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Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

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Reason for Reading:
  • I’ve read a lot of pre-war books, and this one, being post-war, intrigued me.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summer heat, sunbleached boat docks, and midnight gin parties on Martha’s Vineyard in a glorious old family estate known as Tiger House. In the days following the end of the Second World War, the world seems to offer itself up, and the two women are on the cusp of their ‘real lives’: Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is heading for a reunion with her own young husband, Hughes, about to return from the war.

Soon the gilt begins to crack. Helena’s husband is not the man he seemed to be, and Hughes has returned from the war distant, his inner light curtained over. On the brink of the 1960s, back at Tiger House, Nick and Helena–with their children, Daisy and Ed–try to recapture that sense of possibility. But when Daisy and Ed discover the victim of a brutal murder, the intrusion of violence causes everything to unravel. The members of the family spin out of their prescribed orbits, secrets come to light, and nothing about their lives will ever be the same.

My Review:

Tigers in Red Weather houses a story that had a very, very bold undertaking. In this story, Liza Klaussmann weaves together a tale that not only spans years (and decades) but also switches from one point of view to the next. What do I mean?

The first section of time periods is devoted to one character, but then we go back to those same time periods, this time seen through the eyes of the next character…so on and so forth. What should have been completely confusing, as a result, is at times repetitive, but also filled with revelation upon revelation heaped on the reader as the story unfolds.

While reading Tigers in Red Weather I was reminded of eating an artichoke. No, really, I was. One by one the petals get pulled away and savored, enjoyed, then discarded until finally those last few are peeled away and the heart of the artichoke (or story) is bared, ready to be fully devoured and relished. And that’s what happened with this story – I devoured those final moments and was shocked by what they meant to the rest of the story.

In some ways, Tigers is a coming-of-age story – for both the young people and their parents involved in the story. In others, it’s a tragic look at how different things were in the 40′s, 50′s, and 60′s. Post-war relationships are thoroughly explored, innocence lost, and family relationships are brutally bared as their secrets come to light.

A thoroughly engrossing novel.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Little Words| The Book Garden | Chicks Dig Books

  • The publisher provided this review copy via NetGalley.
  • Published by: Little, Brown and Co.
  • Release Date: 7/17/2012
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Lydia
4 August, 2012
Coming of Age, Historical, reviews, Social Issues
2 comments
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Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

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Reason for Reading:
  • I read Delirium by Lauren Oliver in 2010 and this is the sequel

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

My Review:

So I’m hoping that the trend of dystopian young adult books is working its way out (there are sure a lot of mermaid books cropping up, aren’t there?) because I have a confession to make.

I love this genre of book.

Seriously – I love everything from older classics (1984 anyone?) to new stuff like The Hunger Games and Lauren Oliver’s Delirium. But here’s my issue with these books – the insufferable love triangle.

Granted, in Delirium something horrible happens to Lena and that pattern does not crop up throughout Pandemonium … but even in death some things make themselves apparent. Is it too much to just ask that a heroine be focused on the bigger picture?

I enjoyed Delirium for what it was – and I enjoyed Pandemonium for what it was as well. I enjoyed the Then and Now flashes through time, two separate stories being told which provide the bigger picture of who Lena was and is becoming. I just wish the focus was less about boys and more about changing the world so that boys COULD be an option. Just because they are there doesn’t mean they take precedence over everything else, you know?

But don’t let me ranting and raving urge you away from this book, because of all the dystopian books out there, this is one of the better series. I knew Lauren Oliver was a force to be reckoned with when I read her debut novel Before I Fall, and with each book she puts out she gets stronger and stronger. I wish I could write like this woman, but since I can’t I’ll sit back and enjoy the ride.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Julia’s Blog

Candace’s Book Blog

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Lydia
22 May, 2012
Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, reviews, Young Adult
0 comments
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Comeback Love by Peter Golden

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Reason for Reading:
  • I’m a sucker for second chance stories.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

More than thirty-five years ago, Gordon Meyers, an aspiring writer with a low number in the draft lottery, packed his belongings and reluctantly drove away, leaving behind Glenna Rising, the sexy, sharp-witted med student he couldn’t imagine living without.

Now, decades later, Gordon is a former globe-trotting consultant with a grown son, an ex-wife, and an overwhelming desire to see Glenna again. Though she’s stunned when Gordon walks into her Manhattan office, Glenna agrees to accompany him for a drink. As the two head out into the snow-swept city, they rediscover the passion that once drew them together—before it tore them apart. And as the evening unfolds, Gordon will finally reveal the true reason for his return. . . .

My Review:

I am conflicted about this book. I really, really wanted to love it because I love stories that involve second chances and taking risks. But as much as I love those, I was discouraged because I felt as if Comeback Love flirted with the potential for a really good story and just fell a little bit short.

That’s not to say it wasn’t good story, because it was. It was just hugely ambitious and all of the back and forth, historic events, life-changing events and roller-coaster emotions made me feel as if I was caught in a churning washing machine and put through the ringer by the end of the story.

For me, the best part of the story was the beginning – when the promise was so strong and kept my attention, when the anticipation began to build. The opening scenes had me almost trembling with anticipation (I’m a book nerd like that) so I think I may have built my expectations up just too high. That said, the premise was an ambitious one, and I think if it had just been a little less grandiose it would have worked.

Still, I’d recommend this book just because there were moments that it did work, and work well. It’s a great picture of a real relationship, in all its flaws and glory.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

The Bookish Mama

Laurie Here

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Lydia
12 May, 2012
Contemporary, reviews
0 comments
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Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

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Reason for Reading:
  • This title caught my attention on NetGalley – very interesting cover and idea.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died.

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants—what she must do—is to bring Danny back.

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it.

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her—and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right.

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought—even if it means breaking her heart all over again.

My Review:

Every time I sit down to write this review, I do so with the full intention of gushing with praise over it.  Then I remember – it basically deals with a ZOMBIE.  Granted, not the flesh-dripping, brain-eating type of zombie… but honestly, who among you out there would willingly kiss a guy who doesn’t have a heartbeat, is cold.. and is not Edward Cullen.

That said.. once you get past the whole kissing a dead guy thing, the story is actually pretty good.  Wren makes some very adult decisions, and deals with the adult consequences of the same. She has an interesting family dynamic happening, an established history (no three-minute falling in love here), and real issues with grief that she has to overcome in order to get on with her life.

As far as paranormal teenage stories go, this one is on the better end of the spectrum.  I was impressed not only with Wren, but also with Gabriel.  He wasn’t creepy, didn’t stalk on her, made good choices, was responsible, and most of all.. he wasn’t dead.  Hurray!

Check out these reviews!

Imaginary Reads

Five Alarm Book Reviews

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Lydia
3 December, 2011
reviews, Urban Paranormal, Young Adult
4 comments
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Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

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Reason for Reading:
  • I already fell in love with Oliver’s writing with Delirium and Before I Fall – and I wanted to check this out as a potential Christmas gift.

I also  recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.

That same night, an alchemist’s apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.

Will’s mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.


My Review:

When I picked up Liesl & Po, I expected good things.  The cover was perfect, the author one of my favorites, and I settled down into my sofa, prepared to thoroughly enjoy myself.

What I didn’t expect was to be drawn in and completely surrounded by magic.  From the very first introduction of Liesl, to the boy looking in the window and the screwy mix-up, I was enchanted.  I felt like I was reading something that was special – and special it was.

I’ve been on a good run of books lately – I struggled recently with a dry-spell in my reading, and when I picked up a book to break it I was lucky enough to read this one.  I firmly believe the magic in this book has touched everything I’ve read since – and the list is slowly racking up.

Liesl & Po is a story of letting go of those gone, of being brave in the face of immense danger, of accepting what might not be the “norm”, and of looking for friendly faces where there was once thought to be only hostile.  It’s a beautiful, beautiful novel and one I highly recommend for the middle graders, teens, and adults in your life.

Check out these reviews!

Rhapsody in Books

Candace’s Book Blog

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Lydia
29 November, 2011
Coming of Age, Fantasy, Favorites, Middle Grade, reviews
3 comments
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Q: A Novel by Evan Mandery

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Reason for Reading:
  • A picked this one on a whim – it looked interesting!

I recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

“Q, Quentina Elizabeth Deveril, is the love of my life.”

Shortly before his wedding, the unnamed hero of this uncommon romance is visited by a man who claims to be his future self and ominously admonishes him that he must not marry the love of his life, Q. At first the protagonist doubts this stranger, but in time he becomes convinced of the authenticity of the warning and leaves his fiancée. The resulting void in his life is impossible to fill. One after the other, future selves arrive urging him to marry someone else, divorce, attend law school, leave law school, travel, join a running club, stop running, study the guitar, the cello, Proust, Buddhism, and opera, and eliminate gluten from his diet. The only constants in this madcap quest for personal improvement are his love for his New York City home and for the irresistible Q.


My Review:

Q: A Novel is exactly what I think of when I think of a book that is just trying a little too hard to be witty, sarcastic and a bit satirical.  As a result, I’m really torn on if I enjoyed it or if it just was okay for me.

I will say I was enchanted by the beginning – the love story between Q and the narrator of this story was charming and enjoyable and I really loved it – but then the narrators future self steps in and things start to get a little too strange.

It wasn’t the science fiction aspect of the book that bugged me – I’ve read other books dealing with time travel and thoroughly enjoyed them, so I think it was maybe the sheer hopelessness of it all.  The narrators life keeps being changed and keeps getting significantly different from where he initially started out at and it made me really begin to think about just how dangerous knowledge of the future could be.

One other thing about the book that bugged me was the similarity between the author and the main character – both had knowledge in certain fields and the narrator even writes books in miniature within the pages of the story.  It was a little too much for me to be able to handle seriously.

Books like Q make me feel as if I’m either way too critical or just not smart enough to enjoy what should have been a thought-provoking story.  Instead I felt let down when I closed the book, and a bit relieved as well.

About the Author

  • Information regarding Evan Mandery:

For more reviews on Q: A Novel by Evan Mandery, please follow the book tour.

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Lydia
6 September, 2011
Contemporary, reviews, Science Fiction
1 comment
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