11.30.2016 - Safe With Me

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this fantastic psychological thriller! And to think it's a debut novel - please sign me up to read the next one!

This story is told in 2 different timelines - present and 13 years ago. Anna is a postal worker trying to deal with her past. She has obvious OCD issues and no friends, save for the elderly woman next door. Anna witnesses an accident caused by the woman she blames for what happened to her brother 13 years ago. The accident hurt a young man, Liam, who ends up in the hospital with memory loss. To get closer to the person that caused the accident so that she can enact revenge, she must get closer to Liam.

I don't want to give anything away because you will definitely need to carve out time and read this book! I couldn't put it down. I loved the writing - so many of Anna's characteristics were just so spot on real. Suffice it to say that there are twists you won't see coming.

11.28.2016 - The Fifth Petal

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

I was really excited to read this book - I loved The Lace Reader. While this is the second in that series, you definitely don't need to have read the first to enjoy this book. In fact, I remember very little of The Lace Reader - only that the names of some of these characters were familiar.

This book again takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, and involves both the famous witch trials that took place in the 1600s as well as a 25-year-old case of multiple murders of the so-called Goddesses, all descendants of those accused witches of long ago. Rafferty is back investigating this cold case as well as the death of a young boy who was bullying Rose, a suspect in the Goddess Murders as well as the boy's death.

This is a somewhat slow moving book but it still draws you in to all the characters. I really enjoyed this and feel like I learned so much about so many different subjects as well - the witch trial history, pagan/Christian beliefs, sound therapy, to name a few. There's a next book in the works and I'm excited to continue this journey!

11.20.2016 - My (Not So) Perfect Life

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

Like most of Sophie Kinsella's books, this one was fun to read - I was always anxious to get back to it. But what I really loved was the truth of this book - and it's so important in this social media era. Everyone projects the perfect side of their life - even when life isn't so perfect. But why do we believe others' perfect life persona and feel worse about our own?

Katie Brenner is a farm girl whose dream was always to work in London. She finally got a job with an advertising agency working for a boss she admires and one who definitely projects the perfect life. Her employees, however, may not find her quite so perfect. When Katie loses her job and has to go back home, are her dreams over?

Great book to curl up with on a snowy weekend!

11.17.2016 - The Impossible Fortress

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this fun debut novel!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the flashback to the 1980s that it entailed. It's just a fun coming-of-age novel.

The story begins with a Playboy magazine - 3 friends try and come up with a way to get their hands on the issue with Vanna White. The boys come up with lots of plans but finally decide (with the help of an older boy) that they can break into the newsstand shop, leave the money, and take the magazines. In order to do that, they need the security code of the store - which is the job of the main character, Billy. He meets the owner's chubby, loner daughter and discovers that she is a computer geek like him. They decide to build a game for a contest and it involves working together every day. But stealing the code is less important than his feelings for Mary - and therein lies the problem. Does he hurt Mary or let his friends down?

There is just a lot of fun in this book - old songs, times before cellphones and home computers, even talk of the clothing is nostalgic.

11.15.2016 - Eveningland

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

Eveningland is a collection of short stories all taking place around Mobile, Alabama. The writing is what wins out in this book - the author has such a soft, beautiful way of writing that draws you in. I also loved the Catholic references and prayers interwoven in some of the stories.

A great book to curl up with on a rainy day.

11.12.2016 - Dark Matter

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

It seems that I've read a few books on what life would be life if we were to have chosen a different path (The Versions of Us, Life After Life), but this one really puts a spin on that concept. Sometimes when I read a SciFi book, I end up feeling not quite smart enough. That happened in this book but not enough that I didn't really enjoy this one.

Jason was an atomic physicist on the verge of a big discovery when he met Daniela, an up-and-coming artist. When Daniela gets pregnant, life changes their path. They become parents, take lesser jobs to focus on their family, and expect to live happily ever after. Until Jason is kidnapped while coming home from a bar to celebrate his old friend's scientific award. Life as he knows it is forever changed. When he wakes up, nothing is as it was before. He is in a world where he was never married, never had a son. Which version of Jason is real?

A really good book that leads in a direction you can't imagine - enjoy the ride!

11.10.2016 - The Trapped Girl

Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Robert Dugoni for the opportunity to read and review this great book!

Robert Dugoni is fast becoming one of my top favorite authors - he is wonderful at the legal thriller genre. This is the 4th in the Tracy Crosswhite series - I have only read the last two and the first are on my list to catch up. However, while all the background would only make these books more enjoyable, it isn't necessary. There is enough info so that you understand the characters without knowing everything.

That being said, this is a great book! Crosswhite is a homicide detective in the Seattle Police Department. When a teenager finds a body in a submerged crab pot, the detectives find themselves with a Jane Doe. More investigation leads them to understand that the victim has gone to great lengths to disguise their identity.

I don't want to give even a hint of what's to come. This is a gripping thriller with lots of twists and turns. I was riveted - don't miss this book!

11.8.2016 - The 7th Canon

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Robert Dugoni for the opportunity to read and review this great book!

I'm sadly fairly new to this author's books because I've obviously missed a lot of great books! I read the most recent Tracy Crosswhite book and am anxious to start the next, but this book is a stand alone novel so no excuses not to read it if you love legal thrillers.

Donley is a young attorney, working in his uncle's law firm. He has a job offer from a bigger firm which would of course mean lots more money and opportunity. When his uncle gets sick, Donley is thrust into the limelight on a case involving a Catholic priest accused of murder and worse. Fr. Martin runs a shelter for homeless boys and one is found murdered. While trying to defend the priest, he runs into a lot of unsavory characters and puts himself in harm's way.

This was a quick read - mostly because I couldn't wait to see what happened next!

11.6.2016 - The Whole Town's Talking

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

If you're in the mood for a wholesome, charming tale of the chronology of small town America and its citizens, this is the book for you. Lordor Nordstrom came to Missouri from Sweden in the hopes of starting a community. He did just that - and eventually even got his own mail-order bride. Thus begins the story of Elmwood Springs.

It's a fun ride through all the decades, seeing how the town and descendants fare in ever-changing times. The characters are mostly endearing and you are anxious to see where the story takes them. The ride doesn't even end in death, where the stories continue.

11.5.2016 - Gone Without a Trace

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

My favorite genre...the psychological thriller. By now, we all know that there will be unreliable narrators and plot twists so these books need to step up their game a bit - and this one does.

Without revealing too much of the plot so I won't lessen the read for anyone else, Hannah is an up-and-coming accountant on track to be a manager at her firm. She arrives home after a training session to find that her home has been wiped clean of any trace of her live-in boyfriend, Matt. Devastated, she begins a quest to find him - so much so that it takes over her life. Meanwhile, she starts getting phone calls and noticing things at her house that make her think someone is watching her - is it Matt?

This is a great book to sail through and you'll definitely want to do that to find out what's happening. There are short chapters - all from Hannah's point of view. It leaves you questioning everyone and everything - plus there would be lots to discuss from this book, so a good book club choice.

11.4.2016 - Say Goodbye for Now

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

I have been a fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde's books since Pay it Forward - her books always touch and teach me. This one is no different - this is the story of Pete, an abused 12-year-old who happens on a wolf-dog hybrid that has been hit by a car. He eventually finds his way to Dr Lucy, a loner who lives on a ranch taking care of things that have no place else to go. Along the way to her house, Pete happens upon Justin, a young black boy. They become friends - not the best choice in the 1950s when race was such an issue. (Or now - how sad that we don't seem to have changed as much as we should have!)

Say Goodbye for Now means learning to let go when it is the right thing instead of hanging on for selfish reasons. This is a very touching book - although no young boys I know of would actually speak in these ways, their words are true and honest. Great characters that will stay in your soul after you're done reading this book!

11.1.2016 - Faithful

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

This is a wonderfully-written book, almost a coming-of-age book. Shelby is a teenager who was driving when an accident happened that hurt her best friend. Shelby couldn't cope with the depression and survivor's guilt so after a stint in a psychiatric facility, she became a recluse in her parents' basement.

But the story goes on as Shelby has to learn to walk through her guilt, with the help of good friends and a mysterious stranger who sends her postcards with encouraging messages.

This is a story of hope and of resilience in so many of the characters. I truly enjoyed this journey.