8.28.2016 - All These Perfect Strangers

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Although the storyline was good and I love a good psychological thriller, I just couldn't get too interested in this book. None of the characters were likable and I found myself just wanting to get to the end of the book to see what happened.

Set in Australia, Pen is a first-year university student who escaped from a bad home situation. That wasn't all - she escaped from her small town's focus on her because she had some role in a policeman's murder. That story is doled out in bits and pieces.

The main story is what happens to Pen at university - 3 of her friends are murdered during her first year. What role did she take? The story is told through different time periods as she is writing in a diary and talking to her psychologist. A good twist at the end made me glad I kept reading.

Since this is a debut novel, I'm sure there will be more to look forward to in the future.

8.25.2016 - The Twenty-Three

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wow - just finished my binge reading of this Barclay trilogy. Please, please tell me there is another book coming to answer some of the questions still hanging!

I really enjoyed all of these books - fast moving, lots of characters and stories to lose yourself in, lots of suspects to wonder about. This book continued the trials happening in the small Upstate New York town of Promise Falls - unsolved murders, mysterious happenings related to the number 23, just to name a few.

I loved so many of the characters and their very human characteristics - Duckworth with his eating and weight issues especially. But I have to know what happens to everyone!!

This is a great trilogy - much better read binge style, although the author does a great job filling in all the details of the past books. I blazed through these books and was sorry when I was finished!

8.22.2016 - Far From True

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I'm binge reading this trilogy of stories - the only way to read them! I read way too many books to remember all the details from book to book if you wait for each to be published. Although in these books, the author makes a note of filling in all the background on the characters - great if you are waiting to read them, but a little repetitive if you are bingeing! I'm also loving that these books are set in Upstate New York and feature towns where I live - just makes things a little extra fun.

Things have moved in the story from the first book - adding more issues that are happening in the town of Promise Falls that all seem to be centered around the mysterious number 23. Plus, all of the characters are becoming more and more connected.

These are great books, easy reading, lots of fun!

8.21.2016 - Broken Promise

I had received the next two installments of this book from NetGalley so had to go back and purchase the first so that I would be in the know! Even so, I felt like there were situations that were alluded to that I didn't know anything about. I know this author has written lots of books and maybe some of these situations were in other books or maybe they will be answered as I read on.

Either way, this is a great book and I'm excited to read on in this trilogy. This story takes place in a small Upstate New York town (fictional town but sounds geographically like where I live!). Probably the creepiest part of this book is that it's one of those stories that features real people that make bad mistakes.

David is a journalist that comes back to his hometown of Promise Falls for a newspaper job that falls through on his first day. This leaves David and his son to live with his parents. His investigative background helps when his cousin is accused of a horrible crime. The story is told in the voice of different characters in the book, which helps to really delve into them and their part in the mystery.

This was an easy read and I raced through it - on to the next 2 books!

8.19.2016 - The Wangs vs the World

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I enjoyed reading this book but think I could have enjoyed it a bit more - I had a little trouble getting invested enough. But it's a funny/sad/family/relationship book - all meshed together in a giant road trip. The Wang's were a very wealthy family until a series of bad decisions changed all that. The parents make a decision to pick up two of the children (Grace is at boarding school and Andrew at college) and drive to their eldest daughter's home in upstate New York. The book is told in different voices of all the characters (even the car has a couple chapters!), so you do really feel where each is coming from.

There were conversations in Chinese with no translation (at least in the galley I read) which maybe added to the disconnection I felt but you could usually get the gist of what they were saying.

This is an entertaining book with lots of road trip/relationship/meaning of family gained along the ride.

8-15-2016 - Claiming Noah

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book!

This is a book similar in vein to Jodi Picoult's books - take a hot-button topic and explore it from different angles to make you really think about both sides.

Catriona and James struggle with infertility and undergo IVF treatments. After a successful pregnancy and with one remaining frozen embryo, they make the decision to donate the embryo to another couple for adoption. Catriona struggles with her feelings about pregnancy and new motherhood including postnatal depression/psychosis issues.

The alternative voice in this book is Diana who also struggles with infertility. Her and her husband Liam adopt the embryo and carry it to a successful pregnancy. While they struggle with marital difficulties, Diana adores being a mom to Noah. Until one day, he is kidnapped.

This is the set up for a Sampson-like dilemma. It certainly gives insight to the ethical and legal decisions behind embryonic adoption - one that I'm sure will only increase due to the vast number of IVF procedures now. Both mothers in this book lead you to sympathetic feelings.

Would be a fabulous read for a book club with much to discuss!

8.14.2016 - No Witness But the Moon

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This is the first book by this author that I have read - I've been missing some good reads obviously! I'm sure that the reading of this latest installment in the Jimmy Vega series would be even better had I read the previous books, but I still found this one a thrill ride.

Jimmy Vega is an upstate New York detective who also deals with the undocumented in his corner of the world. He's involved with Adele, who is head of an organization dealing strictly with immigration issues. When Vega shoots and kills a suspect, it sets both of their worlds and their relationship on fire.

This book and its subject matters are so prevalent in today's volatile environment between police and society. It really gives you a look from the other side - definitely one that isn't talked about enough. When an officer kills someone in the line of duty, they are never the same.

So a great mystery, relevant subject - just a really good read!

8.12.2016 - Only Daughter

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wow - what a thrill ride! This is one of those books where you start out feeling smug, thinking you know how it's all going to end, only to find out that you couldn't be further from the truth. And what you think is going to happen keeps changing all the time too!

This is the story of Bec, a teenager who goes missing in 2003. The story is told from her point of view in 2003, leading up to her disappearance. It is contrasted with the story of another girl, running from her past, who steps into Bec's world by convincing everyone that she is the long-lost Bec.

From there, it's just a thrill ride. This is one of those creepy books that you love to read! A great book!

8.10.2016 - The City Baker's Guide to Country Living

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a great, curl up in your chair, kind of book. Olivia is a pastry chef (warning - definitely a food porn book and you will be hungry til the end!) who had a disastrous ending to her job in Boston. Looking to get away from it all, she goes to Vermont to visit her best friend, Hannah, who sets up an interview for her at an inn. The job comes along with a place to stay in a small sugar cabin, where she moves in with her big dog, Salty.

There's lots of music, small town charm, love, friendship, and what family really means. Plus there is so much baking in this book! I really just want to live in this Vermont town and have Livvy bake for me - but the second best thing is that the much-loved apple pie recipe is at the back of the book! I can't wait to try it this fall.

Definitely a great read - and a wonderful debut work!

8.8.2016 - The Wicked Boy

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the story of Robert Coombs, a teenager in London, who killed his mother in her sleep in 1985. We discover that Robert loved to read the Penny Dreadfuls of the day - cheap magazines that glorified violence and boys setting off for far-flung islands. We follow the story of Robert and his brother through their trial and life afterwards.

What struck me was the thought that no matter how much things change, they stay the same. Substitute violent video games and the internet for corrupting today's youth in place of the penny dreadfuls. Family violence and abuse continues as does the public's quest for details. I was astounded to read of how many thousands of people came out to see prisoners walked to trial - in a day when news would only have spread by word of mouth.

The story is meticulously researched - maybe a bit too much. I felt the story dragged reading about the backstories of all Robert's associates. I did get satisfaction with how the asylum treated its patients - something we should maybe take stock of today.

8.3.2016 - Monsters: A Love Story

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and debut author for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book!

While this book may not be for everyone (a bit raunchy and there's very liberal use of the "f" word), but oh what a ride. I really loved this book! I loved the very flawed characters. I loved this author's writing style. Just a really fun read with lots of layers.

Stacey is a widow with 2 young boys living in Nebraska - she has written a poetry book that gets attention from a wildly-popular actor (Tommy) who helps to bankroll it into a movie, in which he will star. While trying to deal with her and her sons' grief, she is thrust into a Hollywood lifestyle and begins an on/off relationship with Tommy. Tommy's reputation as a playboy precedes him as well as continues and the dance begins between these two characters.

While the settings and plot are possibly unrealistic, these characters seem very real. They have flaws, fears and make mistakes - just like the rest of us!

This book is quite addictive and it was really hard to put down. I can't wait to read more from this author - bravo!

8.1.2016 - Listen to Me

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I really liked this one - a short novel about a road trip. But of course it's more than a road trip - it's really the story of a marriage, of a life shared, the ups and downs.

Mark and Maggie are a married couple with no kids. Mark is a professor, a partial Luddite who thinks that technology has changed and will continue to change us as humans. Maggie is a vet who is experiencing extreme feelings of fear, paranoia, and panic after she was mugged. She was just trying to come to terms with the mugging when a young coed is murdered in their neighborhood.

They set out to visit Mark's parents - a refuge for them both - and leave from Chicago to travel to Virginia. Unfortunately, it's in the midst of a storm of the century type weather event. Both characters are dealing with their own demons which lead to issues with each other.

I really liked the characters in this book and the feelings felt very real to me. A great character study.

8.1.2016 - I've Got Sand in All the Wrong Places

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and authors for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I have read all of these wonderful mother-daughter collaborations and love all of them. They are definitely better if you have read from the beginning in order to understand the family dynamics, pets, friends, etc.

But in this world of crazy, sitting down with these short essays about life, love, happiness and yes, even a Squatty Potty, just make life feel a little better. And that ranks a 5 star rating in my eyes any day.