ARC Review The Weight of Blood Laura McHugh

The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I debated for some time whether this was a a three star book or a four star book, I think I wanted the book to live up to the hype I had created for it.  Ultimately, I liked this book, it is a promising debut by a talented new author, however, she hasn't hit her stride yet and this is a three star book.

Lucy Dane, is coping with the disappearance and eventual murder of her friend Cheri and the disappearance of her mother when she was a baby.  Despite her deep connections to Henbane, Missouri, the small town in the Ozark's, where she has lived all her life, she feels like an outsider with few friends.  People whisper about her mother, an exotic beauty, who many thought to be a witch.  As Lucy investigates Cheri's murder, she learns more about her own mother as well as her family, and just how far people will go to keep Henbane's secrets.

This book lacked the suspense I was expecting, based on its comparisons to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl.   I had it figured out pretty early on, leaving the book rather un-suspenseful.  The story was interesting enough and the writing masterful enough to keep me reading, despite the lack of suspense.

The best parts of the novel were the chapters from Lila's perspective, that is where author Laura McHugh's talent really shown.  Lila was a very interesting and complex character and I felt like her story ended a little abruptly, even when we finally discovered how she came to be a missing person.  Her disappearance didn't feel very true to character or believable.  I would have liked to had more from Lila.

The town of Henbane was a very interesting place, its secrets, its crime and its prominent citizens.  Having grown up in a tiny town, I can relate to the secrets the deep family ties and the suspicion of outsiders.  Henbane took this all to the extreme, and I found it a bit unrealistic that all the secrets Henbane held were kept so well.  This book touches on some unsavory topics, human trafficking, exploitation of children, extreme poverty, drugs and dismemberment, most of which Lucy's family or friends are involved in.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read, with some good insights, however, it left me a bit unsatisfied.  I look forward to reading more from McHugh is the future, The Weight of Blood is a strong debut and proves the author has great talent waiting to be refined.


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"You grow up feeling the weight of blood, of family. There's no forsaking kin. But you can't help when kin forsakes you or when strangers come to be family."

Buy and Read This Book Today I Shall Be Near to You

In October, I had the pleasure to read a really, really great book. It was a book that will stay with me for a long time, a book that touched me as a former female soldier and a historian, one that I will re-read and keep on my book shelf forever and one that will encourage me to research and read about the real women this novel was based on.

I Shall Be Near to You is the Debut novel my Erin Lindsay McCabe and it is available today, January 28th!  I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for a review, however, I will be going to my local book store tomorrow to purchase my own copy in support of this wonderful new author and this amazing novel.  

Rosetta doesn't want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they'll be able to afford their own farm someday. Though she's always worked by her father’s side as the son he never had, now that Rosetta is a wife she's told her place is inside with the other women. But Rosetta decides her true place is with Jeremiah, no matter what that means, and to be with him she cuts off her hair, hems an old pair of his pants, and signs up as a Union soldier.

   With the army desperate for recruits, Rosetta has no trouble volunteering, although she faces an incredubous husband. She drills with the men, proves she can be as good a soldier as anyone, and deals with the tension as her husband comes to grips with having a fighting wife. Rosetta's strong will clashes with Jeremiah's while their marraige is tested by broken conventions, constant danger, and war, and she fears discovery of her secret even as they fight for their future, and for their lives. Inspired by more than 250 documented accounts of the women who fought in the Civil War while disguised as men, I Shall Be Near To You is the intimate story, in Rosetta’s powerful and gorgeous voice, of the drama of marriage, one woman’s amazing exploits, and the tender love story that can unfold when two partners face life’s challenges side by side.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads.com)

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But don't just take my word for it, see what others are saying on Goodreads and Amazon 

I have known for a long time that women served as soldiers during the Civil War, but never researched in much.  While earning my M.A. in history I took several classes on the Civil War and focused much of my research on women's roles during the war, but that mostly covered their efforts on the home front, their role in forming the Sanitation Commission and in various other positions.  I never explored women as soldiers.  I Shall Be Near to You, is based on the real letters of a women, Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, alias Pvt. Lyons Wakeman, who disguised herself as a man and fought.  You can read her letters and learn more in.....

I just received a copy of this book and have read a tiny bit, but I am very excited to learn more about Sarah Wakeman and her experiences as a solider.  Having served as a female soldier myself, I know a bit about what it takes to serve alongside men and to prepare for combat, however, I cannot comprehend the courage these women had to live as men and fight in the incredibly brutal Civil War.  They deserve our recognition and our admiration.  

I strongly encourage you to read this book, it is truly an amazing experience.  And like I mentioned in my review, I would love to see this as a movie, so long as it stayed true to the novel.  I just want to keep reliving Rosetta's story! 

ARC Review The Bear: A Novel Claire Cameron

The Bear: A Novel by Claire Cameron

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Anna awakens one night, while camping, to hear her mother screaming. Confused and afraid, Anna and her brother Stick, unknowingly listen as their parents are killed in a bear attack. The two young children leave the island by canoe in the morning spending two days lost in the woods, searching for their parents.

Narrated by six year old Anna, this novel offered a unique perspective on survival and the world according to young children. The first portion of the book, which covers the attack, started off strong. Anna provides a strong background for the family camping trip and excellent descriptions of the events occurring outside the coleman cooler where her and her brother are hiding. Once the children leave the island, the narration becomes more inconsistent, with Anna frequently going off on tangents which muddled the story and made it hard to follow. It was tough to get through this section, but persevere because the ending of this novel is its strong point. The conclusion left me in tears and and boosted my rating to four stars,

The Bear is based on a real bear attack in 1991, which occurred while the author was working as a camp counselor nearby. This gives the story some authenticity and makes it all the more compelling. I highly recommend this unique and compelling story.

I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.








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A Wilder Rose Susan Wittig Albert

A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book through Net-Galley in exchange for a fair review.

I read all of the Little House books as a kid and loved them, but as I grew older I wondered how it was that Laura came to be a published author, especially once I learned that Rose had become a well know author. However, I knew nothing about the Little House books history until I read this book.

I enjoyed and was frustrated by this book all at the same time and towards the end found myself skimming through all of Rose's various financial problems and details regarding the stories she wrote while living at Rocky Ridge. I found Rose to be very unlikable and was frustrated by her constant self-serving generosity and her semi-bizarre friendships and relationships.

The most enjoyable part of the story was her relationship with her mother and how the Little House books came to be. Unfortunately, this was the least fleshed out part of the book and left me wanting more. I felt like we never really got to know Laura and Almanzo in this book, they were just characters that stopped by occasionally and we never learned the true motivation behind any of their relationships or the books, and maybe that is totally an unknown. But certainly in a book written as a novel we could have had a bit more of the story, even if it was just the authors idea of what took place.

This book did not ruin my feelings about the Little House of the Prairie series, I think I assumed all along that they were edited and that others had a hand in there process and to have it be Rose I think is a perfect fit. It also fit Rose's personality of being exceptionally generous to do this for her mother and not want the depth of her involvement known.

Overall, this book was interesting and I liked to insight into the stock market and its eventual crash as well as the glimpse of life prior to and during the depression. I knew very little about Rose Wilder Lane and plan on reading some of her works in the future, particularly, Hurricane.


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