"Best Day Ever" by Kaira Rouda (Updated--Husband & Wife Differ on This One)

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)

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"Rescuing Finley" by Dan Walsh is Enjoyable & Heartwarming (UPDATED)

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)

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"Protecting Marie" by Kevin Henkes

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)

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"Lie to Me" by J. T. Ellison Made My Head Spin!

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)

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"A Joyful Break" by Diane Craver Reveals Lots About the Amish Lifestyle

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)


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