Lauren Henderson

Wow! I forgot how great J.K. Rowling is. It's been so long. I honestly didn't even know this was a J.K. book until after I had added it and picked it up from the library. Confession: I just never read all the way through the synopsis on the book page... ha.

After I researched J.K.'s motives for writing under a pseudonym, I was really excited to read this book, and after reading it, I'm really excited for all of the recognition that the book got in the first 3 months after it was published before anyone had figured out that the writer was indeed J.K. Rowling. She completely proved herself... she is still a fantastic writer. Her adult fiction is phenomenal, and she finally escaped everyone comparing her current writing to Harry Potter. YAY J.K.!!!

The Cuckoo's Calling was a great crime mystery. I love how Strike figured out who the murderer was about halfway through the book and kept hinting that he knew who it was, but it was not revealed until the end of the book. And I never guessed who it was. I also love that all the interviewing was so detailed that you even felt like you got to know Lula, the victim, who was dead for the entire book.

I also love Robin. She's my favorite in the story because she has a childlike wonder for solving crimes. She admires Strike at first, and then they become friends and she proves herself to be a solid asset to the team. The dynamic between her and Strike added a lot to the story but did not overpower the main plot.

Overall, this was a perfect read for me. I actually slowed down and digested it (that's how you really know I'm enjoying it). The plot never became slow or boring. Tidbits from Robin's and Strike's personal lives were woven perfectly throughout the story to make this a beginning to a great series. I can't wait for more. I will definitely be reading them.

I received a copy of this book for free from Wizards of the Coast publisher via Netgalley.

R.A. Salvatore is my Dad's favorite fantasy author. So I have to admit I was a little biased going into the book, and I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed. (But then again, I knew I could count on my Dad since he's basically world's most awesome guy and has read every bit of Tolkien, Salvatore, and Goodkind and he's seen every Star Trek and Doctor Who show ever made... he's dedicated, people!)

I love when the foreword written by the author hooks me... and in the case of The Companions, it really hooked me: This book is dedicated to anyone who believes that the hero isn't the one with the biggest sword but the one with the biggest heart, Who believes that doing the right thing is its own reward, simply because it's the right thing to do... This book is for Drizzt Do'Urden.

Right away I could tell...
1. This writer has a huge imagination.
2. This book has a huge story.
3. Drizzt Do'Urden is the man.
4. This writer has built a world around his character that is very real and intimate to him (very Tolkien-esque... Yes. I do compare all books about elves, dwarves, and orcs to Tolkien. Can't help it.)

The Companions is about “The Companions of the Hall”, a group of friends so loyal that they would all give their lives for each other/come back to life for each other. Catti-Brie, Bruenor, and Regis are reborn as a gift from the goddess Mielikki, in order to one day save Drizzt in a time of need. They are re-born in separate races in separate places across the world. All they know is that they have to meet at a special place called Bruenor's Climb when they are 21. The entire story is about their adventures throughout their second life, their inner battle with their purpose, and finding their way back to each other.

The plot is so rich, so full of adventure and never boring. Salvatore has made an entire world, and it is beautiful. There are intriguing names for each of the places that the characters encounter, each of the people they encounter, and even the months. R.A. Salvatore is serious. The battles are told in so much depth that you find yourself racing through with the pace that the characters are probably fighting at. I love it when a book makes you do that.

The only negative thing I have to say (if you can even call it negative) is that I would have liked more desciption in describing the setting and landscapes. I think most of the areas I had to picture in my head and I realized that I was doing that on my own and not out of guidance from the writing. However, there are 23 other books about Drizzt Do'Urden, so I may take that back after I read some of those. Also, the dates at the beginning of the sections are very important. The time jumps back and forth and can be confusing if you don't make it a point to remember them.

All in all, I love this book and will definitely read the rest in the series as they are released. My dad also gave me the first 3 books in the series about Drizzt. While I don't think it's necessary to have read anything by Salvatore previously to enjoy The Companions, I do think it would be beneficial to have the backstory. So I will try to read those before the next book to this series comes out.

Read more reviews at Great Minds Read Alike

I received this book for free through a GoodReads giveaway.

This is a cute little book about mermaids that brings back your inner child. I entered the giveaway because I was obsessed with Disney's A Little Mermaid growing up. I still picture all mermaids as the super friendly ones who collect random weird human things and randomly burst into song. But this book provides several short stories about the mermaids of legend that were also the mysterious “the sirens of the sea”, who lured men in and had a somewhat devilish sex appeal.

I enjoyed reading the stories and would recommend this book to people who also had/have a slight obsession with mermaids and would like to learn about them from a different perspective.

I recently read Sourdough, the latest book by this author, and loved it!! So I immediately started Mr. Penumbra. And then... This book completely lost me about half way through. I was digging the old quirky bookstore with the also quirky owner and strange visitors.. then the story started revealing what was actually going on with this bookstore and it's just way too outlandish for me. I found myself rolling my eyes several times and just had to put it down. I used to consider it a sin to not finish a book, but I figure you shouldn't waste your time on something you aren't actually enjoying. Life is too short.

B. Sand.... my boo... we're so close I have a nickname for him... I love all of his books. Shadows of Self is no exception. There is the action/lore of the original Mistborn books, but this one has a lot of underlying political/religious unrest. At times I got a little bogged down because I didn't remember a lot of the religious aspects from the original series. But the ending of this one is amazing!!! I love Wax and his emotional but strong demeanor. He's my hero.

Guess it's time to spend some quality time with a little re-read of the OGs.

I liked this one a little more than the Sorcerer's Stone... mostly because of Dobby. I love Dobby. And Ginny... I love her too. Also, I haven't watched the second movie more than 2 or 3 times, so I didn't quite remember the story for this book and wasn't comparing it to the movie in my head. Yay!! On to the next one..

You know I really love a book when I start pushing it on all of my reader friends. I keep telling everyone that Red Rising is a mix between The Hunger Games, Ender's Game, and Age of Empires - and that's really the best description I can give. It has a little bit of romance but not the kind that get annoying or ends up being the main focus. It has a little bit of warfare but not the kind that's overly boyish and hard to understand. And it has the fight for power that shows a society's weakness and builds upon the hope of civilization. There's so much emotional turmoil and action in this book that seamlessly winds together in a fast-paced twisty-turny story. I absolutely loved everything about it.

I almost didn't read this because I thought it was going to be just another YA dystopian series (blah)... but it is definitely unlike any of the other dystopian craze books. Give it a chance. You won't regret it.

I started and finished this book today. It was such a beautifully written, well-developed, and lovely story. The perfect mix of romance and suspense. Plus, I'm a sucker for books about flowers. This was a great read to pull me out of my reading slump.

I stopped reading this book because it is written in first person from the 13-year-old girl's perspective, and the voice just doesn't fit a 13-year-old. The sentences are extremely long and overexplained. I just kept thinking over and over that no 13-year-old thinks this way, and it got very distracting.

Eleanor & Park is a nostalgic tale of first love. You have your classic messed-up stubborn girl who won't open up because of all the hurt in her life (from her family), and you have the boy who just wants to know her and make it all better. Their story switches back and forth from Park's to Eleanor's point of view and is told in a quirky way to make you remember all the small and overwhelming feelings you had when you first started liking boys/girls... Park helps Eleanor escape from her family, and Eleanor teaches Park how to accept himself.

I loved the beginning of the book. It was spunky from the moment that Eleanor walked onto the bus with her patched jeans and crazy things hanging in her hair. And how she didn't care but really she did. I loved hearing about them sharing comic books and being scared to actually talk to each other. There was a great tension that was cute until about half way through.

Then I didn't like the book anymore after their first love feelings turned to obssession. I mean... weird obsessed for how old they were- 16. A lot of the feelings/thoughts they were having would be more understandable if they were 12 or 13, which to me is around the age when you first start really noticing the opposite sex, and everything is a big deal.

The end had a good twist that really got me interested again, but then just kind of ended. However, with Park being a phenomenal, I mean upstandingly phenomenal guy.

Overall, I would say that this is just an ok book. If you like cheesy, can't-think-about-anything-else young love stories, then go for it. If not, you'll probably just get annoyed half way through like me.

Previously:
Check out this interview with Rainbow Rowell about her book being banned by a Parent's Action League for obscenity in Minnesota. I already have Eleanor and Park on hold at the library, but now I'm really fired up to read it. Some people are ridiculous.

This was the first book I read by Neil Gaiman. The first time I picked it up, I couldn't stand the juvenile nature. But then I came to the conclusion that the narrator is a 7 year old, so I should give it another chance. I'm glad I did.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a beautifully written, extremely imaginative story about a little boy who happens upon very interesting circumstances surrounding his neighbors down the lane. He is a very lonely boy who becomes friends with Letty, and his life suddenly becomes filled with somewhat scary circumstances, but mostly adventure.

Unlike some other reviews I've read, I would not consider this a thriller/horror story. The level of horror is equal to that of the wicked witch in Snow White. It's just the typical villain vs. magic that would be suitable for children to read.

After I finished reading this book, I really considered it a children's book (minus the one adults kissing/taking clothes off scene), but then I realized that it is written to portray the overall theme of adults learning to embrace their inner child and live life more open minded.

This book is very nostalgic, making you recall your own childhood and how so many circumstances seem larger than life. It makes you remember the magic of every day life. It is full of magical creatures: a flea/villain who travels by wormhole in a foot, varmints who are birds that keep the world “clean”, fabric that comes to life, women who never age, an ocean that teaches you the secrets of life. It is simple, short, and sweet. The ending leaves you wondering what really happened (by way of saying that everyone remembers differently).

The theme of how memories change throughout your life is what really stuck out to me. This book really does make you reflect on memories and takes you back to a perhaps simpler but at the same time extremely complicated thoughts that surround childhood. I find myself longing to do something childish and adventurous like making a fort, or going to mine and my brother and sister's “canyon” - which if I every went back to, I'm sure would end up being a 4 foot deep trench.

I'm not sure if I would read this book again, but Neil Gaiman is one of the most imaginative writers that I have read recently. I will definitely give some of his other books a try.

See other reviews at Great Minds Read Alike.

I had to read this book for a Comp class in college, and I was pleasantly surprised. Since when do professors pick awesome books for forced reading? It really got me into crime fiction. I'm kind of a nerd, but I loved writing my literary analysis of this book. We studied it in parallel to Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. Both are very intriguing books.

Before you all get mad at me... 3 stars does mean that I liked Me Before You, but I wasn't overly enthralled. I just thought that it felt flat and cliché by the end. I mean, it was a good story of an impossible love and the inspiration to truly live your life well. But there was still a lot of emotion lacking in this book - it should have made me sob. But it didn't. And I was left thinking... aww that was cute.

I loved Will's character. He had so much emotional depth to help you understand his constant battle with reconciling his life that was and his life that is. And Louisa had some depth but I found her character development lacking. I never really felt everything, I just understood the motions as she went through them. I wanted to be a little more inside her head, I guess.

Also, I absolutely hated Louisa's family... they are the most self-centered people, almost unrealistically so. They constantly berate her, and I almost stopped reading because I hated them so much at the beginning.

But I'm not mad that I read this book. Do I think I would have been missing out if I hadn't read it? NO.

This review is also posted on Great Minds Read Alike.

I started with Mary Poppins as part of a Classics Challenge that I set for myself. My goal is to read one classic per month... or perhaps every other month if I'm reading an especially long one.

Mary Poppins is a really fun children's book. I grew up loving the movie and decided to read the book after I recently watched Mary Poppins again. After reading, I was very impressed with Disney's ability to capture Mary Poppins' character - her loftiness but sweet quirk.

The story reads like each chapter is it's own short story, with each chapter containing a stand alone adventure where some bit of magic with Mary Poppins or due to Mary Poppins occurs. The stories are cleveryly written and provide an alternative to other “fairytale” children's books.

I wish I had read Mary Poppins as a child. I think I would have been enthralled. But I did not.. and my adult brain appreciates the magic and the wonder of the mystery that is Mary Poppins - she's very strict but “stumbles into” magic situations quite frequently with the children and won't quite let anyone really know her - but I do not think I will continue the series. I guess it is just a little too simple for my stupid adult brain.

On to the next classic...

This was actually a really cute book. I read it on the plane to and from vacation last week, and it was a perfect lighthearted read for such an occasion. Definitely helped my transition into and out of vacation mode. I didn't feel this story had nearly as much depth as The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, but the characters were all unique and relatable, which I always appreciate. Overall, a heartwarming story but didn't pull me in. If I hadn't been on vacation with extra time, I'm not sure that I would have finished it.

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review also posted on Great Minds Read Alike.

I'm not even sure what I was expecting when I started reading this book - I guess I thought it would be something that only farm animal lovers would identify with... just a Yay Animals!! happy story about saving the world.

But in these pages is one of the most inspiring and beautiful stories that I have ever read. There is story after story of individual animals - their situation and their healing - and of individual children that the animals in turn come to heal. This is a vivid story of how Ellie Lake's life came full circle - she had a lonely childhood, she had a dream to save the animals who had saved her as a child, she chased her dream, and she found herself along the way. I found myself in tears many many times.

But the most remarkable change took place inside of me... I was not alone after all; I was just a tiny current in the large, gorgeous flow of life.

It's memoirs like these that keep me coming back for more and usually get me on a memoir train for a few months. There is so much emotion and so much honesty in this story of The Gentle Barn.. it's overwhelming at times... but in such a good way - my soul feels cleansed. And I believe there is hope for humanity after all.

When I finished reading, I immediately found The Gentle Barn's website and read more about Jay and Ellie and what they are doing now... I guess you could say I'm an instafan. I'm definitely going to visit one day.

My husband and I have a dream to build a successful farm and produce meat in harmony... to be a small part of taking back the food industry from factory farms and to take care of the animals who in turn take care of us... so I think I could be possibly biased about this book. However, I don't think you have to be an animal activist/hippy farmer to enjoy this story about a life that comes full circle and enriches other lives in return.

Kate Morton's books take me to a cozy place reminiscent of curling up with my book as a child with no other care in the world, and I'm always sad for them to end. The language and sentence structure she chooses are soft but strong, whimsical but direct.

But I also find myself skimming a lot because the plot moves so well and I REALLY want to know what happens. It's a double-edged sword, I guess. But one that would make a re-read so worth it.. once you know the plot, you can settle in and soak in every ounce of such fine literary prowess.

This one definitely lived up to my love of Kate Morton and may actually be my favorite.

If you also loved The Secret Garden as a child, please go read all of Kate Morton's books.

Surprisingly great. Dropped to 4 instead of 5 stars because it ended up being ever so slightly predictable.

Running my complete review on my blog on Dec. 10 for TLC Book Tours. Check it out!!

REVIEW:
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review!

Woman With a Gun starts with the story of Stacey Kim, a talented writer, who is having trouble with ideas for her first novel. She dropped everything to move to New York and become successful, only she hasn't been able to do that yet. One day, on her lunch break she goes to the Museum of Modern Art and stumbles upon the photo, “Woman with a Gun” by famous photographer Kathy Moran. Stacey is immediately intrigued and inspired to write a novel loosely based on the story behind the photo – the only problem is that no one knows the story. Stacey eventually finds out that the photo is of Megan Cahill, the wife of Raymond Cahill who was brutally murdered in their home on the night of their wedding. So begins her journey to learn more – Stacey interviews the lead detective on the Cahill murder, Jack Booth, and the story quickly jumps back to the Kilbride case, which happened several years before the Cahill murder, and explains Kathy Moran's background and Jack's connection to her. As Stacey is uncovering the truth about these cases, she begins to put the puzzle together that no one has been able to before and ends up finding herself in danger also.

So we have three main plots: the present where Stacey is investigating the photo, the Cahill case, and the Kilbride case. However, unlike a lot of books with subplots in different timelines, Woman with a Gun does not jump back and forth incessantly. For this reason, I loved it. The fact that each story is told almost independently adds a lot of suspense and keeps you guessing who the Cahill killer is until the end.

I've seen other reviews that say this book was difficult to get into and that it didn't keep the reviewers attention since it is difficult to see how the different crimes are connected until the very end. Yes, the connections are not there in the beginning, but the stories are written without fluff, almost like a detective is presenting you the facts. So, in my opinion, the writing style is perfect for this story.

Throughout the entire book, I was prepared to give a 5-star rating – The premise of the story being based on a photo is amazing; the story keeps your attention; the characters are developed just enough to make you interested in all of their outcomes but not too much to detract from the actual whodunit plot. I did slightly lower my rating at the end though because I'm a snob when it comes to mystery and I don't like when I am able to guess who the killer is. Although, I only guessed in the last couple of chapters.

If you want a quick mystery (this book literally took me less than one day to read), then I highly recommend Woman with a Gun. This was my first time to read Phillip Margolin, and I was definitely not disappointed.

So good. I love the quirkiness of these adult triplets. Liane Moriarty should definitely wrote another book about them so I can know more of their story. This is probably my favorite book of hers!

I love Sarah Jio! I can always trust her stories to pull me out of a reading slump. They are so easy to digest with just enough serendipity to create a magical atmosphere without being cheesy. This story was such a comfort read for me.. again. The characters are beautifully drawn. I'm always blown away by the amount of character development Sarah can get into such short novels.

The mood of her stories brings back so much nostalgia for me. So ethereal and romantical. I always feel the same way I did reading and re-reading The Secret Garden as a child.

I'm honestly just sad I'm reaching the end of her backlog. But there's always re-reading.

Retry: I got farther, but still lost interest. So added another star but I think that's all I have in me. Me and this book are not friends.

Original review: I'm not going to finish this book. I can't stand books about rich, whiny people. It's satirical, but just annoying to me, especially all of the prep school moms. I'll usually at least try to read half of a book before I decide that I'm really annoyed and give up... but this one is just really getting to me.

I just hate it when people behave so differently because of money, and I can't get over it. This book is full of snobs.

The only good thing I can say is that the writing style is GREAT. I may try another Maria Semple book since it's only the character's attitudes that I don't like.

I received a copy of this book for free from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lantern lights are basically my favorite thing in the entire world.. they really do create a magical atmosphere, so I was a sucker for the cover of Lost Lake and had to read it from the moment I saw it. Plus, I'm a big fan of Sarah Addison Allen. And I loooove lakes.

Like heat from a fire, the closer to water you are, the stronger you feel it.

What could go wrong?

Lost Lake is set in Suley, Georgia, a middle-of-nowhere town where Eby and George decide to settle and run a summer cabin getaway. Kate, Eby's great-neice, recently widowed, wakes up one day after being “asleep” for a year after her husband's death and realizes that she no longer recognizes herself. She has let her mother-in-law take over her life and almost stamp out her daughter, Devin's, creative and wild spirit. Devin finds a post card sent long ago from Eby with Lost Lake on the front, and they take off almost immediately to revisit the “last best summer” that Kate had - lost Lake was where she left her heart and her childhood. Little does she know that Eby has almost lost hope for saving Lost Lake... what follows is a story about grieving and hoping that is full of friends and magic in a serene setting. Sounds great.. right?

But... Lost Lake just didn't do it for me. I mean, it was a good story but it just didn't suck me in like Allen's other stories. A couple of reasons could be:

1. Garden Spells. It's my favorite and pretty hard to live up to.
2. The galley version was not formatted extremely well (no paragraph breaks where there should have been, misplaced words, etc.) to the point where it was kind of distracting.
3. The characters were not nearly as deep as in Allen's other work. I think there were just too many main characters that she was trying to develop.
4. There was not one explicit element of magic that the story centered on, so I spent the entire story trying to figure out what the magic actually was.
5. I was having a lot of book feels and getting sad while reading this because everyone's husband is dead (not a spoiler, don't worry... that's what the story is based on from the very beginning.)
6. All the events just seemed so surface level.. there really is so much going on - on the side of the main plot is Wes and his grieving over his brother that he lost in a fire when he was younger, Lizette who has no voice box and burns all of the notes she writes out of fear that she will break someone's heart again, Bulahdeen and Selma (the old ladies who are complete opposites of each other) both seeking a cure for their lonliness, the “alligator” that keeps popping up and talking to Devin, Lazlo who is pressuring Eby and Wes to sell, etc. - The separate storylines just didn't come together so seamlessly, either.

All that being said, of course, I still really liked the story. Devin is spunky, strong, and carefree. She is the character that eventually drew me in and gave me the depth that I was looking for. She's a dreamer. Most people never get what they want because they change what they want, change it to something more practical and reachable.

And George (Eby's late husband that you learn about through her memories) is the kind of man that is truly and purely good. The kind that everyone wishes they knew and some are lucky enough to know. I wish there had been more about him. People couldn't help but like George. His laugh was like a barrel of whiskey... Just looking at him, you could see that his capacity to love was as wide as the world.

The theme of moving forward is also very strong..
If we measured life in the things that happened, we wouldn't get anywhere.

Overall, I think this book is worth a re-read - of a final version to see if my opinion changes.

This review is also posted on Great Minds Read Alike.

I WANT A PIG!!!! RIGHT. NOW.

That's mainly what I got out of this book. Christopher Hogwood is truly amazing. I've never spent a lot of time around pigs, so I never realized how much personality they have. In The Good, Good Pig, Sy Montgomery tells a lot of heartwarming stories about Chris - how the entire community saved scraps for him, how he ended up bringing them lifelong friends they wouldn't have otherwise known, how he loved his bath times, how he simply loved with his whole heart.

There were also a lot of historical tidbits about pigs and several side stories about Sy's excursions for her wildlife research (She's a freelance writer for sources like Nat Geo). There were a lot of facts, but what this story is lacking is emotion. There were a lot of times when I should have cried because of what was happening, but this book was written with such a lack of emotion that I was nowhere close.

I would only recommend this book to people who want to read facts about animals... a pig, chickens, dogs, tigers, etc. There's a lot of animals and stories... but if you are a memoir lover because you want to read about someone's journey and life lessons, skip this one.

This review is also posted on Great Minds Read Alike.

Great ending to the Baxters! But keep an entire box of tissues with you at all times and be prepared for your husband to give you crazy looks.

Unfortunately the ending is not nearly enticing as the journey to get there. I was hooked until the last 50 pages where you start figuring out the case. And while it was twisty, I feel like the way the case ended was the least exciting and believable out of the possibilities throughout the story. It was just so bland. This was a five star read for me until the end. I think Tana French is a talented writer so I'll give her another shot eventually.