Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One

There are some authors out there that have themes you can depend on. An example of this would be Jane Austen. We know when we read an Austen novel that no matter what it will end with a wedding. For me Nicholas Sparks has a theme as well. No matter what there always seems to be a death in the story. Both of these authors, of course, are telling a story of love. I tend to shy away from reading Sparks because of this ending theme as well as I feel his main purpose in writing is to make the reader cry.

For this novel, The Lucky One, I do not want to say too much because it will generate spoilers. I will say that the dust jacket on the book is exactly the story you are going to read. Along with that remember that it will have a typical Nicholas Sparks ending. The Lucky One was a good story and surprisingly I did not end up crying (although that may be because I could not stop myself from checking if there was a death at the end of the book to prepare myself) and I did not throw the book in disgust or disappointment (this time) because I was actually quite all right with Sparks choice in the end (again, this time).

In all of his books, Nicholas Sparks has a crisp and efficient voice. He does not waste words by over expanding nor does he use big words. Sparks paints a picture and moves forward with the story he is sharing with us.

Question about reading authors you don't want to...

Is there an author out there that you really do not want to read because of how popular they are or any other reason in the world, but then one day you hear about this great book and decide to read it only to find out it is that author? Would you read it anyways knowing you are cheating on yourself or knowing you may be stepping into a literary trap for disappointment? I feel that way with Nicholas Sparks. I read a few books years ago, saw some of the movies and believe his only goal in life is to make people cry and always to kill off characters. I quit reading him completely. This past weekend I saw a trailer for a movie and thought “OMG that looks really good and I like the actor.” Sadly, at the end it showed that it is a Nicholas Sparks novel. So now I am cheating on myself reading The Lucky One knowing that I am probably opening myself up for tears, possible death, and maybe a dreary ending.

Tana French's In The Woods

I found In The Woods on sale at Costco and decided to give it a try. I had seen it on numerous book club lists and the cover showed that it was an Edgar Award Winner. I enjoyed the idea of the novel and “the voice” it was written in was unique. The story is told after the mystery and murder happen. It is a reconstruction of the main detective assigned to the murder of a little girl, Rob/Adam’s, memories of the big events the story focuses on and the events surrounding those. The reader has to rely on what he remembers, focuses on, thinks is important and what he thinks he remembers to piece together the mystery.

At the beginning of the novel, Rob tells the reader that there are two things we need to know going forward: “I crave truth. And I lie.” (In The Woods, pg.4)  I wish I had paid more attention to this. I will recommend to future readers that they do. At one point I realized that it was a plot device for figuring out the mysteries and almost started the book over. Rob will give hints to things throughout his reminiscing that he thinks in hindsight were a mistake; we didn’t know how important this was until afterword, etc.

I did not feel like I needed to re-read the novel when I finished, discover what clues I might have missed. The two main characters, Rob and Cassie, have a tenuous relationship that appears to work but has huge overlooked cracks in it that seem obvious to the reader but are not to them. There is a lot of drinking and depression scenes and I got very annoyed with the poor decisions Rob and Cassie were making. I just wanted to pull Rob out of the book at one point and smack him. That being said, it was an interesting psychological mystery but did let me down in a few parts.

Lisa Gardner's Say Goodbye

I read this book as an audio book. I have about a half hour to commute to work, 5 days a week. This book gave me the creeps on multiple levels. I felt like I was going to be attacked by spiders while driving and probably looked like that moron that makes you laugh because they are making a face they don’t think others will see since we are all driving in our own little worlds. First, it is very well written and thought out novel. The plot unfolds slowly and at various angles and through various characters. For me, even the ending was not really an ending, there is closure and life moves on, but it’s just not conclusive I guess. Which, the topics raised by the author, there is no conclusion or ending, it’s a worldwide terror every parent prays won’t happen to their child. It is an ever growing web. That said; let me get back to my spine-chilling points.  . First is the subject matter…it is heavy. The Burger Man kidnaps little boys, rapes and terrorizes them, kills them and buries them, then moves on to the next. The families of these children will never get closure and Gardner has done such a good job writing about this excruciating topic that it was horrific to listen to and I just wanted to skip to the next track but knew I had to listen to the story, especially the story of the one boy the Burger Man decides to keep.  This book is not for the faint at heart or people who themselves have experienced this dark evil of life. The second set of creepiness in the book is the overall theme that is expanded on: Spiders. The reader is given very interesting and helpful facts about spiders at the beginning of each chapter. For instance how to tell what a black widow, distinguished by the red hourglass on the black body. However, the evil man throughout the book is a spider enthusiast and even things of himself as a type of spider. The scenes with the spiders (and I’m not going to ruin for those of you who are going to read the novel) just made me want to swat away invisible spiders, not drink my coffee while driving to work for fear there might be one in there, and just about gag in areas from the visual the author creates. Again, this novel is not for the faint of heart.

All that said Say Goodbye is a great novel because the author is able to put you there and I was so grossed out and horrified it was all I could do to finish the book or just explode about the book to my friends about what just happened. I recommend it, but want to caution those that may not be able to handle the subject matter.

My Rating System!

Introducing my new rating system! It’s whimsical, fun, and will be included in my future book reviews for those of you that like to take quick glances. Enjoy!

Kate Morton's The Distant Hours

The Distant Hours is a novel of mystery for bibliophiles and the curious, for people who wanted to be awesome like Indiana Jones but could not quite figure out how to start or fall into an adventure. I say bibliophiles because the main character, Edie falls into an adventure and is a voracious reader, collector, and works in book publishing. Through coincidence, circumstance, curiosity and luck Edie finds herself in the middle of what could change the world’s love and understanding of one of the most famous and mysterious novels in England, The History of the Mud Man. It all starts with inconsequential information for Edie. She learns her mom was an evacuee at Milderhurst Castle. Then Edie finds herself at Milderhurste Castle by chance on her way home from a book signing. From there the reader is weaved a tale from the various players points of view in both the books current time (1992) and the past when the mystery happened, 1939-1941. This is a book lovers of Jane Eyre, The Mysteries of Udalpho, and Wuthering Heights will appreciate. It has the gothic feel, unraveling of mysteries, characters that are redeemable and yet remain twisted, while planting well-paced revelations throughout the novel to keep the reader engaged and on their toes. Do we actually know “who-dun-it” or is there more to learn?

The author, Kate Morton, has an amazing voice for describing scenes, for painting vivid pictures with detail that enthralls the reader with the almost poetic rightness of the words chosen as well as putting the reader in the actual paper and ink of the novel, to truly experience it. I’ve read Morton’s previous novels and have to say I loved one and did not care for the other. This was a tie breaker for me and I would add this to the liked it/enjoyed it column.

Karen Chance's Hunt the Moon (Cassandra Palmer #5)

This is the fifth installment of the Cassandra Palmer series. For fans of this series this novel was a treat. Karen Chance’s writing style does not squander on the details and is still able to develop believable and realistically paced scenes. Hunt the Moon has the usual fast paced and kicking ass scenes riddled throughout the novel (leaving even the read almost as tired feeling as the characters because of how descriptive the scenes are) as well the author takes much needed breaks to share more info on characters we have been aching for previous books tempted us with. This novel takes the down time scenes with Cassie, Mircea and Pritkin, to share information, offer insight into these main characters and feed more emotion and sexual tension than before.

The book is sexy, orgasmic, exhilarating, exhausting and leaves you with a “This is far from over” ending. All I can say is good luck to Cassie because Pritkin is worth it. I do not envy her feelings for both Mircea and Pritkin since both are hard men to handle without involving all the feelings and politics.

Exciting News!

This blogger is SO EXCITED! After prodding, begging and encouraging words, it has finally happened. I received a text, but not just any ol’ text, asking the much anticipated question, “The question of the day is this: do you want to read the mechanic this weekend?” The answer is a screeching and emphatic, “HELL YES!” So, for the next bit, I get to be Queen Peer Review for author Becky Banks and read the first (for me) rough draft of her upcoming (and working title) novel The Mechanic. I am bouncing like a little kid in anticipation of the mailman delivering the 471 page (77,100 word) novel. In the mean time I am off to work…at least I have a sunshine daydream to tide me over.

Michael Thomas Ford's Jane Goes Batty

I know many readers, especially of romance, prefer to not read books written by men. I was drawn to this series, originally, because it was another Austen spin-off. I am addicted to them. Reading it, I had to remind myself that this novel was written by a man. It was not apparent and that, to me is telling of the author’s success, especially when the main character is Jane Austen.

While Jane Goes Batty is a sequel, it could also be read as a stand-alone novel. The author gives the reader reminders, retellings of story line and facts, so that the reader never struggles to guess or remember the previous story. The series is the story of what Jane Austen would be doing now, in our time, if she had been Lord Byron’s lover and he turned her into a vampire. Today, Miss Austen lives in a small cute town, runs a successful book store, just published her first novel and has a human boyfriend. She is constantly harassed by Lord Byron and attacked by an angry and jealous Charlotte Bronte (also a vampire thanks to her love affair with Lord Byron).  It is a fun Austenite spin-off with cute and quirky ideas and plot twists. I would recommend it to Jane Austen fans, paranormal readers or someone who just wants to try something new and fun.  For those looking for romance, it is in there; however it is not the dominating force of this series.