The Personal History of Rachel DuPree
By Ann Weisgarber
(Penguin (Non-Classics), Paperback, 9780143119487, 336pp.)

The Short of It:

The parched, barren landscape of the Badlands is a constant reminder of what was in this harrowing tale of black Pioneers in the early 20th century.

The Rest of It:

This is a hard place. Hard to take, hard to like.

Rachel, a cook at a boardinghouse falls in love with Isaac, the boardinghouse owner’s son. Isaac wants to claim land under the Homestead Act and when Rachel offers to keep house for him in return for marriage, Isaac agrees, but only if Rachel will sign over her share of land. Seeing that they both have something to gain from the relationship, they agree to marry for a year on a trial basis.

Fourteen years later, Rachel is pregnant with their fifth child and struggling to keep food on the table. Isaac, continues to work deals to increase his land hold, but the supplies are dwindling and there is no water to be found as they are living through one of the worst droughts ever.

Rachel’s story is, without a doubt, a story of hardship, survival and courage. She is an amazingly strong woman and although her sense of loyalty is admirable, she is not naive. No, that is the one thing she most certainly is not. As the harshness of the environment continues to take its toll, Rachel ponders what it means to be a rancher’s wife and what it will mean for her daughters down the line.

Books like this one, take you outside of what you know and allow you to experience a different lifestyle from the comfort of your own home. To say that this book grabbed me from its opening pages and held on to me throughout, would be an understatement. It was a quick, riveting read and gave me a lots to think about. I highly recommend it.

If you live within the US or Canada and would like a chance to win a copy of your own, click HERE. Giveaway ends on November 20, 2011 (Pacific).

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via TLC Book Tours. Giveaway copy provided by the publisher.

To view the other tour stops, click here.

Disclosure: This post contains  IndieBound affiliate links.

Domestic Violets
By Matthew Norman
(Harper Perennial, Paperback, 9780062065117, August 2011, 352pp.)

The Short of It:

Domesticity gone wild!

The Rest of It:

Tom Violet is your typical office dweller. Unsatisfied with his job, he takes great pleasure in deconstructing the ridiculousness around him. But times are tough and the economy has tanked and with a wife and daughter to support, he’s glad to have a job. His real dream though is to be a writer. In fact he has written a secret novel, but with his own father just winning the Pulitzer, he’s hesitant to share his work. Struggling to get through the day-to-day, he finds himself attracted to a co-worker which further complicates things.

Domestic Violets is a jewel of a book. It’s funny, well written and honest. The characters are wonderfully developed and genuine.  What I liked most about this book is that the development of the characters seemed effortless. Sometimes, when a book is humorous, even when discussing serious topics, the characters can be a bit “in your face” and obvious and that was not the case here. In each character, there existed a vulnerability; a sweet dose of self-doubt that made these characters very likable.

Although there was one moment were I questioned the self-deprecating humor, in the end I found myself loving Tom Violet. He may be the guy who throws paper airplanes your way when the board meeting goes stale, but he’s a good guy. The kind of guy you want as a husband or a father. I thoroughly enjoyed following him around for 350+ pages and was a little sad when I finished reading it.

In summary, Domestic Violets is a book that will appeal to many readers, young, old, employed or not!

If any of this sounds appealing to you,  enter to win your own copy ! Details below.

To view Matthew’s other TLC tour stops, click here.

To visit his blog, click here.

He just created a fan page on Facebook! Click here to visit.

Source: Review and giveaway copy provided to me by the publisher via TLC Book Tours.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

This giveaway is for one copy of Domestic Violets and is open to the US and Canada. A winner will be chosen randomly by me. The book will come directly from me. Only one entry per person.  Giveaway closes on August 26, 2011 (pacific). I will contact the winner for his/her mailing address.

This giveaway is now closed!

The London Train
By Tessa Hadley
(Harper Perennial, Paperback, 9780062011831, June 2011, 352pp.)

The Short of It:

Understated, quiet and lovely.

The Rest of It:

Paul and his second wife Elise have had issues in the past, but at the moment, they seem to be doing well. That is, until he leaves her to live with his pregnant daughter in a ramshackle flat with a couple of strangers. While Paul struggles to find his place in this new arrangement, Cora finds herself utterly conflicted over her recent separation from her husband Robert. The two stories intersect to create a new dynamic that force these characters to face life, head on.

This is a book of moments. As a whole, it’s very quiet and simple but there are moments within it that beg to be reread, or even read out loud. There is a lilting, pleasing tone to the writing that I found quite enjoyable. Although at first glance nothing much happens, as this is not a plot-driven novel, there is a lot that happens within the characters. Revelations. Realizations. Understanding.

Once, Cora had believed that living had built a cumulative bank of memories, thickening and deepening as time went on, shoring you against emptiness. She had used to treasure up relics from every phase of her life as it passed, as if they were holy. Now that seemed to her a falsely consoling model of experience. The present was always paramount, in a way that thrust you forward: empty, but also free.

Readers who enjoy reflection and contemplative musing will truly appreciate this novel. The writing was lovely and it left me with a deep sense of peace. The London Train was longlisted for the Orange Prize but didn’t make the shortlist. A real shame if you ask me.

To view Ms. Hadley’s other tours stops, click here.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via TLC Book Tours.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Ordinary Thunderstorms
By William Boyd
(Harper Perennial, Paperback, 9780061876752, February 2011, 432pp.)

The Short of It:

Ordinary Thunderstorms is anything but ordinary, yet it wasn’t at all what I expected it to be. I guess you could say that it caught me completely off-guard.

The Rest of It:

Adam Kindred is at the wrong place, at the wrong time and stupidly removes a knife from the side of a dying man. In a panic, he flees and takes to the streets to become a transient, begging for change. As the story unfolds, all of the complexities of what’s happened and what he’s done comes to a head. He’s lost everything and yet, he doesn’t seem to care. As the story unfolds, and the reasons for what’s happened come to light, he sets out to flush out the bad guys.

When this book came out in hardback, I added it to my to-read list because I had read an article where Stephen King said it was one of the best books he’s ever come across. I was intrigued by this for many reasons. First off, I adore King’s writing. Second, King’s opinion of what’s good can only be interesting, right? Well, I can’t speak for King, but what fascinates me about Ordinary Thunderstorms is Adam’s innate ability to adapt to the situation. In a split second he decides to give up the life he’s known with very little remorse. Stripped of his worldly possessions, he makes do with the basics and remarkably, seems happy…not at all devastated at what he’s lost. This aspect of the story intrigued me.

As a transient, he meets various people who unknowingly assist him in his desire to remain invisible. Mhouse, a prostitute with whom he lives for a very short while, her son, Ly-on, whom Adam takes a deep liking to, and various other folks he comes across including a Marine cop whom he ends up sleeping with. But, these encounters are brief and although they exist to prove that there is another side to Adam, the side that comes to the surface is not one that I particularly liked.

In the midst of all of this running, Boyd uses his novel to make a statement about big pharmaceuticals and the effect that they have upon society as a whole and Adam is right smack in the middle of it.

I thought this novel would be suspenseful and that Adam would come full circle in his discovery of who he is, but I’m not sure he ever figures that out and although parts of it were suspenseful and fast paced, much of it left a sour taste in my mouth. Had Boyd focused on one aspect of the novel, I think it would have had a bigger impact on me, but instead he dabbles in a little bit of everything in his attempt to cover it all which leaves some things underexplored.

As a suspense tale, there isn’t any big pay-off. There is, but there isn’t. Meaning, it’s not as satisfying as it should be and as an internal look at the human psyche, well, that’s less than satisfying too. Ordinary Thunderstorms is a message cushioned between the pages of what could have been a great, suspenseful read, but instead ends up being just the shell of what could have been. 

To visit William’s website, click here.

To view William’s other TLC tour stops, click here.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via TLC Book Tours.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

The Four Ms. Bradwells
By Meg Waite Clayton
(Ballantine Books, Hardcover, 9780345517081, March 2011, 336pp.)

The Short of It:

A pending Supreme Court appointment and a secret which could ruin it all. How much are friends willing to sacrifice in order to keep things under wraps?

The Rest of It:

Lainey, Mia, Betts and Ginger have been friends since their days at the University of Michigan. While studying law, their teacher aptly nicknames them “the Ms. Bradwells” after discussing a case where a woman was not allowed to be appointed to the Court.

Several years later, many of them have families of their own yet they still remain the best of friends. Betts is about to be appointed to the Supreme Court and as she completes the interview portion of the appointment, a secret from the past threatens to surface. The four women decide to spend the weekend at Ginger’s family home on Chesapeake Bay to discuss their options and to avoid the media.

There are many things that I enjoyed about this book. The story centers around four, very strong women. I found this refreshing. Usually when reading a book like this, I get frustrated with the women because they are too timid or weak. I never felt this way while reading this one.

I also enjoyed the setting quite a bit. A beach house on Chesapeake Bay is pretty perfect no matter how you cut it and Ms. Clayton does a wonderful job describing the house and its immediate surroundings. I also enjoyed the closeness of these women. Sometimes the interactions between women can seem forced, but I did not get that here. There was the closeness I mentioned, but also a realistic tension to the characters that made them seem real.

However, I did have some issues with the book. This is where the setting sort of worked against the story. Once they got to the house, the only things really discussed were things that happened on the Bay. Through flashbacks we’re given the rest of the story but as a reader, in order for me to really understand how these women think, I needed to know more about their lives prior to becoming “The Bradwells” and unfortunately, there wasn’t much said about their lives prior to college.

As for the secret, it was sort of anti-climactic and a bit predictable. Since I don’t classify this as a mystery, I didn’t expect there to be a big reveal or anything, but it seemed rather abrupt in the telling.

Overall, the book read like a play to me. It was pretty much confined to the one setting and although I loved the setting, I think it stole the show a bit.

But, if you are intrigued with the setting and enjoy reading books with smart female characters, enter to win your own copy. Details below.

To visit Meg’s website, click here.

To visit her blog, go here.

To follow her on Twiiter, @megwclayton.

To follow her on Facebook, go here.

To view Meg’s other TLC tour stops, click here.

Source: Review and giveaway copy provided to me by the publisher via TLC Book Tours.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

This giveaway is for one copy of The Four Ms. Bradwells and is open to the US and Canada. A winner will be chosen randomly by me. The book will come directly from the publisher. Only one entry per person.  Giveaway closes on April 22, 2011 (pacific). I will contact the winner for his/her mailing address.

To enter the giveaway, please click here. (This giveaway has closed! Thanks!)