Review: More Than Words (by Jill Santopolo)

 My rating: 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars

I decided to read this book because I had read this author Jill Santopolo’s earlier novel The Light We Lost back in 2017 and liked the story well enough, even though with that book, the characters didn’t work for me and the emotional aspect was lacking – however, even with a few issues, there had been a twist to that story and the dialogue was meaningful enough that it almost made up for some of its flaws.  In other words, I was still able to enjoy that book to some extent, even though it wasn’t a genre that I’m particularly keen on (contemporary romance).  Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Santopolo’s second book More Than Words, which publishes next month (on February 5th).  While I would say that, just like her debut, this book was also well-written and definitely readable, one huge difference was that this time around, the story itself lacked depth – the impression I got after finishing this book was that the story was too superficial and clichéd, the plot so predictable and formulaic that about halfway through, I felt like I didn’t have to finish the book and I would still know exactly how the second half would play out (I finished the book anyway and yes, the rest of the story matched almost exactly with what I had predicted).  In addition, many of the same issues that I felt had plagued the first book (and therefore made it an average read for me) also existed in this one as well – namely, the lack of emotional depth, especially as it relates to the main characters.  In this case, the main character is Nina Gregory, the young heiress to a hotel chain who finds herself at a crossroads when her beloved father dies and she not only has to deal with her grief while preparing to take over the family business, she also has to struggle with the realization that the life she had been living was perhaps not the one she was meant to live.  Since this is a romance novel after all, Nina’s “struggle” also involves having to choose between two men she truly loves. 

I honestly was not able to connect with Nina at all for some reason – with all the “struggles” she goes through, I know I’m supposed to sympathize with her or whatnot but I actually didn’t feel anything, even during the supposed “emotional” scenes where I’m expected to feel for her.  Perhaps it’s the way the character was written, but she just felt very one-dimensional to me, almost like her character was merely “going through the motions” with everything instead of being a character that comes alive with heart and soul.

The writing as it pertained to bringing the story together as a whole also left much to be desired.  With Santopolo’s previous novel, even though it had also lacked emotional depth, at least the story was written in a way that some of the dialogue gave me food for thought and made me ponder a few things (albeit not too deeply)….with this one on the other hand, I felt nothing at all.  Even right after finishing the book, I had difficulty recalling much about the story or the characters, which is not a good sign, as it usually means the book is forgettable.

In a way, I do feel that part of the problem is with me in that, as I mentioned earlier, contemporary romance is not a genre that I prefer and though I hate to say it, there is a certain amount of preconceived bias on my part that these types of books usually lack depth, so in a way, the author (through the book) has to work harder to convince me otherwise.  Unfortunately, this book didn’t succeed in swaying me.  With that said, there were many who liked this book quite a bit so I would suggest checking out those reviews.  One thing I do feel I should mention though, in case this matters to those deciding whether to give this book a try – there were a handful of mildly graphic sex scenes in the book that I personally felt were unnecessary in terms of the amount of detail used to depict the physical interactions between the characters…for me, it wasn’t too big of a deal but others may be bothered by it. 

Overall, this was an okay read for me – quick and easy to get through but if I had to choose, I would prefer this author’s previous novel slightly more.

Received ARC from G.P. Putnam’s Sons via Edelweiss

Review: The Last Romantics (by Tara Conklin)

 My Rating: 4 stars

This was a book that I very nearly devoured in 2 sittings if it weren’t for the fact that I had work and family obligations I had to take care of, so I ended up finishing the last dozen pages or so just now (turned out to be 3 sittings, not 2).   In all honesty, when I first picked up the ARC of this book and read the summary, my expectations weren’t too high, as the premise sounded like it would be yet another story about sibling rivalry and complicated family dynamics – both familiar topics that have featured in plenty of the books I’ve read over the past few months.  This one turned out to be different from what I expected, but in a good way.

At the heart of the story is the Skinner family – the father Ellis Avery, the mother Antonia (whom everyone in the family refers to as “Noni”), their 4 kids Renee, Caroline, Joe, and Fiona – living in the middle-class town of Bexley, Connecticut in the 1980s.  When 34-year-old Ellis dies suddenly and unexpectedly (he literally drops dead in the middle of working), his 31-year-old wife Noni finds herself thrust into widowhood with 4 young children in tow (the eldest Renee was 11 years old at the time, the youngest Fiona was only 4 years old), but even more shocking is the realization that her husband had left behind very little in terms of savings, causing the family to fall into dire financial straits not long after the funeral.   This plunges Noni into a deep depression that causes her to retreat into her bedroom for days at a time, “resting” with the door closed, curtains drawn, and lights off, leaving the 4 Skinner siblings to essentially take care of themselves, though Renee, as the eldest daughter and most responsible one, steps up to care for her siblings in their mother’s absence.  This went on for 2 to 3 years, a time period that the siblings later collectively refer to as “the Pause.”  Though their mother eventually emerges from “the Pause” and together, the family is able to pick back up the pieces and move on, a few defining things happen during this time period that will end up affecting the siblings for the rest of their lives.  In the decades that follow, though each sibling grows up and leads their separate lives, they are not able to escape the inevitable ties that bind them together as a family. 

This was an interesting story that ended up being surprisingly engaging for me.  I was absorbed into the Skinner family’s story from the start and as each chapter progressed, alternating between each sibling’s backstory, this family grew on me and I found myself rooting for each character throughout their many trials and tribulations.  The writing was exceptional and even flowed “poetically” in certain parts (which is significant given that the main character Fiona, whose perspective the story is told from, starts off in the story as a renowned poet) – the smoothness of the writing helped draw me into the story quite quickly and kept me engaged throughout.  With that said though, my one minor complaint was the odd way that the story was narrated throughout the book, jumping from Fiona’s first-person perspective (since the way things are setup, she is actually telling the story of her family from a future time period) to a quasi-third person perspective starting each chapter about her siblings, but then in the middle of the chapter, it switches back to Fiona’s first-person perspective.  I will admit that this format was a little jarring for me, especially the first few chapters, but I guess later on I got used to it so it didn’t bother me as much.  I don’t really know how to explain it – perhaps it’s the way the story was told, but I felt that there was an addictive quality to the story that made me want to continue reading even when I knew I should stop (i.e.: it was getting late and I needed to get some sleep in order to function properly at work the next day)…there were times where I felt a certain “urgency” to find out what will happen next to each of the characters as they deal with the issues that crop up and what their fates end up being when all is said and done.

As might be inferred from the title, it can be said that this book is about “love” in its many different forms:  love between a couple in a relationship (romantic love), love between family members – whether parent to child or between siblings (familial love), love between friends, casual love, selfish love, unconditional love, subtle love, etc. but in a big way, this book is also about the failures of love and the disappointment, regret, and pain that come along with it.  With all that said though, this book is NOT a romance novel nor is it a love story in the traditional sense of the word – in fact, despite the title, there is actually very little “romance” in here.  If I had to describe this book in a few words, I would classify it as a “family epic” that explores the complexities of life, love, relationships, and how the individual choices we make at different points in our lives impact and shape our futures.

I didn’t realize at first that this is the author Tara Conklin’s second novel – her debut novel was actually The House Girl, which was published back in 2013.  I haven’t read that one yet and I heard it’s a completely different genre (historical fiction versus contemporary fiction with this one), but it’s definitely going on my TBR now – hopefully I’ll get around to reading it some time soon!

Received ARC from William Morrow / Harper Collins via Edelweiss

Review: Moloka'i (by Alan Brennert)

 My Rating: 5 stars

Several months ago, I was offered an ARC from the publisher for Alan Brennert’s newest novel Daughter of Moloka’i (which is scheduled to be published in February).   At the time, I skimmed the brief synopsis of the book that came with the email and that, along with the knowledge that the book would be in the historical fiction genre (one of my favorite genres), was enough for me to make the decision to accept the ARC I was offered.  Thinking at the time that the book was a standalone novel, it wasn’t until the end of last year, as I was planning my upcoming reads for 2019, that I read a more in-depth summary of the book and discovered that it is actually a sequel to a novel that Brennert had written 15 years ago, a bestseller from 2003 titled Moloka’i.  I put the book on my TBR list hoping I would get a chance to read it before reading the sequel.  A few weeks later, as I was browsing at a used book store I had recently discovered, I unexpectedly came across a paperback version of Moloka’i – coincidence or not, I knew right then and there that this was a book I just had to read, so I decided to take a much needed break from my ARCs list and squeeze this one in.  I am glad I did so, as I ended up loving this book and am happy to say that it is my very first 5 star read of 2019!

Prior to reading Brennert’s beautifully written masterpiece, I actually had no clue that there once existed a quarantined leprosy settlement on the Hawaiian island of Moloka’i.  I also knew very little about leprosy (now known as Hansen’s disease) itself outside of brief mentions I had come across many years ago that talked mostly about the physical deformities associated with the disease.  With this little bit of knowledge to go on, I went into this book expecting a heavily depressing story, one that I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle.  Now I know that I need not have worried, as instead of a depressing read, I was treated to an exquisite, beautiful, moving story about life, love, family, and strength in the face of adversity – a story that, while sad and heartbreaking, was also simultaneously hopeful and uplifting.  I appreciate the fact that Brennert took a humanistic approach with this story in that he was able to give leprosy patients a voice and show the world that, at the end of the day, these were ordinary people just like the rest of us, with the only difference being the horrible disease they were afflicted with, through no fault of their own, that forced them to live under extraordinary circumstances and make heartbreaking sacrifices that many of us often take for granted.

I loved all the characters in this story and really connected to all of them on an emotional level.  I especially loved the main character Rachel Kalama, whose story, albeit fictional, is beautifully rendered in here.  When she is discovered to have leprosy at the young age of 7, Rachel is taken from her family and exiled to the leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka’i, first at the Bishop Home for girls where she is cared for by the Franciscan sisters, then later, in adulthood, living on her own in Kalaupapa.  Despite the natural beauty of its terrain, Moloka’i is a desolate place, isolated from the world, where leprosy patients are sent to die — an “open grave” in a sense where the number of people who meet their deaths far outnumber those who survive. Yet, in such circumstances, Rachel and those she meets here, her new “family,” are determined to make the best of their situation, defying the odds and living their lives to the fullest — they go to gatherings, date, fall in love, get married and do everything else that others in a “normal” society would do.  Living out most of her life on the settlement, having to watch her friends succumb to death one after another, then later having to give up her beloved daughter, forcibly separated from her just like she herself was from her parents, Rachel shows incredible endurance and strength even in the face of so much tragedy and sacrifice.  Rachel is one of those unforgettable characters whose strength, bravery, and resilience touched my heart to the point that I continue to think about her and everything she went through long after finishing this book. 

One common characteristic with most of the books I’ve rated 5 stars is that almost all of them were emotional reads for me on some level.  This book was certainly no exception, as the roller coaster of emotions I felt while reading it never ceased – the story and characters gripped my heart from the very first page and never let go.  I found myself crying tears of sadness each time something bad happened to one of the characters and as the progression of the disease took one life after another, tears of joy each time one of the characters is able to overcome a small triumph over the disease as well as the moments of happiness that they are able to enjoy despite the circumstances, and of course tears of anguish each time one of the characters had to unfairly endure harsh words or cruel treatment from others in society that were guided mostly by fear and ignorance.  Reading this book, it is hard not to be drawn in emotionally and even after finishing, I know this is a story that will stay with me for a long time to come.

Good books have the innate ability to transport us, as readers, to a completely different world, to experience things (however briefly) that are beyond our reach, to gain knowledge about things that we probably would never have explored otherwise, and most importantly, to provoke us to think and reflect upon the attitudes, beliefs, values that we uphold in our lives and the impact these have on others.  This book definitely checked all the boxes for me and then some!  This book is historical fiction at its finest and one that I absolutely recommend, without a doubt.  Now that I’ve experienced Rachel’s story, I can’t wait to read her daughter Ruth’s story in Brennert’s follow-up novel Daughter of Moloka’i next month!