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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Eight Hundred Grapes in Books
Apr 9, 2019
Georgia Ford had just arrived at her childhood home, dressed in her wedding dress, but it's not her wedding day. As she was having her final fitting, she saw her fiance in a way she had never expected to see him. So she runs home to her parents and brothers only to find that there are even more problems there. Always being the fixer in the family, will she be able to solve all the issues she runs into by running away from her own? Or will this be a time when fixing isn't going to work?
Synchronization is the theme of this novel. All things happen for a reason. Because this happened(or didn't)thatwas able to take place(or not). Georgia Ford is living as an attorney in Los Angeles when her world is turned upside down. She runs home to her family's winery in Sebastopol during the final harvest of the year. Final harvest is always a big deal for the Ford family and this year, even more so.
I LOVED this book! It showed so many different family dynamics and so many emotions. It made me laugh and cry. This novel felt so real to me, I could see myself in this setting. I picture myself reading this novel on the porch of the winemaker's cottage looking out over the winery, enjoying a glass of Block-14. The imagery is that vivid. I could definitely see this book becoming a major motion picture.
Kudos to Laura Dave for writing an incredible novel that many will love.
Synchronization is the theme of this novel. All things happen for a reason. Because this happened(or didn't)thatwas able to take place(or not). Georgia Ford is living as an attorney in Los Angeles when her world is turned upside down. She runs home to her family's winery in Sebastopol during the final harvest of the year. Final harvest is always a big deal for the Ford family and this year, even more so.
I LOVED this book! It showed so many different family dynamics and so many emotions. It made me laugh and cry. This novel felt so real to me, I could see myself in this setting. I picture myself reading this novel on the porch of the winemaker's cottage looking out over the winery, enjoying a glass of Block-14. The imagery is that vivid. I could definitely see this book becoming a major motion picture.
Kudos to Laura Dave for writing an incredible novel that many will love.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated The Measure of a Lady in Books
Jan 18, 2018
I love me some Deeanne Gist, but I have never had a novel make me as angry as this one.
Everything about this novel was so obnoxious and contradictory that I wanted to scream. Rachel is an overbearing sister who is trying to set a good example for them, but, in reality, she is just a control freak who has been uprooted from all she has ever known and clearly does not like change since she does not even try to adapt to her new surroundings. What makes her character even more frustrating is that she tends to break all the rules that she sets forth for her siblings, mainly her sister.
Her younger sister is a whole other can of worms. While the brother seems almost nonexistent in the novel, only appearing when needed for furthering the story, Rachel's sister has grasp onto to this new found freedom, since Rachel cannot control her because she is too busy breaking her rules for being a lady. The younger sister takes this freedom and runs with it, wreaking all sorts of havoc while her bad attitude ever increases.
Out of all of Gist's books, this seems to be the most sensual. In her other books, the relationship of the protagonists seems more important than their hormonal need for each other. I felt like I was reading an 80's romance novel with the way they lusted after each other.
I am giving it two starts only because of its one redeeming factor: Gist's lovely style.
Everything about this novel was so obnoxious and contradictory that I wanted to scream. Rachel is an overbearing sister who is trying to set a good example for them, but, in reality, she is just a control freak who has been uprooted from all she has ever known and clearly does not like change since she does not even try to adapt to her new surroundings. What makes her character even more frustrating is that she tends to break all the rules that she sets forth for her siblings, mainly her sister.
Her younger sister is a whole other can of worms. While the brother seems almost nonexistent in the novel, only appearing when needed for furthering the story, Rachel's sister has grasp onto to this new found freedom, since Rachel cannot control her because she is too busy breaking her rules for being a lady. The younger sister takes this freedom and runs with it, wreaking all sorts of havoc while her bad attitude ever increases.
Out of all of Gist's books, this seems to be the most sensual. In her other books, the relationship of the protagonists seems more important than their hormonal need for each other. I felt like I was reading an 80's romance novel with the way they lusted after each other.
I am giving it two starts only because of its one redeeming factor: Gist's lovely style.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Fall of Lisa Bellow in Books
Mar 15, 2018
This novel was one I had been highly anticipating since late last year, and unfortunately, it just wasnt for me. Ive read a number of character driven novels in the past couple of months and I think Im just getting a bit sick of them. Because of this, my review is going to be skewed, theres no way around that, it just wasnt the kind of novel I was hoping to read at this point in my reading journey.
The novel was very well put together. The writing was wonderful and the characters were incredibly well developed, but my problem was the plot. As a lot of others have said, this promised suspense and a bit of action, but it was instead a slow moving, poetic family drama.
The characters, I didnt care enough about to really get invested in their stories. Meredith was fine, and like I previously said, often funny, but I had no empathy for her, so her story meant very little to me. Claire I didnt like, not even a little bit. Ive never experienced motherhood, but there was something so immature about her when it came to certain situations with her kids, that I ended up hating her for her behaviour and thoughts.
I hate that I didnt like this novel, but there we are.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
The novel was very well put together. The writing was wonderful and the characters were incredibly well developed, but my problem was the plot. As a lot of others have said, this promised suspense and a bit of action, but it was instead a slow moving, poetic family drama.
The characters, I didnt care enough about to really get invested in their stories. Meredith was fine, and like I previously said, often funny, but I had no empathy for her, so her story meant very little to me. Claire I didnt like, not even a little bit. Ive never experienced motherhood, but there was something so immature about her when it came to certain situations with her kids, that I ended up hating her for her behaviour and thoughts.
I hate that I didnt like this novel, but there we are.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
The End of the Story
Book
The first and only novel by Lydia Davis, winner of the Man Booker International Prize 2013. 'It...
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Sign of the Cross (Cal Donovan, #1) in Books
Sep 24, 2020
This book is told from multiple perspectives and it has a very wide variety of characters to choose from. I really liked Cal (kind of the main character of this book), he is a very charming, intelligent and likeable character. Sometimes I used to get lost between who is who, due to a huge amount of different characters, whose names were not the easiest to pronounce. I am not very religious, but I really liked the way history and religion were combined in this novel, it was truly amusing.
This novel is very well researched, and it was visible, that the author loves history and knows how to present it to the reader in a fun manner. The narrative always keeps changing between different locations and different times. I really liked this constant change, it made the book lively and it kept me entertained. It is quite a short book, so every chapter brings something new and unexpected.
This novel has a lot of facts and information and wasn’t the easiest read, it requires quite a bit of concentration. The chapters have decent length and didn’t drag to me. The ending was interesting and rounded up the story nicely. So, to conclude, it is a fast-paced and educational novel, filled with adventure, amusing characters and always changing plot. If you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code or similar books, I think you would enjoy it as well. Give this book a try, and I hope you will like it as much as I did. 🙂
This novel is very well researched, and it was visible, that the author loves history and knows how to present it to the reader in a fun manner. The narrative always keeps changing between different locations and different times. I really liked this constant change, it made the book lively and it kept me entertained. It is quite a short book, so every chapter brings something new and unexpected.
This novel has a lot of facts and information and wasn’t the easiest read, it requires quite a bit of concentration. The chapters have decent length and didn’t drag to me. The ending was interesting and rounded up the story nicely. So, to conclude, it is a fast-paced and educational novel, filled with adventure, amusing characters and always changing plot. If you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code or similar books, I think you would enjoy it as well. Give this book a try, and I hope you will like it as much as I did. 🙂
Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated The Testament of Gideon Mack in Books
May 14, 2017
Gideon meets the Devil and he's not quite what he expected
This was a really good read. The novel is written in the style of a memoir and is pretty convincing. There are layers and layers of myths and legends throughout the novel and truth and lies become so merged that the reader is left wondering about the clarity of the protagonist and the statements and evidence of the editor and journalist who represent the story. The novel explores the life of Gideon Mack, who, like his father become a minister of the Christian church. Gideon however, has no real faith in god until his accident leads him on a journey of discovery in which he claims he meets the devil.
I thought the description of the devil was excellent and the significance of the shoes has baffled me a little, however, it may be the old, 'What is it like to walk in my shoes', I am undecided. I thought the book was well written and kept me hooked until the end. Good plot, good narrative voice and convincing read.
I thought the description of the devil was excellent and the significance of the shoes has baffled me a little, however, it may be the old, 'What is it like to walk in my shoes', I am undecided. I thought the book was well written and kept me hooked until the end. Good plot, good narrative voice and convincing read.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Fighting for Control (Against the Cage, #3) in Books
Jan 18, 2018
A delicious dirty erotic romance about two people discovering themselves again and healing.
I am going to be honest, by the time I made it to this book on my NetGalley list, I was about 1000% done with people who had something happen in their past that broke them and they put themselves back together as best they could. However, I have a thing for MMA fighters (maybe because my fiancé was one?) so I still requested this novel.
I am glad I did because Fighting for Control is a helluva intense novel with a heroine I could definitely get behind. I actually admired her a lot. She was such a strong and passionate woman, it was hard not to like her. And, despite his issues, I genuinely enjoyed Nikko too. I definitely could see why she fell for him.
While the whole woman trying to heal PTSD Alpha male is not even close to be a new or fresh trope, Price told it in a way that it was still enjoyable. If this type of story is your thing, then you will love this novel.
I am going to be honest, by the time I made it to this book on my NetGalley list, I was about 1000% done with people who had something happen in their past that broke them and they put themselves back together as best they could. However, I have a thing for MMA fighters (maybe because my fiancé was one?) so I still requested this novel.
I am glad I did because Fighting for Control is a helluva intense novel with a heroine I could definitely get behind. I actually admired her a lot. She was such a strong and passionate woman, it was hard not to like her. And, despite his issues, I genuinely enjoyed Nikko too. I definitely could see why she fell for him.
While the whole woman trying to heal PTSD Alpha male is not even close to be a new or fresh trope, Price told it in a way that it was still enjoyable. If this type of story is your thing, then you will love this novel.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Nightmare Man in Books
Mar 15, 2018
<b><i>Like usual, I feel the nightmare man before I see him, before he pulls himself through.</i></b>
This was a superb and creepy short horror story! At only 70, or so, pages, this was a really well thought out novel that rounded itself up perfectly at the end.
I didnt like to read this before I went to sleep because the imagery of the Nightmare Man was so vivid and terrifying that I was worried I was going to start experiencing a creature pulling itself out of a shadowy hole in the corner of my room. Ryker was really good at the nightmarish imagery in this novel, there were certainly some really creepy moments.
This story starts out as a scary story about a man with night terrors but it progresses to be much more meaningful than just that. This novel teaches us that we cant blame others for failures in our lives, that could easily be rectified and that there is an enemy inside us all that we should try to overcome, to become the best person that we can possibly be.
This was a superb and creepy short horror story! At only 70, or so, pages, this was a really well thought out novel that rounded itself up perfectly at the end.
I didnt like to read this before I went to sleep because the imagery of the Nightmare Man was so vivid and terrifying that I was worried I was going to start experiencing a creature pulling itself out of a shadowy hole in the corner of my room. Ryker was really good at the nightmarish imagery in this novel, there were certainly some really creepy moments.
This story starts out as a scary story about a man with night terrors but it progresses to be much more meaningful than just that. This novel teaches us that we cant blame others for failures in our lives, that could easily be rectified and that there is an enemy inside us all that we should try to overcome, to become the best person that we can possibly be.
Kimmic (814 KP) rated The Tattooist of Auschwitz in Books
Feb 21, 2018
Well written (3 more)
Likeable characters
Good story line
I like the fact that its a true story
Not sure how accurate some parts are (1 more)
At some points it seems to downplay the severity of the camp and the treatment of the prisoners
A Novel based on a true story
This book has received a massive hype about being amazing. So much so that I went over my usual budget on the purchase of a book to get a new hardback copy.
Although I read this book in a day, and did enjoy it, I hoped for a better insight into the life at the camp, and often found myself questioning whether certain things claimed in the book were true.
This was a good book, and I understand that some adaptations were made when converting it into a novel, but I think this has either been slightly overdone to play up the romance in the novel, or the lead character genuinely had a huge advantage over the other prisoners due to his role?
All in all, I am giving this a 7 because it was good, but doesn't quite reach the huge hype that it seems to have been given.
Although I read this book in a day, and did enjoy it, I hoped for a better insight into the life at the camp, and often found myself questioning whether certain things claimed in the book were true.
This was a good book, and I understand that some adaptations were made when converting it into a novel, but I think this has either been slightly overdone to play up the romance in the novel, or the lead character genuinely had a huge advantage over the other prisoners due to his role?
All in all, I am giving this a 7 because it was good, but doesn't quite reach the huge hype that it seems to have been given.
The story. (3 more)
The background.
The charcters.
The cover.
A incredibly captivating story of one girl's adventure of finding who she truly is meant to be.
I was given a read and review copy of Essence by Hayley Gabrielle herself for my full honest opinion.
I absolutely blew through this novel in a matter of 24hrs. I was hooked from the very beginning and I must say, this was one heck of a debut novel! I loved it with a burning passion. The story was there, the background was there, for as much as I could see, there were not any noticeable grammatical errors, the plot is striking profound, and I will definitely be rereading this novel in the very near future!
Can I talk about how much I love Thorne? I really love him and honestly, I really wanted him and Abbey to be together. He deserves love too, even though he's arrogant as all get out. I cried actual tears at the final scene with the portal. An incredibly sad ending and I can not wait to see where Abbey's story continues!
You can find more about this review on my blog at bookingwayreads.wordpress.com
I absolutely blew through this novel in a matter of 24hrs. I was hooked from the very beginning and I must say, this was one heck of a debut novel! I loved it with a burning passion. The story was there, the background was there, for as much as I could see, there were not any noticeable grammatical errors, the plot is striking profound, and I will definitely be rereading this novel in the very near future!
Can I talk about how much I love Thorne? I really love him and honestly, I really wanted him and Abbey to be together. He deserves love too, even though he's arrogant as all get out. I cried actual tears at the final scene with the portal. An incredibly sad ending and I can not wait to see where Abbey's story continues!
You can find more about this review on my blog at bookingwayreads.wordpress.com