Blacksouls by Nicole Castroman

From Goodreads:
Edward “Teach” Drummond is setting sail to the Caribbean as first mate on the most celebrated merchant ship in the British fleet—until he rebels against his captain. Mutiny is a capital offense and Teach knows it could cost him his life, but he believes it worth the risk in order to save his crew from the attacking Spanish ships.

Sailing on the same blue waters, Anne barely avoids the Spanish attack, making it safely to Nassau. But lawless criminals, corrupt politics, and dangerous intentions fill the crowded streets of this Caribbean port. Soon, Anne discovers that the man entrusted to keep the peace is quite possibly the most treacherous of them all—and he just happens to hold Teach’s fate in his terrifying hands.

Life and death hang in the balance when Teach and Anne are given a dangerous mission. It’s a mission that will test their love, loyalty and devotion, forcing them down a path neither one could have ever imagined.

This book is slightly better than its predecessor. There is more piracy and more swashbuckling action than there was in the first one. Like Blackhearts this one goes by super quick, so it was easy to read in a few hours. The writing is a bit tighter this time around, and Nicole Castroman has improved her overall style. Like the previous novel, this one shows more and more of what Blackbeard's origins could have been (since there is very little background information on the real Blackbeard). It was interesting to see what these characters are like outside of England, and in a more typical pirate setting. 

What Castroman did really well this time around was show the corruption of the state, which seemed to be a chronic problem in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. You can really see how pirates had more honour than governors, and how the system can be really weak and filled with corruption. It was really fun to see Teach go on missions and essentially evolve into Blackbeard. We didn't really get to see that the last time around, so the payoff works well here. In addition, the characters this time around, for the most part, are less unlikeable and not so one-trick as they were in the first one. I felt more sympathetic for the characters this time around, and Castroman does a good job in portraying the pirate characters, and ensuring you don't feel much sympathy for the villains (especially the governor's wife, good lord that woman). Another thing that Castroman did well in this book is show the race relations between white people and people of colour. While there was some in the first book, she really upped the ante for it in this one. I'm not too sure if there will be a sequel, there's nothing on Goodreads, but where she left the characters off at the end of this one seemed to be a good conclusion if it is just a duology, but there were still some strings left untied, so there could easily be another book coming. 

One thing I dislike is how quickly things are resolved or happen "off-screen". A few characters die "off-screen", and it didn't really feel resolved because we're only told about it and not shown. I think it would have been more powerful if we had seen some of the death scenes actually happen, especially considering that we as readers were introduced to them and there was so much time developing them and their character - it takes away the stakes if we're only told and not shown (show, don't tell!) Another thing, many of the characters from the first book that added tension and put Teach and Anne's relationship at stake - they are rarely (if at all) mentioned in this one. The fiancee from the first book gets one fleeting mention, Teach's father gets two mentions and no one else gets mentioned. Not once. After all that buildup, even with the minor characters such as the fellow housemaids, and not even a peep in this one. 

The last act of this book was by far the most exciting part, when all the pirate-y things really begin. We're introduced to the supposed villain, which is when we really see the corruption of the state, and it's so action-packed and pirate-y and just good, swashbuckling fun. I'm hoping if there is a concluding novel after this one, it's all pirate fun.

Blacksouls is a definite improval on Blackhearts, but is still far from being perfect. In parts, it breaks the show, don't tell rule of writing. The characters are more developed, and there is more action and swashbuckling piracy going on, especially in the final act. Like the first book, it's good, but not great. If there is a concluding book, I will probably read it. On the whole, this book was fun, and I'm going to give it a 3.5/5

Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

From Goodreads:
Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.

Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England?

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay. 

I like pirates and Blackbeard has always intrigued me. It also helps that I've been on a historical fiction bender as of late. And I like action-packed books with interesting characters, especially historical ones, of whom there is little actual knowledge and a lot of hearsay. I traditionally really like pirate stories. 

While there was a bit of setup for Teach becoming Blackbeard, it was mostly a historical romance novel with the romance occurring between Teach and Anne. Overall, this book is the epitome of being just OK. It was a very quick read, and I was able to get through both this book, and its sequel Blacksouls in the course of a day. The writing style is very simplistic and easy to follow. The plot moved quickly, making it easy to read this book and the second one both in one day. I like how each chapter followed either Anne or Teach, alternating between the two. That being said ...

I didn't really have an emotional connection to any of the characters. The only character I had a real connection with was a side character by the name of John. There was no real depth to their characterization and while they do have motivations for what they want to do, they are not portrayed in the most realistic ways. While the romance is not insta-love, it does not take long for the two leads to start making doe-eyes and declarations. The more minor characters and the "villain" characters are not really that exciting either. They're kind of stereotypical, and once they story is done with them, that's it. You don't hear or see from some of the characters ever again once they get their "comeuppance", which is kind of annoying. 

What this book does do well is set up a sort of plausible backstory for Blackbeard. It's kind of odd to have Blackbeard be a young man (I kept picturing Aiden Turner of Poldark) as opposed to a war-hardened pirate with a black heart (oh, hey, I get the title now) and no soul. Whenever someone mentions Blackbeard, my mind instantly goes to the Ian McShane Blackbeard from Pirates of the Caribbean or the Blackbeard on Once Upon a Time that shows up every once in a while to be an occasional foil for Hook (and is also so much fun, I wish he was on the show more often. But I digress). While a lot is known about Blackbeard's piracy years, not much is known about his pre-piracy days, so it was cool to see Castroman's take on it. 

Overall, this book is OK, the very definition of OK. Castroman provides an interesting take on a young version of Blackbeard, who is the more compelling of the two romantic leads. I found this book really easy to get through, and there were some really great scenes and a lot of excitement that I believe is building up to something. It was a quickly moving plot. This book was in no means bad, but it could have been improved upon in some ways, but it is a good debut, and fans of Y/A historical romance will enjoy it. I'm going to give Blackhearts a 3/5 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

From Goodreads:
Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

I ... WOW. 

It's late when I'm writing this but I have to get this written and posted because oh, my god this book is so amazing and wonderful and good.

This book is amazing in every sense of the word. I really tried to take my time with this book, and this is a book that demands you take your time with. Beautifully written with lyrical prose that makes you ache and makes your eyes leak. Someone said that they could not remember the last time they wept that much when a book reached a conclusion regarding this book, which is something that I now understand. It wasn't just a few tears. It was ugly crying, full on weeping. This book is carefully and thoughtfully written. Author Anthony Doerr chooses his words meticlously. 

It would have been so easy to fall into all the tropes that are so common with World War II pieces, such as the evil Nazi commander. But Doerr does away with cliche and stereotype, and makes everyone in this book human. Not dissimilar to The Book Thief, you sympathize with pretty much everybody in this book, and get to see how World War II affected everybody, before, during and after its six-year span. Doerr creates this world masterfully. It is such a captivating book from beginning to end. While it demands you take your time with it, it is not a slow-moving book, rather, one that should be savoured rather than inhaled. I feel like books on World War II are like this on the whole, but this one more so than others because, like The Book Thief, has so much to say about war. The story, in addition, is told in a non-linear fashion, so we know part of the climax of the novel in the opening section, which adds suspense to an already suspenseful story. Doerr employs alternating focuses, between Marie-Laure, Werner, and a Nazi treasure-hunter, which works splendidly for this novel, carrying along the plot and adding many threads that all come together in a powerful way near the conclusion.

The characters are all so well-rounded and compelling. They are the farthest from caricatures you can possibly get. These characters felt so real, and you can really see these people existing in France and Germany. Each character is sympathetic in one way or another, some more than others, and there are no black-and-white characters; even the characters that are the more "villainous" (for lack of a better word) have motivation that is plausible. Having taken an extensive, year-long history course on the everyday people of modern Europe, I know for a fact that these people did exist or could exist. Doerr did his research on the War's affect on people and it paid off, because I can very vividly imagine Marie-Laure and Etienne and Werner existing and living through World War II. These characters are beautiful representations and portrayals of people living during wartime France and Germany.

Doerr's writing style is beautiful and lyrical. As I've mentioned, he takes his time with words. Not in a mundane, boring way, but in a way that makes you pause and think about what he is saying. He spent ten years writing and perfecting this story and he writes it in such a way that even in the less-sad parts, my eyes were pricking with unshed tears. This book is powerful, chilling, haunting and beautifully written. The prose is just wonderful and adds to the book.

All the Light We Cannot See is one of the best books on World War II I have ever had the experience of reading, and I have read a lot of books on World War II and the Holocaust. In focusing on the everyday people of the war, this book adds a lot of context to the time and how trying and difficult it was. I loved everything about this book, and cannot recommend it enough. I give All the Light We Cannot See 5/5. 

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

From Goodreads:
'It came from the woods. Most strange things do.'

Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss.

These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll.

Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...

WOW.

I read this collection in a graphic fiction course I was in for a few weeks before dropping it this past semester, and this book was the first one on the syllabus. And my god this book is amazing. I loved reading this book so much. As I'm sure I have mentioned, I love fairy tales and I love fairy tale retellings. Carroll weaves old-timey feeling with horror, which worked so well with the creepy and amazing artwork. I am glad that I read this during the daytime and not at nighttime as I'm sure I would have been sleeping with the lights on. 

The artwork is incredible. It adds to the overall chill factor and creepiness. Carroll's artwork is equally stark and lush, using few colours to create a scene. This book is so creepy. Even though it's fairy tales, this is not your Walt Disney fairytale. These are creepy, grim and horrifying fairy tales. The artwork combined with her writing and unique conventions for re-telling classic stories in an unsettling way. Each of the five fairy tale re-tellings had something interesting and unique. Each one was unsettling in its own way. Although it was visual storytelling, it unsettled me as much as a non-graphic novel would do, probably due to the words and the storylines that go with it, which is a sign of good authorship (I dislike horror movies for this reason, because most of them rely too much on shock horror or jump scares, rather than unsettling the audience). 

You are really able to feel a lot from the images and prose. The stories are deep and have active heroines at the forefront, which is great to see. While each story is individual, there is a slight thread that weaves through (the thread being, venturing into the woods). The woods represent darkness, loss of innocence, entering the unknown, which Carroll plays on and feeds into the fear of the unknown. There is a line in the epilogue that really drives this all home and makes it all the more wonderful.

Through the Woods is wonderful. I loved every page of it. It is without a doubt the best favourite graphic novel I have ever read. It opened up a whole new genre of fairy tale re-tellings for me, and I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this collection. It was tense from the word go, and did not ease up on the unsettling and macabre nature. I'm going to give Through the Woods 5/5, and would advise not reading it at night.

Nostalgia by M.G. Vassanji

From Goodreads:
 In the indeterminate future in an unnamed western city, physical impediments to immortality have been overcome. As society approaches the prospect of eternal life, a new problem must be confronted: with the threat of the brain's storage capacity being overwhelmed, people want to move forward into the future free from redundant, unwanted and interfering memories. Rejuvenated bodies require rejuvenated identities--all traces of a person's past are erased and new, complete fictions are implanted in their stead. On occasion, though, cracks emerge, and reminders of discarded lives seep through. Those afflicted suffer from Leaked Memory Syndrome, or Nostalgia, whereby thoughts from a previous existence burrow in the conscious mind threatening to pull sufferers into an internal abyss.
Doctor Frank Sina specializes in sealing these memory leaks. He is satisfied in his profession, more or less secure in the life he shares with his much younger lover, content with his own fiction--a happy childhood in the Yukon, an adulthood marked by the influence of a mathematician father and poet mother. But one day, Presley Smith arrives in Frank's office. Persistent thoughts are torturing Presley, recurring images of another time and place. As he tries to save Presley from the onslaught of memory, Frank finds clues that suggest Presley's past may be located in war-torn, nuclear-ravaged Maskinia, a territory located in the southern hemisphere, isolated from the north by fiercely guarded borders and policy barriers. Frank's suspicions are only intensified when the Department of Internal Security takes an interest in Presley. They describe him as one of their own, meaning his new life was one they created for him, and they want him back. Who was Presley before the Department remade him, what secrets are buried in the memories that are encroaching upon him? As Frank tries to save Presley from both internal and external threats, cracks emerge in his own fiction, and the thoughts that sneak through suggest a connection with the mysterious Presley that goes well beyond a doctor and his patient. 

Sigh. Nostalgia was shortlisted for the Canada Reads award this year, along with Fifteen Dogs and a few others. When I picked up this book for 40% off (for it being a Canada Reads title), a few of the clerks at the store were excited that I was reading this. Between that and the concept of the book - memory, immortality, death-denying, and coming to grips with mortality, I was excited to read this to see a version of the future. I was excited to read this, and to see why it was up for the best book of Canada of 2016. This was me going into this book: 

And this was me coming out of this book: 

This book really disappointed me. While the concept was great, everything else was lacking. The writing style was everywhere. Sentence structure did not exist; I had to re-read lines and paragraphs multiple times before I could make sense of it. Vassanji uses the same quoting technique that James Joyce did, using dashes to denote when someone is speaking. When Joyce did it, it was done in a way that was effective, made the reader feel as if they were intruding upon something that they shouldn't be. When Vassanji does it here, it makes it all the more confusing. Also, there were so many things that got past the editor that shouldn't have - like the fact that Frank is from Yellowknife in the Yukon??? Last time I checked, Yellowknife is in the Northwest Territories. Things like that, and the weird sentence structure should not have made it past the editor's desk. 

This book was such a chore to read. Like I said, the concept for it is really intriguing but it doesn't really have a payoff. Nothing really happens in the book all that much. You don't know anything about the characters beyond their credentials and what they're wearing, making them even more cold, detached, and unlikeable. I had no idea who any of these people were beyond their names. They were nothing more than vessels to me, just carrying the plot along. While plot-driven novels are fine and well, they're a lot better if there's something at stake. I know speculative fiction focuses more on speculation than it does on character, but I'd like to know what makes Frank and Presley tick. In not focusing at all on the characters, it removes a lot of dynamic that could have made this book a lot better. 

Overall, this book was far too easy to put down in favour of doing something else. It was really forgettable, despite having an interesting premise. The characters were really underdeveloped, and there were many plotlines that did not amount to much or anything at all. This book was a chore to read, and was not very memorable overall beyond the interesting concept. I'm giving Nostalgia a 1/5. 

The Mermaid's Daughter by Ann Claycomb

From Goodreads:
Kathleen has always been dramatic. She suffers from the bizarre malady of experiencing stabbing pain in her feet. On her sixteenth birthday, she woke screaming from the sensation that her tongue had been cut out. No doctor can find a medical explanation for her pain, and even the most powerful drugs have proven useless. Only the touch of seawater can ease her pain, and just temporarily at that.

Now Kathleen is a twenty-five-year-old opera student in Boston and shows immense promise as a soprano. Her girlfriend Harry, a mezzo in the same program, worries endlessly about Kathleen's phantom pain and obsession with the sea. Kathleen's mother and grandmother both committed suicide as young women, and Harry worries they suffered from the same symptoms. When Kathleen suffers yet another dangerous breakdown, Harry convinces Kathleen to visit her hometown in Ireland to learn more about her family history. In Ireland, they discover that the mystery—and the tragedy—of Kathleen’s family history is far older and stranger than they could have imagined.  Kathleen’s fate seems sealed, and the only way out is a terrible choice between a mermaid’s two sirens—the sea, and her lover. But both choices mean death… 

I love The Little Mermaid. It's one of my favourite Disney movies, and the original fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, while not exactly subtle in its preachiness, remains one of the most dark and haunting fairy tales I've read with a very grim ending. Imagine my excitement when I found that there was a modern retelling that sort of combines the two (but mostly draws from Hans Christian Anderson's original tale). While it was not as good as I hoping it would be going in, I still found many merits in this book.

Ann Claycomb is a very good writer. I found her writing style to be original and unique, and it kept pulling me in for more to see what was going to happen next. She really brings something new to the table with this retelling and it was cool that she added the generational plotline to the book. I really liked how in between each chapter there was a mini-chapter from the mermaids' perspectives, which added another layer to the book. That being said, I found that the story dragged a little bit in places, especially in the first half of the novel before Kathleen and Harry go to Ireland and Kathleen starts to realize what is really going on. I found myself enjoying the second half of the novel more so than the first half of the novel once everything starts to come to fruition. I liked how Claycomb set up Kathleen as a character and incorporated the main fairy tale into Kathleen's mystery malady. While it did seem a bit plot device-y here and there, overall it worked well, and fit in with the overall magical realism that Claycomb had going on in this book. 

I didn't find many of the characters to be that relatable or likeable. I would have liked to see more of the minor characters such as Tom, who is in the same program as Kathleen and Harry, or Tae, Robin's partner. Tom especially didn't really amount to anything once everything came to a conclusion, besides being one of Kathleen's confidantes and friends. This book has the same character narrative structure that Indelible had, with three focal characters. Two characters (Harry and Kathleen) took first person narrative, while one character (Robin, Kathleen's father) had a third-person narrative. I feel like it would have been more interesting and I would have been able to relate to the characters a bit more if it was one narrative in the third person, or if it was told entirely from one of the mermaids' point of view. These characters were not totally unrelatable, but I feel like they could have been more relatable too.

All in all, I would say that The Mermaid's Daughter is a good, but not great book overall. For the most part it was an intriguing story that picked up in the second half. While the characters were not especially likeable (but not unlikeable), the writing style was really good, and there were many additions and connections that Claycomb made, which added to the book overall. I'm going to give The Mermaid's Daughter a 3.5/5. I liked it, didn't love it, but I will probably read it again in the future.     

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

From Back Cover:
It is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where all you need is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

I sailed through this book. I feel like I would have enjoyed this book more if I had been younger when I read it. I just couldn't latch onto it in the way that I latched onto the movie, which was also written and directed by Chbosky (isn't it odd when the writer of a book writes a script for a movie that tells the book's story so much better?). Since I'm almost 24, it's been a while since graduating high school, but I can tell you that I was a misfit all through high school. I really felt for the character of Charlie, and found he was a compelling narrator. I liked how it was written in epistolary form, with Charlie writing letters to an unnamed, never-seen, "Friend". In doing so, we do not see all the details of what Charlie is describing them, as he is recounting them after they happened, and are forced to fill in the blanks.

Of the coming-of-age stories I've read, this one is a bit more bleak and gritty. I mean, Charlie doesn't have to fight a bear and discover he's a man, but the topics addressed in this book are darker than most contemporary novels. Topics addressed include sexuality, assault (both physical and mental), suicide and drugs. It's an interesting read, and I found the characters to be as well-rounded as could be, considering we are seeing them only second-hand through the words of Charlie's letters. I did find this to be an effective book in having Charlie learn about himself and come into his own. None of it felt unrealistic or contrived in that sense.

All in all, this was an OK book. I liked the characters and the emotional journeys they go on, but I think I might have been too old reading this, and would have connected to it more at a slightly younger age. I found the writing style to be well-done; Chbosky is a good writer and creates a mostly realistic world of navigating high school and yourself. I'm going to give Perks of Being a Wallflower a 3.5/5; it wasn't a bad book and it dealt with trauma and self-discovery in a believable way. It was a good read, but not great.

King Raven Book I: Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead

From Goodreads:
For centuries, the legend of Robin Hood and his band of thieves has captivated the imagination. Now the familiar tale takes on new life, fresh meaning, and an unexpected setting. Hunted like an animal by Norman invaders, Bran ap Brychan, heir to the throne Elfael, has abandoned his father's kingdom and fled to the greenwood. There, in the primeval forest of the Welsh borders, danger surrounds him-for this woodland is a living, breathing entity with mysterious powers and secrets, and Bran must find a way to make it his own if he is to survive. Like the forest itself, Hood is deep, dark, and at times savagely brutal-yet full of enchantment and hope. 

Gillian in 2014: "Oooh, this book looks really interesting. I think I'll buy it and give it a read." 
Gillian in 2017: "Oh, yeah, I was going to read that book." 

THREE YEARS this book has been sitting on my bookshelf. Three years it's been waiting for me to remember it, pick it up and read it. And am I ever sorry I waited that long to read it. This book was spectacular. As I have mentioned before, I love re-tellings of well-known fairy tales and stories. This book is stunning in its world-building. It re-invents an old classic that dates back to the medieval period. Most people imagine Robin Hood to be a swash-buckling, Errol Flynn type who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, with honour and decency and is good with a bow and arrow. Well. This version of Robin Hood, here known as Rhy Bran y Hud has honour and is good with a bow and arrow, and that's where the likeness with the more popular form of Robin Hood ends. 

Lawhead creates a wonderful version of Robin Hood that is dark and gritty, and turns his version of Robin Hood into a freedom fighter who fights for his land and his people. He steeps his re-invention in Celtic mythology, which adds to the rich world he has created. I am a medieval historian, so I especially loved that it takes place shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066. This book takes place not too long after the Conquest, maybe 20 years after, so the effects of the conquest and the Norman rule, placing the English and the Welsh under their thumb is really felt. I found that Lawhead really made a realistic story. While there are some fantastical elements involved (such as the origin of the name of King Raven, one of the names that Bran takes on), but since it comes from Celtic mythology, it works well in the novel's favour. He creates a very realistic version of eleventh century England and Wales, and it's a world that you can imagine existing (as many places like this did). 

This book hits the ground running. While there are more quiet, subdued moments, the story is always moving forward. The characters are well-rounded, and often are twists on the original characters that Lawhead is drawing from.

All in all, this is a really good, well-rounded novel. I enjoyed the new spin on an old classic, based in history and mythology. I'm giving Hood a 5/5, and will be reading its two sequels hopefully soon.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

From Goodreads: 
After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

This is another book that has had a lot of hype surround it, especially since the film adaptation starring Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander came out in September of 2016. Heck, even Oprah gave it her seal of approval when the book was first released.

But, does it live up to the hype? Yes. But also, no. 

The Light Between Oceans is an incredibly well-written book. M.L. Stedman has an incredible narrative voice. Parts of the dialogue were a bit hard to follow since it takes on the local Australian dialect, but that made it be all the more compelling, and almost forced me to pay attention more. Since this novel is more character-driven than plot-driven, we get to see what makes the characters tick; there are always some characters that instantly work, and some that need more time to convince you. I instantly fell in love with the character of Tom. Of the two, his story was more connecting, and I felt more sympathy for him than I did for Isabel, I think probably because we find out more and more about Tom's backstory, and his life before and during his service in World War I, and you come to understand why he does certain things than we do with Isabel; he's a man of honour who is torn between doing the right thing by the baby, but also doing right by his wife. I did have much sympathy for Isabel, yet I still found her to be completely frustrating at times, but I feel like that was intentional so we could feel the helplessness of their situation. 

I found the latter half of this book to be the part where things really heated up and I found I couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Lucy and if she would eventually find her birth mother. Of the other characters, I liked Hannah, and I particularly liked her father Septimus, both of whom, have also known their fair shares of tragedy. While all the characters had their own tragedies, the two I found myself rooting the most for were Tom and Hannah (and to a less greater extent,the baby, who is innocent through all of this). I found the second half of this book to be the more interesting half. Not that the first half wasn't interesting. The first half was where we had the set-up, while the second half was where we get the pay-off. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I like the payoff better than the setup because that's where we get to see, well, the payoff of what the novel has been building up to, and the repercussions of said set-up are always more interesting to see, and makes the set-up more compelling in retrospect.

So does it live up to the hype? As I said, yes in some areas. It makes you care about certain characters and the outcomes of the characters. It's a book that draws you in right away with the themes of war, family and love, and the writing style is amazingly done. In those ways, it is multifaceted. That being said, I feel like I would have enjoyed this book a bit better if I hadn't known about all the hype surrounding it. Sometimes hype is helpful, and other times hype is a hindrance from fully enjoying a book. I didn't cry. I came close a few times, though. 

All in all, I liked The Light Between Oceans. As a character-driven novel, it works well, with meticulous writing style and good set-up and payoff between the first part and the second part. While I connected with some characters more than others, it is a believable and compelling story that I enjoyed reading. It was hard to put the book down. While I would have appreciated this book more without so much of the hype (some of that, though, comes from the movie), it was still overall an enjoyable book, that has real depth of emotion. However, while some of the characters were relatable, others were frustrating at times. In addition, it also had the tendency to be overly melodramatic at times, both of which subtracted from my overall enjoyment of the book.  For these reasons, I'm going to give The Light Between Oceans a 3.5/5. 

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

From Goodreads:
“Are you happy with your life?” 

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. 

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. 

Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.” 

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

Why did I wait so long to read this book? I bought this book in September of 2016, and only just read it. There was so much hype surrounding this book, and usually I try not to listen to hype. But in this case, I should have listened to the hype. This book is AMAZING. I brought it in the car for a two hour journey and was nearly finished within an hour and a half. I had to force myself to put the book down so I would have something to read on the return journey. 

This book starts out so normally, almost mundanely, but it very quickly throws you for a loop and gives you science fiction mixed with thriller, a bit of romance, and a lot of philosophical questions about our lives, reality and the possibility of multiverses. And I was hooked. Right away when the first loop is given, it's as if you're pushed into the deep end of a swimming pool without knowing the basics of how to adequately swim. While The Circle made me paranoid about who or what may be watching me, Dark Matter made me paranoid about there being more than one universe and that there are multiple copies of me.

I don't know how scientifically accurate the science is, since I'm not a science person, but the writing style that Crouch selected for this book really fits. It adds to the chaos and confusion of the novel, and creates a well-rounded tension that weaves throughout the story. There were many times while I was reading this where I thought "what the hell am I reading?" but in the best possible way. He creates a very realistic portrayal of what the possible ramifications or implications of a multiverse would be like. As a result, it makes you feel very small and insignificant. This book makes you question reality. It's very similar to the movie Inception in that respect, and it's wonderful in the way that it is executed.

Dark Matter really makes you question your own life, your own reality, and the existence of just one singular universe, or if there is more than just one. It asks the big questions, leaves most of them mostly unanswered in favour of postulating theories. I absolutely adored this book and I'm going to give it 5/5. We need more books like this.

Cauchemar by Alexandra Grigorescu

From Goodreads:
An eerie and romantic Southern gothic drama ...

Gripping, fast-paced, gorgeously written, and with unforgettable characters, Cauchemar tells the story of 20-year-old Hannah, who finds herself living alone on the edge of a Louisianan swamp after her adopted mother and protector dies. Hannah falls in love with Callum, an easy-going boat captain and part-time musician, but after her mysterious birth mother, outcast as a witch and rumoured to commune with the dead, comes back into Hannah’s life, she must confront what she’s been hiding from — the deadly spirits that haunt the swamp, the dark secrets of her past, and the nascent gift she possesses.

This book could have gone in many different directions. It was written in a way that made you want to savour what you were reading and tread slowly, while also wanting to find out how it all works out in the end. It's wonderfully written, and takes so many twists and turns, you won't want to put it down once you're sucked into it. At first, I thought this would be just a Southern romance with a young woman and a man who is slightly older than her with more experience and learning how to cope with the demons of their lives. And I would have been happy with that, I love a good romance, especially when Southern food is involved. But Grigorescu really twisted it up and made it unpredictable, original, and unique. I don't think I have ever read a book quite like this one before and I have to give credit where credit is due. 

Ms. Grigorescu is a very gifted writer. Her prose is very simplistic and easy to follow, almost as if in a discussion with someone. It keeps you engaged and is never alienating, except when it needs to be. The magic realism in this novel is breathtaking at times. It is very believable what she puts in place here. I'm pretty sure we have all had the same thoughts that Hannah and Callum had in this book about nightmarish things. One thing I love is the title, which says it all. Cauchemar is French for nightmare and is used as a term semi-frequently in the book, taking on a double meaning within the book, which I found to be cleverly done (I won't give away what it is at risk of spoilers). While there are some uncomfortable moments, mostly to do with Hannah's pregnancy and what comes with it, I find Grigorescu did it quite well. 

The atmosphere in this book is both haunting and beautiful. The tension and the set-ups and the payoffs that this book has are just incredible. It's the perfect mix of supernatural and coming-of-age. Hannah learns a lot about herself as the novel progresses and comes into her own as a result. The theme of motherhood and familial ties is a really prevalent one, as is isolation, both self-inflicted and forced. It's done in such a unique and different way. I loved the setting for this book. While I have never been to Louisiana, myself, I can't really picture this book taking place anywhere else. All in all, I really enjoyed Cauchemar. I'm going to give it 4.5/5 stars, and I can't wait to see what else Ms. Grigorescu has up her sleeve. 

The Circle by Dave Eggers

From Goodreads:
When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. 

As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company’s modernity and activity. There are parties that last through the night, there are famous musicians playing on the lawn, there are athletic activities and clubs and brunches, and even an aquarium of rare fish retrieved from the Marianas Trench by the CEO. 

Mae can’t believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in America - even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public. What begins as the captivating story of one woman’s ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge.

Irony of ironies: my review of this book will make you, the readers, go on Goodreads/Amazon (or come from Goodreads) to look it up and make comments on this book and the author, which is something that happens frequently to the main character. Also: This book reminds me of why I have covered the webcam on my laptop. 

Picture George Orwell's novel 1984. You got it? Totalitarianism? Knowing everything? Take that book and add the internet/security cameras/social media and everything else about the 21st century in the online world: needing instant gratification, using screens and technology to communicate instead of one on one conversations. That is what this book is. It does get a bit soap-boxy and preachy at times, and while there are things I wish had been omitted that the character of Mae does, I think for the most part, the scenes I am thinking about are necessary to further the plot and the overall message that the book is making. 

Is this book dystopian? Or is it representative of a future dystopian world, where the totalitarian regime is not a fascist ruler, but rather a computer? It's very clear that Eggers drew inspiration from 1984. As this book progresses, we see the main character Mae slowly become more and more obsessed with the online world of the Circle and how it affects her. It's very clearly an allegory of how society views social media platforms today. Most people are followers instead of leaders, which Eggers shows with the character of Mae. Mae's character begins as one you think you will root for and hope comes out on top, and she does, in a way, but not in the way that is expected, which becomes more and more abundantly clear as the novel progresses. I always like it when books and writers do that. It's always interesting to have a protagonist that you are not supposed to root for or be completely sympathetic towards. There is a great twist in the epilogue that made the book all the more satisfying. Instead of having a stereotypical villain, who wants to further the totalitarian social media/search platform until there is absolutely no privacy or secrets, which you assume is someone like Bailey, there is no real villain? It will be especially interesting to see how Emma Watson portrays Mae in the upcoming film adaptation (which I believe was also written for the screen by Dave Eggers). Also, this begs the question, if the main protagonist is unreliable, are any of the characters reliable? The scariest part of this book is that this could actually happen with the rapid pace of growth within the internet and social media. Nothing is private anymore.

I see The Circle as a cautionary tale for today's society. While technology and rapid progressions may look utopian on the surface, that surface can give away to a dystopia. It almost reminds me of Ursula K. Leguin's marvelous short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" in which very few people are able to walk away from the dystopia that is hidden in the utopian-looking world. All in all, while a bit preachy in some areas, I liked this book and think it's an important message to give, especially in a society like today. I'm going to give The Circle 4/5, and I can't wait to see how they adapt this book into a movie.

By Gaslight by Steven Price

From Goodreads:
London, 1885. In a city of fog and darkness, the notorious thief Edward Shade exists only as a ghost, a fabled con, a thief of other men's futures -- a man of smoke. William Pinkerton is already famous, the son of a brutal detective, when he descends into the underworld of Victorian London in pursuit of a new lead. His father died without ever tracing Shade; William, still reeling from his loss, is determined to drag the thief out of the shadows. Adam Foole is a gentleman without a past, haunted by a love affair ten years gone. When he receives a letter from his lost beloved, he returns to London in search of her; what he learns of her fate, and its connection to the man known as Shade, will force him to confront a grief he thought long-buried. What follows is a fog-enshrouded hunt through sewers, opium dens, drawing rooms, and seance halls. Above all, it is the story of the most unlikely of bonds: between William Pinkerton, the greatest detective of his age, and Adam Foole, the one man who may hold the key to finding Edward Shade.

The first of 27 books on my TBR list (I may have gotten three more books) is read! 

I really wanted to take my time and savour this book as it was the first book post-semester (not counting reading week) that I read, but, predictably, I ended up devouring it almost in the course of a day. I started on Thursday, but only got 100 pages in and it's 731 pages not counting the author's note and the acknowledgements.

I super enjoyed this book. It has an absurd charm to it that is hard to describe. It was not quite what I expected, but it kept me guessing and doubting my guesses as to who Shade ended up being. Once it was revealed it was totally obvious, who else could it be without it being contrved?, of course it's you, but only added to the absurd charm. I could not put this book down. I needed to know what happened next. I really enjoyed the connection that the two main characters had, and it only intensified as the story progressed. Both know loss. Both are denying their grief. It's a really well-done message conveyed through nineteenth-century mystery and intrigue. 

Price's writing style is really tight and different. It is a bit odd that he doesn't use quotation marks when characters are saying things, but it only adds to the chaos and mystery. It forces you to pay attention. I really like how he adds history to the story. I don't know all that much about the Civil War, besides the basics, so it was interesting to see it through the lens of historical fiction. The writing style is organic and hooks you in almost instantly. The themes of familial relationships, grief, obsession and loss really stand out in a mystery akin to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, but Price deftly makes it work. While I did enjoy the 1885 scenes more than the "flashbacks" so I could see what would happen next, they are equally as important to see character motivations, and Price interweaves them well, and makes it work, and it easily justifies the 731 page count. 

In using historical and literary references (I caught Dickens a few times, H.G. Wells, and Wilkie Collins, among others, but those were the Big Three) in addition to Victorian England dialect, especially with the lower class, Price makes his novel all the more believable. I really enjoyed By Gaslight and I'm giving it 4.5/5 stars; it hooks you in and you won't want to put it down until you have finished it.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

From Goodreads
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.

Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.

I know, I know, I said it would be yesterday that I posted this. Sorry about the delay, my internet has been kind of wonky for the last day or so, and as of last night, is down completely until the new modem is dropped off later today (I'm writing this at school). 

I read this book for the first time in 2010 or around then, forgot about it, and then found it in a bookstore downtown back in January of this year. It doesn't take long to breeze through, the chapters are relatively short and easy to digest. 

I love the premise of this book. I love books that are told from the animal's point of view, as it shows humanity from a completely different perspective. It could help that I love dogs as well. Enzo is a matter-of-fact, but sweet narrator, and the narrative style that Garth Stein uses creates a familiarity in tone and atmosphere. We see everything from Enzo's point of view It's equal parts funny and heartbreaking, and you'll want to hug and cuddle the nearest dog you see upon finishing this book. 


Stein's writing style is very simplistic, but the content of this novel deals with very complex situations. While there were some minor quibbles I had regarding minor plot points (the zebra stuffy), overall, this book was fantastic. I love how the story is set up, the details, and the metaphors that Enzo makes relating racing to everyday life. While I am not a fan of racecar driving (or sports in particular), I found the metaphors to work and enjoyed them; it adds a spark to the book as a whole. Like Fifteen Dogs, this book looks at humanity through the eyes of a dog, which is something that I always enjoy. What does human nature and humanity look like to a non-human, and how do they reconcile with it?

There is a plot point about halfway through the book that changes things completely for Enzo's owner, Denny that only Enzo witnessed. It's interesting to see it through a dog's point of view see what could happen if a dog was the only witness to a crime. How would you question a dog in court? It's a really unique literary device and Stein does it well. While there are certain aspects of this book that I could do without, all in all, it's a really enjoyable and unique book.. 

I'm going to give The Art of Racing in the Rain a 4/5 and recommend it to any dog lover. 

Coming soon!

It's been awhile! I apologize. It's finals season at university which always has me feeling the crunch even if I have all of my assignments done ahead of schedule. This is more of an admin post more than anything to update people on my (very tentative) plan of action. My last two assignments before exams are due next Monday and Friday, but should not eat up too much of my time. Late last week I actually tidied my room and I went through and filed my books and set up a very basic system for cataloguing my TBR books (I'm literally just stickering the ones that I haven't read yet to remind myself that I need to read that book)

I have a TBR pile that's at least 23 books long (24 if you count the book I just started reading last week - I'm still less than 50 pages in, and it's a heavy tome of a book), so we won't be starved for content for the next little while - I have to remind myself of that the next time I'm in a bookstore. I am going to post a review of a book that I have recently re-read in the next 24 hours, so while I haven't actually read a book for outside of school in over a month, I will still be providing an update. Stay tuned for my review of The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

As I mentioned, my TBR and currently reading pile is 25 books long (24 unread books and one book that is a work in progress). So you can keep your eyes peeled for reviews on the following (in no particular order, excluding the first one, which is the one I'm currently reading):

-By Gaslight by Stephen Price
-NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
-All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
-The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
-Penpal by Dathan Auerbach
-No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill
-The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
-Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
-The Circle by Dave Eggers
-Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
-The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs
-This House is Haunted by John Boyne
-All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Matsai
-Nostalgia by M.G. Vassanji
-Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
-The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
-The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
-Little Big by John Crawley
-The Deep by Nick Cutter
-The Troop by Nick Cutter
-Little Heaven by Nick Cutter
-Cauchemar by Alexandra Grigoriscu
-The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
-Victoria by Daisy Godwin

Again, that's really not in any particular order after By Gaslight, which I'm hoping to get a rather large dent in once everything's been handed in later this week. I might do my own individual reading marathon once the dust has settled from this year, but I'll see.

Stay tuned and happy reading!