Tag Archives: romance

Turquoise: A Review

  By May | 27 September, 2012 - 9:00 am |
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Author:  Ayshe Talay-Ongan Publisher: Sid Harta Publishers Genre: Literary Fiction My price: $8.16 I’ve just finished reading Turquoise, and I feel like I’ve lost a good friend. The book follows Yasmin, a young Turkish woman, through nearly two decades of her life, beginning in the late 1970′s. Through the course of the book, we live Yasmin’s life alongside of her, following along her ups and downs, good decisions and bad. Her story doesn’t sound incredibly unique: young woman falls in love with a married man. But it’s the little details, the twists and turns of her life that keep the story so engaging. The author, Ayshe Talay-Ongan, has a very unique writing style. It take a few pages to get into it, but once I did, I fell fully into the story. It’s told in the first person, present tense, so when Yasmin picks up an olive to nibble on, we pick up the olive with her. (On a completely unrelated note, don’t read Turquoise on an empty stomach. A Turkish cookbook is next on my list of books to buy!) Due in part to the rich descriptions, Yasmin’s world feels very real. Gosh, when I put down the book, I almost felt compelled to speak in the same familiar, flowery language as Yasmin. At times the description is overdone, making wish we could see a bit more of Yasmin’s life instead of just her detailed thoughts on the world around her.

Providence: Reviewer Roundup

  By May | 15 June, 2012 - 8:15 am | ,
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As part of my effort to include a wider range of opinions on Indebooks, I’m rounding up other reviews of books I’ve read recently. If you have a thoughtful review you’d like to submit, please email me at indebookreview@gmail.com, or post your review in the comment section below! Providence, a paranormal romance novel by Jamie McGuire, was a book I just couldn’t get into. The main character annoyed me, the plot was slow-moving, and the romance felt over-the-top and a bit creepy. Other reviewers, however, loved the book. Maybe my soon-to-be-patented ‘unhealthy relationship detector’ is overly sensitive.  Here’s a roundup of what some other reviewers had to say about the book: Scandalicious Book Reviews says: “This story is a roller coaster ride of mystery, intrigue and suspense. The battles are epic and the love story is delicious. I am going to warn you up front, Jared says some things that are so swoon-worthy, he even melted my old scandalicious heart!”

The Mill River Recluse: A Review

  By May | 9 May, 2012 - 8:30 am |
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Author: Darcie Chan Publisher: Self-published Genre: Contemporary Fiction My purchase price: $0.99   I must be on a small town kick lately. Both Riversong and The Mill River Recluse take place in small towns, and both stories highlight the unique (and sometimes wacky) residents who live in them. Both stories also deal with tragic childhoods, and how their main characters do — and don’t– take action to move past their sad beginnings. In The Mill River Recluse, the book’s title character, Mary, is not able to overcome the traumatic episodes from her childhood and early adulthood. Instead, she removes herself almost completely from the rest of the world, only maintaining contact through her closest friend, Michael. The relationship between Mary and Michael is outstanding. It’s complex, interesting to read, and the love between them reads as real. All of their scenes together are sweet and surprising, and kept me hooked in this otherwise ‘eh’ book. It’s not that this book was boring– not at all. There’s mystery and scandal, action and romance… a “something for everyone” kind of book. But, aside from Mary and Michael, the book’s characters are pretty one-dimensional. The good guys are so clearly good, the bad guys so clearly bad. There’s no nuance, no subtlety. This might’ve been fine if the other characters in the book weren’t central to the story. However, The Mill River Recluse rotates through several different perspectives to illustrate the interconnectedness of the town and link up the various plot threads. But because the characters came across as bland, it was difficult to stay interested in the other story lines. Some other points: As I mentioned, this book jumps around a lot, through time, perspectives, locations. The rhythm of the shifts were hard to understand, which left me confused for the … Continue reading →

Jaguar Sun: Review

  By May | 20 April, 2012 - 8:23 am |
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Author: Martha Bourke Publisher: Balam Press Genre: YA- Paranormal My purchase price: $2.99 When I realized  Jaguar Sun was a book about the end of the Mayan calendar (12/21/12, for those who haven’t yet started their end-of-the-world toolkit), I sighed and thought it was going to be a long, bumpy ride to the end. But this book’s quick pace and positive twist on the end of the world (yeah, apparently it’s possible), kept me happily turning the pages. Maya is typical teenager worrying about friends, boys, family, and where to get her next Diet Coke fix. But the jaguar that haunts her dreams has now made an appearance in her waking life. Then, Maya finds out that she’s actually a shapeshifter, which makes her even more of a freak in her community. With the help of her two best friends — a set of slightly bland but realistic twins — and her grandmother, an Elder in the Mayan community, Maya learns to accept and embrace her jaguar spirit. But when she finds out that her powers bring with them great responsibility, she struggles to find her way.

My Temporary Life: Review

  By May | 13 March, 2012 - 8:38 am | ,
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Title: My Temporary Life Author: Martin Crosbie Genre: Coming of Age/Suspense Publisher: Self-published Author/Book Page: http://martincrosbie.com/ Found: Clicking through the web   Review: Martin Crosbie has written one of those books filled with characters that stick with you long after you’ve closed the book. My Temporary Life is filled with hope– hope for humanity, the good in people. It’s truly a great novel, and one that I’ll recommend wholeheartedly. The first third of the book is a coming of age story about Malcom, a teenager growing up with a distant father in Scotland. He’s shuttled to Canada every summer for a visit with his mother, a woman who is a mother in name only. She roams around Canada with different men, ignoring her son at every juncture. Malcom and his only friend, mockingly known as “Hardly,” are tormented by their classmates. We learn quickly that Malcom’s life is hard. His friend Hardly’s life is even harder. penis enlargement pill

Providence: Review

  By May | 6 March, 2012 - 5:30 am |
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Title: Providence Author: Jamie McGuire Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance Publisher: Self-published Author/Book Page: http://www.jamiemcguire.com/ Found: Clicking through the web   Review: The novel Providence begins with a our protagonist, Nina, ruminating on her father’s greatness. He is a God, she says, powerful, loving and a doting father. The fact that she is a teenage girl with nothing negative to say about her father is mostly believable only because he is on his death-bed. The night of her father’s funeral, Nina meets a mysterious, handsome young man named Jared. Soon, she begins to see Jared everywhere, and (I don’t think it’s spoiling the plot to say) they eventually begin a relationship which is challenged repeatedly. This book wasn’t for me, and I don’t think it’s for most readers. Here are a few of my biggest gripes: anti-aging skin care products

Flat-Out Love: Review

  By May | 21 February, 2012 - 12:30 am |
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Title: Flat-Out Love Author: Jessica Park Genre: Contemporary Romance Publisher: Self-published Author/Book Page: http://flatoutlove.blogspot.com/ Found: Clicking through the web Review: I purchased this book at about 6:30 one night after work, thinking I’d read the first few chapters and then do laundry, make dinner and watch something on television. Instead, I stayed up way (way) past my bedtime, hurriedly turning clicking through pages. This book, with its quirky characters, sharp dialogue and twists and turns, had me hooked. The story begins with our protagonist, Julie, standing outside a building which was supposed to be her new apartment. She calls her mom after she finds out she’s been ripped off, and the apartment is actually just a burrito joint. On page three, Jessica Park had me laughing out loud with this dryly humorous exchange: “…But my supposed apartment building is a burrito restaurant.” “Burritos! Holy mother of God!” “I know. Burritos are always alarming.” The book follows Julie as she unexpectedly moves in with the wealthy– and eccentric– Watkins’ family. We learn early on that the family isn’t just a little odd: there’s something else lurking beneath the surface that has deeply affected the family, especially their 13-year old daughter. Julie (too) quickly puts aside worries about fitting in during her first year of college and instead tries to understand what has the sweet and smart young girl carrying around a cardboard cutout of her older brother. penis enlargement best penis enlargement pill