Showing posts with label April Lindner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label April Lindner. Show all posts

3/10/13

BookHounds Review CATHERINE BY APRIL LINDNER @misadventure123 @LBKids





Book Description

January 1, 2013

A forbidden romance. A modern mystery. Wuthering Heights as you've never seen it before.

Catherine is tired of struggling musicians befriending her just so they can get a gig at her Dad's famous Manhattan club, The Underground. Then she meets mysterious Hence, an unbelievably passionate and talented musician on the brink of success. As their relationship grows, both are swept away in a fiery romance. But when their love is tested by a cruel whim of fate, will pride keep them apart?


Chelsea has always believed that her mom died of a sudden illness, until she finds a letter her dad has kept from her for years -- a letter from her mom, Catherine, who didn't die: She disappeared. Driven by unanswered questions, Chelsea sets out to look for her -- starting with the return address on the letter: The Underground.

Told in two voices, twenty years apart, Catherine interweaves a timeless forbidden romance with a compelling modern mystery.


About the Author
April Lindner delivers a fresh retelling of the Emily Brontë classic Wuthering Heights in Catherine. She is also the author of Jane and a professor of English at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. April lives with her husband and two sons in Pennsylvania.

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

Chelsea's mother disappears when she is three and all of these years, she has believed that her mother is dead so when she discovers a letter in her father's closet, it drives her to discover exactly what happened all those years ago.  She soon learns that her mother, Catherine,  was part of rock royalty and her grandfather gave starts to musical groups by featuring them at his club,  The Underground.  Her grandfather, now deceased, left the club to Catherine and her older brother, Quentin, who is now a survivalistic gun fanatic with paranoid leanings.  As Chelsea learns more about her mother's family, she decides to go to New York and visit the club in hopes that she might find her mother.  Since the story is told in Catherine's voice from twenty years prior through her diary and present day Chelsea, it becomes apparent that the family wasn't as perfect as she once thought.

At the club, she meets Coop, a young musician who takes pity on her and gives her as help as he can.  Hence, the guy who now owns the club, was once the love of Catherine's life and a former rock prodigy of her father's.  Chelsea has completely avoided her father when she ran away to New York and never really asks her father point blank the truth about her mother or do a basic google search on her.  I adore Coop and the fact that he stands by Chelsea through out her search.  Hence is a completely other subject, he deeply loves Catherine and understands why she left him, but has never gotten over it. His hurt over this is just devastating.

Chelsea's father always thinks he is doing his best to keep this part of her mother's life closed off to her, even though it is next to impossible to keep secrets like this from children.  They always seem to know what is missing and that there are secrets.  Of course this damages their relationship, but in the end, they both grow from the experience.  So, the characters and the plot are based on the original Wuthering Heights with the Underground club as the house and the story is wonderfully plotted out with a surprise ending.  Parents: there is some violent imaginary, some language and some kissing but nothing too graphic.  I can't wait to see what Lindner comes up with next!


10/14/10

ROCKTOBER REVIEW: Jane by April Lindner




Product Description

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance.

But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love?

An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers.

About the Author

April Lindner is an associate professor of English at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Her poetry collection, Skin, received the Walt McDonald First-Book Prize in Poetry, and her poems have been featured in many anthologies and textbooks. She holds an MFA in writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a PhD in English from the University of Cincinnati. Jane is her debut novel.

Product Details

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Poppy (October 11, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0316084204
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316084208
SOURCE:  AROUND THE WORLD ARC TOURS




ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

I adored Jane Eyre, so this story done with a washed up rock star as Mr. Rochester seemed a natural for me.  Of course, just like the original this one had me in tears in several parts, but I like a book that makes you feel some sort of emotion.  I always think the author has done an exceptional job if they can create emotions with their written word.  The story follows the original plot of Jane Eyre with a few modern twists.  Jane is still fiercely independent and trying to overcome the horrors of her childhood.

I thought the recasting of Mr. Rochester as a rock star was a stroke of genius.  I mean who else can convey the moodiness of a current character better than a rock star.  There is no questioning why Nico Rathburn is almost bipolar than to make him a musical artist.  Jane comes off vulnerable, yet still strong and develops in a way that she does become Nico's true love.  She doesn't fall into the trap of Rock Star Groupie, but becomes something more.  There are elements of drug abuse and sexual relations so this one is best suited for older teens.  Another rock star romance that I can really recommend!



9/28/10

Book Trailer Tuesday: JANE by April Lindner



 Description
Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance.

But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love?

An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers.

About the Author
April Lindner is an associate professor of English at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Her poetry collection, Skin, received the Walt McDonald First-Book Prize in Poetry, and her poems have been featured in many anthologies and textbooks. She holds an MFA in writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a PhD in English from the University of Cincinnati. Jane is her debut novel.

Details

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Poppy (October 11, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0316084204
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316084208
I just finished this one!  Spectacular....my review will be up closer to the release date.