Review: Dry Hard

Dry Hard by Nick Spalding
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dry Hard is a hysterically funny novel that chronicles one couple as they move through the stages of addiction recovery. From their manic highs in the throes of drunken oblivion to their lows of hitting rock bottom, author Nick Spalding infuses enough humor to make the journey one in which the reader fully engages, cheering for the characters to make it to full sobriety.

Spalding’s genius here is in his ability to make us laugh, even whilst we simultaneously wince. Kate and Scott Temple, both in their forties, are given voice in alternating chapters, the first several of which detail their drunken behaviors in separate high profile, awkward situations. The farcical nature of their retelling of events will cause even the most cynical of readers to truly laugh out loud, but not without an underlying feeling of unease and perhaps even a bit of guilt over finding the couple’s alcohol-induced actions amusing. This tightrope is walked throughout—we snort at their slapstick antics then silently follow Kate and Scott as they explore the depth of their self-deception and fight to recover.

The other character here that plays heavily into the plot is the couple’s sixteen year old daughter Holly. While her parents’ chapters are told as if Kate and Scott are speaking directly to the reader, Holly’s actions are retold through a narrator who addresses us as if we are sitting next to him. This was an interesting choice on the part of the author, and one that results in seeing Kate and Scott as unreliable storytellers, often drowned in their own indulgences. The recounting of events through an omniscient narration, however, is felt to paint a more authoritative picture, as we find ourselves audience to Holly’s internal teenage angst, revealed without a filter.

Dry Hard also takes a comical swipe at the iconography of British contemporary culture. YouTube is featured as both a vehicle of destruction and of redemption, and Spalding takes shark-jaw-sized bites out of Krav Maga, Piers Morgan and even Boris Johnson. Jools Holland’s Annual Hootenanny is also skewered in one of the funniest paragraphs in the book:

The Temples are watching Jools Holland’s Hootenanny.

Nobody in their right mind watches Jools Holland’s Hootenanny. It’s one of the rules of New Year. The BBC broadcast it—as is their right—and the entire population of Great Britain completely ignores it, as is theirs.

Only those suffering severe infirmity, or suicidal loneliness, have ever sat through Jools Holland’s Hootenanny. To do so under any other circumstances would just be plain wrong.

In the end, Dry Hard does devolve into a bit of banality, but the trip there makes this novel deserving of a read and worthy of high praise. Well written, with a focused plot, no extraneous filler and loads of laughs, Dry Hard may be destined to take its place among the funniest books written this year. Spalding will most certainly widen his fan base with this release—and rightfully so. The book definitely made a fan of this reviewer.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Do No Harm

Do No Harm by L.V. Hay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Do No Harm is a dark piece of domestic noir that will keep even the most astute of readers guessing right through to the end. With a focused and well crafted plot, a relatively small cast of characters and a straight forward style, the book is a fast read that kept the pages turning.

As the story opens. Lily and Sebastian are about to be married. Though they have only known each other a matter of months, they appear to be the perfect couple. With Lily’s young son Dennis, the product of a previous marriage, the little family is embracing what they hope will be a happy life together. Soon after the couple returns from their honeymoon, however, a number of events occur that shake them both to the core and threaten their relationship. Who is responsible is anyone’s guess. Lily’s best friend Triss is a shade too clingy, Sebastian’s mother, Fran, is painted as over protective, and Lily’s ex husband Maxwell is a sadistic ego maniac. All have seemingly ample opportunity and motive to disrupt the newly wedded bliss, and as the story unfolds, so grows the suspense. When the truth is finally revealed, no one is left unscathed.

The novel presents chapters told in first person (some from the perspective of Lily and others as told by the anonymous person behind the chaos), as well as chapters written in third person (limited) from the perspective of Sebastian. In the hands of a less capable author, this structure could have devolved into a tangled mess. Writer L.V. Hay, though, handles it beautifully, consistently staying true to the voice of the character speaking. The result is an easy to follow plot unencumbered by the weight of superfluous details.

As I was reading, I appreciated the focused storyline, but I always felt as if I was looking through a lens that wasn’t quite focused. Everything seemed a hair off center, somehow, a tick away from being fully realistic. The fast pace did, though, keep me from dwelling on the uneasy feeling and carried me through to the finish.

Overall, this was a one-sitting read that is sure to appeal to fans of the genre. Thanks to NetGalley and Trafalgar Square Publishing for allowing me access to an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Where Angels Fear: An addictive crime thriller with a gripping twist

Where Angels Fear: An addictive crime thriller with a gripping twist by D.K. Hood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Where Angels Fear is the fifth installment of the Kane and Alton series of suspense thrillers by author D.K. Hood. Although the plot is one that moves quickly and held my interest, the writing is at times clunky, sentence constructions are often awkward and much of the dialogue is unrealistic and cliche. These shortcomings distracted me from the reading and removed me from the story far too often to overlook.

Sheriff Jenna Alton and Deputy David Kane, both living under assumed identities provided them by the government, work to discover the truth behind several missing teenagers. The cases share similarities that are disturbing, and all signs point to a serial killer on the loose in Black Rock Falls, Montana. The investigation unfolds as clues lead Alton and Kane to derelict locations in pursuit of unsavory characters who fall under suspicion. As the tension mounts, the pair close in and the truth of what’s happening in Black Rock Falls is finally revealed.

As mentioned, the story does move quickly from scene to scene, though tossing red herrings like scattered bird shot. Alton develops theory after theory, and shares them with the authority of someone who is convinced she is right. She just wasn’t a very likable character, and in fact some of her dialogue is flat out cringe-worthy. When carrying out interrogations she jumps to conclusions and behaves in a way that calls to mind the cliched cartoon detective—the one who points a finger and yells “AHA!” when he is convinced he has outwitted a suspect. It’s like a demented game of Clue in which someone occasionally ventures an overly enthusiastic guess—“Colonel Mustard in the library with a wrench!”

There were other areas of weakness here as well. Although set in the US state of Montana, Where Angels Fear has a distinctly British under current that is disconcerting. Characters go “to hospital”, a firing is called being “struck off” and a furnace becomes a “boiler”. Other word choices are, while not particularly British, equally as confusing. Pickup trucks are referred to as “rigs”, a grassy road is called a “two track” and the words “gape” and “maw” are put to use more than one time too many. Finally, problematic sentence constructions made the writing feel unpolished and clumsy (“The warm air from the heater permeated through her clothes, she was so sleepy”).

In the end, though a great plot, due to the issues raised above, this was simply not my cuppa tea.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Unraveling Oliver

Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m in a bit of a quandary about how to rate this novel. Bear with me here. A week ago, I engaged in a heated debate with another GR member about the legitimacy of criticism. She insisted that one must understand the author and have some concept of the circumstances under which a piece is written (e.g. the culture, historic significance, etc.) in order to critique it. Her argument was that knowing all those extrinsic factors was necessary to fully appreciate the writing and thus render a review more valid. I, on the other hand, felt that her view was elitist and that it is perfectly acceptable to criticize literature based solely on how it makes a reader FEEL. If the reader invests in a book, that investment alone gives him the right to offer an opinion. One of the magical things about a book, however, is its ability to live in duality. First, it exists for those who wish to analyze and study, research and opine. Secondly, it exists for its own sake, to be read at face value and enjoyed for the sheer emotion of the experience.

So, about this rating.... keep in mind that concept of duality. As a student of literature and writing, and as a secondary English teacher, I found this book to be one of the most clever, innovative and well-written books I’ve read in a very long time. It opens with a first person narrative from Oliver, who has just beaten his wife Alice to unconsciousness. He is clearly an unreliable narrator, and his words are meant to be taken with a pinch of salt. In subsequent chapters, those who knew Oliver tell the story of his background, in first person episodic stories that slowly converge to reveal the depth of Oliver’s depravity and the reason for Alice’s ultimate punishment. This structure, the alternating POVs, is done to damn near genius. This author’s ability to vary complicated sentence structures and use such varied vocabulary means that each character is given a voice that is distinctly unique. From the young French Veronique to the mentally disabled Eugene, these characters “speak” as if the reader is sitting in a cozy chair next to them or across the table in a intimate coffee house. They are truly that real.

As a reader, however, Unraveling Oliver was an abject failure. I hated Oliver from the opening page and was nauseous reading his narcissistic prose. It was so unenjoyable, in fact, that I was ready to shelve it at 20%. Additionally, I felt like some of the details were cliche and irrelevant, added as filler and to stoke a bit of controversy. A mentally handicapped boy is portrayed as both a babbling fool (as per Oliver) and as a young man who sees and understands more than people give him credit for (as per Eugene). The Catholic Church is presented with this same dichotomy. On one hand, there is a priest who engages in sexual encounters and another who comes out of the closet; on the other hand, the novel features a kindly priest who takes a young man under his wing and selflessly nurtures him through to adulthood. Homosexuality is characterized as both a bacchanalian life style and as a path to living one’s truth. This pattern is repeated with themes of suicide, interracial relationships, etc. It simply became overwhelming, and seriously—I think there’s something here to alienate anyone, whether over the issues discussed or the flights of fancy that veer from the storyline into the ether.

As a professional, I found this author’s craft to be well honed, well heeled and well done. His uncanny ability to lay out seemingly haphazard puzzle pieces from different boxes, one at a time, and then slowly build a unified picture is other worldly and worthy of all the stars. As a reader, however, Unraveling Oliver was a dismal, dark story that made me extremely uncomfortable and angry. I would rather set myself on fire than have to again engage with the dysfunction, making it a 1.5 star read (credit for setting the tone). I just think this author went too far off the rails for me to find value in the premise.

In the end, a reluctant three ⭐️, and then only because this author is damn good, even if I hated it.






48 Hours

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Review: We Live in Water

We Live in Water by Jess Walter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s probably not fair for me to continue to review Jess Walter’s work. He is, without a doubt, my favorite author and as such could write assembly instructions for IKEA that I’d give all the stars. This writer can bring a reader to tears, elicit snorts of derision and induce gales of uncontrollable laughter—all at the same time.

These short stories are related by a theme that is beautifully explained by a quote from the short that lent its title to the book:

And that’s when Oren understood. Do we live in water? He watched the fish come to the end of its blue world, invisible and impassible, turn, go around and turn again as he sensed another wall and another and on and on. It didn’t even look like water in there, so clear and blue. And the goddamn fish just swam in its circles, as if he believed that, one of these times, the glass wouldn’t be there and he would just sail off, into the open.

Every character here comes up against wall after wall, some of their own making and others erected through no fault of the character himself.

Throughout, Walter’s writing style is pure gold. The dialogue is gritty and real, the characters always in some way relatable, and the tone brilliantly developed then supported. From introspective asides to heart-wrenching conversations, the author drags us into the pit of despair then kicks us out into the blinding light of reality with enough humor to lessen the glare.

“Virgo” is my favorite story of this collection and was also released as a teaser story at the end of The Financial Lives of the Poets. A jilted man takes his revenge on an ex lover in a most deliciously wicked way. Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of a Dear John exit will find this piece to be smugly satisfying.

“We Live in Water” was also an incredible read. Spanning thirty years and alternating between past and present, this one brought me to tears. Another standout was “Don’t Eat Cats”, a seemingly metaphoric condemnation of millennials and the franchising of corporate America, and a public-service treatise on illicit drugs, told with a wit that bites to the bone.

It was, however, “The Wolf and the Wild” that offered my favorite exchange of the set:

“On the bright side, I have figured out how to fix the American educational system. End it at sixth grade.”

“Brilliant. Then what?”

“Lock them up in empty factories, give them all the Red Bull, condoms, and nachos they want, pipe in club music, and check back when they’re twenty-five. Anyone still alive, we send to grad school.” Wade pushed his glass forward. “How’s that for a campaign platform?”

Seriously. Jess Walter is some time of magic.

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Review: It’s a Wonderful Night

It’s a Wonderful Night by Jaimie Admans
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Imagine every Hallmark Channel movie ever made. Now imagine they were all spun into one film that was so sweet it would make your teeth ache. That is the gist of It’s a Wonderful Night, a barely PG (more G) romance novel by Jaime Admans.

The book opens with Georgia Bailey, a charity shop manager, taking a late night call at work from a suicidal man who has misdialed. He is threatening to jump from a local bridge and initially believes he has reached a suicide-prevention line. Georgia impresses upon him the folly of his trajectory, then gently reveals that he has the wrong number. He begs her not to hang up, and the two fall into a conversation in which they share some very intimate details about their similar hopes and dreams. It’s the anonymity that encourages the moments of introspection, fueled by the loneliness that envelopes them both. They end the call, and though both have been moved by the encounter, they seem to be resigned to the fact that they were simply two ships passing in the night. The next morning, Georgia stops into a local coffee shop to buy her morning latte and get a glimpse of Leo, the hunky barista. She is stopped in her tracks, however, when she recognizes his voice—Leo is the man on the bridge. Her knee-jerk reaction in that moment sets the stage for the rest of the book.

So...as established above, it’s a predictable plot that plays out exactly how you think it will, with lots of miscues, missed opportunities and swooning. This veers from the predictable millennial rom com, however, when we learn Georgia’s and Leo’s ages. Although they speak and act like overly-hormonal teenagers, they are actually older adults. Georgia is 34 and Leo is 37, and both are dealing with aging parents and coming to terms with regrets about the roads not taken. The problem is that the dialogue is more realistic for that of a much younger couple. While reading, I kept wishing that the author had either developed them as mature adults or made them younger to more closely reflect their seemingly immature behaviors. In any case, it takes a bit of a leap of faith to not want to smack them both and scream “GROW UP!”

I was looking for an easy read that wouldn’t make me think and that’s exactly what this book delivers. Although the author tackles head-on the issues of male suicide and depression, I didn’t find it heavy-handed enough to ruin the feel-good tone. The writing is rock solid, and the author’s style and structure make for a relaxing evening lost in the pages. Against a backdrop of references to It’s a Wonderful Life, those who know the movie will also find it to be relatable and nostalgic.

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