"The Best of Me" by Nicholas Sparks

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks is the sad love story of Dawson and Amanda, two high school sweethearts who went separate ways.  Dawson was from an abusive family and had bullies for brothers but was not like them.  Amanda was from a well-to-do family who did not want her seeing Dawson.  They had a common friend, Tuck who was an old widower but who could see their love for each other so made arrangements for them to cross paths years later through his will,  Over the years, they still thought about each other and wondered what would have happened if they stayed together.  Dawson never married, but Amanda did, although she never had the passion with her husband that she had experienced with Dawson. 

The mixture of some fighting, a couple of ghosts and Tuck’s sweet memories all work to make this an interesting read.  I liked this one because it didn’t drag along.  I think it would have been better though if the author let the reader know Amanda’s family better.  It seemed he just threw them in at the end to wrap up the book with a neat little ending. 

 (Karen's review)

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. Happy Reading!

Hope you will visit our other blog, "Right Where We Belong" to see our Happy Easter Everyone post!

 We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during April to Paralyzed Veterans of America.

"Kill Switch" by Neal Baer and Jonathan Greene

In Kill Switch by Neal Baer and Jonathan Greene, Claire Waters, a forensic psychiatrist, has to deal with a serial killer and then has to face a danger that she faced years ago as a child. This book is awesome, a page turner for sure with an ending I did not see coming.  This one is a winner!
(Gerard's review)

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. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during April to Paralyzed Veterans of America.

"Downfall" by Terri Blackstock

Downfall by Terri Blackstock is the final book in the Emily Covington saga and it's a good one!  It had my interest from page one and only took me a day to read.  As usual with Terri's books, this has a strong Christian flavor which is not bad at all!  I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and look forward to her next novel.
(Gerard's review)

Karen read this too:
Downfall by Terri Blackstock is a Christian suspense novel that is the third book of the Emily Covington series.  The first two are Intervention and Vicious Cycle.  This is about Emily’s struggle to stay clean and figure out who is framing her.  She has been clean for two years, attends college, and works at a drug rehab facility. One day as she leaves for class, she finds a bomb attached to her car when it causes a fire.  The same morning, the wife of one of the addicts from the rehab place is killed while asleep in her bed.   This is a quick read about family, murder, revenge and love that is predictable but still pretty good.  

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. Happy Reading!

We linked up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop to respond to this prompt:  Book review time! Some people STILL read books…share one of your more recent reads and tell us what you thought!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during April to the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Tuesday Teasers: "The One and Only Ivan"; "Downfall"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

Gerard's:

"I don't want a zoo," Ruby says. "I want you and Bob and Julia. This is my home."
"No, Ruby," I say, "This is your prison."

From page 240 of The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

Karen's:

And she and her family would be terrorized. He'd make them homeless by making them fear their home, and that would just be the beginning.

From page 13 of Downfall by Terri Blackstock.

Happy Reading! We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during April to Paralyzed Veterans of America.

"The Vow" by Kim & Krickitt Carpenter (UPDATED)

The Vow by Kim & Krickitt Carpenter is an amazing story--WOW! The true story of this couple is really good. From their meeting through their courtship is something. After a horrible accident that through the grace of God they survived, they have to start all over again discovering who they are. Here's a teaser from the book for you from page 88:

The most agonizing question of all was: Would one of those things be me? I quickly put that thought from my mind. I couldn't bear to contemplate the fact that my wife might never remember me.

I loved this book and think it is a must read for all married couples. Thanks for sharing, Carpenters, and God bless your family!
(Gerard's review)

Karen's review:
The Vow by Kim and Krickitt Carpenter is a true love story. They share how the Lord helped them keep their commitment to each other through a tragic accident that resulted in memory loss and months of rehab. It is an inspirational true story to encourage all married couples to value their marriage, keep their marriage vows and look to God for help through the hard times. This is a quick read that drew me in right away. I could sympathize with both Kim and Krickett who were both seriously injured. Although much of the book is sad, I knew it had a happy ending so kept reading and am glad I did!

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. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during April to Paralyzed Veterans of America.