Book Review: I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits & Giveaway

I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits is quite the book. To be honest I’m almost at a loss as to what to say about as I was quite overwhelmed by the story. I Am Forbidden takes you deep into the life of a family living in a Hasidic community. I have read novels about Jewish families before but as I’ve learned there are different sects within most religions and the Hasidic Jews seem to be very strict in their beliefs, traditions, customs, and most importantly rules. I found it fascinating to read of lives so very different than mine.

The novel begins around 1947 and the last entry is 2012 and spans the lives of Mila, Josef, and Atara. There are many other characters but I felt that these three were really who the story was built around. In the beginning Josef, a young boy, who having lost his own parents to violence witnesses the same happen to Mila. He grabs her and keeps her safe and helps her to get to the Stern family where her father had told her to go. The Sterns willingly take her in and love her like one of their own. Later Josef is also taken in by the Stern family and eventually is sent away to study with the rabbi in New York.

Atara and Mila are very close in age and bond from the beginning when Mila refuses to talk to anyone but Atara. They feel they are not only best friends, but sisters for life. There is only one problem and that is that Atara is rebelling against the strict life and rules that her family lives by. When the girls are sent to a seminary to study before marriage Atara discovers more and more information that leads her to believe that the life her family wants for her isn’t the one she wants to live. She wants to go on to university and maybe into medicine. Mila, on the other hand, has no aspirations other than to marry and have children and bring them up in the same Jewish faith that she has lived in.

When Josef eventually asks to marry Mila she is overjoyed. The two have shared a special bond since they were young and he saved her from being killed. They marry and all is well but over time things start to fall apart and ultimately Mila makes a decision that sets in motion a horrible chain of events that will affect their lives and their children’s lives in the future. With Mila’s marriage, Atara’s mother focuses on getting Atara married but this just isn’t anything she wants for herself so she flees. Is it ultimately the right choice for her? Is it worth giving up your family completely, as well as the one person who was your best friend and sister?

This novel really is more deep than I can possibly put in words. There are some parts that the average reader might find harder to get through but the bulk of the novel is mesmerizing. I think for those, like me, who love to read about other cultures or religious communities; they will really like this novel. For me I was most interested in learning the way that this particular community lived. I Am Forbidden is the perfect title for this novel as so much is forbidden in the lives of the people living within this religious sect. Women especially seem to really not be treated as much other than baby makers and home makers. Now that’s not to say that all families are the same but this one seemed to be. I know without a doubt I could not live in a strict life with all the rules that they had to abide by.

This isn’t a novel that you can expect to be an easy read because it isn’t. It requires your full attention as it is quite involved. I Am Forbidden will take the reader into another life where you will see what it’s like to belong to a certain religion. It encompasses the importance of family, love, tragedy, and the dangers of secrets and lies and simply taking things to far out of desperation to make things right, not realizing that more than anything they are being torn apart instead. A novel well worth reading!

I read I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits for her book tour with TLC Book Tours so be sure to check out all the other tour stops to see what they are saying about the book.  You can find Anouk Markovits on her website and you can purchase your own copy of I Am Forbidden here in the US or here in Canada.

 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

I have one copy of I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits to share with my readers.  To enter…

• For 1 entry leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
• For 2 entries, follow my blog.  If you already do, thank you, and please let me know so I can pass the extra entry on to you as well.
• For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway and spread the word.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on Saturday, June 2/12.  Good luck!

Source:  Review copy provided by TLC Book Tours and Hogarth.  No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Book Review: More Like Her by Liza Palmer

More Like Her by Liza Palmer strikes the reader as chick-lit if you go by the cover of the book but it is far from that. It is a very emotional and deep book that I really enjoyed. More Like Her wakes us up to the reality that what appears to be the perfect life for someone may actually be a nightmare in waiting. It makes us want to question if we ever really know someone or is it more likely they are hiding deep and dark secrets. It also brings home the fact that ultimately we should just be our true selves and nobody who really loves us should expect different.

More Like Her portrays the lives of three women who are teachers at the same school and also best friends. Frannie is dealing with a bad breakup and worse she still has to work with the guy as he also teaches at her school. Frannie was my favorite character I think because she was so raw and vulnerable. She doesn’t have a lot of self-confidence and she feels that there must be something wrong with her that she can’t seem to keep a man. Frannie is also in the habit of changing who she is to please her partner and thinking that anything that goes wrong must be her fault. That unfortunately has not worked for her so maybe it’s time to make a change and be just who she is and nothing more. When Sam comes into her life she finally makes the decision to take a stand and be herself. Will it win her the guy or not?

Another of the girlfriends is Jill and I really liked her as well. Jill is funny and sarcastic, bordering on crude at times, and is always trying to play matchmaker for Frannie with very mixed results. She and Frannie make interesting friends as Frannie is the type who likes to talk about everything till it’s worn out and Jill doesn’t. Then there is Lisa, the latest to their group. She’s a pretty straight forward type of girl and I didn’t really feel as close to her as the other women. The three of them together however make quite the group!

Into this world comes the new Head of School, Emma. She’s everything Frannie has ever wanted to be. She’s beautiful, accomplished, and has the beautiful house and prestige that Frannie has always craved. But it is with the arrival of Emma and her more than strange husband that things begin to fall apart. It is at Emma’s birthday party that things totally explode and a 911 call about a shooting will totally and irrevocably change all of these women’s lives.

I think More Like Her would make a fantastic book club pick. The author addresses some pretty big issues like domestic abuse. It really goes to show that you don’t always know what is happening behind closed doors in someone else’s home. Perfection isn’t always what it seems. It also touches on relationships and how we look at ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally. I found More Like Her to be a book that I had trouble putting down and finished in a day. It grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go until the last page. Well worth reading and highly recommended!

I read More Like Her by Liza Palmer for her book tour with TLC Book Tours. Be sure and check out what others think about the book at all the other tour stops. You can also visit Liza on her website and find her on Facebook and Twitter as well. You can pick up your own copy of More Like Her here in the US and here in Canada.

Book Review: The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel

The Lola Quartet is Emily St. John Mandel’s latest novel and an excellent one at that! I was impressed years ago when I read her first novel Last Night in Montreal (my review) but I have to say I was blown away by this one. Her storytelling ability has only gotten more enthralling!

The book’s main focus is really Gavin, a journalist in New York, although there are a host of other characters that connect into the story. Gavin is a broken man as are all of the characters in this novel. Gavin’s girlfriend left him months ago, his job isn’t going all that well, and his shower has a leak that is threatening to flood his bathroom yet he just doesn’t have the motivation to do much about it.

When Gavin’s sister Eilo shows him a picture of a little girl she took in a house that was being foreclosed, they are both stunned by how much she resembles his sister. More stunning is that Gavin believes this little girl Chloe to be his. When Gavin loses his job after some very bad decisions, he moves back to his home town in Florida to live and work with his sister. His main focus though and this is something he even hides from his sister, is to find his old girlfriend Anna and her little girl Chloe.

The journey to locating Anna and Chloe leads Gavin to discover some disturbing things. What he learns terrifies him. Anna had gotten herself into trouble with some awful people – people who don’t hesitate to shoot first and ask questions later. As the mystery unfolds Gavin is forced to make some life changing decisions as well as really take a look at himself and decide what to do about his own future.

I can’t say I really connected with the characters but I didn’t have to. This novel is more about feeling for the characters, understanding the turmoil they are involved in, and wondering how it will all end. The Lola Quartet would be an excellent book club choice as there are so many things to talk about regarding friendships, feelings of guilt, and love. More importantly this book makes you sit back and ask yourself the question of just what would you do for someone you love? Would you pull out all the stops including putting yourself in jeopardy?

I find Emily’s writing beautiful but her books are the kind that you have to concentrate on (not in a bad way) to fully absorb her characters and plot. In The Lola Quartet there are quite a few characters to keep track off and the story does jump around quite a bit. Once you’re in the groove of things though you will totally lose yourself in the story she is telling and the pages will fly by as Emily builds the mystery of her novel culminating in a very satisfying ending. I would absolutely recommend The Lola Quartet!

You can pick up your own copy of The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel which was released by Unbridled Books on May 8 at Amazon.com, IndieBound, and B&N and releasing in Canada on May 28 by McArthur & Company at Amazon.ca or Chapters Indigo.  Be sure to pop in and visit Emily St. John Mandel’s website and you can find her on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Source:  Review copy provided by Unbridled Books via McArthur & Co.  No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Book Review: The Sumerton Women by D.L. Bogdan & Giveaway (Open Int’l)

The Sumerton Women by D.L. Bogdan takes place during the reign of Henry VIII. The Tudor period is still by far my favorite time period to read about and this novel is exactly what I love about historical fiction! It was a fast and easy read for me and one I really enjoyed. D.L. Bogdan is a new author to me and I will certainly be looking into reading more of her work.

The beginning of the novel finds young Lady Cecily Burkhart hiding in her closet refusing to come out after the death of her parents to the sweating sickness. It is the young priest Father Alec who finally lures her out and explains to her that she will now be the ward of the Harold Pierce, the Earl of Sumerton. While Hal takes on Cecily as his ward because of bigger plans to marry her to his son Brey, he comes to truly care for her. His daughter Mirabella who from a young age wants to be a nun has mixed feelings towards Cecily from the beginning and Grace, his wife, is simply a troubled woman who turns to the drink to help her through her days.

Cecily is a happy girl who always tries to look on the bright side of things despite the harsh blows that life has dealt her already. She is happy in the Pierce household and when she learns she is to be betrothed to Brey, they are both happy about it. It seems though that happiness is not for Cecily to have and Brey passes at a young age. At this the Pierce household falls apart and Grace disappears and is thought to be dead and Mirabella finally enters the convent. Cecily is young and scared of what her future holds – will she end up the ward of someone else; someone not as kind as Hal. However Hal has his own plans and asks Cecily if she would consider marrying him and she accepts. Hal and his family are all she’s ever known and she trusts him.

Hal is a good man and treats Cecily well. They have children and all is well for a long time but there are still dark shadows lingering all around them. There is also the bond between Cecily and Father Alec that time and time again rears its head. From the first time they met they shared a special bond and it continues until it reaches a point where Father Alec’s vows as a priest are threatened. Father Alec is also the biggest problem that rests between Mirabella and Cecily. Despite her inclinations to serve God Mirabella is a very jealous woman and her actions throughout her life threaten to tear down several people and their lives.

I really enjoyed this take on the Tudor era. Cecily is a great character and one that you grow to love. She hasn’t had an easy life but she still carries on and makes the best of what she does have. I liked Father Alec as well and felt for him as he struggles with his love of God and his love for Cecily. Mirabella is one of those characters that you love to hate and yet I felt sorry for her. The author really draws you into the lives of these characters and you feel every triumph, sorrow and defeat they experience. Another thing I appreciated about this book is that Henry VIII is not the main character of the story. It was interesting to read about the coronation of Anne Boleyn through the eyes of Cecily and how the strife in the realm of King Henry affected all of its people. This is a well written historical novel that is sure to please!

I read The Sumerton Women by D.L. Bogdan for her book tour with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. Be sure to pop by and visit all the other tour stops. You can find D.L. Bogdan on her website as well as Facebook and Twitter. Your own copy of The Sumerton Women can be purchased here in the US and here in Canada.

 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

I have one copy of The Sumerton Women by D.L. Bogdan up for giveaway to my readers and it’s open Internationally!  To enter…

• For 1 entry simply leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
• For 2 entries, follow my blog.  If you already do, thank you, and please let me know so I can pass the extra entry on to you as well.
• For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway and spread the word.

This giveaway is open Internationally!  I will draw for the winner on Saturday, May 19/12.  Good luck!

 

Source:  Review copy provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and Kensington Publishing.  No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.