Jan

Catherine by April Lindner Book Review

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CATHERINE by April Lindner Book Review
Publication Date: January 2nd 2013 by Poppy
Rating: – Acceptable |

Book Summary: 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.

Catherine by April Lindner Book Review Overview:

Fun contemporary with an intriguing mystery
Likeable protagonists but Catherine is more of my favorite
I never read Wuthering Heights: I can’t judge on how successful it is as an adaptation.

I picked up CATHERINE by April Lindner without any knowledge of Wuthering Heights. As much as I itched to search up a plot summary, I really wanted to read CATHERINE without any outside influences. CATHERINE by April Lindner is a fun contemporary with an intriguing mystery told from alternating perspectives set nearly twenty years apart.

When Chelsea finds an old letter addressed to her from her missing mother, Chelsea leaves home in search of her mother in New York City. She is determined to find out what has become of her mother after all these years. Once in New York, Chelsea starts to find out more about her mother as a teenager when she discovers her mother’s old diary. Chelsea hopes that this will be the clue to help track her down.

Chelsea is likeable enough as a protagonist. Her determination is infectious and you want nothing more to find her mother. Of the two, Catherine is probably the one who is more likeable because it is her character that has a questionable future. Catherine’s happily ever after was more in question than Chelsea’s. Catherine had a lot more forces going against her, so I tended to sympathize more with her character.

I wasn’t a fan of how New York City is portrayed in the story; it was like reading a novel from the eyes of a tourist. As someone who lives in the city, it was quite a disappointment.

The romance in CATHERINE by April Lindner is inevitable. It isn’t necessary to the plot and I thought it filler than anything else. I would have been fine if Chelsea had gone through the novel without a romance. It was more of her mother’s story that I found interesting.

Guest reviewer, Loreal, also had a chance to read CATHERINE by April Lindner. I asked her to co-write a review with me, but she said that she loved the book so much that it would be impossible for her to write anything coherent. I should also add that she loved CATHERINE by April Lindner even more so than the original.

CATHERINE by April Lindner succeeds as an engaging contemporary mystery with a touch of romance. But because I have not read Wuthering Heights I can’t judge on how successful it is as an adaptation. However, CATHERINE by April Lindner did not convince me to pick up Wuthering Heights unlike how Lindner’s Jane immediately got me to pick up Jane Eyre.

Other Book Reviews:
Chapter by Chapter
Once Upon a Prologue
WinterHaven Books

About the Author

April Lindner is a young adult novelist and poet. Lindner is a professor of English at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. She is the mother of two sons, plays acoustic guitar badly, sees more rock concerts than she’d care to admit, travels whenever she can, cooks Italian food, and lavishes attention on her pets–two Labrador retriever mixes and two excitable guinea pigs.

Find the Author

Website | GoodReads

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Permalink Category Book Review, Three Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: April Lindner, Book: Catherine, Borrow It, Genre: Contemporary, Genre: Mystery, Genre: Retelling, Genre: Romance, Publisher: Poppy | Words 1057 words

Dec

Top 10 of 2011: My Book Boyfriends

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My Top 10 Book Boyfriends based on books I’ve read this year. In no particular order, of course, (except probably for Etienne…) because that wouldn’t be fair:

Etienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: Well duh. No one can do better than this English American Masterpiece. Swoon.

Dimitri Belikov from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead: Okay, I like older guys. Specifically, this brooding, forbidden older guy. This good guy turned bad turned good again. A Russian accent has never been any sexier.

Jack from Blood Red Road by Moira Young: my review of the book summed up everything I love about Jack – “arrogant, charming, overly-confident, but also more than meets the eye.”

Cricket Bell from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: Cricket Bell is almost way too good to be true. He’s intelligent, super polite and nice, and very very stylish. Do guys like this really exist in real life? Well if they do, I haven’t met my real-life Cricket yet.

Aiden from Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Are you seeing a trend right now? Another broody, mysterious book boyfriend made it on the list. Aiden gets super plus points for having gray/silver eyes (yes, that’s because of my Draco Malfoy obsession. PSH. ANOTHER BROODY CHARACTER!!! :P)

Cole St. Clair from the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater: Broody and mysterious BUT also highly intelligent. Sam always gets the attention in this series, but for me Cole gets the prize as one of the top ten hunky fictional men because he’s such an underdog.

James Easton from the Agency series by YS Lee: Not your typical hero in a historical novel. James is quite witty and he’s a talented civil engineer. He’s also quite charming.

Nico Rathburn from Jane by April Lindner: Um, modern day Mr. Rochester? YES PLEASE. Did I mention he’s a rockstar? Extra points to Nico.

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Permalink Category Memes - Author: April Lindner, Author: Jennifer L Armentrout, Author: Maggie Stiefvater, Author: Moira Young, Author: Richelle Mead, Author: Stephanie Perkins, Author: YS Lee, Book: Anna and the French Kiss, Book: Blood Red Road, Book: Half-Blood, Book: Jane, Book: Lola and the Boy Next Door, Series: Dustlands, Series: The Agency, Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls, Series: Vampire Academy | Words 470 words

Jun

Top of the Shelf #27

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A weekly meme on the books on the top of my list to read and books recently acquired, borrowed, or bought. Inspired by the Story Siren’s In My Mailbox.

Top of the Shelf / Currently Reading
What’s next on my to-read list for the upcoming week. I’m still reading Wildefire by Karsten Knight. I hope to finish it by the end of the weekend.

For Review
I accidentally was sent two copies of this one. I will probably post the extra as a giveaway.

From Internship
I don’t get paid. I reimburse myself with free books. Here are just a few of the books I got.

Gifted/Swapped
Super thank you to fabulous best friends Loreal and Caitlin. <3 Loreal got me a signed copy of ANNA!!! And I swapped with her to get Jane, another big favorite.