ARC review: Things We Set on Fire by Deborah Reed

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

A series of tragedies brings Vivvie’s young grandchildren into her custody, and her two estranged daughters back under one roof. Jackson, Vivvie’s husband, was shot and killed 30 years ago, and the ramifications have splintered the family into their own isolated remembrances and recriminations.

This deeply personal, hauntingly melancholy look at the damages families inflict on each other – and the healing that only they can provide – is filled with flinty, flawed and complex people stumbling towards some kind of peace. Like Elizabeth Strout and Kazuo Isiguro, Deborah Reed understands a story and its inhabitants reveal themselves in the subtleties: the space between the thoughts, the sigh behind the smile, and the unreliable lies people tell themselves that ultimately reveal the deepest truths.

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

This insomniac's opinion:

If you enjoy character driven fiction, this novel is for you. This was a highly emotional novel, full of twists and turns and discoveries as the plot unraveled. The characters were well-fleshed out and highly engrossing.

I admit that as the plot twisted and turned, there were several almost unbearably sad moments. However, the novel did end on somewhat of a hopeful note.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes.

Rating:

4 stars



Coreyography by Corey Feldman

 

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

Lovable child star by age ten, international teen idol by fifteen, and to this day a perennial pop-culture staple, Corey Feldman has not only spent the entirety of his life in the spotlight, he's become just as famous for his off-screen exploits as for his roles in such classic films as Gremlins, The Goonies, and Stand by Me. He's been linked to a slew of Hollywood starlets (including Drew Barrymore, Vanessa Marcil, and adult entertainer Ginger Lynn), shared a highly publicized friendship with Michael Jackson, and with his frequent costar Corey Haim enjoyed immeasurable success as one half of the wildly popular duo "The Two Coreys," spawning seven films, a 1-900 number, and "Coreymania" in the process. What child of the eighties didn't have a Corey Feldman poster hanging in her bedroom, or a pile of Tiger Beats stashed in his closet?

Now, in this brave and moving memoir, Corey is revealing the truth about what his life was like behind the scenes: His is a past that included physical, drug, and sexual abuse, a dysfunctional family from which he was emancipated at age fifteen, three high-profile arrests for drug possession, a nine-month stint in rehab, and a long, slow crawl back to the top of the box office.

While Corey has managed to overcome the traps that ensnared so many other entertainers of his generation—he's still acting, is a touring musician, and is a proud father to his son, Zen—many of those closest to him haven't been so lucky. In the span of one year, he mourned the passing of seven friends and family members, including Corey Haim and Michael Jackson. In the wake of those tragedies, he's spoken publicly about the dark side of fame, lobbied for legislation affording greater protections for children in the entertainment industry, and lifted the lid off of what he calls Hollywood's biggest secret.

 

 

This insomniac's review:

 

I have a couple of confessions for you, my favorite bookish buds..

 

1. I read full-on beach trash in the summer to give my weary brain a break.

 

2. In the 80's I had pictures of BOTH Coreys on my wall...and....I may or may not have kissed them each night before going to bed(shhhhhh....don't tell!). Also, I spent quite a bit of time fantasizing about being Kerri Green- a perky little cheerleader wonder.

 

Soooo- now that's that's over- to the review!

 

I expected this book to be a bit(or a lot)douchey.(Yes, douchey is a word-don't mind your spell check.)

 

However, it was surprisingly down to earth and easy to read. For an 80s child, it was a wondrous romp through a deliciously  screwed up celebrityville. I relished every page. I read this book in, like, 4 hours flat. Oh, wondrous beach trash! How lovely thy dishy pages are!

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Yep! Dishy goodness!

 

Rating: 3 stars of trashy loveliness

 

 

 

 

Candy Girl by Diablo Cody

Book Summary(via Goodreads):


Decreed by David Letterman (tongue in cheek) on CBS TV’s The Late Show to be the pick of “Dave’s Book Club 2006,” Candy Girl is the story of a young writer who dared to bare it all as a stripper. At the age of twenty-four, Diablo Cody decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. She soon managed to find inspiration from a most unlikely source— amateur night at the seedy Skyway Lounge. While she doesn’t take home the prize that night, Diablo discovers to her surprise the act of stripping is an absolute thrill. This is Diablo’s captivating fish-out-of-water story of her yearlong walk on the wild side, from quiet gentlemen’s clubs to multilevel sex palaces and glassed-in peep shows. In witty prose she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer’s keen eye, chronicling her descent into the skin trade and the effect it had on her self-image and her relationship with her now husband.


This insomniac's review:

I could do a 2 word review for this book.(language warning)

HOLY FUCK!

Buuuuuuut......you probably want more.

I am a nurse and mother of three, bookish buddies. So I am really, really hard to gross out.

I was trucking through this book thinking to myself that it wasnt' quite as racy as the critics have said(remember that I am hard to shock, folks). Then I got to the scene in Sex World that describes a certain male client. If you've read it- you know who I'm talking about. At this point my brain shut down. Really. All I could think was clean thoughts so that I didn't vomit. Ugh.

But, truly- it made me thankful for my quasi boring life that is sans body fluid loving people(that I know of). It was very honest and entertaining.

Just try not to vomit. Mmmmkay?


Worth staying up all night to read?

If your bed partner doesn't mind an occasional gag as you read.

Rating:

3 stars. Fascinating, gregarious romp through the underworld.

ARC review: Lucky Us by Amy Bloom

 Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

"My father's wife died. My mother said we should drive down to his place and see what might be in it for us."

So begins this remarkable novel by Amy Bloom, whose critically acclaimed Away was called "a literary triumph" by The New York Times. Brilliantly written, deeply moving, fantastically funny, Lucky Us introduces us to Eva and Iris. Disappointed by their families, Iris, the hopeful star, and Eva, the sidekick, journey across 1940s America in search of fame and fortune. Iris's ambitions take them from small-town Ohio to an unexpected and sensuous Hollywood, across the America of Reinvention in a stolen station wagon, to the jazz clubs and golden mansions of Long Island.

With their friends in high and low places, Iris and Eva stumble and shine through a landscape of big dreams, scandals, betrayals, and war. Filled with gorgeous writing, memorable characters, and surprising events, Lucky Us is a thrilling and resonant novel about success and failure, good luck and bad, the creation of a family, and the pleasures and inevitable perils of family life. From Brooklyn's beauty parlors to London's West End, a group of unforgettable people love, lie, cheat, and survive in this story of our fragile, absurd, heroic species.

 

***Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House publishing group for the advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. ***

 

 

 

This insomniac's review:

 

There's an awful lot of buzz about this book. Which can be both good and bad. It's great because it cues me in on which books to read. It's bad because the novel has to live up to the hype.

 

I truly enjoy Amy Bloom's writing and immediately fell in love with Iris and Eva and their sisterhood. I voraciously devoured the beginning....then the middle fell, well, flat. Really flat. It picked up again at the end, but not enough to completely redeem the novel. Although, I truly adored the ending. The book was just a bit too meandering and there were far too many characters.

 

I still would chance to read the book simply to get to know Iris and Eva, though!

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Unfortunately not.

 

 

Rating:

3 stars

 

ARC view: The Memory Garden by Mary Rickert

Book summary(via Goodreads):

Bay Singer has bigger secrets than most. She doesn't know about them, though. Her mother, Nan, has made sure of that. But one phone call from the sheriff makes Nan realize that the past is catching up. Nan decides that she has to make things right, and invites over the two estranged friends who know the truth. Ruthie and Mavis arrive in a whirlwind of painful memories, offering Nan little hope of protecting Bay. But even the most ruined garden is resilient, and their curious reunion has powerful effects that none of them could imagine, least of all Bay.



***Many thanks to Net Galley and Sourcebooks/Landmark books for the advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.***

This insomniac's review:

I really enjoyed this read, bookish buddies! It has a bit of believable magic woven in, a la Alice Hoffman, which I found quite entertaining. It was slow-moving, but was full of loveable characters and a bit of mystery!

This is a great little summer's read for a long, hot day!

Worth staying up all night to read?

The pace isn't super fast, so it may not be one of those novels that would keep you up all night- but it is still well worth the read.

Rating: 3.5 stars

ARC review: Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes

 

Book synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

When Mike Dormer heads out from London to a small seaside town in Australia to kick-start a hotel development, he expects just another deal. But Silver Bay is not just any seaside town, and the inhabitants of the eccentric ramshackle Silver Bay Hotel - the enigmatic skipper Liza McCullen, her ten-year-old daughter, and her legendary shark-catching aunt Kathleen, as well as the crews of the local whale-watching boats - swiftly begin to temper his own shark-like tendencies. He is left wondering who really has the greater right to the bay's waters. As the development begins to take on a momentum of its own, and the effect on the whales that migrate past the bay begins to reveal itself, Mike's and Liza's worlds collide, with dramatic results. New, unforeseen hazards emerge to confront both the creatures and the McCullen women. How close can you get, before you end up destroying what you love?

***Many thanks to Net Galley and Penguin for the advnanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.***


This insomniac's review:

I'm a huge fan of the last couple of Moyes' novels. HUGE fan. I rather adore her, in fact.

"Old" Moyes(ahem, pre-2011) is not really thrilling me so much unfortunately. This novel was vaguely reminiscent of a Harlequin romance novel. It was full of bland characters and a slow-moving plot splashed with vague pools of drama. I really struggled to finish it.

So, my advice is to pass on this one and pick up Me Before You. *sigh* That is worth reading.

I must finish my review by saying that reading this novel made me really impressed with the huge strides Moyes has made with her writing. That is no small accomplishment! I'm so glad to have found her writing!


Rating: 2 stars

Worth staying up all night to read: NO. Save yourself-walk away!

ARC review: The Girls at the Kingfisher Club

 

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

From award-winning author Genevieve Valentine, a stunning reimagining of the fairytale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses as flappers during the Roaring Twenties in Manhattan.
Jo, the first born, “The General” to her eleven sisters, is the closest thing the Hamilton girls have to a mother. She is the one who taught them how to dance, the one who gives the signal each night, as they slip out of the confines of their father’s townhouse to await the cabs that will take them to the speakeasy. Together they elude their distant and controlling father, until the day he decides to marry them all off.

The girls, meanwhile, continue to dance, from Salon Renaud to the Swan to the Funeral Parlor Supper Club and, finally, the Kingfisher, the club they come to call home. They dance until one night when they are caught in a raid, separated, and Jo is thrust face-to-face with someone from her past: a bootlegger named Tom whom she hasn’t seen in almost ten years. Suddenly Jo must weigh in the balance not only the demands of her father and eleven sisters, but those of her own heart.

With The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, award-winning writer Genevieve Valentine takes her superb storytelling gifts to new heights, penning a dazzling tale about sisterhood, freedom, and love in Jazz Age Manhattan.

 

 

***Many thanks to Net Galley and Atria books for the copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.***

 

 

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

I have to be honest, friends. I really struggled to get into this one. Very slow-moving at the beginning. The sisters personalities were quite non-distinct and I struggled to really get to know the characters.

 

The novel did pick up steam near the middle and Jo's character became quite endearing. Overall, though, this one was meh for me.

 

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Eh, not so much.

 

 

Rating:

 

3 stars.

 

ARC review: Zac and Mia by AJ Betts

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

The last person Zac expects in the room next door is a girl like Mia, angry and feisty with questionable taste in music. In the real world, he wouldn’t—couldn’t—be friends with her. In hospital different rules apply, and what begins as a knock on the wall leads to a note—then a friendship neither of them sees coming.

You need courage to be in hospital; different courage to be back in the real world. In one of these worlds Zac needs Mia. And in the other Mia needs Zac. Or maybe they both need each other, always.


***Many thanks to Net Galley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.***


This insomniac's review:

In a fit of sleepy middle of the night insomnia, I requested this book based on the cover.

*sigh. Sad, but true.*

Thank goodness, my shallow cover-love paid off.

I was a bit worried that this would be a shameful take-off of The Fault in our Stars. Again, thank goodness. It was definitely not.

Lots of witty banter, likeable characters and a non-predictable and deeply moving plot. Truly enjoyable and easily readable YA. Totally worth a shot, bookish buddies.


Worth staying up all night to read?

For the most part, YES!


Rating:

3.5 stars       

ARC review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

***Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House Children's for the advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.***

This insomniac's opinion: 

Eeeek! This book was deliciously good. And different.

My only complaint is that the book synopsis hints at a twist. And, if you know there will be a twist, you start looking for the signs so that you can guess the twist. So, I knew it about halfway through the novel. It's a good thing that, even guessing the twist beforehand, it was a quality plot twist that was altogether different than anything else I have read.

The writing was gorgeous and the characters both loveable and hateable. I felt that I was at the summer house with the characters. Really great summer read.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes!!

Rating:

4 stars

 

ARC review: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian

 

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is the story of Emily Shepard, a homeless girl living in an igloo made of garbage bags in Burlington. Nearly a year ago, a power plant in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont had a meltdown, and both of Emily's parents were killed. Devastatingly, her father was in charge of the plant, and the meltdown may have been his fault—was he drunk when it happened? Thousands of people are forced to leave their homes in the Kingdom; rivers and forests are destroyed; and Emily feels certain that as the daughter of the most hated man in America, she is in danger. So instead of following the social workers and her classmates after the meltdown, Emily takes off on her own for Burlington, where she survives by stealing, sleeping on the floor of a drug dealer's house, inventing a new identity for herself, and befriending a young homeless kid named Cameron. But Emily can't outrun her past, can't escape her grief, can't hide forever-and so she comes up with the only plan that she can.

 

 

***Many thanks to Net Galley and Doubleday books for this advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.***

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

I adore Chris Bohjalian's writing. He is one of my go-to authors and I know that if he writes something, I will read it.

 

I have to admit something, however.

 

I have no idea how to pronounce his last name. It seems to have to many consonants for my white lady tongue. I'm so glad that this is a blog and you don't have to hear me attempt his name and, likely, butcher the hell out of it.

 

Ah, well-on to my review.

 

My favorite thing about Bohjalian's(nope, still can't pronounce it) writing is that he writes each novel as a distinct story with distinct characters. When I pick one up, I have no idea what I am going to read and what the characters will be like. He is not, in any way, formulaic.

 

I have to admit that this one is not my favorite of his. It was still good and quite engrossing. However, it was just out there enough to be unbelievable. Somehow, the story always seemed like just that-a story-and I never quite found my bearings enough to sink my teeth deeply enough into the novel to believe it.

 

I adored Emily, her gritty honesty and self-doubt were perfect for the situation that she was in. Her love for Cameron was endearing and heartbreaking.

 

I, unfortunately, didn't love Emily's story as much as her character.

 

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

The first half was engrossing, but at the second half I found that I was unable to suspend my belief any further.

 

Rating:

 

3 stars

ARC review: A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

A Place at the Table tells the story of three richly nuanced characters whose paths converge in a chic Manhattan café: Bobby, a gay Southern boy who has been ostracized by his family; Amelia, a wealthy Connecticut woman whose life is upended when a family secret finally comes to light; and Alice, an African-American chef whose heritage is the basis of a famous cookbook but whose past is a mystery to those who know her.

As it sweeps from a freed-slave settlement in 1920s North Carolina to the Manhattan of the deadly AIDs epidemic of the 1980s to today’s wealthy suburbs, A Place at the Table celebrates the healing power of food and the magic of New York as three seekers come together in the understanding that when you embrace the thing that makes you different, you become whole.


***Many thanks to Net Galley and Touchstone for the advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review***

This insomniac' review:

This novel was an eloquently, richly told story of three characters from deeply different backgrounds whose stories are incredibly different and, yet, altogether the same.

Susan Rebecca White wove the stories together impeccable and beautifully. All of the characters were well fleshed out and distinct. I devoured the novel as I lounged in my lawn chair in the sun, which seemed incredibly appropriate setting in which to read a novel that lazily unraveled itself like a summer's day.

I have to say that the ending disappointed me, but I cannot give a reason why. I just know that I was fully vested in the novel until the end, when I felt a brief, dull sting of disappointment.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

 Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . .


***Many thanks to Net Galley and Penguin Group/Plume for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review***


This insomniac's review: 

Are all my reading buddies familiar with Rainbow Rowell? If you like a good, lighthearted novel with witty banter between quirky characters, you should be!

I was delighted to get this novel, as I loved the author's novel Eleanor & Park.

This one wasn't nearly as well done as Eleanor & Park, but a good light read when you need to rest your brain after a few hard-hitters. Extraordinarily predictable and thin plot, but you simply forget about all of that when you get lost in Beth and Jennifer's friendship and the budding romance of Lincoln and Beth. Worth staying up all night? This is a quite few hours romp in the witty pages. No need to stay up all night, friends! Hooray! Rating: 3 stars

Paint it Black by Janet Fitch

 

Book Summary(via Goodreads):

 

Paint it Black" captures that throbbing ache that is being a young girl faced with a great tragedy...made worse by the fact that the tragedy is a Prince Charming-ish first love. Josie, the art model main character, longs, pines, grieves with keen intensity. Her process of mourning is set against a vibrant back drop of 80s punk/alt Los Angeles. Plenty emo. Though the backdrop is vibrant and exciting, the reader can't help but feel the emptiness of this scene when reminded of the heroine's loss. When you don't have that special person to keep sharing life with, is anything worthwhile? Fitch also crosses into territory that is much in need of exploration in terms of class. This book delineates class differences in America in a very real way...no one talks about this enough. We blindly pretend it doesn't matter. Josie finds out in subtle ways how it does and when it doesn't.

 

This insomniac's review:

 

Oh, Janet Fitch.

 

How you make me go all Fan girl after reading your gritty, dirty amazing writing.

 

Sigh.

 

Gritty, dark and starkly beautiful in that unique way that only this author has. 

 

 Janet Fitch writes with such a unique style and uses words in such a grippingly bleak way that I find myself rolling the phrases over my tongue again and again, enamored her writing. It takes me far longer to read the novel than I should but I cannot help compulsively re-reading the most stunning sentences.

 

Gah. So good in such a bad way.

 

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

YES! Be sure that you are okay with very gritty, real dark fiction, though. It is not for everyone.

 

Rating:

 

4 1/2 dark, glittery stars.

 

 

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always nsisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara's fate, she discovers that she's not the only person who's desperately looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

This insomniac's opinion:

If you like suspenseful, creepy fiction- this ones for you, bibliophile buddies

Deliciously, compulsively readable and creepy in the most wonderful and intelligently thought out way! I devoured this novel the way a starving person devours a plate of food in front of her for the first time in days.

So. Freaking. Good.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes! Word of advice though- don't do it when your partner/roommate/spouse is out of town like I did. I was hearing bumps in the night for sure!

Rating:

4 shivering, goose bumped stars.

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

Book summary(via Goodreads):

Meet the Bird family. They live in a honey-colored house in a picture-perfect Cotswolds village, with rambling, unkempt gardens stretching beyond. Pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and tow-headed twins Rory and Rhys all attend the village school and eat home-cooked meals together every night. Their father is a sweet gangly man named Colin, who still looks like a teenager with floppy hair and owlish, round-framed glasses. Their mother is a beautiful hippy named Lorelei, who exists entirely in the moment. And she makes every moment sparkle in her children's lives.

Then one Easter weekend, tragedy comes to call. The event is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass as the children become adults, find new relationships, and develop their own separate lives. Soon it seems as though they've never been a family at all. But then something happens that calls them back to the house they grew up in -- and to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago.

Told in gorgeous, insightful prose that delves deeply into the hearts and minds of its characters, The House We Grew Up In is the captivating story of one family's desire to restore long-forgotten peace and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.

*Many thanks to Net Galley and Atria books for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*

This insomniac's review:



 Gah. I loved this so much. I've always had a fascination with hoarders.

As a public health nurse I often venture into houses such as these. It is shocking and disgusting and sad. I leave the home and find that I cannot stop wondering how one gets to such a point?

This novel slowly unraveled the why. And, I got it. The way life changes, evolves so very slowly underneath your feet, morphing as you move slowly towards your purpose-eyes to the ground. And, when you finally allow your weary eyes to drift downward, everything has changed. No one is recognizable.

The characters were at once likeable and horrifyingly screwed up. Not only were the physically hoarded objects burying this woman alive, but the objects were symbolic of the pain within the family unit that had never been dealt with and were gathering heft through the years.

Simply fascinating and wonderfully written.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Abso-freaking-lutely!

Rating:

4 stars

ARC review:The Awakening of Miss Prim

 

Book summary:

 

In this #1 international bestseller, a young woman leaves everything behind to work as a librarian in a remote French village, where she finds her outlook on life and love challenged in every way.

Prudencia Prim is a young woman of intelligence and achievement, with a deep knowledge of literature and several letters after her name. But when she accepts the post of private librarian in the village of San Ireneo de Arnois, she is unprepared for what she encounters there. Her employer, a book-loving intellectual, is dashing yet contrarian, always ready with a critique of her cherished Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott. The neighbors, too, are capable of charm and eccentricity in equal measure, determined as they are to preserve their singular little community from the modern world outside.

Prudencia hoped for friendship in San Ireneo but she didn't suspect that she might find love—nor that the course of her new life would run quite so rocky or would offer challenge and heartache as well as joy, discovery, and fireside debate. Set against a backdrop of steaming cups of tea, freshly baked cakes, and lovely company, The Awakening of Miss Prim is a distinctive and delightfully entertaining tale of literature, philosophy, and the search for happiness.

 

 

*Many thanks to Net Galley and Atria for the copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*

 

 

This insomniac's review:

 

Ugh. Tedious to say the least. Underdeveloped characters and a desperately sad attempt to be philosophical that was utterly predictable.

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

God, no.

 

Rating: 2 stars. If I'm being kind.

Miracles Now by Gabrielle Bernstein

Book Summary(via Goodreads):

Miracles Now by New York Times best-selling author Gabrielle Bernstein will help readers eliminate stress and find peace—even if they only have a minute to spare. Bernstein knows that most of us don’t have time for an hour of yoga or 30 minutes of meditation, so she has hand-picked 108 techniques to combat our most common problems—from addiction and anxiety to burnout and resentment. Inspired by some of the greatest spiritual teachings, Bernstein offers up spirit-based principles, meditations, and practical, do-them-in-the-moment tools to help readers bust through blocks to live with more ease. She breaks down each technique Spirit Junkie style—with meditations, assessment questions, and step-by-step guidance—while incorporating lessons from A Course in Miracles and Kundalini yoga.
As readers benefit from the techniques they’ll be able to share them. Each practice has been boiled down to a 140-character description—or Miracle Message—which can be tweeted, pinned on Pinterest, posted on Facebook, or shared on Instagram. Each Miracle Message will end with the hashtag #MiraclesNow. Ebook readers can share right from their device.
Readers familiar with Bernstein’s fun and innovative take on spirituality will scoop up her latest work. And those who are discovering her will appreciate her easy-access approach to spirituality and transformation.


*Many thanks to Net Galley and Hay House Publishing for the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

This insomniac's opinion:

I have a confession to make.

Sigh.

I'm an unabashed fan of Gabrielle Bernstein. Her book May Cause Miracles was life changing for me. It introduced me to daily meditation and made affirmations an accessible way for me to change my negative inner voice.

Life changing, folks.

So, I was THRILLED to receive this ARC. And, she did not disappoint.

I realize that Gabrielle is a bit new agey and that is not for everyone. However, this book gives the reader a great "tool box" of life tools to take your life to the next level. I really love having a copy to keep.

Worth staying up all night to read?

This isn't that kind of book to me. I think a few tips per day is the way to go.

Rating:

4 stars.


                                                                      

ARC review: Little Lies by Heather Gudenkauf

 

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

When the body of a woman is discovered in a local park—with her bewildered four-year-old son sitting beside her—veteran social worker Ellen Moore is called in to assist in the police investigation. Positioned beneath a statue of Leto, the goddess of motherhood, the crime is weighted with meaning and, Ellen discovers, remarkably similar to one from a decade past.

Ellen's professional duty is to protect the child, but she's not equipped to contend with a killer. As she races to connect the dots, she knows her time is running out. And the stakes are high: if she fails, another mother is sure to make the ultimate sacrifice.

 

(Note: this novella is a prequel to Gudenkauf's upcoming novel Little Mercies)

 

*Many thanks to Net Galley and Harlequin for the copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.*

 

 

This insomniac's review:

 

If the author's intent with this novella was to whet the reader's appetite for her upcoming novel, it was a success.

 

This novella was highly readable and the characters engrossing. However, the "twist" was apparent to me long before it should have been.

 

 

Worth staying up all night to read:

 

Hey- good news! It's a novella! No need to stay up all night. Hooray!

 

Rating:

 

3 stars

 



 

ARC review: Incendiary Girls by Kodi Scheer

 

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

Incendiary Girls" explores our baser instincts with vivid imagination and humor. In these stories, our bodies become strange and unfamiliar terrain, a medium for transformation. In ?Fundamental Laws of Nature, ? a doctor considers her legacy, both good and bad, when she discovers that her mother has been reincarnated as a thoroughbred mare. In the title story, a mischievous angel chronicles the remarkable life of a girl just beyond death's reach.

In Scheer's hands, empathy and attachment are illuminated by the absurdity of life. When our bodies betray us, when we begin to feel our minds slip, how much can we embrace without going insane? How much can we detach ourselves before losing our humanity? Scheer's stories grapple with these questions in each throbbing, choking, heartbreaking moment.

 

*Many thanks to Net Galley and HMH New Harvest for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

 

 

This insomnic's opinion:

 

I'm left with an unsure opinion of this collection of stories, and that is very unusual for me. I appreciate the author's dynamic and somber method of storytelling. However, many of these stories were just plain bizarre and seemed to be strange without any meaning for the oddity.

 

Let's just say I was flummoxed by this one.

 

 

 Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Not so much for me.

 

 

Rating: Gah.

 

I don't know.

 

Do I have to choose??

 

Okay....

 

3.

 

That's neutral. Or indecisive. Or whatever.

 

 

 

 

ARC Review: Before I Wake by C.L.. Taylor

 

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

A mother risks everything to uncover the truth behind her daughter's botched suicide attempt

To the outside world, Susan Jackson has it all-a loving family, successful husband, and beautiful home-but when Charlotte, her teenage daughter, steps in front of a bus and ends up in a coma, she is forced to question all of it.

Desperate to find out what caused Charlotte's suicide attempt, she discovers a horrifying entry in her diary: "keeping this secret is killing me." As Sue spins in desperate circles, she finds herself immersed in a dark world she didn't know existed-and the closer she comes to the truth, the more dangerous things become.

Can she wake up from the nightmares that haunt her and save her daughter, or will Charlotte's secret destroy them both?

 

***Many thanks to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This novel will be published on June 10, 2014.***

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

Phew! This novel kept my heart a-thumpin'! I was on pins and needles wondering if Susan was crazy or if her convoluted beliefs of a maleficent ex-boyfriend were true. My mind would be solidly in one camp one minute and the other the next. It was very well written and suspenseful.

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Absolutely!

 

Rating: 3.5 stars

 

 

 

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry—lonely, friendless, not too good at sports—spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele—a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others—especially those we love—above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy—and the man he later becomes—looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single long, hot, life-altering weekend.

This insomniac's opinion:

I have quite a few book "rules" i.e. arbitrary leanings that I hold myself to for no reason at all. One of the aforementioned rules is that I try, at all cost, to read a novel or book before seeing the movie. I want my imagination to fill in all of the holes and subtle notions of a story before a director, actors, etc. have their way with the story. Labor Day will soon be hitting the video store and, in order to be prepared, I snapped up this novel at a used book sale and promptly read it.

If I wouldn't have been in such a hurry to read this novel, summertime would have been a perfect time for reading it. This novel takes place during a heatwave, and is sultry and sexy in a way that no novel set in the wintertime can be.

I have seen many reviews of this novel and it seems to be one that many love and many think is mediocre. Judging by my reader friends that have read and reviewed this one, I would say that those who adore it are generally people who are philosophical by nature and can see past the relative simplicity of the plot of this novel. Those that think it is mediocre seem to be concrete thinkers that couldn't see the depth of the story hiding underneath the shallow waters of the story. So, if you are a concrete thinker, this one may not be for you.

After I suspended my disbelief of a mother willingly allowing a convict into her home with her son, I quickly dropped into the story and lost myself in the sultry romance that permeates nearly every page of this novel. Joyce Maynard manages to convey the confusing burgeoning sexuality of the thirteen year-old narrator and the deep stirrings of reborn sexuality of some of the other characters in the novel. There were scenes in which sex was not at all mentioned, such as the peach pie scene, that dripped with such sensuousness that I, the reader, was stunned.

Overall, I thought this novel was stunning in its ability to weave the reader into an unlikely story and leave them forever changed in their idea of love.

                                                                   

ARC review: The Memory Child by Steena Holmes

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

When Brian finds out that his wife, Diane, is pregnant, he is elated. He's been patiently waiting for twelve years to become a father. But Diane has always been nervous about having children because of her family's dark past. The timing of the pregnancy also isn't ideal - Diane has just been promoted, and Brian is being called away to open a new London office for his company.

Fast-forward one year: being a mother has brought Diane a sense of joy that she'd never imagined and she's head over heels for her new baby, Grace. But things are far from perfect: Brian has still not returned from London, and Diane fears leaving the baby for even a moment. As unsettling changes in those around Diane began to emerge, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems.

A woman's dark past collides head-on with her mysterious present in this surreal and gripping family drama.


***Many thanks to Net Galley and Amazon publishing for providing me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This novel was published on March 18, 2014.***


This insomniac's review:

This novel sucked me in from the very beginning. There is almost an immediate mystery of Diane's past and a burgeoning mystery of what is even happening in the present. I admit that I foresaw the "twist" and the ending was a bit too tidied up for me, but this was a great, suspenseful read!

***Do not read the next bit if you do not want to have a possible spoiler***
As a nurse and someone who had a very severe case of postpartum depression, myself, I feel that I must say that the portrayal of both cases of postpartum psychosis in this novel were extraordinarily extreme and unrealistic. I would hate to think that a pregnant or postpartum mother would be terrified by this novel and think it were anything but fiction. Also, who still uses electroshock therapy? This is, and should only be taken as, pure fiction.

Worth staying up all night to read?
Absolutely!

Rating: 4 stars