What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton- Book Review

I have thought about how to begin this blog post for a little while now. Do I begin with how I voted in the election? Do I write about how Bill Clinton was the first candidate I ever voted for? Do I put some kind of asterisk next to everything I will write?

What I decided to do is write why I purchased the book. None of us can deny that when one talks about HRC, everyone has an opinion of her. She has been in the political spotlight on a national level since Bill Clinton became candidate Clinton and then President Clinton. In my state, HRC's legacy continued as she became our state Senator (the first First Lady to have a political career post White House days). Then she ran for President, became Secretary of State, and then ran for President again. I have to write this- no matter what your opinion of her is, you have to respect the accomplishments that she has made. This is the reason I purchased the book. No one compares to HRC when it comes to her political career. She broke all kinds of ceilings and was a forerunner for candidates who are women. I wanted the book to get an insight into her life, post political career (as it is looking like that is the case).

This book is so many things and at 500+ pages, it should be. It covers what it was like to lose the Presidency after winning the popular vote, what it was like to run against Trump and Obama, what it means to be a woman in politics, what it is like to be in the spotlight for so long, etc. This book is raw and is nothing like what it is being painted as.

The book is being painted as a blame book. I am not going to lie, there is some blame at others, but I found much more self blame. There were plenty of sentences that focused on whether or not she had done something correctly or if she had just tweaked something. In the parts that blame others, it comes from a rawness in her reflection. She has reason to be angry. She has been under a hate machine since 1992 and had all sorts of criticism, critique, and lies spread about her. I would be pretty angry at times too.

Yet, with some minor anger passages, there are many more passages about the love she has for her grandchildren, her need for self care, and just being alive and trying to live a normal life in the midst of a spotlight searching out every mistake and problem. That made this a powerful book. After reading it, I turned to my wife and said "I wish I saw this Clinton on the stage instead of what was presented to me." In that statement, I realized I too had bought into some of the attacks.

With everything typed, I do think this book could have been trimmed a bit. A whole section on life of the road was almost unnecessary as she divulges which is the best hot sauce. Those parts seemed a bit tedious. Overall though, I thought it was a good insight into her mindset including her frustrations, her joy, her life, and presented all in a very real and raw way. In this book is HRC the woman and person and not HRC the candidate. I really enjoyed it.

I gave this one 4 stars.

We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates

In my circles, anytime a group wants to focus on race/race issues, the book that is normally turned to is Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. It is a fantastic book and should be studied, but I almost always push for a different book- Between the World and Me by Coates. Why? It is less about stats and figures and gets to a personal and deeper level of race relations. The book is a letter to his son about growing up as a black man in America. To me, it just brings everything home.

I mention this because this book is his follow up to the incredible Between the World and Me. The question is- does it stand up? Is it just as powerful?

These are 16 essays, two for each year of the Obama Presidency. The first is Coates relating what is happening in the larger context to his individual outlook. He paints a big picture of what was happening in the world with just a handful of pages.

Then he zeroes in on one particular moment during that year to talk about what it meant for the black experience in the world. The first, for example, was Bill Cosby's speech that was both praised and panned about growing up as a black individual in America. Coates, obviously knows what will become of Cosby, but he frames that speech with what was happening, how it was received, what it meant, and what happened to Cosby. He writes an essay on Michelle Obama and a few other individuals.

What I love about Coates' work is he has a unique way of looking at the world and just putting it out there to observe. He has an opinion on it and just lays it out with a lot of knowledge, experience, and history behind his words. He tries to view each item through several angles before coming to his conclusion. The amazing thing is he does it all within a few pages. None of the essays are terribly long, but the are all incredible.

This one has a lot of hype going into the Fall book season and there is a good reason for it. This one is an immediate buy, underline, hold onto, and buy it for a friend. It is that good, especially for those who want a conversation about race. So, so good.

I gave this one 5 stars.

*I want to thank NetGalley for the advanced copy. I received it in exchange for an honest review.*

Buried Secrets by TJ Brearton- Book Review

I will admit that I read semi-self published books with different eyes. This title is published by Bookouture, which seems to be a self submit publishing company that will help publish books. I write this because I found this to be a fun book for a semi-self published book, but if it were a major publishing company, I would pass on this like crazy.

This is really two stories. Story one is about a couple who while digging in their backyard find pieces of bones. What they realize is the bones are human and there is a piece of paper with a code on it.

The second story is about an inmate who is hired to do a job, while in jail. If he does the job without questions, he will be released, go back to his daughters, and his debt forgiven. He is driven to Upstate NY and dropped off in front of the couple's house and he is to unload a package, but must search the house for the package.

Things are going well until the wife returns. What will happen to all of their lives as the two stories intersect? What about the people who hired the criminal? How will they come into play?

This book starts with a great premise. We know the two lives will intersect. We know the job will involve the couple. We are expecting this. The problem begins as the story starts to unravel a bit. When a third party is added into the soup, it gets a little crazy at times. There are also odd interactions with the police that don't make much sense.

The book is advertised as having tons of twists and turns, but I would disagree with that statement. It is pretty straightforward and not very surprising. Characters will make some odd choices, which maybe are the twists, but it isn't a thriller.

I gave this one 3 stars, but that is with recognizing this is semi self published. I would say pass if it was a major printing. At the time of this writing, it is $.99 on Amazon.

I want to thank Netgalley for the advanced copy. I received it in exchange for an honest review.

The Grip of It by Jac Jemc- Book Review

I tried a book box for the first time and did their horror box. Within the box was a copy of The Grip of It. This book had been on my radar a little bit, so I was glad to receive it. I don't often talk about the cover of the book, but if you are interested in this one, definitely get the paper copy. The cover has spooky "hand drawn" faces on the cover that show when the light hits it just right. It was a great little touch.

Julie and James look for a new home in a small town. The couple are looking to start their lives over again. We don't know why in the beginning of the book, but hints begin to show that there has been some stress in their marriage including a gambling problem for James.

The house they find seems perfect, except it has some strange creaks and groans. James decides to research the house a bit to see the history of the house. Julie stays home as some strange bruises appear on her body.

As one can imagine, the horrors of the house begin to ramp up a bit with strange drawings, a secret journal, and a neighbor who stares at them at seemingly all hours of the day. When the neighbor goes missing, the police become involved with James and Julie as things begin to unravel. The house seeks to consume them and their marriage problems begin to amplify. Will they survive the house?

There are many haunted house novels out there, but I enjoyed Jac Jemc's take on it. It is a slow unraveling of both the characters and the house with enough doubt about whether or not the characters are losing their minds or is it really the house. Jemc adds in a troubled marriage and the doubts begins to grow a little more. Even though we are being told the story through the eyes of James and Julie, we know they are a bit unreliable.

This way an incredibly quick read and made a great weekend read. I highly recommend the paper version. I gave this one 4 stars.

Here and Gone by Haylen Beck

I love books that get right into the action and this one definitely delivers. Within a few pages, we are off and running on this tense adventure of a mother who has her children taken from her after a fake arrest.

A woman is on the run from her abusive husband. At the beginning of the book, we do not know much except she is in the car with her children that she may not have custody for. She has a past history of drug abuse, but for the time being she needs gas in order to continue.

After seeing a police car when she stops, she is nervous until pulled over. The police search her car and she is arrested for possession of narcotics. Her children are removed from her sight as she is in jail.

When she asks about her children, the police officer replies- "what children?"

This is the beginning of the book! As the book progresses, we meet a man who becomes very concerned about the children as he has had a similar story. Both people must now try the best they can to save these children.

I found this book so quick moving and so tense. I will state that I get a bit icked out by pedophiles, so that could have added to the tension of the book for me. The "dark net" plays a role in this book.

The scenes play out so well and dark. You can feel the dank cell and the hopelessness of the situation. This is a rough, but good summer read.

I gave this one 3.5 stars.

I want to thank BloggingforBooks for the copy. I received it in exchange for an honest review.