Review: On the Jellicoe Road Audiobook by Melina Marchetta

Title: On the Jellicoe Road
Author: Melina Marchetta
Narrator: Rebecca Macauley 
Goodreads .  Amazon
_______________________________

A revelation.

That’s what this audiobook was to me. Even after many, many years of reading the book again and again. I used to think I had it memorized even, but then it's like you hear someone else’s voice, saying all those sentences that bring so many great and incapacitating new emotions that it was almost like lighting stroke my heart.  

I am pretty sure there are quite a few poor souls out there that have not come across this book, or audiobook, yet. So I’m going to review it again, in the hopes to make you pick it up and make this world better.

On The Jellicoe Road goes beyond any realm or genre in literature. It surpasses boundaries and defines a whole new category of incredible, tremendous, fantastic and wonderful. It’s one of the wildest emotional rides your heart can take. The story is so deep, so clever, so thoughtful and perfect that it’s life changing. It certainly was for me.

One of the most common complains I come across when I recommend this book is people not getting it. At first it is confusing, but not because it’s bad narrative, because it’s mysterious. You will want to figure this book, but you won’t be able to at first, because like I told you before, it’s clever. It’s intelligent and it knows deep and dark things you will only get to know as you read along.

What is magical in all of this, though, is that you don’t even have to know what is going on to be pulled in. To get engrossed. To become obsessed. Because this is one rich story, and Melina Marchetta is probably one of the most powerful story tellers of our time.

The audiobook, like I suspected, is amazing too. The narrator did a wonderful job at conveying the emotions we needed. She did a great job of representing the turmoil inside Taylor Markham, her confusion and pain, her annoyance and her spirit. And it is not even one of those high budget audiobooks that seem to be the regularity now. No, it’s simple but engaging. And to hear a story like this, a story I hold so dear to my heart, in the voice of someone else but me was so gut-wrenching that I spend half the time crying my eyes out.

And in the aftermath I can’t recommend it enough. For the people that have never read this book, to the ones that will be introduced to it for the first time, for everyone. This is it.

Review: No Love Allowed by Kate Evangelista

Title. No Love Allowed 
Author. Kate Evangelista
Published April 19th 2016 by Swoon Reads
Goodreads  .  Amazon
_________________________________

I hate to be blunt and say it, but I wasn't expecting much from No Love Allowed. I picked it up because I needed something to read in a short flight and the description reminded me of Pretty in Pink one of my favorite movies, and The Distance Between Us, one of my favorite books. So I thought hey, let's do it.

I'm glad I did because it was an adorable novel, going way deeper than I thought it would. From topics of suicide to bipolar disorder, it was all a roller coaster ride. I had a bunch of feelings reading through it, mostly I was torn between desperate worrying and having fun.

I thought the characters were well crafted. Especially those main two, who honestly stole my heart. The were the epitome of cute couples. I wanted them to win from the start, it's impossible to to root for them to work out after witnessing their connection and chemistry through all the conflict they were thrown into.

Overall a great read with quite a few surprising turns and a true description of mental illness. And a treat for all of us hopeless romantics.

Review: A Walk In The Sun by Michelle Zink

Title. A Walk In The Sun Author. Michelle ZinkExpected publication: May 3rd 2016 by HarperTeen[ goodreads ] [ amazon ]___________________________________________

What I loved about A Walk In The Sun is that it transported me to another place, and I don't mean only to a hard-lived, sun-kissed farm; but to the thrill of being young and in love. It's the story about a girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Rose's mom just died and her dad is in such a depression that she has to take over all the chores at their farm, all by herself.

That's how she meets Bodhi, the recently hired hand that's going to help her run the farm this summer.

And that's where the similarities with those Harlequin novels you're thinking about, end because this is not a story about the rich daughter of the boss falling for the working class guy. This is more about finding love when (and where) you didn't expect it.

A Walk In The Sun did a fantastic job at portraying the hardships of loss and death and sadness, but also at reminding you that there are always new beginnings. A story for those who love the hard beautiful farm life, and the hard beautiful romance of first love.