Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand - Battle of the Book

Hello Dewey Readers!

So Jillian let me borrow her copy of Elin Hilderbrand's new novel Winter in Paradise.  I absolutely LOVE Elin Hilderbrand so I was over the moon when Jillian passed her copy on to me (and grandma).  So this novel is in the vein of the Perfect Couple where someone dies.  It appears to be an accident, but it's a little weird and a little bit shady. *cough, cough* Did someone say double life?  

Anyway, like all Elin Hilderbrand books, I devoured this story.  Seriously, I read it in like 2 days.  I couldn't stop.  However, I didn't like the way that it was marketed.  When one reads the title Winter in Paradise,  it becomes easy to assume that this novel is like Hilderbrand's other winter novels (Winter Street, Winter Stroll, etc.) which take place over the holidays.  This novel does not, and actually there's not really any winter vibes at all except for where it mentions that this novel takes place shortly after the new year.  Also,  I'd be lying if I didn't note that I was a little disappointed the novel doesn't take place in Nantucket.. or even briefly in New England at all.  Instead the novel takes place in St. John and Iowa.   

Did I like the novel? Yes. 

Would I have liked it better if I wasn't looking for something of the Elin Hilderbrand brand?  Probably.

I guess this is why established authors sometimes use pen names.  So Dewey Readers, I give you a rating of 4.5 out of 5 Coffee Beans.

Until the next read!

~Jessica 

P.S.  Check out Jillian's review coming soon!

The Two Family House by Lynda Cohen Logiman -- Battle of the Book

Hello Deweys!

I stole this picture from Jillian's post...

We did not meet with the Spine Breakers this month for a & I'm behind on my book club books for work, so Jillian agreed to let me read a book that's my next book club choice for work and that she has already read.  Thank God.

Which brings us to tonight's review of Lynda Cohen Logiman's novel The Two Family House. & OMG this book is just wow.  I wasn't sure what I was digging into when I picked it up.  I just know that everyone that has read it has LOVED it, and now I know why.

So a bit about this book.  This book is about, you guessed it, a two family house.  The house is owned by two brothers who live there with their wives and children.  Mort and his wife Rose have all daughters, and Mort isn't the nicest or most affectionate husband.  Mort seems to always be bothered, and Rose thinks that if she could give him a son that things might start to be better in their home life.  Abe and Helen have all boys.  Helen desperately wants a daughter and I think her husband does too, but unlike Mort, Abe is affectionate, loving, and happy.  Miraculously, the two sister-in-laws get pregnant around the same time by accident.  

Then one night when the brothers are away on a business trip,  both sisters go into labor during in a terrible blizzard.  They can't get to the hospital, but a midwife happens to be in the area delivering a neighbor's baby.  One woman gives birth to a boy and the other to a girl.....and you can probably guessed what happened.

This novel is about motherhood, connection, relationships, love, and ultimately about forgiveness.   & It's safe to say that if you read this book, you won't be disappointed.  

So Dewey Readers I leave you with a rating of 5 out of 5 Coffee Beans.

Until the next read!
~Jessica 

P.S. Check out Jillian's review here. 

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand- Battle of the Book

Okay, so I finished the last Spine Breaking book a while ago, and I forgot to write the review.  Our next meeting isn't for a couple of weeks. I really hope I don't forget the book by then!

So for July we read Elin Hilderbrand's latest novel The Perfect Couple.  Hilderbrand is the QUEEN of the summer beach read.  It is not summer unless I have a Hilderbrand novel in my hand.  I love the way that she writes so authentically in her own voice while conveying the voices of her multiple characters.  I also love how she gives the Island of Nantucket it's own character perspective and voice.  It's just perfectly well done.

So unlike her other novels, this novel opens up with pure thriller drama.  A body was found in the ocean!  It's very Spine Breaker's-esc. But this body...It was the body of the maid of honor in a wedding that was supposed to happen that very day.  The woman who pulled the body out of the ocean?  That was the bride.  Hildebrand's novel delves into the whodunnit, while exploring family relationships, romantic relationships, life, death, and summertime.  If that doesn't make you want to read this book, I don't know what will.  

I give it 5 out of 5 Sizzling Coffee Beans.  

~Jessica   

P.S.  My Grandma read this book and LOVED it as well.  She probably gives it 100 and 1/2 Coffee Beans.  I'll have to ask her.  

P.S.S.  I wrote this review maybe a week or two ago and forgot to post it.  

The end. 

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian - Battle of the Book

Hello Dewey Readers!  

As you know, Jillian and I also read for our book club called the Spine Breakers, and this month's selection was the Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian.  

This book sounded so promising!  It had great reviews!  And the premise was creepily interesting.  Basically, to sum this book up in a nutshell, the main character is a flight attendant who likes to sleep around.  She likes to drink, and has been known to drink to the point where she blacks out. One morning she wakes up in bed next a man who is dead.  But he didn't just die in his sleep!  His carotid artery was slashed and he bled out.  Next to him on the ground is a broken wine bottle.  The reader isn't sure who killed him, and even our lovely flight attendant isn't sure if she or someone else killed him.  

Who knows?  Well, I guess I know now. 

To me the book was kind of lengthy.  No short chapters that made our last book club selection a breeze!  Also, I did not like the ending.  In fact, I zoned out on the ending and had to ask my co-woker who happened to be reading this book at the same time (not Spine Breaker related) what happened.  She wasn't crazy about it either.  

So Dewey Readers, I give out a rating of 2 out of 5 very sad Coffee Beans.  

P.S.  Jillian picked this book, so we'll blame her.   

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn - Battle of the Book

Hello everybody.

April's battle of the book is here!!

This month we're gonna be talking about The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn.

I'm hoping that this month, you guys will find this battle a little more interesting than last month's.

Jess's review can be found here.

I'm going to jump to my feelings on this book. 

(But for those who haven't read Jess's review yet; the book is about a woman who has PTSD induced acrophobia. Anna can't leave her house- so she watches her neighbors out of her window. With her Nikon camera. While she's drunk and high on her meds... Yeah.)

I give this book a 3.5 coffee beans out of 5.  (If you check out my account on Goodreads- you'll see I gave it a 4 because there are no halves there!)

Why?

I didn't like the story. 

I thought that it was VERY slow to start.  There were moments when my heart hurt for Anna. I found the story of what happened to be sad and I did hurt for her.  

But the rest of the book...? I didn't like it.  I didn't find it to psychological or to be a thriller.  It was just there.     

I was frustrated by Anna. A lot.  

I know that in order to accept help and move forward, you need to admit to yourself that you have a problem and want to make those changes.  I understand that her past was very big to her and that she wasn't able to move forward right away.  But her character did grow and I was proud of that.  Even if it was basically at the end of the story. 

I felt like the book did wrap up at the end though and that there weren't any loose ends.  

I was surprised by the character who committed the murder.  I wasn't expecting that to happen! 

The way that the murderer had approached Anna and, for lack a better word, "played" her - really WAS creepy! 


I will admit that the book was a page turner for me.  For most of the book, I kept turning the page for more.  It was just that that "more" wasn't really there. 

But it was such a short time frame for the psychological thriller part of the book.  It wasn't very satisfying, if you will.  There was such a slow and prolonged buildup to that WOAH moment in the story- that I felt like it fell short. 

If you're looking for a real thriller, I would recommend The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda.  I thought that was creepier and more twisted. 


~ Jillian

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn - Battle of the Book

Hello Dewey Readers!

As we've mentioned before, Jillian and I are in a book club called The Spine Breakers.  We break spines...book spines.  Our second book club selection was The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn.  We were both disappointed with last month's selection, The Lying Game by Ruth Ware, and Jillian didn't seem like she was in love with this novel either (she read it before I did) so I wasn't sure what to expect.  (You'll have to read her review to see her thoughts.)  So, I went into this novel half thinking that I wasn't going to enjoy it and that it would be draggy.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  

This novel is a psychological thriller about a woman named Anna who has agoraphobia caused by the result of a traumatic experience.  What was this traumatic experience?  We're not quite sure, but we do know that she won't leave her house...she can't leave her house.  However, just because Anna can't leave her house does not mean that she doesn't know what's going on in her neighborhood.  She sees into other people's homes from the safety of her front window.   

Now, Anna is heavily medicated with anti-anxiety medications that should not be mixed with alcohol, that being said, Anna is also an alcoholic. So one day when Anna claims that she saw her neighbor get stabbed, not only dos the reader begin to wonder if Anna is hallucinating, but the characters and even Anna herself do as well.  

Now without giving too much away...
What I liked about this novel:  
-It was fast paced with REALLY short chapters which made me read faster
-Anna's mind was... interesting 

What I didn't like: 
- The ending of the novel seemed too...theatric and even borderline cliche... I wanted something else.  

In comparison to last month's read, where I walked around wondering "wtf did I just read?"  to the point where I didn't even remember it, this novel kept me interested and wanting to find out more.  I read this book in about two days, and for that fact alone, I am going to give it 4 out of 5 Coffee Beans. 

~Jessica