I've been a fan of Marisa de los Santos since reading Love Walked In. It was that book that introduced me to a world outside of the cheap, paperback, grocery-store romances and, as such, Marisa's books will always hold a special place in my heart. I was excited to see that she was releasing a new one so I requested The Precious One to review and put it on my bedside table as a treat - something to read outside of all of the graduate studies and required reading that has been bogging me down this semester.'

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It's difficult to talk about books one reads when they correspond to the area of research that individual is involved heavily in. I picked up The Death of Jim Loney by James Welch on the recommendation of a mentor of mine and I knew, going in, that there would be a lot of times I would want to stop reading and start really diving into what I was reading and analyzing it and driving myself crazy with new research thoughts and ideas. But, about a chapter in, I put that part of my mind back into a box and I decided that I would give Jim Loney my full attention: as someone who was reading the book to listen to the story of this character.

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In a book that combines honest details about the bitter realities facing environmentalist ranchers with informative facts about wildlife, grass, and the struggles and rewards of raising Bison, Dan O’Brien manages to transform what might otherwise be a dull story story into one that tugs at the heartstrings. One of the first observations made in Buffalo for the Broken Heart gets to the figurative “heart” of the matter: the idea that, when it comes to the Great Plains, “it’s just a big, empty land” (6).

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Travel stories, personal anecdotes, scientific evidence, soul-searching questions, and environmental tourism all combine in David Gessner’s beautifully written book, The Tarball Chronicles. Even the cover, featuring the image of a man’s body, clad in protective gear, with the head of the infamous “oiled pelican” gives the reader a predictive look into the story held within the pages of Gessner’s book. Much like the illustrative pelican/man, Gessner draws heavily on the idea of connectivity and how it is impossible to escape that web that binds us together with every other thing.

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First, let me get a few things straight. I don't know in what universe this book would have been acceptable to read at 12 years old, but I think part of the horror of this book is the thought that 12 year old kids were reading it. I mean, if you were a pretty knowledgeable 12 year old who could handle graphic sexual abuse, incest, physical abuse, and mental abuse and be able to put the book down and go along your way unaffected, then... I guess more power to that 12 year old you. But let me tell you know, as a 38 year old woman, this book affected me and I only picked it up because I'd purchased it a while back for a read-along and thought.. what the heck, I'm in the mood for a story and this looks interesting.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on Jan. 9, 2015.

I'm in two camps when it comes to Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl. First, I absolutely, "five-star" loved this book due to its setting and the description of Lincoln/Omaha area - in fact, Rowell's heart is definitely in Nebraska and that's why I'm drawn to her storytelling as much as I am. On the other hand, there were several elements of Fangirl that I really struggled with. So I'm going to flesh out each of these camps and leave it to you to decide if you want to pick this one up.

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I picked up a copy of Andy Weir's The Martian when it was released because, frankly, I absolutely adore survival stories. I blame my love of them totally on Swiss Family Robinson and The Myserious Island. I also have a major fascination with space (and the ocean) - basically anything that represents places that have been left completely unexplored and have the potential for so much.

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Have you ever put off reading a book because you know that there is no way it can be as perfect as it is, unread, in your head? That's been the case for me with Eleanor and Park. I've read Rowell before (Attachments) and I've purchased Fangirl, and I want to read it, but first I knew I needed to pick up E&P. So, as I sit here coming off of a brutal first semester of graduate school and many, many books read that have challenged me, I knew I needed to pick something up that would make me laugh, a bit. Make me cry, a bit. And, basically, remind me of what it's like to live life and be young, a bit.

Read the rest of this review on December 18, 2014 at The Lost Entwife.

Before I start my review out I have a disclaimer: I know Brian Davis. Not only do I know Brian Davis, but I would argue that, for his fiction, I am probably his #3 or #4 fan (he does have family, after all). Brian has a way with words and that translates well also into his non-fiction, of which A Link to the Past is firmly a part of. Brian, in addition to being a gifted storyteller, also writes incredible poetry and song lyrics, so with all of that said and the shameless plugging complete, let's move into my review of his memoir.

A Link to the Past is a set of essays that deal with the secondary part of Brian's title, Stories of Growing Up Gamer. I know there are parts of my life that I can define by certain MMOs that I played and the friendships formed as a result of those games (in fact, as I sit here typing this, I'm enjoying the hospitality of an old guild leader/best friend of mine). I found myself reliving parts of my own life, as a result, as I wandered through the fragments of his life that Brian reveals in this memoir. I laughed quite a bit, as he is quite the witty writer, and I learned quite a bit about games that I absolutely did not want to know anything about before. But Brian makes those games relevant because he uses them as a framework for his growth as a brother, a son, a friend, a writer, and ultimately, the person he is today.

There are moments of brilliance - comparing his relationship with his older brother to the relationship of the Sega Genesis to show more the NES being one of them. There are moments where I, admittedly, found myself skimming a little more than I wanted to (anything to do with sports, other than college football, and I check out). There were a few revalations about my friend that I got to enjoy - but I will also say that, as much as I enjoyed the glimpses into Brian's life, there was a bit of something missing.

Drama.

I crave Drama (with a capital D) in my memoirs. There was a passing remark about a girlfriend at one point, but other than that, there really wasn't that much drama happening. And that may have been because there wasn't much drama in Brian's life to talk about, but still, there has to be some. And without those moments of vulnerability revealed, the genre of memoir can come off a bit detached. So while I adore Brian and love having his friendship as a part of my life, I still put the book down feeling as if I knew the surface aspects of his life, but not that much about what's going on deep inside. I wanted to know that too. Maybe someday I will get to.

All of that said, I would recommend this book to anyone who has a gamer in their life. It'll be a great conversation starter, because I know it made me want to talk to my friends about how games have influenced the person I've become today. Brian goes pretty in depth in a review-style fashion about obscure titles and some not-so-obscure titles (Final Fantasy VII and VIII feature pretty prominently) but I didn't play those - I loved the online Final Fantasy XI which Brian wasn't so much a fan of. All that said, pick this one up. If you are in Peoria, IL - go to a book signing or catch Brian playing his music at Thirty-Thirty Coffee. You won't regret it. show less

If you are anything like me, Susanna Rowson is not a name you've stumbled across at any point in your life. I've read a lot of books, but I tend, generally, to avoid early American novelists because, well, the puritan thing really gets to me. However, now I'm in a class that has me studying four of those novelists and Rowson was first up on the list. I got a taste of her in reading CHARLOTTE TEMPLE, but REUBEN AND RACHEL really took that taste and made it into a full-fledged meal, including dessert. If you are at all interested in exploring this author, let this review serve as a guideline to help you through the book.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on Sept. 16, 2014.

It's only natural that since I am fascinated by survival stories in fiction that I should also look to some crazy real-life stories. That's exactly what caught my eye when I saw Ed Stafford's book. NAKED AND MAROONED is a heck of a title and a little bit of marketing genius. Who could pass something like that up? Then, upon further reading, I noticed that he spent his time in the South Pacific and, given my recent time spent in the Pacific, I had to know what it was like.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on Sept. 14, 2014.

I don't read a lot of crime books. I was burned out on them years ago, but there are a few authors that make the cut for me and Camilla Lackberg is one of them. I've been following her Fjallbacka series since the first book was released and I'm always excited to see a new release pop up in my notices. THE HIDDEN CHILD did not disappoint. It solidly landed among some of my favorites of Lackberg's books and I was reminded, once again, of just how intensely absorbing this genre of book can be when it's written well.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on Sept. 12, 2014.

I have a confession to make. I haven't been reading as much as I want to - well, I haven't been reading fiction "for fun" as much as I have wanted to. The reason is that now that school is in session and I'm focusing on a specific area of literature and navigating my way through graduate school, I just can't afford to set aside time to read for pleasure. But then, the other night I was thinking about that and I realized that it shouldn't be the case. Just because I'm in school and reading other things doesn't mean I can't pick up a book for fun and so the first one I picked up was STONE MATTRESS by Margaret Atwood.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on Sept. 10, 2014.

I finished reading THE MEMORY GARDEN by M. Rickert last May and now, months later, I still have conflicted emotions when I think about it. I remember thinking that this should be the perfect story for me - an old family secret, a girl surrounded by characters who have rich pasts, conflict, friendship, love - maybe even a little magic, be it of the supernatural or the chemistry kind.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 28, 2014.

Nope. No. Not at all. WAKE by Anna Hope did not work for me. The problems were plentiful and the good things.. well, good thing, it was scarce. I was so angry through this book but even that anger sputtered and died as I felt myself careening toward an end that was sure to disappoint. And, honestly, maybe that's exactly what that ending was supposed to do. I hate literary devices like the one used to end WAKE and that was the final nail in the coffin for me.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 26, 2014.

It's been quite a few months since I read THE RETURNED by Jason Mott, but the story still lingers and every once in a while, when I see someone experience a loss on television, or hear of someone losing a loved on via my Facebook feed, or even the happy news of lost strangers being united with their families, my mind returns to the story in THE RETURNED.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 24, 2014.

I'm struggling so much right now because I really, really wanted to fall in love with BOY, SNOW, BIRD by Helen Oyeyemi. I'm sitting here, struggling with a lack of words to convey my disappointment and struggling as well to try to articulate what exactly about BOY, SNOW, BIRD disappointed me. I asked myself when I finished reading if maybe I had expected too much - Snow White has always been one of my favorite stories, but I really went into this book without reading much of anything except the brief synopsis on the back. My mind was open to the possibilities and I had absolutely every hope of being drawn in.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 22, 2014.

There are three types of books I enjoy reading and, as a result, there's generally three types of authors that go along with those books. Sometimes an author will cross over and write something that dabbles a little bit (or jumps completely into) one of those other two types of books, but generally speaking, they stick to what's been done before under their name. One of those types of books (and authors) I really enjoy employs beautiful language and a storytelling ability that transcends everything else. When I read this type of book I can feel my world view expanding and my thoughts and ideas and preconceptions being challenged and tested. Ian McEwan writes books that not only deliver a sucker punch to my gut, but makes me grateful for being there to get punched in the first place. THE CHILDREN ACT delivered yet another punch and, while it didn't hurt as much as ATONEMENT or SOLACE did, the after-effects are still rocking me a bit.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on Sept. 8, 2014.

I read a book recently about an older man who was grouchy and all "get off my lawn!" and...well, you know the type, surely you do. I loved that book. I wanted to meet that old man and live in his world and keep him company as he went about his daily routine. When I picked up FLORENCE GORDON by Brian Morton, I have expected to have found the companion to that book - now I'd be reading about a grouchy old lady and I'd be falling in love all over again. What I got was something totally unexpected.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on Sept. 20, 2014.

I have a confession to make. I have not read THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN. I've seen the title - in fact, my feed reader was inundated with book reviews and buzz about the book when it came out, but for some reason, I've just never felt the urge to pick it up and read it. Still, I've spent quite a bit of time looking at the cover on Amazon, in my local bookstore, and I've even seen it at some garage sales. I can picture it clearly in my mind, and so, when I saw that A SUDDEN LIGHT was being released I thought - why not read the newest Garth Stein book and actually be on top of things?

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on Sept. 22, 2014.

If you are at all familiar with my reviews, then you know that I am a fan of Chris Bohjalian. He first won me over with THE DOUBLE BIND, then he wrecked my heart with MIDWIVES, and it's all been over since those two books. While I've loved some of his books more than others, I have to say that CLOSE YOUR EYES, HOLD HANDS, is by far the most inventive and out-of-his-box book I've seen yet. When I finished CLOSE YOUR EYES, I didn't even know what to think and, I'm not even kidding here, I even double-checked to make sure that the author was the same guy I thought it was. But that's not a bad thing at all because, let me tell you, I can always count on Bohjalian to throw me for a loop and this time he did it with the very style of writing he was doing.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 20, 2014.

This is not going to be a long review. To be honest, it's been two months since I read DECOMPRESSION by Juli Zeh and the most excitement I can gather when I think of it is a mild, distracted, "meh." That sounds really bad, but I was so taken in by the interesting cover and the synopsis and setting (The Canary Islands!) that I couldn't help but imagine something exciting and thrilling. What I got, instead, was something that made me feel slightly dirty and more than a little frustrated that I spent so much of my valuable free time trying to muddle through the whole thing.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 18, 2014.

I don't know what it is about prohibition-era books, but they all seem to fall flat for me. This is in spite of all of my hopes that every time I pick one up, it will be THE one. You know, the one that lives up to all of my hopes and dreams. Is that a bit unrealistic? Yes. But I know it's also doable as I've seen some fantastic things done on screen that fulfill that exact wish (Boardwalk Empire anyone?). I thought that THE GIRLS AT THE KINGFISHER CLUB by Genevieve Valentine would be perfect as it combined two of my favorite things - Prohibition time period and Fairy-Tale roots. Unfortunately, it fell a bit flat. Let me tell you why -

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 16, 2014.

Unless you have been out west (Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, etc) it's impossible to describe the sheer beauty and enormous space there is there. I spent a few years living in Wyoming, in Laramie where I went to school at the Univ. of Wyoming, and as much as I hated the brutal winters that would rip my face open it felt like with the wind and the snow and the ice, I also admired on a near-daily basis the beauty of the mountains and the majesty of the land surrounding me. In THE HOME PLACE by Carrie La Seur, some of that is captured and I was impressed in the reverence with which La Seur approached her subject.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 14, 2014.

LUCKY US by Amy Bloom starts with the following line: ""My father's wife died. My mother said we should drive down to his place and see what might be in it for us." Unfortunately, things did not stay with that same level of awesomeness. What I was pitched by the synopsis was a story that involved two sisters stumbling through life together. What I got was two sisters thrown together until something happened that tears them apart and the rest of the story we only really get to see the life of the one sister - Eva - the sister who, in spite of Bloom's best efforts, was somewhat of a wet-rag type of character.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 10, 2014.

Liane Moriarty snagged me with her smash hit, THE HUSBAND'S SECRET. I read it last year and my jaw dropped at how hard of a punch it packed. So when I saw that BIG LITTLE LIES was coming out, I knew this would be one I couldn't pass up. I was a bit worried, I'll admit, that it wouldn't live up to what its predecessor did for me, but almost immediately that worry was put to rest as I started in, immediately fascinated by the names floating on the page and the gossip they were revealing.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 10, 2014.

I made a mistake in reading LIFE DRAWING by Robin Black. The mistake was not in the reading of the book, but the reading of the book after a piece of fluff that had my mind going 100mph. The first half of LIFE DRAWING had me groaning out of boredom and struggling to calm my racing thoughts, but then.. once I was able to calm down, I began to see just how beautiful the scenery was.

Read the rest of this book at The Lost Entwife on August 8, 2014.

I honestly don't know what possessed me to send in a request for a review copy of DEAR DAUGHTER by Elizabeth Little. Books about "It" girls are not really my thing, and I really waver on whether I actually enjoy suspense/thrillers or whether they are just good to pass the time with. Still, no matter what possessed me at that point in time that I requested a copy, I do know that total boredom and needing to read something out of my norm possessed me to pick up DEAR DAUGHTER last night

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 6, 2014.

I've been putting off reading WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart for a few reasons. The first reason is that I really, really loved THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS. Like.. I adored it. The second reason is that, for some reason, this book made all the bloggers out there go nuts and that really put me off. I figured there was no way that this book could be that good and so, I prolonged what I was sure to be disappointment.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 4, 2014.

I struggled with THE ART OF ADAPTING because in some ways, I really loved it and in others I found it predictable and a bit boring. In this story by Cassandra Dunn, a newly-separated mother of teenagers has to deal with putting herself back out there, adapting to life without her husband (but still with him in it some, as they are only separated), and watching out for a grown brother who has struggles with Asperger's Syndrome. It seems like it's almost too much for one book to handle, but that's where the beauty of the story came in.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on August 2, 2014.