"The Neighbor" by Lisa Gardner--Who Is the Real Monster?

The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner is a mystery told from multiple points of view about a wife and cat who turn up missing. She has a husband who works second shift and a 4-yr-old daughter who was the last person to see her mother before she disappeared. Both husband and wife had bad childhoods but love their daughter very much and want to give her a good family. The cops are clueless as to what happened to the wife but have lots of suspects.  The husband and wife are both good liars and very good at keeping secrets.

This book kept me guessing right to the unexpected ending but I felt really bad for the neighbor. It deals with family secrets, marriage issues, prejudice, computers and sexual abuse.  This book is an eye opener to the problems pedophiles face. The plot is similar to Gone Girl; however, I liked both the main characters in this and didn’t like either of the main characters in Gone Girl. This book doesn’t have near as much swearing as Gone Girl does either. I liked it!
 (Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's Review, 5++ stars:
In The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner, a husband comes home and finds that his wife and cat are missing.  The rest of the house is normal and his young 4-yr.-old daughter is fine.  The police are on it and have plenty of suspects including the husband, but no body.  This is a real page turner!  The author keeps dropping tidbits that change the focus every so often to different possible suspects, but there's really no evidence.  I really enjoyed it a lot and was blown away by the ending!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Hold Me Like a Breath" by Tiffany Schmidt

In Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt, Penelope is a daughter of one of three families involved in a black market scheme.  She has a blood disorder that causes her to bruise easily and she is to be protected at all cost!   She hates this and would love to get off on her own for a while.  Then an incident happens and Penelope is alone, all alone.  Can she handle it?

I liked this book way more than I expected I would.  There is good action that kept me turning pages.  I Loved it!  Hoping there is a sequel.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"The Children's Crusade" by Ann Packer

The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer tells the story of Bill and Penny Blair who had four children, three boys and one girl.  Penny wanted nothing to do with the kids, even moved out of the house into a shack.  The father was a doctor and tried his best to be a good dad.  Flash forward years later--their dad has passed away and they have to decide what to do with the house and the property.

I loved the dialogue among the kids, especially the oldest boy and the girl.  This is well worth reading for sure.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard is an Exciting, Fun Read! (UPDATED)

We both Loved this one!

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is a YA novel about a young girl named Mare.  She is a "Red" who lives in a world that is controlled by the "Silvers."  One day Mare is captured and it turns out that she has powers that a Red is not supposed to have.  The Silvers quickly take her under their wing so that this is not discovered by the world. Mare wants to help her people, the Reds, even though it puts her in danger. 

 WOW!  This book has tons of action with lots of twists that I did not see coming.  LOVED it a lot!  Will read book 2 for sure.  This is my new book of the month!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars) 

 Karen's review:
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is an interesting cloak and dagger fantasy about humans with silver blood and super powers (Silvers) ruling over poor, down-trodden humans with red blood and no super powers (Reds).  Some Reds band together, calling themselves “The Red Guard” to try to change things for the better.  Mara is a Red, but is different.  She is an excellent pick pocket who discovers, by accident, that she has a super power in spite of her red blood. 

It’s not often I hate to see a book end, but with this one, I did!  I enjoyed this book with action, brother rivalry, lying and betrayal very much.  I liked the main character and couldn’t help pulling for her despite all odds.  I was disappointed to see this is just the first book of a series.  Now I have to wait for the next book to come out.  This book is similar to Cinderella and Divergent is some ways.  If you like adventure, fantasy and interesting relationships, I highly recommend Red Queen.  

(Karen's review 3-18-15, 5 stars)

 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"I Was Here" by Gayle Forman

When Cody receives an email from her best friend, Meg, informing her that she is dead, Cody is shocked and decides to investigate.  What she finds frightens her and she wants to stop it!  But is she in danger?

I Was Here kept my interest and is a quick read.  I cared about Cody and wanted the best for her.  It's a good read, give it a chance!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)  

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"It Was Me All Along" by Andie Mitchell, a memoir

It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell is the true story of "the fat girl."  She continued that way until one day while in college she got on a scale and was shocked by the number.  This book tells the story of how she put on the weight and how she took it off, but it's more than that--it's how she deals with life too.

I found it fascinating--she pulls no punches and sounds like someone I would enjoy spending time with.  Through her book, short as it is, I did and am glad for that.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

I am so proud that Gerard lost his excess weight.  I find it hard to believe he was over 300 pounds in high school (long before I ever met him), but here's the proof:  From 300 pounds to 140. 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven is told by Finch, a young boy and Violet, a young girl.  They have something in common and to find out what that is, you will have to read the book.  I'm not saying.  They form a relationship and that is the basis for this YA novel.  I LOVED IT!  It was something to read as these two kids got to know each other.  It goes quick; I finished it in just two days.  Give it a chance, you will be glad you did.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Hidden Agenda" by Lisa Harris is both Suspenseful and Action-Packed!

Hidden Agenda by Lisa Harris is about Michael, an undercover cop whose cover is blown and is scheduled to be killed but is rescued by the son (Ivan) and daughter (Olivia) of the man who wants him dead.  They barely escape from the island and then are on the run for pretty much the rest of the book!  Ivan is deaf but good with computers and pretty smart but his older sister, Olivia, a reporter, feels responsible for keeping him safe.

This is a good read with a lot of suspense and action that kept my interest.  The relationships are all interesting too.  It deals with family relationships, secrets, betrayal, fear and romance between an unlikely couple from two different worlds. 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Somebody Else's Daughter" by Linsey Lanier

Someone Else’s Daughter by Linsey Lanier is a good read about Miranda and how she was affected by her abusive husband who gave her baby up for adoption against her wishes.  She vowed that she would never be weak again and became proficient in self-defense.  She would get in fights sticking up for others which attracted Parker’s attention, a very successful private investigator who actually hired her as a PI trainee letting her help him solve the murder of a teen girl.    

This book kept my interest from the start and kept me turning pages.  Miranda is a very strong woman with an edge that she uses to protect herself from getting close to people and getting hurt.  It is a good murder mystery which takes the reader through the crime investigation step-by-step.  This is the first book in the Miranda’s Rights Mystery series and I look forward to reading more!
(Karen's review, 5 stars) 


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LOVED "Mr. Mercedes" by Stephen King

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King centers on two men—Mr. Mercedes who mowed down people with a car and got away with it and a retired detective, Bill Hodges.  When Bill receives a letter from Mr. Mercedes taunting him for not catching him and vowing to do it again, Bill gets back into the case and wants to catch Mr. Mercedes.  I loved this book which is “vintage King.”  It kept me turning pages saying “Wow, this book is good!” over and over.  What a great book to start 2015 with. 

(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!