The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Well this was an interesting book. The summary on the back describes it as a a love story between two dueling magicians, but I don't think that is an accurate description at all.

There are two timeless magicians, both male, who have enjoyed over the centuries taking on an apprentice each, then having them duel to see who is the greater teacher. They find Celia and Marco while they are children and train them individually to be the best magicians possible. True magicians, not the tricks and illusions usually found in circuses. The Night Circus is the venue in which Celia and Marco are to perform their magic.

It's kind of hard to write a description of this book because it's very artsy and magical and isn't really about any one thing. Celia and Marco do fall in love, but this isn't a love story. There is a diverse array of interesting characters, so it doesn't even feel right to say this is their story. It's more the circus's story than anyone else. The circus is constantly on the move, staying only in one city for a couple of days before moving on, and changes those who encounter it. By the time I was finished reading I wished I could go to the circus. I've never been before; the closest I've come is a carnival or fair, which isn't the same thing.

Overall I definitely liked this book. It was different from anything else I've read and it truly was magical and dreamlike. It was a little slow moving, and I was confused for awhile because it didn't seem to be following what I expected based off the summary I read, but I eventually decided to just go with the flow and try to enjoy wherever the circus took me.

4 out of 5 stars

Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson

I think I read Blackmoore back in January or so, and details are definitely fuzzy! I have got to stay on top of these book reviews!! I have read exactly one other book by Julianne Donaldson, Edenbrooke, which is spectacular. One of the few books (ever) that I have read back-to-back just because I wanted to savor it a little more. Blackmoore, while definitely a good read, wasn't quite as good.

Our star is Kate, a young Regency woman who knows she will never marry and dreams of escaping to India with her aunt. Her mother, however, has other plans. They strike a bargain in which Kate will be allowed to go to India only after she has received and declined 3 marriage proposals. To help her in this achievement, Kate gets the help of her long-time best friend Henry. However, problems come up when she realizes she just might be in love with him... Now how will she ever get to India??

Blackmoore is a real page-turner; I couldn't put it down and finished within a day or so. I really grew to care about Kate. She has the misfortune of being stuck with a truly horrible family, particularly her mother. She's desperate to go to India and avoid marriage because the only examples of marriage she's seen are from her mother (who is completely unrespectable in every way) and her older sister (who scandalously ran off with some guy). When she realizes she might have feelings for her friend, instead of acting on them, she does what she thinks is best for him and his situation and locks her heart away. I respect her for making hard choices and trying to do what she thinks is right. She was dealt some significant difficulties and, in my opinion, rose to the occasion. She gets a really great happy ending, though it was a little different from what I had expected.

Definitely a great read. Fast, enjoyable, and feel-good. You might need tissues handy as well, if I remember correctly... :)

4 out of 5 stars

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

I read this one back in January so a lot of the details are kind of fuzzy. I heard about Labor Day from a list of books that were being made into movies in 2014. From the synopsis, I thought this sounded like my kind of book: lonely single mom meets a handsome escaped criminal, a bit of romance, add a splash of danger, mix it up with a mother-son family relationship, and you have a potentially great story. Sadly, things didn't play out like I hoped they would.

First off, the whole book is told from the perspective of the 13-year old son, which immediately eliminates any possibility of experiencing the falling-in-love aspect that drew me to the story in the first place. It's not like I'm looking for steamy romance or anything (I'd read cheap romance novels if that's what I was hoping for), but I like to be inside the head of the person falling in love. Hear their thoughts and feel their emotions. Without that, what's the point??

So, given the fact that the entirety of the story is viewed through the male 13-year-old lenses, it wasn't a bad book. The characters were decent; you quickly grow to care for the escaped convict and hope for the happiest of endings for him and the mother, and the son is fairly relatable. I mostly was just disappointed because I had high hopes for a really juicy and satisfying love story and it certainly wasn't that. Ah well...maybe the movie version will spice things up a bit. After all, it does star Kate Winslet and she's amazing.

3 out of 5 stars

Natural Childbirth After Cesarean by Karis Crawford

I am so far behind on blogging! My 2-year old doesn't nap anymore and I'm having a hard time getting any uninterrupted laptop time without that special quiet part of the day. I've read a few others before this book but I want to get this one out of the way first.

I am currently 35 weeks pregnant and trying to get ready for baby #2 to join our family. My first was delivered by c-section and I'm really wanting to avoid doing that again. My sister-in-law recommended this book she read while trying for a VBAC and I must admit I devoured it. No libraries in the area had it so I got it through interlibrary loan from a library in Missouri. Unfortunately that meant I couldn't renew it or anything, and I kind of wanted to read through some parts again. 

I really liked the general ideology of the authors. They weren't too "crunchy" for my tastes and had a pretty reasonable view of doctors, hospitals, and medications. And by reasonable I mean they weren't super pushy about any one way, acknowledging that every pregnancy and birth is different and different methods work for different people. Overall I loved reading all the stories of women who have had c-sections and worked to make their second (or third) birth a better experience. My c-section was totally unavoidable and I have no guilt or angry feelings toward what happened. In fact, I am incredibly thankful for the technology that is available because without it my daughter (and possibly myself) most likely would have died had we tried to birth naturally. But everything looks normal and healthy this time around and I really want to try and have this baby non-surgically. I'm not totally opposed to an epidural, though the authors of this book encourage other methods of pain relief because epidurals can slow down the birthing process, which can sometimes lead to repeat c-sections; but mostly I want to try and have this baby with the least amount of intervention possible. I've never been in labor before so I can't predict how I might handle it, so when I get there and if I want an epidural, I'll get an epidural and not feel bad about it. I'm not making any rules for myself that I might not be able to keep. 

My whole life I've had this general fear of childbirth. In the movies and on tv, it's shown as this absolutely agonizing ordeal, with the woman screaming and cursing her husband. When I got pregnant with my daughter I thought for sure I'd have to face my fear of childbirth, but then I had a c-section... I'm still somewhat apprehensive, but the more I read books like this one the more empowered I feel. Women have been having babies since the beginning of the human race and we haven't died out as a species, so it can't really be all that bad. If the millions of women before me can do it, I can do it too. It's not going to be easy, but I know I can do hard things. I did a triathlon just before getting pregnant and I've stayed active this whole pregnancy, and I believe that those things will help with my mental and physical endurance. 

I think my very favorite part of this book is in one of the last chapters. After telling story after story of women who successfully had a VBAC and spending chapters going over the best methods to avoid repeat cesareans, they close the book by stressing that no matter what preparation you put into your labor experience, you can't control everything. Sometimes the unexpected happens and there's nothing you can do about it. Maybe you'll end up with another c-section. And that's ok. You have not failed as a woman or mother because things didn't end up just the way you wanted. It is so important to accept your experience as it is, without attaching blame or holding onto regret or anger or guilt. You are amazing for doing everything you could to bring life into this world, no matter how it happened. 

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has experienced a c-section and wants to try for a VBAC. Definitely an empowering book.

5 out of 5 stars