Maud's Line by Margaret Verble

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 304

Source: Publisher

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication date: July 14th, 2015

I was contacted by the publisher and offered a copy of this book for review. My opinions are my own and haven't been influenced in anyway by them

Thoughts: This is the debut novel of author Margaret Verble where she tells the story of Maud, an 18 year old Cherokee woman in the 1920s. Because Verble is part of the Cherokee nation herself I was excited to read this and hopefully gain a bit more perspective on this community. While it was a nice read I ended up with a feeling that I didn't learn much from it, which is the main reason why I'm only giving it 2/5.

Maud is indeed a very strong character, just as it is presented in the blurbs. She has to deal with the "regular" hardships of being a woman in the 1920s, dealing with his alcoholic and hot tempered father and at the same time with a brother that might be "too sensitive" for the time. Through that, and being of marrying age, she falls in and out of love.

There were a few glimpses of politics in the book, some brushes as to what the community was like, education (schooling) and structure wise but it wasn't very developed. The same was the case for Maud's love story. There was a bit of romance thrown into the mix, but, and I believe this is the case for several first authors, trying to put too many things in one single book, leaves most of this things undeveloped.

Verble does have a nice style of writing and, at least for me, it was a fast, enticing read. All characters were flawed and probably the thing I liked the most was the fact that Maud is very open about what she feels and wants sexually and in life in general. It's always nice to see a character speak their mind. 

 

Las Hijas de Juarez (Daughters of Juarez): Un auténtico relato de asesinatos en serie al sur de la frontera by Teresa Rodriguez

Format: Paperback

Pages: 368

Series: NA

Source: Own (Book Depository)

Genres: Non fiction, True Crime

Publisher: Atria books (Simon and Schuster)

Publication date: June 26th 2007 (first published March 27th 2007)

First impression

I stumbled upon this book on Book Depository almost by mistake, while looking for something interesting in the nonfiction section. A gruesome subject, I felt like I barely knew anything about the mass murders that happened in Juarez, so I decided to read it. While I did get more information on the subject, the delivery was far from what I expected. Partly, I believe due to the translation to Spanish, but mostly because there was a serious lack of flow and abrupt cuts between ideas and paragraphs.

Final thoughts

I won’t talk much about what the book is about, since the title pretty much explains it. A case study beginning with the first murders in the early 1990s, the book will not only tell the story of some of the women killed and their families, but also of some of the people involved in the investigation and alleged culprits. I say alleged for every time the authorities seemed to catch the murder(s), women continued being attacked and horribly killed.

The smaller issue I had with the book was the translation. While Teresa Rodiguez is from a Cuban family, she wrote the book originally in English, and then it was translated by Vicente Echerri. But the translation wasn’t consistent, sometimes using the English acronym and sometimes using the translated one; sentences like “las muchachas fueron muertas” made no sense in a Spanish construction, rather it should’ve been “fueron asesinadas”. I realize this might seem like a picky thing to point out, but when similar issues appear constantly it affects the reading experience.

Either from the original manuscript or during the translation, there was also a big lack of consistency when referring to people or institutions. As rule, if you are going to refer to a person by a nickname or use the acronym of an institution, you should at least use the full name when they are first introduced. This was not the case in the book creating a lot of unnecessary backs and forwards when reading it.

While the author wanted to give a voice to the women who lost their lives, the lack of organization, the unnecessary repetition and lack of flow made their names and voices felt really faint. One thing that is for sure transmitted through the book is the lack of a proper investigation through the years and the insane amount of corruption lurking in this town.

If anyone else is interested in the book, I wouldn’t recommend this translation. Maybe without this factor, I would’ve given the book a 3, since it did give me more information about the subject, albeit in a very all over the place manner.

Why I read: The Serious Pleasure of Books by Wendy Lesser

First impression

On my first shopping spree at Book Outlet I saw this book; I liked the cover and the premise seemed interesting. Wendy Lesser is a critic, a novelist and also an editor so it was appealing to me to hear, or rather read, in the words of someone who is so into the field that is reading, why reading is such a pleasure and I will admit I was curious to see if we had similar points. From the beginning of the book I realised this was more about the serious part rather than the pleasure part, or at least that is what the book made me feel. From sentences such us "real literature" and "[…]to refer repeatedly to murder mysteries, a notoriously trashy form" to afirmations that frankly let me feeling (and I realize this is completely subjective) like the author was disapproving of my reading, I just couldn't find joy in this book.

Final thoughts

I will be honest: every time I thought about writing this review I cringed remembering how I felt reading the book. It read to me like a highbrow lecture that made me feel inadequate with my reading. I am not saying off course that this was in any way the intention of the author; I am just telling you how the speech in the book affected me.

From the beginning, when she used sentences such "real literature" it stroke me as disdain of some sort, disapproval of genres and even of certain readers and while I can be as much as a book as anyone, this just felt wrong. Then there was the situation with the examples she uses to show the alleged pleasure for the first chapter I could not recognize the books or for that matter the authors she was citing. This, I know, is my problem, not hers. Probably I would recognize authors that she wouldn't, and that's ok. But when in all of her examples there is not a single one you recognize, engaging with the book and saying:"Ah yes, I see what your point Mrs. Lesser". If you compare it with What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund you might see what I mean with this. I have never read Anna Karenina, but being such a wide known book I knew and understood what the author meant; this was impossible for me with Lesser's book.

Even in cases where I had read the book or at least part of it, this understanding of the author was not there. For example I tried to read Don Quixote (in Spanish mind you) I made it to chapter 12 I think where he starts having a monologue with rocks, once Sancho Panza has left him alone. I just couldn't go on; there was no pleasure for me reading it. I made it through Swann's Way and In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower but after that I no longer engaged in Proust's work. But even then, when she did use these books at examples I just couldn't see what she was pointing out in them and I would end up with the horrible feeling that it was my fault.

One thing we did agree on was translations and their effects on the reader. I am one of those people that would love to read all her books in the original language, but then again, I am not going to learn Swedish any time soon guys and my German won't allow me to read The Never ending Story any time soon, even if it is a book I already read. So it is important to find someone who manages not only to translate the sentence but the meaning of the sentence, and of course this is hard to do.

I was sad at the end, because I had very high expectations for the book, but it was just not for me.

The French Executioner by C.C. Humphreys

I asked and received this book through NetGalley for free. This review is not sponsored nor influenced in anyway. Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for the book.

First impression

I am a sucker for historical fiction, particularly for the Tudors. I don't know what it is, but I really enjoy reading about that particular time. I requested this book knowing that Anne Boleyn wouldn't be the main character but rather Jean Rombaud, her executioner. I was utterly disappointed to see that Boleyn barely makes an appearance though.

The book was full of battles and fights, which would've been fine with me if I had a bit more of the historical descriptions that I was hoping from. The story, while interesting, could've been set in any other period of time and it wouldn't change much. This book was unfortunately not for me.

Final thoughts

Don't get me wrong. The book is very well written and the characters had an interesting background...ti was just not what I was expecting from a book with Anne Boleyn in the cover. Jean Rombaud has a compelling back story but for me it was not enough to carry the story and why would he embark on this mission.

The historical part leaves very early in the story and is replaced from more fantastical and action feeling. Once again, this is well developed, but it was not what I was craving from when I read the description of the book.

Removing my disappointment towards the story itself I have to say that it is very well written. If you are looking for adventure you are going to have it; it is fast paced, the sword fighting is vivid, the bad guys are despicable and you will end up cheering for the good guys.

While is not the most accurate historical adventure I've read, the settings are well described and you can feel most of the time as you are in a medieval time piece. Once again, I have to say, the main part of the story could've been taken out of the historical context, and in my opinion, it wouldn't have suffered.

I don't think I will continue with the series, for I felt that it ended on a good note for Jean. If you are looking for an historical, fast pace adventure this might be for you though. The publisher's are allowing a US giveaway, just leave a comment down telling me what is your favorite historical fiction. The winner will be selected randomly at the end of the week. Stick around for a guest post of the author about his choice of main character.

Violin by Anne Rice

First impression

I bought this book one day when I found myself without a book (I know, the horror) but it took me a while to re start it. I have only read 5 books from the Vampire Chronicles (the first 4 and then Merrick without knowing it made part of the same series) but in general I've liked Rice's style so I figure, why not. The truth is, as I finished this book I was left with a disappointing feeling. I enjoyed the idea of using music (such beautiful music) but I never managed to really get into this story.

Final thoughts

It is the first time I read a book by Anne Rice that does not involve vampires. In here the supernatural is represented by the tortured ghost of a violinist, Stefan. He has come to the main protagonist, Triana, when she is in great pain due to the lost of her husband; pain that awaken other loses in her head and heart.

The description of the book talks about Triana as "a uniquely fascinating woman" but she felt rather bland to me as a character and so did her sisters. And Stefan...besides being mean, supposedly due to the fact of him being a tortured soul, for me he didn't feel that much interesting either.

The best parts of the book, for me at any rate, were the several references to beautiful pieces of music as well as the moment where the ghost of Beethoven was present. That said, I don't know if someone with less love for classical music would have the same reflex I had to look for each piece and listen to them while reading. I feel that if it is not the case, the references and momentum of certain scenes are completely lost.

While The Vampire Chronicles are not terrifying I certainly agree with them being considered as part of the horror genre. In this case, if you remove the fact that Stefan is an angry ghost, it doesn't really feel scary at all. It has a good pace and at no point did it feel like a heavy read, I would say it was mostly entertaining.

Unless you are very adept to Rice's style I wouldn't be able to recommend this book to you. 

The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass

First impression

After I finish the second book in this series I thought maybe the series could end on a good note (it was supposed to be a trilogy, but now I learnt there is a new one coming) so I decided to read the third one. Oh boy was I disappointed! America goes back to being helpless and most all the stuff that happened was predictable. It felt like a long teenager fight with some tiny unexpected moments here and there.

Final thoughts

First a rant: 2 more books? Seriously? Why? Well, no I know why but still...ugh

Now for the review. The reason why I gave an extra star to the second book was because America was finally showing some guts, seemed like she was going to stop being the "My life depends on a boy" face and more of "well I've learned some serious stuff about the country, maybe there are bigger things than having a boyfriend" but then this book is her fighting with Maxon over and over. "Oh I love him, oh maybe not, oh actually yes, but I won't say it first"

There are a couple of moments related to the rebels during most of the book, but this seems to be pushed back more than a notch , which saddens me because giving an actual development to the political side of the story was what, for me, would've set it apart from the ton of similar stories being published.

There were 2 things I didn't see coming, and while I will not discuss them at length to avoid spoilers I will tell you that for me were charged with forced sadness and it didn't add much to the story. While some may argue that the first sad event does bring something extra to the background I would counter that there was no need for the sad part.

Anyway, that's it for me with this series. I have one of the novellas that I got for free through Kobo, but I don't think I will read it anytime soon.

 

A Sudden Light: A Novel by Garth Stein

I asked and received this book through NetGalley for free. This review is not sponsored nor influenced in anyway. The book is expected to be published on September 30, 2014

 

First Impressions

"When a boy tries to save his parents’ marriage, he uncovers a legacy of family secrets in a coming-of-age ghost story" These are the opening line of the description of the book at NetGalley. I like coming of age stories, and throwing a bit of ghost stories seemed like an interesting mix.

However, by the time I finished the book I ended up with a bitter taste in my mouth. The book tried to go a bit all over the place but it never took me away. I was sadly never engaged by the characters pr the story.

Final thoughts

The book is told in the voice of Trevor, a 14 year old that is now on the old family house, with his dad in a quest to try to convince his senile grandpa to sell the family's property. Living with the grandfather is his aunt Serena, whom he has never met before. His mother is in England in the meantime, taking a bit of time off since his parents are having some relationship problems.

If the book would've concentrated on one or maybe two things I think the potential of the story would've been achieved. However, in my opinion, the author tried to merge too many elements. The coming of age of Trevor is clouded by the psychological mystery going on with the aunt, plus the ghost of his grandmother AND his great great-uncle and the issues of his father and the aunt's boyfriend, and the grandfather's illness and...So much things going on! At a certain point it is mentioned that apparently Trevor is gifted, but this information is thrown there like extra information without giving the story any extra flavor. 

Ironically for a story that takes so many twists and turns, these end up being predictable and hence a lot of times I would find my mind drifting off the story.

While the story was definitely not my cup of tea I have to say that it was well written; the prose and the cadence of the work were very well structured. For me was just a problem of engaging with the story and the characters.

The Tumble Inn by William Loizeaux

I asked and received this book through NetGalley for free. This review is not sponsored nor influenced in anyway. The book is expected to be published on September 15, 2014

First Impressions

This was the first Galley I ever got from NetGalley. It took me a bit to start it since I had several books from the library in queue and then some of the Galleys I asked for had earlier publication dates. So I finally got to it this week and I am glad I finally got to it. While it wasn't the type of book I usually go for it was a pleasant, light read with a bit of drama.

Final thoughts

This is a sweet story about how life can change. Is the story of the Finley's a couple of high school teachers that decide to give this up and become innkeepers in the Adirondack Mountains. Over there, they finally become parents, something that had been elusive for them before. Years go by and at the same time that they are dealing with their baby daughter Nathalie becoming a teenager, tragedy strikes and Mark has to learn, once again, how to deal with change.

The book is described as a drama, and it certainly has its fair share of sad moments. It is very descriptive of what life can be, including routines. However sometimes it felt, to me anyway, to descriptive in a way that it didn't give more to the story. One thing that I liked very much is that it felt like the person was sitting next to me, telling me his story, rambling a bit sometimes even. But when the rambling goes on for too long, it disconnects you from the whole story.

I have to say I thought the conclusion of the story felt a bit bland...in general I would compare it to a Hallmark movie, you know it is going to be sad, there will be a lesson to be learned but if you tune out for a while and come back to it is not a big deal. It is definitely not a book for me to fall in love with, but I know people who would enjoy it.

Blood Diva by V.M Gautier

I asked and received this book through NetGalley for free. This review is not sponsored nor influenced in anyway. This book s expected to be published on August 10

First impression

When I read the description of the book at NetGalley I was really captivated: a French Courtesan from the late 19th century, becomes a vampire, she finds love and might want to go back to being human (this was a new thing). The book is also described as humorous, dark and sometimes erotic (usual on a lot of Vampire related books) and ends up with the question: can she find happiness?

And then I started reading the book...I found very little humor in the story. Some differences in personality amongst the vampire characters...and A LOT of sex, I would even say, TOO much sex.

Final thoughts

She understood it was her role as a woman to visually stimulate him[...]

Let's clarify first that I do not consider myself a prude. I am ok with sex scenes both in books and movies, even when they might be a bit graphic...but having a book that had sex scenes almost every other third page without this giving much or sometimes anything to the story I don't like. It bothers me as much as Sci-Fi books throwing out of the blue invented words just so it looks Sci-Fi. No, you shouldn't need to build your story around gimmicks like this, and for me Blood Diva ended up being a book that relied almost solely in the sex part.  

Other thing that was overused on the book was based upon their non-blood diet, which is vegetarian. So far this is fine, but I got tired of hearing about the organic this and the organic that, and the organic I don't know what. Again, it became a crotch in the story, and seriously, the idea of the vampires not being able to digest "dead blood" explained perfectly why a vegan diet, fine. But even then, do we really need to be told every time that they eat it was organic vegetables/fruits?

The character of Alphonse had potential, she often felt to me as a very (potentially) interesting character. But again, most of the characters were hardly developed. "Her kind" (which I think was an attempt to not overuse the word vampire, but it ended up being an overused term) was full of very different personas, but I never really got to know any of them because the moment they would be together they would humping like bunnies.

You might ask then, why I am giving 2 stars if there is so much I didn't like? Well, the book had potential, the part about her wanting to give up her immortal life was different, an approach I was not expecting and the consequence of this was probably the only twist I didn't see coming. I wish the opera related part of the story would've been worked a bit more, I think it would've give a lot to the story.

 

It Girl by Nic Tatano

I asked and received this book through NetGalley for free. This review is not sponsored nor influenced in anyway.

What the book is about

The book follows Veronica Summer, a NYC TV journalist that gets the chance to become the new face of the morning show and though this eventually get her dream job as the evening news anchor. As hard as it is for her to be upbeaty and smile every morning, she tries her best, until one day her snarky personality takes over...and people love it. Then the unthinkable happens, the network wants her to be part of their successful show Dance Off (similar to Dancing with the Stars) where she will have to work with an insufferable British judge that might be as snarky as she is. Will she be able to maintain her credibility while dancing the night away so she can finally get her dream job?

First impressions

This book as a Romantic Comedy and for me it falls in the same lines than the Shopaholic series, which unfortunately made it very predictable even though Veronica is very different (behavior and personality wise) to Becky from such series.

Final thoughts

This was a fun light read, but for me it didn't bring anything new to the mix. This made the things that bother me become ever more present.

So let's break the story down, shall we? Veronica is very opinionated and direct, that was nice to see in this type of character, she is not a "damsel in distress", she has a nice career and she is proud of it. The scene with her boyfriend were she puts her foot down about getting her career opportunity was pleasant to read, her being assertive and putting herself above the idiot that was forbidding her from advancing in her career. But then she goes, a couple of pages later she goes and says: "he gave me a strong hug and almost lifted my hundred and thirty-five pound off the floor". I have never, ever heard any person refer to herself regarding her weight in such a sentence; and she kept having sentences like that which made her for me very caricature like.

Regarding caricatures, she has a friend Savannah described as the "sultry Southern brunette" of the group...and for some reason, this Savannah is incapable of saying you; no, she will only say y'all, even when it is a singular you...again, this would be a small thing if it wasn't in every sentence uttered by the character. This type of dialogue building made it hard for me to dive into the story, also since at sometimes where the you is supposed to be singular, it made the sentence I was reading very awkward, and I would have to go back to it to make sense of what she was supposed to say.

Finally, the thing that made me itch the most, and I know this is just because of my science background, is as follows: one of the characters gets an allergic reaction and says: I'm sorry I need to get my vaccine...I think the author was trying to avoid repeating the word shot in the same paragraph, but a shot and a vaccine are not interchangeable terms, I am sorry, they are just not.

I think the book is entertaining for a very light, summer evening. The characters were not complex and are in general enjoyable, give or take certain clichés that I'm coming to think are unavoidable when writing this type of story, since I see them almost every time I read this type of books.

As I mentioned, the story and the ending are a bit predictable. The thing that made me take it from 3 to a 2/5 was that at the end (spoilers ahead) since it is her that ends up giving up her dream to follow the guy. Off course at the end she seems happy, I am sure she feels happy. But it was never even an option that HE would give up, or to find each other in the middle. I don't know guys; I think I am not longer the audience for these girls that throw everything as long as the guy is happy, particularly when at the beginning of the book the main character is portrayed as very career oriented. It makes me feel like the message is: oh, is just a face, once you meet the right guy, you will change your mind...I just can't.

Ringworld by Larry Niven

Why I read this book?

This was the July official pick the Sword and Laser Bookclub.

What's the book about?

The book tells us the story of an unlikely group selected to go far in the unknown space and study a new world, if you want, that has been built by some other entity. The known space, threaten by a wave that will reduce everything to nothing and this just might be the perfect option to save several life forms.  

What was the thing I liked the most? 

It would have to be the world construction. The author was consistent with the language and environment construction in itself. 

What about the main character?

Louis Wu is a 200 year old guy, kept alive and young thanks to a plant derivate that the human species found years ago and that apparently almost everyone uses. He has lived a lot and through the years has developed a liking for being alone and far away traveling. He is supposed to be a smart and full of knowledge person, but it didn't read that way to me; he read mostly like someone full of himself.

Final thoughts

I didn't like the book...I didn't like a lot of things of the book. Teela Brown, the only main female character is portrayed as an airhead, ridiculous way of thinking, no logic at all...ugh! just frustrating. Louis, as I mentioned, is just full of himself and doesn't really bring much to the picture to be honest with you. I read someone's review saying that it was funny...really? I didn't see it, but maybe is just me. Also it was so slow!!!! I'm not a diehard Sci-Fi fan, but I expected some more action. During the first 100 pages of the book (about 30% of the book) they not even talk about Ringworld at all, is just the recruiting of the team that might be going on an expedition, but will they?. 

That said, I can see how this is a very influential book; as I said, the author is very creative with his world construction and even with language construction. I believe that probably, because this book makes part of a series, it works as just an introduction to the world. Unfortunately it did not make me want to continue the series.