2012 - 100+ Books

I was first introduced to Arthur Wooten’s writing when I read his novel Leftovers (my review) and loved it. He writes with humour and insight that captures your attention and doesn’t let go. His newest novel Dizzy is no different except that this novel hits much closer to his heart. It is about a woman who develops bilateral vestibulopathy with oscillopsia (which I’ll elaborate on later in the review) and it changes her life forever. It also changed Arthur’s life and he’s based his character Angie on himself but developed it into a fictional novel that entertains us while informing us on this illness. It is a wonderful novel that touched my heart.

For Angie the world is her oyster. She’s a successful Broadway star at the height of her career when she begins to feel unwell. It happens unexpectedly one night when she’s performing and things just seem off to her. They don’t get any better either; they get worse and quickly. Her taste and smell disappear, she hears a high pitched dental drill in her ear, the floor has turned into squishy foam, her body feels drunk and her head too heavy to hold up. As the symptoms progress Angie finds it more and more difficult to function at all and major panic sets in. Her career as a dancer depends on her balance and now it’s gone. She’s devastated and angry. She wants her old life back… but sometimes we have to learn to adapt to a new one.

Dizzy takes us through Angie’s struggles as she learns more about her illness and then as she tries to accept and deal with it. I liked Angie as a character and while Angie had this great career to lose, this illness would be devastating for anyone. It affects your inner ear which is the one that tells your body where you are in space and without it something as simple as walking becomes impossible. For Angie she has the added problem of oscillopsia which is your brain not knowing if you’re moving forward, back, or left, right or up, down, and it goes into a panic you could say and orders your eyes to lock onto objects so it can figure out where it is which causes blurry and shaky vision – yet another thing making it difficult to function in everyday matters.

I think this novel would be really good for someone suffering with this illness so they know they aren’t alone out there. There is no cure unfortunately. The only thing that can be done is to retrain your brain to function a different way so this is a lifelong battle once you have it. For Angie she had to reevaluate her life and the people she knew and figure out what was most important to her and to her new way of life. Dizzy is an excellent novel and I loved that Arthur wrote it with humour because I think if you didn’t have a bit of humour in your life it would be even harder to deal with this illness. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this novel even to those not suffering with this. It’s entertaining and well written and for me, another winner from Arthur Wooten.

Buy at:  Amazon, B&N, Amazon Canada, and Kindle

GIVEAWAY DETAILS (US/Canada)

I have one copy of Dizzy by Arthur Wooten to share with my readers.  To enter…

• For 1 entry leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
• For 2 entries follow my blog.  If you do, let me know and I’ll pass the entry on to you as well.
• For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only.  I will draw for the winner on Saturday, January 5/12.  Good luck!

Source: Review copy provided by the author. No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Share this post!

The Sisters Montclair is the third book of Cathy Holton’s that I’ve read and I think it may well be my favorite. She is one of those authors who can completely draw you into the lives of her characters and their stories and hold you captive throughout. The Sisters Montclair is a story of sisters, buried family secrets, and the things that draw people together in friendship.

Alice Montclair Whittington and Stella Nightingale are two women who form an unlikely friendship. They are very different in so many ways and yet there seems to be an instant bond between the two. Alice is a spunky ninety-four year old who comes from money and Stella is a twenty-one year old who comes from a dysfunctional family and is still very troubled despite trying to build a life for herself.

Stella’s dream job sure isn’t being a caregiver but she really needs a job and despite hearing that Alice is quite the handful and has already gone through a multitude of caregivers Stella is quite certain she’s tough enough to handle Alice even after meeting Alice and her snarky manner. Once Stella starts the job though she finds that she genuinely finds herself liking Alice. Stella is the one caregiver that Alice has or has ever had that has treated her as a person instead of an old and incompetent old lady which she’s not. As time goes on Alice begins to tell Stella stories of her past as they come and go in her memory and Stella is fascinated but she is left with so many questions and Alice doesn’t always seem willing to answer them.

Alice and Stella were drawn together because each has their own family secrets that have left a huge impact on their lives. Each knows the pain that comes with trying to keep such a secret from everyone in their lives. The more time they spend together the more drawn together they become. I loved the bond these two women built through the stories that Alice told and it reminded me of the stories I’ve been told by some of the elderly people I’ve had in my life. They have such great stories to tell if only people will stop and listen.

The Sisters Montclair is a wonderful story full of rich characters and so beautifully told. Both Alice and Stella are the type of characters that grab your heart from the beginning and you love them and want the best for them. This book drew me in from the very first page and didn’t let go until the end. It’s one of the those novels that when you turn the last page you wish you hadn’t because you still want so much more. Cathy Holton has become a favorite author of mine and The Sisters Montclair solidified that even more. It’s a fantastic novel that is well worth reading!

Check out Cathy’s website to learn more about her work  or you can find her on Facebook and Twitter as well.  You can purchase your own copy of The Sisters Montclair at Amazon or Amazon Canada.

Review copy provided by the publisher. No compensation was received and all opinions stated are my own.

Share this post!

I Am Lucky Bird is the gripping debut novel of Fleur Philips.  It will tug at your heart and you may shed a tear or two but you will also be left with a feeling of hope and new beginnings.  I really enjoyed this novel and I find I am still haunted by Lucky Bird’s story which I found I couldn’t put down once I started it.  It is a coming of age story of a young girl who has to battle from a young age to try and find her way.

Lucky has grown up believing she was found in a trash bin and brought home to live with AnnMarie who she called her mother and Marian, her grandmother.  Life has never been easy  for Lucky but while AnnMarie is there it is at least bearable. Lucky and AnnMarie share a love of books and the cottonwood trees, often taking off together for hours at a time.  Marian though has always been an unpredictable one and not one to show any affection whatsoever to either Lucky or her own daughter.  When AnnMarie goes missing Lucky’s life is never the same.  Marian has an extremely volatile personality and has no remorse over using it against Lucky.  While she provides the necessities of life for Lucky, just as she did with AnnMarie, this does not in any way include any kind of affection.  Truthfully Lucky has never really experienced a hug or cuddle like a normal kid even from AnnMarie who I don’t believe knew how to give affection since she herself never got any.  In addition to trying to avoid Marian at all costs there is also Marian’s boyfriend Tom who poses a threat to Lucky.  He had always made AnnMarie uncomfortable and Lucky feels the same.

Ultimately events happen that make it impossible for Lucky to remain in Marian’s house and at fifteen she runs away with her friend Rika.  Lucky has suffered though in her short life and she understandably has issues dealing with it all.  She has dreams that seem real and every where she turns she thinks she sees AnnMarie or Marian.  When she is introduced to drugs at a party she finds that this offers her something she has never had before and that’s peace of mind.  This leads her down a path better not taken and if not for a young man out for a walk on a cold evening Lucky wouldn’t have been around to see her future.  However to go forward and move on in her life she has to confront her past and for Lucky this uncovers many deep and dark secrets.

I Am Lucky Bird is a really good novel even while being difficult to read in some parts.  It realistically portrays how generations are affected by the actions of those that came before them.  Marian didn’t have a good childhood and therefore didn’t find it necessary to ensure that her daughter or granddaughter had one either.  It also shows how troubled teens can be so easily led into the lifestyle of drugs and the wrong people while on the opposite side showing us that there are still good people out there willing to help those that have been shot down in life.  Lucky lives up to her name.  She may have been kicked and hit the lowest points possible but she had the will and courage to survive and move on.  I Am Lucky Bird is a novel well worth reading and you can purchase your own copy on Amazon or Amazon Canada.  You can connect with Fleur on her website as well as Facebook and Twitter.

There were many quotes I loved as the writing is quite beautiful in this novel but I especially liked this one so I’ll end with it and the book trailer…

“Every event that happens in life, happens for a reason,” she’d said.  “Every person you meet, every tragedy that unfolds, every small bit of good that’s bestowed upon you.  There’s a reason for it.” (ARC ecopy, final edited copy may differ)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS (US only)

I have one copy of I Am Lucky Bird by Fleur Philips to share with my US readers.  To enter…

• For 1 entry leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
• For 2 entries, follow my blog.  If you already do let me know so I can pass the entry on to you as well.
• For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and I will draw for the winner on Saturday, December 15/12.  Good luck!

Source: Review copy provided by BookSparks via NetGalley. No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Share this post!