The Ghost Orchid

The Ghost Orchid

Carol Goodman

Ellis Brooks is excited to be invited to the Bosco - A beautiful estate transformed into an artist colony. You see, she's working on her first book and it happens to be about the medium Corinth Black and the controversy that now surrounds her and the previous owners of Bosco - Miles and Aurora Latham. While fighting through writers block Ellis must learn to navigate a fragile ecosystem of artists and their habits but when her fellow residents start to emulate the infamous characters from the Latham situation Ellis must learn to trust her instincts, even when they seem anything but right.

Let's ignore the fact that I've read three Carol Goodman books this year. However, let's not ignore the fact that each one has had a slew of problems, from implausible characters to shady historical dealings. Even so it's hard ignore how addictive her writing is.  The Ghost Orchid covers a few one of Goodman's specialties - groups of artists and academics living in close proximity. Not quite the boarding schools of Lake of Dead Languages and Arcadia Falls fame, but just as intriguing.

Goodman's Bosco estate is beautifully depicted, and the reasoning behind it is even more haunting. Aurora\Latham's story is heart breaking. Between her dead children and her likable, but not so great husband she had to retreat into the world of myth and fountains to create a safe haven, and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't want to see Bosco's grounds (or library, or secret passageways.) With Bosco as a backdrop a store full of mediums, procession and lies seems more plausible, the characters plights more threatening and the heartbreak more real.

There's a reason why only a few of Goodman's novels are best sellers, The Ghost Orchid is an interesting and quick read, but it lacks the substance of many of her other novels. However if medium's and thrillers are you're thing check it out.

The Shadow of the Wind - Zafon

The Shadow of the Wind

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The night 10 year old Daniel Sempere can't remember his mothers face his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books where he will make a discovery that will change his life - The Shadow of the Wind. Armed with nothing more then the authors name - Julian Carax - and a desire for another enchanting novel Daniel finds himself knee deep in the tragic, and misunderstood life of Julian.

There are many ways to categorize The Shadow of the Wind, it is at once part love story, a mystery, historical fiction with a dash of horror mixed in. Amongst all of these genre's the thing that stands out is that Safon wrote a book for book lovers. Of course, a book for book lovers must come with an engrossing and powerful story, and  this is where The Shadow of the Wind really shines. This isn't a typical A leads to B leads to C story, and for me the characters read more real then I had expected upon opening the book. Both Daniel's life and the live's he discovers while searching for Julian are fleshed out.

My only issue with Shadow of the Wind is it's length. It reads like all of it's 487 pages are present. Though I have noticed this in quite a few books about books. The Thirteenth Tale, People of the Book and  The Forgotten Garden are all slightly more lengthy then a less book oriented story.  I'm not saying Shadow of the Wind was to long, or was slow, it just didn't read as quickly as I would have liked.

Overall I loved The Shadow of the Wind. This is going to be a story that will stay with me for a while.  I'm looking forward to making Zafon's prequel, The Angel's Game one of my first gift-card purchases of the new year.

Juliet

Juliet
On Sale 8.17.2010

Anne Fortier

The story begins with one Julie Jacobs. Julie has been entranced with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet her entire life. When her Aunt dies and leaves her a letter explaining that she is in fact Giulietta Tolomei and that her mother died while investigating a family treasure Julie/Giulietta leaves on the first plan for Siena, Italy. While in Siena she learns that family ties run deep, and that no only were Shakespeare's most infamous lovers real, she is related to the real life Juliet.

When I got Juliet in the mail last week I was both excited and a little concerned for what it would turn out to be. The story itself seems forced. Julie is not likable. Having her goals in live grow from her desperate need to be different from her sister Janice made them both petty and unrelateable.

The story of Siena, and the flashbacks to 1340 were helpful and interesting, but they felt like, with a little more detail they could have been their own novel. This was also a case where I would get to an end of a chapter and be upset that there was a drastic change in time and situation. It would only take a few pages to get back into the groove of that specific story but still, it's never fun to "suffer through" a chapter just so you understand what is going on. I was frustrated all through the middle of the novel, when there was little being discovered and much whining and disbelief.

The romantic elements were definitely the strongest in both storylines. The Romeo and Juliet love through time was less creepy then I thought they would be. In a way modern day Giulietta's journey to love is sweet and understandable, and while it's hard to get into a 1340's mind frame, the original Romeo and Juliet story has its own charms.

All in all, a good summer read, but it took far longer and a lot of suspension of disbelief to get through.

My Rating:
3/5

A huge thanks to the LibraryThing early review program for the copy.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Steig Larsson
(From the back cover)

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of inquiry and corruption.

Having seen copies of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or it's squeal The Girl Who Plays with Fire everywhere in the past few weeks i decided I needed to check it out. It's an intriguing set of mysteries. The books original Swedish title translated to Men Who Hate Women, and that theme is ever present through the book in the mysteries that Mikael and Lisbeth are trying to solve.

In the beginning it seems like there is far to much story to cover. There's the libel case that Blomkivist has just lost against the corporate giant Wennerstrom, there is Harriet Vanger who is dead or missing and comes from a dysfunctional family that also happens to own a large business, and there is Salander who is always distant and defiant. I'm  impressed at how Larsson connected all of these stories and made them into something worth reading. Some parts could drag, and if I had to read about how Blomkivist didn't think he could solve this case one more time I may have set the book down, never to finish.  

The Vanger family is very interesting. It's a huge family (with a small family tree in the front of the book) and everyone has secrets. I had a hard time trusting any of them throughout, not even Henrik Vanger, the lovable old man who has brought in Blomkivist. Henrik's obsessive nature makes him someone you need to watch. The fact that Blomkivist agrees to work for him shows of his trusting nature, and makes him the biggest contrast for the interdependent Salander.

That's it for my attempt at a spoiler free review. It's vague but pretty much every plot point was important in the bigger picture.

My Review
3.5/5

The Seduction of the Water

The Seduction of the Water

Carol Goodman

Iris Greenfeder has a lot of almost's in her life, she's almost in an amazing relationship, almost (well, ok not almost) done with her dissertation and almost has all the knowledge she ever wants to know about her mother. While teaching English for new immigrants, indifferent art students and convicts she comes up with an assignment about Fairytales of peoples childhood. Her assignment inspires her to start writing about her mother, a famous novelist herself and sets her in motion to go back to the hotel she grew up in and find out everything there is to know about her mother and the unpublished third book of the trilogy she was writing. Along the way she falls for one of her ex students, meets up with old acquaintance and learns that there may be more interesting secrets in her mothers life than where she hid the manuscript.

Carol Goodman does an excellent job of depicting a Hotel rich in history and personality in the Hotel Equinox, where the majority of the story takes place. Her characters are rich with excellent and often quirky personalities. Iris herself often toes the line from so single minded she could end up annoying, but she always snaps back into a driven girl. Among other characters are Aidan, an ex-con with a great story and a huge heart, Aunt Sophie, who is strict but caring and Harry Kron who's Hotel chain and arts patronage saves Iris's childhood home.

The most compelling part of this story is the mixture between fairytale and real life.  The Seduction of the Water starts with a short piece Iris wrote about a Selkie story her mother used to tell her. It sets the tone for all the other often overlooked tales that are incorporated in the book, such as the Tam-Lin and the Swan Wife. Most chapters are started with and excerpt for Tirra Glynn books her mother wrote that also incorporate old world fairy tales, a new and interesting fantasy work and snip-its of her own life.

While the story does have a mystery element it doesn't play as big of a part as the romantic themes and life searching moments that can be found throughout the novel. All in all it was a quick, compelling read. Definitely worth checking out at the library or buying as a paperback.

My Rating:
4/5