Everybody’s Favorite Guy by Katherine Center is a short story of two people forced to confront the past. Lily had fallen in love with her childhood friend, Walker, back in high school. When his stinging rejection crushed her, she vowed never to see him again. A vow she had kept until their families plot to get them together again. It is now seven years later, their families are gathering at a cabin in the Rockies. Lily and Walker arrive first and a sudden snowstorm traps them overnight with no power. Thanks to a cozy fire, a prowling bear and time, they confront their past and Lily learns that the past is a little more complicated than she thought. Could this be a new beginning for them both? Or will it tear them apart for good?
Katherine Center is always great for an emotional story with humor and unusual circumstances. I usually don’t read short stories but I could not resist one written by Ms. Center. I wanted more. I didn’t want to say goodbye so quickly to Lily and Walker. I enjoyed their reunion and their night at the cabin. The tension was great and it was evident that her feelings for Walker were still there and even that Walker had feelings for her. But why did he reject her so hurtfully? His reason was noble but his method was questionable. There are bittersweet moments, plenty of laughs and the end will leave you with a smile. Overall, I enjoyed this story. If you enjoy a quick story of second chance romance, I highly recommend Everybody’s Favorite Guy.
Everybody’s Favorite Guy is available in eBook and audiobook
Broken Summer by J.M. Lee and translated by An Seon Jae is a story of a mysterious death, lies and a secret that one man spent 26 years running from until one fateful day. Lee Hanjo is an artist who is envied and celebrated. On the morning of his 43rd birthday, he wakes up to find his devoted wife gone and a completed, not yet published book she had secretly written. A story about an unsavory past and the questionable past of an artist that was eerily similar to his own and one summer when a deadly lie tragically destroys two families. Dread fills him as he realizes that his life is about to shatter and the demons he has been running from have caught up with him. Why did his wife do it? And why now?
Described as a master storyteller, J.M. Lee is a renowned Korean author. He delivers an unforgettable story of hidden truths, lies, and the inevitable consequences. The past won’t stay buried and deceptions will be unraveled. The writing is beautifully poetic and with every twist and turn, readers will be on the edge of their seats. The story does start off a bit slow; but as Hanjo remembers the details of that fateful summer, the story picks up pace as he tries to discover who his wife really is and what her motivations could possibly be. With multiple points of views, dual timelines and very character driven. They may not be characters to root for or care about; however, they are intriguing as the mystery unfolds. If you enjoy a sleepy thriller with a fast paced ending, I highly recommend Broken Summer.
Broken Summer is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook
Every Little Thing is the twelfth book in the Hart’s Ridge series by Kay Bratt. Taylor Gray and her family travel to Cabo San Lucas for the fairytale wedding of Ellis’s daughter, Madison. Everything is perfect in the picturesque beach resort. However, the next morning, the bride and her maid of honor have gone missing, virtually without a trace. With the local police being no help, Taylor and her family investigate on their own. Will they find Madison and her best friend alive? Back in the States, Lucy is on the run. Wandering from state to state, trying to outrun the past, her memories and the voices in her head. However, the further she travels, the more she realizes that she will never know healing and peace if she keeps running and she heads to the one place she never wanted to see again. Will Lucy finally find the peace she has been longing for?
I opened this book with anticipation. The Hart’s Ridge series digs deep in the stories that we only hear about on true crime shows. Each story has a heart-gripping event that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. In Every Little Thing, Taylor and her family find themselves diving deep into the seedy side of paradise and the determination to bring home the missing women. Lucy’s storyline was about confrontation. I knew we hadn’t heard the last of this situation, I don’t want to give it away, but I loved that Lucy is a lot smarter than her family thinks she is and finds a way to put her mind at ease and bring an end to the shadow that has stalked her. If you haven’t read the Hart’s Ridge series, I highly recommend starting with book 1, Hart’s Ridge. If you are a fan of the Hart’s Ridge series, I highly, highly recommend Every Little Thing.
Every Little Thing is available in paperback and eBook
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, “Sympathy for the
Devil” is a song that many misinterpret. With the word, “sympathy” in the
title, who can blame them? This song is one that I was always told was bad and
to stay away from. But I was curious, do they really mean sympathy here? As the
opening track on The Rolling Stone’s 1968 Beggars Banquet album,
“Sympathy for the Devil” was originally written like a Bob Dylan folk song
until Richards suggested they change the tempo to a samba (Cruickshank, 2002).
The song is listed number 32 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Let us look into the song lyrics themselves as well as the meaning behind the
title and the context in which the song was written.
The song opens up with the narrator introducing himself,
“Please allow me to introduce myself/
I'm a man of wealth and taste/I've been around for a long,
long year.” And proceeds to list the historical events he was around for: Jesus
and Pontius Pilate (circa 33 CE), the Russian Revolution (1917-1923) and Anastasia
(killed along with her parents and siblings on July 17, 1918), the blitzkrieg
during World War II (1939-1945), and the assassinations of John F Kennedy
(November 22, 1963) and Robert F. Kennedy (June 6, 1968). The song also alludes
to the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) in which the narrator states “I watched
with glee/While your kings and queens/Fought for ten decades.” As the narrator
lists the historical atrocities he has witnessed, he teases the audience,
asking for his name: “Hope you guessed my name,” “Tell me baby, what's my name,
“Tell me honey, can ya guess my name” and “Tell me, sweetie, what's my name.” The
narrator ironically demands some courtesy, sympathy and taste as the name of
his game is confuse his audience: “But what's confusing you/Is just the nature
of my game, mm yeah/Just as every cop is a criminal/And all the sinners
saints/As heads is tails.” As the narrator, as the traditional devil trickster,
turns to the audience and places blame of these historical events on the
audience: “you're to blame.”
I think many people have a problem with the song, not for
its subject matter, but for its title. “Sympathy for the Devil” invokes an
unsettling feeling. This song as well as The Stones’ 1967 album, Their
Satanic Majesties Request, fueled media rumors and fear among religious
groups that the Stones were devil worshippers” (Cruickshank, 2002). Sympathy is
defined as “feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune” or “understanding
between people; common feeling.” Why would anyone want to feel pity for Lucifer
or have a common feeling with him? This is where I think the word, sympathy, is
used ironically as the devil is often portrayed as the deceiver, the trickster,
and the slanderer. As the word, devil, derives from the Greek word, diábolos, meaning
"slanderer." To slander someone is to “make false and damaging
statements about them.” When the devil places blame solely on mankind for the
historical events, he is being who he is supposed to be, the deceiver, the
slanderer.
To place the blame on the devil or evil for the atrocities
throughout history and even today is a bit dismissive. As “Sympathy For The
Devil was intended to be an analysis of the dark side of humanity; one which
allows itself to be too easily swallowed up by the banality of evil, thereby
helping it to accomplish the wickedness it craves. If you understand the Devil
within yourself, maybe you can deal with him” (Divelti, 2019). Everyone has the
capacity for good as well as evil. While most people’s goodness will far
outweigh their evilness, there are people out there who act in purely evil
fashion without an ounce of goodness in them. I think we all can name
individuals who, generally, are perceived as evil, no matter what their
motivations are thought to have been. If you look at the context in which
“Sympathy for the Devil” was written, you can see that it was a dose of
reality. As the philosophy of peace and love was being pushed in songs like The
Beatles, “All you Need is Love” (1967) which was really “dead even before it
began” as the realities of the 60s, the Vietnam War and the violence that
carried forward into the 70s” (The Legends of Music, 2019) showed the peace and
love isn’t easy to achieve.
In conclusion, for a long time I refused to listen to
“Sympathy for the Devil” but as I listen to it and began to analyze the lyrics,
you see that sympathy is used in an ironic fashion. I found a great quote from Keith
Richards in which he says “’Sympathy’ is quite an uplifting song. It's just a
matter of looking (the Devil) in the face […] Sympathy for the Devil is a song
that says, Don't forget him. If you confront him, then he's out of a job”
(Fricke, 2002). Evil is always there. We
cannot hide from evil. When we confront evil, we can deal with it. How we deal
with it is another issue all together. Therefore, “Sympathy for the Devil” is
not a song for devil worship, it is a song about confronting evil so it can
lose its power.
The Road She Left Behind by Christine Nolfi is a
story of going home, confronting the past and finding forgiveness for others as
well as oneself. Darcy Goodridge has been on the run. For the last eight years,
she has moved from town to town, from job to job, She left her home in Ohio,
vowing never to return. She was crushed by guilt over the accidental deaths of
her father and younger sister and the constant battling with her mother, Darcy
left, never looking back. Until one fateful phone call finds her fighting the
urge to return. With the urge of her young friend, 18-year old Samson Dray, she
finds herself on the road back home. Once she’s there, she learns that her
8-year-old nephew, Emerson, is missing and her mother, Honorable Rosalind
Goodridge, is as imposing as ever. After Emerson returns home, Darcy becomes a
part of her nephew’s life, she begins to piece together the events which led to
Emerson to “run away.” Darcy begins to tear down the walls her mother so
expertly put up around her and discovers her secrets as deep family secrets
that led to the horrible accident. Determined to find closure and healing,
Darcy may even find love and a place to belong.
The Road She Left Behind is a non-stop dramatic story
of family secrets, misplaced guilt, teenage rebellion and lost love. While the
family secrets revealed weren’t too shocking, I would say almost common,
however, I was gripped by the interaction between Darcy and Rosalind. A mother
and daughter who have been at odds from day one and Darcy never really knew why
and, now as an adult, Darcy demands answers and “no” is not acceptable. It was
a hard book to put down as I was eager to discover the family secrets and see
everyone come together as a true family in ways they hadn’t before. Throughout
the book, I wasn’t sure if I liked Darcy, Rosalind or any of the major
characters. Each had their flaws, made their mistakes and said some hurtful
statements in their anger or hurt. It’s what made the characters relatable as I
could imagine knowing and interacting with these individuals. However, by the
end, I smiled as they began to interact like a normal family and cried as they
began their healing. I recommend The Road She Left Behind as a story of
forgiveness, redemption and finding your home.
