Review: The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Title The Girl Who Chased The Moon
By Sarah Addison Allen
Genre Adult Magic Realism
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. Such as, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? And why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew--a reclusive, real-life gentle giant--she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes. (From Goodreads)

First Sentence

It took a moment for Emily to realize the car had come to a stop.

I needed another Allen book in this crazy depressing time of my life so I downloaded the audio of this one and listened while cleaning house and raking leaves. It was a life saver. 

I feel like this one isn't talked about as much as some of her others so my expectations were low. I thought it wasn't going to compare but I actually ended up really liking it. It was as sweet and enjoyable as Julia's cakes. (character in the story reference) 

I loved all of the characters in this one...mostly. One of the love interests annoyed the hell out of me (typical) but other than that I found the characters relatable and endearing. I also liked the story of this one. Allen's books can be a little light on story but this one held my interest and I wanted to know how everything unfolded.

A wonderful comfort read. If you haven't read Allen you need to.

Should you read it
Yes, A great Allen book to begin with if you haven't read any of her books.  

Review: The Roanoke Girls

Title The Roanoke Girls
By Amy Engel
Genre Adult Contemporary
Rating ⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Lane's mother never talked fondly of her childhood home. When her mother commits suicide Lane has no other options. She must go to the strange estate in Kansas to live with her grandparents. That summer the secrets are revealed and Lane can't get away fast enough but when her cousin Allegra goes missing Lane must return to the home she spent a summer in as a teenager and confront the families secrets to find out what happened to her cousin.

First Sentence
The Second time I saw Roanoke was a month after my mother committed suicide.

Oi! I'm not sure what I expected when I decided to read this one but it isn't what I got.

I was blown away by the beautiful writing in this one. Not just the style but the way everything came together with the past and present story telling and glimpses of the Roanoke girls.

Thus I gave it an extra star. Without that writing this one would have been a one star for me. The plot was just so disturbing and cringe inducing and I felt sick just reading it.

And then I asked myself why. Why did the author decide to write this twisted little story? There's nothing to be learned from it. No hope to offer or message to be learned. It was just gross and crass and pretty graphic.

So while I really didn't like this one I want to try something else the author wrote. As long as it's not a disturbing story like this one.

Should you read it
Can't recommend it. Just can't.

October Wrap-Up 2017

My favorite month of the year is over. Honestly, though, this October wasn't so great. On the 1st of this month, the untreatable cancer my mother has ate enough of her spine that it fractured in several places leaving her bed bound and in a lot of pain. The cancer in her lungs was cutting her oxygen just enough to make her levels low and as a result she was uncomfortable and cranky. She's on oxygen now and the pain killers are balanced enough to keep her comfortable so that's good but sadly, my family and I are left in that waiting period and feeling pretty helpless. On top of all that my husband and I were scrambling to get one of our rentals remodeled and rented and then another tenant moved out and we had to find renters for that unit as well. It's been a rough month but things look to be calming down. I managed to read 8 books, (audio books are awesome!) rake all the leaves, and even managed a visit down south to see my mom. Trying really hard to stay positive here!

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
A crime novel that surprised and entertained. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
Incredibly stupid story with awful characters. ⭐️

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
ANOTHER multiverse story with nothing new to offer. ⭐️⭐️

The Warden's Daughter by Jerry Spinelli
A delightful middle grade/YA novel with depth and heart. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel
Way too disturbing of a story but what beautiful writing. ⭐️⭐️

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
A sweet story with a good message. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Warm and fuzzy comfort read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Favorites of the month were The Warden's Daughter and the much needed comfort reads by Allen. Least Favorite was Imaginary Girls.

Review: The Peach Keeper

Title The Peach Keeper
By Sarah Addison Allen
Genre Adult magic realism
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Descended from a once wealthy family, Willa still calls Walls of Water home but knows her life is very different than her grandmother's used to be. The mansion Willa's family once owned is being restored to its former glory by Paxton Osgood, an old high school classmate who's family is still wealthy. Paxton intends to make it a high class inn. But when a skeleton is found buried beneath an old peach tree on the property, Willa and Paxton will learn about their families history and be drawn together to solve the mystery.

First Sentence
The day Paxton Osgood took the box of heavy-stock, foil-lined envelopes to the post office, the ones she'd had a professional calligrapher address, it began to rain so hard the air turned as white as bleached cotton.

I love Allen's books. Just look at that first sentence. You just know it's going to be a good book, right?  My life's been so nuts and stressful right now I needed some of Allen's magic to comfort me. While this one wasn't quite as wonderful as some of her other books, I still found myself happily and dreamily turning pages while I tuned out my crappy life.

The underlying message I took away from this one was pretty awesome. I loved its take on women's relationships and how they usually look and how they could look. It was just beautiful.

The story seemed a little light to me. There wasn't much substance to it. And it was short. Less than three hundred pages but in the end I wasn't bothered by any of that.

So while, I wasn't blown away, It was still a lovely story that was just what I needed.

Should you read it
If you've never read and Allen book before this wouldn't be the first book I'd recommend you try but, yes, it's a lovely story.

Mini Movie Reviews #12

Oi! I've fallen behind in movie reviews. Life is not going so great for me right now and blogging is becoming a last priority.  Still, I'm seeing movies so I thought I'd do my old style Mini Movie Reviews to catch you up.

Flatliners
I'm not sure why they felt the need to remake this one. There's not some amazing story here that's worth retelling but since I never saw the original I figured what the hell. I was more entertained than I thought I'd be. It was creepy and enjoyable enough but nothing special...or memorable.

Victoria & Abdul
I was really excited to see this one. It seemed like it would be cute and fun. And it was...to a point. And then it just got weird. I don't know how accurate this was to real history, I'm guessing not very. And while I wanted to just watch and appreciate the relationship between these two it just got a little "what's-the-point" and I was left slightly disappointed.

Made in America
This one was the husband's pick. I had no desire to see it. And, as usual when I don't want to see it and he convinces me, I ended up liking it. I know Tom Cruise isn't anyone's favorite anymore but I thought he did a great job. It was very entertaining to watch this guy's life. It does end sadly but you know it's coming. I'd actually recommend this one. I guess I should listen to the husband's recommendations a little more often, huh?

 The Mountain Between Us
Why I didn't realize this one was going to be a romance I'll never know. I thought it was going to be about these two completely different people surviving some horrible stuff together. And it was but...then romance came into it. And the romance wasn't bad but when you're not expecting it and have to adjust your perception mid movie it can be a bit jarring.  It was still very entertaining and emotionally investing, though. I'd recommend it.