North and South
by Elizabeth Gaskell
My rating: 3 stars

Book Summary:
North and South depicts a young woman discovering herself, in a nuanced portrayal of what divides people, and what brings them together.

Elizabeth Gaskell’s compassionate, richly dramatic novel features one of the most original and fully-rounded female characters in Victorian fiction, Margaret Hale. It shows how, forced to move from the country to an industrial town, she develops a passionate sense of social justice, and a turbulent relationship with mill-owner John Thornton.

My GR Status Update(s):
06/10 . . .marked as: currently-reading

06/17 . . .13.0% Instead of a quiet, middle-aged clergyman, a young lady came forward with frank dignity . . . Her dress was very plain: . . . a dark silk gown, without any trimming or flounce; a large Indian shawl, which hung about her in long, heavy folds, and which she wore as an empress wears her drapery. . . . the simple, straight, unabashed look which showed that his being there was of no concern to the beautiful countenance…

06/19 . . .20.0% This scene. –>

06/22 . . .32.0% “Mother,” said he, stopping and bravely speaking out the truth, “I wish you would like Miss Hale.” | “Why?” asked she, startled by his earnest yet tender manner. “You’re never thinking of marrying her?—a girl without a penny.” | “She would never have me,” said he…

06/23 . . .41.0% “Mother–Mother!” cried he; “come down–they are gone, and Miss Hale is hurt!” He bore her into the dining room, and laid her on the sofa there… looking on her pure white face, the sense of what she was to him came upon him so keenly that he spoke it out in his pain: “Oh, my Margaret—my Margaret! No one can tell what you are to me! Dead–cold as you lie there, you are the only woman I ever loved! …”

06/24 . . .49.0% Death of Bessy Higgins. The character of Nicholas Higgins is much more rough/drunk/violent in the book than how he was written (and portrayed by Brendan Coyle) in the 2004 miniseries.

06/27 . . .marked as: read

My Review:
I usually enjoy the book more than the movie, but in this case I much prefer the miniseries to the book. Not only did the film adaptation manage to cut out a lot of info-dumps about the mills and the strike, it also managed to make Margaret a much more likable character.

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My rating matrix:
5 STARS = one of the best I’ve ever read
4 STARS = a great read, highly recommended
3 STARS = it was okay
2 STARS = I didn’t enjoy it all that much, not recommended
1 STAR = DNF (did not finish)

View all my reviews on Goodreads

The Curse of Lord Stanstead (The Order of the MUSE #1)
by Mia Marlowe
My rating: 4 stars

Book Summary:
London, 1819

When only seduction will do…

Wherever Cassandra Darkin goes, fire is sure to follow. It’s not until she’s swept into the arms of a handsome, infuriating stranger that she learns she’s responsible for the fires. As it turns out, Cassandra is a fire mage…and with her gift comes a blazing desire for sins of the flesh.

With his preternatural ability to influence the thoughts of others, Garrett Sterling is sent to gather Cassandra for the Order of the M.U.S.E. He’s entirely unprepared for his immediate attraction to the comely little firestarter. But it’s an attraction that he must quell, even as his body craves her touch and her fiery, sensual hunger.

For Garrett’s gift has a dark side…and the moment he begins to care too much for Cassandra, he knows he will doom her to an inescapable fate.

My GR Status Update(s):
05/30. . .marked as: currently-reading

06/07. . .60.0%

06/07. . .marked as: read

My Review:
I don’t usually read much paranormal romance—because I don’t really enjoy characters who are vampires or shape shifters or were-whatevers, and because I don’t like the fact that most of the ones I’ve been unfortunate enough to pick up have very little in the way of relationship development and rely on insta-lust and veer over into the erotica category.

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My rating matrix:
5 STARS = one of the best I’ve ever read
4 STARS = a great read, highly recommended
3 STARS = it was okay
2 STARS = I didn’t enjoy it all that much, not recommended
1 STAR = DNF (did not finish)

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Secrets of a Proper Lady (Last Man Standing #3)
by Victoria Alexander
My rating: 1 star (DNF)

Book Summary:
Lady Cordelia Bannister refuses to wed the man she has not chosen herself, no matter what her father decrees. So, pretending to be her own companion, she seeks out information about the designated groom by meeting with his secretary — a man who soon beguiles her. But Lady Cordelia doesn’t know the truth — the man she can’t resist is really her intended, Daniel Sinclair.

My GR Status Update(s):
04/13. . .marked as: currently-reading
04/21 . . .25.0%

04/30. . .42.0% DNFing at 42%. Finally giving up on this one when the author had the heroine, who is supposed to be an experienced travel writer with articles being published in all the British papers and magazines, call the Great Exhibition of 1851 the Great Exposition. This isn’t the only problem with this book, but it is the one that finally gave me the excuse I needed to stop forcing myself to try to finish it.

04/30. . .marked as: read

My Review:
The status update says it all.

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My rating matrix:
5 STARS = one of the best I’ve ever read
4 STARS = a great read, highly recommended
3 STARS = it was okay
2 STARS = I didn’t enjoy it all that much, not recommended
1 STAR = DNF (did not finish)

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Tempting Mr. Weatherstone (Wallflower Weddings 0.5)
by Vivienne Lorret
My rating: 4 stars

Book Summary:
Penelope Rutledge longs for passion, but only with the man of her dreams: the brilliant, dashing Ethan Weatherstone. If only her longtime neighbor would open his eyes and realize how much she loves him. If only they weren’t best friends with so much at stake. Penelope knows her future—and their friendship—is in her hands, but is she willing to take the biggest risk of all on the man she loves?

If it were up to Ethan, life and love would be as predictable as the figures in his ledgers—certainly nothing like the adventures Penelope longs for. Yet his childhood friend has grown into a beautiful, feisty woman blissfully unaware of the danger she causes when near. Ethan knows he must save Penelope and her reputation … but can he save himself from the temptation of her lips?

My GR Status Update(s):
07/10. . .marked as: currently-reading
07/10. . .49.0%
07/13. . .marked as: read

My Review:
I love the friends-to-lovers trope in romance, whether historical or contemporary. One of the reasons I enjoy it so much is that there seems to be a lot more relationship development that happens with this trope—in other words, authors who use it don’t dive straight into the “throbbing members” and “moist-down-there” scenes of insta-lust. They take the time to establish the existing friendship first (even if there is an unrequited attraction on one side or the other) then show it developing into attraction/love.

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My rating matrix:
5 STARS = one of the best I’ve ever read
4 STARS = a great read, highly recommended
3 STARS = it was okay
2 STARS = I didn’t enjoy it all that much, not recommended
1 STAR = DNF (did not finish)

View all my reviews on Goodreads

My Name is Mary Sutter
by Robin Oliveira
My rating: 2 stars

Book Summary:
Fans of Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks, Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, and Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini will love this New York Times bestselling tale of the Civil War. Mary Sutter is a brilliant young midwife who dreams of becoming a surgeon. Eager to run away from recent heartbreak, Mary travels to Washington, D.C., to help tend the legions of Civil War wounded. Under the guidance of two surgeons, who both fall unwittingly in love with her, and resisting her mother’s pleas to return home to help with the difficult birth of her twin sister’s baby, Mary pursues her medical career against all odds. Rich with historical detail—including cameo appearances by Abraham Lincoln and Dorothea Dix, among others—My Name Is Mary Sutter is certain to be recognized as one of the great novels about the Civil War.

My GR Status Update(s):
07/13 . . .marked as: currently-reading

07/17 . . .21.0% While the characters have caught my interest, the writing style of this book (headhopping, flashbacks/major backstory dumps for several characters, and I just finished Ch. 4) is taking a little getting used to. So for right now, progress is slow going.

07/20 . . .35.0%
07/20 . . .marked as: read

My Review:
After having thoroughly enjoyed the PBS/Ridley Scott miniseries Mercy Street earlier this spring, I was excited about My Name is Mary Sutter after reading the book summary and a few of the more positive reviews of this book. I was hoping for something very similar in tone to Mercy Street, delving deeper into a character like that story’s Nurse Mary, while also not telling the exact same story.

In fact, the story has a similar set up for what I thought would be the romantic through-line of the story in that Mary Sutter meets a somewhat gruff young(ish) doctor in the first chapter (the rule of thumb for any romance plot to get that part of the plot rolling, even if it’s not technically a romance novel, which this one is not) who seems to be the perfect foil for her—there’s an obvious, growing attraction for her when we’re in his viewpoint, even though he’s married. (It’s quickly revealed that the marriage was a mistake and they’ve been separated almost from the wedding day.)

Mary, a trained midwife, wants to become a doctor. So she takes it upon herself to visit Dr. James Blevens to ask him to take her on as an apprentice, since the medical school in her hometown of in Albany, NY, won’t admit her. She’s read as many books as she can get her hands on, so her knowledge is extensive; but she lacks practical experience, which is what she wants from Dr. Blevens. This seems like the perfect setup for the story to come—he says no, the war starts, and he goes off for his “three-month” stint as an army surgeon (remember, no one expected the war to last long, so Lincoln put a call out for volunteers for three months at first). The war, of course, becomes Mary’s opportunity to learn what she needs in order to become a doctor.

We see “Mary Sutter” and “James Blevens” working side-by-side during a difficult delivery (a little more detailed than I was personally comfortable with, as were most of the medical scenes, but seemed very realistic, so kudos to Oliveira for doing her research) and then later, when Dr. Blevens helps transport this woman and her baby to Mary’s house to convalesce. Naturally, he’s invited to dinner by Mary’s mother, Amelia; and they’re joined at dinner by Mary’s twin sister, Jenny, and Jenny’s beau, “Thomas Fall.”

Let me stop here and address a few issues that came up early on and then continued throughout this novel for me:

1. Lack of Structure. As mentioned in my blog post on Chapter 1 of Scene and Structure, “The problem I’m having with Oliveira’s book is another one of mixed POV and seeming lack of structure. . . . And her narrative jumps around in time, dropping flashbacks into the middle of a scene of dialogue, or jumping back in time to tell someone’s entire backstory after leaving the previous chapter hanging at the end. And because this is not genre fiction (or, at least, it’s not structured as typical genre fiction), I’m having a harder and harder time trusting that the author is actually going somewhere with this story.” (This was around 20% into the novel—it didn’t improve.)

2. Head Hopping. Again, as mentioned in the above-linked blog post, I wrote: “Although I think Oliveira was trying to employ an omniscient POV, it’s actually more of a head-hopping style.” The viewpoint changes randomly from character to character with seemingly no logic or reason, which makes the lack of structure even worse, since as a reader, one cannot settle into a viewpoint and just go along for the ride . . . except for in those flashbacks, especially the ones that go on for far too long.

3. (Full) Name Calling. Oliveira has a weird habit of referring to characters by their full names: Mary Sutter. Amelia Sutter. James Blevens. Thomas Fall. Even within their own viewpoint! And it’s not as if they’re just being introduced at the beginning of a chapter or scene by their full name—it happens multiple times on a page. Then there’s the fact that Mary Sutter not only thinks of her mother by her first name, Amelia, she refers to her by her first name in dialogue.

4. The Sister Cliché. Mary Sutter is tall and gangly and not considered pretty. She’s brusque and has few social graces. Her twin sister (fraternal), however, is petite and pretty and the apple of everyone’s eye. Mary is useful while Jenny is decorative. Mary is practical while Jenny is romantic. Mary is sensible while Jenny is . . . well, you get where I’m going with that one. Not only does this cliché bother me, since there seemed to be no effort to go beyond these stereotypes, but it also bothered me because there was no reason for them to be twins, nor was there the need to set up the sisterly jealousy by having Thomas Fall first seem to be attracted to Mary and then fall for Jenny as soon as he met her.

5. There’s Something About Mary. However, even though Mary is described as too tall, gangly, mannish, unattractive, overbearing, acerbic, etc., every man who comes near her is automatically and inexplicably attracted to her.

As the book continues, even more viewpoints are introduced once Mary arrives in Washington, DC—Dorothea Dix, John Hays (aide to President Lincoln), President Lincoln, and more. Oh, and there’s another army doctor character introduced about halfway through who ends up playing a big role in the story, as well.

There’s a major lack of character development, as well as the development of relationships between characters. Mary Sutter wants to be a doctor because . . . she wants to be a doctor. That’s it. She wants to be a doctor. She does everything she can to learn how to be a doctor. The problem is, there’s no real motivation to it. She doesn’t seem to derive any pleasure out of what she does or what she learns throughout the book. She just wants to be a doctor. The best relationship development happens in about the first third of the book between Mary Sutter and James Blevens—and it’s mostly one-sided, on James’s side. And this isn’t just romantic relationships—there are occasional mentions of other nurses in the field hospitals, yet Mary has little to no interactions with any of them, and with few of the doctors other than Blevens and Stipp, as well. This lack of emotional connections keeps her a two-dimensional character who is at best boring and at worst unlikable.

Then, there are the scenes like this (beginning on p. 277):

In 1864, George McClellan, in his run as Democratic candidate opposite Abraham Lincoln, would complain that the failure of the Peninsular Campaign was due to many factors out of his control, including Lincoln’s great meddling in his plans, his failure to provide crucial reinforcements, the teeming hordes of Confederate troops, the inclement weather, the failure of the navy to properly defend the York River, the idiot mapmakers who mistook a river’s location that forced him to march miles out of his way, his recurring bouts of malarial fever due to the criminal lack of quinine, the abysmal roads which were nothing but a morass of mud, the swampy, nearly oceanic terrain, and finally, the wily Robert E. Lee, who decimated the Union troops in the last hopeless battle of Seven Days as they retreated down the Peninsula after the Union’s failure to seize Richmond. …

This is followed by at least another 200 to 300 words continuing this recitation of the research that Oliveira did. And this isn’t the only place this happens—it starts to happen with regularity throughout the last half of the book.

If I wanted to read nonfiction about the American Civil War, I would pull one of the many (many) nonfiction books on my shelves about the American Civil War (most from my days when I minored in it at LSU).

Just a sampling of the books used for the courses I took at LSU.

Then, there’s the ending. So disappointing! (Highlight paragraph to read spoiler) As mentioned before, the setup of this book was that somehow, even though he’s married in the beginning, Mary Sutter and James Blevens would end up together. Not only are their characters perfect for each other, but James is definitely attracted to her before he leaves for the war, and continues falling in love with her after they’re separated—he can’t stop thinking about her. But then the character of Dr. William Stipp comes along—a man more than twice Mary’s age (she’s in her early twenties, he’s in his fifties when we meet him) and for some strange reason, he ends up being the love interest.
Once I realized that was how the book would end, I pretty much gave up on even trying to enjoy it.

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My rating matrix:
5 STARS = one of the best I’ve ever read
4 STARS = a great read, highly recommended
3 STARS = it was okay
2 STARS = I didn’t enjoy it all that much, not recommended
1 STAR = DNF (did not finish)

View all my reviews on Goodreads

The Harry Potter Series (Books 1–7)
by J. K. Rowling
My rating: 4.25 stars (series overall)

Series Summary:
Orphan Harry learns he is a wizard on 11th birthday when Hagrid escorts him to magic-teaching Hogwarts School. As a baby, his mother’s love protected him and vanquished villain Voldemort, leaving child famous as “The Boy who Lived”. With friends Hermione and Ron, he has to win over the returned “One Who Must Not Be Named”. Not all his friends survive massive war.

Okay, so this is really more of a timeline/celebration of re-reading these books for the . . . sixth? seventh? . . . time. As of earlier this year, I now own these seven books in four separate formats—hard copy (a combination of paperback and hardcover), Audio CD (also “ripped” onto the computer in digital format so I could listen to it on my old-skool MP3 player), Kindle version, and now digital audio through Audible (so I can listen through the Audible app on my phone). (Yes, I also own the movies on DVD; I haven’t watched them in a long time, though, because the books are so much better.)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
My GR Status Update(s):
01/09 . . .marked as: currently-reading
01/12. . .marked as: read

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
My GR Status Update(s):
01/12. . .marked as: currently-reading
01/18. . .marked as: read

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
My GR Status Update(s):
01/20. . .marked as: currently-reading
01/21. . .“Turn to page 394!”
01/23. . .marked as: read

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
My GR Status Update(s):
01/23. . .marked as: currently-reading
01/25. . .15.0%

01/28. . .26.0% “Bubotubers,” Professor Sprout told them briskly. “They need squeezing. . . .”

02/02. . .33.0% “I’m telling you, that’s not a normal girl!” said Ron . . . “They don’t make them like that at Hogwarts.” | “They make them okay at Hogwarts,” said Harry without thinking.

02/03. . .42.0% “He’s not even good looking!” she muttered angrily, glaring at Krum’s sharp profile. “They only like him because he’s famous! They wouldn’t look twice at him if he couldn’t do that Wonky-Feint thing–” | “Wronski Feint,” said Harry, through gritted teeth.

02/05. . .76.0% “A shallow stone basin lay there, with odd carvings around the edge: runes and symbols that Harry did not recognize. The silvery light was coming from the basin’s contents, which were like nothing Harry had ever seen before. . . . It looked like light made liquid—or like wind made solid—Harry couldn’t make up his mind.”

02/07. . .84.0% “Kill the spare!”

02/08. . .marked as: read

02/08. . .100.0% I understand that Rowling didn’t want to confuse readers by bringing in the thestrals at the end of this book. But it’s odd that the “horseless carriages” are mentioned several times at the end—if she didn’t want to confuse readers, why mention them at all? She could have just not mentioned that method of conveyance and then it wouldn’t be so odd when she introduces the thestrals at the beginning of Book 5.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
My GR Status Update(s):
02/10. . .marked as: currently-reading

02/12. . .18.0% “I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That’s everyone in the family!” | “What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors?” George asked indignantly, as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around her younger son.

02/13. . .22.0% Something you notice the umpteenth time you read a book: At the end of Chapter 10, Harry has Hedwig in her cage, Ron has Pig in his cage, and Hermione has Crookshanks in her arms when they get into the carriages at the Hogwarts train station. Yet when they get out of the carriage to enter the castle, they go straight into the Great Hall for the feast and sorting and no longer have the animals with them.

02/15. . .30.0% Harry’s third detention passed in the same way as the previous two, except that after two hours the words “I must not tell lies” did not fade from the back of Harry’s hand, but remained scratched there, oozing droplets of blood.

02/20. . .49.0% Ever since the first time I read this book, I always skip right past Chapter 20, “Hagrid’s Tale.” Sorry, Hagrid, but I really don’t care about what you did and said during your time with the giants, since it doesn’t do anything to move the story forward, either in this book or in the series.

02/22. . .74.0% “I should have made my meaning plainer,” said Professor McGonagall, turning at last to look Umbridge directly in the eyes. “He has achieved high marks in all Defense Against the Dark Arts tests set by a competent teacher.”

02/22. . .75.0% I will never understand why, sometime during Harry’s first conversation with Sirius from Umbridge’s fire, Sirius didn’t ask Harry why he hadn’t used the much safer method of the magical mirror he gave him at Christmas. Or at least admonished him to use it the next time instead of risking breaking into her office again. But, then, that would have solved the final conflict too easily. So stupid/forgetful Sirius it is.

02/23. . .87.0% The knot in Harry’s stomach tightened. If Sirius really was not here, he had led his friends to their deaths for no reason at all…

02/24. . .marked as: read

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
My GR Review/Status Update(s):
It’s amazing to me how annoying Harry’s obsession with Malfoy is in this book—even when I know that he’s right! There are also several scenes/chapters I skip in this book (including the sectumsempra episode). But I’d give anything for even the scenes I skip to have made it unscathed into the movie instead of the mangled mess they made out of it!

READING PROGRESS
02/26. . .marked as: currently-reading
03/05. . .marked as: read

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
My Review/GR Status Update(s):

07/20/2007: Fun Friday–Harry Potter: My Predictions
07/21/2007: Harry Potter—the Event & Reading It

03/05/2016. . .marked as: currently-reading

03/05. . .10.0% “How do you feel, Georgie?” whispered Mrs. Wesley. | George’s fingers groped for the side of his head. “Saintlike,” he murmured. | “What’s wrong with him?” croaked Fred, looking terrified. “Is his mind affected?” | “Saintlike,” repeated George, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother. “You see . . . I’m holy. HOLEY, Fred, geddit?”

03/05. . .11.0% “Well said, Harry,” said Fred unexpectedly. | “Yeah, ‘ear, ‘ear,” said George, with half a glance at Fred, the corner of whose mouth twitched.

03/08. . .63.0% “Harry… Potter…” And then with a little shudder the elf became quite still, and his eyes were nothing more than great glassy orbs, sprinkled with light from the stars they could not see. <– GETS ME EVERY TIME!!!

03/12. . .91.0% Chapter 34, “The Forest Again.” I cried almost all the way through this chapter, which I haven’t done for the last couple of times that I read it. Listening to the audiobook gives that freedom—and Jim Dale’s performance helps, too. I needed that emotional outburst.

03/12. . .100.0% All was well. Sigh

03/12. . .marked as: read

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My rating matrix:
5 STARS = one of the best I’ve ever read
4 STARS = a great read, highly recommended
3 STARS = it was okay
2 STARS = I didn’t enjoy it all that much, not recommended
1 STAR = DNF (did not finish)

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Dog on It (Chet and Bernie Mystery #1)
by Spencer Quinn
My rating: 4.25 stars

Book Summary:
As sidekicks, Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 have nothing on Chet and Bernie. This charming detective duo make their debut in Dog On It, the first volume in Spencer Quinn’s new mystery series.

Bernie’s enterprise, the Little Detective Agency, limps along, waiting for the next job to arrive. While Chet freely admits that he doesn’t always understand the humans around him, the mutt who failed to graduate from the police academy quickly establishes that he’s got a nose made for sniffing out trouble — as well as the tasty morsel.

But their luck is about to change. During a nighttime stroll through the neighborhood — an older enclave in the southwestern desert that Bernie fears will soon be eclipsed by new development — the pair encounter a panicked neighbor, Cynthia Chambliss. Waving a wad of bills, she beseeches Bernie to find her daughter, Madison, a 15-year-old who has been missing for several hours.

Bernie heeds the call of cash and the urgency of parental concern, leading Bernie and Chet on a trail of clues that leads them into more danger than they’d bargained for.

My GR Status Update(s):
07/25 . . .marked as: currently-reading

07/26 . . .55% “This is one of those books that I actually had to force myself to stop reading last night because it was almost 3 a.m.”

07/31 . . .marked as: read

My Review:
I’ve actually had this book sitting in my Audible library for a few years, and just never got around to listening to it. But now that I’m knocking out the remaining letters in my A to Z reading challenge for this year, I figured there was no time like the present, since this fit in quite nicely with an author last name starting with Q. And since my library had it as an ebook, which I have more time for these days than audiobooks, I read the Kindle version—and enjoyed it so much I’ll definitely be listening to the audiobook sometime soon!

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My rating matrix:
5 STARS = one of the best I’ve ever read
4 STARS = a great read, highly recommended
3 STARS = it was okay
2 STARS = I didn’t enjoy it all that much, not recommended
1 STAR = DNF (did not finish)

View all my reviews on Goodreads