2015 Book #123 – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Posted in 2015, Book reviews, Bookish Bingo Holiday 2015, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Thriller by rebeccabook17

Title: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Date finished: 12/22/15
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Publication Date: January 13, 2015
Pages in book: 323
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: My friend Val from work

Blurb from the cover:

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?
Compulsively readable, The Girl on the Train is an emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller and an electrifying debut.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Holiday 2015 Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Thriller” square, since, well, it was very thrilling. I was on the edge of my seat for a good part of this book! Anyways, this book tells a number of stories but I found that the main focus was on Rachel Watson through the book. The chapters are told from three different points of view: Rachel, Anna (Rachel’s replacement) and finally Megan, a woman who is missing for most of Rachel and Anna’s chapters. Rachel is an alcoholic who has lost her job but still rides the train into London each morning and back in the evening so that she can fool her roommate into thinking she still has a job. Rachel also hasn’t gotten over her ex-husband, who was cheating on her at the end of their marriage and has since moved in with his mistress and had a baby with her.
One night Rachel gets so drunk that she blacks out, though she does remember getting off the train at the station where her ex-husband, and coincidentally the missing woman, lives. Rachel wakes up the next morning with cuts and bruises all over, and she can’t remember what happened or how she got home. All she knows is that something very bad has happened. She spends the next few weeks trying to piece together what has happened to Megan and also trying to remember what happened that night to see if maybe she had some involvement in Megan’s disappearance.
Overall I really liked this book. A couple of the plot twists I did see coming but most of them I did not expect, and the book 10)% did not end how I would have expected it to end. This was a fast-paced thrilling read that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. All of the characters in this story are seriously flawed and have staggering issues that they’re dealing with. It is interesting that in the beginning of the story Rachel watches Megan, who she calls “Jess” at the time, through the train window and imagines the perfect life that she has, when Megan’s life is very far from perfect. I’m interested to see how this book is going to translate to film, it is currently scheduled to be released in movie theaters in October 2016. I would definitely put this one on your to read list (if you haven’t read it already)!

The bottom line: This book has had a lot of hype during 2015 and I can understand why. It was a great, fast-paced read. I would definitely recommend!!

Link to author website

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

9Dec2015

2015 Book #121 – Tiny Little Thing by Beatriz Williams

Posted in 2015, Book reviews, Bookish Bingo Holiday 2015, Fiction, Historical fiction, Reading Challenges by rebeccabook17

Title: Tiny Little Thing
Author: Beatriz Williams
Date finished: 12/8/15
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: June 23, 2015
Pages in book: 354
Stand alone or series: Can be read as a stand alone but there are other novels starring characters in this book (Along the Infinite Sea is about Tiny’s sister Pepper and The Secret Life of Violet Grant tells Vivian’s story somewhat I think)
Where I got the book from: Terryville Public Library

Blurb from the cover:

In the summer of 1966, Christina Hardcastle—“Tiny” to her illustrious family—stands on the brink of a breathtaking future. Of the three Schuyler sisters, she’s the one raised to marry a man destined for leadership, and with her elegance and impeccable style, she presents a perfect camera-ready image in the dawning age of television politics. Together she and her husband, Frank, make the ultimate power couple: intelligent, rich, and impossibly attractive. It seems nothing can stop Frank from rising to national office, and he’s got his sights set on a senate seat in November.
But as the season gets underway at the family estate on Cape Cod, three unwelcome visitors appear in Tiny’s perfect life: her volatile sister Pepper, an envelope containing incriminating photograph, and the intimidating figure of Frank’s cousin Vietnam-war hero Caspian, who knows more about Tiny’s rich inner life than anyone else. As she struggles to maintain the glossy façade on which the Hardcastle family’s ambitions are built, Tiny begins to suspect that Frank is hiding a reckless entanglement of his own…one that may unravel both her own ordered life and her husband’s promising career.

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Holiday 2015 Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Multiple POV” square, since this book is told alternating between Tiny and Caspian’s points of view. I really wanted to read this book after reading Along the Infinite Sea recently by this author, I wanted to see what more I could get of a background story on the Schuyler sisters. Tiny (Christina Schuyler) has always done the right thing, she’s always been the perfect daughter and the now she’s the perfect wife. But she’s tired of being perfect, and what she really wants is just to be herself, whoever that might be. When on a chance encounter she meets Captain Caspian Harrison, she asks him to help her disappear. The story line alternated between 1964 when Tiny asks Caspian to help her escape from her fiance and her family and 1966 where Tiny is obviously married so as the story unravels between the two time periods the reader is left to wonder what exactly ended up going down in 1964. And also what the hell is going on in 1966 because there is some shady stuff going on behind the scenes! In 1966 Tiny is married to Frank Hardcastle, who is running for Senator. And now here to help him is his handsome cousin Caspian who recently lost one of his legs in the Vietnam War.
I really did enjoy this book. I didn’t give it as great of a rating only because I found it to be slow in the beginning of the book. I can’t tell if it was the book (pretty sure it wasn’t) or my crazy schedule that only allows me to read for 10 minutes at a time while trying not to get distracted (most likely the reason) but whatever the case I just had trouble getting into the book and it didn’t give me a ton of enjoyment. Once I got mid-way and the story picked up for me though it was better and the end had a great twist that I never saw coming which I always love. Overall this was a solid, good book for me and I would definitely recommend reading it!

The bottom line: This book was a little slow to get into for me, most likely because of my limited available reading time and less likely because of the book. The ending really was quite riveting though, I didn’t want to put it down! Would recommend this one!

Link to author website

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

29Nov2015

2015 Book #120 – Almost Invincible by Suzanne Burdon

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, For the love of books, Historical fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: Almost Invincible
Author: Suzanne Burdon
Date finished: 11/29/15
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Criteria Publishing
Publication Date: May 1, 2014
Pages in book: 328
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:

“She is singularly bold, somewhat imperious, and active of mind. Her desire of knowledge is great, and her perseverance in everything else she undertakes, almost invincible.” Mary Shelley began Frankenstein in 1814, when she was eighteen. By then, she had been living for two years in a scandalous relationship with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was already married with children. The novel was conceived in a contest with him and Lord Byron to tell ghost stories. When she eloped with Shelley, Mary had been quite prepared to suffer condemnation from society. It was much harder to cope with her jealousy of Claire, her step-sister, who had run away with them and was also in love with Shelley. During the nine turbulent years Mary and Shelley were together, Claire was the ever-present third, whose manipulative behaviour often drove Mary to despair. Shelley was little help – his unconventional attitudes to love strained her devotion to its limits. They moved constantly throughout England, Switzerland and Italy, escaping creditors, censorious families and ill health. It was in Italy that they found their spiritual home, their ‘paradise of exiles’, but it was also there that the loss of her children nearly broke Mary’s spirit. Her writing became her grip on sanity, and Shelley never wavered from his belief in her creative genius – as she believed in his.

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 a fictional telling of Mary Shelley‘s life from about the time when she met Percy Shelley in 1814 until he died in 1822. This book is a fiction novel but is based upon their true story of true love that stood the test of my obstacles. From the loss of 4 children to the unending interference of Mary’s step-sister Claire to the fact that Percy was already married when they met, Mary and Percy’s love was not easily formed or maintained but it was true and deep. I thought this ended up being a wonderful love story wrapped up in a mini-drama.
The book chronicles different periods of time in the Shelley’s lives during which they traveled to Switzerland, France, and Italy. Mary’s step-sister Claire tags along from the beginning, mostly because she thinks she is also in love with Shelley but also because she can’t stand to let Mary have any fun/happiness. Claire as a character was just so easy to hate and, at very few times, also to pity. Mary and Shelley’s story was also full of other well-known and not-so well-known people of the time, including Lord Byron, Leigh Hunt, and Edward Williams. Shelley always felt best when surrounded by people who sympathized with his plights and his tribulations.
Overall I enjoyed this book a lot, it was packed full of interesting characters. It became a little frustrating that Mary could never seem to catch a break and honestly Shelley was a bit too naive for my tastes. He kept thinking that his first wife Harriet would come live with him and Mary as friends and bring his children to live with them all and they would just be one big happy family. He couldn’t understand why that was not only illogical but completely unreasonable. His naivete became almost charming by the end though, mostly because in reality he is just an endless optimist who only wanted to make every one around him happy. And while at times he could be insensitive to Mary’s feeling son certain subjects, his deep esteem and affection for her was obvious and touching. The plot line of the story was well paced and honestly I didn’t want to put it down. I thought this was a great story and I would recommend it!

The bottom line: I thought this book was really interesting! There was drama and despair and also happiness and a very true love. Definitely a great read!

Link to author website

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

28Nov2015

2015 Book #119 – The Light of Hidden Flowers by Jennifer Handford

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, For the love of books, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Light of Hidden Flowers
Author: Jennifer Handford
Date finished: 11/27/15
Genre: Women’s fiction
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: November 10, 2015
Pages in book: 369
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:

Book-smart Melissa Fletcher lives a predictable life in her hometown, working behind the scenes for her charismatic father in a financial career that makes perfect sense. But when her dad is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Missy is forced to step up and take over as his primary caregiver and the principal of the firm.
After her father’s death, Missy finds a letter from him in which he praises her for being a dutiful daughter but admonishes her for not taking any risks in life.
Devastated, Missy packs her suitcase and heads for Italy. There she meets a new friend who proposes a radical idea. Soon, Missy finds herself in impoverished India, signing away her inheritance and betting on a risky plan while rekindling a lost love.
The Light of Hidden Flowers is a deeply felt story of accepting who we are while pushing our boundaries to see how much more we can become. It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to pursue our dreams.

My rating: 4.5 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 tells the story of Melissa Fletcher, who had bigger dreams when she was younger but is perfectly content at 35 years old to work as a partner in her father’s finance firm and not do much traveling. Her fear of flying has pretty much cancelled out most of the places she’d like to visit at this point, and while someday she’d like to overcome her fears, there is no reason that day needs to be TO-day. After finding out her father has Alzheimer’s though leads Missy’s life into somewhat of a downward spiral. Though she loves caring for her father and being close to him, her father’s illness has changed who he was and the energetic, carefree, optimistic father she once knew has a tendency to be a little to harsh and lashes out at her due to his lack of independence (not her fault but sometimes you lash out at the ones closest to you simply because they’re readily available.
After Missy’s father passes, she finally ends up going on a journey. And after a couple twists of fate she ends up in India and becomes one of the founding organizers of a school for under privileged girls. And so leads the uphill path that Melissa travels on to find out who she is as a person. Along the way she helps a young girl find herself as well, a girl that Melissa relates to extremely well since she is currently going through the hell that Melissa went through in middle school. I have to be honest in that my favorite part of this book was seeing Melissa’s character grow as a person. Melissa starts out in the book not having any idea who she is as a person standing on her own. The only things she feels define her are her involvement in her father’s firm and her certificates and degrees. But through the book we find out there is so much more to Melissa as a person and it was truly fantastic to see her grow in confidence and in self-love/assurance over the course of the story.
Overall I really liked this book. The topic matter was interesting and I was kept engaged throughout the story. The story was well-paced and the characters were interesting and came alive for me. This book really gripped my emotional heart strings and tugged, hard. I got so wrapped up in the characters and the story and just the overwhelming joy of not only finding out who you are as a person and also loving yourself that the story just came alive for me. I think this is a great book and everyone should definitely consider reading it!

The bottom line: I would definitely recommend this book, it was an emotionally gripping and uplifting read. I absolutely loved it!

Link to author website

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

25Nov2015

2015 Book #118 – The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Warner

Posted in Book reviews, Memoir, Non-fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Sound of Gravel
Author: Ruth Wariner
Date finished: 11/23/15
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: January 5, 2016
Pages in book: 336
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:

RUTH WARINER was the thirty-ninth of her father’s forty-two children. Growing up on a farm in rural Mexico, where authorities turn a blind eye to the practices of her community, Ruth lives in a ramshackle house
without indoor plumbing or electricity. At church, preachers teach that God will punish the wicked by destroying the world and that women can only ascend to Heaven by entering into polygamous marriages and giving birth to as many children as possible. After Ruth’s father―the man who had been the founding prophet of the colony―is brutally murdered by his brother in a bid for church power, her mother remarries, becoming the second wife of another faithful congregant.
In need of government assistance and supplemental income, Ruth and her siblings are carted back and forth between Mexico and the United States, where Ruth’s mother collects welfare and her stepfather works a variety of odd jobs. Ruth comes to love the time she spends in the States, realizing that perhaps the community into which she was born is not the right one for her. As she begins to doubt her family’s beliefs and question her mother’s choices, she struggles to balance her fierce love for her siblings with her determination to forge a better life for herself.
Recounted from the innocent and hopeful perspective of a child, The Sound of Gravel is the remarkable memoir of one girl’s fight for peace and love. This is an intimate, gripping tale of triumph, courage, and resilience.

My rating: 4.05 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 Ruth, a young girl growing up in a polygamist Mormon community in Mexico near the US border. Ruth and her siblings are all technically American citizens, so even though they live in Mexico, their mother (Kathy) still collects welfare and food stamps from the US. This book is about Ruth’s childhood and also about her family. Ruth bares all in this book and readers should be warned, there are descriptions of multiple unfortunate deaths/funerals and also child abuse. After seeing a few episodes of that show Sister Wives on TLC I will admit I have a weird interest in hearing stories of people who have lived or grew up in the polygamist lifestyle. The idea of it is just so foreign to me that I can’t understand how a marriage can be shared between more than two people, the logistics of it and how it can survive the tests of time. So when I saw this book available on BookBrowse I was immediately interested.

While growing up, Ruth and her family move around a lot over the years. At one point her mother leaves her step-father (after an incident with him buying a shower head for wife #1 with Ruth’s mother’s money) and they go to the US to live with Kathy’s parents for awhile. They don’t ever end up in one place for very long, though they are forced to live in El Paso, TX for about 2 years when DCF gets involved after the kids are left alone for almost a week (the oldest child at that time was 12 and the youngest was 1 or 2 if I remember correctly). I thought Ruth did just such a fantastic job describing the different locations where she spent time growing up. The imagery seems so real in the book that the reader feels like they are standing right beside Ruth seeing it with her. The events and timeline in this book are well-laid out and very detailed. I felt like I really got to hear about Ruth’s story and all the details of her childhood growing up.

Overall I really liked this book, it was moving and heart-breaking and a beautiful story about a woman’s traumatic childhood but also about how she overcame that childhood to become the person she is today. At 19 she was taking care of all of her younger siblings, trying to support them while also getting her GED and then going to college. Honestly as heart-breaking as her childhood was, I thought this book was inspirational. To think that someone can live through so much heartbreak and still come out not only surviving but thriving, really it is a feat to be admired. Also at this time of year especially when we are giving thanks for the things in our lives we are most grateful for, this book is a great reminder that I should be grateful for the childhood I had and for the two loving, caring parents that God gave me. I think the story was well written and poignant, and I have so much respect for Ruth not only for what she went through but also for having the courage to share her story with the world.

The bottom line: The story line for someone to say they “enjoyed” this book, but it was inspiring and heart-breaking and extremely moving. I would definitely recommend.

Link to author website

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

23Nov2015

2015 Book #117 – The Virgin’s Spy by Laura Andersen

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Fiction, Historical fiction, Tudor Legacy Trilogy by rebeccabook17

Title: The Virgin’s Spy
Author: Laura Andersen
Date finished: 11/22/15
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: November 10, 2015
Pages in book: 369
Stand alone or series: Tudor Legacy Trilogy #2
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:

Queen Elizabeth I remains sovereign of England and Ireland. For the moment, at least. An Irish rebellion is growing and Catholic Spain, led by the Queen’s former husband, King Philip, plans to seize advantage of the turmoil. Stephen Courtenay, eldest son of Dominic and Minuette, Elizabeth’s most trusted confidantes, has accepted a command in Ireland to quell the unrest. But the task will prove dangerous in more ways than one.
The Princess of Wales, Elizabeth’s daughter, Anabel, looks to play a greater role in her nation, ever mindful that there is only one Queen of England. But how is Anabel to one day rule a country when she cannot even govern her own heart?

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. This book tells the story of a variety of people actually. We were introduced to most of the characters in Book #1 (The Virgin’s Daughter) in the series when Lucette Courtenay fell in love with Julien LeClerc. This book picks up not long after the end of Book #1, but this book focuses more on Lucette’s younger brother, Stephen. The book also continues the stories of Lucette’s twin siblings, Kit & Pippa, as well as Queen Elizabeth and her daughter Anabel. In this book, Stephen becomes a spy for the English crown to exact some personal revenge. Along the way though, he falls in love somewhere entirely unexpected and actually ends up (technically speaking) becoming a traitor to the crown. We’re left a little in limbo with his story. I had expected him to end up married and happy as Lucette did in the first book but (***SPOILER ALERT***) that doesn’t happen. This book doesn’t end up with Stephen’s happily ever after but with Stephen in prison, which surprised me but also intrigued me.
Overall I enjoyed this book and the continuation of the series. The book reads almost like a war manual to me, all strategy and cunning insights and plotting and revenge. The main drawback for me with this books was that it felt like it ended in a cliffhanger, which I personally don’t particularly enjoy. I like series books to be able to stand alone as a story on their own, but with this book there was a distinct lack of resolution for me in all the story lines currently in process at the end. It didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the book at all, but I get so frustrated with cliffhangers because now I have to wait months for resolution to the story! Other than that this was a great book with a well-paced story line, interesting characters, and an intriguing historical background.

The bottom line: I would recommend this book to people who like historical fiction, especially those who are interested in novels about the Tudor family. Great book, though I’m anxious to find out what happens next!

Link to author website

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

17Nov2015

2015 Book #116 – Mean Streak by Sandra Brown (Re-read)

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

51teSFEPCWL This was my November book club book for the Fiction Lover’s Book Discussion. I was debating at first whether or not to read it since I just read it last year (you can see my original review post here) but I enjoyed it so I decided to read it again. I’m not going to do my usual review post since I’ve already technically reviewed the book, instead I’m going to add any additional notes I have on the book and also discuss any interesting items that came up during our book club’s discussion.

MY THOUGHTS:

In addition to the thoughts on this book that I initially expressed during my review of the book last year, I thought I would share some thoughts I had this go-around. I always find it interesting the little things that you pick up on when you read a book (or watch a movie) a second or third (or etc) time around. This book is pretty straight forward so I didn’t pick up a lot of extra hidden meaning items that I didn’t quite get the first time around. I still really enjoyed the story though, which is a mark of a good book for me. This book still held my interest throughout the whole story even though I just read it last year.

BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION POINTS: **(SPOILERS INCLUDED)**

Everyone seemed to overall like the book ok but to be honest this probably wasn’t a great pick for a discussion book, mostly because there isn’t much to discuss. The characters and the story line don’t really bring up many discussion items or questions. One of the things that came up is that the beginning of the book we’re lead to believe that the main guy character is a bad guy who has done something awful and there is a lot of effort and different pieces of the story line that lead the reader to think this. The turn around though when we find out he’s really like an ex-FBI agent, its not an easy transition for the reader to follow necessarily.
Other than that there wasn’t much to talk about, we all agreed it was a pretty interesting book that keeps the reader engaged. Happy reading!

14Nov2015

2015 Book #115 – Nirvana by J.R. Stewart

Posted in Book reviews, Young Adult by rebeccabook17

Title: Nirvana
Author: J.R. Stewart
Date finished: 11/13/15
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Blue Moon Publishers
Publication Date: November 10, 2015
Pages in book: 201
Stand alone or series: Nirvana series #1
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 the real world is emptied of all that you love, how can you keep yourself from dependence on the virtual?
Animal activist and punk rock star Larissa Kenders lives in a dystopian world where the real and the virtual intermingle. After the disappearance of her soulmate, Andrew, Kenders finds solace by escaping to Nirvana, a virtual world controlled by Hexagon. In Nirvana, anyone’s deepest desires may be realized – even visits with Andrew.
Although Kenders knows that this version of Andrew is virtual, when he asks for her assistance revealing Hexagon’s dark secret, she cannot help but comply. Soon after, Kenders and her closest allies find themselves in a battle with Hexagon, the very institution they have been taught to trust. After uncovering much more than she expected, Kenders’ biggest challenge is determining what is real – and what is virtual.
Nirvana is a fast-paced, page-turning young adult novel combining elements of science fiction, mystery, and romance. Part of a trilogy, this book introduces readers to a young woman who refuses to give up on the man she loves, even if it means taking on an entire government to do so. Are you ready to enter Nirvana?

My rating: 3.25 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 tells the story of Larissa Kenders and her husband Andrew. Larissa and Andrew live in the Barracks in the year 2036. This is after “the Extinction,” a time when there are no bees and therefore pretty much no food since bees pollenate most plants. Andrew was killed in a recent “mission” and Larissa is trying to come to terms with this and either figure out how to find his body or move on with her life. It is hard to tell who she should and shouldn’t trust since honestly her friend from childhood is a selfish asshole who she should be able to trust but we as the readers find out some pretty awful stuff about him.
Anyways, so through the book we learn more about what life is like in the year 2036. There are pretty much 3 main places you can live: the Barracks, where the soldiers and scientists live, the Farm where the laborers live (very feudal-like system, the people who live on the Farm are basically serfs) and the Bubble where the “elite” live. This concept reminded me a little of how the Hunger Games government was set up since the Farm labors to provide food for the Bubble, just like the Districts labored to provide for the Capitol. This book also had pieces that reminded me of the Matrix since they often enter into a virtual world where they can do whatever they want and Larissa is trying to figure out what is real and what isn’t since she sees Andrew in this virtual world and also because Serge is a LOT controlling and could have trapped her in a virtual world without thinking twice if it would keep her with him. The book ends with a big twist (won’t spoil it!!) but we’re left wondering if Andrew is alive and what is real and what isn’t.
Overall I enjoyed this book a lot. Anyone who likes young adult dystopian novels will most likely love this book. I hate books that end in a cliffhanger only because I hate waiting to find out what is going to happen and also because I’m left with a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the book which is frustrating for me. To be honest if I had known this was a series I would have done what I normally do and waited until all the books in the series came out and then read them all at once. I guess I will just have to wait for the next book to come out though. There are a few things about the book I didn’t love. Larissa is just a tad too whiny for my tastes but not so much that it ruined the story for me. And I don’t understand why she keeps thinking her sister is going to be worried about her or looking for her. Her sister abandoned her to her pedophile father, why does Larissa think her sister is all of a sudden worried about her? Other than those couple small things I liked the book!

The bottom line: I would recommend this book to people who like dystopian young adult novels with a forewarning that there is a cliffhanger at the end. Good book though!

Link to author website

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

10Nov2015

2015 Book #114 – Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams

Posted in Book reviews, Historical fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: Along the Infinite Sea
Author: Beatriz Williams
Date finished: 11/10/15
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam Son’s
Publication Date: November 3, 2015
Pages in book: 461
Stand alone or series: Can be read as a stand alone but there are other novels starring characters in this book (Tiny Pretty Things = Pepper’s sister Tiny and The Secret Life of Violet Grant tells Vivian’s story somewhat I think)
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:

Each of the three Schuyler sisters has her own world-class problems, but in the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler’s problems are in a class of their own. When Pepper fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction, she thinks she’s finally found a way to take care of herself and the baby she carries, the result of an affair with a married, legendary politician.
But the car’s new owner turns out to have secrets of her own, and as the glamorous and mysterious Annabelle Dommerich takes pregnant Pepper under her wing, the startling provenance of this car comes to light: a Nazi husband, a Jewish lover, a flight from Europe, and a love so profound it transcends decades. As the many threads of Annabelle’s life from World War II stretch out to entangle Pepper in 1960s America, and the father of her unborn baby tracks her down to a remote town in coastal Georgia, the two women must come together to face down the shadows of their complicated pasts.
Indomitable heroines, a dazzling world of secrets, champagne at the Paris Ritz, and a sweeping love story for the ages, in New York Times bestselling author Beatriz William’s final book about the Schuyler sisters.

My rating: 4.5 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. First of all, I just have to say Wow. This book really gets your heart pumping and just keeps you right on the edge of your seat. This book tells the story of Pepper Schuyler, who is pregnant and trying to hide out so the baby’s father won’t find her. Which sounds bad but is actually pretty reasonable considering the father is is being, lets call it forcefully persuasive, for her to get rid of the baby. But Pepper wants to keep the baby, she just doesn’t want any involvement from the father, she wants the baby all for herself. Pepper’s story becomes involved with Annabelle Dommerich’s story when Annabelle pays Pepper an exorbitant amount of money for a refurbished classic car that it appears used to belong to her. Annabelle fled Germany in that car in 1938 and it brings a wealth of memories rushing back to her. The book alternates between the late 1930’s and 1966, between Annabelle’s story in Europe and Pepper (and Annabelle’s) story in the present day.
Pepper comes to stay with Annabelle after they meet. Annabelle feels a connection to Pepper even though they don’t know that much about each other because Annabelle was once pregnant and unwed too. And she can tell that Pepper is hiding out so she decides to help. But then all of a sudden Annabelle disappears and then her son Florian shows up looking for her. So Pepper tags along while Florian goes to look for his mother. Back in the late 1930’s we hear about Annabelle’s life in Paris and then in Germany during the rise of Hitler’s power. We hear of the horrible things that are beginning to happen as a result of Nazi power and we see Annabelle’s fear for her son and her son’s father.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I feel like I should have seen the ending coming but I had no idea and to be honest I am not 100% sure how I feel about the ending. I don’t want to say too much about it because I think it is a great twist of fate in the book and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone reading this book in the future but a part of me was so mad about the ending and another part of me thinks I liked it better that way. In a way I think the ending actually fit better with the story line even if it wasn’t necessarily my first choice. And all through the book I was thinking about what a heart-breaking and beautiful love story it was and it ended in a heart-breaking-ly beautiful way so I can’t decide how I feel exactly. Other than that though the story line once you get into it is riveting and I didn’t want to put the book down. The last 50 pages I think too I was on the edge of my seat with my heart pounding screaming “RUN” over and over again in my head so get ready for some good action with this book.

The bottom line: I really liked this book a lot a lot. It was thrilling and heart-wrenching and just great. Would definitely recommend and I can’t wait to read this author’s other books!!!

Link to author website

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

3Nov2015

2015 Book #113 – Best Laid Wedding Plans by Lynnette Austin

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Best Laid Wedding Plans
Author: Lynnette Austin
Date finished: 11/2/15
Genre: Romance, Women’s fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: November 3, 2015
Pages in book: 416
Stand alone or series: Magnolia Brides #1
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:

With love in their hearts and crafting the perfect wedding on their minds, the possibilities are endless for the ladies of Lynette Austin’s new Magnolia Brides series.
SOME DREAMS ARE WORTH WHATEVER IT TAKES
Jenni Beth Beaumont left her broken heart behind when she took her dream job in Savannah. But after her brother’s death, Jenni Beth returns home to help mend her parents’ hearts as well as restore their beautiful but crumbling antebellum mansion. New dreams take shape as Jenni Beth sets to work replacing floors and fixing pipes to convert the family homestead into the perfect wedding destination. However, some folks in their small Southern town are determined to see her fail.
Cole Bryson was once the love of Jenni Beth’s life, but the charming architectural salvager has plans of his own for the Beaumont family home. As the two butt heads, old turmoil is brought to the surface and Cole and Jenni Beth will have to work through some painful memories and tough realities before they can set their pasts aside and have a second chance at their own happily ever after.

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 Jenni Beth Beaumont, who returns home to Misty Bottoms to renovate her parent’s large house and turn it into a wedding destination. Unfortunately, if she’s going to be able to afford everything she will need to roll up her sleeves and do most of the work herself. Realizing how large of an undertaking that really is though, she enlists the help of her (deceased) brother’s two friends, Cole and Beck. Since Cole and she had a history, she was hesitant to let Cole in on the plans and have him help. Turns out she really needed both Beck and Cole’s help though since the bank manager was a total dickwad (excuse my French) and was trying to sabotage her plans.
Overall I did very much enjoy this book, I liked the characters and the plot line kept me engaged. I also liked that the bad guy got what they had coming to them in the end. I have to be honest I wasn’t a huge fan of Cole in the beginning, he was one of those heavy handed alpha-male types and he was coming on a bit strong with that whole “women don’t work hard” attitude, but by the end of the book I loved him. It was really interesting to see him grow as a character and see how much he had to struggle in coming to terms with his feelings for Jenni Beth. This book reminded me just a tad of the wedding planners series that Nora Roberts wrote, and I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the Magnolia Brides series! Also make sure to check out my Spotlight Tour post on this book for lots of cool extras about the book and a giveaway!

The bottom line: If you like romance or women’s fiction I would definitely recommend this book, I really enjoyed it!

Link to author website

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