Pestilence by Laura Thalassa (The Four Horsemen Book One)

A book about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  I've seen that before.  A romance book about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Now that's a new one.  To say I'm intrigued is a vast understatement.  How would one even work romance into a story featuring the Four Horsemen?  Love is completely at odds with everything the Four Horsemen represent.

I finished the book with mixed feelings.  First, let me be exceedingly clear on one point:  This book strays so far from the Biblical Four Horseman they are unrecognizable as the entities of Revelation.  The four Horsemen in this book and the Four Horsemen in the Bible share a name.  That's it.  This book is for entertainment only.

Setting that aside, what really troubled me about this book was that Sara seemed to suffer from Stockholm Syndrome.  Of course I'm not exactly sure, short of being taken prisoner, how you could write someone willingly into the presence of Pestilence.  And for there to be romance, one does need to spend time in the presence of one's love interest.  So I pushed the Stockholm Syndrome complaint out of my mind and kept reading.

I can say that I did like the characters.  I work with firefighters and some of them are like Sara.  Some really are in this profession because they care about people and want to help.  So the compassionate side of Sara's personality did ring true for me.  As did her toughness.  You can't be a woman in what is still considered a man's profession and not be tough as nails.  Given what the author put Sara through, it certainly was a good choice on her part to give Sara that backstory.  It also made her compassion towards Pestilence a little easier to understand.  Additionally I liked that Sara wasn't a whiner.  She got hurt physically and mentally, but she didn't whine about it.  She acknowledged it, dealt with it and moved on.  Frankly, once I discarded the Stockholm Syndrome argument, her growth as a character was very well written.

Pestilence was also well written.  His changes were of an existential nature and they made sense.  Who wouldn't question their duty to exterminate a "bad" race when several times compassion is offered without expectation of repayment?  And who wouldn't be torn when that same race showed abject hatred and cruelty?  Watching Pestilence wrestle with his changing certainty about his cause actually made me think more than once about my own reactions to some of the things humanity does.  It's easy to have a knee jerk reaction and fall back on habitual thoughts.  But are those thoughts right?

The writing itself was fine.  Points for using a few words not normally used in books targeted for mass market.  However... the language!  In some cases, yes, there was a need because that is exactly how those types speak.  But in general, there was a lot of the use of the F-word and taking the Lord's name in vain that I could have done without.  But it wasn't so bad that I gave up.  I just started skipping those words.  Other than that, I can't really complain about the writing.  Obviously it wasn't horrible; I read the book in two sittings!

The story itself was intriguing.  I found the story to be of a more cerebral nature than of an action nature.  To be sure, there was some action, some of it gruesome, but that action was needed to push the story along.  The heart of the story, the truly important part of this story, is how Sara and Pestilence changed.  Thankfully that part of the story wasn't lost in a quagmire of unnecessary action.

All things considered, I recommend this book for adult readers that can overlook profanity, sex, and some gruesome scenes.  I will say this about the sex:  It is not super graphic nor is it disgustingly or cheaply described.  Sure, I've seen better descriptions but I've also seen a whole lot more offensive descriptions.  As these things go, it's not terrible.  The violence in the book is only what is necessary, however, it isn't pretty.  It is not super graphic, but neither is it easy to read.  I will say if you are easily upset or offended, don't read this book.  Otherwise, enjoy just be forewarned.

Note:  I read this book a year or two ago and wasn't going to post a review until all the books had come out and I had reviewed them all.  I've decided not to wait.

Already Home by Susan Mallery

I am not even going to try to be coy.  I loved this book!  I had never read a Susan Mallery book before this, but if her other books are this good, I will be reading more.  I saw this book at the library and it just intrigued me.  So I looked both ways to be sure nobody saw me take a romance book and then fled to the checkout.  It turns out I liked this book so much I just ordered a copy for my home library and I will read it again the moment I get it.  I'm not too proud to say I'm counting down the six days until it gets here!  I could have had it Monday, but I am just too cheap to pay the extra for two day shipping.  I'm sure that says something about me, but I won't think about that!

I enjoyed the author's writing style.  Of course, you never know what you're going to get when you pick up a romance.  Sometimes the writing is subpar and other times it's just ok-ish.  This author's writing style is simple yet not boring nor too elementary.  It certainly is not challenging, but neither did I feel the need to take out my red pen and mark all the mistakes.  Perhaps I didn't mind the simple writing style because I loved the plot.

As for the plot:  Already Home certainly held no surprises.  I figured out everything pretty quickly and knew exactly where we were headed.  Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey.  It was akin to going on a road trip.  I know exactly where I'm going, but I enjoy the drive to my destination nevertheless.  Susan Mallery made the trip to the end of this book just amazing.  I can't say what exactly it was that made me love it so, but I can't deny I truly did enjoy it.  I believe it was the author's ability to handle even very tough subject matter with kindness and avoid the pitfall of over sentiment.  I feel Ms. Mallery did a very good job of adequately addressing some incredibly tough subjects without being preachy, condescending or crass.  And trust me, those things could have easily happened. 

I also truly enjoyed the characters themselves.  Each character was pleasingly unique and wonderfully kind in his or her own fashion.  Ms. Mallery did a fantastic job of creating complex, yet easy to understand characters, and that made it so easy to appreciate each character's growth throughout the story.  I also was extremely happy that each character was well rounded and grew with the story.  Even the minor characters had a bit of growth.  However, the main characters especially grew within the story with grace, kindness and love.

What truly impressed me about this book however was the depth of the story.  Yes, it was a romance and there was certainly that aspect.  But the other issues explored throughout the story were deep and resonant.  None of them were easy issues.  And I would venture to say that most readers will have experienced at least some of these issues in their own lives.  The writer never made the story apologize for these issues.  Instead she wrote wonderful, strong characters that met their challenges and grew from them.  I absolutely loved the story's exploration of the most human of relationships -- the family. 

All things considered, I would highly recommend this book.  I would strongly encourage you to move it to the top of your reading list.  That being said, I will say the book deals with some very intense issues and some people may have a very hard time with that subject matter.  The author does not go into gross and gory detail, nor does she belabor the point.  However, if you are easily triggered, you may not want to read this book.  I will admit this book brought me to tears several times as most of the things dealt with in this book have been a part of my life.  However, don't let this scare you away.  I would say that anyone who reads this book will enjoy it and will be better for having read it.   

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

I saw a picture of this book on Tumblr and the caption mentioned that the book would be released on November 10th.  That intrigued me, so I decided to find out what November 9 was about.  The description of the book intrigued me even more, so I bought the book as soon as I could get out to the bookstore.  I am very glad I did.  Having never read a book by Colleen Hoover, I wasn't really sure what to expect.  In all honesty, I had never heard of this author up until I saw the picture of November 9.  However, I do believe I will be reading more Colleen Hoover books now.

Overall Ms. Hoover's writing style is pleasing.  She uses a good mix of varied sentence structure and complexity to keep the reader from becoming bored and her vocabulary is satisfactory.  I found her writing easy to follow but thankfully not simplistic.  The only thing that I had to get used to was the story switching from one narrator to the other.  Thankfully it was easy enough to follow as each chapter had its own narrator and did not switch between narrators in the middle of a chapter.

I enjoyed the characters in this book.  They were well written and easy to identify with.  Even when I really wanted to dislike a character, in the end, I couldn't.  The characters were real.  In each character the reader can find a bit of themselves.  Even the most unlikeable character, Fallon's father, I ended up at least understanding and being able to peacefully coexist with. 

As far as the story goes... Wow.  That's really all I can say.  Just...wow!  The story explores so much and the characters grow so much!  This book beautifully illustrates the complex dynamics between individuals and family members.  Ms. Hoover does a great job of giving the characters a story that allows them to develop and learn about themselves.  And the plot?  Let's just say I never saw it coming.  I suppose perhaps I should have, but I didn't, and that made the end of the book have so much impact.

I really can't say enough good things about this book.  If you read no other book in the coming year, you must read this book.  My only caution is that this book does have certain topics that are not suitable for younger readers.  Nothing that is terrible or over the top, but nevertheless, I would not recommend this book for anyone under the age of a mature mid-teen reader.  But don't let this scare you off!  This book is amazing and should be one of the first books you read in 2016.  I enjoyed the book so much, I will likely read November 9 again in the new year.

A Gift From Bob by James Bowen

Anybody who reads this blog regularly, or knows me even a tiny bit, knows I love reading Christmas books.  Nothing beats curling up with a seasonal book on a cold day.  I also enjoy books about animals.  A Gift From Bob fulfills both criteria.  I admit at first I was a little leery of a book about a man on the streets.  I wondered how on earth a book about a man who is one minuscule step above homeless could possibly make for good holiday reading.  I'm glad I took a chance on this book.  A Gift From Bob truly is one of the most uplifting books you could read this season.  And the best part?  It's non fiction!

I have to admit I like the author's writing style.  James Bowen's style is not pretentious nor is his style elementary.  I would say Mr. Bowen's style is simple but compelling.  At no time did I find myself distracted by the author's style.  I appreciated the fact that it felt as though he were sitting in front of me telling his story.  This conversational style pulled me in and really helped me enjoy the book.

I especially enjoyed how well he enabled me to know the other people populating his story.  Not only did he do a very good job of helping me visualize where this part of his life took place, he also made it very easy for me to make a connection with the people who were an integral part of his life. 

The story itself, if you will, had me completely engrossed.  I can't say that I know anything about the struggle of the homeless.  I certainly never gave much thought to how, or even if, they celebrate the holidays.  Neither have I considered how one goes from sleeping in the park to reintegrating into a more traditional mode of living.  Mr. Bowen's story gave me a glimpse into the life of the homeless and certainly made me far more aware of the role I can play in assisting those that I encounter.

Additionally, A Gift From Bob made me think about what "Christmas spirit" really means.  This book also helped me to refocus on the important things of the season.  It really is less about the price tag on the gift and much more about the thought that goes into it.  And truly, when things look as though they are at their worst, if you just slow down for a moment and refocus, it turns out things aren't ruined after all.  But most of all, this book helped me remember that the gifts really aren't that important.  It's all about who you spend your Christmas with.

All things considered, I would recommend this book to everyone.  There is nothing at all bad in this book.  In fact, I would encourage everyone to read this book regardless of the time of year.  Of course if you can read the book during the Christmas season, I would certainly encourage you to do so.  I will be reading this book again next Christmas and I will probably do so first thing in the season.  Just like A Christmas Carol, this book should be read every year and should kick off the beautiful season that is all about love, joy, peace and the greatest gift man has ever known.