Norwegian Wood

Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami is probably one of the strangest yet intriguing books I have ever read. Murakami utilizes a variety of themes to explore the love life and coming of age story of Toru. However, most of these themes are weighed down with the theme of death. As several characters in the novel commit suicide, I think Murakami uses the looming nature of death to highlight the difficulties of life. 

Toru is the main character and the narrator of the novel. He's a young college student who is learning to navigate the world of love, sex, and being an adult. His young adulthood has been heavily influenced by the suicide of his best friend that occurred a few years earlier. When he reconnects with his deceased best friend's former girlfriend, Naoko, Toru falls in love with her but must help her and recognize that she struggles with depression and (perhaps) other mental illness. 

Toru is a semi-likeable character as he's intelligent, morally guided overall, and mostly supportive of the few friends he has. I say 'mostly' because he does poke fun at his roommate and remains friends with a playboy, even participating in some one-night stands of his own. The main thing about Toru is that he is flawed so that makes him both relatable and influenced by the story's action. However, in that flawed nature, he isn't a very reliable narrator. He constantly doubts his memory which then transfers doubt to the reader. Within that doubt, readers still feel connected to Toru based on both his experiences and the emotions he evokes. Toru is a hopeful young man who is caught between a love of the past and a chance for love in the future. 

The entire story is a told as a flashback, as Toru relives the days of knowing Naoko because he hears a cover of The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood." While Toru tells the story, he seems to get lost and the present becomes the memory while the past fully takes over. Though this book is interesting and pulls the reader in from the beginning, it is incredibly sad with no real conclusion. For as much emotional investment the book requires, it seems that the payoff would be bigger. Or at least, the conclusion more clear. Overall, I was dedicated to this book and kind of disappointed with how it ended. I almost felt like I was being punished for making it to the end. I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone and definitely not just anyone. In terms of literature, this book is interesting in the way it presents Westernization and cultural influences. However, I don't think everyone would be a fan. It's a book that requires contemplation and analysis to even begin to unpack everything that Murakami tackles. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

 

The Next Best Thing - Cover Reveal

Welcome to the cover reveal of Wendi Nunnery's new book: 

The Next Best Thing 

Meet Wendi Nunnery

Wendi Nunnery is the author of The Mayfield Family Story, The Best Kept Secret, and The Next Best Thing. She is also the founding editor of Lady Literary Magazine and her work has appeared in The Huffington Post, The Simply Beloved, and Introvert, Dear. Wendi is a proud Georgia Southern University alum and believes colorful language is good for the soul. She lives, loves, and mothers in Atlanta, Georgia.

Her novel, The Best Kept Secret was reviewed here on The Coffee Pot Review in June of last year.

Connect with Wendi: Blog / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook



Synopsis of The Next Best Thing

Four years ago, Emma Fraser’s first love took his own life. Now, twenty years old and in college, Emma and her best friend, Andy, are still mourning the loss of a friend and brother. Nothing is the same as it once was…and things are about to change even more.

Too heartbroken to even consider falling in love again, Emma stays distracted by school and work. Until she meets Landon and, for the first time ever, finds herself believing she might actually have a future with someone. But when Deegan Burke—the man responsible for all of Emma’s heartache—gets out of prison early, Emma is suddenly confronted by her worst fears. And when faced with choices she never thought she’d have to make, Emma discovers that the only person she really wants by her side is the last person she ever expected.

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The Next Best Thing sounds like it will be a heartbreaking ride full of emotional upheaval and surprising circumstances. And now, the cover of Wendi's new book:

Learn more about Wendi Nunnery's books on Amazon and Goodreads! 

The Next Best Thing releases on January 3, 2017. 

The Kindle version of the book is now available for pre-order!

Order now and get the new title for only $2.99! 

Order Here

Thanks for joining us at The Coffee Pot Review to reveal Wendi Nunnery's new book, The Next Best Thing!

Better in the Morning

Veronica Buccino has a plan: marry John DelMonico and quit her soul-sucking job as a lawyer. And when he tells her he has big news, she’s certain he’ll pop the question. But instead of proposing, John informs her that he’s moving to London.

Heartbroken, Veronica feels lost. Salvatore and Antoinette, her dead grandparents, begin to visit her dreams in an attempt to steer her in the right direction. At their suggestion, Veronica takes a news reporting class, which leads to a challenging freelance assignment covering a conspiracy trial. She also begins dating an unlikely suitor: creative Syd Blackman.

Just when her love life and career are looking up, Veronica is tossed back to square one by an event that makes her question all her new choices.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Another girl who listens to her dreams! Better in the Morning by Fern Ronay was a beautiful story about a woman who's stuck in a job she hates with a boyfriend who doesn't really get her. But things are about to change. Really change. With the help of her deceased grandparents, who speak to her in her dreams, Veronica's life is about to undergo a serious make-over for the better. The process may not be easy but it is definitely entertaining. 

Veronica is ready for real love that lasts a lifetime and she thinks that John will give that to her. But suddenly, he's moving across the globe and she's left with nothing but a job where she is treated like crap. Given, she doesn't love the job so she doesn't really put in the work it would take to succeed. Regardless, her boss and co-worker are a combination of cruel and cold. Veronica is a woman who believes. She has an abundant amount of faith that guides her through life. She may be a little judgmental but she's loving and hopeful. Readers will relate to her career struggles, her fear, and her hopes. She has bills to pay and it's hard to take a leap changing job fields, but she hopes for the best. With humor and dream sequences, Veronica will make it through this. 

My favorite parts of the book were the dream chapters. In these, Veronica gets to hang out with her deceased grandparents who are full of love and laughter. I think these sequences are where readers will really connect with Veronica. They get to read her thoughts by living her dreams with her. The dreams are intimate and important situations that lead Veronica to happiness while helping her leap over the obstacles. 

The plot of Better in the Morning begins with Veronica and her boyfriend breaking up because he's moving to London. She thought he was going to propose and is absolutely heartbroken. Not all readers have been in that exact situation but the experience of a relationship ending is easy to relate to. However, this loss turns into a little push for Veronica. She starts a news-reporting class and even goes on a few dates. Things are looking up until they all fall apart again. Veronica has to fight for her happy ending and readers will enjoy watching her climb out of the chaos. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

After Dad, A Novel

"He was always there for me," Jenny Kovacek says in the opening of the novel After Dad, and indeed, her father is such a charismatic force in the family that despite his untimely passing, he continues to have a dynamic impact on his survivors. Set mostly in Southern California during the tumultuous 1960s, Ralph Cohen's debut novel tells the stories of the man's three children and widow as they cope with their loss. Though missing, the father is never far from their minds, and during critical moments in their lives, he seems to reach out in various ways, from simple memories of touch and voice to artifacts left behind to a sense of his ongoing existence. How each of the family members responds to his lingering presence leads to results that are by turn comic, tragic and transformative.

*Contains Spoilers*

 

Ralph Cohen writes a real and raw story of what happens to a family in the 1960s after the father dies unexpectedly from a heart attack in his novel, After Dad. Interpreting this title, a reader would think that it literally means "after Dad" died, but there is another way to see it. For a few characters it seems to mean following "after Dad." Or even, going "after Dad." Readers will witness this family's struggle and be entertained, appalled, afraid, worried, and hopeful for the Kovaceks.

 

The family consists of Ruth, the mother, and Jenny, Margot, and Toby, the three children. Frank Kovacek, the father who dies, was always imaginative and inspiring to his children. He'd tell them tall tales of his younger years, his soldier years, and how he fell in love with their mother. The three children undoubtedly loved their father and so did Ruth, even though it wasn't always easy.

 

Jenny is the most imaginative of the children. She dreams herself to other places and believes that Frank is with her, everywhere. She isn't the best student and struggles after high school ends. Readers will connect with her sympathetically after a horrifying (and inappropriate) encounter with an older man. Her family believes that her behavior stems from not going to her father's funeral and that's probably true, along with a few other things. She's picked on at school through a long duration of specifically targeted pranks. However, she survives. It isn't easy for her, discovering herself and her place in the world, but she goes on to win a scholarship to the same college her dad attended, following in his nearly forgotten footsteps.

 

Toby is the second most imaginative child and was quite young when Frank passed. He becomes a pretty troubled young man. Beginning with an unfortunate accident with a chain saw, leaving him with a disfigured hand and the status of an outsider. Readers will understand his outbursts and misguided sense of morality. Though he seems to be a good kid, his life becomes increasingly hard. Toby turns to breaking and entering to make him feel like he has a father. He disappears into homes, hiding, pretending, dreaming of a different world. Often, leaving with a small memento, which gets him caught by the police. He ends up in a juvenile detention center and hope slowly erodes to fear. Readers will be appalled at what happens to Toby. I know my jaw dropped open for a full minute. A difficult ending for a difficult young boy. 

 

Margot is the least imaginative of the children, but still feels her father with her at times. She turns from her family, needing to escape the darkness. But without a guiding light, Margot stumbles upon tough times as well. She's a smart girl who dabbles in acting, like her father. She chooses this path to be close to him again and finds that the feeling of connection is fleeting. Margot attends a community college and is reconnected with a girl from high school. This situation leads to her meeting Art and consequently getting married, though I'm not sure if she loves him or just felt like it was the next step. Margot then has a baby and experiences post-partum depression. Readers will connect with Margot through these struggles. I think out of all the characters, Margot is the only one that achieves happiness within the novel's confines.

 

Ruth doesn't garner much attention throughout the novel. She dates a bit after Frank passes, but her love is for him. It's obvious that she misses him and struggles to make enough money to provide for her children after he's gone. The novel ends with a dreamed conversation between Ruth and Frank, after the children have all reached their final places. These shared words will truly touch the hearts of readers, solidifying their connection with the family as a whole. After Dad is an account of one family's history without apologies, without a sweet dusting of sugar. It's real and uncertain. It's simultaneously sad and hopeful. And it isn't for everyone. The level of emotion and certain situations are only for the mature reader though the connection created between characters and readers is definitely one of strength.

 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

The Changing Season

This was supposed to be a simple summer for Billy; one more lazy expanse of time before college began. He'd fill the hours playing with Jimmy – his canine best buddy – going camping and doing all the things he promised Jimmy they'd do before Billy left.

But that was before the accident that shook the entire town.

It was before the summer job that turned into something so much more than a way to get a paycheck.

And it was before Vicki.

This summer was destined to be many things to Billy, things he didn't truly understand until now. But it was definitely not going to be simple.

*May Contain Spoilers*

 

Steven Manchester writes of a time between things in his novel The Changing Season, showing readers that the time after an ending, before a new beginning, is when everything can change. William Baker has just graduated high school and is getting ready to leave for college, but there's a single summer left to enjoy, discover, and learn a few more things.

 

Billy has no idea what he wants to do with his life, a feeling a lot of people can relate to. After high school ends, it's hard to decide where your life should go. Or where you want it to go, for that matter. Billy is a likeable character who's loyal to his friends and his moral compass seems right on target. My favorite thing about Billy was his love for animals. His best friend is a rescue on four legs named Jimmy and readers will easily see how much he cares for him. Though Billy questions what he should focus on going forward in life, it'll be glaringly obvious to readers. With one summer left before college, readers will watch Billy grow from a video-game playing slob of a teenage boy into a man with direction and purpose. This growth will solidify the bond between Billy and the reader.

 

The Changing Season begins just before high school graduation. Billy and his friends, Mark and Charlie, are all looking forward to their futures. In a horrible accident, Charlie plays a critical role in the death of a fellow graduate, testing his friendships, his future, and his freedom. Billy hears his friend's confession and tries to push him to do the right thing. Meanwhile, Billy falls in love and finds a full time summer job. With the truth hanging over his head, Billy must move forward. This coming of age novel will resonate with readers and leave them with hope, as most of Manchester's novels seem to do.

 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Kasmah Forma

In the scorched lands of the Maharaan lives a dark-skinned girl soon to become a woman.
Capable and strong, confident and caring;
all she has known is peace, all she has known is purpose.
All she will bring:
Death.

On the icy plains, beyond the Gadori forests, lies a dead boy.
Forgotten by the world and himself,
he is about to be given the hardest challenge of all:
Life.

In the center of Kasmah one sits above all, the Integra Divinitas.
Beyond the trappings of the common, bound to mankind by responsibility.
A burden that, should any Divinitas fail, could bring the worst fate of all:
Chaos.

All promises must be fulfilled.

For Kasmah... will grow.

*Contains Spoilers*

Kasmah Forma, by S. Vargus, transports readers to a different world, divided into three parts, featuring three stories. In a fantasy world where anything can create or destroy, the main characters must find and define themselves. Vargus separates the characters by distance, function, and necessity, promising conflict and delivering horror. 

Kahli is a girl in the Maharaan. She lives to serve, as seeing other people happy makes her feel useful and, in turn, happy. Yet, the arrival of a strange woman throws her life into chaos. She wakes up to her entire village destroyed and each member slaughtered. With no memory of what happened, Kahli falls into a destructive cycle. Though her storyline is confusing at first, readers experience Kahli's confusion from a direct source. Neither the reader nor the main character know what is happening to her. As she uncovers each piece of her story, readers begin to understand the how and why of Kahli's experiences. Readers will feel pity and anger toward Kahli at first, but that will slowly shift to understanding mixed with second-hand regret. Fear of Kahli also plays a big role in the reader's connection to her as she is incredibly frightening with her abilities. 

Toyo, the second main character, is a boy who woke up in the middle of an empty wasteland of snow with no memory of what happened. He knows how to speak, how to do basic tasks, but cannot remember anything of who he was before he woke up. Toyo finds a pair of iron gloves and mistakenly puts them on, only to discover that he cannot take them off. His power is seemingly unlimited and he is naive to it. Soon he is found by two hunters from the Gadori forest and they take him to their tribe. Toyo can barely communicate with the group but is determined to be accepted by them. Readers will see his commitment to being accepted, but will also witness his youth. He's quick to act with no regard to the consequences. His story is highly entertaining as readers learn about the Gadori right along with Toyo. 

The final main character is Mulat, the main leader of the world. His story was the most confusing for me, but was still semi-enjoyable. Mulat is a man who bores quite easily and when he's bored bad things tend to happen. Throughout his story, assassination is a frequent occurrence, though readers never quite learn who was behind the biggest attempt. Part of his story includes other important members of the city when Mulat is claimed to have been killed. This is where the three character's really come together. 

Each character is inadvertently creating chaos in his or her part of the world. That chaos is leading to destruction and death. As the three move closer to each other figuratively and globally, the terror grows. Kahli is fighting for a life she gave up. Toyo is fighting for acceptance. And Mulat is fighting for existence and stability. Yet, when they come together, the novel ends with no definitive answer as to what happened. Is this because Kasmah Forma is supposed to be a series? Will there be a sequel that picks up where this drops off? Because this lack of an ending completely confused and upset me. Though there were character-reader connections, I would have liked to see connections between the main characters. Perhaps that will be a focus in the sequel now that they are all in close proximity.

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

Don't Forget Me, Bro

Stunned by the death of his mentally ill brother, forty-two-year-old Mark Barr returns to his hometown in West Virginia for his brother’s funeral only to find out that his estranged family has no such plans.  Once back home, he discovers that his family’s memory, as well as his own, of his brother as a broken, hopeless schizophrenic is belied by mounting evidence that Steve Barr had lived a much fuller and more complicated life.

Armed with this new knowledge, Mark tears off on a mission to honor his brother’s memory with justice and compassion.  As he fights to change the hearts of his father, mother, and middle brother, all of whom are fractured by anger, blame, and dysfunction, his own stability is rocked apart.  

In tough, spare, beautiful language that pulls the reader into the peeling, gothic world of southern West Virginia, Don’t Forget Me, Bro shows us that at the heart of every human existence is the ultimate fear of being forgotten, of simply being gone.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Mark searches for a way to honor a brother he never respected, a brother he feared, in John Michael Cummings novel, Don't Forget Me, Bro. With eloquent prose and remarkable sentence crafting, Cummings reaches the soul and shares it in pieces so that even though the whole may be a chaotic beautiful mess, it's still beautiful.

Mark is the main character of this journey back home who struggles with family, love, and interpersonal connection. Mark is a complicated person. (Aren't we all?) He tends to want things that he can't have and that will make him real to readers. Mark wants a home different from Virginia, a brain that doesn't struggle with happiness, a past that doesn't haunt him, and he definitely wants to be nothing like his father. Though, I think most importantly, he wants to be forgiven by his deceased brother. These deep emotional desires and hopes will connect him to readers. The main story line will introduce sympathy for Mark and lay a reader/character foundation, but the in-depth look into Mark's psyche will be what builds upon that foundation. Because of the way the book is written, Mark cannot hide from the reader. And while he's learning new things about his family, readers witness how he reacts, how he thinks, how he grows (or doesn't) with the information. This will only make the connection with Mark stronger as the book goes on, even though he isn't the nicest, sweetest, most loving, or most sane character. He has a lot of faults, a lot of regrets, but that doesn't make him bad. Readers will see that. 

The plot follows Mark from New York to Virginia the early morning that Steve died. Mark believes there will be a funeral but is surprised when his father shares his decision to cremate. While trying to stop him, Mark learns surprising things that his brother did while he was still alive. The story line reminds me of those 3-D pictures that you held really close to your nose while struggling not to cross your eyes, then slowly you moved your head away and let your eyes focus on their own. Magically, a picture popped out of the page that was a crazy mess of colors just a moment before. That is this book. It's a mess of colors, feelings, going off the deep end. Of threats, hopes, dreams, regrets. And, magically, a picture appears at the end bringing everything into focus. 

Rating: 4.5/5 Cups

Grave Mercy

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

*May Contain Spoilers*

I'm a little bit behind on this series, as I've been wanting to read this for some time. So, now, let me jump on the bandwagon and say -- Assassin nuns! The idea alone is completely and absolutely wonderful. Robin LeFevers uses historical events and details to weave her own story about the country of Brittany and a convent of sisters who serve Saint Mortain, the saint of death, in her novel Grave Mercy. 

This first installment focuses on Ismae, a girl scarred from birth and claimed as one of Mortain's daughters. Saved by an herbwitch and a priest, Ismae is hidden and taken to the one place she can be safe and learn to survive (and more). She's taken to become an assassin for Death himself. Ismae is a quiet creature, very reserved. She's so unsure at the beginning that it's difficult to assess her personality. Ismae is incredibly self-conscious. She's also nervous yet eager to prove herself as a skilled, competent assassin. Her loyalty and dedication to her gift is remarkable. Her ability to survive any type of poison is impressive. Readers will enjoy these little characteristics at the beginning. The connection between Ismae and readers will start to thicken as Ismae becomes a key player in the plot of Brittany politics. Her seemingly emotionless stature is replaced by a woman who is learning that life is more complex than ever imagined, and serving Saint Mortain isn't as black and white as the convent made it seem. As Ismae starts thinking for herself and using her own judgement, not to mention falling in love with Gavriel (!), readers will see her open up. 

The plot of Grave Mercy loosely follows real historical events. The band of Saint Mortain's assassins serve their country first. When they learn that Gavriel Duval, the duchess's half-brother, may be in cahoots with France, they send Ismae to keep an eye on him and to gather information by pretending to want to help him. Soon Ismae starts to believe the traitor is someone other than Gavriel and she is determined to flush them out, but her heart serves as a distraction making the assignment more difficult than it first seemed. The story line completely captivated me. I love historical fiction and this was absolutely delightful. I think readers who enjoy tales of royal betrayal and slow blooming love will devour this book, much like I did. I absolutely do not want to wait to get my hands on the next one. This is definitely a trilogy for the book shelf. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

If I Stay

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

*May Contain Spoilers*

By now, a lot of Gayle Forman fans have seen the movie adaptation of the book, If I Stay. I have to admit, I saw the movie in theaters when it first came out and have only just now finished the novel. I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to read it; it is quite wonderful, poignant, heartwrenching, and more. However, since I had already seen the movie, I knew what Mia's choice was going to be. (Unless something happened like in My Sister's Keeper and the endings were totally different... but that isn't what transpired.) That being said, knowing the ending did not save me any emotional exploration or experience with Miss Mia. And wow, what a day we both had. 

The first twenty-four hours are critical for a patient in a coma. The readers experience this limited time frame with Mia as she realizes her grave condition, learns that the outcome is her choice, and finally makes a decision. Mia is a high school senior who loves the cello and a boy named Adam. She's modest, sophisticated, loving, generous, and knows exactly how blessed she is. Mia is open with the readers in her uncertainty and nervousness at living in a world without her family in it. Readers will completely understand how difficult her decision is. And either way, we accept that it's her choice to make. The terrible tragedy of her parents dying instantly at the beginning immediately forms a foundation with readers. The bond is solidified forever when Teddy, her little brother, passes. The hope of Adam and Mia's love story, the faith of Mia's grandparents, and the fierceness of her best friend give Mia a reason to fight, but is the loss too much to bear? 

If I Stay covers a little more than twenty-four hours of a random day in Oregon when a family of four went for a drive and tragedy struck. Inspired by true events, Gayle Forman explores the choice of life or death, struggle or peace. Readers will undoubtedly connect with Mia as she shares her life story while watching the consequences of her accident unfold. The honesty of Mia's indecision is both powerful and honorable. The writing style is clear and concise while sharing the most intimate details of Mia's short life. I am very interested in where Mia went after her decision and, though I am probably the last one, I cannot wait to read the next book. 

Rating: 4.5/5 Cups

And Death Will Seize the Doctor Too

Christian Thompson has the power to heal with a touch of his hand. But the only thing more remarkable than this talent is the fact that he has no idea he has it. And, like many who have yet to discover their true purpose in life, he slogs through his days in a muted haze, feeling as if he's a ghost in his own life, often describing the way he feels as like having amnesia, but without the forgetting. Though intelligent, he can't find work. Though loving, he can't find love or companionship. Though desperate and trying desperately,  he simply cannot find a way out of the prison inside himself he's been trapped in most of his life.

As time passes, those dark feelings grow in power. Unwelcome and insistent thoughts of suicide begin to plague him; he's terrified to find himself stockpiling sleeping pills and razor blades and doing other frightening things. He fears he is close to doing something very foolish when, one day, he is approached by a man who promises an answer that will lift the weight he has been carrying for so long. But, the man explains, he cannot simply tell him the answer.  That is against the rules. All he can do is guide Christian, and only if he'll let him. Christian accepts the offer and it isn't long before he discovers not only his talent, but perhaps also the reason he has kept it hidden from himself for so long. You see, Christian Thompson has the power to heal with the touch of his hands, but for every person he cures he must first kill someone else.

Now as he wrestles with not only having such a power but whether or not to use it, he faces the ultimate test and discovers he may not have any real choice. The road this battle leads him down will change not only his life, but perhaps the entire world forever.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Jeremiah Swanson gives Christian Thompson the power to heal in his novel, And Death Will Seize the Doctor Too, but only if he's willing to kill for it first. That murderous twist was what initially caught my attention and pulled me toward the novel. Swanson delves into the deepest moral darkness of the human psyche and probes for boundaries. 

Christian Thompson is the main character of the novel. Though, various chapters shift the focus on to other key characters with a different time and place setting. Christian is hard to get a handle on. He's loyal and kind, presented clearly in scenes with his comatose wife, but he's also harsh, greedy, and selfish. The book is told in parts and thus, tells the story in a fragmented time frame. The setting changes rapidly and it's up to the reader to keep it straight, for the most part. 

In the time before Christian knew of his gift/curse, he was depressed, hopeless, lonely, and isolated. After discovery, he became terrified yet intrigued by what he could do. In the present tense of the book, Christian is trying to save his wife's life as well as his own while attempting to atone for killing an innocent bystander. Readers will enjoy the story line of the novel, but connecting with Christian will be different for everyone. His loyalty and love for his wife may draw in readers or his desire to help the sick and dying, or even both. Though the negative characteristics that make him realistic will work against the bond created with the reader. 

As previously mentioned, the setting jumps around quite often. In the present, Christian is trying to save his wife. To do that, he must obey those threatening him by killing without question to save a certain people. In the past, Swanson shares how Christian came to be in this situation through the discovery of his talent, his testing, training, and the beginning of his work. There are also sub-plots that weave in and out of Christian's story introducing key characters who come together in the end. Intriguing and innovative, Swanson's creativity shines in his prose and careful planning. However, there were a few times when I was confused by the relevance and the presentation of certain situations. Readers who enjoy science fiction and thrillers will certainly take pleasure in this novel. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Painted From Memories

She considers telling him the truth—that she isn’t the person he thinks she is—but in the end she doesn’t. To say something is to potentially say everything. And it is simply too late...

The emotionally fractured casualty of a hideous childhood tragedy, Catherine has at last found her happy-ever-after in the person of Grayson Barnett, and it is the promise of a freshly polished future that compels her to bury the poisonous trail of her past beneath the purposeful lies and omissions she offers her new husband.

But now, with the inherent shame of her traumatic history secreted away and losing hold, Cat finds herself increasingly troubled as Gray falls into an erratic pattern of late night wanderings through the house, painting the bare walls with extravagant murals. And only when the unthinkable happens—a devastating blow which leaves her broken and spiraling—and an unexpected arrival on her doorstep, bearing a cache of impossible revelations—is Cat forced to question whether the man she so desperately loves is in truth a stranger and their beautiful life a gross falsehood constructed upon a foundation of lies.

*Contains Spoilers*

Painted From Memories is a heart wrenching story heavy in prose and haunted pasts by Barbara Forte Abate. Cat hides her memories from her new husband, Gray, while trying to build a life full of only love and happiness. 

Cat grew up in a household in which she witnessed her father abuse her mother. Eventually, she and her sister ended up in a foster home, where she was treated more like a slave than a child. Ashamed of her past, she keeps everything a secret. Readers will sympathize with Cat's horrifying past and hope for her chance at a lifetime of happiness. But when her husband dies in a freak accident, readers become witness to a woman who is swallowed by depression. The bond initially created will strengthen in the wake of tragedy. Though Cat is a secretive, standoffish, needy, damaged character, readers will grow to understand her as the story unfolds. 

The plot is a slow development. Abate's writing style is heavy in prose and details laced with beautiful descriptions. The beginning of the novel presents Gray and Cat as newlyweds, preparing to move from Georgia to Maine. Too soon, she is widowed and her hope is lost. Until Gray's brother, who Cat thought was deceased, shows up on her doorstep. Then Cat begins to realize that she wasn't the only one in their marriage keeping secrets. The story line is character driven and the informational climax will push readers through to the end.

Though it's worth discussing that Cat's mental state possibly worsened to the point of delusion around the novel's midway point, after her husband's death. She was showing obvious signs of depression and had suicidal thoughts, even going so far as to create a plan of action. Which leads me to three interpretations of the novel's end:

1) Gray did in fact lie and his brother and their tragic past is all real. Cat and Rance do fall in love and she leaves behind the weighing memories that threaten to destroy her for another chance at happiness. 

2) Cat is delusional and has invented Gray's brother because of the guilt she feels for never telling her husband the truth of her past. Rance gives Cat a chance to redeem herself by sharing the truth of what happened to her and her sister. 

3) Cat succeeded in committing suicide and afterwards, she must work through her problems so that she can forgive herself and move on into the afterlife. Rance is the chance to work through her abusive past. 

Recommended for readers who enjoy a chance at really analyzing characters and story lines with multiple interpretations. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups