"Too Late" by Colleen Hoover is Fantastic!

In Too Late by Colleen Hoover, Sloan, a drug dealer, lives with Asa and protects her.  He is all she has and Asa develops an obsession with her.  The FBI is closing in.  Sloan is attracted to an undercover FBI agent, but Asa will not go down easily.  Will Sloan and the agent be able to survive?  Colleen Hover's books are always good; however, this book is fantastic!  It has great characters involved in a good storyline with lots of action!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"Heroine" by Mindy McGinnis (Second Time I've Read This)

In Heroine by Mindy McGinnis, this is the year Mickey has been waiting for.  She is the bad ass catcher of her school softball team.  This is the year they are going to win State!  It will be the first time in school history, except she gets into a car accident.  She will need to re-hab big time to be ready for the first game.  Her doctor gives her a prescription for pain pills and the more she takes, the more she wants.  Can she still make her softball dream come true?  This is a really good book!  Mickey was a great character with a good storyline.  I enjoyed it very much!!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

I read Heroine back in 2019 but enjoyed reading it again.  Click the link to see my earlier review.

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"The Walk On" by John Feinstein

The Walk On by John Feinstein is the first of The Triple Threat series about a high school freshman quarterback, Alex Myers.  There are two QBs ahead of him in the depth chart, the starter being the coach's son!  Alex is a very good passer though and the coach's son is not.

I thought this book was good and enjoyed the dynamics on the football team as well as the insight in play calling during games.  I liked Alex and his girlfriend who was a reporter for the school newspaper.  I thought the story line was good, although predictable.  The only thing I did not like was ending.  I would have liked to have seen how the Championship game played out!  (Karen's review, 4 stars) 

Gerard's review of 5/16/21:

In The Walk On by John Feinstein, Alex Myers is a very good Freshman quarterback.  He is starting at a new school and wants to play for the varsity football team.  The problem is that the quarterback they have is not only good, but also the coach's son!  I thought this book was good for a children's book.  It goes fast but is predictable.  It is light reading which is a break from normal.  (4 stars)

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"Do No Harm" by Christina McDonald

In Do No Harm by Christina McDonald, Emma's son is very sick.  The treatment he needs to get better will cost lots of money which Emma and her husband, Nate, have little of.  Emma will do whatever it takes to get the money, even returning to her past life.  This is a good story that moved along well and kept me guessing what would come next.  I liked Emma and the ending surprised me!  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)  

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"The Captive" by Fiona King Foster

The Captive by Fiona King Foster is about a woman named Brooke.  At her farm, she is attached by a wanted criminal, Cawley.  Brooke is able to capture him and there is a bounty for him.  Her and her family set out with him to take him in for the reward.  

This book picks up about halfway through with good action when Brooke's daughters go missing.  I liked Brooke.  (Gerard's review 2/3/21, 4 stars)

Karen's review 1/27/21:  

In The Captive by Fiona King Foster, Brooke, the mother of two little girls who owns a cranberry farm with Milo, finds herself desperately trying to protect her family from her past.  She grew up in a drug dealing family that she left 15 years ago.  She kept her past a secret from Milo and her girls.  Growing up, her family was in a drug war with another and one day, one of them who has a warrant for his arrest shows up at her farm!  Will he tell her family about her past?  Can she get the bounty for turning him in?  Will he hurt her girls?  Did he come looking for her?

This book is about family secrets and how difficult it is to leaves one's past behind.  There is adventure and suspense in this book.  I got into it fairly quickly and it just kept getting better and better as it went along.  Brooke is a fighter and although she did lots of bad things, it's hard not to pull for her to succeed.  (4 stars)

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"Water from my Heart" by Charles Martin is About Second Chances

Water from My Heart by Charles Martin is about Charlie Finn, a successful gambler and drug dealer who decides to straighten out when he realizes his and his partner's business is negatively affecting his partner's son and young daughter who comes close to death.  He becomes attracted to three women, Shelly, Amanda and Leena but really only falls in love with one.  In Nicaragua, he has quite an adventure!

This book moved along quite slowly; however, I found myself liking and rooting for Charlie to succeed.  Things picked up when he went after Zaul in Nicaragua and met Paulina and Paulo.  I liked the story, but not the writing.  It jumped around in time too much for my taste and I almost gave up on it.  The only thing that kept me reading was knowing Charlie was going to have a change of heart.  The theme can be summed up by the line, "Love with Legs" meaning showing love with your actions.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 5:  I was attracted to risk and not attracted to anything resembling hard work that benefited someone other than me.  If you were going to be dumb enough to risk your money in a card game, then I was going to be smart enough to take it from you.

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"Run Away" by Harlan Coben

Run Away by Harlan Coben is about Simon Greene in search of his missing, drug addict daughter, Paige. One day he sees her singing in the park and almost catches her, but her boyfriend shows up and while Simon scuffles with him, Paige gets away. This story is full of murder, family secrets, hit men, drug dealers, and a cult. It is pretty complicated how these things are woven together to make for quite a mystery! This is a wild story that made me want to keep reading with an interesting ending.
(Karen’s review 5/15/19, 4 stars)

Gerard's review:
This novel is about a father, Simon, who is looking for his daughter, Paige, who ran away and got into drugs.  He wants to put her in rehab.  He gets involved in the drug culture with some not so nice people as he looks for Paige.  This book had some good parts, but not enough of them to me.  The story line jumped around too so did not really keep my interest.  (3 stars)  

Teaser from page 27: Sam said, “The video’s gotten over a million hits.” His son seemed both startled and impressed. “I can’t believe you punched out Aaron.”


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"Heroine" by Mindy McGinnis

In Heroine by Mindy McGinnis, Mickey is a young teen girl.  She has had a rough life to this point in her young life.  She is a bit of a loner.  There is one place where she feels good:  being the catcher on her high school girls' softball team.  Her best friend is the pitcher.  But when they both get into a car accident, all of a sudden Mickey's spot on the team is in danger.  To make matters worse, it is her senior season!  She will do and take anything to make sure she is ready to play!

This book is fiction but it rings true to life for me.  It goes fast and the story moves along at a good pace.  Give it a try, you will be glad you did!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 9:  Carolina wipes a tear from her face as she looks down at me.  She takes a deep breath and it hitches, stuck in her lungs, refusing to release.

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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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"Two Good Dogs" by Susan Wilson--We Both Liked This One (UPDATED)

Two Good Dogs by Susan Wilson is all about second chances and is a heartwarming story involving two Pit Bulls who used to be used as fighting dogs but got rescued. Skye and her daughter Cody are trying to start a new life after Skye’s husband got killed in a drive-by shooting. Skye decides to go after her dream of running a hotel but her daughter does not share that dream and resents having to leave all her friends and move to a little town. Cody has a secret that she cannot tell anyone because it is a matter of life and death. Adam is a widower who visits Skye’s hotel with his dog, Chance, a therapy dog. Chance leads Cody to Mingo, a street kid who overdosed, and his pit bull, Dawg Chance and Dawg become friend;, Cody and Mingo become friends. Cody’s strange behavior is all related to the big secret she feels forced to keep.

I loved this book and it went by quick. I was sorry to see it end because I really liked Mingo and would have liked to see how Cody would continue to mature and grow. I also would have liked to know if Adam and Skye would actually marry, but the book ended before any of that happened. I still enjoyed this book very much and liked all the main characters. I thought Skye, the single mom, was also an interesting character who I felt sorry for throughout the book because of all the trouble her daughter got into.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 5/25/17:
In Two Good Dogs by Susan Wilson, single mom Skye runs a hotel with the help of her daughter Cody but when Cody falls in with the wrong crowd, she needs help.  Adam and his dog check into the hotel and Skye befriends him.  When Cody befriends a street kid named Mingo and his Pitbull, can these four form a bond?

I thought this book was pretty good.  The story line kept me interested and I really enjoyed both dogs in it!  (4 stars)

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"A Tap on the Window" by Linwood Barclay--Good Stuff! (Updated)

A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay is about Cal Weaver who lives in a small town and is looking to find out if his son's death was an accident or not.   One night he gets involved in something that he probably should not have, but it's too late to get out!

I enjoyed this book because it has good action and lots of characters.  I kept trying to figure out who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.  I wasn't sure until the last page how it all worked out!  Good stuff!  This is a new author to me, got this one because a friend recommended it.
(Gerard's review 12/1/16, 5++ stars)

Karen read this one too on 12/8/16:
A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay is a thriller involving several mysteries. This takes place in a small town where cops like to take things into their own hands. Cal Weaver, a private investigator, is trying to find out who sold ecstasy to his teenage son who got high, fell off a roof and died. On a rainy night, against his better judgment, Cal gives Claire a ride when she taps on his window because she mentions that she knew his son Scott. From there, things really get messed up and snowball.

This is an interesting mystery that I only partially figured out. The short chapters that had conversations between a mother, son and a man whose names were not revealed until much later were annoying to me. I really wanted to know who these people were! There was a lot of tension in this book between the mayor and the police department, tension between Cal and his wife in dealing with the loss of their son and if Cal could track down Claire before something bad happened to her. There is a lot of suspense and mystery happening in this book with some very creepy people! (4 stars)

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"Ruby--Between the Cracks" by P.D. Workman

In Ruby--Between the Cracks by P.D. Workman, you will meet a young girl named Ruby.  From a very young age, she had to make choices; unfortunately, most of them were wrong ones.  We follow her as she grows up and there is never a dull moment with this girl!  I also found the people in her life interesting.  Some tried to help while others tried to take advantage of her.

I enjoyed this book because the story moved along well and the characters were very believable!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"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!

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"Badlands" by C. J. Box Isn't Anything Great

Needs more action!

In Badlands, by C. J. Box, one of the stars in my opinion is Kyle, a young boy who is out delivering the morning papers and sees a van crash and finds a package from the van.  The other star is Cassie, the new deputy sheriff.  I thought the story line was okay but predictable without much real action.  I liked Kyle a lot but this book wasn't so great.
(Gerard's review, 3.5 stars)

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"Crazy Love You" by Lisa Unger

Crazy Love You by Lisa Unger is about Ian, a writer of comic books.  He has a real good series called "Fatboy and Priss."  Ian is a bit of a loner, but then he gets his act together and finds the love of his life.  One problem with that is that Priss is not happy about it, and when Priss is not happy, bad things happen.  This a a very good psychological book.  It kept me turning pages and I really loved the ending chapter.  It even had the name of one of our cats in it--Spunky Doodle (the tuxedo cat) even though it didn't have much of a role.  How cool is that! 
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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"Breaking Creed" by Alex Kava

Before I write the book review, I have to tell Mr. Kava how sad I was to read about his dog, Scout, dying after 16 years.  I know you will miss him very much, my condolences.

Breaking Creed by Alex Kava is about people smuggling drugs into the U.S.A.  This book kept my interest with some action and I enjoyed the dogs in the book very much!
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"Jury of One" by David Ellis is one we both Liked!

Jury of One by David Ellis is about a young boy named Alex who is accused of killing a cop, and Shelly is his attorney.  As she learns more about the shooting, secrets Alex and her have get revealed.  This book is good from beginning to end and the last part of the book with the trial is nearly impossible to put down.  LOVED IT!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars) 


Jury of One by David Ellis is an intricate plot with several surprises along the way.  Shelly, an attorney who defends youth in civil suits because she believes in second chances, leaves her comfort zone and takes a criminal case, defending a 16-yr-old accused of drug dealing and killing a cop.  The kid is not straight with her and she pretty much has to guess what actually happened along with the reader when Alex and Ronnie, his best friend who is like a brother to him, look out for each other.  As Shelly defends Alex, her past comes back to haunt her and more and more secrets are revealed as the trial goes forward, leading to a big surprise ending. 

This is a good book filled with mystery, loyalty, legal procedures, dirty cops and family secrets.  I liked the main characters and the story line kept my interest.  

(Karen's review 12/18/14, 4 stars)  

 

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"Let The Tornado Come" by Rita Zoey Chin

In Let the Tornado Come by Rita Zoey Chin, we are told about Rita's childhood which was rough to say the least.  Now a married woman, she suffers panic attacks at every turn.  This read like a novel only it's true!  I loved this book and highly recommend it.  I was drawn into her stories and found myself rooting for her to get help.  Turns out an animal was a big help.  What kind?  You will have to read the book to find out (or Karen's review below)!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen read this too:
Let The Tornado Come by Rita Zoey Chin is a memoir about her dark childhood, her panic attacks and her journey to having a normal life she dreamed of with the help of horses. I almost quit on this book because her childhood was so awful! The abusive parents were bad, but the child prostitution and her life on the streets was horrible and disgusting. I felt bad for her and admired her courage to keep searching for a better life. The best part of the book was how she bonded with a horse named Claret. The thing that was most distracting to me was how the book kept jumping back and forth between the past and the present. Overall, it was pretty shocking to me and gave me some insight into a lifestyle that is very different from mine. (3 stars)

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"Suspicion" by Joseph Finder

Suspicion by Joseph Finder deals with a dad whose daughter attends an exclusive school.  When he cannot come up with the money for a school trip to Italy and falls behind on her tuition, another dad whose daughter attends the same school pays it for him.  Problem solved, or is it? 

This book is filled with twists and turns which make it a real good page turner.  I always wanted to pick it up to see what would happen next!  Do not miss this one!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is a story about a young boy who tragically loses his mom at a young age.  To remember her, he takes a picture from an art museum.  This book mostly centers on the boy growing up and his placing with his foster families and then his dad who ran off and came back.  The boy also becomes involved in the criminal world.  Does anyone miss the painting he stole?  

Although this book is long, don't let that deter you.  It is well worth the time.  I enjoyed it. 
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)
 
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