Reviews — Books and Mugs

 Today I am going to review two things — a book and a mug.  Hmmm,,, which first.

Ok, the mug.  As I mentioned in an earlier post I was looking for a mug to make toting a cuppa upstairs easier.  I decided on the hydroflask 12 oz mug in black.  The cute little, ever popular pink one was going to take two weeks to get here so I vetoed that because I am an instant gratification sort of gal.

So, I ordered, it came and so far I am impressed.  It is insulated, supposedly BPA and lead free, with a lid that can be completely closed.  I am having my first up of coffee in it right now and it is staying toasty warm even though I don’t have the lid on it.  It is very lightweight which is good for me because my wrists, especially my left, don’t handle bulky, heavy cups well.  The handle is easy to grasp and feels good in my hand.  It holds 12 oz which is a nice, good cuppa.  I am pleased and, so far, recommend.

As you know, I read a lot.  I list my books on my Goodreads page and also this blog.  I don’t usually take the time to review books, really but I am going to this time.  I follow a facebook page that talks about nothing but books and great selections come up multiple times a day.  One book that has been making the circulation is “Things We Never Got Over” by Lucy Score.  In a nutshell it is the story of a set of twins, one good and one evil.  It is a good story, engaging plot, great characterization, picturesque setting — all the things I love in a book — and I give it three stars on Goodreads.

Why only three if it was that good?  Well, I have certain standards with the books I read.  I won’t read books about cruelty (the Holocaust for instance), crimes against children, grisly murders, you get the picture.  I usually do a good job of checking out the books I read so I don’t get involved in things that I know I am not going to enjoy.  I mean, if that happens and it is a library book or one I have borrowed from Kindle Unlimited then I can just return, but I am not going to pay good money for something that I am going to really dislike.  

However, with this book, it was so popular and so well received that I just didn’t question it.  I got it off Kindle Unlimited and forged ahead.

From the beginning I noticed that there was a lot of language that I don’t use and don’t like hearing.  I realize we live in a much more casual world but old habits die hard and it just isn’t something I grew up with in my day to day life.  But, because I was invested in the story, I just sort of let my eyes fly past the words and went on - it only got worse.  

Then, a little past half way, the graphic sexual encounters began.  Now, it wasn’t anything illegal or heinous, not criminal, completely consensual but…..I didn’t need to hear about it …at least in such detail — more than once.

Now, maybe in my younger years I might have found it scintillating but at my age now - yeah, that ship has sailed — give me a good story and leave all that stuff out.  Honestly, the story was good enough that it didn’t need the graphic illustration of what was going on.  I am not saying the romance should have been left out, of course not, it was integral to the story but the details needed to be taken down a notch or two or 10.  

This was the first book in a series.  Don’t you hate it when that happens?  What happened to stand alone books?  Anyway, I am pretty sure I am not going to move forward with the rest of the series.  I would love to know how it progresses but the language and the graphics were just too much for me.

I am now reading “Stargirl” by Henry Winterfield.  It is a children’s book about Mo, a little girl alien who finds her way onto earth and meets new friends.  My cousin had the book, when we were children, and I always read it when I went to her house.  I have a physical copy but I now have it on my iPad and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest!

I look at it as a literary palate cleansing after the last one I read!