A Christmas Home: A Novel by Greg Kincaid

about book:  

Todd McCray, hero of A Dog Named Christmas, is now twenty-four years old and working at a local animal shelter, where he meets and quickly becomes friends with Laura, a young volunteer.  Laura, like Todd, has disabilities, but her struggles are more physical than developmental.  Their friendship is sealed when Todd - with the help of his trusted companion, the tenacious Labrador retriever named Christmas - trains a beautiful dog named Gracie to help Laura with the day-to-day life tasks that are difficult for her.

Life seems good for Todd, but all is not well in his hometown.  Struggling families unable to make ends meet are abandoning more and more dogs, and the shelter is swelling to capacity.  The local government is struggling to meet its obligations too, and in early December, on the cusp of another holiday season, Todd's boss delivers the bad news.  Due to funding problems, the shelter will close its doors before the end of the year.

But what will happen to all the animals?

As the Christmas holiday approaches, Todd has limited time to find homes for all the dogs.  Not to mention that he needs to secure a new job and figure out what to do when his friendship with Laura takes an unexpected romantic turn.  All of this seems overwhelming unless you've got a loving family, dedicated friends, and a couple of very special dogs behind you.  In which case, nothing is impossible.

my thoughts:  

Just so you know, I've never read  A Dog Named Christmas, but I did see the Hallmark movie version of the book.  I know its not the same, but that movie is the reason that I was excited to read A Christmas Home - the sequel to the first book.  I wanted to find out what had happened to Todd McCray and his sidekick, Christmas - the lovable dog who melted his family's hearts.  In the movie, Todd is a developmentally challenged young man who lives at home with his parents.  He helps his dad around on the farm and has trouble keeping his bedroom tidy.  Upon hearing that the local animal shelter is looking for temporary homes for the animals during the holidays, Todd decides that he would like to temporarily adopt a dog.  His mother is supportive of the idea, but his father is not.  He doesn't want another addition to the family's already tight budget, plus he doesn't want his son becoming attached to a pet that he is going to have to return after the holiday season.  Todd winds up persuading his father to agree and the next thing you know, Christmas is at home with the McCrays. Of course, realizing that all of the animals need temporary homes, Todd goes to work and winds up persuading several members of his community to pitch in and take these animals home for the holidays.  And in the end, Todd's father, accepts Christmas as the newest member of the McCray family.  Talk about a sweet and heartwarming movie for the holidays!  So, you can understand why I had to read this next book, A Christmas Home - I didn't just want to read about Todd and Christmas, but I wanted to read a sweet and fun story set during the holiday season, whilst I enjoyed the holiday season.  Perfect timing, eh?

And so, I sat down and read A Christmas Home one night.  I had my cup of tea nearby and just settled into this gem of a book.  I found myself getting reacquainted with Todd and Christmas and learning about how far they've come.  Todd now works at a local animal shelter - a job that he absolutely loves and enjoys!  Christmas is still by his side, providing him with loyal companionship.  And, Todd has made a new friend in Laura, a young woman who volunteers at the animal shelter.  She is also coping with some physical disabilities, which inspires Todd to train a dog named Gracie to help Laura get through her everyday tasks.  Their relationship changes from friendly to romantic as the novel progresses - which I loved!  Of course, no novel is complete without a little bit of drama, right?  In this story, the economy plays a role when the struggling families around town can't afford to keep their pets anymore.  They are abandoning them to the local animal shelter, which reaches its full capacity much too quickly.  The local government simply cannot afford to fund the shelter, which means that Todd is out of a job and all the animals will be homeless.  Oh, and all of this must be resolved by Christmas - which is right around the corner!  What does this mean?  Todd McCray  to the rescue!  With the help of his family and friends, Todd manages to find solutions to all of his problems and leave us with a happy ending.

Talk about the perfect book to read this holiday season - I absolutely ate it up! I just loved reading all about Todd and Christmas and how much they rely on each other.  I enjoyed reading about Todd tackling new situations and relationships.  And I enjoyed reading about the idea that nothing is impossible as long as you believe in yourself and know that you can rely on your friends and family when you need them most.  This truly was a treat to read.  I would recommend it to all fans of A Dog Named Christmas and to everyone out their who loves a good Christmas story.




Thanks to The Crown Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book!

11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King

I'm done! Finally! It took me forever to get through this book and I hated that.  I'm usually a fast reader, but for some reason with this book, I just couldn't get into it enough to want to keep reading.  So, I would read bits of it every day for about three weeks. That is just crazy to me! Ugh! And, I'm not even sure why I kept reading - well, that's not true. I suppose I thought the book would get better. Well, it didn't.  For me, this story never really took off and I do think that it could have been told in a lot less words than King used.  Seriously, he could have cut a few hundred pages from the book and we still would have had the same story - a man named Jake goes back in time to stop the assassination of JFK. 

I wasn't even sure I was going to write a post about this book, since I didn't really enjoy it all that much, but I figured why not.  I wanted to share what I liked and disliked about the book. Here goes:

Pros:

• The writing was typical King - engaging storytelling tone, interesting characters, and a solid story idea.  
• The idea of going back in time is always a fascinating one - and to go back with the purpose of changing history (preventing JFK's death) is pretty awesome.
• Learning about the late 50s and early 60s was neat - King is always authentic when describing time periods and locations - love that about him.
• I liked the character of Jake when he was actually doing something - changing Harry's future by changing his past; dating Sadie and living in Jodie; and enduring so much drama when he wanted to change the past.

Cons:

• Too much writing.  Seriously, the book is over 800 pages and a lot of those pages should have been edited down - a lot!
• Too much down time for Jake that I found extremely boring and actually made me dislike him at times.
• Too many unanswered questions, such as: Wouldn't Jake going back in time have changed Al's future?  Why was it that it only felt like he was gone for 2 minutes, when it was in fact several years?  Are there really that many portals scattered all around the world?  Did Al really not know about the card guys and how their cards changed colors? And, why was it that you could only go back to 1958 - why not earlier or later?
• I found other characters more interesting than the protagonist (Deke, Sadie, Harry, Al, Marina, etc.).
• Why wasn't Jake more careful about hiding his true identity? I felt like he was kind of smug about what he already knew was going to happen, because he was from the future.
• Why did certain characters have to die? Is the past really that vengeful?

Anyhow, those are a few of my pros and cons.  Looking at them, I can see that my real problem with the book was that I didn't find it as engaging as I had thought I would.  I've always enjoyed King's writing in the past, but for some reason I just didn't enjoy this book.  I did care for certain characters and I did like certain parts of the book, but overall, I felt let down in the end.  The book just seemed to drag on for far too long, and as a result, the story lagged.  I know I'm probably the only one who feels this way about 11/22/63, but so be it.  

And now, I'm off to find something new to read.  Murakami's not calling to me at the moment, so I may have to shelve Norwegian Wood for now.  Perhaps, something classic should be on the agenda for my next read. Hmmm. Either way, I hope everyone has a wonderfully happy Thanksgiving!!

Diving Belles by Lucy Wood

Quirky and enchanting with a twist of darkness, the short stories in Lucy Wood's, Diving Belles, span the spectrum from strange to really strange.  There are husbands who leave their wives for mermaids, a woman slowly turning to stone, and a house that keeps an eye on its inhabitants.  These stories are revamped versions of old mythologies that Wood has taken and made into her own.  She sets a strong tone with each story and is able to create distinct worlds that seem to bleed the ocean and smell of the salty sea air.  Her characters are fascinating and unforgettable. 

One of the characters that I could not get out of my mind was Iris from the short story titled, Diving Belles.:

"She fretted with her new dress and her borrowed shoes.  She tried to smooth her white hair, which turned wiry when it was close to water.  The wooden bench was digging into her and the wind was rushing up her legs, snagging at the dress and exposing the map of her veins.  She'd forgotten tights; she always wore trousers and knew it was a mistake to wear a dress.  She'd let herself get talked into it, but had chosen brown, a small victory.  She'd gathered the skirt up and sat on it.  If this was going to be the first time she saw her husband in forty-eight years she didn't want to draw attention to the state of her legs.  'You've got to be heartbreaking as hell,' Demelza advised her customers, pointing at them with a cigarette.  'Because you've got a lot of competition down there.' "

From those lines I was hooked.  I just fell in love with Wood's writing - she made her character, Iris, feel so honest and real.  Here is this woman sitting in a diving bell underwater, looking for her husband who left her 48 years ago for a mermaid, and she is worrying about how her legs will look.  I love that!  I'm sure Iris is worried about what to say to her husband, but the fact that her concern over her appearance is mentioned is what makes Wood's writing so engaging and relatable.  What woman wouldn't worry about her appearance in that situation?  I know I would.  And that is what I love about Wood - she appeals to our human nature.  She combines the mystical and the real in such a matter of fact manner that what you are reading doesn't seem all that odd - in fact, it starts to seem almost normal.  The more you read Wood's words, the more you are reminded of Angela Carter and Jeanette Winterson's works; which I feel is a testament to the strength of Wood's storytelling capabilities. 

I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is a fan of the short story or a fan of magical realism.  You will not be disappointed!

Here is a link to the TLC website, which has the list of all the other bloggers participating in the Diving Belles book tour.  Check it out!

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

About book: 

Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her.

For the precocious and determined Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to re-evaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light. As the two women embark on a journey to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves—a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever.

My thoughts:

I loved this book!  It was the perfect novel to fall into after reading that horrid book, Gone Girl.  I knew exactly what to expect - drama, change, and then a happy ending.  Did I get what I expected?  You bet! Which is why I enjoy reading women's fiction - there are always relatable characters and everyday situations that make it easy to connect with the story.  Sometimes I like my reading to be rather easy going, that way I can dip in and out of the story if need be, or I can simply sit and read the whole book at once to get my fill.  With Emily Giffin's latest novel, Where We Belong, I was able to dip in and out of the story every morning for a week as I walked on the treadmill - it was my work out music.

So what exactly was I working out to?  The story of Marian and Kirby, a birth mother and her daughter who seem to find each other at exactly the right time.  Marian was living it up in NYC, hoping to marry her boyfriend, who also happened to be her boss.  Kirby was graduating from high school soon and contemplating what to do with her life. When she turned eighteen, Kirby found out her birth mother's address and decided to go to NYC and meet her.  She wanted answers and was hoping to get them from her.  Marian wasn't expecting to open her front door and come face to face with the daughter she had given up for adoption eighteen years ago.  Talk about your past catching up to you.

With this book we get teen pregnancy, the contemplation of abortion, adoption, birth parents, teen angst, relationship drama (familial, friendship and romantic), shop lifting, depression and heart break.  This is a book that deals with some pretty heavy issues, but somehow tackles them in a way that does not bog down the reader.  Instead, the writing manages to be light, engaging and serious all at the same time.  You get to learn all about Marian's past and present in alternating chapters that provide her perspective one chapter and then Kirby's perspective the next.  I like it when authors employ this method, because its nice to be able to see where each character is coming from when they are experiencing the same moment - like when Marian tells her ex-boyfriend that he is Kirby's father.  We feel Marian's nervousness, shame, guilt and sadness, while also getting to know how annoyed, upset, and disappointed Kirby found the whole situation to be.   And its not just the writing that captivates you, but also the characters.  You can't help but connect with them.  Marian and Kirby are both relatable in different ways, that you cant' help but see bits of yourself in them.  They are strong, independent and unique women who are insecure and filled with emotions that they just want to keep buried deep down inside themselves. Giffin is able to create a story with such authenticity and ease that you forget you are reading a work of fiction and easily imagine you are watching one of those true story movies on Lifetime.  Or at least that is how I felt. 

At the end of the day, Where We Belong is a quick read that will have you laughing, crying and smiling.  Its a book about love and the ways in which we choose to abandon it, embrace it and enjoy it.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone who enjoys Giffin's works or women's fiction - you will not be disappointed!

The Expats: A Novel by Chris Pavone

About book:

Can We Ever Escape Our Secrets?
 
Set against a richly atmospheric background of suspense and intrigue, THE EXPATS introduces an indelible and deeply engaging female heroine. At first glance, Kate Moore is an ordinary, American expat mom whose days are filled with coffee outings with friends and the mundane demands of child care. But Kate is also guarding a secret: until recently she’d been leading a double life as a CIA agent, traveling the globe on increasingly dangerous covert missions. After her job drives her to commit an unforgiveable act, Kate is ready for a less eventful life and her husband Dexter’s new job as a financial systems security consultant in Luxembourg provides the perfect exit strategy. But still she remains unable to bring herself to reveal her secret to him.

As Kate struggles to adapt to her new expat existence, always wondering when her past will catch up with her, her spook instincts take over and she grows suspicious of those around her. There’s an overly friendly American couple, Bill and Julia, who clearly are not who they say they are, and whom Kate suspects may be assassins; and Dexter has become withdrawn, evasive, and unhealthily absorbed in his work, which mysteriously leads him to come home with mud-stained shoes. When Kate breaks her vow to never investigate her own husband and begins to dig for the truth, her world quickly unravels as she discovers that Dexter has been harboring an explosive secret of his own—and that he may be involved in a dangerous scheme involving shell corporations, unforgiven war crimes, and the brazen theft of 50 million euros.

Transporting readers from the cobblestoned streets of Luxembourg to the snow-capped peaks of the Alps to an unforgettably climactic scene in Paris, THE EXPATS is an international thriller in the tradition of established masters such as John Le Carré, Christopher Reich, Ken Follett, and Frederick Forsyth. At the same time, it is a skillfully drawn, character-driven exploration of marital deception that breaks the bounds of the espionage genre and will appeal broadly to fans of psychological suspense.

My thoughts:

Story:  Intriguing.

Writing:  Spot on for a spy thriller - fun, suspenseful and well written!

Overall:  Loved it!

I picked up The Expats  and couldn't put it down - finished it in one sitting! It was just such an enjoyable read that kept me turning page after page, that I had to find out what would happen next. You see, Kate Moore and her family have relocated to Luxembourg.  Why?  Well, Dexter, Kate's husband, has a new job working security at a bank (and when I say working security, I mean he'll be dealing with all the tech aspects of making sure no one can steal money via the net) and it will be providing them with a lifestyle that will allow Kate to quit work, and afford them weekend jaunts to Paris or Rome with their two kids.  Talk about a dream come true, right?  So, Kate quits her job at the CIA (yes, she was  spy) and packs their bags and heads off to Luxembourg to start a new life.  By the way, did I mention that Dexter has no clue that Kate was a spook for the CIA - yeah, he thought she wrote position papers about politics (little did he know).  Anyhow, life in Luxembourg is going along as smoothly as it can - the kids are in school, Dexter's working all the time, and Kate is doing laundry and making dinner - a far cry from her past career.  However, just as Kate is adjusting to her new mundane routine, she befriends a woman who may or may not be who she claims to be.  Soon enough, Kate is contacting an old CIA friend for information and breaking into her husband's work office to find out just who her husband is really working for (he's been keeping it a secret, yes, even from Kate, his wife!).  Talk about surprise after surprise - I loved it!!

Chris Pavone's debut novel is a thrilling read that will keep you on the edge of your seat with all of its slow revelations.  And believe me they are slow - it isn't until the end that you get all the information at once and that you are finally able to fully understand what has been happening in Luxembourg.  Also, Pavone employs the flash forward device to keep you further in suspense as you try to figure out how in the hell the Moore family wound up in Paris (don't worry I didn't spoil anything by mentioning Paris). As for the writing, its fun and entertaining - a perfect escape into a world filled with deception, domesticity and some pretty dubious characters.  Its a story that focuses on the concept of trust and the ways in which it can be tested in a marriage filled with too many secrets.  And believe you me, these are characters you want to trust, because they are so fascinating and multi-layered that you can't help but love getting to know them, especially Kate.  She was my favorite character.  Her sense of self is put to the test as she struggles to fit into this new role of housewife.  Folding clothes, cleaning the bathroom and going grocery shopping are not exactly thrilling tasks and soon enough Kate is wishing for more.  She misses the excitement and danger of her old job - which we can see when she throws herself into investigating her new friends and her husband.  Truthfully, I actually enjoyed getting to know Kate as a CIA agent - trained to kill and get the job done.  It was the perfect juxtaposition for this mother of two, who waits for her kids after school and takes them to the park - it showed us how complex and varied a person can be.  Plus, it provided a realistic point of view for a women who is still trying to figure out who she is and what she really wants from life. 

All in all, The Expats was a fun and engaging read that I couldn't put down.  I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in spy thrillers or suspense reads - you will not be disappointed!!  And, thanks to Crown Publishing, I have an extra copy to give away!  Just leave me a comment before May 1st and your name will be thrown in for the giveaway!  The winner will be announced on May 3rd! (Open to US residents only).  Good Luck!!

*Thank you to Crown Publishing for providing me with a copy of this terrific book!