In your face, campfire and flashlight scary!!!

Great book with an underlying theme of guilt, forgiveness and communication. Blended family moves into a creepy house that was formerly a church complete with a graveyard attached to the property. Realistic teens are uncomfortable with both their new stepdad and his strange and hostile daughter. Things start to get scary when Heather connects with a ghost who passed at her very own age.(seven years old). There is a lack of communication between the overwhelmed adults and the kids. The older daughter bravely tries to protect the younger, angry Heather and in the end they learn a valuable lesson. Great way to open a discussion about feeling safe enough to confide anything to your parents. Honesty is always the best policy. I would read it before I would let my child attempt it. It can be really scary.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman

Chilling - all nighter read!

Chilling and terrible story of the disintegration of the values of our society. I found this book way more scarier and suspenseful then Gone Girl. To me- the characters were more believable. Detached and without a moral compass, both Todd and Jodi have their cake and want to eat it too. She keeps silent about his infidelity, as long as she can have the trappings of a upwardly mobile life. Keeping her home in order, looking perfect, making the gourmet dinner is were she centers her ambition. Her personal growth is tied only to the things that only she sees as important. Jodi is a therapist, and while she talks about her patients with clinical sarcasm that borders on light dinner conversation trivializing their problems, she is able to detach herself from her personal failures as well. Todd is selfish, a shark taking whatever he wants without any sense of consequence. He swims through life in the shallow waters, using everyone around him and discards their needs whether they be wife, girlfriend, partner, or friend. He sees people as objects to be used for his pleasure. I couldn't put the book down. Harrison compels you to read and read and read- because while the characters don't care- you can't help yourself from caring too much.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman

Not such a plain Jane

Interesting book about Jane Seymour, her family background, the dynamics of court life, and her role in advancing her family's position in the Tudor court. While not as flamboyant as Ann Boleyn, she had a certain grace that must have soothed the troubled royal Tudor family. Certainly she was picked by Henry because of her quiet dignity that comes across the pages. Of all six of his wives, maybe it is no coincidence that it is next to Jane he chose to be buried. There is not much to the faint outline of a girl who was married to one King and mother to another- this book fills in just a bit of the girl who died too young.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman

The Husband's Secret

Great book about what do we really know about the people in our orbit? Each character of the book is spinning in their own world of work, home life, and their own insecurities. They are all busy, so busy they are living life without really seeing what's going on around them or with the people they love. Parents don't know their own children- they have no idea if someone is bullying them, why they love the subjects they do, or even if they have someone special in their life. Couples have secrets, as do each of the many different generations. They see each other as fixtures in their lives, accepting what they choose to believe and being blind to everything else. Each character is a separate identity with hopes, dreams, issues, and lastly dangerous secrets that will affect how they are perceived as well as destroy the illusion they all create to protect themselves. I read this book in one night, I simply could not put it down. Moiarty propels you into any neighborhood, in any country with relatable characters, all blind to everything except their own perceptions. I don't want to give to much away- but it was brilliant! The Husband's Secret is a box, much like Pandora's that once opened- the consequences are shattering.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman

Book Review: The Ghost

When I started the book, at first it seemed more romantic comedy with ghostly undertones. It would have made a enjoyable story. Then it tuned moody and the characters waffled between likable and then thoroughly nasty. Are we supposed to like them, fall in love with Angus, feel threatened by Duncan or is it the other way around. While I understood the author was building suspense which is a good thing- each character needed to pick a side and stay there. How can we like Angus when he has that almost abusive side and punishes Elizabeth? The history was muddied jumping from the 1500's to the 1850's and was not seamless. While the author has a deft hand with descriptions that made me want more, her characters were not developed enough and left me feeling it was not enough. A potentially great idea with beautiful prose that needed its plot to be thought out more.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman

Titanic QED

I thought the plot of "Jaws" meets "Titanic" a great idea and loved the premise. I was not ready for the all out horror and sci fi aspects of the book. I have to be fair and say it's not my usual genre. That being said, I think the author gave a very respectful and lovely account of the passengers and the doomed ship. Written in almost a period style- I don't know Lovelace, but I understood right away she was writing in a style of the early 20th century and I applaud her talent. I wished that she could have picked one horror aspect over the other. I don't want to give things away, but either one would have been enough to do the damage she needed for the plot. I agree with the other reviewer's comment about the "Scooby Doo" scene and thought the book was going in a much better direction until then. The Maggie Brown lifeboat episode was the best part of the book and alone made a terrific story. Here her character development shined. Interesting idea, but to me just a bit cluttered. Loved what Catt was actually implied- what truths do we really know about anything? Who decided reality and where is the truth? I will read more books by her. I think it would make a great Twilight Zone episode.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman

History Year by Year

The "Dark Ages" were a direct result of the fall of the Roman Empire. The Revolutions that rocked the world in the 18th century were born from the Age of Enlightenment. Few people realize that history is a continuous result of the occurrences that took place before. When you look at history as a cause and effect and connect the dots, it makes it much easier to understand where and how things happened, and why we must study the past to learn what's in store for us in the future. I bought this book for my son and daughter in law to read with their children. If children recognize events from the past- it will make it easier to learn in school. Many children have trouble with social studies. If you can get them familiar with certain key events- it will make is more understandable in the classroom. If you stress and show how events from the past have somehow effect them today- it personalizes history into something they can relate to and understand.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman