Take a photo of a barcode or cover
writerrhiannon's Reviews (1.1k)
This novel is a heartwarming story about an unexpected friendship. Carol Wall has battled cancer, lost her sister at a young age, and is now solely responsible for her two aging parents. Her yard is the least of her worries until she sees her neighbor's oasis. Finding that this neighbor is employing a gardener to transform her yard, Wall approaches the gardener to assist her as well. The man with the green thumb is Giles Owita, a native Kenyan working at her local grocery store. His polite manners and sunny dispostion are pleasing to Wall but they disagree on the very first task in her yard transformation. Wall eventually learns to trust Owita's decisions regarding the garden and they begin opening up a bit more to each other during their work.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/03/mister-owitas-guide-to-gardening.html
** I received this book in exchange for an honest review **
Throughout my reading of this novel, I thought of the movie "Crash." Like "Crash," "Paris, Rue des Martyrs" interweaves multiple characters beginning as several equidistant, individual stories. As the movie and the novel progress, the movie-watcher and reader start making connections between the characters, as they eventually crash into one another. Quite a complex angle for a debut novelist to attempt, yet Adria Cimino proves a reliable narrator, guiding readers through a tangled maze, and rewards them with the realization of the interconnectedness of her characters lives, as well as the readers' own.
Emerald dealers in South America, lovers in Italy, romantic and familial love, "Paris, Rue des Martyrs" does not shy away from exposing the true nature of people, good and bad. This book is perfect for you if you've ever looked at an apartment building and wondered about the lives of the tenants, or simply wondered how connected we are to those around us without even knowing it. Cimino puts her finger on the theory of "degrees of separation" and delivers a wonderful story exemplifying the network of connectedness around us every day.
** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/04/paris-rue-des-martyrs.html
Emerald dealers in South America, lovers in Italy, romantic and familial love, "Paris, Rue des Martyrs" does not shy away from exposing the true nature of people, good and bad. This book is perfect for you if you've ever looked at an apartment building and wondered about the lives of the tenants, or simply wondered how connected we are to those around us without even knowing it. Cimino puts her finger on the theory of "degrees of separation" and delivers a wonderful story exemplifying the network of connectedness around us every day.
** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/04/paris-rue-des-martyrs.html
I have not heard of Kristin Hannah and was quite surprised to find out that she has written 20 other novels! Fly Away is the sequel to Firefly Lane and I usually don't like to read sequels without reading the first book. That being said, I found Fly Away to be what I consider "a bathtub book" maybe even a "beach read." The story of how a woman's death causes her best friend and daughter to spiral out of control holds a generic, mass appeal that I know is mooned over by some female readers, just not me.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/04/fly-away.html
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/04/fly-away.html
I love being a member of SheReads book club because I get a chance to read books that I probably wouldn't have picked up. I've been recommending this to a lot of my friends that ask for recommendations because they don't read as much as I do. A lot of my mommy friends are loving it because of the short chapters. They can put it down and pick it up according to their schedule. Problem is (or is it?) that no one wants to put it down! It's one of those "just one more chapter" sort of books. With three storylines, the first few chapters took me a bit to straighten out all the characters and I found myself asking "How are these storylines going to merge"? I was also impressed that I was equally invested in all the storylines. No slugging through a slow storyline to get to the one I wanted to read.
Read my full review here:
http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-husbands-secret.html
Read my full review here:
http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-husbands-secret.html
After reading this novel, I read on Deborah Doucette's Goodreads author page that "[t]he books that influenced [her] writing are Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood, then Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees, and finally Alice Hoffman's Turtle Moon. All wonderful writers with unique voices, lyrical prose and sharp imagery." I believe THE FORGOTTEN ROSES is indeed a combination of these three novels. The cover and title were originally going to be the first things I would have suggested changing. My first impression was that the softly lit roses on the cover were a generic stock photo and the title wistful and generic, but upon completion of the novel, I think they are both perfect choices. Without giving away any spoilers, I will simply say that I dare you to think differently when you finish reading it for yourself.
Doucette nails the guilt and confusion of being a working mother with a rebellious child and a distant husband. Her mental photographs and internal dialogue are precise as well as universal and her imagery is shocking and memorable.
There are a few inconsistencies and grammatical errors throughout the text and I wish the ending was a bit more detailed but Doucette reeled me in and I couldn't let go. I will be recommending THE FORGOTTEN ROSES as a book that may have been overlooked by mainstream media but definitely deserves a read.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-forgotten-roses-by-deborah-doucette.html
Doucette nails the guilt and confusion of being a working mother with a rebellious child and a distant husband. Her mental photographs and internal dialogue are precise as well as universal and her imagery is shocking and memorable.
There are a few inconsistencies and grammatical errors throughout the text and I wish the ending was a bit more detailed but Doucette reeled me in and I couldn't let go. I will be recommending THE FORGOTTEN ROSES as a book that may have been overlooked by mainstream media but definitely deserves a read.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-forgotten-roses-by-deborah-doucette.html
This is going to be a very short and honest review. I don't like to give negative reviews but consider it advice to my fellow readers to allow them to save their time and money. I should have given up reading this when I was not initially engaged, however, I completed the book. The story features repetitive scenes and the main character continually doesn't speak up when necessary and has outbursts at inappropriate times. The mystery surrounding Sally's death causes tension and suspension but when certain aspects come to light, reactions are vague and not fully flushed out. I would not recommend this book and will therefore not be promoting this selection on social media.
*** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
*** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
This is a perfect summer read. The cover alone shows how great of a "beach book" this would be. After finding out that her recently deceased husband has failed to provide the financial security that he swore to her was in place for the care of her and their daughters after his death, Georgia Waltz must face reality. No more furs and fancy apartments in the city. Her daughters are now helping her to sell her prized antiques on E-bay and trying to gain their own personal footing as well. The two twenty-something sisters have always had a strained relationship and now they both find themselves needed by their mother while they each are facing major life decisions.
While the story grows out of Georgia's husband's death and "missing" finances, the set of characters and their actions are warm and funny. Georgia's brother and his partner provide great snarky commentary and her daughters are so different but each at the universal doorstep of true adulthood that any woman can relate to their confusion in some way.
I really enjoyed this book, especially after I had just come off a terrible streak of difficult and unfullfilling reads. Stick THE WIDOW WALTZ in your beach bag and you won't be sorry.
*** I received this book in exchange for an honest review, I was not compensated in any additonal manner. ***
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-widow-waltz-by-sally-koslow.html
While the story grows out of Georgia's husband's death and "missing" finances, the set of characters and their actions are warm and funny. Georgia's brother and his partner provide great snarky commentary and her daughters are so different but each at the universal doorstep of true adulthood that any woman can relate to their confusion in some way.
I really enjoyed this book, especially after I had just come off a terrible streak of difficult and unfullfilling reads. Stick THE WIDOW WALTZ in your beach bag and you won't be sorry.
*** I received this book in exchange for an honest review, I was not compensated in any additonal manner. ***
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-widow-waltz-by-sally-koslow.html