"Lost Roses" by Martha Hall Kelly is Really Good!

Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly is a work of historical fiction around 1914.  The first World War is just about to start and also the Russian Revolution is going on now!  The three main characters in this book are women!  Sofya, a member of the Tsar family; Eliza, a very close friend of Sofya who helps "white Russians" as they try to escape the Revolution in their homeland; and Varinka is brought up to help the Tsar family.

I also loved her other book, Lilac Girls!  When I heard that she was writing a second book, I knew I had to get it and am glad I did!  Plenty of action in this book keeps it going!  When all the women come together at the end of this book is very good!  Her next book is on the Civil War and I look forward to reading that one too!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 72:  Mamka's fingers trembled as she took the next card from the pack and placed it on the shadowed end of her plank.  "The next card is most important, so heed it well."


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!

"That Good Night" by Sunita Puri (Two Different Opinions)

That Good Night--Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour by Sunita Puri is a true story.   Sunita works in Palliative care.  This is where people are who are in bad shape health wise.  She tells the stories of some of her patients.  She also details the lessons that she learned from her mom, who was a doctor and life lessons from her dad.

WOW!  This book is very good!  I hated to see it end!  I got lost in this book many times.  The stories she tells of her patients are really good!  These touched my heart.  The part that deals with her parents was good too!  This is my book of the month so far--a must read!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review (we differ on this one):
That Good Night by Sunita Puri is about Sunita’s journey to becoming a doctor on a Palliative care team. As I understand it, Palliative care deals with getting families to realize what their dying loved ones want concerning end of life care. Sunita shares different patient scenarios and conversations with their families concerning their care as well as snippets of her personal life. This book is thought provoking and sad. I read it because my husband said how good it was, but I would not recommend it. I found it tedious to get through and although I enjoyed hearing about the different patients, it just moved very slowly for me. I look forward to getting back to fiction! (3 stars)

Teaser from page4 33:  I pursed my lips tightly.  I was a fledgling intern, a neophyte doctor.  How could I possibly tell him how long he had to live? 

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 Fall of Crazy House" by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

The Fall of Crazy House by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet is the sequel to Crazy House that continues on with Becca, Cassie, Tim, and Nate being trained as soldiers in the resistance. It’s a pretty wild book that contains some humor, lots of adventure and action. The ending though left me a bit confused about who Helen Strepp actually is. It also was very hard to believe many death defying feats of the main characters. All in all though, it was an interesting read that kept me turning pages and wanting more. I think this was as good as the first book, if not better!
(Karen’s review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 68: “MCDONALD’S FRENCH FRIES,” I typed into the log. The small white box was flattened and oil-stained. There was no way to tell what year it was from, or where. Or who McDonald was.

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!

"Crazy House" by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

Crazy House by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet is teen fiction with a slight similarity in theme to The Hunger Games. Twin sisters, Cassie and Becca, live in an agriculture cell alone. Their mom was sent away for an attitude adjustment and their father is in a hospital because his suicide attempt failed. His girls have not yet granted the hospital permission to end his life in spite of the fact the doctors say he won’t recover. One day, Becca just disappears and Cassie’s truck is missing! Other teens have gone missing too and never returned. Cassie goes to find her on her sister’s moped which is now the only transportation she has. Cassie finds her at The Crazy House when she gets “taken” too!

This book got my interest from page one and never let go. I almost finished it in one day! It is about how these sisters overcome obstacles and work together to escape from The Crazy House. There is quite a bit of action with some mystery and romance too. I liked both sisters and look forward to continuing on with the sequel, The Fall of Crazy House. There is a lot of swearing in this book that I did not like.
 (Karen’s review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 15: “No, she didn’t!” I shrieked, wanting to hurl my coffee cup right out the window. It would have hit my truck if my truck had been there. Which it wasn’t!


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 Cost of These Dreams" by Wright Thompson

The Cost of These Dreams--Sports Stories and Other Serious Business by Wright Thompson is a collection of true stories about athletes and one story about fans of a team.  I thought these stories were excellent because they were so interesting!  They go beyond who won or lost and share about the personal lives of the athletes.  I feel like I got to know the real person.  Stories included their families and friends.  There was a great mix of people and the stories were varied like the people who they were written about.  I enjoyed it very much and even if you are not a die-hard fan, I think you would enjoy it too!  It certainly gives insight into the true life of a professional athlete.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 13:  He described what the game meant to him.  He called it his "refuge" and the "place where I've gone when I needed to find comfort and peace."  Basketball made him feel complete, and it was gone.

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!