This book was a joy to read. The prose was hauntingly eloquent. At its heart, this is a coming-of-age story that will touch you in unexpected ways. Hands down the best book I read so far this year.
For a brief period of time, in their grade school years, Sam and Sadie are best friends. They connect over their love of video games and then have a falling out. Years later, a chance meeting when they are in college reunites them. They, along with Sam’s college roommate, form a software company and a friendship that will be the most rewarding thing and the most hurtful thing in their entire lives.
It has been a long time since a book touched me this deeply. I felt like I was peeling away layer upon layer of text to reach the core of these characters that I fell in love with. This is not one of those books that you can read quickly and then jump right into the next. Definitely no fluff here. The story is subtle and yet also complex. It is life and the characters felt as real as any I have ever encountered.
This is the perfect book for fans of A Gentleman in Moscow and A Man Called Ove. I have already recommended this one to my friends and a highly recommend it to you!
I received a free copy from the published, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
I wished I had enjoyed this book. Other readers did enjoy this book very much; therefore, I am going to chalk this one up to just not my tastes. While I explain my reasoning for my rating, keep an open mind because the things that bothered me may not be a big deal to you.
Katy’s mother, Carol, has just died and she is left without her rock, her best friend and supporter. To say Katy has lost everything thing is an understatement. She depended on her mother for everything despite being a grown, married woman herself.
Carol’s death happened just two weeks before their planned trip to Positano, Italy to celebrate Carol’s 60th birthday. At a loss on how to live without her mother, Katy decides to take the trip alone. Once there she discovers a much younger version of her mother. She sets out to discover more about this version of her mother she never knew existed.
Before I delve into the parts I didn’t like, I would like to talk about the things I did like. First, I loved the descriptions of the Italian coast, the food and life. It made me want to drop everything, pack a bag and go see for myself all the delights of this lovely seaside town.
I enjoyed the plot (for the most part) and thought the pacing was good. However, I was not a fan of how the time travel was handled. It read as an afterthought or that it just thrown in to make the plot work. If you time traveled, wouldn’t you notice things like old cars everywhere that looked new, no cell phones, that people dressed funny. I guess there was a time bubble just around Katy?? Yeah, I know it is fiction, but it has to be at least plausible in some parallel universe.
Then we had the relationship between Katy and Carol. Katy was so clingy it was to the point of being unhealthily. It felt like Katy, couldn’t wipe her own behind without asking her mother for permission. The relationship described was well beyond clingy going into the scary and creepy territory. I’m still shuddering to think about it.
In short, I was disappointed in what could have been a great story. Though I feel uncomfortable recommending this book, I know a lot of people will enjoy it. Therefore, I suggest you decide for yourself.
I received a free copy, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts, by Kate Racculia, is, in many ways, an ode to Edgar Allan Poe. In fact, the entire book abounds with Poeness. It is chalked full of literary references to all things ghoulish, spooky and other cultural references to the supernatural. All of which I found delightfully entertaining.
When eccentric billionaire Vincent Pryce dies, he sets in
motion a treasure hunt, as part of his legacy, that anyone can play. He was
obsessed with the strange and bizarre so it is no surprise that his clues are
Poe inspired. This suits Tuesday Mooney just fine. All her life she too has
been interested in witches and the supernatural and she just happens to be very
good as solving puzzles.
She and her friend Poindexter, aka Dex, play Mr. Pryce’s
game and are quickly joined by her neighbor’s daughter Dorry, whom she tutors,
and Nathanial Arches a rich playboy. They all are playing for their own reasons
and nothing is as it seems even the game… especially the game. With so much
hidden under the surface anything could happen and it does. When the many
layers are pulled back and the truth is revealed it is shocking and brilliant.
The story is steeped in the supernatural, yet at the heart
it is about relationships, love and loss. Like the treasure hunt, the author uses
the many layers of the story to explore the connections of family and
friendship and how love and loss affect them. It was exceptionally well done
and the action of the plot made what could have been mundane and boring, exciting
and thrilling.
As good at the plot was, it is the quirky characters I loved
the most. Tuesday who always dresses in black and speaks, in her head, to her
dead friend’s ghost. Dex, the drag queen, who just wants to be accepted for the
“real” Dex. Then there is Dorry who is still dealing with the death of her
Mother and Nathanial who has so many secrets and guilt you wonder how he can
carry that weight. The hunt brings them all together physically, but it is the
unseen, the emotional connection that is what truly shines here. It is subtle,
sublime and so well done!
It is a given that readers who are interested in the supernatural will definitely want to read this book. Because of the relationships and themes explored, I think this book will appeal to a much wider audience. So, if the supernatural is not your thing, don’t let the word ghosts in the title deter you from reading this little gem. You will miss out on a truly amazing story.
I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
