As The Crow Flies by Rysa Walker & Caleb Amsel

Now that I've read this book, I feel like I see crows everywhere I go.  

As the Crow Flies tells of several people in varying states of troubles within their lives. Some of them know each other already, some of them don't but find themselves ultimately connected later. Each of them has momentary conflicting memories that they can't explain. Most troubling is the sudden appearance of people in town who were believed to be dead.

Horror movie fans might have a slight advantage when reading As the Crow Flies

I'm not much of a horror movie fan, but there were a few moments that were themed with classic horror films that I think everyone would recognize. That was interesting and I think helped with imaging certain moment in the story. It's not necessary to be familiar with any horror movies at all to enjoy this book. I can attest to that.

Reasons you must read this book:

• The story line is full of surprises
• It's impossible to predict the ending
• You enjoy thinking about a book for days after you've finished reading.
• You hate birds and this book shows them as the monsters that they truly are.

Rysa Walker and Caleb Amsel have delivered an action-packed horror show of a story with As the Crow Flies. The book has a bit of a slow start following the perspective of a possessed crow. The crow is spying on several people, and why this matters isn't immediately apparent, but it's well worth the read to find out.



    

The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy

I rather love the creative story of The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansey. While I wouldn't want to steal memories from others, it would be amazing to see a duplication of a memory. For instance, how does my child remember our recent trip to Disneyland? I remember being hot and sweaty, desperately needing a nap. If I looked through his memory of the trip, what would I see from his perspective?

Dementia is a very real fear of mine. Imagine living in a world where your neighbor could force that upon you.

Our experiences and memories are what shape the people we are. In The Memory Thief, a "gifted" person could steal your most recent memory at the forefront of your mind, or all of them if they're extremely talented. Every memory you have of your own mother could be swiped away until you don't know if you ever had one. Yet, in the reverse, you might never have jumped off a cliff into the ocean, but you could buy that memory from someone who did. Following the purchase, the cliff jumper has no recollection of the jump.

Do you wish to have a mastery of art skills? Buy the skills at auction from the mind of an artist.

I found it impressive that there were several unpredictable moments. A reader is lucky if they're blown away by at least one plot twist in a book. Lauren Mansey manages to surprise you several times with hidden agendas among the main characters, secret guilt, and overall surprises.  This slightly suspenseful, and very captivating story shares the pain of loss, the strength of new found love, and the courage to keep trying despite insurmountable odds.

Pre-Order Available. Releasing October 1, 2019. 

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

The Grace Year is reminiscent of  Lord of Flies 

Tierney, our main character, lives in a small county that strictly controls the lives of its female citizens. Women are not allowed to meet in groups without men present. A woman can be punished with a whipping to her back for the simple transgression of taking a bath with rose petals in the water. The day before leaving for the "Grace Year", each woman is paraded around town for the men to choose a future wife. The women have absolutely no control of whom they'll marry.


There are so many challenges to the girls' survival during their Grace Year. While contained to an enclosed area with little means for survival, they quickly establish a hierarchy. It's the first time any of them are without the instruction and supervision of men. The new freedom of self control leaves many of them lost. Few of them are able to make decisions for themselves.

Four seasons of survival = four chapters of the story.

I'm disappointed to give this book only a 3.5-star rating because The Grace Year is truly a great story and it had me hooked. I definitely binge read this within three days (I have kids so I can't read books in 1 day). This book could have easily been 4.5-stars if the formatting were correcting to include at least page breaks. The Grace Year is only separated into four "chapters", one per season of the year. While the story is solid, the lack of true page breaks or chapter breaks is distracting to the story. In one paragraph Tierney could be asleep, then the next paragraph she's awake and talking in a different place entirely. It causes momentary confusion and pulls you out of the moment. I hope this is revised before the book's release in September 2019.

Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly

Lost Roses is the type of book I tend to avoid. It's a period piece based on true tragedy, which means I'll cry ugly tears. After I found the courage to start Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly, I found that I couldn't stop reading. Each chapter I said it will be enough to have a tiny snippet of closure so I could sleep. You can see where this is going. I ended up getting to sleep sometime after 3:30 am and thus have a serious book hangover today.

Why did such tragedy have to occur?

The harsh treatment of people throughout the war is truly devastating. Lost Roses doesn't go too heavily into these scenes; however, I'm way too empathetic. A small fiction scene told from one of the Russian immigrants told to Eliza Ferriday (one of our main characters) had me literally crying for five minutes.

Lost Roses is a story of perseverance. It is a telling of what lengths women will go for their own survival. Even when it seemed impossible for Sofya to survive the fall of Russia's imperial dynasty, let alone have the will to try, she just kept moving forward. Her story of challenges may have been fictional, but there's no doubt it is quite true to what real women of the period endured.

There was already a lot of buzz around this book before I had a chance to read it for myself. I can attest to the hype. Martha Hall Kelly wonderfully combined fictional characters alongside true historical figures of the Imperial Dynasty. The plight of Russian immigrants seeking a semblance of a good life in America shouts at our current state of affairs.

Grab the tissues, sit in your favorite reading place, and brace yourself for a brilliant story.

The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson

Jack loves his wife Libby, but is he still in love with his first wife, Eve?

Libby is a very smart and likable woman. She crosses paths with Jack Britcham by chance, and honestly doesn't like him very much. Patient and kind, Jack inevitably charms Libby and their love quickly spirals into marriage. In time, Libby finds herself desperate to learn more about Eve - his mysterious first wife in a pink wedding dress.

Having died tragically, Eve is not an easily discussed topic for Jack.

After a car accident that leaves Libby with healing injuries and upsetting scars, her and Jack both find it hard to learn their new normal. There's something about the accident that he's not telling her. She only remembers flashes of before and after impact. It only gets worse when she learns that Jack was a suspect for murder in Eve's accidental death. Did Jack actually try to kill Libby too in a way that could be perceived an accident?

During her recovery, Libby discovers Eve's hidden diary. It's possible that she could have had the inner strength to dispose of the diary if she hadn't peeked at the note tucked inside. It's immediately clear that Eve knew she might be murdered. It's such a  compelling letter, it's impossible to resist reading further.

Eve, The Woman He Loved Before, led such a turbulent life with many unfair obstacles. You'll feel joy, anger, and heart ache for Eve that is so real, you'd think you knew her.