The Art of Falling by Kathryn Craft

*Many thanks to Net Galley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. *


 Synopsis(via Goodreads):

One wrong step could send her over the edge.

All Penny has ever wanted to do is dance—and when that chance is taken from her, it pushes her to the brink of despair, from which she might never return. When she wakes up after a traumatic fall, bruised and battered but miraculously alive, Penny must confront the memories that have haunted her for years, using her love of movement to pick up the pieces of her shattered life.

Kathryn Craft’s lyrical debut novel is a masterful portrayal of a young woman trying to come to terms with her body and the artistic world that has repeatedly rejected her. The Art of Falling expresses the beauty of movement, the stasis of despair, and the unlimited possibilities that come with a new beginning.

This insomniac's opinion:

It is very hard to believe that this novel is Ms. Craft's first. It is exquisitely written with a carefully crafted plot that carefully unfolds into a beautiful ending. There were moments that were so perfect and well-written that I had to stop and reread the section, sometimes more than once. It is a story of finding yourself in the midst of your life falling apart, of letting go of the person you have always been in order to find your true self. I sat for quite some time in reflection after the last page was turned.Truly moving novel and I hope the author will write many more.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes!

Rating: 

4.5 stars(rounded down to 4 for Goodreads)

ARC review: The Back Road by Rachel Abbott

 

*Many thanks to Net Galley and Amazon publishing for giving me an advance reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. *

 

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

One girl is fighting for her life.
One village is struggling to hold tight to its secrets.

When a young girl is knocked over and left for dead at the side of
the road, the small community of Little Melham goes into shock. Why
was Abbie out so late at night, and why wasn't she missed?

For Ellie Saunders, the truth about that night could put her marriage
and even the safety of her children in jeopardy. She has to protect
her family, no matter what the consequences.

Former DCI Tom Douglas thought that Little Melham would offer a
peaceful retreat from the daily trauma of his work for the Met. But
as he is drawn into the web of deceit, his every instinct tells him
that what happened to Abbie was more than a tragic accident.

Only one person knows the whole story - why Abbie was out that night,
and who was driving the car. For that person, the accident spells
disaster, and somebody has to pay.

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

Holy buckets, this novel was intense! I'm fairly sure that I lost a couple of centimeters off of each of my fingernails during the reading of this intense novel.

 

The novel opens with a creepy flashback which immediately made me wonder what on Earth I had gotten into when agreeing to review this novel. It was a stormy night in my neck of the woods and, after my hubs went to bed, I had decided to stay up and read. Immediately after starting this novel, I realized that I was not reading any sort of fairy tale and let the creeptastic reading experience commence. The novel reminded me a bit of a Gillian Flynn novel in the sense that the reader never knows what is coming next and there are twists and turns nearly every chapter. However, unlike a Flynn novel, the characters were likeable(for the most part). The original mystery of what had happened to Abbie quickly morphs into a myriad of mysteries that I couldn't wait to get to the bottom of. I voraciously finished this novel in one night, as evidenced by my bloodshot, tired eyes the next morning.

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

I did!

 

Rating: 4 stars

ARC review: Under the Jewelled Sky by Alison McQueen

 

*Many thanks to Net Galley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*

 

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

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London 1957. In a bid to erase her past and build the family she yearns for, Sophie Schofield accepts a wedding proposal from ambitious British diplomat, Lucien Grainger. When he is posted to New Delhi, into the glittering circle of ex-pat high society, old wounds begin to break open as she is confronted with the memory of her first, forbidden love and its devastating cons...more London 1957. In a bid to erase her past and build the family she yearns for, Sophie Schofield accepts a wedding proposal from ambitious British diplomat, Lucien Grainger. When he is posted to New Delhi, into the glittering circle of ex-pat high society, old wounds begin to break open as she is confronted with the memory of her first, forbidden love and its devastating consequences.

The suffocating conformity of diplomatic life soon closes in on her. This is not the India she fell in love with ten years before when her father was a maharaja’s physician, the India of tigers and scorpions and palaces afloat on shimmering lakes; the India that ripped out her heart as Partition tore the country in two, separating her from her one true love. The past haunts her still, the guilt of her actions, the destruction it wreaked upon her fragile parents, and the boy with the tourmaline eyes.

Sophie had never meant to come back, yet the moment she stepped onto India’s burning soil as a newlywed wife, she realized her return was inevitable. And so begins the unraveling of an ill-fated marriage, setting in motion a devastating chain of events that will bring her face to face with a past she tried so desperately to forget, and a future she must fight for.

A story of love, loss of innocence, and the aftermath of a terrible decision no one knew how to avoid.

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

This novel reminded me of a hot summer evening. Slow-moving, languid and sensual. The forbidden love is written of so beautifully that the reader's heart aches for the lovers to be reunited. I truly loved this novel, even as the lives of the character's are painfully unraveled at the end.

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Yes. Beautiful, yet painfully, romantic.

 

Rating: 4 stars

 

 

Bloodroot by Amy Greene

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

The novel is told in a kaleidoscope of seamlessly woven voices and centers around an incendiary romance that consumes everyone in its path: Myra Lamb, a wild young girl with mysterious, haint blue eyes who grows up on remote Bloodroot Mountain; her grandmother Byrdie Lamb, who protects Myra fiercely and passes down “the touch” that bewitches people and animals alike; the neighbor boy who longs for Myra yet is destined never to have her; the twin children Myra is forced to abandon but who never forget their mother’s deep love; and John Odom, the man who tries to tame Myra and meets with shocking, violent disaster. Against the backdrop of a beautiful but often unforgiving country, these lives come together—only to be torn apart—as a dark, riveting mystery unfolds.

This insomniac's opinion:

Holy buckets, this was a depressing novel. But, also extraordinarily written. I felt as though I was truly in the novel, living in desperate poverty and facing a daily struggle. It was humbling. I was so immersed in the book at times, that it was almost a culture shock to raise my eyes up to my own middle-class suburban home. I felt so grateful for my cozy home and my pantry full of food.

The hardest thing about reading this novel was that every time a character starts to feel hopeful, another awful event happens and they are wrenched back into terrible conditions. I had to take a few breathers when reading so that I could catch my breath and continue.

In closing, this novel is not for everyone. However, it is wonderfully written and is well worth the read.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes! Bonus: You'll feel super grateful for all that you have after reading this novel.

Rating: 

5 stars

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

 

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence—creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

My bibliophile buddy, Krissy, read this book and immediately decided that she must share the greatness of this novel with the rest of our book club(ahem-posse!) and I am so glad that she did!

 

The first few chapters were really hard to get into. The book is primarily a series of e-mails written by many different characters. I was truly wondering if Krissy had led me astray. But, then the magic began to happen. I became endeared to the characters(most of them, anyway) and started voraciously reading this novel, ignoring my housework to rip through the rest of the novel.

 

Much of the novel is light-hearted and there are quite a few funny bits. However, this novel also really touched on how out of touch our society currently is and our precedence of money over true relationships. Bernadette and Bee are delightful bright spots in a cookie cutter suburban world. Truly enjoyable novel.

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

I did!

 

Rating: 4 stars

 

 

 

A Girl and Five Brave Horses

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

This autobiography is the true story of Sonora Webster Carver who dove with horses from 40' towers in the 1920's. Dr. W.F. Carver, who ran the show, had previously started "The Wild West" shows with his friends, Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok. (The movie 'Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken' is loosely based on her life.)

This insomniac's opinion:

The movie 'Wild Horses Can't Be Broken' was one of my favorite movies as a teenager. I had a raging crush on Matthew Schoeffling, the actor that played Al Carver's character. I watched the VHS of this movie until it broke. That was a sad, sad day, my friends.

Anyhow, the other week this movie came on the television and I excitedly sat down to watch it with my two daughters. At the end of the movie I noticed that the movie was based on the autobiography of Sonora Webster Carver and immediately decided that I must read this book!

I admit that the book is not well written, but its not terrible, either. Sonora lived an absolutely extraordinary life and had a wonderful, positive spirit. Her strength and perseverance to continue horse diving after being blinded in an accident was inspiring to say the least. The story of Dr. W.F. Carver is also interwoven in the book, and his story was so astonishing it almost seemed like fiction! This book was a fascinating read and a peek back into simpler times.

Worth staying up all night to read?

It is a little slow-moving, but very interesting. So, yes!

Rating:

4 stars for magnificent inspiration!