"Variant" by Robison Wells is Unpredictable!

Variant by Robison Wells is about Benson Fisher, a foster kid, who chooses to enroll in Maxfield Academy, a boarding school.  As soon as he arrives though, it seems more like a prison and finds that very strange things happen there.  It is surrounded by a high fence and wall with cameras everywhere but no teachers or grades!  The student body of only 75 students is split into three gangs:  Variant, Havoc and Society.  The gangs have made a truce and divided up the work contracts.  Benson wants out from the time he gets there and cannot understand the complacency of everyone else!  This is not what he expected!!

This is a page turner that I really liked because of the characters. The plot really doesn't make much sense, but it makes for a fun read and I enjoyed it right up until the very end which I did not like.  The interaction among the characters kept my interest and I especially liked the paintball parts.
(Karen's review, 4 stars--it would have been 5 except for the dumb ending)   

In Variant by Robison Wells, Benson Fisher thinks that his life is on the upswing now that he is going to be enrolled at Maxfield Academy; however, 24 hours later all he can think about is how to escape! Why the change? You will have to read the book to find the answer. There is just enough action to keep me going and the build up to the ending is really good! It has a twist that I did not see coming. Enjoyed it and now am going to start the next book in this series, Feedback.
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

NOTE: I read 200 pages of Feedback and thought it was stupid so finally quit on it. Wells should have stopped after his first one!

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!

Tuesday Teasers: Four Today

Karen's:

"We don't have a principal" she said.  "We don't have teachers, and we don't have counselors."

From page 14 of Variant by Robison Wells. (See Gerard's review here.)

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.  God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

From I John 4:15-16 of The Holy Bible (KJV)

Gerard's:

The scene of the crime.  The place her life had come to a bloody, screeching halt.

From page 2 of Justice For Sara by Erica Spindler.

I'm having a nervous breakdown, she thought with relief.  I'm about to lose my mind, and that's just as well, because this cannot be fixed.

From page 169 of The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. (click the link to read my review.)


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

Happy Reading!

Our Favorite Reads For August

 Gerard's favorite:

The Boys In the Boat by Daniel James Brown

Karen's favorite:

Melody (Logan family saga) by V. C. Andrews

Abby's (Gerard liked it too) Favorite:

Kara's Gift by Annemarie O'Brien

Books we both liked but not our favorites:
The Clock of Life, In the After, The Never List


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!

"The Silent Wife" by A. S. A. Harrison

If you read Gone Girl, then you have pretty much read The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison which alternates chapters between her (Jodi) and him (Todd).  I loved Gone Girl but this book is pretty good too.  It kept my interest and the ending was sort of a surprise.  I think it is worth your time, enjoy.  My wife didn't care for it though and gave up after four chapters, but then she didn't like Gone Girl either.   

Here is a teaser for you:

And now you want to throw it all away and join the ranks of pussy-addled middle-aged men like me whose brains are in their pants. I'm disappointed in you, Todd.

From page 156 of The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison.

(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. Happy Reading!

"Melody" by V. C. Andrews is an Oldie but a Goodie!

Melody by V. C. Andrews is very good and I am glad I read it. It is one my husband had before we were married 16 years ago and I finally got around to reading it. I am so glad I did! Melody is a 15-yr.-old girl who is part of a family with many secrets. She is a nice girl and good student, but grew up in a coal mining town and is shocked to find out family secrets after her dad dies in a mining accident and her mother drops Melody at the dad's brothers house while she goes off to try to become a model or actress. Melody moves in with her dad's relatives, which she never met, Aunt Sara, Uncle Jacob and her cousins, Cary and May, a little deaf girl.

This is such a good story with all the secrets gradually coming to light and Melody realizing that her parents never told her the truth about who she is. Melody is very pretty and she learned to play the fiddle. I did not care for her mother at all and wondered how Melody turned out so well. There lots of interesting relationships and characters in this book. I loved how Cary came around to liking Melody and how he became protective of her. This is the first book of a series and I am eager to read the next two soon! If you like family stories with interesting characters, I highly recommend this one! There are lots of surprises along the way! It would make a good book club read.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Next in Series:  Heart Song

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!