The Mine

In May 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can't use, money he can't spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of Whirlaway, swing dancing, and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his 21-year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that  will alter their lives forever. THE MINE follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come.

*May Contain Spoilers*

John Heldt takes readers back to a time in which World War II looms overhead with his time traveling novel, The Mine. Joel Smith never imagined that when the planets aligned it would create a path into the past, nor that he would be the one to stumble upon it. 

Joel Smith is the main character of this novel. A young man, about to graduate from college with a geology degree, who is over-the-top arrogant on the outside but has a hidden charm that readers will enjoy. His tongue is sharp with wit and he has a certain knack for causing trouble. Readers will connect with him based on the serious contemplations he keeps secret and love him for his live-for-the-moment attitude coupled with his need to keep others around him happy. 

The plot of The Mine focuses on Joel and how he discovers an abandoned mine the same day the planets are aligning, creating an escape to 1941. With war on the horizon, Joel becomes friends with a drafted man, his future grandmother, a Japanese-American, and a young college coed that steals his heart. He lives in the year of Pearl Harbor for six months wondering if he will ever return to his present or continue on in the past. The hardest question being whether he'll want to return or not.

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Teaser Tuesday (104)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Mine (Kindle Loc. 1692-93)

   - John Heldt

"The weather's great, the beer is cold, the crowd is festive, and we're sitting with the most alluring women in Seattle."

"I'll drink to that," Joel said. 

WWW Wednesday (90)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

      

01. Currently Reading:
The Mine by John Heldt. A time travel novel in which two young men come across an abandoned mine that turns out to be a portal to the past.

02. Recently Finished:
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. The concluding novel in the Millennium series where readers find out what the consequences are for Salander, Blomkvist, and Zalenchenko.

03. Reading Next:
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. The third novel in the Mortal Instruments series. Can't wait to see what Clary and Jace are up to in this battle against Valentine.

Teaser Tuesday (103)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



The Mine (Chapter 2, Kindle 2%)
   - John Heldt

"It's an abandoned mine. It went out of business a hundred years ago."
"I see. Can we drive around the construction on that road?"

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium #3)

Lisbeth Salander — the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels — lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge—against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Stieg Larsson brings his epic trilogy to a conclusion with his novel, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Readers have watched Blomkvist and Salander destroy the high and mighty, solve a forgotten disappearance, and uncover a secret section of Swedish Politics. In this final act, Salander must fight to right the wrong committed against her as a child while Blomkvist attempts to blow the Zalenchenko affair wide open. 

Readers already have a strong connection to both Salander and Blomkvist from the previous two novels. The empathy and interest that first piqued these connections are what engage readers to follow the story to the bitter end. Lisbeth Salander is, and will always be, an unbelievably strong, intelligent female character with the will and motivation to survive anything. Hell, readers witnessed her digging out of her own grave in The Girl Who Played With Fire. Now she's healing from a bullet wound to the head with criminal charges stacking up against her. Readers are no doubt on her side as she faces the evil that has tried to, not only destroy but, extinguish her life. 

The plot of the novel follows Salander's healing process, the criminal investigation of events which occurred in the second novel, the Zalenchenko club attempting to conceal their own crimes, and Blomkvist digging up every dirty detail for his next Millennium issue. Larrsson unravels the tightest wound secrets of Sweden all while introducing new factions and key players that will surprise the readers, invigorating their voracious need to know how the show will end. The entire trilogy is a whirlwind of conspiracy and the end will more than satisfy the Millennium fans. Let's just say, Salander implements her revenge in spades and doesn't stop there. 

Rating: 4.5/5 Cups

        

Dragon Tattoo Review / Played With Fire Review

WWW Wednesday (89)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

          

01. Currently Reading:
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. The concluding book of the Millennium series that has Salander on trial with forces inside the government trying to work against her so their secret is never revealed.

02. Recently Finished:
Lie by Rathan Krueger. A novel about bland female characters in modern fiction disguised as a story about four women who need to get away for the weekend.

03. Reading Next:
The Mine by John Heldt. A time traveling novel in which a young man travels back to 1941 in a nation slipping toward war.

Teaser Tuesday (102)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (p.290)
    - Stieg Larsson

By lunchtime she had such a headache that the nurse called Dr. Endrin, who examined her patient briskly and prescribed a powerful painkiller.
Salander held the tablets under her tongue and spat them out as soon as she was alone.

Lie

On the surface, "Lie" is about a group of four women who go on a getaway to a cottage to help one of their own through a life-changing problem.
Underneath the bridge, "Lie" is an attack on bland female characters in modern fiction.
Wherever you look, it'll be a lot of fun.

In alphabetical order...

Quinevere Ainsworth is the one with the problem. Under normal circumstances, she's quiet but with the right accident, this white-haired comic book geek can be quite the companion.

Fantine Karoly is quiet under pretty much all circumstances. In her defense, she's a rather shy teen. She'd much prefer to watch films or let her mind drift to faerie folk. Her aunt, however, wants her out of her shell and feels that this getaway will do her a world of great.

Veronique Karoly is a middle-aged woman with no regrets. Save for how her niece acts sometimes. She's done it all in life, and sometimes twice. The only thing she loves more than Fantine is being a woman.

Idette Rudelle has known Quinevere for most of her almost-30 years being alive. Although she's younger, she's the protector of the two. A bit like those tiny dogs that are cuddly with the ones they like, and insanely... chompy around everyone else. Except she's obviously not a dog and I've never seen a ginger pooch.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Rathan Krueger examines the idea of female characters in modern fiction with his novel, Lie. The book follows four women as they escape city life for a weekend. Krueger focuses on Quinevere and Idette's friendship and the reason why Quinnie needs to get out of town: she's pregnant. Idette brings along Veronique, who also drags her too-shy niece with them. As the four ladies get to know each other, they open up (slightly), relax, and try to examine the decision Quinevere is faced with. 

The four characters are presented, for the most part, equally. Readers are introduced to them all within a small time frame and are then whisked away to a country "cottage." This causes a bit of confusion but certain facts will help readers keep them straight. Idette is a rude red-head. She's a bit hard to connect with as she portrayed as someone who is not reliable. Fantine loves everything Fae related. Mysticism and mythology is right up this shy girl's alley. Readers will enjoy watching her emerge from her shell. Veronique is always worried about Fantine and used to be a dancer. If the dialogue or situation is of a sexual nature, then Veronique is probably taking part. And then there's Quinevere. She's Idette's best friend (not really the other way around), a Batman lover, and she's pregnant. She's weighing the options between keeping the baby or having an abortion. Thus, the weekend getaway. Readers will probably connect more with Quinevere most of all, though each reader will have certain characteristics that draw them to specific characters. 

The plot of the novel revolves around the four women getting to know each other, Quinevere and Idette reconnecting as friends, and the decision that Quinevere must make. Throughout the weekend, various situations occur that all lead to one crucial moment. The moment when the narrator turns against the characters. The narrator morphs into a villain and swears to make the surviving characters reap what they have sown. And, honestly, it's quite intense, revealing the attack on "bland" or "stereotypical" characters. The end is a bit gruesome, the language and sexuality throughout the novel is blunt (to say the least), and the whole tale is confusingly twisted. Recommended for mature audiences.

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

Becoming: The Life and Musings of a Girl Poet

Becoming is a rousing composition of poems about utilizing your God-given talents and gifts in such a way that leads to a life of fulfillment.

**

Becoming is a wonderful compilation of poetry and prose by Nadia Brown. She writes of connections, questions the way of life, takes notice of the world around her, and revels in the details. Her poetry is inspirational and contemplative. Brown's style flows through each poem yet she varies the visual, including random rhyme and open-ended questions. The diversity of how each poem is presented illustrates the various topics she covers. 

Lovers of poetry will enjoy Brown's collection, though they may not agree with her perspective. She seems to focus on the details of life and religion, desire and hope. Regardless of whether or not readers agree with her words, they do bring focus and elicit internal contemplation. Though I can't include a rating because there's no main character for readers to connect with, I did enjoy Brown's poetry and felt the inspiration her words hold. The prose didn't resonate with me in the same way. I felt like it was more focused on motivation, as if I was signing up for a community presentation. I would have enjoyed them more if they were developed deeper with an essay style.