No Angel Book Review

No Angel by Penny Vincenzi

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Blurb:

Celia Lytton, a strong-willed, courageous beauty, defied her blue-blooded parents when she married her husband, Oliver, head of the great Lytton family publishing house. Celia soon finds herself to be not only a good mother but a sharp and creative editor with a knack for her husband's business. But when Oliver returns home after four life-shattering years at war, Celia must fight to reconcile her family and her career - and she must make difficult and dangerous choices about what it means to love. No Angel is a magisterial saga of power, family politics, and passion, a riveting drama and an irresistible love story set against the compelling backdrop of the First World War.

Review by Brittany:

Penny Vincenzi is the queen of writing delicious novels. I claim this after only having read two by her, but I would be hard-pressed to find anyone who could write sagas quite like she can. Not only are her characters and stories amazing, each sentence is like a delectable treat that I eat up as I read it.

What I loved about this novel (and her previous one that I've read) is that the main characters is merely one of the main characters. In the grand scheme of the novel, Vincenzi introduces the reader to the entire Lytton family and those acquaintances that they so often come into contact with. Each character gets an extended storyline so that it's easy to fall in love with them the same as it is with the main characters.

Some of the pluses to this book that are singular to this one are the backdrop of the First World War, the twenties, and the publishing world. The First World War plays a large role in the development of Celia's relationship with her husband, and with the development of her career. Without the War playing a role, the story would not have been the same. LM, Oliver's sister, is also largely affected by the War and the repercussions of caring about someone who had to fight. All of the female characters played large roles during the war, carrying Lyttons through and being the force holding their families together. The children in the novel are also affected by the War in different ways as well.

Reading about the publishing world was an interesting aspect. I don't know how historically accurate the publishing parts were, but it made the story enjoyable and it all felt believable. The different lines of books that Lyttons published, both before and during the War, interested me, and I loved reading about the business meetings that were held. It added an interesting aspect to the novel and was a bit of an unexpected career focus for a novel regarding the First World War.

Vincenzi writes novels that you have to devote time to dive into. With over 600 pages, this was quite a read, but I enjoyed every second of it. It's the kind of novel that a reader can just roll around in, and this particular book is the first in the Lytton trilogy. I'm looking forward to reading more about Lyttons.

Notable quotes:

"Marriage is a business and it works best when both parties see it that way."

She had often heard of people saying they didn't know how they would be able to bear things and felt impatient; you bore what you had to bear.

She looked back on the person she had been a year before, confident, in command of herself, in control of her life, with a man she loved and who loved her, and found it almost incredible that everything should have changed so dreadfully much.

The fact that he was occasionally hostile to her, sometimes critical of her, frequently irritated by her, was irrelevant. Without her his life, or at least the point of his life was negated; therefore if he were to carry on as a properly functioning human being, he needed her.

Just remembering when she had been young and in love with Oliver; when all they had asked was to be together, when to talk, laugh, plan their lives, make love, had been absolute happiness, when finding anyone else, or anything even remotely more important to them had been unthinkable. And wondering that such love, such closeness, such tenderness could disintegrate so hopelessly and so thoroughly, first into indifference and then into despair.

Altered Carbon Book Review

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

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Blurb:

In the twenty-fifth century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person's consciousness can now be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or "sleeve"), making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen.

Ex-U.N. envoy Takeshi Kovacs has been killed before, but his latest death was particularly painful. Dispatched one hundred eight light-years from home, resleeved into a body in Bay City (formerly San Francisco, now with a rusted, dilapidated Golden Gate Bridge), Kovacs is thrown into the dark heart of a shady, far-reaching conspiracy that is vicious even by the standards of a society that treats "existence" as something to be bought and sold. For Kovacs, the shell that blew a hole in his chest was only the beginning...

Review by Brittany:

So this book has one of the best opening scenes I think I've ever read. The reader is immediately thrust in  action, experiencing Kovacs' most recent death. These first few pages set a bit of a violent scene for a book that has more of that.

When Kovacs begins a sort of murder investigation (for a man who is technically still alive, thanks to money and resleeving), there is violence and mystery around every corner. One thing I loved about this novel was that every character felt like they had something to hide. Each character was shady in his or her own way, which made solving the murder mystery a bit difficult from the reader standpoint. I always have an appreciation for an ending I can't guess and for characters I can't trust - even if it's the main character. I also just thought Kovacs was cool, investigating and smoking his cigarettes and reflecting on all of the work he had done as an envoy. He was just a cool dude, which I could appreciate.

One thing about this one is that I will have to read it again. There were times in the story when I got a little bogged down in the details. While the major plot points and story line were followable, there were often times when the author included so many details about the way the world works now that I got a little lost in them. This does illustrate the thought and planning that went into the novel, but I think that I would have to read this one again to fully take in the details.

This book was a little different than what I normally read, but it was definitely enjoyable. There is very clear skill on this author's part with characters, storytelling, and world-building. I plan to read this one again, and I'm interested in more of Kovacs' adventures.

Notable quotes:

Anyone pitiful enough to want to spend so much time outside their own head wasn't going to want to see the same basic human realities reflected in the gilded skulls of those they admired.

"Shopping is physical interaction, exercise of decision-making capacity, saying of the desire to acquire, and an impulse to more acquisition, a scouting urge. It's so basically fucking human when you think about it."

"One tells the truth to so few people in the end, it becomes a habit."

"Childishness is a common enough sin amongst humans."

"Takeshi, where did you get this belief that everything can be resolved with such brute simplicity?"

For a moment something ached in me, something so deep rooted that I knew to tear it out would be to undo the essence of what held me together.

Big Little Lies Book Review

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

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Blurb:

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She's funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline's youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline's teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline's ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn't be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

Review by Brittany:

When reading this book (my fourth by this author), the one thing I kept thinking is how Moriarty makes the worst things happen to her characters, and I just love it. Celeste struggles with having a marriage that seems perfect but isn't quite. Madeline is struggling in her relationship with her teenage daughter. Jane is struggling with the paternity secret she keeps and with the possibility of her son being the kindergarten bully. All of these women have something going on that is painful and serious, and I reveled in each of their hardships.

I have two favorite things about this book: the exploration of bullying in different scenarios, and the development of relationships. The story centers largely around the kindergarten bully and figuring out which child is the one causing harm to others. But as readers, we also experience the often cliquey relationships between the parents and how they underhandedly bully each other. Even more serious is the case of domestic abuse that is explored throughout the story. This also connects to the relationship aspect of the novel because the relationship between the abused wife and her husband is tumultuous and often frustrating to a reader. It is hard to understand why she stays with him, but this is the crux of the problem in relationships like this. I also thought the relationship between Madeline, her ex-husband, his new wife, and her current husband was explored well. It's a four way relationship that is often strained, but the reader witnesses it shifting as the story progresses. Each character is on interesting footing with one another, and Moriarty did well with developing the relationship.

Overall I loved this book, as has been my experience with all of Moriarty's novels thus far. I definitely recommend!

Notable quotes:

All conflict can be traced back to someone's feelings getting hurt, don't you think?

Recently, she'd noticed something strange happening when she talked to people in groups. She couldn't quite remember how to be.

That was her fault. Maybe if she'd spoken nicely. Been more patient. Said nothing.

All around her was color: rich, vibrant color. She was the only colorless thing in this whole house.

If she packaged the perfect Facebook life, maybe she would start to believe it herself.

You were not meant to deal with complicated feelings of betrayal and hurt and guilt at your kids' athletics carnivals. Feelings like this should not be brought out in public.

It was a revelation that after all this time she could still feel something so basic, so biological, so pleasant.

Children did this. They sensed when there was something controversial or sensitive and they pushed and pushed like tiny prosecutors.

Nothing and nobody could aggravate you the way your child could aggravate you.

She'd swallowed it whole and pretended it meant nothing, and therefore it had come to mean everything.

It was interesting how you could say things when you were walking that you might not otherwise have said with the pressure of eye contact across a table.

When someone you loved was depending on your lie, it was perfectly easy.

There was a huge heavy block of pain lodged beneath her chest. Was this a heart attack? Was this fury? Was this a broken heart? Was this the weight of her responsibility?

She knew the way your mind could go round and round in endless pointless circles.

Of course he was right, he was always right, but sometimes doing the wrong thing was also right.

Loan Some Novella Review

Loan Some by Megan McLachlan

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Blurb:

It's been a bad week for Vera. She lost the job she loved as a librarian and ended a comfortable and seemingly reliable relationship. So when her eye catches a job ad for a company that boasts "a library of characters for every occasion", impulse (and the word "library") compels her to respond.

Shortly thereafter, Vera has accepted her first assignment from Loan Some, a business that rents out people who play parts at special occasions. Need a mourner at your funeral or a pretend girlfriend to make your ex-wife jealous at a comic book convention? Look no further.

The rules are strict: hide your identity, and no fraternizing with the clients. But as Vera begins relaxing into her new role - or rather, litany of roles - she finds herself attracted to several men, including the charming and flirtatious Greg Goodman as well as Cole, the sizzling nephew of the Lone Some CEO.

Vera's comfortable, if unusual, existence comes to an abrupt halt when she finds herself face-to-face with the woman she's been tracking for the last thirty-or-so years - the mother who abandoned her.

Will Vera be able to maintain her alias amid the family she never knew she had?

Review by Brittany:

I won this novella in a Goodreads giveaway, and the premise of the novel caught my attention immediately. I was excited to read it and was interested in the story.

Vera is a laid-off librarian in search of a new job. She stumbles upon Loan Some, a service that hires out people to serve as friends at events. She gets tangled up in a job that leads her to her estranged mother, but she isn't supposed to tell anyone her real identity.

I like the idea of Lone Some, and I think the author could do a lot with that idea, even in the future. I did feel like the author tried to shove too much story into this one novella. Everything happened way too fast, and I think that the different events Vera is hired to attend would each make interesting novellas, if the author chose to go that route. This one just had too much to it, especially considering the emotional discovery of her mother.

That being said, I still enjoyed it. I liked the idea and I thought the story line was interesting. I don't know if this is intended to be the first in a series of novellas or if this is a standalone. The ending left me feeling a bit incomplete, so I hope for more. I also think the author could consider fleshing this out a bit more. I'd read it again as a longer novel for sure.

Overall, I enjoyed this novella, but would have liked a little more to it.

Bad Games Book Review

Bad Games by Jeff Menapace

(Bad Games Series Book 1)

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Blurb:

The Lambert family is heading to Crescent Lake, a rural cabin community in western Pennsylvania, for an idyllic weekend getaway. Some fishing, some barbecue, some games...

The Fannelli brothers are heading to Crescent Lake too. Some stalking, some kidnapping, some murder, definitely some games...though not necessarily the type of games the Lamberts had in mind.

But it doesn't matter. The Lamberts are going to play whether they like it or not.

An intense psychological thriller, Bad Games has the dark, mind-bending terror of Cape Fear, combined with the fish-out-of-water dread and suspense of Deliverance.

So let Jeff Menapace's bestselling thriller keep you up all night as it delves into the mystery of nature versus nurture when comprehending the evil in man, along with the will and determination an innocent family must summon to fight back against horrific odds.

Review by Brittany:

Wow. My first reaction to this book is simply WOW. I am a horror film fan and consider myself one who is capable of stomaching some pretty brutal scenes, but this book really tested that.

It starts out with Amy and Patrick Lambert taking their two children (Caleb and Carrie) on a family trip. From the time they stop for gas in the first chapter, unsettling events start to happen. It starts small - a stranger pays for their gas, a man hits on Amy in a grocery store - but events soon escalate. Before long, Amy and Patrick are abducted and in a battle for their lives and the lives of their children.

The suspense in this book is spot on. Things move along at a nice pace, and I felt the urge to keep reading. This author understands little things that might unsettle people and uses those to keep the reader interested. There was also good relationship development, both between Amy and Patrick and between the Fannelli brothers.

The violence in this book was pretty spot on as well. The images in this book are gruesome, so keep that in mind if you plan to pick this one up. The level of violence did make the villains seem bad and the Lamberts seem desperate, so it does play its role in this book. However, some scenes are a bit hard to read, and certain levels of torture and abuse are hinted at and explicitly spelled out in this book.

Overall, this was a good fit for me. Being a horror fan, this book is right up my alley. If you are also a horror fan, you should definitely pick this up. If horror/thriller isn't your genre, then this book definitely won't be for you.

Love Like Crazy Book Review

Love Like Crazy by Megan Squires

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Blurb:

Relationships. Love. Life.

All things that can be considered - and oftentimes are - just a bit crazy.

With an alcoholic father and an absentee mother, seventeen-year-old Eppie Aberdeen has learned firsthand that life's circumstances aren't always sunshine and roses.

So Eppie doesn't expect the fairytale, because reality certain isn't one. She's not waiting on the handsome prince with his white horse to come to her rescue. But even though she's not waiting on it, that doesn't stop nineteen-year-old Lincoln Ross from driving straight into her heart with his teal and white campervan and his too tall stature and perpetually goofy grin.

It's difficult to believe in a happily ever after when a happy now is quite hard to find. But Lincoln gives Eppie hope that despite the odds, a true and unconditional love might actually be out there. A revised fairytale. A new kind of love story.

But then again, that might just be plain crazy.

Review by Brittany:

I downloaded this when it was on a free Kindle promotion on the recommendation of another author whose books I enjoy.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were all a bit quirky, and being in Eppie's head was often an amusing place to be. The way her mind worked was entertaining and kept me turning pages, even more so than the events that were happening throughout the book. The way that Eppie and Lincoln meet (she's rescuing an animal and he valiantly offers to pay) was a bit unconventional, but as the story continued I came to realize that everything about these characters matched that first encounter. They are unconventional, and they develop a romantic relationship on their own time and in their own way.

The reader knows from the very beginning that something is going on with Eppie. Her mother is absent with no explanation, and Eppie reveals that her father is an alcoholic who is often at the bars all night. As the book continues, Eppie slowly reveals through memories what happened with her mother and father and why her family life isn't ideal. Even though some of this is hard to talk about and hard to process, the author reveals it in such a way and surrounds it with scenes that keep the book on a positive level, as opposed to letting the sadness swallow the reader.

The end of the book was a nice wrap-up. Eppie and Lincoln have the same issues they've always had, but they've come to realize that the past made them who they are now, and they love each other. I always like endings that don't tie everything up neatly but still leave me feeling like the story is complete, and this author nailed that feeling.

Overall, this was an excellent book. I think this author did a good job of telling her story and developing her characters. I would reread this book, and I will definitely look for more by this author.

Notable quotes:

It didn't necessarily matter what form your impulses took, they were all felt the same.

"Not all breaks are clean. Sometimes we crumble, sometimes we erode. And those erosions, Eppie - the ones that chip away at our hopes and our dreams and our plans for our futures - those are often a lifetime in the making. It's those we must watch out for, my dear."

"I'm sorry that your experiences did that to you. Made you lose any hope that maybe we actually are meant to be happy in this life."

"You don't ever fall in love with the current version of someone, because I hate to burst your pretty little bubble, but that doesn't exist. We're the summation of our histories..."

We all harbored varying degrees of insanity within us, I figured. That was just the curse of being human.

Almost a Crime Book Review

Almost a Crime by Penny Vincenzi

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Blurb:

Londoners Tom and Octavia Fleming seem to have the perfect power marriage: high profile and mutually supportive, both professionally and personally. They are attractive and rich, and each runs a success business, for they cross-fertilize ideas, clients, and networking opportunities. They have three lovely children and a calendar brimming with glamorous social events. But when Octavia discovers Tom is having an affair, and that it is by no means his first, every single aspect of her marriage and her life threatens to disintegrate. And this is no ordinary affair - it is one that snowballs into terror that no one in the Flemings' charmed circle can escape.

Review by Brittany:

This book was quite a time investment. At over 600 pages and with small font, there was a lot of story to devour, but it was all worth it.

My favorite thing about this book is that there are no supporting characters. Each character is a main character. While the blurb leads the reader to think the focus is on Octavia and Tom, this doesn't always ring true. Often other characters' tales are so entwined that they, too, become central to the story. The time and thought that was put into making each character matter and building their history and store is astounding, and this author did that extremely well.

Another thing I liked about this book is that the climax the reader might expect (Octavia finding out about Tom's affair) happens fairly early on in the book. Instead of that being the focus, the author focuses on how the relationship is affected, including how this affair affects other characters in the book. The reader gets to see how each character responds and in what ways it changes everything.

The length of this book is the only thing that might be considered a downside. Because it's so long, there are parts of the story that don't move at the same pace as other parts. While I didn't feel like this detracted from the story, it does mean that the reader has to commit.

Overall, I thought this book was beautifully written. Characters were well-crafted, and the story moves along at a proper pace. If you're looking for a book that you can really devote yourself to, I think this is a good choice. I'm very much looking forward to other books by this author.

Notable quotes:

The whole concept of quality time was a dreadful con. The quality was frequently very poor. And children wanted you when they wanted you; they didn't save things up to tell you, to talk to you about, cry over.

And while you weren't looking down, what might be going on? Down there, just under your nose?

Even in his gratitude, Tom had found it disorienting, disturbing even: to know that so totally and competently could hatred, mistrust, despair be disguised.

Marriage, love itself indeed, was a gamble; there was no way to be sure of a winning hand.

She found it hard to apologize for anything, he knew, so great was her need to get everything right, to know she had done so.

Playing God is a dangerous game for mortals. It requires breathtaking arrogance, an iron nerve and an absolute determination to see it through, whatever the cost and whatever the consequences.