Four Reads I Wouldn't Recommend

                      


Unfortunately, for me, my 2014 reading started out with several books that didn't thrill me. Sometimes you go through a slump when choosing books and these four represent mine at the beginning of the year. What was the reasoning behind each choice? Allegiant I read as a third installment of the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. Her Kind and The Madman's Daughter were quick kindle reads I went to when The Rules of Engagement became too boring. I am not one to tell someone to definitely not read a book, because everyone is different and enjoys different reads, but these four books are nowhere near my favorites.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

I had mistakenly come across some chatter that the third book in this series had a disappointing ending. The words heartbreaking, unfair, tragic were used. I managed to miss the cause for the upset readers so as not to spoil the ending. I won't spoil it for you either. This series what a bit of a different feel for me. Usually my favorite book of a series is the second or third book in. For example my favorite book from The Hunger Games series is Catching Fire. My favorite book from A Song of Ice and Fire is Clash of Kings. I think this is because the important characters and places and storyline have been introduced and you get to really enjoy the dialogue, drama, action, etc. The set up is over and it's time for the show. When it comes to the Divergent trilogy it turns out that the first book, Divergent, is my favorite. Divergent hooked me right away. The world and characters Roth created were so interesting. I sped through the book hungrily to see what would happen next. Insurgent was an enjoyable read but had started to lose some of the shine that the first book had. By the time I read Allegiant I felt my excitement for the series had stalled. Roth's choice to alternate point of views between Tris and Tobias was also frustrating. After reading exclusively from Tris for two books it was a bit confusing. The most troubling part of this was that the two narrators had identical voices. I regularly had to look at the beginning of the chapter to remind myself which character was telling the story. Their voices were so similar and difficult to distinguish from once you were in the middle of the chapter. I read numerous books with alternating narrators and never had that problem before. Allegiant had other issues. I think the scope became too large and she was trying to tell too much. It felt stretched and strained. It was a relief and a disappointment when I finished this book.

Her Kind by Robin Throne
This book was recommended to me by goodreads.com. I picked it up on the kindle store for $3. I was intrigued by the description of a 90 year old woman compiling a journal reflecting on her family's history. The book was put together with reflections and newspaper clippings. Nothing was really explained and I found myself rereading sections trying to figure out which generation was being described. I was lost most of this book and didn't enjoy the writing style. I'm struggling to remember details because it didn't leave that much of an impression on me.

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
I wanted to like this book, oh how I wanted to like this book. This book was inspired by H.G. Wells' book The Island of Dr. Moreau. I looked for this book at my local bookstore for a few months before buying it on my kindle. I was thinking it would be the next series I could really get into. Juliet Moreau is an interesting character and narrator and the premise of the book is interesting. There are several mysteries, what is her father doing on this island, how much is her love interest involved, what's the deal with the new guy? Once the love triangle is introduced and a few other, for lack of a better word, silly things happen it lost me. When you top the ending off with an out of character and disappointing choice you lose me as a reader. I read some reviews of the second book in the series to see if it improved and gleaned from the reviewers that the second installment was worse. So I won't be wasting my time on delving into more of that story.

The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner
I found this book at my local used book store. The description promised a tale of friendship, jealousy, and love. It didn't deliver on any. The narrator seemed to glide through her life in apathy. She didn't seem to have much love or care for her husband, friend, or the man she was sleeping with. I didn't particularly like or feel for any of the characters. I became frustrated with the narrator for her choices and actions. It didn't interest me or hook me but I kept reading hoping it would. With this book, I gave myself a goal of a certain number of pages per day so I could finish on time. After I finished the pages I would pick up another book to read. It didn't interest me and I think it will be a long time if I ever read another book by Brookner again.

Slump
Those are the books that were the slump that began my 2014 reading. But they would all quickly be forgotten as I started on my journey to middle earth.

Review of The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

My dog Sansa enjoying a relaxing read.

The first book I read in 2014 was The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. This book was recommended to me by gooodreads.com and I received it as a Christmas present. For the first half of this book I could not put it down. I was reading it every chance I had. But, I enjoyed it less and less as I got towards the end.

What I Liked
The background of this book is fascinating. Grissom and her husband bought and restored a plantation tavern in Virginia. This ended up being the inspiration for the book. She takes details found from local history as well as items plucked from her imagination while spending time on her property. I really like this premise and inspiration and the first half of the book is done so well. There are great characters and details and you just want to keep reading. The main character, Lavinia, was orphaned on her passage over from Ireland and ends up at a tobacco plantation in Virginia. She lives in the kitchen house and is cared for by Belle, the master's illegitimate black daughter. There are intriguing secrets and and twists that keep you wanting more.

What I Didn't Like
Lavinia is painted as an innocent girl. Because of this certain people in her life keep important information from her. This is a well-known theme for novels. Hide the truth to protect someone, someone finds out part of the truth and makes assumptions that are worse than the original truth. As a result of her innocence or ignorance she makes a series of bad decisions. She continues to make bad decision after bad decision. It becomes grating and frustrating. You want her to grow up and take responsibility. But she ambles through the second half of the novel right into the tragedy that's teased at the beginning. All of the unhappy events that happened throughout the book had wrung my heart and worn me down so much I had trouble caring about the tragedy at all. Done differently, I think the story could have built up better to the main event and it would have been a much more entertaining and engaging read.

Recommend? 
I gave this book 3 stars. As disappointing as the second half was, I live for books that have me hooked like the beginning of this book did. It's a thrill and one of the reasons I love to read. I wouldn't recommend to rush out and read this book, but if you happen upon it at a good price, give it a read!