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40x40

Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Idaho in Books

Mar 15, 2018  
Idaho
Idaho
Emily Ruskovich | 2017 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Read me review here: https://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/2017/02/16/review-idaho-by-emily-ruskovich/

<i><b>Take your picture off the wall
So I won’t have to see your eyes
And maybe soon I won’t recall
The painful things that once were nice</i></b>

This is one of those pieces of literature that is so beautiful and so emotional that it’s hard to get your words out. I’m stuck on how to convey the beauty and excellence of this book.

Told through several different perspectives over several different years, this novel is a character study of how one event can affect so many different people. If you’re into slow paced, character focused novels with little mystery and action, then this novel is going to become one of your favourites.

Without going through every single character and scene, I feel like it’s not easy to comment on this novel, but I don’t really want to give anything away because I think this is a book you should start off with, not knowing much about it. If Ruskovich wanted you to know more about this piece of work, she’d have written a different synopsis.

All I can say about this book is that it’s a <b>must read</b> debut for 2017. I’m looking forward to more of Ruskovich’s work.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Random House, Vintage Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
  
40x40

Deborah (162 KP) rated Mistress of Rome (The Empress of Rome, #1) in Books

Dec 21, 2018  
MO
Mistress of Rome (The Empress of Rome, #1)
Kate Quinn | 2010
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
For a debut novel, Quinn's 500 page Roman epic impresses. The blub describes it as 'aimed squarely at the female market' but I'm sure men would find something to enjoy in here too; on reflection I think I'd be more likely to lend it to be brother than my mother!

The narrative in the book is a bit odd and it took a little while for me to get used to it. Large chunks are in the first person, mainly from one of the two main female characters. This sometimes would get confussing when switching between the two, especially when these two characters are together, early in the novel. The text will then switch back into a third person narrative. Overall I think Quinn has made this narrative device work quite well, it just takes a bit of getting used to.

The character of Lepida is through and through nasty, with not a single redeeming characteristic, so while one is happy to see her meet Nemesis (did the Roman's have an equivalent?!) she is really a bit of a one-dimentional character.

There is a note at the end of the book which explains a little more about what is historical fact and what is taking a bit of a liberty; that's the sort of thing that I do like in an historical novel - I think it's helpful.

I found this a gripping, hard-to-put-down read, although it's pretty violently, both in the fighting and the sexual stakes; not one for the squeamish!