Book Reviews

  Truth be told, I haven’t done any research to see if any part(s) of this book is true. Usually historical fiction does have facts tied in. I was really aghast contemplating the relationship between Thomas Jefferson & his daughter Patsy. They were so very co-dependent that it was borderline making me queasy. Another thing that shocked me was the level of spending when they really had no money to spend. It’s hard to imagine a former president dying penniless. At any rate, I really enjoyed the book & characters even if I questioned their rationale. I felt the writing style represented the time period perfectly and held my attention rather well. 

  This novel tells a tale within a tale. For the most part it’s a mystery involving the death of a young blues singer (Danny), the possible involvement of his girlfriend (Georgia)  who is now a successful neurosurgeon, wife, and mother of two who is searching for answers of her memory’s missing past. Now, the tale within the tale, takes place in New Orleans during Katrina and the experiences she has there with her daughter, Lara. Georgia takes us on a journey to restore her memories through London, New Zealand, and New Orleans. Jenni Ogden is a marvelous writer, keen on capturing emotion as well as environment. Special thanks to Netgalley and publisher, Sea Dragon Press for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. 

I’m settling into the fact that Fall is upon us, cooler weather is coming, and who doesn’t like the spook factor included with Halloween?  This audiobook/book is a collection of 24 short stories with a variety of narrators, six in all! They all delivered great voices to the stories and enhanced the creepy-vibe. In my opinion the writing style had influences of Stephen King and other well known authors of the genre. In this collection you will find crime, suspense, and horror stories interwoven through some rude, crude, and gritty scenes. This is not for the faint of heart, there is some extreme violence that may leave you feeling quite queasy. At any rate, definitely do not play these stories without headphones, your neighbors will question your sanity & debate moving away from you. 

This novel came out in August 2019, if it slipped by you, get yourself a copy. Consider the year 1648 and what it means to a woman trying to survive with her young children after her husband runs off. Also consider the ages...Alinor is 27-years-old when her daughter gets married. Do the math there & consider the age of her daughter.....It’s really very amazing to stop and consider how women, once upon a time, were treated as basically worthless humans and/or nothing more than a tool in the tool shed or a work horse in the barn! They were expected to only serve their husbands.  It’s also interesting how easily friends and neighbors would turn on one another believing in condemnation without proof (she’s a witch!). If these historical topics are of interest to you, this book will definitely provide many of the intricacies of the time.  Poor Alinor, main character, is a herbalist, midwife, and would do anything for love and her children. She works to serve her community in th...

  This excellent fictional thriller mystery is a quick page turner. Evie, the victim, is a likable character who happens to know when people are lying. She’s experienced some pretty dark & tragic things in her life & you can’t help but to hope the best for her just as Cyrus Haven does. Cyrus is a Criminal Psychologist, who is trying to uncover the secrets to Evie’s past while many people will go to various lengths to keep the truth hidden   This book is part of a series, but easy to follow if you haven’t read the first book.   Trigger warnings: kidnapping, rape, trafficking, pedophilia, suicide/murder.

  I received this novel an ARC from netgalley.com This is the first book I’ve ever read written by T Kingfisher and it surely will not be the last! Wow friends!  This book blew my mind with originality, imagination, and great creativity.  Have you ever wondered what would happen if you stumbled upon a portal to another dimension? Growing up, I always dreamt they were at the back of the hall closet, buried behind all the coats, boots, shoes, hats, & vacuum. But it turns out you can find the portal at Uncle Earls museum. As for the rest, you should really read it for yourself. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you....

This novel shares a hidden love that lasts a lifetime.  It addresses issues of forbidden love, racism, social & economic status, the effects of war and civilian life, and coming to terms with it all as life comes to an end. This is a great read written in a parallel narrative. 

  Special thanks to Above The Treeline for this ARC. I was excited to read this book because it takes place during the Spanish Flu and considering the current pandemic it was interesting to note the parallels. If Goodreads were able to allow 1/2 stars, I would upgrade to 3-1/2 stars. The book reads more like a mystery than historical fiction, but is a nice fusion of both! This is a great easy summer read that I would recommend. Also, if you haven’t read any books by this author, she has plenty of good ones to choose from including The Life She Was Given. Also highly recommended.

This book is so sweet, fun, hilarious & adventurous. I laughed out loud several times. The audiobook also has great Character narration & pulls you right in to the story.  The book opens with a wedding. Everyone at the reception gets sick, that is except for the sister (Olive) of the bride and the groom’s brother (Ethan). Unfortunately, the honeymoon is fully paid, dates can’t be changed, non transferable and non refundable. So the trip doesn’t goto waste, Bride & Groom give their vacation package to their siblings, but of course they have to pretend they’re the newly weds. Have I mentioned Olive & Ethan hate each other? This is bound to be interesting, right?!?!

  Thank you to Netgalley & Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read & review this ARC.   This is a fictional account of Bonnie Parker, better know as the better half of Bonnie & Clyde Barrow.  While many of the accounts in the book are actually true, it’s fiction due to the story narration where the author had to “fill in the blanks” so to speak of what Bonnie may have thought or said.  It’s clear the Author researched well, even down to the clothes Bonnie chose  to wear. You’ll find this book to be a quick easy read on the lives of Bonnie & Clyde, their love of family, their crime spree, and the fact that they knew the only way out would be death. Bonnie hated the idea that people thought she smoked cigars (based upon this photo). A scene in the book explains how the picture came to be.

This book came out in Spring 2020.  This book brings you to a tough neighborhood with tough choices on living, dreaming, fighting, and hope. The story follows five women whose lives are interconnected through the area in which they live and work. It’s a murder mystery worth diving into. 

This book is 272 pages and you’ll find yourself getting through those pages quickly. You’ll also find that in this book, “less is more” because there are a few things left up to you to decide. The creepy scale is somewhat high as well. Molly, the mother & main character, works at “the pit” an archeological site where she uncovers some mysterious items and these items begin to interweave with Molly’s home life, her love for her children, quick clips from a distracted and fractured mind.  I love the cover!

This sweet little novel is a quick read. The writing style is easy and it almost feels like your reading someone’s journal. The topic, taking care of an ailing parent, is a very realistic occurrence in a person’s life. However, this mother:daughter relationship is a bit different than average, which gives the characters their shine.  Lulu (the love guru) is the only daughter to Patricia who happens to have a very passionate nature and healing powers, if you count a good cuddle as healing anyway. Mother and daughter have not always met eye-to-eye, have had times when they didn’t speak to one another, but the love was always there. It turns out Patricia has Alzheimer’s and would like Lulu to take her to the family plantation for however long she has left to live. Toss in some mishaps, meet ups, and medicine and what you get is a better understanding of the people you love and cute women’s fiction novel.  Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for providing this ARC in e...

Published January 2020. This story is about two sisters who are complete opposites. Kacey is the drug-addicted sister of (Police Officer) Mickey. When Kacey disappears amid a flurry of Philadelphia murders, Mickey can’t help but to investigate at any cost. This is an emotional read with some tough topics covered, such as addiction, overdose, murder, co-dependence, tough love, neglect, poverty. Long Bright River is suspenseful as much as it is heart wrenching. Totally worth the addition to your TBR list. 

Because of the content of this book, it’s hard for me to call it “good.”  It’s an eye-opening, heartbreaking account of the egregious seduction of children and the conflicting confusion of love that a victim often feels. For those who haven’t experienced these illegal, horrible & destructive behaviors, it might be hard to understand how terribly conflicted a child can feel about their abuser. This book puts it out there in a way that you cannot turn your back on.  4 of 5 stars. Powerfully written. 

It’s all about chemistry & pretending they’re not interested in each other—so it’s a game these characters play at work—the hating game. Can you say sexual tension? Their desks are right next to each other, I’m not exactly sure if much work ever gets accomplished but this game they play is pretty all-consuming for our frustrated characters. This book will show you exactly why you shouldn’t try to find romance at the office. Contemporary romance, chic-lit, flirty, sassy and a little smart-assy. 

Some of my favorite new quotes are in this book! Great memoir, easy to read. Beautifully poetic.  Thanks to Amazon First Reads for this free offering.