Blissfully Booked

Insightful and Liberating piece of ART

Revisado: 07-13-19

I’m a woman over a certain age so I knew how this story ended before I finished the first chapter.
The whole May-December Romance Trope usually hits me with the “ick-factor”, but Robinne Lee serves up food for thought in this stunning piece of writing (no cheese) and I ate it up. Could not put it down.

“-Lest anyone think we women of a certain age are no longer sexually viable-“
Tuh- think again.

“We have this problem in our culture. We take art that appeals to women—film, books, music—and we undervalue it. We assume it can’t be high art. —and so we undervalue them as well. We wrap it up in a pretty pink package and resist calling it art.”

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Good Premise, but-

Revisado: 05-14-19

The book itself is a statement piece. There is little growth for the main character. She doesn’t triumph over her struggles. If you are looking for that kind of character development you won’t get it here. Jane is the same person in the end as she was when her story begins. Caution is her only gain.

The author describes this work as a “window” into the life of an immigrant. She explores the lengths they will go to get a piece of that “American Dream”. The sacrifice of their autonomy to put money in the bank. Something most Americans will never do because we enjoy our freedom of choice and our right to not save a dime.

Golden Oaks (The Farm) is a luxurious spa for surrogates (hosts) who sign over their autonomy with the enticement of big bucks. These women cut themselves off from their everyday lives and dedicate their bodies and mental and emotional energies to growing fetuses for wealthy patrons that either cannot reproduce or simply do not have the time in their busy schedules for such an undertaking.

Most of the Hosts are poor immigrants. This story focuses mostly on the Filipino experience where we meet Jane, who when fired from her job as a baby caregiver, is manipulated into signing on at “Golden Oaks.”

The most powerful element of this story is the presence of low-key racism in the exploitation of women. Most of The Farms clients prefer the rare white host, which becomes an untapped market in consideration for expansion by the proprietors.
It’s all about the business, After All.

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The Mister was a little dry

Revisado: 04-23-19

The story has the predictability of a game of tic-tac-toe. Elements appear out of nowhere and go nowhere. There is no strategy. Nothing is ever really fleshed out.

Maxim, heir to his dead brother’s title is bedding his brother’s widow (this sounds interesting). They both mourn the loss of Kit(the dead brother) between the sheets and seek comfort in each other’s arms.

That’s it. Nothing else for them. It’s over.

That story line ends when Maxim’s daily (housekeeper) is surreptitiously replaced by a beautiful young woman who instantly captivates him with her beauty and her piano playing. Where did she come from?

He falls fast and hard for his daily who we find out is on the run from sex traffickers .... or is it an abusive fiancé. It’s gets a little tangled up and fuzzy their and I just stopped caring what happened to the girl because the story line was never truly developed. Whatever the case, it’s insta-in-Love for Maxim and Allessia.

The writing is simple and to the point. She gets you there in her typical EL James prose.

You know... the Hero prefaced 1/3rd of his sentences with “f?ck”. Cuss words don’t bother me, but when that is the only one ya got it becomes eye-roll worthy. Mix it up a little. Add some color to the dudes filthy mouth. The most the reader gets is “F?uck a duck”. ...WHAT?

He groans...
She murmurs...
He’s Alpha perfection
She’s skittish and docile.

I was expecting something fresh and exciting, instead I got dusty and drab.

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I wanted to like it

Revisado: 03-25-19

I was underwhelmed with this story as it flitted about jumping from one issue to another. It had the potential but it never really grabbed me.

Queenie went through some hardships as a child, which made for a hot mess of a grown-up Queenie. She’s has low self worth and engages in some pretty risky encounters with white men after a breakup with Tom, her white boyfriend who thought nothing of his uncle using the N-word when referring to her.

Good for her for walking away.

What baffles me is - why would she take such a hard stance with Tom about racist comments and then go out to carry on with white men who objectify her and use her (horrifically) to satisfy their curiosity of being with a black woman.

And then there were the little detours into the realm of BLM. If you are going to take that on... commit to it. Give it the space that it deserves.

The story was just flat to me. It didn’t know what it wanted to be.

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Sisterly Love

Revisado: 03-15-19

Sisterly Love is powerful. That’s my take-away.
The story is not about character transformation, nor a villain getting their comeuppance. It lacks the sweetness of a Happily Ever After.

Excellent Storytelling. She gives it to you straight, no chaser. No wasted words on lyrical prose. The title explains it all.

Highly recommend.

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Bravo!!!

Revisado: 06-20-18

Chills, heartbreak, and all the feels. If you are looking for a story that will restore your faith in humanity, This is it.

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Twist and Turn- Thriller

Revisado: 05-24-18

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The reader suspects something nefarious is lurking in the background, but left wondering who is the villain in this twisted tale.
It’s Girl on the Train tangled up with Gone Girl.
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Nelly’s husband left her for a younger, prettier, version of herself.
Her marriage is over...or is it?
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I could not put it down all the while chanting “what the hell...” every other page.
Just when you think you have this one figured out it switches lanes and leads you down a path you didn’t know existed.

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Giving you something to thing about

Revisado: 02-21-18

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tayari Jone’s writing flows smooth, familiar, easy. It’s like sitting around the kitchen table listening to kinfolk laugh, tease and bicker with one another.

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Ladies, imagine your husband (or significant other) being dragged from your bed in the middle of the night by Police. Wrongfully accused of rape. Tried, convicted and sentenced 12 years of his life for a crime you know he did not commit. You are his alibi. He was in bed with you all night.

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Would you move on with you life because 12 years is too long to be inconvenienced by his tragedy? Or would you stay by his side and fight for him?

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Although the ending was satisfying , it was no a happy one.

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Brilliant Storytelling

Revisado: 02-19-18

In early 1970s A damaged man with a mental disorder relocates his wife and daughter to rural Alaska and builds a wall around his property to protect his family from “the rest of the world” (he’s a doomsday lunatic, borderline schizophrenic). He’s controlling and abusive in a time when there were few options for abused women.
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The construction of this wall sets off a chain of events that destroys so many, including the reader. This story broke me but I couldn’t put it down.
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It is centered around the teenage daughter who grows up in this abusive environment forced to live in the wilderness and learn survival skills.
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-Walls don’t just keep people out. They trap people inside-
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Told with such descriptive imagery, rural Alaska becomes as much of a character as Large Marge. Mad Earl. The crazy guy that married the goose, Matilda.

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Steampunk Fantasy Fiction (YA)

Revisado: 02-08-18

Beautiful Descriptive Writing
I admire a writer that has the creativity to build otherworldly places within the pages of a book. Dhonielle Clayton does it. And does it well in this steampunk series.

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the ostentatious fantasy world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else.
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For Camellia, being a Belle is not enough. She wishes to be chosen by the Queen to be the Favourite. The most Desired Belle
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The story begins wrapped in cuteness, sprinkled with glitter, scented with flowers 🌸 It made me “awww” and “oooh” as I read.
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Somewhere in the mix, the plot turns Dark. I’m talking Monstrously hideous exposing a villain of epic proportions.
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There is an underlying message here, playing off the human obsession with vanity and outward appearances.

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