#bookreview ~ Eligible #JaneAusten #mustread @csittenfeld

Eligible

By

Curtis Sittenfeld

The Bennet sisters have been summoned from New York City.

Liz and Jane are good daughters. They’ve come home to suburban Cincinnati to get their mother to stop feeding their father steak as he recovers from heart surgery, to tidy up the crumbling Tudor-style family home, and to wrench their three sisters from their various states of arrested development.

Once they are under the same roof, old patterns return fast. Soon enough they are being berated for their single status, their only respite the early morning runs they escape on together. For two successful women in their late thirties, it really is too much to bear. That is, until the Lucas family’s BBQ throws them in the way of some eligible single men . . .

Chip Bingley is not only a charming doctor, he’s a reality TV star too. But Chip's friend, haughty neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy, can barely stomach Cincinnati or its inhabitants. Jane is entranced by Chip; Liz, sceptical of Darcy. As Liz is consumed by her father’s mounting medical bills, her wayward sisters and Cousin Willie trying to stick his tongue down her throat, it isn’t only the local chilli that will leave a bad aftertaste.

But where there are hearts that beat and mothers that push, the mysterious course of love will resolve itself in the most entertaining and unlikely of ways. And from the hand of Curtis Sittenfeld, Pride & Prejudice is catapulted into our modern world singing out with hilarity and truth.

What did I think of the Book?

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

When Liz and Jane Bennet received a phone call informing them of their father’s ill health, neither thought twice about getting on the next plane to Cincinnati. If only they knew about the curveballs that life was going to suddenly throw at them…!

Jane had not expected that her trip home would mean she would meet the love of her life. Jane is instantly smitten with the charming doctor/reality TV star, Chip Bingley and who could blame her? Chip is charming, funny and nice. If only his best friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, had a little more of his good humour.

Liz had never met such a disagreeable man as Darcy. He was everything she hated —pretentious, rude and arrogant. So why does her heart flutter just a little when he looks her way?

I am a big Jane Austen fan, and I was looking forward to reading Curtis Sittenfeld’s modern take on Austen’s classic work, Pride and Prejudice. I was not disappointed. Eligible is a fast paced read that follows the plot of Pride and Prejudice quite closely, with a few very modern day twists.

I adored the characterisation of Liz. She is a very strong-willed woman, in her late 30’s, who is very career oriented. Her love life, however, resembles something of a train-wreck. She longs to be in a caring relationship with a man she loves and who loves her in return, but instead, she is in a relationship with a man who is married and, as it turns out, has a very questionable past.

When Liz returned to her families home to help care for her sick father, she never expected to meet a man such as Darcy. Initially, she finds him repulsive, but as she gets better acquainted with him, she begins to wonder if maybe she had just found her soul mate.

 Eligible is such an enjoyable read, with many unexpected plot twists. Ms Sittenfeld’s has successfully kept the spirit of Pride and Prejudice alive. All of the characters were portrayed in the way I expected them to be depicted. Mr Bennet is the long-suffering father, who will do anything for a quiet life. Mrs Bennet can only think of social engagement and marrying her daughters (who are a lot older in this book, then in Austen’s classic). Lydia and Kitty are just as I imagined them to be — they are giggly, rude and very much into CrossFit! Mary is still the studious one, but has swapped the piano for a PHD. Jane is sweet and desperate for a family. Bingley has a gorgeous and lovable personality. Darcy is portrayed just as he should be (I still picture Colin Firth when I think of him!) and Mr Collins is a computer wiz!

I am not too sure what Jane Austen would have made of this book, but I certainly enjoyed it.  Bravo, Ms Sittenfeld.

I Highly Recommend.

* I  received a copy of this book from the Publishers, via NetGalley, for review consideration.*

Links for Purchase

Amazon US

Amazon UK

About the author

Curtis Sittenfeld is the bestselling author of the novels Prep, The Man of My Dreams, American Wife, and Sisterland, which have been translated into twenty-five languages. Her nonfiction has been published widely, including in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, and Glamour, and broadcast on public radio’s This American Life. A native of Cincinnati, she currently lives with her family in St. Louis.

#bookreview ~ Abaddyon #apocalypse #OSFARG @larrydshack

Abaddyon

By

Larry Shackelford

Abaddyon is a fast-paced, Christian, apocalyptic urban fantasy/science fiction romance thriller that takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah and St. Louis, Missouri.  On a sleepy Sunday morning, the local populations are oblivious to ominous events that have occurred on the other side of the globe.  Sacred Biblical artifacts were stolen from a sacred shrine, and are about to unleash devastating effects on their future and the other surviving members on earth. 

FBI Special Agent Alan O'Brian, a recent transplant to Salt Lake City, is unwittingly thrust into a chaotic survival scene as the city suffers massive destruction and calamity.  The chain of events are incomprehensible, but with the aid of a rookie FBI agent and a comical Lutheran pastor, Alan attempts to reconcile and resolve the devolving situation. 

Emily Cannon is a young housewife residing in a Northern suburb of Salt Lake City.  Her perfect, protected life and religious commitment to the predominant religion is vanquished by the devastating earthquakes that rock the city.   The earthquakes are not her only obstacles; her children have vanished, and the unfathomable seismic events have revealed hidden community secrets Emily could have never imagined.

All hope seems lost when Abaddyon and his legion of angels surface from the depths of hell to claim the condemned souls of the survivors.  Alan and his team of improbable characters must locate and consecrate the unprecedented artifacts in order to reverse the disaster. Battling nature’s fury and formidable hellish creatures, their task is a daunting race against time, and individual spiritual awakenings.

What did I think of the Book?

The end is nigh…

It was an average Sunday morning, there was nothing of consequence on the news, and the weather was beautiful. But unbeknown to the world some sacred Biblical artefacts have been stolen. This theft sets of a change of events that no one could have predicted.

What an action packed adventure Larry Shackelford has just taken me on. Abaddyon is a cleverly woven story that is full of destruction and death, but also courage and hope. It demonstrates not only the worst of mankind's nature, but also the very best.

There is a big cast in this book, and each has their own story as they battle to stay alive during the apocalypse. I thought all the characters were extremely well fleshed and believable. I particularly liked Emily who really grows in this story, especially as she questions everything that she believes. She is a very strong woman who is determined to stay alive.

The plot is fast-paced and engaging. I simply didn't want to put this book down. As the tension mounted up, I was wondering how anyone could survive, and I had as many questions as the characters as to what had happened to parts of the population and all the animals. Thankfully, at the close of the novel, all the questions were answered!

If you like apocalyptic fiction then this is certainly the book for you.

I Highly Recommend.

Links for Purchase

Amazon US

Amazon UK

About the author

Larry was raised in southwest Missouri where he received his college degree, but he received his education after he graduated and began working in a maximum-security federal prison. After spending two years behind bars, he continued his law enforcement career as a criminal investigator, residing and working in eight states and two foreign countries. Larry retired from law enforcement after twenty-five years of service and resides in Salt Lake City with his wife and cat.

#bookreview ~ How to Breed Sheep, Geese and English Eccentrics by Valerie Poore @vallypee

How to Breed Sheep, Geese and English Eccentrics

By

 Valerie Poore

When Maisie Peterson leaves university in 1977 without a job to go to, she decides to help her mother save her large and impractical country property in the wilds of rural Dorset by trying her hand at self-sufficiency. Ma is just a tad eccentric, though, and Maisie has no clue about farming. Her efforts are thwarted at quite a few turns by a flock of willful sheep, a dotty aunt, a charming but ineffective boyfriend and a swarthy, but highly desirably agricultural auctioneer. Emily, the ewe, runs rings round her while Ma drifts in and out of the scene in an ancient wedding dress, causing havoc in Maisie's attempts to sort out her personal as well as her agricultural problems

What did I make of the book?

Farming — there is nothing to it!

Maisie Peterson has an idea, and like all ideas, it is best to simply not think about it overly much and just do it. Of course, when it comes to farming, a little knowledge can be helpful, especially when it comes to livestock. But hey, if anyone can do it, Maisie can!

I don't think I will ever forget how Maisie transports her first sheep, Emily, home from the market — I am not going to tell you how she does it because I don't want to spoil it, but there were tears rolling down my cheeks! It is hilarious. Add to that the rather territorial geese, the egg stealing dog, and the useless WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms), apprentice who is meant to be helping, but accidently set himself on fire. And let's not forget the terribly eccentric mother, who often walks around the farm yard in a wedding dress....!!!

This book is so funny, with a super fast plot and characters — both human and animal — that I came to love. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see Emily trotting down the road and heading for my geraniums!

A wonderfully refreshing read that I didn't want to put down.

I Highly Recommend.

Links for Purchase

Amazon US

Amazon UK

About the author

Val Poore was born in London, England, and grew up in both north London and the west of Dorset. After completing her degree in English, History and French at Bournemouth, she took a further course in the conservation and restoration of museum artefacts at Lincoln College of Art which qualified her for nothing at all really. She then spent two years doing furniture restoration before going to South Africa in 1981 with her husband and small children.

Valerie left South Africa permanently in 2001 and has settled in the Netherlands, where she shares her time between a liveaboard barge in Rotterdam and a cottage in Zeeland. She teaches academic and business English on a freelance basis and still writes in her spare time, although she admits there's not enough of that at the moment. In fact, she has been writing since childhood and wrote stories, articles and radio plays for years before embarking on her first book in 2005. Val loves travelling especially when it involves roughing it a bit. She feels that she has better adventures and more interesting experiences that way.