"Her Last Breath" by J. A. Schneider

In Her Last Breath by J. A. Schneider, Mari wakes up in bed in a strange room with a dead man she does not know next to her who has a knife in his chest.  She remembers nothing!  Did she do it or is this a set up?  This book is pretty good.  Mari was a good lead character and I really cared about her.  The story had a good flow and it kept me guessing!  The ending was okay.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)


Karen's review of 12/29/17:
Her Last Breath by J. A. Schneider is a page-turning murder mystery. Mari, who is separated from her husband, wakes up on a bed in a strange room with blood all over her, her dress torn and next to a dead guy she doesn’t know who has a knife in his chest! To top it off, she has asthma and cannot find her inhaler. While looking for it, she passes out and wakes to another strange man who is trying to save her. The cops arrest her for the guy’s murder because her fingerprints were on the knife. The guy who saved her life is a former cop, currently a construction worker named Jay. Mari’s husband, Ted who is a lawyer, comes to the hospital and volunteers to defend her. Mari gets to the point of being paranoid and not knowing who to trust!

Teaser from page 1: She froze; gasped. Couldn’t take in air seeing his black hair, his chest hidden under a tent of bloodied sheet.

I got hooked on this book right from the start and was surprised with the ending. I did not figure out who the murderer was although it was obvious someone was setting Mari up. I hope to find more books by this author and highly recommend this one if you enjoy a good mystery. She has a series of standalone thrillers with the same cops as are in this one.
(5 stars)


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"Where the Forest Meets the Stars" by Glendy Vanderah

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah, is an interesting story about love.  A very smart little girl claiming to be an alien shows up at Jo's cottage with a wild story, no shoes and dirty clothes.  Jo tries to find out her name, but the girl refuses to say.  After searching missing person websites with no success, she grows attached to the child.  Gabe, a neighbor, allows the girl to visit his farm animals and she also becomes attached to Gabe.

This is a good story but moved a bit slow for my taste.  I liked the girl though and it kept my interest because I wanted to see how things would turn out.  I liked the ending.  It's more than just the mystery about the girl though.  It's also about walls people put up and how even adults are sometimes afraid to let people in.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

In Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah, Joanna is doing graduate research in the forest alone, the way she likes it!  One day a young girl shows up.  Who is she?  Joanna goes to the police, but gets no help.  Looks at missing children files and finds nothing!  Joanna lets her stay until she finds out who she is.

I thought this book was very good!  I was into it the whole way and really cared about the characters.  It moved right along.  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Teaser from page 3:  Jo could see her eyes now.  The intelligent glint in her gaze was oddly shrewd for her baby face, and Jo took that as a sign that she knew it was all in fun.  "If you're an alien, why do you look human?"

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"A Heart So Fierce and Broken" by Brigid Kemmerer

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer is the second book of this series about Rhen, Grey and Harper.  In this book, the main characters are Grey, Lila Mara and Hunter's brother and friend--Jacob and Noah.  The focus is on Grey's secret and the efforts of Lila Mara's country to form an alliance with Rhen.  Will there be war or can a peace agreement be reached?  Will Grey and Lila fall in love, perhaps rule together?  How will Rhen protect his people?

I enjoyed this book as well, especially since I like Grey and this was all about him.  There was fighting, new relationships formed and a cliff hanging ending.  Can't wait to read the next book in the series!  I was somewhat disappointed in the small part Harper had in this book; however, I did like Lila Mara and found myself routing for her and Grey.  I also liked the scarver, Iisak who brought another facet to the story.  There was not a lot of magic in this one, just a little here and there.  I enjoyed Jacob's brother in this and the banter between him and Grey.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review:
A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmererfocuses on Grey, the former captain of the guards protecting Rhen.  Lia Mara is the new character in this book that plays a main role along with Grey.  She tries to make a peaceful alliance with Rhen, but appears to have failed.  I thought this book was very, very good!  I enjoyed the interaction among all the characters.  The pacing of the book is very good also so I am looking forward to book 3!  (5++ stars)

See our review of the first book in this series, A Curse So Dark and Lonely.

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"Bravelands--The Spirit-Eaters" by Erin Hunter

You can never go wrong with an Erin Hunter book!  Bravelands--The Spirit-eaters has talking animals!  Bravelands faces danger like it has never known before.  A pack of wolves has broken "the code."  They must be stopped, but by whom? and how? 

I enjoyed this book very much.  It flows along well and has plenty of action.  It has maps on the inside covers.  It looks like a book two is coming which I am happy about.
(Gerard Zemek, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 10:  "They didn't eat anything of their kills--nothing, except the heart.  These wolves, they believe that when they eat a creature's heart, they take its spirit and its abilities."

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"Dear Edward" by Ann Napolitano

In Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano, a young boy named Edward is the only person to survive a plane crash.  The reader gets two stories:  (1) Edward's life after the crash, and (2) the story of some other people on the plane, including Edward's family.  I liked this book because I enjoyed both of the story lines and the writing.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 27:  "Well, just so you know, several Facebook pages have sprung up, devoted to either the flight or to Edward.  There was also a Twitter account called @miracleboy, with Edward's face as the avatar, but that's been taken down."

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