Time and Regret by M.K. Tod

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: July 8, 2016

When Grace Hansen finds a box belonging to her beloved grandfather, she has no idea it holds the key to his past—and to long-buried family secrets. In the box are his World War I diaries and a cryptic note addressed to her. Determined to solve her grandfather’s puzzle, Grace follows his diary entries across towns and battle sites in northern France, where she becomes increasingly drawn to a charming French man—and suddenly aware that someone is following her... Through her grandfather’s vivid writing and Grace’s own travels, a picture emerges of a man very unlike the one who raised her: one who watched countless friends and loved ones die horrifically in battle; one who lived a life of regret. But her grandfather wasn’t the only one harboring secrets, and the more Grace learns about her family, the less she thinks she can trust them.

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Time and Regret is M.K. Tod’s third novel. I’ve both of her earlier releases and was eyeing her latest long before it was made available for review. WWII is my usual stomping ground, but I find myself increasingly fascinated with the Great War and, as such, couldn’t help bumping Time and Regret to the top of my TBR when Lake Union Publishing granted my request for an ARC.

The book impressed me on a number of levels, but I was floored by Tod’s illustration of a woman trying to move forward after an unexpected divorce. By coincidence, I intimately understood a lot of Grace’s insecurities and I was both impressed and appreciative of the authenticity Tod managed to convey in her make-up. Trends favor young, confident women, but Tod chose to feature a woman with relatable life experience and I think her novel stronger for it.

Secrets buried in letters and diaries are war lit clichés, but I really liked how Tod used Martin’s service memoir in Time and Regret. The volume contains many surprising revelations about Martin’s experiences at the Front, but I felt the way he repurposed it to convey his final wishes to Grace gave interesting insight into both his character and the relationship he shared with his granddaughter. I am used to relatives discovering the letters and diaries after the fact, but I found Martin’s active role as ‘game master’ refreshingly engaging.

Cynthia was a difficult character for me, but I grew to appreciate her very deeply in the end. I’m not used to seeing grandmothers portrayed as difficult, but here again I found myself applauding Tod’s unconventional approach. She threw stereotypes out the window and created a very unique personality in Cynthia and I like how the revelations into her character led me to believe different things about her character at different points in the narrative.

The climax of the novel was entertaining in its way, but I felt the intensity and emotion faded in the final chapters. I don’t mean to sound critical, but I appreciated those elements more than the mystery surrounding the paintings and while I liked how the story ended, I would have favored a more emotive conclusion. That said I greatly enjoyed the time I spent with this piece and would definitely recommend it to my fellow readers.

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If the newspapers reported the truth, if they wrote about the mud and filth and the body parts littering the ground and how young men look old before their time, would we still be here?

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Begun by Time by Morgan O'Neill

Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: July 10, 2016

In 1945, a man disappeared into thin air... In the final days of World War II, Catherine Hastings meets the man she wants to marry. Flight surgeon Jonathan Brandon isn't just handsome - he's everything Catherine could hope for in her betrothed. But her dream of a happily ever after is shattered when Jonnie disappears shortly before their wedding... leaving Catherine bereft, broken-hearted, and with a lifetime of unanswered questions. Arthur Howard is smitten with the lovely Catherine the moment he sees her. He's certain he's found the woman he wants to marry. Yet behind Catherine's sparkling green eyes is a haunted look - the look of a woman who has known loss. But can he love a woman who still grieves the loss of her fiancé? Now Arthur wants answers about the man Catherine intended to marry. But the truth about Jonnie's disappearance is far stranger than fiction...

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Yeah... no. Morgan O'Neill's Begun by Time didn't work for me. I've a penchant for WWII lit and jumped into the novel without thinking twice, but I made it only a few chapters before realizing I'd picked up something I wasn't going to enjoy.

My first issue was the characterizations or more accurately, the lack there of. Cookie cutter character drive me up the wall and there was simply no depth to Catherine, Jonathan or Arthur. They appeared to be going through the motions, but there was nothing genuine about their sentimentalities which made it incredibly difficult for me to buy into the relationships they were meant to experience.

My second issue was the structure of the novel. The story unfolds chronologically, but as a reader I found the presentation awkward. Why bother to illustrate the relationship between Catherine and Jonathan when you intend to rip them apart? It's a bloody waste of ink, especially since anyone who has read the blurb knows their wedding never takes place. Honestly, the book should have started with Arthur meeting Catherine and followed their relationship as he sought to unravel the mystery that haunts her heart.

Last, but not least, is the lack of historic detail. Begun by Time is an exceedingly light piece and that's well and good for those who appreciate vague references, but I favor meatier pieces with extensive worldbuilding and calling an end to the greatest conflict of the twentieth century with little more than "It is unconfirmed as yet, and there are no details, but Germany announced late last night that Hitler is dead" didn’t pack the punch I was looking for.

I’d no real interest in reading The Thornless Rose prior to picking up its prequel, but I’m definitely not interested now and can’t say I see myself recommending Begun by Time to my fellow readers.

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Time. She suddenly realized how it had affected her, how her journey with Arthur was begun by time itself. Begun by time. Yes. And always meant to be.

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The Lost Soldier by Diney Costeloe

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: March 25, 2016

In 1921, eight ash trees were planted in the dorset village of Charlton Ambrose as a timeless memorial to the men killed in World War One. Overnight a ninth appeared, marked only as for 'the unknown soldier'. But now the village's ashgrove is under threat from developers. Rachel Elliot, a local reporter, sets out to save the memorial and solve the mystery of the ninth tree. In so doing, she uncovers the story of Tom Carter and Molly Day: two young people thrown together by the war, their love for each other, their fears for the present and their hopes for the future. Embroiled in events beyond their control, Tom and Molly have to face up to the harsh realities of the continuing war, the injustices it allows and the sacrifices it demands.

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Originally published as The Ashgrove, Diney Costeloe’s The Lost Soldier begins in 2001, during a public meeting over a housing development in a village called Charlton Ambrose. Rachel Elliot, a local reporter for the Belcaster Chronicle, is captivated when one of the local residents objects the construction plans as they’d necessitate the destruction of a memorial grove planted to honor the village residents who died during the Great War. Rachel takes it upon herself to learn more about the trees and uncovers a long buried secret of honor, sacrifice, tragedy, and enduring faithfulness.

Looking back on the narrative, I freely admit that elements of the modern story felt unnecessary. Rachel’s romantic interest in Nick Potter seemed entirely superfluous in my eyes and the familial connection she unearths struck me as contrived, but Molly Day’s history was so poignantly portrayed that I couldn’t bring myself to rate the novel any lower than five stars. Her story surprised me on a number of levels and I loved how relevant her experiences become to those trying to understand her trials through modern eyes decades after they occurred.

Henry Smalley is a minor character, but one I grew very fond of over the course of the narrative. His journey is not chronicled in detail, but he is the kind of individual who exudes genuine compassion in an era when law and order did not bend to accommodate such sensitivities. Molly’s life is irreparably altered by the conflict, but Henry finds new purpose in the carnage of the Somme and takes it upon himself to look after those left scarred in its aftermath.

There is something very human in this story and I appreciated how Costeloe’s themes drew her audience into the narrative. The action depicted during the first day of the Somme Offensive is brutal, but I was intensely appreciative of the authenticity such detail lent the text. Beginning to end, the novel capitalized on the human elements of the war and I felt Costeloe’s manipulation of the material bridged the gap between a century old conflict and contemporary readers.

I didn’t have any expectations when I picked up The Lost Solider. Not one of the reviewers I follow had read the book and while I was intrigued by the subject matter, I wasn’t entirely convinced it’d be the kind of war story that would hold my interest. That said, the novel surprised me and I feel it one I will recommending many times over in the years to come. 

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“Who do you belong to, I wonder?” she asked aloud. There was nothing to indicate whom each tree commemorated… or that the place was a memorial at all. She moved from tree to tree until she had rested her hand on each trunk, and thought of all the young, fresh-faced men who had gone so jauntily to war, never to return to their homes here in Charlton Ambrose. Such high hopes they must have had. The adventure of fighting in a war, seeing a bit of the world, before settling down to their humdrum lives here in the country.

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The Bridge of Deaths by M.C.V. Egan

Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Crimson Flower Review Team

Read: August 28, 2012

On August 15th 1939, at the brink of World War II, an English plane crashed and sunk in Danish waters. Five deaths were reported: two Standard Oil of New Jersey employees, a German Corporate Lawyer, an English member of Parliament, and a crew member for the airline. Here is a conceivable version of the events.

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*** NOTE: It has come to my attention that The Bridge of Deaths has been re-published since the release of this review. I will not be returning to the piece, but encourage readers to understand the issues I noted may not apply to more recent editions of the novel.

The Bridge of Deaths by M.C.V. Egan presents a lot of challenges to me as a reviewer. I enjoyed the plot and greatly admire Egan's passion, but her style didn’t strike the right kind of chord in me. 

Please don't make assumptions from that comment, Egan is by no means a poor writer. I just don't feel she knew what kind of book she wanted to write when she penned this piece. Were she to have cut the fabricated characters/content and presented the story as a strict nonfiction of either her journey or her grandfather's, I would have issued a much higher rating. Similarly if she had cut down the amount of factual information, lost footnotes, concentrated on one particular plot line, and shown more than she told, I would have enjoyed it more as fiction.  

I feel Egan has talent and vision, but I am convinced her work would be easier to digest if she’d pick an angle and streamline her work along traditional genre lines. 

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"I am swimming. The water is salty and cold, and I am swimming, and I am scared. Someone else had to get out. Someone else has to get out..."

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Six of One by Joann Spears

Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Personal Kindle Library

Read: August 1, 2012

“Six of One” is the ultimate ‘girls’ night in’…with the six wives of Henry VIII. It’s the most fun you can have with your nightdress on! Join Dolly, the Tudor-obsessed heroine of “Six of One”, on a Yellow Brick Road journey to the alternate reality of an all-girl Tudor court. It all begins when Dolly loses consciousness on the eve of her marriage to the six-times- divorced Harry. She awakens in the company of the Tudor women she’s studied all her life. They have a mission to accomplish, and Dolly may be just the girl who can help them do it. As a warm-up to her life-changing interview with the six wives of Henry VIII, Dolly gets to dish with lots of the other fascinating females of the Tudor era. She learns things she never guessed about the Princes in the Tower from their sister, Elizabeth of York…Henry VIII’s mom. She talks sex with Henry’s sisters and scholarship with his daughters. She even gossips with the help, since Kat Ashley and Bess of Hardwicke are among the ladies on hand. Of course the heart of the story is in Dolly’s interview with the six wives of Henry VIII. It turns out there’s something to each of the wives’ stories that’s been held back all this time. You won’t believe what really happened…or will you? “Six of One” offers no tragedy, no excuses, and no apologies. It does have lots of broad humor, not to mention tons of puns. And—for a change—a happy ending.

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What could be more fun than a henhouse visit with Henry VIII’s women? Admit it, you'd jump at the chance to get the dirt on Old Coppernose straight from the horse's mouth. Just the idea of rubbing elbows with everyone from his indomitable grandmother to his unfortunate great niece makes you giddy. It did me and despite my usual tendencies, I decided to take a chance with Joann Spears’ Six of One. 

Looking back, I don’t hate the book, but Spears' humor and mine don't exactly jive. The piece is marketed as a riff, but I wasn't laughing. The cosmic connection between the bride-to-be and her collected confidants felt contrived rather than comical, Dolly's habitual rhyming reminded me of story time with my toddler, and the declarations of the deceased missed their mark. 

I really don't mean to deter other readers or cause offense, but Six of One wasn’t my cuppa tea and I’d have difficulty recommending it to other readers.

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The depth of human folly is unfathomable, Dolly. But we live, after our fashion, in hope.

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Quiver by Holly Luhning

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Local Library

Read: May 6, 2012

In sixteenth-century Hungary, Countess Elizabeth Bathory tortured and killed over six hundred servant girls in order to bathe in their blood. She believed this practice would keep her skin youthful and her beauty immortal. Quiver tells the story of Danica, a forensic psychologist who works at a former insane asylum-turned-forensic hospital. one of Danica's mental patients is Malcolm Foster, who is imprisoned for murdering a fourteen-year-old girl. Foster is a menacing but fascinating patient and Danica begins to suspect that Foster may have been the head of a gothic cabal idolizing Bathory. Her peers dismiss her discoveries, while disturbing incidents begin following her home from work. Soon after her arrival in London, Danica receives a mysterious note from Maria, a seductive archivist with whom Danica has had an intriguing and complicated past. Maria claims she has Bathory s diaries that chronicle her relentless torture of young women. As Maria increasingly insinuates herself into Danica s life, soon Danica is in too deep to notice that Maria s motivations are far from selfless; in fact, they may just cost Danica her life.

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Luhning’s writing is pretty decent for a debut, but I can’t bring myself to go any higher than three stars. She is definitely on the right track, I don’t want to come off as discouraging, but the basic construction leaves much to be desired. More than that though, I think the marketing department failed her in that they set the book up to be something it simply isn’t. 

I’ll come back to the construction issues later; I want to address the marketing issues first. Quiver is advertised as a thriller. No offense to Luhning or her publisher, but I wouldn’t shelve this next to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or Angels and Demons. It just isn’t that kind of book. I personally feel it would do better if it were marketed as a contemporary mystery. Quiver is a decent story, but it doesn’t have the edge of your seat momentum you would expect from a suspenseful whodunit or even the psychological drama of say Silence of the Lambs. Classifying it as such sets an expectation that the book just doesn’t achieve. 

Similarly, I think the blurb makes too big a deal out of the Bathory. This isn’t her story in the same way that the Da Vinci Code isn’t the story of Mary Magdalene. I don’t know who makes the decisions regarding cover blurbs, but I think whoever created this one misstepped in relying too heavily on the drawing power of the Blood Countess. The name dropping ensures you will sell copies, but people who pick up the book expecting to find sixteenth century Hungary aren’t going to be impressed with present day London, relationship drama and art exhibitions. 

Since I’m already dissecting the blurb can someone please explain to me exactly which “discoveries” Danica’s peers disregard? She brings up her concerns only in the final chapters of the book and while she is blown off, I don’t think her employers were unjustified considering their assessment of her mental state and the time her information was given. And what are the “disturbing incidents” that seem to follow Dr. Winston home after hours? So far as I can tell the only incidents that affect Danica involve Henry’s philandering and in all honesty, cheaters are a dime a dozen. Either I somehow overlooked several chapters worth of information or we are again over exaggerating the content. 

The plot felt disjointed, a good idea but there wasn’t enough to really get into Danica’s story. There wasn’t enough Foster to be disturbed, there wasn’t enough jeopardy to evoke alarm and there wasn’t enough suspense to keep the audience guessing (Not to toot my own horn, but I called the ending midway through the reading). The Bathory diaries were interesting but they are short, limited in scope and few and far between. I felt myself asking which story Luhning was trying to tell. The psychological aspects of both the present day cult and the historic mistress who inspired it are literary gold, but neither was satisfyingly fleshed out. 

This is really one of the books you want to go into with little or no expectations. It isn’t bad, but I think those who pick it up with an open mind will garner more enjoyment than those whose interest is sparked by the description of content.   

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I pull the red card out of my purse, type gyilkosság into an online Hungarian-English dictionary. Gyilkosság is murder.

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Purge by Sofi Oksanen

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Personal Kindle Library

Read: May 4, 2012

An international sensation, Sofi Oksanen's award-winning novel Purge is a breathtakingly suspenseful tale of two women dogged by their own shameful pasts and the dark, unspoken history that binds them. When Aliide Truu, an older woman living alone in the Estonian countryside, finds a disheveled girl huddled in her front yard, she suppresses her misgivings and offers her shelter. Zara is a young sex-trafficking victim on the run from her captors, but a photo she carries with her soon makes it clear that her arrival at Aliide's home is no coincidence. Survivors both, Aliide and Zara engage in a complex arithmetic of suspicion and revelation to distill each other's motives; gradually, their stories emerge, the culmination of a tragic family drama of rivalry, lust, and loss that played out during the worst years of Estonia's Soviet occupation. Sofi Oksanen establishes herself as one the most important voices of her generation with this intricately woven tale, whose stakes are almost unbearably high from the first page to the last. Purge is a fiercely compelling and damning novel about the corrosive effects of shame, and of life in a time and place where to survive is to be implicated.

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Even now, a few days after finishing Oksanen’s Purge, I am not sure how exactly how I feel about the story. Well, that’s not entirely true. I know how I feel. It’s sort of an “eh, umm, huh” kind of feeling. Problem is that doesn’t give me much to work with when comes to constructing a review. 

The murky undertones of the piece are provocative to say the least, but I think the graphic nature of the content is a bit of a turn off for those unwilling to examine or even acknowledge the dark underbelly of society. From Zara’s treatment as a trafficked sex slave to Aliide’s experiences both during and after Soviet occupation, the story is designed to make you think about survival, shame, enmity and dishonor in terms most of us have never considered. Personally, I like that Oksanen isn’t afraid to go where she does. I’m not necessarily drawn to the explicitness of her work, but I can appreciate the technique as necessary in exploring the themes of the piece. 

Despite my admiration for the emotional content of the book, I felt it lacking in other areas. For example, I feel the exploration of human nature took precedence over character development. Oksanen presents Zara and Aliide in a very straight forward manner and try as I might, I couldn’t find it in me to accept the impersonal depictions of individuals experiencing such extreme circumstances. I think that establishing a connection between the characters and the reader would have really enhanced the power of what Oksanen was attempting to express through her narrative.

Additionally, I felt the writing style was difficult to navigate. Creatively artistic, but functionally problematic. Oksanen jumps between characters and time frames at will with little or no exposition. She throws bits of information at the reader, leaving them to piece together an often times incomplete picture of events. It is enough to understand what is happening but it is far from ideal. 

Finally, I have to acknowledge the disadvantage I felt while reading Purge. I can’t speak for all Americans but our exposure to European history is rather limited. Prior to reading Oksanen’s work, I had only vague notions of the political events described in the book. I don’t blame the author for my lack of familiarity with the subject, but I think it is worth noting that book poses certain challenges for those less acquainted Estonian history.  

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She couldn’t brush it away like she ought to have done. Instead it seeped in between the wallpaper paste, into the gaps left behind by the photographs that she had hidden there and later destroyed. The fear settled in as though it felt at home. As though is would never go away. As though it had just been out somewhere for a while and had come home for the evening.

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Obedience: A Novel by Jacqueline Yallop

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley 

Read: Nov. 2, 2012 

Set in contemporary and World War II France, this is the story of Sister Bernard: her forbidden love, her uncertain faith, and her guilt- ridden past. A once -bustling convent in the South of France is closing, leaving behind three elderly nuns. Forced, for the first time, to confront the community that she betrayed decades ago, Sister Bernard relives her life during the war. At thirty, Sister Bernard can hear the voice of God-strident, furious, and personal. When a young Nazi soldier, a member of the German occupying forces, asks her to meet him in the church in secret one evening, she agrees. And so begins the horrifying and passionate love affair that will deafen the heavens and define her life, tempting her into duplicity. Obedience is a powerful exploration of one woman's struggle to reconcile her aching need to be loved with her fear of God's wrath.

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I am a World War II fanatic so I find it very difficult to admit I have managed to find a fictional war story that I am not particularly fond of. The premise is intensely interesting and I believe the story itself had a lot of potential but the flawed execution detracted so much from the piece that I found I couldn't enjoy the reading. 

The constant movement between past and present plot lines did little to enhance the drama of the piece. I actually found it distracting and at times very annoying. I also felt the structure was inappropriate for such a subtlety written novel. The personal and emotional themes barely took root before the reader was abruptly ripped away.

The fragmentation that resulted from this format faux pas also made it difficult to get to know and appreciate the characters. As a reader I felt distanced from the cast and as such didn’t care about the outcome of their experiences. I had nothing but indifference for Bernard’s suffering and isolation. It is one thing pen a bleak story but the impact of such works is in their ability to reach the hearts of their audience. Obedience fell flat in the attempt.

Bernard’s story is unquestionably thought provoking but I cannot recommend the book to the casual reader. The ambiguity that characterizes the novel requires much effort and more than a little determination to navigate. Still, I can’t disregard the haunting beauty of what Yallop put together in Obedience. Three stars. 

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Bernard heard the plea and knew there was something she should be making of the moment. But she could think only of the soldier, everything about him coming clear and close...

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The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Local Library 

Read: Jan.7, 2012

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

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The only thought in my head for much of the reading was that of Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore. It doesn’t do much credit to a story when the reader is perpetually distracted by a pop culture reference. You don’t see Heathcliff or Rochester being thrown around the literary world for a reason. The goal is to hook your reader, not set them in mind of other amusements. Perhaps I am too judgmental but I feel this was an exceeding poor choice on Johnson’s part especially since we are talking about her protagonist. Chapter one is bad place to identify your first red flag.

I also found Johnson’s assumptions presumptuous especially as she is an American. For example, the central character is greeted at what I assume to be Heathrow by Mr. Franks who informs her that “Some nutter’s gone and pulled a Jack the Ripper.” She barely even registers the name and doesn’t attempt to understand the reference. Maybe I am mistaken but I was under the impression that the name Jack the Ripper is what sold this book. Okay, Rory is American but we aren’t completely incompetent. She may not know the details of the case but the name would certainly ring a bell. I was similarly irked by Johnson’s need to explain the term “prefect.” Again, I know we are largely considered uncultured, ignorant and arrogant but give us a little credit. Harry Potter mania wasn’t limited to jolly ol’ England mate. To be fair I did appreciate the explanations of Bonfire Night and the local perception of pubs and alcohol in general but I would have been happier if I didn’t feel the author was insulting the general intelligence of teenage America.

Thoroughly annoyed is not a good way to begin the third chapter of any book and things don’t get much better. The writing is mediocre but the pacing is the nail in the coffin. The story doesn’t take off until the last hundred pages but getting there like slogging up a mountain in the rain. Irrelevant anecdotes about Rory’s family, Wexford’s daily menus and occasional episodes of awkward snogging leave little room for character or plot development. Rory doesn’t go after the killer until she realizes she is a target but she also doesn’t have any genuine interest in what is going on around her. No, our insipid heroine is only relieved the threat and subsequent media circus have resulted in cancelled hockey sessions with Charlotte and Call Me Claudia. Why should a reader be interested in a story the primary character is a) not interested in and b) largely uninvolved with?

Before I close I invite those of you own a copy of the book to turn it over. There, on the back cover you will find glowing remarks from Cassandra Clare, Ally Carter and Holly Black. Now again, I beg your indulgence and ask you to open the book to the Acknowledgments section. Here you will find the following statement:

“To my friends, Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier, Robin Wasserman, Holly Black, Cassie Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, John Green, Libba Bray, Ally Carter… who read drafts, walked me through plot problems, and talked me off of ledges.”

I don’t know about you but I find it appalling that Johnson and publisher G.P. Putnam’s Sons would stoop so low. It would be different if these were unbiased third parties or professional critics but by the author’s own pen, these are her friends. As such their opinions are irrelevant. Additionally the appearance of their feedback paired with Johnson’s admission call into question the integrity of all three women as they are essentially endorsing a piece they had a hand in creating. Bad form all around, bad form.

At this point you may be wondering why I have issued a two star rating rather than flagging The Name of the Star a complete waste of time. The truth is I, like so many others, have a rather morbid curiosity in regards to the Whitechapel murders. The basic concepts of the story are not altogether horrid and I actually really like the idea Johnson was trying to execute. The Ripper theme wasn't as strong as I had hoped but there were a handful of chapters towards the end where I actually felt the book was getting better. This brief shining moment was subsequently followed but a train wreck but that doesn’t change the fact that for a few pages, hope existed.

On the fence about taking on book two when it is published in the fall. If I learned anything from Anna Godberson’s Luxe series or Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy it is to listen to my gut and quit while I’m ahead. Still, I like to think authors improve with time and experience. I have yet to identify anyone who fits the description but I have been known to torture myself searching for that elusive diamond in the rough.

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Clearly, Jerome and I had a complicated thing going on. He told me scary Jack the Ripper facts, and I had the sudden need to make out with him until I ran out of breath.

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Irish Eyes by Andrew M. Greeley

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Personal Library

Read: Dec. 16, 2011 

Nuala Anne McGrail, that beautiful Irish spitfire, now lives in Chicago with her husband, Dermot, and their new baby, Nellliecoyne. As Nuala fans may suspect, Nelliecoyne is no ordinary baby: she is fey like her mother, and can see into the past as well as the future. Both Nuala and her daughter have had strange vibrations from a place on the lake where a shipload of Irish-Americans lost their lives a hundred years ago. In the course of their investigation, Nuala and Dermot make some dangerous enemies, and eventually have to solve a murder and find a buried treasure. Will Nuala survive the attacks of a sleazy DJ, and a dangerous run-in with the Balkan Mafia? And how does the diary of a young Irish woman at the turn of the century play into these events? Once again, Andrew M. Greeley--that master of the human heart--creates an engaging, charming story that will delight fans young and old.

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*** NOTE: This review contains spoilers. Please take heed and proceed at your own risk. 

Time it seems has changed my opinion of the Nuala Anne books. I read the first book of the series, Irish Gold, nearly ten years ago and greatly enjoyed it. So much so I immediately sought out the sequels. I devoured Irish Lace, Irish Whiskey, Irish Mist and Irish Eyes that same summer. I set the series aside to focus on my academic obligations but somehow didn’t find my way back to them until now. I decided to reread Irish Eyes to refresh my memory. Greeley tends to recap key information about the characters so I didn’t see much value in revisiting all five novels. No. Irish Eyes would be enough. Sadly, the book just wasn't as good as I remembered.

Why was I disenchanted my second go round? That’s a dumb question. The real query is where do I start. For one, Dermot is a push over and he knows it. He self-validates in every novel. It is annoying. Almost as annoying as his spending the entire book shaking his head and saying yes dear without complaint. I don’t find it appealing. I like a man with a little backbone, who has opinions and isn’t merely an extension of his spouse.

Nuala is perfection personified. She always has the answers, is always in the middle of things, never fails to be less than amazing and always looks fantastic doing it. People like her don’t exist. Real people have faults, real people make mistakes, real people have depth, complexity and baggage. Her flawlessness is exasperating.

Did I mention the couple has no real world worries or concerns? Dermot is a college drop-out who managed to make a pile of cash while working at the Exchange. His mistake allowed him to retire in his mid-twenties. He writes novels as a hobby more than anything else. Naturally the books are bestsellers. Nuala has an accounting degree but makes a living as a folksinger. Is anyone shocked that her records go platinum?

I don’t think I need to go into the fact that Dermot and Nuala’s daughter is a perfect replica of her mother (minus the red hair) and it goes without saying Nelliecoyne is intelligent and advanced for her age. No child of Coyne’s would dare be anything else less than impeccable. Gag me.                                     

I think I’ve stated I don’t have a problem with sex in literature and for the record, I don’t think the intimacies in Irish Eyes would offend the casual reader. The problem is that I just didn’t find the scenes appealing. A man suckling his wife for breast milk just didn’t do it for me. I don’t mean to sound judgmental, some people might get hot and bothered by the idea but for me it was just awkward. Very awkward.

Having thoroughly stated why I dislike these books we come down to why I bother reading them. As always, it is the history. Greeley loves Chicago almost as much as he loves Ireland and her people. Reading his books is like entering a portal to times long forgotten. In Irish Eyes, we glimpse the booming shipping industry of the Great Lakes and harsh realities of life at the turn of the century with just a touch of Irish mysticism.

Greeley’s richly imagined storylines are also nothing to sneeze at. While vacationing, Nuala, Nelliecoyne and the Coyne's wolfhound, Fiona, pick up strange vibrations from a ship that sank off Grand Beach nearly one hundred years ago. In an effort to understand their latest physic episode, the Coyne’s start an investigation that leads them to a forgotten chapter of Chicago’s past, its connection with Ireland’s political struggles and the fate of the Ardagh Chalice. Meanwhile the couple is dealing with a media circus caused by the sensational accusations of DJ Nick Farmer. Nick’s unexpected death only complicates matters, more so as his fate seems to have ties to the Balkan mafia.

Will I read the rest of the series? Probably. Will I recommend to others? Not without a disclaimer. The books aren’t awful but they aren’t for everyone. I do want to make two further notes before I wrap up. Greeley is a Catholic priest. The books are not preachy in the least, I wouldn’t even call them religious fiction but I would avoid his work if religious concepts aren’t to your liking. The same concept applies to Republicans. I wouldn’t usually address the subject but every novel in the series seems to take a dig at conservatives. I find it annoying as I don’t appreciate party politics in fiction but I wouldn’t be surprised if these comments upset more political readers.

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It wasn't the chalice, Nuala Anne. It was a winter storm that came too early, an old boat, and a dangerously irresponsible captain. Ellen's parents were young and romantic and convinced that they were immortal.

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#BookReviw; I'll Be Seeing You by Margaret Mayhew

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When Juliet Porter's mother dies, she leaves Juliet some old letters and a photograph which shatter all her previously-held beliefs. They show that her real father was an American bomber pilot in the second world war, some forty years before, and that he had met her mother while serving in England. Armed only with this photo, Juliet sets out to trace her real father, and eventually finds the airfield where he served.

In 1943, Juliet's mother Daisy is in the WAAF and stationed at the airfield which is taken over by the American airmen at a moment's notice. She falls in love with a bomber pilot who is then posted missing, presumed dead; pregnant and grieving, she marries a long-term admirer only to discover, at the end of the war, that her pilot had survived...

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Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆   |   Obtained from: Local Library   |   Read: September 17, 2011
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Most history fanatics hold specific eras close to their hearts and I am no exception. WWII is one of the periods I can't get enough of. The title reference to Frank Sinatra didn't hurt either. That being the case, I anticipated liking this book a lot more than I did. Perhaps I expected too much going into it but I found Mayhew's work mediocre at best.

Juliet, a divorcee with a grown daughter of her own, is rattled by her mother's deathbed admission. Angry and confused she struggles to accept the truth of her paternity and understand the circumstance of her existence. Eventually, curiosity proves too much. Left with only a sketchbook, an unmarked photograph and fragmented memories of her mother's war experiences, Juliet sets out to discover what she can about the man who stole her mother's heart.

As the granddaughter of an American solider and an English woman, I feel like a hypocrite for saying I found this story overly romantic and unrealistic. Daisy's story was fine though there wasn't a lot of information regarding her position with WAAF and I never felt the intensity I know exists when your significant other is on the front lines. Howard's story was flat out laughable. The entirety of his twenty plus missions are wrapped into a mere thirty pages, the bulk of which focus on his concealed tenure in a French barn. Boring doesn't do it justice.

Juliet's story had a lot of potential. American soldiers fathered more than 37,000 children while overseas, many of whom were never acknowledged. Several organizations exist to aid these individuals but the vast majority have little luck locating their fathers. American privacy laws are difficult to work around but time is biggest obstacle. I think this is why I found Juliet's story so difficult to swallow. She experiences a few hiccups but she completes the puzzle in a matter of months. Mayhew wrapped everything up in a pretty little package that is too improbable to be realistic.

I'll Be Seeing you is a sugary novel with little to no action sequences and limited historic detail. Sadly, not my kind of book. Recommended to fans of light romance. 

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She was marble-constant, as Shakespeare also said. An illegitimate baby was a huge black mark in those days, remember. She could easily have had you adopted, but she didn't. She hung onto you and she married another man because she thought it was the best thing for you.

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#BookReview: Barbed Wire and Roses by Peter Yeldham

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It was exciting to be on our way at last...but we were such innocents. We had no idea of the hell that lay ahead. Even if we had known, what could we have done about it?

They were our golden youth, seeking adventure on foreign battlefields. The First World War in 1914, that everyone said would be over by Christmas, and Stephen Conway rushes to enlist in the belief he should fight for King and Empire. Leaving behind a new wife and a baby on the way, he soon finds himself in the trenches of Gallipoli. Four horrific years later, Stephen is the only survivor of his platoon, shellshocked and disillusioned, and during the heat of battle on the bloodstained fields of France, he mysteriously disappears.

Stephen's ultimate fate is still a mystery when more than eighty years later his grandson Patrick finds a diary that leads him to Britain and France on a journey during which he unexpectedly finds love, and the truth about his grandfathers's fate that is even stranger and more shocking that he imagined.

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Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★   |   Obtained from: Local Library   |   Read: September 15, 2011 

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I’m not kidding; I have started this review at least a dozen times. I just don’t know where to begin. Barbed Wire and Roses is such a unique reading experience that I don’t think I am capable of composing anything that would do it justice.

The book is really two story lines. Stephen Conway is a young man who, like so many in times of war, is swept up by romantic notions of victory and heroism on the battlefield. He volunteers for the army in the early weeks of WWI, leaving behind a new wife and the child she unknowingly carries. As the weeks turn into months and the months into years, Stephen loses his naivety, his friends and eventually his mind under constant bombardment of the enemy.

Two generations later, Stephen’s grandson is plagued with questions regarding the war diary of a man he never knew. Seeking answers, Patrick and his sister scour the internet but can’t find a single scrap of evidence to prove Stephen Conway died in 1918 as family legend suggests. Bedeviled by the unknown, Patrick begins a journey that will lead him half way around the world in search of answers.

Stephen’s is one of the most intriguing war stories I have ever read. He is without doubt a hero but he is by no means the stereotypical personification one usually encounters. I would try to explain but I think Patrick Conway says it best, “[Stephen] is scared shitless most of the time.” Stephen’s struggle with PTSD struck a chord with me. A former military wife, I remember the pre-homecoming meetings where spouses were coached on recognizing the symptoms. A few weeks after my ex-husband’s return a marine on the same base blew his brains out after taking the life of his spouse. Living in a time and place where the disorder is considered very real I found it hard to comprehend Stephen’s situation. These men were mentally disturbed by their experiences yet many were given white feathers and still more were diagnosed fit to return to battle. It is an alarming concept flawlessly recreated under Yeldham’s pen.

Patrick’s narrative was decidedly less moving but it is not without merit. I had little sympathy for the character but I felt his experience showcased a different aspect of Yeldham’s talent. Every character Patrick encounters, no matter how insignificant has a distinct personality. Not only that, they are without exception multidimensional! Off the top of my head I can’t think of another author who has exerted so much effort in regard to the supporting cast.

The history itself captivated my attention. The last American doughboy died in February of this year fighting for a national memorial to honor the thousands of men who served in the conflict. That fact alone should tell you how much weight WWI carries in this part of the world. Gallipoli, the Somme, Ypres; I am humbled to admit these were little more than names in history book prior to my reading. More than that, I was entirely ignorant of Australia’s involvement in the Great War. Needless to say I spent a fair amount of time referencing the events. Yeldham’s work is entertaining but also fascinating even for those whose knowledge extends only to a few place names and the required background reading for All Quiet on the Western Front.        
                                                                                                                 
Yeldham’s story is a beautiful tribute to the Lost Generation, an intensely moving novel that will haunt the reader long after the final page. 

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We came here too young, too sure of ourselves. We'd begun to believe we were special, like the British papers said. Even their generals praised us, which should've been a warning. Generals sit in safety far behind the lines, they play their games of war and never count the cost. Look, we're as shat-scared as everybody. And why not? Gallipoli was bad, but this is a bloody carnage. There is a dreadful feeling of utter hopelessness here, and we play a game of tag with death every hour of the day.

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#BookReview: Waterfall by Lisa Tawn Bergren

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Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives among the romantic hills with their archaelogist parents. Stuck among the rubble of the medieval castles in rural Tuscany, on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds...until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces. Suddenly Gabi's summer in Italy is much, much more interesting.

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Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆   |   Obtained from: Local Library   |   Read: Aug. 19, 2011

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Fair warning folks, I’m in the minority on this one so try to keep an open mind. My feelings won’t be hurt if you disagree with me, but I’d hate to think of my word being gospel as most readers seem to really enjoy this series.

Bergren’s prose is alright, but I personally found it rather immature and while I’m not part of the target age group for this novel, I can’t help feeling my sixth grade-self would have groaned over the verbiage in this piece. "I'd never encountered such Italian hotness outside of Roma." Yeah, I definitely would have balked at that.

Continuity is another element I felt Bergren mishandled. Most of the novel takes place in 1332, a time that is utterly foreign to Gabi Betarrini. She doesn’t understand the culture, she doesn’t understand the protocol and she doesn’t understand the terminology. Bergren exploits this detail to add humor to the piece, but I couldn’t help noticing that many fourteenth century scenes felt inauthentic. Call me crazy, but I find it difficult to find Gabi’s ineptness amusing when her situation lacks validity.

Waterfall was recommended to me because of its historic content, but the only thing I really liked about it was Bergren’s treatment of faith. The religious aspects weren’t grating or preachy and I felt the incorporation of content appropriate to both the story and situational drama.

I’m not ruling out the rest of the series, but they definitely aren’t at the top of my TBR list.

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I finally meet a guy who's interesting and who seems to have a half-interest in me and it is TOTALLY the wrong time and place.

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#BookReview: War Brides by Helen Bryan

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With war threatening to spread from Europe to England, the sleepy village of Crowmarsh Priors settles into a new sort of normal: Evacuees from London are billeted in local homes. Nightly air raids become grimly mundane. The tightening vice of rationing curtails every comfort. Men leave to fight and die. And five women forge an unlikely bond of friendship that will change their lives forever. 

Alice Osbourne, the stolid daughter of the late vicar, is reeling from the news that Richard Fairfax broke their engagement to marry Evangeline Fontaine, an American girl from the Deep South. Evangeline's arrival causes a stir in the village, but not the chaos that would ensue if they knew her motives for being there. Scrappy Elsie Pigeon is among the poor of London who see the evacuations as a chance to escape a life of destitution. Another new arrival is Tanni Zayman, a young Jewish girl who fled the horrors of Europe and now waits with her newborn son, certain that the rest of her family is safe and bound to show up any day. And then there's Frances Falconleigh, a madcap, fearless debutante whose father is determined to keep her in the countryside and out of the papers. 

As the war and its relentless hardships intensify around them, the same struggles that threaten to rip apart their lives also bring the five closer together. They draw strength from one another to defeat formidable enemies - hunger, falling bombs, the looming threat of a Nazi invasion, and a traitor in their midst - and find remarkable strength within themselves to help their friends. Theirs is a war-forged loyalty that will outlast the fiercest battle and endure years and distance. 

When four of the women return to Crowmarsh Priors for a VE Day celebration fifty years later, television cameras focus on the heartwarming story of these old women as war brides of a bygone age, but miss the more newsworthy angle. The women's mission is not to commemorate or remember - they've returned to settle a score and avenge one of their own.

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Rating: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   |   Obtained from: Personal Kindle Library   |   Read: July 30, 2011
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NOTE: It has come to my attention that War Brides has been re-edited since the release of this review. I will not be returning to the piece, but encourage readers to understand the issues I noted may not apply to more recent editions of the novel.

NOTE: This review contains spoilers. Please take heed and proceed at your own risk. 

Trifecta! Punctuation, spelling and formatting mistakes all in one publication! I’m sorry folks, but I can’t ignore it. Throughout the text I found double periods and significant blunders in both spelling and grammar. Some chapter headings were placed immediately after the last sentence of the preceding chapter and others began a full two pages later. This was not a finished product and I can’t ignore how much these errors impacted my experience with War Brides.

Continuity, or the lack there of, was another issue I noted in Helen Bryan’s work. “Evangeline Fairfax’s coming-out ball was the last party before Lent and everyone knew was going to be splendid.” Evangeline’s last name is Fontaine. I suppose you could make a stretch by saying she eventually marries Richard Fairfax, but as the story is written in the present tense I can’t give much weight to the argument. This book has a very large cast and I’m sorry, but I don’t see how the audience can be expected to keep everyone straight with this kind of execution. 

Plot development in the novel was almost nonexistent. Tanni discovers she is pregnant, has a normal pregnancy and holds her son in less than two pages. As a mother, that was difficult to wrap my head around and made it incredibly difficult feel any sort of empathy for her situation. Evangeline drugging Richard was similarly simplistic. One minute she is planning her elopement from New Orleans and the next Richard’s mother is announcing their marriage and arrival in England. What happened to his being in love with and engaged to Alice? Was the drug supposed to be some sort of voodoo meant to make him forget all sense of duty and obligation? I don’t understand.

To be fair, most of the dialogue is fine and I am all for colloquialism in literature, but there’s a line and I feel Bryan crossed it. “’Well, I can’t ‘ardly bear to think of it ‘appenin’ all over again,’ I says to ‘er. ‘It can’t,’ I says to ‘er. ‘But it will,’ she says, certain as anyfink. ‘I fink you can count on it, Mrs Pigeon.’” As a reader, I felt such passages awkward and disruptive to the story at hand. I found them annoying and I’m not sure that’s the impression Bryan was hoping to achieve. 

In terms of content, War Brides should have been a home run, but the execution was so unpolished that I found it impossible to appreciate the narrative beneath.

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Here's to you Laurent, Richard and you Frances, fifty years and they say that the sorry old war is done and over with. Folks who weren't there say that...

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