2015 Reading Challenge: The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

I won an ARC from a Goodreads Giveaway and am very grateful for the opportunity to provide my honest feedback.  I love books about books and books about carnivals and circuses and this is a particularly good one about both.  

This dark love story crosses generations and tells the story of an unforgettable family and their possible curse.  The characters are memorable and interestingly flawed, the settings (both the traveling carnival and the aged beachside town) are evocative, and the story sucks you in.  I found myself staying up late to read just a few more pages and having whole chapters go by before I could put the book down.  This wasn’t a quick read, not dense but complex and rich, sometimes a bit slow paced, but always compelling.  

I would recommend it for fans of The Night Circus (because it has that dark circus type setting) and The Shadow of the Wind (for the awesome book about books angle).

Netgalley Reviews - Aftermath Lounge by Margaret McMullan

Aftermath Lounge is a beautiful and subtly tragic book about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.  It is composed of multiple stories following several different characters and their experiences leading up to and after the storm.  

The focus of these stories is on the lives of the characters, not as much on the storm itself, and the insight into their lives is touching and deep.  The characters are believable and relatable and I became invested in their stories and well being.

I would recommend this book for fans of contemporary fiction, particularly those with an interest in the south and Gulf Coast regions.