We Both Liked "What Was Mine" by Helen Klein Ross

What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross is fantastic!  Lucy has been trying to have a baby, but it is a no go.  One day she sees a baby alone at a store and takes it!  The next day, she makes up her mind to return the baby to its mother, but she decides otherwise and keeps it, raising the baby girl as her own.  This story is told by a bunch of people that were affected by this decision, which really adds to the story.   I was hooked from page one all the way through!  This page turner is told very well and I liked the ending too, although not everyone may agree.  Read it for yourself to see what you think.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review, 5 stars:
What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross is an interesting contemporary fiction story about Madelyn whose baby, Natalie, is kidnapped by Lucy, a woman who wants a baby but can’t conceive. Lucy raises Natalie as her own, changing her name to Mia. Mia is raised with love and given the best education, never suspecting Lucy is not her real mother until she gets a friend request on Facebook from Madelyn.

This book tugged at my heart and kept me turning pages to find out how Mia feels about her abduction and finding her real family, what will become of Lucy and will Mia keep her bond with Lucy or bond with her real mother? This book shows how good people can make mistakes that affect many lives for years to come. I found myself liking Lucy better than Madelyn even though Madelyn was the victim and suffered a major loss because of Lucy. I never heard of restitution justice until reading this book. I thought the ending was incredible but left me wanting more! I think this would be a great book club read and highly recommend it to anyone who likes good contemporary fiction.


Have you read this one? What did you think of it?  Did you like the ending?  Did you like Lucy?  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!

Shared this review at Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

Teaser Tuesday

Gerard's:

No one is.  I become aware of faces looking at me in disapproval and several mouths are saying things but the only sound I can hear is someone screaming something unintelligible.

From page 32 of What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross.  (Review will be up tomorrow.)

Karen's:

I give in to the temptation to pray, though I don't know if anyone will hear.  I have trouble believing in God, but when I'm in a mess, my mind often formulates quiet pleas. 

From page 3 of If I Run by Terri Blackstock. 



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading. 

Happy Reading!

"The Girl in the Red Coat" by Kate Hamer

The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer is told by Beth and her 8-yr.-old daughter, Carmel.  One day Carmel is out with Beth and the next second, Carmel is gone and Beth cannot find her.  I enjoyed the point of view by Carmel more than I did Beth.  It was more interesting, but Beth had her moments too.  This book is well worth reading and I enjoyed the ending very much!
(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!

Teaser Tuesday

Gerard's:

Tonight I'll dream of her again, I can feel it.  I can feel her in the twilight, sitting up on the skeined branches of the beech tree and calling out.

From page 3 of The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer.

Karen's:

When the door burst open and a servant ran into the room, everyone paused, including Lady Vera with her fish halfway to her mouth.

"Stop!" he shouted. "Don't eat it!  Poison!  It's poisoned!"

From page 21 of Ignite by Sara B. Larson (Book 2 in the Defy series). 

Drinking alcohol and being sleepy severely affect the sensory, motor, and analytical skills of drivers.  Every year, about 100,000 accidents occur in the U.S. because drivers were overly tired, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 1,500 drivers died.

From page 191 of BRAIN--The Complete Mind:  How id develops, How it works, and How to keep it sharp by Michael S. Sweeney.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading. 

Happy Reading!

"Those Girls" by Chevy Stevens is a Thriller About 3 Sisters We Both Liked!

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens is a gripping novel that is about three sisters (Dani, 17, Courtney-16 and Jess-14) who are abused by an alcoholic father and later raped and how each is affected by their experience and deals with it differently.  These sisters are very close and support each other and start a new life with help from an unlikely source, an ex-con who got a break and is plays it forward.

The girls do pretty good at putting their past behind them until Jess discovers she is pregnant by the guy who raped her and brings everything back. 

I LOVED this book in spite of some very graphic and horrifying parts which worked to get the reader to really root for those girls to succeed.  The bond between the sisters was very interesting to me and how Jess's daughter became the "best part of them."  I liked the people who helped the girls along their way with the "playing if forward" theme worked in and the way they chose their new names for the new identities. The ending had a lot of suspense and action which made me to keep reading and not put this down!
(Karen's review, 5 stars) 

Gerard's review (5++ stars):
Those Girls by Chevy Stevens is about three sisters.  One of the sisters shoots their dad to save the other one from him and they all go on the run!  They soon find more trouble.  This books is told in three parts from various points of view.  I really enjoyed the first part of the book as the girls were in big trouble with non-stop action.  The second part was pretty much rehashing what happened in the first part but part 3 when everything came together more than made up for part 2 and I got caught up in 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!