Review: The Pastor's Wife (not to be confused with The Preacher's Wife, a Whitney Houston movie)

Author: Jennifer Allee

Title: The Pastor’s Wife

Description (source): Maura Sullivan never intended to set foot in Granger, Ohio, again. But when circumstances force her to return, she must face all the disappointments she tried so hard to leave behind: a husband who ignored her, a congregation she couldn’t please, and a God who took away everything she ever loved.

     Nick Shepherd thought he had put the past behind him, until the day his estranged wife walked back into town. Intending only to help Maura through her crisis of faith, Nick finds his feelings for her never died. Now, he must admit the mistakes he made, how he hurt his wife, and find a way to give and receive forgiveness.

     As God works in both of their lives, Nick and Maura start to believe they can repair their broken relationship and reunite as man and wife. But Maura has one more secret to tell Nick before they can move forward. It’s what ultimately drove her to leave him six years earlier, and the one thing that can destroy the fragile trust they’ve built. (Amazon)

Review source: This was a free Kindle book from Amazon, not an ARC.

Plot: I think the plot was pretty relevant. It’s fairly common for pastors to be overcommitted to their jobs or to expect their wives to feel exactly the same calling that they do. When kids marry so young (I see it in my job every day), they often haven’t talked these issues out; the couple in the book met in March, married in June, and split up before Thanksgiving.

Characters: The main characters were both likeable and flawed, and both had some growing to do over the course of the story. Secondary characters weren’t remarkable—I don’t see a book for any of them.

Writing style: The author’s writing style is easygoing, light, pleasant, certainly competent. Not remarkable.

Audience: Christian romance fans will really enjoy this book. I can’t really imagine why anyone else would want to read it.

Wrap-up: I enjoyed the book, and it was a quick and pleasant read. The story took a dark turn, which seemed jarring, since until that point it had been pretty cozily rustic—but the characters needed to deal with that type of situation before their relationship would be resolved, so I could see why the author took the story that direction. I think a more skilled author might have made the transition less jarring. Overall, though, a nice way to spend an afternoon. 3.5/5*

Book Review: Only the Good Spy Young

Author: Ally Carter

Title: Only the Good Spy Young

Description (source):  When Cammie Morgan enrolled at the Gallagher Academy, she knew she was preparing for the dangerous life of a spy. What she didn’t know was that the serious, real-life danger would start during her junior year of high school. But that’s exactly what happened two months ago when Cammie faced off against an ancient terrorist organization dead set on kidnapping her.

Now the danger follows her everywhere, and even Cammie “The Chameleon” can’t hide.  When a terrifying encounter in London reveals that one of her most-trusted allies is actually a rogue double-agent, Cammie no longer knows if she can trust her classmates, her teachers—or even her own heart.

 In this fourth installment of the New York Times best-selling series, the Gallagher Girls must hack, spy, steal, and lie their way to the truth.as they go searching for answers, recognizing that the key to Cammie’s future may lie deep in the past. (product description)

Review source: RWA

Plot: This book is the fourth in a series, but that didn’t mean that I was lost – it’s a great standalone read as well (although I am now awaiting the next book in the series quite fiercely). The plot both advanced the overall series story line and had a self-contained episode, so there was a bit of closure, even with the cliffhanger ending.

Characters: All of the characters were well-written. Both main and secondary characters are believable, likeable (if they are supposed to be), and interesting. The love story is age-appropriate yet emotionally affecting.

Writing style: This was my first book by Ally Carter, and I have to say she is a whiz-bang writer. Funny, great at pacing, and keeps the tone just right throughout.

Audience: SLJ lists it as grades 6-10, and I’d say that’s right on, although I really enjoyed it and would venture to say that adults picking up the book would like it if they gave it a chance. Genre-wise, it’s mostly spy thriller, but with some romance, so girls would like it better than boys would.  Also, the cover is pink.

Wrap-up: I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did, but it shows the difference between a true YA author (like Carter) and an adult author trying to write YA (like the Sherrilyn Kenyon novel Infinity that I just finished). I’m going to be waiting to see how the series finishes up! 4.5/5*

Review: Woman in White

Author: Wilkie Collins

Title: The Woman in White

Description (source): Who is the mysterious woman in white who appears to the drawing instructor late one night? From whom is she fleeing? How is she connected with the woman the drawing instructor loves but cannot marry? And above all, what is up with the mysterious Count Fosco?

Review source: This was a free kindle book because it’s in the public domain.

Plot: The book was a little difficult to get started in, but once the woman in white appears, only a few pages in, things start to move quickly. There are some fairly unbelievable coincidences, but that’s what makes fiction fun.

Characters: The book is narrated by Walter Hartright, a drawing instructor. He and the “good guys” (his students Laura and Marion) are pretty tame, but I loved the villains, especially Count Fosco, who keeps mice and songbirds.

Writing style: Collins has been compared with Dickens, so definitely 19^th-century diction—we would call it wordy, maybe, if it were published today. I did find myself getting impatient with it a few times, but mostly the plot really kept the down arrow pushing (modern equivalent of pages turning).

Audience: People who aren’t afraid of the classics. Collins shares with Poe the title of being one of the first authors of detective fiction, and while this isn’t exactly within the mystery genre (more like gothic), there is an element of detection in it.

Wrap-up: This was a long book, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and couldn’t stand to put it down for long. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you haven’t yet discovered Wilkie Collins. 4.5/5*

Book Review: The Peach Keeper

Author: Sarah Addison Allen 

Title: The Peach Keeper

Description: Two young women and their grandmothers are caught up in the echoes of the past as secrets hidden for decades are revealed and change their lives. Allen uses magical realism in the same dialect as Alice Hoffman; romance, friendship, and everyday life all have a way of working out as the characters confront themselves and their families’ past.

Plot: Basically an intergenerational story in which the past affects the present even more than most people realize. There were some echoes of Practical Magic (which I read not too long ago).

Characters: I liked both of the main characters, Willa, who tries to make up for her past mistakes by living the “right” kind of life, and Paxton, who controls her life by making lists. Both are engaging, but flawed; they are likeable in spite of their flaws, and through the book they learn some truths about their choices.

Writing style: I think this is the reason I keep coming back to Sarah Addison Allen. She has a wonderful, engaging magical realism style that I just love. The magical realism was less of a plot point in this book than in any of her previous titles, but it didn’t hurt the story any.

Audience: Basically, I am her audience. That is, I read anything she reads, because I just love the way she writes. So, romance with magical realism and small town life are the ingredients of Allen’s books. She reminds me a lot of Alice Hoffman, but I like Allen better.

Wrap-up: Her previous book was a bit of a letdown for me, but The Peach Keepers shows Allen is back in form. 4.5/5*

Review: Kraken

Author: Wendy Williams

Title: Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid

Description (source):  Kraken is the traditional name for gigantic sea monsters, and this book introduces one of the most charismatic, enigmatic, and curious inhabitants of the sea: the squid. The pages take the reader on a wild narrative ride through the world of squid science and adventure, along the way addressing some riddles about what intelligence is, and what monsters lie in the deep. In addition to squid, both giant and otherwise, Kraken examines other equally enthralling cephalopods, including the octopus and the cuttlefish, and explores their otherworldly abilities, such as camouflage and bioluminescence. Accessible and entertaining, Kraken is also the first substantial volume on the subject in more than a decade and a must for fans of popular science. (Amazon)

ARC source: netgalley

Writing style: Williams has an engaging and easily readable style that will make this book of science accessible and interesting to the lay reader. She is happy to let the scientists she interviewed speak for themselves and to present herself as a learner along with the reader.

Audience: the book will appeal to readers who are intrigued by the complexities of nature, biology, and the undersea world.

Major ideas: squid and their cousins the cuttlefish and the octopus are both unutterably different from humans (ever noticed that Cthulhu resembles a squid? Davy Jones?) and at the same time, similar enough to us that scientists have made breakthroughs in human physiology by studying cephalopods. Williams writes with considerable empathy for both the scientists and the animals.

Wrap-up: I would say that I’m definitely in the audience for a book like this, although I don’t read this type of non-fiction as often as I would like to. I was really interested in the book all the way through; I loved the anecdotes about squid and octopuses, and wanted to know more. I did think the chapter on the squid’s nervous system dragged a little, which is why the book gets 4/5*.

Love the title!

Author: Adam Chester

Title: S’Mother: The Story of a Man, His Mom, and the Thousands of Altogether Insane Letters She's Mailed Him

Description (source): Adam Chester is the son of a very loving mom, who for almost 30 years has peppered his life with unsolicited advice, news updates, and opinions in the form of thousands of inappropriate, embarrassing, and utterly crazy letters. S'Mother is a hilarious memoir based on this correspondence showing the pathological extremes maternal instincts can take. Why is a grown woman so frantic that her adult son screw on his windows to keep out killer bees? And are adult trick-or-treaters really that much of a threat? Adam saved his mom's letters as proof this all happened and reproduces many of them in the book. And now, with time, perspective, and plenty of therapy, he acknowledges and accepts the comedy of it all and is proud to share his story with you, if for no other reason than to make you feel better about your own mother. (netgalley)

ARC source: netgalley

Writing style: The format of this book is basically a letter, transcribed word-for-word (and perhaps a scan of the same letter) and then some witty comments from the letter’s recipient, Adam Chester. The letters are pretty funny; they aren’t written to be funny, but the mother really is a character. Adam’s comments can’t quite live up and often consist of him wondering how he grew up to be such a normal person with this kind of mother. Since the reader doesn’t know Adam, we only have his word for it. (his job is playing piano and pretending to be Elton John--check out the video...)

Audience: people who like lighthearted memoir

Major ideas: none, really—it’s a book of humor. Perhaps that people can grow up to be “normal” even with really weird relatives.

Wrap-up: I almost never comment about format in my reviews. I review from ARC’s a lot of the time and I understand that they aren’t finished. I also review from both print and kindle, and I rarely comment on that. With this book, though, I have to comment. I had a kindle proof supplied by netgalley, and it was literally unreadable on my kindle. I could read the text, but every time there was an illustration (including the many scanned letters), it would show up as a small corner of picture and a large blank space—for dozens of page-advances. I counted over twenty page flips at least twice before I would get to more text that I could read. When I hit about 90%, the kindle locked and refused to open the book again. I re-imported it and paged back from the end. I could only get to 92% before it locked up, so I must confess that whatever is in the book from 90-92% was not read by me. I recommend strongly against buying this on for kindle! Normally I don’t let format govern my reaction to books, but this one was painful. It would probably have received 3.5* had I had a print copy, but my review is 2/5*.

p.s. I'll bet his blog works a lot better!  

Book Review: Steam and Sorcery

Author: Cindy Spencer Pape

Title: Steam and Sorcery

Description (source): Sir Merrick Hadrian hunts monsters, both human and supernatural. A Knight of the Order of the Round Table, his use of magick and the technologies of steam power have made him both respected and feared. But his considerable skills are useless in the face of his greatest challenge, guardianship of five unusual children. At a loss, Merrick enlists the aid of a governess.


Miss Caroline Bristol is reluctant to work for a bachelor but she needs a position, and these former street children touch her heart. While she tends to break any mechanical device she touches, it never occurs to her that she might be something more than human. All she knows is that Merrick is the most dangerously attractive man she's ever met-and out of reach for a mere governess.


When conspiracy threatens to blur the distinction between humans and monsters, Caroline and Merrick must join forces, and the fate of humanity hinges upon their combined skills of steam and sorcery... (netgalley description)

Review copy source: Netgalley

Plot: The plot had three main strands: the romance, the relationship of the two protagonists with the children, and the mystery of why vampires were suddenly working together (and working with humans). Of the three, the children’s subplot was the most enjoyable; each of the children had a special gift and a unique personality. I would have liked to see this take up even more of the book. The romance was ok, and I would have preferred to be without the mystery; it didn’t seem to matter except to take up time in between romance and kids. The heroine discovered something revelatory about herself, but it did not matter to the plot at all.

Characters: As I mentioned, the childrens’ characters were very well written, and the secondary characters (the aunt and the tutor) were entertaining as well. The two main protagonists, though, were pretty generic.

Writing style: This was my first steampunk romance (is that even a genre?) The author used some steampunk details in the story, but it probably could have been set during any historical time period. The one steampunk element that was important to the story was one of the children’s gift for mechanics.

Audience: Romance readers, especially of the steampunk subgenre. Paranormal fans would probably also like it, as well as folks who like governess stories.

Wrap-up: A pleasant read; I’m not the main audience for this book (as I don’t read paranormal or steampunk romance), but I would probably not seek out other books in the series or by this author. 3/5*