If There Be Thorns

If There Be Thorns. V. C. Andrews. Published by Pocket. November 1981. 374 pages. Source: Purchased from Betterworldbooks.com

First sentence: In the late evening when the shadows were long I sat quiet and unmoving near one of Paul's marble statues.

Plot: Out of the ashes of evil Chris and Cathy made such a loving home for their splendid children...
Fourteen-year-old Jory was so handsome, so gentle. And Bart had such a dazzling imagination for a nine year old.

Then the lights came on in the abandoned house next door. Soon the Old Lady in Black was there, watching their home with prying eyes, guarded by her strange old butler. Soon the shrouded woman had Bart over for cookies and ice cream and asked him to call her "Grandmother."

And soon Bart's transformation began...

A transformation that sprang from "the book of secrets" the gaunt old butler had given him... a transformation fed by the hint of terrible things about his mother and father... a transformation that led him into shocking acts of violence, self-destruction and perversity.

And now while this little boy trembles on the edge of madness, his anguished parents, his helpless brother, an obsessed old woman and the vengeful, powerful butler await the climax to a horror that flowered in an attic long ago, a horror whose thorns are still wet with blood, still tipped with fire....

My thoughts:  This is a re-read for me.  I read this series as a teenager in the 80's.  I had forgotten much of it but if you can enjoy such a demented read I guess I did.  It makes me think just how messed up someone can be from not having a loving and caring environment while they are young children.  This story brings in a fourth generation of "mental illness" in my opinion.  The kind of mental illness brought on by greed and love of money and a twisted and false belief in God.

There are two more books in this series and I own them all so I am anxious to get on with this next generation.

Annihilation

Annihilation. Jeff Vandermeer. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. February 2014. 195 pages.  Source:  Audio book.

First Sentence: The tower, which was not supposed to be there, plunges into the earth in a place just before the black pine forest begins to give way to swamp and then the reeds and wind-gnarled trees of the marsh flats.

Plot: Area X has been cut off from the rest of the world for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.

The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything. 

My thoughts: This story is told from the perspective of the biologist whose husband was part of the eleventh expedition.  A lot of the story is her personal history as she ends up being the lone survivor of this expedition.  It doesn't end with her returning to her home.  Leaving it wide open for the next book in the series...Acceptance.  

I'm not a fan of science fiction, which is what is actually shelved as on Goodreads, but I think I would continue on with the series if nothing else but to find out what is actually in the "tower".

To Be Where You Are

To Be Where You Are. Jan Karon. G. P. Putnam's Sons. October 2017. 450 pages. Source - Audio book.

First sentence: It was the first day of October, and all things considered, Mitford was pretty quiet. 

Plot: After twelve years of wrestling with the conflicts of retirement, Father Tim Kavanagh realizes he doesn't need a steady job to prove himself. Then he's given one. As for what it proves, heaven only knows.

Millions of Karon fans will be thrilled that it's life as usual in the wildly popular Mitford series: A beloved town character lands a front-page obituary, but who was it, exactly, who died? And what about the former mayor, born the year Lindbergh landed in Paris, who's still running for office? All this, of course, is but a feather on the wind compared to Muse editor J.C. Hogan's desperate attempts to find a cure for his marital woes. Will it be high-def TV or his pork chop marinade?

In fiction, as in real life, there are no guarantees.

Twenty minutes from Mitford at Meadowgate Farm, newlyweds Dooley and Lace Kavanagh face a crisis that devastates their bank account and impacts their family vet practice.

But there is still a lot to celebrate, as their adopted son, Jack, looks forward to the most important day of his life--with great cooking, country music, and lots of people who love him. Happily, it will also be a day when the terrible wound in Dooley's biological family begins to heal because of a game--let's just call it a miracle--that breaks all the rules.

In To Be Where You Are, Jan Karon weaves together the richly comic and compelling lives of two Kavanagh families, and a cast of characters that readers around the world now love like kin.

My thoughts:  I was kind of disappointed in this one from Jan Karon.  Not sure what I expected but I don't feel it lived up to the hype prior to it being published.  To be fair maybe I waited too long to actually read it.

I feel like the story didn't flow very well. It seemed to jump around from person/family often times making me think, "who is this now?".  My favorite situation in this one is when Father Tim brings home a new dog from Dooley and Lacey's.  After the passing of Barnabus I didn't think Father Tim would have another.  But I was happy to see him with another.

New Beginnings... Again

Well it's a new year let's see if I can do better with my book reviews and challenges this year.

For the Good reads challenge I am aiming for 60 book again this year.  I missed that number by two books in 2018.

I have not committed to any other challenges yet this year other than my regular 1 million pages and the classic club challenge.  I hope to just keep up on my reviews and maybe the Sunday Post.

Seduction of a Highland Lass

Seduction of a Highland Lass. Maya Banks.  Ballantine Books. 2011. 323 pages.  Source: Audio Library.

First Sentence: Alaric McCabe looked out over the expanse of McCabe land and grappled with the indecision plaguing him.

Plot: Fiercely loyal to his elder brother, Alaric McCabe leads his clan in the fight for their birthright. Now he is prepared to wed for duty, as well. But on his way to claim the hand of Rionna McDonald, daughter of a neighboring chieftain, he is ambushed and left for dead. Miraculously, his life is saved by the soft touch of a Highland angel, a courageous beauty who will put to the test his fealty to his clan, his honor, and his deepest desires.

An outcast from her own clan, Keeley McDonald was betrayed by those she loved and trusted. When the wounded warrior falls from his horse, she is drawn to his strong, lean body. The wicked glint in his green eyes ignites a passion that will follow them back to Alaric’s keep, where their forbidden love draws them deeper into the pleasures of the flesh. But as conspiracy and danger circle closer, Alaric must make an impossible choice: Will he betray his blood ties for the woman he loves?

My thoughts: Book two in the Highlander series was just as exciting as the first.  A young lass done wrong by her family member  and banished from the clan but justice (of course) is served in the end.  The McCabe men are dreamy and loyal to their clan and family. They are rule their clan with a firm but just hand and they expect the same from other clans.  This series does contain adult content.  I have book three on hold!

Catching up part two

It will take three posts to catch up my "opinions" of what I have been reading the past seven months.  Hopefully I can make these next two look a little more appealing.  These lists are not in any particular order.

This selection came after some Classics Club Challenge reads and was a nice break from that "old" reading.  I enjoyed this light read about a widower raising his four children with the aid of a housekeeper.  The Saturdays refers to how the children spent their Saturdays doing things that they liked and some trials that hit the family as well.**** 

This was a selection for October (Halloween).  Salem is short for Jerusalem.  I had never read a Stephen King book before.  It was a pretty good "scary" selection.  When I first selected the book I thought it was about witches but turned out it was about vampires.  I will be reading more of Stephen King in the future. ****

Gathering Blue is a sequel to The Giver which I really liked.  I'm not usually a fan of dystopia but after reading The Giver I decided to continue on. ***

A governess is hired by an uncle of a boy and girl after the death of their parents.  Both children and the governess see ghosts of the former governess and another servant of the home. **

My first read of Voltaire. It's described as a satire of tragic comedy.  It wasn't a very long read but I had to keep back tracking to remember certain things. I found it hard to focus on. **

A story of a woman in an unhappy marriage wholly devoted to her sons. He oldest dies of pneumonia if I recall, after becoming engaged to a woman his mother objected to.  Son number two loves his mother and is devoted to her so much that he won't marry as long as she lives.  So he has several affairs over the years.  His mother falls ill with cancer and the son and daughter are left to care for her at the end of her life. ***

Otherwise known as The Headless Horseman. Is a legend about a soldier who lost his head in battle and rides around the countryside looking for it. Ichabod Crane is a school master who believes in such things and ends up missing due to his superstitious beliefs. **

A youngman,  David Balfour, is recently orphaned. He's given a letter to go to The House of Shaw. When he arrives he discovers that it is the home of his father's brother, Ebenezer. Ebenezer is paranoid that someone will try to take over his "title". Probably because he came by it dishonestly. He schemes to have his nephew kidnapped.  Most of the story is Davies journey to return home. ***

Ugh this was a disgusting choice! It wasn't a terribly long read thank goodness. A salesman wakes one morning to find he has turned into an insect, a cockroach more likely. Gross!!! He loses his job and his family is distraught. His sister being the only one who can feed him. After realizing what a toll this has taken on his family he stays in his room and dies. *

 I never finished Murder At The Vicarage, my attention span was too short at the time. I really enjoyed this one! I thought I was pretty smart but this took me by surprise.  It kept me engaged to the very last. I will try to get back to the one I had not finished. ****

I chose this book because it was a crime fiction and I am trying to be more diverse in my reading. Turns out it was a good storyline.  Good enough that I will pick up the sequel. A drug lord 8 Florida is killed an his son's take over.  All of them with different temperaments. Only one son raised by a different mother has the temperament to actually take over and run the cartel.  It's action packed pages kept me in suspense! ****

Another vampire selection...one I started before Halloween.  A vampire and his sister raise his daughters to hunt men and bring them to him to feed on. One daughter doesn't have the desire to live isolated from school mates and public in order to do her father's bidding.  She unravels the dark secret of her family and her future during her rebellion and decides to leave the life she was meant for. ****

Book 3 of the Mayfair witches. Is the history of the beings behind the power of the Mayfair family. The last remaining Taltos tells the story to Rowen and Michael. They are torn when they find that Mona who was impregnated by Michael has delivered a Taltos. One that could breed with Ashlar, the last surviving Male of their kind and bring back into existence a civilization that is almost extinct. ****

Mairin is the illegitimate daughter to the king.  She has been on the run and in hiding from men who would prosper by wedding and bedding her.  She is found by the men of an evil man who would have her fortune.  They also have Ewan McCabe's young son in their possession.  Crispin and Mairim escape and find their way back to the McCabe property. OH, there isn't much I can say without giving you too much that might ruin it for you.  It's a great romance/drama.  I'm reading the second one as I write this post! *****

A story of adultery!  I had mixed emotions over this one.  A sweet kind Anna is married to a much older man with whom she has a son.  She is not happy in this marriage and allows herself to fall in love with another man.

Catching up part one

I've been missing in action for about seven months but I haven't totally stopped reading.  This post is just a list of what I have been reading and a short opinion.  I hope to get back on track to reviewing each book individually after I get caught up.  

Before I left off blogging I read and reviewed Sisterhood of the traveling pants. So naturally I had to continue with the series. I enjoyed them very much although their journey was often sad and difficult the story had a pretty good ending.

The Second, Third, and Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood and ending with Sisterhood Everlasting.

Two turns from zero was a motivational read.  A woman going from drunk addiction to fitness guru. **

Jacob Have I Loved - twin sisters who are exact opposite. One smart beautiful, ambitious, out going. The other tired of living in her sister's shadow. ***

Highland Bound series (1-3) - a woman in an abusive relationship travels time to find love. ****

Helen Keller: The Story of My Life - There was much more to this story than I remember hearing about in my youth.  How her illness caused her to go blind and deaf and how she was taught. Helen Keller went on to accomplish many things in her life. *****

Lasher is the second book in The Mayfair Witch series.  The spirit that has been with the Mayfair family is trying to cross over into life from the dead. This is Rowan
Mayfair and Michael Curry's story of their genetics that will bring Lasher across. ****

Love in the Time of Cholera - a love that stretched 50 years even as life went took them in opposite directions. This story bored me to tears! *