Me and Mr Just Right: a messy public break up, an escape and a forced proximity rom com

Me and Mr Just Right is the first book in the Enchanted Forresters series by Kaylee Baldwin. Singer/songwriter Aurelia “Lia” Halifax needs to flee from the spotlight. After a messy public break up and a betrayal, she seeks an escape at an Alaskan island. It was perfect. Deserted with minimal communication. The island isn’t as deserted as she wanted and she is surprised when three hot brothers arrive. To say they weren’t happy would be an understatement. When a sudden storm hits, they are stranded on the island together. Haydn, the oldest brother, is a photographer, and the kind of person she was hoping to avoid. Soon, she is inspired to write again by Hayden and feelings she never thought she would feel again. However, trust isn’t going to come easy for Lia especially when Hayden has a secret, a secret that could be behind the biggest betrayal of all. 

Me and Mr Just Right is a cute sweet rom-com with great banter and humorous moments. They were great characters but with not a lot of depth. The story wasn’t filled with a lot of romance but Lia and Haydn together were sweet. The interactions between the brothers were fun and filled with sibling squabbles. There wasn’t much to the plot and the story behind the betrayal and breakup was obvious and I thought, even in the beginning, that there was more to the situation that Lia knew. The ending was a bit cheesy for me even for a rom com. Overall, the story was fine. However, I was not pulled into the story enough to care about the other characters and I will not be continuing the series. If you like sweet, cute rom com that would be a cozy weekend read, I recommend Me and Mr Just Right. 

Me and Mr Just Right is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Night Angels: historical fiction based on the remarkable true story

Night Angels by Weina Dai Randel is a historical fiction based on the remarkable true story of a diplomat and his wife and the risks they took on the eve of World War II. In 1938, Dr. Hi Fengshan is the consul general of China posted in Vienna with his Chinese-American wife, Grace. Grace is shy and unsure of herself with the societal obligations of a diplomat’s wife. She is an outsider in a beautiful city as the atmosphere turns ugly as the Nazis sweep through with their policies. When Grace forms a friendship with Lola Schnitzler, she sees firsthand at the ugliness of the Nazis against Jews. She is warned to keep her distance as the Third Reich is keeping them under a very vigilant eye. As the brutal pogroms increase, Dr Ho decides to help thousands of Jews escape Vienna as war is about to explode. 

I loved Weina Dai Randel’s The Last Rose of Shanghai and looked forward to reading Night Angels. Exploring the risks individuals took in order to save lives and the love and friendships formed in the face of a growing evil, Night Angels is, in a sense, a prequel to The Last Rose of Shanghai. I eagerly started the story as I expected an emotional, moving story. However, I was quickly disappointed as the story was very slow going. The chapters were fairly short and chopped up the flow. The characters were flat. It wasn’t until after I finished the story and looked more into the historical Dr Ho and while Night Angels is historical fiction, there were a lot of liberties taken that Dr Ho was not recognizable as the hero he was in real life. Overall, I did not enjoy this story and do not recommend Night Angels. 

Night Angels is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

To Love and Be Loved: when the life you wanted isn't the life you get

To Love and Be Loved by Amanda Prowse is one woman’s journey to build a new life after she is left at the altar and becomes the talk of her Cornish fishing village. Merrin Kellow is young and desperately in love. Her new life with her fiancé is about to start when it all comes crashing down. Now desperate to avoid whispers and gossip, she leaves Port Charles, Cornwall. Leaving behind her beloved parents, her sister, Ruby and best friend, Bella. It isn’t easy staying away but she cannot bring herself to face her beloved home for fear of opening up old wounds again. When tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to return. Once back home, Merrin realizes what she has missed: her home, her family and especially the person she used to be. She is forced to make decisions about her future and confront the past she has been trying to hide. Can she learn to forgive and find true happiness? 

Amanda Prowse is known for deeply emotional dramas with a flair of hope for a better future. There are no easy answers or solutions in her books. If I had been left at the altar, I probably would have run too. Although I sympathized with Merrin on this humiliation, it was hard to like her in other areas of the stories. At times, she was very immature and even juvenile in her reactions to devastating news. But when a single moment has defined someone’s image of themselves, isn't it natural to be a bit childish? My favorite character was her older sister Ruby and the tensions between Merrin and Ruby were classic sisterly squabbles and drove into deeply personal hurts and forgiveness that only sisters can give. Overall, I enjoyed To Love and Be Loved. It is a story of when the life you thought you wanted opens to the door to the life you truly needed. I recommend To Love and Be Loved. 

To Love and Be Loved is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

The Light of the Fireflies: a haunting story

The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen (translated by Simon Bruni) is a haunting, yet hopeful, tale of discovering light in the darkest places. The boy, 11,  spent his entire life underground, in a basement with his parents, grandmother, older sister and older brother. Before he was born, his family was disfigured by a fire with his sister wearing a mask to cover her burns. He spends hours with his cactus plant, reading a book on insects or touching the one ray of light that filters through a crack in the ceiling. When his sister has a baby, everyone’s behavior becomes very strange. The boy begins to wonder why the baby’s father is never mentioned. What events led to them living in the basement and why do they have to be shut away? When fireflies find their way into the basement, the light makes the boy want to escape, to know the outside world. But the doors are all locked and he doesn’t know how to get out. Can he find a way to escape? 

I started to read this book a couple years ago and had to put it away. The book was strange and hard to follow. Recently, I decided to pick it up again and I’m glad I did. The Light of the Fireflies is a haunting, twisted tale of one family hiding from the world. The reader discovers with the boy why they are hiding. Are they hiding because they fear the world? Or are they hiding from a darker secret? Overall, I enjoyed the story but it is very heavy reading that takes concentration and a certain frame of mind to imagine life in a basement and the secrets behind this family’s motivations. I enjoyed the boy as he is the only one who does not know what the outside world is, the rest of the family manipulates him according to his or her own motivations. He is the one with the drive to discover the truth behind their situation and their stories are starting to contradict each other and lack sense. I recommend The Light of the Fireflies. 

The Light of the Fireflies is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook. 

Last Train to Istanbul: a story of family, survival and war

 Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin is a story of love and survival in a time of great uncertainty. The story opens in 1941 as World War II is raging in Europe and Turkey is between a rock and a hard place. Trying to avoid a repeat of the aftermath of The Great World, Turkey is reluctant to choose a side, despite pressures from Britain, Russia, and Germany. As war and politics rages on, a young girl falls in love. As the daughter of a prominent family, Selva could have any man who wanted and yet she only had eyes for the handsome, Rafael Alfandari, the Jewish son of an esteemed family. In defiance of both their families, they marry and flee to France. But soon the Nazis invade and occupy France and they find themselves in danger. A few brave Turkish diplomats develop a plan to get the Turkish Jews, including Selva and Rafael, out of France and back into Turkey. The train they must take crosses the war-torn continent and behind enemy lines. Will they make the train? Will they make it to safety?

Last Train to Istanbul opens more of the world in World War II. Most books focus on occupied France and Germany. Many people don’t realize that other countries were involved or desperately trying to stay out of the war. Last Train to Istanbul opened my eyes to the war than is normally talked about. The story was dramatic with daring escapes, family drama and the amazing human spirit to survive against unbelievable odds. This is my second book from Ms. Kulin. A few years ago, I read Love in Exile, which I also recommend, Last Train to Istanbul weaves a beautiful tapestry of the country and her people. I enjoyed every character with their different views on life, politics, and the importance of family regardless of the past. I always find it encouraging when people will go above and beyond for complete strangers and this is a story of those individuals. I recommend Last Train to Istanbul.

 

Last Train to Istanbul is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

A River in Darkness: one man's escape from North Korea

A River in Darkness by Masaji Iskikawa is his harrowing story of life and escape from North Korea, one of the most brutal regimes. Half-Korean, half-Japanese, Mr. Ishikawa grew up in a between worlds. He wasn’t fully accepted in Japan, the country of his birth and he was mocked and placed in the lowest social caste, what Mr. Ishikawa called “Hostiles,” in North Korea as his family moved there in 1960 when he was 13. His father, a South Korean native, was lured to the new Communist country with the promises of a better life, better work opportunities and education for his children; however, reality proved far worse than he could have imagined. Mr. Ishikawa recounts his early life in Japan, the move to North Korea and the 36 years he spent there until he couldn’t take it anymore. He knew he had to get out. Either he died in country or he died trying to escape, he would make a run for it.

A River in Darkness is not only a shocking real-life story of life inside North Korea and a testament to the desperate measures people will take to survive and even try to escape, it is a wake up call to the path many countries are heading. I know there are many people who should say that socialism in America would be different, but I have read too many accounts of people who lived and escaped communist countries to see that the results always end in human suffering. And as I read Mr. Ishikawa’s story, I couldn’t help but see the same empty promises being made now. I highly recommend A River Darkness as a warning to those who think that socialism is the answer. It is a heartbreaking story and a must read.

 

A River in Darkness is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Prisoner of Heaven: the horrors of Montjuic Castle

The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon converges the characters from The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel’s Game. We met up with Daniel Sempere, enjoying life after the events of The Shadow of the Wind. He soon hears the story of his friend’s Fermin’s past as a stranger comes to tear his life apart.

The story opens at Christmas time 1957, when a stranger comes in to the bookstore and buys an expensive copy of Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. He leaves a message for Fermin which leaves him frightened and looking over his shoulder. Fermin reluctantly tells Daniel his story. The story is transported back to Barcelona, 1939 where Fermin has begun his time at the infamous Montjuic Castle. He soon befriends a fellow prisoner named David Martin, known as the Prisoner of Heaven. The evil Governor Mauricio Valls persuades Fermin to find out where another prisoner has hidden a treasure. Fermin recognizes that he must find a way to leave the castle. Together with Martin, they hatch an escape plan a la Dumas. Daniel hears this story and he realizes who is really responsible for his mother’s death and seeks revenge. Who is the stranger? What does he want with Fermin? Will Daniel be able to avenge his mother’s death?

I enjoyed this book so much as it was a great culmination of the other two books and leads to the fourth and final book in this series. The fourth book, unfortunately, has not been published and there’s no word yet when it will be. The Prisoner of Heaven was an easier read than the other two books but I enjoyed finally seeing more in depth of the infamous castle which was mentioned in the other books. I highly recommend these Carlos Ruiz Zafon books. There are a great Gothic adventure told in the beautiful but tragic backdrop of Barcelona in the early 20^th century. 

A few of my favorite books

“He was fond of books, for they are cool and sure friends”

Les Miserables

Books have been my escape since I was 12 years old. Books about times long past and place I’ve longed to visit. I’ve read books in all genres except horror. I took an online quiz recently which asked the all-time questions: my favorite book. It’s hard to pick just one even with the criteria of a book I’ve read multiple times. It’s just so many books! I have books that I’ve read so much that the binding is falling apart and I’ve afraid to reread because I can’t replace them because they are out of print. So, I’ve decided to write about my top 3 favorite books (these are in no particular order):

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

I first fell in love with the story of the Phantom of the Opera one summer when I was 12 years old. I was visiting my Aunt Nancy’s and she had the original London cast recording of the musical. She let me listen to it and I did. Over and over and over again. So much that she would take me to see it for my 13^th birthday. Ever since then I can’t get enough of this story. I found the book in which the musical in based on and I enjoyed the mystery and the tragic love story of the Phantom of the Opera. It is a story of a love triangle between Christine Daae, a young ballet dancer who dreams of the Angel of Music, Erik, a disfigured man who lives in the shadows of the Opera House and becomes obsessed with Christine and Raoul, Christine’s childhood playmate and love interest who returns to her life and offers her a life away from the horror of her Angel of Music. It was also inspired by real events at the Paris Opera House. This is the book that inspired me to learn French and visit the famous opera house. Even though I never mastered French, I still dream of going to Paris and seeing the opera house. I still love this story. I’ve read the book so many times. I’ve listened to the musical soundtrack so much that I have the lyrics memorized. I love the 2004 movie adaptation of the musical. It’s a great story!

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

I’ve watched the movie Gone with the Wind all my life. When I was 12 years old, I decided that I wanted to read the book. I first read it in the 7^th grade and enjoyed it so much that I read it again. My reading teacher was so impressed that I was reading books beyond the recommended reading that she gave me a Reading Award for the Fall Semester. I love the history of the book. The picture of pre-Civil War Georgia to the devastation of Reconstruction. My favorite character is Rhett Butler, the dashing gentleman who walks the line between the genteel society and the taboos they so desperately avoid. He is the wild spirit to Scarlett’s fire. He represents the realization of what one had when it’s gone. Rhett realizes that he longed for the south of his childhood and not the world he came to be in. “Gone with the Wind” is a love story of two people who aren’t destined to live happily ever after. It’s also a story of death and survival. The death of a world with so much pride that they felt invincible and the survival of the ones who saw that they weren’t. It’s a story of remembering a world long past and learning to live in the world it had become. It’s a story of how hardships can make or break a person. Some people become stronger after struggles while others wither and break apart.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

I read “Les Miserables” for the first time in the 7^th grade after I had finished “Gone with the Wind.” I was drawn to the story of Jean Valjean, a man who struggled to live a life in poverty, strived to live a holy life and escape his criminal past. The story of Fantine who fell in love, became pregnant, abandoned and left to find a life for herself and her child. The story of Cosette, a child who was left in the care of a family who abused her, raised by a mysterious man and learns the missing parts to her story. There are themes of love and forgiveness, social injustices of the French society of the 19^th century and society’s inability to eliminate the rigid class system. The haves still had a lot and the have nots still struggled for their place in the world. The story of a group of students who saw these injustices and fought and died for the resolution. I was given the original Broadway cast recording by my Aunt Fran one Christmas after reading this book. I enjoyed it so much that I also have it memorized and recently enjoyed the movie adaptation. I have not seen the musical on the stage yet but it’s on my bucket list. “Les Miserables” is a story of struggles and injustices but, most importantly, it is also the story of hope, faith and love.

“The Phantom of the Opera,” “Gone with the Wind” and “Les Miserables” are just three of the books that I love and enjoy after many years of reading. Books have been my constant companion. I love books. I introduced books to my daughter at birth. When she’s a little bit older and can understand how to take care of books, we will take trips to the library and she can pick out her favorites. Then she can start her own list of books that speak to her and stay with her as she grows up. I love when I have a stack of books waiting for me to pick it up. I love going to the library and checking out the maximum number of books. When I got the opportunity to review newly published books I jumped on it. I love reading new books and reviewing them for future readers. I love books!