Not If I Save You First - Ally Carter

Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maddie's father is a secret service agent and her best friend is the president's son. All seems good until there's a threat and Maddie's father relocates them to Alaska. However, trouble follows eventually.

I enjoyed the character of Maddie. She was equal parts girly and grit. And I really liked the story until towards the end. As it got closer to the end, I'm not sure if I was rushing to read and missed things. If it was because the formatting on the ebook I was reading got wonky. Or if the writing just got sloppy. But there were many things that just didn't make sense as things were supposed to be coming together instead. Without that, this probably would have been a 4 or 4.5 star book for me.

It was also a very clean book for YA, which I always appreciate. There was some violence, but it wasn't gruesome or graphic at all.

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Tolkien & C.S Lewis: The Gift of Friendship - Colin Duriez

Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of a Friendship by Colin Duriez
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

For me, this books subtitle is misleading. The majority of the book has nothing to do with the friendship of Tolkien and Lewis. In fact, the information in the books indicates they were co-workers and writing at the same time/sounding boards at times for each other but not "friends" in that they weren't really involved in each other's lives outside of the college and writing.

So much of the book had nothing to do with the interactions between Lewis and Tolkien. There was back story on a bunch of other people - including what they thought and said and wrote about L & T and their writings. There were lengthy summaries of many of L & T's works (with spoilers included if you haven't read them). There was some philosophy and theology (and not just as related to their beliefs and/or works) thrown in.

The book's structure was lacking as well. It was confusingly organized at times, despite there being dates on the chapter headings. Some places there were a ton of dates and others none at all. Even within those dates, the author jumped back and forth and all around. It had a lot of redundancies as well.

You don't even get any "friendship" information unti around Chapter 5 (page count in the 80's). That in addition to all the randomness had me skimming pages at a time. So much skimming I almost feel bad marking it as "read."

If you're looking for a wonderful book covering the friendship between these two great authors, keep looking. And then come back and comment when you've found one so I can check it out. :)

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That Churchill Woman - Stephanie Barron

That Churchill Woman by Stephanie Barron
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This historical fiction novel draws on letters and other (auto)biographies to paint a fuller picture of Lady Randolph Churchill - an American by the name of Jennie Jerome.

I've honestly never thought about Winston Churchill's mother despite me interest in him as a person and politician. I certainly never realized she had such a reputation in her time. She certainly was a strong women of her time and knew how to stand on her own. Yet she also had a fiercely loyal streak. It was interesting.

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Black Elk Speaks - John G. Neihardt & Black Elk

Black Elk Speaks by Black Elk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the story of Black Elk as told by John G. Neihardt. It's the "as told by" that knocks my rating down from 5 stars. According to the notes in the appendix (which I was grateful for), Neihardt took quite a bit of poetic license in extrapolating what he thought Black Elk meant by what he said or felt at various times.

Black Elk lived from 1863 to 1950, although this book wraps up shortly after the Indian Wars were concluded (read: the US government and people got their way and most of the native lands). Black Elk was a medicine man and holy man of the Oglala Lakota tribe. He was cousin to Crazy Horse. This is his experience woven through the background of the greater Native experience.

Again, I'm aghast at all of this being skipped in history teaching in our schools.

This book was readable. It did have several prefaces and introductions. And oh so many appendices. Honestly, I skimmed some of those.

A valuable read for anyone.

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Unleashing Mr. Darcy - Teri Wilson

Unleashing Mr. Darcy by Teri Wilson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A modern retelling of P&P, set in the world of dog shows.

I loved the references and even quotes from P&P dropped in. The story was fun, overall. Although clearly I don't know about dog shows much. It seemed like there were the same judges for the same dogs at each show. So is it really necessary to give them such examination? I don't know.

Towards the end there was a section that got quite steamy. Which I didn't expect after having read The Accidental Beauty Queen (my introduction to Teri Wilson). There steam was alluded to but not detailed out like here. I skipped several pages. Without that, it probably would have been 3.5 stars.

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Rapid Reviews

I've read several books recently but not taken the time (or had the motivation) to write full blown reviews. So here are quick thoughts and ratings on those four books. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Probably a 2.5

DJ is a high school student whose life and plans are constantly derailed by her family and their milk farm's needs. When given the opportunity to train a rival football team's quarterback, DJ sees that there might be more to her than she's ever thought.

The book was written in an interesting fashion. Which makes sense once you realize why about halfway through.

It was a quick, easy read. Giving me a break from some other reading I've been doing. While it's not stellar (or even great) story telling, I'll probably finish the series. These books are perfect filler until I get out of this reading slump.

View all my reviews Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this book, David Grann tackles two huge topics in history. The Osage murders, also known as the "Reign of Terror," a multi-year span of murders connected to oil headrights that I have never heard of or learned about in any history class. And how the ensuing investigation ties into the beginning of the FBI in the US. Both stories were interesting.

Grann covers both topics well, but the FBI angle with much more detail - including the life of the FBI Agent, Tom White, who led the investigations into the Osage murders. However, some of the chapters at the end show how much more is known about the FBI than about the murders - the full extent of which probably still hasn't been discovered.

I was appalled - but at the same time not really surprised - by the extent those outside the Osage community (mainly white, let's be honest) went to in order to acquire control of the vast fortune the Osage people had due to the oil on their land. And the fact the US government was involved with the regulations requiring "guardians" to individual Osage to oversee their fortunes, not surprising either.

I'm so glad Grann has brought these atrocities to light. Again, I believe that our history instruction has done an injustice by not covering such things.

The book itself is super readable and interesting. Pictures interspersed throughout where a great addition.

View all my reviews The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book fell far short of the mark for me. The mark being the only other Moriarty book I've read, What Alice Forgot, which I loved.

In this story, a hypnotherapist (Ellen) gets entangled with the stalker (Saskia) of the guy she's dating (Patrick). It's probably a bad thing that I just finished reading the book two days ago and can't remember any of the main characters' names and had to look them up. Ellen also has an interesting relationship with her mother, friends, and pretty much everyone in her life. I mean, I can understand having a home office for your clients. However, wouldn't you want a separate client bathroom instead of them being able to rifle through all of your personal items at any time?

The book was predictable. The characters were unengaging. It was all just "meh."

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View all my reviews The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

More of the same from the first book. Nothing substantial or earth shattering. But a decent, quick read while watching my kids fish.

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The Accidental Beauty Queen - Teri Wilson

The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was just plain fun. Exactly what I needed.

Charlotte is an elementary school librarian with a beauty queen sister. When her sister has an allergic reaction, she begs Charlotte to take her place in the current pageant's preliminary round. Against her better judgement, Charlotte agrees. Realizations, growth, and love ensue.

I blew through this book. It was both easy and entertaining. There is a depth to some of the story points that the rest of the book doesn't let fall too heavily. And the book references were great.

Off to check out more of Teri Wilson's books...

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