11.27.2017 - Right Behind You

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Dutton Publishing and Lisa Gardner for the opportunity to read and review her latest thriller - it was awesome!

Unfortunately, although I've read her books before, I hadn't read any of the Quincy & Rainie books.  While I'm sure having more of their back story would make this book even better, I didn't feel I lost a thing by not having read them.

Quincy & Rainie are semi-retired profilers, working in a small Oregon town helping police on various cases.  They are in the process of adopting Sharlah, a teenager who survived a horrific childhood.  When Sharlah was just a toddler, her drunken father stabbed her mom and then tried to kill her older brother, who in turn killed his dad with a baseball bat. 

Reports come in of a shooting in a gas station of the clerk and a customer.  When surveillance video comes back, it appears that Sharlah's brother, Telly, is responsible.  The manhunt begins and Quincy & Rainie are involved, which becomes more complicated because of their relationship to Sharlah. 

This is a thrill ride of a book - I raced through it, heart pounding!  Highly recommended!

11.24.2017 - Fox and Raccoon

Thanks to NetGalley, Tundra Books and Lesley-Anne Green for the opportunity to read and review this adorable book!

Fox and Raccoon are best friends and neighbors.  They spend every day together.  But today, Fox is too busy.  So what do best friends do?  They help out!  Raccoon goes all over town doing errands for Fox to help.  Turns out Fox has a surprise in store!

Adorable book that my grandkids will love - cute illustrations, short, perfect for lessons about friendship for the younger set!

11.22.2017 - The Wake Up

Many thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Catherine Ryan Hyde for the opportunity to read her latest book.

Like everything she writes, this book is filled with such insight, hope and emotion.  This book finds Aiden, a cattle rancher, going through the motions of his life.  He is emotionally empty - just doesn't feel anything.  Then one day he "wakes up."  He starts actually feeling what others feel - when one of his animals gets hurt, he feels it physically.  This wake up changes his life - he can't hunt or ranch the way he's always done.  Then he meets Gwen, a single mother of two, and falls in love.  Her son, Milo, was abused by his father and bears the brunt of that by acting out.  The forging of their relationship is wonderful - we can all learn from the lessons on this book.

Highly recommended!

11.19.2017 - A Boy Made of Blocks

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Keith Stuart for the opportunity to read this amazing book - highly recommended!

Alex and Jody are parents of 8-year-old Sam, a highly-functioning autistic child.  They are worn out from trying to push and pull him through day-to-day life.  So much so that they have lost each other along the way.  A trial separation finds Alex living with his childhood friend and trying to figure out his life.  He's in a job he hates, he can't get past his grief over a childhood loss, and he can't seem to connect to Sam or Jody.  Until Minecraft, a video building game, enters their life and provides a means for Sam and Alex to connect.

I dare you to get through the ending of this book without cheering and crying!  A great read and certainly very inspirational.

11.16.2017 - The Story of Arthur Truluv

 

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Elizabeth Berg (one of my favorite writers!) for the opportunity to get to know Arthur by reading this amazing book!

Arthur is an 85-year-old widow who spends every lunch hour at the cemetery eating lunch at his wife's gravesite.  While he's there, he also visits others' graves and imagines the lives they led.  Arthur begins to notice teenage Maddy at the cemetery, when she should be in school.  They strike up a conversation and a friendship begins.  Maddy is having trouble at school and at home and Arthur provides a needed friend.  Add to this Arthur's neighbor across the street, Lucille, who is alone and lonely.  These three people come together to once again prove that friendship can be the best type of family. 

Sweet, quirky, uplifting, wonderful - highly recommended!

11.15.2017 Poison

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Galt Niederhoffer for the opportunity to read and review this book. Rounding up to 4 stars because I enjoyed the read and it kept me enthused until the end.

Cass is a woman who seems to have gone through the darkest days - losing her first husband and left with two small children - to have found the seemingly perfect man. Cass and Ryan move from NYC to Seattle to start a new life and have a new son, Sam, to add to their perfect family. But nothing is ever perfect, is it?

Cass soon finds evidence that Ryan is not who he seems to be. He starts displaying a dark side to his personality. Then she starts becoming ill.

There is a lot of teachable info in this book - Cass is a university teacher whose specialty is the treatment of women in society and in the courts. Fitting for how it all plays out. You would think this would lead her to make smarter moves but our brain doesn't always rule our actions.

Although the writing style was somewhat wordy, I enjoyed it - especially the first part of the book where everything in Cass' world is very relatable - dealing with schedules, children, housework, etc.

I couldn't wait to finish this book and see how it all played out!

11.12.2017 - The Trick

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Emanuel Bergmann for the opportunity to read this debut novel - it was a wonderful mix of historical fiction, quirky characters and magic!

The story is told in two different time periods and from the vantage of two characters - Moshe is a rabbi's son who leaves Prague to join a circus during World War II, eventually becoming The Great Zabbatini.

Contrasted is the story of 10-year-old Max, living in LA in present time, heartbroken over his parents' impending divorce. He comes across an old album of his dad's featuring The Great Zabbatini who promises a spell of Eternal Love that Max is convinced will save his parents' marriage.

When the two finally meet, the real magic of the story begins. And it is not one to be missed!