ARC Review: The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor

Title: The Shark Club
Author: Ann Kidd Taylor
Publisher/Publication Date: Viking; June 6, 2017
Genre: Fiction; Mystery
Source/Format: First to Read; eARC

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

A novel about love, loss, and sharks by the New York Times bestselling coauthor of the memoir Traveling with Pomegranates...

On a summer day on the Gulf of Mexico in 1988, two extraordinary things happen to twelve-year-old Maeve Donnelly. First, she is kissed by Daniel, the boy of her dreams. Then, she is attacked by a blacktip shark. Eighteen years later, Maeve is a world-traveling marine biologist studying and swimming with the very animals that once threatened her life. Known among her peers as the “shark whisperer,” Maeve is fearless in the water. On land, however, Maeve is dogged by unresolved wounds and indecisive about the path her life will take. After a particularly inspiring assignment abroad, Maeve returns to the small island off Florida’s coast where she grew up and to her childhood home—the legendarily charming and eccentric Hotel of the Muses, where she was raised by her grandmother. There, she is greeted by troubling news.

An illegal shark-finning operation has moved into town, and hundreds of sharks are dying. As Maeve fights to protect the fate of the animals so dear to her heart, she finds that her twin brother may be about to make it big as a novelist, using her love life as his jumping-off point. Will she confront her feelings about her brother’s betrayal—and forgive her childhood sweetheart, Daniel, the missteps of their youth? Or will she dive headlong back into her work and open her heart to Nicholas, her colleague who shares her passion for the ocean? Set against the intoxicating backdrop of palm trees, blood orange sunsets, calypso bands, and key lime pies, The Shark Club is a love story, an environmental mystery, and an exploration of a woman’s mysterious kinship with the sea and the sharks that inhabit it...

My Thoughts:

I went into The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor with little to no expectations. This is the first novel I’ve read by this author, so I wanted to keep an open mind about the story. And, you know what? The Shark Club wasn’t half bad. There were a lot of things I particularly liked about this story. The Shark Club is a character driven novel. A lot of time was devoted to developing the characters and their relationships. There was even a little bit of a mystery going on.

This book was mainly about the main character, Maeve Donnelly, returning home to her life after a research trip where she got to study sharks up close and personal. The Shark Club focused on Maeve’s relationships—both new and old—between friends, family, and old loves. At some parts, this book felt like a lot of other contemporary novels that I’ve read, but Maeve’s background and occupation is what made the story interesting. I don’t see marine biologists portrayed in fiction very often. I’ve seen it mentioned in passing, but I rarely come across a book that specifically deals with it in the way The Shark Club did. The plotline with the sharks was interesting, and I wish there would have been more of the technical stuff involving Maeve’s job.

The mystery was there. However, just like the marine biology side of the story, the mystery seemed to take a step to the side when considering other aspects of the story. Still, the mystery was pretty good.

Overall, I enjoyed The Shark Club.

Rating 3.5/5

This copy of the book was provided by First to Read (Publisher) for this review, thank you!

About the Author...

Ann Kidd Taylor is the coauthor of Traveling with Pomegranates, a memoir written with her mother, Sue Monk Kidd. Published by Viking in 2009, it appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times list, and has been published in several languages. Sue Monk Kidd, is the award-winning and bestselling author of the novels The Secret Life of Bees, The Mermaid Chair, and The Invention of Wings. The Shark Club is Ann’s first novel. She lives in southwest Florida with her husband, son, and two dogs...

ARC Review: Just Fine with Caroline by Annie England Noblin

Title: Just Fine with Caroline Author:  Annie England Noblin Publisher/Publication Date:  William Morrow; Oct. 11, 2016 Source/Format:  Publisher; Galley Genre:  Fiction Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository     Goodreads   Book Summary... Twenty five year old Caroline O’Connor is doing just fine. Four years ago and two semesters shy of her college degree, a little thing called life upended her carefully laid plans to leave small town shenanigans behind, and she found herself right back in the place she vowed to escape: Cold River, Missouri. Helping to care for her mother ailing with Alzheimer’s, and coping with her father—the beloved local doctor frustrated he can’t cure his own wife—Caroline’s only escape are the hours she steals away at the local fishing hole. That is, until her secret retreat is discovered. Noah Cranwell has a chip on his shoulder. Seeking solace from his nomadic career in the Navy, he returns to his boyhood home, the one place he ever felt at peace: Cold River, Missouri. Focused on repairing the family’s general store, and his heart, Noah finds himself drawn to Caroline—and her mostly deaf, three legged dog Yara—for support. Soon their relationship starts to blossom into something more, making Caroline realize there could be much more to life than being ‘just fine.’ Yet Cold River isn’t without its closeted skeletons and sometimes life’s greatest surprises happen closest to home...  Praise for Annie England Noblin... “Readers of Debbie Macomber will enjoy poet and nonfiction author Noblin’s first novel. It’s an enjoyable story full of laughter, tears, and just plain fun.”— Library Journal on Sit! Stay! Speak! “Noblin’s fish-out-of-water story combines food, family, suspense, and romance into one delightful read. [... ] a comfort read that’s perfect for a summer night. A cozy read that’s full of dogs, romance, and small-town charm.”— Kirkus Reviews on Sit! Stay! Speak! “Full of southern charm and colloquialisms, Noblin’s first novel explores the curious bond between man and beast. A warm, emotionally grounded story that will delight fans of Mary Kay Andrews and contemporary women’s fiction.”— Booklist on Sit! Stay! Speak!­­ My Thoughts: Just Fine with Caroline by Annie England Noblin has a serious tone as Caroline is tasked with helping her father take care of her mother who has Alzheimer’s disease. It was a story centered on the lives of several characters and takes place in a small town with small town values where everyone knows everyone; yet, there are secrets that won’t stay buried as the story unfolds—Secrets that resulted in Caroline questioning everything she believed to be true. I liked the fact that Noblin included real life issues in the story, which resulted in tremendous character growth in the end. Noblin excels at depicting the relationships between the characters, which was everything from the bonds between family and strained relationships. She also does a good job of depicting the emotional turmoil felt by Caroline, a young adult, dealing with caring for her mother while trying to navigate life. Overall, I enjoyed Noblin’s style of writing. She managed to set up mostly plausible situations that resulted in an engaging story that had me rooting for the characters along the way. Rating 3.5/5 I received an ARC of  Just Fine with Caroline from the publisher in exchange for an honest review! Find the author online... Twitter     Facebook     Goodreads

ARC Review: Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black

Title: Ninth City Burning
Author: J. Patrick Black
Publisher/Publication Date: Ace; September 6, 2016
Genre: Science Fiction
Source/Format: First to Read; eARC

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Centuries of war with aliens threaten the future of human civilization on earth in this gripping, epic science fiction debut...

We never saw them coming... 

Entire cities disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but dust and rubble. When an alien race came to make Earth theirs, they brought with them a weapon we had no way to fight, a universe-altering force known as thelemity. It seemed nothing could stop it—until we discovered we could wield the power too.

Five hundred years later, the Earth is locked in a grinding war of attrition. The talented few capable of bending thelemity to their will are trained in elite military academies, destined for the front lines. Those who refused to support the war have been exiled to the wilds of a ruined Earth. But the enemy's tactics are changing, and Earth's defenders are about to discover this centuries-old war has only just begun. As a terrible new onslaught looms, heroes will rise from unlikely quarters, and fight back...

My Thoughts:

I’m pleased to say that Ninth City Burning is not all bad. In fact, it was a pretty good story. I think Black has started something that has the potential to become very interesting. I had some hiccups in my reading experience, but the ending was definitely worth sticking around for. Plus, the characters eventually grew on me.

Ninth City Burning is basically about a war that’s stretched on for the better part of 500 hundred years, which is an extremely long time for something like that. It makes use of the classic trope of an unknown alien race vs Earth in an all-out conflict. I can only describe the situation at the beginning of the book as a stalemate. Each side has relied on the same tactics, and is seemingly comfortable with their current fortification and standing in the conflict. For a good chunk of the book, nothing seemed to change except for some hints of trouble. And then it did.

The first half of the book was like a construction zone—messy, unfinished, a work in progress. It was dedicated to setting up the world, introducing the characters, and establishing the rules—or lack thereof—as far as thelemity was concerned. As such, there were long expositions of just information. Yes, I understand that the characters had a lot to learn, but for me, those moments slowed down the pace of the story. It was tough to get through, and at some points, I found myself almost losing interest entirely. It wasn’t until the latter half of Ninth City Burning where I really felt interested in continuing. Once the main conflict was established, the story got progressively better, especially the ending. The ending was a very good finish—one of the redeeming qualities of Ninth City Burning.

My favorite part was the central cast of characters. There were a lot of perspectives, and a lot of background involved with setting up their respective situations. Just past the middle of the book—at last—it all seemed to come together. All that information had a place to be. That was fine. A definite highlight was how the relationships between the characters eventually developed into friendships, with hints at other possibilities.

So, while the beginning of Ninth City Burning was shaky, the second half was much better. The ending left a lot of questions more than it gave any answers. So, I would be interested in seeing what comes next for the characters, and how the current story will progress after all that happened in Ninth City Burning.

Rating 3.5/5

This copy of the book was provided by First to Read (publisher) for this review, thank you!

About the Author...

J. Patrick Black has worked as a bartender, a lifeguard, a small-town lawyer, a homebuilder, and a costumed theme park character, all while living a secret double life as a fiction writer. While fiction is now a profession, he still finds occasion to ply his other trades as well. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts, where he likes to visit the ocean. NINTH CITY BURNING is his first (published) novel. He is at work on his next book...