Truly
by
Ruthie Knox
Rating:
4 of 5 stars
My
Review:
I got
the opportunity to read this story as a serial on Wattpad. A couple
chapters were released each week for a couple months. At first I was
rather irritated when I'd get the end of each section in a given
week. I wanted to keep reading NOW. But then I sort of warmed up to
it. This was a good book to read a little bit at a time and really
savor some of the parts before moving on.
May is
in a bad place: dumped her boyfriend, got mugged, can't get home.
She generally does what is expected of her, but she's waking up to
find that it's not really who she is. This is the story of her
adventure to take control of, not so much her life but, her
personality. She doesn't want to be the person who just floats along
doing what would look best. Truth is, she has quite the aggressive
personality inside her. She's just never let it out.
Ben is a
huge chunk of the catalyst that pushes her to be who she really is.
At first I really didn't like Ben. He's angry, he yells. He's got
some nice in him, but he almost has to pep talk himself into actually
being nice. But by the end of the book, he's stopped yelling. He
seemed to get a handle on his temper and figure things out. I think
this is one reason it was good to read in smaller chunks. For the
first few weeks, I kept expecting that he would do some terrible
stuff because of how angry he was. As he gradually changes, I was
able to take that in more seamlessly instead of still expecting him
to act like a jerk still.
Because
the truth is, I think the story was specifically about May. Yes, Ben
grew. But the important thing was May's determination and seeing her
break out of her shell. You keep reading to see how May finally
takes control of her life, not specifically to see the romance
blossom. And she does a nice job figuring out how to grab life by
the horns. From the clothes she wears, to the way she stands up for
herself, to the decisions she makes about her life. It's all about
her growth. I liked seeing all that. I liked how I could relate to
it. I think just about anyone can relate to this book. I
appreciated her struggle to find that part of herself on her own, but
then also having to learn to own herself in other situations, like
when she joins her family finally.
And none
of that negates the fact that Ben had to grow too. He had a lot of
trouble accepting himself and figuring out what direction to take his
life. It's all left a little open ended for both Ben and May when
the book closes, sort of like they made peace with themselves so now
whatever else happens is just gravy.
On a
side note, before this book was released, I kept hearing that it was
“the naked beekeeper book”. Sadly, I didn't find any actual
naked beekeeping happening in the book. Yes, Ben is a beekeeper who
doesn't wear all the beekeeping gear, but alas, not actually naked
that I could tell. Not that fully naked would be reasonable, but
hearing about it ahead of time my curiosity was definitely peaked.
So
overall, this was a good book. I liked it. It was well written, out
of the ordinary, relatable and had lots of yummy food. It's a sexy
romance that's more a journey for the heroine to open herself up to
life and take what she wants rather than simply the process of
finding a soul mate. Ben was intriguing and sexy, but May carries
the book through her own process of coming out of her shell.
Showing posts with label ruthie knox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ruthie knox. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Making It Last
Making It Last
by Ruthie Knox
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Review:
Wow! I couldn't believe how spot on this book was at the beginning. Within five pages, I was crying because it voiced so many unspoken nuances of being a stay at home mom.
Amber and Tony have been married for 10+ years, with three kids. The story opens with the whole family in Jamaica on the way home from their first vacation since their third child was born (he's now six). Amber is so downtrodden by the disappointment of how much harder life is on vacation when you're mom and you have three kids. She's lonely and feels unseen. I have to be honest that some of my tears were because of the fears I have that even as my kids get older, this will be the way life plays out.
As the story continues, we see all of the pain that Amber's been carrying. She feels completely isolated and wishes for something that's just hers. But even having the chance to stay in Jamaica for a few days on her own, she feels bereft. It's been so long since she's wanted anything that she doesn't even have any conscious desires. And everything that used to be what she wanted or what would have made her happy, does not feel like anything to her.
Tony's been working non-stop for a long time and knows there's a problem but has no idea how to get out of the endless loop they're stuck in. When he heads back to Jamaica to try and save their marriage, the two of them pretend to be strangers and Amber's able to begin revealing why she's been depressed.
Within the first couple pages of reading, I had really high hopes for how this book would end. Like maybe it would give this magic solution of how to get through these feelings. I finished the book feeling hopeful and happy with the way it ended, but felt like it left out some of the serious concerns. Yes, hope-found can be life giving when you've lost sight of why you're with someone. But even hopes and dreams and "someday things will be better" can only take you so far when life has been dragging you down for so long.
It really felt like all of the characters love each other, but they can't really figure out how to make boundaries. I felt good at the end, because Amber and Tony decided to look forward to the future and could see that they'd be together and work out what was wrong. But it didn't feel like them as a family were getting the help they needed. Maybe some of it is my own pet peeves.
I'm glad that Amber felt hopeful again but from my own experiences, not feeling for a long time takes a really long time to unlearn. Maybe in one to five years she'll have realized some of her dreams and be feeling good, but for right now, today, it's back to the daily grind that's weighing her down.
The kids were totally, understandably freaking out about their mom being gone for the first time, but so much of their words and interactions were over the top nasty feeling to me. And the adults said and did nothing about it. In fact, Amber wanted to do something but was so burned out that she stayed in Jamaica so Dad and Grandma gave the kids whatever they wanted because it just wasn't worth the fight. At the very beginning, Amber thinks that she's correcting the boys so they won't grow up to be monsters, but as soon as she's not actively in control, everyone steps right on her rules to do whatever they want with the kids. This is honestly one of my biggest fears with raising my own kids - that no matter what I do, it's not going to matter and they'll be little monsters like this.
I wish this could have been dealt with a little more in the book - showing Amber standing up to Tony or her mom to get them to treat her rules as important. Or how they helped the kids figure out how to treat their mom like a person too. If she's getting better from being numb, I would have expected her fight to come back too - to stick up for herself with her family and kids.
I give this book 4 stars for it's realism but it's definitely not a beach read and if I were close friends with Amber and Tony, I'd say that I don't believe their "happily-ever-after" will stick without a lot of work. This book has stuck with me long after I read it and I hope there will be more books in the future that are able to voice this part of life and continue to explore how women can be whole no matter what their life choices are.
by Ruthie Knox
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Review:
Wow! I couldn't believe how spot on this book was at the beginning. Within five pages, I was crying because it voiced so many unspoken nuances of being a stay at home mom.
Amber and Tony have been married for 10+ years, with three kids. The story opens with the whole family in Jamaica on the way home from their first vacation since their third child was born (he's now six). Amber is so downtrodden by the disappointment of how much harder life is on vacation when you're mom and you have three kids. She's lonely and feels unseen. I have to be honest that some of my tears were because of the fears I have that even as my kids get older, this will be the way life plays out.
As the story continues, we see all of the pain that Amber's been carrying. She feels completely isolated and wishes for something that's just hers. But even having the chance to stay in Jamaica for a few days on her own, she feels bereft. It's been so long since she's wanted anything that she doesn't even have any conscious desires. And everything that used to be what she wanted or what would have made her happy, does not feel like anything to her.
Tony's been working non-stop for a long time and knows there's a problem but has no idea how to get out of the endless loop they're stuck in. When he heads back to Jamaica to try and save their marriage, the two of them pretend to be strangers and Amber's able to begin revealing why she's been depressed.
Within the first couple pages of reading, I had really high hopes for how this book would end. Like maybe it would give this magic solution of how to get through these feelings. I finished the book feeling hopeful and happy with the way it ended, but felt like it left out some of the serious concerns. Yes, hope-found can be life giving when you've lost sight of why you're with someone. But even hopes and dreams and "someday things will be better" can only take you so far when life has been dragging you down for so long.
It really felt like all of the characters love each other, but they can't really figure out how to make boundaries. I felt good at the end, because Amber and Tony decided to look forward to the future and could see that they'd be together and work out what was wrong. But it didn't feel like them as a family were getting the help they needed. Maybe some of it is my own pet peeves.
I'm glad that Amber felt hopeful again but from my own experiences, not feeling for a long time takes a really long time to unlearn. Maybe in one to five years she'll have realized some of her dreams and be feeling good, but for right now, today, it's back to the daily grind that's weighing her down.
The kids were totally, understandably freaking out about their mom being gone for the first time, but so much of their words and interactions were over the top nasty feeling to me. And the adults said and did nothing about it. In fact, Amber wanted to do something but was so burned out that she stayed in Jamaica so Dad and Grandma gave the kids whatever they wanted because it just wasn't worth the fight. At the very beginning, Amber thinks that she's correcting the boys so they won't grow up to be monsters, but as soon as she's not actively in control, everyone steps right on her rules to do whatever they want with the kids. This is honestly one of my biggest fears with raising my own kids - that no matter what I do, it's not going to matter and they'll be little monsters like this.
I wish this could have been dealt with a little more in the book - showing Amber standing up to Tony or her mom to get them to treat her rules as important. Or how they helped the kids figure out how to treat their mom like a person too. If she's getting better from being numb, I would have expected her fight to come back too - to stick up for herself with her family and kids.
I give this book 4 stars for it's realism but it's definitely not a beach read and if I were close friends with Amber and Tony, I'd say that I don't believe their "happily-ever-after" will stick without a lot of work. This book has stuck with me long after I read it and I hope there will be more books in the future that are able to voice this part of life and continue to explore how women can be whole no matter what their life choices are.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
About Last Night
About Last Night
by Ruthie Knox
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Review:
I found Ruthie Knox just as her book Ride With Me was released. I liked that book so I kept an eye out for her next book. The description for About Last Night didn't interest me all that much but I decided to give it a try. I think I finished it in two sittings. Both of the characters were very likable and I was rooting for them through the whole book.
I did feel a bit distant from Cath's mistakes. It just didn't seem possible that she could have so many huge issues to work through but still be so grounded. I liked her too much and it came as a huge shock that her "mistakes" were around two years old. I would have expected 5-10 years ago because she just seemed to be working so hard and on such a good path.
The chemistry between Nev and Cath was really well done. Some of the time you just wanted to shout at them that they're both just being silly, but maybe that made them more real. This book is a lighthearted romance that read very quickly but kept me thinking for a while about how we deal with life.
by Ruthie Knox
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Review:
I found Ruthie Knox just as her book Ride With Me was released. I liked that book so I kept an eye out for her next book. The description for About Last Night didn't interest me all that much but I decided to give it a try. I think I finished it in two sittings. Both of the characters were very likable and I was rooting for them through the whole book.
I did feel a bit distant from Cath's mistakes. It just didn't seem possible that she could have so many huge issues to work through but still be so grounded. I liked her too much and it came as a huge shock that her "mistakes" were around two years old. I would have expected 5-10 years ago because she just seemed to be working so hard and on such a good path.
The chemistry between Nev and Cath was really well done. Some of the time you just wanted to shout at them that they're both just being silly, but maybe that made them more real. This book is a lighthearted romance that read very quickly but kept me thinking for a while about how we deal with life.
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