Tag Archives: literature

Mar14

Lil Red’s Book Club: All The Blood We Share By Camilla Bruce Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: All The Blood We Share By Camilla Bruce Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! The last book that I read was a massive dud and I was desperate for something good to read. I am so happy that I found it in Camilla Bruce’s All The Blood We Share because it was excellent. All The Blood We Share is a novel about the Bloody Bender family in Kansas. While it is loosely based on some facts and legends, it is a work of fiction retelling the story of America’s first serial killer family. Obviously, before we begin our no spoilers review, I will be placing a huge trigger warning on this book for gruesome violence and highly disturbing content. Think you can handle it? Then, let’s get to it:

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All The Blood We Share takes place in the 1870s and we begin our tale with Ma Bender and her daughter, Kate, westward bound to meet Pa and step sibling, John, in Kansas. This wasn’t for a change of scenery, but to flee from crimes that they may or may not have committed in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Pa and John arrived in Kansas first to begin building a small home that would double as a roadside inn and grocery store. Of course, Ma and Kate weren’t expecting to arrive to their new digs and be in the lap of luxury, but they were certainly taken aback when their new property was little more than a shack.

At first, the Benders are keen on laying low where they settled and want to portray themselves as upstanding citizens. They form a partnership at the town’s trading post to stock their grocery store and their inn is open for business for weary travelers to have a meal and rest. For a while, things are going well despite their meager earnings and their confidence grows that no one would suspect the Bender family of crimes done across the country. As far as they are concerned, they are home free and with that new sense of freedom comes restlessness.

In this retelling, Kate is described as the ringleader of the Bender Circus with an unquenchable blood lust. She is a beautiful young woman who is bold and brash and has her sights set on the stage for her fraudulent performance as a medium. Kate describes the urge to shed blood as the “darkness” and it wasn’t long before it began to rear its ugly head. After being confined to a shack with her elderly parents and jealous stepbrother in Kansas’s extreme temperatures, the darkness occupies her mind at full force and a plan begins to form.

All of the Benders are eager to make more money and would like to see themselves out of Kansas even though they only recently arrived. However, their earnings from the inn and Kate’s work as a hotel maid would hardly allow them to travel and purchase property. While they are poor, the men traveling the road and looking for a place to stay might not be. Kate claims that the angels she is in touch with will mark the men with full pockets and it is those men whose lives they will claim. After all, the road is a dangerous place and it is not uncommon for people to meet a terrible fate. A murder at an inn was unheard of, but going missing while traveling was plausible if not probable and it gave the Benders the perfect cover.

Within the next year and change, the Benders would continue to run their business and kill and rob marked men. The first bodies the Bender men disposed of were off of their property and when they were found, it sent the whole town into a tizzy. Clever Kate used her work as a medium to steer people in a different direction and when she would “speak” to the dead men, she would say that their lives were taken by a stranger to the land. This reassured the villagers and with all eyes off of the Benders, they felt safe enough to continue killing. They would be more careful with the bodies, though, and they were buried in the orchard on their land.

As their spree went on, Pa and Ma Bender would become poorly and John would go into fits of rage when Kate was with another man. They were desperate to get out of Kansas and Pa was convinced that “one more man” would give them the money they needed to leave. The last man was the wrong one. One of their final kills in Kansas was a doctor whose brother was a colonel. After not hearing word from his brother for some time, the colonel began a search party which would result in all of the properties being looked over with a fine toothed comb. 

The decision for the search party came from a town hall meeting, where it was suggested that the killer might be one of their own. All of the property owners were there, including Pa and John. Knowing that they didn’t have long before the law would begin snooping, they rushed home and made a hasty getaway. By the time their property was searched, the Benders were long gone when the bodies were found. Legend says that they never got caught. Others say that they were taken care of via pioneer justice. No one knows. What do you think became of the Bloody Bender family? Read All The Blood We Share and draw your own conclusions!

When you read about the Bloody Bender family, there are few stone cold facts and a lot of rumors. What every story does agree on is the way that the people were killed and how they were disposed. There were so many unknowns, though. There were claims of witchcraft, claims of affairs between Kate and village men, and claims that John wasn’t her stepbrother at all but husband. What every person who reads about them can all agree on is that they were messed up!

Although All The Blood We Share was a fictional work about the Bender family, it was a fascinating read nonetheless. The story was told from the perspective of Kate, Ma Bender, and a village boy named Hanson in alternating chapters. Between the three interweaving tales, a clear picture is painted of not only the Bender family but the way they instilled fear across the whole town. The Benders were a cunning bunch and while they might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, it took a long time before they were even suspected. In this retelling, Kate was much to thank for that through her beauty, charm, and having the spirits on her side.

All The Blood We Share did start out a bit slow to set the stage of the grisly murders, but when it picked up it skyrocketed. Within fifty pages of the 370 page book, I could not put it down to save my own life and finished it in four sittings. What made this book special was the fact that there are hardly any facts about the Benders. Camilla Bruce was able to take these legends and lore and turn it into an actual story. As I read, I had to keep reminding myself that it was a fictional work but who’s to say that Bruce didn’t get some parts right? You just don’t know! It was a thought provoking read and when I finished it, all I wanted was to know the truth. You won’t get answers from All The Blood We Share, but you will get a highly entertaining read that any true crime fan will enjoy.

I am going to award All The Blood We Share with an eight out of ten stars. I am a huge fan of Camilla Bruce’s creative writing and imagination and would very much like to read her acclaimed In the Garden of Spite soon!

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

 

 

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Mar7

Lil Red’s Book Club: All Hallows By Christopher Golden Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: All Hallows By Christopher Golden Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Without giving any spoilers away, we will be discussing the horror/thriller called All Hallows by Christopher Golden. In my humble opinion, this book was an epic flop despite how much I liked a majority of the characters in it. It is a shining example of the dumbest story line I have ever read. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it until I was halfway done and you know that I refuse to not finish a book that I have started! Before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning on All Hallows for gruesome violence, domestic abuse, harm to children, and stupidity. Now, let’s get to it:

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Tony and his daughter, Chloe, are Halloween fanatics and create a Haunted Woods attraction for charity every year in the vast woods behind their home. Sadly, it will be the last year for their fright fest fun as Tony, his wife Alice, Chloe, and son Rick will be selling the property because they are flat broke. Tony and Chloe wanted their final run with the Haunted Woods to be a wild success and reveled in the chance to hear their neighbors scream. Unfortunately, their well meant spooks aren’t the only terror happening in the woods on Halloween night.

Throughout the neighborhood, families and children plan their Halloween activities and split up accordingly. After all, there is much to do; trick or treating, a neighborhood block party, and the Haunted Woods. Tony’s son, Rick, will be trick or treating with his best friend Billie. Neighborhood teens, Steve, Vanessa, and Julia will be at the party. Meanwhile, the sad children of the Sweeney family, Charlie and Brian, would be waiting up for their dad who had left the family earlier in the day.

During Rick and Billie’s trick or treating rounds, they witnessed their supposed pedophile neighbors bringing a small boy that neither of them recognized into their home. Convinced that evil was afoot, Rick and Billie burst through the home of Zack and Ruth to rescue the boy from their clutches. His name is Leonard and he is a slight boy with a strange story. All he could tell his new companions was that he was hiding from the Cunning Man and needed their help – just until midnight.

After Charlie’s drunk, adulterous father left the family for good on Halloween afternoon, he needed an escape. He decided to go to his favorite cluster of bushes – a secret spot that you could crawl through and hide in when you don’t want to be found. There, he met little Sarah Jane, frightened and dirty in an old clown costume. She told Charlie that she was hiding from someone too, but darted away when his big brother, Brian, came to bring him home. Later, she would show up at their doorstep with her own tale of the Cunning Man and the protection she needed until midnight. Concerned for the little girl, the boys’ mom agreed to let her stay.

In similar fashion, two more peculiar children let themselves be known. One was Arthur, a boy dressed up as a scarecrow who insisted upon the help of Vanessa and Julia. The other, a little girl named Delilah, who Tony took under his wing when she showed up wandering through the Haunted Woods alone. Each child was equally as terrified of the Cunning Man and their fear convinced whomever they approached to keep them close.

While the elected “guardians” of the children waited around until midnight, they began growing suspicious. None of the missing kids were saying anything that made sense and the elders among them thought it was a prank or pointless. Either way, they weren’t hanging around. As the guardians began to head back to their own homes and plans, the children would proceed to freak out violently, with strength impossible for a kid. They needed them – rather, the Cunning Man and his witch bride did. Will the people who intended to help these children live to tell their own story of the Cunning Man? Read All Hallows to find out!

When I first started reading All Hallows, I enjoyed it immensely. As a former haunted house actor, my heart swelled over Tony and his daughter making their own haunted attraction and I could relate to how much they loved it. I liked punk rock, sharp witted Vanessa, felt terribly for the mother of Brian and Charlie, and felt fiercely protective over Rick and Billie. The chapters were all told from a different point of view, which you know I love, and I was excited to see how all of their stories would intertwine. I just didn’t expect the reason that they did to be so dumb lol.

As the missing children began to reveal themselves, I was still very much on board with All Hallows. I mean, it’s creepy right? Little ones all alone on Halloween night, it was easy to feel bad for them. Then, the nonsense of the Cunning Man got brought up and I was like “Oh. This is what’s happening?”. It was literally just a Slenderman knockoff and not a good one. You know the deal, a kid kills someone to win the favor of a terrifying, shadowy creature. It was just that and nothing more.

As I read about the Cunning Man, I still felt the urge to give the book a chance because the drama between the characters was interesting and it might get better. But, obviously, that didn’t happen. Regardless of whatever Christopher Golden did to paint a different light on the Cunning Man didn’t change the fact that it was still the exact same thing as the urban myth that spread like wildfire in my teen years. In fact, the ridiculous changes that were made just made the book even more stupid; as if the author could cover up where the inspiration for the Cunning Man came from just by altering its appearance. Well, Mr. Golden – you didn’t fool this girl!

I rarely do this. This is only the second time in Lil Red’s Book Club history that I will be giving out negative stars, but All Hallows deserves it. A negative ten out of ten stars seems appropriate and I wouldn’t recommend this book to my worst enemy. Definitely skip on it!

What are you reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb17

Lil Red’s Book Club: The Villa By Rachel Hawkins Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: The Villa By Rachel Hawkins Edition

Hello!! The last book that I read was called Verity and it sucked EGGS. It was quite possibly the worst thing that I have ever read and I thought I would go insane if I didn’t read something else to eliminate the bad taste from my mouth. To remedy this, I cracked open the brand new Rachel Hawkins novel called The Villa and finished it in a matter of days. I have read a few books by Hawkins before and have always enjoyed them and The Villa was just right for what I needed: A palette cleanser. Was it my favorite book by her? No. But it served its purpose well. 

Before we begin our spoiler free review, I will be placing a trigger warning on The Villa for murder, violence, and the loss of a child. Now, let’s get to it:

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Emily and Chess have been besties since grade school and are still thick as thieves into their mid-thirties. Well… Sort of. While Emily found moderate success in writing cozy murder mysteries, Chess soared to fame as a self-help guru making their communication sporadic but still wonderful when it happens. As Chess enjoyed her newfound wealth and guest starred on Oprah, Emily was riding the struggle bus. A mystery illness left Emily incapacitated for months, which triggered her husband leaving her and insisting on a significant chunk of her earnings as an author.

At one of their few yearly meetings, Chess can sense Emily’s stress over lunch and comes up with a solution: A best friends summer in Italy. There, they can soak up the sun, have fun, and finish the books that they both have due. With nothing tying her to the home she once shared with her husband, Emily agrees and hops on a plane to meet Chess at the gorgeous Villa Aestas. The villa is tucked away in scenic Orvieto and it seems like the perfect place to enjoy each other’s company and work when they felt like it! Oh yeah, it was also the perfect place for murder.

In the 1970s, Villa Aestas was called the Villa Rosato and it housed a group of artists for the summer. Noel Gordon, an infamous rock star invited his faithful drug dealer, Johnnie, as well as the up and coming musician Pierce Sheldon and his girlfriend Mari and her stepsister named Lara to the villa. What promised to be a summer of Pierce taking his talent to the next level was anything but. Drugs and booze limited the amount of music Noel and Pierce made and the girls ended up with the fame. That summer, Mari wrote her first horror novel, Lilith Rising, and Lara made her first album, Aestas. Their holiday ended with Mari and Lara completing their masterpieces while Pierce ended up six feet under at the hands of Johnnie.

Staying in a “murder house” doesn’t particularly thrill Emily but the villa is beautiful and she is excited to be with Chess. During a low key day, Emily looks for something to read and cracks open Lilith Rising. As she reads, she noticed striking similarities between the book and the summer that the author spent at the same villa. She even finds references from the book in the house itself, like an etching on the glass by Mari’s desk. Was Lilith Rising something Mari made up off of the top of her head, or was it an autobiography of what truly happened at Villa Rosato that summer almost fifty years ago?

As Emily begins researching and writing about the Villa Rosato murder, she becomes increasingly paranoid of Chess. Emily wants this book and the success she knows it will achieve to herself. Chess, however, has other plans as well as secrets that Emily couldn’t conjure up in her wildest dreams. What will become of the best friends staying in a home that the locals call “cursed” all summer? Read The Villa to find out!

The Villa was, in my opinion, not Rachel Hawkins’ best but it was still a decent read. I can imagine that her books are perfect for reading by a pool – they’re not especially gruesome, intriguing enough, and peppered with humor that makes me lol. Not groundbreaking by any means, but pretty fun! I enjoyed the way The Villa was set up as it went back and forth between Emily in present day and Mari in 1970. Articles and scripts of podcasts discussing the Rosato murder were interspersed for good measure as well, which is also something I always like.

The characters in The Villa were just alright. I found Emily to be kind of bland while Chess was fairly annoying with her new age BS about the “powered path”. I definitely enjoyed reading what was going on in the 70s more than the present day. It was a much darker tale and I felt so sorry for Mari and Lara as they navigated their summer with these boys who didn’t seem to care about them one way or the other. I would have liked to root for Mari more, however, the flamboyant and sarcastic Noel was my primary focus. He sounded hot AF and I think we can all agree that he was inspired by the incomparable Noel Fielding!

Although there were a lot of interesting points to the general plot of The Villa, it still felt like something that I had heard before. There were no twists and turns that left me shook and I didn’t feel a sense of companionship with any of the key players. It certainly cleansed my palette from the last book I read and for that I am grateful. It just didn’t hit as hard as The Wife Upstairs or Reckless Girls, which left me feeling disappointed overall.

I am going to award The Villa with a five and a half out of ten stars. Rachel Hawkins is much better than this book and I would recommend skipping this one in lieu of one of her other novels!

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Feb11

Lil Red’s Book Club: Verity By Colleen Hoover Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Verity By Colleen Hoover Edition

Hi!! It has been over a month since the last edition of Lil Red’s Book Club and that is because I have been insanely busy! I was so excited to have some extra time to read recently and started Verity by Colleen Hoover last week. At first, I was really into it. However, this ended up being the worst and *pardon my French* most fucked up thing I have ever read in a long time. Before we get started, I am going to be placing a big fat trigger warning on Verity for so many reasons – murder, infanticide, child abuse, highly disturbing content, and that’s just naming a few. Now, let’s get to it:

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Lowen is a struggling author who hasn’t left the home in weeks as she cares for her ailing mom. However, she must step foot outside today because she has a meeting for a potential new offer that must be conducted in person. As she waits to cross the busy streets of Manhattan, she witnesses a man get hit by a car and is standing close enough to get her clothes bloodied. A handsome stranger literally gives Lowen the shirt off of his back in a chance encounter and she arrives at her meeting in a men’s shirt thinking she will never see this guy again. WRONG!

The stranger is named Jeremy and the meeting Lowen is attending is being held on his wife’s behalf. The highly successful author, Verity Crawford, is Jeremy’s wife and is unable to complete her contract after a car accident that left her with no cognitive function. Verity is the author of a series told from the villain’s perspective and has three more books to be written. Cue: Lowen to take over.

After rejecting initially, Lowen agrees because the paycheck is insane and she is essentially homeless. Because Verity cannot collaborate with Lowen in a traditional sense, Jeremy opens the doors of his wife’s home office so she can begin looking for notes and drafts to assist in her new gig. Of course, Lowen would never go to a complete stranger’s home without doing her due diligence and researching the Crawford family. She learns that the Crawfords had twin girls that died exactly six months apart from each other, a son who remains, and a mother who can no longer interact with him or her husband.

Knowing so much already about the family’s tragedies makes Lowen feel uneasy and she spends the majority of her first days at the family home barricaded in the office. Although she can find no notes of any use for the books she must write, she finds so much more: a manuscript for Verity’s unpublished autobiography. Lowen justifies cracking it open to get a better glimpse of Verity as a person and ends up learning so much more than she bargained for.

Verity’s autobiography paints a brutally honest picture of herself as a psychopath. She is madly in love with Jeremy to the point of obsession and was not happy to find out she was pregnant with twin girls – two girls that would take Jeremy away from her. In her own words, Verity describes her monstrous acts of the abuse she doled out to her daughters and her manipulation to cover it up. Her autobiography begs the question of if the death of the twins was accidental or completely intentional.

It’s not only Verity’s manuscript that makes Lowen uneasy, it is Verity herself, who is at home and being cared for around the clock by a nurse. Verity needs people to move her body for her, so why does Lowen keep hearing the pattering of feet at night? Or how is the TV in Verity’s room turning off on its own when the remote is out of her reach?

The more time Lowen spends in the Crawford home, the more paranoid she becomes that Verity’s injuries might not be real. And, as Lowen begins crushing on Jeremy and caring for his son, the more convinced she is that they are all in danger. Is Verity actually hurt? And what is the truth behind her damning manuscript? Read Verity to find out!

I have SO much to say about Verity lol. It’s funny because as I was writing the synopsis, I am sure you can all agree that this sounds like a book that I would love. However, I ended up absolutely hating this book. I honestly didn’t know what I was reading and it felt like so many story lines being added together haphazardly. Part of Verity read like soft core porn, some of it was like reading a soap opera, and gruesome content seemed like it was added in purely for shock value.

All of you know that I am a huge thriller, horror, true crime fan and, I shit you not, this was probably one of the most disturbing books I have ever read. Reading Verity’s autobiography was so infuriating to me that I almost stopped reading it completely. It is that bad and I think that is saying a lot coming from me. I finished the book solely because I refuse to not read something in its entirety once I have started it and was unable to find any redeeming qualities.

It wasn’t the content of Verity alone that made it such a flop but it was the way it was written too. I found Colleen Hoover’s writing style to be juvenile at best. The characters were incredibly shallow and despite knowing the bad things that happened to them, you didn’t really know them at all. Lowen, for example, was such a lackluster heroine and Hoover built up her past to make her seem tragic when all she really suffered from was sleepwalking and a poor relationship with her mom. Jeremy was pretty much only there as man candy. And, Verity was plain awful but you never learned the “why” behind it. All this book did was leave me with expletives and question marks.

This doesn’t happen often, but I am going to rate Verity with a negative infinity out of ten stars and wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy. This book straight up sucked and I will never read anything else by Colleen Hoover. Epic, epic failure.

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan9

Lil Red’s Book Club: Joyland By Stephen King Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Joyland By Stephen King Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Today, we are going to be discussing a super fun read by Stephen King called Joyland – without giving any spoilers away, of course. Set at the old fashioned amusement park, Joyland, in Heaven’s Bay, North Carolina, this book was completely charming. And, yes, I realize that Stephen King’s books don’t get described as that often but Joyland was such a far cry from his usual full fledged horror writing and I couldn’t put it down! Before we begin, I will be putting a trigger warning on Joyland for violence and murder. Now, let’s get to it:

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Summertime is approaching for twenty-one year old college student, Devin Jones, and he is in desperate need of a job. He is utterly heartbroken from his previous relationship, broke, and wants to be anywhere but cleaning up in the dining hall. On a whim, he decides to apply at Joyland as a general employee after seeing an ad in the classifieds. During his trip to the park in Heaven’s Bay, North Carolina for his interview, Devin decides that there are worse places to spend his summer and accepts the gig.

During his tour, Devin learns that Joyland is an old school amusement park with carny flare. There are a few big rides but the majority of attractions offered are for the entire family, making it an ideal summer destination. The games, rides, and vending stands are all ran by year round “carny from carny” folks, which is The Talk for a family of carnival workers. Don’t worry, you’ll get familiar with The Talk (Joyland’s secret lingo) soon enough! Joyland is in the business of selling fun but there is one ride that even the bravest employees don’t like to be around – the Horror House. A young woman, Linda Gray, was murdered on the ride and it is believed to be haunted. Oh yeah, and the murderer is still at large.

After a few short weeks, it’s time for Devin’s summertime job to begin and he enjoys it immensely. Kind employees like Lane, Fred, and Pop take him under their wings and show him the ropes about everything from operating rides to “wearing the fur”. AKA dressing up as the park’s mascot: Howie The Happy Hound. He has even managed to make a few friends, Tom and Erin, who live in the same boarding house as him and also work the park. Devin spends his days working hard and is eager to get a glimpse of the Horror House ghost and maybe even solve the mystery of her death.

As summer continues on, Devin becomes a staple in the lives of Annie and Mike Ross who live in a beautiful beach home that he walks by every day to and from work. Annie is a young mom and her son, Mike, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy which confines them to their home. And, let’s just say that Annie makes it a bit easier for Devin to forget his ex girlfriend! In fact, Devin decides to stay on as a full time employee at Joyland – half for the Rosses and half for Linda Gray.

Thanks to some research from Erin, who is now back at school, her findings show a pattern of other young ladies killed in a similar fashion. Linda Gray’s killer has murdered several girls and Devin is nowhere closer to solving the crime. But, there’s something about the photos that Erin shows him that bothers him. The pictures of the killer at the park with Linda has a familiarity to them that he can’t put his finger on. Perhaps, the killer has been under everyone’s noses the entire time. Will Devin be able to bring the killer forward and put Linda Gray’s ghost to rest? Read Joyland to find out!

I seriously loved everything about Joyland and my only regret is that it wasn’t longer. After I read the last page, I told Johnny that I wished there was more or that a TV series was made about it. It was just so good and, honestly, really cute. And, once again, it feels weird to me to describe a Stephen King book as such! King’s writing made you feel like you were walking along the Joyland boardwalks with Devin and the carny Talk that the employees used further enhanced the old time park vibes. It was such a fun read that I wanted to take a ride on the Carolina Spin and Delirium Shaker myself!

While this book was based around solving a murder, it was really not as gruesome as you could imagine for a King book. It almost seemed like an afterthought to the story of Devin growing into an adult. It was exciting to read about the unsolved crime but it was even better to read about Devin’s sweet relationship with Mike and the other characters that made Heaven’s Bay special. I enjoyed how character rather than plot driven Joyland was and I wanted to be friends with all of the people who graced the pages.

I will say that the grand reveal was very easy to solve and that’s okay. I think anything too convoluted would have taken away from the overall simplicity of the story. I actually wouldn’t mind reading it again from the perspective of knowing who the killer is because certain parts immediately popped out at me and I’d like to find more. If you like to play detective like me, just keep in mind that everyone puts on a mask when they are in the business of selling fun.

I am going to award Joyland with the coveted ten out of ten stars. Stephen King might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I think that everyone will be able to find something that they like about this book. I highly recommend it and plan on reading it again in the future!

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Dec30

Lil Red’s Book Club: Two Nights In Lisbon By Chris Pavone Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Two Nights In Lisbon By Chris Pavone Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Today, we will be discussing a thriller called Two Nights In Lisbon by Chris Pavone – without giving any spoilers away, of course. This book was just okay for me. I liked the story line well enough but the writing style of Pavone didn’t do it for me and there were some parts that dragged on SO hard. I’ll let you be the judge of it if you read it! Before we begin, I will be placing a big fat trigger warning on Two Nights In Lisbon as it deals with sexual assault and violence. Now, let’s get to it:

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Ariel Pryce is nearing fifty and is newly married to John. He is handsome, successful, and ten years her junior. Ariel owns a small farm and local bookstore and is looking forward to her new life with her husband and tweenage son, George. Things seem picture perfect now but that hasn’t always been the case for Ariel. Her current life is a humble one, which is a far cry from her previous life as a New York City socialite with her ex-husband. Ariel paid a highly traumatizing price for her past wealth and fame at the hands of her ex’s business partner. She has been working hard on letting go of the worst time of her life and can’t wait to have a getaway with John in Lisbon, Portugal for one of his business trips.

Ariel and John’s first day in Portugal is amazing and filled with sight seeing, delicious food, and romance. Although Ariel was originally wary of this trip and leaving George with her mom, she realizes a little vacation might just be exactly what she needs. The newlyweds head to bed after a long day and fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Then, when Ariel wakes up the following morning, John is nowhere to be found.

At first, Ariel thinks that her husband went for a walk and will be back shortly. She calls him to confirm but his phone goes straight to voicemail and he hasn’t even bothered to leave a note. As the hours tick by, panic mode takes over Ariel and she starts fearing the worst. It’s hard not to when she’s in a foreign country, doesn’t speak the language, and she can’t find her husband. The logical place to go is the police. However, the two officers won’t report John missing yet since he has only been gone for a few hours. They also imply, much to Ariel’s distaste, that maybe she doesn’t know her husband as well as she thinks.

Refusing to simply wait around for word from John, Ariel next heads to the American embassy where she hears more of the same thing. It isn’t until a man on a motorcycle hands Ariel a burner phone demanding three million euros as a ransom for John that people start taking her seriously. Despite her husband’s success, they don’t have that kind of money and Ariel has no idea who to call to help. Well… She does. It’s just that she really doesn’t want to.

As the police and the CIA work the case, they have a vague idea of who it might be that Ariel called as well as extorted for the ransom. And, if it is who they think it is, then they have a major issue of national security on their plates because her call just proved that the future vice president of the United States can be extorted. Is John’s kidnapping a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or is it a carefully constructed plot to bring one of Ariel’s attackers to justice? Read Two Nights In Lisbon to find out!

For the first two hundred or so pages of Two Nights In Lisbon, I was really into it. This book moved at a fast pace and began with John being kidnapped right from the jump. It was nerve wracking to read as Ariel navigated through Lisbon and essentially tried to solve the crisis herself, knowing that law enforcement wasn’t completely on her side. Then, it started getting very convoluted very quickly. Between the local law enforcement, CIA, FBI, and journalists on the case, I found it difficult to keep track of everyone. Breaks in the case, new details, and new people all became muddled together and I was ready for the book to end about halfway through. 

I feel torn about this book because I actually really liked the story line and grand reveal. I also am all for the overall message that is being conveyed. I just wasn’t a huge fan of Chris Pavone’s writing. In this book, he was quite fond of going into paragraph long litanies that were essentially one big run on sentence. It drove me crazy! The wordiness bogged down the reading experience and I felt like so much of it could have been eliminated, which would have made for a smoother read. In fact, if it was a different author who wrote the book, I probably would have liked it way more.

One praise that I do have for Two Nights In Lisbon is Ariel’s character. She is a bonafied badass and even though I didn’t love how the book was written, I was still in her corner all the way till the end. Ariel is such a strong, brave heroine and I liked that she was both book and street smart. There were so many times throughout the book when I was thinking “good for her” and those were my thoughts once I read the final page too.

Overall, I am going to rate Two Nights In Lisbon with a five out of ten star rating. There was a lot about this book that I enjoyed and would have rated it much higher had I connected more with Pavone’s writing. I suppose I would recommend it simply for the fact that the grand reveal was pretty awesome. However, you’re not missing out on anything if you choose to skip this one!

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Dec11

Lil Red’s Book Club: Lucy By The Sea By Elizabeth Strout Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Lucy By The Sea By Elizabeth Strout Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Without giving any spoilers away, as always, we will be discussing a fantastic novel by Elizabeth Strout called Lucy By The Sea. I devoured this book in three days and my only regret is that the two hundred and eighty-eight page read wasn’t longer. I wish it could have gone on for forever and it is, easily, one of my favorite reads of 2022. It. Was. Excellent. Before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning on Lucy By The Sea as this book has a primary focus on grief including, death, miscarriages, abuse, and mental health issues. Now, let’s get to it:

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The time is winter of 2020 and Lucy lives alone in her apartment in Manhattan. She is once divorced with two adult daughters and now freshly widowed after the passing of her beloved David. Lucy’s childhood was anything but picture perfect and her and her siblings grew up incredibly poor and suffered at the hands of their abusive mother. She drew inspiration from her sad beginning and became a famous author who just finished yet another book tour.

Once Lucy has settled back into her apartment, she learns she must leave. Her ex-husband, William, is a scientist and is deeply concerned by the Covid-19 pandemic. He insists on Lucy packing a bag and coming with him to a home rented in coastal Maine, all in the name of saving her life. He instructs their two daughters, Chrissy and Becka, who also live in the city to get out of town as well. At first, Lucy doesn’t understand why William is panicking but she learns soon enough.

Very quickly, the world as Lucy knew it begins to turn upside down and she no longer recognizes the streets she once called home when she sees the ghost town of New York City on the news. Her panic attacks and icy relationship with William also do nothing to help her settle into her new life in Maine. Lucy walks. Lucy sits. And Lucy worries. She fears for her daughters, each privately suffering in their own way. She fears for herself as she grows older and starts feeling like she is losing her mind. And, she fears for the state of the world as the pandemic continues to spiral.

Despite the impending sense of doom that blankets Lucy, everything isn’t all bad in Maine. Through kindly Bob who William rented the home from, they both begin to make friends. Lucy takes solace in her walks and chats with her new companions. And, through the hardships of her daughters, she begins to grow closer to William after being apart for so long. She has finally grown to accept this “new normal” of a life and gains a deeper understanding of her own issues both past and present. After a lifetime of sorrow, is there a happy ending waiting for Lucy? Read Lucy By The Sea to find out!

I absolutely LOVED Lucy By The Sea and it was one of the most amazing, well written books that I have read in a long time. It was, truly, a step by step walk through of the Covid-19 pandemic that touched on several key focuses including the presidency, the murder of George Floyd, the protests, and the insurrection. Reading Lucy describe these events as they unfolded felt like going back in time and it was crazy to see so many of the conversations Johnny and I had at every turn of the page.

Combining this insane time with each character working through their own grief perfectly captured the overwhelming sorrow that I felt throughout the pandemic. Every day was a day of going through the motions while providing little more than to be alone with your own thoughts. It is easy to understand why mental health issues became exasperated because everything just seemed so much more difficult to bear. You could feel this rain cloud over each person in Lucy By The Sea and it beautifully put into words all of the despair I felt myself.

Although Lucy was about forty years my senior, I related to her so much. Not only did she have her own struggles with anxiety and depression, like me, but she also failed to see herself the way other people do. This is something that I have overcome but the feelings of not being good enough crop up from time to time. Reading how Lucy began to see herself in a new light despite all of the current hardships gave the glimmer of hope that everyone was waiting for during the pandemic. The transformation was stunning and the book ended with me weeping tears of joy for this unlikely heroine who I grew to love so much.

I am going to award Lucy By The Sea with the coveted ten out of ten star rating. If the material in this book isn’t too upsetting, then I cannot recommend or sing its praises enough. It is one of the most powerful, inspiring books that I have ever read and I think that you will love it too!

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec2

Lil Red’s Book Club: Cell By Stephen King Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Cell By Stephen King Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! I have been on a huge Stephen King kick as of late and there was no better time than the present to reread one of my all time favorites – Cell. This is probably the sixth or seventh time that I have read this book and it truly never gets old. In fact, it has been several years since I have read it and some parts that I had somewhat forgotten left me SHOOK. As always, we will be discussing Cell with no spoilers and before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning on this book for intense violence, disturbing content, and suicide. Now, let’s get to it:

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Clay Riddell is having a great day as he steps outside to a sunny Boston afternoon with his portfolio in hand. Actually, scratch that. He is having an excellent day because he just sold not one but two volumes of his graphic novel series, The Dark Wanderer. In his other hand he has bags of gifts for his wife, despite being separated at the time, and their beloved son, Johnny. Clay decides he could use a treat too and stops for an ice cream cone. Then, The Pulse begins.

In what feels like an eternity but is only a matter of minutes, the streets of Boston break out in extraordinary violence and the people committing the acts seem plain crazy. Havoc ensues with planes crashing, fires burning, and Duck Boats being driven into the streets. From Clay’s post at the ice cream truck, he notices that every single person going bonkers had just been using a cell phone. In his mind, Clay thanks his lucky stars that he refuses to own one and also knows that he needs to find shelter and fast.

As he tries to avoid the chaos from the murderous, frenzied phone-crazies, Clay runs into Tom. The two men seek sanctuary in Clay’s step above a fleabag hotel and watch from the windows as The Pulse continues. During this period, Clay and Tom also bring fifteen year old Alice who is being chased by a phone-crazy into the hotel. Little do they know that they will be forming a three person crew fighting against the end of the world.

Kind Tom, panicked Alice, and straight to the point Clay know that they need to make a move before Boston burns to the ground. As darkness falls and the streets clear of the crazies, they begin their trek to Vermont because Clay has bigger problems on his mind. His son owns a cell phone. But first, they decide to stop at Tom’s house for provisions. During their trip on foot, they notice that the phoners have all but disappeared at night and quickly become savvy that the day now belongs to them.

Once supplies are secured and weapons are acquired from Tom’s neighbor, they post up for the day in his home and begin to notice the flocking. Seemingly out of nowhere, the phoners begin to fill the streets and pack it like sardines in their strange, violent trance, always heading north. The crew can’t quite put their finger on it but the crazies are evolving somehow. For example, they are using items as a tool to open garden pumpkins to munch on. Clay, Tom, and Alice don’t like it one bit.

The weary wanderer’s nighttime travels bring them to Gaiten Academy where they link up with The Head and his very last pupil, Jordan. The relative safety of the academy seems to disappear before their very eyes when they learn that a massive flock of phoners have been sleeping on the soccer field. With nothing else to do but try, they develop a plan. They are going to destroy the flock. And they do – but not without repercussion.

In all of their dreams that night, they are visited by “The Raggedy Man” and are placed on pedestals while a crowd of phoners call them crazy. But not with their mouths – with their minds. Oh yes, they have telepathic powers and made it known by forcing The Head to kill himself. After burying The Head, the flock killers move onward with Jordan in tow and begin to notice spray painted signs on the street saying “KASHWAK = NO-FO”. And, it’s true. Kashwak is a dead zone.

Could the normies live peacefully there as the phoners rule the world? Will Clay find his son there? There’s only one way to find out. In their guts, they know it’s a bad idea to go to Kashwak and their dreams confirm it. It seems to be a conversion point where the remaining normies will be transformed to phone-crazies. However, they don’t have much of a choice when the telepathic force of the phoners continue to push them forward. Will any normies live to tell the tale? Read Cell to find out!

I don’t know what it is about Cell but it has never failed to blow my mind. This book is terrifying for the simple reason that almost every single person over the age of eight seems to have a cell phone nowadays. Stephen King targeted this item that no one really thinks about anymore and turned it into the ultimate weapon. This device that we always have in our pocket or purse could burn the world to the ground in King’s eyes and it’s so wild to read the story as it unfolds.

After reading this book countless times, the characters are so cherished by me and I love them all so much. They also showcase the humor that King incorporates into his books that I can’t get enough of. Wry Clay, sassy Tom, too cute Alice, and smart-alek Jordan all showcase different sides of King and the ragtag crew still manages to shine a bright light in so much darkness.

Feeling like I know each of these characters personally after reading their tale so many times only enhances the reading experience. The situation in Cell is crazy but reading it happen with the eyes of reading about old friends adds to the urgency and terror tenfold. Because of this, there were scenes that I was simply gutted by despite knowing what was going to happen in advance. In fact, I daresay it’s even better the seventh time around!

I am going to award Cell with the coveted ten out of ten star rating. This is hands down one of the best Stephen King books in my humble opinion and if you are a horror fan, I think you’ll like it just as much as me. If not, then you can definitely skip on Cell!

What is your favorite Stephen King book? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov12

Lil Red’s Book Club: The Dry By Jane Harper Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: The Dry By Jane Harper Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Without giving away any spoilers, as always, we will be discussing a thriller by Jane Harper called The Dry. This is a book that has been sitting on my shelf for several years when I got it FO FREE in a library’s give away box. I decided to finally read it because I haven’t been to the library in a while and I am glad I did. I wouldn’t say that it was my favorite book but it was still a really good read. Before we begin our discussion, I will be placing a trigger warning on The Dry for abuse, extreme violence, and murder. Now, let’s get to it:

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Aaron Falk has not been welcome in his hometown of Kiewarra, Australia since he was a teenager. After his friend, Ellie Deacon was found drowned in the river and a note with Aaron’s name was found in her bedroom, he and his best friend, Luke Hadler, became the prime suspects for her death. Aaron and his father were driven out of the small farming community after one too many threats from unfriendly neighbors, fled to Melbourne, and haven’t looked back since.

Now, close to two decades later, Aaron must return back to Kiewarra after learning that his childhood friend, Luke, his wife Karen, and son Billy were killed. Everyone suspects Luke of going off his rocker due to dire financial circumstances thanks to a two year drought. His parents, however, refuse to believe that Luke was capable of such a heinous crime and enlist Aaron’s help to put these rumors to rest. Aaron works with the police in Melbourne for financial crimes and figures looking over their finances is the least he can do. Plus, going through their banking statements means he doesn’t have to talk to anyone because he hasn’t encountered a friendly face since his arrival.

By sharing his findings with the local sheriff, Raco, a full on unofficial investigation begins because things just aren’t adding up. Sure, they have hunches over who might have committed the crime but with no solid evidence, fingers continue to point back to Luke. The death of Ellie has haunted Aaron throughout his life and, now, he begins to wonder if the triple murders were payback for her untimely demise. Ellie’s father and cousin make good candidates for the Hadler family murder but it could be anyone.

Tensions in Kiewarra are high because a drought means no money for the farms and Aaron and Raco poking around puts everyone on edge. With Aaron’s time in his hometown drawing to a close and his safety threatened with every turn of the page, the chances of solving the murders and shining a light on who killed Ellie are bleak. Will the Hadler family finally be able to rest in peace? Or will Aaron return back to Melbourne with his tail between his legs? Read The Dry to find out!

As I said before, The Dry was a great read. It wasn’t the best thing that I have ever read but it was extremely unique and I devoured it in four sittings. This book was unputdownable for several reasons, mainly because it wasn’t just about the Hadler family murder. While Aaron was working on the case, he was also trying to find out once and for all who drowned Ellie and it was interesting to read the similarities in two totally different circumstances. The people in Kiewarra were also unfriendly at best and threatening at worst and it made the danger that Aaron was in feel so much more imminent.

While the story line of The Dry was quite original, what I really enjoyed was the layout of the book. The chapters were always narrated by Aaron. However, there would be segments in the book that would take you back into the past as recalled by other characters. This was something that I had never seen done before and I loved it. As you all know, a multiple narrator book is my favorite and this was a similar set up but so different than what I am used to and kept me turning the page feverishly.

As far as characters go, it was easy to like and root for Aaron as well as Sheriff Raco. While Raco was an open book, Aaron complimented this by being difficult to read, even by people who know him best. In the beginning, this made it difficult to appreciate his subtleties. But, as his character developed throughout the book, I was fully invested in his well being – it just took some time to get warmed up to him.

Finally, in terms of grand reveals, the one in The Dry was alright. I had figured it out prior to it happening and I didn’t particularly care for it but I understood why it happened the way it did. If you’re like me and try to play amateur detective while reading, my advice is to not put your blinders up when reading The Dry. There were so many people who could have committed each crime but it’s not always what it seems!

Overall, I am going to give The Dry a seven out of ten star rating. The dire situations in the book and a format that was different than anything I have read before made for a good reading experience. I would definitely recommend this book and would happily read more by Jane Harper!

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov2

Sweet Surprises: Sister Gift Edition

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Sweet Surprises: Sister Gift Edition

Hello! This past week, I paid a visit to my sister and darling nieces at their place. Everything basically sucks and is crazy for yours truly right now but seeing my favorite lil ladies and big sister always puts a smile on my face. It’s hard not to smile when your nieces are literally the cutest people on planet Earth! Hanging out with all of them was a gift enough so I definitely wasn’t expecting this sweet surprise that my sister got for me:

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For those of you who don’t know, I am pretty much obsessed with Neil Gaiman and I consider everything that he does a masterpiece. Aside from Sandman, Coraline is one of my all time favorite books and I love the movie and graphic novel adaptation. My sister, Kristen, is well aware of this and when she saw the necklace with the key and seeing stone during some online shopping, she added it to her cart. It’s funny, because I actually just screenshotted something similar on my phone a few weeks ago – talk about sister telepathy!

During such trying times, it was so nice to receive a gift that I knew made my sister immediately think of me. It was such a thoughtful and much needed surprise and I was so flattered by it! I can’t wait to wear my new necklace as well as finally get Johnny to watch the movie with me because he fell asleep during our last viewing lol. Coraline is a perfect spooky season movie and, even though it’s November, Johnny and I are still in the Halloween spirit every day. 😀

If you haven’t seen or read Coraline before, then I can’t recommend it enough. While it’s a great book and flick for teens, I daresay that it’s even better for adults. Thanks again to my big sis for such a sweet gift! ❤

What is your favorite work by Neil Gaiman? Have you received any sweet surprises lately? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: Be sure to tune in tomorrow for an OOTD shoot of my Halloween costume!