The Other Emily by Dean Koontz

 The Other Emily by Dean Koontz

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘

Genre - Thriller, Murder, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

Format - Paperback

Length - 365 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

A decade ago, Emily Carlino vanished after her car broke down on a California highway. She was presumed to be one of serial killer Ronny Lee Jessup’s victims whose remains were never found.

Writer David Thorne still hasn’t recovered from losing the love of his life, or from the guilt of not being there to save her. Since then, he’s sought closure any way he can. He even visits regularly with Jessup in prison, desperate for answers about Emily’s final hours so he may finally lay her body to rest. Then David meets Maddison Sutton, beguiling, playful, and keenly aware of all David has lost. But what really takes his breath away is that everything about Maddison, down to her kisses, is just like Emily. As the fantastic becomes credible, David’s obsession grows, Maddison’s mysterious past deepens—and terror escalates.

Is she Emily? Or an irresistible dead ringer? Either way, the ultimate question is the same: What game is she playing? Whatever the risk in finding out, David’s willing to take it for this precious second chance. It’s been ten years since he’s felt this inspired, this hopeful, this much in love…and he’s afraid.

*My Review*

I remember Dean Koontz was one of my favorite readers when I was younger. I know that there's a lot of people who enjoy his books. Unfortunately, it seems that the books I've read by him as I've gotten older I haven't cared for. This was one of them. 

Now don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the book.....right up until the end. There was a lot going on with Maddison and could she be Emily, but how and I felt cheated with the ending. It was almost like he just wanted to finished it and threw something together or had someone else write an ending to a book and he decided to use it for this one. Maybe it's just me and what my interests are, but I felt the ending was a totally different genere.

Before And After by Lisa Wingate and Judy Christie

 

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘

Genre - Adoption, Women in History

Format - Paperback

Length - 320 Pages

*Amazon Blurb*

From the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents—hiding the fact that many weren’t orphans at all, but stolen sons and daughters of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity wards that their babies had died.

The publication of Lisa Wingate’s novel Before We Were Yours brought new awareness of Tann’s lucrative career in child trafficking. Adoptees who knew little about their pasts gained insight into the startling facts behind their family histories. Encouraged by their contact with Wingate and award-winning journalist Judy Christie, who documented the stories of fifteen adoptees in this book, many determined Tann survivors set out to trace their roots and find their birth families.

Before and After includes moving and sometimes shocking accounts of the ways in which adoptees were separated from their first families. Often raised as only children, many have joyfully reunited with siblings in the final decades of their lives. Christie and Wingate tell of first meetings that are all the sweeter and more intense for time missed and of families from very different social backgrounds reaching out to embrace better-late-than-never brothers, sisters, and cousins. In a poignant culmination of art meeting life, many of the long-silent victims of the tragically corrupt system return to Memphis with the authors to reclaim their stories at a Tennessee Children’s Home Society reunion . . . with extraordinary results.

*My Review*

The emotions that I felt reading this book was not all that surprising to me. It was raw and real. Why? Because the stories in this book are the true stories of what children endured at the hands of a Ms. Georgia Tann, a real life monster. When I first heard of this book I knew right away that I need to read it after having already read Before We Were Yours, a book that will turn your world upside down. You can read my review on that here.

I was so glad for this book because it provided some closure to what happened to so many of the children Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. Unfortunlatey, not all of them got a happy ending, but so many of them did.

Black Rain: Book One by Eli Salas and Raven Mills

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Magical Realism
Format - Paperback
Length - 550 Pages

*Amazon Blurb*

An old woman named Amira recalls the beginnings of her journey when she is whisked away from her home in Cameroon to become a slave in Colonized America with her close friend Anikah. She is indoctrinated and forced to forget her old ways over the eight years of service on plantations. She learns to survive in a world that is not her own.
However, destiny calls when she is crosses paths with an Azteco Spirit Warrior named Rain, and his beaver friend, Schemer. Knowing the dangers, Amira finds liberation through magic and mystery and living among the Azteco people. She is forced to question her beliefs and confront her past as her life becomes intertwined with the gods who are vicariously puppeteering from their divine plane.

Ever since they fled the sword and iron fist of White Men, a surviving tribe of Aztecs has lived in peace for centuries. But when the young tribesman Rain becomes a man and earns the right to explore the forbidden forest beyond the tribal territory, what he finds will shake him to his core.
It’s a white man’s city with bustling boulevards and towering mansions; a whole separate world just through the wilds. Have the tribal elders known about this city all along? With his startling discovery, Rain is forced to question everything he thought he knew. In a tale that combines the historical with the fantastical, Amira will discover her power within to escape the death grip of slavery. Rain will realize just how easily generations of tribal peace can be broken. But thanks to spirit animals, which allow their human counterparts to communicate regardless of language, Rain still has a chance to save his people and unravel the dark mysteries of the city ruled by white men. Amira will find her warrior spirit once again. He might even succeed—or so it seems at first. The crossing of these two worlds brings about an ancient Aztec prophecy, one not seen since Rain’s ancestors were nearly wiped out. And a dire message from an ancient god can only mean one thing: the Azteco battle for survival has only just begun.

*My Review*
This book is not a genre that I generally agree to read, however it had been a while since I had someone request a review and this is why I accept them....to ready things I wouldn't normally read. Let me tell you I am glad I did! The book easily switches back and forth between the two main characters, Amira and Rain. At first, I wasn't didn't understand why the story kept switching back and forth between two people who had nothing in common. However, as I continued to read it became clear and also impossible to put down. The characters were developed wonderfully. The book did seem slow to start, but once I got started, I couldn't stop, and I can't wait for the next one the series to be released.

One of my favorite things about two authors collaborating on a book is when they both write different characters. It gives each of them a completely different feel that some authors really try to do but are not always able to.

Frightfully Ever After by Nick DeWolf

 

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘
Genre - Format - E-book

*Amazon Blurb*

"Do you know what the difference is between a fairy godmother and a witch?"
"What?"
"Not a goddamn thing."
Fairies and dragons are real, and live alongside giants, goblins and trolls. Fairy godmothers exist. The woodsman, that one from the story books? Yeah, he’s real too. They’re all out there, living in the world, right under your nose.
But they’re not alone. There’s another side to the coin. Witches are real. Monsters are real. Things that slither through shadows and bite at your skin are real.
The big bad wolf is very real.
And poor Anastasia – she was born with magical royal blood. She should have been a princess, but grew up under the thumb of a vicious crime boss. She’s lived a life of pain, fear, and violence. In a desperate attempt to get away, she will find herself surrounded by all those things she thought never existed.
Good, bad, and evil.
FRIGHTFULLY EVER AFTER is a slow burn urban fantasy with guns, horror, sex, and monsters. People get hurt. People get killed. People get eaten. And only the toughest get to live Happily Ever After.

*My Review* 

 

Nick DeWolf is an author I never would have normally picked up to read as I tend to stay within my suspense genre. However, that's the good thing about being a blogger and having a Facebook group. You get to meet authors you normally wouldn't have. I previously read one of Nick's books, Villains Never Die and enjoyed it so I figured why not read another one by him. I'll admit this book took me foooorever to read. It was an ebook and they always take much longer to read that a physical book which is why I always ask for a psychical copy for requested reviews.

This book is like a typical fairy tale, if fairy tales weren't all princess, sparkles and happy endings. I'm not saying this one didn't have a happy ending, but I'm not saying it does either. As much as I enjoyed the book I did find the conversations between Gayle and Mary a bit annoying sometimes. They seemed to make a lot sounds that actual words in certain parts. I think Ana is probably my favorite "princess" ever. There's no crown, frilly dresses, castle or any of that other dreamy princess stuff you normally have in books. 

A 4 book rating is pretty good since, like I have said before, I don't normally read fantasy. If you do (or even if you don't), you should definitely check this out.

Reading a Book Vs. Writing a Review

 

Reading -

I love to read, when I get the chance. With Covid many of us have had to make changes in our normal daily lives. I was turned into a home-schooling teacher and let me tell you something, having one child at home with no other kids to play with is not all it's cracked up to be. Guess who gets to do morning routine, school, after school and all the other in-between stuff? Yup, I do. I love my child, don't get me wrong, but I really miss that little bit of time that I got while waiting for her after I got out of work to pick her up from school. Now the only me time I get is the few hours I work at the library. Yes, I consider my working hours my me time. It's the only chance I get to have conversations with adults and read while it's slow. I can't even read much after my daughter goes to bed since that is the only time I get to spend with my husband. So I try to squeeze in reading any chance I get. Between school, child care, household chores and my online businesses it doesn't leave much.

I really would like to get stranded on a deserted island for about 1 week with nothing but a stack of book and yummy treats.

Reviews -

I finished a book, yay!! Now what? Well normally I'd like to jump right in to writing a review while everything is fresh in my mind. Unfortunately, I am usually finishing while at work, in bed before or sometimes while I am simply not home. Basically it's not convenient for me to start my review at that time. However, I usually have another book within reach and just start that one. Then I kind of forget that I have a review to write. I tell myself that I will take a little bit of my reading time to get it done, but then I don't have much reading time to take away from. 

Also, writing a review is much harder than just telling someone about the book in person. Going back to my post about blogs, I don't visit book review blogs very often because I don't have time to read long reviews. I keep my reviews short....sometimes a lot shorter than I probably should, but I don't want to give too much away. Did I like the book or didn't I. Why or why not. I feel like if I start explaining everything that the book looses it's mystery. I don't want to say anything that might give away the "who done it" so I don't say much at all. Since I don't have much time to read to begin with, I also don't want to spend what little time I do have reading a review about a book that I might or might not read. If I am going to read it, then I don't need to have read a review about it telling me everything that is going to happen.

Summary -

What are your thoughts on book reviews? Do you read them? Do you prefer them short and to the point or a bit more in depth? I'd love to know.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

 

 

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Fiction,
Format - Audio book
Length - 10 hours 41 minutes

*Amazon Blurb*

“Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.” 

After her mother's suicide, fifteen year-old Lane Roanoke came to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin, Allegra, on their vast estate in rural Kansas. Lane knew little of her mother's mysterious family, but she quickly embraced life as one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But when she discovered the dark truth at the heart of the family, she ran…fast and far away. 

Eleven years later, Lane is adrift in Los Angeles when her grandfather calls to tell her Allegra has gone missing. Did she run too? Or something worse? Unable to resist his pleas, Lane returns to help search, and to ease her guilt at having left Allegra behind. Her homecoming may mean a second chance with the boyfriend whose heart she broke that long ago summer. But it also means facing the devastating secret that made her flee, one she may not be strong enough to run from again. 

As it weaves between Lane’s first Roanoke summer and her return, The Roanoke Girls shocks and tantalizes, twisting its way through revelation after mesmerizing revelation, exploring the secrets families keep and the fierce and terrible love that both binds them together and rips them apart.

*My Review* 

 

If you like crazy, messed up families with huge secrets, then this books is perfect for you. I did get annoyed a times with the characters, but isn't that part of what makes a good book good? Lane  is the center of most of my frustration. Pull yourself together and act your age.

I can't really say much of what happened (the Amazon blub does a good job at that), but I remember the ending of the book made me sit there and ask...."seriously" what did I just listen to.

The Immortals Series by Alyson Noel

 

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘
Genre - Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction

*Amazon Blurb* (from the 1st book)

After a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school―but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.

Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head―wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is―or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

*My Review* 

 

I normally wouldn't review a whole series at once, but I feel that it's the only proper way to do this series. I will also start off with a major SPOILER ALERT disclaimer because reviewing more than one book obviously will give away things in earlier books.

SPOILER ALERT

 (continue at your own risk)

Ok, so I had the first 3 in this series sitting around for a while and decided I wanted to some easy reading and generally young adult is perfect for that. Book 1 Evermore: The Immortals did not disappoint. It was an extremely fast read and I found myself diving into book 2 (Blue Moon) as soon as I was finished. My book 3 (Shadowland), however I was getting over the whole story-line already. I mean the girl names were a bit of a struggle to get over to begin with....Ever, Haven, Honor.... just weird for me. Then of course there's Damen the other main character of the story. He who is thousands of years old, but can't wait until Ever has finished high school to "turn" her. And no this isn't a vampire book. I will actually leave that one for your to find out on your own. Regardless, you now have one of these Twilight types of situations where the characters will forever be a teenager. I would never want to live forever as a teenager, no thank you.

 

Back to the story.... many things do happen during books 4-6 (Dark Flame, Night Star and Everlasting), but it all really boils down to just one thing.....sex! Yup, that's all it's about. Right from the beginning Ever and Damon are kept from "hooking up" due to a spell that is put upon them. Um hello, she's just 16 (in this life) and they have eternity to live, but all that Ever is worried about is them being together. Seriously? I really thought there would be more going on in the other books, besides that one main situation, but there really wasn't. 

 

I don't think I'd have read past book 2 if my OCD to finish any series I start hadn't been so overwhelming. I simply read as fast and as often I could to finish them. Maybe I'd have enjoyed them better if I were a young adult, but I'm not and so we'll never know.

The Widow by Fiona Barton

 

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Kidnapping Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Murder Thriller
Format - Paperback
Length - 432 pages


*Amazon Blurb*

There’s a lot Jean hasn’t said over the years about the crime her husband was suspected of committing. She was too busy being the perfect wife, standing by her man while living with the accusing glares and the anonymous harassment. 

Now her husband is dead, and there’s no reason to stay quiet. There are people who want to hear her story. They want to know what it was like living with that man. She can tell them that there were secrets. There always are in a marriage. 

The truth—that’s all anyone wants. But the one lesson Jean has learned in the last few years is that she can make people believe anything...

*My Review* 

 

How faithful would you be to a man that's dead. Do you tell the story you've always told, do you tell the people what you want them to hear or do you tell them the truth? As much as I enjoyed this book, I found Jean another character that really annoyed me (seems to be almost every book lately, so maybe it's me). She seems to just go along with whatever any tells her. First her husband, then the reporter and even the police. 

If her husband is innocent of the crime everyone thinks he committed then why not move and start somewhere fresh where you don't have people practically living on your doorstep for the story? If he's guilty, then why hide it? He's dead and not going to hurt you if you tell.

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

 

 Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘
Genre - Domestic Thriller, Psychological Thriller
Format - Audio-book
Length - 7 hours and 50 minutes


*Amazon Blurb*

Maybe you don't know your neighbors as well as you thought you did . . . 

"This is a very difficult letter to write. I hope you will not hate us too much. . . My son broke into your home recently while you were out." In a quiet, leafy suburb in upstate New York, a teenager has been sneaking into houses--and into the owners' computers as well--learning their secrets, and maybe sharing some of them, too. Who is he, and what might he have uncovered? After two anonymous letters are received, whispers start to circulate, and suspicion mounts. And when a woman down the street is found murdered, the tension reaches the breaking point. Who killed her? Who knows more than they're telling? And how far will all these very nice people go to protect their own secrets? In this neighborhood, it's not just the husbands and wives who play games. Here, everyone in the family has something to hide . . . 

You never really know what people are capable of.

*My Review* 

 

The starts out with a woman being murdered, but not sure who the killer is. Ok, I like suspense. Unfortunatley the book seems to then veer off course and it becomes more about a boy breaking into peoples houses. I mean it still went on about trying to figure out who the murderer was and giving all sort of suspects and possibilities, but for me the boy and his mother seemed to take over.

I couldn't really get into this. The mom writes a letter to apologize for her son breaking into people houses. I get why she feels bad, but her character annoyed the crap out of me. She kept doing things that made the situation worse...was that part of the story or was she just annoying?

The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘📘
Genre - Psychological Thrillers, Fiction, Thriller
Format - Audio-book
Length - 10 hours

*Amazon Blurb*

She may not know exactly who is in her house. But she knows why they are there. Be careful who you let in....
A house swap becomes the eerie backdrop to a crumbling marriage, a long-buried affair, and the fatal consequences that unfold.
When Caroline and Francis receive an offer to house swap - from their city apartment to a house in a leafy, upscale London suburb - they jump at the chance for a week away from home, their son, and the tensions that have pushed their marriage to the brink.
As the couple settles in, the old problems that permeate their marriage - his unhealthy behaviors, her indiscretions - start bubbling to the surface. But while they attempt to mend their relationship, their neighbor, an intense young woman, is showing a little too much interest in their activities.
Meanwhile, Caroline slowly begins to uncover some signs of life in the stark house - signs of her life. The flowers in the bathroom or the music might seem innocent to anyone else - but to her they are clues. It seems the person they have swapped with is someone who knows her, someone who knows the secrets she's desperate to forget....
Be careful who you let in....

*My Review* 

I really wished I'd read this book instead of listening to the audio book. When it switched over to the person staying in Caroline's house it was done in a whisper which just irritated me more than anything. I think it should have just been told like the rest of the story.
Other than the whispered sections I truly enjoyed the book, though I did get angry at Caroline for not being straight forward with her husband sometimes and with the neighbor at the house they were staying at. I was shocked to find out everything that Caroline did in the end. I think it was a bit far fetched, but still enjoyable.

Autonomy by Blake Pitcher

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘
Genre - Science Fiction Anthologies, Magical Realism, Science Fiction
Format - Paperback
Length - 139 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

Self-crashing cars; a rabbit that transcends reality; the inexorable passion of artificial intelligence-- Autonomy is a collection of stories dealing with reality, strangeness, and the space between.
Includes the novella The Young Hyenas.

PLUS…

“SWITCH”
An outing with grandma turns into a nightmarish joyride.

“Robot Butler”
Dymotron’s Robot Butler is the best help a man can buy, but at what cost?

“GOBi & the Jo-Bird”
Google’s “Online Being” runs rampant and… falls in love.

“Autonomous”
A detour in a self-driving car turns deadly.

“Horse Mode”
For Marshall, life is full of choices. But who is actually making them?

“Cold, As I Am”
A loner in a strange city overthinks an innocuous question.

Aeneatha, in the Sky
A woman follows a rabbit out of an alien world.

“Ice Cream for Smitty”
When Smitty is terrorized by two young boys, a tiny thought inspires meaningful action.

“Elisha Rabbit”
A magical rabbit transcends death and reality.

And, Eclectic-noir Flash Fiction:

Big Sky
A Week Along the Coast
Cooley’s Cabin
Ga!.

*My Review* 

I don't usually enjoy short stories all that much because there's either no time to get into them or they end just as you do. These ones seemed to be just the right amount of writing to enjoy and feel complete. The beginning and the end ones were the best. I did have a hard time with the stories in the middle. They didn't make any sense and were hard to read.

The Night Before by Wendy Walker

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Family Life Fiction, Psychological Thrillers, Domestic Thrillers
Format - Hardcover
Length - 310 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

Laura Lochner has never been lucky in love. She falls too hard and too fast, always choosing the wrong men. Devastated by the end of her last relationship, she fled her Wall Street job and New York City apartment for her sister’s home in the Connecticut suburb where they both grew up. Though still haunted by the tragedy that’s defined her entire life, Laura is determined to take one more chance on love with a man she’s met on an Internet dating site.
Rosie Ferro has spent most of her life worrying about her troubled sister. Fearless but fragile, Laura has always walked an emotional tightrope, and Rosie has always been there to catch her. Laura’s return, under mysterious circumstances, has cast a shadow over Rosie’s peaceful life with her husband and young son – a shadow that grows darker as Laura leaves the house for her blind date.
When Laura does not return home the following morning, Rosie fears the worst. She’s not responding to calls or texts, and she’s left no information about the man she planned to meet. As Rosie begins a desperate search to find her sister, she is not just worried about what this man might have done to Laura. She’s worried about what Laura may have done to him…

*My Review* 

This book was nonstop suspense for me. The chapters switch back and forth between Laura and her sister Rosie. Laura leaves to go on a date, but never comes home. As the story unfolds you learn why Rosie immediately panicked about her sister not coming home like she promised she would. Did Laura get hurt or did she hurt someone? I wasn't able to figure it out. Then the ending.....it never even crossed my mind.

A Stranger In The House by Shari Lapena

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘📘
Genre - Psychological Thrillers, Women's Domestic Life Fiction
Format - Audio-book
Length - 8 hours 52 minutes

*Amazon Blurb*

Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind.

There's a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.

The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good.

Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on with her life. Then she realizes something’s been moved. Something’s not quite right. Someone’s been in her house. And the police won't stop asking questions.

Because in this house, everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet.

*My Review* 

How well do you know your friends? Karen is pretty sure she has built herself the perfect life, but isn't it always the perfect lives that have the biggest secrets? Karen finds herself in the hospital. She can't remember what happened, but is that the truth or just what she's telling everyone to hide something. Though it's easy to figure out the story so that there's no real suspense, I wasn't quite sure how it would end.

House of Ashes: A Haunted Bluffs Mystery by Loretta Marion

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Amateur Sleuths, Ghosts, Mysteries, Thrillers
Format - Harcover
Length - 326 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

Thirty-seven-year-old painter Cassandra Mitchell is fourth-generation to live in the majestic Battersea Bluffs, a brooding Queen Anne home originally built by her great-grandparents, Percy and Celeste Mitchell, and still standing despite tragedies that have swept the generations. Local lore has it that there was a curse placed on the family and the house is haunted, though opinions are divided on whether it's by malicious or benevolent spirits. Cassie believes the latter—but now she stands to lose her beloved home to mounting debt and the machinations of her dream-weaving ex-husband.

Salvation seems to arrive when a nomadic young couple wanders onto the property with the promise of companionship and much-needed help—until they vanish without a trace, leaving behind no clue to their identities. Cassie is devastated, but determined to discover what's happened to the young couple...even as digging into their disappearance starts to uncover family secrets of her own. Despite warnings from her childhood friend, now the local Chief of Police—as well as an FBI agent who pushes the boundaries of professionalism—Cassie can't help following the trail of clues (and eerie signals from the old house itself) to unravel the mystery. But can she do so before her family's dark curse destroys everything in its path?

*My Review* 

Another book that I couldn't put down. There was so much mystery going on. Is the house haunted, who are the strangers, what happened to them and what will happen with Cassie? I was lost in this book and read it every chance I got. I felt compassion for the characters, anger and hope. I did get a little lost in the middle of the story as there were quite a few characters being introduced and trying to keep their stories straight. Other than that, it was amazing.
I can't go into much detail as I don't want to give anything away. I was shocked when I learned the truth and I want you to be as well. I can say that if you enjoy a good mystery, then you'll want to grab this book.
I can't wait until I can get my hands on a copy of its sequel - Storm of Secrets.

Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance by Bill McKibben

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘
Genre - Political Fiction, Satire, Humorous American Literature
Format - Harcover
Length - 240 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

As the host of Radio Free Vermont--"underground, underpowered, and underfoot"--seventy-two-year-old Vern Barclay is currently broadcasting from an "undisclosed and double-secret location." With the help of a young computer prodigy named Perry Alterson, Vern uses his radio show to advocate for a simple yet radical idea: an independent Vermont, one where the state secedes from the United States and operates under a free local economy. But for now, he and his radio show must remain untraceable, because in addition to being a lifelong Vermonter and concerned citizen, Vern Barclay is also a fugitive from the law.

In Radio Free Vermont, Bill McKibben entertains and expands upon an idea that's become more popular than ever--seceding from the United States. Along with Vern and Perry, McKibben imagines an eccentric group of activists who carry out their own version of guerilla warfare, which includes dismissing local middle school children early in honor of 'Ethan Allen Day' and hijacking a Coors Light truck and replacing the stock with local brew. Witty, biting, and terrifyingly timely, Radio Free Vermont is Bill McKibben's fictional response to the burgeoning resistance movement.

*My Review* 

This was a fun book and is also another one that I am having a hard time thinking of a way to explain my review on it. Vern uses the power of radio to suggest the state of Vermont break away from the United States. He provides reasons and also promotes Vermont businesses. You'd think that the state would appreciate his trying to have everyone come together, instead he is considered a fugitive.
I think my favorite part is how he helps one of his friends get a new home built for free.
It's a quick read and I think you'll enjoy it if you like rebellion and humor.

The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy: A Novel by Jacopo della Quercia

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘
Genre - Steampunk, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction Adventures
Format - Paperback
Length - 400 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

This historical thriller is an equal-parts cocktail of action, adventure, science-fiction and comedy. The book follows a globe-trotting President Taft and Robert Todd Lincoln in a race to solve a mystery stretching back to the Civil War and the Lincoln assassination. Based on true events, readers will find themselves swept into a vast conspiracy spanning four continents and three oceans during the turn of the century. Fascinating technologies will be harnessed, dark secrets revealed, true villains exposed, and some of the most famous figures in history will take the stage. With surprises lurking around every corner, and a vast cast of characters to root for, Jacopo della Quercia's The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy is a heart-pounding adventure that only history could have made possible.

*My Review* 

This book was chosen for my book group for February. I thought a book with presidents for presidents month. It was also cool because the author is a member of the book group.
Unfortunately, even after finishing the entire book, I am not sure what it was that I read. The first chapter started off pretty good, but from there I was lost. There were many references to actual events and newspaper articles, but some of them seemed like they did nothing but fill pages. I kept reading hoping that eventually I would figure it all out. I read to the end. I am still confused.

Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined by Stephanie Meyer (Twilight Saga #1.75)

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘📘
Genre - Teen, Young Adult, Ghost Stories, Contemporary Fantasy, Vampires, Werewolves
Format - Hardback

*Amazon Blurb*

There are two sides to every story....

You know Bella and Edward, now get to know Beau and Edythe.

When Beaufort Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edythe Cullen, his life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With her porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edythe is both irresistible and enigmatic.

What Beau doesn't realize is the closer he gets to her, the more he is putting himself and those around him at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back....

With a foreword and afterword by Stephenie Meyer, this compelling reimagining of the iconic love story is a must-read for Twilight fans everywhere.

*My Review* 

This book was a recommendation from one of my library patrons. I wasn't even aware that it existed. I am also guilty of not read the Twilight Series, but only watching the movies (which I loved).
I think it would've been easier to read it if I hadn't watched the movies because I kept picturing the characters as they were in the movie. It was hard to try and stop.
The book stays quite true to the movie with the exception of all the genders being swapped until it gets towards the end. I am glad the author changed it like she did because it was wondering the whole time if I would be left hanging to expect a sequel that wouldn't come or if maybe she was planning to write more.

A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #4)

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Young Adult, Time Travel, Fiction
Format - Hardcover
Length - 496 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

Having defeated the monstrous threat that nearly destroyed the peculiar world, Jacob Portman is back where his story began, in Florida. Except now Miss Peregrine, Emma, and their peculiar friends are with him, and doing their best to blend in. But carefree days of beach visits and normalling lessons are soon interrupted by a discovery—a subterranean bunker that belonged to Jacob’s grandfather, Abe.

Clues to Abe’s double-life as a peculiar operative start to emerge, secrets long hidden in plain sight. And Jacob begins to learn about the dangerous legacy he has inherited—truths that were part of him long before he walked into Miss Peregrine’s time loop.

Now, the stakes are higher than ever as Jacob and his friends are thrust into the untamed landscape of American peculiardom—a world with few ymbrynes, or rules—that none of them understand. New wonders, and dangers, await in this brilliant next chapter for Miss Peregrine’s peculiar children. Their story is again illustrated by haunting vintage photographs, now with the striking addition of full-color images interspersed throughout for this all-new, multi-era American adventure.

*My Review* 

I have enjoyed this entire series. I love how each book picks up exactly where the last one left off. It's like you simply went to a new chapter and not a new book.
Once again Jacob and his friends are off on another adventure. They find out exactly what Abe was doing in his normal life and Jacob wants to follow along in his grandfather's footsteps. But can he do the job Abe was doing without any training and just some of his friends by his side? This time they don't even have the help of Miss Peregrine.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Availble on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Sisters Fiction, Mothers & Children Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction
Format - Paperback
Length - 368 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.



*My Review* 

This book was chosen for the January read for my local book group. I wasn't sure I was going to like it since it's not my normal genre, but I have been trying to read outside of my comfort spot. I'm definitely glad I did. Though this book is fiction, it is based on real life events. You can find out more about the real life horror in Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society by Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate.

The story goes back and forth from when the Foss girls were young and the present day. I really enjoyed reading the book from Rill's point of view when she was a little girl. I hated when those chapters ended. The story pulls at your heart and makes you wonder how someone could be so cruel and do the things they did to little children and their families. I thought the present day chapters dragged on and seemed a bit too fairytale-ish.

The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton

Availble on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘
Genre - Psychological Thriller, Suspense
Format - Audio book
Length - 11 hours 46 minutes

*Amazon Blurb*

Juliette loves Nate.

She will follow him anywhere. She’s even become a flight attendant for his airline, so she can keep a closer eye on him.

They are meant to be.

The fact that Nate broke up with her six months ago means nothing. Because Juliette has a plan to win him back.

She is the perfect girlfriend. And she’ll make sure no one stops her from getting exactly what she wants.

True love hurts, but Juliette knows it’s worth all the pain...


*My Review* 

Juliette is crazy, but she's a controlled kind of crazy. She knows what she wants and she will build her life around getting it. It's got to be hard living 2 perfect lives.
The story wasn't bad, but is seemed awfully slow to me. I got lost a few times with all her plotting and planning. The ending was definitely not what I was expecting at all.