Lauren Henderson

The Light Between Oceans is a phenomenal story about a lighthouse keeper and his wife. The book starts with the fateful event where a boat washes up with a dead man and live baby girl. Then the story skips back (Part 1) and tells about Tom's life before he met Isabel and shows their love story leading up to the “main event”. Some people say the book started off slow for them, but I felt like the beginning was necessary because you really get to know Tom and Isabel - Tom is a genuine, gentle, determined man who has been through hard times and would do anything for his wife, and Isabel is a very lively, stubborn woman who would do anything for a child after having trouble with miscarriages and stillbirth.

It almost feels like fate that a baby washed up, but Tom always feels an uneasiness about going along with Isabel's wish to keep her. Part 2 of the book concentrates on Tom trying to reconcile his love for the child with his inner turmoil. Then Part 3 describes the drama after they are found out and the consequences for all involved.

The story is very steady and extremely well written. There are so many profound quotes.. I found myself having to get up and find another book mark quite often. Here are some of my favorites:

You could kill a bloke with rules... And yet sometimes they are what stood between a man and savagery, between man and monster.Right and wrong can be like bloody snakes: so tangled up that you can't tell which is which until you've shot ‘em both.You only have to forgive once. To resent, you have to do it all day every day. You have to keep remembering all the bad things.

The character development is just oozing with goodness. I found myself so frustrated and angry with Isabel at times but realized that it's because the writing is so great. You just get so invested in the characters and so drawn into the story. The plot is so constantly unfolding that it's hard to put down.

I didn't agree with every decision that the characters made, but that's the point of this story.. that the lines between right and wrong are not always clear, and that good people don't always do good things- and regardless there are consequences. Therefore, I thought the ending was perfectly chosen.

Sidenote: I feel like this book completely embodies the story of the song The Lighthouse's Tale by Nickel Creek. I can't help wondering if that could be where the author found some inspiration.

I am a lighthouse, worn by the weather and the waves.I keep my lamp lit, to warn the sailors on their way.I'll tell a story, paint you a picture from my past.I was so happy, but joy on this life seldom lasts....And the waves crashing around me, the sand slips out to sea.And the winds that blow remind me, of what has been, and what can never be.

And since I'm wholeheartedly obsessed with Nickel Creek, this being my favorite song of theirs, it makes me love this book even more.

I ABSOLUTELTY cannot wait for M.L. Stedman's next book!

This review is also posted on Great Minds Read Alike.

This book was sooo good!!!! The blurb on the back of the book is all about the romance between Enza and Ciro and makes this book sound like it's going to just be a cheesy love story (that's actually why I held off reading it for so long)... but the story is so much more than that! It's about their families and their lives intertwining before they even realized it. It's about making your place in the world and the people along the way who turn into home. This book was perfectly written, constantly emotional. And the ending is so sweet... prepare to cry... a good ugly cry.

This book took forEVER to get going. The first half was pretty boring. But I stuck it out because I thought the story sounded really good (if we ever got to it), and I have liked JoJo Moyes' other historical fiction books. And it was worth it.. the second half was excellent.

I think the biggest issue with the first half was that it didn't switch back and forth between the past story and the present story like you expect from the blurb. So the present day story isn't introduced until (almost) the entire story from the past has been told. Then it switches back and forth. Ellie's (present) story could have been much more dynamic and complete if introduced earlier.

However, the story was very sweet, and I still really liked the plot line - a classic star-crossed lovers trope. But a trope is a trope for a reason, and I'm a sucker for a well done love story. This one was well done in theory... just not in pacing.

A Natural History of Dragons is Isabella Camherst's story of trying to fulfill her dream of studying dragons in a Victorian-type era where women are expected to do socially acceptable woman things like host parties, gossip, wear frilly dresses, etc.. you get the picture. Studying anything scholarly is completely unacceptable for a woman, and from a young age Isabella steals books from her father's library as her guilty pleasure. She finds ways to secretly study dragons, creates excuses to visit museums, etc. so that no one ever knows her true passion.. or so she thinks... but her father knew the whole time.

This book really had a lot going for it:

1.FANTASY is always a winner for me.. and this one has a unique take on the genre.
2.It's about a stubborn woman trying to make her place in a man's profession. Always interesting.
3.Dragons. Duh.
4.It's on NPR's book list... and NPR supports Chris Thile of Nickel Creek pretty hard, so how can they not be right about every other thing ever?!! I basically trust all of their decisions.

The first half of this story had a few intriguing tales of how Isabella got herself in trouble growing up, how she met and married her husband, and then how she manipulated a situation to be included on an excursion to actually publicly study dragons. She's charming and gutsy, and I mostly liked her. I was entertained but still couldn't tell where everything was really going.

And then it just fell flat. For someone who is trying not to be defined by the social boundaries for women, Isabella was way too concerned with not getting dirty and being “proper” during their excursion to Vystrana. It was really quite annoying. She also turned really prudish all of the sudden. Her attitude toward the servants that were housing them during their visit was uppity. And she started thinking that she was right about everything having to do with dragons – every comment that a man made contradicting her, she had some smart ass remark and got mad. I mean... I know she wants to be treated like a man.. but she's still new to what they've been doing for much longer than she has. I just did not like her anymore by the end of the book.

It seemed that the author was overly concerned with being on a feminism soap box by the end of the book. Don't get me wrong... I'm not against feminist books but subtlety is more my thing. Soap boxes should be handled delicately. You can't forget to still tell a good story, ya know?

Honestly, I'm not mad I read this book. I did like the beginning, but the last half just really turned me off. I'm a little torn if I'm going to continue the series once the next book is released or not.

This review is also posted on Great Minds Read Alike.

Initial Reaction: My mouth is still gaping wide open... this book is phenomenal!!! I still can't get over it. Really.. go read it. I'll be on cloud nine for a while fangirling and freaking out... eventually I'll be able to form real sentences and write a real review.

5 stars... plus a few more!!

This review is also posted on Great Minds Read Alike.

A little later: As you might have noticed, EVERYONE is raving about Ready Player One. Well.. I'm going to join their ranks. I'm still reeling from this book... it's the ultimate of armchair adventures, the epitome of fandomness of all things that have a fandom - 80s music, 80s TV shows/movies, video games from the very extreme very beginning, even MIDDLE EARTH, Doctor Who, Star Trek - it covers it all.

Ernest Cline is obviously the ultimate fanboy and has created an uber detailed world all his own. The story is set in 2050 - there is extreme poverty because of a fuel crisis and James Halliday has created the OASIS - my best description of the OASIS is that it is every WOW player's wet dream. Period. Everyone can access it for free. There are millions of sectors with hundreds of planets each, some that have magic, some that have technology, some that have neither... some that are PVP zones... some that are business and shopping zones - it's basically become the new reality. I honestly want to go to this place... there are worlds that are exact replicas of Middle Earth, the Death Star, etc. There are video game museums for miles. There's a zero gravity club that's a huge floating hollow sphere. The OASIS has everything... and the descriptions are told with such vivid detail. There's no doubt in my mind that a ton of research and mind power went into the writing. It's superb.

Next, the plot... it's GENIUS. James Halliday writes a series of secret keys and gates into the OASIS before he dies, the last of which contains the “golden egg”, and the person who solves all the riddles and finds the egg first will inherit sole power of the OASIS and James Halliday's entire fortune. The race for Holliday's “golden egg” takes off from the very beginning and literally keeps your heart racing the entire story. And the riddles are so well developed... the cleverness still makes me tingly inside.

There are overarching themes of true friendship, political unrest, and facing reality. The author reveals his opinions through his main character, Wade's, opinions on several issues, such as, atheism, the current state of humanity/government, and huge corporate giants. It's easy to tell where Cline stands but it's done very subtly and does not distract from the story itself. But I like books that take a stand, anyway.

Overall, I loved this book, and I immediately purchased a hard back copy for my bookshelf, so I can shove it in all my friends' and my husband's faces and make them read it. And (here's the big shocker) I'M NOT EVEN A GAMER. In fact, I'm one of those who has sworn off video games for most of my life.. I'm way too busy reading.

This story is really just an adventure, and I say that anyone who loves adventures would enjoy it. Even if you are not an 80s fangirl/fanboy, you will not have a problem getting any references... we all know what Pacman, Gallaga, and Sega are... plus, everything is explained, if needed.

I happen to be a concert junkie, so this really hooked me:
A concentrated, pulsing mass of ships and avatars covered the ground. It was like some otherworldly Woodstock.
Just one of many awesome descriptions throughout the story.

So... go get this book.. wherever you can. And read it. Just do it.

This is an outstanding story about a woman who wakes up to find that she no longer recognizes herself, not even a little bit. She finds out that her husband hates her, she is mean to her children, and she isn't even friends with her sister. Out of all the books I have read in the past couple of months, this one ranks up there with the most outstanding character development... for everyone, not just Alice.

I loved the ending, I'm talking love love love. It boosted my rating to 4 stars instead of 3. It kept you guessing until the very end to what Alice would choose, and what would happen with Libby's situation, even tricked you throughout the book. .. YAY MARRIAGE!! I literally did a happy dance when you find out who the one she woke up next to in the last chapter was. I love how the book shows the struggles that there are in marriage, but that marriage can win when two people work at it and remember the reasons that made them fall in love. I hate when marriages just end because people are tired... Even though the ending was happy, I didn't feel it was cheesy at all.

The only complaint that I have about the story is that it seemed to drag out in some chapters, although not bad. It could have been just as great if it was shorter, though.

Overall, I loved this book. It left me with a satisfied joy that life can turn out the way you choose, and that it's never too late to change who you are. It really made me examine my life... If I woke up tomorrow and didn't remember the last 10 years of my life would I recognize myself, and would I actually like myself? Not a bad thing to ask yourself every now and then.

We are in the mountains and the mountains are in us. -John MuirTell me, what it is you plan to doWith your one wild and precious life. -Mary Oliver

This book is phenomenal.. I mean freaking AMAZING. Everyone should read it. Even if you aren't super outdoorsy and could never see yourself backpacking across 3 states, it still has a great message.

As for me, I've always loved to explore the outdoors. I've actually never gone full on backpacking though. This book really made me long to get away from life and just be in nature for at least a week - or at least go camping in some cold weather... although, that's not so easy in Hawaii.

The story starts off with the explanation of Cheryl Strayed's whole downward spiral after her mother died and how it led her to the Pacific Crest Trail. I'm not going to lie, the first chapter is extremely depressing, especially for anyone close to their mom. It honestly did not give me high hopes for the rest of the book. But the story picks up in the next chapter once she is on the PCT, and the adventure begins.

There are stories of all the awesome people she meets and all the miles she walked alone. There are stories of kindness from strangers. There are stories of beautiful nature experienced in the most serene places. Can you imagine walking thousands of miles by yourself, not knowing what you will run into? Talk about flying by the seat of your pants. Sounds like the ultimate adventure to me. Cheryl Strayed really made me feel like I could if I wanted to.

Mostly, this book is a discovery of self. The author believed that she would leave her life and just be alone in the woods for 3 months to contemplate her life, cry, and get over it. She actually was only able to think about her aching feet and body at first, then was just quiet with nature. What she found instead was the strength within herself that she didn't know she had - to remember her hard times and still be able to live.

This is a strength that we all have if we only know how to find it. This was truly an inspiring and entertaining story that I could definitely go read again right now.

Read more reviews at Great Minds Read Alike

Disclaimer... I did not finish this book, but I loved what I read of it. Sadly, I'm a stupid STUPID STUPID person, and I looked at the middle picture inserts before I actually got to them. There is one picture that is a major spoiler if you do that, and I was so sad that I couldn't bring myself to read about it. So note to self: never look ahead at pictures.

That being said, this book is amazing! I always read these kind of books when I'm feeling wanderlust but am either too busy or too broke to travel. And this book definitely satisfies with it's in depth explanations of people and places that Peter Jenkins runs into on his adventure to find himself. This story is so inspiring, and I recommend it for anyone who longs to backpack their life away but cannot!

I used to love the Sisterhood.. and it turns out that I still do. It pulls at every memory I have of my best friends in high school. And I love how Ann Brashares manages to make this story somewhat sappy but not cheesy. It's an emotional roller coaster but one that I was happy to be on. The ending was perfect. The one downfall that I would say the book has is that it takes forever in the grieving phase of the girls after the main tragedy to actually move on. But she wraps everything up so nicely at the end that it made it ok.

My favorite thing about all of these books is how they are told from the point of view of all the girls. It switches back and forth often but seemlessly and makes the story hard to put down.

Just ok. The build up was great. I like stories about ghosts a lot, so I enjoyed the middle of the book. But then it turned into a story about her emotional and relationship problems. Wah wah wah...

You know how sometimes you finish a book and breathe a breath of relief because it's finally over? That happened. At about page 350 I didn't want to read anymore. But I loved the first 3 books of this series so much that I was really hoping this one would get better at the end. It didn't.

The characters that you come to love change so much in this book. Richard turns into a mean, jealous asshole. Kahlan turns into a whiny little baby. As for Drefan... oh my goodness, what a dark pervert. This book as a whole was very dark. I was disgusted throughout the entire thing because of all the detailed sexual violence.

The parts about Zedd, Nathan, and the Sisters of the Light were redeeming though. I always loved them. Zedd and Nathan are crazy, in a good way. For this book, they provide the only relief.

And the way it ended was just way too neat - it almost felt like chicklit. They all lived happily ever after. Sometimes you just get tired of Richard and Kahlan cheesily working their shit out. Mostly, I guessed everything that was going to happen in the book, too. I say blah. I didn't dislike the book because it had some good parts, but I am glad to be done with it. I'm definitely taking a break from this series. Most reviews say that the series goes downhill after the third book - I guess I cannot say they are wrong, so far.

This was the perfect book to read after my last book left me in a sad slump. It was amazing - the perfect amount of magical realism mixed with southern town drama mixed with love stories mixed with family - leaving me happy and hopeful.The story centers around the Waverley family - Claire and Sydney, two estranged sisters, each with their own secrets and past. My favorite character was their great aunt/cousin Evanelle (great name!) who is the perfect quirky old lady that is compelled to give gifts to everyone... out of her Waverley magic. The Waverley house has an apple tree with a ton of personality, and a garden that grows magic. I love magic! I wholeheartedly believe in fate and magical every day happenings... which is probably why I love this book so much.There's also a bit of southern small-town drama that has stuck around for several generations, but not overdone. And the guys that are the side plot and come to love the Waverley women in their own special way are perfectly written into the story without taking over the main theme of Claire and Sydney reuniting.This story is a treat. I love a book that really makes you reflect on your own life through the different characters, and this one definitely did that. The ending was perfect and left you with a satisfied hopefulness, especially for Bay, Sydney's little girl that has a magic all her own.I would say this book made up 100 percent for the fact that I did not like [b:The Girl Who Chased the Moon 5126859 The Girl Who Chased the Moon Sarah Addison Allen https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320483463s/5126859.jpg 5193717]. Sarah Addison Allen is a great story teller, and I now count her among my favorites.

The Redemption Series... what is there to say? I became so involved right from the start. This book is amazing! Karen Kingsbury's stories are so heartfelt and uplifting. They are great Christian fiction that is not in your face and can still hang with all the popular chick lit authors, especially the Redemption Series and other series about the Baxter family. I still wish I was a Baxter.

I think I have changed my rating of this book about 10 times since I finished reading it. But I have finally settled on 4 stars.

In hindsight, this is a very good story. There is good world building and character building. There is a lot of adventure, a lot of emotional depth. Overall, I wanted a little more from Claire, but this is only the first in a very long series, so I'm sure I will get a lot more.

The one problem I had with this book was the monotony at times. The action scenes where things are actually happening are great, but there was sooo much in between that really slowed me down. I would read several pages sometimes and realize that I wasn't even paying attention... thus it took me about 5 weeks to actually finish this book. I would put it down for a whole week at a time to read another book and refresh myself before continuing. Since this is the first book, I'm chalking it up to still trying to get to know the characters. I understand all the extra was there for character development, so I'm hoping that now that I know them, the second book will be easier to get through.

On a positive note, I absolutely love Jamie - his stubborn manliness, but also his romantic protectiveness. Probably one of my favorite male characters of all time and definitely the reason that I am going to read on in this series.

This was the first supernatural book I ever read, and it definitely turned me on to reading more. It is a good read, however, slow at times. I think Jodi Picoult is a great author, who tells great stories, but they are sometimes predictable as this one was.

This book was like Mistborn (all your usual Allomancy/Feruchemy) + Scooby Doo (a little humor added by Wayne) + Sherlock Holmes (sleuthness courtesy of Wax). Definitely different from the o.g. Mistborn trilogy but a great beginning to a new Mistborn era.

I always fill so fulfilled when I finish a book by Brandon Sanderson. His plots are so well developed and his characters are so well thought out - their personalities and nuances pop off the page and make them so real.

I kind of love/hate him... I love love love his writing. But I hate how he's so good that nothing compares. For example... I'm reading through the Harry Potter series right now, and I think I can't completely enjoy it because I'm forever ruined on fantasy. Nothing is as good... sorry J.K.

Confession: I think I might even like Sanderson better than Tolkien. shhhh... I've got it bad.

I always tell my husband about books that I read. I literally could not speak when I was trying to tell him about the ending of this one because I got so choked up. It is so beautiful. I loved this book and especially love the way that King chose to end it.

SO MANY FEELS... It took me a few days to process this one.

You know those books where you figure out that the blurb on the back of the book is completely wrong/misleading after you finish? Yeah... that's one of my biggest pet peeves. It IS possible to actually tell what the book is about on the cover without giving away anything. Case in point: NIGHT FILM - It's vague. But it's right. It tells you just enough to make you interested but doesn't lie to you. Go editor!! Thank you!

You go into Night Film knowing that Ashley Cordova, daughter of a reclusive cult horror film director has died, and journalist Scott McGrath investigates her death based on a vendetta with Stanislas Cordova. And that's really all you need... it sounds like it might get creepy and it does.

The first couple of nights after I started reading this I had the most deliciously creepy dreams. The plot builds somewhat ominously and slowly to create the perfect mood of curiosity with slight dread. The actual events... sorry I just can't tell you because you will enjoy the book immensely if you only know what's on the cover and go read it for yourself.

Don't be scared of the length. I enjoyed the slow but not too slow building plot. It created a lot of time for character development all around and several climaxes that keep it moving. And a lot of foreboding.

The best thing about this book are all of the case files and reports included. You feel like you are actually watching an old cult horror film yourself - the ones where the newspaper clippings, pictures, etc. spin out and almost slap you in the face. It's just delicious. (For this reason, I would recommend reading a real live in-person copy of this book.)

There are so many details in the story that I'm sure I could read it again and pick up on even more little nuances (which I will definitely be doing). And this book definitely does not settle for your cookie cutter ending. The whole thing is just perfect in my opinion.

I would recommend this for umm... EVERYONE.. especially if you love a suspenseful mystery that makes you think with a genius madman? thrown in.