Book Review: Alone with you in the Ether

Synopsis: Two people meet in the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist, undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. By the end of the story, these things will still be true. But this is not a story about endings.

For Regan, people are predictable and tedious, including and perhaps especially herself. She copes with the dreariness of existence by living impulsively, imagining a new, alternate timeline being created in the wake of every rash decision.

To Aldo, the world feels disturbingly chaotic. He gets through his days by erecting a wall of routine: a backbeat of rules and formulas that keep him going. Without them, the entire framework of his existence would collapse.

For Regan and Aldo, life has been a matter of resigning themselves to the blueprints of inevitability—until the two meet. Could six conversations with a stranger be the variable that shakes up the entire simulation?

My two cents worth:

Aldo and Regan, the main characters of this rather simple, yet perplexing story of boy meets girl are the most confusing and mentally challenging individuals I've yet to encounter within a story. The author defines the book as a 'love story', but do not fool yourself into thinking there will be romance or the usual telling of lust and evolving relationship normality. This is a strange, and for lack of a better word, complex enmeshing of polar opposite characters that are magnetised to the other's eccentricities. 

The novel explores the evolution of thought as two individuals with their own unique mental struggles somehow define a new language in order to see the world through the same magnified glass. Unpredictable behaviours in both Aldo and Regan ignite curiosity, passion, and shared intellectual intelligence which within themselves unlocks some stability in their otherwise tumultuous thoughts and past patterns of behaviour.

I found this story intriguing and all together just plain different from anything I've ever read before. Even the story itself moved from being within a conversation between characters, to almost hovering above the ghost of history's past and re-living that particular moment. Did I enjoy this story? No, I don't think I actually did. The writing was good, the plot average at best, but the characters and their idiosyncrasies really set the novel apart from other stories within the 'love' genre.

I was intrigued, which I suppose is as much a positive as is not actually enjoying the story overall. I will say this is a very clever author with a very unique perspective, and if nothing else, this book should be well and truly celebrated for breaking the mold of conformity and arousing curiosity within its reader.

3 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐

Kristy :)

Follow Friday #46

Happy Friday everyone!

Yes, it’s that time of week again where bloggers unite to participate in the Follow Friday venture. The idea behind #FF is to promote traffic to your own blog, make new friends with other like-minded bloggers and discuss new and interesting topics each week.

Participating is simple. First you need to follow my blog because I’m totally awesome, then you can follow me on Twitter @kristyberridge (actually you don’t have to do this, it’s wishful thinking), but do follow my blog or assassins will get you …

Then you must follow our illustrious hosts Rachel of http://www.parajunkee.com/ and Alison of http://www.alisoncanread.com/ If you want more details on how to enter your own blog in the follow and hop, all directions are on their webpages

Now, once you’ve followed, check out my answer to this week’s questions and don’t forget to leave a comment so I can do the right thing and follow you back!

This week's question: When you step out of your USUAL genre what do you like to read? Best books in that genre?

My answer: Well, I must admit that I never really step outside the supernatural genre. There's just something pretty special about diving into the world of horror and make believe. I never seem to get sick of vampires, werewolves, magic, angels or demons - probably why I write books paying tribute to my passion.

So, with that being said, the most recent jaunt outside my comfort zone was immersing myself in the world of ChickLit - books about romance, girl talk, shopping and moral dilemmas. Think Sex in the City!

And, I've recently read an author's debut novel called "The Seven Steps to Closure" by Donna Joy Usher. With quite a few laugh out loud moments and an endearing protagonist, I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this ChickLit jaunt. You can read my review here!

Book Review: Fifty Shades Freed by EL James

As most of you probably know, Fifty Shades Freed is the final installment in the Fifty Shades trilogy, and for my money, it is entertaining if you have enjoyed the series-to-date, but also entirely too expected.

What started out as an interesting, dark and psychologically twisted sexual tale, soon becomes a story about change, love and all of that mushy unrealistic crap that's penned in some of these fictional romances.

To my mind, Christian Grey is annihilated in character within these pages, turned by affection and what he believes is the weakness of his past. Anastasia Steele (now his wife), excavates to the very essence of what drives the darkness that makes Christian so infallible and interesting in earlier plots. She smooths his emotional wrinkles and even begins to embrace what she found morally reprehensible within his previously rigid character in earlier novels.

Although there was a part of me that enjoyed this happy, safe and neatly wrapped up ending, there was a part of me that longed for something more sinister, perhaps more of a play on Anastasia's unfurling confidence versus Christians domineering and heavy-handed approach to all situations.

There was no lack of sexual content. In fact, towards the end of the book I felt like throwing it at a wall, wondering what the hell my husband and I were doing wrong if simply the darkening of his mercurial expression made her insides tighten and mouth part in need. I mean, what married couple really has sex three to four times a day? I was honestly exhausted just reading about it!

Once again the plot followed expectation. There was no real mystery or unexpected twist requiring clever deduction on the reader's part. The action was limited (unless you count the incessant fornication) and the writing style was adequate but not overly expressive (unless you count Anastasia's ability to orgasm with a simple worded command - unrealistically impressive).

Overall, as I've said before the series is enjoyable if you take it at surface value - a simple, slightly twisted romantic read with a few shock factors. Fifty Shades Freed was the lightest of all novels with the predictable happy ending. Again, this is only going to be a three out of five fangs rating for me but this is based on my earlier interest in the much more complex, self-serving and charismatic sadist known as Christian Grey.

Synopsis:
When unworldly student Ana Steele first encountered the driven, damaged young entrepreneur Christian Grey, it sparked a sensual affair that changed both their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and ultimately repelled by Christian's singular sexual tastes, Ana demanded a deeper commitment; determined to keep her, Christian agreed. Now, together, they have more-love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of infinite possibilities. But Ana always knew that loving her Fifty Shades would not be easy and being together poses challenges neither of them ever anticipated. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian's opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own integrity, identity, or independence; Christian must somehow overcome his compulsion to control and lay to rest the horrors that blighted his past and haunt his present. Just when it seems that together their love can conquer any obstacle, tragedy, malice and fate combine to make Ana's worst nightmares come true.

Book Review: The Seven Steps to Closure by Donna Joy Usher

Let me just start off by saying that I don't usually do Chick-Lit. I've never been really interested in girly dramas, boy bantering, and the inevitable over-discussed shopping sprees. I'm a supernatural fiction fan all the way - horror, suspense, a smattering of romance, and of course, vampires! So, when the Seven Steps to Closure was recommended to me by a friend, I thought to myself. Come on, woman, be brave, try something new, particularly in light of the good press it's so far receiving.
Alas, I downloaded this little bargain from kindle for $2.99 and sat back with a dubious expression undoubtedly planted across my face. But, as I was slowly woven into the world of Tara Babcock and her endearing friends, I found myself, shall we say ... hooked.
Yes, imagine my surprise as I laughed continuously at this seemingly disastrous protagonist, her psychologically deranged pets, and her saddened yet eternally optimistic view of her less than perfect dating experiences.
Let me lay it out for you quickly. Tara Babcock has had a rough year. Her philandering husband is out of the picture but her heart persists on dragging its ventricles, unable to obtain closure. Cue three very different, yet well-meaning friends and you have Tara with a new mission - obtaining the seven steps to closure thanks to an elaborate article in a gossip magazine. Get a new haircut, get a new wardrobe, start a new hobby, have meaningless sex (yes, you heard me), travel to an exotic destination, have meaningful sex (yes, you heard me twice), and obtain closure.
It all sounds pretty straight forward, doesn't it? Not with Tara at the helm.
Needless to say the author cleverly explores Tara's progress through each chapter, shaping the character into the disastrous but endearing creature that makes you smile at every witty one-liner and inevitable upset. Flanked by a smartly interwoven sub-plot pertaining to each individual friend and you have more than just a story surrounding one desperate woman's journey to leave the past behind. Throw in a trip to India and all the idiosyncrasies that come with stolen shoes, crazy bandits, Dehli Belly, and ... meaningful sex - you have yourself a very entertaining little novel.
My only criticism is that sometimes the protagonist does highlight a little too much background information on elements that do not necessarily add to the story, simply slow it down. There was also a small lack of interchanging expressions and emotions from character interaction, but this in no way dimmed my enjoyment of this novel. From a self-published author I am extremely impressed by the attention to detail and the clear passion shown in research and character development. Overall, I can honestly say that I loved this book and will probably read more from this author in the future.
I will happily give it five fangs for surprising the hell out of me and proving me wrong about chick-lit!


Synopsis:
Tara Babcock awakes the morning after her thirtieth birthday with a hangover that could kill an elephant, and the knowledge she is still no closer to achieving closure on her marriage break up. Things go from bad to worse when she discovers that, not only is her ex-husband engaged to her cousin - Tash, the woman her left her for - but that Jake is also running for the Lord Mayor of Sydney.
Desperate to leave the destructive relationship behind and with nothing else to lose, she decides, with the encouragement of her three best friends, to follow the dubious advice from a magazine article - closure in seven easy steps.


Kristy :)