The Awakening of Miss Prim - Review

The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera

Rating: 1 Star
Source: NetGalley

Description:  Miss Prudencia Prim becomes an overqualified private librarian at a home in a small community in France.  There she meets her unusual employer, a group of exuberant and well educated children and the very intellectual residents of the small town.

Genre: Fiction
Why I Picked This Book: The setting is a library in a small town in France.
My Impression:
Pros: There's a certain old fashioned charm about the story.  Some of the talk of books was interesting as well.  The community that focused on finding the perfect fit career-wise or personally for everyone who lived there also had potential.  The second half of the book was more engaging than the first half.  The pacing improved and the characters were better developed.

Cons: Maybe there's something lost in translation (this was originally published in Spanish) but I didn't get much out of this one.  I don't care for the kind of detached stream of conscious type writing style but I was neither intrigued intellectually or connected emotionally.  I didn't care for the employer being referred to solely as the Man in the Wingchair and his mother as the mother of the Man in the Wingchair.  Academic theory and texts are talked about regularly but it seemed like an argument in a philosophy class than anything that was really affecting the lives of the characters.

Overall:   This book wasn't for me.  I didn't enjoy the writing style or the characters and felt like much of the talk was simply academic exercise with no real purpose behind it.   While the 2nd half was more entertaining by the time I got there it was a little too late for me.  If you enjoyed your philosophy classes you may get more out of this book than I did.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Probably not.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  If you like stream of conscious style writing than yes.  Otherwise probably not.

This Week in Reading - July 6

Once again I'm linking up with the Caffeinated Book Reviewer for the Sunday Post to talk about what's happening on and off the blog.

What I Got:

NetGalley:

I intended to stay away from NetGalley for awhile and then I saw the cover on the left.  It's a cat in a bookstore.  I'm just not that strong!

So with a couple of new requests and a couple of old requests getting approved this week this is what I ended up with.

The Moment of Everything by Shelly King - It's about a used bookstore.  It involves a book with notes from long ago.  There's a cat on the cover.  I'm very excited.

An American Duchess by Sharon Page - Marriage of convenience 1920s style!

The Betrayed by Heather Graham - Supernatural romantic suspense involving a special unit of the FBI.  I enjoyed a previous book by the author last month so I'm looking forward to this one as well.

Night of a Thousand Stars by Deanna Raybourn - I've been loving the Deanna Raybourn books I've been reading lately and this one set in the 1920s looks great.

Silent Witnesses: The Often Gruesome but Always Fascinating History of Forensic Science by Nigel McCrery - After the subtitle do I really need to explain?  Looking forward to this one as well.

COYER:

For more information about the COYER challenge visit Fantasy is More Fun.  So my goal to work an extra hour of reading time in everyday isn't going great.  I'm thinking about setting aside a day to just read as much as I can and go from there.

The Fun in the Sun Read-a-thon is going on this weekend which focuses on beach related reads.  I have several that fit the bill and and am done with one and almost done with another.  I'm hoping to get another one done by the end but we'll see.

Other Stuff:

We had a great 4th of July.  Nice and low key with excellent food and great fireworks.  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  This has definitely been one of the more relaxing weekends I've had in awhile and I've really been enjoying it though the Tornado has yet to grasp the loveliness that is spending a whole day reading.  4 may be a bit young for that.  The only problem is something is happening at a field down the street that grows cotton part of the year and something that is not cotton the other part.  My farm knowledge is really top-notch!  Anyway, they're doing something that involves lots of heavy machinery and the dust of whatever the not cotton thing is and it's causing my allergies to go seriously haywire.  I look like I've been weeping uncontrollably which isn't a great look and the allergy meds are making me a bit drowsy.

On the odd side I've started getting magazine subscriptions.  Last fall I got Cosmopolitan and when I looked it up to say that I didn't want it it turns out I have a 2 year paid subscription.  It happened again with Seventeen a few months later, than Fitness a few months after that and now I got Oprah.  All of these are fully paid up subscriptions. Anyone had anything like this happen or have any idea what's going on?  

We're still watching lots of World Cup soccer. I'll be sorry to see it come to an end.  Also The Lego Movie is still on our watch list.  I'm pretty sure we've watched it every day for at least 2 weeks.  If you haven't seen it it's a fun movie even without kids and this is coming from someone who has seen it 14 times times in 14 days!

On the Blog:

This week:

The review of one of the most fun non-fiction books I've read this year

The Top Ten classics I want to read/reread

A review of Susan Wigg's The Beekeeper's Ball.  A follow up to one of my favorite books last year

A review for the latest in a fun cozy mystery series and my explanation of what I like to call Jessica Fletcher syndrome

My Friday linkups for the first in a classic American mystery series

A review for a surprisingly creepy romance that illustrated why you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover

Next week:

My Top Ten Tuesday blogger confessions

The review for a new to me American classic mystery series on Thursday

Friday linkups which may or may not feature an Agatha Christie book (it's been 2 weeks so Agatha's due!)

3 book reviews

Have a great week and happy reading!

Inn at Last Chance - Review

Inn at Last Chance by Hope Ramsay

Rating: 3 Stars
Source: NetGalley
Description:  Jenny Carpenter is thrilled to be on the last leg of getting her bed and breakfast The Jonquil House open.  She is less than thrilled when a guest arrives ahead of the furniture.  Even more difficult is that this isn't just any guest.  It's Gabriel Raintree.  Best selling novelist who spent his childhood at The Jonquil House.  To make matters worse Gabe isn't the only guest.  It seems The Jonquil House also has a ghost and the ghost is far from happy.

Genre: Suspense/Romance

Why I Picked This Book:  Abandoned house being turned into a Bed and Breakfast with a ghost thrown in.  I couldn't pass it up.

My Impression:
Pros: I liked Jenny.  She's a bit of a worrier, she's a reader and she's just plain nice.  When things don't look like they're working you sympathize with her.  The setting is nice and the ghost is very well done.  I was expecting a woman in white kind of spirit but instead got something that was almost demonic.  It was definitely creepy and Ramsay did a great job of making the atmosphere seem dark, creepy and tense for the first half of the book especially.  The ending was nice and these are characters that do seem like an HEA is possible.  There was a later surprise and I thought Jenny's reaction felt natural and realistic.

Cons:  While I liked the creepy atmosphere it did feel like I was unprepared.  Given the cover I was expecting a nice romance with a nice ghost and the heavy creepiness felt completely out of left field.  It definitely took me awhile to adjust to the ominous atmosphere.  I didn't understand why Gabe was so secretive some issues that didn't seem to be that big of a deal.  Jenny while extremely likable spent a lot of time feeling guilty and not comfortable in her own skin.  While some of this is okay this carried through the majority of the book.  I didn't like how 2nd best she felt to everything around her.  There was an atmosphere about "catching a man" that felt a bit dated as well.  About 80% in there's another surprise twist that comes completely out of nowhere.

Overall:  While I wouldn't consider this a Christian romance the setting is a very church based community so there is quite a bit of talk about gong to church or what would the minister/altar guild president/other church members think.  If you want a hot steamy romance this is definitely not the book for you.  While I did enjoy it I found it somewhat disjointed with the dark ghost elements and the romantic parts.  The flaws also balanced out a lot of the positives for me.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:  I liked Ramsay's writing style and she did create several extremely likable realistic characters so I'd definitely give her another try.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Unfortunately, probably not.

Friday Linkups - The Cape Cod Mystery

Happy July 4 if you're in the US and happy Friday if you're not!  Are plans are pretty small for today - cookout and then going to watch some fireworks - but I'm really looking forward to a low key day.  Today I'm linking up with Book Blogger Hop hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer, Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice and Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader.

Today's Question: Do you cull your list often or do people stay on once they get on?

My Answer: If we're talking about blog followers than no I never cull the list.  Not sure why I would.  If we're talking about blogs that I follow then I do very occasionally cull that list.  If there's a blog that I really have nothing in common with over a long span of time than I may remove it from my feed but I think I can think of maybe 3 or 4 times that's happened.

Today's book is The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor.  This is a classic American mystery series that somehow I've never read.  This also is my first book for the COYER Fun in the Sun Read-A-Thon hosted by Kim at Fantasy is More Fun and Michelle at Because Reading is Better Than Real Life.

The Beginning:
" "Heat wave hits East," Betsey read.  "Prostration record of all time.  Mecury soaring." Well, that's gone and torn our peaceful vacation, that has.  By to-night we'll have a stack of telegrams a yard high from city-sizzling friends who want to get cooled off.
I sighed a little.  "I know," I said wearily.  As a perennial and thoroughly experienced summer cottager on Cape Cod I sat back to await the inevitable deluge."

The 56:
"When Asey came back his face wore a troubled look. "Have you any word from Jimmy?"
"Yup.  He can't come down.  Says the Porter company is on the verge of mergin' with some other concern an' that he couldn't get away if Bill himself was killed."

So what do you think?  Would you keep reading?

Home for the Homicide - TBR Review

Today's book off my TBR shelf is from one of my favorite series.  It's set in a little town in Maine where textile designer Avery and her now husband Derek buy in flip houses. There's always a little history mixed in as the architecture and design style of the house are always discussed.  In this book it's a Craftsman-style bungalow but it's ranged from 60s rancher to Colonial farmhouse.  The main flaw with this series is that it suffers from what I like to call Jessica Fletcher Syndrome.  Did anyone watch Murder She Wrote?  When I was in college pre-DVR/Netflix days it seemed like it was being played 24 hours a day on some channel or another.  Mystery author Jessica Fletcher was always surrounded by dead bodies.  If she went out of town someone was killed, if she stayed in her small Maine town someone was killed.  One would think they'd have to repopulate the town once a year as at least once a month they had at least 1 murder victim and one murderer.  I always thought it was entertaining that no one ever mentioned it. "Oh George?  Yeah he bought the grocery store after Joe was murdered.  Joe bought it from Tom who ended up murdering Steve who owned the restaurant."  Anyway, this series suffers from this as they're stumbling over bodies left and right in this small Maine town (maybe it's a Maine town thing?  Maybe they have a really high crime rate that I don't know about?).  Anytime Avery and Derek renovate a house they always find a body.  But I love the series enough that I'm okay with it.  I'll just chalk it up to Maine being especially violent!

Home for the Homicide by Jennie Bentley
Rating: 3.5
Source: Purchased
Description:  Avery Baker now Ellis and her husband Derek are thrilled when they get the chance to restore an untouched Craftsman bungalow.  While it needs work done nothing had been changed since it's original design.  There are a few challenges - one of them being that they have to get their Victorian ready for the Christmas tour, another being that one of the previous owners keeps showing up at the house in the middle of the night thinking she still lives there and the third problem involves the contents of a crate stored in the very back of the attic.  The contents just happen to be the skeletal remains of a human infant.  (If you read the teaser last Friday this was what she screamed about).Avery can't relax until she discovers the identity of the baby and if the Silva family is as sinister as they seem.

Genre: Mystery
Why I Picked This Book: I started with the first in the series and new releases have been auto-buys since then.

My Impression:
Pros:  Any book that involves a character looking through old newspapers at a library or historical society is probably going to be a book I like.  The historical tie ins both to the house and to the decades old infant were really interesting and are really the type of mystery I love.    I liked Avery and that she has her own skills to bring to the restoration.  Derek and Avery's relationship is sweet and I think it's cute how proud of her he is.  While I guessed parts of the mystery I didn't guess all the details and it was fun to watch it unravel.

Cons: I don't like how dense Derek is about Melissa.  I'm glad her character plays a much smaller part in this book.  I'd be happy if she disappeared completely.  Avery suffers from some serious busybody syndrome at times.  I do like that her friends call her on it though.  I question the reasons behind the mystery.  I had a hard time the bad guy would've have acted the way he did.

Overall Impression:     This is definitely a cozy but for the the historical aspects keep it from being to cutesy.  I like the characters with a few exceptions.  The mystery is decent and the writing is good.  Overall, this is a fun cozy mystery read!

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes of course!  

Would I Recommend this Book?:  I think any cozy mystery lover, especially one who loves a little history mixed in with their mystery, would enjoy this one.

The Beekeeper's Ball - Review

The Beekeeper's Ball: Bella Vista Chronicles 2 by Susan Wiggs

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Source: NetGalley

Description:  In this 2nd book that takes place at the Bella Vista Orchard the focus is on Isabel.  Orphaned at birth Bella Vista is the only home she's known and her beloved grandparents were all the family she had.  Now she is planning her sister's wedding and getting to know a grandmother she never knew existed.  She is less than thrilled with Cormac "Mac" O'Neill shows up at her sister's request to write her grandfather's story.  She fears what memories will be stirred up for her grandfather and herself.  And she fears what she's starting to feel when Mac's around

Genre: Fiction/Romance

Why I Picked This Book: I LOVED the first book in the series The Apple Orchard so I couldn't request this sequel fast enough.  It didn't disappoint.

My Impression:
Pros:  The books starts with Isabel walking in the morning smelling "lavender and sun warmed grass scented air".  How can you not love a setting that is described like that?  Also, can I get a bottle of that scent?  It sounds lovely.  This book like the previous book goes back in forth in time.  Part of the book takes place in modern day California in a beautiful apple farm full of lovely people.  You can feel the sun and taste the honey when Wiggs has us at Bella Vista.  It's beautiful and peaceful and warm.  This contrasts with the grim hell of  the storyline that takes place in World War 2 Denmark.  It focuses on Magnus and Annelise and their activities in the Danish Resistance.   Annelise's story is absolutely heartbreaking and the bravery of her and Magnus is really stunning.  I had no idea how the story of Isabel's father Erik and his parentage would be able to be resolved in a manner that wouldn't be painful but it really was.  I liked the introduction of the beekeeper Jaime and am hoping that her story will be the 3rd book.  I really enjoyed the ending and was glad that Isabel did what she did in terms of taking control of an issue and being able to let go.

Cons:  In the first book in the series and this one Isabel comes off as very kind but somewhat wounded.  While the causes of this are talked about in this book it did feel almost like a minor part. Especially given how much of an influence it had had on her life.  I think part of this is that Magnus and Annelise's story was so powerful that it minimized the present day stories some.  While I loved Isabel and Mac and feel like there relationship would work Isabel is annoyingly dense at times regarding Mac's feelings.  He's basically got a sign saying that he's attracted to her and interested in her and she just keeps thinking "Well he's not really because he'll be leaving soon.".

Overall:  This was a really lovely book.  The modern setting was beautifully drawn and I really felt for the characters' struggle.  There is an underlying them of endurance and family that is just really wonderful.  While this story is wrapped up nicely a mystery comes to light and the end of the book that is left open.  I'm really hoping for a 3rd book because I really want to know the answer!

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes definitely!  I have her earlier books on my TBR list and I'm really hoping for #3 in this series!

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Absolutely!

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Classics I want to Read/Reread

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic from The Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten favorite classics or Top Ten classics you want to read.  Since there are so many great books out there that I haven't gotten to yet I've chosen the latter and throwing in a reread part because there's definitely books I want to revisit.

I was really excited when I discovered that my library has a number of these classics in audiobook format.  I'm adjusting to audiobooks and so far I'm really enjoying them!  I just listened to The Great Gatsby which has been on this list forever.  It was interesting to listen to this as an adult as the last time I read it I was in high school.  Now enough of that rambling and on to the list:

Classics I want to Read/Reread:

Rereads:

1.  Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - I read this book when I was around 14 and remember loving it.  It was also the first PC game I ever played.  It was the kind of game with no graphics where you typed the command in and got back text depending on what you said.  It was great!  Since most of my memories involve either the game or the most recent movie I definitely need to revisit the book!

2.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - I haven't forgiven the book for the whole Amy/Jo/Laurie plot so maybe it's time I give it another try.

3.  Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - I hated this book when I read it in high school and I mean HATED it.  The only thing I enjoyed was the descriptions of Miss Havisham.  I think it's time to review this one as well.

To Read:

4.  The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - I know the basic premise and I've seen this referenced in other books but I've never actually read this one.

5.  The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - I read Of Mice and Men, I've read East of Eden, I've even read The Pearl but somehow the book he's probably best known for completely fell through the gaps.

6.  Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Somehow I've never read this.

7.  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - I own this one but that sums up how close I've actually gotten to reading it.

8.  War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - I didn't exactly love the Russians when I encountered them at 17 but this feels like a book I should read.

9.  Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - I read Jane Eyre by her sister Charlotte but never made it to Emily's work.

10.  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - I don't know how this never got read.  I'm so embarrassed!

So that's my list of classics I need to read.  Have you read any of these?  Is there a book that is really embarrassing to admit you haven't read?