Thanks for the Memories by Cecilia Ahern

   Okay. I think I have a definite read on Ms. Ahern. A little too precious, obvious conclusion, takes way too long to get there.

Favorite Quote:

"Finally words start spilling out of his mouth, as though they'd been queuing up impatiently."

Overall Opinion:

This is one instance where the movie version is definitely an improvement. Having to release the audience in 90 minutes limits the triteness and brings the inevitable to a more rapid conclusion.

Rating:

6

A Better Angel by Chris Adrian

   Just what short stories are supposed to be. A question mark in the beginning and an open mystery at the end. I had such a good time reading this book.


Favorite Quote:

"She yodels again, or yiddles, or whatever it is, that sound like some rebel parrot would make."


Overall Opinion:

Mysterious and a little creepy, the stories are hauntingly terrific.


Rating:

Yes!

The Gift by Cecilia Ahern

A little precious.

Favorite Quote:

"The elevator pinged and the doors opened, like welcoming arms ready to embrace the next guest. But there was nobody there. It waited, but nobody entered, and so it crossed its arms in a huff, and descended again.

Overall Opinion:

Wouldn't go back to it.

Rating:

4

The River Wife by Jonis Agee

The River Wife reads backward and forward while following a family over generations. It is a little bit mystery, little bit drama, whole lot of dark. It was also murky in the telling and traveled too much.

Favorite Quotes:

"It thumped into the large bowl of stewed rhubarb with clotted cream that the waiter had set on our table as the final insult to our appetites."

"Their jeans were so dirty you could sow oats on them and harvest a good crop before either of them realized it."

"Only Ethel May Zubar managed to keep herself together, but that was because she traveled like a ship at sea, with on board laced down tight as she pushed the prow of her bosom past..."

Overall Opinion:

Too many stories trying to be told at once. It seesawed back and forth, picking up threads here, there and everywhere that it burdened its own telling.

Rating:

3

Security by Stephen Amidon

   Halfway through the book and I was still waiting for something to happen, and then, just when I thought it was nothing but a series of vignettes, it finally pulled itself together into one story. Too bad by that time I was ready for it to be over without wanting to know the point of the reading hours I had already put in.

   Dark, depressing and definitely with no happiness in sight anywhere, Security follows a few citizens of Stoneleigh Massachusetts through their seemingly disparate lives that finally collide in betrayal, hurt, distrust and pain.

Favorite Quotes:

"His expression continued to shift until it landed somewhere between insurrection and anxiety."

"His brittle hair was styled to fight a desperate rearguard action against baldness..."

Overall Opinion:

If you enjoy slogging through a book just for a somewhat surprising ending then this one's for you.

Rating:

eh

Meet Me in Venice by Elizabeth Adler

  I originally thought the book would be long on romance and short on story. It was a little longer on story than I expected and about as long on romance as I thought. Ms. Adler's book isn't strictly a romance only novel. It is, more correctly, a romantic thriller. A mediocre romantic thriller. 

Overall Opinion:

Readable at least. Once only at most.

Rating:

Readable At Least. Once Only At Most.

In a Heartbeat by Elizabeth Adler

  I originally thought the book would be long on romance and short on story. It was a little longer on story than I expected and about as long on romance as I thought. Ms. Adler's book isn't strictly a romance only novel. It is, more correctly, a romantic thriller. A mediocre romantic thriller. 

Overall Opinion:

Readable at least. Once only at most.

Rating:

Readable At Least. Once Only At Most.