TBR Challenge: Penelope Williamson - The Outsider

A daughter of the faith…a stranger with a gun…a forbidden love.Throughout the years on her Montana homestead, Rachel Yoder had never been afraid—the creed of the Plain People had been her strength. Then the day came when lawless men killed Rachel’s husband in an act of blind greed. Now, at her darkest hour, an outsider walks across her meadow and into her life…Johnny Cain is bloody, near death, and armed to the teeth. A man hardened by his violent past, Cain has never known a woman like Rachel—someone who offers him a chance to heal more than his physical wounds.Cain’s lazy smile and teasing ways steal Rachel's heart and confound her soul. Soon she must choose between all she holds dear—her faith, her family, perhaps her very salvation—and the man they call the Outsider.

Comment: We arrive once more at the third Wednesday of the month and that means it's time for the TBR Challenge post. For this month the theme is "it came from the 1990s" which clearly means the choice would need to be something published in that decade... well, that's how I saw it. Thus, I've picked this book by Penelope Williamson who published mostly in those years, and this book is from 1996.

In this book we meet heroine Rachel, who lives a Plain Life (similar to Amish?) in her community and her life changes when she and her son Benjo rescue a stranger from the outside world, as they call it, when he is fund in their land with a bullet hole in his chest and close to dying. At first this is Rachel doing what the Lord would demand of her, but the longer the outsider stays with then, the more fascinated she becomes. Rachel is a widow and she knows she and this stranger would never be able to be together if she wants to still be part of everything she is familiar with, but what if the Lord has a different path for her? However, perhaps the stranger's enemies will want to catch him anyway, since they weren't successful the first time... 

I had read another book by the author in 2021 and liked it a lot. I was told by a friend that this one was also a good one and that is why it was in the TBR pile. I thought it would suit this theme since this book was published in the right decade and, in a way, that seems to be something related to writing style as well. I wouldn't say the "voice" is that distinctive, as other author's sometimes are, but the writing style is one I'd think of when thinking about books written in the 90s for certain, things with a lot more emphasis on romance and emotion instead of about characters' competence, for instance.

The plot is very simple but, as it used to happen with the so-called old school" types of stories, there is a lot being developed in regards to plot and the characters, including some who are secondary. This also means the story is a lot longer than it would be necessary if the focus were to be on simply the main romance. I wouldn't go as far as to say that there are pointless elements, but the author takes time to set up things and to let the reader know why some are important.

I liked Rachel as a heroine, for she is a good person and not only because she is part of a Plain Life community. Even people who worship God in such way have prejudice and imperfections, and this was an important part of the story when it became obvious that Rachel would fall in love with her stranger, Johnny. I was actually reminded of Laura Kinsale's Flowers from the Storm, which I loved reading, because the main idea is the same: hero and heroine come from different places and the heroine's Faith is an important part of her life and future choices.

That is how I saw this book for the most part, Rachel would need to make a choice at some point, but as always, the road leading there is what would make that choice an easy or a hard one and I think the author did manage to set up things in such a way that it would never be easy, no matter how much in love she would feel towards Johnny. The romance vs religion discussion was an interesting one here, and I didn't feel the author was preaching or defending this or that. I think there is enough focus on romantic notions to make it seem as if Rachel would not have a choice after all, but reading with attention might not make it be that obvious right away.

As with many books from this decade, there is an emphasis on the heroine and what she is feeling, and I do miss that Johnny didn't seem be developed as well emotionally or in a way that would match the level through which we see the development of Rachel. As a couple they were fine to me, but I must say I wasn't as dazzled by them nor their dynamics as I was with Kinsale's book I've mentioned before. The romance here was certainly more subdued.

I liked the interactions with Rachel's son and how we got to have a few scenes from his POV as well. Funny we have him, we have two or three other secondary characters' POV but not the hero's... as for the conflict, it went beyond the religious issues. There is a man who wants to take over Rachel's land and was the reason why her husband was killed, and this has some interesting development but I will confess I've skimmed some parts where this man is plotting bad stuff because it simply didn't matter to me, I wanted to get back to the main characters.

As expected, there comes a time where things become too hard, some bad situations happen to secondary characters as well, and we keep having some debates on whether Faith and Belief are enough to make one a Righteous person. I'm naturally interested in religious beliefs being important for a character and for what they stand for, so this theme captivated me, but of course a modern view on these things makes some situations in the book feel very unfair. In terms of romance, nevertheless, I think Rachel went into a path many would believe the right one.

In the end, I liked the subtlety in which some situations were dealt with. I liked how we are told a story but not how we should feel about it or what the characters should do. I liked that some things are so obviously good and bad that, as in real life, the choice is always impossible to be simplified. I didn't connect with this book as well as i did with the other one I had read by this author, but it was certainly a good one to send time with.

Grade: 7/10

Alex Michaelidis - The Maidens

Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens.
Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge.
Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld?
When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life.

Comment: I was given this book for my birthday last year. I've read and liked the author first book, which was quite a success, but somehow reading this one kept being postponed, until now. Well, I wasn't a fan after all.

In this story we meet Mariana Andros, a therapist specialized in groups, whose niece Zoe contacts when one of her college friends is found murdered. Mariana rushes to Zoe in Cambridge, even though an element of one of her groups has been erratic lately, to help her. She is told that the murdered girl, Tara, was part of a group called The Maidens, who kept following professor Edward Fosca, who is not only a brilliant teacher but a charismatic leader. Zoe believes Tara was afraid of the teacher and that he might have killed her, but no evidence of why or how. Mariana decides to stay for a while to help and to also investigate, since she also had studied in Cambridge, but there seems to be something happening that is strange and the killing continues. Mariana also starts feeling someone might be watching or following her, but will she discover who before it's too late?

The author's first book was more than successful, it created such hype that it was on the lists of many readers, whether the genre was their preference or not. I've read that book only last year and liked it but it wasn't such a stunning work for me, mostly because of the writing. Again, I've liked the book but the execution was as flawless as it was made to seem by so many positive reviews. Thus, before starting this one, my expectations weren't as high, but I was still hopeful... sadly, the execution of this book was, to me, a lot worse than it had been for the author's other book.

My issue is that the plot of The Maidens simply makes no sense whatsoever, and I just could not focus in what was happening without thinking "why?", and this happened long enough for me to feel there wasn't much logic to most events described. The little issues I didn't like much in the first book now seemed to be times two or three, and the more I read the more t felt the author wanted to use this detail and that and so on, that it was more a sequence of facts/scenes, rather than an actual plot.

The most glaring element for me was Mariana's role in the whole thing. I was extremely contrived how she came to be in Cambridge and why she stayed. Any reader has experienced some level of suspend disbelief while reading, even in relation to contemporary settings, but this time I was just not able to let go that Mariana is a therapist and she had no business to investigate Edward nor anything else. I see that the author really wanted her to be a group therapist because of the girls's group, but the way this happened so that at some point Mariana could pretend to play therapist to them was just... ridiculous.

I mean, I imagine this is why she was a group therapist and why she had to have a connection to the university somehow, but the execution was very poorly done. There are other reasons, namely Zoe, for her to stay there but this was never organically done that anyone would feel it's the most natural thing to do. Then, Mariana stays and investigates but why, and why her and how would she do this? What ability or skill would she possess to be able to ask questions, for authority she had not... this was obviously done so that Mariana could remain at the center of the story but this was also ridiculous.

The author really wanted to convey drama and a sense of doom with the way things progressed, especially so that a connection to the traditional Greek tragedy style could be established. I did like the references to a college environment, to the Greek tragedies used, to the most academic content and the way all this could be played out in a psychological way. What wasn't done well was the mix up of all these elements with the characters, which in my opinion weren't well developed.

I suppose some secondary ones couldn't, so that the sense of mystery could be maintained throughout, but Mariana wasn't, to be fair, such a great heroine, and I was easily able to stay out of the drama, the emotional distance was always there for me to just negatively nod my head at the absurdity of certain scenes. Even the character of Edward Fosca, the one that could have been better used to highlight the drama, ended up feeling incomplete. I was especially disappointed at the maidens of the title, the group of girls who supposedly followed the professor, in specific clothes and mannerisms. I mean... this was barely used in the story and they were more forgettable characters instead of secondary... 

The plot made no sense but I knew that the author's trademark is a twist so I kept reading for it. I never considered that explanation for in my defense it was more for lack of proper attention, for it's not that hard to guess if one does pay attention. The thought had crossed my mind often, but I never invested much time in real debate on why... when this is shared, it's... well, predictable. Of course this means some things used as red herrings make even less sense! I really feel the plot was misused. 

There are one or two references to the author's first book, which seems to be an intentional way to connect the world of both stories but I failed to think "aha" as when one finds the so called "easter eggs" in author's work. Reading this was really a let down... The author has been lucky I'd say, in the sense that his work caught many people's attention, and on one had this is great, but on the other I now feel even less eager to read his third novel. Perhaps if I find it at the library one day...

Grade: 4/10

Patience Griffin - To Scotland With Love

Caitriona Macleod gave up her career as an investigative reporter for the role of perfect wife. But after her husband is found dead in his mistress’s bed, a devastated Cait leaves Chicago for the birthplace she hasn’t seen since she was a child. She’s hoping to heal and to reconnect with her gran. The last thing she expects to find in Gandiegow is the Sexiest Man Alive! She just may have stumbled on the ticket to reigniting her career—if her heart doesn’t get in the way.
Graham Buchanan is a movie star with many secrets. A Gandiegow native, he frequently hides out in his hometown between films. He also has a son he’ll do anything to protect. But Cait Macleod is too damn appealing—even if she is a journalist.
Quilting with her gran and the other women of the village brings Cait a peace she hasn’t known in years. But if she turns in the story about Graham, Gandiegow will never forgive her for betraying one of its own. Should she suffer the consequences to resurrect her career? Or listen to her battered and bruised heart and give love another chance?

Comment: For ten years in the ebook pile, I've finally decided to try this story, whose cover and blurb made me think of cozy stories about people in a close community coming together for some reason.

Caitriona Mcleod is returning to Scotland after a failed marriage and the death of her husband. She feels she's given up everything for him, including her journalist career, and now she feels she can recover the bond with her grandmother in Scotland, although they have not gotten along since her father took them to live in the US. However, upon arriving at the cottage she had rented, she discovers things aren't as promised and she asks for help to the nearby house, which just happens to be occupied by Graham Buchanan, a movie actor who often seems to disappear from public view. 

Caitriona feels this is her chance to go back to her journalist career but between quilting and being around Graham ans so many other complications, could it be that her life is meant for something else?

On paper, this does sound like a very appealing story. I just can't be certain if it's the content or the author's story telling that didn't quite get there for me and in the end this was one more book I'd place among the average ones I've been reading. It's true that there is a very strong situation in the story, which made me emotional, but I think that specific situation was a bit out of sync with the rest of the novel.

The story does meet most of the ingredients one would think of when considering a cozier type of romance novel: a heroine in need of self evaluation, a family bond that needs mending, an off chance of meeting someone she was already attracted to, close proximity and a bunch of secondary little things that keep making it necessary for the main characters to see/interact very often. I really thought this would be rather predictable, and in a way, it was. Caitriona tells herself she needs to sell Graham's location as a way to save her career but of course we know that won't really happen until the last moment, probably after some big scene.

In the beginning, the story was interesting enough, even though full of scenes that were cliché (like Caitriona arriving at the hero's door in dire circumstances) but as things progressed, I feel everything got cluttered and without a real narrative line. Things happened, characters did this and that, we were told about what it felt like, what it might mean, but I confess I wasn't getting that cozy feel myself, that these characters were in a community type of situation where everything ends up being larger than life or special.

The romance was a bit forced, in my opinion. I mean, I saw the scenes and I can accept Graham and Caitriona were starting to like one another but their romance was more a collection of those scenes and the acknowledgement of someone handy in a certain situation for both of them, rather than this passion or obvious recognition they were both the one. Besides, while she has this weight on her shoulders that she should write about him to sell to a magazine, something that ends up being not that dramatic, since a way more serious situation is addressed closer to the end of the book.

In regards to that situation, I don't wish to spoiler it, but while it wasn't something impossible, I've felt it was way over the top for the story. At least, the fact that it was developed in such a detailed manner. until this, the story was a cozy romance that simply wasn't being very special and then, we have a situation that takes this over the board into drama/powerful descriptions. Again, not an impossible situation of course, but I wonder if it was the right way to use this in this specific type of story.

In the end, this felt like a mix bag for me. I liked some things, I enjoyed reading here and there, but there were also moments I was ready to finish or to not have to keep going. I did like the quilting scenes and information and I liked this was an important part of the story sometimes. Still, the transition from what this meant for the heroine and what it will mean in the big scheme of things wasn't very well done... it was almost as if sometimes including quilting benefited the scene, sometimes it was conveniently not mentioned.

All in all, one of those good premises which don't use all the potential development and, in part, the writing might be why.

Grade: 5/10

Louise Wise - Eden

Imprisoned for brutal crimes against his wardens, Fly became an unwilling experiment and was transported, with other criminals, to a hostile planet. Full of mutiny, anger and a desire for revenge the experiment was never going to be successful and Fly became the only survivor when the craft crashed.
Then the human ship arrived -- and Jenny.
With a malfunctioning spacecraft she was in for a fight for her life, but her problems were only just beginning when her crewmates abandon her on Eden.
Jenny's on her own... or so she thinks.

Comment: I got this book because it would feature a sci fi setting with a possible romance. It's not as if this is a genre I look for on purpose, but I must have seen it recommended somewhere...

Jenny and her two crew members Bodie and Matt are in a spacecraft and have the mission to investigate a specific planet, which apparently has some animal life. When they land, they start investigating, but the sudden appearance of a being who resembles human shape but is different at the same time, scares them and after some issues, Matt and Bodie manage to get back to the spacecraft and leave, abandoning Jenny with the "creature". After some trial and error, Jenny realizes she needs to survive and after a while she and the man shaped alien, of a race called Itor, establish a connection and even start communicating. As the days go by, Jenny needs to adapt and close proximity also plays a role in how she sees Fly, her new companion. Things even start changing for the better between them, but Jenny still hopes her crew members will come back, even more so when Bodie is her uncle. But if they do, will life remain the same with Fly?

This isn't a big story, and it seems clear the author was more concerned about writing the pertinent elements. On one hand, this is great, no overdone (pointless) stuff, but then it feels as if the story isn't as encompassing as it could, and I've felt the world building could have been presented better. Some readers also criticize the romance and how lacking in details it is, but this actually didn't bother me.

The story is set in Eden, a planet that seemed to be deserted but actually has life forms and characteristics to sustain them. We aren't told much about the life the three crew members had before they embarked on this mission, those details are shared from time to time as the plot develops. I've found this tactic to be a good choice, because it does allow the readers to make their own minds about them and how they are, personality wise. Still, Jenny is seen as someone determined and positive and committed. Her uncle Bodie is the one in charge and he is an expert at several things, he seems to be a reliable person. Matt, however, is impulsive and resentful of Jenny advancing on her career whereas Matt believes he isn't.

As things develop and Jenny gets stuck in the planet when an apparent malfunction of the craft leaves without her, we have glimpses of everyone's personalities in their actions. Jenny stays in the plant, needs to adapt, needs to establish a connection with Fly, the alien who seems to be compatible with humans (of course!) and they become a team. At first Flye does it so jenny has chances of surviving, he even offers her shelter and food, but we are aware of his thoughts and know he will want her to be his mate/companion.

I suppose one can say the romance isn't really a fair one, and there are a few scenes where this seems obvious. The author still went on with the relationship and in that specific context, with the details we got to see, perhaps it wasn't that terrible in my opinion, and Jenny even has some inner reflections which give the situation a certain fantasy-like vibe, and since this is a sci fi romance, I mean... Basically, the romance cannot be the ideal one we would prefer in different genres, but here I wasn't that concerned. Plus, for an alien Itor demonstrates very human like emotions and the reader is always aware of his thoughts.

Things seem to go well enough for the type of story one is expecting, and around half way, things change, when Matt and Bodie, who have been in orbit, crash in the craft. Jenny and Fly rescue them but, of course, this changes the dynamics. This second part of the story wasn't as great, because the intimacy and almost simplicity of their life now has two new players. I won't go into spoilers but it's a fact this new situation brings new challenges. I confess I was a little annoyed at this point, for two main reasons. First, a lot of things became predictable and then, the way things go on make the end of the book a little too convenient.

I think the author had a good plan, nevertheless, and I can only suppose such a situation could only go on in a certain path, even psychologically, but there are details I would change. In a way, the connection between all elements is there, but some aren't as smoothly done or as well structured as it would be ideal. Plus, with the notion the world building is too contained, makes some parts feel weaker by comparison. Also, there are moments that if one starts thinking in logical or scientific ways, or tries to use common knowledge of what to do when in face with unknown facts that might jeopardize human life, would make reading this quite a task for the mind. But I suppose the idea here was never to offer a study in real science methods.

This story is the first I try by the author and it seems as if she is independently publishing. I would say I liked her book way better than other books similarly published and perhaps with professional editing, this might be a much better work, for the bases and the content are all there. Despite thinking this, I doubt I'll read the second book. The end of this one wasn't the best thing ever, but I prefer to let my imagination live with the scenario the author offered...

Grade: 7/10

Dana Sachs - The Secret of the Nightingale Palace

Struggling to move on after her husband's death, thirty-five-year-old Anna receives an unexpected phone call from her estranged grandmother, Goldie, summoning her to New York. A demanding woman with a sharp tongue and a devotion to fashion and etiquette, Goldie has not softened in the five years since she and her granddaughter last spoke. Now she wants Anna to drive her to San Francisco to return a collection of exquisite Japanese art to a long-lost friend.
Hours of sitting behind the wheel of Goldie's Rolls-Royce soften Anna's attitude toward her grandmother, and as the miles pass, old hurts begin to heal. Yet no matter how close they become, Goldie harbors painful secrets about her youthful days in 1940s San Francisco that she cannot share. But if she truly wants to help her granddaughter find happiness again, she must eventually confront the truths of her life.
Moving back and forth across time and told in the voices of both Anna and Goldie, The Secret of the Nightingale Palace is a searing portrait of family, betrayal, sacrifice, and forgiveness—and a testament to the enduring power of love.

Comment: The blurb of this book intrigued me and since I have read other books with similar premises and with dual timed plots, I figured this would be something I'd like. Well, I liked some things in the story but not as much as I hoped for.

Anna hasn't gotten along with her grandmother Goldie for some years, but she suddenly receives a phone call for help, and convinced by her sister Sadie, Anna decides to accept. Her grandmother has some art she wants to return to their rightful owner and she wants to use her old Rolls Royce car, which Anna can sell after their journey, if she wants. Thus, Anna and Goldie will drive from New York to San Francisco, where they will return the art and then Goldie is going on a cruise for Dubai. The issue is that Anna is still going through the loss of her husband and she is still dealing with several things related to that,mainly that the very end wasn't a good goodbye for them. At the same time, Goldie reminiscences on her youth and shares some things with Anna, but is a road trip enough time to heal past wounds? 

This book is divided into five sections, the first one happens in the present time, focused on Anna, then we have a second part set in the past focused on Goldie, the third goes back to Anna, the forth is Goldie and the final one Anna again. This way we get to follow the two of them in their journey and the middle sections are setting to explain Goldie and some of her attitude and personality.

This is the first book I try by the author but I can safely say mrs Sachs is very competent in her writing style, she writes well, in a fluid way and it was very easy to go through the story because I assume from only this example that the author's style isn't one for unnecessary elements, such as heavy descriptions or flowery wording. However, I ended up thinking this story was simply competent and average anyway because despite the certain talent and unique style, the writing is also bland and lacks emotion.

Of course, this is only my opinion and since finishing the book, as I often like to do, I've checked several reviews where readers had other POVs, but I still didn't change my mind. It felt as if things were being told in a very formal and detached manner, which is fine, and I saw the author also writes non-fiction, so perhaps this is more a mix of her style in different genres, but to me something was missing and I didn't really connect emotionally with the character nor with the supposed heavy issues they went through.

Anna is an interesting character, she lost her husband to leukemia and she is still mourning. However, her mourning is more for the person and the loss of what could have been rather than the memories or the emotions lost. The fact is that by the end of his disease, they weren't getting along and Anna had realized they fell out of love at some point. Her grandmother had also been displeased she had married a man from Memphis instead of choosing someone from a more cosmopolitan place, and along with other situations, everything now makes Anna feel rather guilty she isn't sadder.

While on the road trip, she and Goldie seem to go the usual stages of dealing with their problems and sharing such a close space forces them to talk, perhaps more than if they weren't together. To be fair, the road trip is clearly a metaphor for the development of their healing relationship but I would still say I failed to see this. I certainly didn't connect with their bonding, so the end result is one where I feel this wasn't as strongly presented as it could.

Goldie is actually a much more fascinating character and I surprised myself by enjoying her sections more (usually, in these dual timed plots I tend to prefer the present times better). The author chose an interesting setting, the end of WWII when Japan attacks Pear Harbor and how this affects Japanese American citizens, such as friends Goldie had. There is a lot about this and Goldie's youth and experiences she goes through but, again, things aren't told in an emotional way, which I think could have reinforced some ideas, and the author wouldn't have do exaggerate drama anyway.

Well, the story was entertaining, at least, but I got distracted by other tasks more than once which means this wasn't as engaging as I would have liked. Then, when some things are revealed and Anna and Goldie reach San Francisco, Goldie tells Anna to deliver the art where she meets a old friend of Goldie. At this point the "message" was clearly that time heals, time gives other perspectives, it's never late to do what one desires in one's heart and so on, which is fine. 

However, the final scenes are of Anna trying to give her grandmother's forgotten phone to her and then she sees something that, I assume, was meant for the reader to be surprised and amazed at the whole story after all! Well, personally... no. Nor really...in fact, it was a little hard to believe, for it came out of nowhere. Not in terms of plot, that is acceptable, but in terms of pacing and structure. I guess this was meant for the reader to add the clues and have an heartfelt aha moment, but to me it was just odd it happened that way. Oh well.

All in all, average and not as compelling as it could have been.

Grade: 5/10

Bill Konigsberg - Openly Straight

Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.
And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.
So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret -- not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben ... who doesn't even know that love is possible.
This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate being different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself.

Comment: No idea now why I've added this book to the ebook pile, so to speak. The usual dynamics in an M/M romance intrigue me and I've read wonderful romances featuring gay characters and I suppose I wanted one more book with this content, but I must not have paid enough attention to the blurb before I got it...

In this story we meet Rafe, a teenager in Colorado, who has a pretty good life except he is gay and is out and everyone around is supportive, in fact a bit too supportive, as if he is only seen for the gay label. He wants to be a teenager who does things just like everybody else, and doesn't want to be judged by one thing, so he convinces his parents to let him study in a boys' school in Massachusetts and he plans on not telling anyone he is gay, so live through a different experience. The problem is that he discovers hiding or omitting he is gay is a lot harder than he imagined, especially if he wants to have real relationships and friendships with people who he wants to trust him back. When he starts falling in love with a friend who isn't as sure about himself as Nate is things are even more difficult...

Obviously, this is more than a coming of age story, since Rafe and those around him are still young and trying to know who they are. This isn't a type of story I look for in m/m novels, but I have read many books with it so far and some were certainly very good. But this one being in the YA genre made reading it a little less appealing, even more so when a lot of the plot sets on the idea of Rafe, in reality, lying to be seen differently.

I mean, from a pure social POV, this was interesting and I could see how a clever student like Rafe could see the experience, but here's the thing, Rafe is a teenager, not a mature man, and while this doesn't have to mean that all adults know whet they are doing - clearly not - of course a huge part of the story is about Rafe"learning" a lesson, getting the message and the knowledge that actions have consequences and sometimes they aren't as easy to go through as one might think.

I also found it interesting that he chose an all boys's school to make his experiment, and while there's some reference to is being a good school to prepare a student going to college, I think the goal was more about the physical distance. Rafe obviously meets different people in this school, but some things are going to be repeated until the end of times, and one of them is that there is always a social hierarchy in a high school. Some people are popular, others are not and this was also part of Rafe's experiment. In fact, this book brought to mind several movies with teenagers, where the "moral" would be to learn one is worth for who one is and not by those around, only this time the main character was dealing with the usual things and was also gay.

While studying and making friends and doing normal teenage stuff, Rafe also becomes close to Ben, another student at the school. It's a fact this isn't a book that focuses primarily in romance and I think that this was another tactic to showcase how wrong Rafe was in assuming an identity without sharing everything with someone he was getting closer to. I think the development of their relationship was sweet and realistic to how they had to interact in that context. Of course, the reader knowing things Ben didn't would most likely result in a not so good situation.

In this regard, I liked that the author didn't find a perfect end for this element of the story. I think this option happened for two reasons; first, as I've said, this wasn't meant to be a simple romance story, and second, the goal was to highlight the naivete perhaps, but also the mistakes Rafe incurred in while trying to deal with others as part of an experiment. At least, this is what it felt like to me. This means that, ultimately, this story felt more like a study on characterization and what it is to grow up. We are even told that Rafe went to nearby schools back home, to talk about being gay! This feels a lot like Rafe is like this role model, and this story is more about what it might mean that young students can be gay in a school environment.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with this, but Rafe was playing a role... I never felt this was really Rafe's story for himself, so my final appreciation of the book is an average one. I understand the author's goal, but then I expected more out of the fictional elements. I see there is a sequel, focused on Ben and, I assume, his POV, but I don't know if I'd want to try it, at least not soon.

Grade: 6/10

Emiko Jean - Mika in Real Life

One phone call changes everything.
At thirty-five, Mika Suzuki's life is a mess. Her last relationship ended in flames. Her roommate-slash-best friend might be a hoarder. She's a perpetual disappointment to her traditional Japanese parents. And, most recently, she's been fired from her latest dead-end job.
Mika is at her lowest point when she receives a phone call from Penny--the daughter she placed for adoption sixteen years ago. Penny is determined to forge a relationship with her birth mother, and in turn, Mika longs to be someone Penny is proud of. Faced with her own inadequacies, Mika embellishes a fact about her life. What starts as a tiny white lie slowly snowballs into a fully-fledged fake life, one where Mika is mature, put-together, successful in love and her career.
The details of Mika's life might be an illusion, but everything she shares with curious, headstrong Penny is real: her hopes, dreams, flaws, and Japanese heritage. The harder-won heart belongs to Thomas Calvin, Penny's adoptive widower father. What starts as a rocky, contentious relationship slowly blossoms into a friendship and, over time, something more. But can Mika really have it all--love, her daughter, the life she's always wanted? Or will Mika's deceptions ultimately catch up to her? In the end, Mika must face the truth--about herself, her family, and her past--and answer the question, just who is Mika in real life?

Comment: I can't remember why I've added this book to my TBR list but it is likely I've done it because the heroine would be going through a complicated time but then with patience and perhaps a romance, her life would improve. Plus, it would feature a child the heroine had given up for adoption discovering her and wanting a relationship. I was quite curious to see how the author would do it.

In this story we meet Mika, a Japanese-American who feels her life had gone nowhere. She knows her more traditional parents left Japan for a better life and Mika believed the dream until a terrible event happened while she was in college. Following that, Mika has done the possible to avoid specific responsibilities, especially linked to emotions, and that is why, in part, that she gave up her daughter for adoption at birth. Now, sixteen years later, her life is stale but she at least has her best friend Hana, always there to help her. Then, out of nowhere, her daughter Penny contacts her, especially now some years have passes since her adopted other has died, and this leads Mika to try to pretend her life isn't what it is. However, what will she do when Penny and her father Thomas discover the truth?

I am surprised by how much complexity and subjects the author managed to introduce in this story and still make things develop in a consistent way. Certainly that there are a few elements I'd have preferred to see differently, but all in all this did meet the emotional criteria I tend to enjoy in contemporary stories, whether one labels this as woman's fiction or as a romance.

Mika is a captivating character for several reasons but I was particularly interested in seeing her Japanese culture be part of the plot. Most of her interactions with her parents provide this, for they are quite traditional and the dynamics feel very close to what I've gotten by reading other books with Japanese characters. I also think it was an interesting added layer to Mika's personality how much her complicated relationship with her mother influenced her choices in life. This is something we get to see frequently though the novel, and it does add some drama to the plot too.

Deep down, Mika has grown up as an almost carefree child, despite her roots and the opinions of others around her. Things change when she attends college and something happens. I won't explain, for it would require some spoiler information but it isn't hard to guess, considering she has a child and decides to give her away. The adoption if one of those where the adoptive parents send reports from time to time to the biological mother so it shouldn't be that incredible that her daughter Penny looks for her. This is the event that triggers everything because Mika makes a bad decision: she feels she needs to prove her daughter that her decision was fr a better cause and she wants to show her life is now what she dreamed of, so she lies and pretends to be someone she's not.

Of course that this would not go well, but by this time the story was already half way and I felt the author had done a great job portraying Mika and why she acts/reacts the way she does. How not to feel commiserated over some things, and while I have not gone through anything like Mika does, I could relate to some feelings of inadequacy and low self esteem at times. This means I was quite hopeful that Mika would turn her life round in the second half of the book and that is what, indeed, happens. Perhaps not in the overly sweet and unlikely perfect way but in a way I could accept and even appreciate.

As Mika progresses in her self examination, she starts dealing with her traumas in a more considerable way. Perhaps she should seek professional help or therapy for a realistic way, but I can see how the author went into this tactic of making Mika deal with things in a way that still allowed her to reflect on what happened and try to improve. I did like this new Mika, after the hard lessons the lie taught her. I would not say her behavior was then as correct as hindsight allows, but I was happy enough with what she does and how she tries to be someone Penny can be proud of for real. Yes, some situations then get a bit too good but I didn't mind that, since the emotional aspects were strongly presented, for me.

This was a well achieved story because the characters are realistically drawn. Some things about their lives or details about their decisions make sense in the context we see them in and that makes the evolution of their days go in a way I wanted to see how important it would be or what it would cause. I would have liked a stronger romance since it's an element included here, but I can't say the end was that unfair, considering where the characters need to go, emotionally. It was more a HFN but with a hopeful note.

All in all, a good story and I'd read more adult fiction by this author. I see she has other YA books but to be honest, I don't feel curious enough to try those.

Grade: 8/10

Kristina Douglas - Raziel

She was just an ordinary mortal . . .
“You’re dead” is so not what Allie Watson wants to hear. Unfortunately, it explains a lot. Like the dark, angelically handsome man who ferried her to this strange, hidden land. The last thing she remembers is stepping off a curb in front of a crosstown bus. Now she’s surrounded by gorgeous fallen angels with an unsettling taste for blood—and they really don’t want her around. Not exactly how she pictured heaven.
. . . until death catapulted her into a seductive world she never imagined.
Raziel is unsure why he rescued Allie from hellfire against Uriel’s orders, but she stirs in him a longing he hasn't felt in centuries. Now the Fallen are bracing for the divine wrath brought by his disobedience, and they blame Allie for the ferocious Nephilim clawing at the kingdom’s shrouded gates. Facing impossible odds at every turn, the two must work together to survive. Raziel will do anything to defend his spirited lover against the forces of darkness—because Allie may be the Fallen’s only salvation.

Comment: One more book I had in the pile for more than a decade... I knew the average of the book on some websites wasn't too great, and specifically on GR the friends I have who also read it, didn't give it more than average ratings, but... hopes dies slowly...

In this book we meet Raziel, a Fallen angle who lives in Sheol with other angels and their wives/girlfriends. Sometimes the great archangel Uriel, who commands God's armies, sends them the task to take certain souls to their destiny and when this book begins, Raziel had been tasked to take Allie carter, the heroine, to her fate, but at the last minute he changes his idea because she was about to fall into Hell, and he knows she didn't have the sins for it. This decision forces him to take care of Allie's soul and her presence among his brethren also starts a radical change in their lives. The question is, can Allie and Raziel find a way to compromise, apart from what fate seems to indicate they should do?

Well, there must be a reason for all those average ratings after all, and now I've finished this book the obvious explanation is that this story just wasn't balanced and the romance was not really strong. I feel a little sad I didn't have a better appreciation or the book but things are what they are... and things even started quite well too, it was quite original that the story begins with the heroine's death and what would happen after that. 

I've read enough PNR stories featuring angels and I am Catholic so there are a few details that are just known, but it was quite an interesting take on the whole angel idea that the Fallen ones, instead of condemned to Hell or whatever other fate, have a place where they live and where they fight the real angels that are evil (the Nephilim in this case) while trying to find a way to free Lucifer, in their eyes wrongly castigated by Heaven, as well as defeat Uriel, the archangel that now blindly enforces God's will.

The world building is presented slowly, as the plot develops but I should say the information doesn't seem to be very consistently presented. It felt as if things were told as it was necessary and while this is a need, unless the author wrote an introduction note or something, but I felt the atmosphere/setting wasn't very strong and the characters were more adrift than steady. I liked the angel stuff and the twist to this idea, but then the heroine is there with them because she died. Although there aren't children for supposedly obvious reasons, other angels have wives or girlfriends and it was never clear if they are merely human or dead or something else.

Also, these angels are vampire-like, they need a specific type of blood to survive, since they are Fallen. Sure, what is one more paranormal element in this world, but this didn't bother me that much. I was more preoccupied with the fact Allie dies and now she seems to be like an orphan or a duty the angels need to take care of. Raziel feels responsible and he decides to help her, but he doesn't want her to depend on him... I mean, what will Allie do now? How can they have some things (like food) in Sheol but conveniently not others? As the story progresses and focus on fights and the romance, these things kind of become secondary, but... my logical mind feels there's a lot missing.

I've highlighted the word romance back there because I would not consider the relationship between Raziel and Allie to be a romance. The dynamics and the evolution of what happens between them might be seen as such, but there's an obvious lack of emotional content linked to actions and the end is proof, when they finally give in to yet another "fated" situation and become a real couple. The issue is that now they both have new roles after some plot events, and assuming some explanation might come forward in the books after this one, makes this one feel very unfinished. I kept thinking, what's the purpose of this and that, and OK, this is a series, but shouldn't this book work on its own?

It's true that this feels an easy book to read. It does have several elements which readers used to PNR or even UF would see a connection in what happens with the characters, but after years reading this genre and others, the reading experience simply wasn't great. I kept thinking, what if this scene was like this, what if this situation went into that, and what actually happens feels a little staged. Staged in the sense that the author must have an idea of where things were meant to go, but the transition from one things to another didn't feel very smooth, thus lacked continuity for me.

Again, it's not as if this is a bad book, it's jut not fully appealing anymore. Or, to be fair, not all elements are fully appealing as a whole, as working in a cohesive way. I've checked the blurbs of the other books and that feels enough for my curiosity over where things might go next. I confess  I don't feel the need to investigate further nor read them.

Grade: 5/10

Anna Lee Huber - A Stroke of Malice

January 1832. After enjoying a delightful few weeks with her family, expectant mother Kiera and Sebastian Gage have been invited to the Duchess of Bowmontʼs Twelfth Night party in Traquair, Scotland. Though she normally avoids such fashionable, rambunctious events, Kiera is ready to join in the festive merrymaking. But upon their arrival at the opulent estate, it becomes obvious that all is not merry in their hostess's home. The family appears to be under a great strain, and someone seems determined to cause mayhem among the guests with a series of forged notes.
Matters swiftly turn from irksome to downright deadly when the partygoers stumble upon a decomposing body in the castleʼs crypt. The corpse is thought to be the duchessʼs son-in-law who had purportedly traveled to Paris more than a month earlier. It is evident the man met with foul play, and Kiera and Gage soon realize that a ruthless murderer walks among them—and may well be a member of the duchessʼs own family. And when the investigation takes a treacherous turn, Kiera discovers just how deep the killer is willing to dig to keep their secrets from ever seeing the light of day.

Comment: This is the 8th installment in the Lady Darby series by Anna Lee Huber and as it happened with all the others, it was engaging and interesting throughout.

In this new adventure, Sebastian and Kiera are attending a house party at the estate of the duchess of Bowmont and while everything seems to be going well, it is obvious some people don't feel as comfortable, especially since both the duke and the duchess included their current lovers. The party includes several amusements and the family members also share a lot of the history of the estate and the castle. That is how a group stumbles on a dead body found in the crypt and, of course, Sebastian and Kiera feel it's their duty to investigate, but the problem is that the clues don't seem to match to the most obvious possibilities. While they investigate, a few other details seem to come to light and they believe the possible killer might still be around. How can they discover who that person is before another crime is committed?

Once more, I had a great time reading a book in this series. The installments are pretty consistent to me, there isn't one so much better than the others but neither that much worse and I always have a good time going through them, in fact I'd say they are comfort reading by now.

In this new story Kiera is six months pregnant and attending a house party of the duchess whose portrait she was commissioned to paint. She and Sebastian were invited, as well as her brother and sister, and a few friends as well, which means it has been a merry entertainment for everyone. I liked seeing this funnier, or lighter side of their life, how they could be in a more domestic setting, which often takes second place when an investigation is ongoing. Although, to be fair, the author does manages a good balance between these elements in most stories.

I liked the book for how we can kind of compare Kiera and Sebastian's relationship to others. The dukes don't love each other but they love their children, and the duke recognized four he knew he was not the father. Although this situation was certainly not uncommon I still liked that the duke made the four of them legitimate, even though everyone knows they aren't, and their mother even shared who their fathers really are. Still, this made me feel rather sad, that the lives of so many people had to be emotionally affected this way just because people decide to marry for reasons not emotional.

Yes, yes, marrying for love comes with all kinds of negative aspects too, but I think this is the first time in the series that the author addressed this infidelity fact so much, and along with getting to know a few of the characters, of course they felt an impact of this situation. How lucky the illegitimate ones had a duke for a father who was sensitive to their situation... it's also not a secret this very situation is, in part, why the big conflicts happen in this story but by the end, the solutions are quite simple for the amount of worry they caused.

The identity of the villain isn't much of a secret once a few details become known. I think the author highlighted interesting elements about the society by choosing this person to be the villain, but in terms of criminal investigation it wasn't a really complex or surprising one. I would also say that things were a bit too basic in how they happened but the real strength of this novel is in the family relationships and what they entail and why they make the characters act this or that way.

In relation to Kiera and Sebastian, while the investigation goes on, there are a few details that give us a glimpse of how they are as couple (which is quite well) and how they are interacting with the secondary characters closer to them. I'm saying this because one specific situation kind of affects Kiera's relationship with her sister Alana and I hope this is solved in the following book. We also have some inkling of what is happening between their servants Anderley and Bree and it's always nice to see that they aren't there just to conveniently help their masters.

There is also a very interesting surprise we learn in this story, regarding Sebastian's family, but due to plot reasons, it's not something we see discussed on time. I wonder if this will be important in the next book too or if the author will delay this being a pertinent fact for longer. I surely hope not, for it's something I believe to be better solved as quickly as possible.

All in all, another interesting story, even more so if I feel invested in the characters and in the main story line. Despite the mystery not being really great, I still consider this to be one of the books I felt more eager to keep reading since most elements as a whole felt well done.

Grade: 8/10

Colin Walsh - Kala

We used to be such a force, back then when she was still with us. What happened to her?
In the seaside town of Kinlough three old friends are thrown together for the first time in years. They – Helen, Joe and Mush – were part of an original group of six inseparable teenagers in the summer of 2003, with motherless, reckless Kala Lanann as their group’s white-hot centre. Soon after that summer’s peak, Kala disappeared without a trace.
Now it’s fifteen years later. Human remains have been discovered in the woods. Two more girls have gone missing. As past and present begin to collide, the estranged friends are forced to confront their own complicity in the events that led to Kala’s disappearance…

Comment: This is another book I was given for my birthday. Again, I had not heard of the author nor of the book before, even though I was told it was quite successful in the UK. The fact it has a mystery was probably what made me eager to try it.

In this story we meet a cast of characters that, in the west part of Ireland, is coming together for a wedding. In the meantime, the remains of a body are found and everyone believes it could be Kala, a teenager who went missing fifteen years ago. Everyone has secrets, but some surely are more dangerous to be revealed than others, and that is why that when two teenagers go missing now, the case is compared to that of the missing Kala. Could it be that there is a connection to the two situations? What happened to Kala? What are some people hiding that could lead to knowing what happened to Kala and to the missing girls now?

I will start right away by saying that this story felt to me more a character study than an actual mystery. Yes, we have a missing girl fifteen years ago, and two more now but the writing style and the the narrative choice is more indicative of the story of the three narrators - Helen, Joe and Mush - than of what should be related to the mysteries. Yes, there is something to be said about those, but I would not consider this to be a real mystery novel; it's more a literary one which happens to include a crime investigation.

The story is alternated told by three narrators, each one of them in the first person. Things begun with the upcoming wedding of Helen's father to Mush's aunt, the mother of the teenage twins who go missing throughout the story. We learn that Helen, Mush, Joe, the missing Kala and two others (Aidan and Aiofe) used to be a close group of friends when they were teenagers too, and everything in their lives changed the year Kala went missing. Now that Helen and Joe are back for the wedding - Mush never left - there's a weird vibe in the air and since Helen freelances as a journalist, she decides to investigate what happened to Kala all those years ago.

I think the idea is quite interesting and the fact this is set in western Ireland also gave a great cultural and geographical background to the events. I think I would have appreciated this a lot more if the narration had been in third person, though. Sadly to me, I've found the "voices" of the three narrators to be annoying, in the sense everything they think/say is cluttered among lots and lots of reminiscence monologues and memories. I get it; this is how we connect their teenage lives and what they were doing the year Kala went missing to who they are now. But it's still annoying.

I also disliked immensely that their thoughts also seem muddled by what I see as their character flaws: Helen always thinks she isn't as important to her family, Mush keeps himself from changing his life by making excuses, and Joe irritatingly thinks in second person! His POV is always something like this "you keep thinking, you were doing, you are this" etc, which I suppose is a way to demonstrate how outside of himself he is and why he is a alcoholic. I get it, it's innovative writing, but it's also very annoying to read.

These things mean that, for me, the story with such an intriguing mystery - it is so, deep down - gets lost in the middle of elements I feel didn't add much to what the plot should focus on. I now tell myself that perhaps the author should have written two different stories, each with a different main intention. I struggled with the writing for the most part, so much that even when some things were being shared/explained/revealed, they lost importance because I was annoyed and/or distracted by secondary stuff.

I should also say that there is some content that got on my nerves. When the main characters, as teenagers, discover a secret related to activities a bunch of people were hiding, I've found it to be distasteful. This eventually leads to Kala's disappearance and when the explanation is revealed, it's actually an interesting angle on life in a part of Ireland where economy certainly wasn't great. I must applaud the author to mix up several Irish elements so well, but at the end, when I think about my enjoyment of this story, there wasn't much to it.

I would have preferred the story to focus on Kala and why she went missing, and in the investigation of it in the present day, as well as how Helen would go from one information to the next. If all the extras were to be removed, this part of the story is quite exciting, but then all the unappealing characters, all their muddled thoughts and the disarray of how these elements were mixed up kind of diminished the power of the actual plot. This did feel average to me in the end. I've liked some things, I've disliked many others and I don't know if I'd want to read a book with the same writing style.

Grade: 5/10

Julie Owen Moylan - 73 Dove Street

West London, 1958. 73 Dove Street is a shabby house in a shabby street.
But this boarding house’s attic room suits newcomer Edie Budd very well. It’s somewhere to hide.
Tommie, on the second floor, is up in Soho every night. There’s a man she’s pursuing – whether he wants her or not.
Landlady Phyllis has thrown out her cheating husband. She’s burned his belongings in the street. Sometimes there’s no going back.
Three survivors living under one roof. Each alone nursing their secret hurts – and hopes. Because opening your heart could save or destroy you . . .

Comment: This is another book I've added months ago because I got interested in the blurb and in the promise of a story about three women who lived in a shared house in the 50s. The fact this is described as "emotionally gripping" and that the GR average is high despite the low amount of reviews convinced me.

In this story Edie, a woman who clearly hides something, is about to enter the house on 73 Dove Street, a place she hopes will be hidden enough to let her think for a while so she can make a decision on whether to leave London for all, or not. She is welcomed by Phyllis, the landlady, who also seems to be in an agitated state, especially after throwing out her cheating husband. The only other tenant in the house is Tommy, a young girl who works as a companion for an older lady and who has this weird obsession with a man she sees sometimes and whom she hopes might want her to be his girlfriend instead of just a casual lover. The lives of these three surely will mix but are their respective secrets too much for a small house?

I assume the author wrote this with the intention of mixing up an historical setting with a slight mystery vibe. Each main character has a secret or does things in a way that is mysterious and the reader doesn't get to know what from the start. Or, at least, I could say that the intention was that but if at the same time we are given some clues about their actions, some things become more obvious than others.

I actually got this book for the promise of the boarding house element. I figure it would be a place for the characters to find each other, to start friendships perhaps, to have a place where they could fee safe... well, a more romanticized idea of what a boarding house could be I suppose, and the title is even the house's address, but it turns out that the house wasn't that important after all, in the big scheme of things. It is a location where the three main characters meet and stay but in my opinion it never went beyond that.

The story is focused on the three ladies. The chapters are in third person, alternated between the POV of each one of them. This means we get to follow them in their daily tasks and thoughts, and this allows the reader to have an inkling on their personalities and behavior. I should say that I didn't finish the book with this sense of having spent time with incredible characters, although I can't really explain if this happened because I feel the characters weren't that interesting/developed or because the author wanted so much to give the idea of mystery that she overlooked the characterization.

Edie is a woman running from something. Immediately we assume from a crime, especially since she carries with her a huge amount of money. Edie seems to be the main character and, interwoven with the main narrative, we have plenty of chapters set in a previous time, such as five years before, then four, then two, then months and so on. These past chapters are all about Edie, and a picture comes to life, she married but her husband was abusive and this certainly made me sympathetic towards her, but by this time I was already a little disappointed with how the story was being told and I definitely didn't find it "emotionally gripping" as is described.

The issue to me is that none of the main characters are truly likable and that is due to the writing. Things happen in a fluid way and the author's "voice" is competent but it's not engaging to me. If these had been other characters the story line wouldn't change. Besides, although this is a period story, set at a time where certain situations were that way - mainly the social expectations on women and how limited their lives and choices were - I still wanted them to overcome the problems or evolve emotionally and it felt as if this didn't really happen. I also disliked some of their behavior, even if it was acceptable for the time.

Edie doesn't seem to be an easy character to like for lack of characterization, in my opinion. That she married someone who ended up being very different I cannot fault her for, but the author could have written her development differently. As for Phyllis, the landlady, her "path" takes her to a point in which she welcomes her husband back, after they have a serious conversation about their past - we discover they lost a son at war - and it seems they will stay together, despite his infidelity. Tommy, however, is even more difficult to describe. She seems to be a very ambiguous person and not as seemingly worried about her future. I also had this idea because she seemed to be a little promiscuous and I can't understand why. Her obsession with a specific man never felt explained to me either.

Anyway, I was not very impressed with the story but I was still curious to know what would happen regarding Edie's situation. Some interesting news are shared and I thought the author did leave a bit of a twist for the end but then... when things get to a highly stressful moment in the plot, and Tommy somehow ends up helping Edie, and she finally finds courage to leave London, the way the author wrote the final two chapters was just.... let me simply say this isn't a movie by M. Night Shyamalan where the end is shocking. If the author wanted to write things in a way that is meant to be provocative, for me that failed and I only felt frustration.

Well, it was one more experience... books are like this, some are what they promise, others not exactly.

I would think twice about trying other things by the author, but who knows...

Grade: 5/10