jenbsbooks's reviews
2236 reviews

I liked this, didn't love it. Felt very "fantasy" - powers (when in possession of a book). Surprisingly gory in parts. Borrowed from my local library, and it's on Hoopla. 

3rd person/Past tense - Cassie is the MC and we(the reader) and mainly following her story. There are a few other characters the omniscient narrator observing and telling us about as well.  

No chronological chapters - there were seven Parts, with multiple chapters in each, with unique headers. This made it a little hard move between formats (I had this in audio and kindle, I went primarily with the audio, but needed to shift to kindle a few times). 

The premise - the different books, was interesting. I could visualize some of it in my head like a movie. Some of it I wouldn't really want to see ... some violence/gore. 

I like the cover/title ... didn't love the ending. If felt a little "um, that's it?" ...

Some words I note: proFanity (x28), susurration, detritus, career(instead of careen).

Talk about the "Book of Memory" bringing a patient with dementia back, a wonderful, if temporary gift for the family, but how sad, and with the patient now aware, knowing it is temporary. Parallels to Flowers for Algernon (this was a just a tiny conversation in the book).   It is interesting to think of what each power could do, for good or evil. 

Well that was super sad! My first thoughts upon finishing were that I didn't really like it that much. Maybe it was just because of the subject matter. This was a bookclub pick, which makes me delve a little deeper than I might only reading on my own. Jotting down some thoughts before the bookclub discussion ...

3rd person/present tense ... I was always aware of the tense, it felt awkward (if the writing is really good, I won't notice it). It alternated between Maggie and Elodie for the POV, although Elodie's chapters don't begin until Part2/Chapter 12 ... 

It started with a prologue (1950) then Chaper1 started two years earlier. I had to wonder WHY this little futuristic glimpse was given. It didn't add anything for me, in fact distracted, it was a spoiler ... I already knew what was coming.  The prologue had a little bit of history, but then the dinner/labor (which happens again in Chapter 11 ... Maman makes the same statement, but then the accounts are a little different). The setup annoyed me. 

Seeds/Garden Growth theme ... little tidbits at the start. The headings for the different  parts ... 1. Controlling Weeds 2. Transplanting Out of Season  3. The Families of Flowers   4.Planting

Sex - while not Harlequin or smut, it was a little more explicit than I was expecting. Did the rape really add anything (other than more tragedy?) The father's affair? Some interesting thoughts on the father/mother relationship (not really like each other, but lust ...)

ProFanity x6

No discussion questions included - but some good ones in the QUESTIONS on Goodreads.

Originally a stand alone - now there is a sequel/companion  (Maggie's son, and Elodie)

I liked this a lot - another "quirky old person we love" story. 

One of the labels in GoodReads is "Australian" ... as I went with the audiobook (I had the Kindle copy too) I was aware of this right off the bat, because of the accent. It would have taken a bit longer for it to be revealed in the story (not that the setting was essential). 

I struggled a bit at the start, with the sudden shift in POV ... it's all 3rd person/past tense. Chapter one, we are in Frederick's head, then chapter two it switches to Hannah. There are no dates or headers or insight as to if there is a connection between these characters. Chapter three - Denise ... she is the "care-er" at the nursing home, so we did "meet" her in chapter one.   From there on out, most of the chapters are from Fred's POV, with Hannah/Denise chapters here and there.  It takes a while for the Hannah connection to be revealed.

The basic premise ... a bit far-fetched ( ... not really a spoiler because it all happens there in chapter 1, and alluded to in the blurb/title) that these two old guys just happen to look so much alike, that the one died and the other accidentally dumped him in the river and then is mistaken for the dead man, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because at least Bernard was being cared for (food/shelter/medicine).

It really was a sweet story seeing some of the relationships develop.

As with so many books/movies featuring old age ... I don't want to grow old. 
Something quick and painless ... would actually okay with it at any time now. 

Clean - no proFanity. A few sexual suggestions. 
This one had been recommended by several on a FB group - it's one I'd give a thumbs up to too. 

I read a series with a very similar premise ([book:The Face on the Milk Carton|19469], teen girl, raised in a happy family, finds out she was kidnapped, and her "real" family wants her back. The other series was 8+ years ago, but I've remembered it.

The MC here is a senior in high school, and that's probably the target audience. I'm a bit (ha) beyond that, but still enjoyed it. It hit on a lot of the emotion that all the individuals going through something like this might feel. Nothing completely black & white.  Happy enough ending, giving the premise. The "a stolen at birth novel" makes it feel (to me) like it's part of a collection or something, but it is a stand-alone, although the author had a bunch of other novels.  

The Kindle copy is included in KU, and Hoopla has the audio. My KU subscription ended before I wrote up my review (I like to have the text to reference if needed - but my bad).  Not sure if it's an Amazon exclusive, as the library/Libby doesn't have any copies. 

1st person/present tense. 38 chronological chapters/no headers. No profanity ... at one point something was described as a "a giant cluster" ...  and just ends there. ClusterF, that is used a lot ;)

I enjoyed this book and it kept my attention ... I don't know that it will stick out in my memory among all the other WW2 novelizations out there. This was included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio. I went primarily with the audio. I had glanced at the Table of Contents and saw that the chapters cycled through the POVs of three different women (Evelyn, Dot and Vita) and at first, was a bit sad that it was a single narrator in audio. But, it's all 3rd person so the single narrator worked (kept all the voices consistent). I was glad that there were headers listing the POV at the start of each chapters, and that those headers were included in the TOC in both Kindle and Audible. At times as I'd stop/start up again, I'd just glance at my phone, and have a visual reminder of whose head we were in.

This stayed chronological for the most part ... starting in 1943 as the three women meet, traveling after their initial training. There are some memories/flashbacks to the events earlier in each of their lives, and there's a single jump at the end/epilogue. All past tense. 

There can be SO many directions a WW2 story can go. Here, it features the nurses in this unit, one of the pilots, while not a main character, gets featured a lot. This features a lot of "survival behind enemy lines" with both good and bad people in the area. 

Clean - no proFanity. No explicit sex.

I enjoyed this ... the author's note at the beginning is enlightening. It tells how the author/Father sat down at the computer and wrote out the events after they returned. Not writing a book, just getting the memories down on paper. Also writing up some other memories from previous ventures. Then after the daughter found the notes, she and her father wrote them up into this book. As I write up journaling for scrapbook pages, and family blog posts, and we have life histories written by ancestors ... at what point does a personal experience translate into a book? What memories may be interesting to family/ancestors, and what of interest to the world at large?

Here - the title story of the family camping trip is broken up with lots of memories of earlier events. This was a little hard for me to stay on top of. I was going with the audio ... I think maybe it's a bit more clear in print? Starting off, it's the story of bear encounter. Is this with his family? Who is Mel? One of the kids? The guys ... now I know lots of people don't read the Author's Notes/Introductions to even realize that there are other recollections in addition to the family experience. It's not until the end of that section (several paragraphs) that it's indicated that was 1972. The second section (still chapter one) then starts off with "two decades later" ... I know the excitement of starting right off with the BEAR, but I can't help but wonder if the date at the start would have helped, me anyway.  At the end of that chapter, we get a list of the kids (Julie, Grace, Mollie, Max and Angela). Back when Mel (one of the buddies from the earlier trip) was mentioned, I wondered if we'd get a list of names.

Chapter two starts with the family vacation ... and then has a shift to the 1972 memory. Again (in audio) I was a little confused, when van issues and costs were being mentioned, I wasn't positive which timeline we were in. I had to stop the audio and shift to the Kindle copy (text was available in KU, and audio was on Hoopla) to reread and clarify. One moment it was talking about how Woody ended up in the hospital, followed by "our vehicle was operational, we weren't broke and no one was in the hospital. Yet." There HAD been a slight pause in audio, but maybe not enough. In print,, there was a *** to create more of a distinction (and instead of asterisks, they were cute little bear paw prints).   I think after that, I really paid attention to any slight pause in the audio, listening for any indication of timeline changes. The pie situation ... I honestly can't remember which timeline that took place in. 

Nonfiction can be a bit of a challenge, because it doesn't always have the characters and story arc that fiction does. Here, I did like the "characters" (the family) ... if this wasn't labeled non-fiction and was being told it was true, I'd shake my head and say one family couldn't possibly have this much bad luck happen to them like this! Again... with fiction, I can say "well at least that was just imagined" so it almost makes it too hard to read (even when written with humor, never laugh out loud presentation for me, but ...) if this indeed really did happen. Horrible really!  I do have to wonder just a little bit about the "angels" ... magically appearing and helping.

Written in 1st person, from Marty's POV, past tense. There were 23 chapters, each with a heading. Reading back over them, they didn't totally trigger memories of what happened in those particular chapters as headers often can do for me. 

Some pictures included in the Kindle copy.
Completely clean (although discussion of a nude beach, and a picture from the back of a bare bum in Kindle).  

I'm not totally sure how I feel about this one, 2.5 stars?  I had a one month subscription to KU, so figured I'd grab something that was only there (as far as I could see this is Amazon only, not at my local library, at least in digital. No audio). High ratings, although unfortunately it just didn't really work for me.

I knew going in it was YA. Our MC is 14 ... and this felt young, most of the time. Very conversational tone, like a 14-year just talking, telling us(the reader) his story, or writing in a journal (but then using dialog)  Not a lot of descriptive language, but some metaphors and such. 

A bit disjointed too though ... IS this about his friend Alyssa who DIED, for 20+ minutes and just woke up from a coma? It does start off with that, but then it seems to be more about a random guy he meets. And, the MC ... well, he's an unreliable narrator. And the whole "the incident" as everyone refers to the accident isn't JUST about Alyssa, and this is alluded to, but not addressed until much later in the book. So many little drops of things, hints, we the reader figure there's more going on then we are being told, that there's going to be "the twist you never saw coming" except we're obviously aware that it's coming and suspecting what it is ... sometimes that annoys me. 

So, I guess this book is set in 1982. I wish it just had that as a header or something, because I missed the one mention given at the start (saying he turned nine in 1977, when Star Wars first came out). Then I had to use MATH ... if he's now 14, then 1982.) It was annoying me trying to figure out when it was. No cell phones, computers. Renny is 43 and was in Vietnam. Minimum wage is mentioned as $3.35 (and I Googled that and "The minimum wage in the United States was $3.35 per hour from January 1, 1981 to April 1, 1990").  Until I came to write the review, and was commenting on the Star Wars stuff, I looked up the date, and looked it up in the book ... so my bad that I missed it, but it affected my experience of the story.

Smoking is something that disgusts me ... even reading about it/imagining it can make me ill. SO much smoking by Mom here. Ugggg. Silly, I know, but it's a negative.

While perhaps realistic, the relationship between the MC and his mom was hard to read. So much fighting. And the MC was behaving horribly so much of the time.  So much so she takes him to see a psychiatrist, because he needs help. He actually does.

Some things I noted while reading ... (some possible spoilers)

*She pried a smile onto her face... that sentence was just "what?" to me. You might pry something OFF, but not on. And not sure if that works with a smile. 
* Sunset Boulevard ... a little weird to get the recap of the movie here in the book. And the ironic character analysis of Norma Desmond "she was so desperate to get thing back to normal. And I hated how the people around her played along with her fantasies"
* We also get a recap of Star Wars, and then of  Transcendentalism. 
*Title Tie-In ... the NDE author's book is titled "Both Here and Gone" ... and get the NDE wasn't really the essence of the book, although I guess an argument could be made for the connection to THIS story?
* "I'd distanced myself from Renny, messed things up with Trevor, and sabotaged my friendship with Alyssa" ... um yup, you're not doing great kid. Thrown in your relationship with your mother too!
*Driving for the first time ... an old stick shift. Methinks a 14-year old who has never driven before would NOT be able to get the truck from the farm to the hospital, even with instruction/help. Manual transmissions are hard, and even though he says he "killed it" a few times ... I just found that drive unbelievable.
*HOW LONG was Alyssa in the hospital? She was in a coma for four weeks ... then after she woke up, still in the hospital for another 2-3 months? I guess I don't know, that just seemed like a long time after she was awake ... I guess I'm just stressing about the medical costs ;)
*Snuck and sneaked ... just a word I notice. Both are acceptable. Here, the author used BOTH. 
*Alyssa's father is a mortician, and after observing his job she says "it showed me how much we love the dead, sometimes more than the living" ... this could be an interesting topic for book club. AND ... did Alyssa fall through the ice on purpose? Was she trying to die? Alluded to but ...
*The Bunker ... so Renny is  dying, and still totally setting up a bunker??? WHY?  And if he has a dog, how does that work (as they are in the bunker, and have to let the dog out a couple times a day ... kind of defeats the purpose of a bunker). Where/Why did Renny come up with the "drink coffee and you can stay" deal ... why does he care if Jack drinks coffee? Weird!
* Job's bible story and thoughts on God/suffering. A little preachy, after-school-special.
*"A couple of days had passed since I'd run away from the motel, she (MOM) was probably worried about me." Um duh. And what timing of that (the police showing up right when Jack finds Renny dead). 
* Renny's story ... starts out with Renny telling it (1st person) then switches to Jack telling it (3rd person) ... it felt very strange to me. Why didn't it just stick with Renny telling it?
* I enjoyed the imaginary interviews with the reporter ;)
*"Once Alyssa was able to recall her NDE, it totally changed how she saw the world. It taught her we can never know everything and that we have to live with uncertainty." So ... if she hadn't of have the NDE, she would have thought she could know everything and be certain of things? Sounds like she "learned" a DUH ... 
*So, if someone is dead, they know he's dead, just can't get to his body ... do they really WAIT and hold the funeral for months until the body can be retrieved? I honestly don't know, it just feels like there would have been a service, without a body, then the body retrieved and taken care of. Doesn't seem that logical to have the funeral months afterward. I'm so sorry for your loss _____ months ago. 

So ... I was struggling early on, not connecting, being judgmental. I probably should have just called it a DNF. I think I'll remember this story somewhat, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Maybe I was just in a bad mood when I read this (I was sick with Covid).  

I'd read (twice) and enjoyed Mr. Darcy's Enchantment by this author.  This one felt very similar, with the Fey/Fantasy/Magic feel, and a similar start (with Elizabeth hiding her power from Darcy, but helping a young boy). So much so that I wondered if I'd read this one before (and maybe I had started it at some point?) Text included in KU, and I added the audio during an Audible sale. While I liked this fine, it just never really pulled me in or had anything super memorable. I don't think I'll continue on with the series. 

This had chapters (unlabeled) from both Darcy and Elizabeth's POV. 3rd person/past tense. I think audio made it more defined, with two different narrators.  Historical setting, the Napoleonic wars making a definite appearance. Magic and mages, familiars and dragons ... No Wickham. We have Darcy's mother, which just felt odd to me (I don't know that has been an addition in any other recreation I've encountered thus far). Preternatural (not surprising, as this was ...) and anathema (x2), needs must. Too many "fine eyes" (okay, just six times, but it felt excessive and eye-rolling to me). 

I really enjoyed The Family Experiment and Passengers, The One was okay ... set in a futuristic setting, I think it's a little easier to have suspension of disbelief. When the setting is more "real" like this book ... I find I'm much more judgmental and everything going on here just seemed so over the top and eye-rolling. I really debated just calling it a DNF ... I actually wish I had, but I pushed through.

The premise was interesting ... someone who works at a call center to help those calling in with suicidal thoughts, "helping" by actually encouraging/enabling them to follow through. There's a whole tragic backstory for Laura, that takes too long to connect (at least to me), who David was, the Henry situation ... then add in Ryan and everything he did. Crazy. Jumped the shark.

There's a prologue ... our MC Laura on the phone, walking through an "end of life" for two people. Then PartOne, 27 chapters from her POV (1st person/past tense). Some labeling/ ie "Four Months after David" ... and this was a little annoying. Was David the man in the prologue? Is that what we are to assume or is that just what the author wants us to think? The name David wasn't mentioned in the prologue, and doesn't come up until Chapter 4 when it was mentioned David kept calling in (which doesn't answer the question for sure ... and I felt was still misleading in the end). 

Half-way through PartOne, the POV switches to Ryan (1st person/past tense) and the "chapters" reset to 1 (17 chapters in this section). Charlotte's husband. Here, we have some headers, ie "One Day After Charlotte" (there are enough clues to connect that Charlotte was the unnamed woman in the prologue). 

Part Two - chapters reset to 1 again, 30 chapters in this section. Here, the POV switches between Laura and Ryan (every other chapter I think). Glancing at the Kindle copy, I wished the POV/header was included in the Table of Contents.

Part Three - Again, some of the "Two Months After ..." headers. New POV - Johnny also (four narrators listed, so this is the second male narrator). Epilogue (2nd female narrator). 

Because there is some overlap in time (epilogue was a full recap from another perspective) it felt a bit repetitive at times for me. Same things, from another POV, which CAN be interesting, I think I'd just checked out a bit.

Just ... the things that were happening, the choices made, events that characters got away with ... really? Just too much. 

ProFanity x28, some sexual stuff (nothing too explicit), violence/suicide

The Author's Note at the end ... It almost felt in bad taste to then acknowledge the organizations like the one featured in the book - after setting up the premise undermining such an program.

I liked this a lot, just not quite everything to make it a 5*.   Just like "Don't Forget to Write" by this same author, I felt this had some similarities to the Amazon series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" ... same timeframe (60s), a Jewish feature. As this book starts up, the MC Beverly is much like Midge (Mrs. Maisel). The perfect wife, getting dinner on the table, with a little boy and little girl, totally supporting her husband. Then ... on her own.

This book was very political, in that politics was actually a central theme. Bev's husband is working on a campaign, Beverly's father was in politics, and Beverly goes to work for the opposing campaign. In all honesty ... I despise politics. I realize it's necessary, but all the spending, campaigns, promises ... it just leaves a bad taste. Even just reading about it in a fictional setting. 

I enjoyed the history here ... Kennedy and Nixon, the Cuban missile crisis, the treatment/role of women.  I really appreciated the Author's Note at the end (included in the audio, thank you!) which outlined which characters were inspired by real life people and events. There was also a Book Club Guide with 20 questions that did make me stop and think and ponder, and wish this had been a book club read, so that I could have a nice discussion with others who had read the book. 

1st person/past tense. Narration was very good - loved the darling voicing of the two year old little girl. Included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio. I went primarily with the audio, just skimming over the Kindle copy as I came to write up the review.  The discussion questions were only in the Kindle copy. 

No proFanity. Some sex, nothing explicit (mainly Bev catching her husband with another woman).