The Readers Block

Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir My rating: 3 of 5 stars I love all things Tudor, I love Alison Weir, but I could only like Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen. I think maybe it's because not much is known about the person Jane, and in this book Alison Weir has tried to give her some life and depth, but she seems to spend a little too much time in the shadow of Anne Boleyn. I do like how Jane's conscience comes into play, but I wonder if in reality she even gave the sequence of events that much thought... Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title for review. View all my reviews

The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh My rating: 4 of 5 stars Grace, Lia and Sky are three sisters whose parents have taken them away from civilization to live on an island after a strange plague has hit. The sickness is especially dangerous to women, causing severe symptoms and seems to cause men to become more aggressive towards the opposite sex, while not making them ill at all. Raised by the mother and their father, King, in safety and seclusion, the girls are put through "therapies" to teach them how to survive, and rid them of any toxins from the outside world. When King dies, the girl's survival instincts and training are put to the test, and what follows is a dark and haunting story that leaves you with just the right amount of questions... This may be my favorite read so far this year... Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book for review! View all my reviews

The Emperor of Shoes by Spencer Wise My rating: 4 of 5 stars For all of Alex Cohen's life, he's been taught what it means to be a Cohain. He hears of The Sacrifices his father and grandfather have made to build the family's shoe business from nothing, especially how his father gave up everything, including his wife and family, to make the company successful when he sees an opportunity to move the factory to China. A passive, seemingly disinterested twenty-six year old Jewish kid from Boston, Alex has just signed the paperwork to begin taking the reins from his father when he meets and falls for Ivy, a migrant factory worker who lives in the factory dorms. Through Alex and Ivy's relationship, we see the unfairness and abuse suffered by these workers, and Alex has to come to terms with the fact that his father has turned a blind eye to it all for the sake of profit. Ivy helps to open Alex's eyes to the state of her world as a Chinese factory worker and citizen, fo

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was given the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book by Penguin's First to Read program, and I must say I am grateful. I remember seeing small clips of the war in Rwanda here and there on the news in 1994, and thinking, "Why isn't anyone helping? Why aren't we helping???" All these years later, I still don't understand why the world just sat back and did nothing. I can't imagine what Clemantine and Claire went through to survive- even after reading their story, but I am thankful they are here to tell it. I have hope that one day we will live in a world where we will never have to ask why again, where people will have learned from stories like Clemantine's and Claire's, and Elie's and just make all the hate stop. View all my reviews

Every Note Played by Lisa Genova My rating: 4 of 5 stars My thanks to Netgalley, Scout Publishing, and Lisa Genova for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I thought I had an idea of what having ALS meant, I mean, who hasn't heard of Stephen Hawking? Reading this book has shown me I knew nothing about this horrible disease and what it means to live with it. The medical descriptions of the attacks on the body, and the quickness with which it robs its victims of their quality of life, are just devastating. This is another heart-wrenching, well written novel by an author who has definitely opened my eyes and heart and given me a little more understanding of the struggles, hopes, and realities of the families dealing with diseases like this. I just can't find the words to express the feelings I got while reading this. *I wrote this review before Mr. Hawking's passing, and would like to express my condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. His life wit

Any one who knows me knows that if I am not reading, I am crocheting. I love to crochet. As a beginner/intermediate level 'hooker" I am always looking for clearly written patterns that I can learn from. This book is great! There are plenty of patterns for circles, squares and projects, all clearly written out and illustrated with graphs. There is a glossary of stitches and terms, so if you are unsure of what is being asked, help is there! I've sampled a few patterns so far, and haven't had any problems. In fact, following a graph has always been a problem for me, but with this book, I've been able to decipher them and work strictly with the graph. Thank you, Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, and many thanks to Sandra Eng! I will definitely recommend it to all my crochet groups and friends!