Belinda’s Book Nook Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

July 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment

me-before-you1

Title: Me Before You
Author: Jojo Moyes
Copyright: December 31st 2012
Genre: fiction
Format: book  Pages: 369

Wow, it’s been a while since I have written a review. Don’t be fooled, because I have still been ferociously reading books! This is one I recently read on vacation and completed it’s final chapters at home.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

My Thoughts:

I have been hearing about this book for some time.  It’s not a new book but last year it was all the buzz and I typically shy away from all that stuff. So when I knew we were going on vacation, I thought this would be a great beach read.  It’s also been made into a movie. So I started it before leaving to make sure I would enjoy it. I felt drawn in pretty fast to the story.

I enjoyed the building of the story in this book. I liked getting to know the two main character’s backgrounds prior to meeting each other. Often times, I found myself laughing out loud when the book focused on Lou’s family life.  I felt like I was reading lines from a funny TV sitcom. I felt both Lou and Will had their flaws but under the circumstances acted appropriately. I enjoyed the slow burn romance and that it didn’t take away from the story.

My take away from this book might not be the typical but after reading it, I think we must really examine the folllowing questions:

What we define as a quality life? What rights do we have over our life and death? How we see the physically disabled community? Why much of the disabled community is hidden from mainstream?

In the book, Will frequently brings up that he hates the fact that he either receives the pity look or people try to pretend that they ignore him. He argued that people no longer see the person in the wheel chair. I had to stop and think about my own experience and take a critical look at my own shortcomings. Because I have been guilty of both.  But I also think that because many venues are not truly compliant for the disabled, they often aren’t seen in large numbers on an average day. That is  a problem. All buildings should be truly accessible for all so that everyone has a choice to participate and feel welcome. But this lack of exposure cheats everyone of opportunities to meet great people and to practice really seeing the person not their disability. I am sure this book wasn’t intended to be an advocacy book but it has struck a cord in me regarding these topics.

I had a girlfriend in college that went home for the weekend and came back several months later with one leg gone from an accident. I watched how hard it was for her to navigate the buildings and for the first time, I really thought about it. This book brought up those feelings again.

I enjoyed the story, the characters and the feelings that have arisen because of it. Now the question is, will I read the next book?  At this time I say no, because I am satisfied with the ending of book one and fear book two may spoil it. But I may change my mind later. Do I recommend this book to you? Yes, I do. I think it’s a nice summer read and I also hope an advocate for changes in mindset if nothing else regarding the disabled community.

Happy reading my friends!

Belinda

Filed Under: Belinda's Book Nook Tagged With: , ,

Belinda’s Book Nook Book Review: The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack

March 18, 2016 by Leave a Comment

TheMemoryPainter

Title: The Memory Painter
Author: Gwendolyn Womack
Copyright: April 28, 2015
Genre:  fantasy, fiction
Format: book  Pages: 336

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Two lovers who have traveled across time. A team of scientists at the cutting edge of memory research. A miracle drug that unlocks an ancient mystery.

Bryan Pierce is an internationally famous artist whose paintings have dazzled the world. But there’s a secret to his success: Every canvas is inspired by an unusually vivid dream. When Bryan awakes, he possesses extraordinary new skills…like the ability to speak obscure languages and an inexplicable genius for chess. All his life, he has wondered if his dreams are recollections, if he is re-experiencing other people’s lives.

Linz Jacobs is a brilliant neurogeneticist, absorbed in decoding the genes that help the brain make memories, until she is confronted with an exact rendering of a recurring nightmare at one of Bryan’s shows. She tracks down the elusive artist, and their meeting triggers Bryan’s most powerful dream yet: visions of a team of scientists who, on the verge of discovering a cure for Alzheimer’s, died in a lab explosion decades ago.

My thoughts:

I first heard about this book on the Book Riot’s YouTube channel and the description sounded interesting so I wrote it down on my list. A few weeks ago, I was at the library with the boys and while they were busy I decided to go check out the stacks. I was quiet surprised to see not only did they have it but it was available. Wow! I quickly checked it out and started reading it.

It was very to easy to get into and the fact that the characters were based in Boston made it a delight to read. The pacing of this book was great especially with all of the glimpses back in time. I enjoyed the variety of places this book took you. The book had so many historical stories that were entwined with the story that carried you on an unbelievably fun journey. I enjoyed all of the characters in this book and think they were all well developed. I am being purposefully vague about this story so not to present any spoilers.

I read each night before bed and continued devouring it at “pick-ups” while waiting for the boys to get out of school. I really would lose myself in this story at times and the last third of the book, I had to fight myself to put it down. That’s how engrossing it was. This is Womack’s first book and what a start! It is a stand alone but I definitely think she could make a sequel.

I am giving this book a strong 4 1/2 butterflies and highly recommend it!

Happy reading!

Belinda

4.5rating

 

Filed Under: Belinda's Book Nook Tagged With: , ,

Belinda’s Book Nook Book Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

March 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment

anemberintheashes

Title: An Ember in the Ashes
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Copyright: April 28, 2015
Genre:  fantasy, fiction
Format: book  Pages: 464

I remember last year when the hype from this book was so over the top. It had a big display at our local Barnes and Noble and some sort of survey thing going on and I kind of got turned off. So although I was curious, I didn’t buy into they hype.  Since then, I have heard only great things about this book and recently it was selected as a book club read. So I started looking for it on Overdrive because forking over $19 wasn’t in my plans.

Much to my surprise, while on a girl’s weekend a few weeks ago, I stopped into a used bookstore and scored a hardcover, new copy of the book for a dollar!! Yes, the book goddess was blessing me for sure. I couldn’t believe it.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

My Thoughts:

Wow. I loved it. I was drawn in from the start. Which has been hard lately so it was a pleasant surprise. Let me start by saying I love ancient feeling movies set in exotic places where the cast have elaborate costumes with Roman Legions like the movie Rome or fantasy films like Thor.  So this book was filled with rich detailed settings that captured my attention to the vary last page. I could see this book easily turned into a film and one of my bookclub friends told me the rights have already been bought so it won’t be long.

I think this debut author did a fantastic job of character development. I liked how strong Laia, the main character was throughout the story.  Of course there was a love triangle but it didn’t overpower the story with sappiness. It was woven in nicely.  I think I’m definitely a team Elias.

I am really happy that I didn’t read this book when it was first released in April of 2015 because I would have a long wait for book #2 (A Torch Against the Night) which is slated to be released in August of 2016 so I don’t have too long to wait.

I enjoyed this book so much I even recommended it to Leao to read after I finished it. Highly recommend it but must warn you there is some violence in the book. You can get it from Amazon in paperback now for less than $7!

I gave this book 5 butterflies!

Happy reading!

Belinda

5rating

Filed Under: Belinda's Book Nook Tagged With: , , , ,

Belinda’s Book Nook Book Review: Soundless by Richelle Mead

December 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment

soundless

Title: Soundless
Author: Richelle Mead
Copyright: November 10, 2015
Genre:  fantasy, YA fairytale and folklore adaptations
Format: book  Pages: 266

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

My Thoughts:

The Lure: I heard about this book on BookTube and wanted to check it out for myself. No reviews were made yet, so I was able to go into this with only my own expectations.  The idea of incorporating Chinese folklore to shape this story was very appealing to me. I studied Japanese arts and Literature in college and since I was young something mystical has drawn me to Asian folklore in general. Another thing that drew me to this book was the idea of having a predominantly deaf set of characters. I wanted to see how the author would deliver this information.

The book: Let’s face it, the cover is gorgeous. I like the beautiful colors, typography and the strength the cover model portrays on the cover. I typically remove the dustjacket off of the books while I read so as not to damage them, but I actually kept this one on so that I could see pretty every time I sat down to read. It was a very short book with only 266 pages but I think the author delivered a great story in such a short framework.

The characters: I really enjoyed reading about the main character, Fei and was drawn to her work as an apprentice to capture the daily events  with her paint brush. Her love of her craft was inspiring and her strength throughout the book was also a pleasure to witness. Li Wei, the handsome miner was also fun to follow and their on and off banter, made for a slow romance to be realized. I enjoyed the intertwining of the folklore to shape the existence of these people and how it shaped their beliefs and behavior.

Pacing: I felt like this author did a great job with the pacing of this book. It was a fairly short book. If I had one wish I would like more elaboration on the folklore that was brought in more strongly towards the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found that I breezed through it very quickly.  I would give it 4 1/2 butterflies because I really enjoyed the story and I found the inclusion of the folklore refreshing. Particularly with a book market that likes to reuse the same story over and over again. A true breath of fresh air this one was for me.

4.5rating

Happy reading my friends!

Belinda

Filed Under: Belinda's Book Nook Tagged With: , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers: