DisneyAngel55

Terrible ending

Revisado: 05-12-24

Well, let's just start with the premise of this book - which hooked me right from the start! First, imagine being a mortician. Then imagine your doppelganger, whom you've never seen or met, shows up dead on your table in your small town. As if that's not enough, imagine they have a photo of YOU in their wallet. Whaaaaat?

This was very hard for me to put down. Like Phoebe, I felt compelled to know who Pauline was, why she was there & what happened to her. Around every corner was a new lead with several new questions and very few answers. I felt like I was truly experiencing Phoebe's emotions as I went along with her on her journey. The sadness, the frustration, the confusion, the hope...just everything. What a ride.

Where I think this story fell a bit short for me, was the ending. It felt somewhat rushed, and still left several questions unanswered. I know with the premise of the book we weren't going to get answers to everything, since as the saying goes "the dead don't talk". But there were still a few situations that would've been nice to know WHY.

I think a few more explanations throughout an ending that didn't seem almost forced to be over, would allow me to give this book a solid 5 star rating. As it was, it's at a solid 4 stars, and in my opinion - well worth the read.

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This was SO GOOD

Revisado: 05-12-24

I received this book from my Once Upon A Book Club box, in July of 2019. It was not a book I would have ever chosen for myself. As it was, it took me almost 5 years to read it because I was so disinterested in the synopsis. A book about birds? YAWN. I finally decided to read it because I was tired of staring at it every day. Holy hell, was I wrong.

This book is about so much more than birds. Not birds, PIGEONS. It's inspired by the actual use of homing pigeons in Britain during WWII to gather and share intellect from German-occupied France. It stars Oliver from Maine, a crop-dusting pilot who has come to Britain to join the Royal Air Force. The events of his journey land him in Epping, where he meets Susan and her grandfather Bertie, both part of the National Pigeon Service. They become involved in a covert assignment codenamed Source Columba, which aims to air-drop hundreds of homing pigeons over German-occupied France, many of which will sadly, not survive.

This is a story about friendship, love, dedication, courage, and following your heart. But it's also a story about loss, terror, worry, fear and the sheer tenacity of survival during the early days of the Holocaust. Oh, and Louis, a truffle hog. 🩷🐷

I don't want to go into too much detail, as I don't want to spoil anything, but as good as this story was, the ending was a little bit bumpy for me. Not enough to dissuade me from giving the book 5 stars obviously, but just a *slight* bit disappointing. After all, we all want the fairy tale ending, right? Regardless, this would make an EXCELLENT movie.

I am so glad I finally decided to read this. I just wish I wouldn't have waited so long! So do yourself a favor and don't wait any longer. It's a hell of a flight.Thi

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Ugh

Revisado: 05-12-24

Ugh. This was another book selection from the Once Upon a Book Club subscription box and sadly I did not care for it at all. The writing was good, but the characters & storyline were just awful. 

Cecily has three daughters that are shocked by their mother's sudden disappearance to Greece. While there, she meets up with Marnie - an infant daughter that she was forced to give up for adoption at the age of 16. Cecily hasn't seen or talked to her since that fateful day over 50 years ago. (Not a spoiler as you find this out early on in the book.) When she returns back to the UK, her daughters have planned a dinner and Cecily finally divulges her secret. 

In addition to Cecily's story, each of the younger 3 daughters have their own, completely pointless storylines. These added absolutely nothing to the story overall, and just seemed like filler. You don't get any real insight to their lives and all they seem to do is whine and complain. 

The worst character of all, is Marnie. She is completely rude, totally unlikable and basically in the end, a complete sociopath. There is nothing to like about her, even after giving her a bit of a break due to her history & rough childhood. Plus we get zero insight into her thoughts like we do with everyone else, other than what she voices out loud. 

Actually, all of the characters seemed to be quite selfish and superficial in my opinion. The only character that seemed to have any likeability at all, was Peggy. Cecily met her while they were both pregnant and living in the home for unwed mothers. This part of the story was the only part that I found to be even remotely interesting, and had actual feeling. Too bad it was so short. 

I'm really not a fan of giving poor reviews, and to the author - I'm sorry. But with this one, there really wasn't much for me to like. Bummer.

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Meh, the ending was graat

Revisado: 05-12-24

April, 1912: The largest, most luxurious ocean liner ever built, set sail for its fateful maiden voyage - forever changing the lives of all 2,240 people on board.

Most everyone knows the tragic history of the RMS Titanic. But how much do you know about the passengers that were on board? This book is based on the true story of the Fortune sisters, Alice, Flora & Mabel, and their pilgrimage across the Atlantic on that infamous journey. 

I found the first two-thirds of the book to be extremely boring and slow. I also feel like there were WAY too many characters to ever really get a chance to truly get to know and understand them. It seemed like the author was trying to fill the book with as many actual historical figures that were on the Titanic as possible. While I appreciate including some of the more well-known passengers (Isador & Ida Strauss, The Unsinkable Molly Brown), it may have been better to just leave it at them. Or maybe even just briefly mention them, but then focus more on the others instead. It was just too much to include them all.

The final third of the book however, was amazing. Once the Titanic hits the iceberg, the story really picks up and I had a hard time putting the book down. Although I knew the fate of the ship, it was still heartbreaking to read and I couldn't wait to find out the fate of the main characters. Excellent story telling! 

If you're finding it difficult to get through the beginning, don't give up! The ending is worth the ride.

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Weird

Revisado: 05-12-24

(Really 1.5 stars rounded up for creativity.)

Eleven year old Riley Mays moves from Chicago to her cousins Wisconsin farm after the untimely deaths of both her troubled mother, Nikki and her beloved aunt, Julia. Here she finds solace with her older cousin Alec, his wife Sachi, and their son Kiran. Ten years later, well known author, Vaughn Orr unexpectedly shows up at their farm after running out of gas in his search for potential properties to buy. Sachi recognizes him and learns he's trying to escape the city due to writer's block, so she offers him a place to stay. It is here the story begins, as we discover how their lives are intertwined.

This book was... weird. If there was a Sundance book festival instead of movies, this book would definitely be included. It is strange, artsy, and all over the place. The secondary characters were all bizarre and the story line was so unbelievable that I found myself literally rolling my eyes several times.

First, Vaughn is supposed to be 29 years old, and Riley, 21. But the descriptions read like Vaughn is closer to 40, and Riley a young teen. GROSS. They have an instant attraction to each other, which I completely failed to believe as the reader.

Second, the characters seem to be weird just for the sake of being "diverse". Alec is really into moths. Like REALLY into them. Sachi is an artist who painted Riley naked to preserve her youth (WTF), and Kiran is an 8 year old boy who takes apart clocks and wears women's clothing, including dresses & go-go boots. They're ALL obsessed with climate change and the author really tries to push towards that agenda throughout the entire book.

Finally, the story was entirely unbelievable and the ending was terrible. Vaughn reveals to Riley the secret he's been keeping from her, and her reaction to this secret is stupid. Without giving too much away, it should have ended with her initial reaction and left it at that. But you go on, Riley - immediately justify away. It's cool.

In conclusion, I would not recommend wasting your time reading this, unless you enjoy the fact that everyone in this book needs therapy!

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Excellent Read!

Revisado: 04-28-24

In 1951, Edie Green is 15 and living at home with her eccentric mother, who conducts seances for a living. She is lonely and yearns for something more in life. When popular & pretty Lucy Theddle befriends her, she thinks things are starting to look up for her. But Lucy is hiding a secret that Edie is not so sure she should keep hidden... Then Lucy goes missing.

In 2018, Edie is now 82 and still living in the same town. Only now she's suffering from dementia, so her memory's not so great. One day she thinks she sees Lucy - looking the exact same as she did almost 70 years prior. She tells her family, but they think she's just confused again. Edie knows she's kept Lucy's secret all this time, but what was the secret? She just can't seem to remember! Suddenly Edie is determined to find out what happened to her friend all those years ago. 

This one hits really close to home for me. I am very familiar with the effects of dementia, as several of my close relatives have suffered from this terrible, debilitating disease. It was interesting & terribly sad to see things from Edie's perspective, as she goes in and out of lucidity. The author writes with such compassion and heart, it's hard not to feel sentimental towards most of the characters. I loved the dual timelines, and the mystery surrounding Lucy was laid out perfectly. There were zero dull moments. In fact, there were many late nights because I needed "just one more chapter"! The entire book is just beautifully written, and I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone wanting an amazing read. 

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Worth the read.

Revisado: 02-13-24

Wow, ok. Where to start? I loved that it's a romantic paranormal ghost story, and the first half of the book had me completely enthralled. 'Oh, they're falling in love! Wait, he's a ghost - how will that work?!' Having seen the movie Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon & Mark Ruffalo years ago, I thought I had the plot of this story in the bag. But I quickly found out that, no I did not!

The second half of the book was frustrating to me. In an attempt not to spoil anything... I couldn't figure out the dynamics of their relationship, but mostly why Daniel was acting that way. He just didn't know? But then near the end of the book, it was suddenly a total 180 for him? There just seemed to be some major plot holes, that caused a lot of confusion.

Overall, the writing itself was phenomenal & Sarah Ready is an excellent storyteller. The book was completely original. I don't think I've ever read anything like it, and I have read quite a few paranormal books!

My final take is, if you can take away the frustration of trying to figure out the "science" behind the plot and just focus on the storyline itself, you'll find yourself immersed in a really fun read.

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