Dec 28, 2017

Killman Creek by Rachel Caine



Killman Creek is the conclusion to the story of a mom desperate to protect her two children from their murderous father and the internet trolls who want to harm them. Their fake identities have been exposed to their small community of Stillhouse Lake. Now that Melvin Royal is escaped from prison, Gwen must decide just how far she’ll go to protect her kids from their father.

Who is Absalom? Just how far into the dark web does Absalom reach?

Melvin Royal shouldn’t have such a handle on Gwen’s life and location, yet thanks to his connection with Absalom he always finds her on her disposable phones. The FBI wants to catch Royal and Absalom but they’re burdened with too many cases. Gwen and Sam find themselves on a rough and highly dangerous mission to catch Royal themselves.

The lives of two innocent children really pulls at your heart strings in Killman Creek. Rachel Caine takes us inside the minds of Gwen, Sam and each of the kids. Each chapter changes characters and their individual experiences give the reader a stronger connection to the story.

Naturally, if you read Stillhouse Lake you MUST complete the story with Killman Creek.


Rachel Caine provides emotional connections that feel very real to the reader. At one point Gwen is reflecting on her need to be with her children that she carried in her womb and those words transferred me into the bond I feel with my own kids. This carried me into the story and made me feel what Gwen was feeling.

I leave you with this warning, no one is completely safe from harm in Killman Creek. Some authors spare their favorite characters from true harm with a couple close calls and near misses. Caine tells stories that are much riskier. This story will have you clutching the book tightly as you worry about the kids and every other good person. It’s worth it.

Killman Creek by Rachel Caine  


Dec 15, 2017

Once Upon a Time Travel by Sariah Wilson



When Emma wakes up in 1816 with her smartphone in her jeans pocket, she doesn’t believe she’s truly traveled in time. She tells herself that she must be dreaming. She amuses herself with silly responses to the questions she is asked by the house staff and the handsome Earl Hartley. Soon Emma is taken to a place where she can rest and reorient her confused mind. She peacefully dozes off expecting to wake from her bizarre dream. When she wakes in the same room in 1816, she quickly realizes she must have truly traveld in time. She must play the part of a lady who belongs in this time period. If she were discovered, where would she go?

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The ability to breathe is way overrated. 

I don’t know what would feel more torturous, the loss of regular breathing from having to wear a corset, or possessing a smartphone I could no longer utilize. Imagine, holding your phone that could instantly find anything you could ever want and yet you’ll never again have service, internet, nor a cord to keep it charged. It’s going to die forever!

Needless to say, Once Upon a Time Travel is the telling of a girl forced to learn to adjust to the time period. It’s more difficult than it sounds. Simple things we are accustomed to saying don’t make sense to the people around her. She doesn’t know the etiquette required for the different classes of people, she hasn’t learned the dances of the time period, and she must remember that she can’t be in the presence of Hartley without her chaperone. It would compromise her and they'd be forced to wed.

According to Emma, Hartley is hot. When he’s told this he is confused by Emma’s reference to the temperature. I enjoyed all of their conversations because of the innocent misunderstandings due to their differences in speech. A lot of what Emma says and does gets blamed on the quirkiness of Americans. Including how differently we dance which sparks a bit of desire in the Earl.

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Emma & Hartley kept me up most of the night

Hartley is desperate to stop thinking about Emma romantically and marry her off to his brother, while Emma is torn between her love for Harley and her desperation to find her way back to 2017. If Hartley could admit to her and himself that he wants Emma to himself, would his love be enough to keep her happy in 1816?

The idea of leaving my life in 2017 for the love of a man in 1816 seems so baffling. This is mostly why I couldn’t stop reading about Emma and Hartley. Don’t get me wrong, I’m madly in love with my own husband. I’m just wondering if I could stand the loss of modern technology and the advancement of women’s rights to be with him. Then again, we are an interracial couple so our story of love would be MUCH different and quite illegal. I’ll stick to 2017! :)





Nov 28, 2017

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

Four young girls play a cruel game with grownup consequences 


The Lying Game is played by four 15-year-old girls who are inseparable at an all-girls boarding school. Brought together at Salten House for different reasons, they are all troubled in their own lives and find acceptance and family among each other. Together, they play the lying game. Keeping a tally of points, each girl tells silly lies to their peers and adults alike. They only lie to others, never to each other.

The girls become so tightly woven together that they end up isolating themselves from their classmates. No one in the small town believes a word they say. Eventually they find themselves chained to a very big lie that they can't back out of, and they're removed from school overnight. Their group is divided and they reach adulthood on very different paths separated from each other. That is, until the three girls receive a three-word text from their friend Kate who remained in Salten.

All of them know what the text is about, but no one dares ask Kate about it over text. They all find themselves back in Salten in Kate's home. It's clear someone knows too much about their expulsion from Salten House. The police are now involved, and all of them have so much to lose that they only have one choice - get their story straight and keep lying.

I felt their excitement, I felt their fear, I was one of the girls.

I felt like a fifth in their suspenseful story. I physically felt tense throughout this book and I was impressed with the friendship it entailed. I have a scatter of friends myself, but I never had my own "tribe" as they say these days. A collection of friends who are equally devoted to just each other. These girls had a special bond even if it caused them a little trouble growing up. 

Ruth Ware does a great job making the reader care about the girls. We know they've done wrong and yet we are on their side. We want to help them. Just when you think you know the truth of what happened and whom is truly responsible, Ware provides another equally probable story line and as a reader we just can't decide what to believe. Not unlike the girls of Salten.

The Lying Game is a must-read. I don't say that about every book I read, and I read a lot. ;) I've already placed holds on Ruth Ware's other books from my library. I loved it so much, I may just have to post a separate blog simply to answer the book club questions.

Interested in joining an online-only book club? Check us out here.


Nov 17, 2017

Bad Sister by Sam Carrington

A cold dark night interrupted by fire.


Bad Sister starts with a pretty dramatic scene, two children standing outside of their burning home while watching their trapped father scream from his bedroom window. Said Sister is furious with him for starting the fire and is sure to tell the police that it was him. He always played with fire and now he's burned the house down. 


Fast forward several years and we are introduced to a whole slew of dramatic mysteries. A prisoner is found dead outside of the prison gates with markings on his body and the name of a woman on the palm of his hand. A therapist who has changed her name to salvage her psychiatric practice is trying to hide from a public scandal tied to the dead prisoner. Add to that, a patient of the psychiatrist is a woman with a young son who are both in the witness protection program and trying to build a new life.

A few too many story lines

The book was a little hard to remain interested in because of the various points of view. We are in a different mindset of each character at each chapter. That is not uncommon and it can really work, there were just too many people to jump between. I found it difficult to uncover who this book was truly about. It sounded like it was about the ¨Bad Sister¨from the title; however, it's quite a while before we realize who in the story is the sister. Even longer to figure out why she was "bad". Having read the whole story I still feel like the story was less about the siblings and more about a completely unrelated story line. This book was truly dedicated to a different single character and could have been titled differently.

I did get fully intrigued at about 60% of the book because that is when the various story lines all started to weave together. I wasn't able to fully predict all of the answers to all of the mysteries so it did keep me entertained in the end. The author has a very creative mind to be able to weave together so many complexities to fit into one story. I feel that several of the situations in this book could have been explored in individual books rather than just this one.

Oct 13, 2017

Nobody's Goddess by Amy McNulty

Nobody's Goddess (The Never Veil) is the first book in a series about a small town in which women hold all the power over the fate of men. Boys and men cannot show their faces and must wear wooden masks around women. If a woman sees his face before he has found his Goddess, he will disappear as if he never existed. While young and masked, these boys will discover their one Goddess and must prove themselves worthy of love by the time she is a true woman.


Young men lose their free will when they find their goddess.

The interesting piece of this story is how the magic works. There is a castle in the town which no  woman can look at without causing an earthquake. There is so much mystery surrounding The Lord in the castle. A few rumors about him being immortal, and yet many don't truly believe that. Immortality is too hard for them to grasp but they believe in a magic they can't truly prove. If they look at an unmasked male he disappears, no one but his intended woman will remember him. It has happened of course, but to the townsfolk, that woman is considered a crazy old crone who never found a man. No one believes her story. And yet, they are careful to follow the ways of masks and the "Returnings".

Noll will be Nobody's Goddess.

The quite beautiful Noll is unique in her town. She doesn't like the loss of free will her friends face when they grow up to be men. When they find their Goddess, they don't remember her friendship at all. When their woman/Goddess asks or tells them to do something, they are compelled to do so. Noll can't accept this existence. She doesn't want to be part of the cycle and yet she finds herself forced into it when someone finds The Goddess within her to love. She doesn't want to love her man, yet feels guilt because only she will ever be able to love him. She'd feel terribly for cursing him to a masked life or to a lonely misery in the commune.

Surprising to the reader, her man isn't keen on losing his free will either. He finds that he is the only male to feel this defiance whereas all other men are delighted to help and serve their Goddess. All other men feel no urge to resist or fight against their Goddess like her man does. What does this mean for them? I assumed that one of them would tire and "give-in" so to speak, but it is not so simple. Amy McNulty provides several surprises to the story. Some of them were such a shock I was almost as offended as Noll herself.

I couldn't resist giving Nobody's Goddess five stars because it held my interest, it provided unexpected challenges with surprising results, and I find myself very eager to see what is yet to come in the next book. I bought volume 2 just before writing this review, and I'm sure I'll be done before this review goes live. ;)


Sep 28, 2017

The Girl Who Came Back by Kerry Wilkinson




A six-year-old girl is taken from her family's garden in a very small town. She comes back as an adult years later in an attempt to reunite with her family. Naturally this is the dream of any parent who's child has gone missing. After so many years the hope for their return still exists, but as the author points out in her book, the hope becomes unrealistic. The Girl Who Came Back is a telling of a child who survives a rough childhood without her biological parents until she is an adult and can find them on her own.

In chapter one, Kerry Wilkson throws you into the monumental moment of mom and daughter being reunited. We don't know any of the circumstances of Olivia Adams' disappearance. I admit that I would have liked more from this moment. Placing myself in Sarah's position, I imagine I would react much more intensley to the return of my missing child. Mom to mom, I related to Sarah. It took her just a moment to realize she was looking at her own daughter. In an instant, she knew her daughter had returned. Things only get more interesting as the story progresses from here.
Everyone knows everything in a small town.
Olivia's disappearance made her an unfortunate icon of her tiny town. A memorial was placed in a tree at the school, kids were warned that if they weren't careful that they could end up like Olivia. Even children born after her kidnapping "knew" who she was. So of course the question now is, what happened?

I was suspicious of Olivia because after telling her story to her mother, she doesn't tell it again. When questioned by the police Olivia prefers to keep silent about her story. She isn't a criminal and can't be forced to tell, yet that begs the question, why keep it a secret? She develops a relationship with her mother despite not wanting to pursue criminal charges against those who kidnapped her; however, it is much more troubling with her step-dad.

Step-dad and his brother are suspicious of who she is and why she has returned. They don't have a motherly connection to Olivia so they are not so keen to welcome her into the family. This causes reader suspicion around Olivia and definitely around the brother who is overly aggressive towards her.
I admit, I thought I had it all figured out by Chapter Two.
Call me a know-it-all, but I've read so many books that I tend to find themes and hints that point to the end before it happens. I was wrong this time. CLOSE, but still wrong. This is a book that kept me up till 1:00 am "turning" the pages (kindle). That is quite a feat because I value my sleep. If you are looking for a gripping story with more than one jaw-dropping surprise, read The Girl Who Came Back.


Sep 13, 2017

Twisted Truths by Rebecca Zanetti

Look at this surprise I got in the mail! 

I am so excited to continue the Blood Brothers series by Rebecca Zanetti! 

Thank you Rebecca and team for selecting me as an early recipient!

BTW, I suggest you join her Facebook Group for updates. ;)

Sep 12, 2017

Storm Gathering by Rebecca Zanetti


Well hello there Mr. Storm …

Let me start by saying that I love the name Greyson Storm. I also enjoyed his lover’s name, Maureen Shadow. Rebecca Zanetti names her characters well. I’m not joking when I say that a “bad” name can be distracting to a story. I’ve read a book where a woman was named Sissy and it drove me nuts every time I read the name. Maybe I’m an odd one.

Storm Gathering continues the storyline of The Scorpius Syndrome. If you’ve read the prior stories, you’re familiar with the post-apocalypse world. To sum up, one person went psycho after contracting Scorpius and purposefully spread it to others as quickly as he could. Thus, wiping out 90% (or so) of the population. There is not many people left, food is running out, there is no longer running electricity, and the president is a psychopath.

Friendly reminder, I’m never disappointed by Rebecca Zanetti’s books.

Greyson Storm leads “The Mercenaries” in Santa Barbara. His territory was once a wealthy neighborhood with ocean views. He kidnaps Maureen Shadow as his hostage to extort her brother Raze, a member of “The Vanguard” in LA. This is all laid out in book 2 (Mercury Striking). In Storm Gathering, we rewind in time to learn just how the kidnapping occurred and what kind of relationship was built while Maureen was kept in Merc territory. It’s not Stockholm Syndrome I promise. Zanetti was smart to zip back for a little while in the beginning of this book because it is imperative to their storytelling. Without learning the details of their interactions it would be hard to accept a relationship that originated from a kidnapping and extortion plot.

In Storm Gathering, Greyson has to choose a side with whom to align his people. Clearly if he becomes an ally of the crazy President he will lose Maureen. He could align with Vanguard (if Raze could bury his grudge with Greyson) but it isn’t the best option from a war-zone/tactical standpoint. Naturally, Greyson would normally make the logical choice without emotions; however, he’s in love now. Emotions have muddied his thinking and he finds himself forced to make some quick decisions in the heat of the moment that can either save or damn them all.


Aug 25, 2017

The Accident by S.D. Monaghan

The Accident by S.D. Monaghan had the perfect setup to be a fast-paced thriller. Unfortunately, it was not thrilling until about 75% into the story line. We meet the main characters moments before “The Accident” occurs. After catching his wife Tara having an affair with their contractor in their newly built home, David engages Ryan in a fight. It is a brief fight before Ryan falls out of the window. Dave doesn’t exactly regret hitting Ryan, but he didn’t want to kill him. What follows is Dave’s struggle between doing what is morally right versus what instincts tell him to do, protect his family from the damage of murder.

The book shifts between the perspectives of Dave and Tara and I found that helpful. I needed to understand the motivations inside of Tara’s head. Considering that in the first chapter we learn she’s ten years younger than Dave and is cheating on him in their brand new custom home, I can’t say I thought much of her. Ya, I judged her. Sorry, not sorry. Getting inside her head allowed me to understand her reasoning even if it was thin and flimsy. Dave is not such a bad character, but Tara had no redeeming qualities for me. She cheated on her husband, and later under serious stress makes some poor choices, while pregnant. I realize it’s a fictional story but that really ground my gears.

Don’t underestimate the power of dialogue.

The story didn’t have enough dialogue between characters to keep me entertained. The story didn’t get exciting until about the 45% mark, and part of what helped at that point was a slight increase in the amount of character interaction. The beginning of the story shifts between what happened, and the history of how Dave and Tara got together. This method usually works well in books but in this case it irritated me. I felt that it fell flat because the characters were musing on inside their own heads for much too long. It carried on and on and it made me put the book down for a few days.

This story missed the mark just a little bit. A little more interaction between characters would have helped keep things interesting. The intense character interactions didn’t really occur until about 70% and it was just a little too late by then.

Jul 31, 2017

Baby Lost by Hannah Robert



"I can't imagine what she's going through," says every mother when they hear that a woman has lost her child. I don't quite agree. If you're a mother you know well enough what that loss would feel like because you love your child with every fiber of your being.

Baby Lost by Hannah Robert is the telling of her own journey through the grief of losing her child at 8 months pregnant. A car accident crushed her vehicle around her and her family, causing placenta abruption and death of her daughter before she could even be born. I was drawn to this book on NetGalley because I wanted to see inside another mother's loss. Having experienced a miscarriage, I felt an affinity to the author before reading her story. There is not one right way to handle such monumental pain and Hannah Robert guides us through her own process.

When I started this book, I couldn't put it down until Hannah reached the point of kissing her baby Z goodbye. I felt that I needed to stick by Hannah's side through her extraction of her car, through the doctors trying to find the heartbeat, beyond the cat-scans that followed the silence in her womb, and alongside her and her family as they held baby Z for the one day they physically let her go. Once Hannah kissed her baby for the last time, the chapter ended, and I allowed myself to quietly sob.

I was angry and hurt for the unfairness of her situation. I re-opened the hurt of my own lost child at 11-weeks gestation. Not far enough along to be determined a boy or a girl. This then brought new tears to my eyes; I found myself jealous that Hannah at least had a chance to hold her baby and know it was a girl. I thought she was "fortunate" to have at least held her baby and that she could hold a service for baby Z. I realized quickly how absurd that was, cried anew with guilt, and eventually brought myself back to the present.

Mothers who lose their children, regardless of when they were lost, all share grief. There is not a "best way" to lose a baby. We can't be jealous of those who shared 18 years with their babies, 30 years, 2 months, or any amount of time. Mothers aren't supposed to bury their children. And yet, so many women do. Hannah Robert knew several people in her group of friends and family who joined her in this shared misery. I began to reflect on my own connections and realized there are two people (that I know of, there could be more) who have had to be induced and endure a still-born delivery. Where am I going with this? To be honest, I don't know. The mind wanders in all kinds of directions when trying to find reason and understanding of such tragedy.

I felt that Hannah's book was organized and followed a nice structure and yet it was also disorganized in a way, as she stumbled along in her after-impact life. Her telling is an honest reflection of her pain while also including journal entries that were true to the actual moments that she's sharing with her readers. The story moves forward and backward through time much like we do while we process our new altered reality. We move forward and feel proud to know we are making progress toward a new normal, and then in the next moment we are spontaneously weeping. Hannah shows amazing courage throughout this book. She has a brilliant mind, and eloquently shares how she chose to find peace after loss without religious faith.

Like Hannah, I am not religious. Religion probably would have helped guide me in my own grief because then I would have known where he/she went after their heart stopped beating. I would have felt a certainty that he/she was in a better place. Hannah respected the beliefs of her partner Rima, and they held what sounded like a lovely service for baby Z, 30 days after she both died and was born. Together they chose spiritual godparents to love and care for their daughter in the place where they could not care for her themselves. Hannah feels her daughter in the ocean, the sand, the rain, and her pomegranate tree. It felt very real to me, I believed in her feelings, and it attaches her daughter to the world of the living.

I could keep going on and on about all the things that I appreciated about this book. I would never say that "all things happen for a reason". Hannah wasn't destined to lose her baby so that she could write a book to help others with child loss. This book was an aftereffect. In loss, many of us are driven to create anything positive out of our experience. It could be developing new laws, awareness of a need for funding of an illness, prevention of losses where it can be prevented, or simply sharing the pain so that others know they aren't alone. It was important to me to find people who understood my pain from their own experience, and this was true for Hannah as well.

I have to say this book was perfect and give it a 5-star rating. It is hard to judge a story like this because there is no perfect way to tell such a story. Hannah made it easy to give this book 5 stars because she wasn't trying to teach us how to conquer grief, she was simply sharing her own.

Baby Lost re-opened my grief. I am grateful for this which is odd to say. I keep my grief tucked away in a corner inside of me because I have other children. Revisiting my loss felt like I was honoring my unknown child again. In just 11 days it will be six years since my loss, and this book brought it all back to me as if it was yesterday. Time truly helps us heal even if we don't want to accept that.


Jul 27, 2017

Girling Up by Mayim Bialik


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I was very excited when I discovered Mayim Bialik's book for "tween" girls. It sounded like this book would cover all of the topics that I feel my daughter should learn, with the special bonus that it was written by "Amy Farrah Fowler". I'm a huge Big Bang Theory fan, streaming the reruns every night before bed. Naturally, my daughter caught onto the show and she truly looks up to Bialik's character "Amy" on the show. The good news is that I've finished my pre-read of Girling Up and I approve the content. There were a few places I decided I'd write additional notes from Mom, but not many.

Mayim Bialik is a unique role model for my daughter. She is famous which excites most young people, but she also has her doctorate in neuroscience. How cool is that, right? That said, she has a special position of influence on my daughter. The reality is, kids are going to look outside of their immediate family for additional role models. If she's going to idolize another human, Mayim Bialik is a great choice.

Onto the book. Thank you Mayim (can I call you Mayim?) for keeping this information based on science. I thought it was clever to first explain the physical set up of our bodies, how they work, and the signals that our brain is sending for different reasons. You were able to explain the physical reaction we feel when attracted to others without being perverse. There is no shame in understanding how and why our bodies react the way that they do to either the same or opposite gender.

Speaking of gender! Yes there is a male and female based on the X and Y chromosomes but that doesn't mean a person subscribes to the gender norms assigned to their chromosomal make-up. I admit, you surprised me by telling readers that it's OK to be different. In fact, throughout the book you maintain a friendly tone that speaks directly to readers like you're their friend. Many times you remind girls that there is no one-right-way for being true to themselves. You've explained the standard stereotypes presented in America and you explain the differences to other countries. It's helpful for kids to know that the world is bigger than the American culture they know.

It's also very important to understand what behaviors are appropriate from our peers and the adults in our lives. Several times it is suggested that the reader seek out a parent or trusted adult if they find themselves in these questionable situations. This is true even among friendships. I am a grown woman and I still struggle to relinquish unhealthy friendships.

I could rave about this book forever but I will wrap this up. 

It is not your job to raise our daughters (or even sons who read this book) but you've provided a useful tool to help parents open dialogue with their children on sensitive topics. I've always said that both girls and boys need to understand and seek consent. It is an important issue with me. I want my kids to know they always have to receive consent from others as well as provide consent to others in all aspects regarding their bodies. This book had a whole section detailing what consent means and I wanted to highlight and circle it in vibrant colors.

Thank you for using your experiences as a late-bloomer, a child actress, a teacher, an adult actress, and a mother of boys, to write a book about "Girling Up". I hope that it reinforces all of the messages that I try to get across to my daughter. You're not her mother so she's more likely to listen to you. ;)

Jul 24, 2017

Lethal Lies by Rebecca Zanetti

Lethal Lies, the second book of three in the Blood Brothers series, was an exciting and turbulent ride. Anya Best is determined to stop the serial killer who is stalking her and has killed her sister. His victims always look like Anya, and he mails her victim photos without trace evidence that links to him. To stop the killer, she relies on the help of Heath Jones whom we know from Deadly Silence. Heath is a genetically altered man who was orphaned and found family among two other orphans with the same circumstances. Anya is taken into Heath's small family group but so many secrets are kept from her for her "own good". If you've read a book with a strong female lead you know that Anya didn't take to this well.

Honestly, every Rebecca Zanetti book is worth reading

Something I struggle with in general is finding author's who can surprise me. After reading enough books (approx. 458 since 2012) you recognize patterns in books and can ultimately see the twist coming. I am please to share that I did not guess correctly at the serial killer's identity. Well done Zanetti!

This was a great read because we are still engaged in the serial killer storyline from book one and yet also following the crazy storyline of a psychotic woman who "creates" super soldiers to be trained from birth to be killers. This continues naturally and unhurried from The Sin Brothers series into the Blood Brothers series.

Lethal Lies delivers suspense and romance with a side of bad-ass-ery. :)



Jun 29, 2017

Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine


If you’re a parent, you are going to relate to Gina SO HARD! 

Gina Royal is a married mother of two living happily ever after in suburbia. Then one day as she drives home in her mini-van with the kids, her street is barricaded and police are surrounding her house. Very quickly Gina realizes she didn’t know her husband well at all. He is secretly a serial killer.


After chapter one we progress in time to the point where Gina has changed her name, and the names of her kids, several times. They have moved around the country several times. Without a “family members of convicted serial killers” protection program, she is left to her own skills to protect her family. This story portrays internet trolls in a very realistic light. “Gwen” receives death threats from people who don’t believe her innocence. She is sent horrifying images and stories involving violence toward her kids. All the steps Gwen takes following her husband’s conviction are realistic to the kinds of steps that I, as a mother, would take. This is what made her so relatable.


After 8 moves, they buy a home at Stillhouse Lake. It is a quiet and picturesque town which seems ideal for her kids to live out a somewhat normal childhood. Naturally these moves and changing identities are hard on the kids. An average teen would act out and dish attitude to their mother, but throw in a life of secrets, emergency escape plans, and restriction from social media and you’ll meet another realistic personality in “Lanny,” Gwen’s daughter. I enjoyed following Gwen’s internal monologue. She self-doubted and self-blamed at every turn which is something all parents do too often.

This book was a thriller and I was anxious through every chapter. Gwen’s husband seems to have a reach to her life from within prison even though he shouldn’t know anything about her and the kids. When a girl is found floating in Stillhouse Lake, Gina is quickly made a suspect when her true identity is revealed. She must choose between her instinct to run, and her belief that she can stick out the investigation and protect her children.

There are secrets thrown left and right in this story. There is a conclusion that can provide readers with closure but it also sets us up for a continuation to at least one more book.




 

Jun 7, 2017

To Look a Nazi in the Eye by Kathy Kacer, Jordana Lebowitz

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

To Look at Nazi in the Eye - Could you imagine doing just that?

Jordana Lebowitz was nineteen when she traveled to Germany and witnessed the trial of Oskar Groening, known as the bookkeeper of Auschwitz. At the time of his trial, Oskar was 94. Proving his guilt when he didn't directly cause death with his own two hands would not be an easy feat. This trial would set a precedent - you can be found guilty of murder if you contributed to the "death machine" without actually killing anyone.

Kathy is an established author of books that bring the history of The Holocaust to readers of all ages.  Jordana Lebowitz was a teenager who found her mission in life at a young age during a visit to The Holocaust memorial. On said visit, she connected with living survivors, made lasting friendships with them, and thus began her journey to become a voice of history to future generations. Kathy Kacer, includes actual blogs written by Jordana during the time of the trial in 2015. Throughout this story we can click on any number of footnotes to see the true articles and facts.

"As I prepare to leave I am left to wonder: How can we help patch the world back together stitch by stitch into a patchwork of peace, and truly ensure Never Again?"

The witness testimonies are not word for word accurate to the trial, but they are written from true accounts of the survivors. Each of them was a child living an ordinary life. Each of them slowly saw their lives impacted by increased regulations and control over Jewish people. Their stories were heart wrenching and yet they're only three of the millions of stories of this time period. Their courage to continuously retell their stories is admirable. Even the word admirable is an understatement. They take it as their duty to keep reliving their pain as a tribute to all of the others who are not here to do the same.

This story was near perfect for me. I don't want to admit my reason for dropping it to a 4.5 star rating but I will. I didn't connect with the main character, Jordana. It's terrible to say because she is a real person, she has a relationship with the author and worked closely with her to develop this book. How could I not connect with her? She just didn't seem real. I didn't feel like the character's actions were realistic. Her interactions with the judge and with Oskar during the trial didn't feel real. I found myself thinking, "that would never really happen". From what I read in the acknowledgements, it very likely did happen as it was told. Kathy Kacer and Jordana Lebowitz talked for years, Kacer interviewed the survivors who testified, so it must be very close to accurate. So, I feel terrible that I doubted her personality throughout the story. Maybe I'm a little bit blinded by the young people I know personally?

Kudos to Jordana!

A young person who is so passionate about the survival of history, and is so altruistic, it just doesn't seem like she could be real. The beautiful truth is that she is a real woman who is truly on a mission to better the world. History should not be allowed to repeat itself. We should not become so disconnected from the harsh reality of history that we can pretend it never happened. Millions of people died of all ages and I am certain they never would have believed that their coming fate would be possible. Today, I can't fathom being separated from my children and forced to work under torturous conditions. That is the reality that far too many people endured. I applaud Jordana Lebowitz for enduring such emotional turmoil and stress so that she can shoulder the story of her ancestors. She is a person of action who wants to ensure that this never happens again.



May 30, 2017

Find the Good by Heather Lende

Find the Good was a sweet and easy read that inspired to do as the title says, find the good. I found the book while scrolling through my local eLibrary’s selection of self-help books. I was feeling a little down and knew that I needed a mental boost. I was searching for something that wasn’t written by a doctor (no offense to them) and that would just brighten up my gloomy feeling days. The cover was fun with a bright lemon, and I realized the premise was perfect immediately.

Heather Lende writes obituaries in a small town in Alaska. This offers a unique look into the accomplishments and regrets of people she is sometimes close to, or otherwise is at least acquainted. Lende’s process of writing an obituary includes a formal outfit and extreme kindness for the family she must interview after the passing of their loved one. In one of the stories she shares, she begins to write for a woman who hasn’t yet passed away. Faced with terminal illness, the woman could speak to her own obituary. This may seem like a downright depressing read, but it is the opposite. The people that Lende chose to share in this story led both interesting and meaningful lives, and yet they were “ordinary”. None of them were famous, their names won’t be written into history books, but they made an impact on the world through the lives of others in this small Alaskan town.

Lende also shares important moments in her own life with her own husband, children, grandchildren, and quirky pets. Including a cat that she should have been allergic too and didn’t plan to acquire. The result of this book is a smile and personal reflection. This author is a grandmother that has lived through the seasons and has her own wisdom to share. She also has the lessons she’s learned from many other people’s life accomplishments that she's had the honor of documenting.

The reason this book spoke to me is because of where these messages came from. Whenever I get upset about the mess in my house, or that I don’t own my house, I remind myself that I don’t want to be known as the woman who kept life clean and orderly. No one will care if my house was always clean and whether I owned or rented the house. I want people to remember me as kind and compassionate. I want to have a meaningful impact on people so that they can have a little more sunshine in their own journeys on earth. Find the Good, teaches us to look for the good in ordinary life. Little normal actions can have big positive ripples.

"Find the good, praise the good, and do good, because you are still able to and because what moves your heart will remain long after you are gone..."
- Heather Lende



May 22, 2017

It Started With Goodbye by Christine June


It Started With Goodbye tells the “Cinderella” story of a girl named Tatum who is grounded all summer for an unfortunate situation that happened between her best friend and her best friend’s boyfriend. She played an unknowing part in a crime and had to pay a hefty fine and community service for her trouble. Like a Cinderella story, she has a step-mother whom she calls her “step-monster”. Her step-sister is quiet and cold to Tatum. So naturally she feels isolated regularly except her new punishment has heightened that feeling. The role of “fairy godmother” is played by Tatum’s step-grandma who is staying for the summer to help monitor Tatum’s daily actions while her dad is out of the country.

She sends a lot of emails with people over the summer, including her mystery “prince” named SK, and each time this happens we aren’t alerted to the switch between email and story line. This might seem minor but it really interrupted the flow of reading the story. A different font, or italics would have been nice here. I was a little surprised that we didn’t see more text message dialogue in this story of teenage juniors in high school.

The story is fairly predictable. 

Once you tell someone it will be a Cinderella story you pick up on who is who in the story very fast. It isn’t hard to determine who in her family also has a secret. Also too easy to guess what the secret would be. The mystery boy “SK” was an obvious one. I know that was a little unavoidable in a book. It was also obvious as soon as she lost her key chain (the glass slipper in this case) that she would be getting it back in the end of the story, as well as how it would be returned to her.

I enjoyed following Tatum around through her troubled summer. I related to her days of manual labor because I spent one day at a wildlife reserve pulling plants for a college project requirement. The one day was enough, so I sympathized with her story of a whole summer in this labor. The moment she meets SK is sweet and just the right level of teen summer romance. I could remember being a teen and that innocent fun when getting to know your crush. That is about where I started to lose interest though. Being a mother myself, I didn’t believe the makeup moment between Tatum and her dad. Without revealing the story, I’ll say that it didn’t feel realistic in the way it happened. Also unrealistic (in my opinion) was the turnaround of the step-monster. It was too much and too quickly for a real person. Overall, the adults and their methods of parenting just weren’t quite realistic to me. Perhaps I need to broaden my parenting horizons. :)

All in all, a good read for the teenage audience. I think they could relate to Tatum and her angst. I’m sure several teens will identify with her. Hopefully they’ll appreciate her growth and maturity toward the end of the story.

Apr 28, 2017

Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine

Ash & Quill is the third book in what has recently been revealed by author Rachel Caine to be a five-book series. If you haven’t read the first book Ink and Bone,” I suggest two things: #1 – read my reviewand #2 – definitely read the book.

In Ash & Quillwe are immediately thrown into dire circumstances with our favorite characters. They’ve landed in Philadelphia within the walls of the longest-surviving Burner community. Jess and his friends share a common enemy with the Burners, but that doesn’t make them welcome guests in Philadelphia. In what seems to be a common occurrence for them, Jess and his friends are instantly evaluated for how they can be used. The leader of the burners recognizes them as tools for his resistance against The Library. I worried over each character from the very first page of this story. Caine has you constantly questioning if all of them could possibly survive another day.

“It is a terrible arrogance to think that there are any of humankind who are better or worse, or worth or not.” – The Black Archives

The Great Library holds onto the belief that they need to control what knowledge and information can be shared with the rest of the world. The “black archives” are gone, except for a few books that they managed to save. Within the black archives were many versions of a printing press, as engineered by people who were immediately silenced by The Library. Thomas and Jess are the first team to successfully see such a machine built. The printing press, and the plans for producing more, will be the key to keeping their friends alive and give them a chance to escape America. Unfortunately, their escape from the Burners comes at the cost of lives, and while none of them can accept that, they are forced to quickly move forward regardless.

It is on the journey back to London from America that Jess Brightwell begins plotting, secretly from his friends. Everyone in their group expects to build another press and use it/the design plans to take on The Library, but Jess has anticipated the moves of others. Not just the moves of his enemies, but of his family and friends. Because of that, Jess sacrifices love and trust by betraying his friends whom he holds closer than his own family. I was practically chanting “Tell them, tell them, stop lying, tell them!” through the last few chapters. As readers, we don’t know the details of Jess’ plan (betrayal) until it unravels in the final chapter. Let me tell you, I was very shocked at how it played out.
We won’t know if Jess’ sacrifice was worth it until the next book. We don’t even know if everyone survived the night! The book ends with only a few of the characters in place. Seriously, the “not knowing” is driving me crazy!

Rachel Caine is a brilliant author, so it is no surprise that she has created such brilliant characters. Each of them are well developed and deeply connected to each other which leaves the reader deeply connected to their whole troupe. Kudos to Caine for her care and attention to the diversity of the people in this series. From the beautiful grace of Khalila Seif, to the arrogant aristocrat Dario Santiago, to the gentle giant Thomas Schreiber; These kids are of all colors, sizes, preference, and none of it is forced in the writing. It is just a normal part of who they are and I love that.

If you love books, which you must because you’re reading book reviews, you MUST read this series. It’s a book about books! Ash & Quill comes out July 11, 2017. You have enough time to start or re-read the series – get going!



Mar 24, 2017

The Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Etta remembered being pushed through a barrier of loud buzzing noise at a New York museum, but she woke on a rocking ship in the middle of the ocean.

Henrietta (Etta) Spencer is a 17-year-old girl from New York in present time. She is forced into traveling back in time to 1776, a talent/trait she was unaware she possessed. Etta wakes up to find herself a Passenger on a ship. She soon after is forced to travel to varying times and places in search of an important artifact that has been lost for many years. The artifact was hidden so well that important factions of time travelers are all battling each other to find it first. Etta, unskilled and untrained, has to find in order to save the life of her mother and be able to return to her own time.
She finds an ally in Nicholas Carter, the captain of the ship she first lands on. While Nicholas is liked and respected by his crew, he is widely disrespected by all of society in 1776 because of his mixed race. This adds an interesting layer to the story. Etta is not bothered by his skin color, but Nicholas is naturally conscious of it throughout their travels in time. She comes from a time period that isn’t perfect but is far more accepting of interracial couples. Nicholas can’t quite fathom that such a thing is possible in any time or place.

Nicholas and Etta naturally grow close and develop feelings for each other. Together they face several instances where other time travelers and time guardians are trying to capture and/or kill them. At one point they find themselves stuck in Paris during WWII. Needless to say there is plenty of adventure in this story. What’s the catch then? Etta wants to destroy the artifact, but Nicholas doesn’t. He has a secret of his own. He has an alternative reason for helping Etta track it down through time and places. Their relationship will be tested when they both are forced to reveal their secrets. Even if they could move forward past betrayal on both sides, which one of them will sacrifice their whole existence for the other?

Kudos to Alexandra Bracken!

It was refreshing to see the complexities of an interracial couple. It is not often enough that I see these relationships portrayed in books, movies, commercials, etc. This isn’t important to everyone, but being half of an interracial couple, it is important to me.
Side note: Her amazing “Darkest Minds” series is currently filming a movie adaption.

Feb 22, 2017

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Dorothy. Must. Die.

Dorothy - OZ Gif
Excuse me? Why? Well because in this story of OZ she is not sweet and kind. Dorothy made it back to OZ a second time and became a power-hungry princess who is a mean and scary dictator. Her ruby slippers are instead magical ruby spiked heels. The winged monkeys are not evil but they are enslaved by her to fly her magical carriage. She has loyal followers who enjoy evil the way that she does, there are followers who pretend to like her out of fear of punishment, and then of course there is a resistance.
wizard of oz gifI thought it would be difficult to get into Dorothy Must Die. I’ve seen the movie many times, and Dorothy and her friends are sugary sweet and like-able. Dorothy even has a face that just can’t appear evil to me. It is a testament to the skill of Danielle Paige that she could sway me to the resistance against Dorothy and friends. The tin-man has knives for fingers, the lion feasts on fear, and the scarecrow experiments on people!
Amy Gumm is a “normal” (how do we define normal?) girl who gets swept up in a tornado and lands in Oz. She recalls the story of Dorothy that we all know so she has a hard time reconciling that with what she hears from people living in OZ under her rule. “Glinda the Good” is a loyal follower of Dorothy. Glinda has enslaved munchkins to drill out magic from OZ for Dorothy’s use. Meanwhile, her Wicked twin Glamora is part of the resistance. Wicked witches like Glamora are banded together to stop Dorothy. Something that Amy is told by everyone she meets is that she should trust no one. What Amy is certain of is that Good is Wicked, Wicked is Good, and she is magically bound to the Wicked resistance and MUST kill Dorothy. Can she actually do it?

I’m hooked on this series. Thankfully I discovered this one late and all of the books have been released already.


Feb 16, 2017

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

“Knowledge is all. The Library’s motto … it meant that nothing – nothing – was more valuable. Not even lives”


My love for books came a little late in life. At the time, I was a reader of physical books in hand. Since then I have only kept my favorites in print and have adopted various editions of kindle readers. Sure, I love the feel and smell of a book, but I love the convenience of an e-reader more.

The Great Library - illustration
Illustration of the Great Library of Alexandria, Egypt.
Whether or not you agree with me, Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine will transport you to a world where it is illegal to own real books. Imagine that you’re only allowed to own “blanks” which will provide you with the information and stories approved to be read by “The Great Library” of Alexandria (google for a history lesson). If you are caught in possession of an original work, it is confiscated and you are prosecuted. The wealth of information and knowledge is protected and distributed by The Great Library.

This control of information creates a huge black market for books. This is how we meet our main character Jess, known as a “cutter”, which is a runner of books. People pay high prices to obtain original works, and Jess is one of many kids who must run across the city with the books in hiding and avoid capture. Capture can lead to immediate death for the cutter and all of their connections. Following an unfortunate occurrence where Jess witnesses the destruction of an original book that he treasured, Jess no longer has the grit for being a cutter. He’s offered a reprieve by his unforgiving father but doesn’t realize until years later that it was all just clever scheming by his father for the use of Jess as a spy.

The power of The Great Library is maintained by its scholars, obscurists, and High Garda (library army). In Ink and Bone we see how little regard the elder scholars hold for human life. Nothing is more important than knowledge, but said knowledge must be controlled. Innovation is unwelcome. Those who wish to challenge or improve the system are silenced.

While working to become a trusted member of the Library, Jess will face situations where his loyalty will be tested. He faces the chance of death many times. There is heart ache and tragedy in this story but plenty of intrigue and suspense. promise gif I promise, you won’t want to put this book down.