Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

May 29, 2019June 4, 2019 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

From the New York Times bestselling author of On Mystic Lakecomes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . .

In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all—beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.

So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.

From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success . . . and loneliness.

Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she’ll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she’ll envy her famous best friend. . . .

For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship—jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart . . . and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.

Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone’s Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it’s the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It’s about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you—and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you’ll never forget . . . one you’ll want to pass on to your best friend.

Book Overview:

Author: Kristin Hannah | Series: Firefly Lane | Format: Audiobook | Narrated By: Susan Ericksen | Length: 17 hours and 54 minutes | Publish Date: April 29, 2008 | Genre: Women’s Fiction | Literary Awards: Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award (RT Award) Nominee for Women’s Fiction (2008) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

“That was the thing about best friends. Like sisters and mothers, they could piss you off and make you cry and break your heart, but in the end, when the chips were down, they were there, making you laugh even in your darkest hours. ”

I’m not much of a women’s fiction type of reader, so I had a lot of reservations about reading this. I don’t remember why I was reading this, probably for a book club that I didn’t end up going to (I have a bad habit of NOT finishing the books on time but getting to them months later after everyone forgot about it). But anyway, once I started I just wanted to get it over with.

I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing at the moment, but I do know that it was a little better than I thought it would be. I kept waiting for the huge betrayal that the synopsis mentioned and I feel like I had to wait until almost the end of the book for it to happen, but trust me. You knew what it was once it happened. And trust me. It was a pretty bad betrayal.

So this book was about two girls that end up becoming best friends forever, from when they first met in middle school until their middle age life – pretty much their entire lives. The story is broken into decades, since of course it makes sense to see Tully and Kate grow into themselves by the years. It was a nice story, although the ending really broke my heart. It was nice to see how different their paths were after leaving school, even though their dreams seemed to be one and the same. I also really liked the success story of Tully, how she stuck to her guns and did whatever she needed to in order to make her dream come true. She didn’t let her circumstances stop her from getting what she wanted, and the love that Tully and Kate had for one another was one that I wish I had with my own best friend. Of course, there were moments of jealousy just like any other girl friends – or even guy friends, but that’s another story – but they were always able to support one another when it really mattered.

I don’t think I’ll read the sequel since one of the main characters of it is a person that I absolutely hated, but don’t knock it if you want to find out what happens next. It wasn’t terrible, just not my cup of tea.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

May 28, 2019June 4, 2019 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 2 Comments

After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity–and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution…

Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba’s high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country’s growing political unrest–until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary…

Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa’s last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth.

Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba’s tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she’ll need the lessons of her grandmother’s past to help her understand the true meaning of courage.

Book Overview:

Author: Chanel Cleeton | Series: None (although sequel came out recently, no official name for series | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Kyla Garcia & Frankie Maria Corzo | Length: 11 hours and 16 minutes | Publish Date: February 6, 2018 | Genre: Historical Fiction & Romance | Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction (2018) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Heck Yes!

“Life is too short to be unhappy, to play it safe. To do what is expected of you rather than follow your heart”

I don’t know what took me so long to review this book since I couldn’t stop talking about it while I was listening to it. I even told my mom about it and recommended it to her. Then someone told me that she wrote a sequel to this book from Beatriz’s perspective and I flipped out. I absolutely fell in love with this book, and both Elisa and Marisol while they told their stories about Cuba, and what happened to them while they were there.

One of my favorite things about this book was that it seamlessly transferred us back and forth between Elisa’s Cuba and Marisol’s Cuba. While it may seem like the years between the two don’t always have a big affect on how a country changes, it was important to note that the Cuba that Marisol grew up learning about was completely different from the Cuba that she actually went to see, and even more different from the Cuba that Elisa and the entire Perez family lived and left back when Fidel Castro took control. I felt for Elisa so much dealing with the revolution and the war, being in the heart of it and being personally affected by it due to her family’s status. All of the Perez family felt it, and suffered in some shape or form for being associated with the corrupt ruler of Cuba – not Fidel but someone just as bad. Elisa was only nineteen years old when this was going on, part of a wealthy Cuban family that was sheltered from what was really going on. She had to grow up extremely fast, and leaving her country behind was probably the beginning of her new journey in life.

Marisol on the other hand is going to Cuba for the first time, with the intent of finding the perfect spot for her Grandmother Elisa to rest in peace. Unfortunately, Elisa (the one and the same) never did get to go back to Cuba like they promised, so spreading her ashes in her home will have to honor her dream. From there, Marisol is learning that the Cuba that she learned about growing up is not the same, and despite the death of Fidel Castro and the political unrest not nearly the same as it was during her grandmother’s time, it is still dangerous for a Cuban-American girl to start asking questions. Especially if they find out which family she came from. Can she survive knowing that this isn’t what she was expecting? Can she make it out of Cuba alive?

Elisa and Marisol are both strong women, so proud of their Cuban heritage and not afraid of showing it. They also know who they are, who they want to be, and even if their lives didn’t always follow in the path of their family’s images of them, they stood up for themselves in some aspect. I loved hearing about how Elisa would tell Marisol about Cuba, and I loved how Marisol knew about certain places in Cuba that Elisa loved to see when she lived there, like the Malecon. I felt love for both of them, and I felt like both of their stories were just wonderful.

I keep saying that I don’t usually read historical fiction adult books, and yet here’s another one that ended up reading and loving. I may end up buying this book so I can go back and revisit Cuba from Elisa’s and Marisol’s eyes. I can’t wait to see what Beatriz was up to during the Cuban Revolution, as I feel like she was one character that didn’t get enough “screen time”. To have a whole novel dedicated to her is a dream come true. I highly recommend this book, even if you think historical fiction isn’t your thing. You may be surprised at what you find.

The Future Will Be BS-Free by Will McIntosh (ARC Review)

May 26, 2019June 4, 2019 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

In this terrifyingly timely tale for fans of The Eye of Minds, a teen and his group of friends find themselves on the run after using a genius lie-detector contraption to expose their corrupt government.

In a Putin-esque near-future America, the gifted and talented high school has just been eliminated, and Sam and his friends have been using their unexpected free time to work on a tiny, undetectable, utterly reliable lie detector. They’re all in it for the money–except Theo, their visionary. For Theo, it’s about creating a better world. A BS-free world, where no one can lie, and the honest will thrive.

Just when they finish the prototype and turn down an offer to sell their brainchild to a huge corporation, Theo is found dead. Greedy companies, corrupt privatized police, and even the president herself will stop at nothing to steal the Truth App. Sam sets his sights on exposing all lies and holding everyone accountable.

But he and his friends quickly realize the costs of a BS-free world: the lives of loved ones, and political and economic stability. They now face a difficult question: Is the world capable of operating without lies, or are lies what hold it together?

Book Overview:

Author: Will McIntosh | Series: None | Format: Hardcover – ARC | Length: 352 pages | Publish Date: July 24, 2018 | Genre: YA Dystopia | Rated: ★ ★ ★| Recommend: Maybe

“Powerful people aren’t smarter or more capable than the rest of us; they’re just more willing to lie, cheat, steal, even kill.”

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

One of the scariest things about this book is that it doesn’t feel too far off from what I think America will be like, but that’s besides the point.

McIntosh brings a version of the United States to life in this book, where the country is so devastated financially that even high schools are shut down because they lack funding. Once the funding is gone, the students aren’t allowed to come back, and the teachers are quickly displaced. People are homeless in the hundreds, trying to survive in a place where there is barely anything to work for. It’s a nightmare, and it seems like it’s thanks to their current President. For one, President Vitnik had no political experience prior to being elected (sound familiar?) and has convinced the Legislature to get rid of the two term limit enforced after FDR held a record four-term Presidency. Now the county is in the hands of this president that has monopolized on the country’s lack of resources by being one of its main suppliers – literally everything has her face and name – while the country continues to suffer.

In comes Sam Gregorious – lovely name – and his five friends that now have a lot more free time on their hands to invent a lie detector that doesn’t rely on someone’s heart rate, but is 100% more reliable than anything we have ever seen before. Dubbed the “Truth App”, Sam and his team started off their journey to create the truth app to make a boat load of money and get their families out of poverty, while Theo wants to create a “bullshit-free world” where corruption will fall and the honest will rise. Theo was the only one that saw their invention as something more than an instant cash cow, and of course he was the one that was murdered by those that sought to shut their invention down. FYI, that’s not a spoiler since it’s in the synopsis, but it still sucks.

Throughout the entire journey, the book moved way too fast for me. Not one that made me want to find out what happened next, but one where I was always wondering why a chapter ended the way it did, or started the way it did. It didn’t seem cohesive, but I could at least follow what was happening. Scenes jumped so quickly that you were left wondering what happened in the middle – or why it seems like those specific scenes were deemed important.

It was also difficult to sympathize with Sam, or wonder why he was the one that was “in charge” of this whole thing. Theo truly was the brains, and throughout the book I didn’t see what made Sam the leader, if he ever was one. He was the scapegoat, the one that the others chose to blame when “shit hit the fan” and all other disastrous events took place, but did they really show him respect at all? Not really. Was it just because Theo was murdered and they had nobody else to fall behind? He didn’t seem like the type that his friends really rallied behind at all. Not to mention he seemed completely obsessed with Molly, his crush since forever that didn’t like him back, and that seemed to have gotten in the way of a good storytelling. There was a love triangle for no reason, and the only reason why it had any merit was because it fractured the dynamic of the group for such a ridiculous reason. It was not needed, but teen boys seem to be girl-centric when the world is going up in flames.

I think this would have probably made an interesting TV movie, or movie in general, and while I liked the concept of the story, I felt like it could have been explored more. The ending was nice, and I’m glad things will hopefully start to work out again for the United States, but maybe having more of what happened before, and why Vitnik did what she did could be some bonus content for us to feel better about this story.