Liar

"Mostly it's the joy of convincing people that something that ain't so, is." ~ pg. 32

Micah freely admits she is a liar. She tells white lies, ridiculous lies and big lies. She has lied to classmates, teachers, friends and parents. But the only person she didn't make a habit of lying to was her kinda-sorta boyfriend. When he dies under mysterious brutal circumstances, of course everyone looks at Micah, the girl who is known for being a liar. The rest of the book is Micah pleading her case and supposedly finally coming clean with what happened. It is up to the reader to determine what is true.

Liar came up in my search for books to read during Black History Month. In particular, I was looking for books made popular by incidents of whitewashing. A quick Google search and Justine Larbalestier's Liar was the most popular. It was published in 2009 with an original white cover image that clearly does not match its black main character. I won't even post the original cover from Bloomsbury Publishing but just know I understand the controversial outcry. Kudos to Australian author Justine Larbalestier for standing up for her black fictional protagonist and battling her American publisher to feature a black girl on the cover.

"It's hard work keeping all those lies in the air. Imagine juggling a thousand torches that are all tied together with fine thread." ~ pg. 215

Had I known this was a science-fiction novel, I would have passed. True the first line gave an inkling but c'mon, the main character is a self-professed liar so I didn't give it much attention. The book has three sections and the science-fiction part didn't kick in until section two. At that point, I was already 171 pages in and genuinely interested in the story. So consider this a warning if you are dead set against paranormal plots. For everyone else, it was actually a good book with a twist I didn't ever expect.

Title: Liar
Author: Justine Larbalestier
Published: September 2009
Pages: 371
Edition: Hardcover
Challenge: Popsugar Science-Fiction Novel
Rating: ♥♥♥

 

Try Not to Breathe

"I'm asleep more than I'm awake these days." ~ pg. 286

Alex Dale is taking one day at a time. Recovering from a rocky past and destructive habits, she tries to regain control of her life. She suddenly feels she has purpose when she discovers Amy Stevenson, a girl from a nearby town who was assaulted and has been in a coma for fifteen years. Unbeknownst to doctors, Amy is conscious but paralyzed. Every day is spent reliving the past.

Alex begins to interview people connected to the attack trying to solve a crime where the only true witness cannot testify. Sounds like a really good tale, right?

This book was recommended for fans of Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins. That would be me! So I spent a couple evenings reading Try Not to Breathe and fully expected to not breathe in between chapters. I tend to hold my breath when reading/watching something really suspenseful. Unfortunately, I never skipped a breath. But it was still a good book with a good concept and a good level of suspense. It would translate even better on the big screen. Kudos to this debut author!

Try Not to Breathe will be published on February 23, 2016. Try reading this psycho suspense.

Disclaimer: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are honestly my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: Try Not to Breathe
Author: Holly Seddon
Published: February 2016
Pages: 323
Edition: Galley
Rating: ♥♥♥

 

Perfect Days

"They had no money, no education, but they had bones, muscles, organs. And that made them useful." ~ pg. 3

This is the story of a twisted young medical student named Teo. He lives with his paraplegic mother and dog in Rio de Janeiro. Clarice is an exotic, outspoken aspiring screenwriter working on a screenplay titled Perfect Days. Teo becomes obsessed with her and begins to stalk her, following her to and from home and school. She ultimately rejects him and that's when the story gets wild. Teo kidnaps Clarice and takes her on a twisted journey across Brazil that mirrors the same route as in her screenplay.

Bookhearts know that I am a sucker for a psycho suspense thriller. I am forever looking for the next big hit. Well this ain't it. Sorry to say Perfect Days does not have that chilling factor. Maybe because everything happens too soon and was too predictable. Though I am grateful to have read the English translated debut of one of Brazil's most celebrated young writers.

Perfect Days is available today in bookstores and online. Happy English Pub Day!

Disclaimer: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are honestly my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: Perfect Days
Author: Raphael Montes
Published: February 2016
Pages: 272
Edition: Galley
Challenge: Popsugar Book Translated to English
Rating: ♥♡

 

Series Sunday: Archie The Married Life #2

(Archie: The Married Life #2)

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Read an installment of a series.
• Share your review/recommendation below.
• Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is Archie: The Married Life Book 2, the second graphic novel/comic in The Married Life series by Paul Kupperberg. In this installment, Archie faces unemployment and deceit. Reggie is facing a lifetime behind bars. Real deal issues are addressed in the illustrated pages. The chapters alternate between parallel lives: when Archie marries Veronica and when Archie marries Betty. This format of worlds gives fans all we want!

"Being a grown-up isn't about how many years you've been alive, nor does it come naturally or easily to everyone." 

My review for this graphic novel/comic series can't be anything but stan praise. I heart Archie and the Riverdale gang. I feel like we've grown up together (and how cool is it that Archie grew up with my mom too!) So it is a treat to read about Archie's alternate lives as a husband to Betty and Veronica.

I'm very much looking forward to catching up on this Married Life series and adding more to my comic collection.

Title: Archie The Married Life, Book 2
Author: Paul Kupperberg
Published: April 2012
Pages: 320
Edition: Graphic Novel
Challenge: Popsugar A Graphic Novel
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

 

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Grab your current read(s).
• Share the first line(s).
• Include the title and author.

"Where my panties at?"

~ Getting Mother's Body by Suzan-Lori Parks

 

Year of Yes

"I would have been eloquent and delightful—no one can decline an invitation as beautifully as I can." ~ pg. 16

Are you in the mood for a nonfiction, memoir-type of book that is funny with a message? Are you the friend in your circle that always declines invitations? Are you low-key an introvert? While you are thinking about your answers to these questions, let me tell you about the book I just read.

The creator of #TGIT (Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice & executive producer of How to Get Away with Murder) reveals how saying 'yes' for a year changed her life. Yes, I am talking about the talented Shonda Rhimes. Her days are full with three hit television shows and three children to raise. If anyone has a legit excuse to say 'no' it would be her. But when her older sister Delorse muttered six words under her breath on Thanksgiving of 2013, it sparked Shonda to challenge herself.

"You never say yes to anything."

So began Shonda's Year of Yes project. For one full year, she committed to saying 'yes' to every public invitation (live appearances, speeches, parties, etc.) and every private matter (like taking her health seriously). In the Year of Yes, Shonda details her fears and how she stopped the habit of saying 'no' all the time. Written like a friendly conversation with a girlfriend, Year of Yes really does tell readers how to Dance it Out and Stand in the Sun. 

When I say this book was right on time and so well written? Listen. I recommend it to all bookhearts. Not only because the woman responsible for your Thursday night television entertainment is the author. Not only because the "Year of Yes" concept is a great idea more than a few of us should commit to. Not only because it is a book you can tick off on your 2016 reading challenges. Read it because you answered 'yes' to one or more of my questions above. Read it because you respect and follow my book recommendations and I will not steer you wrong.

So before you settle in with your favorite red wine, download/borrow/buy Shonda Rhimes' Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person. 

#TGIT

Title: Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
Author: Shonda Rhimes
Published: November 2015
Pages: 311
Edition: Hardcover
Challenge: Popsugar Book Written by a Celebrity
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

 

Listen to the Lambs

"Beneath the intersection of I-20 and I-75, where stray trash tumbles about carelessly and dreams lay aborted, where Coke cans substitute for ashtrays and discarded, warped, pissy mattresses serve as sleeping quarters for discarded, warped, pissy people—beneath that invisible expanse of earth and sky dwells a man named Lazarus." ~ 1%

Lazarus leaves all that is familiar to him—his wife, his children and his home—for a possession-less life. He crosses paths with five strangers that call themselves The Family, and whom later save him from the consequences of a brutal act.

The cover is a great image of open brown-skinned hands. The words are written well in the beginning of the story. The author previously wrote a novel that I still cannot get out of my head (Perfect Peace). So I wanted to like Listen to the Lambs. I really did. Then he lost me.

I really don't know what other way to describe this novel other than 'weird.' I must have muttered this word at least nine times while reading it. Certainly not weird because of the main character's homelessness but of how and the domino effect. Surely Lazarus was not the first man to have felt he lost everything when the economy tanked. Shit, I felt that way in late 2008. But to have up and left his family high and dry? I could not understand; perhaps because I am not a man. But as a responsible human, I too provide. I too had the best of everything. And I too was content with less. But I simply could not be empathetic to Lazarus when he chose to leave his own family to join The Family. Say what now? Weird.

There are characters I do not like. There are main characters I love to hate. Then there are characters that annoy me or I simply do not understand the choices they make. I may not have agreed with Lazarus' actions but it would have been more bearable to read Listen to the Lambs if his actions and the story that followed were clearer. Perhaps I would have enjoyed reading this novel if it was satirical. For these reasons, it was a struggle to not fling this eBook to the side and yell, "Weird. NEXT!"

Listen to the Lambs will be published on February 16, 2016. Pass it. Read it. Do what you will. 

Disclaimer: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are honestly my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: Listen to the Lambs
Author: Daniel Black
Published: February 2016
Pages: 325
Edition: Galley
Rating: ♥♡