Book Review: The Call by D Hamilton

Katie January 15, 2012 0 Comments

When I first got The Call in the mail, I was a bit intimidated.  Although the book is small, it is pretty thick and reminded me of a brick.  When I thumbed through it and saw that it had no chapters, I was again concerned.    However, the book is split into parts.  Three of them.

Part one is roughly 100 pages and tells the story of Ishmael O’Donnell, the main character, growing up.  He had a twin brother, Isaac, but he passed away when he was young.  This had a lasting effect on Ishmael.  Ishmael ends up receiving “the call” and goes to seminary school – which is what part two is about.  I made it through part 1 quickly, anxious to figure out what would be happening with Ishmael.

In Part two we go to Seminary with Ishmael and meet some interesting characters, to say the least.  It seems that although Ishmael believes that he has found “the call” the parishioners seem to think otherwise.  He got a few letters from the head of the seminary saying that he needs to work harder and they weren’t really nice letter either.  But Ishmael sticks with it, even missing holidays with his family. (Which hurt his mother greatly as he is now all she has)

We also learn that Ishmael’s father has had an affair, which had led to a child.  He had a paternity suit done and so Ishmael has a half brother.  His father wants nothing to do with the child but Ishmael’s mother wants to bring some child support to the family and sends Ishmael to deliver it. When he arrives he is introduced to his new half brother – Isaac!

This book was really interesting, once I got over the initial intimidation and fact that I had no chapters to stop at.  The characters were really interesting and kept me drawn to the story.

About the Book

Satire and the supernatural blend together in this humorous but disturbing account of divinity and the people who are drawn to answering the call to ministry.

The story is conveyed in the first person through the eyes of Ishmael O’Donnell, an observant young man who wrestles with familial dysfunction, possession by the spirit of his long-dead twin brother, and a quest for purification from both.

The book chronicles the events that lead up to his seeking out seminary as a means of attaining this purification. Upon his arrival at seminary nd his three-year journey through the curriculum, he finds himself engulfed in an unending torrent of duplicity, impertinence and societal abnormalities within a communal setting of characters so driven, tenacious, over-the-top and supercilious, it hurts.

The mocking inner voice of Ishmael’s twin reverberates louder and louder as he desperately tries to come to grips with what is taking place about him, while discovering who he is within the confines of a cloistered setting he finds to be inundated with its own unique form of madness.

And when he finally does obtain the key to his purification… but such things are not revealed second hand.

You can read the prologue of the book at the author’s website:

http://www.dhamiltonbooks.com/the-books.html

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz9pCWCMo6o]

Book Review: Bittersweet Surrender by Diann Hunt

Katie January 8, 2012 0 Comments

Diann Hunt was one of the authors of Smitten, a book I really enjoyed, which is why I chose to read Bittersweet Surrender.  This book follows Carly who owns a spa and has a bit of a sweet tooth. Ok, maybe it’s more than a bit.  When she starts exchanging emails with her childhood crush (and brother’s best friend) and he says that he will be moving back to town, she tries to lose 25 pounds.  Her best friend Scott tries to help her out along the way by taking away all of her chocolate and making her go for walks and runs with him to get her in shape.

Her crush Jake comes to town and everything seems to change.  She’s not sure she is really in love with him, he is rough and doesn’t  take a liking to her advice to making his daughter happy about the move.  Carly’s brother C.J. is in a HUGE gambling debt and Carly doesn’t want to help him out this time (a breast cancer survivor, she is trying to save up for surgery, not to bail her brother out all the time).  C.J.’s marriage is falling apart and a bunch of secrets come out about Scott’s wife and Carly’s best friend Ivy, who passed away in a car accident.

The book is an easy read and quite interesting once you get in to all the drama that starts to unfold.  Will Carly stay with Jake or has her teen crush faded?  It is very easy to relate to Carly and root for her to suceed not only in her love life, but in realizing her self worth and with her spa business as well.  The book is 259 pages and includes some reading questions at the end if you’re reading it in a group!

Book Description

(Katie’s Note – this is the description from Booksneeze. I am not sure why it is spelled Carley and Carly – in the book it is Carly.  And I honestly have no idea who Tom is either. I’m thinking that should be Scott!)

Carly Westlake is living the dream. She spends her days at a spa (okay, so she owns the place), she’s dating a hunk, and she’s surrounded by chocolate—milk chocolate, her favorite—that she uses for the chocolate facials that made her spa famous.

But when long buried secrets threaten Carley’s business and her friendship with business-partner Tom, she fights like crazy to keep the dream—and the illusions—afloat.

It takes a miracle of grace to get Carley to finally make that bittersweet surrender to love and real life.

About the Author

Diann Hunt is the author of several novels including Hot Flashes and Cold Cream and Be Sweet. She has lived in Indiana forever, been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her dog and, well, chocolate.  Visit her at www.GirlsWriteOut.com where she blogs with friends Colleen Coble, Denise Hunter, Kristin Billerbeck and Hannah Alexander.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”