Review: The Handbook for Highly Sensitive People

The Handbook for Highly Sensitive People by Mel Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, Watkins Publishing and Mel Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

What is a highly sensitive person? Well, Mel Collins claims that almost 20% of the population are HSPs. They include people who process emotions more deeply than others, often being told they are too sensitive, or shouldn’t take things too personally. They are more reaction to the positive and negative emotions of others and can have a heightened response to environmental stimuli. Collins is a UK psychotherapeutic counsellor, spiritual healer and reiki master. She makes It clear that she doesn’t come from a scientific background and has gathered this data by working with people (including the prison system) over the past 15 years.

When I first started reading about what an HSP was, I started to relate to a number of things. I have been told my whole life that I am too sensitive, that I should toughen up, have high levels of empathy and have a feeling of not belonging, including in my own family. I don’t have all the qualifiers, like the environmental issues, but enough that I certainly fell into this category. As I continued to read on about how this manifests in your life, how it shapes your personality, etc. I really began to get excited and thought “Wow! This sort of explains my whole life”. It certainly spoke to a lot of my childhood, career choices and decisions that I have made along the way. It was viewed as a negative and I really felt like it was just me. There was something wrong with me, that I heard things differently than other people and took things too personally and got too defensive. That other, “normal”, people didn’t behave like this. So, naturally, you start to feel some validation when you realize there is a whole group of people who are like that and that it can be viewed as a strength and not a weakness.

Collins does an excellent job at identifying and explaining what an HSP is and what the challenges you might have faced during your life. She walks you through an extensive number of self-help strategies to help reshape your thinking into finding the positive. There is a third section on spirituality that goes more into the “woo-woo” aspects of crystal healing, spiritual guides (angels), earthbound should (ghosts) and other such stuff that she says in the beginning, if that’s not your cup of tea, skip it.

What I found, as I started to go through the self-help solutions, was that I had heard all of this before. Collins talks about self-love and softening your inner critic. Forgiveness and not comparing yourself to others is something that can help everyone. Setting boundaries and using things like meditation and positive affirmations to help keep doubt and worry at bay. She also talks about tapping as another strategy to help you in real life situations where you need to get control over how you are feeling. I began to wonder, if these were the solutions, then what is so special about being an HSP. Everyone uses these solutions if you are trying to live a more peaceful life. Be in nature, be in the moment, don’t focus on the past, are all messages I have heard from many other experts.

These self help strategies, echoes of what others have said, are sound and it is nice to have them in a step by step format, in one place. You can easily skip those sections that you don’t personally have an issue with so I found the book easy to use. To me, however, it just undermined the whole notion of being a highly sensitive person. Worthwhile read, just not sure I buy into the premise.

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Review: Buzz Books 2019: Young Adult Spring/Summer: Excerpts from Next Season's Best New Titles by Ian Doescher, Gaby Dunn, David Elliott, Kosoko Jackson, Mary Weber and More

Buzz Books 2019: Young Adult Spring/Summer: Excerpts from Next Season's Best New Titles by Ian Doescher, Gaby Dunn, David Elliott, Kosoko Jackson, Mary Weber and More by Publishers Lunch
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publishers Lunch for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.


Another edition of Buzz Books. As I have said before, if you want an amazing selection of books for the upcoming season, you must read this first. Not only will you get a list of awesome books where you can see if your favourite author is coming out with something new, you can find great new selections that you might not have otherwise found out about. They also have a selection of excerpts from their list so you can get a real opportunity to see if that book would appeal to you.

The Young Adult genre has grown exponentially over the past few years and now there is so much coming out, it is helpful to have some experts sort through the noise. I would have preferred for them to have broken down their list a little more - there is only fiction and a small selection of nonfiction. For example, if they could have grouped all the books that are in series, or by genre like fantasy, comedy, that would have helped. It was just too many for me to go through. Some I recognized and added to my list, but I just couldn’t get into the others. As I was going through the long, long list, I found that there were so many books that looked exactly the same. I became bored. Yes, I love fantasy and I love a female protagonist, but I just can’t get excited about the same blurb of she has magic, she is in danger, she is all alone, what will happen!!! Some of them are great, but some of them are just mediocre. Everyone is looking for the next big thing, but seem to be copying what the last thing was. It was like when there was a plethora of vampire books because of Twilight. As far as the more contemporary fiction I just found again, a lot of important issues, but really just two issues that would repeat over again. I feel like I have already read so many of already. I think that for people who are in this demographic, they can get much more excited about some of these than I can.

What did stand out to me is there are some real, potentially amazing books that I could use in a classroom. There is a Shakespeare version of Mean Girls. That’s right, Mean Girls written out in iambic pentameter! Well, don’t quote me, I don’t know if it is exactly but Shakespeare-like language. I think this will be a great teaching tool. There is female version of Arthur and The Sword and a few Joan of Arc retellings. One thing that was of great interest to me personally, was a graphic novel about Maria Callas, a famous opera singer. Reading through the excerpts, I noticed that many have chosen alternative styles of writing other than the straightforward line by line. This is always something relatable and important as it allows access to different types of readers.

I think I will wait and see what rises out of the heap, to see if there is anything worth reading this season. As far as getting a Buzz Books list, definitely!

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Review: We Told Six Lies

We Told Six Lies by Victoria Scott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, Entangled Teen, and Victoria Scott for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

Mild spoiler alert - if you don’t want to know, don’t read below.
Also, because it is YA and some people might care there is sex, nothing any high schooler isn’t already aware of, I don’t think, but in case that is important for you.

So here we have yet another thriller with lie/liar in the title. Is that a prerequisite nowadays? Is the writing community become so lazy that they can’t think up an original book title? Let me tell you a little secret. If you are writing a thriller, murder/mystery, psychological warfare, suspense novel then you are going to have characters who lie. Yes, imagine that - THEY WILL ALL LIE! The bad guy will lie, the good guy will lie and here is even more shocking news - teenagers lie - a lot. They lie to each other, they lie to adults and teachers and especially the police. And if the title is that they told six lies, then please make it clear what those six lies were and how it relates to the story. I want that aha moment by the end of the story, where it all clicks. It should be a standout and I couldn’t figure it out.

That being said, I loved this story. I thought it was exciting. I really enjoyed the beginning and the end. It did lag a little in the middle, the storyline became a little repetitive, but there were so many great qualities that made it worth sticking through. The last chunk of the book had twists and turns and what I look for in every thriller happened. There was a build up of suspense that gave me this bubbly feeling inside and that little voice in my head going back and forth, guessing, trying to figure out the mystery. I thought the writing style was unique and well done. It was mostly told through the main character’s perspective with alternating chapters between the past and present. I am so tired of the dual narrative POV. It has been done ad nauseam and I am honestly fatigued. This was a refreshing change. It made a stronger storyline just having Cobain’s voice with a little sprinkling of Molly. The early chapters had an almost journal-like quality to them, which allowed for depth into his character. We get sucked into his world and forget that all the other characters are being shaped through his eyes. It is when he starts to question his list of suspects that we start to realize that Molly is not the person he thought she was. I like when Scott starts to bring Molly’s voice into the storyline and we start to gain some perspective. I felt Molly’s fear during her captivity and appreciated her survival instincts. This was where the novel became really exciting and I was riveted to the end.

Not everything was tied up with a neat little bow. I felt like there were some things that should have been addressed or developed more, and other things that just bugged me and I wanted an answer. (Cobain? really? Is Scott a Nirvana fan?) Molly’s issues weren’t really addressed and I would have liked her character developed more fully. I didn’t want to accept the happily ever after version of “I got captured and you saved me so now I love you”. No one is that manipulative for that many years and then changes all at once, no matter how traumatic an event is that happened to them. What was the deal with her mother? We never learned what her deal was. I also found Cobain’s mother a little suspect. She was this wonderful mother and then after this event happened (I don’t want to give everything away) she wasn’t. It didn’t make any sense to me why she would have abandoned Cobain emotionally to go and help other kids. The psychiatrist’s diagnosis for Cobain was whack. I didn’t get that either.

So I recommend this read. I think you’ll find enough to make it worthwhile. The ending is definitely worth it.

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Review: The Perfect Liar

The Perfect Liar by Thomas Christopher Greene
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Thomas Christopher Greene for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

Mild spoiler alert.

The Perfect Liar is anything but perfect and I’m getting tired of these mediocre thrillers sucking me in with a promise of being more than what they are. If I am reading a serial, than I expect a certain formula that the author has laid out in previous books. I turn to those when I want something where I know what to expect and don’t expect anything more. I wouldn’t say mind-numbing but more like comfort food. I don’t expect macaroni and cheese to be a braised lamb shank. But sometimes you want mac and cheese and it’s delicious and satisfying. But when I choose a thriller that is billed as fast pace with surprises that keep coming, that’s what I expect. I know, I know. Why do I believe the hype? Because I want to - I want to be taken on that ride.

I don’t like to know too much beforehand, because I want to go into clean. Ready for whatever ride the author is going to take me on. The only thing I knew from the blurb was that there was a married couple who receive a threatening note. Both are lying - to each other and to the world. Then all the usual hype of be ready for shocks and twists and turns. Great. Told in alternating perspectives between Susannah and Max, I dive in. So there is a happy couple and the note happens right away. Both think the note is for Max. In their own chapters we get flashbacks from before they knew each other, to how they met up until where we are currently in their lives. We learn early on that Max did something bad and is hiding it. But never throughout the whole book do we learn about anything bad that Susannah did. Yes, she had a difficult life and made some really bad choices, but nothing like Max. I kept waiting to see how she was lying to the world around her. Plus, Max was not the perfect liar. So many people found out about his lying along the way, including his wife, who always seemed to know when he was lying. So no big surprise there. So the big reveal was anything but a big reveal. The writing was okay and the characters had some development, although I’m not sure about their likability factor. Even Susannah’s son was rude and unlikeable and yes, teenagers are rude and ungrateful, but I never got a glimmer of a close and loving relationship with him. It all seemed one sided.

So, I’m sure many people might like this book, but I wanted more. I expected more. The only perfect liar in this bunch was the PR person who wrote the blurb.

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Review: Buzz Books 2019: Spring/Summer: Excerpts from Next Season's Best New Titles by LIV Constantine, Karl Marlantes, Moby, J. Ryan Stradal, Ocean Vuong and More

Buzz Books 2019: Spring/Summer: Excerpts from Next Season's Best New Titles by LIV Constantine, Karl Marlantes, Moby, J. Ryan Stradal, Ocean Vuong and More by Publishers Lunch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publishers Lunch for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy

I’m not sure whether to kick myself because I was so lucky the day I decided to check out Buzz Books or really kick myself because the last thing I need is more books on my “To Read” shelf. This spring’s edition is no different. There are almost 50 upcoming books that are in this edition and they are spectacular. If you are not familiar with Buzz Books they review a selection of books that are going to be released for that season. They are from a variety of publishers and have a selection of different genres. Because the YA genre is so popular they have their own edition. For each book there is a description, information for the book like publishing date, price, etc. and an excerpt. These are not just a couple of wispy pages of a teaser of an excerpt. No, no, no. They include quite a substantial excerpt, enough that you can really get a feel for the text, the voice of the author and whether or not it is your type of book. The problem, if you are someone like me, I get so hooked I want to read the whole book right away!!!

They have sifted through the thousands of titles being published and select those that they think are noteworthy or remarkable in some way.The list is broken down into Fiction with subsections of The Notables, Highly Anticipated, Emerging Voices, Debut, and Commercial Fiction. The Nonfiction section include Politics and Current Events, Social Issues, Science and Technology, History and Crime, Essays and Criticism, and Biography and Memoir. Those they have provided an excerpt are marked with an asterisk. There are popular authors with highly anticipated releases like Cecelia Ahern, T.C. Boyle, Nell Zink and Liv Constantine to name just a few. You can discover new authors in the debut section. I was familiar with many of these releases like “Little Darlings” by Melanie Golding and “Naamah” by Sara Blake.

Of course the best is that at the end of each excerpt there is link to NetGalley where you can request an ARC of the book. Seriously, this doesn’t help me in my quest for trying to reduce the number of request I make, but I just can’t help it. I’m too excited about the prospect of reading that next great book. There are some really gems that are just waiting to be discovered.


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Review: Coffeehouse Knits: Knitting Patterns and Essays with Robust Flavor

Coffeehouse Knits: Knitting Patterns and Essays with Robust Flavor by Kerry Bogert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, F & W Media, and Kerry Bogert for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

Coffeehouse knits blends together two of my favourite things - coffee and knitting. Apparently I’m not the only one! Enough knitters love their brews whether it is tea or coffee, so much so, that they have dedicated a whole book to the idea. More often than not when we knit we usually have a hot drink sitting beside us. The meditative quality of knitting lends itself to sipping something while you do it. Another popular activity of late is these “Stitch & Bitch” nights where knitters will meet up, usually at a coffeehouse and spend a few hours with like minded people knitting and sharing. It is a place where you can show off what you are working on, get advice if you are stuck and talk about whatever is going on in your life. It is usually a drop in type group and new members are welcome with open arms.

This book is beautiful. Not only do they have delicious names like “House Blend Cardigan” and “Breakfast Brioche Shawl”, the yarns used are yummy. Some of the patterns designs echo things like the swirl in the foam of of a frothy cappuccino or the speckles pattern that remain in your cup from tea leaves. I am in love with so many of the patterns and find them stylish and wearable. There is a range of difficulty so whether you are a new knitter or an experienced one, you will find enough to keep you interested. There is a small index of special techniques that are explained.

What makes this unique is that interspersed between the patterns are a selection of essays that muse of the experience of knitting. From knitting groups, to spending a night at home curled up the “how” of how we experience knitting is as important as the what of what we are knitting.

I can hardly wait until this book is out, in my hands, and I am knitting on of the patterns.

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Review: Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Books, and Stephanie Land for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.


Stephanie Land has written a raw, honest, in-your-face book about what it is like to be poor, a single mother and working at what is considered to be menial labour. I found this read difficult and uncomfortable and I think that is what she wants you to feel. As I started to read, I was sympathetic, feeling for her plight in life. She made difficult choices and was left without a lot of options. She writes in the afterwards that she was lucky because she saw a different way of life as a child. She knew there was more out there. She notes that for people who are born into poverty, without the ability to experience anything different, and faced with minimal options, it is very difficult to imagine a better life for yourself. I don’t think we realize, if we are lucky enough to be middle class, how many opportunities we have, expectations, support, etc. so that if we want to, we can make a good life for us and for our children. But as the books went on and on and on and I got to about 50% of the way through I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore. It said, in the beginning of the book, that this has a happy ending. I wanted to get to that part already. I couldn’t hear anymore about how tired she was, how her kid was sick, and then I stopped and thought wow! I can’t handle reading about it and she had to live it! How did she pull herself out of it, I’ll never know that kind of strength. I hope I don’t have to have that kind of strength. It does have a happy ending and it really makes you think about so many issues.

Land tells you, in no uncertain terms, what it is like to work as a maid. I am fortunate enough to have someone to help clean our house, it is something we scrimp and save to be able to afford, since I am not able to do it anymore. I had to take a good look in the mirror and think if I had ever treated or spoke to our helpers, the way some people had spoken to Land. I use a service, similar to the one Land worked for, and I am not sure if they are making a decent living wage or not. I know they do 2 sometimes 3 houses in a day and I really hadn’t considered their physical pain that they must feel, doing their job, day after day. I know that I don’t look down on their line of work because I am not above scrubbing a toilet myself. When Land describes cleaning those bathrooms, I think I threw up in my mouth a little. Uch!! I certainly hope that no one has felt like that in my home.

What struck me the most was the loneliness. I think I was prepared to hear about the fatigue, the pain, the worrying about her child, the kid being sick and not being able to go to daycare. I had some of the same worries, but I was not alone. I didn’t have to deal with an abusive ex, an absentee family, and I had friends. I didn’t have the shame of poverty that she felt and how that would make a person isolate themselves. To just crave some human contact. I worry about money, but I haven’t had to go hungry. I can’t imagine going through a government process of trying to get help, the amount of forms, dealing with that kind of prejudice, and still getting up every day, going to work, making a home for your child, playing with them, putting them to bed and doing it all over again, day after day. How about trying to get a decent place to live and having landlords not want to rent to you because you are on assistance. It honestly felt like being pounded on the head with a shovel, pushing you into the ground and the more you try and dig your way out, the more you get pounded. Having one little crisis and it devastates you.

I learned a lot of lessons. Some I knew, but they bore repeating. First, to be grateful for what you have. Land found so many things to be grateful for. The second was she realized that people with big houses and lots of stuff weren’t any happier than she was. Stop wanting stuff. That isn’t what will make you happy. Stop looking at what other people have and being envious. The most important thing that struck me, and I think this is why she was able to make a better future is that she counted on herself. If she needed comfort or love, she had to rely only on herself to get that. She used mantras of telling herself she was loved, she was enough. Really, in life, we only have ourselves. I realized that when I got sick. I had family and friends and support, but when the chips were down, I only had myself to dig out of whatever hole I was in. You are your biggest asset and you are enough. Whatever upheaval was going on in her daughters life, Land decide that she would be the constant. She would be reliable, show up when she said she would, be on time, be there no matter what. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy and that’s what she shows us. She had panic attacks, her child would have tantrums and nothing was easy. But in all that upheaval, she found beauty, joy, and love. We can all take that lesson home.

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