Book Review: Men Unleashed by Vaugh T. Stanford

About:

Are Men Dogs? Steven Gardner thinks they are. 

He grabs the chance to highlight, through his feature in The National Standard , the myriad ways that men in his country abuse the women in their lives. Week after week, Gardner churns out story after story of women's dreadful mistreatment at the hands of the men they had the misfortune to love. 

This journalist is on a mission to change all that. He wants women to stand up and demand that men do better. But Gardner does not foresee the storm that breaks over his head in the form of pushback from colleagues, from random haters – and even from himself. Can one flawed man change a nation?

My Thoughts

Domestic violence has been something that we as Trinbagonians have been grappling with for decades, maybe centuries. In some cases, it has has led to broken homes, individuals and in other cases it has led to death women in most cases have been on the receiving end of this type of violence.

Men Unleashed is a book like no other. I am so happy that I was given the opportunity to read this book where the author creatively addressed this issue in a work of fiction.

In the book we meet Steven Gardener, a journalist from Trinidad and Tobago, upon his sister being held for the attempted murder of her husband, was inspired to write a column entitled "Men are Dogs". The stories that this column shared made for very good reading in my opinion because they were so raw and realistic, some of them I could personally relate to in terms of similar things that have occurred to family members and even friends. I really like books that make you think.

While the book addressed some hard topics, there were also some fun sides to it as well. Steven was such an interesting character I actually wished to read more about him. A sequel perhaps??

I hope more people can put their hands on this book. Trust me you would not be disappointed.

I highly recommend.

 

Book Review: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

ABOUT 

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

My Thoughts 

This has been my fifth time reading Taylor Jenkins Reid and if you have been following my blog, you could tell that I am a big fan of her work. It seems that everything she writes grips me from the very beginning. One True Loves is no exception.

Imagine thinking your husband, your first love is dead and as soon as you move on with a fiancé' no less, after three years, he returns very much alive and anxious to begin where you guys left off.

This was exactly the case with Emma Blair. Emma, upon hearing that her husband Jesse was found alive had to make a decision. Jesse had been Emma's "One True Love" since high school. It was difficult for her to move on, but her fiancé Sam, (who loved Emma from the sidelines since high school) made it easy for her to get over Jesse's death with his charming ways.

She was now in a situation where she had a husband and a fiancé. Emma had a decision to make. Sam or Jesse?

I loved everything about this story, there was love, sadness, loss. But what stood out for me was the theme of grief and starting over. Too often many people who lose someone like a spouse, feel bad I think to move on. Emma's story in how she dealt with grief and starting anew was handled quite well by the author which made for excellent reading,