Early this year, I listened to and loved Britt-Marie was Here. I then added all of Fredrik Backman’s audiobooks to my wishlist. Thanks to an Audible fairy, I was gifted a copy of A Man Called Ove. The ratings do not lie, once again I was transported as Backman made me fall in love with a grumpy old man named Ove and the folks in his community.
Merry Mary by Ashley Farley is a heart-warming, pull at your heartstrings novella and perfect for the holiday season. Farley beautifully captured the story of Scottie Darden, a motherless woman who on a cold winter morning makes a discovery that changes her life in an instant. Things could go terribly wrong and the author takes us through the events that unfold making us connect.
Caffeinated is being taken over by other bloggers and today we have Sara @ Finley Jayne’s Going to the Library. Grab a mocha lattes and check out her review of Seven Deadlies. Finley Jayne’s Going to the Library is a unique blog featuring a wide variety of books and discussions! Enjoy Sara’s review, I know she has me curious about Seven Deadlies. Thanks Sara for sharing with us today….
I have mad love for David Levithan and have read his last few books. To be honest, I prefer the ones he writes solo as I love his voice. Two Boys Kissing was one I entered with trepidation. I am an emotional reader and I knew this would be a heartfelt journey. David has a gift for capturing human emotions, fears, failures and triumphs. He captured all of this and more in this beautiful tale. Three word review: beautiful, honest and filled with life lessons.
Last year I read a collection of short stories called Thrown Out: Stories from Exeter by Jennie Coughlin. My favorite was the story of two young boys who found dead bodies in a marsh outside of town and All That is Necessary takes us back to Exeter twenty years later with some of the same characters. This isn’t your typical story, there are relationships but romance isn’t the focus instead we revisit the past when it collides with the present and the effects it has on our main characters. I easily consumed this in a single afternoon and while not flawless it certainly held my attention.
I have not had a lot of experience with Russian literature but was very curious about the seventeen short stories contained within the pages of There Once Lived a Girl Who Seduced Her Sister’s Husband, and He Hanged Himself. This is a follow-up to the author’s New York Times best seller There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby. I really enjoyed some of the tales and thought others were ok. What Petrushevskaya does give us is a dark, gritty, in your face look at the misery, love and loss of those living in communist controlled Russia during her youth. Imagine if you will a look inside the apartments of the projects.
