Category: Fiction

Title: Be Ready For The Lightning
Author: Grace O’Connell
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Release Date: June 6, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Veda’s life changes when she is trapped on a hijacked bus in New York City. She reflects on her life growing up in Vancouver. Her brother got into many fights. She blames herself for starting them because his first fight was to defend her. Veda would always look after him following these fights, until she gets involved herself. Then she decides to leave Vancouver and get a fresh start in New York. She never expected it would lead to this hostage situation. Veda has to use a strength that she didn’t know she had to get off the bus.

This story is very character driven. It follows Veda’s life before and after the hostage situation. Each of the eight parts of the book begins with a chapter about Veda’s time on the bus.

Usually I prefer plot-driven novels but I liked this one. It kept returning to the life changing moment in Veda’s life when she was trapped on the bus. I kept expecting something very dramatic to happen, but when there was a major plot twist, it was soon resolved. The “lightning” wasn’t as big a flash as I thought it would be. However, I liked the image of lightning and how it kept coming back up in the story.

This is a good story and it’s very well written!

 

Title: Finding Fraser
Author: K.C. Dyer
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Berkley Books
Release Date: May 1, 2016
Rating: ★★★★

Emma travels from the U.S. to Scotland to find her own Jamie Fraser in this cute novel by K.C. Dyer. This is a great book for fans of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Like many readers of Outlander (or watchers of the TV show), Emma wants to find her own man who looks and acts exactly like Jamie. I think this is true for many readers of great romance novels (think of how many girls are looking for their own Mr. Darcy). This story shows how important our favourite characters are to us.

Emma finds many different men in Scotland, though they don’t all fit the mould of Jamie Fraser. She immediately dismisses them if they are missing that fiery red hair. Emma also meets one man who is trying to find his perfect California beach babe (and attempts to fit her into that mould even though she is from Chicago). She learns an important lesson about not judging a book by its cover. I also liked one of the messages in the book: home isn’t necessarily where you’ve lived your whole life.

Emma tries to follow the same route that Claire took throughout Scotland in Outlander, so this book is perfect for those of us who would love to follow in the footsteps of our favourite characters. Though you would get more out of this book if you know the story of Outlander, this story is also great for anyone who dreams of living their own romance modelled after their favourite novel.

Title: Crazy Rich Asians
Author: Kevin Kwan
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: June 11, 2013
Rating: ★★★★★

Rachel Chu goes to Singapore with her boyfriend, Nick Young, to attend his best friend’s wedding. However, she doesn’t realize what that will entail. When one girl overhears them discussing travelling to Singapore, the news spreads like wildfire back to Singapore and to Nick’s mother. She has to investigate everything she can about Rachel. Though her last name is Chu, she isn’t a Chu of the Taiwan Plastics company. She grew up in the U.S. with her single mother, which is unacceptable to the Singaporean elite. Rachel soon finds out that she doesn’t fit in with their lavish lifestyle. This story is filled with gossip, family drama, parties, and lots of shopping.

I loved this book! The elitist attitudes of the characters were quite funny. Nick’s mother reminded me of Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Instead of looking for her daughters to marry into a fortune like Mrs. Bennet, Eleanor wants Nick to marry someone with their high status.

Though the book was very funny, it was quite serious at times too. There was lots of family drama. Many of the girls were also very mean to Rachel just because she isn’t as wealthy as them.

Though there were many characters, most of whom were related and in the same general age group, I was able to distinguish between them all. They all have distinct personalities. Sometimes I find ensemble casts in books confusing because they blend in with each other, but it worked in this book.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series soon!

Title: The White Road
Author: Sarah Lotz
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Simon and his friend Thierry created a site called “Journey to the Dark Side.” Thierry wants to get more viewers, so he sends Simon to the cave Cwm Pot, where three boys died years ago. Simon goes in with a guide named Ed, who he found online. Ed is creepy and paranoid, so Simon gets really freaked out. When it starts raining, the cave starts to flood and they get trapped in the cave. Eventually Simon climbs his way through the water to the exit and gets rescued. Later, Thierry sends him to Mount Everest to get videos of the bodies of climbers that have been left on the mountain. He befriends another amateur climber, Marcus, who has gone to the mountain for personal reasons. Simon decides to help Marcus with his task, but he ends up becoming haunted with his own demons.

This book was fairly dense at the beginning. The description of Simon going through Cwm Pot was very descriptive. Since I’m not familiar with spelunking, this was all new information for me.

The second part of the book takes place in Mount Everest, which was very interesting. I didn’t know anything about the expeditions that go up the mountain, so I found it fascinating!

Though the story was quite dense, I really enjoyed it. In the end it turned into a psychological thriller that was very interesting. I also learned a lot from the story. This book is great for people who are familiar with climbing mountains and those who are not.

Title: The Heirs
Author: Susan Rieger
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Release Date: May 23, 2017
Rating: ★

The patriarch of the Falkes family dies in 2000, leaving behind his wife and five sons, Henry, Will, Sam, Jack, and Tom. A few months after Rupert Falkes dies, a woman sues his estate, claiming to have had a relationship with him and to be the mother of two of his sons. The Falkes sons fight with her in court, but their mother is suspiciously not surprised with this turn of events and even suggests that they should pay off the woman. The story follows these new events in their lives, as well as jumping back to things that happened to the Falkes boys’ parents and grandparents.

The beginning was very good, and I was excited to read the story. However, the storyline jumped to different times between paragraphs so I was always confused as to when things were happening. It would jump from the lives of the youngest generation, to the affairs of their parents, to an affair of a distant friend.

I found this story very confusing. Each chapter is named after a different character, and somewhat follows that character’s perspective of events. At the beginning of each chapter I was very disoriented and I had to figure out who was in this part of the story and when it was happening. It really slowed the story down.

I was very disappointed in this book. It had an intriguing premise, but it was poorly executed.

Title: Based on a True Story
Author: Elizabeth Renzetti
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: House of Anansi
Release Date: June 5, 2014
Rating: ★★★★

Based on a True Story by Elizabeth Renzetti is about a former UK soap star, who struggles with alcoholism and drug abuse. It opens on Augusta Price leaving rehab, having completed another round. Her memoir is coming out on paperback so she has to do some press for it. She meets Frances Bleeker, an American journalist working in London, who interviews Augusta for a tabloid article to publicize the new paperback edition of her memoir. Frances is fired from her position soon after the interview and Augusta hires Frances to help her write a new memoir. Their first task is to fly to California to prevent Augusta’s former lover from publishing his own book about love, which Augusta assumes is about their romance. Frances has to support Augusta along their trip across the pond.

This book was a great and funny read. The duo of wild Augusta and sensible Frances make for some funny situations that they have to dig their way out of. Their relationship resembles the pairing of Miranda Priestly and Andrea Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada. I recommend this book for some funny, relaxing entertainment.

 

Title: The Book of Summer
Author: Michelle Gable
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: May 9, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Bess Codman has returned to her family’s summer home in Nantucket. Her father asked her to go there to help her mom move out of their house. The cliff that the house is built on has been eroding away and the house is in danger of being destroyed. However, her mother, Cissy, refuses to leave. Instead, Cissy keeps asking the city council for help in building barriers between the ocean and the house so it can be saved. Bess was planning on going back to her family’s home for her cousin’s wedding. Bess is divorcing her husband, but she hasn’t told her mom the real reason why.

Bess’s narrative is interspersed with excerpts from the Book of Summer. The Book of Summer is a guest book that her grandmother started for people to write about their experiences at Cliff House every summer. The narrative returns to Bess’s grandmother Ruby’s young adulthood during World War II. Bess’s and Ruby’s lives are parallel in many ways as they get married and mature.

This is a great summer read, since the story follows multiple summers at Cliff House over a span of about seventy years. The multiple narratives are great and each chapter has a cliffhanger, which made me want to read more. There are also some newsletters from the town in it too, giving the town’s perspective of Cissy’s dilemma.

Though it mostly shows the summers that these family members spent at Cliff House, it gives a full picture of their lives. Some of the most pivotal moments in their lives happened at Cliff House, including marriages and deaths.

I really liked the drama in this book. There were lots of unpredictable plot twists that were really exciting. It’s a perfect read for this upcoming summer!

I wish I had more room in my luggage for all the books I saw! There were some amazing books at all the attractions I visited.

The Adventures of Alice Laselles was the first book I purchased. It was written by Queen Victoria when she was ten years old. I had never heard of it, so I’m so excited to read it when I get home!

These Dark Wings is the first book in The Ravenmaster Trilogy. I bought it at The Raven Shop in the Tower of London. I love the ravens at the Tower. This book sounds awesome!

I purchased the other three books at Foyles. I have wanted to read Belgravia for a long time! I’m a huge fan of Downton Abbey and Julian Fellowes. I am also excited to read Lucy Worsley’s novel My Name is Victoria. As you can tell, I’m a huge fan of Queen Victoria. The Sun Is Also A Star was half price, so I couldn’t resist since I just finished Nicola Yoon’s other novel Everything Everything.

I think this is a pretty great book haul from London. I just wish I had unlimited luggage space to bring home all the books!L

Title: Happy People Read and Drink Coffee
Author: Agnes Martin-Lugand
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Weinstein Books
Release Date: May 10, 2016
Rating: ★

Diane is the owner of a coffee shop in Paris, called Happy People Read and Drink Coffee. When her husband and daughter are killed in a car accident, her life falls apart. She doesn’t leave the house and she closes her shop. Then one day she decides to travel to Ireland to start fresh. She meets Edward, a photographer, and she falls in love. Eventually the time comes when she has to leave Ireland and return to Paris. Diane has to figure out if her romance with Edward was just a fling or if it’s meant to last.

This book started off well. Diane’s turmoil was obvious from the way she was acting, and she appeared to have a good chance to start over in Ireland. Even the beginning of her romance with Edward seemed genuine.

However, Edward turned out to be a really horrible guy. Secrets about his past were revealed to her that should have destroyed their relationship. I was so angry when Diane still stayed with him, and wanted to make it work. In my opinion, he wasn’t worth it. I think the author was trying to make him into a ‘Darcy’ character, so he seems unlikeable and moody at first, but then turns into her dream man. This was not the case, and it ruined the story for me.