Reviewing Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

                I like to run. I also like to read. As such, I decided to join a local book club filled with lots of running mamas from my local Moms Run This Town chapter, called Literary Sole Sisters. The first book I read for this book club was "Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch. It wasn't a book I would have picked out myself. It isn't my favorite book of all time. It is definitely worth a read.

This book actually came at a time when I've been doing a lot of thinking and contemplating about whether or not I'm happy in my life. I've made great decisions and some poor decisions (haven't we all?), but I've contemplated lately what my life would be like if I would have made some different choices and whether or not I needed to make some changes. I was teetering on the edge of regret until I read this book.

Find my review below:

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you've ever wondered the grass was greener on the other side, severely regretted any decision or prided yourself in any major decision in your life, this is the book for you. In other words, this book has the ability to emotionally reach anyone.

The back of the book poses the question: "Are you happy with your life?" This is a question I have been thinking about a lot. What should I do with my life? Is writing the career for me? I have four kids. My husband works away from home a LOT. Is that what's best for the family? What if I went back to work full-time? What doors would that open for my family and would they be the right ones?

Through the many plot twists and turns, albeit not always unpredictable, the story is entertaining. The main character, Jason Dessen, is your average happy guy, content in his life. Jason takes you, the reader, on a narrative driven romantic science fiction thriller. One day Jason is living out his perfectly content life. The next he is kidnapped and trying to get back to his family, his wife Daniela and son Charlie. His journey back to his family explores complacency, the guilt associated with balancing work and family, brings to the forefront of your mind all the what if scenarios in your life and tackles regret in a way that makes you forget that you are reading a tale of science fiction based in real scientific theory. In the end, at least for me, it leaves you with an appreciation for all the things that you do have in life, reminding you that you are the sum of ALL your life choices.

In the spirit of full disclosure, Crouch's writing style mimicked the emotions and pace of the book. I was torn between loving it and hating it. As the plot took its last twists and turns near the end it at times almost seemed too far stretched. However, if all of our choices affect things; from the decision whether or not to hit snooze on an alarm, how could the ending unfold in any other possible way?

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My Tattoo & Reviewing Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

                As I mentioned in my last blog, I began re-reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon earlier this year. Please find my review of this book below.

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

AMAZING! All I can say is PRINT SHOP! Okay, I can say more. A LOT more! I devoured this book. I couldn't wait to pick up this book and read it after having finished book two in the series, "Dragonfly in Amber." This book is all I hoped it to be and more, but I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less from author Diana Gabaldon.

At the end of the last book we learned that Jamie did not die at Culloden. This book starts with the mental anguish of Claire Fraser trying to decide what to do now that Frank Randall has died and Brianna is a grown woman and Jamie Fraser survived Culloden. Of course, in this book, we really get to know the amazing Roger.

This book takes you on an unexpected high-adventure tale leaving you someplace you never thought the main characters would go: the colonies. Even more than the physical journey is the mental journey. One of the best lines of the book, "Sassenach, will ye take me - and risk the man that I am, for the sake of the man ye knew?”, is one that made me pause and reflect on even my own marriage, because the truth is, people change over time. Some people grow apart over the years. Some people grow old together. Some people grow old apart and then find they still love one another. I think this is what Claire and Jamie experience.

I love this book! I love this series! I love the characters. I love the way Diana Gabaldon creates such amazing stories for us to experience. The way she writes keeps you on the edge of your seat. You can feel what the characters are feeling. You are excited for what the next page and book will bring.


This is my favorite series of all time. So much so, it earned the front and center position on my tattoo by artist Inkie based off a bunch of different thoughts and images and things I found on Pinterest.

Do you have a favorite series or book tattoo? If so, please share!

My Recent Book Reviews

                I might have a book obsession. If I'm not writing, you can usually find my my nose stuffed in a book. Actually, I almost always have my nose stuffed in a book or two or three. I decided to start sharing my opinions of the books I read for a handful of reasons, but there are two main reasons: 1) I find reviews helpful myself, so why not return the favor. 2) I have made some of the best friends by discussing books. Below you will find reviews of a book I recently pre-read before allowing my son to read it (and lets face it...some YA books are really worth the read), Shelter by Harlan Coben and two books that belong to one of if not my all-time favorite series, the Outlander Series, by one of my favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon. 

1. Shelter by Harlan Coben. Harlan Coben is a well-known and acclaimed mystery writer. My boys and I were looking for new books for them to read, so we picked up Shelter a YA book by Coben featuring character Mickey Bolitar. Find my review of this book here:

Shelter by Harlan Coben
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because it was on a list we found online of best mystery/thriller books for young adults. I was trying to find a new series for some of my boys to read. I tend to pre-read a lot of things my younger son wants to read as he wants to read EVERYTHING despite his somewhat younger age.

My first impression of this book was that the author must be fairly disconnected with youth, how they act and what they say. However, as I read on, the book became more compelling and interesting. I was intrigued and kept reading chapter after chapter until I completely devoured the book. Having now completed the book, I can, without hesitation, highly recommend the book to readers of all ages; young (but mature) and old.

What is this story about? Mickey Bolitar, a sophomore in high school, is having a rough year. His father died, his mother is in rehab, and when he starts his new school his girlfriend, Ashley, goes missing. Mickey, a seemingly good looking, but fairly average guy (other than in height - he is really tall) and athlete makes friends with a goth girl called Ema, a nerdy Pantomath that he nicknames Spoon, and the hottest girl in the school that can make any guy swoon, Rachel. Together, this unlikely foursome breaks all the rules (and a few laws) to figure out what has happened to Mickey's girlfriend and to find out if there is any merit to what the bat lady - the creepy neighborhood old lady - said about his father: "Your father isn't dead."

What makes this story so great? This book is a delicately woven story, where everything is intertwined all leading to a greater plot that I can't wait to dive into. The main mystery, the mystery of Ashley's disappearance, isn't the real enigma of the story. The story about Mickey's father is the greatest twist delivered in a chilling punch at the end making you want to grab the next book in the series.

2 -3. The beginning of this year I decided to re-read my favorite series (since I'm waiting on the next installment in the series to be published), Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon in chronological order including not only the enormous novels the series is known for but what the author refers to as all the shorter novels and "bulges." Below, please find my review of the first two books in the series, Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber, which I have taken the time to review thus far.

2. Outlander:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love historical fictions, but Outlander is much more than historical fiction, romance or even paranormal anything. At first, I felt the story started off a bit slow. After devouring the book (and series thus far - I'm still waiting on book 9, but aren't we all) I still wish the beginning would have moved a bit faster, but I understand why it didn't, why it couldn't. Given the depth of the plot both for this book and the series, I know that it was necessary to take the time characters that would span time periods and be featured in many books to come; to thoroughly develop the main characters, their families, personalities their connections and love for one another and the other backstory necessary to drive the plot book after book.

In the beginning of this book, Claire Randall and her husband, Frank Randall, take a second honeymoon after the war (WWII) to try and reconnect with one another. They visit Craigh na Dun, Scotland. They bare witness to something that can only simply be described as a beautiful magical event. After which, Claire travels through the stones at Craigh na Dun to the past.

This is where the story starts to pick up a bit and Claire meets Jamie, who saves her from potential rape. However, it's not until Claire and Jamie begin to fall for one another (still a bit later and after the introduction to many clansmen and Geillis - another woman from the future) that the story truly picks up. From that point in the book until the end, I couldn't really put the book down. The love story isn't overbearing. It's just enough. The story is a great tale with lots of twists, turns and subplots that kept me constantly entertained. Claire seems to keep finding her way into trouble. There is witch hunt and a lot of other toil and trouble for the characters.

By the end, the book begins toying with the questions that every time travel book must. Why can people travel through time? What is the purpose of traveling through time? Is it just to be a part of something - to live or relive something, or is it change something? Together Claire and Jamie agree to set on a path, in the name of love, to prevent the Jacobite rising that Claire knows will, or at least did in history as she knew once it, ended disastrously for the Scots.

I want to back up a bit and discuss a rape that occurs near the end of this story; the rape scene with Jamie Frasier. I have never been big on rape scenes, but I wanted to touch on this particularly as there appears to be lots of negative commentary about this part of the book. The scene is written explicitly, but not graphically. The events as described make me feel like I'm walking through the mental torment of a rape, which for some, I'm sure, is too much. For me, it was perfect. I got to be inside of the mind of the victim, one of the main characters of the story, and feel his anguish without having to graphically have his rape described to me to understand the situation. It was said in another review that the author comes back to this rape after it happens ad nauseum. Yes, the author revisits the rape quite a bit, but I believe that the mental struggle and the constant battle to get the off of the main character's mind was perfect. When these sorts of things happen, the event isn't just forgotten the second after it happens. The victim is haunted by the tragic event. The struggle to overcome this and the love and patience Claire shows Jamie during this time is significant.

I was hooked after reading this book and couldn't wait to continue reading the series! I highly recommend this series to anyone and everyone. It literally is a story that has something for everyone.

3. Dragonfly In Amber: 

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book had me from the beginning. Part 1, didn't start where I wanted it to, as in exactly where book one left off and everything that happened since. Instead, it time-hopped and kicked you in the feels in less than 50 pages, leaving you ugly crying so hard that you likely couldn't read any more pages immediately. The way the story unfolds sends you through the emotions the character probably felt over the past 20 years. (Or is it 220 years?) By telling the story this way it is clear what has happened or at least what the characters believed has happened, but not how it happened or what is about to happen next. However, a lot, though not all (obviously there are many more books in the series), is revealed starting in Part 2.

In Part 2, Claire is in Paris with Jamie and pregnant (for the first time). Claire doesn't know much about the Jacobite rising but knows enough to know about Culloden and the fate of the Scottish clans she learned from history in her time period. Together Claire and Jamie set on the path they chose at the end of the "Outlander" book, in the name of love, to try and change history and prevent the Jacobite rising.

In this book Claire and Jamie's love for one another is put to the test. The burden of knowing the future and trying to change it, broken promises, deeds committed in the name of love, near death and grief all take their toll upon their relationship. However, what emerges and wins is not a fairy-tale romance but true love: a very deep connection and conscious devotion. Their love is truly a love the transcends time, which is good, because the ending - you know, the kind that makes you run to the bookstore at midnight to buy the next book or wish that you could time travel yourself because the bookstore isn't open at the moment - will make even the coldest of hearts melt and believe in love and hope.

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Why am I Creating this Blog?

               

I am a bibliophile. I collect and devour books. I pride myself in my library. 668 books and counting! 

I am also a writer. I LOVE to write. 

I wanted to create a place where I could share my love for all things fiction. I find myself spewing words as fast as I can as if I haven't had a conversation in years at the mention of a great book or film or at the request for a recommendation. After I moved, I was unpacking my library, cataloging all the books I own on goodreads, marking the ones I have read and the ones I have yet to read, I decided that I really needed to begin to write my thoughts/reviews about these book and share them with more people. Sure, I can just review them on goodreads, but I have so much more to share. So, here I am, ready to share: ready to blog book reviews and share my writing muses! I hope you will follow me and share with me as we go along too! I will post my book reviews on this main page. I will post my writing on my Writing Muses Page.