Review: What the Wind Knows (by Amy Harmon)

My Rating:  5 stars

This book absolutely blew me away!  From the very first page all the way to the very end, I was swept up in Amy Harmon’s beautifully crafted, enchanting story of American-born Anne Gallagher, who travels to Ireland for the first time in her life to fulfill her beloved grandfather Eoin’s dying wish to have his ashes spread in the lake at his childhood home.  Once there, overcome by grief and memories of her grandfather, Anne finds herself pulled back into time to the 1920s -- a tumultuous time period in Ireland during its fight for independence, which she had researched and read about extensively as a writer back in 2001 but never dreamed that she would experience firsthand.  She wakes up in the world of her grandfather’s childhood, where she is reunited with him as a little boy of 6 years old, and after being mistaken for his mother, she gradually uncovers a complex family history that she inadvertently becomes a part of when she falls in love with the boy’s guardian, Thomas Smith.  Soon, her past and future start to intertwine as she encounters people she only knew of in history as well as relatives she never even knew she had.  In the end, the struggle becomes a question of whether she should – or could – stay in a time period she doesn’t belong in but has become home for her.

Let me say straight out that I’m neither a fan of time travel stories nor historical romances – I’ve read books in both genres and to be quite honest, very few have ever had an impact on me emotionally or captivated me enough to make me continue thinking about the story and characters long after I’ve finished reading.   Well, there is a first for everything I guess, and this book is the first time travel + romance + historical fiction novel that has truly won me over.  This book awed me in the fantastic way it was able to weave the elements of these 3 genres so seamlessly into a story that was both compelling and emotional, with characters that felt so real and a time and place in history that felt so authentic, it drew me in completely, to the point that I felt like I was actually right there with Anne, living in her world for the few days that I was engrossed in the story. 

This was a book that tugged at my heartstrings, made me cry and made me smile and basically made me feel the entire roller coaster of emotions that a great, momentous read has a way of doing.  I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that I fell in love with nearly all of the characters in this story…not only that though, I also fell in love with the writing -- a feeling that is impossible for me to describe accurately and to which I can only say is something that needs to be experienced for yourself. 

Amy Harmon is an absolutely talented writer -- to be able to weave the elements of time travel, romance, and historical fiction into such a complex tale and do it so brilliantly is a momentous feat in and of itself and Harmon absolutely nailed it!  I can’t wait to read some of her other novels that I’ve had on my TBR for ages already and yes, I am a most definitely looking forward to what she comes out with next! 

This book is highly recommended -- one that was a 5 star read for me from beginning to end and that I already feel like re-reading, which is not something that happens often with me (though I will refrain from re-reading because I have too many other books I need to get to).   In case you are still debating whether to read this one or not, I will leave you with these words that pretty much sum up my feelings towards this book:  beautiful, unforgettable, and absolutely well-done! 

Received ARC from Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley

Review: The Coordinates Of Loss (by Amanda Prowse)

My Rating: 2.5 stars

This is the second book I've read by Amanda Prowse and just like the one I read last year (The Idea of You), I struggled with getting through this and once again, very nearly DNF'ed it.  I'm not sure what it is, but I find it hard to connect with this author's books, even though the subject matter she writes about are things that women in my age group are usually able to identify with.  In this, her newest book, the main character is Rachel Croft, whose happily married, blissful life with husband James comes crashing down when they lose their 7-year-old son Oscar in a boating accident – this happens within the first few pages of the book and from there, the entire rest of the story (300+ pages) is about how Rachel attempts to deal with her grief and eventually embarks on a path to healing after reading letters of encouragement from her housekeeper Cee Cee.  That is basically the entire plot (no, I am not exaggerating – I'm struggling with finding things to write about the plot because literally nothing much else happens)…

Given the subject matter, I was expecting an emotional, heart-wrenching story, one that would move me emotionally and even make me shed a tear or two…but that didn't happen.  In fact, I found it difficult to get into the story at all and after the first chapter, my attention already started to wane – about a quarter into it, I felt the urge to skim and by the halfway mark, I was in full-on "speed-skim" mode….by the time I got to the end, I was relieved that I FINALLY finished the book.  The biggest issue for me (which was actually the same issue I had with this author's previous book) is that the story dragged way too much – over the course of the first 150 pages or so, page after page was of Rachel either 1) repeatedly denying that her son had died and trying to justify her theories about her son's whereabouts in every way possible, or 2) constantly arguing with and resenting her husband.  The second half of the book was basically of Rachel's healing process and eventually coming to terms with her son's death.  Now don't get me wrong – I have no problems with the subject matter being heavy and yes, I do understand that the slowness of the plot was perhaps intentional in order to mirror the real life process of grieving and healing that occurs when we lose a loved one, but for me, the execution was too drawn out, to the point that I felt it diminished the significance of the story.  While the writing was good overall, there were parts that were tremendously wordy --  also, the dialogue was repetitive in that every conversation felt drawn out for the purposes of justifying and explaining Rachel's every thought, feeling, action, etc.  Perhaps the purpose of writing the character this way was to make us as the readers feel sorry for Rachel and sympathize with her struggle – I hate to say it but for me, it had the opposite effect in that I grew increasingly irritated with her character as the story wore on.  I honestly feel like the story would have been better told if it had been several hundred pages shorter, with tighter writing and less repetition. 

Reading this book confirmed for me that, plain and simple, this author's works just aren't my cup of tea.  I will give her future works a pass going forward but since mine is the lone negative review amongst the dozens of positive ones, I would once again recommend checking out the other reviews for a more balanced perspective.  This one clearly didn't work for me, but perhaps it will for others.

Received ARC from Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley.

Review: The Promise Between Us (by Barbara Claypole White)

My Rating: 4 stars

The Promise Between Us is the second book about mental illness that I've read so far this year and while I feel like this one didn't have the emotional depth that the book I read earlier (Mira T. Lee's Everything Here is Beautiful) did, it was still a worthwhile read, and one that I would definitely recommend.  One of the reasons why I love reading is because of the wonderful ability that books have to broaden my horizons and teach me things that I either did not know previously or I knew but perhaps had a limited, even flawed, understanding of.  This book in particular was an eye-opener for me in that, through the story of Katelyn (Katie) and her struggle with OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) as well as how it impacted those close to her, I gained some much-needed insight that helped me correct some of the misconceptions I had about the illness.

I will admit that prior to reading this book, I was one of those people who thought that OCD was a minor disorder which involved being obsessed with cleanliness, order, and avoiding germs.  Like many others who may not have experience dealing with mental illness on a personal level, my perception of OCD was pretty much in line with the way the illness is typically portrayed in our society – namely that people with OCD wash their hands until they bleed, sterilize every utensil they use in restaurants, refuse to shake hands or be touched by anyone for fear of spreading germs.  Now I realize how flawed and misguided that perception was. I was floored to learn the true nature of this illness, its pervasiveness, and how it can manifest itself in so many different ways.  I appreciate the tremendous detail on OCD that the author Barbara Claypole White provided via her characters' experiences and relationships, in a way that made it easily accessible and understood for readers such as myself who, up to this point, had such a flawed understanding of this debilitating illness.  There is a particular scene in the book where Katie tries to explain her illness to her ex-husband Callum, tying it back to her past family history and the possibility that their 10-year-old daughter Maisie may be suffering from the same illness, to which Callum's initial response is reflective of the stereotypical view of OCD:  "…Maisie is a confident, happy child…she doesn't wash her hands until they bleed.  She's not a neat freak."  So many powerful scenes such as this one, where we are given insight into the various manifestations of OCD (i.e. postpartum OCD, harm OCD, etc.) as well as other forms of mental illness such as anxiety disorder, PTSD, depression, etc. – all heavy topics, yet dealt with in a way that didn't feel heavy-handed or preachy.  Reading the author's notes, her family's history with OCD, her real-life inspiration for the characters in the story, also helped to put things in perspective for me.  Of course, I will never understand mental illness the same way someone who suffers from it day in and day out does, but I appreciate the fact that books like this one help bring wider awareness to such important issues.

The story itself was well-written, the characters well-developed and flushed out.  I like that each chapter was told from the perspective of the various characters, though personally I feel that the story would have been more impactful if told in first person rather than third person.  Though I liked the characters for the most part and felt that they were realistically portrayed, I wasn't able to connect as much on an emotional level with them for some reason.  Perhaps it is because I read this book not long after reading another book about mental illness, Everything Here is Beautiful, which did such an amazing job in terms of putting us into the minds of the characters and made the experience overall so much more personal – that book set the bar quite high for me, a standard that will be hard to top.  Regardless though, The Promise Between Us was a great effort by the author to bring OCD and its impact to the forefront and I would definitely read more books by her! 

Received ARC from Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley

Review: The Idea of You (by Amanda Prowse)

My Rating: 2.5 stars

This book started out as a 3 star ("ok" read, not great but not horrible either), but a chapter or so in, it went down to 2 stars and truth be told, by the time I reached the halfway mark, I was so annoyed with the way the story was going that I was tempted to DNF the book right then and there. But not being one to abandon a book in the middle of reading unless there is a truly compelling reason, I stuck with it and ended up speed-reading through the rest of the book so I could get through it as quickly as possible (and move on to other books that I might actually enjoy reading). While the last 20% or so of the book – including the ending – didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would, the damage had already been done in that I was already annoyed with 80% of the book, so I couldn't really bring myself to raise my rating to anything more than 2.5 stars.

For me, what irritated me most about this book were the characters, mostly the main character Lucy and (to some extent) her husband Jonah. I was not able to identify with Lucy at all, which I found quite ironic given the fact that certain aspects of the character's life (prior to her marriage) paralleled my own – namely, Lucy's position in the beginning of the story where she is a career-driven woman who, finding herself still single as she approaches her 40s, begins to seriously contemplate what role marriage and children have in her future. The difference, of course, is that Lucy is "crazily" obsessed with wanting to be a mother and to have a baby of her own that she can dote on (in her own words, she was "desperate to be a mother"), to the point that it basically consumes every waking moment of her life and impacts everything she says, does, thinks. This is the case even after she gets married and not surprisingly, her overwhelming desire to have a baby ends up straining her relationship with her husband as well as everyone else around her. Personality-wise, the way Lucy is portrayed for majority of the story – as a woman who, despite being in her 40s and having a prestigious, high-level managerial position at her company, was highly immature, selfish, hypocritical, and often acted like a jealous, defiant teenager when dealing with all issues outside of work – made her a very unlikable character. I actually found it very difficult to feel any bit of sympathy for Lucy, despite all the struggles she endures throughout the story.

From a story perspective, I felt like things dragged on too much, with the focus for 90% of the book being on Lucy's desperate attempts to become a mother. I got tired of reading about the same thing over and over again, chapter after chapter: Lucy attempting to become pregnant, her nearly daily spats with her husband Jonah over trivial matters that almost always stemmed from her unwavering desire to have a baby, etc. The inconsistency of the writing also bothered me – not so much sentence structure or grammatical stuff, but rather the way the author seemed to "over-explain" things in some sections (especially when it came to Lucy's thoughts and feelings) but then "under-explain" in other sections (usually when it pertained to things not directly related to Lucy's desire to have a baby). It almost felt as though most of the dialogue in the book was meant "justify" in some way Lucy's every word, thought, and action, whether positive or negative.

To me, this is a book that has limited reading scope in that it likely won't appeal to those who may not have the same concerns, beliefs, experiences, etc. as the characters in the story. I clearly was not the target audience for this book, as I am not married (despite being nearly the same age as Lucy was when the story opened) and do not have children. Not to mention, my belief system also conflicts with what I perceive to be the "message" that the author (whether intentionally or unintentionally) seemed to be trying to convey throughout the book: that the only way for a woman to truly be happy in life is to get married and have children. Of course, I have nothing against marriage or having children (in fact, I love kids and have a nephew whom I adore), but I also don't see anything wrong with still being single. But this is just me….perhaps others who read this book may have a different perspective – for me, this book definitely wasn't my cup of tea.

Received advance reader's copy from Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley.