Tuesday, November 19, 2024

REVIEW: The Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

 


This is Ms. Mellors second novel and boy was it a doozy (in a good way!). We meet four sisters that are now three - Avery, Bonnie, Nicky and Lucky. The three remaining sisters - Avery, Bonnie and Lucky - are trying to come to terms with Nicky's death by overdose. When we meet them, it is the one year anniversary of her death.  Their mother is threatening to sell the apartment that they grew up in and the same apartment that Nicky was living and died in one year previously. Since Nicky's death, things have seemed to change since the glue that kept them together - Nicky - is now gone. 

Avery is the oldest and in some ways, very much a stereotype. She's Type A and a lawyer, having gotten there after getting sober. She is serious and a perfectionist - she feels compelled in a way to keep all the sisters well and care for them, as well as her mother. Avery, however, is a kleptomaniac. Bonnie, the second oldest, is a boxer. She had a professional boxing career that ended abruptly with a loss right around the time that Nicky died and she harbors a romantic love to her trainer, Pavel. Lucky is the youngest. She's a model that struggles with drugs and alcohol and partying.  The three return to NYC in an effort to stop the sale of the apartment and to pack Nicky's things. 

I loved this book.  The characters are amazingly deep and the book deals with the theme of generational trauma, including how it impacts different people differently even though they were all raised in the same environment. I loved how it also addressed how substance misuse and addiction can appear in different forms. Definitely a heavy book but well worth it in the end.  

Sunday, November 17, 2024

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 I hope that everyone had a good week! Thank you to the Veterans!  I  am finishing up the Blue Sisters and will have a review out this week. I'm looking forward to starting Patriot after that.  



I have also decided to participate in the Mount TBR challenge in the hopes that I can chip away at my TBR piles.  My level is Mt Vancouver (36 books).  Wish me luck!

Sunday, November 10, 2024

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Two weekends ago, the weekend before Halloween, we were at Head of the Fish and that picture was taken from the launch site.  This weekend we went to see Duran Duran. I hope that everyone had a good week! I ha ve started training for this half marathon.  I might do this one though.

  • Lord of the Rings books in order. 
  • Store bought  coffee beans that are of the highest quality.
  • Quincy Jones passed away. I didn't realize he had done Captain EO.
  • Tips for all three Holiday Parties at Disney.
  • Reports on banned book numbers in schools.
  • The appeal of the female sleuth.
  • 15 stress free reads.
  • What does having a new DA mean for the Menendez brothers?
  • Since it's almost Hot Chocolate season - spices to elevate your hot chocolate! I love Peppermint!
  • Australia proposes social media ban for children under the age of 16.
  • Therapy llamas at an airport!
  • Amazon has a 3D shop.
  • Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard out of Carolina, has died.
  • Can a fictional character change real world perceptions?

The holidays are coming up.  Pangobooks makes buying books for your reader more affordable.  Follow this link and use the code to get $5.00 off your first order.

Saturday, November 9, 2024

REVIEW: Verity by Colleen Hoover


 

I'm a little late to the game here, but at least I made it right? This is a psychological thriller in which we meet Lowen Ashley, a struggling writer who is asked to ghost write Verity Crawford's books after she has suffered seemingly extensive injuries in a car accident. Things take a very, very dark turn when she discovers an unpublished autobiographical manuscript written by Verity herself, which includes shocking confessions and an insight into Crawford's mind. Lowen reads the manuscript and finds herself moving through an increasingly confusing world in which she has a difficult time discerning truth and fiction.  

I really, really enjoyed this book.  I think I read it in about 3 days so it moves very, very quickly.  The plot itself keeps you on your toes. I was caught by surprise a lot.  I really enjoyed the characters themselves, even the ones that were arguably less than morally stellar. The themes were wonderful also.  The main theme appears to be the line between truth and deception and what is the definition of either.  Hoover shows us that the line is constantly shifting and in doing so, keeps us uncomfortably unbalanced. Hoover also looks at love versus obsession. We are constantly made to question how far the characters will go in order to maintain connection with or control over the people or things that they are obsessed with. 

I really enjoyed this novel and would highly recommend it. 

Sunday, November 3, 2024

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 It has been a crazy week. I hope that everyone else's week has been a lot more easy and relaxing than mine.

Don't forget Pangobooks, where you can buy and sell used books!  Use the code found here for $5.00 off your first order!

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

REVIEW: By the Fire We Carry Rebecca Naigle

 


For those of you that, like me, are Gen X, we sadly didn't learn much about Native American history in our country while we are in school. I've been trying to educate myself and this was one of the books that I picked up. I was glad that I did as Nagle weaves together history of her tribe and the narrative of a homicide that occurs in Oklahoma. This case - popularly known as the Murphy case - asked the question of whether the government had dis-established the Muskogee reservation. This was an important question because it would determine whether the state had the authority to prosecute Murphy and sentence him to the death penalty or not.

This book is  both amazingly researched and also intensely personal. Nagle tells the history of the Muskogee tribe and its relationship with the Federal Government, its travails on the Trail of Tears and the establishment of reservations, as well as their disestablishment. She alternates these chapters with her own personal story about the case and her experiences as a Muskogee tribal member.  I loved this book and would highly recommend reading it.  

Nagle also hosts the Podcast, This Land that I would also highly recommend.

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Please don't forget about Pangobooks where you can buy and sell used books! Use this link or code Melissa32264 at checkout for $5.00 off your first order.

Monday, October 28, 2024

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I hope everyone had a good week.  I am plugging away at a book about Alex Murdaugh and a novel about WW2 that I hope to have reviews for shortly!  We're in Saratoga for Head of the Fish this weekend. My son is  a junior in High School so we're going to visit Skidmore while we're there.


Please don't forget to check out Pangobooks and get $5.00 off your order using this link!

REVIEW: The Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

  This is Ms. Mellors second novel and boy was it a doozy (in a good way!). We meet four sisters that are now three - Avery, Bonnie, Nicky a...