Showing posts with label Blogging for Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging for Books. Show all posts

23 November, 2015

November 23, 2015 0

#BookReview :: Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse by A.L. Kennedy

“I shall make you the jewel at the heart of the universe.”

 Something distinctly odd is going on in Arbroath. It could be to do with golfers being dragged down into the bunkers at the Fetch Brothers’ Golf Spa Hotel, never to be seen again. It might be related to the strange twin grandchildren of the equally strange Mrs Fetch--owner of the hotel and fascinated with octopuses. It could be the fact that people in the surrounding area suddenly know what others are thinking, without anyone saying a word.

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It is really painful for a bookworm like me to admit it, but this was my first experience of Doctor Who! I have not read a Doctor Who Novel before and neither have I watched a single episode of the series. Okay, now that the band-aid is off, I also have to admit that my first experience wasn’t that good either. Perhaps I chose the wrong book for my first experience or perhaps this boo was not as good as the others… I absolutely have no idea what is the problem here exactly. But yeah, the experience wasn’t what I expected it to be.

 In this book, the Doctor sets off to investigate the weird disappearances of golfers at the Fetch Brothers’ Golf Spa & Hotel.  The Doctor is quite convinced that the owner of the hotel and her twin grandchildren have something to do with the disappearances. In this installment, he finds Bryony and Putta and they lend their helping hand to the Doctor. What exactly is going on and how will the Doctor deal with it.

 I found the character of Doctor Who to be quite eccentric. There was no build up for me and as such I could not really identify with the character. As a result it was really difficult for me to get into the groove of things. Bryony turned out to be the character that I liked the most and felt that she carried the story for me. The plot had quite a bit to offer as well. I liked the way telepathy was infused in the story. The element of humour was scattered through the novel making it easier to get into.

 While I wouldn’t suggest Doctor Who newbies to start with this novel, it might bring more for the people who have read and enjoyed the series in the past.


I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

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02 June, 2015

#BookReview :: Ruby by Cynthia Bond

Ephram Jennings has never forgotten the beautiful girl with the long braids running through the piney woods of Liberty, their small East Texas town. Young Ruby Bell, “the kind of pretty it hurt to look at,” has suffered beyond imagining, so as soon as she can, she flees suffocating Liberty for the bright pull of 1950s New York. Ruby quickly winds her way into the ripe center of the city--the darkened piano bars and hidden alleyways of the Village--all the while hoping for a glimpse of the red hair and green eyes of her mother. When a telegram from her cousin forces her to return home, thirty-year-old Ruby finds herself reliving the devastating violence of her girlhood. With the terrifying realization that she might not be strong enough to fight her way back out again, Ruby struggles to survive her memories of the town’s dark past. Meanwhile, Ephram must choose between loyalty to the sister who raised him and the chance for a life with the woman he has loved since he was a boy.

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This is one hell of a book. I had to put it down, only to pick it back up a number of times before I could finish it. No, it wasn’t that bad… It was that GOOD. Remarkable! And it actually makes writing this review very difficult.

 The novel opens with Ephram Jennings who has been in love with Ruby since he was a boy. While people avoided, made fun of and even threw stones at Ruby now, all Ephram could see was the girl that she once was. It seemed like he was the only one in the world who ever cared for her. But Ephram has to make a choice between the girl he loves and the sister who has raised him… Ruby had been a pretty little thing. She had been left alone at the age of six and things have only spiraled downwards for her. It was no surprise that she escaped to New York City as soon as she could. But a letter from back home brings her back to the small town of Liberty. She spirals for the worst – to a point where she cannot trust any other human being to not hurt her in some way or the other. Will she survive the hand that life has dealt her?

 My heart cried for Ruby! Every bad thing that you can imagine happening to a person has happened to Ruby. As the storyline moves back and forth, we can see what and when things happened and how it shook her to the core. It was through the ever patient Ephram, that the whole web untangles slowly, reaching out to Ruby. It was both mesmerizing and horrifying to find out how the whole town was connected to what happened to Ruby. It is ironic that the town is called Liberty as I have never seen (or read about) a so twisted, hypocritical and oppressive town before.

 The book has a slow start and it took me a couple of chapters to get into the rhythm of things. Also, it was a really difficult book to read because of its content – rape, molestation, incest, murder, child abuse, gang rape, racism… there is nothing that doesn’t happen in Liberty. But end of the day, it is a book that reflects our society today. None of the aforementioned issues are mythical – they are all very real even if it is hard to accept. I have wanted to wring the life out of so many characters in this book at some point or the other. The author’s writing is amazing. The style and the narration are nothing short of exemplary.  Yet it is the plot that will remain with me forever.

 This book doesn’t promise a happy ending or rainbows and sunshine. It shows harsh reality in form of fiction by taking the dark side of humanity and putting it in front of the world. The sensitive theme of the book will make difficult for some people to read and accept it. Some may even hate it. It is very clear that this book is not for everyone.


Review Copy received via Blogging for Books via NetGalley

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