by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . May 13, 2012 . 1:56PM
I work in a profession where I see the results of the utter devastation that occurs when a life is shattered overnight. Prior to starting my career, I’d carefully considered how people reacted when their lives changed overnight due to death, job loss or infidelity and Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes covers the latter. I received Monarch Beach as a free book from Librarything to read and review and it appeared like just another summer novel where the woman prevails after the man does her wrong, at first glance. After reading it, however, there was more substance to Monarch Beach.
Amanda Blick has what most would consider a rich, fulfilled life. She is an heiress married to a handsome restaurant owner and has a mischievous son. She lives the American Dream in a way that many cannot fathom and in a community that embraces her. While she gave up her career dreams, she was content with the life she had with her husband and her son, Max right up until the day she found her husband in a compromising position with a woman at his job. At the same time, she gets devastating news about her beloved mother, who is her remaining parent. How Amanda chooses to handle the situation is what this novel is about and our glimpse into Amanda’s healing process is intriguing. As Amanda struggles to move forward, we see that she is not as strong as she thinks and that her vulnerabilities lead her into making some decisions, even at the end of the novel, that seem rather dubious. Overall, the plot is excellent and the character is real. Amanda feels like a friend of ours that makes us cringe, makes us cheer, and makes us sigh because we wonder if she will really get it together. Ultimately, the book left me wondering if she would. This isn’t your typical beach read, but it was easy to read and a good book that was well worth my time and entertaining.
by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . April 15, 2012 . 3:01AM
About a month ago, I received a short novel in my mailbox called Make It Stay by Joan Frank. It was an attractive novel with a beautiful teal cover and it was a free copy from Librarythings that was given to me to review. Because the book was so short, I admit that I took forever to get around to reading it because I thought that it would be an easy one sitting reading session that I could quickly complete.
That didn’t happen. When I picked up the book, I found myself struggling to make it through even the first 20 pages of it. Let me explain why.
Make it Stay is a book about a couple who are longtime friends with another couple. The book begins with the wife, Rachel, a curious writer, asking her Scottish husband, Neil, to tell her, yet again, how he met their friends, Mike and Tilda. As Neil weaves the story of how he met Mike and how Mike eventually come to find Tilda and have a child together, Rachel discovers some disturbing information about their friends. After that night, nothing is the same between her and Mike and Tilda as well as her and Neil. The intermix of very different personalities casts all of their relationships into dubious territory and the novel weaves the reader through the ways that they deal with the repercussions of their choices.
The plot sounds straightforward enough, but it is a dialogue heavy book and also contains many flashback sequences, which can be somewhat confusing. While I liked the descriptive details, I found it difficult to want to pick up and read this book and I was never quite satisfied after setting it back down, especially at the end of the novel. I rarely have so little to say about a book, but I just couldn’t get into this one and enjoy it.
by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . January 28, 2012 . 11:00PM
Sometimes, you have no choice but to go home again. Hannah Benson left her hometown 20 years earlier due to a tragedy that she has not yet moved past. However, when she receives a call from her old flame letting her know that her mother and sister have passed away and she is now the guardian for a niece she has never met, Hannah takes a deep breath and prepares herself for what is coming. Hannah has her reasons for not returning, Grady among them, but her niece, Anna, is there and she feels responsible for making sure Anna is cared for, which is more than anyone ever did for Hannah.
What Happened to Hannah by Mary Kay McComas is the story of what can happen when we allow ourselves to let our guard down and try to move beyond our past hurts. More so, it is a story of what happens when we forgive ourselves and allow ourselves the understanding of the people around us and why they make the choices they do. What Hannah discovers about mercy, compassion and love will fill your spirit as well.
As a character, Hannah is endlessly complex and completely frustrating. The entire book is spent talking her down from a ledge of her own making. But isn’t this what we all do? We spend so much time making up drama in our heads and then dealing with the upset from that that the real life issues we have are minuscule in comparison. Hannah moves through the story keeping secrets not only from the other characters, but from us, the readers. It was frustrating to have a clear understanding of why she was doing what she was doing until the end of the book, but the tension was not altogether unpleasant.
Other characters in the novel were pleasantly involved, but I found Grady to be a little too supportive. He showed so little emotion and the end felt inauthentic. I wanted more of Grady’s story and to know what Grady was doing when he was going home at night. Or what he was thinking, feeling or doing at work. How was Hannah’s pulling away really affecting him? There is a little of this in there, but I could have used more insight into both him and Anna.
Out of all of the characters, Biscuit was probably my favorite and I can’t tell you why without giving away some key details of the novel. If you read it, just know that I appreciate his wisdom beyond his age and his ability to truly see people as they are. I enjoyed the addition of Biscuit to the novel.
What Happened to Hannah is not a difficult read, though it may be for those that have abuse in their histories. The story is an interesting one, though there were some turns that I would have expected to be explored more fully (Jim). Either way, this is one that is a take it or leave it, but if I had the choice again, I’d probably take it.
Note: I was given a free copy of this novel in order to review it. Thank you for allowing me to share my opinion.
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I work in a profession where I see the results of the utter devastation that occurs when a life is shattered overnight. Prior to starting my career, I’d carefully considered how people reacted when their lives changed overnight due to death, job loss or infidelity and Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes covers the latter. I received Monarch Beach as a free book from Librarything to read and review and it appeared like just another summer novel where the woman prevails after the man does her wrong, at first glance. After reading it, however, there was more substance to Monarch Beach.
Life is like a game. We all have challenges, thoughts, opinions and beliefs. Often, it feels like something out there, life, karma, catty people, or blue shells (for the Kart lovers), seeks to bring us down. Luckily, we always get up. This is where I wear my heart on my sleeve and my foot in my mouth.
