Blog Tour Review: Finding Lily

Hello everyone.

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Author Book Tour for Finding Lily by Lisa D. Ellis

Title: Finding Lily

Author: Lisa D. Ellis

Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing

Published: January 2013

Pages: 160

Source: Received in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: 2 Stars

Synopsis: 

When her newborn baby Lily dies suddenly, Claire Edwards runs away to live in a lighthouse she had fallen in love with as a young child. The lighthouse is reputed by some to have magical powers, but Claire isn't looking for a miracle. She just wants an escape from her husband Jim's colder way of grieving, and from their apartment filled with the tiny clothes and stuffed animals they had collected over the past few months. But once Claire is situated in the lighthouse, it begins to illuminate things for her in a new way and she’s suddenly forced to rethink her views on life, death, and her marriage.

Melissa's Musings:

This review is going to be very short and to the point. There were things that I both enjoyed and didn't like about this book. Let's start with the things I liked.

I really enjoyed some of the imagery in the story. There's one particular scene after a wicked storm on the beach that is described very well and clear to the reader's eye as they navigate through these parts of the story. I also wish that the plot element of Claires' art work had been more developed throughout the story because it was a nice aspect of her character.

 I also enjoyed the different elements of the story and how they all came together, like the history of the lighthouse and how it has saved people in the past compared to how it seems to be saving Claire now, or at least helping to cleanse her soul. Claire's attachment to the lighthouse could have been toned down the tiniest bit though, because at one it felt to be bordering on downright obsessive and that got to be a little much after a while.

I also did like the way that Lily's spirit exits the story. I won't say how, because it's more powerful if you read it for yourself, but I did enjoy the metaphor that the event portrayed with her leaving.

That being said, there were a few things I didn't like as well. The main issue I have with the story is the writing style. There is a lot of "telling" rather than showing. It felt like Claire was babbling on at the reader the throughout the book, and so I didn't really get attached to her at all. It was difficult to see her development throughout because I don't feel like we truly get a feeling of who she is as a person.

Another issue I have is the fact that some of the major plot points are just unrealistic, as are some of the smaller details as well. For example, it is said that Lily dies suddenly the day that she's born while she's in Claires' arms. It's written that she dies of a congenital heart defect, which I would think would have been detected by the doctors on previous ultrasounds or within her apgar scores after being born since kids with heart defects would likely have trouble breathing or oxygenating their blood, which would probably cause those scores to be low.

Another example is the whole cat and mouse game Claire play with their relationship. The fact that they went through an off and on relationship for four or five years before he would finally commit just seems a bit ridiculous to me. I completely understand the fear of commitment aspect, but as for a strong main character in Claire, I was let down, because no self respecting woman would put themselves through that kind of rollercoaster for a relationship, no matter how much space a guy needs to work through his feelings/emotions.

Overall, this book just wasn't for me. I couldn't relate to Claire as a character because it felt like she was just telling us every aspect of the book rather than getting to see it truly develop through the story itself. I really wish that some of the elements I had enjoyed, like Claire's artwork had been developed further. I did like the slight twist with Lily's spirit, but that wasn't enough to get me to really enjoy the book. But, I would say that if you are a fan of beach centered stories, or stories with ghosts you might enjoy this one.

***I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I was in no way compensated for my review.***

Review: Dearest

Title:  Dearest

Series: N/A

Author: Carole Marshall

Publisher: Haitsma  Literary Agency

Published: October 24, 2011

Genre:

Format: Kindle

Pages:  167

Source: Received from author in exchange

for honest review

Read: March 24-31 2013

My Rating: 1 Star

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Meet Dr. Amelia Payne: a veterinarian and educational writer. She is a single woman living in Washington State. She no longer defines herself as the daughter of a clown and a deceased mime. At the age of fifty, Amelia has built a life for herself where the past would never find her . . . or so she hoped. The tragic tale of Amelia's life is brought to the forefront, when Claude Croft, Amelia's childhood friend, calls her in hopes of locating a bracelet he had promised his father to find. Gripped by a similar promise, Amelia joins Claude in a venture to find the jewelled bracelet, only to learn that she finds more than she bargained for. Spiralled back into her old life, Amelia is right back in the thick of the eccentric characters that once coloured her youth.A story about holding on and letting go, Dearest uncovers the past Amelia thought she knew, reveals secrets she never could have known, and the truth she finally comes to know.

Melissa's Musings:

The synopsis of this book is what pulled me in, since it seemed a little mysterious, and I figured the eccentric characters would help fill out the story and maybe add a little lightness to it, since it seemed heavy. The eccentric characters were more entertaining and easier to relate to than Amelia, the main character, on all fronts. Even so, the secondary characters felt almost as flat and underdeveloped as Amelia. All in all, this story was extremely difficult to get into.

There are a lot of deaths in the story. The fact of the many deaths isn't necessarily bad, but what I didn't like is the lack of transition between the death /people leaving Amelia to the next parts of the story. There is no speculation on her part for the reasoning behind these events. She simply moves along to the next event. It's very disconcerting, and eventually, after the third or fourth occurence, it just started to feel like overkill.

Just how many deaths can a story take, especially one as short as this? I won't name them all off, but at my count there are at least 8, including two animal deaths, though I may have missed some. And there is close to no internal commentary about these from Amelia, which makes her even harder to identify with.

Amelia, as a character is very...stoic, I suppose I would say. She's very cut and dry. There's little interaction between her and other characters and when there is, it's somewhat unfeeling. She does have a relationship with Claude that is somewhat serious, but even that felt fake, almost like insta-love. Claude and Amelia have a few intimate scenes which are written in the same stiff, formal style, that just made them feel awkward. It would have been better if those scenes had been left out entirely. 

Since Amelia was so difficult for me to connect with, I felt that the ending was lacking. The story comes to a resolution, and Amelia does show some growth. But, the process of getting to this growth and the repetition of her grandfather's message to her (which is an extended paragraph that I would guess was repeatedly written out, in full, at least 20 times) made the realization of her growth fall short. Instead of feeling happy for her that she finally learned what her grandfather had intended, I had the thought of "Finally! Now that message can stop." The ending leaves a lot to be desired, to say the least.

I do think that the main plot points of Amelia's father being a mime, her mother a clown, and her being stuck in the middle, as well as the secrets that are harbored by her parents do have potential. I applaud the author for trying to weave an intricate story around these elements, but the execution just didn't come together.

Unfortunately, I can't positively  recomend this book based on my own reading of it. But, if you like characters like clowns and mimes, you might give this a try.

I am curious though, how many deaths of people close to them do you think a character can go through before it just seems like too much and starts to seem ridiculous?

Heaven Or Hell by Roni Teson

Title: Heaven Or Hell

Author: Roni Teson

Publisher: Balboa Press

Published: July 31, 2012

Format: Paperback

Pages: 319

Source: Received from the

author in exchange for an honest review

Read: December 1-3, 2012

In A Few Words: Ethereal, limbo-like
My Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads: Add This To Your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

Following years of living in an alcoholic fog, Joe becomes an upstanding member of society-but only after he experiences a trip through Hell itself. Teresa creates her own Hell in current day Los Angeles where she struggles with her past while trying to raise her teenage son. Am I in Heaven or Hell, Angel wonders, as she floats restlessly from cloud to cloud, finding herself in constant pursuit of an earthly Teresa and not knowing why. Heaven or Hell is a story of tragedy, loss, and a triumphant life-changing resurrection when the lives of Joe, Teresa, and Angel collide in this world and beyond

Melissa's Musings:

To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. It's an interesting story, but I don't think that I went into this quite expecting to read about this particular story.

The story focuses on a family that's been broken apart by alcohol abuse and death. Teresa and her sister Angela were in a car accident that killed Angela and injured Teresa. Joe, who was already in the throes of alcoholism due to his wife's cancer, became even more distant, and eventually ended up homeless. Marion, the girls' mother, died shortly after Angela did. So, Teresa was left all alone, save for her Aunt Jessie.

Teresa does relatively well for herself, opening up her own business. But her marriage fails and she is left to raise her son alone.

Teresa is a character who I felt had major control issues. Her quirk is cleaning, for one. She often cleans when she's stressed or upset. There's nothing wrong with that but she seems to take it to a level of obsession, re-cleaning her store after asking one of her employees to do it, and then cleaning smudges off her car handle when she gets in and out. It was just a really odd quirk. And the control seeps over into other areas of her life, and when it does, anger pops up at really unexpected times. There are a few instances in the book where Teresa wants to slap her son JJ for things he says or does, but these aren't really bad things, like trying to joke around with his grandpa. The anger and wanting to slap him felt really sudden and just out of place for her character.

Contrasted with Teresa's anger, there's Joe's seemingly infinite patience in trying to resolve  his situation and make things better with his girls. Joe is portrayed as the ultimate saint who has helped many people suffering on the streets with alcohol and drug problems like he once did. I was disappointed in the fact that Joe's incidences of helping were so overplayed in the book. It felt like he was let off the hook for abandoning his family since he did all of these other great deeds, and I just don't think that's right. In this sense I can truly see where Teresa's anger is warranted because I felt the same thing as a reader. I think he got off too easily. Yes, he did apologize and he did try to make things right, but it just felt like too little too late.

The one thing that I think could have been improved about Joe's character was the name. As far as I can understand, though I may have misinterpreted, the character's given name is Juan. At some point through his experiences, he starts to go by Joe, but some people continuously refer to him as Juan. All throughout the book people kept saying things like "Joe, or Juan or whatever you call yourself now..." I think it would have made things a lot easier if there had been some sort of definitive statement like "I used to go by Juan, but now I go by Joe since I've changed my ways" and then just had everyone call him Joe after that. The other characters not knowing how to address him made these scenes flounder a bit.

The story definitely has elements that will make you think . There are scenes where Joe is going through his own personal hell complete with being stuck in a pit and floundered after by zombie like creatures that are grasping at him through the muck. You're left to wonder, was any of that real, or was it just some sort of detoxing hallucination? There's also the contrast to this hell, with Angela's character being stuck in limbo in the clouds after she refuses to leave Teresa when she dies. Angela's character is sweet, but also very mature after having been stuck in limbo after so long.

The story definitely prompts thought on what really happens when people pass away. The author gives the impression that the next chapter after life on earth, whatever that may entail, is closer to us then we all might think, rather than being miles and miles away.

There are religious elements to the book but they are kept simple and don't  go into any great detail, which I truly appreciated.