Lauren Willig's "The Ashford Affair"

The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Two books came out at about the same time, both set in Africa in the 20s. I couldn't finish one of them--Deanna Raybourn's A Spear of Summer Grass--but I really enjoyed the other, Lauren Willig's The Ashford Affair.

I'm normally a big Deanna Raybourn fan. I love her Lady Julia series. Lady Julia is an eminently likable character, and her husband Brisbane is one of the most attractive male characters ever--brooding, mysterious, very cool.

But I had to quit reading A Spear of Summer Grass simply because I didn't like the characters. I had no sympathy or connection whatever with Delilah, and her male love interest just bored me. Definitely no Brisbane.

On the other hand, The Ashford Affair captured me immediately. I liked the main character, Clementine, very much. As for the characters from the past (the 1920's), I wasn't crazy about any of them, but I was vitally interested in their story.

Addie is one of the most multi-dimensional characters I've encountered in fiction. Kind of like real life--few people are totally good or bad. Addie had her likable, admirable qualities, but definitely her questionable ones as well.

Bea was much like Delilah in Raybourn's book, but unlike Delilah, she had to face the consequences of her selfish, devil-my-care attitude.

Altogether, an entertaining and absorbing tale.



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My review of "The Historian," by Elizabeth Kostova

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had read so many rave reviews of this book, I went into it with great anticipation...despite the fact that vampires are not usually my thing.

Ultimately, despite good writing and a basically interesting storyline, I found myself disappointed.

The daughter in the book doesn't feel fully fleshed out at all. Did it ever even mention her name?

I did like the narrator, her father, very much, and Helen was a terrific character.

There were times that I read eagerly and couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Other times, I felt like I was plodding through a dull textbook that barely held my interest.

Then when we finally get to meet the object of everyone's interest, fear, research, etc, it feels like an anticlimax...and not even as frightening as you might think.

I think the book would have greatly benefitted by shrinking it down to about half its size.

I don't regret reading it, but it didn't live up to my expectations. And unlike a lot of other readers, I actually preferred her sophomore book, "The Swan Thieves" to this one.



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Extended hiatus

I think, for now at least, I'm going to have to put this blog on an extended hiatus. When I started it up again, I was unemployed and had plenty of time on my hands. Now, I feel any blogging time will have to go to my main blog, Notes in the Key of Life. For the time being, any book reviews I do will be on that blog. I'll leave this one up, and will even be moving some reviews over to the other blog. And who knows, maybe at some point I'll have the energy to devote time to this one again. Thanks to all 20 of you who occasionally read it! :)

Wool Omnibus, by Hugh C. Howey

It's been a long time since I've read a book that I literally did not want to put down.  Well, the streak is over, thanks to Wool by Hugh Howey. (The edition I read is subtitled Omnibus because it was originally a collection of self-published stories that have been put together.)

Case in point: doing the elliptical for 30 minutes at the gym is usually a half-hour of boredom made bearable only by the selection of music on my mp3 player.  But I forgot my earphones yesterday, so decided to continue reading "Wool" instead.

Normally I have a hard time staying focused on reading material when I'm exercising...but not only did I stay focused, the 30 minutes evaporated in no time!

"Wool" is the kind of book for which you really need to set aside some uninterrupted time...else you'll be staying up way past your bedtime.

So what it's about?

An entire city of people (I don't think Howey ever specifies just how many) lives in an underground silo that reaches some 140 floors down into the earth.

They carry on their lives--schools, jobs, religion, marriage, childbirth, entertainment--in this shelter.  Their only knowledge of the outside world is that breathing its toxic air would destroy them.

Talking about the outside, even speculating about it, is a punishable offense.  The worst offenders are sent to "cleaning"-basically, their death.  (I'll let you find out about that for yourself.)

But when a curious IT tech finds some secret information about the history of the silo, it sets off a chain of events that kick this engrossing tale into high gear really quick.  In fact, the first page had me hooked.

The stairs

With life taking place on so many floors--the "uptop," the "mids" and the "down deep"--the stairway becomes a focal point of the story.  A trek from the top to the bottom could take quite a while, could even require an overnight stay at a halfway point.

I have to admit that I had to wonder, with silo life so perfectly planned and regulated, why whoever designed the silo didn't provide for elevators!

But I think another blogger, Janyaa, expresses her thoughts about the stairs perfectly:

I love how Howey incorporates the stairs into the story. They become a test of will, a graceful arc of hope, or potential for despair. Not only is it the tie that connects the levels together, but it’s also the gravity that keeps them apart. A barrier and a link. The very DNA of the silo’s civilization.

The characters 

While life in the silo--and the speculation about what is really outside it--are fascinating, it's the characters that really make the story.

My favorite is Juliette, who has all the attributes of a good heroine--courage, integrity, and feistiness. Not to mention she's a very talented mechanic, which serves her well in the adventures that befall her.

But more than that, she has a vulnerability that makes her likable and relatable.

More to the story?

(SPOILER ALERT!)
I liked how this book--originally a collection of self-published stories--ends on a note of hope and even joy.
(END SPOILER)

But it's obvious that Howey left some threads hanging loose.  And in a Q and A in the Kindle edition, he implies that there WILL be more to the story.  I can't wait to see if future installments will be as riveting as this one!

Booking Through Thursday: Carry-Ons

Source: hvntmetuyet.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

I've sadly neglected this blog lately, and it's been quite some time since I participated in Booking Through Thursday, so...there's no time like the present, right?

Here's today's question:

Do you bring the book(s) you’re reading with you when you go out? How?
Physically, or in an e-reader of some kind? Have your habits in this
regard changed? (I know I carried books with me more when I was in
school than I do now–I can’t read while I’m driving to work, after
all.)

Short answer:  Yes.  Often.  I find myself in situations where I have to "wait' a lot, and if I have my current book with me, no worries.  Irritation at having to wait vanishes when I get caught up in the story.

I used to have a Kindle before I broke the screen, and I really miss it for that very reason.  You can't beat the portability!  I really wish I had an e-reader again...even though I love actual books and would never completely abandon them.

Oh, and I NEVER go on a car or plane trip without a good book!

Go here to participate in Booking Through Thursday

and go here to enter for your chance to win a beautiful top from Soft Surroundings!

My review of Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park"

Warning: This review contains spoilers


Although I've thoroughly enjoyed other books by Jane Austen, this is the first time I've read "Mansfield Park."

I was riveted from the first page. I seriously had a hard time putting this book down, so utterly captivating and engaging was the story.

The book shows how, although morals and mores have changed drastically since the early 18-hundreds, basic human nature has changed not at all...and Ms. Austen had a laser-sharp grasp on it, and how to unerringly depict it.

I loved Fanny, and wanted her to be able to claim her deserved status as well as the man she loved.

****SPOILER ALERT****

This is from the movie...in the book, no such scene is depicted

The one thing in which I was disappointed was how the ultimate union of Edmund and Fanny was almost anticlimactic. They didn't even get a "reveal" scene in which Edmund could tell Fanny that he had been an idiot and it was Fanny he had really loved all along, and that they could at least share a heartfelt kiss and/or embrace.

The closest we get to any such scene is when Edmund comes to get Fanny from Portsmouth, and he clutches her to his heart.

I would have loved to have seen Edmund's feelings for Fanny be revealed to him gradually and culminate in a joyful scene of realization.

But that isn't enough to ruin the book for me. It was a truly enjoyable read, and a triumph for anyone who has experienced unrequited love.

My latest book trailer...

One of the things I love to do as a voice-over artist is voice book trailers.  Here's my latest, for Kathi Macias' The Deliverer.  It's produced by Misty Taggart with Trailer to the Stars.