Tag: family dysfunction

YA

Review: Shade Me by Jennifer Brown

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Nikki Kill #1

shade me -jennifer brownNikki Kill does not see the world like everyone else. In her eyes, happiness is pink, sadness is a mixture of brown and green, and lies are gray. Thanks to a rare phenomenon called synesthesia, Nikki’s senses overlap, in a way that both comforts and overwhelms her.

Always an outsider, just one ‘D’ shy of flunking out, Nikki’s life is on the fast track to nowhere until the night a mysterious call lights her phone up bright orange—the color of emergencies. It’s the local hospital. They need Nikki to identify a Jane Doe who is barely hanging on to life after a horrible attack.

The victim is Peyton Hollis, a popular girl from Nikki’s school who Nikki hardly knows. One thing is clear: Someone wants Peyton dead. But why? And why was Nikki’s cell the only number in Peyton’s phone?

As she tries to decipher the strange kaleidoscope of clues, Nikki finds herself thrust into the dark, glittering world of the ultra-rich Hollis family, and drawn towards Peyton’s handsome, never-do-well older brother Dru. While Nikki’s colors seem to help her unravel the puzzle, what she can’t see is that she may be falling into a trap. The only truth she can be sure of is that death is a deep, pulsing crimson.

Shade Me is award-winning author Jennifer Brown’s first book in a thrilling suspense series about Nikki Kill.

 

2.5 Drink Me Potions

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review

**Shade Me comes out January 19, 2016**

It took me a long time to persuade myself to read Shade Me after seeing the drastic negative ratings from reviewers. Now that I’ve actually read it for myself, I can see why it may not have sat well with everyone.

Here’s the background context of the story.

Nikki Kill (cool last name, right?) is a synesthete who associated colours with numbers and letters. Oh boy, I can only imagine how distracting that would be to do math or chemistry with colours floating in the air around it.

Anyway, she likes to be alone for the most part. She has no real friends. This all stems back from her mother’s murder when she was a kid that was never solved. Add into the equation that not everyone believed she had synesthesia, which I find astounding considering it isn’t some unheard of disorder that affects nearly no one, she’s apt to want to stick to herself. Trust and trusting her heart to someone is a huge issue with her. So getting dragged into a whole mess with a super powerful family, the Hollises, was the very opposite of what her life was normally like. Now people were paying attention to her and spreading rumours when her biggest worry previously was to just be able to graduate high school.

So let me break it simply down into what was likeable and what- well – wasn’t. Continue reading “Review: Shade Me by Jennifer Brown” →

adult

Review: Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Under Texas Stars #1

blue moon promise -colleen cobleLucy Marsh’s worldly resources are running out, but she’s fiercely determined to care for her younger brother and sister. When she discovers that their father’s recent death was no accident, Lucy is eager to leave town. She accepts a proxy marriage she believes will provide safe refuge. But trouble follows her to Texas where her new husband is surprised to suddenly have a wife and children to care for.

Nate Stanton always hoped he’d marry someday, but running the family ranch meant he had no time for romance. When his father deposits Lucy Marsh–a city girl–on his doorstep, with two siblings in the bargain, he expects ranch life will send her running on the first train out of town. But Lucy is made of tougher stuff than Nate imagined. When danger moves in, Nate finds he’d give anything to protect Lucy and the children he’s grown to love. Even if it means giving up his ranch.

Blue Moon Promise is a story of hope, romance, and suspense . . . immersing the reader in a rich historical tale set under Texas stars.

 

3.5 Drink Me Potions

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve read a Colleen Coble novel. I’ve forgotten just how much I love her mysteries. Blue Moon Promise has not let me down in any way. I haven’t read a historical novel in a while, but I instantly fell in love with the characters here. Lucy, right off the bat, was a protagonist that I could root for. She had so much heart and yearned to be the one who could take care of everyone. Her family situation wasn’t ideal. She had to care for her baby brother and sister while trying to escape a dangerous person who may have had something to do with their father’s death.

Enter the less-than-ideal marriage agreement with Nate. He wanted nothing to do with a wife, and Lucy tried so hard to be the typical rancher’s wife that he could at least imagine being with. Things weren’t easy for her, but she did her best.

There were silly moments, like finding a pet tarantula in the pantry, and there were heartfelt moments like Nate beginning to fall for his new already-made family. The mystery wasn’t very integral in this novel, which surprised me as that is what Coble’s really good at. However, it was still an amazing story of finding the best in any situation, and realizing in hindsight that this was exactly where everyone was meant to be.

All in all, I couldn’t put this book down and I do believe I will be browsing through many more of Coble’s novels very soon.

Overall Recommendation:

Blue Moon Promise was a delight that I hadn’t expected. Set in a historical setting on a rancher’s farm, Lucy and her little brother and sister embark on a new life with her new husband that she’s agreed to marry for the sake of her family. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but Lucy’s strong-willed character and desire to be the best that she can be no matter how dire the situation had me really rooting for her success. A little lighter in the mystery department, this novel still had all the trademarks of Colleen Coble from what I remember in another piece of work I’ve read from her a long time ago. This was definitely worth the read.

YA

Review: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

I was here -gayle forman

Cody and Meg were inseparable.
Two peas in a pod.
Until . . . they weren’t anymore.

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.

4 Drink Me Potions

I Was Here left me breathless and stunned with the simplicity of Cody’s journey. It left me wishing that there was more after the last pages faded from sight, although it did end on a good note.

Cody was left devastated after the sudden – and unforeseen – death of her best friend, Meg. Now, I haven’t personally been touched by a loved one who even made an attempt on their life, and I generally don’t read a lot of novels on suicides, but I Was Here resonated deeply with me. Meg was her best friend, her better half. To not have known something so huge happening in someone who played such an integral role in her life left her shattered.

 

“I recently lost someone. Someone so integral to me, it’s like a part of me is gone. And now I don’t know how to be anymore. If there’s even a me without her. It’s like she was my sun, and then my sun went out. Imagine if the real sun went out. Maybe there’d still be life on Earth, but would you still want to live here? Do I still want to live here?”

 

I may not personally understand that feeling, but Gayle Forman writes in a way that realistically draws you in. Even without having read the Author’s Note at the end, it was obvious that this novel was inspired by someone who might have actually gone through an experience like this. It was poignant and, well, real.

Cody was also a very interesting heroine. Right off the bat, you knew she wasn’t some scared, weak girl who wanted to cry. She was tough as nails. And maybe more than a little bit angry at herself and Meg for killing herself.

 

“Meg’s parents look blasted into heartbreak, the hollows under their eyes so deep, I don’t see how they’ll ever go away. And it’s for them I find my least stinky dress and put it on. I get ready to sing. Again.
Amazing Grace. How Vile the Sound.

 

But she also was fighting a lot of grief and guilt. She was the best friend. Shouldn’t she have known? Shouldn’t she have been the one telling Meg life wouldn’t be the same without her?

Enter Ben McCallister into this turmoil. He had history with Meg, one that Cody personally did not like. They had a rough start, but there was something drawing them together. Maybe it was this shared guilt for Meg’s decision. Whatever it was, this romance wasn’t some silly-nilly attraction. It was based on a shared understanding on how messed up their lives can get, the same need for someone to just listen and get it. Get them.

I loved how they interacted and the fact that they’re both imperfect. Ben’s not some great guy. He used girls, albeit regretful and a little ashamed afterwards. Cody’s…well, she’s just angry deep inside. Mostly at herself, but this causes her to lash out and distance others. Oh, and both have mouths like sailors.

But together? They lit a tiny spark. A spark that may just be hope for the future. And realizing that Meg’s death wasn’t their fault. They just had to learn to forgive themselves. After all, forgiveness is a miracle drug for the soul.

With this thought in mind, I Was Here was the perfect name for this novel. ‘Cause at the end of the day, what better message for anyone to leave behind than “I was here”?

Overall Recommendation:
Gayle Forman does it again with another sweeping tale of heartache, guilt and a personal journey in finding a way to forgive. Cody was an imperfect heroine who went in search of the reasons why her best friend would kill herself. Without telling her. Without even knowing it could happen. Although she hoped to find a way to give justice to her best friend, if not in life then in death, it leads her to finding herself, as well as a particular guy who may just understand exactly what she’s going through. I Was Here is a poignant story that dives deep into the psyche of someone considering to kill themselves, and how people closest to them would deal with the aftermath. I would definitely recommend you read this touching novel.