Long Black Veil by Jennifer Finney Boylan: A Review

I honestly can't say that I enjoyed this book all that much.  I even took a step back for more than a month after I read the book to see if my first impressions were made hastily but I really can't say that I enjoyed this book any more now than I did before.  I think most of it had to do with the fact that my expectations for what the book was about were so much different than what the book was actually about.  My expectations were that this book was a thriller but I felt like it was more strange than thrilling.  The murder mystery really took a back seat to the story about Judith and "who she used to be".  We quickly learn who Judith used to be but the murder mystery is very quickly wrapped up at the very end.  That felt kind of like an old cartoon version of a murder mystery and not what I would expect a thriller to be.  I just didn't really like this book that much.  I would say that there are some people who may enjoy this book and, for that, I gave it two stars instead of one.

My rating:
★★☆☆☆


Watch the book trailer here:

Reviews for other books like this one:
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
Elle by Phillipe Djian

This book is currently available and can be purchased from major booksellers.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.  Visit the publisher, Penguin Random House, for booksellers and information about the book.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.  This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am not associated with Goodreads in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind. 

I do not track activity of visitors beyond that which blogger already does.  If you click on an outside link, those websites may track your activity but I do not actively share any information with third-party websites.

Rescued by Peter Zheutlin: A Review

Rescued was a feel good book.  It has several stories of people who have adopted dogs that would have, otherwise, been euthanized due to their being in high-kill shelters.  Zheutlin explains some of the reasons why people should "rescue" animals.  Adopting animals, as opposed to buying them from puppy mills, is a much more humane way to invite a pet into your home.  Rescuing animals also helps us.  Our physical and mental health are improved exponentially by having animals in our home.

I picked this up knowing that it would be a light read and make me feel good.  While I have not personally rescued any dogs (though family members have), I have rescued two cats that have opened my heart up to so much happiness.  The first cat was Oreo.  I got her from a PetSmart adoption event when I was about 18.  She slept on my bed every night until she fell ill with a kidney problem that took her from us in 2014.  I then adopted Lucy, also from a PetSmart adoption event, a week after I lost Oreo.  While I will never forget Oreo, Lucy helped me heal from the loss of my best friend by becoming my new best friend.  Zheutlin's book will help reader's remember how great it feels to bring a furry friend into their home and love, and be loved, unconditionally.

Lucy

 

Oreo

Rating:
★★★★☆

Reviews of books like this one:
Britt Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/4 Years Old

This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.  

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in order to review it but that did not have an effect on my review of the book.  This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James: A Review

When I first rated this book, I gave it four stars.  After thinking about the book a bit, I think it deserves five.  This was the perfect ghost story.

Fiona can't get over her sister's murder.  Deb's killer is behind bars but Fiona just can't accept that the story is exactly how the police say it was.  Four girls have been dumped at the depressing Idlewild boarding school for various reasons.  They are haunted by a ghost named Mary Hand who haunts the school.  Some say that she was a student that was locked out of the school and is still begging to get in.  Others say that her baby is buried in the garden.  Either way, Mary digs into each persons unique past and shows those she haunts what can scare them most.

I was surprised that this book was this scary!  Mary Hand is the perfect ghost.  She is so creepy and gets at the heart of what will scare both the characters and the reader.  This book also functioned as a historical fiction, of sorts, with some of the story being dedicated to the history of the Ravensbruck concentration camp and the atrocities there.

I loved this book!  From the characters to the storyline, I was kept in suspense until the very last moment.  I was fascinated by the historical accounts of Ravensbruck and I was saddened by the way that the girls were thrown away so easily but the ghost story is really what kept me turning the pages well into the night.  I can't say enough good things about this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great horror story.

My rating:
★★★★★

More reviews of books like this one:
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tutor
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson


This book will be available on March 20, 2018 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.  

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in order to review it but that did not have an effect on my review of the book.  This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind.

Blood Sisters by Jane Corry: A Review

Kitty suffered an accident as a child that left her unable to communicate.  While she is able to think clearly, all of her thoughts come out as babbles.  Alison is an art teacher in a community college and takes a job as an artist in residence in a minimum security prison to atone for her perceived role in Kitty's injuries.

Last year, I read Jane Corry's book, My Husband's Wife and really enjoyed it.  I was excited to learn that Corry had released another novel.  I was not disappointed with this one.  Blood Sisters was enough of a thriller to keep one's attention while also including enough about the relationship between sisters.  Sisters' relationships can be complicated and Corry included this in her book.  There were also plenty of twists and turns.  Kitty was a very interesting character.  She is very opinionated and not very nice but she still very much loves her sister.  This was a quick read, for me, and I felt myself feeling as if I could not put the book down before I figured out the ending.  The ending was unpredictable, as well.  I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.  I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by Corry.

My rating:
★★★★☆

Reviews of books like this one:
My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry
Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica


This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.  

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in order to review it but that did not have an effect on my review of the book.  This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind.

The Taster by V.S. Alexander: A Review

"It's a dangerous job.  I was nervous at first.  You never know which meal will be your last."

It is Germany in the middle of World War II.  Magda Ritter's father is worried about Magda's safety in Berlin and sends her to live in Bavaria with her uncle and his Spanish wife.  She can't seem to please her aunt, who wants her to find a job to pull her weight as soon as she arrives.  Her police officer uncle pulls some strings to get her a job working directly with the Fuhrer.  She has been awarded a job as a taster.  She must be able to find poisons in food meant for Hitler by smell, sight and taste.  This new position has enabled Magda to learn things about the Reich that has been hidden from most of the citizens of Germany.  Soon, she finds out that the SS has been doing horrible things.  Will she participate in brining down the man who rules the Reich?

This is a historical fiction about Nazi Germany from a different perspective.  And it was quite different from any other fiction I have read about the time.  There was very little about the concentration camps or escape attempts by dissidents or any of the other common themes.  Instead, it is about the employees of Hitler, some of whom hate him for what he has done to their country and families, in addition to what he did to the Jewish citizens of Germany.  I appreciated being able to see the story from a different perspective.  At first, I was a bit upset that the author did not spend a lot of time on those who were most hurt by Hitler and Nazi Germany but then I took a step back and realized that there were quite a few books from the perspective of concentration camp survivors (the author suggests some of this reading at the end of the book) and that there should be room for the German victims, too.  The book did, sometimes, drag but I still enjoyed it a lot.  I enjoyed the characters.  Magda was very likeable.  She is the all-around nice girl.  I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially if the reader is open to new perspectives about history.

My rating:
★★★★☆

Reviews of books like this one:
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
My Last Lament by James William Brown
The Patriots be Sana Krasikov

This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.  

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in order to review it but that did not have an effect on my review of the book.  This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind.

The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson: A Review

Leia is famous in the comic book world for creating a superhero and has just discovered that she is pregnant after an encounter with one of her fans.  One of the first people that she wants to tell is her grandmother, Birchie, but before she can do so, she discovers that Birchie is suffering from dementia.  Birchie's best friend, Wattie, has been keeping Birchie's illness a secret until Birchie has an outburst at a church function that reveals dirty town secrets.  Leia travels to Birchie's lifelong home to clean it out and find an assisted living facility for Birchie and Wattie to stay in but soon discovers that the women hold deeper secrets than Birchie's dementia.  

I love Southern Fiction and I liked this book but I did not love this book.  With the exception of Birchie and Wattie, the characters in this book really didn't seem southern.  It seemed like Leia really wanted to be southern but there was no true insight into what southern was really like.  There were a lot of assumptions made about the south that simply were not true in this point and time.  I also felt that there was too much emphasis on Leia's story when I would have rather heard more about Birchie and Wattie's story.  This wasn't a historical fiction novel where the past and the present are interwoven.  The historical parts of this book were almost an afterthought.  It felt like I was reading about Leia and her baby and Batman (Leia's baby's father) and Birchie and Wattie's story, which was so much more interesting, was rushed through.  While I enjoyed the book, I would have preferred more of the history behind the bones.  That being said, I think those who enjoy Women's Fiction will find this more to their taste.  Those looking for Historical Fiction or Southern Fiction may be somewhat disappointed.

My rating:
★★★☆☆

Watch the book trailer here:

Reviews of books like this one:
If The Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss
The Education of Dixie Dupree by Donna Everhart
The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor

This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.  Until January 31, 2018, the kindle version of this book will be $1.99 on Amazon.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in order to review it but that did not have an effect on my review of the book.  This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

"Soon she will step into her white dress.  She will smooth makeup over her clear young skin.  She will wear something borrowed and something blue.  The musicians will lift their instruments to serenade her as she slowly makes her way down the aisle, toward the only man I ever truly loved."

A woman is about to marry the man of her dreams as he is moving on from his old life with another wife.  The man she loves, Richard, cheated on his divorced wife with her and the scorned woman is so not over it.  We watch as Richard prepares to marry a new woman while the old woman desperately tries to prevent the marriage.

I had a lot of high hopes for this book.  It just did not meet my expectations.  I liked the book and enjoyed reading it but it did not live up to the hype that surrounded it.  It was held up as an intense psychological thriller but the twists and turns, while surprising, were not that exciting.  There was suspense but I found that many of my questions were left unanswered at the end.  I do want to say that this book is a good one.  Many people will enjoy it.  I think that my expectations were just built way too high for it.  There are plot twists and they are hard to anticipate.  The characters are very well written and incredibly complex.  I think fans of psychological thrillers will like this book but just be forewarned that there are some holes in the plot.  A psychological thriller about a marriage gone wrong that I enjoyed much more would have the be The Breakdown by B.A. Paris.

Watch the book trailer here:

My rating:
★★★☆☆

Reviews of similar books:
The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
What's Become of Her by Deb Caletti

This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in order to review it but that did not have an effect on my review of the book.  This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind.