Falling Behind

Who knew that trying to keep up with book reviews could be so hard at times? Well, apparently not me. I honestly didn't realize how far behind I had fallen and that it'd been so long since I had posted on the blog at all (ooops). I am currently playing catch up with all of these books. Since school started (and my 2 new jobs) I find that I don't have much time to read (but obviously I'm finding time somewhere) and even less time to get on my laptop to post reviews.
I just finished one review and will start the next after I have some lunch. I'd like to get them all done today. Pretty sure that's not going to happen, but you never know.

Finished review -
Careful What You Wish For by Hallie Ephron

Coming soon -
Cryptic Kingdom by N.B. Austin
Cross Kill by James Patterson
Athena's Choice by Adam Boostrom
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer

A side note....are you following my Instagram? You should check out the post I just made for Careful What You Wish For by Hallie Ephron. You've heard of the "Traveling Pants", but what about a "Traveling Book"?

Careful What You Wish For by Hallie Ephron

Careful What You Wish For

by Hallie Ephron

Available on Amazon

ARC

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Psychological Thrillers, Fiction, Murder Thrillers
Format - Paperback
Pages - 285


*Amazon Blurb*

Emily Harlow is a professional organizer who helps people declutter their lives; she’s married to man who can’t drive past a yard sale without stopping. He’s filled their basement, attic, and garage with his finds.
Like other professionals who make a living decluttering peoples’ lives, Emily has devised a set of ironclad rules. When working with couples, she makes clear that the client is only allowed to declutter his or her own stuff. That stipulation has kept Emily’s own marriage together these past few years. She’d love nothing better than to toss out all her husband’s crap. He says he’s a collector. Emily knows better—he’s a hoarder. The larger his “collection” becomes, the deeper the distance grows between Emily and the man she married.
Luckily, Emily’s got two new clients to distract herself: an elderly widow whose husband left behind a storage unit she didn’t know existed, and a young wife whose husband won’t allow her stuff into their house. Emily’s initial meeting with the young wife takes a detour when, after too much wine, the women end up fantasizing about how much more pleasant life would be without their collecting spouses.
But the next day Emily finds herself in a mess that might be too big for her to clean up. Careful what you wish for, the old adage says . . . now Emily might lose her freedom, her marriage . . . and possibly her life.

*My Review* 

Who would've thought that being a simple organizational person could make your life a mess. For Emily it's harder than you'd think. She is married to a hoarder who lives for garage sales. Emily is just trying to get her new business off the ground and be successful. Unfortunately, you never know who your client will be or what it is that they need help with. That's why you meet up with your possible clients though, right? Even once the ground rules are set, sometimes you get in over your head before you realize what's happened.
It seems the more Emily tries to help her two new clients the more messy her life becomes. Instead of just trying to help people get more organized, she is trying to help herself stay out of jail.
I had my suspicions early on in the book for the who did what. I was pretty much right, but at the end I was still shocked when all the cards were laid out.

Check out my Instagram for a chance to turn this into a "Traveling Book".

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl

by Anne Frank

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Historical Germany Biographies, Jewish Holocaust History, Jewish Biographies
Format - Paperback
Pages -337

"I don't believe the war is simply the work of politicians and capitalists. Oh no, the common man is every bit as guilty; otherwise. people and nations would have rebelled long ago! There's a destructive urge in people, the urge to rage, murder and kill. And until all of humanity, without exception, undergoes a metamorphosis, wars will continue to be waged, and everything that has been carefully built up, cultivated and drown will be cut down and destroyed, only to start all over." - Anne Frank Wednesday, May 3, 1944

*Amazon Blurb*

In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, the Franks and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annexe” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and surprisingly humorous, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.

*My Review* 

This book is just amazing. As you read you can actually see the change in Anne. She becomes so mature in such a short amount of time. The fact that a young child was able to not go crazy in the years they spent in hiding is simply shocking to me. No going outside, not knowing day by day if you're going to be captured, if you will have enough food to eat and everything else they had to worry about. I don't know any kids today that would have been able to follow such strict rules for so long.
I posted an excerpt from the book that really hit me. The fact that a child so young and in the year 1944 basically described what is still going on today made me sad.
The worse part of this book for me was the sudden ending. I realize that they believe she died in February or March of 1945, but I feel like her life really ended on August 1, 1944 when she wrote her last diary entry. I would prefer to think of it this way, instead of thinking about the horrible conditions she live in during the period in between.

Letters From The Apocalypse by Blake Pitcher

Letters From The Apocalypse

by Blake Pitcher

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘
Genre - Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction
Format - Paperback
Pages -157

*Amazon Blurb*

The sun is strange, and the lights in the sky have shut down the world. Technical writer Roger was on a work trip to Texas when it all happened. Trapped between chaos and the rise of a mysterious, fanatical rancher known as the White Texan, Roger seeks to find his way north, and home to his wife. Except it’s even harder than it seems. And he doesn’t even know if she’s alive. Letters from the Apocalypse is the story of two people separated by the end of the world, and the letters that could bring them together again.

*My Review* 
 
I always love getting books from local authors to read, but it's sad when they don't reach my expectation. This was unfortunately one of those.

Possible Spoilers in my Review

The name of the book, Letters From The Apocalypse, had me under the assumption that there would be letters going back and forth. There were 2 letters that were sent. The first one took 5 years to write and the response apparently just minutes.

I don't know why, but this book really aggravated me. Roger is so heartbroken about being away from his wife, but spends years writing pages to a letter instead of working his way back to her. Instead of just walking and hiding from people so he isn't killed, he stays and goes along with the Freedom Republic. Seriously, even walking, it would've took less than 5 years to go from Texas to New York.

Even in the beginning before the Freedom Republic gets ahold of him, he find a deserted house to stay in. I'm sorry, but if something like this happens I would scavenge up all the supplies I could possibly carry and head home.

There is a second book in this series, Return from the Apocalypse, that I'm not sure yet if I will read.