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The Ramblers
By Aidan Donnelley Rowley
William Morrow & Company, Hardcover, 9780062413314, February 2016, 400pp.

The Short of It:

Rambling through life, two friends attempt to forget about the past with glorious New York as the backdrop.

The Rest of It:

Clio and Smith are two close friends from college. Like sisters, they’ve relied upon one another and have experienced both the good and bad that life has to offer. Now, successful and doing pretty well on their own, they’ve each found love and but no matter how comforting the idea of “love” is, they are guarded because of past hurts.

Everyone is reading this book right now and I’ll tell you why. Mostly, because of the glorious New York setting which doesn’t really get going until the last half of the novel but once you get to it, you can’t help but fall in love with the city. The other reason for its popularity, is that it’s a love story cushioned in-between some heavier issues such as mental illness. It’s not fluffy and light but I will admit that the first half had me doubting this. You really need to push through that first half to get to the good stuff.

What I liked a lot, is how the author made Clio and Smith the focus of the story and not the men in their lives. This gives them an independent edge which I think is missing in a lot of stories where love is the central focus. These two women have experienced loss and although hurt, they are cautious and yes, hopeful that there is something better just around the corner.

Final thoughts? The first half and the second half could have been more balanced, but if you stay with it, I think you will find it to be an enjoyable read.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Invaders
By Karolina Waclawiak
Regan Arts, Hardcover, 9781941393291, July 2015, 240pp.

The Short of It:

No calm water here. This beach-front community is on the verge of ruin and the frenetic energy of its characters comes bursting out in strange and unusual ways.

The Rest of It:

The story revolves around the inhabitants of a country-club community located along the Connecticut shoreline. Beach-front properties, club houses, sparkling pools filled with forty-something-year-old women trying to look good for anyone who will look at them, and the disgusting tourists that force themselves upon the beach with their dirty little dogs and whiny kids. Yes, it’s a story of US versus THEM and although it’s a little strange to follow, it’s just so juicy to read.

The story is told in alternating points of view between Cheryl and her adult stepson, Teddy. Cheryl is married to Teddy’s father Jeffrey. Cheryl is Jeffrey’s second wife. Although she was a trophy wife when she first moved in, ten years has aged her and her relationship with Jeffrey is hardly a relationship at all. With him gone all the time for work, Cheryl spends her days gardening, taking long walks and paying far too much attention to what is going on in the so-called community.

Teddy, is Cheryl’s adult stepson who returns home after getting booted out of college. He’s hooked on painkillers, sex and seems intent on making poor choices but there’s a sadness to Teddy that you can’t ignore and when he and Cheryl begin to fall apart at the same time but in totally different ways, it’s impossible to know what will happen.

The Invaders puts you right in the middle of the story. I could smell the sea air, hear the water splashing and feel the tension of that tight-knit community along with all of its airs and affluence and yes, sadness. There is much sadness in-between these pages. There’s also, a rawness to the story that leaves you a little off kilter.

It’s hard to like anyone in this novel. Everyone is stripped down and flayed bare but the complexities between the characters and the struggles they have within their own lives is what makes them so interesting.

I’ve never read a book that I liked and hated as much as this one. I’d flip a page and hate it and then I’d read a paragraph and love it again. I kept going back and forth like that throughout the entire book! In the end, I think I’m safe in saying that it impressed me but that ending! Boy!

This book may have a beach setting but it’s not a lighthearted read. It’s filled with desperate people who really just want to be loved. It’s dreadful but at the same time, so good.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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