Book Nook Club

February 21, 2012

Dark Side of Valor by Alicia Singleton

Lelia Freeman helps children who others have given up on. Runaways, drug addicts, and forced into a life of crime or prostitution, these children have no hope of surviving the streets. Pulling from her own experience as a runaway, Lelia saves these children from a doomed life and is rightfully dubbed “The Street Angel.” Alicia Singleton’s “Dark Side of Valor” follows Leila as she finds herself appointed to a special federal committee. In charge of saving children from a war devastated African country, Leila crosses boundaries and makes enemies in her attempt to save the children from their hellish fate.

Elijah Dune, driven by passion and a haunted past, has one mission to accomplish: vengeance on his enemies. As his history remains a mystery, his fighting skills and hunger for killing distinguishes him as a man with a dangerous objective.

These two characters cross paths as Leila is kidnapped and held hostage after uncovering disturbing facts about the true state of the children and people of Sudania. Attempting to escape the clutches of the evil and corrupt President Deng, Elijah and Lelia embark on a dangerous journey filled with messages of facing one’s fears, reconciling with the past, and forgiving one’s self. Fighting enemies and each other, these characters begin to bond over their experiences with pain and loss. Fighting to stay alive and return home, Lelia must battle her growing feelings for Elijah with her will to survive.

Singleton creates a book filled with action and romance, while concentrating on the core message: facing the darkness inside of your heart. As the reader discovers the story of Lelia’s past and pieces together the puzzle of Elijah’s mysterious vengeance, the plot continues to pick up the pace. The characters are realistic, however, I would have liked to delve more into Elijah’s past. Singleton reveals his entire life story in one paragraph, while Leila’s story fills a couple of chapters. This character development would have allowed me to bond more with Elijah and instead I felt as if I barely knew him.

Despite this one hiccup, the book satisfied my expectations. Leila embodies a strong woman not restricted by the torments of her past, yet bearing the guilt for an unfortunate accident. She deals with these issues while remaining stubborn and quick to fight for her life, regardless of her opponent. Surely a role model for any reader who has experienced pain, rejection, and abuse, Lelia paves the way for conquering the past and fear.

3.5 stars

**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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February 20, 2012

The Qur'an Dilemma

Have you ever wanted to dive into the Qur’an, yet didn’t know where to even start? “The Qur’an Dilemma” allows Muslims and non-Muslims to examine the Qur’an and look at each sura (or chapter) critically. Written by numerous former Muslims, who remain anonymous throughout the book, the book is divided into three main parts.

Part I consists of different articles on a host of controversial issues, such as women, the treatment of people of other faiths, and the chronological order of the Qur’an. This portion proved to be the most interesting for me. The authors explained that much like the Bible, the Qur’an has many different versions, published and edited by scholars of differing opinions on how the Qur’an should be organized. Also, the section covering people of other faiths, such as the Jewish population, served as a real eye-opener. The book continues on in Part II as the first nine suras are examined. Think of this as an intricate Bible study. The authors examine what certain words refer to and historical meanings behind passages. Part III holds resources, such as maps and a glossary, to aid the reader.

Overall, this book proves interesting if you enjoy examining other cultures. As for those who are already Muslim, I would imagine this take on the Qur’an would be intriguing as well. The authors claim that the Qur’an has never been critically analyzed before, as Muslims consider this holy book infallible. The core of this book rightly reflects the title: “The Qur’an Dilemma.” The authors continually point out that this holy book contains errors and issues that no longer apply to today’s society. However, no revisions are authorized. Therefore, many Muslims are presented with a true dilemma: how do you separate the truth from the negations in the Qur’an. My only issue with the book was the level of difficulty it presented. For an individual who has a basic understanding of Islam, I was constantly rereading sentences and continually flipping to the glossary to define a term. Some parts still leave me confused, however, I enjoyed expanding my knowledge concerning a religion that remains a mystery to many Americans.

3 stars

**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

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Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling

I loved this book. I want to be Mindy's BFF. She's funny, she's honest, she's just a bit over-dramatic, and she's a goody-goody at heart who still loves to hang out with her parents--she's just my type of lady.

She has a great chapter on how she had a photo shoot and all of the available dresses were size 0, and how awful she felt that she couldn't fit into any of them. The chapter that made me laugh the most was a short one about how ridiculously long it takes for men to put on shoes. Seriously, it takes my husband forever (I don't even sit down when I put on shoes!)

The biggest negative about the book is that the narrative flow of the chapters isn't the greatest. It tends to jump from one topic to another. But as I enjoyed everything that she had to say, it didn't bother me that much. It's also very much a "girl" book--most of the humor revolves around things that men may not find that funny.

I read Tiny Fey's Bossypants shortly after reading this, and I have to say that I enjoyed this one a little more. Mindy seems like a real person with insecurities and flaws. I can relate to her.

Four and half stars
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February 17, 2012

The Firelight of Maalda by Melissa Douthit

I just finished the second book in “The Legend of the Raie’Chaelia” trilogy, rightfully named “The Firelight of Maalda.” The book picks off right where “The Raie’Chaelia” (first book in the series) left off. Chalice and her group make their way to Portalis, the city ruled by the Terravaillian. As Chalice begins to learn about the history of this secret city, she clashes with the rules and social customs of her new surroundings. Butting heads with many of her advisors and guards, she discovers the heavily guarded secrets that reside within the library and archives of Portalis.

Along the way, Chalice learns that Dar’Maalda possesses the Firestone, the black obsidian stone stolen from her in the previous book. While he doesn’t know how to unlock its secrets, both him and Chalice know its importance. Practicing her skills and connecting more with her daeioden, she begins to harness her powers and truly evolve into the Raie’Chaelia D’Ielieria. Also gaining speed is her romance with Jeremiah, when Chalice must defend her feelings to the Terravailians of Portalis.

I must say that I blazed through this book in about three days. Motivated by the unanswered questions of the first novel, Melissa Douthit cleverly enticed me to read her second creation. With even more adventure and danger than the first novel, “The Firelight of Maalda” brings new, fantastical creatures to life (such as the mysterious Naezzi) and delves deeper into the detailed world of the Terravailian and the Naeon. Bringing back favorites, such as Bunejab, Ben, and Ardenne, the reader can dive right into this magical world. Chalice continues to impress readers with her dedication to morals and bravery even though those around her disagree with her every move. Not only does she embody an independent woman, she continually puts herself in dangerous situations for the good of her people. Her selflessness sets her apart from other characters, and quite honestly makes the reader wonder what she will try next.

So what exactly does the Firestone do? What are the Naezzi? And more importantly, what is Portalis hiding behind its doors? These questions and more will be answered in the second installment of this trilogy. But don’t expect for every mystery to be solved. Douthit leaves the reader hungry for more and, much like the first novel, ends “The Firelight of Maalda” on a cliffhanger. Her third novel, “The Return,” is not released until August 2012, so you will have plenty of time to ponder the mysteries of Naeo’Gaea.

5 stars

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Lily, Duchess of Marlborough (1854-1909) A Portrait with Husbands by Sally E. Svenson

         This is the biography of (born) Lily Price from her childhood, through her three marriages, and through to her death. Lily was originally from Troy, New York but spent much of youth in Washington DC. She married Louis Hamersley and lived in New York City making her way up through high society. He left her a young, wealthy widow at the age of 28. In what seemed like a marriage of convenience and arrangement for both parties Lily married the eighth Duke of Marlborough, becoming a Duchess and giving her a foot in the English aristocratic door. The marriage benefited the Duke due to her money, though it wasn’t so easy to access as there were years of court battles as to her inheritance from her first husband. It is believed they did grow very fond of eachother, despite the fact that the Duke’s past kept Lily from the level in London society she sought after. Not long after he also left her a widow, but once again in a not too distant future Lily married for a third time. Her final marriage to Lord William de la Poer Beresford finally granted her a son. But as with the others, Lord Beresford also left Lily a widow after several years of marriage.
                The book details much of Lily’s circumstances from prior to birth and beyond her passing. There is a lot of information concerning her surroundings, but more particularly on her relationships with her husbands and those who became important roles in her life. Some of these included her sister-in-law Jennie Churchill and her beloved nephew Winston Churchill. There is also much discussion of her estates both in America and England.
                This is an incredibly well written, extensive research paper. If you want to know detailed family tree lines and accurate accounts of moneys and estates that passed by and through the Duchess than this is the book for you. For me, on the other hand, it was incredibly hard to read. I expected more of a novel and was overwhelmed by facts and details that was just too hard to keep up with. It did give me a feel for the English aristocracy in the late nineteenth century, but this book just wasn’t my cup of tea.

2 stars

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of review.
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February 15, 2012

The Raie'Chaelia by Melissa Douthit

In “The Raie’Chaelia,” the first book of “The Legend of the Raie’Chaelia” trilogy, the reader meets Chalice, a stubborn, strong young woman. She suddenly flees her hometown of Canton in the middle of the night per her grandfather’s instructions. On horseback, she makes her way to a farm in Branbury and finds her friend Jeremiah alone in a ghost town. Both piece together pieces of the puzzle and realize that the King’s men are looking for them, destroying towns and killing many people in the process. Meeting up with a friendly Chinuk (the cutest teddy bear creature) and an older man, Ben, the two begin to realize that there is more to this journey than they realize.

Chalice has no knowledge of her parents and has grown up with her grandparents in Canton for the entirety of her seventeen-year-old life. Possessing only a strange birthmark, she finds this marking in a book dropped by the Chinuk. As she slowly discovers facts about her true identity, Melissa Douthit examines the concept of self-identity and choosing between duty and love.

I found this book slow toward the beginning, but it certainly picked up the pace toward the third chapter and suddenly I became hooked! Any woman will find a role model in Chalice as she refuses to bend to anyone’s will but her own and stands to fight for her beliefs, family, and friends. The chapters are long, twenty to over thirty pages at times, and the names will certainly send your tongue into a tailspin. That being said, this book is packed full of adventure, mystery, and danger. Douthit ends this first book on a cliffhanger, so be prepared for unanswered questions. I certainly will be reading the next two books in this trilogy!

4 stars

**To read my review of the second book in the series, "The Firelight of Maalda" click here.

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Ruth's Redemption by Marlene Banks

Bo Peace is a freed black living in 1830 Virginia. He is an educated and Godly man who uses his standing and means to purchase slaves in order to free them. God leads him to choose Ruth, a breeding slave with a strong will who would face more unbearable abuse by her master if not for Bo. Bo walks her through the transition into freedom and in the process realizes he has moved past his wife’s death and is now falling in love with Ruth. He not only teaches her how to speak properly, read, and let go of her dark past but also how to love and be loved. Things would have progressed smoothly if not for nearby slave catchers who begin to terrorize the town. At this time a slave preacher named Nat Turner was traveling around the area riling up anyone he could to a revolution that would require killing and dying for the cause of freeing slaves. Bo has a hard time seeing this is as God’s way and is ostracized by some of his own friends for his stand. What will become of Bo, Ruth, their community, and way of life if and when the dust settles?

The book is beautifully written, giving deep insight into the characters and the world around them. It’s not an action packed book, but has enough emotion and history to fully satisfy the reader. It’s a hopeful book, without dismissing the truth and misery. I highly recommend this book to those who love historical fiction, and stories about hope, growth, and love.

On a side note, I understand this is an ARC and not the final edition but the book needs some major editing! The further I got into the book the worse the errors got. Some almost got in the way of the story: the way certain characters spoke changed from one sentence to the next; missing words/misspelled words; a character’s name had 3 different spellings within one page. Those were just the main things that made me pause during my reading. Otherwise a fantastic book.

4 stars

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A+ Attitude by Stephanie Perry Moore

Morgan Love is not happy. Her father is being deployed to Afghanistan, her mother has remarried, she's got a new baby brother she never asked for, and has to start second grade at a new school. She's determined to make sure everyone around her knows just how unhappy she is by putting on quite the attitude. Throughout the story Morgan must learn how putting on a good attitude, even under trying circumstances, can turn things around for herself as well as the people around her.

As a parent of a girl this age, there were times I wanted to tell Morgan to quit being so selfish. Especially when her mother is up at all hours trying to calm a colicky baby and Morgan whines about how the noise is keeping her up. But Moore is a better woman than I; she understands that a child is innately, unintentionally, selfish and the only way to get through to them often is to let them live and learn from their own mistakes. The adults in Morgan's life constantly assure her of their love and remind her that she should give her troubles to God to help her change her attitude. And their patience works out for them all in the end.

As in the Moores' Alex London series, A+ Attitude is full of educational information for kids. Kids reading this book will learn about parts of speech, prepositions, and mental math as Morgan learns about them and works on them with her friends. Each chapter also introduces vocabulary words, which are reinforced with a word search and glossary. The word searches are tricky too, in some the words are in the puzzle several times with various spellings and kids must make sure they circle the right one.

This book is a great read for any kid. Even if they can't relate to Morgan's specific issues, each child has their own problems and can benefit from approaching them in a healthy manner. I'd love for my own daughter to read it, but she won't read anything that doesn't have a horse on the cover.

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of review.

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February 14, 2012

On the Rim of Love by Marie Astor

Maggie has it all. She's beautiful, been accepted to Yale Law School, engaged to a superstar movie producer, and a talented photographer. But something is missing, herself. Ever since Maggie met fiance Jeffrey, she's been hiding from her true feelings and dreams because who wouldn't be in love with such a handsome and successful man.

One week after their engagement Jeffrey surprises Maggie with a two week skiing trip, just the two of them. Then it becomes the four of them as Jeffrey invites their best friends along. As soon as they arrive at the Ritz resort Maggie learns the real reason for the trip is for Jeffrey to do some pre-production work on a new skiing documentary he is shooting of a hot shot ski bum who lives in the area. Instead of the romantic vacation she envisioned, Maggie ends up with a lot of time alone to think, ski, photograph the surrounding area, and fall head over heels for that hot shot ski bum.

I won't give anything else away but you can probably figure out what happens next because well, On the Rim of Love was simply put, predictable. I really enjoyed the setting and the descriptions of the gorgeous mountainside but I found the story to be lackluster and the characters to be one-dimensional and lacking in depth. They were each written in a way that it was obvious whose side you should be on and which characters you should like and which characters were in the wrong. Take Jeffrey for example, an vengeful and arrogant producer who thinks his wife should stay at home while he makes the money, there wasn't one thing I liked about him. Same thing with most of the characters, they were either all good or all bad. When have you ever met anyone who didn't have one redeeming quality? It just felt flat and unrealistic to me.

If you're just looking for something to keep you entertained by the pool or at the beach for a few hours, this will do the job. Just don't expect to keep thinking about it or remembering the characters after you finish the last page. 3 stars.

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February 13, 2012

A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard

Unless you don't follow the news at all, you have probably heard about Jaycee Dugard. Kidnapped when she was eleven years old, she was held captive for more than 18 years, giving birth to two daughters during her imprisonment. A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard chronicles from the time of her kidnapping to her life in the present.

I don't normally pick up books like this, but I saw it in the library and picked it up on a whim. They usually make me feel uncomfortably voyeuristic but this time I'm glad I did.

While this book was occasionally difficult to read as it serves as a description of some of the vilest things that a person can do to another person, it is also a testimony of Jaycee's great strength and absolute love. The overall positivity of the message made me admire Jaycee's spirit and resilience.

Jaycee apologizes in the beginning that her story isn't perfectly linear because it isn't perfectly linear in her mind. She admits that this book is one way she is working through the awful things that happened to her. And while it isn't perfect, none of these detract from her telling of her life story. The format makes it a quick read and illustrates her remarkable inner strength.

I feel awkward giving something like this a point value--it is such a personal project that it really shouldn't be judged. One thing that seemed oddly left out was Jaycee's relationship with her daughters during her captivity. She discusses her want for privacy for her daughters after the fact, but I would have appreciated her addressing that relationship head-on, even if would have just been something along the lines of, "I do not plan to discuss my relationship with my daughters because I respect their privacy." Not including hardly anything at all seemed like a strange omission.

Four stars

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Giveaway: Handmade Book Purse by Novel Creations (Closed)

Treat yourself this Valentine's Day with a gorgeous book purse handmade by Novel Creations. Each book is chosen based on its design then matched with unique fabrics and handles and buttons to create a one of a kind design. With over 40 purses to choose from, Novel Creations has something for everyone. Here are a few of my favorites, mainly for their bold and statement making colors and fabrics.

If you love these book purses as much as I do, you're in luck because Novel Creations has generously offered to giveaway one book purse to a lucky Book Nook Club reader just for commenting on this post. So start telling me how much you want one of these. To find out more you can check out Novel Creations.

To Enter:

February 12, 2012

The Paris Wife, By Paula McLain

The Paris Wife came out last year to much fanfare, yet I was hesitant when my book club chose it for our February read. I've never been much of a Hemingway fan, so I was pretty sure that I wouldn't enjoy reading about him.

Good thing I gave the book a chance, because I was completely wrong.

Plot: The Paris Wife is told from the point of view of Hadley, Ernest's first wife. They meet in Chicago in 1920 and quickly fall in love. After marrying, they're off to Paris where Ernest believes he can hob nob with the "it" literary crowd while advancing his career.

After a while, Ernest and Hadley find themselves deeply engaged in Jazz Age Paris, friendly with some of the finest literary minds of the time. They travel Europe together as Ernest searches for the story that will make it big. However, as his career takes off, his home life suffers.

Characters: Told from her vantage point, you can't help by love Hadley. Her voice is tender and real and she was by far my favorite character. As I thought about the book after I finished, I had trouble finding other favorites. There were lots of characters to be sure, but they all took a back seat to the central love story. In addition, many of the women in the book that Hadley considers friends were difficult to like. None were as real and genuine as Hadley, and I felt a niggling sense of distrust about each.

Overall I enjoyed this book much more than expected. I struggled through Hemingway in high school and college, but this view of him before fame and fortune has given me a back story that makes me curious to give his novels another try.

5 stars.

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February 21, 2012

Dark Side of Valor by Alicia Singleton

February 20, 2012

The Qur'an Dilemma

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling

February 17, 2012

The Firelight of Maalda by Melissa Douthit

Lily, Duchess of Marlborough (1854-1909) A Portrait with Husbands by Sally E. Svenson

February 15, 2012

The Raie'Chaelia by Melissa Douthit

Ruth's Redemption by Marlene Banks

A+ Attitude by Stephanie Perry Moore

February 14, 2012

On the Rim of Love by Marie Astor

February 13, 2012

A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard

Giveaway: Handmade Book Purse by Novel Creations (Closed)

February 12, 2012

The Paris Wife, By Paula McLain

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