October Reads (9)

One star:             did not like it at all

Two stars:           eh, it was okay

Three stars:        liked it

Four stars:          really, really liked it

Five stars:            absolutely loved it

1-Star (1)

*This is Home (Fiction, L. Duffy)

This is probably going to sound harsh, but I feel how I feel.  The premise of this book is about a woman whose husband leaves her after returning from Iraq.  He has severe PTSD.  He is portrayed as a violent drunk.  Don’t get me wrong…I’m sure a lot of veterans with PTSD ARE violent drunks as a result of their horrific experiences.  That actually is not my issue with this book, although it pains me to think that that’s how PTSD veterans are so commonly portrayed (The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is another example, although I loved that book).  My issue with this book is the main character, Quinn.  Actually…scratch that.  My issue is with the author.  Had I read the acknowledgements first, I probably wouldn’t have read the book.  Note to self:  READ THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FIRST.  As I was reading, I kept thinking to myself ‘there is NO WAY this author is the wife of a veteran’.  I was right.  In the acknowledgements, the author lists 4 or 5 different sergeants in the military (all men) who helped her with some of the details.  She doesn’t say if they are veterans or not.

Now….if you’re an author writing a book about the wife of a PTSD vet, WHY wouldn’t you actually get the opinions and help from an ACTUAL WIFE OF A PTSD VET???  I had zero connection at all with Quinn, therefore I just didn’t care what happened to her.  My favorite character in the book was Sally, who had like 3 lines in the book and trained dogs to be service dogs for vets.  She says something like ‘I don’t lose sleep over the vets.  I lose sleep over their wives, the ones that are fighting a war they never asked for’.  I wish Sally would have been in the book more.

I found Quinn to be weak, needy, and pathetic.  She jumps into bed with one of her husband’s buddies approximately 3-5 months after her husband leaves her.  And that timeline is correct.  How do I know?  Because she’s pregnant with her husband’s baby.  The husband who left her.  Sigh.  She claims to be just reeling and recovering from so much trauma and can’t get close to other people and so on and so on and so on.  And 3 months later she’s best friends with a 16 year old and sleeping with the 16-year-olds father.  What? 

I cannot speak for everyone’s experience with this.  I realize everyone is different and I know that everyone has their own issues and handles their pain in different ways.  This book was not for me.

2-Star (1)

**Save Me the Plums (Non-Fiction, R. Reichl)

Brag brag brag brag brag I hang out with rich people brag brag brag brag I can tell you exactly what’s in a fancy chocolate cake with one bite including the type of chocolate used brag brag brag brag brag.  Soooooo pretentious.  Gak.

3-Star (2)

***This Tender Land (Fiction, W. Krueger)

This is a really good story about 4 orphans who escape an abusive ‘school’ to look for a new home.  They travel in a canoe down the Mississippi River and eventually end up in St. Louis, but they make multiple stops along the way and meet all kind of people.  It was too long in my opinion.

***Demelza, (#2 Poldark) (Fiction, W. Graham)

This was good, but it felt VERY long.  But again…I’m used to the TV series which moves very quickly.

4-Star (2)

****Ross Poldark, #1 (Fiction, W. Graham)

TV series or books, tv series or books, tv series or books?  It’s too early to tell.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Poldark series on PBS.  If you haven’t watched it, GO WATCH IT.  It’s on Amazon Prime.  It’s incredibly good.  Book one of this series is great.  I look forward to the next!

****A Share In Death, #1 (Fiction, D. Crombie)

A solid start to the 1^st book in the Duncan Kincaid mystery series.

5-Star (3)

*****Big Dreams Daily Joys (Non-Fiction, E. Cripe)

Probably one of the best books on productivity and time management that I’ve ever read.  It’s a super quick read as well.

*****The Lager Queen of Minnesota (Fiction, J. Stradal)

This one started off very slowly, but it picked up and just soared from there.  Full of loveable characters and you’ll learn more about beer than you ever wanted too ha ha.

*****The Mother-in-Law (Fiction, S. Hepworth)

After I finished this I immediately added all of this other authors books to my TBR list.  I listened to the audio, which was amazing.

Total Books Read: 9 (7 Fiction, 2 Non-Fiction)