The Night the Lights Went Out

By: Karen White
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pages: 418

Amazon Barnes & Noble

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Recently divorced, Merilee Talbot Dunlap moves with her two children to the Atlanta suburb of Sweet Apple, Georgia. It s not her first time starting over, but her efforts at a new beginning aren't helped by an anonymous local blog that dishes about the scandalous events that caused her marriage to fail. 

Merilee finds some measure of peace in the cottage she is renting from town matriarch Sugar Prescott. Though stubborn and irascible, Sugar sees something of herself in Merilee something that allows her to open up about her own colorful past. 

Sugar's stories give Merilee a different perspective on the town and its wealthy school moms in their tennis whites and shiny SUVs, and even on her new friendship with Heather Blackford. Merilee is charmed by the glamorous young mother's seemingly perfect life and finds herself drawn into Heather's world. 

In a town like Sweet Apple, where sins and secrets are as likely to be found behind the walls of gated mansions as in the dark woods surrounding Merilee's house, appearance is everything. But just how dangerous that deception can be will shock all three women....

                                                              First Impressions

This cover is so cute! It looks like a book I would pick up for a summer beach/pool read. The summary also sounded cute and I knew I had to read this one. I’m a bit of a sucker for southern stories.

                                                                What I thought

I’m a bit torn on my thoughts for this one!

The story starts with Merilee Dunlap divorcing her husband after he cheated on her. She and their two children move into a small cabin on the property of Sugar Prescott, a 93 year old woman. Sugar’s family pretty much owned the entire town of Sweet Apple Georgia at one point in time, but over the years her brothers sold of acre by acre. Both women have difficult pasts with secrets that they hold close, yet this is exactly what brings them together.

I don’t know what’s been going on, but lately every book I read has a twist super late in the book that completely changes the type of book I thought I was reading. Because of that, I think my reaction to this book might have been a bit more negative than if I had read this after a few different types of books.

The first 75% of the book is a nice, light story of a recently divorced woman trying to find her way, and an elderly woman finding herself again. In amongst that, there is also an anonymous blogger who is commenting on the behaviors of the community. After the divorce, Merilee enrolled her children at a new school and because of that, begins to make new friends with some of the parents. Of course, there is one Queen Bee of the mother’s and that is Heather. I did have issues with this storyline. It was very obvious that while Heather seemed so nice, it was going to come and bite Merilee in the butt. Because of that, I felt anxious the entire time I was reading and that was not enjoyable.

I also really liked Sugar, Wade, and Merilee’s children. Really, the only characters I didn’t like were the ones we weren’t supposed to. Sugar’s own story that slowly unfurled as the book went on was interesting. I liked getting to know what made Sugar who she was and how her problems were similar to ones that Merilee dealt with.

At about the three quarter mark, the tone of this novel totally changes. I thought that I had picked up a book that was a contemporary novel or a “women’s fiction” but it then changed to a thriller. I had a bit of whiplash from the change that the book made. This is the part that makes me torn. While I enjoyed both parts of the story, they just didn’t make much sense together. It was a drastic change and I’m still recovering from it.

One final thing I liked about this book was the overall message that it gave. The entire novel touched on the subject of bullying in different ways. I liked that while there was an overarching theme with a positive message, it didn’t feel preachy or like it was shoved down my throat.

This book is definitely a 3.5 for me. I can’t pick between rating it a 3 or a 4 and I have even changed my rating on Goodreads a few times because of that. The story was very enjoyable and I finished it quickly because of that. I loved the setting and the characters and I would recommend it to anyone who likes Southern family stories with a bit of romance. But the final quarter of the book just threw me for a bit of a loop. I kind of felt like the rug was pulled out from under me and I wasn’t crazy about it. Like I mentioned, it might be because the past 3 books I’ve read have done that to me as well, but it didn’t leave me with a good taste in my mouth. In the end though, I would recommend this book and I look forward to continuing to read White’s books. 

The Bear & The Nightingale

By: Katherine Arden
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Del Rey
Pages: 322

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.
                         
                                                            First Impressions

While looking through some of the Debut Author books for this year to complete the challenge, this cover immediately stood out to me. I think that the cover looks so warm and cozy yet mysterious and therefore maybe a little nerve wracking. When I read the summary I was immediately intrigued. I have never read a book like this one before, so I knew this was going to be added to be one of the debut books I read for my challenge.

                                                              What I thought

This book is so beautifully written.

Vasya is a young child in old Russia with the gift of sight. She is able to see the spirits that guard her house and the woods and doesn’t really think anything of it. Her new step-mother also has the sight and is convinced that she is mad and is seeing demons. Since Vasya can also see these demons, the step-mother is convinced that Vasya is a demon as well. When a new priest comes to the town, he takes it upon himself to save the village from these “demons.” However, when the villagers stop sacrificing to the old spirits, things start going wrong.

Arden does such a great job at writing about old Russia. The world is so vivid and I really felt as though I was a part of it. Like old school Russian authors, the book is very heavily written, but not in a bad way. It just took me a while to get through because it’s not a book that is packed with action on every page, but every page is interesting.

I do think there were parts where the book moved a bit slowly and I wished that it had gotten more to the point, but every part of the book was written so well that it didn’t irritate me. I was a bit annoyed at the fact that two of Vasya’s siblings were a big part of the early book and then pretty much completely disappeared. I thought we would get more of them back as she grew up, but they were barely mentioned.

Interestingly enough, my brother and I had a conversation while I was reading this book (that didn’t come up because I was reading this book) about what if the reason the world is falling apart is because people stopped praying to the Greek Gods, for example. This book is the perfect look into that theory and because of that, I found it even more interesting. 

If you are looking for a unique young adult novel that is not about romance or friendship, this would be it. While it has a bit of a fantasy element to it, it is done in an old school fairy tale kind of way. This isn’t about a bold heroine that is trying to save the world, but she ends up having to kind of do that anyway. It is unlike any book that I’ve read before, and it was so good. I will warn that it is a bit slow, so I wouldn’t be discouraged if you feel like it’s taking you a while to read. I am looking forward to more novels by Arden for sure!
 

My Last Lament

By: James William Brown
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Berley Books
Pages: 352

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A poignant and evocative novel of one Greek woman's story of her own and her nation's epic struggle in the aftermath of World War II.

Aliki is one of the last of her kind, a lamenter who mourns and celebrates the passing of life. She is part of an evolving Greece, one moving steadily away from its rural traditions. To capture the fading folk art of lamenting, an American researcher asks Aliki to record her laments, but in response, Aliki sings her own story...

It begins in a village in northeast Greece, where Aliki witnesses the occupying Nazi soldiers execute her father for stealing squash. Taken in by her friend Takis's mother, Aliki is joined by a Jewish refugee and her son, Stelios. When the village is torched and its people massacred, Aliki, Takis and Stelios are able to escape just as the war is ending.

Fleeing across the chaotic landscape of a post-war Greece, the three become a makeshift family. They are bound by friendship and grief, but torn apart by betrayal, madness and heartbreak.

Through Aliki's powerful voice, an unforgettable one that blends light and dark with wry humor, My Last Lament delivers a fitting eulogy to a way of life and provides a vivid portrait of a timeless Greek woman, whose story of love and loss is an eternal one.

                                                  First Impressions

The line in the description that compared this book to All the Light We Cannot See was what sold me on it. I loved All the Light and have also found myself really enjoying WW2 historical fiction so I was looking forward to this book. Also, the cover is beautiful! Definitely one I would’ve picked up off the shelf based on cover alone.

                                                    What I thought

This book was so interesting!

The story of My Last Lament is told by Aliki from present day. She is an old woman who is the last lamenter in her village (a lamenter being someone who sings special songs when people die) and she was contacted by a university student about her laments. Instead of using the cassettes to record her laments, she decides to record her life story during the end of WW2 and the beginning of the Greek civil war.

The beginning of this book was a little bit hard to get into just based on the writing style. I didn’t like that Aliki was very obviously talking into a cassette. I almost felt as though I was reading a transcript of a recording and it took me out of the story. Luckily, this doesn’t happen often so I was able to get over it.

A lot of the books that I’ve read that have taken place during WW2 have been in the US, the UK, and a few in France. I was curious when I found that this one was going to take place in Greece, not just because I haven’t read a WW2 novel that’s taken place in Greece, but I don’t think I’ve read any novels set in Greece. It was a bit of a history lesson as well, since the story starts towards the end of WW2 but there is still so much war occurring. I didn’t realize that they had a civil war immediately following WW2. It was really interesting to learn more about what was happening in Greece during the late 1940s.

The three main characters, Aliki, Takis, and Stelios were very interesting. I liked the way that they interacted with each other and how they each had their own problems, even though the only point of view we received was from Aliki. Three young adults/children are thrust into the world thanks to the war and the story follows them through their ups and downs as they try to find their place. This story is a bit unique in two respects; the first being that the main characters are so young and the second being that it mostly takes place in post WW2 but in a country still war torn.

The writing for this book is really nice. I felt like I was reading a bit of a classic story but not in an overly complicated way. I think that it was more the style of the writing than the writing itself that gave me his feeling. I finished this book relatively quickly because I really wanted to know where it was going. While it wasn’t a “can’t put down” because of mystery or suspense, I couldn’t put it down because I was invested in the story.
 

This is a really nice story. I would definitely recommend it to fans of WW2 historical fiction. It is unique both in setting and in character and is very well done. The only thing that was missing a little for me was that the story is more about the journey than the events. I tend to enjoy books that are more event based or center around one specific event (hence my enjoyment of thrillers) and this one isn’t about getting to one event or the other. If you’re looking for a new historical fiction, I would highly recommend looking into this one. 
 

Where the Dead Lie

By: C.S Harris
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): London, 1813. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is no stranger to the dark side of the city, but he's never seen anything like this: the brutalized body of a 15-year-old boy dumped into a makeshift grave on the grounds of an abandoned factory. One of London's many homeless children, Benji Thatcher was abducted and tortured before his murder—and his younger sister is still missing. Few in authority care about a street urchin's fate, but Sebastian refuses to let this killer go unpunished. Uncovering a disturbing pattern of missing children, Sebastian is drawn into a shadowy, sadistic world. As he follows a grim trail that leads from the writings of the debauched Marquis de Sade to the city's most notorious brothels, he comes to a horrifying realization: Someone from society's upper echelon is preying upon the city's most vulnerable. And though dark, powerful forces are moving against him, Sebastian will risk his reputation and his life to keep more innocents from harm.

First Impressions

One of the first books I received for review was the 11th book in this series, When Falcons Fall. I enjoyed it and liked that it was a bit different from other mysteries that I had read. When I was asked if I wanted to review the next book, I was looking forward to it. Based on covers alone, however, I would not have started this series. My friend and I often refer to them as vampire romance novel covers.

What I thought

In this novel, Sebastian St. Cyr is back in London and gets involved in finding the murderer of the poor children of the streets. While it starts out with a single murder, he soon finds out that this has been going on for years and they uncover multiple bodies.

One for the differences between this book and the last one is that there are a lot more established characters. I haven’t read books 1-10, so I don’t really know anything about those established characters. I think that book 11 was easier to read without the other books than this one. There are a lot of characters in these novels and with all of their old and regal names it makes it a little difficult to keep track of who’s who.

I liked that the mystery was following a serial killer and that it was of poor kids who no one really cared about until Sebastian St Cyr cared about them. I’m not crazy about his technique for investigation. It seemed like he was wandering around aimlessly and any time that someone suggested a suspect he would go running to that person and accuse them. He didn’t often wait to find evidence and then question his suspect. I was also disappointed by the lack of action on Hero’s part in this story.

In the last novel, Hero was a big help in the investigation and I liked that there was a strong woman in a novel that took place in the 1800s. Sebastian used Hero as a partner and sounding board and her opinion mattered in the last investigation. In this one, she had her own story and wasn’t really involved with the murders at all.

I definitely preferred the last novel to this one. After the last book I wanted to go back and read the other ones, but my curiosity isn’t as piqued now. Maybe that’s because I haven’t read the previous novels and there is a lot more history in this one. If you enjoy the other books in the series, then you will enjoy this one.

Book Club April 2017

By: Roxana Robinson
Published Year: 2008
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Pages: 416

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): When Julia Lambert, an art professor, settles into her idyllic Maine house for the summer, she plans to spend the time tending her fragile relationships with her father, a repressive neurosurgeon, and her gentle mother, who is descending into Alzheimer's. But a shattering revelation intrudes: Julia's son Jack has spiraled into heroin addiction.

In an attempt to save him, Julia marshals help from her looseknit clan: elderly parents; remarried ex-husband; removed sister; and combative eldest son. Ultimately, heroin courses through the characters' lives with an impersonal and devastating energy, sweeping the family into a world in which deceit, crime, and fear are part of daily life.

                                                     What I thought

Cost follows a dysfunctional family’s struggle with addiction. The story is mostly told from the point of view of Julia, who is the mother of Jack who is the heroin addict. While that is the largest family issue, Katharine, the grandmother is fighting the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, Harriet and Julia are dealing with long seeded sister issues, and Edward, the grandfather is dealing with old age and decisions he made when he was young.

The story of Jack’s heroin addiction and how it effects his family was fascinating. I’ve never read a story that dealt so realistically with addiction. The story itself jumps from perspective to perspective, so the reader gets a chance to see how Jack’s actions effect each and every person in his family. The majority of the perspectives alternates between Jack, Edward, and Julia.

While I did overall enjoy the story, I had some issues with the writing. I felt like this book could’ve been half the length because so much of it was unnecessary to the story. For example, Harriet, Julia’s sister, has a few chapters. While the first one is interesting because it provides insight into her relationship with Julia and the rest of her family, I completely skipped some of the other parts from her perspective. They just talked about her everyday life and how it is working with animals as a veterinarian. This in no way shape or form influences the rest of the story. Those chapters really irritated me. Just way too much excess that I skipped through. I also felt this way with the story of Edward and Katharine. I enjoyed learning about Edward’s life and career, but it was a totally different story. It had nothing to do with Jack and his addicition (with the exception of explaining the family dynamics with him and his daughter), and there was so much of it. I bet there could have been a second book just focused on Edward’s and Katharine. Especially since their story didn’t even feel conclusive in this book.

Another writing issue that I had was the length of descriptions. There were pages upon pages of descriptions that, again, had no real point in moving the story forward. Again, I skipped over these parts. The final writing issue I had was that there were certain phrases that were used over, and over, and over again. This repetition was irritating and often pulled me out of the story.

Overall, I think that the way this book deals with heroin addiction and how it impacts the family members of the addict is interesting and that in and of itself makes it worth reading. The writing (or maybe the editing?) is average at times and I will not be checking out more books from Robinson in the future.
           
                                                  What Book Club Thought


Book Club did NOT like this book. I guess the one positive is that those types of books always provide good discussion? I was actually the one who had the least amount of dislike towards the book. Two of the members didn't even finish because they didn't like it. A lot of the complaints were similar to what I listed above. The writing was a big issue for all of us. I think the general consensus was that we wanted this story to be so much more and it was just a lot of extra that didn't contribute to the core of the story. Basically, this book would not be recommended by our book club. The summary made us feel like it had such good intentions but it really missed the mark. 

Next Book Club Book
All the Missing Girls By: Megan Miranda
Amazon

Mini-Review: Ballerina Body: Dancing, & Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger, and More Graceful You

By: Misty Copeland
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Grand Central Life & Style
Pages: 240

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Misty Copeland believes "There has been a shift in recent years in which women no longer desire the bare bones of a runway model. Standards have changed: what women do want is a long, toned, powerful body with excellent posture." In other words, the body of a ballerina. In her first health and fitness book, Misty will show women how to find the motivation to get healthier and stronger, and how to reshape their bodies to be lean and flexible, with step-by-step advice, meal plans, workout routines, and words of inspiration. Celebrating the importance of healthy fats and a fitness regimen based on ballet exercises, Misty shares her own time-tested exercises and an eating plan focusing on healthy fats, both of which keep her in top shape. Tips for motivation and words of encouragement as well as tips on how to keep going even when you may want to give up. An inspiring section on the importance of finding mentors, and eventually being one, plus excerpts from Misty's personal journal, round out this important book on grace and strength

This review is going to be a little bit different from my typical reviews. This book isn’t exactly a sit down and read from cover to cover, but I still wanted to do a little review.

Misty Copeland is American Ballet Theater’s first African American Principle dancer. She is truly a gifted ballerina and is an inspiration to little girls everywhere not just because of her race but because of her body type. She previously had written an autobiography which I read and enjoyed. This book on the other hand is more of a lifestyle/recipe book.

In addition to recipes, this book includes stretches and exercises to help work your way to a healthy/ballet body. I skimmed through most of them and while the directions are decent, I do wish there were more pictures. Following written exercise directions is a bit difficult.

This book also includes a 21-day eating plan. The recipes in this book coordinate with the meals that she recommends reading. I’m not sure whether this eating plan is one that was created for her by a nutritionist, or if it came from something else, but it seems pretty doable.

Overall, this book is unique and if you’re a dancer or are health conscious and interested in dancer techniques, I would highly recommend checking this out. Like I said before, I didn’t read it from cover to cover, but after a quick skim it seems solid. I’m planning on passing it on to a few of my friends who I know enjoy these type of lifestyle books. 
 

Play! By Sephora March 2017

Play! By Sephora is a monthly subscription box by Sephora. It costs $10 a month and you received 5 beauty and skincare samples plus a perfume sample each month. Previously, you needed to put yourself onto a wait-list and wait to receive an email before you could subscribe, as they were rolling it out to limited quantities.

In addition to the products, Sephora includes a booklet that includes information about the product, the brand, and then tips of how to use the products. Also at the back of the book is a Play! PASS. This Pass gives you a complimentary one-on-one session with a Sephora artist as well as an extra 50 Beauty Insider points when you scan the pass at the register with any purchase. If you have the Sephora app, you can also scan the images of the products to learn more about them.

When the subscription first started, it seemed as though everyone received the same box. Lately, it seems as though they have a handful of box varieties that everyone receives based on the survey you fill out at the beginning and their theme. This month’s theme is The Glam Team.

As a heads up, the boxes are a little bit larger and will not fit into a small apartment sized mailbox. For reference, a Birchbox box is able to fit almost perfectly into my mailbox, but this one has no chance. Therefore, I’ve started having it shipped to my parent’s house so I don’t have to go to the Post Office.

This month the products I received were as follows:

GlamGlow Gloswstarter Mega Illuminating Moisturizer (Full-size $49)

I’ve tried a few of the GlamGlow masks before, but I haven’t tried their moisturizers. This moisturizer is slightly tinted with a pearl effect that is meant to give your skin a healthy glow. It also is made with hyaluronic acid, vitamins, and green tea to energize skin and help reduce redness. I’m curious to see how it sits on my skin. Will it make me look sweaty? Or just give a healthy glow? Will the tint make me too pale? So many questions!

Josie Maran Surreal Skin Argan Finishing Balm (Full-size $36)

When I first saw this product, I asked myself “what is a finishing balm?” I have never heard of this type of product but I didn’t know what it’s for. Apparently, it is a bit like a makeup primer but it can also be put on top of your makeup to create a smooth finish. I don’t know if I would put it on top of my makeup, but I’m curious to see how it works as a primer. Again, it has a pearlized finish that you can see in the tub. The product is white but has some pink iridescence. I’m not crazy about the scent, which is a bit medicinal, but hopefully it won’t linger on the skin.

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal (Full-size $41)

Becca is the queen of highlighting products. I have always wanted to try these infamous products but since they’re so expensive, I’ve only ever tried them in store. This highlighter is a very pretty pinky/nude color and the shimmer is strong! I am so excited to use this. While I wouldn’t add it on top of the other products from this box (as it might be too much shimmer), I have a wedding coming up that this is going to be perfect for!

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Big Bang Metallic Finish (Full-size $17)

This lipstick is a beautiful fuschia shade that is packed with glitter. While the color itself is 100% up my alley, the glitter is a bit much. Now, if I was 21 and going out partying every night I would rock this lipstick hard! However, in my current life style it’s going to be hard to find moments to use this. I will say that the formula is surprisingly comfortable with no graininess. The glitter (not surprisingly) has major staying power, even after I wiped the lipstick off. 

Vice Ghost Oil (Full-size $14)

This hair oil is made up of moringa seed oil, bamboo extract, vitamin F, and hydrolyzed soy protein. It is meant to moisturize, detangle, strengthen, and smooth hair. It is also said to help reduce frizz. It smells similar to other hair oils with that yummy warm scent. I’m curious to see how it works on my frizz since I’ve seen a lot of oils that just end up making my hair look greasy without taking away frizz.

Atelier Cologne in Clementine California (Full-size $75-195)

Atelier Cologne is a perfume brand that has been around for a long time and is known to create scents that are strong, long-lasting, and fresh. Their scents are also all non-gender specific which is nice. With the two samples that I have used, I will say that they are quite possible the strongest and most long-lasting scents I have ever tried. This particular scent has notes of clementine, mandarin, juniper berries, star anise, Sichuan pepper, basilica, vetiver, sandalwood, and cypress. I think that citrus notes are very strong but the pepper and sandalwood give it a nice balance with warmth. While I enjoyed the scent, my husband thought that it smelled like soap.

After the last few boxes leaving me feeling a little meh, this one knocked it out of the park! I am so excited to try all of these products. While I think they could’ve balanced the glow a little more with items that could work together a little better, I love each one individually and am excited to use them.

Book Club March 2017

This month was my book club choice. I’ve been wanting to read The Life intended for at least a year but haven’t gotten around to it. I figured by choosing to read it for book club that it would push me to read it.

By: Kristin Harmel
Published Year: 2014
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 341

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): After her husband's sudden death over ten years ago, Kate Waithman never expected to be lucky enough to find another love of her life. But now she's planning her second walk down the aisle to a perfectly nice man. So why isn't she more excited?

At first, Kate blames her lack of sleep on stress. But when she starts seeing Patrick, her late husband, in her dreams, she begins to wonder if she's really ready to move on. Is Patrick trying to tell her something? Attempting to navigate between dreams and reality, Kate must uncover her husband's hidden message. Her quest leads her to a sign language class and into the New York City foster system, where she finds rewards greater than she could have imagined. 

                                               What I thought

Kate’s first husband died suddenly at the age of 29. 12 years later, Kate becomes engaged. The night of her engagement, she has a realistic dream wherein her first husband never died. The dream takes place in present day, showing Kate an alternative timeline as to where he life would be if she had never lost her first husband. What she sees in this dream carries over to her everyday life.

I finished this book in two days. I loved Kate’s story. I’m trying to write this review without giving much away, which is making it kind of difficult. Kate lost her soulmate at the age of 28 and her entire life fell apart. Since Patrick’s death, she has been coasting through her life. She is in a long-term relationship and she is a successful music therapist, but she still mourns for Patrick every day.

I enjoyed how the story showed how different characters dealt with the death of a spouse. Three different characters had lost their spouse, and they each moved on in different ways. While Kate was the one who had moved on the least, it felt very realistic to me.

The biggest issue that I can see people having with this book is the dream world/reality crossovers. For example, in one of the early dreams Kate cuts her finger in the dream, and then she wakes up to her finger bleeding. It’s a big part of the story as it is a catalyst for a lot of the actions and I can see it being a part that people take issue with. I personally believe that dreams can show us things that we wouldn’t see/realize in our real life. I’d also like to believe that there are people out there who have passed who are watching over us and that they can reach out to use when we need them. So while it didn’t bother me, I could see it being a problem for some readers. 


                                                      What Book Club Thought
  

Definitely an overall agreement on enjoying this book! There was also an agreement that some of the dream/real-life crossover was a bit much. I think there was a general range of how much parts of it bothered each book club member though. So, like I mentioned above, it might not be for certain readers. While it was a good book and I think we all enjoyed it, it didn't produce the greatest book club discussion. I think that was due in part to our mood (we had just taken a fencing class so we were a bit tired), but just something to think about.