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



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: 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: 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

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: 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

 

 

 

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

That Night by Chevy Stevens

Book synopsis(via Goodreads):

As a teenager, Toni Murphy had a life full of typical adolescent
complications: a boyfriend she adored, a younger sister she couldn't relate to, a strained relationship with her parents, and classmates who seemed hell-bent on making her life miserable. Things weren't easy, but Toni could never have predicted how horrific they would become until her younger sister was brutally murdered one summer night.

Toni and her boyfriend, Ryan, were convicted of the murder and sent to prison.

Now thirty-four, Toni is out on parole and back in her hometown, struggling to adjust to a new life on the outside. Prison changed her, hardened her, and she’s doing everything in her power to avoid violating her parole and going back. This means having absolutely no contact with Ryan, avoiding fellow parolees looking to pick fights, and steering clear of trouble in all its forms. But nothing is making that easy—not Ryan, who is convinced he can figure out the truth; not her mother, who doubts Toni's innocence; and certainly not the group of women who made Toni's life hell in high school and may have darker secrets than anyone realizes. No matter how hard she tries, ignoring her old life to start a new one is impossible. Before Toni can truly move on, she must risk everything to find out what really happened that night.

But the truth might be the most terrifying thing of all.

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

This insomniac's opinion:

You know those author's that you love so much that when they come out with a new book, you squeal with delight and bite your nails in anticipation of the release date? Chevy Stevens is one of those for me. Her books are uniquely written and include a shocking twist(my favorite part!).

I was thrilled to receive this ARC and devoured it in one night. The characters were well-fleshed out and there was a mystery from the very first page. I could not stop reading until the mystery of who actually murdered Tori's sister was revealed. I have to admit that I saw the twist coming and knew who the murderer before the book was halfway through. That was a disappointment, as I love to be surprised, but the book was highly readable anyway.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes.

Rating: 3 stars.

ARC review: Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

 

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it's the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn't believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake can she bring the cottages—and her heart—back to life? Because sometimes the things you love have a funny way of turning up again. And sometimes you never even know they were lost . . . until they are found.

 

 

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

 

 

This insomniac's review:

 

I know many readers that just adore Sarah Addison Allen and her way of weaving magic into her stories. This is my second SAA novel, and I'm not really sure how I feel about them. What I mean is- I don't really love them and I surely don't hate them. They are just out there in book limbo.

 

This novel fell flat for me. The character's were not well-fleshed out and the story was predictable. I was hoping for a magical lake experience and received only a mediocre cast of quirky-ish characters living in place that was decaying with age. Not so magical.

 

I would be open to another SAA novel in the future, but this one wasn't so great.

 

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Not so much

 

Rating:

 

Switzerland. Absolutely neutral.

 

I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

Can you commit the perfect crime?

Pilgrim is the codename for a man who doesn't exist. The adopted son of a wealthy American family, he once headed up a secret espionage unit for US intelligence. Before he disappeared into anonymous retirement, he wrote the definitive book on forensic criminal investigation.

But that book will come back to haunt him. It will help NYPD detective Ben Bradley track him down. And it will take him to a rundown New York hotel room where the body of a woman is found facedown in a bath of acid, her features erased, her teeth missing, her fingerprints gone. It is a textbook murder - and Pilgrim wrote the book.

What begins as an unusual and challenging investigation will become a terrifying race-against-time to save America from oblivion. Pilgrim will have to make a journey from a public beheading in Mecca to a deserted ruins on the Turkish coast via a Nazi death camp in Alsace and the barren wilderness of the Hindu Kush in search of the faceless man who would commit an appalling act of mass murder in the name of his God.

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

This insomniac's opinion:

This is, most definitely, not my preferred genre. However, a Goodreads friend(shout out to Lori, whom I only "know" via that site and our shared love of books) rated it very highly, so I thought I would give it a try. I am trying to read books out of my usual genre this year to expand my mind, or whatnot.

This novel is intelligently written and obviously well-researched. The bioterrorism is shockingly real and made me feel more than a little bit scared for the future of our world. I'll admit that it took me awhile to get into the book, but once halfway in, I could not put it down. It was a brutally and unflinchingly honest look into a world full of terror.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes, if you don't mind being frightened with very real scenarios of terrorism.

Rating:

4 stars.

Stay Where You Are and Then Leave by John Boyne

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight - but he broke that promise the following day. Four years later, Alfie doesn't know where his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission.

Then, while shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees his father's name - on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realises his father is in a hospital close by - a hospital treating soldiers with an unusual condition. Alfie is determined to rescue his father from this strange, unnerving place . .


***Many thanks to Net Galley and McMillian Childrens Publishing Group for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review***

This insomniac's opinion:

Leave it to John Boyne to again not shy away from very serious subject matter when writing a children's book. This book was deeply heartfelt and poignant. It was written from a child's point of view and I feel that any child would relate greatly to Alfie. It was very readable for an adult, as well.

Alfie was loveable and honest as a child adapting to a world that he does not understand. His imperfect family was also loveable and relateable.

I would avoid this book if you have highly emotional children that do not process sadness well, but otherwise would highly recommend this to older children and adults.

Worth staying up all night to read?

YES!

Rating: 4 stars

ARC review: Safe with Me by Amy Hatvany

 

Book Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

A novel about two mothers and one daughter who are linked by tragedy and bound by secrets, from the acclaimed author of Heart Like Mine. Now, in the provocative Safe with Me, Amy Hatvany explores controversial and timely issues with astonishing emotional complexity.

The screech of tires brought Hannah Scott’s world as she knew it to a devastating end. Even a year after she signed the papers to donate her daughter’s organs, Hannah is still reeling with grief when she unexpectedly stumbles into the life of the Bell family, whose child, Maddie, survived only because hers had died. Mesmerized by this fragile connection to her own daughter and afraid to reveal who she actually is, Hannah develops a surprising friendship with Maddie’s mother, Olivia.

The Bells, however, have problems of their own. Once on the verge of leaving her wealthy but abusive husband, Olivia now finds herself bound to him as never before in the wake of the successful transplant that saved their fifteen-year-old daughter’s life. Meanwhile Maddie, tired of the limits her poor health puts upon her and fearful of her father’s increasing rage, regularly escapes into the one place where she can be anyone she wants: the Internet. But when she is finally healthy enough to return to school, the real world proves to be just as complicated as the isolated bubble she had been so eager to escape.

 

***Many thanks to Net Galley and Atria publishers for the opportunity to review this novel. ***

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

I've read quite a few Amy Hatvany novels and find her novels to be consistently well-written and emotionally driven. I always find myself moved by the character-driven novels and this one was no exception.

 

I connected well with both families in this novel and, although I felt that most of the novel was unrealistic and a bit too dramatic(a la Lifetime movie) for my taste, I was really engrossed in the novel and satisfied by the ending.

 

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Definitely, if chick-lit is your thing- this is a good read.

 

Rating:

 

3 stars

 

ARC review: The Mapmaker's Daughter by Laurel Corona

 

Novel Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

A sweeping story of 1492 Spain, exploring how what we know about the world shapes our map of life Valencia, 1492. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella issue an order expelling all Jews who refuse to convert to Christianity. Amalia Cresques, daughter of a Jewish mapmaker whose services were so valuable that his faith had been ignored, can no longer evade the throne. She must leave her beloved atlas, her house, her country, forever. As Amalia remembers her past, living as a converso, hiding her faith, she must decide whether to risk the wrath of the Inquisition or relinquish what''s left of her true life. A mesmerizing saga about faith, family and Jewish identity.

 

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

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

This novel was sweeping, over a long period of time and several different countries. It was challenging to read at times, as many were killed and discriminated against simply for their religious views.

 

Amalia was a strong woman and I felt so much compassion for her, as it seemed that every time she gained foothold in her life she was again brought to her knees by tragedy.

 

Overall, a fascinating and somber look at a perilous time in history and a reminder that we have not seemed to have learned much from history's mistakes as we continue to persecute others based on who they are.

 

Rating:

 

4 solid stars