2016 Book #77 – The Form of Things Unknown by Robin Bridges

Posted in 2016, ARC August 2016, Book reviews, Reading Challenges, Young Adult by rebeccabook17

Title: The Form of Things Unknown
Author: Robin Bridges
Date finished: 8/18/16
Genre: Young adult
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: August 30, 2016
Pages in book: 304
Stand alone or series: Connected to previous publication, Dreaming of Antigone
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:

Natalie Roman isn’t much for the spotlight. But performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a stately old theatre in Savannah, Georgia, beats sitting alone replaying mistakes made in Athens. Fairy queens and magic on stage, maybe a few scary stories backstage. And no one in the cast knows her backstory.
Except for Lucas—he was in the psych ward, too. He won’t even meet her eye. But Nat doesn’t need him. She’s making friends with girls, girls who like horror movies and Ouija boards, who can hide their liquor in Coke bottles and laugh at the theater’s ghosts. Natalie can keep up. She can adapt. And if she skips her meds once or twice so they don’t interfere with her partying, it won’t be a problem. She just needs to keep her wits about her.

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 will count towards my ARC August 2016 Reading Challenge. This book tells the story of Natalie Roman, who has recently moved with her family to Savannah to take care of her grandmother, a once stable woman who has recently decided to stop taking her prescription medication to treat her schizophrenia. Natalie herself was somewhat glad to move since all the kids at her new school won’t know that she recently spent some time in a psych ward. So Natalie begins her new life in Savannah and makes new friends. But she’s worried about what will happen when her new friends find out that she’s not quite sane. And there seems to be a good chance they’ll find out since one of the guys in Savannah spent time in the same psych ward as Natalie.
Overall I liked this book. I liked Natalie for the most part, although I thought she became a tad bit whiny at times. I think that those scenes were supposed to underscore her extreme insecurities but it made it hard for me to connect with the character. And while overall I liked the plot line, the premise behind some of it didn’t really make sense. Like why would Natalie’s parents put her in a psych ward after one drug-induced psychotic episode, when her only other history was that her grandmother also has schizophrenia. I feel like Natalie should have shown more of a psychotic pattern before being hospitalized? Other than that is was a cute and sweet story about second chances and learning to appreciate who you are and I thought it was nice that Natalie found someone that she cares about. I would recommend.

The bottom line: I liked this book, though not as much as I liked Dreaming of Antigone. I had more trouble connecting to Natalie’s character. I still think the author did a great job of dealing with common teen issues in this book though: bullying, insecurities, drugs, alcohol and mental illness. A good read and I would recommend it.

Link to author website

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

21Aug2016

2016 Book #76 – Sting by Sandra Brown

Posted in 2016, ARC August 2016, Book reviews, Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by rebeccabook17

Title: Sting
Author: Sandra Brown
Date finished: 8/16/16
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: August 20, 2016
Pages in book: 416
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:

When Jordie Bennet and Shaw Kinnard lock eyes across a disreputable backwater bar, something definitely sparks. Shaw gives off a dangerous vibe that makes men wary and inspires women to sit up and take notice. None feel that undercurrent more strongly than savvy businesswoman Jordie, who doesn’t belong in a seedy dive on the banks of a bayou. But here she is . . . and Shaw Kinnard is here to kill her.

As Shaw and his partner take aim, Jordie is certain her time has come. But Shaw has other plans and abducts Jordie, hoping to get his hands on the $30 million her brother has stolen and, presumably, hidden. However, Shaw is not the only one looking for the fortune. Her brother’s ruthless boss and the FBI are after it as well. Now on the run from the feds and a notorious criminal, Jordie and Shaw must rely on their wits-and each other-to stay alive.
Miles away from civilization and surrounded by swampland, the two play each other against their common enemies. Jordie’s only chance of survival is to outwit Shaw, but it soon becomes clear to Shaw that Jordie isn’t entirely trustworthy, either. Was she in on her brother’s scam, or is she an innocent pawn in a deadly vendetta? And just how valuable is her life to Shaw, her remorseless and manipulative captor? Burning for answers-and for each other-this unlikely pair ultimately make a desperate move that could be their last.
With nonstop plot twists and the tantalizing sexual tension that has made Sandra Brown one of the world’s best-loved authors, STING will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final pages.

My rating: 4.25 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 will count towards my ARC August 2016 Reading Challenge. This book tells the story of Jordan (Jordie) Bennett. Jordie has become involved in a bad situation because of her selfish brother, and now there is a price on her head (literally) because of her brother, Josh. Josh’s biggest enemy, Billy Panella, is pissed at Josh for snitching on him and Billy is ready to start taking his revenge. Shaw Kinnard is one of the men hired to take her out, but when he realizes exactly who he’s executing, he decides to try and negotiate more money out of the deal. Therefore he end sup with Jordie as his hostage while negotiating with Billy for a better price to kill her. Shaw develops a slight tendre for Jordie though, and the reader is left to wonder, will he kill her or end up loving her?
Overall I really liked this book. I have enjoyed many of the Sandra Brown books I’ve read over the years and this one was no exception. There were some great plot twists, though some of them were familiar ones based on previous Brown plot lines. There was plenty of action in the story line, though it was a tad slow about 1/4 of the way through the book. It was a momentary lull and picked right up again after that. While this wasn’t my absolute favorite of hers (which will probably always be Deadline) it was definitely high up on my list of favorites. I would definitely recommend it.

The bottom line: This was a great suspense book. The plot had some great twists, though a bit unbelievable/predictable. Overall great read though, I would definitely recommend.

Link to author website

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

21Aug2016

2016 Book #75 – I’ve Got Sand in All the Wrong Places by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella

Posted in 2016, ARC August 2016, Book reviews, Book Riot Read Harder Reading Challenge 2016, Non-fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: I’ve Got Sand in All the Wrong Places
Author: Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella
Date finished: 8/15/16
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: July 12, 2016
Pages in book: 324
Stand alone or series: It’s similar to 6 other books they’ve published I think but its not like a connected series
Where I got the book from: The Reading Room NOTE:I received this book for free from The Reading Room 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:

Lisa and Francesca are back with another collection of warm and witty stories that will strike a chord with every woman. This six book series is among the best reviewed humor books published today and has been compared to the late greats, Erma Bombeck and Nora Ephron. Delia Ephron said of the fifth book in the series, Have a Nice Guilt Trip, “Lisa and Francesca, mother and daughter, bring you the laughter of their lives once again and better than ever. You will identify with these tales of guilt and fall in love with them and fierce (grand) Mother Mary.” This seventh volume will not disappoint as it hits the humorous and poignant note that fans have come to expect from the beloved mother-daughter duo.

My rating: 2.5 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 will count towards my ARC August 2016 Reading Challenge. Also, this book will count towards my Book Riot 2016 Read Harder reading challenge, marking off the “read a collection of essays” square since this book is made up of a number of non-fiction essays. The essays were written alternating between Lisa and Francesca. The essays were about their lives and their experiences. This is not the first book they’ve written in this style, I think that they mentioned this is around the 6th book in this similar style. While some of the stories were interesting, this isn’t something I would have normally chosen to read for myself. I’ve always had trouble with collections of poems or essays, I grow frustrated with the lack of plot/focus. There were some good points made in the book and a few topics I became engaged with, but each story was only about 2-6 pages. It was interesting to see in some cases how their stories interacted with each other but the compilation of so many short essays made it more difficult for me to stay engaged, There wasn’t really an overall “story line” which made it more difficult for me to read. And in many cases whoever was writing at the time would go off on a preamble completely unrelated to the story they were trying to present, which made it even harder to concentrate.

The bottom line: This just wasn’t really a style of book that I enjoy. I think that it would make a good beach read since it is a collection of shorter stories/essays and is therefore easy to put down and pick up again.

Link to author website: Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella

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

21Aug2016

2016 Book #74 – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Posted in Book Clubs, Book reviews, Fiction, Terryville - Fiction Lovers by rebeccabook17

Title: The Rosie Project
Author: Graeme Simsion
Date finished: 8/14/16
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: June 3, 2014
Pages in book: 295
Stand alone or series: There is a sequel to this, The Rosie Effect
Where I got the book from: Purchased (I believe from Book Outlet)

Blurb from the cover:

The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.
Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate for The Wife Project (even if she is “quite intelligent for a barmaid”). But Don is intrigued by Rosie’s own quest to identify her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on The Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie―and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you.

My rating: 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I read this book for the Terryville Library’s Fiction Lover’s Book Discussion group discussion for this month (August). This book follows a part in the life of Don Tillman, a genetics professor who has recently decided to try and find a wife to share his life with. Since Don is not skilled at social interaction (he is autistic), he decides to use a questionnaire to help him weed out any unsuitable candidates. The double sided 16 page questionnaire covers many topics, including mathematics, daily habits and personal interest. Rosie Jarman is definitely not what Don would call a suitable candidate: a barmaid, a smoker, and a woman currently experiencing many emotional issues. She is everything Don is trying to avoid in his search fora wife. But while he is helping her with a genetics project, he finds himself drawn to her personality on a number of occasions. But can he convince her to love him for who he is, eccentricities and all?
Overall I really greatly enjoyed this book. Don as a character was witty, charming, and entirely captivating. I loved the intricacies of Don’s character and how truthfully he was presented as an autistic lead role. It was really interesting to see how his character progressed through the story and how his relationship with Rosie changed his outlook on many different aspects of his life. The antics he gets into throughout the book due to his different mental abilities are hilarious. I loved this book and I can’t wait to read the sequel.

The bottom line: I loved this book from beginning to end. Don was an entertaining and endearing character and I found his antics very humorous. I can’t wait to read the sequel, The Rosie Effect. An excellent and engaging read, I would most definitely recommend!

Link to author website

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

10Aug2016

2016 Book #73 – Results May Vary by Bethany Chase BLOG TOUR

Posted in 2016, ARC August 2016, Blog tour, Book reviews, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: Results May Vary
Author: Bethany Chase
Date finished: 8/9/16
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: August 9, 2016
Pages in book: 352
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:

Can you ever really know the person you love?
She never saw it coming. Without even a shiver of suspicion to warn her, art curator Caroline Hammond discovers that her husband is having an affair with a man—a revelation that forces her to question their entire history together, from their early days as high school sweethearts through their ten years as a happily married couple. In her now upside-down world, Caroline begins envisioning her life without the relationship that has defined it: the loneliness of being an “I” instead of a “we”; the rekindled yet tenuous closeness with her younger sister; and the unexpected—and potentially disastrous—attraction she can’t get off her mind. Caroline always thought she knew her own love story, but as her husband’s other secrets emerge, she must decide whether that story’s ending will mean forgiving the man she’s loved for half her life, or facing her future without him.
Compassionate and uplifting, Results May Vary is a bittersweet celebration of the heart’s ability to turn unexpected troubles into extraordinary strength.

ResultsMayVary_Ecard_2b

My rating: 4.75 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 will count for my ARC August reading challenge for this month. This book is about Caroline Hammond, whose life up until we meet her could be described as ideal. She has a husband who worships her, a beautiful home in a town she loves, and a fulfilling job as curator at a museum, MASS MoCA (real place). Her life seems to shatter though when she discovers (accidentally) that her husband has been having an affair. With a man. Having had no inkling that her husband was attracted to men, or a lying jerk either, she calls into question everything she thought she knew about the man she’s been with for 17 years (half her life). This book is really about Caroline’s journey on the road to forgiveness and independence, as she discovers what may become of her marriage and what may become of her future.
Overall I really just loved this book. Caroline as a character was easy to relate to and interesting to talk to. Honestly one of my favorite things about her was that her sister could tell she was drinking when she started to talk more formally, I think I’m going to start doing that from now on because it is too funny! As a reader I was drawn into the story right from page one and just could not put this book down. The author really paints such a vivid picture for the reader, I would look up from reading and not have any idea where I was. The author was extremely talented at giving descriptions of the backdrop and Caroline’s internal monologue without being too wordy. And I really loved how Caroline talked about art and the museum, it was inspiring to see how passionate she was about her job and about art overall. This book deals with a lot of ups and downs for each of the characters as they make their way through the story, including devastating blows to the heart and to the ego. It was amazing the wealth of emotions that the author was able to draw out of me as I read this book: frustration, anger, love, and eventually forgiveness. The plot was riveting and really had some great plot twists to keep the reader engaged. I think that this is one of my favorite books of the year so far, I would definitely recommend reading this one!

The bottom line: This book was awesome, the author really taps into the emotions of the reader and makes the story come alive. I would look up from reading and not know where I was. Story was heart-wrenching and touching, with some good twists in the plot to keep the reader on their toes. I would definitely recommend!

ResultsMayVary_Ecard_6b

ADDITIONAL CONTENT!!!

As part of the blog tour I was given access to some additional content from the author, Bethany Chase. Since I’m a New England girl through and through her narrative on why she picked the Berkshires for the setting to this book really spoke to me. I’d like to share this with you readers as well!

The Setting: Why Bethany chose the Berkshires for Results May Vary

I set Results May Vary in the Berkshires because, like Caroline, I went to college at Williams and fell in love with the region. It reminds me a little bit of the Virginia Blue Ridge where I grew up—I am a mountain girl, through and through—but it has its own flavor, which is very much a New England one. It has beautiful old 18^th-century houses, and a winding river or two, and maple trees everywhere that really do turn just the most outrageous colors of coral and red and gold in October.

The area is an interesting cultural hotspot—in Williamstown itself you have not just the college but also the world-class Clark Art Institute (I debated long and hard between having Caroline be a curator at the Clark vs MASS MoCA, but went with the latter in the end because it suited the plot better), and the Williamstown Theater Festival. Nearby you have the Tanglewood concert series, the beautiful Hancock Shaker Village, and then of course MASS MoCA, which is not just one of the largest contemporary art museums in the country but also a multi-disciplinary facility that hosts music, dance and theater as well as visual art. North Adams is interesting because it is a former industrial town that has been in a resurgence for the last 15 years or so, which is very intentionally led by the museum. One of the reasons I think the region is so great is that it has the beauty and charm of a small town, rural environment, yet packs this amazing cultural punch that far exceeds what you might expect from its population.

And, of course, it is beautiful. Those leaves! Those mountains! Those velvety white snowstorms, and the way they make you hunker down inside in front of a roaring fire. And then the spring that slinks slowly over the landscape, apologizing for the months that preceded it, until it bursts into the full green roar of May. I hope everyone gets to experience the Berkshires in their lives, not just in one season but in all of them.

ResultsMayVary_Ecard_1b

Link to author website

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

7Aug2016

2016 Book #72 – The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell

Posted in 2016, ARC August 2016, Book reviews, Fiction, Magical realism, Reading Challenges by rebeccabook17

Title: The Secret Ingredient of Wishes
Author: Susan Bishop Crispell
Date finished: 8/7/16
Genre: Fiction, Magical realism
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date: September 6, 2016
Pages in book: 292
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: BookBrowse NOTE: I received this book for free from BookBrowse 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:

26-year-old Rachel Monroe has spent her whole life trying to keep a very unusual secret: she can make wishes come true. And sometimes the consequences are disastrous. So when Rachel accidentally grants an outlandish wish for the first time in years, she decides it’s time to leave her hometown—and her past—behind for good.
Rachel isn’t on the road long before she runs out of gas in a town that’s not on her map: Nowhere, North Carolina—also known as the town of “Lost and Found.” In Nowhere, Rachel is taken in by a spit-fire old woman, Catch, who possesses a strange gift of her own: she can bind secrets by baking them into pies. Rachel also meets Catch’s neighbor, Ashe, a Southern gentleman with a complicated past, who makes her want to believe in happily-ever-after for the first time in her life.
As she settles into the small town, Rachel hopes her own secrets will stay hidden, but wishes start piling up everywhere Rachel goes. When the consequences threaten to ruin everything she’s begun to build in Nowhere, Rachel must come to terms with who she is and what she can do, or risk losing the people she’s starting to love—and her chance at happiness—all over again.

My rating: 4.25 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 will count for my ARC August reading challenge for this month. This book tells the story of Rachel Monroe, a woman from Memphis that can grant people’s wishes by thinking about them. Rachel has had a rough life up to this point, after accidentally wishing her brother away, her father walking out on her, and her mother killing herself, plus Rachel spent much of her time hospitalized or in therapy due to her “condition.” No one seems to believe that Rachel has this ability, and her parents can’t seem to remember her brother Michael. The only family Rachel has left is her friend MaryBeth, who spent time with Rachel in a psych hospital. After Rachel starts granting wishes again though, she runs away to try and protect those she loves. She ends up in a town called Nowhere, North Carolina, where she meets Catch, who can keep secrets by baking pies. But when Rachel’s secret gets out, the Town isn’t quite so welcoming.
Overall I really liked this book. It reminded me a lot of The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee because of the magical realism and the food, and that was one of my favorite books of 2014. I liked the characters in this book, there was a lot going on in the story and it kept me interested throughout with the varied story lines. I thought that the ending was a little abrupt, there were definitely some things that I thought were unresolved at the end of the book. I still really enjoyed the book though, the romance in the book was sweet and it was wonderful to see their relationship develop. This was a great book and I would recommend!

The bottom line: This was a great book! I really liked the magical realism and the story line was really creative. I would definitely recommend!

Link to author website

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

1Aug2016

2016 Book #71 – The Patient’s Resource and Almanac of Primary Care Medicine by Agnes Oblas

Posted in 2016, Book Riot Read Harder Reading Challenge 2016, Non-fiction, Reading Challenges by rebeccabook17

Title: The Patient’s Resource and Almanac of Primary Care Medicine
Author: Agnes Oblas
Date finished: 7/31/16
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: New Paths to Healthcare, LLC
Publication Date: October 24, 2014
Pages in book: 156
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:

The Patient’s Resource and Almanac of Primary Care Medicine includes essays on medical topics of interest to the lay reader; common diseases or conditions are presented with illustrations, and easy to understand graphs or charts. Resources are also identified for more in depth information.The Patient’s Resource and Almanac of Primary Care Medicine serves as a basic reference and guide to 30 common medical- and health-related topics. Readers will find these topics to be pertinent, helpful, and reader-friendly. The essays are presented with resources, fun facts, and timelines, etc., to make the reading even more enjoyable. Some of the essays also include a section called “The Savvy Healthcare Consumer,” which highlights points about that essay’s topic which the reader should be aware of as it relates to a visit to a healthcare provider. You will find these essays free of medical jargon (or with definitions included) yet scientifically and medically sound. My purpose is to educate and clarify some complex medical issues while at the same time allowing the reader to enjoy the experience!

My rating: 3.0 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. Also, this book will count towards my Book Riot 2016 Read Harder reading challenge, marking off the “read a nonfiction book about science” since this book contained a lot of medical and other scientific information. This was a nonfiction book and is a short resource that discusses a number of common medical issues like heart disease, headaches, and fever as well as more complicated issues like the functions of different organs of the body and the functions of certain medications. There was also a lot of historical information included in each section on the background of the ailment or medicine and how over the years the medical information on the subject progressed. While this wasn’t something I normally would have chosen on my own for recreational reading, it had some useful information and I think it would make a good household resource.

The bottom line: This wasn’t something I would normally pick out for myself but I must say it was full of useful information. This is a great resource to keep on hand for referencing concerning ailments like headaches and fever and even thyroid-ism and cancer.

Link to author website

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

25Jul2016

2016 Book #70 – The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Summer That Melted Everything
Author: Tiffany McDaniel
Date finished: 7/24/16
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: July 26, 2016
Pages in book: 320
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:

Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984: the year a heat wave scorched Breathed, Ohio. The year he became friends with the devil.
Sal seems to appear out of nowhere – a bruised and tattered thirteen-year-old boy claiming to be the devil himself answering an invitation. Fielding Bliss, the son of a local prosecutor, brings him home where he’s welcomed into the Bliss family, assuming he’s a runaway from a nearby farm town.
When word spreads that the devil has come to Breathed, not everyone is happy to welcome this self-proclaimed fallen angel. Murmurs follow him and tensions rise, along with the temperatures as an unbearable heat wave rolls into town right along with him. As strange accidents start to occur, riled by the feverish heat, some in the town start to believe that Sal is exactly who he claims to be. While the Bliss family wrestles with their own personal demons, a fanatic drives the town to the brink of a catastrophe that will change this sleepy Ohio backwater forever.

My rating: 4.0 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. You can see the book trailer for this book here. Also I was lucky enough to get an interview with Tiffany and learn a little bit more about her life and her writing, which you can read here. This book tells the story of Fielding Bliss, whose life changes irrevocably during the summer of 1984. It is during that summer that Fielding meets and befriends Sal, the devil himself in the form of a thirteen year old boy. Over the course of that very hot summer, a number of tragic accidents happen and the townspeople are whisked into a frenzy, all looking for someone to blame. And isn’t it just lucky for them that a colored person recently came to town claiming to be the devil? During that summer of fear and hatred, the townspeople take on the form of an angry mob more than once, all losing their common sense when the “mob mentality” takes over.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I found this to be a thought-provoking read with a creative plot-line, and the characters all had a great depth and complexity to them. I LOVED Sal’s character, he played a great devil and I loved how the reader gradually learned more and more about his background. Another character I loved was Autopsy (Fielding’s Dad). I thought his narratives about the law and his role in interpreting the law as a local prosecutor were very well written and really made the reader consider the age old ideals of good vs evil and innocent vs guilty. This book had a fantastical feeling to it at the start but I think that there was more to it than that. I think this book really makes the reader examine how people’s perception can affect what they will believe about you and how the public mob mentality inspires more and more fantastical ideas. There was also a number of surprise twists at the end of this book that I didn’t see coming and that really created a lot of tension at the end of the story. While there were some gruesome tragedies in this story, I thought that this was a great novel that is most definitely worth the read. This was McDaniel’s debut novel and I’m very excited to read more by her in the future.

The bottom line: This book was interesting and thought-provoking with what I thought was a very creative plot line. The characters were all complex and the story line was well-paced. I would definitely recommend.

Link to author website

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

13Jul2016

2016 Book #69 – The Witness by Sandra Brown

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Thriller by rebeccabook17

Title: The Witness
Author: Sandra Brown
Date finished: 7/12/16
Genre: Fiction, romantic suspense
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Reprint)
Publication Date: Originally 1996, Reprint March 29, 2016
Pages in book: 418
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: Target – purchased

Blurb from the cover:

Kendall Deaton pulls herself and her baby out of a wrecked car, and a mixture of courage and fear gets her to the top of a ravine, where she flags down help. But she doesn’t dare reveal her true identity to the authorities. Instead, she plans her immediate escape. Her perilous flight begins.
The best public defender in Prosper, South Carolina, Kendall had stumbled upon the town’s chilling secret, turning her marriage to one of the town’s most powerful men into a living hell. Now Kendall is a terrified mother trying to save her child’s life…a reluctant witness who knows too much about an insidious evil…and a woman surrounded by forces that will stop at nothing to protect what is “theirs.”

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: So if you read my blog you know that overall I am definitely a fan of Sandra Brown. I’m slowly trying to make my way through her backlist and since I’ve been so good at avoiding my ARC’s lately I decided to pick up. However, I have a tip for my future self: Never pick up a Sandra Brown book on a Sunday night unless you are (1) on vacation that week or (2) have somehow discovered in the future that sleep is no longer needed. Once I start reading a Sandra Brown book it is so hard for me to put it down. I was up until midnight last night finishing it. This book was about Kendall Deaton, a defense attorney in Prosper, South Carolina, who stumbles on a horrible crime out in the woods one night. In order to survive she runs away without leaving any trace, hoping to escape the clutches of a dangerous and deadly adversary. I don’t want to go too much into the plot line because of the twists and turns, I don’t want to give anything away! Even though some of the plot twists were somewhat predictable, they were all great and the story line kept me on my toes throughout. The only plot twist that didn’t really fit for me was the one at the end, I almost felt like it was added as an afterthought. It didn’t fit well for me with the rest of the story, but that’s just me!
Overall I really liked this book. It was definitely a page-turner, and my heart was pounding throughout the book. I must warn you readers, some parts of this book were downright gruesome, but it only adds to the evil character of the villains. I really liked this book overall and I would definitely recommend it, especially to Sandra Brown fans!!

The bottom line: This was a great read. The plot line definitely had my heart pounding and I was interested in the story right through to the end. There were a couple somewhat slow parts for me but overall was definitely a great book.

Link to author website

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

12Jul2016

2016 Book #68 – Indiana Belle by John A. Heldt

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: Indiana Belle
Author: John A. Heldt
Date finished: 7/10/16
Genre: Fiction, Time travel
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: April 14, 2016
Pages in book: 295
Stand alone or series: #3 in American Journey series
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:

Providence, Rhode Island, 2017. When doctoral student Cameron Coelho, 28, opens a package from Indiana, he finds more than private papers that will help him with his dissertation. He finds a photograph of a beautiful society editor murdered in 1925 and clues to a century-old mystery. Within days, he meets Geoffrey Bell, the “time-travel professor,” and begins an unlikely journey through the Roaring Twenties. Filled with history, romance, and intrigue, INDIANA BELLE follows a lonely soul on the adventure of a lifetime as he searches for love and answers in the age of Prohibition, flappers, and jazz.

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 Cameron Coelho, a doctoral student from Providence, RI studying societal norms and customs during the 1920’s, with a specific emphasis in Indiana, as part of his doctoral research. During the course of his studies, he comes across some diary entries of a Miss Candice Bell, some of which mention time travel. He discusses this with one of his professors, who directs him to talk to a colleague named Geoffrey Bell in California. Geoffrey turns out to be a relative of Candice’s, and since he has a great personal interest in Candice and her diary entries (specifically whether she knows of the location of her father’s lost diary) he offers Cameron the chance of a life time: to travel back in time. It is in the 1920’s that Cameron is able to meet the girl he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about, Candice Bell herself. Though Geoffrey has warned Cameron not to interfere in the past, Cameron can’t help but develop deep feelings for this vivacious and intelligent young woman.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was fairly predictable but this actually added to my enjoyment of the story since I knew I wouldn’t be left disappointed at the end. I liked the characters in this book, and the villains were adequately evil and also got a somewhat justified end. I liked that we were able to look into the future in this book in an interesting way and I thought that it fit well within the story line, and honestly it did make a lot of sense to me because I agreed with Cameron that the government is heading in that direction. I think the concept of time travel is just really interesting and I like the story lines of these books and how the author approaches time travel. This is I think the 5th book I’ve read by this author and I’ve enjoyed all of them. This was a good read and I would say anyone who likes to read about time travel should definitely give it a try!

The bottom line: I enjoyed both the story line and the characters in this book, and I love the author’s continued creativity with the concept of time travel. There were some cringe-worthy moments and some of the conversations were a bit awkward but it didn’t detract overall from my enjoyment of the book. A good read and I would recommend!

Link to author website

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