A Ranch to Call Home by Leann Harris

TITLE:  A Ranch to Call Home

AUTHOR:  Harris, Leann
GENRE:  Inspirational Romance

DATES READ:  6/11/2017 - 6/28/2017

MY RATING:  3/5

My mom got this for me, if only for the horses on the cover! 😍

---

Rodeo cowboy Caleb Jensen works at a ranch in Texas to keep his mind occupied away from bad memories. When the ranch owner's granddaughter, Brenda Kaya, returns home and requests he get back in the saddle for charity, Caleb must choose whether or not to let sleeping dogs lie. What mysteries lie in their past, and can they get beyond them to see a future together?

This book turned out exactly the way it sounds. It was a very sweet, romantic, average read (at times overbearingly so). However, it is an inspirational romance, so from my understanding, that comes with the territory. Bible quotes are all part of it (and I do enjoy a good Bible quote!).

There were cowboys and horses and ex-military secret softies. There were mysteries and secrets and wise old men. It was pretty much a classic western Hallmark movie wrapped into a neat little morsel.

It took me a while to read because I was not really motivated. I already knew everything would end as it should. But, once I really picked it up and got to reading it was a charming breeze. Just not my cup of tea.

Will read and write soon!

Book Cover Source

It by Stephen King

TITLE:  It

AUTHOR:  King, Stephen
GENRE:  Horror

DATES READ:  4/26/2017 - 6/23/2017

MY RATING:  4.5/5

Another book for my monthly Stephen King Book Club. This is one of the largest books I've ever seen. We have two months to read it, and I'm excited to finally pick it up. Forewarned... I hate clowns.

---

Derry, Maine is a quaint little town. With something horrifying lurking. In the storm drains... deep down in the sewers... your greatest fear. The Loser's Club has dealt with the terror before, and now they must return and face... IT.

Can I reiterate that I hate clowns? It was an irrational fear... NOT!

I did not expect to, but I absolutely adore IT! This book is about as close to a five as I can get without it being an actual 5*. I tried to get away with a 4.999999 with my book club, but they wouldn't let it slide. So, a 4.5* it will receive.

The setting itself, Derry, was terrifying (Nevermind Pennywise... but please mind him... He's terrifying as well)! I couldn't get enough of the seedy characters and happenings. It was truly chilling.

And the kids! King develops these little Losers to no end. I feel like I know them. Like I'm best friends with them and I'll never forget them. It brings me back to going and playing in the woods until dark, imagination, and that sense of 'forever friends'.

The true test of how wonderful this book is, is that it is FOREVER long. And yet it needs every. single. word. Every word it pivotal. I wouldn't cut out a single bit.

That being said... I just CANNOT rationalize that sewer scene. I'm not posting spoilers, but there is not way that THAT would help them find their way out. It was totally unnecessary. And would be absolutely perfection without it. Highly recommended!

Will read and write soon!

Book Cover Source

The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)

TITLE:  The Long Walk

AUTHOR:  Bachman, Richard ---> King, Stephen
GENRE:  Horror

DATES READ:  5/20/2017 - 6/10/2017

MY RATING:  4/5

Next book in line for Stephen King Book Club!

---

A futuristic (but really could happen now) competition known as The Long Walk. One hundred boys enter. If you win, you'll get anything you could ever dream of. But there can be only one winner. Crowds line up from miles around to watch. Slow down, stumble, take a rest... you get a warning. Three warnings and you lose. Only one survivor. Start walking...

The scariest part about this horrific book, is that everything it entails could actually happen. These boys walk themselves to death. And it's grotesque and horrible. And you know that only one can survive.

So really, it makes you an audience member too. One of the Crowd. Waiting for 99 boys to die a slow and painful death. Only, as a reader, you get to know these boys; their hopes, fears and dreams. And then one by one. They die.

I would recommend this book to any fan of realistic horror. Scary that something like this could exist, and is completely possible...

Will read and write soon!

Book Cover Source

The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth Church

TITLE:  The Atomic Weight of Love

AUTHOR:  Church, Elizabeth
GENRE:  Historical Fiction

DATES READ:  6/6/2017 - 6/8/2017

MY RATING:  4/5

This is the June choice for our standard book club. Haven't heard anything about it, but I like the periodic table of birds on the cover. Yay science!

---

Set in the time period between WWII and Vietnam, this book tells the story of Meridian Wallace. She's scientist who desires to get her PhD and become an ornithologist and instead meets and falls in love with a physicist. They move to New Mexico and she finds love with a Vietnam veteran. A novel of self-discovery, ambition, and sacrifice.

I'll admit that I had a lot of trouble with this story in the beginning. I didn't like Meridian. I thought her character was weak, flippant, and constantly unsatisfied (the grass was always greener). I have trouble went I can't find anything to like about a main character, seeing as I have to live with them the whole time.

However, I feel she was also a character of circumstance. This story was a time capsule that elegantly showcased just how trapped women were. It really encompassed a woman's 'place' during the powerful movements in the 60s as well as the invention of the atomic bomb.

To put it plainly, infidelity sucks. But in this book, I understood the root causes and her need for freedom and escape. Overall, I had trouble with most of the book, but the damn ending saved it all for me. Uplifting yet bittersweet.

Will read and write soon!

Book Cover Source