My take on: Not Her Daughter

Not Her Daughter by Rea Frey is a gripping and emotional story that explores what makes a family and what it truly means to be a parent.

Sarah Walker is still reeling from a breakup with her longtime boyfriend, Ethan, but gets through everyday by drowning herself in work. She still can't figure out why after years of dating, that she wasn't the one for Ethan. Why didn't he love her enough? Why didn't he propose? It's a bit of an obsession for Sarah. As a child, Sarah had a mother who didn't seem to love her or her father, and who eventually abandoned the family. It's something Sarah has never gotten over.

A chance encounter with a stressed out family, and their five-year-old daughter, offers Sarah an opportunity at redemption.

Emma Townsend is lonely and afraid. She's afraid of her mother, Amy. Nothing Emma does is ever right. Anything can set off her mother. If Emma doesn't move fast enough, Amy will yell at her. If Emma doesn't respond fast enough, Amy will yell at her. Her father is no help. Can anyone help?

Sarah thinks it's her duty to help Emma. After spotting the little girl at an airport with her family, Sarah is convinced that Emma is an abused child. A few minutes standing in an airport security line, and Sarah is convinced that it's her responsibility to rescue Emma. But what can Sarah do? She's not family. She has no authority to intervene. And more importantly she has no proof there's anything wrong with the Townsend family. There's nothing Sarah can do at the airport, as they both go their separate ways. But when their paths cross again, Sarah makes it her mission to find out what is wrong with Emma and her family. An opportunity to rescue Emma presents itself, and Sarah has a tough decision to make. Let Emma stay with her family or take her away from her family. She chooses to take Emma. She chooses to kidnap Emma. She chooses to commit a crime rather than take Emma to the police or child protective services.

The book alternates between Sarah and Amy's perspectives. I found myself sympathizing with both women. If I could help someone I believe to be in danger, yes I would help in anyway I could. Anyway I legally could. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this book. But if this were real life, I would be screaming at Sarah for being SO STUPID!! I don't understand people who thinks it's their job to butt into someone else's life without knowing all of the facts. Because I think Sarah didn't have all of the facts. Without even reading Amy's perspective, I immediately thought yes she's a bad parent, a borderline abusive parent. But kidnapping a child is not the answer. Amy seemed like a woman who let the responsibilities of parenthood overwhelm her. She never wanted to be a parent, but she also never took time for herself once she became one. She took out her frustration on her children, especially Emma.

This book definitely has a compulsive quality to it. Last week, I was about 150 pages in and at the end of each chapter I kept saying to myself just one more chapter, just one more chapter. Well I kept doing that until I finished the book. Sarah's on the run with Emma, and I wanted to see how many close calls could she get out of. On one hand I don't want her to caught, but on the other I do for committing such a stupid crime. The ending was both satisfying and frustrating. Read the book to know what I'm talking about! Trust me this is a book and an author to put on your radar!

Rating: Superb

Note: I received a copy of the book from the publisher (Macmillan) in exchange for an honest review. 

My experience reading Stephen King's It

Thirteen months. It took me thirteen months to finish a book. Yes, I have finished other books in that timespan, but it took me more than a year to finish Stephen King's It. As I'm sure many of you know, this book is nearly 1,200 pages. I have never in my life read a single book that long.

I had illusions that I would read the book in time for the 2017 movie adaptation. I grew up on the 1990 TV movie. Tim Curry will always be Pennywise in my heart. But I digress. I started this book in early July of 2017, needless to say I was barely 100 pages in by the time the film came out in September.

But I was determined to finish. This was my third attempt at reading It. Both times I don't think I got beyond more than 80 pages. I didn't want to quit this time. This book went with me on not one but two vacations, to Virginia and Maui, and several commutes to work. Prior to It, the only Stephen King books I read to date were Carrie and Misery. You know back when King wrote normal size books. I never went beyond those two because the rest of his books seem to be equal in weight to a small child.

Just a few days ago, I finally finished. As much as I admire King's ability to craft a story and chastise the current White House resident on Twitter, this book left me a little verklempt!

King's imagination is awesome, but he seems to not know when enough is enough.

This book is more than 30 years old, so I'm not going to rehash every minute detail. Ninety percent of the book was clicking on all cylinders for me. The strong friendship of the Loser's Club, Bill, Eddie, Stan, Ben, Richie, Mike, and Beverly shines throughout. One minute they can be cracking jokes on each other and ready to fight bully Henry Bowers to the death in the next. But......the last ten percent of the book is another matter. The cosmic turtle, the spider, and the COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY child sex scene kept this from being a four-star read for me. It's like King had a fully-thought out idea/plot for 1,092 pages. Then came page 1,093, when Beverly sets an incredibly INSANE plan in motion. I don't care what anyone says, not even Stephen King himself, I will NEVER be convinced that the "child ritual" was essential to the plot. I can forgive the confusing passages about the cosmic turtle and the spider, but children having sex was a bridge too far. There were also moments of racism and homophobia that I could have done without.

I knew and understood what I was reading for ninety percent of the book, but the rest just left me corn-fused!

This thirteen month experience has not turned me off reading more books by King. I need some time to recover but eventually I want to tackle The Stand, The Outsider, Under the Dome (the last season of the TV adaptation SUCKED, which I'm still mad about), Sleeping Beauties, and Duma Key. At the rate I read It, I might not be finished with this list for at least five years. Oh I hope not!

Rating: Give it a try

My take on: Under a Dark Sky

Lori Rader-Day, author of Under a Dark Sky, introduced me to something I didn't know existed -- dark sky parks.

The best way I know how to describe a dark sky park? A place that eschews artificial light sources and embraces the natural beauty that the forest and the wide open sky have to offer. Sounds beautiful....as long as you're not afraid of the dark! Not a typical vacation spot, but one such park is at the heart of my latest read, Under a Dark Sky.

I said yes to a blog tour simple because I wanted to know what a dark sky park was and how it relates to the story. In this book it's the sight of a murder.

Eden Wallace is still reeling from the death of her husband Bix. She's cried all she can cry. Gone through bouts of anger and frustration. And after nine months has worn out the patience of her family and friends. She's still grieving and worst of all she's not sleeping. While most people sleep in the night, Eden is wide awake. Afraid of the dark, Eden spends her nights with every single light on. Once sunlight creeps through the curtains, Eden feels it's safe enough to shut her eyes. This fear of the dark often consumes Eden, she can't even step outside once it gets dark. But even Eden realizes it's time to face her fear. When the opportunity presents itself, Eden takes a leap of faith but she gets more than she bargained for.

Eden discovers Bix had a reservation for them at dark sky park. A few days exploring nature's beauty -- in the dark. What was supposed to a be surprise for their 10th wedding anniversary could prove to be Eden's salvation. But she should have read the fine print a little more clearly. Thinking she has an entire house to herself, Eden is stunned to find a young couple, Paris and Dev, already there. Paris and Dev are none too pleased to see Eden either, as they were anticipating sharing the house with their old college buddies. Yes, it's a house share and no one realized it until it was too late. Rather than risk getting stuck in traffic -- in the dark -- Eden reluctantly decides to stay just for the night and then head home. She'll stick to her room and let the youngins' enjoy themselves. Of course that's not how it goes!

As more people start to arrive, Eden gets a first-hand look at the so-called "tight" relationships her new housemates share. Sam is flaky and between jobs. Martha enjoys a playful but platonic closeness to Sam. Dev is friendly despite his fiancee Paris' surly demeanor. Hillary is bubbly and friendly, but she's clearly the newbie of the group because no one likes her. She only gets to partake of the reunion because she's Malloy's girlfriend. Malloy. He's clearly the leader of the group. Everyone gravitates to him. The men want to be him and the women want to be with him. Even Eden is drawn to his magnetic personality. In this house, Eden and Hillary are clearly not welcome. If Eden can make it through the night, she leave this frat house in the morning. What should have been a chance for Eden to relax is quickly shattered when Malloy is murdered. Once the murder happens, these "friends" turn on each other quickly.

This had the right elements for what I'm looking for in a thriller: a mysterious/unfamiliar setting, an unreliable narrator, and several potential suspects. I mean I'm a bit floored that someone would actually want to vacation in darkness. To each his own. But...the P A C I N G!! The pacing was just too slow for me. For me, the ending of chapter of a thriller should leave you thirsting for the next one.   I never got that feeling with this book. Some of the characters just seemed like children who never grew up, and that's not something I can relate to. Malloy seemed like more than a man, he's practically a religion to these people. They revered him above all else. They went to him with every problem, triumph, and heartbreak. It seemed a little weird to me. Overall, the book is not all bad, but it just wasn't for me.


Rating: Give it a try

Note: I received a copy of the book from the publisher (HarperCollins) as part of a blog tour with TLC Book Tours.