"Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet" by Will Hunt

I began the month of May with a non-fiction read. Will Hunt is originally from Providence, RI, and his fascination with the underground began with a childhood discovery of an abandoned railroad tunnel near his parents' house. In this book, we follow him through the walks in the subway system of Manhattan, catacombs of Paris and Cappadocia, and explore mines and caves of Australia, Europe and Central America. Throughout the book, Will Hunt not only relates amazing facts about underground places, but also recounts stories about humanity's age-old fascination with caves and darkness.

Personally, my favorite parts of the book were about religious beliefs associated with caves and the underground. I loved the chapters on worshiping cave spirits in Australia and Mesoamerica. Because this book is fairly short (under 300 pages), you only get bite-size portions of information in each chapter and just a glimpse into the rich mythology and history surrounding subterranean places. I do hope this book is successful enough for him to write another one, perhaps a bit more in-depth and focused on just a couple of topics covered in this overview. Overall, a very interesting book. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars simply because it did not go into enough detail for my taste.

"The Unhoneymooners" by Christina Lauren

This was my second Christina Lauren book and ok, now I get the appeal of her books. Lauren writes fluffy chick lit, the type of books you grab to read on an airplane or on a rainy weekend. Last year I read her My Favorite Half-Night Stand and was underwhelmed at best. I am glad I did not give up on the author. The Unhoneymooners was a lot better. It is a basically a hate-to-love story. Most of it is set on Maui with picturesque sunsets and boat rides. There is plenty of banter, lots of awkward moments,  and just all around good time. I definitely recommend it if you need to a pick-me-up or looking for something light and entertaining to read. 5 out of 5 stars.


An e-ARC was provided by NetGalley.com

"The Devouring Gray" by Christine Lynn Herman

The cover blurb promises that The Devouring Gray will appeal to fans of The Raven Boys and Stranger Things. Since I am not familiar with either series I cannot verify that it is so. However, I did really enjoy this novel. It is set in a small town in upstate New York called Four Paths. The town is very unusual in that it is a home/prison to an ancient evil (aka the Beast) that was trapped there by the town's four founding families. As a result of this deed, the four founders acquired magic powers that allowed them to keep the Beast trapped. Descendants of those founders still live in town and the magical abilities are passed down from generation to generation.

Our main character Violet Saunders has no idea her mother's side of the family comes from Four Paths. But after her sister dies in a car accident, she and her mother move to Four Paths to take care of Violet's ailing aunt. Now, Violet gets to learn about the town's history, her family's legacy and her own, thus far dormant, magical abilities.

I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the pacing. The ending definitely left an opening for a sequel, and I am glad we'll have an opportunity to return to Four Paths. 4 out of 5 stars. I definitely recommend this book.

"Trophy Life" by Lea Geller

When I originally saw the cover and the title of this book, I expected it to be a fluffy chick lit novel. So I decided to pick it up as a palate cleanser after reading a long classic. I was in a for a pleasant surprise.

Our main character Agnes Parsons, a thirty-something stay-at-home mom of a three-month old Grace, is married to a much older wealthy man and lives in Santa Monica, CA. She has a full-time housekeeper and a nanny, and her life consists of yoga classes, beauty salon appointments, lunches with other moms and dinner dates with her handsome husband. Agnes gives little thought to where the money comes from and how it is managed. She is just focused on looking pretty and wasting her days away. So when she gets the news that her husband lost all the money, is in trouble with the law and has to go into hiding, she is in complete shock. She is forced to move across the country to New York and take a job of an English teacher in an all boy boarding school.

Agnes is unexpectedly really good at being a teacher. She is also for the first time connecting with her baby and learning to stand on her own two feet. This is definitely a book about growth and self-discovery. I really liked Agnes as a character and I also think her transformation was well-executed. I did find it a bit unbelievable that a poor girl who grew up in foster families would so quickly forget what it feels like to be strapped for cash or not know about junk food aisles in a supermarket. But overall her portrayal was quite realistic. I also loved her Californian perspective on New York. 4 out of 5 stars, a very enjoyable read.

An e-ARC was provided by NetGalley.com.

The Classics Challenge: "North and South" by Elizabeth Gaskell

Somehow, despite all my love for British classics, I had never picked up a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. Furthermore, I don't think I even heard that much about her when I was younger. No one was reading Gaskell whereas many were swept away by the Bronte sisters, Jane Austin and Charles Dickens.

I must say, I do love her writing. I think a lot of people are intimidated by classics - Victorian literature in particular - because the novels tend to be wordy, expressions - full of pathos, and characters - too prim and proper. It takes a certain type of a reader, one who loves the historic period, and probably somewhat idolizes the atmosphere created in the novels and the manners of the day, to actually like Victorian (or Edwardian, or the Regent period) classics. Gaskell's language is beautiful and simple at the same time. I would definitely recommend her novels to someone who is concerned that the turn of phrase in Victorian novels is too archaic or difficult to understand.

North and South is a romance story at the heart of it. Ms. Margaret Hale is a daughter of a clergyman who decided to leave the church and moves his family from the South of England to the industrial city of Milton in the North where he takes a position of a private tutor. Mr. John Thornton is a rich industrialist who owns factories in Milton. We do get the perspectives of both characters, although admittedly, Thornton's figure is much less fleshed out than that of Margaret.

I did see this novel compared with Pride and Prejudice, and must admit that you could find a few similarities: a hate to love relationship and a domineering older female relative who does not approve of the heroine are the two main similarities that jumped out at me. Overall, North and South is completely unique and does not compare with Austin's comedy of manners. Gaskell's characters are somehow grittier, they suffer and toil more, their problems definitely go beyond immediate domestic interests. Gaskell not only paints the somewhat sheltered life of a Victorian young woman, but we also get a glimpse of the impact the Industrial Revolution has on the life in England. There are unions, strikes, fortunes made and lost. And by the same token, in the South, we see Margaret's cousin and aunt lead the carefree life of landed gentry.

To sum up, North and South is a solid, enjoyable classic. I would not call it the best one I've ever read and I am definitely not certain I will ever pick it up again (I might watch the TV series). But I definitely recommend it and will be picking up Gaskell's other works. 4 out of 5 stars.

"Never-Contented Things" by Sarah Porter

Never-Contented Things is a dark YA fantasy novel by Sarah Porter. And, when I say "dark" I do not mean that there is an evil faerie prince in the story who falls in love with a human heroine. Porter's faeries are creatures of nightmares and pure evil. They are utterly devoid of feeling, and are more akin to the folk stories about them, heartless beings who steal human children in the night and replace them with counterfeit changelings.

Our main characters are Ksenia and Joshua, two foster kids growing up in a small American town, who very soon will be separated because Ksenia is about to turn 18. That is until Joshua makes a deal with faeries and gets both of them spirited away into Nowhere.

I have seen quite a few negative reviews by readers who received advanced copies of the book from the publisher. I honestly do not understand that. I loved this book. The plot was unexpected, dark, interesting and wholly unlike the cookie-cutter YA fantasy that is being churned out by the publishing industry nowadays.

The story felt like an allegory for being stuck in a dark abusive relationship, or a situation you cannot get out of. Ksenia, for all intents and purposes, is dead to her friends and foster parents. But she is very much alive and suspended in a parallel world of faerie where she is kept by Josh and his twisted obsession for her. She feels powerless in this situation because she is vulnerable. She was hurt and abused as a young girl, and is starved for love and affection. She also has an appallingly low self-esteem and feels utterly undeserving of love. Josh, under the guise of saving both of them, robs her of her ability to make choices for herself. This is a startlingly accurate description of how a dominating abuser might be justifying the way he treats his partner.

Ksenia starts finding her way to who she is only when Lexi appears. Lexi is the one who truly loves her in a completely unselfish and genuine way. She does not see Ksenia as someone broken and requiring constant care. Lexi's ability to precisely voice her feelings, set boundaries and allow others and herself to make choices, fascinates me. There is a lot I can learn from her.

Overall, I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars. I took my time reading it and I enjoyed every minute. An e-ARC was provided to me by NetGalley.

The Classics Challenge: Reading an Australian Classic

Continuing my efforts to incorporate more classics into my reading, in February I picked up an Australian classic called My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. The novel is considered to be semi-autobiographical in nature and is set in the late 19th - early 20th century in the South-East of Australia. The main character is a seventeen year old girl named Sybylla. She is head-strong and unruly, she is also vivacious and a tomboy. I definitely appreciated the author's stance on women's place in society, her desire to break away from the expected role of wife and mother, and her rebellion against the proper look and behavior for a young woman.

There were, however, other aspects of the novel that I did not enjoy as much. For example, for all her yearning for independence in life, Sybylla is for the most part shallow and immature. She is utterly insecure and has such a low self-esteem that no matter how many young men shower her with attention, she still professes to be ugly and undesirable. Her behavior towards Harold is odd to say the least. She flirts with him, and then goes out of her way to try to make him jealous simply because she wants him to exhibit his passion and admiration for her. In the end, she hurts him over and over again, the person who truly loves her. I do understand her desire to be independent, but I don't think asserting one's independence lies through hurting those who care for her.

In the end I rated this book at 2 out of 5 stars. I am glad I read it, but the heroine definitely did not live up to my expectations.