I Lost My Nose...In A Good Book

The Difficult Sister by Judy Nedry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of The Difficult Sister by Judy Nedry from StoryCartel.com in exchange for my honest review.

Melody Wyatt has a sister, Aurora Johnson, she has not heard from in 3 weeks. While Aurora is a free spirit who goes wherever that spirit moves her to go, she does maintain contact with her sister, Melody, if only to tell Melody about her current love interest who she may be following to some far corner of the earth where she's sure to find true love and happiness at last. Aurora is 50 years old, and she's had 5 husbands. Chances are she's off following her latest heart throb, but it still is unlike her to be out of touch with Melody for this long.

Recently Aurora had moved to Radnor, Oregon, where she had some cosmetic surgery along with make-up changes so that she was quite the attractive catch for any man looking for some arm-candy who liked to have a good time. She had hooked up with a man named Cliff Baker. She'd taken him to meet Melody once when they were on their way to his home, and as Melody remembered Cliff, he scared her more than just a little bit. Sometime after this introduction to Cliff, Aurora called Melody during the middle of the night in quite a panic, telling her something awful had happened and she needed to get out of there immediately. That was the last time Melody heard from Aurora.

Melody tried several times to call Aurora on her cell phone, but she never got an answer except for just once when Cliff Baker answered the phone, telling Melody that Aurora had left him. He didn't know where she went, and he certainly wasn't interested in helping to look for her or in finding her.

Which is why Melody decided she would go to the last place she knew Aurora had been: Bandon, Oregon, close to where Cliff Baker was supposed to be living. There was just one slight hitch -- Melody's husband, Dan, did not like the idea of his wife going off on a wild goose chase by herself. Melody, though she loved her husband of 32 years dearly, did not want him to go with her. Enter Emma Golden, who has been Melody's best friend for more than two decades. Melody's husband would be satisfied for her to go off Aurora hunting if Emma were to go with her. Emma, given this set of circumstances, could hardly say no.

The story continues from there with surprises, twists, and turns to provide a very satisfying mystery concerning where on earth Aurora might be. But The Difficult Sister is not merely a mystery about a missing woman who makes bad life choices. It's also the story of what makes a friendship work, particularly for women in the middle of their lives when the issues of children and career building have been settled. I enjoyed how Judy Nedry made both Emma and Melody strong characters each with her own ideas about how situations should be handled when the other half of their duo couldn't disagree more. When do the ties that bind friends together become too strained to keep the friendship intact as opposed to becoming broken beyond repair. For women of this age group, with the passage of time, and with any luck at all, wisdom from past experience helps guide women toward better choices than they made when young. I enjoyed reading Emma's thought processes; how she came to the conclusions she reached, and how she moved forward once she had thought through the problems she and Melody encountered. Both women certainly gave me some white-knuckle moments, but then that's what I want from a good mystery whatever form it may take. Nedry delivers on plot, character development, and what ended up being quite necessary to the story: a sense of place. Nedry has an eye for the details necessary to pull the reader into the mood she is developing as well as the description necessary for the mind's eye to see what we need to see to keep the story real. There is a part of the book that takes place in an isolated area near where Melody and Emma were staying that figured predominantly in the story line. By the time I finished reading that section, I felt drained, wet... No, make that drenched, and covered with mud. I also had a death grip on my Kindle. That is exactly what a well written mystery should do for the reader, and in my opinion, Judy Nedry got it perfectly.

I was unfamiliar with Judy Nedry's writing when I downloaded her book from StoryCartel.com. After finishing The Difficult Sister, the first thing I did was go to Amazon and buy her first book, An Unholy Alliance. It was not necessary to read the first book before reading the second installment, which was another thing I liked about The Difficult Sister. I never felt like I was missing part of Emma Golden's story because I had not read the books in order. I do look forward, however, to getting to know both Emma and Melody a little better, and I'm hoping there will be a third book in this series. It's that good.


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Myth by David Mallach

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

When the Bernie Madoff scandal broke in the news, I wondered how someone could get away for so long with a Ponzi scheme without anyone catching on to what he was up to. The answer seemed to be that when people are realizing gains on their investments, they don't question why they're getting richer. They just accept it as their due. But then came the realization that people who trusted Bernie Madoff with their retirement funds and many other sources of revenue were completely wiped out. THEN people wanted answers, and it wasn't much of a stretch to say they wanted Madoff's head on a silver platter. That's when I wondered if all those investors bore no responsibility at all for what happened to their money. All was peachy when they increased their nest eggs, but now that all was in jeopardy and people lost every cent they'd saved, NOW they wanted blood. Enter David Mallach, author of Myth, a wonderfully informative book in the form of a story about one such couple who wanted to invest their money into vehicles that would support them financially during their retirement years.

The story begins with Henry and Norma Thompson who have brought a case against their financial advisor, Valerie Brown. Along with their respective attorneys, the Thompsons and Ms Brown are in an arbitration meeting that will decide what is to be done about the $400,000 they lost since handing over management of their money to Brown. There are 3 members on the panel deciding the outcome of this case. The Thompson's attorney, Lucien Marat, believes he has built a rock solid case against both Valerie Brown, and also against her employer, American National Finance. He believes he can recover all the money lost for the Thompsons as well as hefty punitive damages. The rest of the book details how Marat prepared to do that.

This could have been the kind of book that makes people's eyes glaze over as they explain they don't understand how the investment business works. I've heard others say that they just can't process the information; it's all too complicated for anyone not directly tied to the investment process. Obviously none of those people tried reading David Mallach because not only can he explain what we need to know in terms easy to follow, but he provides examples of his points especially concerning what people should be looking for and what they can expect to get from financial advisors. The Thompson's case is not an unusual one, and it appears that Valerie Brown did serve them as well as she was able. But it wasn't good enough to keep the Thompsons from losing a substantial amount of money. Money that did not have to be lost if the correct strategy had been used in planning the future of the investments the Thompsons intended on making. I was fascinated with this story because of the way in which it was written and because Mallach himself has worked in this field and has a tried and true record to back up what he says.

I highly recommend Myth to anyone interested in how financial planning should work. It also is a well written, easy to understand look at the investment culture and how it does or does not operate to serve its clients best interests. For that reason, I think this novel is not only a good read; it's an important book as well.




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The Deal by Adam Gittlin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mark March 4, 2014, on the Calendar because that's the date the sequel to **The Deal**, by * Adam Gittlin*, is going to be published. There is also supposed to be a third novel in this series, and I'm sure I'll be in line for that one as well. The second book is called **About Face**, and if it's even half as good as **The Deal**, readers should be flocking to favorite book stores to get it.

**The Deal** was my kind of novel right from the start. I enjoy stories about Wall Street and Finance in almost any situation because I think it's a fascinating subject which, if handled correctly, just can't go wrong. Adam Gittlin knows just how to use what could be confusing information as the basis for his story, without leaving me scratching my head wondering what just happened. Finance can be a bit on the tedious side to read about unless the author has such a thorough knowledge of the subject himself that he can break it down into easily understood segments. Add to that an excellent mind-bending mystery, and you've got what should be a best seller. That's exactly what **The Deal** has to offer: Best Seller quality.

**The Deal** begins with Jonah Gray living in a place he will not name for his own safety's sake. He says he cannot reveal much about his life currently, but he believes telling his story will have therapeutic value for him. What got him into the current predicament has to do with his receiving a call from an old friend of his, Andreu Zhamovsky, who is the head of Prevko, one of the world's most vital natural gas corporations working out of Russia. Andreu tells Jonah that Prevko has decided it's time to diversify their interests, and they want to begin by getting into New York Commercial Real Estate. Since Jonah, and his team, is at the top of the Commercial Real Estate market, it makes perfect sense for Andreu to contact him with an offer to be in charge of this project. Andreu has a few stipulations Jonah believes will be very difficult, if not impossible, to get past, but no matter what objections he voices, Andreu has a ready solution to bypass the concerns. If this deal gets done, the commission for each member of Jonah's team will be $1 million. On the basis of that number alone, Jonah believes he can convince his team to go along with this once in a lifetime opportunity. Even though the team voices the same concerns Jonah saw when he was first approached, they are eventually convinced to do the deal. Who can possibly say no to a cool $1 million when there's little risk or roadblocks standing in the way? So, the deal is a go for all concerned.

After everyone is on board, it's time to focus on what properties are/can be made available to close the deal. Each member of the team agrees to come up with one perfect seller encompassing all Prevco has specified. While it's being collected, this information is not made public, and the group only has 3 weeks to get the whole project wrapped. Whatever money or power the group needs to achieve this goal, Prevco is prepared to provide it from greasing a few palms to speed the process to outright bribery. At this stage, the important points are that the sellers remain ignorant of each other, and the 3 week time limit remains top priority. Jonah's team believes they've covered all that; they just need approval going forward with the right seller.

Meanwhile, off the radar, an event occurs which puts Jonah in a bad spot. His attention is diverted momentarily from the Commercial Real Estate Deal as facts surrounding the event come to light. This is where the "Aha!" feeling starts to grow. There's more to this than we originally thought. Much more. This is also a good place to sit back and enjoy the ride because I don't think anyone could unravel this mystery before the author is ready to give it up. There is one surprise after another from here until the end of the book. This is the spot at which if anyone interrupts your reading, the snarl reflex is all they're getting, so stand back and interrupt at your own peril!

For me, **The Deal** had everything I look for in entertaining fiction. It has a subject that is interesting enough to want to know more about how it all functions keeping buyers and sellers content with the deal they made. It has all kinds of complex characters that add layers to the story exactly because they are so varied. It's about loyalty stretched to its limits. It's also about how precariously positioned people at the very top of their profession can still be, and how far more vulnerable to sources outside their control than they ever imagined.

I received a free ARC from Net Galley in exchange for which I agreed to give an honest review. Honestly? I wish I could give this excellent book a 10* rating. Is it March 4 yet.....?


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House of Bathory by Linda Lafferty
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.



Alice Roosevelt Longworth is credited for having said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit by me." Ms Longworth couldn't possibly have read The House Of Bathory by Linda Lafferty, but had she been able to read it, Alice and I could have had a great time saying not nice things together. This wasn't a very good book, and it should have been.



The subject of the story is a fascinating, albeit despicable, woman who terrorizes those who work for her, Countess Bathory. She expects slavish attention to her every whim, and she shows little to no compassion for anyone who cannot meet her incredibly high, impossible standards.

But she is only one part of the story. The other part, told simultaneously with parts from the past, concerns Dr Elizabeth Bath, a psychologist who is following in her father's footsteps both with her profession and with a connection, possibly, to the Bathory lineage.



The Countess Bathory was a real person who victimized hundreds of young girls in heinous ways simply to achieve her goal of being the most beautiful woman in the land. The young girls who worked for her and attended to her were beaten, starved, and often disappeared without a trace. In 1589 there was no one to speak for the victims or their families. Everyone in the area surrounding Countess Bathory's castle was entirely at her mercy. I thought there would be more depth given to Countess Bathory since this story was supposed to revolve around her. She remains a sinister and infamous historical presence, and a book about her should be fascinating. Unfortunately, the Countess was almost a secondary character to this story. Simply repeating over and over again that she was someone to fear, along with snippets of information about several of the girls who worked for her, does not convey the sense of pure evil the Countess should have had. Add to that the simultaneous story of a psychologist who doesn't seem to be very good at her job nor at anything else she does, and what results is lots of pages of repeated ideas with no feeling behind them.



There is also the subplot involving Daisy Hart. Had that been more interesting, it might have saved the book or given it more credibility. Instead, Daisy is also uninteresting, has clothes issues, and needs some guidance from a professional much better than Betsy Bath.



If I had to recommend this book to someone, it would be a perfect fit for a person looking for a lackluster, mediocre, very loosely plotted novel to carry around with no real interest in who is doing what to whom. No surprise, I'm not recommending **The House Of Bath** to anyone I know.

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The Tyrant's Daughter by J.C. Carleson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The book is The Tyrant's Daughter by JC Carleson.



I've never given much thought to what the families of deposed Dictators do once their source of protection and special privilege is gone. Of course, it's bound to have a tremendous impact on safety issues as well as the source of income needed to keep these families in simple items like groceries and clothes. If, as is many times the case, the sense of privilege is taken for granted by the Dictator's family, losing their position in their own countries and the failure to recognize royalty in the US, it must be a jolting wake up call to become aware of how insignificant these people are in the global view of things. This is what is addressed in **The Tyrant's Daughter**, and it is very well done. The book brings to light how vastly different views are regarding deposed royalty, and what is deserved and what is not even worth considering when the ruler of a country is removed from power. For me, Laila, the daughter of a dictator, was a fascinating character right from the start. She begins her narrative with the title **Pretending** and gives her thoughts on the behavior of her younger brother as well as her mother, who has to figure out a survival strategy for herself and her children. Laila has issues with her mother from the beginning to the twist at the end. For her it becomes a matter of seeing all sides of the problems they face. This is not always a good thing when the stakes are as high as they were for her family.



It was particularly interesting to me to read about the US as seen through the eyes of a young girl who doesn't have much life experience and has been sheltered most of her life. Now she is in a strange country where everything is different from what she had been experiencing in her home country. For example, there's the grocery store. In her country, cereal was a luxury afforded only for the privileged. Her brother, Bastien, is only 6 years old. He doesn't understand any of the intrigue surrounding his family, so he does what most 6 year old little boys do. But there is one exception: Bastien was brought up to believe that he would take over as ruler of the country once his father was unable to fulfill those duties. Now the only person he can order around is his sister because she and her mother are the only two people who have any idea what Bastien's legacy from his father was going to be. Bastien loved cereal, and he especially liked the variety he could choose from in his new home. Laila, on the other had was bowled over when she saw the number of boxes on the cereal shelves and the unbelievable number of cereals to choose from. But if the cereal choices are voluminous, the number of choices for mustard is appalling to her. She doesn't understand the need for so many different brands of anything. She makes a valid point.



When Laila and Bastien are ordered to attend school or be deported, Laila is quickly pushed into another confusing situation. She does ask for and gets a girl who will help her manage all that's involved at fitting into a high school atmosphere. This is when Laila begins to realize what her father was doing while she remained blissfully ignorant about him in other ways besides being her father. Emmy, her student guide, mentions that Laila's father was a dictator. This was information Laila did not have and did not want to believe. Her own research confirmed what Emmy said. This information pushed Laila even further into confusion about who her father really was. To believe the stories from the newspapers Meant abandoning her belief in the loving figure her father was to her. Laila was too old to be under the fairy tale influence her brother thrived on, but she wasn't old enough to understand the world is not strictly black and white; there are many shades of gray to be considered.



In the course of the story Laila meets an American boy, and the two of them discover they like each other more than they first believed. Laila also meets Amir, an immigrant from her country who is not interested in becoming Americanized. He and Laila also become close, and it is through him Laila stays in touch with what is happening in their country since they've been gone. It is Amir who keeps Laila centered as far as who she is and what she's going to be about the rest of her life. He is intense, but he has good reason to be. Amir, in a strange way, becomes Laila's conscience, and he takes his role very seriously. He provides another point of view that for Laila is often disturbing.



The book goes on to get deeper into what Laila's country was really like as opposed to the way she perceived it behind the sheltered walls of a home that wasn't nearly what Laila thought it was. Her disillusionment with the past as it actually was rather than what she saw for herself growing up makes the ending an excellent topic of conversation in book groups.



This book was published by Random House: Alfred A Knopf Books For Young Readers, and it is recommended for ages 12 and up. In my opinion this book is every bit as interesting for adults as it would be for a younger age group. I highly recommend **The Tyrant's Daughter** to anyone who wants to read an engrossing and relevant novel.

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You Can't Iron a Wrinkled Birthday Suit by Sharon Phennah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, is it allowable to make our reading choices based upon titles? Because that's what prompted me to request this book written by Sharon Phennah from NetGalley.com, and why I was so pleased to be approved to read it in exchange for my honest review. Creative titles usually get my attention, and for the most part, it works for me. But in this case, it was like striking gold! In spite of the fact that I do not usually read books with or about animals (way too contrived for my taste), in this book, the dogs were a very entertaining part of the story as well as a useful device for getting more information to the reader than the humans were collecting. By the time I finished the book, I was halfway convinced that there is a network of communicating dogs out there who may quite possibly be smarter and funnier than their owners.



The humans, however, do dominate the story, and what a spunky, unique group of women they are. They not only support each other, they unconditionally like each other enough to get involved in situations that could be against each one's better judgment. For example, the beginning of the book concerns a caper wherein three of the women - Grace, Hazel, and Gus (Augusta) - have agreed to support the local Historical Preservation Authority by climbing to the roof of the McClellan building thereby preventing it from being demolished before the group can get a court ruling stopping demolition completely. The McClellan building was formerly the local 5&10 Cent store, and many of the town's citizens believe it should be restored as a historical site. Those who disagree with this position are the ones who stand to make money on the land deal when the building is gone, and that includes what Lewis & Son Devoted Demolition Crew will earn for completing the job in one day. All the Historical Preservation Authority want is to get a court ruling on their petition to save the building. The decision is expected by noon, which will be too late for the building since Lewis & Son shows up at the crack of dawn. So Grace and Hazel are the first two to climb the ladder to the roof. Gus, who is supposed to be keeping the ladder steady, is also throwing up in a Forsythia Bush.



First the fire department is called to remove the women from the premises, but they refuse to come to the site because they say if there's an alarm given for a fire during that time, no one would be available to cover it. Next the police are brought in, but the women have arranged the situation in such a way that it's nearly impossible to get them off the premises. The cliff hanger is whether the women can hold up long enough for the court decision to be useful to the cause -- if in fact, the ruling is found in favor of the historical group.



No one could have foreseen the repercussions this would have on the members of the little group of friends, particularly upon Hazel's significant other, Bruce Winston. What happens to him could very well ruin the rest of his life and intrude drastically on the future he and Hazel have envisioned for themselves.



Hazel, Grace, Gus, and Marigold form the base of this group of friends, but each one has her own place in the novel along with her dog. A fifth hanger-on of the group is Irene, friend to Gus, who occasionally is called upon to help when Gus needs to include her. Not everyone takes to Irene mainly because she runs a shop called Such Happenis Adult Toys. Together these women share adventures as well as personal tragedy. While the McClellan caper was called "Operation Wonder Woman", the group are all women who deal with life's challenges knowing someone will always have their backs should they need it. In other words, they are average women with all the problems that go with aging. Phennah explores Alzheimer's, illnesses, and other issues that have an affect on us all.



And then there is that group of dogs. Their visits to Shear Charisma Grooming Shop are often funny, occasionally sad, and always entertaining. My favorite dog was Butterbean Gus' dog, and also the one who keeps most of the gossip straight. Butterbean is a Corgi, and if I ever were to own a dog (highly unlikely) Butterbean would be the one I'd want.



I highly recommend YCIAWBS to mystery lovers, and also those who're looking for a good book with humor but also a lot of heart. That's what I look for in reading material, and this book has 5 Stars going for it. My thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this book.


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Tatiana's Wedding by Cynthia A. Robinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I began reading Tatiana's Wedding, I was reminded of a book I read a few years ago called Evening by Susan Minot. Both books are about very ill women waiting out the last days of their lives for death to finally set them free from the hardships of terminal illness. Both books involve what these women think about and what memories come back to them while they are unable to do anything but remain idly in bed with very little, if anything, to distract them from their deteriorating conditions. As I got further into Tatiana's Wedding though, it was clear that the similarity between books ends there, with the bedridden women waiting to die.



In spite of the title which indicates this may be only about Tatiana, the book is really about three women with Tatiana being the one who connects all the character in the book, but Laura, her daughter-in-law, and Delfina, her granddaughter, also have significant roles in telling this story. Each chapter begins with part of Tatiana's story which is in italics, followed by a longer detailed part about Delfina both as a child and as an adult. It's an interesting technique that works very well in this book thanks to the writing skills of Cynthia A Robinson. The story explores family relationships as well as how one person's influence can change the outcome of someone else's life whether that's the intent or not. Many years can be wasted based on the subjective opinion of just one person. It's tragic, but it happens.



Delfina was 7 years old when her mother died. It happened during the Christmas season while Delfina and her brother Stefan (he was named after his grandfather which is significant) were vacationing in Florida with their grandparents, Stefan and Tatiana. At first Delfina was told her mother, Laura, was sick and that's why she was neglecting her calls to the hotel in Florida. It wasn't until Delfina got back to her home in New York that she was finally told the truth (IF it really were the truth); her mother had been murdered while she was sleeping. As if that weren't upsetting enough, it was worse when Delfina was told her father had been the one who killed her mother. With her mother dead and her father in jail charged with her murder, Delfina and Stefan no longer had a home nor the love and support of at least one parent. Tatiana and her husband Stefan stepped in to take over the care and well being of the children for as long as they were needed. This was far from the perfect solution. Delfina had many unanswered questions about her mother's death, but no one would offer her more than mumbled platitudes. She got very few if any answers, and this caused quite a bit of friction between Delfina and other family members but particularly for her and Tatiana. There are many rituals Polish people adhere to when there's a death in the family, and in Polish households, children are expected to have some role in the process of the funeral preparations and the grieving. Tatiana refused to allow Delfina and Stefan to participate in many of the traditions Delfina was clearly aware of and wanted to be a part of. However, Tatiana got her way, so all the closure aspects of a funeral and wake were denied to Delfina. Was it any wonder that she became obsessed with her mother's life and sought out whatever scraps of information she could get others to share with her. The only exception to the reluctance within the family to even discuss Laura was Delfina's Aunt Eva, so she's the one who Delfina turned to more and more as she got older. Aunt Eva did not have all the answers to Delfina's questions, but she was honest in telling Delfina what she wanted to know whenever Eva could help. For this reason Delfina grew closer to Aunt Eva which had a detrimental effect on Delfina's relationships with everyone else, particularly with Tatiana. As time passed by, Delfina created an exaggerated idea of who her mother was, and it appeared as though the effects of this particular family death on Delfina would last through her lifetime.



Although Tatiana's Wedding may seem to be about death when it begins, for me it quickly came to be about the choices women make, and how times have changed their ability to make better decisions. I particularly enjoyed one part when Tatiana goes shopping for a dress. It had to be a red dress, and it would need to be in the largest size the store had. Tatiana didn't care what anyone thought of her dress; the point was she decided to buy it without first considering the opinions of all her family members. She felt justified in doing something strictly for herself. It was a real "Attagirl" moment, and there should have been crowds shouting BRAVO! Tatiana didn't have the opportunity for many moments like that, but when she finally did get one, it was as though she had to spit in someone else's eye for the whole process to matter. She had to be angry for it to mean something.



I also thought Cynthia A.Robinson did a very good job of getting inside the thoughts and feelings of Delfina. Delfina's story began when she was 7 years old and continued through to adulthood. It was interesting to observe whether Delfina's opinions changed from the child's point of view to an adult one once she'd been able to look at the information she had with a more detailed base rather than what her little girl self perceived.



This would make a wonderful read for a book club. There are so many levels in the book that could lead to involved and interesting conversations. Was Tatiana justified in her behavior? Did her viewpoint matter nearly so much now that she was about to die? And what about the legacy she left her granddaughter? In spite of what good she did in her life, could she ever recognize that some things simply were NOT about her?



I received an ARC from Publerati in exchange for an honest review. Honestly? This book is a winner. Nothing but 5* will do.



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Dreaming Rodin by John M. Flynn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I received a free copy of this book from Publerati in exchange for an honest review.

Rollo is a little boy who is left on his own most of the time. When life gets to be too much for Rollo, he gets into his spaceship and heads for Venus.

Lenny Kindred is a salesman who believes he can sell anything to anyone. Clement Most challenges that belief for Lenny with just one quick visit to the back room of Clement's bar.

Geneva Underwood has been keeping a journal of her daily life for forty years. She is now 58 years old and has come to realize that art, at least for her, is not what most people think it is. For her, it is work.

Ethan, a violin performer, finds out some of what he doesn't know about people when he connects with Harmony.

And then there's R-man. He recently changed his name from Royal Lemonade. Now he wants to change his image. One thing R-man knows for sure, and that is, "Life was all about needs".

These are just a few of the characters who live in John Michael Flynn's book of Short Stories entitled **Dreaming Rodin**, the theme of which is about all kinds of people and how they manage to get through daily life. For some it is possible to take life's complications in stride and move forward. For others, the moving forward part is more difficult with more roadblocks and few rewards. For each character there is a confrontation with what he or she believes to be the most defining need in their lives. Flynn's characters are combinations of smart, arrogant, stupid, unaware, funny, tragic, and reminiscent of a people we all know, including ourselves.

My favorite stories in this collection were 'Reverse English' and 'The Size of Need'. Both of these stories had more depth than some of the others, and the motivation of the characters was more evident to me. Which is not to say that the other stories don't share this because each one is a glimpse into the daily life of any-person. There are characters who made me laugh, and characters it was difficult to like, as well as one in particular I would have liked to bring home, cook him dinner, and get him started on a better path.

I would recommend **Dreaming Rodin** to anyone who likes Short Stories, particularly those with characters that don't disappear from your consciousness just because the book ended. I read this book twice before reviewing it, and I plan to read it again in the future.



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