Eve Koguce's Blog, page 14

Book Review / "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It is always difficult to share your thoughts about classics. Especially when you’ve struggled with some aspects of the book. At least this is the way it is for me. I don’t think my critical opinion holds any value on a global scale. Legendary books will be read irrespective of my subjective impressions. Still, on the other hand, there is no harm in adding one more opinion to the vast number of opinions already expressed about the story.

I can’t say that I didn’t like “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I did like the eloquent, dreamy prose that transported me into a different reality. The image of the seventeenth-century Puritan society the author draws in the story is fascinating.

The main issue that kept me from fully enjoying the book is that it didn’t show me who Hester Prynne really was. It felt like there is a photograph of the main character with a description of how she looks and what her daily activities are on the back. Hester Prynne lacks substance, and without it, it’s hard to relate to anyone, real or fictional.

My assumption is that the author, being a product of his time, simply didn’t have a broad enough knowledge of women and the inner workings of their minds. The fact that the emotional sufferings of Arthur Dimmesdale are described vividly and in detail somewhat gives weight to this theory.

Although inarguably poetic, the author’s style is rather heavy. Some sentences are a Kindle page long. I’m not a fan of short sentences without adverbs and adjectives. For me, language is like clay, from which you can create an infinite number of forms. And still, reading “The Scarlet Letter” was challenging. The introductory chapter was especially taxing, and I was relieved that the author changed the style a little in the main part of the book.

Usually, I have so much to say about what I thought and felt reading the book. In this case, I am at a loss what to share.

The chapters dedicated to Arthur Dimmesdale are piercing, showing a person torn by his passions that contradict society's rules. He is unlikeable, weak, and self-centered. The author has managed to demonstrate how the man’s emotional struggles led to his physical decline.

Hester’s daughter Pearl also is an intriguing character, but to the readers, she remains an enigma, much like her mother.

Roger Chillingworth adds spice to the story. But since it’s already packed with drama, I failed to appreciate the edge he represents.

All in all, the book hasn’t left me indifferent. It has also left me with too many unanswered questions. It’s not a bad thing to be left wondering “what if”. But with “The Scarlet Letter”, the questions are “What happened in the main characters’ lives?”, “How did they meet?”, “What did they feel about this and that?”. And these are too profound questions not to get even a glimpse of an answer to.










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Book Review / "A Canoer of Shorelines" by Anne M. Smith-Nochasak

A Canoer of Shorelines by Anne M. Smith-Nochasak

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is the kind of book that makes the reader think. Not only about the story it tells on its pages, but also about your own experiences. "She will not lament what the years have taken, but embrace what they still hold." While reading “A Canoer of Shorelines” by Anne M. Smith-Nochasak I was thinking about my childhood and the people who surrounded me. It feels like another life since those people and places are no more.

Still, those who made an impact on our lives, as well as places we connected emotionally with, never truly disappear. They remain in our memories. Places of our childhood and youth, books our parents read to us always remain special for us. And this tether to the past makes life worth living. Some say memories are a burden. But in truth, they sustain you at times when it seems that you’ll fall and won’t be able to rise again.

There is a theory that the past, the present, and the future exist at the same time. I like the idea that nothing in life gets lost. It gives hope and also meaning to our existence.

It’s a different thing, that some things we let go of gladly. The things that don’t let us enjoy life. But there are also things that we want to keep in our hearts forever. These are the bricks of our souls. If they drop out of the wall, we won’t be whole.

Both Julie Martin and Rachel Hardy aren’t whole. And they both believe that an old farm Meadowbrook Acres will make them such.

For Rachel, the farm is her legacy, the place where she grew up, listening to the family legends about Grandma Mary, who cut her teeth on Spanish doubloons. Meadowbrook Acres pulls her in and pushes her away, for many years in equal measure until the struggle becomes too tough and Rachel leaves everything and everyone behind. She disappears – or maybe it only seems that way – and it opens a window of opportunity for Julie.

Julie doesn’t disappear from her family and friends’ radar, but she is lost. The life of the teacher in the Reserves that she’s chosen for herself brought bitter disappointments. "Happiness is not made. It is recognized and embraced.” Julie needs time – and Meadowbrook Acres? – to recognise her happiness. But can she ever embrace it?

I loved the way the author interweaved the present and the past of two women. Rachel’s memories of her extended family evoked images from my own past. I too grew up surrounded by aunts and uncles. They came to us and stayed for months. We regularly visited them, and my parents left me at their places for weeks. I still feel the warmth I was constantly cocooned in.

It is fascinating how certain things are the same despite time and distance. "There are untold stories that these aunts could have told. In those times, untold stories were kept untold." Indeed, my aunts had such stories too, and they have remained untold.

Julie comes to Meadowbrook Acres to find answers to her questions. Instead, the old house presents her with new ones. The old house haunts her and puzzles her with things her rational mind refuses to accept. The house where Grandma Mary presided over the family, cursing the role that should have belonged to a man but at the same time, revelling in her power. Meadowbrook Acres tortures her with dreams, which with time, become almost indiscernible from reality. Although only a tenant, Julie learns the truth many landowners know: "People with land do not always have money. They have land and they can break their hearts on that land, but that is not the same thing as having money."

Will both Julie and Rachel realise that "The spark and anticipation of a future unlived cannot be recaptured"? Will they stop living in the past and thinking that happiness awaits them in the future and embrace their present?

This deeply poetic book pulled me in and still hasn’t let go. I’m looking forward to reading the author's second novel “The Ice Widow”.






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A Canoer of Shorelines

"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne




I need time to get my thoughts together about this one.
I've got mixed feelings about "The Scarlet Letter". On the one hand, it left me with many thoughts, while on the other, something has been left missing even after I closed the book.



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The Scarlet Letter

Book Review / "Lord and King" by P.L. Stuart

Lord and King by P.L. Stuart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It was an exquisite delight to return to the multi-dimensional world P.L. Stuart has created in his epic fantasy saga. After head-spinning adventures that kept me turning the pages of book two “The Last of the Atalanteans” I couldn’t wait to see how Othrun would settle into the role he’s always dreamt about. Or maybe I’d better put it differently – the role he has always believed he deserved.

Othrun, once the Second Prince of the mightiest kingdom, now King of Eastrealm of Acremia, is the most fascinating character. Probably the most extraordinary main character a reader will encounter in modern literature. He is a knot of controversies. And that’s what makes it extremely interesting to follow him on his journey.

Othrun believes he is the noblest of knights, still, he is ready to step down from this pedestal to achieve his goals. Like any high-born, he is prejudiced, taught to despise and worship certain things. Still, when the faultiness of his views is thrown right into his face, he doesn’t fight against it. He doesn’t succumb at once to different views, but he tries to understand the new ones.

Finally, after the devastation of his home kingdom in book one and the risky quest to get a new one in book two, Othrun is Lord and King. He has what he considers to be rightfully his. A kingdom to rule over, people whose fates are in his hands, a beautiful wife Aliaz who impersonates everything he wants to see in a woman, and a future full of glorious victories. Minor issues that mar his triumph preventing him from feeling completely satisfied, are insignificant to shake his confidence. “I have deserved this,” I can almost hear Othrun saying these words in my head. It doesn’t matter that he has other overlords above him. At least he respects and trusts them. Besides, his plans for the increase of his grandeur are still in place, if a little transformed. Thoughts about one powerful and so tempting mage bother him, but not enough to make him feel guilty.

Lord and King of Eastrealm, who has earned his reputation of being a formidable foe should one choose to view him as such, is ready to build a bright, prosperous future for everyone, Atalanteans and Eltnish. After he has succeeded in the most audacious venture to get to where he is now, only success, luck, and glory should spread like a red carpet in front of him. Right?

Of course, wrong. Totally wrong!

“Lord and King” is a story about the burdens of power. Having achieved everything he’d craved to have for so long, Othrun is faced with a new dilemma. Can a good king be a good man? Once planted in his prejudiced, self-absorbed brain, this thought doesn’t go away.

In book three of the Drowned Kingdom Saga, Othrun is forced to find solutions to unsolvable problems. He learns the hard way that even being the king, he isn’t immune to life’s hardships. His status, his wealth, his loyal subjects – all of these privileges of a king can save him neither from losing some battles nor from grief. Othrun learns that being the king makes him even more vulnerable and helpless when his personal life choices are at stake.

In book three of the saga, we get to see Othrun in love. The fire and passion we saw him exhibit mostly on the battlefield and clawing his way back to the top on the way to establish his role as King in new lands, at last, are directed at a human being. A woman, a queen, the most extraordinary woman and queen Othrun has ever met. And even here, his prejudices and his focus on being first and foremost the king rather than a man, intervene to add to the emotional volcano.

“Lord and King”, book three of the Drowned Kingdom Saga stays true to the high standard the author set in books one and two. The story continues with a well-thought-out mix of the epic and the personal, with a subtle portion of magic that teases readers’ imagination. The book makes the reader marvel at the complexity of the world created on its pages. And at the same time, some plot twists tug at readers’ heartstrings touching upon sensitive subjects like grief, loss, and cruelty toward the innocent.

I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.






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Lord and King

Book Review / "Tears of a Cowgirl" by Jupiter Rose

Tears of a Cowgirl by Jupiter Rose

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you are looking for a perfect book to spend a cosy weekend with, look no further. “Tears of a Cowgirl” by Jupiter Rose is what you need and more.

Katie’s story has all the ingredients to melt the reader’s heart. We meet her at the turning point of her life. Trapped in a marriage with an abuser, Katie has reached the stage when she is ready to risk her life and the life of her little son but try to escape. She knows that she has only one chance. Her husband has made it absolutely clear that he will kill her if she tries to leave him. Still, she makes the decision to flee the house where she was held like a prisoner with a monitor attached to her ankle.

Surrounded by friends who care for her and her son’s well-being, Katie tries to settle into a quiet life in her hometown. Her parents’ house evokes many memories, and although both her mother and father passed away, Katie remembers what they taught her and it gives her strength.

When Katie finds beautiful flowers on her doorstep, her first thought is that her evil husband has found her. When a handsome neighbour knocks at her door, Katie can’t get rid of the suspicions her ex hired him.

But then she gets stuck in a remote house with two children with a vicious snowstorm isolating her from the world. The handsome neighbour arrives and announces he is here to protect her. How can Katie’s heart, which was tortured for so long, resist?

I love horses, so I enjoyed that these noble and beautiful animals were a part of the story.

“Tears of a Cowgirl” is a sweet love story – the kind that will ignite your faith in true love again – with a touch of suspense and danger. Sociopaths are known to be relentless in pursuing their victims. But true love is known to the extremely persistent as well.



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Tears of a Cowgirl: Running from the devilTears of a Cowgirl

Book Review / "A Mother's Loss" by Caroline Rebisz

A Mother's Loss by Caroline Rebisz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The story of two women divided by time totally pulled me in. “A Mother’s Loss” by Caroline Rebisz is a beautiful, but also heart-breaking, story of how it feels to go through the most painful loss a woman can experience.

Before relocating to the Norfolk countryside, Liz had it all. A house in London, a successful and loving husband, a highly-demanding but satisfying career, and beautiful children. When the unimaginable happens, she simply collapses unable to cope with a nightmare that befalls her. That’s how she sees it: as a nightmare that simply can’t be true and any minute, she will wake up from it.

Motivated by her love for her family, Liz persuades her husband that they need a new home away from London to have a fresh start. Little did she know when they moved into a magnificent historical property in the countryside that another woman’s trauma will be what will eventually help her step on the road to healing.

I found it absolutely fascinating how the author led me into feeling absorbed in the Stamfords’ life. Liz, her husband Giles, as well as their teenage children Jo and Harry, from fictional characters quickly became almost friends whom I’ve known for many years. Weaving together the families’ present with bits and pieces from their previous life in London, Ms Rebisz draws a full picture of who the Stamfords are.

With the same impressive skill, the author delves into the past drawing a similarly vivid picture of another household. One hundred and fifty years ago, life was completely different. For women, it was an existence void of almost any rights. While for everyone, except the nobility, it was filled with hard work.

When Liz “meets” Sarah, for a short moment, she is terrified. It’s understandable. It is in our instincts to be afraid of ghosts. But Liz, being an intelligent woman with an inquisitive mind, quickly realises the ghost isn’t here to turn her family’s life in their new home into a nightmare. As a mother who has experienced tremendous loss, Liz feels that Sarah has contacted her to ask for help. And as Liz dives deeper into the investigation of the past events, she slowly moves up to the surface reconciling with her own grief.

I loved how the author masterfully combined the good and the bad sides of life in her story. I know from experience that dreadful things happen even to the perfect families, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that the family unit collapses and crumbles under “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”. It was deeply gratifying to read about the family whose members act like people who love each other and are prepared to put efforts into making each other happy, even after the huge loss that shattered their dreams and expectatioA Mother's Lossns.

“A Mother’s Loss” is a book that will pull at every mother’s heartstrings, at the same time, giving hope that as long as your loved ones stand by you, everything eventually will be okay.





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Book Review / "Darkwitch" by Kat Kinney

Darkwitch by Kat Kinney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Darkwitch” is a kind of book that sweeps you off your feet and makes you keep reading “just one more chapter”. I couldn’t put this book down even after my Kindle fell out of my hands a couple of times (yes, a few times it landed on my face), and even after my cats gave up on their human’s common sense and went to sleep without the usual cuddling session.

Book two of the Dyrwolf duology picks up soon after the end of book one. The Colony is finally united. Wolves and humans live together. But can two sides that have been fighting against each other for the last twenty years really live in peace building a better future for everyone?

There are too many scars both nations bear to accept that the era of hate is over. Lea and Henrik discover the enemy has multiplied, and the Colony is now being attacked both from outside and from within.

Lea still struggles with her own demons. The visions she has about Henrik’s death get more and more disturbing. The worst thing about them being that she sees the killer but can’t discern his face.

I really liked the relationship dynamics between Lea and her mother, as well as between Lea and Gunnar. In general, there are many fascinating characters in the duology, each of them deserving a separate book.

Lea and Henrik are both very young. While they are forced to look for solutions to global problems and regularly face mortal danger, they remain innocent in their hearts and naïve in relationship issues. Their love is sweet and pure. And in my view, the contrast between the gloom and darkness of Nordvend and Lea and Henrik’s innocence of youth adds intensity to the story.

I’m a huge fan of Kat Kinney’s books and her unique, immersive writing style. I’m looking forward to reading the next instalments of her series as well as new stories, which I’m sure will combine her beautiful trademark prose, relatable characters, and exciting settings.







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Darkwitch

Book Review / "Dyrwolf" by Kat Kinney

Dyrwolf by Kat Kinney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Lea Wylder is a fighter. She’s been fighting all her life. She’s been fighting against the enemy, the biggest threat to her people. She’s been fighting against the grief of losing her loved ones. And if that wasn’t enough, there is a continuous battle with her own mind and body, both seemingly trying to betray her from within.

Lea’s life isn’t easy. Still, she knows who the enemy is and knows how to fight against it. That is until she meets one of "them". She is supposed to kill him on the spot. But she can’t kill Henrik. Not after he shifts from the white wolf who’s been chasing her in her dreams to a human boy with this stupid barley-stalk hair and a sack full of herbs rather than weapons.

Lea’s life was hell before. Now it becomes even more complicated.

There are reasons beyond a mop of barley-white hair that make Lea agree to help the enemy. And there are more reasons why I really liked the story besides it being packed with unexpected twists.
I loved how the author peeled off layer after layer gradually revealing the true nature of things. Both sides of the conflict, human and Dyr, transform in front of readers’ eyes with every chapter. The story of what happened in the past and what is happening now unfolds as secrets get revealed.

And I absolutely loved the immersive writing style I already fell in love with when reading Kat Kinney’s Blood Moon, Texas Shifters series. In “Dyrwolf”, the language is even richer, with descriptions pulling you into the story.

“Skinny, stiped aspen trunks fly by, pale and bare as rib bones, their leaves fluttering in a dazzling display of corn-stalk gold and ember orange.”

Nordvend is a harsh place. Neither Dyr shifters nor human colonists have chosen it to be their home for its climate. Still, now this is their home, and both nations are prepared to do everything not to lose it. Is it possible to find a compromise that will satisfy both sides? Or were the crimes and atrocities performed too horrible to ever sit at the negotiations table?

Since I felt totally drawn in by the author’s incredibly beautiful prose and simply couldn’t say goodbye to Lea and Henrik just yet, I started book two of the series “Darkwitch” right after I finished book one.






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Dyrwolf

Book Review / "Calixta" by Omayra Velez

Calixta: The Vanquishers of Alhambra by Omayra Vélez

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


While I sit staring at the blinking cursor, trying to put my impressions about “Calixta” by Omayra Vélez into words, forgive me for blurting out: “wow, what a book!”

These are my feelings in a nutshell. But it absolutely won’t do to leave “Calixta” without a proper review. The intense, imaginative, gut-searing, and thought-provoking story of unlocking your true self while fighting against the darkest of evils deserves more.

Calixta is an extraordinary book character. She isn’t what you’d call likeable. Yes, she is strong and beautiful. She is also brave and loyal to the people she loves. Still, she is edgy and harsh, for she’s been disillusioned by the life she’s been forced to live.

The society Calixta belongs to doesn’t give its people any choice. Once labelled, a person must live restricted by the requirements of their trade and harsh laws. Calixta’s trade is not what any person would choose willingly. She is a woman of the night. True, of the highest class. She is talented and educated. But it doesn’t matter to the people of Alhambra.

Calixta has a character of a fighter, so she doesn’t succumb to the fate of someone who can’t do anything to make their life better. She uses the opportunities she’s been given – as scarce and controversial as they are – and rises as high as it’s possible in her situation.

And then, we find out that she isn’t simply a strong-willed Madame of the best brothel in town.
Calixta dies, and her life takes a turn no human laws and restrictions can influence.

The book is not an easy read. There aren’t noble knights in shining armour, throwing red roses to the innocent beautiful ladies. The man who helps Calixta unlock her true identity is – pardon my language – a jerk. He behaves like one and treats the woman, who left him speechless the very moment he saw her for the first time, also like an utter bastard.

There are gruesome scenes in the book. The kind that will make you cringe and want to skip a few pages. I admit – I’ve read every word. In my opinion, they added weight to the importance of the Vanquishers’ mission to restore the balance between good and evil.

Calixta’s thorny road from a scorned but ardently desired Madame to a powerful Vanquisher with unprecedented abilities of a mage is a fascinating read that won’t let you go for a long time after you turn the last page. Ms Vélez masterfully weaves together magical and philosophical elements making the reader experience a whole range of emotions.

“Calixta” is a part of The Vanquishers of Alhambra dark fantasy series. It ends on a cliffhanger, but it didn’t bother me in the slightest, for I know for sure that I’ll be reading Ms Vélez’s next books.





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Book Review / "Dragon's Grace" by Sloane McClain

Dragon's Grace by Sloane McClain

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book is the purest form of literary escapism. It pulls you in and you don’t want to get out.

“Dragon's Grace” by Sloane McClain is the first book in the Sons of Pendragon series. The story is a delicious blend of Arthurian-era epic fantasy and contemporary romance. Full of ancient secrets, sword battles, and intrigues, it also has sweet family moments and steamy scenes that make all the characters real and relatable.

Brennan and Grace weren’t supposed to be together. He is an influential businessman, always with a glamorous leggy beauty by his side smiling at the camera. She is his secretary. He doesn’t simply manage the dangerous protection and retrieval missions from the safety of his posh office – he takes part in them. She has failed all self-defence classes, obligatory for all Pendragon Alliance employees.

Still, fate is known to be a capricious lady with plans of her own. So, when Brennan returns from the mission that turned into a complete disaster, injured, morally defeated, and with an infant whom he is now responsible for, his father knows that there isn’t a better candidate to save his son from the abyss than Grace.

What woman would refuse to enter into a marriage of convenience with a man she’s been in love with for years? Well, a modern, sophisticated one, obviously. But Grace is neither. It doesn’t mean she is weak. Her strength lies elsewhere. Once she joins the Pendragon family – the epitome of masculinity, testosterone, and chivalry – she transforms its members’ life, adding what they were lacking. I found the interactions between Grace and the Pendragons absolutely adorable. Versatile family dynamics is something I always enjoy in books. Especially when the story proves that blood indeed is thicker than water.

Contrary to the usual relationship pattern, Grace and Brennan begin to get acquainted with each other – and fall in love with each other – after they are wed. And it’s up to the reader to decide if multiple hardships including chasing a vindictive cousin wDragon's Graceho wants Grace dead, time travel hassle, and deciphering how to open prison doors locked centuries ago stand in their way or help their love to blossom.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first instalment of the Pendragon brothers’ saga, and I’m looking forward to reading more.








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