Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Woman In Shadow Book Review

 


Woman in Shadow

By: Carrie Stuart Parks

Tom Nelson--Fiction

Thomas Nelson

Christian/Mystery &  Thriller

Publish Date July 13, 2021

#WomaninShadow#NetGally

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/5d0c9d0fccf0e4ac2a95598542e70f18c68d2424" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

My copy from NetGalley and I am grateful to them and the publisher for receiving a copy. 

I gave this book 5 stars. I loved it and couldn't put it down. I am a day late in posting my review by the publish date but that is due my work schedule not the book.

I have never read a book by this author before but heard great things about her so decided to see if I could get an E-Arc to give her try. I am so glad I did.

This book had me on the edge of my seat. There is a minor love story in this book but it isn't the main focus. 

This book is about a resort that has come into some issues and the main character is assigned to look into it as a way of graduating from a program is in. The main character is dealing with PTSD from an incident that happened five years earlier. Other things are happening in the area like arson and murder. Are the three combined incidents or are they separate. You go on a wild ride to find out.

This story is dealing with PTSD and I thought the author did a great job. Then again I don't know a whole lot about this , but have heard about it.

I would highly recommend that you read this book because I am going to continue reading her new books and back list.

Thanks again NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me a the opportunity to read this book.


Sunday, July 11, 2021

Dear George, Dear Mary Book Review

 


Dear George, Dear Mary

By Mary Calvi

St. Martin's Press

Publish Date February 2019


I would like to thank Goodread for running a give away and being one of the winners of this ARC.

I am sorry it took me so long to get around to reading it. That was not my intention but life happens.

I have to say I didn't know too much about Mary Philipse. I didn't realize that she was a big part of George's life before he met and married Martha. 

With saying that I only gave this book 3 stars. I just didn't like how the story was presented. I have read a lot about George Washington and his life and I am surprised that he had an interest in her when he had strong feelings Sally Fairfax. I like my Historical Fiction to be factually correct.  I would have preferred it to be just a fiction book without the historical attached to it.  I do believe that the letters are true but not the romance part.

Would I recommend this book, yes as long they know that it isn't historically correct. 

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Incense and Sensibility Book Review

 


Incense and Sensibility

A Novel

By: Sonali Dev

William Morrow and Custom House

William Morrow Paperbacks

General Fiction(Adult)/Romance/Women's Fiction

Publish Date July 6, 2021

#IncenseandSensibility#NetGalley

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/5d0c9d0fccf0e4ac2a95598542e70f18c68d2424" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

I would like to thank NetGalley for letting me review this book. I would also like to thank the book club girl page on Facebook who brought it tom my attention.

Unfortunately I was unable to read this book to the finish. I just couldn't finish it. I did get 25% of the way through. I gave this book 1 star. I will put the full blame on me because I didn't fully look into this book before I requested it. I didn't realize it was book 3 in a series. The title should have been a clue for that it is based off a Jane Austin and I am not a fan of hers.

What I did like was that you could read this book as a standalone if you wanted. I also like the family dynamics and close friendship.

You already know why I didn't it because it is a Jane Austin reimagining of Sense and Sensibility.

I would recommend if one you have read her other books in this series and enjoyed them. And second if you like Jane Austin.


Sunday, July 4, 2021

The Grandmother Plot Book Review

  

The Grandmother Plot

A Novel

By: Caroline B. Cooney

Poisoned Pen Press

Mystery/Thriller

Publish Date July 6, 2021

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/5d0c9d0fccf0e4ac2a95598542e70f18c68d2424" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

I am so glad that I received an e-arc of this book from NetGalley. I have always like her writing. Unfortunately I wasn't a big fan of this book. I only gave it 3 stars.

This book is mainly set in a nursing home for the memory impaired. The main character is Freddy who is a druggie and in charge of his Grandmother because one his is the youngest of four children and doesn't have a family or a solid job. He makes his living making glass beads and bongs. He does a great job designing unusual bongs and gets high bids on his Instagram account.

His visits his Grandmother at least once a week at the nursing home for about an hour and then spends the rest of his time smoking weed and hanging around not doing much. He is also dealing with a dealer who wants him to finish up an agreement on with shows for his beads.

One day when he visits his grandmother one of the residents dies and the police are looking into the death and they deem it murder because of the results of the autopsy. 

This makes Freddy visit every day and having to deal with his sisters who want him to bring her home and for him to take care of her because he doesn't have anything else to do. He isn't sure what to do but  knows he can't take care of her like she needs.

This book goes into some of the resident's lives and their families  who are close to Freddy.

Freddy has a lot going on and he is scared. There is a lot happening in this book and there are some twist. The murderer isn't who I thought it was so that is always a good thing.

There just were a lot of people to keep track of and too much time on Freddy issues. I am still trying to figure why the book was titled this because it didn't seem to fit.

I will continue to read her books because I like her writing.

Friday, July 2, 2021

Last June Book Haul

 

These are the rest of the books I bought in the month of June. I bought these from Sam Club, Wal-Mart and Amazon. One I received from give away. One I got in my Book and Treasure Box.


The Lost and Found Bookshop By: Susan Wiggs. I picked up this book from Sam's Club. This is what the book cover has to say.

In the wake of a shocking tragedy, Natalie Harper inherits her mother’s charming but financially strapped bookshop in San Francisco. She also becomes caretaker for her ailing grandfather Andrew, her only living relative—not counting her scoundrel father.

But the gruff, deeply kind Andrew has begun displaying signs of decline. Natalie thinks it’s best to move him to an assisted living facility to ensure the care he needs. To pay for it, she plans to close the bookstore and sell the derelict but valuable building on historic Perdita Street, which is in need of constant fixing. There’s only one problem–Grandpa Andrew owns the building and refuses to sell. Natalie adores her grandfather; she’ll do whatever it takes to make his final years happy. Besides, she loves the store and its books provide welcome solace for her overwhelming grief.

After she moves into the small studio apartment above the shop, Natalie carries out her grandfather’s request and hires contractor Peach Gallagher to do the necessary and ongoing repairs. His young daughter, Dorothy, also becomes a regular at the store, and she and Natalie begin reading together while Peach works.

To Natalie’s surprise, her sorrow begins to dissipate as her life becomes an unexpected journey of new connections, discoveries and revelations, from unearthing artifacts hidden in the bookshop’s walls, to discovering the truth about her family, her future, and her own heart.


The Nature of Witches By: Rachel Griffin

I also got this book from Sam's Club. This is what the book cover has to say.

For centuries, witches have maintained the climate, but now their control is faltering as the atmosphere becomes more erratic; the storms, more destructive. All hope lies with Clara, a once-in-a-generation Everwitch whose magic is tied to every season.

In Autumn, Clara wants nothing to do with her power. It's wild and volatile, and the price of her magic―losing the ones she loves―is too high, despite the need to control the increasingly dangerous weather.

In Winter, the world is on the precipice of disaster. Fires burn, storms rage, and Clara accepts that she's the only one who can make a difference.

In Spring, she falls for Sang, the witch training her. As her magic grows, so do her feelings, until she's terrified Sang will be the next one she loses.

In Summer, Clara must choose between her power and her happiness, her duty and the people she loves...before she loses Sang, her magic, and thrusts the world into chaos.


The Darkness That Comes Before By: R. Scott Bakker

I received this book from my Books and Treasure Box. This is what the book cover has to say.

Strikingly original in its conception, ambitious in scope, with characters engrossingly and vividly drawn, the first book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series creates a remarkable world from whole cloth-its language and classes of people, its cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals-the kind of all-embracing universe Tolkien and Herbert created unforgettably in the epic fantasies The Lord of the Rings and Dune. It's a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both two thousand years past and two thousand years into the future, as untold thousands gather for a crusade. Among them, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasûrimbor Kellhus—part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence—from lands long thought dead. The Darkness That Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.


Take Me Home Tonight By: Morgan Matson

I picked this up at Wal-Mart. This is what the book cover has to say.

Kat and Stevie—best friends, theater kids, polar opposites—have snuck away from the suburbs to spend a night in New York City. They have it all planned out. They’ll see a play, eat at the city’s hottest restaurant, and have the best. Night. Ever. What could go wrong?

Well. Kind of a lot?

They’re barely off the train before they’re dealing with destroyed phones, family drama, and unexpected Pomeranians. Over the next few hours, they’ll have to grapple with old flames, terrible theater, and unhelpful cab drivers. But there are also cute boys to kiss, parties to crash, dry cleaning to deliver (don’t ask), and the world’s best museum to explore.

Over the course of a wild night in the city that never sleeps, both Kat and Stevie will get a wake-up call about their friendship, their choices…and finally discover what they really want for their future.

That is, assuming they can make it to Grand Central before the clock strikes midnight.



Spells Trouble By: P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

I also got this from Wal-Mart. I also received an e-arc from NetGalley. This is what the book cover has to say.

Double double, twins spell trouble…

Hunter and Mercy Goode are twin witches, direct descendants of the founder of their town of Goodeville. As their ancestors have done before them, it is now time for the twins to learn what it means to be Gatekeepers–the protectors of the Gates to different underworlds, ancient portals between their world and realms where mythology rules and nightmares come to life.

When their mother becomes the first victim in a string of murders, the devastated sisters vow to avenge her death. But it will take more than magic to rein in the ancient mythological monsters who’ve infected their peaceful town.

Now Hunter and Mercy must come together and accept their destiny or risk being separated for good.


Olympus Texas By: Stacey Swann

I was one of ten winners for this book. This is what the book cover has to say.

The Briscoe family is once again the talk of their small town when March returns to East Texas two years after he was caught having an affair with his brother's wife. His mother, June, hardly welcomes him back with open arms. Her husband's own past affairs have made her tired of being the long-suffering spouse. Is it, perhaps, time for a change? Within days of March's arrival, someone is dead, marriages are upended, and even the strongest of alliances are shattered. In the end, the ties that hold them together might be exactly what drag them all down.

An expansive tour de force, Olympus, Texas cleverly weaves elements of classical mythology into a thoroughly modern family saga, rich in drama and psychological complexity. After all, at some point, don't we all wonder: What good is this destructive force we call love?


A Thief Among The Trees By: Sabaa Tahir

I ordered this off of Amazon when I realized it was a prequel to the Ember In Ashes Series.

This is what the book cover has to say.

Elias, Helene and Tavi are Fivers --in training to become elite military recruits for the Martial Empire at Blackcliff Academy. When they’re sent on a dangerous mission to steal a heavily-guarded poison on Isle South, they soon find themselves up against surprising enemies -- including other recruits. As the true horror of their assignment is revealed, these three will begin to confront the harrowing realities of Martial rule, their place in the system . . . and the choices they must make to survive.
 
New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir joins writer Nicole Andelfinger and artist Sonia Liao for an all-new original graphic novel revealing an early tale of Elias and Helene at Blackcliff, and a stirring standalone chapter in the An Ember in the Ashes mythology.



Annelies By: David R, Gillham 

I ordered this off of amazon when I heard it was about Anne Frank.

A powerful and deeply humane new novel that asks the question, What if Anne Frank survived the Holocaust?

The year is 1945, and Anne Frank is sixteen years old. Having survived the concentration camps but lost her mother and sister, she reunites with her father, Pim, in newly liberated Amsterdam. But it's not easy to fit the pieces of their life back together. Anne is adrift, haunted by the ghosts of the horrors they experienced, while Pim is fixated on returning to normalcy. Her beloved diary has been lost, and her dreams of becoming a writer seem distant and pointless now.

As Anne struggles to overcome the brutality of memory and build a new life for herself, she grapples with heartbreak, grief, and ultimately the freedom of forgiveness. A story of trauma and redemption, Annelies honors Anne Frank's legacy as not only a symbol of hope and perseverance, but also a complex young woman of great ambition and heart.

Anne Frank is a cultural icon whose diary painted a vivid picture of the Holocaust and made her an image of humanity in one of history's darkest moments. But she was also a person-a precocious young girl with a rich inner life and tremendous skill as a writer. In this masterful new novel, David R. Gillman explores with breathtaking empathy the woman-and the writer-she might have become.


Wolfsong By: T. J. Klune

I ordered this off of Amazon because one I kept hearing about it and two I really enjoyed his book On The Cerulean Sea. This is what the book cover has to say.

Ox was twelve when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.

Ox was sixteen when he met the boy on the road, the boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane.

Ox was seventeen when he found out the boy’s secret, and it painted the world around him in colors of red and orange and violet, of Alpha and Beta and Omega.

Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his bloodred eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces.

It’s been three years since that fateful day—and the boy is back. Except now he’s a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.


Have you read any of these books? If so what did you think about them? If you interested in buddy reading any of these let me know.

Until next time keep reading.


Josephine Baker's Last Dance Review

 

Josephine Baker's Last Dance

By: Sherry Jones

Simon and Schuster

Fiction

Published in 2018

I received an arc review from  a Goodread Giveaway. 

I gave this book 3 stars. This book is about Josephine's life. I am not sure why it is label as fiction, because it read as a memoir. Josephine did not have an easy life growing up in the early 1900's. Her mom was abusive and had her working outside the home to bring in money at an early age. At 13 she was pregnant and married for the first time.  I did enjoy reading about the history of that time and how she was treated as a person of color. She always stated that her daddy was white but her skin didn't reveal any of that.

What I didn't like was that she was actually a little stuck up. She believed herself to be better than anyone else. She was also involved in a lot of married men. What really got me was that she was married for the second and cheated on her husband but had a fit when she found out her husband was doing the same thing.

I do enjoy reading about public figure who want to make the world a better place. I just don't know why I wasn't enjoying this book as much as I hoped to.

Thursday, July 1, 2021

The Reckless 1: The Petrified Flesh Book Review

 

The Reckless 1: The Petrified Flesh

By: Cornelia Funke

Pushkin Press

Pushkin Children's Books

Teens and YA

Publish Date June 8, 2021

#Reckless1ThePetrifiedFlesh#NetGalley

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/5d0c9d0fccf0e4ac2a95598542e70f18c68d2424" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

I gave this book 3 stars. I almost DNF'd it. This was a different than I am used to reading by her. It has a lot fairytales elements to it and I did enjoy that. It was a slow read for me and I started out being lost because I didn't know the back story. I don't know if there is a book before this one with the back story because it would have been helpful.

This story is about two brothers. One of the brother's is a treasure hunter who goes through a magic mirror into a fairyland which isn't all that safe. The other follows him to help with one of his hunt and is somehow poisoned which is causing his skin to change into stone. 

He goes up to the mirror and somehow his girlfriend finds him and he pulls her to this world. Jacob the treasure hunter doesn't want her in the land but she refuses to leave Will the other brother. There is a shape shifter who advises Jacob to keep her in the land because she will be needed to both Will and maybe them since she knows some medicine stuff. As you can tell it was very confusing without a back story.

Will is highly valuable and sought after because his skin is turning into a Jade stone. There are a lo of adventures and struggles.

Does Jacob save his brother? You will have to read the story to find out. If you find a book before this I would highly suggust you read that book story first.