The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (Read 2/22/18 to 2/25/18) - 5 Stars

This was my February Once Upon a Book Club Book.  I loved it!

It is set in Alaska in 1974 and moves forward to the 80's.  Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.  His 13-year old daughter Leni and wife Cora must learn a whole new way of life, and learn how to truly become survivors.

It was beautifully written an a joy to read.  I got really drawn into the story, and at times couldn't put it down.  It was heartbreaking and beautiful.  I admit, I cried the entire last 30 pages. 

Asurmen: The Darker Road (Warhammer 40,000) by Gav Thorpe (Listened on 2/22/18) - 3 Star

This is another Warhammer 40,000 book, but this time I listened to it as an audio book, it is short about an hour long.  The Phoenix Lord Asurmen joins the warriors of the craftworld Ulthwé on a quest to the Crone Worlds in search of the oracle Hiron-athela. It is believed that this being holds an artefact that could safeguard Ulthwé's future.  
This was an ok book, it had a great radio dramatic feel that was a bit distracting from the story, too much background music.  But it was fun to listen to.  I was disappointed that there were no flashback to after the fall and when Asurmen was becoming the Phoenix lord.

Children Who See Too Much: Lessons from the Child Witness to Violence Project by Betsy McAlister Groves (Read 2/16/18 to 2/21/18) - 2 Star

Betsy Groves works with children traumatized by witnessing violence. In this book she shows how children understand, respond to, and are affected by violence, especially domestic violence. She uses clinical case studies to show that being young does not protect against the lasting effects of witnessing violence.  I thought it would be a far more enlightening read than it was, I felt like it a giant brochure for her program, Child Witness to Violence Project.  There was so much about the program and not enough about the children and effects/solutions.  I was very disappointed.

For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men by Shaunti Feldhahn (Read 2/11/18 to 2/14/18) - 2 Star

I don't remember why I put this book on my TBR pile.  It was an ok read, it was just very obvious stuff to me.  The data from her questionnaires, was interesting and confirmed so much of what I felt I already knew.  The inner lives of men, is really not that big of a mystery.  Love Languages was a much more enlightening book.  Maybe I read them out of order.

Jain Zar The Storm of Silence by Gav Thorpe (Read 1/30/18 to 2/10/18) 4 Star

This is a book about a character from the table top game Warhammer 40,000.  It was a gift from my boyfriend, because I like the characters the Eldar.  I have read one other book in the same universe by the same author and I had a really hard time getting through it.  But this one was much better, I really liked how it gave some history of how the character became who they are, and had some nice battles in the present day.  It was a really good mixture of action and storyline.  I was able to easily connect with the main character, and really liked her.  I also really liked her characters attributes etc, I just wish the models were more appealing to me.  It had a nice even flow, and the battles were detailed, but a non-player could enjoy the book too.