Review: You Belong Here

You Belong Here by Megan Miranda
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've read and enjoyed books by Megan Miranda in the past, so I was excited for the chance to read this one. Unfortunately, this did not live up to my expectations. I'm used to the books by this author being a slow burn, starting slowly and developing into something I can hardly put down. But this book was extremely slow, not reaching the stage where I had to keep reading until nearly 3/4 of the way into the book. And at the finish, I still had a lot of unresolved questions; was the ending necessary, did all the characters even need to be part of the story, what was the consequence to some of the characters actions, and of course, what happens next in the life of the main characters. There is a short epilogue, but it really didn't give me the answers I needed.

That said, I think this would make a great selection for book clubs! There could be interesting discussions based on the questions I have above. And it would be helpful to get another reader's perspective. A good discussion often raises an 'ok' book to a good book!

Thanks to Scribner Book Club Leaders program for my copy of this book.

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Review: Mrs. Benedict Arnold

Mrs. Benedict Arnold by Emma Parry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really don’t like giving bad reviews, especially to debut authors, but this book was a real disappointment for me. I was really looking forward to this one because I’d read The Traitor's Wife and liked it a lot. So when I saw there was a new book about Peggy Shippen Arnold, I was really excited. Unfortunately, I just didn’t like this book. For one thing, it got off to a very slow start — so much so that I almost DNFed the book about halfway through. But because I knew I was going to give this a low rating, I wanted to be fair to the author and read the whole book, just in case it got better. While it did pick up in tempo, and I did increase my rating — from 1 star to 2 — the book is still not one I can recommend. There are a few reasons for that. One is the slow tempo. In addition, the characters were a little flat and I didn’t feel any real emotion from any of them. Also, the author chose to give Peggy a more sympathetic treatment than other books have, giving Peggy altruistic motives that didn’t resonate with me. But the biggest annoyance was the author’s use of modern language and idioms, not just once, but throughout the book. At one point I found 3 on a single page! Things like ‘not a hill worth dying on’, ‘you do you’, ‘we are in this together’ and so many more! It pulled me right out of the story. I’m really not saying don’t read this. For readers that aren’t familiar with Peggy’s story, this is an interesting book. Just don’t expect it to be the whole story. But for those who’ve read The Traitor's Wife or watched the TURN series, you might want to give this on a pass. 

I read a print copy from my local library.

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Review: Theo of Golden

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m really wavering on rating this book. I read it for my book club and to be honest, it is not a book I would have picked up on my own. It really didn’t seem like my kind of book, and all the hype was scary. I am usually disappointed when I read an overly-hyped book. This one started out very slowly, confirming my worst fears. It is a slow-paced, character-driven book, and I prefer plot-driven stories. I was tempted to give up on this book about halfway through, but two things kept me reading. First, it is a selection for my bookclub, and I think that implies an obligation to try to get through the book. But the book also hinted at a bit of a mystery and I REALLY wanted to know the why! Early in the book, I thought I’d end up rating it about a 2.5-3. Then towards the end, when I thought the author was going to leave my question unanswered, I was ready to throw the book across the room and rate it about a 1! After all, I’d invested all that time reading! But luckily I read that last chapter and all was explained. The ending redeemed the story. I also appreciate that the author gave us an epilogue, answering even more questions! I still didn’t end up loving the book like others do, but I’m glad I stuck it out. The book is slow-paced and a little preachy at times, but the characters are likable and the last few chapters satisfied my need for resolution. I’m rating this book 3.5.

I read an ebook copy borrowed from my local library. 


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The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a great book to read with your book club! I was hesitant to read it. The synopsis didn't really grab my attention. But I kept seeing good things about it over and over—on blogs, in library newsletters, etc. So when it came my turn to make the selection for our book club, I chose it and hoped for the best. I am so glad that I did! Nearly everyone in our group rated it a 4.5 and we had a great discussion.

The book does get off to a slow start, so be prepared to hang in there. But once the story gets going, it is hard to put the book down! There are a lot of characters in this story, and it takes awhile to get them all straight. If you are a reader who needs to have a 'good guy' character that you can relate to, you are not going to find it in this book. There are many 'villains' in this book, and most of those who aren't don't have much of a story line. And there are SO.MANY.TWISTS! I'm not sure I've read a book with more twists than this one. It will keep you guessing.

While I enjoyed the book a lot, I wasn't very happy with the ending. It wasn't as clear as I'd like, and I had to go back and re-read the last few chapters a few times to satisfy myself that I understood what had happened. Even worse, it is an 'open' ending. One of the characters has to make a decision, and you don't know what they will decide. I like my ending neatly tied up, and would have appreciated an epilogue that let me know what happened next. As the same time, I'm sure the author's intent was to make us decide what happened next, and the story probably has more impact with the open ending. It definitely makes for better discussion material!

The book should be a hit with book clubs. There are some great discussion points. You can start with 'who did you think did it?' and veer off into the moral and ethics questions and 'what would you have done?' You can find a reading guide on the publisher's website.

I read a copy borrowed from my library.
My rating: 4½ stars - ✭✭✭✭½


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