"One of the boys" by Daniel Magariel is a Wild One!

One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel is the story of a dad and his two sons.  The dad and his wife have divorced and now they are going through a custody battle.  The dad has the boys for now and he wants to keep it that way! 

Teaser from page 6:  "This will end the war," he said.  "No custody.  No child support."

This book was wild to say the least.  The dad was not very likeable at all and I felt bad for the boys.  There was action throughout and the ending was like the rest of the book, wild!
(Gerard's review, 3.5 stars)

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"Exposed" by Lisa Scottoline, A Good Legal Thriller (Updated)

Exposed by Lisa Scottoline is a legal thriller that kept my interest all the way through. Lawyers Bennie Rosato and Mary DiNunzio found themselves working together on a murder case after Mary almost left the firm to work on a case that had a conflict of interest for the firm. Mary chose to help her friend, Simon, try to get his job back that he was fired from unjustly. He has a little girl that is in need of a bone marrow transplant and has high medical bills. This is about a conspiracy resulting in a murder. Bennie and Mary wind up putting their lives on the line when they are attacked and abducted just as they discover what really happened.

I liked this book very much and was surprised by the ending! Poor Simon’s problems just keep getting worse and worse while his lawyer and friend, Mary, tries to help him. This has action, family issues and suspense!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review 8/20/17:
In Exposed by Lisa Scottoline, Mary and Bernie are partners in their law firm, but a case comes up that Mary feels she must take even if that means leaving Bernie due to a conflict of interest.  Somebody does not want this case to go to court and will do anything to stop it, putting Mary and Bernie both in danger.

This book is pretty good.  The main characters are well developed.  The pacing is okay--it kept my interest.  There is good action at the end but would have loved more throughout the book.  That being said, I still give it four stars--well worth reading!
  
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"The Good People" by Hannah Kent

The Good People by Hannah Kent is based on a true story!  Nora, after the death of her husband, is put in charge of her grandson.  He can neither speak or walk.  Mary, a young girl, comes to help her but Nora thinks her grandson brings evil.  Only Nance understands the old healing ways, can she banish the evil?  But can she?

Teaser from page 50:  'Musha, Nance of the Fairies, they call her.  Nance na bPucai. There are plenty that will have nothing to do with her on account of it but more who go to her because they believe it so.'

This book is about Irish folklore.  I just loved the language in it!  This book kept me engaged all the way through even though it is a thick one!  It would make a good movie!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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"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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"Tower of Dawn" by Sarah J. Maas Did Not Impress Me

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas has two parts to it. In the first half, Chaol seeks out a healer there to help him get back on his feet. He is currently in a wheel chair. The healer is reluctant to help him for reasons you will find out as you read. The second half has the focus on Nesryn who faces big problems. I enjoyed the second half much better, but overall, I did not think much of this book and do not recommend it. There is just so little action, I was pretty bored with it. The only reason I finished it was that I kept thinking it would get better, but it never did. I guess even Sarah Maas can have a dud.
(Gerard's review, 2 stars)

My wife is passing on this book due to my review.  Glad I saved her a boring read although many others did like this one about healing and acceptance!  You may want to see for yourself.

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"Smart Pickleball--The Pickleball Guru's Guide" by Prem Carnot

Smart Pickleball--The Pickleball Guru's Guide by Prem Carnot is a very helpful book for improving your Pickleball game.  It contains instructions for executing different shots, drills to practice to improve, and strategies to implement in your game.  All this in a very conversational writing style where he basically takes the reader into one of his clinics and even shares tips from some of his private lessons.  This book is excellent and was not at all boring to me.  He has a good sense of humor as well that makes for a very enjoyable read.  I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn to play Pickleball well and who is willing to practice.

Teaser from page 22:  Smart PickleballTM  is about strategically setting yourself up to win a point by biding your time, using your energy efficiently, playing the percentages and anticipating several shots ahead.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"They Both Die At The End" by Adam Silvera

In They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, Mateo and Rufus are both young teen boys.  Death-cast calls chill them and tell them that today will be their last day to live!  Even though you know how it plays out, this book still works!  The boys were really great characters and it was interesting how they bonded.

Teaser from page 41:  Everyone wanted so much more out of me, myself included.  I have to honor this.  It's my last day to do so.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)  

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"The Game You Played" by Anni Taylor (Great Debut Psychological Thriller)

The Game You Played by Anni Taylor is about Phoebe and Luke whose 2-yr.-old son goes missing.  Phoebe has some mental problems and Luke gets tired of everyone feeling sorry for her and not him.  This takes place in a suburb in Australia, where Luke is a real estate agent seeking to make a lot of money and working a lot.  Phoebe and Luke grew up together and so have the same friends.  They are both on the wild side compared to me!  The story is told in first person, alternating between Luke and Phoebe.

Teaser from page 279 (Loc. 4880):  My knees buckled when I saw what was on the page.  I fell to my hands and knees, vomiting into the garden. 

I discovered this book through a teaser on Teaser Tuesday. This was quite the mystery!  I could not figure out who took Tommy.  I liked this book and was surprised to see it was a debut novel.  It certainly had a lot of interesting characters and several different themes about friendship, hoarding, judging others, parenting and drugs.  I think this could make for an interesting book club discussion, especially if you discussed it as everyone was reading it rather than after everyone read it.   You could have a guess who the kidnapper is contest at the beginning and give a prize to the winner at the end (if anyone gets it right).  It reminded me a bit of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"Fire Blood" by Elly Blake Wowed Me!

In Fire Blood by Elly Blake, Ruby has defeated the frost king and melted the powerful throne.  Arcus is now in charge, but Ruby has more battles to fight.  The Minax is now free and is causing terror throughout the land.  Ruby must find a way to stop this, and a war is brewing also.  Can Ruby bring peace to the land?

Teaser from page 27:  As the doors shut, it wasn't her words that struck my heart with a painful blow but the silence that followed.  Arcus hadn't said a word to defend me.

Wow!  This book is just as good if not better than the first, Frost Blood!  Ruby is a great character and there is plenty of action!  LOVED IT!  This is my book of the month and I will be reading book 3 for sure!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars) 

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"The Silent Corner" by Dean Koontz

In The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz, Jane wants to find out why people are killing themselves and these people have no reason to do this.  She will stop at nothing to find the answer, but some people want to stop Jane for good!

Teaser from page 16:  "How did it happen, honey?  How did you lose him?"

There is good stuff here.  Jane was an interesting character to say the least and there is good action as well.  I will be on to book 2.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"Summer of Promise" is Historical Christian Romance

I liked the dog in this one!

Summer of Promise by Amanda Cabot is the first in the Christian Romance Westward Winds series. Back in the 1880s, Abigail teaches in an all-girls school in Vermont and is planning to marry a colleague named Woodrow who is very nice and well organized. Abigail is worried though about her older sister, Charlotte, who is married to an officer and lives at Fort Laramie in Wyoming. In reading her letters, Abigail got the feeling that something is not quite right so decides to visit her. On the way she meets Ethan, a lieutenant, on the stagecoach who saves the passengers from a couple robbers. Abigail finds that Charlotte is pregnant and seems very weak so stays to help her and cheer her up. When the army post gave orders to kill all the stray dogs running around, Abigail couldn’t help but pick a puppy for Charlotte who she named Puddles. Abigail discovers that Wyoming isn’t boring like she originally thought and finds that God has different plans for her than what she expected.

Teaser from page 58: “Oh, Ethan, he’s so cute. You can’t drown him.”

This book was pretty good but seemed to move a bit slowly. I really liked Ethan and Puddles the best! Although there is some mystery about who was robbing the stagecoaches and who was a traitor, it wasn’t really too hard to figure out. The romance was predictable, as is par for the course with Christian fiction books. I enjoyed some of the funny parts in this book very much, such as when Ethan was teaching Abigail how to shoot a gun. I will probably continue on with this series, but not right away. I need something a bit more gripping.
(Karen’s review, 4 stars)


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