[Review] Landline by Rainbow Rowell

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Title: Landline

Author: Rainbow Rowell [ Facebook | Twitter | Website]

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Genre: Adult Fiction - Contemporary Romance

Release Date: July 8, 2014

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.

Maybe that was always besides the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened? - via Goodreads

---

Eight pages in these characters had already tugged a my heart strings. The workaholic mother and her need/challenge to keep work-life balance, accompanied by her dependable stay-at-home husband waiting in the wings. This dynamic is reflective of current trends in the U.S. and very much a hot topic. The idea that Georgie can have it all is the primary theme. Can she have this amazing relationship with work and her writing partner, Seth, and still be a present mother/wife to her daughters and husband? 

Through Rowell's trademark humor and slew of pop culture references, readers make an instant connection to the late nineties and present day plot as the days to Christmas countdown. Knowing that the days are numbered keep the pacing steady and the reader eager to keep turning the page in search of December 25. The artful balance of laugh-out-loud and subtle humor further sells the writing as endearing, memorable and positively movie-ready moments. 

In the end Landline is a winner because it hurts and wrecks you with an authentic relationship, maybe even yours.

Why I'll be reading this again...

This completes my Rainbow Rowell readings. With that said, her writing has grown exponentially since her adult debut, Attachments, without sacrificing the nuances that only Rowell can deliver. There were several moments that I could literally close my eyes and watch the scenes play out on the movie screen. This is especially true with the flashbacks of Georgie and Neal's beginnings.

Landline is more than just a love story, and it is a beautiful one, but the juxtaposition of the Can women have it all? question lingered with me longer and harder. Can Georgie be successful without having to sacrifice being a mother and dedicated wife? Can she do it without the guilt? Can Neal be content or even happy with being the primary caretaker and domestic husband? I'm not really sure there's a clear answer but I'm happy with how this unfolds.

For the YA lovers, if you liked Fangirl and Eleanor & Park, I'm fairly confident this will sit well with you and it might even give some comfort for growing up. I know it did for me.

4.5 Stars – Because of the feels. The instant character connection is strong enough to keep you rooting for Christmas morning. 

Comic Sunday #2: Saga vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughn

Comic Sundays are an American newspaper tradition where new comic strips are published weekly. At Becoming Books this tradition will continue focusing on comic strips, comics and graphic novels appealing to young adult and adult audiences.

*Today's pick may not be suitable for those under 18 years of age. Saga contains sexual content, profanity, and violence.*

Buy on Amazon or Book Depository

Saga, Volume #1 

Series: Chapters 1 – 6

Story by Brian K. Vaughn; Illustrations by Fiona Staples

160 pages, Image Comics: October 23, 2012

Personal Copy – Opinions are my own, review policy here.

Storytelling:

Brian K. Vaughn is kind of a big deal. I'm a total newbie to the graphic/comic reading arena. It's been a couple decades since I collected books and what not. Anyways, I love this fantasy book! A balance of action, romance ,and adventure, Saga gives us a whole new galaxy where our protagonists, Marco and Alana are struggling to survive. Star-crossed lovers who've recently given birth are being hunted by their respective militaries and independent contractors. This arc includes the first six chapters of their journey to escape the planet they are currently on in search of refuge. Meanwhile, there are about half a dozen people searching for them with an emphasis on the newly born child. 

Vaughn's writing had me pulled into a lovely fantasy world involving mythical like creatures with horns, wings, tales, ghosts, and even TV robot heads! The book kicks off in a high pressure situation and doesn't really slow down. There are parts in the story telling where it becomes journey-ish but it's not long before another enemy pops up or additional sub-plot is introduced. I definitely have a lot of questions so I'm really looking forward to picking up volume 2!

Artwork:

I'm a big fan of the artwork in this book. Great care was taken with the inking, shading, facial expressions... basically all of the deets are there. All of the frames involving "adult content" are artfully done and intentional, which is much appreciated. I feel like oftentimes some frames are thrown in as a shock factor but Staples' illustrations add so much to the world building. These illustrations make me wish I could draw. This is especially true in the scenes involving The Horrors, these were equal parts irk and awe.
.

Yay or Nay? 

Yay, what an amazing world Vaughn has built. Combined with the amazing illustrations you are launched into a new world and invested in Marco and Alana's plight. Bonus points for featuring an inter-racial couple, and not just in the alien sense. 

[Review] The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst

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Title: The Lost

Series: The Lost #1

Author: Sarah Beth Durst [ Twitter | Facebook | Website ]

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA

Genre: Adult Fiction - Fantasy, Mystery

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Source: ARC provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

It was only meant to be a brief detour. But then Lauren finds herself trapped in a town called Lost on the edge of a desert, filled with things abandoned, broken and thrown away. And when she tries to escape, impassible dust storms and something unexplainable lead her back to Lost again and again. The residents she meets there tell her she's going to have to figure out just what she's missing, and what she's running from, before she can leave. So now Lauren's on a new search for a purpose and a destiny. And maybe, just maybe, she'll be found.

I will admit, when I fInally got approved for this title on NetGalley I had forgotten the synopsis but dove right in on the reading... 

As a result I was super scared and reading blind on some parts. The concept of getting lost in a place where all the lost things go is CREEPY! Uber creepy! Every sock the dryer has eaten, it's there. Every piece of luggage that has gone missing, lost wallet, penny, hair clip... it's all there. Thing of everything you've once lost and now it's in this place... the town of Lost. 

Luckily, there's a Finder who find's people and things from within "the void" and brings them to Lost. There's also the ying to his yang, the Missing Man, whose job is to find what you've lost and help you return to the world you know. So our protagonist Lauren is stuck in Lost, eager to survive and return home to her ailing mother. However, she's run off the Missing Man and now everyone in Lost is trying to kill her, seriously. 

There's a running joke in the book as to whether Lauren is interesting or not. Is she just a regular Jane or is she something more? Which of course I cannot tell you but I can tell you about her posse...

Lauren's supporting cast of The Finder and a knife wielding, six-year-old girl is intentional and necessary. Pushing Lauren out of her comfort zone and desire to survive the trio create a Peter Pan-ish inspired family to turn a house into a home. If you're looking for a swoony man then The Finder, Peter, is mysterious, dark and inked up just for you. Even if we're not sure how this is going to end, I found myself rooting for them the whole time... 

Told in staccato like thoughts and sentence structure, through Lauren's point-of-view, the reader is left with the inner workings of a panicking 27-year-olds brain. The writing style is definitely that of someone's inner dialogue, cutting out long descriptive passages and creating a reading-crossover bridge between Young Adult and Adult literature. If you're not feeling Lauren's narration you should hang around for Peter's dialogue which runs deeper, more cryptic and brings some literary prose to the forefront.

For me, it is the writing style that really bought authenticity to Lauren's voice and her experience. She's filled with worry, regret, panic, nurture, love and sometimes hope, but it's these emotions that keep her character raw and human. As she grows, it's her ability to believe in herself and remain loyal to those she care about that sells me on The Lost.

Random thoughts:

• Peter – I want to know your thoughts, what is in that head of yours? Why are you in Lost? WHAT DID YOU LOSE?!?!
• This is a trilogy – What? The end of this book is packaged tight. The story can go further but I'm really at a loss as to why it needs to. 
• Expedited release schedule for books #2 and #3. Book two, The Missing, will release in November 2014 and book three, The Found, will release in March 2015.
• Lauren. No spoilers but I need to know what's up with you. Who are you? And are you, in fact, interesting?

3.5 Stars – Solid read filled with mystery and a touch of fantasy! 

I'm content with the ending, but knowing there's two more books, I'm curious and I'll be reading book two. 

[Cover Reveal] Fae, an anthology edited by Rhonda Parrish

Goodreads
Publisher: World Weaver Press – July 22, 2014

Genre: Fantasy, Horror

Length: anthology, approx. 250 pages

Synopsis

Meet Robin Goodfellow as you've never seen him before, watch damsels in distress rescue themselves, get swept away with the selkies and enjoy tales of hobs, green men, pixies and phookas. One thing is for certain, these are not your grandmother's fairy tales.

Fairies have been both mischievous and malignant creatures throughout history. They've dwelt in forests, collected teeth or crafted shoes. Fae is full of stories that honor that rich history while exploring new and interesting takes on the fair folk from castles to computer technologies and modern midwifing, the Old World to Indianapolis.

Fae covers a vast swath of the fairy story spectrum, making the old new and exploring lush settings with beautiful prose and complex characters. Enjoy the familiar feeling of a good old-fashioned fairy tale alongside urban fantasy and horror with a fae twist.

With an introduction by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, and all new stories from Sidney Blaylock Jr., Amanda Block, Kari Castor, Beth Cato, Liz Colter, Rhonda Eikamp, Lor Graham, Alexis A. Hunter, L.S. Johnson, Jon Arthur Kitson, Adria Laycraft, Lauren Liebowitz, Christine Morgan, Shannon Phillips, Sara Puls, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, and Kristina Wojtaszek.

Excerpt

From The Queen of Lakes by L.S. Johnson:

The moment the path starts to dip, the world goes silent. The very wind ceases to blow; not a leaf stirs, not an animal can be seen, not even an insect. There is only the rasp of my breath, the blood thudding in my ears.

It is forty-two steps from the silence to the far end of the curve. Forty-two steps where the only sound in the world is myself.

Myself and the each-uisge, I mean.

“Where did you go?” I ask. For he is beside me, though I did not hear him approach. I never hear him.

“Here and there,” he gurgles. His voice is low and wet, as if his mouth were full of jelly. “Across great lakes and little rivers, so many lovely sights. Though not a one as lovely as you, Rose.”

He teases my braid, making it sticky and knotted, and I slap his hand away. Thanks to his fondling I’ve been scolded by Mrs. Duggan more than once now, for looking slovenly. He strokes the bare strip of my throat instead, smearing my skin as he hooks a gluey finger beneath my scarf, trying to tug it away from my neck.

His fingers are so very cold.

The first time he touched me I was so frightened I nearly stopped walking, but I did not stop, I have never stopped.

I do not know what will happen if I stop.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Fae

by Rhonda Parrish

Giveaway ends June 19, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

[Review] Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

This is an adult novel which may contain material not suitable for readers
under 17, including sex and the use of drugs/alcohol. 

Buy on Amazon or the Book Depository

Title: Gameboard of the Gods

Series: Age of X #1

Author: Richelle Mead [ Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Website ]

Publisher: Dutton

Genre: Adult - Science Fiction, Dystopia, Mythology

Release Date: June 4, 2013

Source: library checkout – review policy here.

Diversity: Ethnic, Religious and Socio-Economic diversity

Synopsis via Goodreads:

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

I love it! I'm not going to lie, as with most sci-fi books there is a lot of groundwork to be laid. Extensive world building that, after 448 pages, I could see all play out on the back of my eye lids like a Super 8.

RUNA and everything not RUNA. Mead intricately lays out how the world is now. The combinations of ethnicities, a caste system and a government suspicious of religious practices make fir a very diverse future. Interfuse this with super-human people (praetorians), genetic manipulation and mythology you have a world built like no other.

Favorite character(s): Horatio and Magnus, these are the ravens that live inside protagonist Justin's head. They are hilarious, wise and remind me of the subconscious. Of course this made me think Justin was crazy but no spoilers... I also really enjoyed Tessa who is a teenager new to RUNA and is super intelligent and naively adorable. Major bonus is that she is not delicate but feminine while being smart and was chosen by Justin to be his prodigy. Major girl power points in my book!

The mythology: There are so many religious/mythological references. As someone who is not well versed in mythology (or Christianity), the book became a slower read for me. Let's just say Wikipedia and I became good friends and then the ADD would kick in so I'd spend an hour researching all kinds of goodies instead of reading... :/ But, as I learned more it all came together, some obvious and some very subtle. I appreciated both. I really like the idea of all these female deities, maybe it's the feminist in me.

The action. The fight scenes and adult scenes make this book! Just when I'm being overloaded with information there are swoons or spirit animals coming out of no where. Chases, deaths and other action worthy awesomeness.

My Goodreads updates:

4-Stars: If world building and science fiction/mythology are your thing then this is the read for you. It's definitely a different kind of book for Mead, and I heart it so much I think I found my next tattoo!

I'm looking forward to book two, Immortal Crown,
which I'll review within the next week or so! 

 Releases May 29, 2014

Pre-Order on Amazon or Book Depository

[Review] Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

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Title: Attachments

Author: Rainbow Rowell (Twitter, Facebook, Website) 

Publisher: Dutton

Genre: Adult- Contemporary Fiction, Romance

Release Date: April 14, 2011

Source: copy from the publisher – review policy here.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

Before there was Eleanor & Park, before there was Fangirl... there was Attachments. Believe it or not, this was Rainbow's first published novel. 

The format of the novel originally piqued my interest because for about 2/3 of the book there are almost two entirely separate story lines and narrations. The have the third person narration of Lincoln who is a sweet mid-western "geek" that plays Dungeons & Dragons, is an academic junkie and lives with his mom in his late twenties. In the second story line we have a first person account of email exchanges between co-workers Beth and Jennifer about life, boys (ahem, men) and work. Due to Lincoln mourning the loss of his high school love, almost a DECADE later, and wandering through his twenties with no direction he ends up as the email filter gate keeper at the local paper. Thankfully, for us and him, Jennifer and Beth's exchanges are witty, quick and full of laughs. These exchanges constantly get flagged by the email filter and become a beacon of hope for Lincoln's late night shift.

What makes this story is Jennifer and Beth, even though it's really about Lincoln. The women engage in pre-millennial banter playing off each other's responses so the dialogue flows smoothly. There are a LOT of 90's references, which I appreciate, but if it wasn't for them working in news it would be too much. There's discussions about how much work sucks, their respective relationships and Beth's "Cute Guy" crush...

Which brings us to Lincoln. Okay, so Lincoln has issues... 1) He's still hung up on his high school girlfriend, who dumped him freshman year of college. 2) He lives at home with mom (who packs his dinner every night) and plays D&D on the weekends. 3) He hates his job and to avoid figuring out what he wants to do in life he keeps racking up more degrees. Fortunately for us, he gets more interesting as his email snooping (ahem, reading) progresses. Bonus: He's built/looks like a popular kid who doesn't know he's popular, kind of like.... Clark Kent!

"Clark Kent doesn't want to be famous. He doesn't want people to look at him. If they really look at him, they'd see that he's just Superman with glasses."

This actually explains sooo much about why people could never tell that CK is Superman... anywho...

The varying point of views kept a quick pace, the one liners made me laugh, there are John Hugh worthy swoons, a little bit of tears, and a lot of hope for those older millennials that have failed to launch. 

4 Stars: I've now read all of Rainbow's novels in reverse order. 

This is a great read for "new adults" or adults who would like to reminisce on how awesome the 90's were before all this economic stuff happened and we didn't have to live with Mom because she was the only choice. :P This novel is also perfectly suitable for high school aged readers who enjoy other Rainbow novels.

Yep, yep... this is my Lincoln but brunette vs. blonde.

Unfortunately he spends his free time doing this...

Good thing by the end there's hope that he's more like this...

And this quote pretty much sums up my life...

“I want someone whose heart is
big enough to hold me.” 

Music Monday: Love Like The Movies by Victoria Van Tiem

Music Monday showcases a newly released book with an unofficial fan-made soundtrack.
Leave a comment to add your musical pick to the list.
The songs chosen are in no way endorsed by the author, publishers, artist or songwriters.

Love Like the Movies

Buy for $1.99 on Amazon for a limited time!

Love Like the Movies 
Author: Victoria Van Tiem (Blog, Facebook, Twitter)
Publisher: Pocket Books by Simon & Schuster - February 24, 2014
Genre: Adult Fiction - Contemporary Romance

Unofficial Fan-Made Playlist for Love Like the Movies

What songs would you add? What movie soundtrack favorites were left out of the book?
Leave them in the comments below!