. In the end, the "Rose" that could never be compared or magic recaptured was Fiona. Ingrid nor Willa ever matched my interest in her & Joe's story. I did like that Fiona & Joe were carried through in all the books, I think they provided a much needed anchor.



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Review: The Winter Rose

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



This is the first book that I've finished of 2013 & I hate to say it, but I didn't enjoy this book very much. Even Fiona & Joe couldn't save it for me. I never cared about India and as much as I tried I just wasn't engaged with Charlie. Maybe I never invested much in Charlie from the first book in the series & that hampered my enjoyment. The opium dens were depressing & while I liked the Parliamentary angle, it wasn't enough to save the story for me. I never felt the same romance for Charlie/Ingrid as I did for Fiona/Joe. I slogged through & the best thing that I can say is that I'm glad it's over. So put off was I by this second book, I did something that I never do with series, I began the next one while I was still reading this one. I'm really enjoying the third.



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Review: Tears in Rain

Tears in Rain by Rosa Montero

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Replicant detective Bruna Husky really made this an enjoyable read. Set in futuristic Madrid, the story surrounds the mystery of why the replicants (androids, like in Blade Runner) are seemingly going mad, killing other replicants & then committing suicide (that they gouge out their eyes before the last is described in particularly harrowing clarity. *cringe*). There's an interesting class division that plays out as we follow Bruna's investigation. I won't give away the answer to the mystery but I will say I was surprised, even if it did feel a bit rushed in the revelation at the end. Her being able to be out & freely about tying up the last bit of the investigation after having been arrested & accused of some grisly murders is never really explained. She's just out. It's also not quite explained how she suddenly achieves exonerated celebrity hero status by the masses. It just happens & she's taken by surprise. That said, there were some great moments along the way. Three of my favorite are Bruna watching Blade Runner, her discussions with Natvel & Melba's appearance.

The archive entries of Yiannis were fascinating world-building entries that added a lot to the story & they didn't feel to me like completely blatant info-dumps. The bits that were struck through were particularly disturbing & kept me wondering who it was that had entered them without oversight (was the archive like WikiPedia?) until something was flagged, challenged or put forth to be deleted altogether. That it was part of the larger conspiracy was fine but ultimately it wasn't as relevant to the actual goings on in the mystery. I was taken with Nopal from the start & was glad when he resurfaced in the story with an interesting connection to Bruna in addition to helping with her investigation. I never figured out Lizard but he kept me guessing & I didn't see the final bit with him coming at all. The cadre of misfit aliens & hangers-on that Bruna collects as the story goes along was sort of endearing in much the same way that her friends who met at Oli's cafe were. In the midst of murders, suicides, riots & bombings, these elements added a counterbalance to the grief & made me glad that Bruna had a support system even if she didn't often see it. Her grief over the loss of Merlin was a bittersweet thread that ran throughout.

This is a translation and I thought well done. I've read some translations that suffered the "lost in translation" curse but I didn't feel that with this book. It all flowed & followed & so engagingly told that I was quite pulled in. I really cared about the characters. So much so that I wanted to overlook the flaws in pacing & plotting omissions. I would like to read another by Montes & will be on the look out for more of her books.



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Review: Beyond Shame

Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Dystopian erotica novel. I did like the setting but I kept wanting to know more about the world Noelle came from. Eden sounded like an interesting place & we're given mentions & clues but nothing really substantial to really set the place. Maybe that will come in the rest of the series. For the most part, this story takes place in the place outside of the utopian enclave city Eden & is mostly a sex fest. There's nothing wrong with that (it's fairly hot) but I was looking for a bit more substance in the world building. Because that wasn't what is given, I must admit that I had a bit of a difficult time connecting to Noelle fully & her moments of internal conflict. She'd think to hedge for a second & blush at the scandal of her feelings (or at least scandal & scorn that would have applied in Eden) but that never prompted hesitation in her actions once she fell in with the O'Kanes. While that was fun, it was a little hard to take whatever stifling life she had in Eden leading up to her exile, seriously. She shrugged it off mostly so I couldn't care about it much no matter how many times it was referenced. Just because it's repeated that it was oppressive & sheltered & a sham, doesn't make it real. But I never stopped wanting to care more deeply & so I kept reading. I thought Noelle & Jas definitely had sexual chemistry but I didn't feel romance between them. I'm not sure I was supposed to get romance from them, so I didn't find that a hinderance to my enjoyment.

This is definitely good for a fun, quick read. Definitely read it if you're looking for something steamy. Not so much for the world-building & deep character development. I'd likely read the next in the series because I'm interested in where this is going & of course, am curious to know more about Eden.



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Review: Before She Dies

Before She Dies by Rita Herron

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is a short prequel to the Slaughter Creek series. We meet the parents of twins, Sadie & Amelia & have basically the set up to the main story that comes in the first book. I enjoyed this but it was very short & ends at a pivotal point. I was so surprised that it stopped where it did that I yelled at my Kindle. Just when this one gets good, it's over. The next book is supposed to pick up 25 years after events in this short with Sadie as our lead character, so I can only figure this cliff hanger (forgive the pun) remains such & is just finished off in flashback or something. It'll be a bit of a tough wait for the next installment. I'd recommend this if you are going right into the next in the series or if you don't mind a little frustration.



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Review: American Wife

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Definitely one of my favorite books read in 2012. Easily. I don't know how I missed this one when it came out but I'm glad I found my way to it now. Alice Blackwell tells us of the path of her life that leads her to becoming The First Lady and it's a wonderful time. I can't dislike a librarian. She's introspective and has genuine concern and awareness for what is happening around her as she moves through life. I very much liked her Granny, Emilie. She was so influential in Alice's life & I have to admit that I figured out her secret pretty early on. Alice's parents weren't as clearly drawn but I didn't think it was to the detriment of the story. They certainly weren't as tuned in to Alice as Emilie was. I also figured Dena wouldn't be around as BFF forever, either. She was difficult to like for a sustained period of time because she was selfish & manipulative. I was a little sad that Alice never had another BFF in the same way but given her personality, it didn't seem she suffered a loss in that way. I liked that Alice was always able to have the company of her books & was never lonely. She was content being solitary.

Charlie was fun & infuriating. I did find his quirk about the dark as silly & endearing as Alice. I could see how they made a good match & I was very happy with how Alice was able to tell him her secret & he didn't judge harshly. The Blackwell family was chaotic & ambitious & I enjoyed them. It was strange to read some of their attitudes regarding race because it felt like they were always ten or twenty years behind the times in thought. I kept thinking "This is 1986?! Come on, people!" That's not at all a criticism of the story, it's just that I was alive in 1986 & though I was a child, I wouldn't have thought people so well travelled & read would still be holding onto so much of those old racial tropes then. It was definitely an interesting perspective given the casualness of most of the Blackwells & the outright tones of entitlement & deference of Priscilla.

I did wish that the final section, when we finally reach Alice residing at the White House, was longer. I had expected that it would be but I don't really know why. It was a very good end to what felt like a sit down at tea. Maybe I just didn't want to leave because I came to really like Alice. I read & loved Prep so I was familiar with Curtis Sittenfeld & she exceeded my enjoyment of her writing with this book. This is definitely going on my to re-read list.



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Just Finished Reading: What the Heart Knows (Milford-Haven #1)

What the Heart Knows by Mara Purl
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is an introductory book to the Milford-Haven series & while I found it enjoyable enough, I don't have a burning desire to get right to the next in the series. The murder mystery (which was the draw in reading this for me) was tied up well enough but I mostly felt that this was all just to set the stage for the next in the series. I did enjoy the feel of the setting. I love sleepy seaside hamlets & felt the author did a very good job giving a sense of place. There are quite a few characters to keep up with & it felt like I was being introduced to the whole town in a flurry, whether or not they were really relevant to the mystery. Honestly, I didn't commit all the characters to memory because I was more focused on the dead reporter resolution. Even so, I feel that this wrapped up well enough to be satisfying even as a standalone if you decide not to read the remainder of the series. This is a light enough read for the weekend or while travelling.

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Just Finished Reading: Simply Sexual

Simply Sexual by Kate Pearce
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a hot one, plain & simple. I probably was predisposed to like this as I adore historical fiction. Add in some extremely well done erotica & there's no way it could miss with me. I didn't have any particular expectations going into this book. I've never read anything by the author but the summary looked interesting & the price for a bundle of three on Kindle seemed like a reasonable enough gamble for me to take a chance. Having only read Simply Sexual (I really wish it had a better title, as I fell in love with the characters & the story was about so much more than that), I already feel that I've received my money's worth.

Valentin & Sara really bring the sexy & made me feel that I want my own little red book to share with my husband. Fabulous. I've read a few books that have been more considered erotica than romance & I have often been put off by the characterizations of the mains because they just don't engage me & then consequently, I don't care a whit about the sex they're having. Not so, with Sara/Valentin! I was truly invested in these characters & found them to be written in a well rounded & believable way. I bought both of them as individuals & as a couple & that made me love the story all the more. It took me longer to appreciate Peter but I think I just needed Valentin off the main stage for a bit to truly appreciate Peter (Valentin is a bit eclipsing) & I very much liked his friendship with Sara. He was very helpful & supportive of her relationship with Valentin & was a good friend to Valentin to tell him when he was being a stubborn idiot where Sara was concerned.

The B-story of who is trying to sabotage Valentin & Peter's business was a good backdrop that threaded through the story well. It's conclusion was not one I anticipated & I was glad to be surprised.

I was sad to get to the end with the characters. I'd love to spend more time with Sara/Valentin. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series.
FYI: As this is erotica there's quite a lot of pretty explicit sex. It was well done & not crude but this is not one of those novels that alludes to things, it's descriptive. Also, there's a little menage situation between the mains near the end. I'd never read one of those before, but I thought this was well done also. It seemed to fit with what was going on in the story & with the characters. A little part of me wanted Peter to go away & leave Sara/Valentin to it but I totally understand why he had to be there & it made for a more believable story than my fangirl longings.

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Just Finished Reading: I'm Starved For You

I'm Starved for You by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have a hit or miss relationship with Atwood. This is definitely a hit. A great short story that will have you wanting more at the twist ending. This was an interesting look into two closed communities. An actual one & a marriage. It left me wondering if Consilience brought out the characteristics in the couple or if this was who they always would have been. It was chilling at times & all the while I couldn't help but think these people were playing out their lives with showtunes & Doris Day in the background. It added a macabre layer that I must admit I liked & found amusing. Definitely worth the read.

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Just Finished Reading: Shades of Milk & Honey

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an entertaining light read. I would have read it in a day but I had a date with my husband so it took a day & a half. It is highly derivative of Austen (you'll see shades of Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion & Pride & Prejudice) but it's still a fun amble & I found I rooted for the main character, Jane, in particular. Her sister, Melody, is of course, a vapid pain & I had less sympathy & more overwhelming want of someone to tell her to be quiet or maybe slap her around for a sustained amount of time. She is redeemed much later but in the end, I still didn't like or care much about her.

Some of what takes place is predictable but if you've already accepted the Austen-esque nature of the book, you probably won't find that a deal breaker. I did want Jane to have figured out the duplicity of Capt. Livingston much more quickly. We know what she knows yet she dismisses the obvious conclusion. Actually, she doesn't dismiss it, she overlooks it entirely. She is shown to be so sharp the rest of the time that I found that a little less credible an instance. But the conclusion to that storyline was exciting enough to forgive the lead in. Most of the remaining characters fulfilled their roles well, believably & sometimes hilariously. I very much enjoyed the "glamour" idea & the descriptions of it were very well done. It took a little to sort of get into that part but once I did, it added a nice fantasy layer to the story.

I was rooting for Mr. Dunkirk from the start because I'm a sappy chica & I thought he & Jane would be a great couple. For all of the "glamour" I didn't really get into Mr. Vincent as a character. He seemed useful enough (his treatise on art & his theories on glamour were compelling), but I felt nothing for him, even when he nearly died. He never seemed as surely drawn as mostly everyone else. I accept the pairing at the ending but it quite killed any desire in me to read the next in the series. Especially since there's that little bit of epilogue in the last few chapters that gives an account of the sisters Ellsworth's future. Still, I did quite enjoy this as a weekend read.

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Just Finished Reading: Niagara

Niagara by Mary Woronov

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I finished this and knew two things. First, I wanted a glass of wine & second, I needed to think about this book for a bit. I'm still thinking.

The writing is so well done that you're lured, coaxed & seduced into the story the narrator is telling. But the thing about Molly (or Mei Li) is that she's so self-destructive, self-involved & perpetually drunk that you realize fairly quickly that you can't really go by her if you're looking for the truth. And that's when things really get interesting. I refuse to give any of the major plot points away & at 215 pages, it's pretty densely & quickly told (the second half of this book is a burning page turner & the ending left me angry that I didn't get another page & a half at the very least!) but it's worth it. I can't decide when Molly's life took the jump into the cavern or what the catalyst was, maybe it's the combination of the whole Carson clan but I do know that I was riveted to the story. The relationship she has with her mother is particularly well drawn & heartbreaking. The relationship with her father is also well portrayed as unfinished & remote. I sort of never stopped rooting for Bobby. And Kenny is still in many ways an unanswered puzzle. Molly ran me through just about every emotion but in the end, I wanted her to be okay to find herself & if she couldn't be wholly at peace, then I wanted her to be less destructive. I'm still thinking about which way she really went in the end & I suspect I will be for a long time to come.



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Just Finished Reading: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have had this book gathering dust on my shelf for an obscene amount of time. In truth, I put off reading it because there are so many other books on my "To Read" list & when a push back happens, it's the YA novels that take it for the team. I'm glad to say that this was very much worth the read.

I know that everything to be said about this book & the entire series has likely been said, but I cannot let it go without saying that what struck me most & I find I am most interested in is, the Capitol, its inhabitants & how this entire society has devolved into this place we're transported too. Katniss as the narrator, took my breath away sometimes because she had a way of relating the matter-of-factness of some things & a seeming complacency for others. She could see inherent unfairness in the way things were set up to the advantage of the Capitol but didn't seem to bear any in her own district for not being the sorts to band together & offer assistance to one another in dire situations (her family almost starved to death when her father died & she knows that others have met that same fate). It struck me as an interesting study in "Us vs. Them". The same is touched on with the Avox girl, that Katniss recognizes.

Panem is a rough place all around. The feeling of helplessness is used as a weapon to wear people down & fear is used to keep people in their own district & not inclined to venture out to others for information or banding together. The Capitol must have great intimidation PR because the fences aren't electrified 24/7 but people haven't crossed in masses to meet.

As to the games themselves, I admit to feeling uneasy as I read this because I felt like a spectator (& of course that's the point). But, I am not a watcher of reality television. I haven't the fortitude for it. It makes me nervous, uncomfortable & I have a tendency to feel embarrassed for others & like I'm seeing something I shouldn't. Simply put, I'm an atrocious gawker. I don't want to see humanity at its worst & the idea of the Hunger Games or Flesh Fair (from the film A.I.) all playing out while people sit and watch, placing bets & having parties nags at my psyche. That said, I will read the remainder of the series because I need to know how this society resolves & characters reconcile.



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