The Last Word by Taylor Adams

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘

Genre - Conspiracy Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

Format - Hardcover

Length - 400 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

Emma Carpenter lives in isolation with her golden retriever Laika, house-sitting an old beachfront home on the rainy Washington coast. Her only human contact is her enigmatic old neighbor, Deek, and (via text) the house’s owner, Jules.

One day, she reads a poorly written—but gruesome—horror novel by the author H. G. Kane, and posts a one-star review that drags her into an online argument with none other than the author himself. Soon after, disturbing incidents start to occur at night. To Emma, this can’t just be a coincidence. It was strange enough for this author to bicker with her online about a lousy review; could he be stalking her, too?

As Emma digs into Kane’s life and work, she learns he has published sixteen other novels, all similarly sadistic tales of stalking and murder. But who is he? How did he find her? And what else is he capable of?

Displaying his trademark command of rapid-fire pacing, unnerving atmosphere, and razor-sharp characterization, Taylor Adams once again delivers a diabolically disturbing—and deadly—game of cat and mouse.

*My Review*

This book was like a rollercoaster. The beginning was like standing in line. I thought that everything seemed a bit to coincidental. But when you finally get on the ride you can't stop. Just when you thought you'd reached the top to go down the other side, you would start climbing up even higher. I remember getting to multiple points in the book where I was like, this is it, I've reached the end.....but there's still so much left to read. That's because it was never "it". Taylor keeps you in suspense the entire book. The "who done it" bounced all over and made me second guess myself constantly. I was also kept on my toes by the "book" that was being written during the story. Who was writing it? Was it true? What happens? 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘

Genre - Time Travel, Literary Fiction

Format - Hardcover

Length - 304 pages

*Amazon Blurb* 

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? 

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig's enchanting blockbuster novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

*My Review*

I thoroughly enjoy reading this book. If you've ever mentioned "parallel universe" then you'll probably enjoy this book too. Nora basically gets to check out what her "other" life is like. Many people might think that it would be great to change something about their life, but what they don't tend to remember is that each action, each choice has a consequence and can alter everything in your life. Including the things you really love.

Thirteen Reason Why by Jay Asher

 

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘

Genre - Teen Fiction, Suicide, Family Issues

Format - Audio Book

Length - 6 hours 24 minutes

*Amazon Blurb*

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush, who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice explains that there are 13 reasons she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a first-hand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself - a truth he never wanted to face.

*My Review*

 This wasn't a book I'd normally read, but I was trying to find something to listen to while on the treadmill and got frustrated looking so I downloaded the first available one....this was it.

Poor Hannah has decided to end her life, but it wasn't just one incident that brought her to this decision - it was thirteen. She let things build up in sort of a snowball effect until she couldn't take it anymore. The fact that she made tapes to explain all the hurt she felt made me feel bad for her even though she wasn't nice in them. There were things that she should've told someone about, but decided to not say anything. It just goes to show that one person really can make a big difference in someone's life and that big difference just could be a life or death one. People should raise kids to be kind and to keep in mind that you never know what someone else is going thru. It's easy to ignore someone, but worth taking a few minutes to check in with them.

 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘
Genre - Fiction, Holocaust, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Foster Home
Format - Paperback
Length - 608 Pages

*Amazon Blurb*

When Death has a story to tell, you listen.
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

 

*My Review* 

 

Another book club book and also another one that was hard to get thru. Not only was this book extremely long, but in my opinion it was extremely boring too. I felt like it wasn't going anywhere at all. There was no suspense, no excitement.....nothing. The only thing that I wanted to know is what happened to the Jewish man.

I also decided to force my poor husband to watch the movie with me. I generally don't watch movies of the books I've read because, let's face it, books are better. I had heard from a couple different people that the movie was better than the book in this case. I agree and disagree at the same time. I feel that the movie gave the book a bit more desire to finish, but it also missed some parts that I feel were very necessary in understanding things.

The President Is Missing by James Patterson and Bill Clinton

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘
Genre - Fiction, Political Fiction, International Mystery, Mystery
Format - Audio book
Length - 12 hours 55 minutes

*Amazon Blurb*

The White House is the home of the president of the United States, the most guarded, monitored, closely watched person in the world. So how could a US president vanish without a trace? And why would he choose to do so?
An unprecedented collaboration between President Bill Clinton and the world's best-selling novelist, James Patterson, The President Is Missing is a breathtaking story from the pinnacle of power. Full of what it truly feels like to be the person in the Oval Office - the mind-boggling pressure, the heartbreaking decisions, the exhilarating opportunities, the soul-wrenching power - this is the thriller of the decade, confronting the darkest threats that face the world today, with the highest stakes conceivable.

*My Review* 

 

Not trying to spoil the book, but I will say that it wasn't nearly as thrilling as I thought it was going to be. It definitely was not what I was expecting at all. The president doesn't just up and vanish without a trace....not really anyways. 

 

There were a ton of characters, which I never enjoy because it's too hard to keep them all straight. This one not only has multiple "good guys", but also multiple "bad guys". Just all too much for me. 

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.

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.

Airabella by Addalynn Sanders

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Children's Dragon, Unicorn & Mythical Stories, Children's Animals Books
Format - Paperback
Length - 26 pages


*Amazon Blurb*

Airabella is a beautiful and sparkly unicorn...... until she fell into a pud puddle and got dirty. Join Airabella as she learns a valuable lesson about the importance of listening to her mother.

*My Review* 

I'll admit that I am a little biased to this book since my daughter is the author. That's right, your beloved bloggers daughter wrote her very own book at just 5 years old. She came up with this adorable story and kept telling it to me. I typed it up in a word document because I thought it'd be something to look back on when she was all grown up. The only part I had was asking some simple questions like "what happened next " and "why did that happen". I ended up sending it to a dear high school friend of mine who thought it was adorable. I asked my daughter how she felt about being an author and she was overjoyed!

We had no grand visions of her becoming famous or anything like that Honestly, we thought she'd have her very own copy and maybe sell a few to friends and family. To date, she's had over 50 copies sold. I couldn't be any prouder of her hard work and her dreams to continue writing even more Airabella books.

Now for my review.....it's an adorable book that shows how things can go from bad to worse if you ignore your mom. It also shows how wonderful your day can be if you do listen.

If you have read this book, we'd love to hear your thoughts. You can also find Airabella on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Never Ever Tell by Kristy Ferguson

Available on Amazon June 18, 2020

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Domestic Thriller, Psychological Thriller
Format - E-book
Length - 732KB


*Amazon Blurb*

Vanessa Sawyer knows all about pain. She’s felt it every day since marrying the boy who fathered her baby in high school. All he’s meant are broken bones, broken heart and broken dreams. But he also brought her the love of her life. When her son Wren was born, her baby boy was her salvation.
Vanessa watches Wren grow and become a young man she can be proud of. Until one night everything changes, including Wren. One night that her son refuses to speak of. Now Vanessa can’t rest, not until she uncovers the secret that her son has been hiding from her.
Will she find the answers she’s searching for or will her quest for the truth take her to a dark place where all hope is lost?

*My Review* 

There's nothing worse than bring married to someone that destroys who you are physically and mentally thru abuse except trying to raise a child too. Vanessa probably would've committed suicide or pushed her husband to the breaking point so he'd kill her, but she had her beautiful baby boy to keep her going. He was her whole world and she'd do anything to make sure he was protected, but how much can you really protect someone? It's amazing to see what a mother will go through and how much they can take.
The ended was far from anything I was expecting. I was completely shocked and don't think there was anything that I could've read that would've made me figure it out....even a little.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘
Genre - Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Format - Audio  Book
Length -14 Hours 14 Min

*Amazon Blurb*

On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person - but also that the cold-reading skills she's honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.
Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased...where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it.
Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware's signature suspenseful style, this is an addictive thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.

*My Review* 

This book too way longer to get through that I'd have liked. I bought the CD's at my local library and the only place I could listen to it was when I was driving in my truck alone. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen very often.

The book started off very slow and it didn't really seem to pick up for me at all. There was definitely a mystery behind who Hal really was and how she was related to the family, but there was a lot of "commotion" with Hal running off, coming back and running off again. I was annoyed that people didn't just come out and say what they were thinking or what they would have. The characters were boring in my opinion.

Finding out how Hal fits into the family was probably the best part of the whole story and one that I wouldn't have guessed.

What makes a blog worthy of a follow?

I created my blog to keep track of book reviews for myself and to have an easy way to share them with people. I do use Goodreads to keep track of books, but it's not easy to share links of certain reviews. I normally keep it strictly reviews and nothing else. That means when life happens and I'm unable to read as much as I'd like, I don't have reviews to post. When I don't post reviews, my blog doesn't get any posts at all.

I'm curious.....what makes a blog one that you want to follow? Would you rather see more posts that are not reviews, but still book related? Any posts even if they aren't book related?
What are your thoughts on my blog? I know that there's a ton of them out there that have much more content. I like to keep my simple and to the point especially with my reviews. Do you think the blog is too simple?

Let's get some honest feedback...I promise I can handle it. If you don't want to comment on the blog feel free to email me. I'm looking forward to what you all think.

The Way Home by Melanie Lopata

Available on Amazon

Before I get into the review, I want to give a HUGE Congrats to my dear friend on her first novel. It was a step out of her children's books comfort zone. To see her other books click here.

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘📘
Genre - Sisters Fiction, Women's Domestic Life, Fiction
Format - Paperback
Length - 230 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

Sometimes the road home is paved with lies. Sarah was raised by her father, but when he passes away, his dark secrets aren't buried with him. Sarah sets out in search of her true identity and the mother she never knew, but before her journey is over, there's one more secret that she uncovers. Will Sarah find her way home or will the truth she uncovers on her journey destroy her?

*My Review* 

COMING SOON

Undead Girl Gang by Lilly Anderson

Undead Girl Gang

by Lilly Anderson

Available On Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘
Genre - Teen, Horror, Zombie
Format - Hardcover
Pages - 305

*Amazon Blurb* 

Meet teenage Wiccan Mila Flores, who truly could not care less what you think about her Doc Martens, her attitude, or her weight because she knows that, no matter what, her BFF Riley is right by her side. So when Riley and Fairmont Academy mean girls June Phelan-Park and Dayton Nesseth die under suspicious circumstances, Mila refuses to believe everyone's explanation that her BFF was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life.
Unfortunately, Riley, June, and Dayton have no recollection of their murders. But they do have unfinished business to attend to. Now, with only seven days until the spell wears off and the girls return to their graves, Mila must wrangle the distracted group of undead teens and work fast to discover their murderer...before the killer strikes again.

*Review*

What do you do when you best friend dies and everyone is claiming it was part of some suicide pat she has with two other girls that weren't even her friends? You bring her back from the dead to ask of course. But when you're young and not really sure of how to use magic things don't always go as planned. That's exactly what happened with Mila. Not only did she bring back her best friends, who can't remember any details about her death, but also June and Dayton who aren't even in the same clique.
Not there are three dead girls running around while Mila is trying to help them figure out why they died. Was school so bad that they couldn't take it anymore? Did someone hate them that much? All the questions that Mila has and the girls (especially June and Dayton) seem to care less about getting answers.
I thought this book was cute, but not much more than that. It's not easy to guess right in the beginning if the girls committed suicide or if they were murdered, but it also doesn't take long to figure it all out, thought a little longer to know all the details.
The ending seemed to drag on a bit longer than needed, but overall I still enjoyed it.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

The Wife Between Us

by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Available On Amazon
Available On Book Depository 

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘
Genre - Thriller, Suspense
Format - Hardcover
Pages -352

I received this in my Book Of The Month subscription box for May. 

It was also voted for the book of the month in Read N' Reviews Facebook Group. 

It will be discussed later this month. Check back for a link to the discussion.

Inside cover excerpt.

The just over one page prologue made me say "whoa" and I was quite excited to continue. I began reading about a woman who was very bitter about her marriage falling apart due to her younger replacement. She drinks to try and help relieve some of the pain of loosing her husband. I previously read The Girl On The Train as well as The Woman In The Window and was wondering if it was going to be just another book whose main character was a drunk and made up stories for attention. Turns out the woman did drink, but wasn't a drunk and who made up stories, but not for the reasons you'd think.

I find this book a bit hard to really review without giving away anything. I didn't find it as suspenseful as I thought I was going to. The ex-wife always seemed to lack a backbone. Instead of speaking her mind she'd either be shut down by someone else or not say anything. She made me quite annoyed throughout the book. Both of the women were a bit annoying with how much control they let Richard have over both their lives. I also thought that maybe there was too much effort put into "dealing" with Richard. I get that the ex-wife was trying to right a wrong, but I think she should've just moved on. What he did was not right, but it wasn't as bad as it seemed it was going to be. Then again, if she'd just moved on there wouldn't have been a book either.

The cover tells you not to assume anything and you really shouldn't. It did make me stop halfway through and wonder if I had even been paying attention to what I was reading.