Julie's Review: The Forgetting Tree

Summary: From Tatjana Soli, The New York Times bestselling author of The Lotus Eaters, comes a breathtaking novel of a California ranching family, its complicated matriarch, and the enigmatic caretaker who may destroy them. When Claire Nagy marries Forster Baumsarg, the only son of prominent California citrus ranchers, she knows she’s consenting to a life of hard work, long days, and worry-fraught nights. But her love for Forster is so strong, she turns away from her literary education and embraces the life of the ranch, succumbing to its intoxicating rhythms and bounty until her love of the land becomes a part of her. Not even the tragic, senseless death of her son Joshua at kidnappers’ hands, her alienation from her two daughters, or the dissolution of her once-devoted marriage can pull her from the ranch she’s devoted her life to preserving. But despite having survived the most terrible of tragedies, Claire is about to face her greatest struggle: an illness that threatens not only to rip her from her land but take her very life. And she's chosen a caregiver, the inscrutable, Caribbean-born Minna, who may just be the darkest force of all. Haunting, tough, triumphant, and profound, The Forgetting Tree explores the intimate ties we have to one another, the deepest fears we keep to ourselves, and the calling of the land that ties every one of us together. ~amazon.com  

Review:  For some reason this book has been sitting in my TBR pile since late summer and I wasn't sure why. Obviously the description caught my attention when I initially read it. For the most part, I enjoyed the story but in the end I felt that it could have been wrapped up sooner. I appreciated getting Minna's back story but I didn't feel it was essential to the overall plot. I felt I knew enough about her to enjoy the mystery that Ms. Soli had made her out to be.

The Forgetting Tree is a novel that is about love, death, sickness, health, redemption and family. There is also a lot of mysticism/voodoo thrown in during the 2nd part of the novel. This is the part that I found fascinating. How Minna weaved her story to fit the life she wanted and also how she could read Claire to determine the kind of person she needed to be.

Claire wasn't the most likable character. When her son died tragically, she retreated into herself and pushed her family away. This ended in the divorce of her marriage and her daughters moving away. What I didn't like about Claire is that she relies on Minna so heavily that she doesn't even see what is going on in front of her. She only sees what she wants and starts to alienate herself from those left in her life. Like most people, Claire was complex. She wanted to recede into her fictional novels and live a fictional life. With the stories that Minna wove, she got that to some degree for the time that they lived together.

Ms. Soli holds no punches about the affects of chemotherapy and radiation on a cancer patient. We get to see Claire through the worst of it and get to see her come through in the end. Minna definitely had cast some kind of voodoo on Claire to get her to agree to some of the things she did.

While I wouldn't say I loved The Forgetting Tree, I did find the characters to be real and vivid. I also fell in love with the orchard and the land. I truly believe it takes someone special to work the land. Claire had a love of the land even though she wasn't raised on it.

I still have Ms. Soli's The Lotus Eaters to read. I'm hoping to get to it in 2013.

Final Take: 3.5/5

Jenn's Review: A Witch Before Dying

Summary:  Darcy Merriweather is Salem, Massachusetts’ newest resident Wishcrafter—a witch who can grant wishes for others. While Darcy isn’t able to grant wishes for herself, she does possess a certain knack for solving problems—including the occasional murder…

When Darcy is hired by Elodie Keaton to clean up her missing mother’s disorderly home, the Wishcrafter is certainly up for the task. After all, the motto of her Aunt Ve’s personal concierge service As You Wish is “No Job Impossible.” But beneath the piles of old newspapers and knickknacks Darcy discovers something much more disturbing—Patrice Keaton’s body.

Darcy’s determined to give Elodie peace of mind by investigating her mother’s disappearance and death. Patrice was last seen over a year ago after a fight with her Charmcrafter boyfriend. Was her murder a crime of passion? Or were Patrice’s troubles caused by the Anicula, a wish-granting amulet? Now Darcy has to not only find a killer, she has to find the Anicula— before the power of ultimate wish fulfillment falls into the wrong hands…

Review:  I adore Heather Blake's/Heather Webber's books.  They're fun without being overly frivolous.  They're engaging and magical, just like her characters.  (In a lot of ways, her writing reminds me of lighter version Sarah Addison Allen, who I also love.)

I have never been to Salem, so I have no idea if The Enchanted Village I've constructed in my head from the Wishcraft series resembles an actual place, but I must say I love the quaint, charming town in the novels.  Not only do I want to visit, I'd move there!  ( I think that makes me a Seeker... in the Crafter world.)  The residents are all interesting as is their interpersonal relationships.

Darcy has gotten pulled into another crime investigation and Heather Blake has done it in a way that seems completely normal, well, for a Crafter anyway.  It makes sense that fellow Crafter's would trust Darcy more than the police.  I like the way she's laid the groundwork for further investigations too, to keep things from getting too "Cabot Cove-y".    

The plot was plenty twisty and full of surprises.  I thought I had found the culprit early on, but I was completely suckered in by a false trail.  I like how there is a little romance in each novel, but it's fits into the plot and doesn't take over the storyline.  I love getting to know all the townsfolk and it was amazing how quickly all the characters came back to me... and it's been almost a year since I read the first novel.

All in all, if you enjoy Heather Webber's Lucy Valentine series (read it if you haven't!), I think you will enjoy the Wishcraft series she writes under Heather Blake.  I'm going to delve further into her Nina Quinn mystery series this year too.  She is becoming one of those author's who's books I purchase at publication no questions asked.

Final Take:  4.5/5.0

Alice & Julie's 2013 List Swap Challenge

In 2011 and 2012, we borrowed (or stole) this one from Jen at Devourer of Books, so we're going to continue to borrow it for 2013. Alice and I have decided again to do the List Swap Challenge. Woo hoo!!

What I liked about this challenge is that it got both of us out of our comfort zone in terms of what we normally read. For example, I don't do a lot of romance and Alice doesn't do a lot of thrillers/mysteries. It also allows your partner to pick some of their favorite reads and have you read them.

Basically, you choose five books for yourself to read and five books for your challenge partner to read, then one book to read together.

Our Book Together:
 









Alice's Picks for Julie:



Julie's Picks for Alice:



Alice's Picks:


Julie's Picks:



What do you think of our choices and our picks for each other? I'm intrigued by Alice's choices for me. She has quite the mix!

I think she'll like what I've picked for her, if she's in the mood for some historical fiction...

Jenn's 2012 Books in Review

Usually I do my end of the year wrap-up post earlier, but we've been pretty busy with posts around here... so you may have seen this post on my seldom used personal blog, on New Year's Eve.  If so, please skip over what follows.   I apologize for the repetition. Here are the stats:

My Goodreads Challenge:  75 Books
Books Read:  76*
E-Books: 45
Hard Covers (& a few paper backs): 31

*Some of these were novellas but I read some novels twice (all of the Cassandra Clare books) and I re-read the Harry Potter books ~they aren't counted on my list), etc. so I think it evens out that I've finished this challenge.

I am always amazed at how much I use my Nook... especially for someone who didn't think she wanted an e-reader.  I find I read more books and I read faster.  I will be interested to see how or if that number changes in 2013.

My least favorite books read are few and far between, but there were some books I did not appreciate this year. These are authors whose writing style I did not enjoy so I doubt I will read anything further from them. The exception is Mr. Grossman whose literary voice I liked but whose story I didn't.

•  Dogs Have Angels Too by Sarah Cavallaro  
•  The Thirteen by Susie Moloney 
•  Shadow Spell by Jenna Black 
•  The Magicians by Lev Grossman
•  Glass Houses by Rachel Caine  

There were some magnificent reads this year too.  With 75+ reads one might think it would be hard to pick favorites; there were many.  Some of my favorites came from challenges, some are my favorite authors who rarely fail me, some were books I've been trying to get to for some time, and some were requested reads.

These were the read's that I rated 5/5 but there were many others that came close.

Here is what made the top of my list this year:

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - this was completely unexpected and has actually made the list of all time favorites. The writing was magnificent and the story was ingenious.  It was beautiful, and I think I shall be re-reading it again soon.
• Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls, #3)  by C.C. Hunter - this is one of my favorite series and it just keeps getting better. I look forward to the series conclusion in 2013
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - a beautiful multi-media display. Scorsese did a good job with the film, but the brilliant innovation of Selznick's masterpiece is not to be missed. 
• Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare - once I picked it up, I couldn't put this series down. I read the first three books back to back... And then I read them again. (I've only read the first half of the series because the sixth book won't be published until September of 2014 and I don't want to be left hanging like that). 
• Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare - everyone told me that this series was better than the Mortal Instruments; I didn't think that was possible... but it is!  The third book will be out March 19th and I can hardly wait.  Both of these series are going on my all time favorite list!
• The Winds of War by Herman Wouk - this is one of my favorite made for TV miniseries and, true to form, the novel is even better, though I must say that thanks to Herman Wouk's involvement in the project, it's very close. This is heavy with history, but a fabulous WWII read. 
• The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan - I loved the Percy Jackson series and the last book was by far my favorite. I hope to start Mr. Riordan's Heroes of Olympus this year before I move on to Egyptian mythology with the Kane Chonicles.  
• Tempest by Julie Cross - I am fascinated by time travel stories... always have been, but they are hard stories for authors to pull off well... Ms. Cross does it superbly.  It was creative and refreshingly original.  I can't wait to see where she takes it; I won't have to wait long because book two comes out January 15th.  
• A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - there was a ton of hype surrounding this one, and it truly lived up to it.   While I enjoyed the next book in the series, it was far more cumbersome and it was only my love of the first book that pushed me through. I look forward to the third installment.
• Perfectly Matched by Heather Webber - we love the Lucy Valentine series at GJR (no, really, go read it!) and this is the fourth book in the series. It was fantastic and has me eagerly awaiting Lucy's next adventure. 
• Frozen Heat by 'Richard Castle' - This started out as a way to aussage the Castle hiatus blues, but I've really come to enjoy these books in their own right. Is there some cheese there?  Sure.  But it's really well written and pulls me in, and that's kind of the point isn't it?
• Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones - ok, this is one of my favorite books from my childhood, and it still an all time favorite. I get something different out of it every time I read it.  Ms. Jones was a master and I think I will spend some time reading and reviewing more of her books for GJR in 2013
• Ransom River by Meg Gardiner - I adore Ms. Gardiner's two series, so it stands to reason that I would adore her new stand alone novel too.  I love her voice, I love her strong female characters, I love her dry wit.  I love every book she writes.

I think I'll keep my 2013 reading goal at 75 or so, because I did come down to the wire on it.  I cannot wait for another year of reading...  just looking at my TBR pile makes me want to dive in!

Jennifer's favorite books »

Julie's Review: Wallflower in Bloom

Summary: From the acclaimed bestselling author of Must Love Dogs comes a winning and witty new novel about a woman who emerges from the shadow of her overbearing family and finds herself “dancing with the stars.” Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just not her own. She’s the around-the-clock personal assistant to her charismatic, high-maintenance, New Age guru brother, Tag. As the family wallflower, her only worth seems to be as gatekeeper to Tag at his New England seaside compound. Then Deirdre’s sometime boyfriend informs her that he is marrying another woman, who just happens to be having the baby he told Deirdre he never wanted. While drowning her sorrows in Tag’s expensive vodka, Deirdre decides to use his massive online following to get herself voted on as a last-minute Dancing with the Stars replacement. It’ll get her back in shape, mentally and physically. It might even get her a life of her own. Deirdre’s fifteen minutes of fame have begun. Irresistible and offbeat, Wallflower in Bloom is an original and deeply satisfying story of having the courage to take a leap into the spotlight, no matter where you land. ~amazon.com  
 
Review: Wallflower in Bloom is one women's struggle to come out of the shadows of not only her famous brother but her overbearing family. When she was growing up everything was discussed around the dinner family but often Deirdre felt that what she said was ignored or dismissed. Even as an adult she has felt that way. When Tag steps a bit too far into her life, Deirdre has enough. She gets really drunk and enters herself as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. She gets in by using her brother's fame but for once she wants to do it all on her own.

I liked Deirdre but I didn't love her. Sometimes I wanted to tell her to quit whining and that she needed to just shut up and start her own living her own life. She used her family as a shield so that she wouldn't have to step out of the shadows. She might not have liked being the family wallflower but in a lot of ways, she created that situation.

Her family annoyed me. From her parents who were still stuck in the 60s to her brother who came up with sayings on a daily basis. Yes, some of them were good but most of the time I felt that he was just feeding people lines. Tag was self-centered and selfish and he probably would have been anyway but his family fed into that by making him the star.

This is my first Clare Cook novel but I will probably check out her other books or a future book at some point.

As a side-note, I really love the cover of this book. The colors just pop right off the page. It is gorgeous. 

Final Take: 3.5/5



Thanks to the SheReads Book Club for the novel.

 

Julie's Review: Home Front

Summary: In her bestselling novels Kristin Hannah has plumbed the depths of friendship, the loyalty of sisters, and the secrets mothers keep. Now, in her most emotionally powerful story yet, she explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war. All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . . Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life---children, careers, bills, chores---even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own---for everything that matters to his family. At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope. ~amazon.com  

Review: Home Front is the first book that deal with the war in Iraq that I've met. What's even more significant in my opinion is that it deals with women in combat. Ms. Hannah handles this issue with care. She sends a message without being preachy about it: Support our troops even if you don't agree with/or support the war.

Jolene lost her parents when she was 17 and instead of becoming bitter and hostile, she chose to believe that you could chose happiness. As we are introduced to Jolene she is married to Michael and mother to their two girls, Betsey and Lulu. She works as a helicopter pilot for the National Guard where she can put her family first and because she loves it. It is the thing that saved her after her parents died. She is fiercely independent and optimistic. Her husband Michael, doesn't start out looking so good to us readers. He's oblivious to his home life, he's a workaholic, depressed, unhappy, selfish and most of all complacent. He takes his wife for granted and then proceeds to think that he's not in love with her anymore. Of course, this happens right before she is deployed to Iraq.

Jolene is deployed and sent to Iraq to do rescue missions. As you can imagine things do not turn out well for her while she's over there. When she comes home she's different. Long gone is the optimistic and happy Jolene. Instead she's angry, depressed, unable to express her needs/wants and has to learn how to rely on others. Michael has learned to put family first, regrets his prior decisions and fights for his wife and for her love. It was stunning to see such a transformation in someone that wasn't completely unrealistic.  It wasn't overnight and it definitely wasn't easy for him. He took Jolene for granted and disregarded her service as insignificant to him. Her being deployed taught him that it wasn't and showed him how to be proud of her service.

Part of what helps Michael begin to understand is his case defending a young Iraqi war veteran who killed his wife. He begins to understand that he should be proud of her and her job regardless of how he feels about the war. It is through Keith and his therapist that he can start to understand what his wife dealt with over in Iraq and try to help her through the fear and pain.

What Ms. Hannah does extremely well is make this personal for the reader. It is heartbreakingly real, sad and hopeful. What she does is expose our government for the carelessness in handling soldiers with PTSD. How sweeping it under the rug doesn't help anyone and does more damage. She also shows us how the Armed Services prepare our soldiers for war and their families but they perhaps do not do such a good job about preparing them for the changes when they return home. These occur even if they haven't been hurt. The dynamics of a family change when someone is gone for an extended period of time. How do you get back to normal when normal isn't what it was before?

I thought the ending was beautiful and I closed the book feeling hopeful for the Zarkades family. I'm only sorry I've had this book for almost a year and just now cracked it up. On the other hand, I'm glad that it's one of my final books for 2012. It would make an excellent book club choice since you could examine it every way from Sunday. Home Front isn't a book to be missed.

Final Take: 4.75/5