Dancing on Broken Glass - A Review

Dancing on Broken Glass - Ka Hancock (publisher)

Overview

An unvarnished portrait of a marriage that is both ordinary and extraordinary, Dancing on Broken Glass takes readers on an unforgettable journey of the heart.

Lucy Houston and Mickey Chandler probably shouldn’t have fallen in love, let alone gotten married. They’re both plagued with faulty genes—he has bipolar disorder; she, a ravaging family history of breast cancer. But when their paths cross on the night of Lucy’s twenty-first birthday, sparks fly, and there’s no denying their chemistry.

Cautious every step of the way, they are determined to make their relationship work—and they put their commitment in writing. Mickey will take his medication. Lucy won’t blame him for what is beyond his control. He promises honesty. She promises patience. Like any marriage, there are good days and bad days—and some very bad days. In dealing with their unique challenges, they make the heartbreaking decision not to have children. But when Lucy shows up for a routine physical just shy of their eleventh anniversary, she gets an impossible surprise that changes everything. Everything. Suddenly, all their rules are thrown out the window, and the two of them must redefine what love really is.

My Thoughts:

I am struggling with my thoughts on this one even as I type this I am unsure what I will write. 

Let me start by saying this book is really, really good and solid story. I couldn't stop reading it even when I wanted too. I want you to keep this in mind as I continue with my review. It really was a great book. Yes there is a "but" in here. 

The book deals with so many dark things, bipolar and incurable cancer. Then you have the light things, strong family bonds and pregnancy. You would hope the light would overpower the dark and balance the book and it might for some. It did not for me. There was so much dark going on it dragged my down while I was reading, and in between times when I had put it down. The story kept tugging at me. To be honest it is downright depressing for pretty much the entire book. Yet no matter how depressing it was and how much it dragged me down, I kept on. I had to know how it ended.

I don't want people not to read this book, but I want people aware of how serious the subject matter is in this book. Maybe I'm super sensitive to the subject matter and it won't affect others the way it has me, but at the same time I want someone fully aware of what they are getting into when they read it. 

So in the end, yes read it but be aware. 

Author's webpage: Ka Hancock

Mailbox Monday & What Are You Reading

 Mailbox Monday was originally hosted by Marcia at the Printed page but now it is a traveling meme. This month it is being hosted by Anna at Diary of An Eccentric.

I got one book in my mailbox last week.

 Uglies Shay's Story - Scott Westerfeld (Library Thing Early Reviewer)

It's Monday. What are you reading this week? Hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books. This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished in the last week:

Dancing on Broken Glass - Ka Hancock (review to drop this week)

Books I am reading this week:

Still up for decision
11-22-63 Stephen King ( Yes I am re reading this on audiobook this time. It's all Sheila's fault really after her glowing review of it.)

Books to Finish This week:

One at least I hope. 

Mailbox Monday and What Are You Reading

Mailbox Monday was originally hosted by Marcia at the Printed page but now it is a traveling meme. This month it is being hosted by Anna at Diary of An Eccentric.

I missed last week, but in last couple of weeks I did get a couple of  books.







Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo (publisher)










Dancing on Broken Glass - Ka Hancock (publisher)

It's Monday. What are you reading this week? Hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books. This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished in the last week:

Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James
Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

Books I am reading this week:

Dancing on Broken Glass - Ka Hancock
11-22-63 Stephen King ( Yes I am re reading this on audiobook this time. It's all Sheila's fault really after her glowing review of it.)

Books to Finish This week:

The Beach - Alex Garland ( I will finish this this week. I have other books, I'm anxiously awaiting to read)

Shadow and Bone - A Review

Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo (publisher)

Synopsis:

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

My Thoughts:

I tend to read my ARC's near the date of release but I was in the mood for a Fantasy read and this one just sounded way too good to wait. I am glad I picked it up. It was exactly what I was hoping it would be. Good vs. evil, magic vs monsters, legends and lore.

Alina was a character I couldn't decide if I liked or disliked. At least at first. She seemed very much a naive child, but as I read further I was given glimpses of her inner strength that just needed to find its way out. Once it did, watch out, she is amazingly strong gal.

The Darkling. I have mixed feelings about this characters. I can't really say why without giving too much away. Mal is my kind of Character. Strong and stready and faithful to the very end. He is the kind of guy any girl would want to have at her side.

I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series. I'm anxious to see where the story goes.

Author's Website:  Leigh Bardugo

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted byMizB of Should Be Reading and it asks us to...

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser this week:


Pain and fear rushed through me. I cried out. The thing inside me roared to the surface, speeding towards the Darkling's call.


Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo pg.51 ( ARC subject to change)

The Beach - A Review

The Beach - Alex Garland (own)

Overview

The Khao San Road, Bangkok - first stop for the hordes of rootless young Westerners traveling in Southeast Asia. On Richard's first night there, a fellow traveler slashes his wrists, bequeathing to Richard a meticulously drawn map to "the Beach."

The Beach, as Richard comes to learn, is a subject of legend among the young travelers in Asia: a lagoon hidden from the sea, with white sand and coral gardens, freshwater falls surrounded by jungle, plants untouched for thousands of years. There, it is rumored, a carefully selected international few have settled into a communal Eden.

Richard sets off with a young French couple to an island hidden away in an archipelago forbidden to tourists. They discover the Beach, and it is as beautiful as it is reputed to be. Yet over time it becomes clear that Beach culture, as Richard calls it, has troubling, even deadly undercurrents.

My Thoughts:

After watching this movie recently, I decided to hunt up the book and read it. Ever so glad I did. This was a remarkable read. While very similar to the movie, it was also very different and filled with more depth.

The characters were so well written I felt like I was there standing on the sidelines watching the book play out. I kept thinking would a secret "Beach" really be paradise? I think for a short time it might but at the same time I imagine the seclusion from the world would be detrimental to ones state of mind. 

Richard is the main character so you mostly see this world through his viewpoint. Backpacking through Thailand he is given a map to a secret Beach. Richard being the curious guy he is decides he must see for himself and he talks to French backpackers into going with him. After traveling for a few days and swimming from one island to the another, they find the Beach. At first it seems like one would imagine, paradise. They settle in almost immediately. Feeling as if they have found a home away from the world. You get a really good idea how life was on the Beach for everyone. You can sense how close knit the community was but at the same time you could see the tears in seams. You could tell that while it appeared to be strong, it was indeed very fragile. 

The book takes you on Richards journey to the Beach and back. It's a journey I highly recommend you take if you happen across the book. I think you will be pleasantly surprised how the book settles under your skin leaving you thinking long after you have put it down. 

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted byMizB of Should Be Reading and it asks us to...

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser this week:


I met Death at a party.  It was my sister Priscilla's twelfth birthday and I was five.  She wasn't particularly frightening, Death, but then I had been told all about her, so seeing her made no adverse impression on me.  Until I realized she was there for my dad.


Dancing on Broken Glass - Ka Hancock pg. 1

Mailbox Monday & What Are You Reading

 Mailbox Monday was originally hosted by Marcia at the Printed page but now it is a traveling meme. This month it is being hosted by Anna at Diary of An Eccentric.

Again I had an empty mailbox. Which is a good thing because once you read further down you'll understand that, this week, empty is good. :)

It's Monday. What are you reading this week? Hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books. This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished in the last week:

Not a darn thing. I was just busy with work and by the time I made it home last week, I was too tired to do much than hang with the family and veg on TV.

Books I am reading this week:

The Beach - Alex Garland
11-22-63 Stephen King ( Yes I am re reading this on audiobook this time. It's all Sheila's fault really after her glowing review of it.)

Books to Finish This week:

The Beach - Alex Garland ( I will finish this this week. I have other books, I'm anxiously awaiting to read)