"Windfall" by Jennifer E. Smith is Interesting (We Differ on this one!)

In Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith, Alice and Teddy have a very close friendship. On Teddy’s 18th birthday, Alice, who has a huge crush on him, bought him a lottery ticket with numbers she picked. Teddy won a big payday! Teddy and his mom, who had next to nothing, now can have everything! How will this change Teddy? Will Alice and Teddy’s relationship grow or will it break apart over money?  I enjoyed this book because Alice and Teddy are both great characters and I liked the ending.
(Gerard’s review, 5 stars)

Karen's review:
I didn't care much for Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith and quit on it about half way through. It just dragged along for me and I didn't much like any of the main characters. I thought Alice was a fool, Teddy was kind of a jerk and his friend (Leo I think his name was) turned me off because he was gay.  Gerard told me how it ended and I think I might have enjoyed the second half, but just got tired of plowing my way through all the lame conversations.  (1 star)

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!

"Making Bombs for Hitler" by Marsha Forchuk

Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk is based on a true story.  Lida and Larissa are sisters who are separated by the Nazis when they are taken to a concentration camp.  Lida vows to find her sister.  Does she?  Do the two sisters even survive?  It addresses the question of "What would you do to survive?"  This book is a quick read and I found it very east to get into.  (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:

The dog had two red lights for eyes, and although Sarah Schoefel knew they were nothing but colored lenses over laser targeting systems, she swore that those eyes glared at her.  With menace, with what she felt was a kind of bloody, wicked pride.

From page 48 of Dogs of War by Jonathan Maberry.

My heart is a yo-yo, whizzing up and down, and he's the one pulling the string.  Only I didn't ever know it could go this high.

From page 51 of Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith.
 

By the time we finished with the introductions, I realized that I wasn't the only one who had been separated from a sister or brother or parents.  We lay there, listening to the constant thunder of bombs in the distance, each of us wrapped in our own personal pain.

From page 30 of Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk.

Karen's:

The unrelenting weight of these stone walls would no longer be kept tolerable by his sister's presence, by the motivation that he was working toward her future as well as his own.  The whole world keeps on turning while you just try to hold your own life together.

From page 9 of Girl on the Leeside by Kathleen Anne Kenney.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.   Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.  Happy Reading!

"Not A Sound" by Heather Gudenkauf

In Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf, Amelia is deaf due to an incident that she was lucky to still be alive from.  She is trying to get her life back together.  One day while she and her dog are out on the river paddle boarding, she comes across a dead body--a nurse she used to be good friends with!  Who killed her friend and why?
 
I really enjoyed the dog, Stitch but the main character was okay too.  I would have loved more action though.  The last 50 pages things picked up and I liked the ending so 4 stars for this one!
(Gerard's review)

Karen's review, 4 stars:
Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf is about Amelia and her service dog, Stitch. Amelia is a nurse who lost her hearing in an accident and whose life pretty much fell apart. She turned to alcohol and her husband kicked her out, only allowing her to supervised visits with her step-daughter, Nora. Her closest friend since childhood is Jake, a cop, who sort of watches over her like a brother. When she discovers the dead body of one of her nurse friends from several years ago in the woods by her river where she was paddle boards and kayaks, her curiosity gets the best of her and she jumps into the investigation. As she comes closer to figuring out who murdered her friend, her life becomes more complicated and dangerous.

I enjoyed reading this book but of course, the cops are once again portrayed as incompetent and it’s up to Amelia to figure out who and why murdered her friend. My favorite character in this book is the service dog, Stitch. The medical portion of this book was pretty scary. (4 stars)

Spoiler Alert – do not read further unless you have read the book! The ending of this book was very good and I really liked the big chase when the murderer came after Amelia but couldn’t help but think how stupid she was by leaving her dog and running off instead of using the guy’s stun gun against him that he dropped in the snow and retrieving her cell phone from his pocket when she had the chance. I did have to give her credit for getting out of her house through her bedroom window, but then again, why would she leave her car keys on a table downstairs instead of in her pocket? I was hoping her husband would not be involved and they would reconcile, but I am okay with her ending up with Jake. What did you think of this?


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!

"Dogs of War" by Jonathan Maberry

In Dogs of War by Jonathan Maberry, a radical scientist has come up with a plan that will cause havoc on earth.  Billions will die and there is not too much that can be done to stop it!  The technology is that good.  Joe Ledger and a rebuilt department of military sciences are all that is left to stop this from happening!   Plenty of action makes this book zoom right along!
(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!