A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness

Title: A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1)
Author: Deborah Harkness
Pages (File size): 579 (1.5 MB)
Published: 2011
Challenges: Chunkster, E-books, I Love Libraries
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.  (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: Even though there were times that it was difficult for me to concentrate on the book and felt that it was a little slow at times, I liked how the author was able to draw the reader into the story and allow us to root for the two main characters. 

I can see where some readers have had an issue with the book, as the book does seem to drag a bit during the middle portion of the book, but I felt that the middle was probably the strongest part of the book.

Bottom line: It was a pretty good start to the series and I am looking forward to reading the other two books in the series.  If you have enjoyed other paranormal fantasy books, you probably will enjoy this book.  Recommended.

Rating:  3.75/5

Pages for 2014: 25,665

If you have enjoyed this book, what did you think of it?

Bridge to Haven - Francine Rivers

Title: Bridge to Haven
Author: Francine Rivers
Pages: 500
Published: 2014
Challenges: Chunkster, Historical Fiction, I Love Libraries
Genre: Christian Fiction
Edition: Trade Paperback
Source: Library

Description: To those who matter in 1950s Hollywood, Lena Scott is the hottest rising star to hit the silver screen since Marilyn Monroe. Few know her real name is Abra. Even fewer know the price she s paid to finally feel like she s somebody. To Pastor Ezekiel Freeman, Abra will always be the little girl who stole his heart the night he found her, a wailing newborn abandoned under a bridge on the outskirts of Haven. Zeke and his son, Joshua Abra s closest friend watch her grow into an exotic beauty. But Zeke knows the circumstances surrounding her birth etched scars deep in her heart, scars that leave her vulnerable to a fast-talking bad boy who proclaims his love and lures her to Tinseltown. Hollywood feels like a million miles from Haven, and naive Abra quickly learns what s expected of an ambitious girl with stars in her eyes. But fame comes at an awful price. She has burned every bridge to get exactly what she thought she wanted. Now, all she wants is a way back home. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: While I am Christian, I find that the vast majority of Christian that is on the market is very formulaic and while this book does probably a certain element of that formulaic model, the book had a quality to the writing that drew me into the story.  I felt that the characters were believable and real, as though they really could have existed and I also liked how Josh and Abra were able to build the foundation of their relationship through establishing a friendship before starting a romantic relationship.

Bottom line: While for the most part I really enjoyed the book, I did feel that the book started out a little slower than I expected.  Overall, it was a pretty decent story that will please most fans of Christian fiction.  Highly Recommended.

Rating: 4.25/5

Pages for 2014: 24,672

All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr

Title: All the Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
Pages: 531
Published: 2014
Challenges: Chunkster, Historical Fiction, I Love Libraries
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description: Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.

In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I really liked this book, particularly how the author played off the two main character, Werner and Maire Laure.  I came to care about each of them and saw them as individuals who only wanted to survive and I also liked how the author used time shifts within the book: pre-war, during the war, post-war and present day.

Bottom line: Even though it is a long book, it reads like a novel that is a hundred pages less because the short parts within the book and also it allows the reader to become involved with the characters.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.25/5

Pages for 2014: 23,535

Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë

Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Brontë
Pages (File Size): 450 (680 KB)
Published: 2012 (first published 1847)
Challenges: Chunkster, E-book, R.I.P IX
Genre: Classic, Gothic
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: Wuthering Heights is the tale of two families both joined and riven by love and hate. Cathy is a beautiful and wilful young woman torn between her soft-hearted husband and Heathcliff, the passionate and resentful man who has loved her since childhood. The power of their bond creates a maelstrom of cruelty and violence which will leave one of them dead and cast a shadow over the lives of their children. (via ChaptersIndigo)

Thoughts: This was a second re-read for me and probably because I was frantically trying to get the book completed prior to a book club meeting, I was unable to enjoy the book as much as I did the first time I re-read the book.

As much as Heathcliff is supposedly this romantic hero of sorts, I found him to be manipulative and selfish, as I did with the characters of that generation and as a result I had a hard time having any sort of sympathy for them, unlike their offspring, which I had a lit more sympathy for; the parents seemed to play a game of one-ups-manship, almost trying to see how well they could out-manipulate each other.

Bottom line:  This book is one of the best examples of Victorian gothic literature and there is a reason that it is a classic and even though this read of the book didn't give me a great impression of some of the characters this time around, you can see why not only this book has stood the test of time, but also why Emily Brontë would have probably been a very prolific writer in this particular genre, had she lived longer.   I would recommend this book not only to fans of classics, but also those that enjoy reading gothic literature.  Recommended to Highly recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Pages for 2014: 22,764

The Guns of August - Barbara W. Tuchman

Title: The Guns of August
Author: Barbara W. Tuchman
Pages (File Size): 566 (8.7 MB)
Published: 2009 (first published 1962)
Challenges: Chunkster, E-book, I Love Libraries, Non-Fiction, War Through the Generations
Genre: Non-Fiction
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: In this landmark, Pulitzer Prize–winning account, renowned historian Barbara W. Tuchman re-creates the first month of World War I: thirty days in the summer of 1914 that determined the course of the conflict, the century, and ultimately our present world. Beginning with the funeral of Edward VII, Tuchman traces each step that led to the inevitable clash. And inevitable it was, with all sides plotting their war for a generation. (via ChaptersIndigo)

Thoughts: If there was anything that I did like about this book it was the detail that the author included in the book.  I particularly like the chapters that the author devoted on the four main combatants (Britain, France, Germany and Russia) at the start of the First World War in August, 1914 (the United States did not enter until 1917) and the social and political climate leading up to the start of this conflict.

What I did not like was the fact that the author spent way too much time describing things in such detail that I would sometimes literally fall asleep while trying to read the book.  And yet, there were times that I was engaged with the book and really enjoyed those details, so it was a catch-22 scenario.

Bottom line: If you are interested in reading about wars and battles, you probably would enjoy this read.  Recommended.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2014: 21,595

Under the Wide and Starry Sky - Nancy Horan

Title: Under the Wide and Starry Sky
Author: Nancy Horan
Pages (File Size): 496 (3.15 KB)
Published: 2014 (first published 2013)
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, E-Book, Historical Fiction, Chunkster, I Love Libraries
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: At the age of thirty-five, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne has left her philandering husband in San Francisco to set sail for Belgium—with her three children and nanny in tow—to study art. It is a chance for this adventurous woman to start over, to make a better life for all of them, and to pursue her own desires.  Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her children repair to a quiet artists’ colony in France where she can recuperate. Emerging from a deep sorrow, she meets a lively Scot, Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who falls instantly in love with the earthy, independent, and opinionated “belle Americaine.”
            
Fanny does not immediately take to the slender young lawyer who longs to devote his life to writing—and who would eventually pen such classics as Treasure Islandand The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson’s charms, and the two begin a fierce love affair—marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness—that spans the decades and the globe. The shared life of these two strong-willed individuals unfolds into an adventure as impassioned and unpredictable as any of Stevenson’s own unforgettable tales. (via ChaptersIndigo)

Thoughts: I really liked the concept and the title of the book.  As well, I had also heard a lot about this book from fellow bloggers that I thought I would give the book a try.  I can honestly say that prior to the reading the book that I had never had heard of Fanny and never knew that Robert Louis Stevenson (referred to as RLS after this) was married prior to this; all I knew was of RLS wrote several well-known book, along with a book of children's verse.

While the subject matter was fascinating, I felt that the book at times was drawn out and that the author got bogged down in some of the details of the story and didn't allow the story to grow a little more organically; it just seemed to drag on too much for my tastes.

Bottom line: If you enjoy fictionalized books about the lives of famous people and/or their family members, you probably will enjoy this one.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.25/5

Pages for 2014: 20,229

The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith

Title: The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike #1)
Author: Robert Galbraith
Pages (File Size): 465 (784 KB)
Published: 2013
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, Chunkster, E-Book, I Love Libraries
Genre: Mystery, Crime
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: A brilliant debut mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide. After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts:  Heard about this book about 18 months ago and it did not disappoint.  The characters were really well developed and kept me engaged with the story from the start, even if there were times I felt it lagged at time, make me wonder what really did happen and who really did do it.  If there was anything that was a bit of a disappointment with the book, it was that I wished Robin was around more during the course of the book.

Bottom line: Really enjoyed the book and has the potential to be quite a good series and should be of interest to those that enjoy well-written crime fiction.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.8/5

Pages for 2014: 18,629

If you have read this book, what did you think of it?

The Circle - Dave Eggars

Title: The Circle
Author: Dave Eggars
Pages (File Size): 528 (1.5 MB)
Published: 2013
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, E-Book, Chunkster, I Love Libraries
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Psychological
Edition: E-Book
Source: Library

Description: When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company’s modernity and activity. There are parties that last through the night, there are famous musicians playing on the lawn, there are athletic activities and clubs and brunches, and even an aquarium of rare fish retrieved from the Marianas Trench by the CEO. Mae can’t believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in the world—even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public. What begins as the captivating story of one woman’s ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge. (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: I head about this book about a year ago and had tried to read it earlier this year and wasn't able to get around to it due to reading other books, but it now seemed to the right time to read it.  And it basically creeped me out, especially as the book moved towards the end and really made me think about how much I share and spend on social media sites.

It was very interesting to see how Mae became more and more involved with her life at work and how the world outside of her job became less and less important to her.  While it is primarily a book about how social media sites are playing more and more of a role in our lives, it is also a story about how work has become more and more consuming and how our social lives are basically those that occur online rather than off line.

Bottom line: While it was creepy and worrisome, it does give one pause and does raise concerns to how much social media is playing a role in our lives.  It you enjoy books that have a dystopic themes, you might enjoy this one.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Pages for 2014: 17,557

If you have read this book, what did you think about it?

Empty Mansions - Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr.

Title: Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguett Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune
Author: Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr.
Pages (File Size): 496 (11.4 MB)
Published: 2013
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, E-Book, Chunkster, Non-fiction, I Love Libraries
Genre: Non-Fiction, History, Biography
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: When Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed in 2009 a grand home for sale, unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled through a surprising portal into American history. Empty Mansions is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of the nineteenth century with a twenty-first-century battle over a $300 million inheritance. At its heart is a reclusive heiress named Huguette Clark, a woman so secretive that, at the time of her death at age 104, no new photograph of her had been seen in decades. Though she owned palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, why had she lived for twenty years in a simple hospital room, despite being in excellent health? Why were her valuables being sold off? Was she in control of her fortune, or controlled by those managing her money? (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: It was definitely an interesting book, in that it one learned about the uber-rich and the strange lives that some of these individuals have lived.  Other than the odd bits of fascinating information about the Clark family, I felt that the language was simplistic at times and felt that Ms. Clark was portrayed as being a bit too sympathetic at times.  I also felt that the author never really delved too much into Ms. Clark's life and treated her with kid gloves.

Bottom line:  It was definitely an intriguing story and was worth reading.  If you are interested in learning about those who are a bit odd or even those who are/were uber-rich, then I would recommend this book for you.  Recommended.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2014: 16,801

If you have read this book, what did you think about it?

The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

Title: The Goldfinch
Author: Donna Tartt
Pages: 771
Published: 2013
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, Chunkster
Genre: Contemporary, Literary, Ficiton
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Personal

Description: It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle. (from Goodreads)

Thoughts:  After reading a number of book reviews over the past few months, I realized that I needed to borrow the audiobook from the library and it was a good decision in the end, as I was able to get through several portions of the book.  When all I wanted to do was to give up, even though there were sections that I really enjoyed reading.

I will say that Ms. Tartt's ability to allow the reader to as though they are actually in the place being described.  I really liked Boris more than Theo, who seemed to be a tad too mopy for my liking.  It's not that the book wasn't well-written, it was very well-written, I just felt that Theo didn't deal with his grief very well and felt that the author could have maybe brought some sort of relief/happiness into Theo's life.  I also felt that the author rambled a little too much for my liking.

Bottom line: I would recommend the book for those that don't mind long books that sometimes tend to be on the rambley side of things.  Recommend.

Rating: 3.5/5

Pages for 2014: 16,305

If you have read it, what did you think of it?