Tuesday, May 29, 2012

These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen

I'd like to rate this one with 3.5 stars. 

Apparently I forgot to write a review for These Girls and now I'm a little foggy since reading a book after it.  This is why I write the reviews within a day.

A quick summary... 3 girls - Cate, Renee, and Abby - all struggling in their lives for various reasons are pulled together to help one another out in the Big City.

The book touches on some serious subjects yet Pekkanen's sense of humor shines through, love her sense of humor!

Definite recommend!

Pineville Heist by Lee Chambers

Hmmm, this was book was over-the-top suspenseful but I thought some of the characters were over developed while some of them were under developed.  The book was a little amateurish to me with the way things were worded or the use of underlining, bold and exclamation points to make a statement appear more intense when it didn't need it.  It also felt rushed.

With that said, I did like the book and I was caught up in the suspense and twists.

The book is about a boy, Aaron, and his friends who witness a murder after a bank robbery.  They flee back to the school and get caught inside with the bad guys.  It was a mess.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

Don't pass this one up!  I LOVED this book....EVERY word of it.  This is another one of those books that I would give more than 5 stars too if I could.  I liked it even more than The Help, which is a fair comparison to some extent.

This book was set in the 1800's and was about a little girl, Elizabeth (or Lisbeth) and her wet nurse, Mattie, who became very attached to each other over the years.  Their bond was like no other and then one day Mattie fled in hopes to be free.  Over the years Lisbeth longed to know if Mattie was ok, to know if she made it to Ohio safely but 10 yrs would pass without a word.

I don't want to give too much away in my review but I didn't want this book to end.  I loved the characters and I wanted more.  In a word, Excellent!

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

A review...  for The Glass Castle.  What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said.

"You know, it's really not that hard to put food on the table if that's what you decide to do."

I couldn't give the book 5 stars because while I read it, I felt too much hatred and disappointment in the parents.  There wasn't much depth to the book either, just many and many layers of why we should hate these parents to the point that, at times, it felt repetitive .

I did feel happy towards the end when the girls got to New York and then how they all stuck together.  I loved the kids determination to make something of themselves and how they succeeded.

Monday, May 14, 2012

11th Hour by James Patterson

I'm not sure I ever gave a Women's Murder Club book less than a 4 star rating and here we are with a 3. I'm not sure why. I wasn't a bad book but I only "liked" it.

Of course I have a hard time with reviewing these books because there is so much going on in one book and this one is no different. Boxer is pregnant but it doesn't stop her from taking 2 cases and dealing with rumors that a scummy reporter keeps reporting. One case we have an open ended mystery (and a lot of heads) without a clue in sight that might never be solved and another that involves a vigilante who is killing drug dealers on the street.

Will Boxer and Conklin solve the cases? Maybe with the help of 3 other women... maybe.

Monday, May 7, 2012

All the difference by Kaira Rouda

I'd like to give this book 3.5 stars.... I liked how there was this mysterious back story going on that kept you guessing about who they were talking about and where it was going. One thing that was a little hard for me was keeping track of all the characters that were introduced at the beginning but about 1/3 of the way through, I was finally able to keep them straight. lol

The book has love, hate, betrayal, sex and intrigue. You think you're getting chick-lit and end up with a murder mystery. There was one sentence in the book that helped me with the mystery so I had it figured out but if you don't catch that, this book is going to leave you guessing until the very end... so many possible motives.

Thanks for a good book Kaira!