Book Review: A Family Affair

A Family Affair by Mary Campisi

When Christine Blacksworth's larger-than-life father is killed on an icy road in Magdalena, New York, a hundred miles from the 'getaway' cabin he visited every month, she discovers a secret that threatens everything she's always held to be true. Her father has another family which includes a mistress and a daughter. Determined to uncover the truth behind her father's secret life, Christine heads to Magdalena, prepared to hate the people who have caused her to question everything she thought she knew about her father. But what she finds is a woman who understands her, a half sister who cherishes her, and a man who could love her if she'll let him. The longer she's around them, the more she questions which family is the real one.

 

While I will be the first to admit that I am a sucker for romance, this book was so much more than your average love story. There are no words to describe how much I loved this book and how much it kept me intrigued. It was well written and interesting. It kept me thinking and guessing the whole time. While it is a novel that is centered around romance, in more ways than one, it is not the main focus. As most romance novels are there are several things that are rather predictable but that comes with the territory. There is a lot more happening in this novel than the normal love story. I absolutely fell in love with Nate. He has become one of my favourite male characters in any of the books that I have read recently. I know that there are more books in this series and I am very excited to read them (I just need to find them!) While I felt that there were a few things in this novel that moved a little bit too quickly, overall I think that it was a really great read.

Book Review: A Heart So True (One Tree Hill)

A Heart So True by Anna Lotta

Brooke Davis has everything a teenage girl could desire - looks, popularity, and all the clothes money can buy. But she can't have the one thing she wants most - Lucas Scott. Sure, he was all hers for a few weeks during basketball season, but somehow he slipped through her fingers. And now the girl who swore never to let a guy break her heart has a secret: She wants him back.

Unfortunately for Brooke, getting Lucas back is easier said than done. Just a few months ago, Lucas was a quiet, bookish nobody. But now it seems like half the girls at THH are after him - including Brooke's best friend, Peyton. 

 Brooke is determined not to let Lucas some between her and Peyton again. But keeping her true feelings buried is a lot harder than Brooke imagined it would be - especially now that Lucas wants to rebuild his friendships with both her and Peyton.

I found the blurb of this book (written above) to be a little bit misleading. Yes, there are certain aspects of it that are accurate but I also feel as though there are a few embellishments that aren't quite necessary. I watch the TV show, One Tree Hill, which this book is based on and I have watched the episodes that are related to this book. When I read a book, I watch what is happening in my mind. I have a very vivid imagination. I could easily imagine this in my mind because I had seen it happen on TV. Had I not watched it I think that it would have been slightly more difficult to imagine the scenes that I was reading. I feel that, at times, the book seemed to have been written by a teenager themselves. I understand that this book, like the show is aimed primarily at teenagers and young adults but I think that the structure of the story and the way that it was written could have been better. If you enjoy the TV show then I would recommend this book as it is pretty accurate in terms of what you will have seen on the show, however if you are not a fan of the series then you might not find this book as interesting. This is because you might not know the background of the characters involved which are pretty important to be able to fully enjoy and appreciate the book.

Book Review: Singing Bird

Singing Bird by Roisin McAuley

The phone call comes out of the blue. It is the nun who, twenty-seven years earlier, set up the adoption of Lena Molloy's baby girl in Ireland. Just tying up loose ends, she says, nothing to worry about. 

But Lena is worried - and intrigued - and decides to go on a secret mission to the west of Ireland, with her best friend, to trace the birth parents of her daughter, now making her international debut as an opera singer. At first the trail seems to have gone cold, but at last a chance meeting sets Lena on a journey to an outcome which in her wildest dreams she could not have foreseen. 

I found this book at a fête and I only read the first line of the blurb before I decided to buy it. I hoped for the best when I started reading it and I was certainly not disappointed. This book is well written and interesting. Following the trail of her adoptive daughter's parents, Lena finds a lot of surprises along the way. The book is written in such a way that whenever you think one thing is going to happen, something else happens. It keeps you guessing and it keeps you wondering the whole time. As her daughter is an Opera singer, there are often times in the book when there is singing happening and the lyrics are given. This, while nice, can get a bit much at times because it is hard to sing the song if you are not familiar with it. I must admit that at these parts I just skimmed over the lyrics because they were a bit difficult to get through. This does not reflect badly on the story, I am just not a fan of reading lyrics in a story, in general. All in all I would definitely recommend this book. I have never experienced adoption first hand so I cannot imagine what it must be like but this is a heart warming account, although fictional, of a mother seeking answers for her daughter and finding some of her own along the way.

Book Review: Stoked

Stoked by Lark O'Neal

The second, compelling episode in the Going the Distance series.

He never believed in love at first sight until he fell….

At the beginning of the summer, former Olympic hopeful Tyler Smith was knocked off his feet by Jess Donovan. Smart, beautiful, courageous—and dirt poor—she awakened his desire to be someone better than he is.

The two found a rare and rich connection, but in a moment of bad judgment, Tyler nearly broke it all to pieces, forcing Jess to make a decision that would take her far away from him—and maybe build a brilliant new life for herself. 

Now he has a second chance to win her love….

When Tyler is handed an unexpected opportunity to earn her respect, and maybe his own, he’s ready to give it everything he’s got. Can he shed his demons and become the man she deserves?

More urgently, can he do it in time? Because there might be another guy who would like to be Jess’s one and only…and that guy hasn’t spent a life time sabotaging everything good in his life.

This is the second episode in Jess and Tyler's story. Read about how they met in RANDOM.

I received this book from NetGalley and when I requested it I had no idea that it was actually the second 'episode' in the series (I didn't read what the book was about which is why). Only when I received the book did I notice that it was actually part two. I did not have part one and I did not know where I could buy it from so I decided to just start with part two. Normally this might be confusing as you might not know what is happening but the book was structured and written in such a way that  had I not known it was part two, I wouldn't have even realised. It was so well written and so interesting. I absolutely love Tyler and kept wondering, throughout the book, where I could find a Tyler of my own. He is a very complex character and there is so much about him that is worthwhile learning. There were a lot of references to snowboarding that I didn't get as I have never snowboarded before in my life (I have never even seen snow!). However, I felt as though they were described well enough for me to be able to picture what was happening even though my snowboarding knowledge is non-existent. The book ended on a cliff-hanger while not being a cliff-hanger at the same time. All I know is that I absolutely cannot wait for the next part to come out because I need to read it! I would definitely recommend this book.

Book Review: Perfect Crime

Perfect Crime by Jack Erickson

I saw the title of this book and I thought that it sounded like something that I absolutely had to read; so I did. I was unaware that this was actually a short story until the book ended (rather abruptly). I think that this book had a lot of potential and it could have been an incredible book, rather than a short story. Everything held a steady pace until towards the end, then it started getting a little bit rushed. Things seemed to happen too quickly and they could have been explained more or more things could have been added in. I understand that the author wanted it to be a short story however I do feel like there could have been even a few more pages just to draw things out a little bit more. Books can often feel too long or drawn out when they are boring but this book was interesting and I think that it had the opposite problem.

Book Review: Ballerina

 Ballerina by Edward Stewart

I received this book from NetGalley. Overall this was a very good book and I enjoyed it very much. It was very well written and well researched. I would suggest having some prior knowledge of ballet before reading the book as it could get confusing with all of the technical terms that are used. There is a glossary at the back of the book which does explain these terms (as I do not read the index of books, I only found the glossary when I was finished reading the book)and a lot more terms are explained as well but with no prior knowledge, it might be difficult to imagine the steps. I absolutely did not like the mother, Anna, in this story. She is a selfish, overbearing ballet mom. I could understand why she was like that but she was definitely too much for me at some points. There were a few characters in this book (2 to be exact - I do not want to mention the names of the characters in case I give away a spoiler) who i absolutely loved and I just wish that they could have been in the story a little bit more. I do feel though that if they had been in the story more then the story itself might have been very different and I loved it the way it was. There were some characters that I am not sure if I should have liked or not. A lot of the characters seemed one way and turned into something else and with some of the characters, even after I finished the book, I could not tell if I was meant to have liked them or not. I am unsure about the way that the book ended. That is just a personal preference for me. There are many ways that it could have ended but ultimately, even though it left me a little bit unsure, this was probably the best ending.