Title: You Believers
Author: Jane Bradley
Publisher: Unbridled Books
Publication Date: May 3, 2011
Hardcover: 416 pages
ISBN: 978-1609530464
Genre: Fiction, Suspense

From the Publisher:

You Believers is a powerful, cathartic story of casual evil and of how the worst things can be faced so that we might not only survive, but grow. A young woman goes missing, and her mother uproots her life to find her daughter. But it is not just the heartbreak or the deep mystery of the hunt for lost loved ones that Bradley so convincingly explores. Rather, with the help of an amazingly dedicated searcher, family and friends somehow learn to move past unspeakable horror and celebrate the tenacity of the human spirit. Offering a vision that is at once ruthless and utterly compassionate, Bradley renders the search for logic, meaning, redemption and even hope in the domino force that is human nature.

Part Southern gothic, part crime, part haunting suspense story, You Believers takes us on an infinitely harrowing journey that rewards the reader with insight into how we might endure horrible events with faith, strength, and grace even while it reveals the ripple effects of random violence..

My Review:

Katy Conner is missing and the efforts of Shelby Waters to find the missing bartender is only the start of this unique story of a crime, told from multiple vantage points. You Believers by Jane Bradley grips readers with a story of the atrocities some will inflict upon others and readers will want to set aside the time to feverishly read this one through to the end. Bradley shares her gift for compellingly crafted prose as she writes from the perspectives of those endeared to Katy, of the searchers and the perpetrators. Characters are developed convincingly in this tale of loss, perseverance and the love that makes these emotions so inextricably linked. Rarely are readers treated to the kinds of perspectives served up in this story where even the motivations behind the sociopath who is out to redeem himself for his flawed upbringing are detailed. Engagingly complex, yet masterfully assembled to keep the reader’s attention, I highly recommend You Believers to anyone looking for an absolutely heart-stopping fiction suspense novel.

About the Author:

Jane Bradley is the author of two acclaimed story collections and a novella, Power Lines, which was named a New York Times Notable Book. Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, she now teaches at the University of Toledo in Ohio. This is her first full-length novel.

I received a complimentary ARC of You Believers by Jane Bradley from Unbridled Books to offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

Title: The Descent of Man
Author: Kevin Desinger
Publisher: Unbridled Books
Publication Date: May 3, 2011
Hardcover: 272 pages
ISBN: 978-1609530433
Genre: Fiction, Suspense

From the Publisher:

One night Jim, a quiet wine steward, wakes to find two men trying to steal his car. Against the petitions of his wife, he goes outside to get the plate number of the thieves’ truck. Instead, something comes over him and he drives away in their truck until he recovers his wits and realizes what he’s done. When Jim learns that the two would-be thieves are brothers with a history of violence, he soon finds himself over his head in a mire of sinister events and must risk everything to regain what he can of his life before that night.

My Review:

The Descent of Man by Kevin Desinger tells the story of Jim and his wife Marla and exemplifies how one decision, right or wrong, can be pivotal in determining the pathway our lives follow.  Desinger wastes no time in captivatingly snaring the reader’s attention on page one where we learn of Jim’s important and fateful decision.  Jim and Marla’s marriage was in turmoil and fueled by a lack of trust, it may have been near its end.  But one evening, Jim and Marla experience a chain of events touched off by Jim’s one decision, a decision that went against Marla’s pleas, that would introduce this couple to a series of events that could only be borne of evil.  Desinger, in his debut novel, takes readers on a tense, exciting, yet dark journey through the descent of a quiet professional into a man driven by an innate, primal instinct to protect all that he has built in his life.  Offer up any details on what events transpired in Jim and Marla’s life together would spoil much of the book’s mystery.  I would recommend The Descent of Man to all readers, but especially those looking for a taught thriller with a lot of underlying moral and ethical questions which make this also on interesting choice for discussion groups.

About the Author:

Kevin Desinger graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop before moving to Portland where he wrote for the Willamette Week, the Oregonian and a number of regional publications. An earlier short story appeared in The Missouri Review. This is his first novel.

I received a complimentary ARC of The Descent of Man by Kevin Desinger from Unbridled Books to offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

Title: The Coffins of Little Hope
Author: Timothy Schaffert
Publisher: Unbridled Books
Publication Date: April 19, 2011
Hardcover: 272 pages
ISBN: 978-1609530402
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Timothy Schaffert has created his most memorable character yet in Essie, an octogenarian obituary writer for her family’s small town newspaper. When a young country girl is reported to be missing, perhaps whisked away by an itinerant aerial photographer, Essie stumbles onto the story of her life. Or, it all could be simply a hoax, or a delusion, the child and child-thief invented from the desperate imagination of a lonely, lovelorn woman. Either way, the story of the girl reaches far and wide, igniting controversy, attracting curiosity-seekers and cult worshippers from all over the country to this dying rural town. And then it is revealed that the long awaited final book of an infamous series of ya gothic novels is being secretly printed on the newspaper’s presses.

The Coffins of Little Hope tells a feisty, energetic story of characters caught in the intricately woven webs of myth, legend and deception even as Schaffert explores with his typical exquisite care and sharp eye the fragility of childhood, the strength of family, the powerful rumor mills of rural America, and the sometimes dramatic effects of pop culture on the way we shape our world.

My Review:

I have enjoyed every book I have read by Timothy Schaffert and after reading The Coffins of Little Hope I realised this is, in my opinion, his best book to date.  Schaffert has a beautiful, subtle and unassuming writing style, which easily draws the reader into the story.  In this instance there are four stories occurring at once and Schaffert expertly weaves them together and gives them life through the voice of 83-year-old Essie, the obituary writer for the County Paragraph, a small town paper which was begun by her father and her grandson is now shutting down.  The characters, real or imagined, as one will learn, are expertly crafted and their lives are told to the reader through Essie, an unpretentious, sharp and intelligent woman, who if truly listened to, has plenty of advise to offer.  I was not able to set The Coffins of Little Hope down and was sorry to see it end, as all books must.  I became accustomed to Essie and I shall miss her, and while it may sound odd, she is a character that one will not easily dismiss or forget.  The Coffins of Little Hope speaks of the past and present cultures while hinting at what may lie ahead, not always easy topics to hear, yet these topics are not isolated to this delightful, quaint, and dying town in Nebraska, rather, through Essie, Schaffert speaks of topics universal and worth remembering.  I would recommend The Coffins of Little Hope to all readers and book discussion groups.

About the Author:

Timothy Schaffert grew up on a farm in Nebraska and currently lives in Omaha. His short fiction has been published in several literary journals and he’s won numerous awards, including the Mary Roberts Rinehart Award and the Nebraska Book Award.
He is the author of two other critically-acclaimed novels, The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God and Devils in the Sugar Shop.

Learn more about Timothy Schaffert and his books by visiting his website or following him on Twitter.

I received a complimentary ARC of The Coffin of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert from Unbridled Books to offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

Title: Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb
Author: George Rabasa
Publisher: Unbridled Books
Publication Date: April 5, 2011
Paperback: 336 pages
ISBN: 978-1609530358
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

No other obsession strikes as hard as the love that hits a teenaged boy — especially if he’s the sort of kid who is no saner than he wants to be. From the moment Adam Webb sees Francine Haggard—in the van that is supposed to return them to the Institute Loiseaux—the two young mental patients are inextricably connected. Adam will never let this girl go.

From hiding her in his bedroom to spiriting her away to Minnesota’s north woods, “Miss Entropia” becomes the focus of Adam’s every thought and of everything he does. He believes her to be a goddess, his own goddess.

But the pyromaniacal Miss Entropia will be neither worshiped nor owned. And so Adam’s possessiveness is destined to push her to the breaking point.
Theirs is an incendiary love story, an unbalanced Romeo and Juliet, that spins and arcs its way strangely toward tragedy.

My Review:

I have struggled with my review of the brilliant, lyrical, and beautiful book entitled Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb for fear my review would become a rambling, gushing mess. I cannot wait any longer to share my thoughts on this book, so please keep in mind I did warn it may be a rambling mess of gushing. Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb by George Rabasa is narrated over several years by Adam Webb, a frequent client at the Institute Loiseaux, ‘Tute for short, an institution for the wealthy, mentally ill, or as Adam refers to the clientele, “cleverly completed”. While the reader knows the outcome before Adam’s story is ever told, it is still a surprise as the reader becomes so intertwined with Adam’s life. Adam’s story is both hilarious and heart-breaking, which makes this book such a compelling book to read. Adam is a kid I would have liked to meet. On his fourth trip back to the ‘Tute, he meets Francine Haggard, or as she prefers, Miss Entropia, or Pia for short. Adam feels an immediate attraction to this girl who is the living embodiment of the Hindu Goddess Kali. Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb exposes the rawest of human emotion, the need for love and acceptance, and exposes the deepest and darkest places where illness can hide. Adam’s infatuation with Pia goes far and beyond obsessive as he worships her. He speaks of his family, the faculty of the ‘Tute, and naturally, of Pia. Each character is vividly detailed and portrayed so the reader will have no difficulty visualising each individual. I was so impressed with Rabasa’s writing I did not want the book to end and that is the mark of an excellent writer. I look forward to reading more books by George Rabasa and I highly recommend Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb to every reader.

About the Author:

George Rabasa’s most recent book, The Wonder Singer, was published by Unbridled Books in 2008. A collection of short stories, Glass Houses, received The Writer’s Voice Capricorn Award for Excellence in Fiction and the Minnesota Book Award for Short Stories. His novel, Floating Kingdom received the Minnesota Book Award for Fiction. Another novel, The Cleansing, was named a Book Sense Notable. His short fiction has appeared in various literary magazines, such as Story Quarterly, Glimmer Train, The MacGuffin, South Carolina Quarterly, Hayden’s Ferry, American Literary Review, and in several anthologies. Rabasa was born in Maine, raised in Mexico, and now lives in Minnesota.

To learn more about George Rabasa or his books please visit his website.

I received a complimentary ARC Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb by George Rabasa from Unbridled Books. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

Title: Reading Lips
Author: Claudia Sternbach
Publisher: Unbridled Books
Publication Date: April 5, 2011
Paperback: 226 pages
ISBN: 978-1609530372
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir

From the Publisher:

Kisses, even the ones that don’t happen, can be the trace of what’s constant when life changes. In childhood, when what seems to define everything is competition—for style, for knowing, for experience—a kiss is the first first. When a girl’s father moves out and chooses a new family, a kiss on the head from him may be the trace of constancy that she wants most.

Later, such things take on a different flavor. Sometimes the kiss she wants doesn’t come. Sometimes the one she wouldn’t have is forced upon her. From time to time, the one she has kissed before is lost to her.

Some kisses are final. When things are most hectic a kiss can be a celebration. And when circumstances grow threatening—to a woman, her family, her sister—a kiss becomes the reassertion of the most vital connections.

The rich story in these essays rings with good humor and with moving wistfulness. Throughout, Sternbach maintains a perfect balance between them as her story moves from the bittersweet desires of childhood on through loss and love.

Reading Lips is the tale of one woman who is just trying to get life right.

My Review:

Reading Lips by Claudia Sternbach is a beautifully touching, witty, and delightful memoir of kisses, and moments in her life that she has never forgotten. The book opens with Claudia waking from surgery and flashes back to third grade and progresses through her life with well-written, intriguing, witty and sometimes bittersweet moments from her first kiss to her cousin’s funeral, to weddings and beyond. I was not certain what to expect when I picked up Reading Lips, but I am glad I did. Sternbach shares her life with the readers in an open manner, making the reader feel a part of her life. Reading Lips is an enjoyable book of life’s memories that I believe most readers will be able to relate with and will stop and think back on their first crush, their first time at camp, their first tragedy and the whole time finding Sternbach to be an extremely funny, gregarious and delightful person. Reading Lips is a quick read, but it is broken down in chapters, or moments in Sternbach’s life, allowing readers to choose to read it all at once or a section at a time, either way the reader is in for a treat. I highly recommend Reading Lips to all readers.

About the Author:

Claudia Sternbach is a writer who is equally at home on both coasts. She has one foot in Manhattan where her daughter resides and the other in northern California where her husband is planted as firmly as the redwoods. she is the author of another memoir, Now Breathe (1999, Whiteaker Press), has been published in several anthologies as well as in major newspapers, and is the Editor in Chief of Memoir (and), a literary journal.

I received a complimentary ARC Reading Lips by Claudia Sternbach from Unbridled Books. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.