Review: Kiss of Salt

Kiss of Salt by Smita Bhattacharya
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a twisty-twervy thriller. Although this book started off slow, it certainly ended with a bang.

After Darya Nandkarni's uncle passes she heads to Heliconia Lane in South Goa to take care of things for her family. Darya has just gotten out of a bad relationship and has quit her job to do this and is keeping those facts a secret from her family. Heliconia Lane consists of three houses and being at her uncle's house is stirring up memories of her childhood. The book is primarily about her Aunt Farideh who had gone missing more than 20 years ago and how her Uncle Paritosh, whose house she is cleaning out, had continued searching for her through all of his years, but is also about the residents of the houses on Heliconia Lane. The longer Darya stays, the more information comes to light, and strange things begin to happen.

There were just a handful of characters and I loved being able to connect with them. Although it started off rather slow (2nd book this year to help me with the meaning of "slow burn"), the more you read, the quicker the pace, leading you to a page turning end! The way the author explained the area, it almost felt like I was there. The only downfall was that I'm not so familiar with the country and/or culture, therefor I struggled with some of the terminology and words used. But overall, fantastic mystery thriller that I was glad to have read.

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Review: All the Way to Wrightsville

All the Way to Wrightsville by Richard LeMay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow! Such a heartfelt book about finding one's self and all the bumps and struggles along the way.

Pete has grown up feeling like he was a shadow of his twin brother and always felt, well, different. His family was also very vocal on their views of certain things and situations. So when the time came to accept a job in another state, Pete jumped at the chance to be away from them all and start a new life. However, things aren't always that easy, are they? Pete not only finds that some of those problems that he has had over the years and was running from were not his brother but ones that he holds onto himself, but he also gets involved with his boss as his first "out" experience. But since it is his boss who is very much married with kids, it is still a very big secret. That is until his brother visits and Pete's whole world changes!

This is a very powerful and frustrating book. The whole time I was screaming at Pete to make better choices, accept and love himself, and be honest with those around him. And you know what, that is exactly the point the author is trying to make - you need to find yourself, love yourself, love who you are and are evolving into, and those that love you will stand by you and support you no matter what! At times I thought the story was rather slow, repetitive, and just kind of glossed over some subjects, yet at times it seemed like it was trying to touch on all of today's issues. But overall it represented really well how some people struggle within themselves, acceptance, and doing things in your own time not when others want you to. Oh, and it totally made me cry!

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Review: All the Way to Wrightsville

All the Way to Wrightsville by Richard LeMay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them

Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them by Siân Evans
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I had been really excited to be asked to read Maiden Voyages by Sian Evans because it was presented as a book about women in history and what they did to pave the way for today’s women via cruise ships, both as workers and passengers.

I jumped in with both feet and was quickly lulled to sleep (where’s the lifeboat?) It is very little about these women and very much about the ships. The author definitely knows what she is talking about and absolutely did her research, so much so that I feel like I know every tiny little detail about the ships mentioned in the book, however, not so much about the womens’ roll in it all. So basically, this is a book about just the ships, which some people may thoroughly enjoy. Unfortunately, I did not.

I received this book directly from the publisher through NetGalley as an ARC.

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Review: The Last Flight

The Last Flight by Julie Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Fated

The Fated by Slate R. Raven
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: 337

337 by M. Jonathan Lee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that I scratched my head and thought , well, that was an odd one. But then when my sister in law asked me to tell her what the book was about it seemed quite interesting when I was explaining it to her.

When Samuel was a teenager his mother left a note with her wedding rings and disappeared, which he and his brother found. The cops did a thorough investigation, but did they come to the correct conclusion? Flash forward 20 years and Samuel’s grandmother is dying, whom he hasn’t spoken to in all of those 20 years, and he goes to be with her and see if he can get answers about his mother’s disappearance.

The story is told without a lot of dialog and through Samuel’s point of view. He lives alone in his parents old house, divorced, works a strange job, and he spends most of his time trying to figure out what happened to his mother by scouring old reports and a box items looking for new clues. He reflects a lot on the past as the story unfolds bit by bit leading up to when she left and what happened afterwards to him and each family member, including his father. Unfortunately, the characters don’t get developed much beyond that. I get frustrated with Samuel for not trying with his grandmother more and being, seemingly, lazy in many aspects of his life.

I don’t quite get the name of the book or where it came from. I’ve read a few different things - name upside down, page count, but I don’t know.

Overall it was an interesting book, it reads well, and is quick and easy, but the story kind of drags and is flat. The ending may seem predictable at one point or another in the book but regardless it will still leave you with you picking your jaw up up off the floor!

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