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writerrhiannon's Reviews (1.1k)
Although the book is mainly told from Lydia's point of view, readers are given great detail of the other ladies in the group. Norris, Elaine, Celia, Maura, Jayne, Betsy, and Lydia. That's a lot of characters to keep straight. I couldn't tell you now who was who except Norris and Lydia. Norris would be the perfect example of a "frenemy" for Lydia:
Much later, Lydia found out they'd offered the job to Norris first, for better pay, and that Norris, two years out of grad school and twelve years younger, had turned it down. Norris had gotten a better offer, at a real college, the same week, from someone she'd met at the residency she'd gotten Lydia bumped from. Now Norris didn't have to teach. She was that rarest of all creatures, an artist who lived--and well--off her art.
I think we all know a Norris. Someone who seems to effortlessly achieved what we work so hard for. But I couldn't help but feel that the author had someone in her life that she was personally shaping Norris after and seeking some sort of revenge by making readers dislike her. While all the other characters are flawed in their own ways, they appear human and likable. Norris has zero redeeming qualities and just doesn't seem to fit in other than to give a cold-hearted artist foil to the cozy group of ladies.
I will not be recommending this.
Read my full review here: http://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/09/lydias-party-by-margaret-hawkins.html
Much later, Lydia found out they'd offered the job to Norris first, for better pay, and that Norris, two years out of grad school and twelve years younger, had turned it down. Norris had gotten a better offer, at a real college, the same week, from someone she'd met at the residency she'd gotten Lydia bumped from. Now Norris didn't have to teach. She was that rarest of all creatures, an artist who lived--and well--off her art.
I think we all know a Norris. Someone who seems to effortlessly achieved what we work so hard for. But I couldn't help but feel that the author had someone in her life that she was personally shaping Norris after and seeking some sort of revenge by making readers dislike her. While all the other characters are flawed in their own ways, they appear human and likable. Norris has zero redeeming qualities and just doesn't seem to fit in other than to give a cold-hearted artist foil to the cozy group of ladies.
I will not be recommending this.
Read my full review here: http://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/09/lydias-party-by-margaret-hawkins.html
Read my entire review here: http://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/09/paris-letters-by-janice-macleod.html
What a dreamy story. Who wouldn't love to take a two year sabbatical to Paris? *sigh* The love story is sweetly awkward and there is just enough divulged to be funny and romantic but not over-the-top fiascos like Bridget Jones. The most swoon-worthy parts were the descriptions of the parks, people, and the pastries. The title Paris Letters had me thinking that there would be a long distance love story of some kind at the beginning, but the author actually started a small business. Her artistic abilities allow her to make an income sending hand-drawn or hand-painted letters telling subscribers about Parisian life.
I loved this story. It is hard to believe it is non-fiction because it was so transportive. It was really like a mini vacation!
** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **
What a dreamy story. Who wouldn't love to take a two year sabbatical to Paris? *sigh* The love story is sweetly awkward and there is just enough divulged to be funny and romantic but not over-the-top fiascos like Bridget Jones. The most swoon-worthy parts were the descriptions of the parks, people, and the pastries. The title Paris Letters had me thinking that there would be a long distance love story of some kind at the beginning, but the author actually started a small business. Her artistic abilities allow her to make an income sending hand-drawn or hand-painted letters telling subscribers about Parisian life.
I loved this story. It is hard to believe it is non-fiction because it was so transportive. It was really like a mini vacation!
** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **
My Review:
This is the first book in the Maddaddam trilogy. I reread it (and plan on rereading The Year of the Flood) to refresh my memory before reading the third installment, Maddaddam. As the title states, the story centers around Oryx and Crake, but is told by Jimmy / Snowman. Atwood overlaps details of her imagination with the cutting edge of science. It is just as believable to read about pigoons and Chicky Nobs as to read about skin grafts and genetic manipulations. Oryx and Crake spans topics such as online gaming, computer hacking, food politics, medicine,sex trafficking, plagues and the ultimate example of post colonialism. Every example provided is a tongue in cheek nod to current events but just outlandish enough to expose the absurdity of the situation. As the blurb from the New Yorker states on the back of the book, Oryx and Crake is "towering and intrepid...Atwood does Orwell one better." I could dissect this book line by line and never get tired of talking about it.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/09/oryx-and-crake.html
This is the first book in the Maddaddam trilogy. I reread it (and plan on rereading The Year of the Flood) to refresh my memory before reading the third installment, Maddaddam. As the title states, the story centers around Oryx and Crake, but is told by Jimmy / Snowman. Atwood overlaps details of her imagination with the cutting edge of science. It is just as believable to read about pigoons and Chicky Nobs as to read about skin grafts and genetic manipulations. Oryx and Crake spans topics such as online gaming, computer hacking, food politics, medicine,sex trafficking, plagues and the ultimate example of post colonialism. Every example provided is a tongue in cheek nod to current events but just outlandish enough to expose the absurdity of the situation. As the blurb from the New Yorker states on the back of the book, Oryx and Crake is "towering and intrepid...Atwood does Orwell one better." I could dissect this book line by line and never get tired of talking about it.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/09/oryx-and-crake.html
Mark my words, this book is going to made into a movie! I was thinking about Devil Wears Prada and Bride Wars or even Melrose Place the whole time I was reading it. I love that it highlights women in the workplace but is naughty and "back-stabby" enough to keep me flipping the pages. The grey areas of friends / lovers / workplace politics all get mixed up and messy in this evilly giggly story. One of my favorite lines in this book is:
"she was no longer sure where discretion ended and deception began."
Orianna keeps her relationship with Dan secret from her friend Ivy and everything unravels from there. Ivy's jealousy takes on a life of its own and a reader can't help but be slightly shocked, but love it and want her to do more. Workplace politics are often such nightmares. It is great to read about (and cheer for) the craziness without personally experiencing it.
I will recommend this to a lot of my friends who like chick-lit or my girlfriends who don't read that often but like a fun read.
Read my entire review here:
http://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/09/getting-even-by-sarah-rayner.html
"she was no longer sure where discretion ended and deception began."
Orianna keeps her relationship with Dan secret from her friend Ivy and everything unravels from there. Ivy's jealousy takes on a life of its own and a reader can't help but be slightly shocked, but love it and want her to do more. Workplace politics are often such nightmares. It is great to read about (and cheer for) the craziness without personally experiencing it.
I will recommend this to a lot of my friends who like chick-lit or my girlfriends who don't read that often but like a fun read.
Read my entire review here:
http://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/09/getting-even-by-sarah-rayner.html
I saw this on a lot of reading lists last year and missed it. I saw the eye-catching cover at the library and thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad I chose the audio format because I believe I would have given up if I was reading this story. I'm comfortable with multiple characters and story lines, even large spans of time, but this story had those plus time travel. In all fairness, I knew this when I began listening but the problem was that I couldn't understand the chronology of the killer's days. I'm sure this was deliberate disorientation on the part of the author to parallel the unlikely clues and search for the killer, but it was a bit too jumbled. In different hypothetical situations, I've wondered what I would do if I won the lottery, could hold a dinner party with famous people, or could time travel. I think that most people would do somewhat similar things to me but this novel poses the option of someone choosing quite differently than me or you. If I was time traveling back and forth between 1990's Chicago and 1930's Chicago, I would have bought the "magic house" in this novel with the "magic money" so that I'd be sitting pretty on a great real estate investment right now. But Harper Curtis wants to kill women then jump back into his "magic house" to evade police.
I was interested throughout the novel's entirety but I wasn't excited to continue like so many other great audio options.
Read my full review here:
http://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-shining-girls-by-lauren-beukes.html
I was interested throughout the novel's entirety but I wasn't excited to continue like so many other great audio options.
Read my full review here:
http://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-shining-girls-by-lauren-beukes.html