S.E.C.R.E.T - L. Marie Adeline - Kobo

“Cassie, we are our sexual lives”.

I really enjoyed Secret. It had more depth than I thought it would, and the storyline was so much fun. I can’t remember where it was suggested to me, but I wish every pick would be so great ;) As an added benefit, since I read it on Kobo, I stumbled across notes on the pages made by other readers, which made my experience all the better because of this interaction. I noticed from the first few pages in that the words were genuine and thought-provoking (not to the extreme, but just enough to make my reading experience worthwhile and meaningful as well as entertaining).

Cassie, a waitress in New Orleans, lives a boring and self-protected life. She finds a journal at the cafe where she works, left behind by a confident and mysterious older woman who she’s been admiring and is curious about. Although she doesn’t want to intrude on the woman’s privacy, she takes a peek, and discovers pages of sexual fantasies played out on paper. Events unfold and Cassie learns about an organization which exists to help fantasies become reality in order to foster personal growth.

A page-turner for me, and for anyone who has felt their desires (sexual and otherwise) to be unexpressed in any way, I'll say Secret will be comforting and encouraging. But I’m learning by other reviews that this does not include everyone :@) -- So, maybe this novel will be most appreciated by those who can relate.  I haven't as of yet found one male reviewer. To be expected, I guess.

One other note: I’m finding the people who didn’t like this novel didn’t, in part, because of the ending. This is one of the reasons why I liked it. The very point of this novel, exactly, for me is that women are often so caught up in the emotional idea of a happy ending that we don’t express and live our true desires and selves (whatever they may be) in the present moment. Of course the extreme to this end is probably not that healthy for one's self-esteem or growth, either, and so balance is the key.

It looks like Secret 2 is coming out in Oct of this year.

The Disappearing Spoon – Sam Kean

“We are all star stuff, but different star elements and minerals accumulated in different parts of the world."

If you have an interest in the periodic table and what the universe and matter are made of, read this book. If you are already an expert in this department, I'm sure you will still get something out of it. If you are a complete amateur - all the better, it's written in way that anyone can understand and appreciate, and it’s so very informative and interesting.  Packed with information about famous and important scientists since the beginning of time to current time, including political, romantic, tragic, heroic, and triumphant historical shenanigans, TheDisappearing Spoon is as exciting as a novel to read.  I can’t recall every – sometimes jaw-dropping – story and the loads of knowledge because there’s just so much, but below are a few quotes and notes I made along the way. *I apologize if I should add quotes and leave them out in places, I wrote these notes on my phone while lying in bed so that I wouldn’t forget.  The quotes may not be exact.

There is a section about the belief by some how every 26 million years or so, mass extinctions by asteroids or comets happen:  "The goddess nemesis punished hubris. She made sure no earthly creature could grow too proud by striking down anyone more powerful than the gods. The analogy to the sun's companion star was that if earthly creatures evolved towards intelligence, Nemesis would wipe them out before they got traction." -- “The sun is dragged along our spiral solar system, getting closer with time, loosening debris like comets as it gets closer, which may hit earth if we are not saved by planets like Jupiter.”

Another topic is about mining for cell phone minerals in the Congo, and the destructive behaviour that can ensue when wealth pours into a resourceful region.

The biology section was one of the most interesting to me, ESP how viruses invade cell DNA, and how poisonous elements, such as the less talked about cadmium, thallium and polonium, wreck havoc in the body, and how radon causes lung cancer.  Sulphur (like in garlic) prevents bacteria from reproducing by interfering with folic acid production.  Copper and silver are strong antibacterials (money - coins - are mostly made of nickel and zinc and are covered in copper to prevent bacteria from spreading). The gadolinium used in MRIs could be a potential cancer treatment because of its ability to absorb neutrons and become radioactive, producing a "nano-nuke" in the body. However, this element may be toxic to eliminate, if not transformed.  Pasteur's take on life and disease was that disease is caused by bacteria, hormones, and chemicals, etc., but that lab work could not mimic the workings inside the human body. Life is chirality... and side handedness in the smallest life matters (see teratogen drug causing birth defects 1950s, thalidomide). *This last part, chirality, I’m still trying to understand, I have to confess.

Read the excerpt from the website (the wonderful first chapter about mercury).

I wish my review could do this book justice. It really is fabulous.  I loved the writer’s humour, sincerity, detail and intellect.  I look forward to TheViolinists Thumb, and hopefully! more titles down the road.  

The Kingdom – Amanda Stevens

“He extended his hand, and I thought at first he meant to introduce himself, but instead he uncurled his fingers, and I saw my necklace coiled in his palm."

This is the second book in the Graveyard Queen series, following The Restorer (and there’s also the prequel, The Abandoned).

Amelia, graveyard queen, is summoned to South Carolina, Asher Falls, to restore a wealthy family’s graveyard. There’s another graveyard in town which is completely underwater due to flooding, and this is not the only strange thing about Asher Falls....  With a beautiful landscape, history, and a man who’s seductive (and possibly untrustworthy...), and a strange and evil force amidst - Asher Falls captivates Amelia.  She feels she’s been brought here for a reason.  What she discovers about the place and herself is beyond her wildest imagination or nightmare.

I found The Kingdom to be less frightening than The Restorer, but more intriguing in many ways – especially the characters! I felt like I was in a game of Clue, where the storyline was not predictable and the characters, so sinister! I loved the town’s landscape and cemetery – especially the creatures who roam about the forest and graveyard.  The cover was the least appealing to me of all the novels, until I noticed the statue's hand – so Asher Falls ;)

I have to mention (again) when I’m reading these novels I really do feel a deeper connection and understanding to and of the otherworld. I don’t know what it is, but it’s there every time, and as I read through the pages, I’m absorbing something. That’s why I like them so much!

The Kingdom ended on a suspenseful and romantic note, and I am excited to find out what will happen when Amelia returns to Charleston in The Prophet.