First of all, I did not know that Nora Roberts has written over 200 novels! I also did not know she writes under the pen name JD Robb. I have actually read some JD Robb novels and didn't realize it was her. How does someone write so prolifically? She is definitely a good storyteller. I can't believe I haven't read any of her books (other than JD Robb) before.
Even though this book isn't about zombies, it reminded me of The Walking Dead. A group of people traveling together, trying to figure out who they can trust, killing when they have to, using the strengths of each person, having a clear leader, who some in the group resents. Also like The Walking Dead, some of my favorite characters die. It's really hard when one of the lead characters dies - whether in a book or a TV show, especially when it's so unexpected. I am sad about that.
I was stunned when Lana was forced to leave New Hope behind - and on her own! She had built a home there, with people she loved and trusted. Does she ever see anyone from New Hope again?? Will we find out what happens to Rachel, Jonah, Arlys, Fred and company? I sure hope so! It's weird that you invest all that time and storyline with them and then Lana runs and she is all we know about when the book ends.
I was upset about Max of course, but I really like Simon. For some reason, Fallon needed to be conceived by Max and raised by Simon. I like the prophecy element of the story. Also, there is a clear-cut line drawn between good (light) and evil (dark). Since I am a believer of good defeating evil in the end, I am eager to read the next book in this trilogy (?). Too bad it won't be out until December 2018! That is unfortunate.
Just like Harry Potter was connected to Voldemort (Good vs. Evil), Max - or really his daughter - is connected to his brother, Eric, who encompasses the dark power. So, eventually, it will be Fallon vs. Eric. Actually it's just like Luke vs. Anakin, who were also related. What's up with that? I guess when people have extraordinary powers, they are pulled to one extreme or the other - and power runs in families.
I really enjoyed this book. I love reading about the survivors of a new world. Everyone brings something different to the table. Cannot wait to read Book 2, "Of Blood and Bone".
Wendy's Rating: ****
Yikes. I did not like the main characters in this book! One reviewer calls the book, "Funny, provocative, and exceedingly dark...." I would simply call it disturbing. The reviews of this book reminds me of all the people that loved Dexter. I tried watching it on DVD and couldn't even make it through the first season. As much as I love reading and watching TV & movies about serial killers, I have come to the conclusion that I like watching the "good guys" catch the serial killers - not the serial killers themselves.
In the end, the only character that I really had any respect for was Serge. I certainly didn't see that coming when I started this book! Serge was portrayed as a self-serving and egocentric politician. Not a stretch really, when you think of the average politician. ;) When we finally accept that Serge's character has only been introduced to us via Paul, then a different opinion develops. The more I read, the less I liked Paul and the more I liked Serge. Even Babette, Serge's wife, annoyed me. She simply wanted Serge to be Prime Minister, no matter what her children did.
Paul, Claire and Michel were downright sinister. They were a family of psychopaths. Paul's anger and violent streaks were disturbing. None of them valued human life. Paul as a narrator was incredibly annoying as well. Constantly referring to things but then saying that he wasn't going to explain it because it was none of our business. Annoying. So, we don't know why Claire spent time in the hospital (woman's trouble?) and we don't know what Paul was diagnosed with (Psychopathy?) We really don't know Beau's involvement in the whole thing, although he may certainly have been blackmailing Michel and Rick. Was Rick a psychopath too (family genetics and all)? I really don't think so. I think Michel was the dominant leader in that relationship. I believed Babette when she said Rick was home and struggling with the events that happened. How would you like to have a sociopath for a best friend/cousin??
The book was set up in chapters that represented courses of a meal. This is an interesting concept. Truthfully though, I couldn't even appreciate the concept because of how much I hated Claire, Paul and Michel by the end of the book.
Wendy's Rating: **
It's difficult for me to believe that people can treat children like they are a commodity to be bought and sold. Then, add the fact that the children already have parents, but are simply stolen from them. Two things don't ring true to me about Georgia Tann's "philosophy" of taking children from poor families to give them to rich families so they have a better life. First of all, Georgia abused them - and allowed them to be abused by others. She only seemed to care about the "blond, blue or brown-eyed" children who were cute. So why did she bother taking others? She certainly didn't take care of them. You would think they were more of a burden to her if she didn't see them as adoptable. Look at Camellia. She was left behind simply because she had brown hair. Then she was raped and killed. So why take her in the first case? Secondly, since Georgia Tann treated children like a commodity, why not take care of them? If her sole (true) purpose was to make money, why not protect the product? What if an important person stopped by the Home and saw the children as they normally were: skinny, dirty and smelly.
It's sad that they never found Gabion or Judy's twin. With Cammelia presumably dead, Gabby was the child that Rill/May really wanted to find. No one knew if Judy's twin survived. There would have been no truthful birth record regardless, since the parents were told both babies died. If the twin lived, he most likely never knew he was even adopted. He would have been impossible to find. Gabion, however, was a toddler and the sisters loved him very much. Rill/May never stopped looking for him. I actually thought they would find him by the end of the book. I was disappointed by that, but at least they found "Stevie". I am glad his life turned out well, all things considered.
I was incredibly sad that Queenie died - and that Briny went off the deep end - but I am glad that Rill and Fern escaped their adopted home briefly to figure that out for themselves. I am SO happy that Rill returned to her new "family" too. I think Rill would have prevented herself from accepting her new family forever if she thought her parents were still alive and exactly how she left them. Obviously it was a tragedy that these children were taken from their parents that loved them so much. Once Queenie died though, Briny was in no state to provide a home for his kids.
Trent and Avery's love story was apparent from the beginning, but I am glad that Avery took the time to figure that out. Elliot and Avery were obviously very close friends, but they both knew in the end that their relationship was more of a friendship than husband & wife.
All those children in the hands of that evil woman. A very sad part of history that I didn't even know happened until reading this book. I had no idea who was who in the book until it was spelled out for me, except for May of course. I thought that Judy was related some way, but I had forgotten about the twins. (Which is odd since I never really believed that they died in the first place).
Wendy's Rating: ****
I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. I am not really interested in reading "feminist books", to be honest. But, while the book centered around the "women's movement", it was more about relationships. Relationships between women, between family members, between men and women. It's also about the "path" people choose to follow when they are young, and about the diversions in that intended path and how each person responds to those diversions.
There are two main characters: Faith, the women's movement mentor, and Greer, the intelligent college student who lives on the outside of society due to her limited family support. There are some strong supporting characters though too: Cory, Greer's longtime immigrant boyfriend, Zee, her lesbian best friend from college and Emmett, a womanizing millionaire (thanks to his wife!) The author gives us history on each of these characters, which adds a lot to the reader's investment of each person - and the relationships between each of them.
There are a couple of important messages. First of all, no one should be placed on a pedestal. There is only one way to go when you are standing on a pedestal, and that is down. Greer puts Faith up there, and then is devastated when she finds out Faith has "sold out" to the people funding her foundation. All people are flawed in some way. To have an idealistic view of any human is unreasonable - and bound to cause hurt and disappointment at some point. The second message is that you should make the best of your life no matter what derails you from your original path.
Each character learns something important in their journey through life. Most of them end up in a different place than they thought they would. Most of them are happier for it. Some broken relationships are repaired and survive; some don't. Disappointments, heartbreak, anger, ignorance about another's intentions - these are things we all go through at times in our lives. What matters is what we do about them. Do we let it cripple us, or change direction?
The book has a bit of a slow start, but continue reading because it's worth it.
Wendy's Rating: ****
