It Ends with Us (Colleen Hoover)

Why I have this book: It's been recommended a ton online, and then my daughter-in-law recommended it, as well, so I bought both it and the sequel on Kindle. (The ebook library wait time was very, very long.)

I gave this book three stars on Goodreads. I did like it a lot as far as the characters and writing goes. I could have done without all the F-words and at least one weird sex scene. As popular (bestseller) as this book is, I'm surprised that there were editing mistakes. (This is why I should be paid to read books before they are published. Seriously, I missed my calling in life.)

Financially, everyone seemed to have the Midas touch. They were all super successful without the readers seeing any of the work or failures. Businesses took off easily. Dreams came true. Even though the topic was on the heavier side, the book read more like a "beach read" because everyone just seemed to have these smooth, successful, perfect financial lives happening in the background. That part wasn't realistic to me.

Otherwise, the story is compelling (about domestic abuse and how complicated it can be), and it's one of the first non-audio books I've read in a while that had me choosing the book over doing other things. With audiobooks, you don't have to make a choice; you can just do your work and read (listen) at the same time. With print or Kindle editions, you have to choose, you know? I chose to read the last two days. I even chose to read instead of sleep last night, and stayed up until 1:30 hoping to finish the book to see what would happen. (I couldn't quite make it, so I finished the last little bit today.)

In the author's notes, she said the characters and their relationship were based on her parents, and she honestly tells the story of abuse in her family of origin. 

I'm looking forward to starting the sequel right away. 

The F-word is used liberally along with other swear words. There are a handful of sex scenes, and most are not overly graphic. There is one that is more graphic than the others. Domestic violence and attempted rape are part of the story. There is a description of a gunshot wound that is somewhat disturbing.

RE: Trailer Trash (FortySixtyFour)

Why I have this book: My brother was talking about it and seemed to like it, so I bought it on Kindle. It was like $4.99, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Sooooooo... I gave this book two stars on Goodreads. It took me a long time to get through it because I kept having library books come up for me, and I didn't actually miss it when I wasn't reading it. It was pretty interesting, but I kept thinking we'd get to the "climax" of the story, and I'm not sure we ever did. The book is 600+ pages, and ends very abruptly with absolutely no resolution. It's like the end of a chapter, not the end of a book. The author, I understand, continues the story in installments on some kind of indie app. I haven't looked into it.

If the author publishes a sequel (or continuation, as the case is), I'd probably buy it to figure out what eventually happens. The premise of the story (time travel/do over) is compelling, so I wouldn't mind knowing how things play out. I do think the entire story could have been told in one 600 (or less) page book, though.

Also, I have no idea about the author's pen name. My brother said it's a male author (he's seen some of his other work on that app), but I don't know why he doesn't use his real name or a pen name that actually sounds like a real name or... ? I even googled it to see if there was any info about it, but I didn't find anything.

There's a ton of profanity (including the F-word). I don't recall anything sexual happening. There's sort of a nastiness in attitudes and in the way some characters treat others. Just scuzzy personalities, really. (There's also kindness and acceptance by others in some of those situations.)

Westering Women (Sandra Dallas)

Why I have this book: I bought the Kindle edition with a gift card from Christmas. I'm not sure why I picked it... I have liked other books by this author, but I don't know if someone recommended it or what. I also borrowed the audio version from the ebook library.

I only gave this one two stars on Goodreads. Ugh. So much awful stuff that was completely unneeded for the point of the story. Child rape (incest), gang rape, so many abusive husbands/partners. The author even said in her "Acknowledgements" that nearly all the men in the story are bad guys. Her response was, "So?"

The character development wasn't great, the sorrow at loss was shallow, the writing wasn't very engaging. It's one of the author's more recent books, but it felt like a debut novel because it lacked depth. Pretty disappointing. 

Just looking back on my Goodreads list, I can see I gave other books of hers mixed reviews... two stars up to four stars over the eight books I've read since I started keeping track. I guess I didn't like all her books as much as I was thinking I did.

There was probably some swearing in this book, but of the more mild variety. As I mentioned, abuse, rape, child rape, gang rape... none of it is descriptive, but it's a lot and paints a negative picture of how the majority of men behave. There are some deaths due to the dangers of pioneer travel.

The Star That Always Stays (Anna Rose Johnson)

Why I have this book: A friend recommended it, so I bought the Kindle version for super cheap, and I also managed to borrow the audio version.

I gave this book three stars on Goodreads. I really enjoyed it quite a bit, but toward the end, it became religious fiction. The change didn't seem to fit the story, and the sudden interest and faith some of the characters developed didn't seem realistic. It felt kind of surface and almost like an afterthought. I don't mind religious fiction. It just didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the story.

Other than that, the story was sweet and uplifting, and I liked the reference to the books/heroines the protagonist kept turning toward for examples of how she wanted to live.

Clean.

The Warsaw Orphan (Kelly Rimmer)

Why I have this book: I borrowed the audio version from the ebook library after a friend recommended it. I also have read other books by the author which I've enjoyed.

I gave this one four stars on Goodreads. It's definitely a hard topic in that it deals with the Holocaust and the treatment of Jews in Poland during WWII. I've read lots of books about WWII, and I always appreciate when I am able to learn more about what happened that I hadn't known before. I did know that there were those who smuggled Jewish babies and children out of the Jewish communities, but I didn't know about the Jewish uprising or about how the Nazis took Jewish children from their families and from orphanages  to ship them away (presumably to kill them). It's absolutely horrific. There really are no words.

The audio book itself was fine. The female narrator did a better job than the male narrator, in my opinion. I was confused why some characters had accents and others didn't considering they all lived in Poland.

Clean as far as swearing (I don't recall any) and sexual situations. There is one rape that occurs, but it's not graphically described. There is wartime violence in this story, and even though it's not super graphic, just the knowledge of what was happening is disturbing if one has any kind of humanity.

Eleanor and Park (Rainbow Rowell)

Why I have this book: My friend recommended it, so I borrowed the audio version from the ebook library.

Okay.... hmmm. I gave this book three stars on Goodreads. I waffled between three and four stars, and I wish I could have gone with 3.5'ish.

Why it could be closer to three stars than four:

Too much profanity, particularly the F-word.

Some really disgusting written words/phrases left on Eleanor's text books, and the disturbing conclusion about that.

I don't think many (if any) teenagers speak the way the protagonists do.

Who stole her clothes??? 

The love story seemed unlikely, and their behavior on the bus seemed unrealistic considering there was no response from the other kids on the bus given their tendency to be bullies.

Why it could be closer to four stars than three:

The friendship/relationship between Eleanor and Park is sweet.

The story kept me pretty engrossed. It became more intense as it went on.

Also, that is the author's real name.

One tricky thing was that I read another book (With a Shadow of Doubt - reviewed just previously) while also listening to this one. It got a little confusing when I came back to Eleanor and Park because the main male character in the other book is half-Asian like Park is, and I had to sort through my brain to remember what came from the other book and what was part of this one. That's the problem with having more than one book going at a time!

Lots of profanity, some implied/mildly descriptive teenage sexual activity (although not "all the way"), some creepy comments/innuendo, domestic abuse.

With a Shadow of Doubt (Jess Alexander)

Why I have this book: I bought the Kindle version after seeing the author talk about it in a FB group I'm in.

I think this book did a great job representing how some LDS men act, how LDS culture can be, how entrenched members of the LDS Church are in their religion, and how that entrenchment influences behavior and emotions.

But this book desperately needs an editor. Some things are flat out errors (Tad Callister isn't a member of the Twelve Apostles, for example, and saying the name "Kimble" is a big name in Mormonism when it's "Kimball" the authors seem to be referencing). There are multiple grammar and punctuation errors, as well.

The descriptive sex scenes seemed out of place and I honestly think the book would have been better leaving it to the readers' imaginations. I'm also a bit confused how young marriage was frowned upon, but a relationship that started just as young between the main romantic characters is okay when the assumption is that eventually they will get married. And let's face it... the male romantic interest is probably a little too perfect.

I also didn't like how the main character went from Molly Mormon to doing things like drinking (underage) and swearing like a sailor. I do think that some of those who leave orthodox religions take that path (along with other behaviors) as part of their deconstruction. I also think it's not necessary, but I recognize that some fault has to fall at the feet of the religions that create so much shame and control. For some, there's a time of "rebelliousness" in trying to reclaim their sense of self. Others might do things that "normal" people do that isn't seen as rebellious except within the religious community. It's complicated!

Overall, I really did like this story. It was a good representation of the struggle of a faith crisis/transition.

This book did have a couple pretty graphic sex scenes, premarital sex, swearing, etc. I think the message would have been much better without all of that, and probably would be better received by those who are still in the LDS Church.