2015 Book #108 – If You’re Lucky by Yvonne Prinz

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Thriller by rebeccabook17

Title: If You’re Lucky
Author: Yvonne Prinz
Date finished: 10/15/15
Genre: Psychological thriller
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20, 2015
Pages in book: 278
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Is Georgia’s mind playing tricks on her, or is the entire town walking into the arms of a killer who has everyone but her fooled?
When seventeen-year-old Georgia’s brother drowns while surfing halfway around the world in Australia, she refuses to believe that Lucky’s death was just bad luck. Lucky was smart. He wouldn’t have surfed in waters more dangerous than he could handle. Then a stranger named Fin arrives in False Bay, claiming to have been Lucky’s best friend. Soon Fin is working for Lucky’s father, charming Lucky’s mother, dating Lucky’s girlfriend. Georgia begins to wonder: Did Fin murder her brother in order to take over his whole life?
Determined to clear the fog from her mind in order to uncover the truth about Lucky’s death, Georgia secretly stops taking the medication that keeps away the voices in her head. She is certain she’s getting closer and closer to the truth about Fin, but as she does, her mental state becomes more and more precarious, and no one seems to trust what she’s saying.
As the chilling narrative unfolds, the reader must decide whether Georgia’s descent into madness is causing her to see things that don’t exist–or to see the deadly truth.

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is about Georgia, a seventeen year old girl whose brother (Lucky) dies suddenly in Australia while surfing. Georgia has trouble dealing with her brother’s death, and her lack of control makes her want to stop taking her medication for her previously diagnosed schizophrenia. And then a boy named Fin starts hanging around more. And he inserts himself in what used to be Lucky’s life. Befriends his friends, takes his old jobs, starts dating his girlfriend, makes nice with Georgia’s parents. It seems like every time she turns around, Fin is filling up the hole that Lucky left behind. But something doesn’t feel right to Georgia. So many pieces of Fin’s story don’t add up and Georgia starts to wonder if maybe Lucky’s death wasn’t so accidental after all.
Overall I really liked this book. It was riveting and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I thought it was really interesting to hear the story from Georgia’s point of view since (especially once she stopped taking her meds) it was sometimes difficult to tell what was real and what wasn’t. Normally that would have frustrated me to no end but in this story it just made me all the more interested. I didn’t care as much as to what was real and what wasn’t because it was all real to Georgia and she and I were in this together! Anyways Georgia goes off the deep end a bit but she figures it out in the end. I thought that the ending of this book went just a tad too quickly. There was a whole book of build up and then bam it all happened so fast at the end I almost missed it. This was a good book though and I would encourage everyone to try it!

The bottom line: I really liked this book, I thought it was interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. Ending went a little fast for me but I would definitely recommend this one!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

1Oct2015

2015 Book #103 – Surviving Valencia by Holly Tierney-Bedord

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Thriller by rebeccabook17

Title: Surviving Valencia
Author: Holly Tierney-Bedord
Date finished: 9/29/15
Genre: Fiction, thriller
Publisher: Unknown
Publication Date: June 30, 2012
Pages in book: 335
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

A car accident robs the Loden Family of twins Van and Valencia shortly after they start college. Charmed, bright, and beautiful, they held their family together and elevated the Lodens to greatness. In their loss, a shadow is cast upon the family, particularly on the remaining child, who lacks the easy grace and popularity her older siblings took for granted.
As an adult, her life begins to turn from mediocre to amazing when she is saved by cool, artistic Adrian. The kind of happiness once reserved only for others is finally hers, until pieces of the past begin ruining what seems to be a perfect life.

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of our narrator, a 30-ish year old woman who is married to a well-known and wealthy Savannah artist. Now an adult, she is still haunted by the death of her siblings (who were twins and 7ish years older than her) when she was young, and her upbringing has made her feel significantly inadequate as a person. The book alternates between chapters from the past and the present, starting when the narrator is a child and her siblings were still alive. As the book goes along, the chapters about the past eventually catches up to close to where the story began in the present so we luckily end up covering the span of the narrator’s entire life. As the story evolves, we learn a lot more about the narrator’s husband and how he hasn’t been as honest as expected.
Overall I liked this book, it kept me interested from the very beginning and honestly I didn’t want to put it down. I was a little let down with the ending, only because it happened pretty abruptly and I found it to be a tad confusing plus there were some unanswered that as a reader I probably would’ve like to know the answers to. The story switched to a different narrator for the last chapter (not saying who but be prepared for a twist) and the second narrator mentions a baby with green eyes but you really have to pay attention to small details during the rest of the story to grasp the significance of this and even then its entirely possible that there is another villain out there with green eyes. And there is a reference to the second narrator escaping but what were they escaping from and how long did they have to wait before they escaped? And there is a mention of an old and a young guy but who the heck is the old guy? Just a lot of questions. Which really, I mean the story is very engrossing, i just wish we found out what happened to the second narrator! Other than that though the story is interesting and mysterious and a bit thrilling. Honestly while I was reading it reminded me of a cross of both Luckiest Girl Alive and The Space Between Heartbeats in certain parts of the plot line. It was a great read!

The bottom line: I liked this book a lot but the ending left something to be desired for me personally. Story really draws you in though, I would recommend it!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

28Jul2015

2015 Book #78 – As Night Falls by Jenny Milchman

Posted in Book reviews, Thriller by rebeccabook17

Title: As Night Falls
Author: Jenny Milchman
Date finished: 7/27/15
Genre: Thriller/suspense
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: June 30, 2015
Pages in book: 359
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: Terryville Public Library

Blurb from Amazon:

Sandy Tremont has always tried to give her family everything. But, as the sky darkens over the Adirondacks and a heavy snowfall looms, an escaped murderer with the power to take it all away draws close.
In her isolated home in the shadowy woods, Sandy prepares dinner after a fight with her daughter, Ivy. Upstairs, the fifteen-year-old—smart, brave, and with every reason to be angry tonight—keeps her distance from her mother. Sandy’s husband, Ben, a wilderness guide, arrives late to find a home simmering with unease.
Nearby, two desperate men on the run make their way through the fading light, bloodstained and determined to leave no loose ends or witnesses. After almost twenty years as prison cellmates, they have become a deadly team: Harlan the muscle, Nick the mind and will. As they approach a secluded house and look through its windows to see a cozy domestic scene, Nick knows that here he will find what he’s looking for . . . before he disappears forever.
Opening the door to the Tremont home, Nick brings not only a legacy of terror but a secret that threatens to drag Sandy with him into the darkness.

My rating: 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: **(ALERT THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW)** I feel like I have just seen this book everywhere lately (web sites, publications, summer to read listings) so when I saw it at the Library I grabbed it. I’ve been pretty into the thrillers lately so I’ve been looking forward to reading it. This story starts off being about a lady named Sandy and her husband Ben and daughter Ivy. As the story unfolds we also read passages from the viewpoint of a man named Nick and every once in a while a woman named Barbara, who we learn in one of the first few passages about her is Nick’s Mom. It isn’t 100% clear at first how Nick and Barbara are connected to Sandy’s life but it doesn’t take very long to put the pieces together.
I have to say that I wasn’t overly surprised by many of the things that happened in this book, whereas in most thrillers I like to have a few twists that I don’t see coming. The only one I can think of that I didn’t really see coming though was the crime that Nick was sent to jail for. That being said though, I didn’t consider the book predictable in the least and it definitely kept me on my toes trying to keep up with where the story was headed! I liked the plot development and also the characters’ development through the story. I have to be honest though, I was a bit turned off to the book until about halfway in because some of the scenes with Nick in them made me feel so creepy and grossed out and icky that I wanted to go take a shower and scrub my brain of the wretched man. He was a truly evil and dark person and even up to the end I was astounded that Barbara stood by him. Gosh I just wanted to punch that lady in the face, especially because of how she treated Cassandra, who was only ever a perfect angel.
Overall I thought this was a really good book and a solid thriller. I didn’t really get to like any of the characters too much but I think that was part of the point. Only person I did really like a good amount died, which was unfortunate. I mean I liked the main characters well enough but we all have our secrets I guess.

The bottom line: I would recommend this book, I thought it was a good psychological thriller.

Link to author website
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

13Jun2015

2015 Book #56 – Lightning by Dean Koontz

Posted in 2015, Book reviews, Fiction, Reading Challenges, TBR Pile Reading Challenge (Roof Beam Reader), Thriller by rebeccabook17

Title: Lightning
Author: Dean Koontz
Date finished: 6/12/15
Genre: Fiction – Thriller
Publisher: G Putnam Sons
Publication Date: 1988
Pages in book: 355
Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Blurb from the cover:

In the midst of a raging blizzard, lightning struck on the night Laura Shane was born. And a mysterious blond-haired stranger showed up just in time to save her from dying.
Years later, in the wake of another storm, Laura will be saved again. For someone is watching over her. But just as lightning illuminates, darkness always follows close behind.

My rating: 2.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will be counting towards my goal for the Roof Beam Reader TBR Pile Reading Challenge, #3 on the list I set for myself at the beginning of this year. One of my friends (technically my best friend’s mom and my mom’s best friend) wanted me to read this book to try something new and to see if I would like something a little darker/scarier. She originally wanted me to read something by Stephen King (if I remember correctly) but gave me this book instead since it is one of her favorites and not quite as scary as Stephen King. Being delinquent in my duties as reviewer, I have had the book for probably close to a year and so earlier this year I thought it would be a good encouragement to put it on my TBR reading challenge listing.
So this story is about a lady named Laura and I’m going to spoil it for you, time travel. Laura has a “guardian” who pops in and out of her life at important moments, saving her from dying over and over again from the moment she’s born right up until the end of the book pretty much. Laura goes through life not knowing that she’s really living in an altered timeline since Stefan (the guardian) keeps jumping across the time stream to fix things for her. Living in ignorance, Laura grows up and forms relationships and sustains significant losses in her life, all the while surviving as best she can. Eventually though, she comes face to face with Stefan and he asks her to help him save the world.
Overall this was not my favorite book. The book itself was good enough but it is not my usual style/genre of book and I had some trouble getting into it. There was a lot of complicated discussion on time travel and I (like Laura) got a massive headache trying to keep track of the paradoxes of people traveling through time. Also the main character lived through such heavy losses through her life, it was depressing. And poor Chris going through this experience as an 8 year old. I don’t think I found it too scary necessarily, but it was darker than I usually like and I had trouble connecting with Laura. I would probably try another book by Koontz in the future to see if it was just this plot I wasn’t a huge fan of. I want to thank my friend Sandy for recommending this book to me. I am trying hard to expand my horizons and try books that are outside of my comfort zone and this book definitely fit the bill! Thanks Sandy!

The bottom line: I don’t think I would encourage or discourage readers to try this book. It was a good book just not my style.

Link to author website
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

3Sep2014

2014 – Book # 78

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Thriller by rebeccabook17

The seventy-eighth book I read in 2014 was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. This was the first book I have read by this author. I finished this book on 8/31/14. I rated this book 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book is about Nick Dunne and how his life changes when his wife Amy goes missing. On their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick comes home to find his living room in horrible disarray and his wife is nowhere to be found.

There are three pretty much separate parts of this book. The first part alternates between (1) Nick Dunne’s point of view from the day Amy goes missing and (2) Amy’s point of view for the past seven years up to the point of her disappearance through her diary entries. Through Amy’s diary we see Amy and Nick’s relationship from the beginning , and watch it deteriorate as the years pass. Through Nick’s point of view we see the guilt, the emptiness, the fear. This at first makes readers wonder if his reactions are due to the fact that Nick has something to do with Amy’s disappearance. And as all the clues seem to come together to the same conclusion, Nick has trouble continuing to convince his family, Amy’s family, the police and the public that he is innocent.

The second part of the book tells the story from Amy’s point of view from the day of her disappearance (first hand and not through diary entries) as well as continuing through Nick’s point of view after the disappearance. Nick is beginning to seem very, very guilty and he enlists the help of one of the nation’s greatest husband-defense lawyers. Nick tries to bring the public around to his side through the help of the media. But for someone who isn’t good at showing emotions in a general sense, not showing emotion when your wife is missing just makes you seem more guilty.

The third part of the book is told through Amy and Nick’s point of views after Amy is “found.” This part of the book I found to be the most twisted and honestly a little disturbing. Amy and Nick’s obsession with each other seems to be self-destructive and I can’t imagine how Nick was able to sleep next to her at night. Amy is cunning and ruthless and both her and Nick surprised me in this section.

Overall this was an interesting book but not one that I would read again. The plot itself was fascinating and inventive but was a little dark for my taste. I’m very glad that I read it though and would recommend it to other readers. Especially since they’re making a movie out of it, I always like to read the book before I go see the movie. I am curious about how the book will translate into film though given the transition that has to happen between the first and second parts of the book. I am interested in seeing the movie when it comes out. The official site for the movie, including trailers, can be found here.

Link to author website: http://gillian-flynn.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Girl-Gillian-Flynn/dp/030758836X/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1409743995&sr=8-1