Y's Advice: About Anything, Everything, ... I am reading this book at work and I am sitting at my desk crying. A few minutes ago I was laughing out loud. I'm not even halfway through yet but I have a feeling that there are several more belly laughs, and probably a few more tears, before I get to the end.

In the interest of full disclosure, I do know the author of this book. We are co-workers. But I had no idea she had written a book until I stumbled across a mention of it on Facebook this morning. When I got to work I immediately went online to find a copy. It is available on Kindle Unlimited so I downloaded it to read today while I worked.

So much of what Ms. Yolanda said just resonated with me. She is plain spoken lady. She says what she means and she means what she says and that comes through in her writing. I love that you can really feel the faith coming through the words right along with the humor! Ms. Yolanda has a great sense of humor and she is always making others laugh. She told a silly joke at work yesterday that had my cubemate and I laughing until we cried. I'm hard pressed to ever remember a time that I haven't seen her with a smile on her face. And all those traits and qualities shine out of the words she has written!

I consider myself truly blessed to have read her words today and I look forward to sharing them with others!

Sissy, an agoraphobic young woman, spies a new neighbor moving in and instantly becomes entranced with the shabby-chic new woman on the block. Artemis, the new neighbor, spies a woman watching her as she moves in and wonders just what the he!l has she gotten herself into?! Insert creepy yet objectified landlord Mark and we have a trio of trouble!

After reading the blurb I was sort of expecting a dark romance meets Dean Koontz’s False Memory. I’m not sure what this story is. In my personal opinion it does not fit the “dark” genre but does contain dark violent undertones. To me this was PURE hardcore erotica. A lot of shocks – this one delivers on the shock value that’s for sure.

Ever hear of the national news story about the women who superglued their cheatin’ man’s member to his body? Most would rejoice and say YAASS he deserved it! And some felt sick and sorry for the poor guy. This story fits that dynamic - and I’m in the minority feelin’ sorry for the guy.

Overall, I could not relate to the characters or the plot. A lot of elements did not match (characters portrayed as one way yet acting the opposite) and the events were not realistic to me. The twist at the end did throw everything into a tailspin but did not lessen the WTF feeling I had reading the other 90% of the time. This is definitely a case of “It’s not you, it’s me.” I admire both of the authors’ writing and dark inclinations but this story simply did not work for me. I would still recommend this book as a boundary-testing read and am interested to read reviews of all opinions. Xx

Note: I do also want to compliment the authors on their portrayal of a character with agoraphobia. It is definitely a hard and misunderstood disorder to portray yet I believe the authors excelled with understanding.

*Arc received in exchange for an honest review*

The Memoirs of 'I' - Yolanda De Iuliis

I received a copy of this book through Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

 

I will open by saying that I hate abandoning books. I like to think that I can learn something new even from books I don't like and that all perspectives are worth delving into. But I just could not continue reading this.

 

Now I don't think it's fair to give a book a star rating if you didn't finish it, so I won't give it an official rating, but I'd give what I read so far 1-star. I really hate leaving bad reviews and I like to try to see the validity in every perspective so I will try to stick to the author's own words.

 

I made it through the first 50 pages. But there was an entry that really upset me and I could not continue. I skimmed through some of the later entries to see if it gets better, but in my opinion it did not.

 

The whole book is a bunch of contradictions: "I never judge people" right after judging people who she assumes aren't thinking because they're on their phones; critiques people "only interested in other people's lives" right before talking about how she watches people and tires to figure out their lives; a whole entry about how self-centered others are but published a book of her thoughts collected over a year, most of which revolve around her.

De Iuliis makes a lot of generalizations about people and doesn't seem to have the ability to understand others. The writing is very narcissistic and self-righteous as she brags about how easy it is for her to think hard about things and assumes others don't think.

 

This feels like reading a teenage girl's diary. It is overly dramatic and there's no real insight, just her own perception of how profound she is. It's full of pseudo-philosophical psycho-babble and obvious advice like "don't be jealous" and "accept reality", which just come off as cliche. There are a few good lines such as "being alone and being lonely is entirely different", but on the whole there isn't really anything profound in the book.

 

De Iuliis writes about little things like not receiving a personalized gift from someone for Christmas and how angry that makes her. While skimming through the rest of the book, I came across a tirade against the pointlessness of taxes and knew there was nothing in this book for me.

 

These were all things that I could put up with and I was planning to finish the book, despite these flaws, but then I came across an entry that really made me sick and I just could not read anymore. <spoiler> On January 24, 2015, De Iuliis opens with "I had a really good night!" then goes on to depict how she witnessed a drunk woman stand in the street, singing, dancing, and taking of her top (in the winter mind you, it's two degrees and raining). She speculates that the woman may have been a drugs as well and notes multiple times that the woman is alone. What does she do? Does she approach the woman, offer to share a cab, call the police to get the woman out of the street? No. She laughs. She describes the event as "entertaining." While she claims she will not judge the woman, she uses adjectives such as "vile", "grotesque", and "horrible". The author recognizes that this woman is drunk, alone, and half naked in the street, but does nothing to help her. She laughs along with the other people on the street, the bystander effect in action. She then speculates why the woman got in this situation, but never stops to think that this woman may be in danger of being raped, getting hit by a car, having alcohol poisoning, or freezing to death, a true disappointment coming from someone who goes on and on about the philosophy of being "the change you want to see in the world". </spoiler>

 

I continued reading passed this point to see if the author ever reflects on it, but did not come across anything. And that's how the book reads. The author never reflects on her own action or inaction, just spews her inner thoughts, which usually revolve around herself. I was really disgusted by De Iuliis' inaction, especially considering her previous clique advice of not being so self-centered. De Iuliis seems to reflect on life, but gets stuck in her own head instead of actually doing anything. I read the reflections and the conclusion, and while the writing gets a teeny tiny bit more mature, she still just reflects her own thoughts when things happen around her, like when the pastor falls during service. She doesn't seem to think about other people at all.

 

After reading that scene, I really just couldn't continue the book. I felt disgusted.

 

This is the first book I have officially abandoned.

Delicate Things - Yolanda Olson OMG what can I say about this book. As you start to read this book you are lulled to think that this is a regular love story between Holly and Bates. Oh how wrong you will be. Bates is an artist who uses very unusual material for his creations, Holly has been bullied throughout her life and although she tries to think she is strong, she uses Bates as a crutch and relies on him all the time, as you read this book you find out that they have a very unusual relationship. I am not going to say any more about the book as I do not want to spoil it.
This book is dark and if you have a sensitive nature then do not read it. Me I loved it, the author threw so many twists that I kept reading it just to see what happened next, making this a quick read. She explains the characters in depth, helping you understand their relationship and what makes them tick. The author kept the biggest surprise to the end and what a shocker, I spent 5 minutes after finishing it with my mouth wide open in shock. Let’s just say I was not expecting that.
Great read and I will definitely read more from her

One Hundred Saints - Yolanda Olson ***** Rebecca's 5 Star Review ***** 5 Dreams and Screams

The Darkness of a City and its Son

SMH WOW!!!! This Author is one of the ones you love to hate. I hate what she does but she does it so well you can't help but love her! She could give King a run for his money... This story is about all that is good and evil in the world and within each of us. It showcases how easy it is for a twisted mind to confuse the two. How innocence can be shattered by the effects of your surroundings. It will leave you with the question. Is pure love unconditional??? What makes it so chilling is the amount of truth behind the horror. This book is disturbing on multiple levels. It is definitely not for the faint of heart. Are you a true fan of horror? If so then this is a must read!