Confessions of a Bibliophile

2013: #16 – The Snow Child (Eowyn Ivey)

Jaime — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:36:41 +0000

Title: The Snow Child
Author: Eowyn Ivey
Format: Kindle
Pages: 416
Release Date: February 01, 2012
Publisher: Reagan Arthur / Back Bay Books
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★½☆

Read the back of the book

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart–he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season’s first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone–but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

My thoughts:

This is not the sort of book I usually pick up on my own. I gravitate more towards heavily plot-driven fiction, and this book is more of a slow walk through the beautiful, snow-laden woods.

That’s not to say it wasn’t good. There was something charming about Mabel and Jack, even if they spent a lot of their time unhappy and wondering if they had made a huge mistake trying to make their home in Alaska. Mabel’s sadness, in particular, is palpable. By moving to Alaska, she’s merely run away from her grief, not dealt with it, and the isolation isn’t improving matters.

My main issue with the book is that I wish the author had either gone all the way in with the magic or not alluded to it at all. Instead, we get this weird mish-mosh of circumstances that lead to Faina being real, yet not real. I think the book would have been stronger if her (somewhat) logical origins weren’t explained, and the reader had been left guessing who, or what, she really is until the very end.

But, when it comes down to it, this was a sweet story, and I’m not sorry I picked it up after all.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

“The Snow Child does not tell the most exciting of stories, and many will probably find it to be too slow for their tastes. Those who do not mind such books, however, will want to pick this up immediately.” — Cuddlebuggery Book Blog
“One of those rare cases where you should believe the hype, this book is a fantastic and thought-provoking tale that will stay with you long after you’ve finished the final page.” — Book Chick City
“Despite the strengths of the novel and my early enjoyment of it, I did not end up loving this book which spans many years in the lives of the characters.” — Caribousmom

2013: #15 – The Different Girl (Gordon Dahlquist)

Jaime — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:05:37 +0000

Title: The Different Girl
Author: Gordon Dahlquist
Format: ARC Paperback
Pages: 230
Release Date: February 26, 2013
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Source: ARC via LibraryThing

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Read the back of the book

Veronika. Caroline. Isobel. Eleanor. One blond, one brunette, one redhead, one with hair black as tar. Four otherwise identical girls who spend their days in sync, tasked to learn. But when May, a very different kind of girl—the lone survivor of a recent shipwreck—suddenly and mysteriously arrives on the island, an unsettling mirror is about to be held up to the life the girls have never before questioned.

Sly and unsettling, Gordon Dahlquist’s timeless and evocative storytelling blurs the lines between contemporary and sci-fi with a story that is sure to linger in readers’ minds long after the final page has been turned.

My thoughts:

This book felt unfinished to me. Though the blurb on the back of the book is correct – it is unsettling. Because the narrator is one of the girls, the tone is very flat and almost devoid of any emotion save confusion. It’s not hard to figure out what the girls are, but why they exist is a question that’s never answered to my satisfaction. I cared about that much more than I cared about May and the drama created by her arrival. If the author wasn’t going to flesh out this world and the situation they were living in, then he should have cut out some of the middle and turned it into a really good short story. Instead, we get a novel with missing pieces.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

“I love that this is a quieter novel about thoughts and characters, without much of a driving forward plot but plenty of food for thought.” — The Book Smugglers
“There was virtually no action, no romance, no twists, and minimal worldbuilding. If I had a badge for beautiful covers, though, it would definitely earn it, because I adore this cover.” — Presenting Lenore
“While the novel is not an action-packed read, it does have its moments of suspense and wonder.” — Miss Literati

2013: #14 – Shadow Creek (Joy Fielding)

Jaime — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:20:57 +0000

Title: Shadow Creek
Author: Joy Fielding
Format: Kindle
Pages: 384
Release Date: December 04, 2012
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Source: ARC via Edelweiss

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Read the back of the book

Due to a last-minute change in plans, a group of unlikely traveling companions finds themselves on a camping trip in the Adirondacks. They include the soon-to-be-divorced Valerie; her oddball friends, Melissa and James; her moody teenage daughter, Brianne; and Val’s estranged husband’s new fiancée, Jennifer.

What Val and her companions don’t know is that a pair of crazed killers is wreaking havoc in the very same woods. When an elderly couple is found slaughtered and Brianne goes missing, Val finds herself in a nightmare much worse than anything she could have anticipated.

My thoughts:

I’ve enjoyed Joy Fielding in the past, but this book didn’t do anything for me. The situation that sends this unconventional group into the woods is extremely contrived, and once I couldn’t buy into that, I had a hard time buying into anything else. I also got confused about which teens were actually the killers, and once I finished I wasn’t entirely sure if the confusion was intentional. There are a lot of spoiled brats in this book, which kept me from connecting with any of the characters, even Valerie. There are much better Joy Fielding books out there, such as Charley’s Web.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

“Yes, there is something deadly lurking in the shadows of Shadow Creek but really it’s not that terrifying.” — red headed book child
“Shadow Creek is a definite page-turner that will keep you up late into the night as you won’t be able to put it down.” — Book BagLady

2013: #13 – Sarah’s Key (Tatiana de Rosnay)

Jaime — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:43:04 +0000

Title: Sarah’s Key
Author: Tatiana de Rosnay
Format: Audio
Length: 9 hrs 58 min
Release Date: June 12, 2007
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★½☆

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

My thoughts:

This book had some very good parts. Sarah’s story, the story of the Vel d’Hiv round-up, representative of countless other children taken from Paris that day, was tragic and captivating. And because it is the story of a French girl, rather than a German or Polish one, it gives us a bit of a different perspective on what was happening. In fact, Sarah’s story is so good that I wish it had been the entire book. But instead, we are stuck discovering it through Julia.

I wasn’t a big fan of Julia. She was fine early on in the book, when we had Sarah’s narration to break hers up. But later in the book a lot of things about her rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like her obsession with Sarah’s story was very over-the-top, despite the connection to her apartment. Her neglect of her pregnancy, in particular, bothered me. I also didn’t like that we only got the bad things about her husband. He is almost never displayed in a good light, when there must have been some good there for her to marry him in the first place.

I also didn’t care for the way the book finished. Not because of how Sarah’s story ended — that actually made a lot of sense — but because of the relationship that Julia forms. It just didn’t fit for me.

Overall, this story is worth reading if you want to learn something about France during the war. But don’t be surprised if Julia kills it for you.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

“That said, I have to say that I found both plot and characters of ‘Sarah’s Key’ to be unconvincing.” — The Buddha Diaries
“This is a good story and tells of a time that is not well known in World War II history, so for that purpose, I would recommend it.” — Crazy for Books
“Sarah’s Key is an excellent novel with many thought provoking questions.” — S. Krishna’s Books

2013: #12 – Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)

Jaime — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:46:37 +0000

Title: Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Format: Kindle
Pages: 432
Release Date: June 05, 2012
Publisher: Crown
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★★☆

Read the back of the book

Marriage can be a real killer.

One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

My thoughts:

This book was nuts. I’m going to do my best to discuss it without spoilers.

Amy didn’t care to know my family, didn’t want to know my birthplace, and yet for some reason, I thought moving home would be a good idea.

This was the point at which I knew things were amiss. What sort of spouse doesn’t want to know about your family, your background? All was obviously not how it seemed in Nick and Amy’s marriage. But who, if anyone, was telling the truth?

The book is very well constructed, so much so that you can completely buy into the improbable circumstances. Because I was late to this particular party, I knew there was a giant twist. So when it came, I wasn’t surprised by its existence, but neither was I surprised by its content. I didn’t guess it, exactly, but it made sense to me. It almost had to be that way, in order for the story to continue.

Don’t expect to be able to root for either Nick or Amy. One’s evil, the other’s a weak whiner, and they’re probably both sociopaths. And that’s perfectly alright with me.

There are actions and reactions in the final act of the book that didn’t make a lot of sense to me, and were actually somewhat disappointing. That’s why I have to dock it a star. But if you like dark psychological thrillers, with characters you can’t quite like, then Gillian Flynn is definitely your girl.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

“I have no idea how to rate this book. It is a brilliantly written book, but I hated reading it. I will abscond from a number grade, and that is all.” — The Book Smugglers
“Maybe it was just too long, but the characters didn’t pull me in - I did finish it, and I didn’t necessarily see the twist coming, but it missed a spark for me.” — Adventures of a London Kiwi
“Tense, thrilling and also seriously, seriously twisted, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is not for the faint of heart, but it is unputdownable. A total must read!” — Daisy Chain Book Reviews

2013: #11 – Three Bedrooms, One Corpse (Charlaine Harris)

Jaime — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:36:22 +0000

Title: Three Bedrooms, One Corpse
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: Aurora Teagarden #03
Format: Audio
Audiobook length: 6 hrs 45 min
Release Date: March 23, 1994
Publisher: Recorded Books
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★★☆

Read the back of the book

An unexpected legacy has given former librarian Aurora “Roe” Teagarden some time on her hands, so she decides to try selling real estate. Her mother, after all, is Lawrenceton’s premier real estate agent, giving Roe a head start on this new career. But at her first house showing, Roe discovers the naked corpse of a rival broker. It looks like there’s a cool killer at large, one who knows a great deal about real estate — and maybe too much about Roe.

My thoughts:

This is a good cozy series. Roe has an unusual talent for stumbling across dead bodies — and it’s beginning to gain her a reputation! In the meantime, she’s a bit aimless in her life. The money she inherited in the previous book has allowed her some freedom, but she’s come to realize that she’s too young to live a life of leisure. With her mother being one of the real estate magnates of Lawrenceton, inserting herself into her mother’s business seems like it’s worth a try. Which is how she ends up showing a local mansion to newcomer Martin Bartell, stumbling across a body, and discovering an incredible attraction to this new man in town.

I was glad to see Harris rethink Roe’s relationship with the pastor. He was rather boring, and not suited to her at all. Or perhaps, she wasn’t suited to him.

Overall, I enjoy this series, and they are entertaining to listen to. It’s definitely one I will continue.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

“Harris’ light approach to the dark side of mayhem, murder, and real estate games in a small town just outside Atlanta was entertaining, warm, and real; her characters could easily have been my neighbors in my own small town.” — Story Circle Book Reviews
“This was my first of the Aurora Teagarden series, and I’m not sure I’ll be reading the other. I simply didn’t find the characters or the story as interesting enough.” — Read Between the Whines
“I love all of Charlaine Harris’ novels. She just has this knack for writing with familiarity, emotion, humour, quirk, verve and colloquialisms.” — Pooks

2013: #10 – Under the Streets of Nice (Ken Follett)

Jaime — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:04:56 +0000

Title: Under the Streets of Nice
Author: Ken Follett
Format: Paperback
Pages: 216
Release Date: 1978
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Read the back of the book

Follett’s engaging Streets of Nice tells the true story of Albert Spaggiari, the man who engineered the European crime of the century. Intriguingly, he accomplished his 1976 bank heist “without guns, without violence, without hate.” Here is the breathtakingly compelling story of Spaggiari, his “sewer gang,” and the most daring, outrageous theft of the century.

My thoughts:

This has been sitting on my bookshelf for quite a while, and until I picked it up to read, I never realized it was non-fiction.

I can’t say that the book is particularly exciting, and I’m not sure how much of that is actually attributable to Follett. I believe much of the story is translated from an earlier French work (see his take on it here — he even tried to prevent it from being published!). But though the storytelling isn’t very compelling, I found that the circumstances of the robbery were. It really was quite an ingenious plan, and if everyone involved was as smart as Spaggiari, they probably would have gotten away with it completely.

Available from: WorldCat (book is not widely available for purchase)

2013: #9 – The Paris Wife (Paula McLain)

Jaime — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 03:08:52 +0000

Title: The Paris Wife
Author: Paula McLain
Format: Kindle
Pages: 352
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★★☆

Read the back of the book

A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures the love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking, fast-living, and free-loving life of Jazz Age Paris. As Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history and pours himself into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises, Hadley strives to hold on to her sense of self as her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Eventually they find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

My thoughts:

Confession: This book was not on my to-read list. Not in the slightest. The description reminded me of Loving Frank, which I tried to read and did not like, so I had mentally filed this into my “not for me” pile. And then the list of upcoming reads for my book club was handed out, and this was on the top of the list.

I’m happy to admit that I was completely wrong about this book. I found it to be not only readable, but quite interesting. I can’t really call it surprising — after all, it only takes a cursory knowledge of Hemingway’s life to know that he had more than one wife — but certain things about Hemingway did surprise me. For one, I never thought about his early struggle to not only get published, but to find his voice. Living with that sort of artist would be difficult under the best of circumstances, but add in an unfamiliar country and an “accidental” child, and it’s a long row to hoe.

The truth is, though Hemingway later considered Hadley the great love of his life, they weren’t a particularly good match. She was older than him in age, if not in maturity, and never possessed the sort of free spirit that he gravitated towards. I also don’t think she ever had a complete grasp of his work and its importance. There’s one thing she does in the novel that, as a writer, made my heart hurt. She doesn’t do it on purpose, but it is a perfect illustration of her lack of understanding. For a while, she was exactly what he needed — someone to validate his work, no matter what. But when her opinion started to differ from his, you could see him change. There’s more than one occasion when you want to grab him and shake him and ask “who would agree to that?”

Another plus of this novel was its illustration of the jazz age. We meet Gertrude Stein, the Fitzgeralds, and other well-known authors of the time. Hemingway’s circle of friends was not timid. They also were not Hadley’s.

At a certain point in the book, I struggled not to go to Wikipedia and peek ahead in Hemingway’s life. I’m glad I didn’t, and let the story unfold for me on its own. But I did go to Wikipedia once I was done, and if you’re curious, Hadley is the grandmother of Margeaux and Mariel Hemingway. I won’t say more than that!

Overall, this felt well researched, and I thought it was well-written. Whether you’re familiar with Hemingway’s life or not, I think this is a worthwhile read.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

“Hemingway fans, historical fiction lovers, Francophiles and devotees of the Lost Generation will find plenty to devour in McLain’s enveloping work.” — write meg!
“The story is depressing – it’s sad to see their relationship unravel as they become more and more like the “bohemian” (aka licentious and immoral) culture they’ve surrounded themselves with in early 20th Century Paris.” — Beth Stone Studio
“Overall, the read was pleasing, fast, and has engendered in me a curiosity about one of the most famous American authors and ALL his wives. Check it out!” – Cannonball Read 5

2013: #8 – Notorious Nineteen (Janet Evanovich)

Jaime — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 02:03:35 +0000

Title: Notorious Nineteen
Author: Janet Evanovich
Series: Stephanie Plum #19
Format: Kindle
Pages: 320
Release Date: November 20, 2012
Publisher: Bantam
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Read the back of the book

New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is certain of three truths: People don’t just vanish into thin air. Never anger old people. And don’t do what Tiki tells you to do.

After a slow summer of chasing low-level skips for her cousin Vinnie’s bail bonds agency, Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that could put her checkbook back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton’s premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Now it’s on Stephanie to track down the con man. Unfortunately, Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness, or his money-hungry wife. Rumors are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape . . . or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive. Since the hospital staff’s lips seem to be tighter than the security, and it’s hard for Stephanie to blend in to assisted living, Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur goes in undercover. But when a second felon goes missing from the same hospital, Stephanie is forced into working side by side with Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, in order to crack the case.

The real problem is, no Cubbin also means no way to pay the rent. Desperate for money—or maybe just desperate—Stephanie accepts a secondary job guarding her secretive and mouthwatering mentor Ranger from a deadly Special Forces adversary. While Stephanie is notorious for finding trouble, she may have found a little more than she bargained for this time around. Then again—a little food poisoning, some threatening notes, and a bridesmaid’s dress with an excess of taffeta never killed anyone . . . or did they? If Stephanie Plum wants to bring in a paycheck, she’ll have to remember: No guts, no glory. . .

My thoughts:

Once you’ve reached the 19th book in a series, there’s not a whole lot to say about new installments. At least, not in this series. This was really just more of the same. Stephanie + Lula + Morelli + Ranger + some weirdo skips = hijinks. While the same old, same old works well for the straight romances Evanovich used to write, it’s not working for a series this long. I did like the mystery in this one more than the last one — at least it made some sense to me. But otherwise, this series just doesn’t excite me any more. It might be time for Stephanie to take everyone’s advice and retire.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

“I think the main thing that’s getting me down with the latest Stephanie Plum books is that the series is just going on for way too long.” — I’d So Rather Be Reading
“Another reviewer complained that Stephanie doesn’t grow as a character, she’s always broke, she’s bad at her job and she can’t make her mind between Ranger and Morelli. What gives? I read the books for all those reasons.” — Romance & Beyond
“I’m relieved Evanovich has returned to classic Stephanie Plum. Things were getting a little silly there for a while.” — Peppermint Ph.D.

2013: #7 – Ever After (Kim Harrison)

Jaime — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:36:05 +0000

Title: Ever After
Author: Kim Harrison
Series: Rachel Morgan #11
Format: ARC Paperback
Pages: 448
Release Date: January 22, 2013
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine

Rating: ★★★★½

Read the back of the book

The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It’s up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between magic users and humans falls apart.

Of course, there’s also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after—the soul-eater Ku’Sox Sha-Ku’ru—has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn’t give herself up, they will die.

Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack—a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul—to return to the ever-after and rescue those she loves. One world teeters on the brink of interspecies war, the other on the brink of its very demise—and it’s up to Rachel to keep them both from being destroyed.

My thoughts:

Every time I read one of these books, I get a little sadder because I know this series is winding down to its end. It’s evident in Rachel’s personal story arc. In this book, she doesn’t have any of the people she normally leans on available to her – Ivy’s out of town, Jenks can’t go to the ever-after, and even Al is out of commission. Trent’s help is unreliable, due to other circumstances. So Rachel is left to save not only herself, but the entire ever-after – and magic – as well. Just the fact that she attempts it without a complete breakdown shows tremendous growth in her character. Her actions may seem more reckless, but she’s trying her best to limit the danger to herself.

There are a lot of old familiar faces in this book, some welcome, some not. A few loose ends are tied up, a few long-asked questions are answered. But the book wasn’t perfect. There was some major action, including the death of a significant character, that occurs “off-screen”, and I thought it was a real disservice to that character. It’s very unusual for such an important plot point to be un-witnessed by Rachel. So why would Harrison do that? Was the book too long, and she needed to cut something? Or is the character not really dead at all? Perhaps that last idea is just wishful thinking.

I’m excited for where this series will go in its last couple of books. Will the ever-after finally stabilize? Will Rachel find a way to save Ivy’s soul? How will her success (or failure) change their relationship? What will happen with Jenks as his children continue to grow and leave the nest? And what the heck will happen with Rachel and Trent? Who will sabotage their truce first?

This is one of the few series (maybe the only!) that still has me waiting anxiously for each book, dieing to read it as soon as possible. The fact that I still feel this way after 11 books is a true testament to the strength of Harrison’s world and character building.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

“Kim Harrison’s latest in The Hollows series, Ever After, is a spectacular read, combining everything I love about paranormal fiction between two covers is a mean feat but yet again Harrison has come through.” — philicityk
“Fans are in store for some unexpected things with Ever After and perhaps even for something highly anticipated.“ — My Shelf Confessions
“The book as a whole is fabulous. The series arc is moving at a good pace and the book arc was an action packed page turner.” — I Smell Sheep