GRACE NOT PERFECTION by Emily Ley

Published: October 11th 2016 by Thomas Nelson
Read: October 2016
How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 224 pages) from NetGalley. Purchased Hardcover from Premiere Collectibles. 

I’m going to break my own rules and write this review in first person. If Emily Ley taught me anything in the last 224 pages, it’s that perfection doesn’t exist. So who cares if this review looks different from all the rest?

I should start out by thanking NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for allowing me to receive an advanced copy of this book, an advanced copy that I requested only AFTER purchasing two signed copies and watching Emily Ley’s live signing on Premiere Collectibles. I saw this on NetGalley and realized I couldn’t wait for my purchased copy to be shipped, I needed to read it now. Thankfully, NetGalley obliged.

I follow Emily on Instagram, and although I don’t know her and I only found her through a six degrees of separation from other people and companies that I follow that I don’t know, I really liked her story and how open she is about her life. So when she wrote a book, I had to read it. Grace Not Perfection is not only the title of this book, but a way of life. Through the pages, Emily describes ways that women can allow themselves grace. She details through personal anecdotes that perfection doesn’t exist, social media feeds are only highlight reels of life, and “no” is a complete sentence. She explains that being busy for the sake of being busy is a mistake, and that women should slow down and find the joy in life. There are chapters on career, relationships, and motherhood, but there is something in this book for all women to relate to. Emily also speaks about faith and God often as she wonders why God won’t listen to her plans but instead guides her through other avenues.  There are also tips and lists throughout the book of how to find joy and simplify life as well as pictures of Emily and her family. This a book that I will be sharing with friends and family and reading over and again. The message is wonderful, and the pictures of cute children throughout don’t hurt.

My one and only qualm with this book is the ARC formatting which I’m sure is fixed in the finished copy. There were many paragraphs out of place. Adding trying to find where the paragraphs left off and continued to the so many feelings this book made me feel was a struggle. But I know that that is my own fault. If I had only waited for my purchased copy and not let my impatience overwhelm me, I wouldn’t have had that problem. But, I’m glad I got this advanced copy, I pushed through it so fast, and it got me out of a reading slump. Also, Emily mentions that she loves to read. So, be like Emily, read this book.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

ENTER TITLE HERE by Rahul Kanakia

Publication August 2nd 2016 by Disney-Hyperion

Read: October 2016

How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 352 pages) from NetGalley 

Enter Title Here is a novel within a novel. The novel is being written by a high school senior, Reshma, who is contacted by a literary agent after writing a column for a local publication. Reshma decides that writing a novel and having an agent will help her get into Stanford. Reshma is a selfish cutthroat character that will do anything (something she says often) to get what she wants. When she cannot earn her grades, she results to finding loopholes and suing the school so that she can get the valedictorian spot and in turn attend Stanford.

The meta element of this novel will draw readers in, but putting up with the main character’s annoying personality may take some work. There are some supporting characters that make following through worth it though. Reshma’s friendships and her familial relationships are mentioned, but in going along with Reshma’s point of view as the author and narrator, her selfishness does not allow the reader time to truly enjoy those other characters. Ultimately, readers looking for a diary format YA novel might be better off with the darker subject matter of Anonymous Go Ask Alice or the humorous angst that Louise Rennison presents with Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. 

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. 

ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN by Wendy Walker

Published: July 12th 2016 by St. Martin's Press

Read: September 2016

How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 320 pages) from NetGalley 

When Jenny Kramer is raped at a party, she is given a treatment that makes her forget the traumatic experience. But she hasn’t really forgotten. If the Kramer family wants justice, they need for Jenny to remember her rapist. She is sent to a therapist interested in memory recovery, and that is where the suspense unfolds.

All is Not Forgotten is narrated by the therapist who is treating the Kramer family individually. Some other patients are mentioned as well, and the storylines tie together and often jump around in time. While the narrator is omniscient, he keeps things from the reader to reveal at the proper time. He also and often provides first person excerpts from his patients. There are many things throughout that seem misogynistic and unethical, but ultimately, the narrative keeps the reader guessing. Readers of amnesia fiction and psychological thrillers will likely devour this book whether they like the narrator or not. 

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Greetings from the Librarian's Office!

Hello reader(s),

I'm just writing to check in just in case my one subscriber got worried about me. ;-)
 
I posted a brief introduction to my book reviews in February, and that post can be found here. I introduced myself as a local community college librarian working at the reference desk. Well, I have recently started working as a Research Services Librarian for a University. It was not local (more than one hundred miles from home), so I relocated, and I'm settling into my new life and librarian role. All of the transitioning is taking some time though, so my book reviews have been put on hold.

I do still plan to review all of the books that I've been approved for by NetGalley and won through Goodreads Giveaways, it's just that they may already be long published by the time I get to read the ARCs. I am a woman of my word though, so I will read them all...eventually.  I still review for Library Journal as well, and, as they have stricter deadlines, those reviews take precedence.

Do you ever feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day?

Until next time, check me out on the University's library blog here.

THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by Ruth Ware

Published July 19th 2016 by Gallery/Scout Press

Read: August 2016

How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 352 pages) from NetGalley 

Ruth Ware, In a Dark, Dark Wood, has again created a dark and misleading novel of suspense. The Woman in Cabin 10 focuses on Lo Blacklock, a travel journalist covering the maiden voyage of the Aurora, a deluxe cruise ship. Lo is in cabin 9, and when she realizes she's out of mascara she decides to knock on the door to the adjoining cabin 10. A woman loans her some mascara and everything is well. Later though when Lo hears a splash and sees a blood smear on the veranda, she suspects the woman may be in trouble. Upon reporting her suspicion, she finds that cabin 10 was never occupied and all of the crew and passengers are accounted for. Who was the woman in cabin 10? And what happened to her?

Told in the first person intermixed with news clippings and online chats, Ware creates a narrative that keeps readers guessing. Ware’s descriptive writing also produces feelings of claustrophobia and seasickness adding to the unease of Lo’s situation.  Much of the story is left to interpretation, but readers will get a satisfying conclusion to this wrong-place-wrong-time mystery on the sea. 

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. 

THE PRISONER OF HELL GATE by Dana I. Wolff

Published: July 5th 2016 by Picador
Read: July 2016
How I Got It: Paperback ARC (224 pages) from Library Journal

Review published in Library Journal Xpress Reviews July 28, 2016.

http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2016/07/books/fiction/fiction-from-avit-gregson-hiaasen-london-walker-plus-debuts-and-mississippi-noir-xpress-reviews/

THROW AWAY GIRLS by Jennifer Vaughn

Published July 2nd 2016 by Waldorf Publishing
Read: July 2016
How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 348 pages) from NetGalley 

Jaycee Wilder is a dedicated on-air reporter who gets involved in a story about three murdered women in an underground sex community. She works closely with Detective James Barton to get justice for these girls even going undercover to perform her own investigation. Set in Los Angeles, the scenery becomes part of the story, and Jaycee’s boyfriend is even an actor with several roles on TV crime dramas. It is unknown why Jaycee becomes so attached to these murdered “throw away girls,” but she becomes so closely involved that she may also become a victim.

Throw Away Girls is told in third person perspective often switching between perspectives of multiple characters. This device truly takes away from the story, and it adds to the already poor characterization. The plot is interesting, but the execution does not allow the reader to feel anything for the characters. The progression of the story is also quite predictable, and the mystery and crime aspects lack motive. Dedicated mystery fans should skip this one for more developed crime procedurals, but if readers want a quick emotionless read as a palate cleanser, this is the pick.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.