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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Burying the Honeysuckle Girls in Books

Jun 21, 2019

Althea Bell returns home after (another) stint in rehab to find her father further stricken by Alzheimer's and her older brother--who is running for political office--fully entrenched in the seat of power in the family. Wynn doesn't want Althea and her sketchy past to ruin his chances at political fame and fortune. Even worse, Althea is shocked when she learns that the women in her family have a history of mental illness, which seems to come on around age 30--and Althea is just a few weeks away from her own birthday. Althea's mother passed away at that age, and Althea is determined to discover what happened to her. But doing so will dredge up family secrets that it seems Wynn wants hidden--and he'll do anything to keep Althea from shaming the family name

This won't be a very long review, because I listened to this book on audiobook (technically the audio that comes with my Kindle Unlimited subscription), and I couldn't take any notes or do any highlighting as I listened, as I was in the car. But I do want to point out that this is the *first ever* audiobook that I've ever listened to from start to finish! I'm not very good with verbal listening--even in college lectures, I had to take copious notes to retain the information, and I could just never keep up with audiobooks: my brain always wandered off. But I was commuting a lot for work and gave this one a try. It stuck!

This book felt a little slow in places, but now I'll never know if it was because it was an audiobook or what. I felt bad for Althea, who really seems to have received a bum rap: mother dies when she's a kid, a pretty awful brother, drug addiction, and more. She's a rather compelling narrator, and her family's backstory is interesting. The whole "I'm going to go crazy when I'm 30" thing seemed a little overblown and histrionic at times--seriously, you can't truly think the moment you turn 30, everything changes. But, I still found myself caught up in Althea's story, and I really loved hearing about her grandmother and her own struggles in the '30s. There were pieces of this book that were really touching and heartbreaking and the last half, especially, really got to me.

Overall, it was fun to explore an audiobook. It sure made my two-hour (each way) commute more palatable, and I found myself fascinated that one-person could do the voices of so many people. I found this story pretty compelling and liked the fact that it spanned several generations. The points it made about mental illness--especially the way women were treated in the past (and even now, really)--were very illuminating and well-done. 3.5 stars.

Kudos

graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Sisi: Empress on Her Own: A Novel in Books

Feb 15, 2019

First of all, I'd definitely recommend reading The Accidental Empress, part one of Empress Elisabeth's life. I found it to be the better book of the two, although Sisi: Empress on Her Own is far from bad.

I commend the author in all the research she did as I think she did an astounding job bringing Sisi to life, showing both her strengths and weaknesses. Most everything was brought to life in a way that was easy to visualize. However, in this book I found there to be more telling than showing as far as politics go, which could be a tad boring, plus I felt there were redundancies here and there. I didn't notice any major anachronism other than one phrase that jolted me out of the book that I dearly hope is not in the final edition (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_time_no_see"; targeet="_blank">"Long time no see."</a> if interested). The author provides a thorough section where she notes what was taken from history, leaving me to conclude what must be fiction. I found the fictional parts to be either likely or at least not implausible, excepting a couple incidents in Rudolf's (Sisi's son) youth that felt odd. I won't even touch on Sisi as a person, she's too complex and confounding to decribe in few words, but I felt that Pataki did the best she could at humanizing her while remaining true to her historical record.

Sisi (and the aforementioned The Accidental Empress) are a worthwhile addition to the genre that show a royal family not much touched upon in historical ficiton.

Kudos

The Beekeeper of Aleppo

Christy Lefteri

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

'This is a novel of international significance. Courageous, provocative, haunting, it will open our...

War Syria Refugees

The Girl's Last Cry (Detective Lexi Bennett #2)

Alison Belsham

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The girl lies on the dark ground, one arm flung out as if she is still looking for someone to help...

Book Divas (227 KP) rated Fjord Blue in Books

Dec 12, 2017

Fjord Blue

Nina Rossing | 2016 | Romance, Young Adult (YA)

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

I received an eARC via NetGalley and made no guarantee of a favorable review. The opinions expressed here are unbiased and my own.

I've never read anything written by this author so I picked this book based on the description. I'm happy that I was able to read it as I found it to be a beautifully written story.

Benjamin is sent to Norway to work on his grandparents farm after some reckless behavior gets him into trouble. He's a young man dealing with his sexuality as no one knows that he is gay. Once he gets settled in and begins working side by side with Even who is employed by Benjamin's grandfather he starts falling into a routine while secretly fantasizing about this gorgeous eye candy. Unbeknownst to Benjamin, Even has his own secrets and demons. The characters are strong and believable. The use of Spanish and Norwegian words in this story line were excellent and it was a well-rounded read.

I found myself laughing and at times crying but most of all I loved the emphasizes on family and even though they aren't always perfect or always accepting, they are truly an important part of our lives. My only gripe is that the cover should be more appealing.