Tagged: romance
The Mine by John Heldt
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
In 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can’t use, money he can’t spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of Whirlaway, swing dancing, and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his 21-year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that will alter their lives forever. THE MINE follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come.
I know what you’re thinking: “Another time travel romance. Are you kidding me?”
How do I know that? Well, I was thinking the exact same thing when I read the blurb John Heldt gave me when he asked me to review his novel. I was really skeptical when I started reading because the reason Joel time travelled was a planetary alignment. A planetary alignment for crying out loud! With a premise like that, could The Mine possibly be salvaged?
Actually, yes.
Pretty much all of the clichés you’ll find are in the beginning of the novel. What sets The Mine apart from a lot of time travel is that Joel, the protagonist, actually knows something about 1940s America and works hard to hide the fact he’s from the future. This is a huge contrast to the bumbling, secret-spilling protagonists who know nothing about the era that seem to populate every time travel novel.
Joel is a great main character: resourceful and intelligent but wracked by guilt when he has to hide his knowledge of upcoming tragedies. Despite his best efforts, he grows attached to his adopted family and even falls in love. Not Insta-Love, mind you, but real love that takes time to develop.
Despite the admittedly shaky start, John Heldt pulled things together in fine fashion. And the ending plot twist was actually unexpected because of the tone of the writing, but was highly satisfying. The climax was so heartbreaking that I was tearing up, but managed not to dissolve into hysterics like I did at the end of Flowers for Algernon.
So if you like romance, historical fiction and/or amazing characters, I would highly recommend this self-published novel.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Painted Blind by Michelle A. Hansen
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Seventeen years old and agoraphobic, Psyche Middleton vows her dad will never see the risqué photos she took during a summer modeling stint abroad, but one of them ends up on a billboard in her Montana hometown. Now everyone—especially her dad—can see it. And yet, somehow, those are the mundane things in her life because she is about to fall unexpectedly, head-over-heels in love with Erik, a mysterious young man who rescues her from a crowd of admirers, and who she’s never actually seen because…he can make himself invisible.
As strange as this may seem, it’s about to get even stranger. Erik takes her to his palace in an idyllic kingdom, and she is swept into the beauty and culture of his world, but his affection has one condition: she may not see him. Overtaken, intrigued, and still not wholeheartedly believing he’s real, Psyche is going to have to decide if she can love him blindly; because if she can’t, she may lose him forever.
A wild, romantic adventure that travels at breakneck speed, Michelle A. Hansen’s debut is a fantastical journey filled with laughter, danger, and the indomitable power of love. Painted Blind reminds us that one can overcome seemingly insurmountable odds with fortitude and a little luck and confirms that real love is worth fighting for.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Okay, Painted Blind was nothing like I expected and that’s a good thing because I really didn’t expect much from the blurb. But I still requested it from NetGalley for something new to read. And wow, was I ever surprised.
If I had to describe it one way, I’d call it The Goddess Test on steroids because it has a more realistic romance, better characters and a plot that glued me to my computer chair for over three hours straight. Michelle Hansen knows just how much information to reveal to her readers to hint at things, yet doesn’t give so much away as to make all the plot twists completely predictable. While I was reading, there were a lot of times I thought “Whoa. Didn’t see that coming.” Even the most cynical of readers like myself won’t be able to predict half of the plot points, which means that this is most definitely a unique novel.
I love the characters. Erik and Psyche may seem like your stereotypical romance characters, but they’re not. They actually have depth and I could sympathize with both of them. The way they fell in love was a bit quick, but actually quite natural when you think about it. First it started off as a sort of unexplainable attraction, then they got to know each other and fell in true love, not the kind of lust that passes for love in most YA fiction.
To be completely honest, I can’t believe this is Michelle Hansen’s debut novel. The writing quality is much better than most established authors, in my opinion. Her world-building is excellent; you can tell she really thought it through and made sure things made sense to readers. I honestly can’t wait to see her what she writes next!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari
Today is Wednesday which means I’m posting over at We Heart Reading, which has recently been re-vamped with a new author, a new look and new motivation. So go on over to see me completely trash a rather popular book: Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari.
Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
It starts in prehistory. A young man and a young woman fight over a precious jewel. Their time together is short, but the reverberations are lasting.
Years pass. Generations pass. Centuries pass. But fate keeps drawing them together. Whenever their paths cross, there is that strong attraction. That unexplainable affinity. That feeling that they’ve been together before.
Theirs is a love haunted by history. From Egyptian slavery to Greek society. From Massachusetts witch trials to Civil War battlefields. From Paris in the 1930s to the present day. Circumstances will fight them…but a greater force will reunite them. Because some people are meant for each other—no matter how long it takes.
This is not a book you read for historical accuracy, fast pacing or an unpredictable plot. This is a book you read for guilty pleasure. And as long as you keep that in mind, you’ll enjoy Reincarnation.
Suzanne Weyn’s novel is by no means historically accurate. For example, when they are in ancient Egypt—she a singer named Tetisherti and he a Nubian slave called Taharaq—it made me snort aloud when he called Thebes ‘Luxor’, claiming that was its ancient Egyptian name. Bull crap. Thebes was called Weset. And the idea that Taharaq saw the pyramids when he was coming up from Nubia to Weset is enough to make an Egyptologist cry. And for reasons unknown, Suzanne Weyn calls Abu Simbel ‘Abu Simpel’ and Sekhmet ‘Sempkhet’. I have never, ever seen those names translated in such a way (even in the Wikipedia articles I’ve linked to). Utter nonsense. But again, this is not meant to be historically accurate.
One thing that actually made me enjoy Reincarnation was the characterization. All of the different reincarnations are three dimensional and sympathetic. The attraction between them was very real and the romance actually didn’t feel forced. There were certain traits that stayed with the characters in all of their lifetimes, but their circumstances in those different lifetimes were very different.
The plot is predictable, no doubt. Come on, you know how stories like this are going to end. However, because of the nice writing style and interesting characters, I actually enjoyed Reincarnation as a sort of guilty pleasure. It’s never going to win any literary awards (nor should it) but as long as you take it as what it is—light reading—you’ll enjoy it.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Dash & Lily’s Book Of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
[Book review by ForTheLoveOfBooks–CS.]
” I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”
So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favourite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash the right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?
This is the first book I’ve read by collaboration partners Rachel Cohn & David Levithan. I’ve read Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan and The Lover’s Dictionary by Levithan. At first I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book because a lot of bloggers have raved about this book, and I’ve come to realize that I don’t fall into the category where “everyone likes this book.” I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Clearly I’ve got a date with this book again at the end of the year! And once again my cover gushing continues, but I really can’t help it! The cover of this book is adorable and I like all the colours of the buildings and lamp posts. Of course I can’t forget the heart-shaped crossing sign and snow flakes.
First off I will say how the book is written. David Levithan wrote all of Dash’s chapters while Rachel Cohn wrote Lily’s chapters. The story takes place in New York City, where Dash is spending Christmas by himself, he’s told both his divorced parents that he’s spending Christmas with the other, when in reality he’s by himself and quite happy with this arrangement. Lily on the other hand is upset and angry with her parents celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary in Fiji and Grandpa spending Christmas in Florida whilst she’s stuck with her brother Langston and his boyfriend Benny. The Red Moleskin Journal of Dares is Langston’s idea because he believes Lily needs a boyfriend and thus the story continues with the journal being passed back and forth between the two protagonists. Of course not everything goes smoothly with journal passing in New York City, but are Dash & Lily meant for each other? Read the book to find out! Continue reading