Dark Paradise by Tami Hoag

While I love Tami Hoag's novels, I wasn't a huge fan of this novel. I didn't really enjoy the main character because she was almost too much for me (I'm not sure if that actually makes sense or not, but it's how I feel). She didn't have many qualities that made me love her, but I could feel for her because she was going through a lot.

J.D. is a okay hero-type character; he sure sounds gorgeous and romantic, but he could have used a bit more development. He starts the novel off as a huge jerk and ends the novel in the same way, leading me to assume he was untouched by everything that went on throughout the novel. It also disappointed me that he didn't fully reunite with his brother. After all they went through, I thought perhaps they would be able to climb over some of the barriers that were left blocking their way to a good and strong relationship.

I appreciated the "villans" in this novel as well, because for a second, I wanted to really like them, and I liked that Hoag made me second guess my judgement by having the people I wanted to like be the awful characters.

I'm kind of sad I didn't get to meet Lucy, as I thought she would have been a great addition, but she was dead, and that fact is what drove the whole novel, so that wouldn't have made sense. I think she was the character with the most depth, and she died before the book began...

As far as the thriller aspect goes, there wasn't any, really. Sure, there were a few "close to death" scenes, but I was never really so into it that I couldn't stop and forgot where I was.

All of that being said, I do love a good ranch romance, and this proved to be one of those. I won't be reading it again any time soon, but it wasn't completely bad.

The Switch by Sandra Brown

I love Sandra Brown. She has the most chilling ways of writing, and all of her villans give me the creeps. This book caught me completely by surprise too. I was not looking at the right things, so when I thought I had solved the puzzle, I was blown away when Brown revealed the truth to me. I absolutely adored the romance between Gillian and Hart; it is so precious and beautiful. Brother Gabriel is one of those people who readers can immediately tell is a slime ball. What's nice about this villan is that Brown gives us his perspective so well that while we absolutely detest him and know every gross thing about him, we also pity him and can almost see his point of view, which also makes you feel a bit slimy. The novel is faced pace, and it was impossible for me to stop reading until I finished it. I felt if I put it down for even a second, I would miss something very important, so I kept reading until it was all over, and when it was all over, everything clicked and made sense and I was left mind-blown. Quite amazing.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

I struggled for a long time over what rating I should give this book. I loved it, and I hated it. It is such a morally problematic book that drags you in and forces you to think about all of these things. The writing is beautiful, and it's a book that is easy to read. While I didn't love the characters, I was able to pity them, laugh with them, and hurt for them. Hanna was a character I didn't understand in the beginning. She was an awful partner to Michael; verbally and physically abusive, but because he was enjoying the sex, freedom, and maturity of their relationship, he was never going to leave her. She definitely took advantage of this poor young boy, which made me strongly dislike her. In the end, once readers get her whole story, I began to feel slight pity, but still dislike for her. Michael was just pitiful throughout the whole story, first with Hanna, and then again when he grew up and met Hanna again from a distance. Again, I didn't love the characters, and I didn't hate her, but I was still able to feel strong emotions for both of the characters, which is a strong point in Schlink's favor. It was a book that I wanted to put down because it made me uncomfortable, but by the end, I was so glad I kept reading it. It was uncomfortable, but that uncomfortable-ness forces you to think about what you would do in that situation, and where the line is between right and wrong. I wanted to judge the characters, but I found I couldn't because I wasn't (and still am not) sure what I would do in their shoes. I gave this book a four out of five star rating. I probably won't read it again, but I'm so happy I did read it because, like I previously mentioned, I was forced to think about so many different things that are very difficult to think about. 

Beautiful Maria of My Soul by Oscar Hijuelos

A friend recommended I read this book, and I was happy to, as it was related to music, which I also love. Unfortunately, I had a very difficult time getting into it and completing it. It felt like a very slow start, and I was very tempted to just give up, but I knew I had to finish it for the sake of my friend. The character of Maria is such a distant character that it is very difficult to connect with her. She keeps her emotions and thoughts to herself, so I never knew what she was feeling and thinking, so I found it hard to celebrate when she celebrated or cry when she cried. I also didn't see any character development from Maria. Through all the trials she went through, all the hurt and loss she felt, I didn't see any change in her character. She remained the same person she was in the beginning, which is disappointing. She had no closure at the end of her story, and all the questions brought up throughout the book were left unanswered, so readers are left confused at the end of the book. The format of the book was also difficult for me. Every once-in-a-while there would be an italicized section, and I couldn't tell why it was in italics, and this really bothered me, which took me away from the story-line. I'm sure the italics were there for a reason and to show and mean something, but I didn't understand why which was very frustrating for me. It's not a happy story, and the dark parts are extremely dark. I felt at times it was too dark, but that might just be because I'm a happy person. The last half of the book was a little confusing. It went from one thing to the next very quickly, and the reader has to work hard in order to keep up with the author, and I don't enjoy having to work hard when I read a book. I'm assuming it is biographical in part because it was written about the muse of the Mamba Kings, so maybe everything I didn't like about the book were things Hijuelos couldn't change because of the people he was representing in the story. I gave this story two stars because I just barely got through it and wouldn't want to read it again.

The Face of Fear by Dean Koontz

I haven't had much experience with Koontz, and I was intrigued when a friend gave me this book and told me to read it. Judging by the cover (yes, I know I'm not supposed to do that, but I can't help it) I thought I would struggle to get through. It just didn't look like the type of book I usually read. The cover looks all sci-fi, which is not my favorite genre. However, I wouldn't classify this as sci-fi. It is such a thriller! After I got past the first 50 pages or so, I couldn't put the book down any more until I finished it. The first bit is the basic introduction, trying to get readers interested and invested, but I didn't fully become invested until much later on, once all the real action began. It's really hard for me to read a book where I don't care about the characters, and I didn't start to care about Graham or Connie until page 86 or so, and this made it difficult for me to not give up on the book. I'd heard so many good things about Koontz, though, so I kept going. And I am so glad I did. The last half of the book is extremely suspenseful and the tension is almost unbearable. I wanted to read ahead to find out what happened, but I didn't allow myself that pleasure. I gave this book a four out of five rating because of the amount of time it took for me to stop thinking of the book as a chore and actually begin to enjoy it.

Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts

I'll admit: I might like Nora Roberts a bit too much. I have two and a half bookshelves full of her books (not to mention the shelf of J.D. Robb), and there are still books I'm dying to get my hands on. Honest Illusions is one of my favorites of her's because it combines many things that I really enjoy. Unlike some of her books with "real" magic, the magic in these books is just "illusion", but Roberts writes in a way that allows her readers to fully see the tricks and feel as though they are at the shows. While she does weave the "real" magic stories (I'm currently reading the Cousins O'Dwyer series) really well, it's easier to see what's the characters in Honest Illusion are doing because the tricks are ones that can and have been done by others, so I find this book more enjoyable. I read it while sitting on the couch next to my husband, and he gave me very weird looks several times as I laughed out loud at the characters in this book. I wouldn't consider Roberts to write comedy, but her books never fail to make me laugh. Her characters are all lovable and pitiful; I laugh alongside them, and my heart breaks alongside theirs. There are also so many different paths to track and keep up with which makes it a page-turner because you just have to find out what is going to happen to each person and each of their enemies. Each character is keeping their secrets and their enemies to themselves while ensuring each other they are completely trustworthy- this, I believe, speaks to the very being of many people. "Oh, I'm fine, trust me." Anyway, it was a wonderful book. I'm always disappointed when Roberts' books finish, and I might just start this one over again!

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorite books. I enjoyed Go Set a Watchman very much and I'm thankful readers are provided with somewhere to turn after TKAM. However, I forced myself to read GSAW as a completely separate entity as TKAM because I knew there was no was I could read it as a "sequal" or whatever. I read it as a different book with different characters because I wanted to keep my TKAM characters exactly as they were. Doing such enabled me to thoroughly enjoy GSAW and take many things away from the story that Lee spins in this novel. It really is quite brilliant and a very touching piece of work. The themes of this novel are ones that cannot be ignored, and (similar to TKAM) there are many lines and phrases that when I read, I had to put the book down for a few seconds in order to simply think about it. Many people struggled reading this book because the actions are so unlike the Scout we knew through TKAM, which is why I made myself read GSAW as a whole new book without any connections. It was Lee's writing, through and through, which was one of the things I originally loved about TKAM, so this helped me thoroughly enjoy GSAW. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars, because there was still a part of me reading with TKAM in mind, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. Also, because this was written early on in Lee's life, it's easy to see how her writing changed and developed (great when reading TKAM, not so great when reading GSAW). The worst thing I think one can do when reading this book, is consider it TKAM book 2. Read it as a separate story, and you'll see the greatness Lee was trying to give to the world. 

The English Teacher by Yiftach Reicher Atir, Philip Simpson (Translation)

I took notes as I read thinking they would be helpful as I reviewed this book, and very few of them actually are helpful now. Many parts in the beginning I marked as confusing or unclear, but those things became clear as I finished the novel. One concern I had when first reading this novel was an issue with the language. I think this is mainly due to the translation of the novel from Hebrew. Because of the vast differences in the languages, a translation into English isn't going to be perfect. There are several parts throughout the novel where the point of view shifts, unintentionally (unless I'm reading it incorrectly) or places where the tense changes. However, as I read I got used to the language. As I got into the story it became increasingly difficult for me to put the book down because so many things were going on throughout the novel and I just had to know what happened. It is such a page-turner, and I recommend starting it when you have time to read the whole thing. If the beginning is confusing, read to the end because everything will become clear. Page 208 is one section which I wanted to point out specifically because I felt my heart shatter when I read that section. Several times throughout, Atir is able to break my heart and make me feel with the stories he writes and the way he writes. It is a beautifully heartbreaking story, and I recommend it to everyone I know. It forces readers to think about things we may have never considered or cannot understand, and that is a great thing for an author to accomplish. This novel is very well written and very much worth the read. I gave this book a 5 out of 5 star-rating. 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child byJohn Tiffany (Adaptation), Jack Thorne, J.K. Rowling

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, so when I heard this was to come out, I was beyond excited to read it. I loved that I was getting the chance to continue the Harry Potter story, as I never wanted it to end. Unfortunately, I would have been better off not reading it at all. It's not the Harry Potter I know and love, which I later admitted, I should have expected. The characters do, think, and say things that Rowling's characters never would have. The actions seem preposterous, and instead of loving the addition to the world, I ended this with dissatisfaction and bewilderment. It's difficult because it's in the play format, so we don't receive all of the details we normally would in a novel. This takes away from many of the things I loved about Rowling's books (her descriptive and beautiful way of writing even the simplest things, effectively holding me captive throughout all seven books). Normally, I'm a fan of reading plays, but because I was used to Harry Potter as a novel, it was difficult to transition to a play style of the world I'd previously encountered. It also isn't completely Rowling, which again takes away from what I loved, because the main thing I loved was Rowling's words themselves. At the end of the day, I'm glad I read it, because now I can converse about the play to others whom I know also love Harry Potter, but that's the only reason. It was almost painful for me to read, perhaps because I love Harry Potter so much. For those just picking up the book and reading it without much Harry Potter background, will probably enjoy it much more than I did. I also think it would be interesting to see the play and compare my experiences, but because I was so turned off by the characters and the action, I doubt I would find enjoyment in seeing the play. I gave this book a 2 out of 5 star rating.