Book Review: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

I participate in an online book club through a combination of Tumblr and Goodreads.  This month the two books that were chosen were picked because September is banned book month.  The first book was The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  It was banned due to sexuality in the book.

This is not a book that I would have picked to read, but I ended up really loving it.  In short, the current society is overrun, and women lose their rights.  They become baby factories of sort.  It was eerie to read because the way it occurs is plausible in some aspects.  It sort of reminded me of how Hitler corrupted Germany the way he did for WWII.

Margaret Atwood has a strong grasp on writing.  This book is very eloquent and a joy to ready.  I will say that if you like to read the last sentence of the book before the rest of the book DO NOT do that for this book.  The last sentence of the book left me longing for more.  I finished it days ago, and yet I still can't get it out of my mind.

Book Review: The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

First off, this book was much bigger than I had expected.  I don't mind reading bigger books, but it just threw off my reading schedule a bit.  I think it is a bit different than Susanna's other books.  It was chalk full of beautiful imagery.  Due to her writing I know want to visit so many different places!

The majority of the book moved slow.  Not slow enough that you didn't want to read it, but slow.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.  Until the last quarter of the book!  The last quarter of the book was incredible!

Everything started falling into place.  You were so invested in these characters that you intently felt their pain.  My heart actually clenched up for these characters!  I couldn't put the book down once I reached the last quarter of the book.  That made the whole book worth it!

It's nice that she has tied in many of her other books into this book too.  You don't need to read the other books to love her books, but she will bring a character in from a book here and there.  It makes it fun!  This one made me want to reread the Winter Sea again.

Book Review: A Desperate Fortune

Susanna Kearsley is one of my all time favorite authors!  I was able to meet her shortly after this book came out.  She is as wonderful in person as her writing is.

This book follows the traditional style of Kearsley's featuring a dual timeline plot.  Her writing is extremely descriptive in a way that makes the reader feel like they are there.  However, this book was a bit different.  This book featured a main character with Aspergers.

I loved that she tied in something that is considered a disability in most people's eyes, and made it a strength in this book.  It showed how those with Aspergers think differently, and are very gifted in some areas.

All in all it was a very sweet book.  I loved the dual timeline, and I feel in love with the characters.  So much so that when it ended I couldn't decide if I liked the ending.  I just wanted to book to continue.

I really feel like Kearsley out did herself with this book.