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Fiction
Last week, I was preparing to go to my prenatal appointment. I made sure I had an audiobook for the hour and half drive but I failed to think about a book for the waiting room. I thought about using my iPod but it just seemed rude. I imagined myself sitting in the waiting room [...]
boom! Is another fantastic read by Mark Haddon. In case you didn’t realize, he also wrote the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. When I saw that Mark Haddon had written boom! I decided I had to read it. It was definitely worth the read. Admittedly, this is not a book that will [...]
This book is a little bit slow but I felt it was worth the read. Remembering the Bones follows Georgie Witley, an 80 year old woman who has been trapped in a ravine by a car accident as she waits for rescue. I liked this book and felt it was an interesting way of writing [...]
Blech. As I write this review I know this novel will appeal to many readers but I just really disliked it. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is a novel that follows 11 year old Flavia de Luce as she solves a huge mystery of murder and theft that spans 30 years. The [...]
I would suggest reading this novella for Twilight fans. It is an interesting glimpse into the outside world of Twilight vampires we never get to see in sheltered Forks, WA. That aside, I still don’t know what makes Bree so special someone would be compelled to write a spin off novella about her. Whatever Stephenie [...]
Here is my take on Under the Dome: it’s quite long and a little disappointing at the end. There you go, a review in one sentence. Under the Dome is a novel about a town in Maine that suddenly and inexplicably has an impermeable ‘dome’ placed around it. It is a wonderful depiction of how [...]
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is told to us by a witty third person narrator in a way that is fresh and interesting. Frankie’s character develops over the book, as she discovers along with us, who she wants to be. This book explores feminism and the politics of power through a fun narrative about [...]
I was dissapointed by this book. With so many references in pop culture and so many fans I think I expected more. Brave New World is set in a future utopia, where everyone is happy and provided for. This utopia is built on eugenics, mental conditioning, and the feel good drug soma if you ever [...]
I enjoyed this book. Open secrets is a collection of short stories that follows the Ontario town of Carstairs from the 1850′s through to the present. Every story featured a woman protagonist and each story had something to recomend it. I felt Vandals was my least favorite of the short stories, but it is still [...]
This novel left me sitting on the fence. I have as many things I like about as I don’t, with neither side making a compelling case. The Gathering follows the Hegartys, a large Irish family as they come together to mourn the self inflicted death of their brother, Liam. The story, told through the eyes [...]
Second Foundation begins with the Mule and his quest to control the universe. He has conquered all that he can with amazing mind control powers and an army to back him. He has thrown a wrench into Hari Seldon’s plan and conquered the First Foundation, but his paranoia feels the mysterious Second Foundation which may [...]
Interview With the Vampire introduces you to Louis, who is being interviewed by a journalist about his existence as a vampire. As you follow his life story you then become acquainted with Lestat, who made Louis, and the child vampire, Claudia, that they later made together. I last read this book sometime in the late [...]
Patriots, a Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse follows a group of survivalists after an economic, societal, and governmental meltdown in the United States of America. This book left me conflicted. How do you like a book that isn’t very good? I still don’t know, but I do. As a novel it stinks, but [...]
Another fantastic novel from an Aussie! Jellicoe Road…where the tops of the trees reach across the street to form a canopy that the light shines through…Taylor Markham describes her almost home. Just 11 years old when she was abandoned by her mother at the Jellicoe Road boarding school, Taylor is now a senior and a [...]
Oh, post apocalyptic novels, how I love thee. What kind of phase is this? I can’t seem to get enough. (I am getting killer tips for prepping and food storage though, ha ha.) One Second After covers the fall of American civilization as we know it after an electromagnetic pulse blast (or EMP.) The book [...]
Dune sets the stage for an science fiction masterpiece of epic proportions. You have a large, dare I say ‘galactic’ feudal empire ripe with vendettas, politics, religion, destiny, and of course, planetary ecology. You have a child destined for greatness at the center of a massive web of personal agendas and empire wide plotting. When [...]
The Help follows three women, two Black maids and one White woman in Mississipi in the racially heated 1960′s. It is well written and full of emotion. I really enjoyed reading their stories and read it in one sitting. I was a little concerned about a White author talking in a Black voice but Stockett [...]
East of Eden follows two generations of the Trask family as well as the Hamiliton family in the Salinas valley in California, and basically covers from the American civil war to world war I. It feels like a very ambitious novel. I think this book has everything but the kitchen sink all stirred together. I [...]
Ender’s game is set in a future world where humanity is in a war with an alien race of giant bugs. Genius children have been bread and molded to become the greatest military leaders and win the war. This is my first Orson Scott Card book and I liked it. He writes children well, (not [...]
Alas Babylon follows a group of survivors in a small town in Florida after the USA and USSR launch their nukes in a MAD war. I liked this book. On one hand I thought it felt dated, and on the other hand I really enjoyed peeking into the mindset of 1960 and the cold war [...]
Foundation is the first novel in the foundation series. The Galactic Empire is about to fail and Hari Seldon and the new science of psychohistory are attempting to save all human knowledge and bring humanity through the resulting dark ages. I am split on my feelings about this book. I have just as many things [...]
This book felt more like a selection of short stories all centred around a common theme than a novel. The book opens with a description of a small rural school with a huge copper beech tree in the yard, in Ireland. Each successive section describes the life of someone from the village connected to the [...]
This is the second installment of the Hunger Games trilogy. It continues the story of Katniss Everdeen after she wins the Hunger Games (sorry if that’s too much information for those who wanted to read the Hunger Games). This fast paced novel is full of twists and turns. I couldn’t put it down. And now [...]
The main character of this novel (written in first person) is overweight and living a double life. The double life thing has been done and done, but I have honestly never read a book with a chubby main character. I liked that part. I’m really sick of reading books with skinny perfect women taking the [...]
I enjoyed this book. The Hunger Games is a very quick read and a real page turner. Set in a near future dystopia after the fall of the United States of America, a young girl and boy from the 12th district in the nation of Panem must compete in a death match type game where [...]
This book follows two sisters as their lives change through tragedy and the decline of the world as we know it. Have I mentioned before I’m an apocalypse junkie? This book is a fairly easy read. It isn’t split into traditional chapters but flows more as a diary. I think the author did a great [...]
I was immediately pulled in by this book and the complex cast of characters. Why was I drawn in? Partly because of the difficulty of getting into the book in the beginning. Still I felt there was something great waiting for me if I kept at it. I am so glad I took the time. [...]
Wow. This book has a lot of impact. This is a story about the love between a father and son in a post-apocalyptic world. They only have each other and must keep moving on the road. I have seldom read a book that more perfectly combines raw terror and simple heart wrenching beauty. The writing [...]
I am undecided on my feelings for this book. I was looking for books that explore philosophical concepts and was recommended this book as a starting place for existentialism. After doing some research on the author I discovered he had refused the existential label. Published in 1942, The Stranger chronicles a young Algerian man as [...]
This book was well written and very thought provoking. I find myself still working over some of the moral dilemmas given in the book days after reading it. The year is 2021 and the human race is preparing for the end of civilization after worldwide infertility extinguished the ability to procreate in 1995. As the [...]
I liked this book. It was entertaining and a quick read. The book follows two women’s stories, one set in London in the present day and one set in Cornwall in 1625. I liked the idea of the two parallel stories, but I found Julia and the present day story more of an interruption and [...]
This book is not bad. I’m not a huge fan of suspense novels (anymore) but I did go through a big suspense phase a while back and this one is pretty good. It is a fatal attraction type story based on a supernatural premise. If you can say sure, I believe in transmigration, then you [...]
A frightening dystopian novel. The story is compelling and the characters are well developed. You don’t have to be a feminist to relate to the themes of women’s rights. Thankfully we can stop reading and say, I’m glad we don’t live in a world like that today. Oh, wait, yes we do. There are lots [...]
Wuthering Heights was a pleasant read and remarkably easy to loose yourself in. The start is a bit slow but the characters and relationships are very intriguing and uniqe and quickly become hard to put down. I’m not a huge romance fan, but if you throw in enough tragedy, inner conflict, pride, circumstance, and self [...]
I would call this book slightly better than average but mostly forgettable. Sorry Cecelia Ahern, I really tried to like it. Read it if you are in the mood for a light hearted romantic comedy with well written, colloquial irish humor. Don’t read it if you want something more than skin deep, a premise that [...]
I have mixed feelings on this book. The writing was wonderful, and I was completely amazed that the world has not changed a bit since this book was written. It easily could have been written about people I know today. I especially liked the way the author artfully painted the character’s struggles as self defeating [...]
Hosseini does a remarkable job of bringing the hardships of war to life. I was seriously impressed with his ability to write authentic women. I appreciated the honesty, even when dealing with brutality, and how the author stills ends on a note of hope. I would have liked to have see a broader picture of [...]
This book was fantastic. It was fantastic as an eloquent, entertaining work of fiction as well as a deeper set of life values and an introduction to the study of objectivism. Now that being said, I don’t agree with every thought or idea of this book. That is partly why this book was so wonderful [...]
I didn’t really enjoy this book. I will say from the beginning that I mostly liked the message, just not the book. The book is very short and it does not go any farther than the surface for character development. Everything is just told or explained, and most characters and descriptions come across as flat [...]
About Us
Clarissa Foss
Clarissa is a stay-at-home mother of three. The last two years she has been wrapping up a degree in psychology after taking a six-year baby hiatus from her studies. Now that she is done reading text books she doesn't have to feel guilty curling up with some good fiction. Her favourite book is Little Women.
Cindi Foss
Cindi is a 30-year-old Kobo reading blog reviewing amateur literary critic. She appreciates all genres especially historical fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, and suspense along with a healthy dose of 'popular' so she can keep up with what everyone is talking about. She has four or five lists of books to read at any one time (but doesn't everyone?) and she loves spreading the word on good books. Cindi will be bringing you truth and objectivity ('cause who wants to read crazy irrational opinions?) from her piece of the world in Alberta Canada.
