4.30.2017 - 'Round Midnight

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

Laura McBride has done it again. I loved We are Called to Rise. This book is similar in that it is also set in Las Vegas and features intertwining characters and their stories. I just finished it with tears in my eyes.

The story features 4 women - June, the one who fell in love; Honorata, the one who got lucky; Coral, the one who chose happiness; and Engracia, the one whose heart was broken.

It begins in the early days of Vegas, in a small club that featured a black singer. June and her husband Del, run the club and are fast friends. However, this is in the 60s, where race relations are a huge firestorm (similar to today?).

Honorata is basically sold and exploited by her uncle in the Philippines to a wealthy businessman from Chicago. When she strikes it lucky at the club in Vegas, her life begins to change.

Coral is a young woman raised by a strong black mother into a close family. She becomes a music teacher in Las Vegas but struggles to understand her past.

Engracia is a worker at the casino, who makes a lucky find that will rock her world and break her heart.

All of these women represent strong, resilient characters who want only the best for their families and communities. Their faith is important to them and they take care of each other. Their stories will remain with you - just as McBride's characters always do. With her magic, there is not an unlikeable character featured because there is always something redeeming in each of us.

Highly recommended!!

4.28.2017 - The Reminders

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this wonderful book - I loved it!

Maybe I was just in the mood for an uplifting, heartwarming story about grief (yes, you read that right), friendship, family, dreams. And this debut novel filled the bill.

Told in alternating chapters from the viewpoints of Gavin, an LA actor, devastated by the sudden death of his partner, who literally sets fire to all of Sydney's things in an attempt to exorcise him from Gavin's life because of the pain. Joan Lennon (yes, names after John), a 10-year-old, with HSAM (highly superior autobiographical memory) who can remember every detail of every day of her life. However, after losing her grandmother to Alzheimer's, she becomes obsessed with making sure that she is remembered. Her dad has a recording studio on the ground floor of their apartment building in NJ and it is Joan's sanctuary. Her shared love of The Beatles with her dad bonds them together. When she learns that her family must shut down the studio and lease the space, it rocks Joan's world.

These two lost souls come together in a flurry of remembering and forgetting. It's just a good read with lots to discuss - I'm sure it will be a book club favorite. Bravo!

4.26.2017 - Testimony

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read the wonderful Scott Turow's latest thriller. I'm a huge fan of his books and his latest doesn't disappoint.

Once again, Turow upholds his legal thriller crown with this book - even though it doesn't take place in familiar Kindle County. In fact, it takes us across the world to war-torn Bosnia, The Netherlands, Washington DC and many places in between.

This is a complicated book with a difficult subject matter - war and all the life-changing decisions that take place therein. Bill ten Boom is a Kindle County attorney who finds himself with, dare we say, a midlife crisis. Divorced and still trying to resurrect a relationship with his two boys, he finds himself untethered and in need of a life change. He is presented the opportunity to go to The Hague and work with the International Criminal Court to investigate the possible massacre of 400 Roma (gypsies).

He meets an interesting cast of characters and each come with their own stories and motivation as they tell their story to him in his quest to find the truth. Boom finds himself caught up in so many different stories, while he also tries to come up with a story for himself in the next part of his life.

Based on some true events, Testimony leaves you unsettled about war and truth. Beautifully written - the descriptions of the different countries and their people were wonderful. While I hope that Turow returns to the courtroom with his next novel, this is a wonderful read.

4.21.2017 - New Boy

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

This is the next in the series of retelling Shakespeare stories - this time Othello. However, the author deftly set the story in the 1970s in Washington DC and made the characters 11-year-olds. Osei is the son of a diplomat, originally from Ghana, is the new boy at school where he is the only Black student.

While the adults in this story are the ones that seem to have the biggest issues with the race card, the biggest part of this story to me was just how accurately the author portrayed childhood and what most of us go through in school - the social ranking, the lunchroom, the playground, first loves. Left to their own devices, these issues are what Osei faced more than the race card as he dealt with the other students.

A quick book with themes that are timeless - from Shakespeare to current age.

4.21.2017 - The Red Hunter

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

Claudia is a single mom who survived a brutal assault but which threatened her marriage as well as her sanity. She escaped by moving with her daughter to a remote farmhouse that has been in her family for years. To soothe her soul, she decides to embark on a mission to redo the house and blog about it.

Unbeknownst to Claudia, the house was the scene of another horrible assault - a police officer and his wife were killed and their young daughter left to die. Now a young woman, Zoey is filled with rage that she tries to channel with martial art training.

Told in different timeframes and voices, this suspenseful story will keep you glued to the pages. Lisa Unger has another winner on her hands

4.19.2017 - The Dinner Party

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

I was excited to read this book, even though short stories are not my favorite. But Joshua Ferris' writing makes these so worth reading - and they left me wanting more.

Most of these stories are set in the mundane of the world - moving, going to work, a dinner party - but all have twists of misunderstandings and self-doubt. There was something in each story that left me feeling in tune with what the characters were feeling - although certainly not taking those feelings to the extremes like in these stories!

Kudos to the author for capturing the good and bad of all of us!

4.14.2017 - It's Always the Husband

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

Kate, Aubrey and Jenny meet at Carlisle College - they all come with very different backgrounds and baggage. Kate is the spoiled daughter of a rich Carlisle alum, with buildings there named after the family. Aubrey is a poor girl from Las Vegas, estranged from her dysfunctional family, trying to change the course of her life. Jenny is a townie - born and raised in the college town. A tragedy happens during their freshman year which will change all of their lives.

This story is told in alternating timelines - their college years and when they're grown and all end up back in town, where another tragedy happens linked to all of them and the past.

This is a good mystery and there are lots of suspects in the tragedies that leave you guessing until the end

4.11.2017 - Allie and Bea

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

I love Catherine Ryan Hyde's books - they are just great character stories that always make you feel good at the end. Plus, there is always a lot of wisdom in her writing that leads you to think about being a better person without coming across sappy or preachy.

Her latest is so exception - Allie and Bea are both characters who meet when they are experiencing the worst crises of their lives. Allie is a teenager whose world gets turned upside down when her parents are both arrested for tax evasion crimes and taken to jail. When there is no short-term foster placement for her, she is put in a group home where she meets up with violence from another resident. Running away, she realizes that she has nowhere to go.

Bea is an elderly woman just scraping by on her monthly Social Security checks. When she falls victim to the infamous IRS scam and loses her money, she is forced to leave her trailer and take off in her van.

These two people meet and are forced to confront trust issues and start relying on each other. This is just a good story about faith in people and standing up for what you believe is right.

4.9.2017 - The Perfect Stranger

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

First, All the Missing Girls was an absolute amazing book in my mind - I loved how the plot developed backwards in time. So while I probably didn't love this one quite as much, this was a great read - Miranda's writing is just suburb.

Leah, a journalist with a Boston newspaper, is forced to quit her job. When an old roommate, Emmy, offers her a chance for a clean start as a teacher in Western Pennsylvania, she picks up and moves to a remote cabin in the woods. When Emmy goes missing, Leah discovers that she knows very little of anything of her old friend.

The author is so skilled at giving us possibly unreliable narrators in situations that feel so real and scary. Another winner!

4.7.2017 - Woman No. 17

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

I'm not quite sure how to review this book - it was such a different read. However, the writing was compelling and I wanted to see where it all would lead. The ending probably redeemed the book and moved it into 4 stars for me.

Lucy Daniels is the mother of toddler, Devin, and 18-year-old, Seth, who has selective mutism and has never spoken. She's under contract to write a book about her experience of mothering Seth and hires S (Esther) as a nanny for Devin so that she can focus on writing. S is trying to reinvent herself by playacting at being her mother with her art - which involves lots of drinking.

At its heart, this is a story of the complicated mother-daughter-friend relationships as well as relationships with men that each of these characters chose. The characters themselves aren't real likeable - Karl was about the only one that always seemed to chose the right path! Not always an easy read but an interesting take on mothering.

4.6.2017 - The Haven's Kitchen Cooking School

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This is a wonderful cookbook - while it may not have as many recipes in it as a normal cookbook, what sets it apart is the instructional and corresponding photos. I do a lot of cooking and this book showed me that I have been cutting onions the wrong way - who knew?

This would be a wonderful gift for newlyweds - lays out what you need as far as tools in the kitchen as well as stocking your pantry and refrigerator. All of the techniques are wonderful - even if you've been cooking awhile!

4.5.2017 - After the Fall

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

I'm on a roll of loving everything I've been reading lately and this is no exception! This is a wonderful female multi-generational story and I really liked all of the characters. Honor is in her 80s, living alone, when she falls and breaks her hip. She is forced to move in with her daughter-in-law, Jo, with who she has always had a contemptuous relationship. Jo was married to Honor's son, Stephen, but he is deceased. They had a daughter together, Lydia, who is in her late teens studying for her exams at school. After Stephen's death, Jo got remarried to Richard, they had two children, Oscar and Iris, and Richard left Jo for the au pair. Whew.

Each of these female characters is holding onto a secret, leaving us to realize how we can hide ourselves so completely even from those that we love. I really enjoyed reading about these women - they are all so relatable - and the writing was wonderful. Great read - highly recommended!

4.2.2017 - The Light We Lost

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

Another book that I fell into and could not stop reading. This is such a beautifully-written story, so relatable because we all make so many choices in our lives - is it fate, just meant to be, coincidence, karma? This is one of those fork in the road books and really makes you think.

Lucy and Gabe met in college on one of those days that we will all remember exactly where we were at that moment. When they met again a year later, all the pieces fell together and they became a couple, madly in love, all the stars aligned. Until Gabe is offered his dream job of being a photojournalist in war zones - to make a difference. And Lucy is left behind.

This book is told in the form of a diary of sorts in Lucy's voice, starting at the beginning of their relationship and through the rest of the story leading up to a major decision she must make.

This story left me hollow, sad, and a bit breathless when it was done. It's written so beautifully and I'll be thinking about these characters for a long time.

4.1.2017 - Ginny Moon

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author for giving me the opportunity to read, review and now tell everyone about how AMAZING this book is! And this is a debut novel to boot?

You will totally fall in love with Ginny Moon - a 14-year-old autistic girl who was removed from her birth mom because of abuse and neglect. She finally has a Forever Mom and Dad and lives in the Blue House. She goes to school, plays the flute, competes in Special Olympics, has her calendar so she knows exactly what will happen every day, and loves Michael Jackson. So why is she desperate to get kidnapped by her birth mom? Meanwhile, her adoptive parents are struggling - a new baby is in the picture, stress levels are high and Ginny is acting out more and more.

This book reminds me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - an amazing peek into the world of an autistic child. But this book goes even further and explores the adoptive parents' world too - everything isn't always sunshine and roses. This book explores all those true feelings and emotions in such a wonderful way.

I can't say enough about this book - it is a must read.  Mark your calendars for the release day and don't miss it!