I saw this book in my public library as I was glancing around to see what was there. I saw the title picked it up and flipped it over. When I read the back it pulled me because it says "When someone you love has died, there is a certain grace period during which you can get away with murder. Not literal murder, but pretty much anything else." 

I read that and went umm I wonder what this is about I dived right into it and was amazing at how I fell in loved with the story. 

We are introduced to Danny and boy has he had it hard. He was very close to his mother and she passed away from a long battle with cancer. He is having a hard time because she promised to be there at his graduation no matter what and she didn't make it. So when he gets a letter mentioning what would he like to do with the apartment in Tokyo he decides to go there and see if he can find out more about this mother. He learns things that he never knew before and there was a big secret that was never told until now. This is one part that I felt so much for not only with Danny but also the one who has his heart. 

Danny is not only finding himself, who his mother was as she was in Tokyo but also how to get over the death of love ones. Especially those he never got to meet. 

At times this book felt raw to me and there was one scene that I wanted to cry on but I didn't because then I have to explain to my kids why I was crying. Needed to avoid that explanation. 

I have to say I highly recommend this book and I am so glad it was a random pick me up book, as I probably would have never heard of this author or book. 

I really wanted Danny to find peace or something when he went to Tokyo as his mood really depressed me.   His mother had died a few months ago, his father passed away a few years ago and his sister basically left and he was alone. He was searching in Tokyo for whatever made his mother so happy when she was dying of cancer. He’s popping his mom’s pain medication and he’s feeling numb inside, he’s desperate and he’s searching for something, for anything. What he finds in Tokyo is a mystery; his mother personal effects contained three things that Danny cannot understand. Why his mother held onto this items Danny does not understand, what were their significance?  As he tries to solve this mystery, he has flashbacks to his relationship with Holland. Relaxed and comfortable with each other, they spend a great deal of time together, sharing tender moments so sacred that the author chose not to include all the details. They truly loved one other. Danny’s family visited Tokyo quite often as his sister was adopted and was from China. Having an apartment here in Tokyo allowed the family to visit as they pleased and allowed Danny’s mother to come get treatment for her cancer which she believed was the best place. As Danny tries to piece together his mother’s routine, the personal effects from her apartment start to make sense. Kana, the daughter of his mother’s housekeeper is Danny’s tour guide. He’s starting to feel more alive in Tokyo, something magical is happening here. The pieces are falling into place when he discovers the truth, and sometimes the truth is mind-blowing.

The cover of this book is so boring that I would not pick this book up, if I was browsing. I felt so depressed reading the first few chapter as Danny was numb and hopeless as nothing was working out for him. As he arrives in Tokyo, the apartment was his families so the memories start coming, creating mixed feelings. As he thinks about Holland, he remembers the love they had and the hope that he would bring her to Tokyo so he could show her all the sights and sounds. When he meets up with Kana, there is the comfort and the fun that the two of them share. As Danny starts to shed light on his mother and why she chose Tokyo, Danny discovers the truth about the personal papers she held onto and those moments really exploded the book.

This is me:

" "You know, I'm allergic to cold." "And fog" I add, because I know this riff...." And any temperature below seventy degrees."

"And windchill."

"Windchill. The worst thing ever invented."

"And snow. And ice."

"Of course. Let's not forget ice.""

OMG, having a goosebumps moment. Wow, that just blew me away....don't know whether to cry or what. Breathe.....just breathe.

A copy of this novel was provided by Bloomsbury Australia for review.

Yet another two star read for yours truly. I seriously don’t know what’s going on at the moment with me and my reads – it is thoroughly disappointing that I am reading so many mediocre books at the moment, especially when they have great potential, like Starry Nights did. I was immediately interested in Starry Nights, back when I read a book by the same author earlier in the year. Paintings that come to life? A guy who falls in love with one? That SCREAMS Chiara all over it. And yet – I was disappointed. I felt that the romance moved too fast and the plot moved too slowly. Sometimes there were things happening and I didn’t know why, like the introduction of a certain character/spirit. I had no idea why they were included, nor what they added to the storyline. I wasn’t swooning over Julien at all; in fact I found him quite pretentious as times, which is a huge turn-off. I didn’t feel the romance between him and Clio, and was overall severely disappointed in this book. I’d say the best thing about Starry Nights was the character Bonheur – he was the only thing in this novel that truly came to life.

© 2014, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

The Mockingbirds was an incredibly interesting novel. A student collective that runs trials against student crimes? Sounds pretty fabulous.

I felt at times it was hard to get a grasp on who our main character, Alex, really was. I know that she enjoyed playing piano, and that she got date raped (which is the main premise of this novel), but other than that I did not really know anything else.

My favourite character was Martin for numerous reasons. And I think he was just so lovely about Alex, and how she felt about interacting with boys after what happened to her.

The Mockingbirds was a little slow moving at times, but I think that's because we really got an insight into everything going around in Alex's head. From her hiding away in her room to her going through with the trial.

Overall, The Mockingbirds was incredibly intense novel that looks into justice, power, and sex.