3.31.2016 - Evicted

Very powerful and heartbreaking book about poverty in America - specifically how it relates to housing. This book reads like a novel and you get totally engrossed in all the families that are spotlighted - those struggling with addictions, poverty, and the landlords in charge of their housing situations.

Eviction is not a subject that you hear much about but the statistics listed in this book are staggering. On a personal note, we are currently living in a very small, predominantly white and lower middle class town while building our home. In the short time we have been here, two families have been evicted from the apartment below us. It's easy to judge but I have always held firm to the knowledge that most of us could find ourselves in dire straights by a series of unfortunate, and not always of our doing, events.

At the end of this book, the author explains how he totally immersed himself in the poverty-stricken areas of Milwaukee. The amount of research and truth in reporting is also staggering. Practically every sentence leads to a footnote with more explanation.

It's wonderful to see such positive reviews for this book. Maybe if the right people read it and take to heart the remedies proposed to end this cycle, we could change our world - especially for all the children involved in these situations.

3.26.2016 - Lie in Plain Sight

First - thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I did not realize that this was the third in a series by this author. I believe that I would have enjoyed this book more if I would have read the others first. I found myself looking back through the book, thinking that I missed something. That being said, there were spoilers in this book for mysteries in the others so I probably won't go back and read them.

On its own merit, this was a good mystery. It involves Maeve, a single mom of a college student and teenager who owns a bakery in a small upstate New York town. When one of her daughter's high school classmates becomes missing, Maeve gets pulled into the mystery and becomes a chief character in all that happens afterwards.

I liked most of the main characters in this book - they and their problems seemed pretty real for the most problem. And if you disregard the inferences to what happened to Maeve in the previous books. But the issues of being a single mom, gossip in a small town, mother-daughter squabbles, adultery, ex issues - they're all here in the midst of this mystery about the missing girl.

Definitely would recommend starting at the beginning of this series - but this was still an enjoyable read!

3.23.2016 - Imagine Me Gone

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

This was a little tough to read...I am a little ambivalent as I sit to write this review. This is the story of a family touched by mental illness, told in different chapters by the different family members. Michael's chapters were the most difficult to read but probably the truest - they were the ramblings of a person in the throes of mental illness and under the influence of so many different drugs. But hard to read they were...I found myself skimming some of these sections just because they went on tangents about music, literature, race relations, etc.

The character development of the other family members really showed the influence of living with someone with mental illness and its long-reaching effects. Everyone handled things differently but what I admired most was that no matter what, this family tried to always be there for each other. I have a feeling I'll be thinking about these characters in the days to come as well as the main topic of mental illness.

3.19.2016 - The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this sweet, heartwarming story!

Arthur is a 69-year-old man trying to recover from his wife's unexpected death. He hides in his house and is semi-estranged from his children. On the anniversary of her death, he decides to go through her closet and things to send to a favorite charity. Tucked in a boot, he finds a box containing a charm bracelet he's never seen before.

He decides to investigate and each of the charms lead to a discovery about his wife. Although the discovery really ends up being more about himself.

Just a sweet story and may be helpful to someone recovering from a loss and definitely for fans of A Man Called Ove.

3.12.2016 - Don't You Cry

First - very grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book!

I have thoroughly enjoyed Mary Kubica's previous 2 thrillers - and I think that this is her best one yet. This one kept me so intrigued to find out all the hidden secrets.

The story is told in two voices - Quinn, a young woman living in Chicago with her roommate, Esther. When Esther suddenly goes missing, Quinn starts questioning everything she knew about her friend and if indeed her own life could be in jeopardy. Alex is a young man with incredible potential who is stuck in a small Michigan town about an hour from Chicago. He passed up school to take care of his alcoholic father and works as a dishwasher at a local café. He becomes obsessed with a young woman who shows up in town with secrets of her own.

That's all the details I can give because I don't want any of the fun to be spoiled! Needless to say, you'll greatly enjoy this ride!

3.8.2016 - The Beauty of the End

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

Another great psychological thriller - Noah is living his life as a reclusive writer when he receives a phone call from a childhood friend. This friend, Will, tells him that Noah's on/off girlfriend, April, is suspected of killing a man and subsequently taking an overdose. She is in the ICU.

With that premise, this book doles out the story in different time frames so that we can explore Noah's relationship with April and Will. But who is Ella? Her story also begins to appear and the reader has no clue who she is and how she fits in the story.

I haven't read this author's previous book, but she is so skilled at drawing out this story and leaving the reader guessing and holding on for the ride.

Highly recommended!

3.5.2016 - Happy People Read and Drink Coffee

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

At first glance, how could I not love this book with a title like that? Although I'd definitely substitute coffee for Diet Coke! But alas, I didn't quite love it.

The premise of this story was simple...after a devastating loss, Diane sinks into a total depression, abandoning her literary café with the same name as the book title as well as the rest of her family save a lone friend, Felix. She eventually decides to escape to Ireland to restart her life. The rest is quite predictable although the ending was maybe not what I expected. There is already a sequel in the works, a glimpse of which was given at the end of the book.

The thing I had the hardest time with was the writing. It just didn't quite seem as polished or professional as in the books I typically read. A new paragraph would start without a chapter break and it would be weeks in advance and you were left a bit confused. The descriptions of the characters' emotions were a bit over the top too.

It was a quick read and I might be interested in picking up the next one just to see where it happens, although I can probably predict that as well!

3.4.2016 - Healthy Speedy Suppers

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

First, a caveat. My download didn't have all the pictures nor were things in great order, so ingredients ran together. It made it a little hard to get a good grasp. I'm sure the book itself will be full of beautiful pictures of yummy food. I bookmarked a few recipes to try.

My biggest complaint about this book is the title - Healthy Speedy Suppers. Speedy is questionable if you are looking for something to get on the table in short order. But healthy? Perusing the lists of ingredients in many recipes didn't scream healthy. But there was no nutritional value listed in my copy of the book. If it says healthy, I want to know the nutritional stats behind that statement. Again, maybe that will be included in final copy too.

3.4.2016 - The Forgotten Girls

 

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

I didn't realize that this was a series of books set in Denmark involving a detective, Louise Rick. While you may have had a little more background and clarity if you had read the previous books, it was still thoroughly enjoyable as a stand alone.

Louise has just been assigned as a manger of a new department that investigates the hundreds of people who are reported missing yearly in Denmark. A woman's body is discovered with no clues and no identity. When they finally identify the woman, she has been declared dead.

Thus opens an investigation into mental asylums as well as into a part of Louise's past that she was hoping to leave in the past.

This is a good mystery but contains many disturbing scenes and descriptions of abuse. I enjoyed the book and would be interested in going back and starting the series from the beginning as well as reading future stories.

3.1.2016 - I Let You Go

Wow. Just wow. This book makes me want to go back and change the ratings on every other book I gave 5 stars. And this is a debut author? Where can I sign up to preorder her next books?

This is the type of book that I don't want to give any sort of plot in a review. In fact, I don't want to read any other reviews because I might be mad if anyone lets anything slip!

I read a lot of psychological thrillers and you come to expect that there will be a twist. When this twist came, I literally gasped. Then I turned the page and read it again to make sure. And gasped again.

Do not miss this book. Just don't. Can I say again how much I loved this book?

Thanks SO much to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity - and to the author for the amazing ride of reading this book.