Review | The Hunger by Alma Katsu

The Hunger by Alma Katsu | Released March 6, 2018 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons | Rating:  | Genre: Fiction, Horror, Historical Fiction, Mystery| Amazon | Goodreads

Synopsis: Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere.

Tamsen Donner must be a witch. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the pioneers to the brink of madness. They cannot escape the feeling that someone–or something–is stalking them. Whether it was a curse from the beautiful Tamsen, the choice to follow a disastrous experimental route West, or just plain bad luck–the 90 men, women, and children of the Donner Party are at the brink of one of the deadliest and most disastrous western adventures in American history.

While the ill-fated group struggles to survive in the treacherous mountain conditions–searing heat that turns the sand into bubbling stew; snows that freeze the oxen where they stand–evil begins to grow around them, and within them. As members of the party begin to disappear, they must ask themselves “What if there is something waiting in the mountains? Something disturbing and diseased…and very hungry?”

Well, damn this is a good book!

I don’t really know what else to say about it. Ok, I take that back. The only thing that’s keeping this from being a 5 star review is that there wasn’t a fall out of your seat, jaw dropping moment.

Aside from that, I was immediately hooked from the first. The Hunger is a great twist on the tale of the Donner party that makes for sheer suspense. I highly recommend reading this book. I already want to read it again!

But don’t take my word for it. Take Stephen King’s:

Review | Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson | Released March 14, 2003 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Genre: Historical Fiction, Science Fiction | Amazon | Goodreads

 

Life After Life is the third book I’ve read this year. (I’m slowly catching up with my reviews. Please await with baited breath!) It is also somewhat of a genre departure for me, as I tend to read mostly detective, murder/mystery, suspense/thriller novels. Life After Life, however is more of a historical fiction with some elements of Science Fiction in it.
Allow me to explain…

Spanning between 1910 and 1967, Life After Life tells the story of Ursula Todd. Ursula was born and then dies before drawing her first breath. Ursula Todd is born again. Throughout her life, Ursula will die numerous times. Each time, she’ll live again, going back to the catalyst to try another path until she gets it right.

I ‘read’ this novel via audio book, which may be part of the reason I had a hard time with it. The book was a slow start, before getting somewhat interesting (albeit somewhat confusing as well) towards the middle before falling flat once again. There wasn’t really much of a climax in the sense that there really wasn’t a edge-of-your-seat moment(s) in the book.

I confess, I only finished this book out of necessity – because when I don’t finish books, they tend to stick around in my brain, continually surging to the front, making me wonder how they end, even if I am not completely in love with the story. I need to know what the payoff is. I’m not entirely sure what that was supposed to be for this book. I suppose, I might have appreciated this book more if this were the type of book I read more often or I thoroughly enjoyed intense introspection after reading. I don’t.

As I said before, I generally read thriller/suspense novels which usually come with a heart-racing, edge-of-your-seat climax. This book had none of that.

Life After Life did give me pause for some slight existential philosophizing, so if you’re into that kind of thing, you may enjoy it. Overall, I wasn’t blown away or caught up in rapture with this book (which is how I prefer my books FYI). I didn’t find myself giving the actual story too much thought after finishing it, which to me, is not a good sign. And while I appreciated the writing style, the plot in itself just wasn’t enough to mesmerize me. 2.5/5.

{Guest Post} Review | Magnolia by Duncan W. Alderson

Magnolia City by Duncan W. Alderson | Released March 25, 2014 | Rating: 3 3/4/ 5 | Genre: Historical Fiction | Amazon | Goodreads

Alrighty folks, I’ve never written for a blog post… and for that matter I’ve never written a book review either. Except for, ya know, those mandatory book reviews in school which I just bullshitted my way through because I could never be bothered much with school work because that’s like super lame and boring (insert sullen teenager scoff please). So I guess bear with me and know that I’m just giving my opinion and it in no way means you need to get all butt hurt about it if we don’t agree after you read the book for yourself (because you are definitely supposed to read the book after reading my review!!) **And disclaimer, I’ll probably never be good at not giving away any spoilers so you’ve been warned! But I’ll try in earnest to keep my big trap shut mmmk?

***This is just my general disclaimer here, and I believe I’ve kept some of my bigger opinions in life to myself here in this post. This book wasn’t so polarizing but be for sure that there will be polarizing books in my future and I will open my mouth and state my given opinion and we don’t all have to agree! So we’ll all be adults at that time and bring our big kid pants to the yard so we don’t get all whiney about it…

The title Magnolia City refers to the prevalent nickname for Houston, popular in the early 20th century and before, due to the magnolia groves that grew in East Houston. Throughout the book, there are references to some of the Houston elite women trying to lobby for a magnolia park to return the city to its grandeur during and after the Great Depression. For the “sake of urbanization” the magnolia groves are never reestablished to make the grand park envisioned by the ladies. That return to the “past” was frowned upon in the name of development. The nuance of the title hit me multiple times as I read the book as Hetty, our main character, as she finds her path and future while learning about the past bones in the family closet, so to speak.

Hetty is a member of the Allen family, decedent of the founders of the city of Houston. With all of the grandeur of the roaring 20’s, money and socialite prestige Hetty is on the brink of engagement to a very wealthy young man who would set her and her life for good. But upon meeting a mysterious stranger from Montana, Hetty must now decide her path. Does she do the right thing, as family, friends and society expect of her or does she throw her cards in with the exciting and fresh would-be wildcatter Garret. While Hetty has had enough of social dictates and decides to go with her heart, she still has much to learn about not only herself, but her family, her love, and her wild Texas land. She is one tough cookie though and through some expected and not so expected Miss Priss melt downs, she unlocks some amazing abilities, mysterious family secrets and discovers her own story along the way.

The sweeping scenery was fantastic in my humble (cough) opinion. I found Hetty hard to sympathize with at times being Miss spoiled rich girl but at the same time always ended up coming to her side as she persevered through trials not common for someone of her original upbringing. The story was compelling and I enjoyed the read. I was transported for a time back to the decidedly extra grand Texas size lavishness of the 20’s which I can imagine was something to behold! The weaving of the tale kept me going through to the end and I was not disappointed. Overall I’d give 3 ¾ stars of 5. Read the Goodreads synopsis for more info because I’m trying not to give it all away here.

Love ya and signing off,

Celia