Review: The Book of Why by Nicholas Montemarano

The Book of Why
by Nicholas Montemarano

Genre: Self-help, Fiction
Publication: January, 2013
Format: kindle
Source: Netgalley
Connect: Website

A novel that asks if love ever really has to die

The power to solve your problems is within you-with the right sense of belief, the mind's ability to create success, happiness, and health is limitless.

At least that's the philosophy of self-help author Eric Newborn, whose books and lectures have spawned a legion of devoted followers who swear that his ideas have pulled their lives from the brink. But after the traumatic loss of his wife, Eric is left to face the darker side of his own teachings, living as a recluse in the home they shared on Martha's Vineyard, struggling to reconcile his worldview with the pain he has suffered. It's a fundamental question that haunts him: why?

When a fan with questions forces Eric to face the world once again, he's put on a path that might lead him towards the closure he seeks, but in astounding ways he could never begin to dream.

At once a stirring portrait of a soul laid bare by grief and a celebration of coincidence and the magic of real connection, The Book of Why explores the deep powers of the heart and mind to shape the world around us, blurring the lines between loss and love, fate and free will, and despair and joy.

I don’t usually mind reading a self-help book. But just cannot get into The Book of Why. It was sort of confusing. I do not get what the book was really about.

I thought that the beginning was alright. The middle part was very confusing. I have a hard figuring out what the author was trying to deliver. I had to put down the book for a few times because of it. And I cringed every time I decided to continue where I stopped. Yes. It was a torture. The ending left me unsatisfied. I think some of the issues in the book were left unanswered. The only reason I finished the book was because I hate to start a book, and not finishing it.

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Bone in the Throat

Title: Bone in the Throat

Author: Anthony Bourdain

Genre: Crime, Thriller, Culinary

Publication: 2000

Rating: 1/5

When up-and-coming chef Tommy Pagana settles for a less than glamorous stint at his uncle's restaurant in Manhattan's Little Italy, he unwittingly finds himself a partner in big-time crime. And when the mob decides to use the kitchen for a murder, nothing Tommy learned in cooking school has prepared him for what happens next. With the FBI on one side, and his eccentric wise guy superiors on the other, Tommy has to struggle to do right by his conscience, and to avoid getting killed in the meantime. 

I like Anthony Bourdain as a chef and I like his TV shows. I got this book because I was curious to know how Bourdain would write a fiction. Besides, I always love a culinary/food related mystery/crime/thriller books. 

However, I’m sorry to say that I was greatly disappointed with this book. The pace is slow, the dialogue is poor and boring and the characters are poorly constructed. I had a hard time keeping track of what’s going on and who the characters are. There was nothing special about the characters. It’s like they didn’t have their own personality. 

I was annoyed to see that almost everyone in this book used foul languages. There are too much unnecessary details and parts where I deemed that it would be better if it wasn’t there. I’m sorry Bourdain. I don’t think that I’m going to read another fiction from you :(

Book Review: The Taste of Innocence

Title: The Taste of Innocence (A Cynster Novel)

Author: Stephanie Laurens

Genre: Historical Romance

Publication: 2007

Rating: 1/5

Description:

He knows all too well how dangerous love can be...

Charles Morwellan, eight Earl of Meredith, has seen many happy Cynster unions, but he also watched his father's obsessive love nearly destroy their family. Yet, he knows his duty, and so has chosen a bride. Sarah Conningham is beautiful, intelligent, and knows the value of his offer. Imagine his shock when she refuses to wed for anything less than intense, unbridled, unbounded love.

Now, he's determined to win her! In a tantalizing game of pleasure and persuasion, Charles courts Sarah with excruciating propriety during the day, but each night spirits her away into the moonlit gardens, where he tutors her in the art of passions. Yet, after their wedding, his polite mask returns, leaving Sarah wondering which man she actually married: the controlled aristocrat, or the lover whose touch leaves her gasping. But then Sarah's life is threatened and Charles must discover just how much he is willing to surrender to protect... the taste of innocence.

I have never thought that there were a day that I would rate a book with one out of five. But, it happened with this book. Yes, it was that bad.

I found this book too painful to read. I tossed and turned during my read, and I just can't get into the book, or the characters. It was that boring. There was too much description of kissing, and love making (too much that I decided to skip lots of that part). While some might enjoy the detailed scene of love making, I found that it's too much and repetitive. At some point, I feel like I'm reading a porn novel (if that genre existed).