"Fifteen Minutes" by Karen Kingsbury

It's always good to start off the year with a good book and Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury fits the bill. This is a great takeoff on American Idol and how one young boy deals with fame and fortune.  I really cared about the characters and got into it right away.  This book shows that fame isn't all it's cracked up to be.  If you want a good read to kick start 2014, this is it.
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars) 

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!

Our Favorite Reads For 2013

 Happy New Year!  Does anyone really care what our favorite reads were  for 2013?  Oh well, here they are whether you care or not.  Between the two of us, we read over 200 books last year so please do not think that these few are the only ones we liked.  We chose these as our favorites, but it wasn't easy.


Since I didn't read too many non-fiction books, I didn't make a separate list of them like Gerard did.


If you want to see our review of any of our favorites, just enter the title (or author) in the search box at the top left.

Books we both liked from 2013:

Champion by Marie Lu
The Program by Suzanne Young
In the After by Demitri Lunetta
The Blood of Lambs--A Former Terrorist's Memoir of Death and Redemption by Kamal Saleem (non-fiction)
Touch and Go by Lisa Gardner
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Suspect by Robert Crais
Dinner With the Smileys by Sarah Smiley (non-fiction)

Have you read any of these? If not, hope you will this year. Happy Reading!

"League of Denial" by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru--Must Read for NFL Fans

League of Denial by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru tells the story about the lasting effects that constantly getting hit in the head have on NFL players and how the NFL continues to ignore this problem.  The best parts of this book are the ones that center on specific players.

Being a diehard NFL fan, I knew this stuff but this book gives great background on why these players took their own lives in some cases.  I waited a long time to read this book, but it was worth the wait!  If you love football, you should read this book.  You might get a new outlook next time you see a player get knocked out!  
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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!

"Never Fade" by Alexandra Bracken

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken is the sequel to The Darkest Minds which we both liked a lot.  First off, this book has way too much dirty language which I did not appreciate and took away my enjoyment of the book.  As for the plot, I was totally confused at the start and stayed that way until about page 150.  After that, this book was more like The Darkest Minds with plenty of action and surprises.  I never knew what was coming next!  The ending is very good and left me looking forward to the third book to see how it all plays out.

I give it 4 stars.  I would have given it 5 stars except the dirty language really bothered me.
(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!

"Sleepwalker" by Wendy Corsi Staub

Sleepwalker by Wendy Corsi Staub is all about a father who seeks revenge on people he feels are responsible for his son's imprisonment and subsequent death.  This book is gruesome and the killer is a real creepy mean person who goes to extreme lengths to make others lives miserable.  Allison McKenna's testimony at his son's trial is what convinced the jury to convict him so the father lives to make her pay.  Allison, Mack and their three little kids kept me reading.  Once Mack starts sleepwalking as a side effect from his medication, things start picking up and get very interesting.

This book started out slow for me and I almost gave up on it because of how mean and creepy the killer is.  It is not you basic who done it because right from the start you know who the killer is.  The "mystery" of it is if Allison and Mack will be able to stay safe and keep their happy family together.  I'm glad I finished it and didn't quit on it.  If you like creepy books, I recommend it.
(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!