Lucretia and the Kroons

by Victor LaValle

Lucretia’s best friend and upstairs neighbor Sunny—a sweet pitbull of a kid, even as she struggles with a mysterious illness—has gone missing. The only way to get her back is for Lucretia to climb the rickety fire escape of their Queens tenement and crawl through the window of apartment 6D, portal to a vast shadowland of missing kids ruled by a nightmarish family of mutants whose designs on the children are unknown. Her search for Sunny takes Lucretia through a dark fantasyland where she finds lush forests growing from concrete, pigeon-winged rodents, and haunted playgrounds. Her quest ultimately forces her to confront the most frightening specter of all: losing, forever, the thing you love the most.

Lucretia and the Kroons is a dazzlingly imaginative adventure story and a moving exploration of the power of friendship and the terror of loss. This all-new novella serves as the perfect companion piece to The Devil in Silver, a thrillingly suspenseful work of literary horror that continues the story of Lucretia. (from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

I enjoyed this little novella. It was simply written and carried several messages. As mentioned in the overview, the story tells a tale of losing something you love the most. I also felt it told a message about family and the importance of not judging someone for the way they look.

I liked this enough that I have now added The Devil in Silver to my TBR list!

Thanks to Random House Publishing via Netgalley for allowing me to reaf this in exchange for an unbiased review.

Publish date: July 23, 2012

My rating: 4 of 5

The Bellwether Revivals

by Benjamin Wood

Part Secret History, part Brideshead Revisited for the 21st century, The Bellwether Revivals is a page-turning, romantic, eerie tale of genius and, possibly, madness; a stunning debut for fans of Sarah Waters, Donna Tartt, and Lauren Goff.

The Bellwether Revivals opens and closes with bodies. The story of whose bodies and how they come to be spread about an elegant house on the river near Cambridge is told by Oscar, a young, bright working class man who has fallen in love with an upper-class Cambridge student, Iris, and thereby become entangled with a group of close friends, led by Iris's charismatic, brilliant, possibly dangerous brother. For Eden Bellwether believes he can heal -- and perhaps more -- through the power of music.

In this masterful debut, we too are seduced by this gilded group of young people, entranced by Eden's powerful personality and his obvious talent as a musician, and caught off guard by the strangeness of Iris and Eden's parents. And we find ourselves utterly unsure as to whether Eden Bellweather is a saviour or a villain, and whether Oscar will be able to solve this mystery in time to save himself, if not everyone else. (from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

I am quite simply amazed that this is a debut book for Mr. Wood. I was immediately pulled into the story. As the synopsis tells us, the story opens with dead bodies and of course, at this point, we don’t know who is who and how we even got to this point. The tale of Oliver, his happenstance meeting with Iris and the ensuing saga of his relationship with her, her brother Eden and their small group of friends is really quite captivating. What’s up with Eden - this rather snooty, self centered, upper crust snobbish, pretentious, nut job?  Oh - by the way, I did not care for Eden. Is he crazy as a loon or does he really have some mystical power to heal through music?

I really enjoyed this book - no real lags or downtime. It held my interest and there was no forcing myself to finish. Not so much a fast paced thriller as an even paced story where the tension builds because we know something is definitely amiss. I certainly am interested in seeing more books from this very talented author.

Thank you to Penguin Group (USA) and Netgalley for allowing me to read this for an unbiased review. (Lucky me)

Publish date: June 28, 2012

My rating: 5 of 5

Wallflower in Bloom: A Novel

by Claire Cook

From the acclaimed bestselling author of Must Love Dogs comes a winning and witty new novel about a woman who emerges from the shadow of her overbearing family and finds herself “dancing with the stars.” Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just not her own. She’s the around-the-clock personal assistant to her charismatic, high-maintenance, New Age guru brother, Tag. As the family wallflower, her only worth seems to be as gatekeeper to Tag at his New England seaside compound. Then Deirdre’s sometime boyfriend informs her that he is marrying another woman, who just happens to be having the baby he told Deirdre he never wanted. While drowning her sorrows in Tag’s expensive vodka, Deirdre decides to use his massive online following to get herself voted on as a last-minute Dancing with the Stars replacement. It’ll get her back in shape, mentally and physically. It might even get her a life of her own. Deirdre’s fifteen minutes of fame have begun. Irresistible and offbeat, Wallflower in Bloom is an original and deeply satisfying story of having the courage to take a leap into the spotlight, no matter where you land. (from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

Deirdre is surrounded by family whose lives all center on her guru brother Tag. Along with that, everyone she encounters wants to use her as their way to get to Tag. Does anyone like Deirdre just for herself and not her connection to her brother? Her stepping out to do DWTS is going to be a true test of who she is and who she might become.

Every once in awhile I want to just read a simple, fun book and boy, did this one fit the bill. It was light, fluffy, airy - and I mean this as a compliment to the author. Deirdre has a very dry wit and sometimes things come out of her mouth that are just laugh out loud funny. I liked how the author prefaced each chapter with little mantras - sayings that Tag was so well know for i.e. “You don’t have to be a winner to start, but you have to start to be a winner”. She would then fit the saying into the context of that chapter.

Very nicely done, Ms. Cook. Very nicely done.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, along with Netgalley, for allowing me to read this for an unbiased review.

Publish date: June 5, 2012 (this means you can get it NOW!!!!!)

My rating: 5 out of 5

You Don't Want To Know

by Lisa Jackson

In Ava’s dreams, her son, Noah, looks just the way she remembers him: a sweet two-year-old in rolled-up jeans and a red sweatshirt. When Ava wakes, the agonizing truth hits her all over again. Noah went missing two years ago, and has never been found. Almost everyone, including Ava’s semi-estranged husband, assumes the boy drowned after falling off the dock near their Church Island home.
Ava has spent most of the past two years in and out of Seattle mental institutions, shattered by grief and unable to recall the details of Noah’s disappearance. Now she’s back at Neptune’s Gate, the family estate, her strength slowly returning. But as Ava’s mind comes back into focus, she can’t shake the feeling that her family, and her psychologist, know more than they’re saying. Are they worried for her well-being—or anxious about what she might discover?
Ava secretly visits a hypnotist, hoping to restore her memories. But the strange visions and night terrors keep getting worse. She is sure she’s heard Noah crying in the nursery, and glimpsed him walking near the dock. Is she losing her mind, or is Noah still alive? Ava won’t stop until she gets answers, but the truth is more dangerous than she can imagine. And the price may be more than she ever thought to pay. (from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

Poor Ava, she really doesn’t know who to trust. Living on an island, surrounded by family who, while they seem to care for her, also seem to have some underlying animosity towards her. There is one person, the mysterious Mr. Dern, that might be someone she can trust. Is he on team Ava or team everybody else? And what about her son Noah? Is he alive or was he even real to begin with?

This book started off slow for me, although it held my attention enough for me to want to continue. It got better about half way in and then really picked up in the last quarter. I’m glad I stuck with it, as there were some twists toward the end that made it worth my while.

I thank Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read this for my unbiased review.

Publish date: August 7, 2012

My rating: 3.5 of 5