The Empress by S. J. Kincaid is the sequel to The Diabolic which I loved! Tyrus is on the throne now and Nemesis is at his side. Nemesis is really a great character. I am glad it was told through her point of view. There is good action again that had me tuned in from page 1. The twists and turns in this book were very good leading up to a surprise ending. I look forward to reading book 3 in this series.
Teaser from pg. 28: Then I determined to go find the reasons for his weakness for myself. There was one man in this superstructure who had the answers.
(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!
Will's Red Coat by Tom Ryan is a true story about Tom who lives a simple life in the mountains of New Hampshire with his two Schnauzers, Atticus and Will. It is the story of how his dogs helped him become a better person and how he helped his dogs, especially Will who was an older rescue dog in bad shape with biting and incontinence issues that no one else wanted.
This book has a wonderful theme: old age is not a disease and it's never too late to love or receive love. I enjoyed the parts about his dogs and the wildlife, especially the bear who became their friend. I really liked the nature parts of this book where he included the reader on his hikes through the forests and mountains. Sometimes though, he went off on tangents about his beliefs and philosophy which I found boring and thought distracted from the story. Of course, I cried when one of his dogs had to be put down. It just brought back the feelings I felt when I had to put down several cats. That is why I gave this book only 3 stars.
(Karen's review)
Gerard's review 11/13/17, 5 stars:
Will's Red Coat by Tom Ryan is a true story which makes it that much better! Will is an old dog. Most people think it does not have much time left, but Tom decides to take him in. His friends did not think this was a wise choice.
This book is a story of love! If you are a dog lover, this book is one you will love reading. I give credit to Tom for writing this book about his dog!
Teaser from page 17: "No. I meant what would you have me do if you were the one who was old, in pain, alone, and had no place to call home?"
This is the second book I read by this author. The first one was Following Atticus, which I also loved.
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!
Warcross by Mari Lu is teen science fiction that had my head spinning trying to figure out how everything worked. This is about a worldwide, popular virtual reality game with tournaments that people actually attend! Emika Chen is what is referred to as a bounty hunter who helps the cops capture bad guys, primarily ones who illegally bet on Warcross games. She is a hacker who got an offer to work for the creator of Warcross, Hideo Tanaka, to figure out who was sabotaging his security system for the games. Emie lives in NYC, travels by skateboard, has a big debt and is being kicked out of her apartment for not paying rent when she gets his offer. She accepts and her life changes completely!
I liked this book, but there is a lot of things I really don't understand about how all this advanced technology works. Sometimes it seems as though the players are physically in the game and other times as though it is their avatar playing. This is fast-paced and very interesting, but a lot of things just didn't make sense to me. I like Hideo and think Emie should stick with him, but have a feeling she is going to defect to the other side. I like his big invention too!
(Karen's review, 4 stars)
Gerard's review, 11/8/17, 5++ stars: Warcross by Marie Lu is about the game played worldwide called Warcross. It is an obsession to most people. When one young down on her luck girl, Emika, hacks into the opening game of the tournament, she becomes known to all. When she gets a call from the game's creator, she does not know what will happen to her. Teaser from page 10: I fire the stun gun once more, this time at close range. It hits true. His body goes rigid, and he collapses on the pavement, trembling. Marie Lu knows how to write and it is on full display with this book! I was engaged from the get go! Emika is a great character and it was a joy to follow her. There is good action and an ending that leaves everything up in the air! Do not miss it!!
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!
In Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, Aza is a young 16-yr.-old girl who is consumed by her own thoughts. She and her best friend, Daisy, decide to investigate the disappearance of a billionaire. There is a reward if you find him!
It took me a while to get into this because at first it was kind of girlish! That being said, Aza and Daisy were fun to follow! The story line was so-so, but the writing kept me wanting to keep reading. I liked it and think it is well worth reading.
(Gerard's review, 4+ 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!
Caroline by Sarah Miller is about the Ingalls family and their move from Wisconsin to Kansas and their time in Kansas during the late 1800s. This book is told from Caroline’s point of view. She is the mother of two girls, Mary who is 5 and Laura who is 3. She is pregnant with a third during her trip to Kansas and has Carrie while in Kansas on the prairie. This book is closer to the actual historical account than the Little House on the Prairie books. In this book, the only characters that appear besides the Ingalls family is Mr. Edwards.
This book is historical fiction that gives a very clear picture of what pioneer life was like. It is slow moving but has lots of emotional scenes. I think women would definitely enjoy it more than men. I thought it was nice revisiting the Ingalls family again and learning more about Carolyn.
(Karen’s review, 3 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!
In Deep Freeze by John Sandford, a local woman has been found dead, frozen in a block of ice! The town is small and everybody knows everybody's business. Virgil, a detective, is familiar with this town and is back again to try to find the killer.
Teaser from page 9: "Come on, Gina, get up"--but the fact was, Gina Hemming was deader than the aforesaid deer, looking up at him with half-open blank gray eyes.
I thought this book was just okay. The story line was good enough; however, some parts of the book dragged. The ending was a bit anti-climactic.
(Gerard's review, 4 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!
In Scythe by Neal Shusterman, there is no war, no disease, and nobody goes hungry in the world. The only problem is overpopulation! That is where being a scythe comes into play. You fix that problem. Citra and Rowan are both picked to try to be a scythe, but do not want any part of it! However, to decline is not in their best interest.
This book was way better than I thought it would be. Citra and Rowan are both really good. The story flows well and the twists and turns are well done to say the least! Do not miss this one--it's a must read! I look forward to book 2.
(Gerard's review 10/30/17, 5++ stars)
Teaser from page 29: But a perfect world needs no improvement. Like most everything else we do, education, from grade school through the highest of universities, is just a way to keep us busy.
We both also liked Unwind by this author too and also recommend that one.
(Karen's review, 5 stars: LOVED THIS BOOK! SO GLAD I READ IT!) Scythe by Neal Shusterman is about a utopia future where humanity has overcome disease, aging, crime, and natural death. Government has been replaced with the Thunderhead that makes sure everyone in the world has what they need. It watches everything that happens and stores people's memories. (Anyway, guess we'll find out more about the Thunderhead in book two.) People can still get hurt, but what normally would kill someone like falling 12 stories from a window now makes them "deadish." They can be taken to a revival center where they get good as new in just 2-3 days and get delicious ice cream when they wake up. Since there is a problem of overpopulation, a special group called Scythes do the service of "gleaning" people on a random basis. Gleaning is just a nice word for legalized killing. The Scythdom have their own set of laws they must follow. When Citra and Rowan are chosen by Scythe Faraday to become his apprentices on the road to becoming a scythe, both reluctantly accept for different reasons. Scythes have power not only to take life, but also to grant immunity from being gleaned to people and Scythe's families have immunity as long as the Scythe lives. I was very intrigued by this book. It is well written and very thought provoking with several twists tossed in that really shocked me! I loved this book so much, I think I will actually re-read it just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Citra and Rowan come from very different backgrounds but are both smart, moral and find themselves in difficult situations. I also liked all the humor, some of which made me actually laugh out loud, and really cool things in this book like being able to "turn the corner" and go back to being any age you want, having years named after animals, and having healing nanites so wounds can heal themselves. I highly recommend this to older teens or adults who like thought provoking books about the future. This is one of my top 2 favorites of the year, the other being Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst.
SPOILER ALERT - STOP HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T YET READ THIS BOOK. IF YOU HAVE, I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THESE QUESTIONS:
(1) Exactly how did Scythe Faraday fake his own death and how did Scythe Curie know about it?
(2) Why did Citra's fingers turn really cold when Scythe Faraday let her try on his ring, but when Scythe Goddard gave his ring to Rowan to take over giving immunity to the loved ones of those they gleaned, nothing happened. Nor did anything happen when Rowan put it on after decapitating Scythe Goddard (which I really liked by the way). I thought it was funny he put it in the dirty water bowl at the monastery.
(3) I thought the ending was fantastic and was so happy it didn't end with a cliffhanger as to which one was chosen or stop before knowing if the winner gleaned the loser. What did you think about the ending?
The Cat Who Saw Stars by Lilian Jackson Braun is about a small-town journalist named Qwilleran and his two Siamese cats, Koko and YumYum. He takes a little vacation to his beach house in Mooseville and visits with the townspeople. Some strange things happen that Koko senses. Supposedly, Koko has extra sensory perception. Some in the town believe UFOs visit and Qwill is not buying it but Koko always watches the sky.
This book really poked along for me and I was not impressed by any of it. I like cats so that is why I picked it up; however, the cats had a very small part in the book. None of the characters made me care about them much and were not well developed at all. I thought most of the book was very boring and kept waiting for it to get better but it never did! The only people I would recommend this too would be anyone who needs help getting to sleep or who is on a beach vacation and wants to read a book about someone else on a beach vacation. This author wrote many books, but I don’t think I’ll be reading any of them. (Karen's review, 2 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!
In The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian, Annalee goes missing and her family fears the worst. Where is she? Lianna, her oldest daughter, starts to take an interest in the detective looking into this. Will he find the answers she is looking for?
Teaser from page 19: The thing I kept coming back to was how pedestrian my mother's last night really was. There were no warnings, no ominous asides, nothing that could be construed by even the most rabid conspiracy theorists as foreshadowing.
This is a short book, just a little over 250 pages. The story line is pretty good. Part of the book dragged for me and a little more action would have been welcomed. It did have a surprise ending!
(Gerard's review, 4 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!
Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff is book two of the Nevernight Chronicle series. It was so good to be back with Mia and her faithful companions, Mister Kindly, her cat and Eclipse, her wolf-like dog. I loved those two! Mia is still out for revenge and her plan to do it is going to be a very hard journey indeed.
I loved this book! It is just as good as the first one in the series! There is plenty of action and we have some new characters that added to the story in a good way. There is a list of characters with descriptions to help the reader remember who is who which I found very helpful. The ending really surprised me and sets up for a fantastic book 3!
(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!
Motion to Kill—a Lou Mason Thriller by Joel Goldman is a legal thriller with lots of murder, several cases, and lots of characters. Lou Mason discovers the dead body of his partner in a lake at the firm’s partner retreat. When he learns it was murder, Lou tries to investigate to figure out who the killer is and why. Is it client-related? Is it someone in the firm? Is the death of another partner related? Is there more than one killer? There are lots of things going on in this book!
Teaser from page 1: A dead partner is bad for business, even if he dies in his sleep. But when he washes ashore on one side of a lake and his boat is found abandoned on the other side, it’s worse.
This book is pretty complex and I found it a bit hard to follow at the beginning but as the investigation moved along, I got more drawn into it. Some parts were very good with lots of suspense, while others were mostly conversations. I felt sorry for Lou that he didn’t get out of the firm sooner and felt bad for the sheriff too. I liked the ending.
(Karen’s review, 4 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!
One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel is the story of a dad and his two sons. The dad and his wife have divorced and now they are going through a custody battle. The dad has the boys for now and he wants to keep it that way!
Teaser from page 6: "This will end the war," he said. "No custody. No child support."
This book was wild to say the least. The dad was not very likeable at all and I felt bad for the boys. There was action throughout and the ending was like the rest of the book, wild!
(Gerard's review, 3.5 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!
Exposed by Lisa Scottoline is a legal thriller that kept my interest all the way through. Lawyers Bennie Rosato and Mary DiNunzio found themselves working together on a murder case after Mary almost left the firm to work on a case that had a conflict of interest for the firm. Mary chose to help her friend, Simon, try to get his job back that he was fired from unjustly. He has a little girl that is in need of a bone marrow transplant and has high medical bills. This is about a conspiracy resulting in a murder. Bennie and Mary wind up putting their lives on the line when they are attacked and abducted just as they discover what really happened.
I liked this book very much and was surprised by the ending! Poor Simon’s problems just keep getting worse and worse while his lawyer and friend, Mary, tries to help him. This has action, family issues and suspense!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)
Gerard's review 8/20/17:
In Exposed by Lisa Scottoline, Mary and Bernie are partners in their law firm, but a case comes up that Mary feels she must take even if that means leaving Bernie due to a conflict of interest. Somebody does not want this case to go to court and will do anything to stop it, putting Mary and Bernie both in danger.
This book is pretty good. The main characters are well developed. The pacing is okay--it kept my interest. There is good action at the end but would have loved more throughout the book. That being said, I still give it four stars--well worth reading!
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 Good People by Hannah Kent is based on a true story! Nora, after the death of her husband, is put in charge of her grandson. He can neither speak or walk. Mary, a young girl, comes to help her but Nora thinks her grandson brings evil. Only Nance understands the old healing ways, can she banish the evil? But can she?
Teaser from page 50: 'Musha, Nance of the Fairies, they call her. Nance na bPucai. There are plenty that will have nothing to do with her on account of it but more who go to her because they believe it so.'
This book is about Irish folklore. I just loved the language in it! This book kept me engaged all the way through even though it is a thick one! It would make a good movie!
(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!
In Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda, Paul Strom has been waiting for the day for Just him and his beautiful wife Mia to go on a getaway weekend together. This is going to be his "best day ever"! Or is it?
Teaser from page 50: This is a challenge, I know it, but how and when did Mia become so confident? Where did she come from, this new Mia?
The pacing of this book is very well done as you learn little by little what is going down. Paul Strom is a very interesting character to say the least! This book kept me engaged from page 1!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)
Karen's review: Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda is about Paul Strom, a scumbag husband and his wealthy wife, Mia who can't seem to please him no matter what. Paul decides to take his wife up to their cottage on Lake Erie to give her a special time and have the best day ever, but most of the time they spend arguing. Will one or both really have the best day ever?
I did not like Paul right from the beginning because he was so arrogant and controlling. He is the narrator of the whole book except the Epilogue. It was shocking to me how he rationalized his actions! The book kept my interest because I wanted to see how it would end, but then was somewhat disappointed. I have lots more I could say, but not without spoiling it for you so I'll stop here. (3 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!
In Rescuing Finley by Dan Walsh, Amy and her girlfriends decide to do a little 5-finger discount. Amy gets caught and refuses to rat out her friends. She is in major trouble! Chris is helping to fight the war. He steps on a landmine and his fighting days are over. He comes back home, but is in a bad way emotionally! Finley's owner is killed in the war. Finley, a dog, gets turned into the Humane Society and is depressed. The lives of these three come together to create a good read.
Teaser from page 37 (Loc. 436 on Kindle): As they approached, the dog started jumping toward them, but Kim didn't see an ounce of aggression in him. He was just a loving goofball, probably starved for attention.
I thought this book was written very well. I enjoyed all the characters very much and even though it has a predictable ending, it did not take away the enjoyment of the book for me.
(Gerard's review 9/16/17, 5 stars)
Karen's review: Rescuing Finley by Dan Walsh is an enjoyable read about Amy, a prisoner in the program for training dogs to be service dogs for vets, Finley, the dog she trains and Chris, the vet who Finley is being trained to help. I really loved this book because it got my interest right away and kept it throughout. Yes, it is predictable; however, it still was interesting and a fun read. (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!
Protecting Marie by Kevin Henkes is a children’s book about a 12-yr.-old girl, her dad, and her dog. It is told in first person by the girl, Fanny. The dad is an artist and teaches at a university. This book focuses on the girl’s views and things that are important to her. She has a bunch of childish things she treasures and gets upset when her father runs a “stupid hunt” in her room to hunt down stupid things that can be thrown out She is mad at her dad over getting rid of their first dog, Nellie and has a hard time letting it go.
Teaser from page 13: The whole idea of growing old is scary. And a big birthday is so symbolic."
This book may appeal to a young girl, but I was not impressed with it. The book cover is very misleading because it implies the dog is Marie, but it is not! I liked Dinner, the second dog in the book, but there was not much of a climax or great ending to this one. The gist of the story is how Fanny and her dad mend their relationship. It just sort of fell flat for me. It was okay, but was eager to move on to something else.
(Karen's review, 3 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!
Lie to Me by J. T. Ellison is about a married couple, Ethan and Sutton who appeared to be happily married, but in fact not so much. So when Sutton leaves a note that she is leaving and not to come looking for her, all signs point to Ethan. What did he do?
Teaser from page 37: And here they were. Five years later, parents of a dead baby, their ruined marriage strewed on the rocks, mistakes piled like a stack of ancient newspapers against the door.
I love books like this where I'm not sure what's going to happen. I had a love-hate relationship with both Ethan and Sutton. The pacing of this book was perfect with twists and turns that made my head spin! I really enjoyed this one a LOT!
(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!
A Joyful Break (Dreams of Plain Daughters) Book 1 by Diane Craver is about an Amish woman, Rachel, who visits her Aunt in D.C. who was formerly Amish to try to think through whether or not she is ready to be baptized and commit to being Amish and marry her boyfriend who wants to get married in the fall. She was looking forward to going to the beach and seeing the ocean to relax and think. When Rachel’s mom died in her 40s due to a heart attack, Rachel blamed her dad for not having a phone to get her to the hospital in time. The big “excitement” in this book is whether Rachel will choose to be Amish and marry Samuel as planned, or fall in love with an Englishman during her visit with her aunt
For me, the best part of this book was the cover. If you like details about what they are eating, about the reason behind some of the Amish rules they follow and some words the Amish use with their meanings, then this book is for you. It is very heavy on Amish customs and comparing their way of life to non-Amish folk. It also has quite a bit of scripture thrown in. For me, it was just okay. I felt it was slow moving, nothing captivating about it and no action at all. This is the first book of a series that I do not intend to continue. I’d recommend this as a good beach read.
(Karen's review, 2 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!
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas has two parts to it. In the first half, Chaol seeks out a healer there to help him get back on his feet. He is currently in a wheel chair. The healer is reluctant to help him for reasons you will find out as you read. The second half has the focus on Nesryn who faces big problems. I enjoyed the second half much better, but overall, I did not think much of this book and do not recommend it. There is just so little action, I was pretty bored with it. The only reason I finished it was that I kept thinking it would get better, but it never did. I guess even Sarah Maas can have a dud.
(Gerard's review, 2 stars)
My wife is passing on this book due to my review. Glad I saved her a boring read although many others did like this one about healing and acceptance! You may want to see for yourself.
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!
