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Book Review: The Banks of Certain Rivers by Jon Harrison

April 17, 2013 2 Comments
Banks of Certain Rivers by Jon Harrison

Banks of Certain Rivers by Jon Harrison

Every good book has a point of no return. It’s when the story becomes so engrossing, when the characters start living and breathing in your imagination, and when you can see their pain as well as your best friend’s longing. Last night I reached the point of no return for The Banks of Certain Rivers by Jon Harrison. It was 1AM, but I kept reading. I could not stop until I was sure that my new friends, the novel’s characters, ached no more. Or ached less.

In The Banks of Certain Rivers, our narrator and protagonist Neil Kazenzakis is trying  to return to his normal life after a tragic accident left his wife “profoundly disabled” (according to the book description-I don’t want to give any spoilers about the accident). He’s popular high school physics teacher as well as coach for the girls cross country track team. He’s also secretly seeing his elderly mother-in-law’s home care nurse. On the surface it looks like everything is under control, but slowly Neil’s life starts to unravel. A video of him assaulting a student appears on YouTube and threatens his job, his reputation, and worse yet, his ability to provide care for his wife.

As Harrison introduces each pivotal character in his novel, he offers readers little tidbits of Neil’s past so we can learn how he becomes the person the we currently see.  The transitions to Neil’s past are triggered by a stray cat, seeing student in the hallway, and even a bottle of whisky. Some novels quickly jerk you into the past and then back to the present, but not here. It feels natural and gentle, just as if I were in Neil’s shoes.

While the story of the YouTube video and Neil’s secret relationship with Lauren intensifies our protagonist’s story, it’s the relationships between the characters that draw you in. The father-son dynamic is honest and, at times, raw. Neil’s best friend Alan keeps him on the straight path. The two would do anything for each other. Relationships with old friends are prodded and poked, hoping to revive them. Neil’s emails to his wife reveal secrets yet he keeps secrets from her as well.

The Banks of Certain Rivers by Jon Harrison is beautifully written and will capture your heart. It’s currently available on as an ebook on Kindle . It’s free to borrow for Prime members.

For more about Jon Harrison, visit his website.

I received a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Novels, Reviews, Thien-Kim Tagged With: , , ,

I’m Breaking Up With The Registry by Shannon Stoker

April 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Registry by Shannon Stoker

I’m a little behind on my GoodReads yearly goal of 100 books. I still catching up from my reading rut. I’ve been reading 3 books concurrently. Not because I’m trying to catch up on my goal, but that’s how I roll. I’m a promiscuous reader. I have a different book in each room to ensure that I have reading material no matter where I am my apartment. Am I the only one that does that? I recently broke up with this book:

The Registry by Shannon Stoker

Over the weekend I grabbed my ARC copy of  The Registry by Shannon Stoker for my road trip.  Before I explain why I abandoned this book, here’s the publisher’s description:

Welcome to a safe and secure new world, where beauty is bought and sold, and freedom is the ultimate crime

The Registry saved the country from collapse, but stability has come at a price. In this patriotic new America, girls are raised to be brides, sold at auction to the highest bidder. Boys are raised to be soldiers, trained to fight and never question orders.

Nearly eighteen, beautiful Mia Morrissey excitedly awaits the beginning of her auction year. But a warning from her married older sister raises dangerous questions. Now, instead of going up on the block, Mia is going to escape to Mexico—and the promise of freedom.

All Mia wants is to control her own destiny—a brave and daring choice that will transform her into an enemy of the state, pursued by powerful government agents, ruthless bounty hunters, and a cunning man determined to own her . . . a man who will stop at nothing to get her back.

Novels about an alternate future like the one in The Registry fascinate me. It’s fun to think “what if?” Unfortunately, The Registry just didn’t work for me. Within the first 20 pages, all I could think was, Didn’t Margaret Atwood already write this book-The Handmaid’s Tale thirty years ago? Except Margaret Atwood’s novel is far richer and delves into deeper issues and observation about her dystopian society. I found Mia naive and whining. The situation of her escape felt unrealistic considering that Mia was uneducated and had never left her family farm (all due to society’s rules about women/girls).

The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood

I made it close to halfway through novel and just couldn’t bear to continue. I wanted to read the entire book to give it a fair chance, but it did not improve for me. The two main female characters, Mia and her friend Whitney, were just too one dimensional for me.  Their reactions to the events they witness, including [SPOILER ALERT] a murder [SPOILER ALERT OVER] are stereotypical female reactions. Whitney has a nervous breakdown. Mia becomes stoic and even more determined to escape to Mexico. However she questioned her humanity because she was not upset about the murder. 

Really? If a man had a nervous breakdown after witnessing a murder, he’d get funny looks. If he’s stoic about it, then he’s in control of his feelings. A girl, because Mia is still a girl psychologically since she’s been sheltered, refuses to let a  murder change her focus-well, then she’s no longer human. I


I stopped reading at page 124. Not to knock the YA genre, but I think The Registry would fit better in that genre instead of adult. Maybe it’s New Adult? I’m not really sure. The novel has rather short chapters with more focus on the actions as opposed to deep character growth/development. The new America’s history is only given to me in little drips and drops. Not enough for me to appreciate the hows and whys of Stoker’s dystopian world. Those details would make the story much richer.thought that was a little dramatic.

I know it’s not available to the general public until June (I received an advance reader copy), but if you’ve read  The Registry by Shannon Stoker, I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

In the meantime, I think I will dust off my copy of The Handmaid’s Tale for my fourth or fifth re-read.

Filed Under: Abandoned Books, SciFi Fantasy, Thien-Kim, YA Tagged With: , , , , ,

In a Reading Rut

March 18, 2013 2 Comments
Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

I’m in a reading rut. I’m sure it was bound to happen after my hectic week of deadlines and really late nights. I started two different books and have only read past 50 pages in one of them. That’s slow for me. It’s not the books, they’re actually great so far. My brain is just too tired to read, especially when I collapse in my bed at 3AM.

Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

The first book I’m working on (I’m a promiscuous reader) is Ronlyn Domingue’s debut novel, The Mercy of Thin Air. I actually broke my self-imposed library ban to borrow the book. So I guess I’m reading on a deadline. I think I only have another 10 days before it has to go back! I was blown away after reading The Mapmaker’s War, so it seemed natural to pick up Domingue’s first novel. The Mercy of Thin Air is written from the point of view of ghost. I’m only about 20 pages. So far, I like the ghost, but haven’t read enough to give you more of an opinion about the book.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra

My other book another novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. It won’t be released until May (I’m reading a galley). I can tell that this novel is going to touch my heart in an unexpected way. Let’s hope no tissues will be harmed in the reading of this book. It’s not sappy at all, but the characters are carving out a life in a war ravaged land. Need I say more? Read the book blurb.

This week should be much better, as I’ll be riding the Metro one day this week for a work thing. You know what that means. About 30 minutes of uninterrupted reading time. Hopefully, I’ll catch up on sleep too so my brain can function normally. Or normally enough to digest some literary fiction.

What’s on your nightstand this week?

Filed Under: Novels, Reading List, Thien-Kim Tagged With: , , ,

Book Review: The House Girl by Tara Conklin

February 11, 2013 Leave a Comment
The House Girl by Tara Conklin

The House Girl by Tara Conklin

I barely touched a book over the weekend, except to place it in the purge pile. I know. Horrendous. I spent  most of the weekend cleaning and decluttering, so I didn’t read as much as I usually do. I still have more organizing and destashing to do, but it’s starting to come together. I did manage to finish a couple of books last week.

The House Girl is Tara Conklin’s debut novel. It’s received a lot of great reviews. While I didn’t actually read any of the reviews before I read House Girl, I think the reviews set me up to expect more than I received.  The novel is set in two different time periods: 1852 (pre-Civil War) Virginia and set in New York City, circa 2004.  In present day (or 2004), lawyer Lina is on the hunt for a descendant of a slave for a special lawsuit for her firm. Her paper trail leads her to Josephine, a Virginian house slave, who might have been the original to works attributed to her owner.

The chapters switch between the two eras and the two heroines of the story. We learn about Josephine’s life from her point of view, albeit in bits and pieces, as well as from the clues that Lina discovers. In the end, Lina discovers more about herself on this journey than she expected.

While the story of Josephine’s life is fascinating, I felt that Lina was the true protagonist of the novel. As Lina learns more about Josephine, we readers are also fed little breadcrumbs.  Because Lina’s father is an artist, I could understand how she might become obsessed with Josephine’s story. Lina spent years locking away her feelings about the loss of her mother and she comes across a little unfeeling and cold to me.  I just didn’t get a good sense why Josephine (or the lawsuit) initially made Lina do things outside of her comfort zone.

Honestly, I felt that Josephine’s life story was more compelling than Lina’s part of the novel. I wish that Conklin had fleshed out Josephine dreams and desires more than she did. I can’t say what exactly those desires are because that would be spoiling. I felt like something else was missing from Josephine’s voice. After chatting with a friend about the book, I realized that it was her manner of thinking and speaking. It didn’t feel authentic to the time period. Rather Josephine’s use of language seemed to proper for a semi-educated slave.

I’m really just being nitpicky. Once I finished the book, I just felt like it was just missing something that would make it a truly remarkable novel. That thing being Josephine’s voice as I mentioned above. The novel is well written and the story will definitely draw you in. I even contemplated not feeding my kids so I could finish reading it. Lucky for them, I fed them dinner.

Give The House Girl by Tara Conklin a try. If you like historical fiction, you’ll enjoy it.

The House Girl goes on sale tomorrow, but you can download a PDF of the first chapter over on Amazon. Is that book cover gorgeous?

I received a review copy of the book.

Filed Under: Novels, Reviews, Thien-Kim Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Book Review: The Intercept by Dick Wolf

December 24, 2012 Leave a Comment
The Intercept by Dick Wolf

The Intercept by Dick Wolf

I’m a fan of the different incarnations of Law & Order television shows, so it was no surprise that I found the premise creator Dick Wolf’s debut novel, The Intercept: A Jeremy Fisk Novel. Wolf introduces readers to Jeremy Fisk, who is a detective in NYPD’s Intelligence Division.

The novel brings to life the very real world of terrorism post-Osama bin Laden. After an airplane hijacking is foiled by six fellow passengers, the race is on for Fisk and his team to discover if another terrorist plot is in store for New York. With only a few days before the President’s visit to New York for July 4 activities, Fisk is sure that bin Laden’s protegees have a high profile attacked planned.

Dick Wolf  provides plenty of action and suspense, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat. Thank goodness for that because I would have given up on the novel otherwise. The story line was much more fascinating that the novel’s main character Jeremy Fisk. Even halfway through the book, I felt like I barely knew Fisk. How does his mind connect the dots? What makes him think the way he does? No clue. All I know is that Fisk is great at his job.

It seems pretty obvious that Wolf and publisher William Morrow hopes that The Intercept will become a successful series.  To keep my interest, series like these need compelling characters. It’s the detective’s personality that will make me read the next book in the series. If there is a second Jeremy Fisk book in the works, I expect that the second book will give readers much more character development. Fisk will be a bit more, let’s say, tortured.

I found The Intercept: A Jeremy Fisk Novel a bit lukewarm when it comes to Detective Fisk and fairly exciting for its fast paced action. The Intercept is available for pre-order and will be released Wednesday, December 26.

I received a copy of the galley for review. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Novels, Reviews, Suspense Thriller, Thien-Kim Tagged With: , , , , ,

Review: The Twelve by Justin Cronin

October 23, 2012 4 Comments

The Twelve by Justin Cronin

As much as I tried to savor reading the 568 pages of  The Twelve  by Justin Cronin, the novel didn’t even have a chance. One evening I barely read because I got myself all creeped out. The book wasn’t as creepy as The Passage, but I got all worked up imagining the scary vampires.

Ok, on to the review.

I won’t give any spoilers because I know people have been eagerly waiting for The Twelve just like I have. In case you couldn’t tell from my previous posts.

I would highly recommend that you read or re-read The Passage before starting The Twelve.  In the beginning, the sequel teases readers by giving a glimpse of where the first book left off. Cronin then jumps back to when it all first started. Year 1 of the virals, as he calls the vampire-like creatures. Instead of seeing the United States fall apart from Amy and Wolgast’s point of views, we see it from multiple perspectives.

When I met Justin Cronin at BEA Blogger, he prepared us for the parallel story lines among the three novels (it’s supposed to be a trilogy). That part didn’t surprise me. What surprised me was much of the book dealt with the fast rise of the virals and the spiraling destruction of the U.S. as we know it. I was a little skeptical with where the story would go next. Eventually, The Twelve comes full circle and brings readers back to Amy and Peter, the beloved characters from the first novel.

I won’t go any further with the plot lines because I’ll spoil the novel for you.

I’m not sure if I expected too much from The Twelve because I’ve been waiting so long for it. The chapters are short and Cronin flits from character to character. Just as I acclimate myself to another setting and plot line, he jumps to the next set of characters.

I can’t say that I’m thrilled with The Twelve, but I’m not disappointed either.  The book  definitely feels like a bridge to the last of the trilogy.

Anyone know when book 3 is supposed to come out?

I paid for my own copy of The Twelve. This post contains affiliate links.

Filed Under: Novels, Reviews, Thien-Kim Tagged With: , ,

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