Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I liked this book. I liked Eleanor but I did find it a little long and I'm more of a thriller reader so it dragged some but what a read.

I may come back for a better review but I have a killer headache right now.

I would recommend this book. I ran through several emotions and I thought all the characters were well developed.

The Child Next Door by Shalini Boland

2.5/5

A 2-star rating is "it was okay" and this book was just that for me.  The end was a bit redeeming but I did not like Kirstie.  She was a bit too over-the-top for my liking.  A single picture proves nothing.

Kirstie is a tired, new mom.  Her daughter, Daisy is 6mos old.  One day Kirstie is dozing off on the couch when she hears a baby crying (which wakes her) and then through the baby monitor she hears "let's just take the baby and go".  That was the beginning of the end for Kirstie.  She just about lost her mind thinking someone was trying to steal her baby because, after all, there are no other babies on their street so they must be talking about taking Daisy, right?  She was going crazy.  She was irrational and irritating.

There were accusations made, trust betrayed and broken promises.

And, I'm not even certain that the epilogue even needed to exist but how creepy was that?

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

I was approved by Netgalley and the publisher to read this book, thank you!!

Expected publication is January 8, 2019 - don't miss this one!

It doesn't get more psychological than a smart psychologist conducting a morality study.  What if the psychologist was married to another psychologist?

Jessica Farris is a make-up artist in NYC trying to make ends meet while also helping her parents with some of their bills.  When Jess hears about a morality study she's stressing about money, like she always does, so she takes matters into her own hands to become part of this study for the extra cash.  She's required to go to a classroom and answer some questions, honestly.  That's it.  Until she's invited to go further in the study and hey, the compensation is great but... just know that all that glitters is not gold.

    "When money and morality intersect, the results can illuminate intriguing truths about human character."

It will leave you guessing.  Dr. Shields is good.

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

I'd give this one 3.5/5 stars.  I didn't round up because there are lot of unanswered questions at the end of this one and the ending confused me.  Maybe there's going to be a sequel that answers all of our questions.

The book starts with Erin digging a grave with her dead husband next to her.  As I read, I couldn't fathom how Mark would die.  The book then backs up a little and gives you foresight into how they got to that point.

Erin and Mark are on their honeymoon.  They make a startling discovery when they find Something in the Water (see what I did there?).  The choices they make along the way might startle you but nothing will prepare you for the end.

Tampax - LOL - if you read it, you know.

I'm really enjoying the audio books.  This book was narrated by the author, Catherine Steadman, and I loved her voice.  It was really easy to listen to and read well. 

I still wonder if a book rating would change for me if I were to read it first instead of listening to it first but it's not something I'll ever be able to find out since you can only read/listen to a book as a virgin once.  After that, you know.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Took me a long time to finish this one due to many factors, including out-of-state company.

I thought this was a good book, a mystery that was told in alternating times, 2014 and 1950.

1950, Idlewild Hall, a school for troubled girls.  Katie, CeCe, Roberta and Sonia are roommates who learn to lean on each other and become best friends.  When one of them goes missing, the girls stop at nothing to find her.

2014, Fiona Sheridan, a journalist, is still going over the death of her sister, Deb, that happened 20yrs prior.  Deb's boyfriend went to jail for her murder but Fiona just can not let it rest.  When Fiona finds out that Idlewild Hall is being restored, she decides to write a story about it.  A shocking discovery and what she finds out along the way will forever connect the two and the town will never be the same.


Honestly, I could've done without Mary Hand.  She was creepy, sure, but the unrealistic way that she was portrayed and the things she "showed" you just was a little much for me.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

WOW. This book. You know I don't generally read books in this genre but the last two have totally roped me in. There was no putting this book down; I read it every chance I had. I think the sci-fi genre gets me because they could tell me just about anything and I wouldn't know any better.

I don't even know how to review this but if you like a good thriller with some sci-fi thrown in, the author does explain things pretty well, then read this one.

I will never think of things the same way ever again and I won't dare take my life for granted. lol

Probably the best book I read all year.

***I read this book in September 2016 but I realized that it was never added to my blog and it absolutely deserves a spot because I still think about this one.  If you haven't read it yet, you MUST.

Mine by J.L. Butler

3.5/5

Let me start by saying that I love silhouettes on the cover like this one. I don't know what it is but I seem to be drawn to them.

"In this riveting tale of psychological suspense, a divorce lawyer risks her career, her sanity, and her life when she falls into an illicit, all-consuming affair with her client-who becomes the primary suspect in his estranged wife's sudden disappearance."

This was a good book. I thought the affair was a little over-the-top. She had a lot at risk and she barely knew this guy, Martin Joy, but she's smart. When she put a plan into motion, all the pieces start falling into place but it almost cost her her life.

I rounded my rating down and not up because I thought it was redundant at times.

Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood

Florence Sally Horner, 1948

I'd never heard this name before yet, it's a true crime story.  Once I hit the end and read some of the author notes, I was floored.  I immediately googled and found that this really happened.  How sad.

Sally just wanted to belong so when she saw the girls at school prick their fingers to become "blood sisters" she wanted to be a part of that as well.  She finally got up the nerve to ask but the girls were cruel and expecting an initiation before she could be one of them.  They told her she had to steal something from Woolworth's and when she did, she was caught by a man, Frank LaSalle, who sat at the counter and said he was from the FBI.  She was petrified and willing to do what he instructed so she could make up for what she did.  For months and months, he promised to take her to see the judge.  He told her lie after lie making promise after promise until over the months / years Sally got a little wiser and started questioning him.  What she found was appalling.

As a mom, this is so scary to see how "easy" this was for Frank to pull off.

Sally was also the inspiration behind the disturbing book, Lolita.

What a stunning cover as well.  Definite recommend from me!

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

I have wanted to read a Jennifer Hillier book for a long time now, specifically the Creep series and I just haven't.  I'm going to be bumping them up my forever growing TBR list.

"This is the story of three best friends: one who was murdered, one who went to prison, and one who's been searching for the truth all these years . . ."

Told in 5 disturbing parts at the perfect pace.

The parts the author doesn't want you to know about are hidden from us in such a way that you don't see it coming.  I enjoyed the story even though it was highly disturbing at times and I don't know what's preventing me from giving a full 5 stars.  I will sleep on this one for a day or two and see if I don't need to adjust my rating in that time.

With that said, it's a definite recommend.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I'm convinced that Ernest Cline is a genius (as is Wade Watts).

The book was brilliant, yet wordy. I was getting tired of all the descriptions and being as I listened to this on audio, I couldn't exactly skim over those parts as I probably would have if I read the book.

I've wanted to read this for a long time and then my son read it and I figured I should now step up and read it so we could talk about it. Reading it after him, yikes. It's labeled YA, he's 11.5 and I figured that he was reading so the good outweigh the bad but some of the scenes made me cringe as I listened to it knowing that he read the same.

There's not much to say about the book that hasn't already been said. I couldn't always wrap my brain around this massive virtual reality (especially at the beginning, it got a little easier as I went) game. I'm not a gamer but man if I wasn't relating to stuff I hear my kids say when playing Fortnite. LOL

All of the 80's references were wonderful.

Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for giving me a copy of this book to read on my Kindle!!  I loved it!  Every word.

This book gets ALL the stars from me.

I love Jane.  A known, self diagnosed, sociopath with the need for revenge.   She's brave, daring, cunning and smart.  Jane doesn't live in the states but she's come back when a position opens up as a data entry clerk in Steven's office.

She has plans for Steven.

This may be my favorite book this year.  I'm really hoping for a sequel.  Anyone out there that reads my reviews, I highly recommend this one.

A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo

4.5/5 - This book was written really well which is why I rounded my rating up and not down.  The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 stars is because I was able to read between the lines and figure out "who done it" by a certain point.

This book is not easy to read.  It's starts with a suicide,  someone is burned alive, there's rape and  murder; it's tough and Kate Burkholder has her work cut out for her.  The Amish like to keep their secrets and coupled with her own past, it's not an easy case by any means for her.  As she very slowly puts 2 & 2 together, her own life is put in jeopardy.

If you haven't already started this series, I highly recommend it.  It's one I look forward to every year and I'm never disappointed.

In The Vines by Shannon Kirk

What a stunning cover.

After seeing this book all over Instagram, I found that I was able to request a copy from Netgalley and was approved. I was excited to start this as soon as I got it so thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy.

Dark dark dark, just the way I like them. It wasn't an easy read for me though. It was all over the place and some of it was quite unbelievable to me BUT the rest of the book was whacked, also, just the way I like them so it's a little difficult for me to review. I will say, at times, it was gory so be aware of this.

The book is told in alternating narratives and time frames (past and present) with Mary Olivia Pentecost (MOP for short) as one of our narrators and Aunty Liv Vandonbeer as the other one. It's a story of one of the wealthiest and closest New England families and what's happened over the past 2 years. I'll give you a hint. Lies were told. Crimes were committed. There was love and death.

Sidenote: I love that Aunty has a "Glory hole" in her kitchen while mine is just a "junk drawer".

A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay

I liked it but that's about it.  I wasn't wowed like I have been in the past by Linwood Barclay.

One night when Paul Davis sees his colleague, Kenneth Hoffman, driving a little erratic, he pulls over when he pulls over to make sure that everything is okay but what he sees is more disturbing than he could ever imagine.  Ultimately he ends up struggling with PTSD but it isn't until his wife, Charlotte, brings home a typewriter for him to use to write about what happened that night that he really starts questioning his own sanity.

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

4.5/5
I'm a huge Diane Chamberlain fan. She never disappoints me so I was thrilled to see this was a 'read now' on Netgalley and snatched it right up.  Thank you Netgalley!

Now, I'm also someone who reads blind; I rarely read the synopsis.  I trust certain authors and genres, the reviews of others, ratings; I follow the buzz and I love a good cover and this doesn't always work to my advantage, as you can imagine.  To say that I was blind-sided to find out that this book was about time travel is an understatement.  I had no idea.  I can't recall ever reading a book with time travel.

"If I'd learned anything in the last day, it was that the love of a mother could make a hero out of an everyday woman."

It is 1970 when Caroline is told that her baby has a heart defect and won't live long outside of the womb.  Rightfully, she's devastated.  She just lost her husband in Vietnam and this baby was a piece of him, it would be cruel to lose them both.  Her brother-in-law, Hunter, then tells her of a way but what he explains to her is unthinkable.  Impossible.

It was a little mushy at times and I felt it stalled out once, which is ultimately what prevented me from giving it 5 stars but Diane Chamberlain is a master at story telling.

Dear Carolina by Kristy Woodson Harvey

"My belly might've reached dern near to Tennessee when I faced west, but that didn't mean that I couldn't think a boy was cute."

"Pauline came in carrying Alex, and I could tell by the way her lips were moving that she was praying harder than a sinner on his deathbed."

I rate this book 4 stars based on the fact that I was highly amused through the whole book. I thought this feel-good story was predictable which is why I couldn't give it 5 - everyone knows I don't like predictable - but I did like the characters and the story plus I chuckled throughout which is a plus.

I'm going to recommend this one to anyone who likes feel-good southern fiction.

Here is the link to my review on Goodreads.

#dearcarolina

When The Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

I first requested this book on Netgalley and never heard back from them... then I entered a contest that Mary Kubica was having on Twitter and I ended up winning an ARC - thank you, Mary!  I'm a huge fan so I was thrilled.  Then, about two weeks later, I unexpectedly heard from Netgalley that I had access to read this book.  I had to read it right away.

There's no doubt that I love Mary Kubica and once again, she did not let me down.

After Jessie's mother, Eden, passes away, she begins to build a life of her own trying to fulfill her mother's last wishes to find herself by applying to college and renting a new apartment.  It's not until she gets a call from the college (and subsequently, an online search for answers) that sends her in a tail spin not knowing what to think causing many sleepless nights in a row.  Constantly wondering who her dad is, she tries to find him, she needs to know but as her body wears down from lack of sleep, Jessie can't tell what real or just figments of her imagination leaving the reader just as vulnerable.

The story is told in alternating POV between then and now, between Jessie and Eden.  It's one that I think you'll enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ms. Kubica for the chance to read this one early!

Expected publication: September 4th 2018.