Book Review #35: Traveling Left of Center by Nancy Christie

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A collection of 18 short stories, Traveling Left of Center by Nancy Christie takes you on a journey through the human condition. Christie is a masterful writer fully developing characters in just a few short pages. There is a quote in "Skating on Thin Ice" that summarizes this collection quite nicely.

I have since learned that thin ice is not only a condition of winter, not confined to stretches of frozen water. There is thin ice everywhere--between lovers and friends, between reality and obsession, between hope and despair.

The quote also probably explains why even though none of the stories in this collection are especially happy; they are not extremely depressing either. Each story was like getting a glimpse into some poor soul's life, almost like a commercial or snapshot, and then stepping away. Each snapshot was fully told and I could move on and I believe the characters moved on, for better or for worse.


My favorite stories in the collection

• "Alice in Wonderland"
• I had a chance to review this story earlier this year. Read my full review.
• "The Clock"
• The poor husband in this story gets his revenge. It reminded me of some of the episodes of The Twilight Zone.
• "Exit Row"
• Oh, the horrors of flying and being stuck with someone you hate! How would you escape?

Overall, I would give Traveling Left of Center by Nancie Christie a thumbs up. While I liked some stories better than others, each story is unique, well-rounded and gives a tantalizing peak into difficulties of the human condition.

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About Nancy Christie
Nancy Christie is a full-time writer whose passion is fiction. Having written for numerous magazines and journals, her short stories can be found in literary publications such as Full of Crow, Fiction365, Red Fez, Wanderings, The Chaffin Journal and Xtreme. Christie is currently working on several other book projects, including a novel and a book for writers. She is the founder of Celebrate Short Fiction Day. A member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Nancy teaches workshops at writing conferences and schools across the country and hosts the monthly Monday Night Writers group in Canfield, Ohio.
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I received an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a honest review.

Book Review #34: Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

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Apparently the end of the world will happen in the Midwest. More specifically the end of the world will happen in Iowa. Andrew Smith's novel, Grasshopper Jungle, is set in a fictional town in Iowa and is told from the point of view of a teenage boy, Austin, who only really thinks about two things...food and sex. So if you are easily offended, you may want to avoid this book because there is an awful lot about sex that some people might find offensive. "You know what I mean."

I liked Grasshopper Jungle. More specifically, I liked Austin Szerba, the historian. I admired Austin's observations about history and how he is connected to it. Austin shares a lot of his family history and the history of the inhabitants of his hometown in an effort to show how everything in the universe is connected.

"...I knew my accounts were ultimately nothing more than an abbreviation. ... But no historian could ever put everything that happened in a book. The book would be as big as the universe, and it would take multiple countless lifetimes to read. History necessarily had to be an abbreviation." page 67

I wasn't so much a fan of Austin Szerba, the sexually confused teen. After a while, I became annoyed with Austin's and Robby's, his best friend, constant smoking, fowl language and bad attitudes. Perhaps that is a sign I am old. I just wanted Austin "to figure it out." However, I have never questioned my sexual orientation so I recognize that it is a little unreasonable for me to be asking a fictional teenager to just figure it out and get on with it.

Grasshopper Jungle is an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic science fiction novel that doesn't take itself too seriously. There were many laugh out loud moments for me. While the future may look bleak and may involve Unstoppable Giant Praying Mantises that are very hungry and very horny, it reminded me that even in the bleakest and most confusing situations laughter can be the best medicine. Grasshopper Jungle receives a thumbs up.

Book Review #33 + Book Tour with Giveaway: The Ærenden Series by Kristen Taber

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The Ærenden Series by Kristen Taber starts out as a slow burn and then quickly takes off into a raging wild fire. I was happy to be given the chance to read the first three books in this series back-to-back. I think if I had reviewed only book one, I would not have given it a very favorable review.

The first book, The Child Returns, moved a little slow for my taste. When the book starts, the characters clearly have a history that started before page one of the book and Meaghan has these mysterious dreams. Those elements are tantalizing, but little is revealed as Meaghan and Nick make their way from Earth to and through Ærenden and the end of book one. This left me feeling frustrated and a bit disappointed as I felt I didn't learn a lot about the characters, the World and what role everyone was supposed to be playing. Thankfully, book two was waiting in the wings.

Book two, The Gildonae Alliance, picks up the pace. More is revealed about Ærenden, Nick's and Meaghan's role in the politics and lots of prophesies. The role of Seers and Dreamers in Ærenden was intriguing to me. They dole out the prophesies and dreams that tell the future of the realm and the people in it. The characters in the stories react to these differently. Some characters choose to let them rule their lives and other seek to change them. The dreams and prophesies drive the action in the story forward. Book two ended in a bit of a cliffhanger and once again, the next book in the series was waiting for me on my Nook.

Book one was a slow burn, book two the flames were starting to get fanned by the wind and then in book three, The Zeiihbu Master, everything comes to head and the wild fire takes off. When you reach the last page, the flames are out of control and if you are anything like me you'll tweet your frustration as Taber leaves the storyline wide open, your mind and heart reeling.

I am giving The Ærenden Series by Kristen Taber a thumbs up. While the pacing in the first book is slow, keep with it as the pace picks up in books two and three as more is revealed about the characters, the World they live in and how the prophesies and dreams lead them down dangerous paths in hopes of creating peace. I am very much looking forward to book 4!

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About the Author
Born in Bangor, Maine, author Kristen Taber spent her childhood at the feet of an Irish storytelling grandfather, learning to blend fact with fiction and imagination with reality. She lived within the realm of the tales that captivated her, breathing life into characters and crafting stories even before she could read. Those stories have since turned into over a hundred poems, several short tales, and five manuscripts in both the Young Adult and Adult genres. Currently, Ms. Taber is completing the five-part Ærenden series from her home office in the suburbs of Washington D.C.
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I received Advanced Reader Copies in exchange for a honest review.

Book Review #32: The Luthier's Apprentice by Mayra Calvani

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I was so excited about The Luthier's Apprentice by Mayra Calvani. The blurb for the book and the cover really caught my eye. I know about Beethoven and Mozart because I played piano when I was younger. So I ventured over to Wikipedia to learn a little about Niccolò Paganini on Wikipedia. And this bit of information caught my eye.

...his widely rumored association with the devil, the Church denied his body a Catholic burial in Genoa.

Ooo, this is gonna be a good one, I thought. Unfortunately, I'm sad to report that The Luthier's Apprentice is not a good one. I don't want to go into too much detail as I don't want to spoil the book for anyone who may want to read it.



Here's a short list of the reasons I did not like The Luthier's Apprentice.

1. The chapter breaks come at the most awkward moments. I think the author wanted to create tension a la Dan Brown, but failed to do anything except make me ask, Why is the chapter ending here?
2. The villain's motivations are not clearly explained and neither is the family curse.
• The characters all seemed to get it, but as a reader, I felt left out in the cold because the reveals happened in such a haphazard fashion, and I had to go hunting for the crumbs.
3. Too many complicated backstories.
• Every character had a complicated backstory which lead to awkward conversations and awkward situations. Every action and reaction needed an explanation and as a result, the true motivations of the characters got muddied and muddled leading to confusion and a lack of strength in the plot. Heck, maybe there were just too many characters when all is said and done.
• In turn, because every thing about every character had been shared, the characters did exactly what you expected them to do. There is no mystery to their actions. You could see it happen before they acted/reacted.

Unfortunately, The Luthier's Apprentice by Mayra Calvani receives a thumbs down despite my initial excitement about the cover and its blurb. The idea had a lot of potential, but, for me, the author was unable to follow through. The result was a clunky mystery novel that left me feeling flat and disappointed.

Book Review #31: Voracious (Bad to the Bone #2) by Jade Eby

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Are you read for another wild ride with Lacey? In just 35 pages, Eby once again packs in tons of page turning action. "Voracious" picks up just seconds after "Capricious" ends and Lacey's situation hasn't improved, but she is determined make things go her way. Using the skills she learned as a stripper, Lacey attempts to take control of the situation, but luck is never on Lacey's side. I don't think I understood just how helpful those skills would be until Lacey was face-to-face (okay, so maybe it was a little more intimate than face-to-face) with Jose, Robbie's Right Hand Man.

Head over to Amazon.com, pick up and read "Capricious" and "Voracious". Then add the next stories in the Back to Bad Series, "Malicious," "Audacious" and "Tenacious" to your to-read list. You won't regret it!

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review #30: Shattered Veil (The Diatous Wars #1) by Tracy E. Banghart

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I was very excited to receive an Advanced Readers Copy of Shattered Veil by Tracy E. Banghart. The story really sucked me in once I started reading it and I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed the story of Aris from start to finish and I think there is a little bit of Aris in all of us young and old.

While Shattered Veil on the surface may seem very superficial--a young girl bucks the system to follow her true love--Aris doesn't necessarily take the path one might suspect or that might seem predictable based on other young adult novels out there. My favorite thing about Aris is that she was willing to examine herself at almost every step of her journey and recognize that things needed to change--either herself or the world around her. She challenged my own thoughts about how one goes about affecting change in the world.

While this is just an introductory book in the series, it doesn't get bogged down in the details. You learn a bit about the world, Atalanta, and its villages and how the war is affecting them. There are few key players that are involved in the plot and just enough is shared with the reader to keep the plot moving forward with a whisper of a history that existed before one opened the pages of Shattered Veil. I particularly wanted to know more about Dianthe and Nyx. There is something there and just for a moment you think you'll learn more and then the story moves on.

“Allow? Shouldn't women decide what they'll allow for their own bodies, not a government acting out an antiquated, unnecessary law?”

On a deeper level, I wonder if Banghart has some strong opinions on women's rights. There are a few quotes, like the one above, that seem very pointed toward the government and their roles in directing how a woman should/should not use her body. It made me think about recent stories in the news about birth control as well as a woman's role in the military. The statements are bold, they fit within the scope of the story, but if you are up on current events, it is easy to see a correlation between the story and the real world.

I give Shattered Veil by Tracy E. Banghart a thumbs up. I love Aris and the world of Atalanta. The book takes you on a wild, unexpected journey that keeps you moving forward until you get to the very end. I look forward to the next book in the series and hope to learn more about where Aris goes next AND a bit more about Dianthe and Nyx.

Rewind Review #03: Paper Valentine by Brenna Yavanoff

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Original Review posted to GoodReads.
Read from June 15 to June 18, 2013.

I'm a bit torn about this novel. The writing is the superb and the main plot about a young girl trying to find herself after the death of her best friend is engaging. It's the secondary plot about the child murdered that leaves a bit to be desired. As Brenna Yovanoff allows Hannah to learn the true personalities of her friends and create a new definition of who she is as person, the serial killer plot fades into the distance. When it comes time to end the book, the resolution of the who-done-it plot leaves a bit to be desired and the revelation of the murder seems forced as not enough is known about that person and their involvement in the rest of the story.

Yovanoff is solid writer. There is just too much going on with the main character that left me with disappointed with the reveal.

Book Review #29: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

I'll admit I had pretty high expectations for Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. You see, I'm a HUGE fan of The Wizard of Oz. It's one of those movies I've been obsessed with since I was a kid. And when I worked at The Warner Brothers Studio Store back in the summer of 1997 in the Twin Cities, my obsession was heightened because at the time it was a Warner Brothers property. There were key chains and watches and fancy pens! OH MY! Somewhere in a box, I have the 2-disc soundtrack stashed away with the liner notes I poured over to know that Shirley Temple was considered for the role of Dorothy and at one point Judy's hair was blonde. Needless to say I'm a bit of an Ozian nut.

I really struggled with Dorothy Must Die and perhaps I should have abandoned the novel. But, I kept reading hoping to connect with Amy or Dorothy or anyone really and by the time I reached the end of the book, I came up empty handed and confused. Amy Gumm, the main character, was the whiniest character I've ever encountered in quite a while. It seemed like every time something went wrong or she didn't know the answer it was all "WOE IS ME!" Perhaps after a couple years of encountering characters like Katniss and Tris, I am starting to expect more from my heroines and expect them to be more resourceful in the face of adversity.

It appears there are a lot of political factions at play in Oz. Each faction thinks they have the right solution to the problem. However, no one takes the time to fill Amy in on why they are fighting, what they have at stake and why their solution is the best solution. No wonder poor Amy doesn't know who to trust or who to side with! And the biggest question for me, as a reader, how did Dorothy get so powerful in the first place? Did she just waltz into the Emerald City one day and say, "Hey! I'm in charge."? What triggered her obsession with magic? Why is she addicted? Amy tries to match the magic addiction back to her mother's drug addiction. However, since the cause of Amy's mother's addiction is never fully explained, the connection fails.

There was one laugh out loud moment for me in the novel towards the end when Amy confronts Dorothy.

"There must be some mistake," I said as I rushed toward her, my shoulder lowered. "You're the bitch. I'm the witch."

I would like this quote on a t-shirt, please.

For me, I didn't learn enough about the characters and their reasons for fighting to care if Dorothy really must be killed to save Oz. Certainly the devastation in Oz was atrocious, but it was my imaginary Oz that was destroyed, not Paige's. There was little description of Oz, either the Hollywood version or the Baum version or Paige's own Oz. That coupled with no explanation of the players who have a stake in the revolution and the lack of character development left the book flat for me. Sadly, Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige gets a thumbs down.

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Book Review #28: S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst

Jade Eby introduced me to S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst. I didn't need much persuading to buy the book once she stopped by my desk with her copy and started pulling pieces out of the book and showing me the intricate margin notes. The only thing holding me back from buying the book was that it was on backorder and didn't arrive on my doorstep until February 15. I placed my order on December 28.

S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst is a complicated book and I've decided to take it slow and try to digest it a bit. If you aren't familiar with how this book works, I invite you to check out the links on Jade's blog, Chasing Empty Pavements. S. is a romance story told in the margins of the novel The Ship of Theseus by V.M Straka. I have gotten through The Ship of Theseus and now need to go back through the book and read the two or three sets of margin notes.

As a stand alone novel, The Ship of Theseus by V.M Straka is quite mysterious. The main character journeys throughout the novel on a ship bound to ports unknown searching for his identity and a woman he may (or may not) love.

As I got further and further into the novel, I couldn't help but be reminded by Lost, one of my favorite shows. There are lots of layers (like an onion and ogres) that if you wanted to peel them back one-by-one, I'm sure there is some existential meaning behind the man's journey, his memory loss, the crazy boat and the leader, Vevoda. The Ship of Theseus looks like, feels like and smells like (I'm not kidding) a dusty old novel I would have been required to read in one of my literature classes in college. I feel I would have enjoyed it more if I could have read a chapter and discussed it in detail with a group of people. Since this is a J.J. Abrams creation, I knew it was completely possible by the time I got through my first read through of S. /The Ship of Theseus none of my questions about the man and his memory loss would be answered. I tried to see the deeper message and let the book speak to me. It really didn't.

I am hoping that as I go through S. for the second time and read the margin notes, the real magic of S. will come alive. I did try to read the margin notes as I read The Ship of Theseus, but I felt like I was trodding through mud and getting lost in details that didn't make sense because I hadn't read enough of The Ship of Theseus yet for them to make sense. Trying to read the margin notes while reading the main novel made progress really slow and confusing to I switch my focus back to JUST The Ship of Theseus and the margin notes in pencil.

I am looking forward to reading through S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst again. I just need a bit of a brain break and will get back to it soon.

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Book Review #27: The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift

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I discovered The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift while wandering around our local Barnes and Noble shortly after Christmas. The novel was the only book facing out when I rounded the corner from the horribly organized Young Adult section into the General Fiction Adult area. The cover immediately caught my eye--a young lady in a hood cloak with an amazing red dress. After reading the back of the novel, I knew I had to use the last of my remaining Christmas gift cards to purchase this book.

The Gilded Lily is a mystery novel that includes characters from Swift's first novel. However, you don't have to read the first novel to understand what's happening in The Gilded Lily. There are hints of events that happened in The Lady's Slipper, but it isn't key to the story told in "Lily."

My favorite part of this novel were the two main characters, Ella and Sadie. Their personalities are richly drawn and you can feel them struggle to make it in the slums of London with little money. I was particularly drawn to Sadie. She was a hard worker and empathetic to everyone around her. She wanted to do what was right, but her sister, Ella, was a bit of a scamp who lead Sadie astray many times. Honestly, I wish the story had been focused more on Sadie. However, Ella's plight and actions really were the driving force behind the plot and gave purpose to Sadie's actions and reactions. I also had a soft spot in my heart for Dennis, the young boy that Sadie and Ella rented an apartment from. He was a true gentleman to Sadie and a reader who shared his love of stories with Sadie.

The rich characters were a huge plus for a mystery plot that was quite predictable. The girls' adventures in the city as they tried to avoid trouble and stay under the radar kept me reading until the end. This is a mystery novel where everything does get tied up neatly in the end which did get a bit saccharine for me after living on the streets with Ella and Sadie for 400+ pages.

Overall, I would give The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift a thumbs up. The streets of London and the characters create an atmosphere that draws you in and won't let you go until the final page is turned.

Rewind Review #02: The Break-Up Psychic by Emily Hemmer

A lighthearted romance novel about letting go and seeking love. Delightful!

This book follows the basic romantic comedy premise of a young girl down on love finding love when she least expects it. The main character's personality, due to Emily Hemmer's strong writing skills, jumps off the page even if the story is predictable. In contrast to many books in this genre, the main character, Ellie, is bright and vivacious. She's a girl you would want to be friends with. I think may female readers will identify with Ellie's go-get-'em attitude even when things don't seem to go her way.

This isn't a genre I read often. Once or twice a year, I find a I need a book like this to brighten my dark young adult dystopian and adult historical fiction reading ways. With Charlaine Harris bringing the Sookie Stackhouse series to an end, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on Emily Hemmer for when I need lighter reading fare.

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Book Review #26 + Blog Tour: Fury by Charlotte McConaghy

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"What was once known as a normal human emotion can now be categorized differently--namely, as a disease that is contracted upon the development of the brain in early childhood. ...Humanity, as a race, would function at a far superior level, both physically and socially, if this disease could be cured." Fury, page 44.

Fury: Book 1 of The Cure
by Charlotte McConaghy
348 pages,
Published March 25, 2014
by Momentum Books,
Pan Macmillan


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I devoured Fury by Charlotte McConaghy. I received my review copy and inhaled the book in three days. Then lamented the fact I wouldn't be sharing my thoughts about the book until June! I then promptly went to GoodReads and recommended it to a BUNCH of friends with the note that if they felt there was something lacking in the Divergent series (or even if they were fans) they NEED to read Fury.

Josephine's story is told in a series of flashbacks until the current timeline catches up with the past from three different points of view--Josephine, Anthony (her therapist) and Luke. They live in a dystopian world where anger is considered a disease and the result of a world without anger is lopsided emotionally. Each character has their own voice, thoughts and opinions about the Cured world. McConaghy does a marvelous job of making each character unique and uses each one to advance the storyline in a way the begs the reader to turn the page.

The absence of anger in some humans and the presence of it in others is the driving force of the plot. It brings the characters together, for better or worse, and creates friction and chemistry. The government also plays a bit of a part in the novel, but the main goal of book one is to allow the reader to become familiar with the main characters and a world without anger. There is just a touch about the political dissent that the Cure has brought about (just enough to whet your appetite). That whiff of the larger game is laid out as one reaches the dramatic conclusion and may have some screaming, WHEN DOES BOOK 2 COME OUT?!

McConaghy has created a world that is intriguing and characters that are real. The book moves at breakneck speed and comes to an end with a moving cliffhanger. I give Fury by Charlotte McConaghy a thumbs up and I look forward to the next book in the series.

Note: The relationship between Josephine and Luke does become physical on a level that some may deem inappropriate for a younger audiences. At times, it was, for me, reminiscent of scenes I've read in racier Harlequin Romance novels. While I was not offended, I know some might so if you don't like racey bits in your books, you might want to pass on this one.

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About the Book

In the tradition of Divergent comes a novel about a world where negative emotions are stolen ... and only those with fury can stand up and fight.

Eighteen-year-old Josephine Luquet wakes naked and covered in blood that is not hers on the same day every year—when the blood moon is full. Josi has not responded to the "Cure"—an immunization against anger mandated by the government—and believes herself to be a threat to others.

Then she meets Luke. Luke has had the Cure but seems different to the other "drones"—and he's dead set on helping Josi discover the truth about herself before the next blood moon.

But time is running out. Is Luke willing to risk his life to be near her? Does he truly understand what violence she is capable of?

Raw and full of passion, Fury is a story of love in a dystopian world, and how much we are willing to forgive in the struggle to remember our humanity.

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About the Author

Charlotte started writing her children’s fantasy series ‘The Strangers of Paragor’ as a teenager and has since gone on to publish five novels. After a Masters degree in Screenwriting she wrote ‘Avery’, the first in her adult fantasy series ‘The Chronicles of Kaya’, published by Random House. She now lives in Sydney, Australia, and has just released a new dystopian sci-fi novel called ‘Fury – Book One of The Cure’, published by Momentum.

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Note: Something happened with the original post and the Blogger default comments appeared rather than IntenseDebate. I took a screenshot of the Blogger comments before fixing the post.

Book Review #25 + Blog Tour: Citadels of Fire (Kremins #1) by L.K. Hill

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"Life is a mystical and tragic thing. It is a journey often full of fear, when it ought to be full of hope. It's fascinating to look back on your life and feel as though most of it was a precursor to the rest of it; to what was always supposed to be." Inga, Citadels of Fire.

Citadels of Fire by L.K. Hill is a novel set in Russia during the 1500s. For a bit of context, Ivan the Terrible was in the process of becoming a shining political star, or tsar rather, during this period. The novel focuses on two young people, Inga and Taras, trying to make their way in the world during this turbulent time. Their optimistic views of the brutal world ties them together despite the differences in their social standings.

I am almost complete stranger to Russian history. I know very little and what I do know is mainly about the demise of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. I'm always a bit anxious about jumping into a new time and culture in history. Will I have to do a lot of research on my own to understand what's happening? Will the author provide pages of boring, dry history to bring me up to speed? There is no need to fear with Citadels of Fire. All those worries were put to rest after the short introduction and a bit of reassurance by Dr. LaRue Larkin, Associate Professor of Russian History at Weber State, I felt like I was in good hands.

Ms. Hill is a patient teacher throughout the novel. She does an excellent job explaining the class structure and enough of the political intrigues of the Russian court of the time. The explanations are woven seamlessly into the plot so the reader is learning along with the characters. This allowed for just enough information to move the plot forward without dragging the story or the reader down.

I enjoyed how Ms. Hill introduced the characters and allowed the reader to watch them grow and change with the obstacles they faced. The only downside to this is that for the first several chapters you jump several years. Sometimes I would forget that we had jumped forward in time to a new point in the characters' lives and be a little bit lost. I often wished there was a header at the top of the page listing the year or more of a statement of how old the character was at that point in time.

My favorite part of the story was the subtlety and beauty of the romance. The lack of love between Inga and her father is brutally felt in the first chapter. The true love between Taras's mother and father leaps off the page along with the mystery of their arguments and quick decision to leave Russia. There is an old love that remains a secret, and serves as a lesson. Ms. Hill leads the reader to the reveal of who used to be in love without it being overdone and trite. And the new love between Inga and Taras develops in a such a natural way that at times I could feel myself wanting to scream, "JUST KISS HER ALREADY!" In other words, no insta-love here.

Citadels of Fire grabbed me from the opening lines. It's a historical fiction, romance, military, mystery novel. Most of the loose ends are tied up at the end of book one, but there is just enough of a cliffhanger and setup for the next book to leave you wanting more. I look forward reading more novels in this series and give Citadels of Fire by L.K. Hill a thumbs up.

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About the Author
L.K. HILL has a degree from Weber State University, and has won numerous writing awards, including garnering first place in the 2011 League of Utah Writer Writing Contest. When she’s not writing, Hill relaxes with her family in Ogden, Utah, while maintaining constant communication with her many followers.
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Book Review #24: Snow by Áine Greaney

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This is the first short short I have read by Áine Greaney and while it isn't my favorite short story in my recent reads, it does have some strong elements that kept me engaged with the story until the end.

Ms. Greaney does an excellent job of setting up the location in Ireland. I felt like I could see the street where Delores's family shop is located. And I could feel the cold of a Dublin winter as the snow fell on the late night scene. This small corner of Dublin becomes a character in the story.

The struggle for me was the number of unanswered questions. What happened between Dolores and her father? There's obviously something that caused her to move to America and there definitely a deep seeded guilt (and maybe a reason for her avoidance), beyond her father's illness, forcing her to stay in Dublin when she has a husband and a life back in New York. And then there is the mysterious Ferguson. Why did he buy the place across the way? Has he always been a loner? Why does he fancy Dolores? Heck, why does Dolores fancy him?

But then I tell myself to stop asking questions and enjoy the story for what the author is sharing with me in just a few short pages. And realize, because I am asking questions and wishing to know more, there is a magical, secret conversation happening between me and the author.

Because of her ability to paint a beautiful picture of Dublin during a snowstorm and stirring my desire to know more about the characters in the story, I give Snow by Áine Greaney a thumbs up.