Tag: adult fiction

The Handmaid’s Tale

September 21, 2013 Classics, Dystopian, Fiction 13

38447Title: The Handmaid’s Tale
Author: Margaret Atwood
Source: library
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: The writing was truly fantastic but the plot was slow and the ending was unsatisfying.

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now… (Source: Goodreads) Read more »

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The Sultan of Monte Cristo – Classics Retold

September 13, 2013 Fiction, Re-telling 8

15740918Title: The Sultan of Monte Cristo
Author: The Holy Ghost Writer
Source: bought on amazon
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Review Summary: The writing style was similar to the original, but the plot was boring, unbelievable, bizarre, and not true to the spirit of the original.

This book is supposed to be a sequel to The Count of Monte Cristo. My review contains some spoilers for this book but none for the original.

Initially, I actually had high hopes for this book. From the first few pages it was clear that the author had done a good job capturing Dumas’ writing style. The language was flowery, Dantes was arrogant, and Hadee subservient. Not my favorite things about Dumas but integral to his work and well represented here. However… The book opens with a blatant sex scene between Dantes and Haydee. Now, I don’t have a problem with sex scenes in principle, but nothing like this happens in the original. More than that, I thought the ambiguous nature of Dantes’ relationship with Haydee was part of the first book’s appeal. Read more »

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The Book Thief – Discussion 1/3

September 10, 2013 Blogger Events 11

We here at Doing Dewey are very anti-spoiler but for read-a-longs, there’s really no way to avoid them. So, if you haven’t read the first three parts of The Book Thief which are being discussed in the It’s All About Books read-a-long, this post is going to be COMPLETELY SPOILERY. You have been warned.

This read-a-long for The Book Thief is one of the first read-a-longs I’ve done, so first I’m going to tell you a bit about how I’m liking it. Then I’ll answer some of the discussion questions from our host, Suey. I don’t like to be reading multiple books at one time, so I was surprised at how easy it was to read this between two other books. It was very hard to stop reading because I was enjoying this book a lot, but it’s worth it to me to get to discuss the book with other bloggers. I can’t wait for the twitter chat tomorrow!

Discussion Questions

  1. What’s your first impression of Death as a character/narrator? Read more »

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Early Decision

September 9, 2013 Fiction 13

16248259Title: Early Decision
Author: Lacy Crawford
Source: from publisher for TLC book tour
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: Although I disliked not knowing what was fact and what was fiction, the believable, self-consistent characters made the story feel very real and gave it a strong emotional impact.

Author Lacy Crawford has been a private college application counselor for 15 years. Her experiences help write the protagonist Anne, as well as the kids Anne is helping through the college application process. Anne officially helps with essays and SAT prep, but her primary value to the parents is as someone they can freak out to and who can help communicate with their kids. Anne herself sees her role as helping their children achieve independence, using the essay writing to help them find their own voice. Given her highly unpleasant boyfriend, Anne could use some of that independence herself.

Read more »

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Bookends About The Mirrored World

July 20, 2013 Uncategorized 10

The Mirrored World PBTitle: The Mirrored World
Author: Debra Dean
Source: from publisher for TLC book tour
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: I had mixed feelings about this one, which was beautifully written and conveyed the essence of events very well but never made me feel engaged in the plot.

This book was inspired by the life of Xenia, patron saint of St. Petersburg, but is told from the perspective of her (imaginary, I think) cousin. We watch as Xenia falls madly in love and her complete devastation following her husbands death. As Xenia finds solace in giving her belongings for the poor and slowly transforms into a pauper revered as a “holy fool”, her cousin must decide whether Xenia needs saving from herself or just support in her choices. Her cousins life is also deeply impacted by Xenia’s transformation which helps her find love in the most unlikely of places. Read more »

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Bookends About The Virgin Cure

July 6, 2013 Uncategorized 9

Title: The Virgin Cure
Author: Ami McKay
Source: from publisher for TLC book tour
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: This was well written, with such attention to historical detail I felt it could actually have happened but I just didn’t feel a connection to the main character.

Moth is a young girl living in the slums of lower Manhattan until her own mother sells her as a servant. When she tries to escape and finds her mother gone, few options are left to her. Moth is forced choose between returning to the abusive woman who bought her; returning to her old life; or living a life of comparative luxury as a prostitute. With the help of a caring, female doctor named Dr. Sadie, Moth must decide what is most important to her and what she’s willing to sacrifice to survive. Read more »

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Soundbites: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards

June 16, 2013 Soundbites 6

downloadTitle: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
Author: Lilian Jackson Braun
Narrator: George Guidall
Rating (Story): ★★☆☆☆
Rating (Narration):★★★★☆

Although I started listening to the Cat Who series with The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, The Cat Who Could Read Backwards is actually the first in this series of cozy mysteries. The narration was just as good as in the other book. Sadly, I couldn’t say the same for the story itself. Read more »

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Bookends About Jane Eyre

June 15, 2013 Classics, Fiction, Gothic, Historical Fiction 4

11016Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Brontë
Source: library
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: The plot was a little boring and unbelievable but the writing was so gorgeous I didn’t even mind!

Today I’m going to be sharing with you the goodreads summary of the book because I think it does a great job explaining not just the action of the plot, but the character development that is the most exciting part of the story. Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity.  She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman’s passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.
Read more »

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Soundbites: The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern

June 9, 2013 Soundbites 1

catwho2Title: The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern
Author: Lilian Jackson Braun
Narrator: George Guidall
Rating (Story): ★★★☆☆
Rating (Narration):★★★★☆

Like Tom Clancy, Lilian Jackson Braun is an author I rely on to basically write the same book over and over. It’s like comfort food for the brain 🙂 And as such, it made for nice easy listening. This was an adorable, cozy mystery. The plot is fairly simple and it lacked the Agatha Christie sense of challenging you to solve the crime. Instead you sit back and join our main character as the mystery unfolds, often helped along by his cat, Koko. Read more »

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Bookends About Water for Elephants

June 8, 2013 Uncategorized 11

43641Title: Water for Elephants
Author: Sara Gruen
Source: library
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: The characters were fascinating and their personal stories were moving, but the main character didn’t do much to advance the plot.

Left penniless after his parents’ death, Jacob Jankowski quickly fell in love with the two stars of the circus: the beautiful performer Marlena and the elephant Rosie. However, Marelena is already married and her husband is sometimes completely brutish to her and the circus animals. With the circus owner on his side, her husband is very dangerous and Jacob will have a hard time escaping with his life and those he loves. Read more »

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