"Reminders of Him" by Colleen Hoover

In Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover, Kenna has spent five years in prison for a tragic mistake!  She had her newborn daughter taken from her.  Now she is out and wants to see her daughter, but in this case time does not heal.  Except for one man, the whole town does not want her around.  Do they have a future together and does she get to see her daughter?  This is good stuff, good characters well developed, good storyline and good ending!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"Notes on an Execution" by Danya Kukafka

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka was not an easy read but was interesting.  This book covers the last 12 hours before a serial killer is to be put to death.  The author takes us through some of the women in the killer's life.  The author does a good job of telling the story.  This unique storyline makes the book go fast.  I never read a book like this one before!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)  

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"The First to Die at the End" by Adam Silvera

In The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera, two young men meet in Times Square on New Year's Eve.  It is the beginning of a new year and the start of death cast.  Death cast calls people on the day they are supposed to die.  Can they really do that?  One of the young men gets a call.  It could be a very short friendship.  This book is the prequel to They Both Die At the End.  I enjoyed this book just as much as the other one.  I liked that this book has more characters.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"The Maid" by Nita Prose is a Good One!

In The Maid by Nita Prose, Molly works as a maid at a grand hotel.  She loves her job and does it very well.  One day while doing her cleaning, she comes across a dead body of a man in one of the suites.  The police investigate, but Molly knows more than she lets on.  Is she in danger?  I loved Molly the Maid!  She is a great character with a good storyline and a very good ending.  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Karen's review:

The Maid by Nita Prose is a good story about Molly the maid who finds a dead body in one of the hotel rooms she is assigned to clean.  She is a very good maid but has trouble in social settings and discerning people's intentions.  It's hard not to root for Molly when she becomes a suspect in the murder of Mr. Black.  I enjoyed this book because I liked Molly, the nuggets of advice from her grandmother and the storyline.  I loved the ending!  (Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"Hawk Mountain" by Conner Habib

In Hawk Mountain by Conner Habib, Todd is at a beach relaxing with his son.  He sees a man coming toward his son and cannot believe his eyes.  It is Jack, who made his life hell in his high school years.  It has been 15 years since he last saw Jack.  What is going on?  

I thought this book was good. I liked the story line and the characters.  It kept me turning pages for sure!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"The Children on the Hill" by Jennifer McMahon

In The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon, in 1978 a young boy and girl are introduced to a young girl who does not talk.  They are told to get along with this girl.  They start a monster club to hunt them down.  When it's 2019, a monster has been sighted.  Lizzy, who hosts a popular show about monsters, is coming to hunt this one down.  This was a great book!  I loved the characters and story line as well as the great ending!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The Puppet's Payback and Other Chilling Tales" by Mary Downing Hahn

The Puppet's Payback and Other Chilling Tales by Mary Downing Hahn is a collection of short stories for middle school kids.  I enjoyed these stories myself.  Some are ghost stories.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"My Wife is Missing" by D. J. Palmer is a MUST Read!

My Wife Is Missing by D. J. Palmer is about a secret past and the effect it has on Michael's marriage to Natalie.  This is an intriguing story that kept my interest throughout.  While on vacation in New York, when Michael gets back from picking up a pizza, he finds his wife and his two kids gone including their luggage.  The only thing left behind was his son's teddy bear!  He is frantic trying to find her and a detective offers his help.  

I liked Michael and felt sorry for him most of the time.  Natalie suffered from insomnia and suspected Michael was cheating on her.  This book had a wild chase, interesting characters, and a surprise ending!  It's quite a good mystery!  (Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's review 6/7/22:

In My Wife is Missing by D. J. Palmer, a family vacation in New York City sounds good, but for Michael and Natalie, not so much!  Soon after they get to New York, while Michael is out getting pizza he comes back to find his wife and two kids gone!  Did someone take them?  or did they go sightseeing?

This book is so good!!!  You need to think while reading it.  Natalie is a great character and one of the best endings to a book ever.  This is a must read!  (5++ stars)

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"The Counselors" by Jessica Goodman is Very Good!

The Counselors by Jessica Goodman goes back and forth in time, so if you have a problem with that like my wife does, this book is not for you.  I thought this book was very good though!  Three girls loved going to camp and considered it their "perfect place."  Now they become counselors, but friendships will be tested and secrets revealed.  I loved the characters and the story line!  I was engaged in this book all the way.  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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"Silent Creed" by Alex Kava

In Silent Creed by Alex Kava, Ryder Creed and his team of dogs are called in for a search and rescue mission for a mudslide in North Carolina.  However, there is more than just a mudslide that is causing people to go missing.  This book explores the strong bond between first responders and their dogs.  It has a good story line and an interesting finish.  (Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Meet Bear (pictured), our new cat.  This is his debut on our book blog.

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"For Your Own Good" by Samantha Downing is Really Good (if you like Creepy, Twisted Characters)!

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing is about deaths of two headmasters, three teachers, and a parent of a student at a private high school.  Mr. Crutcher, the teacher of the year, teaches English but is a creep as well as the main character!  This is not a very happy book, but rather quite sinister.  I must say, I flew through it because the story line was so compelling.  The reader knows from the start that Mr. Crutcher is behind the murders but I had to keep reading to find out if he gets found out.  This was quite the story with the twist of much of it being written from the murder's view.  (Karen's review, 4 stars)

In For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing, Teddy Crutcher is a good teacher.  In fact, he got the teacher of the Year award!  He tries to get the most out of all of his students.  Now if only the rest of the faculty will stay out of his way he can get on with doing his job.  If they do not, he has ways to handle that too.  I thought this book was really good.  I flew through it!  The writing and story line are very good!  I also loved all the characters and the great ending.  I loved it!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The School for Good Mothers" by Jessamine Chan

In The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan, Frida is going through a rough time.  She has her daughter, Harriet, and that is enough for now.  Unfortunately, Frida makes a big mistake and has to prove she is a good mother in a government reform program or she will lose all rights to her daughter.  This is good stuff!  Frida was a good character and the storyline kept me engaged with a good ending.  (Gerard's review, 4 stars) 

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"The Younger Wife" by Sally Hepworth

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth is told by three women:  Heather, who is going to marry a man in his 60s and Jully and Rachel, the daughters of the 60-yr.-old man.  I thought this book was really good.  The pacing is great!  You do not know what is going to happen next.  I loved how the women tell this story that has a very good ending!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The Reading List" by Sara Nisha Adams is About the Power of Books

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams shows how books can play a big part in your life.  I really enjoyed the two main characters:  an old man discovering the library for the first time, and a young girl who works at the library.  It is humorous and the story line kept me interested all the way.  I think this is a wonderful book that all ages would enjoy.  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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"One Two Three" by Laurie Frankel is Enjoyable

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel is told by three female triplets.  They live in a small town where everyone knows everyone and nothing much goes on.  When a moving van comes to town, it is big news!  This story is told very well.  I enjoyed the three girls who narrated it very much.  I was into it from page 1.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"Once" by Morris Gleitzman

Once by Morris Gleitzman is inspired by true events.  It takes place during World War II.  Felix is a young boy who is in an orphanage to be protected from the Nazis.  When he sees books being burned, he knows he must break out and tell his mom and dad.  They run a bookstore.  

This book is short but told very well.  Felix was a great character so I enjoyed it!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)  

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"The Violin Conspiracy" by Brendan Slocumb

In The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb, Ray McMillian has a dream of becoming a world-class professional violinist against the odds which do not favor him.  He is a poor black man, but thinks he can do it even though it is a white-dominated position he seeks.  I enjoyed this book.  The characters were true-to-life and the story line kept me engaged.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars) 

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"Once There Were Wolves" by Charlotte McConaghy is Informative

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy is about twin sisters who release a team of grey wolves into the Scottish highlands.  Both sisters have a lot of issues to deal with and hope that will help them heal.  Sadly though, when a man is killed, they know the wolves will be blamed so they try to find out what really happened and save the wolves.

I thought this book was very good.  It had a good story line and is informative.  I learned a lot about wolves.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)  

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"Playing Nice" by J. P. Delaney Has Lots of Twists--We Both Liked This One!

Playing Nice by J. P. Delaney is told by Pete and Maddie have been living together but are not married.  They have a 2-yr.-old boy named Theo who has some behavioral issues.  When Myles Lambert and his attorney show up on Pete's doorstep with the claim that Theo is really Myles' and Lucy's son and that their special needs son, David, is really Pete and Maddie's son, the nightmare begins!  The boys were both preemies and somehow got switched, but was it an accident or intentional?  Who would do that and why?

This book kept my interest all through, my favorite character being Pete.  I did not like Myles from the start and wasn't crazy about Maddie.  I felt kind of sorry for Lucy because she was married to Myles.  This book is well written in how it gradually develops the characters and has lots of twists throughout.  The ending was a surprise for me too.  (Karen's review, 5 stars) 

Playing Nice by J. P. Delaney is told by Pete and Maddie.  One day they are told that the 2-yr.-old boy they have is not their son at all!  He belongs to another family who want to switch their 2-yr.-old son for theirs!  This is a wild ride for sure!  I enjoyed this book very much and got through it very quickly.  The story line is good and I never knew what to expect from page to page.  Do not miss this one!  (Gerard's review 10/30/20, 5++ stars) 

Teaser from page 15 (large print version):  Disbelief, shell shock, horror, all paralyzed me.  I'm not fast in a crisis, unfortunately, Maddie's the one who thinks on her feet.

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"The Turn of the Key" by Ruth Ware Is One We Both Liked!

In The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware, Rowan does not like the job she has.  When she comes upon an ad she thinks this could be the answer to her prayers.  But she has to get this job and she does!  She thinks all her problems are solved, but really they've just begun!  I thought this book was very good!  I liked the character of Rowan a lot.  I never knew what would happen next.  There are some parts where there is nothing going on; however, those are few.  The story makes up for them and the ending part was very good!
(Gerard's review of 3/9/20, 5+ stars)

Karen's review:
I read The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware because my husband recommended it and I was intrigued by the book summary.  It was very good about a nanny who takes a live-in position at a house in Scotland with a history of murder and a reputation for being haunted.  It is told in a very unusual way with twists I did not see coming.  This is a murder mystery that I had no clue who the murder was.  There is much deception in this book and it certainly kept my interest all the way through!
(5 stars)

Teaser from page 17:  All this time I have been telling myself that if only someone would let me clear my head and get my side of the story straight, without interrupting, maybe this whole awful mess would get sorted out.

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