The Perfect Home by Kevin Lynch (⭐️ )

Goodreads book description:

It’s a beautiful place to live. Or die.

June is very happy in her home. It’s where she raised her two kids – now college age – and every room is filled with memories, some beautiful, some painful. She loves the garden she has worked so hard to create. She likes her neighbours in this pleasant, leafy suburb.

But lately, something has changed.

There’s the new guy across the street. He seems rough, possibly criminal. And he’s been taking a definite interest in June’s rebellious daughter, Cathy.

And there’s June’s son, Sam. He’s always been open and friendly but recently he’s been sullen and secretive.

Even more disturbing, June’s cheating ex-husband suddenly seems to be everywhere. It’s almost as if he’s stalking her.

Then, when someone she knows is murdered, June begins to understand that all these different things are connected. And as she investigates further, she realises that she herself is in terrible danger.

Because someone out there wants June gone. Permanently. (less)

My Review:

I did not enjoy this book.  The characters were flat, and drove me crazy.  I know they made stupid decisions to drive “the story” forward, but it didn’t endear them to me.  At times I wanted to scream over the obtuseness of the characters. I felt it was a slow read, and I just couldn’t connect. I didn’t feel that it was twisting or innovative, it felt very run of the mill.  Not cute enough to be a cozy, and not hard enough to be called a thriller.   And to say I hated the ending is an understatement, the resolution with Cathy and Steve made me angrier than all the other poor decisions combined.  I’m not saying I wouldn’t give this author another chance, the writing style and voice were fine.  It was the story content I couldn’t connect to.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Goodreads book description:
A dozen women join a secret 1850s Arctic expedition—and a sensational murder trial unfolds when some of them don't come back.
Eccentric Lady Jane Franklin makes an outlandish offer to adventurer Virginia Reeve: take a dozen women, trek into the Arctic, and find her husband's lost expedition. Four parties have failed to find him, and Lady Franklin wants a radical new approach: put the women in charge.
A year later, Virginia stands trial for murder. Survivors of the expedition willing to publicly support her sit in the front row. There are only five. What happened out there on the ice?
Set against the unforgiving backgdrop of one of the world's most inhospitable locations, USA Today bestsellng author Greer Macallister uses the true story of Lady Jane Franklin's tireless attempts to find her husband's lost expedition as a jumping-off point to spin a tale of bravely, intrigue, perseverance and hope.

My Review:

This was very dramatic and exciting.  I enjoyed the dual views of the expedition and the trial.   It kept me on the edge of my seat.  I got this as part of The Booked Traveler box and I enjoyed the gifts.  The story really kept me engaged and I had hated putting it down to sleep.

Bad Luck Bridesmaid by Alison Rose Greenberg (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Goodreads book description:
It’s official: Zoey Marks is the cursed bridesmaid that no engagement can survive. Ten years, three empire waist dresses, and ZERO brides have walked down the aisle.
After strike three, Zoey is left wondering if her own ambivalence towards marriage has rubbed off on those she loves. And when her building distrust of matrimony culminates in turning down a proposal from her perfect All-American boyfriend, Rylan Harper III, she and Rylan are both left heartbroken, leaving Zoey to wonder: what is it exactly about tying the knot that makes her want to run in the opposite direction?

Enter Hannah Green: Zoey’s best friend, who announces that she’s marrying a guy she just met (cue eye roll). At a castle. In gorgeous, romantic Ireland, where Rylan will be in attendance, and Zoey will be a bridesmaid. It’ll be fine.

Okay, the woman definition of fine (NOT FINE).

Determined to turn her luck around, Zoey accepts her role and vows to get Hannah down the aisle—all the while praying her best friend’s wedded bliss will allow her to embrace marriage and get Rylan back.

But as the weekend goes on, Zoey is plagued with more questions than answers. Can you be a free spirit, yet still want a certain future? Can you have love and be loved on your terms? And how DO you wrangle a bossy falcon into doing your bidding?

My Review:

I feel like this book was a bit of a conundrum for me. I liked it and I needed to know what happened, but I don’t feel like it fit as a rid a traditional romance, It wasn’t a romcom, but it wasn’t literary fiction either. I had the traipsing of a traditional romance, but the ending threw me.  This was a very character driven book, but some of the characters felt a little light…I wanted Graham and Ezra to have a little more depth.  Once Zoey got to Ireland I could not put it down!

I love when books have Spotify lists!

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Goodreads book description:

After angering a local gangster, seventeen-year-old Sena Korhosen must flee with her prize fighting wolf, Iska, in tow. A team of scientists offer to pay her way off her frozen planet on one condition: she gets them to the finish line of the planet’s infamous sled race. Though Sena always swore she’d never race after it claimed both her mothers’ lives, it’s now her only option. 

But the tundra is a treacherous place, and as the race unfolds and their lives are threatened at every turn, Sena starts to question her own abilities. She must discover whether she's strong enough to survive the wild – whether she and Iska together are strong enough to get them all out alive.

A captivating debut about survival, found family, and the bond between a girl and a wolf that delivers a fresh twist on classic survival stories and frontier myths.

My Review:

So first of all, I somehow missed that this was set on another planet. I thought it was in Russia or maybe Alaska, but nope this is sci-fi. That does not take away from this for me, but it made for some. My advice is to pretend that it’s in Russia or Alaska and read it anyways. I feel so lucky that the second book of the year was also a five star read. Admittedly it did start a little slow, but once the story got rolling it really went. I loved it, I loved the characters of Sena and Iska, and all the side characters too.  I really hope this becomes a series!

This is full of strong character development along with a strong action packed storyline. I’m not gonna lie I ugly cried at the end.  Twice in a row.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

At the End of Everything By Marieke Nijkamp (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

 

Goodreads book description:

The Hope Juvenile Treatment Center is ironically named. No one has hope for the delinquent teenagers who have been exiled there; the world barely acknowledges that they exist.

Then the guards at Hope start acting strange. And one day…they don’t show up. But when the teens band together to make a break from the facility, they encounter soldiers outside the gates. There’s a rapidly spreading infectious disease outside, and no one can leave their houses or travel without a permit. Which means that they’re stuck at Hope. And this time, no one is watching out for them at all.

As supplies quickly dwindle and a deadly plague tears through their ranks, the group has to decide whom among them they can trust and figure out how they can survive in a world that has never wanted them in the first place.

My Review:

I was really looking forward to this book, I loved Nijkamp’s book This is Where it Ends, and couldn’t wait to read this one.  It  is told from multiple perspectives: Logan a non-verbal female, whose verbal twin Leah is also in the facility, Grace a long-time female patient, and Emerson a non-binary new arrival. We follow these three though the discovery of the plague and the months that follow as they work to survive.

This book started my year off with a bang, and some tears.  This book gave me so many feels.  It was a gut wrenching read, but in the best way.  The characters made my heart ache, I wanted so much to hug the pain away.  As reader, you can’t help but too root for them.  You know that they won’t all survive, but you want them to beat the odds, and your heart breaks when they don’t.  Just like your heart sings when they do.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

2021

Where has this year gone?  I started a January wrap up and didn’t get a chance to finish it.  I don’t know the route I want this blog to take…I barely have time to put my reviews on GoodReads, and I feel like they are not in depth at all.  So far this year I have read 47 books…that would be a ridiculous summary post no-one would want to read.  I have a started helping a friend get her book box off the ground by a) purchasing a subscription and b) posting videos of said subscription unwrapping.  But that is on Instagram and YouTube, I don’t feel the need to post here as well, maybe I will do a review?  So that leaves me as to where to go with this blog…I’m not in the book world enough to be talking about news.  But I don’t know reviews are the way this works anymore either…this may take some thought to figure out.

December 2020 Wrap Up

Three Ordinary Girls by Tim Brady (read 11/23 to 12/1) ⭐️⭐️

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

This is aWWII true story.  Hannie Schaft, Truus Oversteegen, and Freddie Oversteegen are three sisters in occupied Netherlands, in the city of Haarlem.  They joined the underground resistance and became a terrifying force de resistance.  They sheltered Jews, political dissidents, and fellow Dutch Resistors.  They took direct actions like sabotaging bridges and railways.  They transported weapons and attacked military facilities.  They were assassins and seasoned spies.  Tim Brady did his homework when researching these women and bringing their heroics to the worlds attention.

This book started out strong, but around 40% it started to drag.  It became more a reciting of facts than a story.  I felt like Hannie, Truus and Freddie were ignored. I wanted more details of them.  It cam back around at the end but, it was too late I had lost interest.

The Peculiar Fate of Holly Banks by Julie Valerie (read 12/1 to 12/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second book in the Village of Primm series.  I read the first book last December as a OUABC selection.  This book takes place just a week or so after the end of the first book.  Once again Holly Banks finds herself in the middle of a mystery. Her chocolate lab Struggle digs up a lost artifact and the chaos ensues.  

I gave this book a 3star because it still was a meh storyline to me, a little better than the first but not that engaging to me.  I think I need to look at this series almost like a cozy, but just without murder.  I liked that the characters stayed true to the writing from the first book, as it took place so soon after the first book that felt really important to me. The sarcasm was toned down a little bit, which I admit I was a little sad about.  But Valerie still didn’t take her created world seriously which did make it fun.  I don’t love these books, but I will still probably continue with the series which is a solid series. 

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage (read 12/9 to 12/13) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I picked this book up because Ants Among Elephants was such a heavy read.  This had been an impulse grocery store aisle buy.  It sounded great a thriller about a daughter trying to kill her mom, sort of Gillian Flynn style was my impression when I read the back.

I really liked the book, the premise and story line was great.  I loved the dynamic between the Mom Suzette and the daughter Hannah. I loved how devious  Hannah was, yet still had an air of innocence.  Alex seemed like a clueless shmuck, which fed right into Hannah’s plans.  What I don’t like was some of Suzette’s vulgarity around sex with Alex, and some of the sex scenes.  I’m not opposed to sex in a novel, it is part of life, but I felt like the scenes were put in more for shock factor than to further the storyline.  They seemed abrupt and poorly placed, and when they appeared they pulled me out of the story, which broke the magic for me.  But other than that it was really well written and a page turner for sure.

Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India by Sujatha Gilda (read 12/5 to 12/15)⭐️

This was the December selection for the Book & Wine Club. They are a newsletter that pairs a book and wine selection every month for local groups to meet.  It this month they decided to do a Zoom meeting, so my best friend and I joined.

This book was not as advertised, the blurb on Amazon’s and good reads said it was the history of a family as they rose above their caste to become educated, leaders and an improved life.  Eventually Gilda moves from India to America and writes her family’s history. It was marketed as a rare family history from the lowest of the castes in India, and their move triumph and success.  It was also supposed to be about the bonds of family.  Wow that sounds enlightening and amazing right?  Yeah I would love to read that book!  Sadly instead I read this one.  It wasn’t about family and triumph, it was recounting the deeds of the the oldest brother Satyam as he became a political activist who founded the People’s War Group, which sounded like a communist terrorist group to me

Which per my internet research is exactly what it is!  I’m sure I’m now on some monitoring list for even looking it up.  There was almost no discussion of the author’s mother, besides when she was being mistreated first by her Father and Brothers, then by her husband.  It definitely wasn’t about woman’s rights or gaining empowerment in India.  This book was horrible and the description was do misleading I felt betrayed for it being selected.

The Way Back by Gavriel Savit (read 12/15 to 12/22) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

The book takes place in the 1820’s or so.  It follows two kids, the book description said they were teens, although I thought they were more like 12.  Yehuda Lieb, son of poor single mother and Bluma granddaughter of Tupik’s midwife, a small Jewish Villaine somewhere in Eastern Europe.   They both encounter death one day, and then consequence is a journey through the Far Country, a Jewish land of spirits and demons.  Where they decide to make war on Death himself.

I’m not going to lie  this one left me floundering about.  I was not aware of the characters at all.  I suspect they are well known Jewish folk lore characters, but I had no idea who they were.  Still I was able to follow the story and enjoy it.  I think if I had known who they were some stuff would have made more sense.  And the description is right, it did remind me of Neil Gaimen’s American Gods. I enjoyed the read, it was a solid story and I would read more from this author.  

Divided in Death by JD Robb (AKA Nora Roberts)  (read 12/22 to 12/26) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is book 18 in the In Death Series,  I started reading this series in 2015.  One of Eve’s husband’s employees of fond at the scene of her husband and his lover, at fist glance it looks like an open and shut case.  But things don’t add up Eve and the deeper she digs, the deeper the conspiracy goes.

This was another great one in the series, admittedly the plot isn’t new or unique.  But that isn’t why I love these books, I love these books because of the characters.  Eve, Roarke, Peabody, McNab, and Feeny are all old friends. They grow as characters and people, and yet they stay in their character traits enough to give me comfort.  

Visions in Death by JD Robb (AKA Nora Robert’s)   (read 12/27 to 12/29/20

I’m obviously feeling some comfort reads, and Eve Dallas does it for me.

I’m surprised that after all this time Robb was able to surprise me. There was a twist at the end that was completely unexpected for me.  I enjoyed the writing and the way we get to see and know some side characters more intently.  I love the lightheartedness of this series though too, despite all the murder there is laughter.  I even read some bits to my husband, much to his confusion.