Review: Twenty-One Truths About Love (by Matthew Dicks)

My Rating: 3 stars

 

This will be a very short review because, well, I’ve never read a book that consists entirely of “lists” before and I honestly don’t know the best way to go about reviewing this one.  On the one hand, I applaud the author Matthew Dicks’ creativity in telling Dan’s story entirely through the lists he compiles in his journal, where he talks about candidly about everything happening in his life from his anxiety towards impending fatherhood to his insecurity with his marriage and not being able to measure up to his wife’s dead first husband, to his regrets over the various decisions he’s made, etc.  I liked the premise, though didn’t like the characters very much (with the exception of Bill Donovan – loved that guy!), however I do feel that Dicks did a good job in the way he was still able to strike an emotional balance to the story (some parts made me laugh and some parts had me near tears) despite the lack of actual narrative prose.  On the other hand though – after a while, the “list” format became way too much, to the point of being overkill; also, some of the lists were way too long and were about things I was not even remotely interested in, such as “rules of gunfighting” and “Newton’s list of sins” and the complete (I think?) lyrics to a song named Code Monkey, etc. – I actually skimmed a lot of these sections, as my mind was already starting to wander after just reading one or two bullet points.  I was interested in Dan’s story, but I felt some of these longer lists (ones that I felt weren’t all that necessary) detracted from the story.

I honestly think that I would’ve enjoyed this one more if the list thing had been scaled back a bit and perhaps turning it more into a hybrid format with a few pages of narrative pose interspersed throughout so it would feel a little more connected and a little less all-over-the-place. 

Overall though, this WAS a fun read (and a quick one of course) and even though it wasn’t necessarily a format I preferred, I did appreciate getting to try something different for a change. 

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via Edelweiss.

**BLOG TOUR** Review: The Glittering Hour (by Iona Grey)

My Rating: 4.5 stars

When I was first asked to join the blog tour for Iona Grey’s latest novel The Glittering Hour, I was a little apprehensive at first, as I had never heard of this author before and of course hadn’t read her debut novel Letters to the Lost, which came out back in 2015.  After reading the summary for the book though and seeing that it fell into one of my favorite genres (historical fiction), I decided to take a chance with this one and see where it would take me.  Looking back now after having finished the book, I am tremendously glad that I did so, as this turned out to be an excellent read – one in which not only the story continues to stay with me, but also the characters, almost all of whom I can’t stop thinking about.  This was one of those books where the beautiful writing drew me in from the first page and I found it difficult to stop reading once I had started. 

With a duel timeline alternating between 1925 and 1936, the crux of the story centers around an unlikely romance between Selina Lennox -- a wealthy, privileged young woman from a noble family who spends majority of her time drinking, partying, creating scandal – and Lawrence Weston, a penniless but hardworking painter whose real talent lies in photography and capturing life’s most candid moments. Despite being from two completely opposite worlds, Selina and Lawrence fall hard for each other and, for a brief period of time, it appeared that true love and happiness were within their reach.  But then tragedy strikes and Selina decides to forego her relationship with Lawrence in favor of the “safe” option of Rupert Carew — her deceased brother’s friend and also a match approved by her parents. A decade later, in 1936, nine-year-old Alice Carew is left in the care of her grandparents and a beloved maid at Blackwood, the estate where her mother Selina grew up, while her parents are on a business trip to Burma for a few months.  Alice is a sensitive soul and not being able to stand the separation and secluded loneliness of Blackwood, she yearns for her mother and whiles away the time thinking about their many moments together.  Through her maid Polly, Selina sends her daughter letters in which she scatters clues about her past, sending Alice on a treasure hunt of sorts to discover one of her most prized secrets.  The two threads of the story — Selina’s past from 1926 and Alice’s current reality in 1936 —eventually come together in a surprising, emotional ending that is almost guaranteed to have the reader in tears.

My first thought after finishing this book is how beautifully written this story was.  Even though the story leans more toward romance than historical fiction, the historical elements were still done extremely well, to the point that I truly felt transported to the time and place depicted (England in the 1920s and 1930s).  For those who may be concerned about the romance piece — yes, the love story IS the core around which the rest of the story revolves, however don’t worry, as the narrative is well-balanced enough that the romance piece doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the story.  With an epic story such as this one, maintaining such a balance along with a nearly flawless execution is no easy feat and Grey absolutely delivers here. Structure-wise, within the alternating timeline, each of the main characters also got the chance to contribute their piece to the story without diluting the main narrative that revolved around Selina and Alice.  I appreciate this structure, as it allowed me to get better perspective on each of the characters and see another side to them that I wouldn’t otherwise have known.

Given how much I enjoyed this one, it was very close to being a 5 star read for me, however there were a few things that put it more in the 4.5 range for me.  I felt that part 1 of the story dragged a little in a few places, plus a few scenes seemed repetitive and perhaps not entirely necessary...with that said though, part 2 was wonderfully written, with its emotional impact nearly making up for the minor flaws in the first part.

Without a doubt, I would definitely recommend this moving story of love, loss, passion, betrayal, family dynamics, hidden secrets, and the complexities of pursuing the truth.  If you decide to read this though, definitely have some tissues ready.

Received ARC from Thomas Dunne Books via NetGalley.

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About the Author:

 

 

IONA GREY is the author of the award winning Letters to the Lost. She has a degree in English Literature and Language from Manchester University, an obsession with history and an enduring fascination with the lives of women in the twentieth century. She lives in rural Cheshire with her husband and three daughters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book:

 

An unforgettable historical about true love found and lost and the secrets we keep from one another from an award-winning author

Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing. Her life is a whirl of parties and drinking, pursued by the press and staying on just the right side of scandal, all while running from the life her parents would choose for her.

Lawrence Weston is a penniless painter who stumbles into Selina's orbit one night and can never let her go even while knowing someone of her stature could never end up with someone of his. Except Selina falls hard for Lawrence, envisioning a life of true happiness. But when tragedy strikes, Selina finds herself choosing what's safe over what's right.

Spanning two decades and a seismic shift in British history as World War II approaches, Iona Grey's The Glittering Hour is an epic novel of passion, heartache and loss.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

Indie Bound

Powell's

Review: Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs (by Jennifer Finney Boylan)

My Rating: 3.5 stars

This is one of those books that I struggled a bit to rate, mostly because the writing was uneven in some parts – it’s hard to describe, but the closest explanation I can give is that the author, Jennifer Finney Boylan, would be describing a scene from her childhood, but then interrupt that scene with thoughts on something else related to it, then come back much later and attempt to finish describing the scene (I say “attempt” because there were a few times where I felt like I was left hanging, as I didn’t recall reading about how a particular scene ended).  This made Boylan’s story a little hard to follow at times, which is a pity because her story is a fascinating one and being a dog-lover myself, I loved the premise of Boylan recounting her journey through the dogs she had owned at different stages of her life.  With all that said though, aside from the jumping back and forth, I did like Boylan’s writing style overall, as I found it witty and engaging – not only that, I also admire how Boylan never shies away from being brutally honest about her experience and is able to express so candidly (and eloquently) her thoughts about the most difficult moments in her life. 

One of the things I appreciate most about this memoir is the fact that, as a transgender woman, Boylan’s life is obviously very different from mine, but yet, many of the feelings and emotions she struggled through on her journey were things that I could absolutely relate to – for example:  love for and obligation to family, to the point of sacrificing our own individual needs to fulfill theirs; the constant battle between being true to ourselves versus conforming to society’s norms in order to be accepted; the blurred lines between being “happy” versus being “content”; the reality that human emotions are, by nature, contradictory and complex, etc.  There was a lot of potential with this one and I think if the book had been structured a little differently, it would’ve been a lot more powerful.  Or perhaps the fact that this is Boylan’s third memoir and not having read her first two memoirs (which my understanding is that she recounts her journey in much more detail), this may be the reason why I felt a bit lost reading this one.  I would definitely be interested in reading Boylan’s first memoir, entitled She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders (published back in 2003), as it would perhaps help fill in the gaps for me.

Overall, I’m glad I got the chance to read this one.  I’m a huge advocate of reading widely and this includes reading about experiences (as well as people, places, beliefs, cultures, subjects, etc.) different from my own and/or what I may be used to.  For this reason, I would recommend others read this as well, if anything, for better insight and understanding of the LGBTQ perspective.

Received ARC from Celadon Books as part of Early Reader program.