Monday, November 29, 2010

When the Sun Goes Down by Gwynne Forster

From a Goodreads review: "When the sun goes down on my life, you'll all come apart like ripped balloons." The wealthy Leon Farrell spoke those words to his three children before he passed, but, as always, he underestimated them. While his oldest, Edgar, does seem to be falling apart at the seams, Shirley and Gunther are doing just fine. Shunned by their father after the death of their mother while they were still children, the younger Farrell siblings worked their way through college and into successful careers. Shirley handles PR on board cruise ships and Gunther has built a computer software company that's growing by leaps and bounds. Their oldest brother, Edgar, is the only one that seems to be struggling in the wake of his father's death. It's not that he misses their father, he misses the inheritance that he's sure is coming to him. In his final thumbing of the nose at his kids, Leon died without telling anyone where his will was, including his attorney of over 20 years. Pressed for money to pay off gambling debts, Edgar hires private investigator, Carson Montgomery, to locate the missing document.


I went into this book really wanting to like it, the cover alone is just lovely, but in the end, it was not a favorite. I was at a disadvantage because this book is a sequel and I hadn't read the first one so it felt somewhat hurried as Forster summarized the history of a few key characters in paragraphs that did not do them justice. That would be my major issue with the book - it's a Ken Follett sized story in a Mitch Albom sized book. The story was so good and intriguing - a great premise for the mystery and good pairings for the romance - but the characters deserved more time in the pages for the relationships to develop naturally. To make the pieces fit within the time frame of the story (number of pages/words), Forster had to use too many fantastic coincidences for my taste. The other turn off for me was the way the male characters spoke. When the romantic lead, Carson, is asking the heroine on a date, he says, "A dressy street dress should be suitable for the evening...." and when Gunther is describing a work project, he describes it as "a dilly of a game". I work for the Navy surrounded by hundreds of men, none of them talk like this. I wondered if perhaps Gwynne is not from America, the more formal style of speech made me think of someone for whom English is a second language. Then I visited her website, including her blog, and her voice in that setting sounded much more relaxed and natural. I felt like Forster wanted to tell young Black women that there were sophisticated men out there for them but it ended up feeling like the men were preaching rather than being real. This book was full of promise but did not pan out for me.


I read this book for the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday started by Marcia at The Printed Page is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). This month Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Julie at Knitting and Sundries. Stop by there to check out everyone else's mailboxes. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
















I didn't get these through my mailbox but instead through a stroke of good luck at a local church bazaar. There they sat in hard cover in mint condition on the dollar table. I was so happy becasue I have seen so many good reviews. Lord knows when I will actually read them but now they are ready and waiting! Here is a link to Brunonia Barry's beautiful website www.brunoniabarry.com.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson

Description from Goodreads: Caterer Goldy Schulz's lucrative new gig, preparing breakfasts and conference room snacks for a local law firm, is time-consuming, but she's enjoying it . . . until the night she arrives to find Dusty, the firm's paralegal, dead. The deceased also happened to be Goldy's friend and neighbor, and now Dusty's grieving mother is begging Goldy to find out who murdered her daughter.

I think Dark Tort would be described as a cozy mystery. It's a clean read wih a good, friendly heroinne in a small town who stumbles across a crime. As with most cozy msyteries, it's light, not anything that taxes your brain too much. I didn't spend a lot of time trying to get ahead of the plot; it was enjoyable just to let the story unfold. Dark Tort is part of a series, in fact, it is number thirteen out of fourteen. That didn't stop me from enjoying it as a stand alone. The author fills in enough background so you feel on top of things. I think it fits for Weekend Cooking because Goldy is a caterer and there is lots of food talk. The print version has recipes so that's a sure fit! But I listened to this one on audio. It has been such a long time since I listened to it that I can't really remember my thoughts on the narrator, I guess that tells us something - not memorable! As with most of the series I stumble upon in the middle, if I were to stumble across another, I would listen to it but I am not going to go seek them out.


This post is linked to Weekend Cooking over at Beth Fish Reads. Click on the logo to see the other posts this week.






This book counts toward the 2010 Audiobook Challenge hosted by the bloggers over at Royal Reviews. Click on the button to see my progress.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday started by Marcia at The Printed Page is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). This month Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Julie at Knitting and Sundries. Stop by there to check out everyone else's mailboxes. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.


From the Amamzon product description: WAR is not a book about the war in Afghanistan. It's a profile of some of the men who fought a part of the war in Afghanistan. Junger was embedded with a frontline unit and followed them over their eighteenth-month deployment.

This was a win from Kristi at Books and Needlepoint. Thank you, Kristi! As a military employee, families facing deployment is part of my every day world, not a good part. A "manly" topic like this isn't my usual cup of tea but I am drawn to it to understand what these guys who leave are getting into and what the ones who are coming home are bringing with them.


From the author's website: Birdie Cousins has planned a getaway with her daughter Chess on rustic, charming Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket, a chance to bond before Chess's upcoming marriage. Birdie's been through a difficult divorce herself, so she knows the big commitment that marriage entails. She's only recently dared to tiptoe back into the waters of romance.When Chess abruptly breaks off the wedding and her fiancé shockingly dies in a rock climbing accident, it leaves Chess feeling guilty and deeply depressed. Birdie circles the wagons, convincing her younger daughter Tate, and her own sister India to join them on Tuckernuck for the month of July. Secrets and intrigue soon make their way to the surface, as Elin Hilderbrand once again weaves a masterful story of summer suspense.

This was a win from Gwendolyn at A Sea of Books. Thank you, Gwendolyn! True confession...my Mailbox Monday post is so late, I've already listened to this one. It was delightful! I will post soon eventually.