Older Readers

The Alienist by Caleb Carr [Book Review]

 in Adult / Books / Fiction / Older Readers by
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.

Summary

“The year is 1896. The city is New York. Newspaper reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned by his friend Dr. Laszlo Kreizler—a psychologist, or “alienist”—to view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy abandoned on the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge. From there the two embark on a revolutionary effort in criminology: creating a psychological profile of the perpetrator based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who will kill again before their hunt is over.

Fast-paced and riveting, infused with historical detail, The Alienist conjures up Gilded Age New York, with its tenements and mansions, corrupt cops and flamboyant gangsters, shining opera houses and seamy gin mills. It is an age in which questioning society’s belief that all killers are born, not made, could have unexpected and fatal consequences.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

This was such an absolutely phenomenal read and I honestly fell in love with it within the first few pages. If you have a stronger stomach and don’t mind some graphic gore (and if you do mind it, honestly, you know it’s coming and can skim over it without losing much of the story), this is absolutely, absolutely worth the read!

Like Sherlock Holmes on Steroids

From the moment you start this book, you feel transported into this Sherlock Holmes type world. Based around 1896, you really feel as if you’re in New York City that is developing, still full of immigrants who are arriving by the day, stories of Indians and the Frontier, and just the general feelings and struggles that people faced. This was a traditional style murder mystery book but with just so much more. Carr is a master at weaving bits of history together into a story that really helps you feel as if you are joining the main characters on this journey to solve the gruesome murder of a young boy prostitute.

The world that Carr was able to weave with both the creation of the city, the language used by characters and the general scene setting really makes you feel as if you are there! The group doing the investigating had a main two – Moore and Kreizler – who definitely gave a Sherlock and Watson kind of vibe.

Graphic & Gore

Now this book, I would say, isn’t for the faint of stomach per se. The book is incredibly violent – about the murder of a young boy prostitute and is filled with detailed accounts of the state of various bodies and mutilation’s, as well as talks of gay child prostitution. There’s lots of topics and aspects of the book that are scandalous and taboo on so many levels and can make you feel a little sick to your stomach.

But, depending on your constitution and how you can handle these things and your willingness for an experience, you will have just that – an experience. You get to have similar feelings to the characters when they come across various bodies and situations – feelings of repulsion, disgust and horror. To me, this added a lot to the book and the whole experience. But to be honest, I did have moments where I had to take a breath, re-center and then push on as it was just so realistic. Think if Criminal Minds had a lovechild with Bones, Saw and Sherlock Holmes. You will kind of end up with The Alienist!

Investigation Methods & Madness Galore

You really got to see how investigations took place during the turn of the 20th century with there still being so much corruption, a lack of established methodology. You got to read about the suggestion of using fingerprinting – which was not an established method yet – and how useful it was to seeing the treatment of Alienists, also known as a psychiatrist, and how distrusted they were. It’s was a very interesting contract to modern day how it is all accepted, and seeing the struggle that Dr. Kreizler went through in his profession and throughout the investigation.

A Wild and Wonderfully Murderous Ride

This book was beyond incredible and I loved every single moment of it. I haven’t read a book this fast (within less than a week) in a very long time. I made time to read this book because I wanted to know what was going to happen next and what new turn was going to happen. There were some really amazing quotes, scenes and revelation in the book, one of my favorite being the following:

“Mrs. Piedmont unlocked the room and then we entered. The first thing that struck me was that the cats didn’t follow us in. As soon as the door opened their mewing stopped, and then they sat at the threshold, looking momentarily concerned before they shot off down the stairs. With their departure I turned to survey the chamber, and quickly caught a track of something in the air: the smell of decay.”

I am absolutely going to be checking out the TV show and if I find the time, other books be Carr as both the story and writing were superb!

Have you read The Alienist? What were your thoughts?

Happy Reading!

 

MyLibraryCardWoreOut is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way affects my opinion of the book(s) included in this post. 

the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace [Book Review]

 in Adult / Books / Older Readers by
*Header from Target

Summary

From Amanda Lovelace, a poetry collection in four parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, and you. The first three sections piece together the life of the author while the final section serves as a note to the reader. This moving book explores love, loss, grief, healing, empowerment, and inspiration.

the princess saves herself in this one is the first book in the “women are some kind of magic” series

-From Amazon.com

Review

I was recently recommended this book by a friend of mine, and whenever I get a recommendation, I immediately check it out. I may not be into the book, but sometimes you find interesting recommendations and it’s sometimes fun to see what people around you are enjoying!

This book was definitely not something I would generally pick up. They were short little poems on the pages that constituted as stories. Some were pretty deep and I definitely connected to them but honestly the book was just super depressing. It was, to me, about a woman’s struggle and about some things she may face – heart break, abuse, family problems. And to me, it was just…sad.

I generally read to escape, not to have a heavy ready. I mean, this didn’t exactly take long. I spend 30 minutes for 2 nights and read the whole books. It’s a lot of white space on the pages.

In all honesty I didn’t like it, just because of how heavy it was. But the writing was creative and the little stories/poems, even though they were short, were super powerful. Like, really powerful.

I’d still give it a 3/5 teacups because while it is not my kind of book, at all, it was very well written and creative in how it was presented. If you like those kind of heavier reads, then this is definitely worth checking out. I know that it got quite a lot of support and people really enjoyed it. I just wasn’t in the frame of mind to really read it. I also went into it not knowing what it was about and that threw me off.

If you’ve read it, I am curious what you think about it, because I know this kind of short poem writing still is a new thing since Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur came out a while ago. They were a thing before, but they became much more popular after the release of that book.

I may check this book out again when I’m looking for a heavier read (as I sometimes go through phases of liking something more deep), but at this moment, it wasn’t my cup of tea.

But I’m definitely curious to see what everyone else thought about it!

Comments?

Happy Reading!

3 Teacups

 

The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal [Book Review] 7

 in Book Reviews / Books / History / Older Readers by

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.

Summary

“A 2014 Michael L. Printz Honor Book

A young seamstress and a royal nursemaid find themselves at the center of an epic power struggle in this stunning young-adult debut.

On the eve of Princess Sophia’s wedding, the Scandinavian city of Skyggehavn prepares to fete the occasion with a sumptuous display of riches: brocade and satin and jewels, feasts of sugar fruit and sweet spiced wine. Yet beneath the veneer of celebration, a shiver of darkness creeps through the palace halls. A mysterious illness plagues the royal family, threatening the lives of the throne’s heirs, and a courtier’s wolfish hunger for the king’s favors sets a devious plot in motion. Here in the palace at Skyggehavn, things are seldom as they seem — and when a single errant prick of a needle sets off a series of events that will alter the course of history, the fates of seamstress Ava Bingen and mute nursemaid Midi Sorte become irrevocably intertwined with that of mad Queen Isabel. As they navigate a tangled web of palace intrigue, power-lust, and deception, Ava and Midi must carve out their own survival any way they can.”

– From Amazon.com

Purchase here!

Review

An absolutely refreshing read that I’m super happy I picked up.

A definite cover grab for me.

Yup, this was another one that I got because of the cover. I’m super guilty of this but with all the books out there, with how many there are, you need one to grab your attention and this one did. I think for me it was the bright pink at the top that it looked like it was glowing. Something about it really just dragged me in. Also the fact it had a big fat award symbol on the front which always gets me. I like checking out books that have been nominated or won awards.

Older YA due to themes and writing style.

Honestly this was unlike any other book I’ve read in a while. It’s straight historical fiction and really feels like it. At moments I was waiting for something fantastical to happen but it was just basic historical fiction. The themes though I should probably address as a warning.

Trigger warnings would be: rape, miscarriage and violence.

To me, I liked these themes because it made the book real to the time period. People slept with one another to gain power, men used the servants for their own purposes, miscarriage was a thing during that time and could be prevalent. To me, I think it added to the book. I’ve read a lot of historical fiction and sometimes their lives are a little too simple and nice to be believeable. In this one, you felt the pain and struggle of the characters and to me that was so beautifully done.

Love, betrayal, hurt and revenge – you go girls!

Most of the main characters in this book were women, so we had some bad-asses and you got to see them develop from being these weaker females to formidable ones and watch them go up in power. And ultimately get revenge on those who hurt them later on. It was such a wonderful thing to read about and I loved it. It was maybe a little unbelievable in how it happened, maybe but I’m not an expert on this time period and I don’t really mind. To me I loved it.

Diverse characters and positions.

I really liked how you didn’t just get to see the life from one point of view. You got to understand royalty, those who were vying for more power in the castle and then see it from the view of servants. You got a broad view of life in a castle and to me it was such a journey.

Writing was a little challenging at times.

I’m not meaning the book was written in old english or anything, but some of the sentences were longer and had some bigger ideas and for one of the characters, when it was from her perspective, you really got into her mind and since she was uneducated, her speaking was much more choppy with words missing. I really really really liked that as you got to understand her more and really connect with her. But it did take some time to get used to.

Overall, fantastic read! Highly recommend!

This book was just so fantastic. I really loved it. I personally give it 5 tea cups out of 5. It was different and I liked that. Maybe I’m a bit biased as I don’t really read tons of historical fiction currently so it may be more of a novelty to me, but I know for a fact with everything it’s a solid 4 out of 5 but personally I give it a 5. I do recommend checking this one out. It is a bit longer and I read it in chunks as the themes were sometimes a lot. It is an older YA read because of the themes and adults would love it too because it would definitely keep you entertained!

5 teacups

Happy Reading!

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold [Book Review] 5

 in Books / Older Readers by

Summary

“The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.

When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like a dream, like something from a fairy tale.

As Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not all is as it seems. There is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around her, now, and closing in.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

So, I’m actually going to start my review of this book with the rating of it, because it may save you some time from even bothering to read this review and this book.

I give this book 2/5 teacups.

2 Teacups

Now we can get into why I thought the book was just so bad.

This book was definitely not YA!
This book is classified as YA Fantasy, but holy crap was it not. First off, there were some seriously messed up undertones of rape, sexual assault, the injury of animals and even some subtle bestiality undertones (with dragons, but that doesn’t matter). I honestly hated the fact that the Prince/King in the book was so controlling and kept making it seem like he saved this female constantly saying, “I saved you” over and over. Like shut up, we get it.

Then he comes into her room at night and pretty much almost rapes her. And she’s like “Oh, it’s okay, he’s going to be my husband, he saved me” which kind of gave me some Stockholm Syndrome vibes or something.

And then when they are talking about how to tame a dragon, I was like “WHAT THE F^*& IS GOING ON HERE?!” I had to read it a few times to make sure I read it right. Like, what the hell was the author thinking?!

The writing was so simple and…well, crappy.
For me, the writing was just so poor! It felt so jumpy, the style was too plain and I felt like this was some book that had been self-published. For a author who was a National Book Award Finalist, this book was so just nothing. For a younger YA read maybe, but due to the themes, this was not for younger YA at all, if any YA in general.

Feminist book? More like ‘women should know their place’ book.
For the ‘reviews’ on the cover talking about how this was a story of feminine power, I’d like to know what they were drinking! Until the last like….15 pages, nothing remotely feminist happened and then it was just like “here, take this, the end.” Honestly, I don’t even know what was going on with that ending. It was like there should have been so much more but the author just ended it.

Had potential but just delivered so poorly.
This was one of those books that the idea was fantastic and it could have been an amazing book! Like, it really had the potential for that, but because the author just did such a poor job in writing the story and developing it, it was just…so bad. I’m sorry. I don’t generally really dislike books but I do. When I finished it I was mixed, then I read other peoples interpretations of the book and reanalyzed my reading of it – I also did read it fast because I just had to get through it and be done. So, no, just no.

Only plus, has a gorgeous cover.
As you can see, the cover was my draw in. It caught my attention on the stand which is why I grabbed it and I also thought, from the summary, it would be good. But, sadly the story disappointed. However, the cover is really quite beautiful. So that’s one of the only reasons I gave it a 2 star and not 1 (also because I rarely give 1, but this came really close).

Overall, this is a miss.
Honestly, I don’t generally say to avoid books, but this one is one to just…not. I don’t know how these people who wrote the reviews inside the book actually enjoyed it as it was so poor…I feel like I wasted my time reading it, I’m sorry to say. And I really hate when that happens.

Happy Reading (other books)!

Caina by Joe Albanese [Book Review] 5

 in Book Reviews / Books / Fun / Older Readers by

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.

Summary

“Twins tend to be closer than typical siblings. They often share a bond that is oftentimes unexplainable.*

For some reason that bond didn’t apply to Grant and Lee Tolan. Grant was always the responsible one. Lee, on the other hand, was always in trouble and in jail, self-destructing to the point the twins hadn’t seen or spoken in years.

In trouble with the Irish mob who wanted him sleeping with the fishes, finding Grant dead of an apparent suicide, Lee did the only thing that made sense. He switched identities.

Instead of making life easier, Lee is plunged into a world the Irish and Italian crime families, the Mexican cartel and the DEA. Pitting one against the other, Lee enlists the help of friends to save his own life. He will need a miracle.

But Grant’s secret is the biggest shock of all for Lee and he must re-evaluate his entire life.

*Maureen Healy, author of Growing Happy Kids.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the summary of this book, I was immediately interested! I love books that have this action/spy kind of aspect and something about the cover had me curious too. I haven’t seen a black and white cover in a while so it was of course something I wanted to add to my bookshelf!

The story itself was highly entertaining. I read it in one sitting while I was sick and flew through it. My edition had decently sized font (not large font but it was bigger than most books) which helped make it go faster, also made it much easier to read when you’re sick. There was lots of action and it was a page turner – it honestly felt like a crime TV show episode.

I really did like the idea of these twin brothers and identity switching and stuff. It was something new – I mean there are books that have it, but I haven’t read one like this in a while.

It will be an adult book because of some of the themes and language, although with some of the stuff out there, I could see it being an older YA read as well.

I did have a few moments of being confused in the book with all of the mafias and lack of background on who was who. It didn’t really detract from the book, in my opinion, but I would have to remember that we had multiple groups of bad guys crossing each other. But it wasn’t a big deal.

Overall it’s a pretty straight forward book. I like how it touched on drones and using them for drug moving – this could be a reality in a few years so I quite liked the ‘reality’ that the book presented. To me, I liked it.

I classify this book as a perfect summer beach read – it’s fast paced, it’s a page turner, not too long and overall quite enjoyable.

For that, I give it 4/5 teacups (I don’t give 5’s often so 4 is pretty common for a good read).

4 Teacups