Author: sandys5

Hi! Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. I'm a huge reader, reading a variety of genres from children's to horror to historical fiction. If the book captures my attention, I'll read it. I'm an active volunteer at our public library performing many different roles. I'm also a mother and a Nana to some terrific grandchildren who I now watch during the day. I love to be outside, staying busy and enjoying nature. I write reviews for all the books that I read and I post the reviews on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, BookLikes, Bloglovin', and here on WordPress. I also have a few book boards on Pinterest where I pin the book's cover. I am also a member of NetGalley. Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you found something that made your day. Please stop back again, or better yet, hit the "like" button or follow me. Have a terrific day and stay positive and read!

It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica

4.5 stars Thriller

It was supposed to be a getaway for these two families, but it ended up being a nightmare. This quiet vacation, located in a secluded cabin camp setting, includes two siblings and their families. Courtney was best friends with her brother’s wife, Emily and their families had been together before, so this vacation had the makings of a great time yet as the story begins there seems to be tension in the air. Flipping between the present and the past, I couldn’t put the book down as the story unfolded.

Courtney’s husband takes off early one morning for fishing, as her young son and niece are sleeping after having a sleepover the previous night. The quiet morning is interrupted by a scream that rips through the air. Courtney takes off and discovers the bodies of her brother and Emily, dead in their cabin. Her 14-year-old nephew had slept through the chaos in the house as he had been given medication the night before. Her 17-year-old niece is gone. There are no signs of her anywhere. What?!? Did whoever murder the parents take Reese? Did Reese kill her parents? What just happened?!?

Dang! Everyone is told to stay inside their cabin. Everyone is a suspect and is questioned. The police begin looking for Reese. Courtney feels the need to go look for Reese; she can’t just sit inside the cabin waiting. What about Courtney’s husband, Elliot, who was out fishing? Didn’t he hear the scream? Was he really fishing? Oh, my goodness.

As the chapters changed perspectives, we crossed over timelines, I just couldn’t figure out why. Why were the parents killed? Everything that I had read didn’t give me any strong motive(s) for the reason(s) behind their murders. What was I missing? Courtney was such a strong character, a character who was all in. If she was hiding something, she was doing a great job, as it felt as if her heart was into solving this case, even if she had to do it by herself. Her husband Elliott seemed to be a side character which sounded alarm inside my head. Fishing, bloody shoes, clueless, hum? As I tried to check the characters off on my list, the author was throwing twists around inside this story making my calculations pointless. I highly recommend this story as one you will not be able to put down. 4.5 stars

Refugee: The Graphic Novel by Alan Gratz

3.5 Stars Graphic Novel

I usually love these adaptations to graphic novels but this one, I didn’t. I had a hard time following each of the individual stories at times even though the stories were so different. It also felt like the story was rushed, the story felt like it had some gaps and didn’t flow like I thought it should.

Each of these three children were experiencing turmoil, a need to flee from their home. I liked that almost everything about each of their escapes was unique.

From their reason for fleeing, their transportation, who they were traveling with, the difficulties they faced on their journey, and how their journeys began. None of their journeys were easy.

I’ve read the novel that this book was taken from, and I feel that this adaptation has suppressed the emotions, energy, and power that the book possessed. The illustrations are good and they help but they don’t make up for what I feel is missing. 3.5 stars

Eerie Education: Scary Schools and Libraries (Where You Dare Not Go) by Dinah Williams

4.25 Stars Nonfiction

I’ve read quite a few of these Where You Dare Not Go books. I like the short little stories that go with each stop, as they take you around the globe, hitting on a few of the most particular and interesting places that pertain to each of the books in this series. Each book features actual pictures that accompany each story, a captivating tidbit highlighted in a eye-catching bubble, and in the back of each book, the author expands upon the books theme. This week I read 2 of the books in this series. Eerie Education was filled with 18 stories of ghosts. This must be the reason why each of these individual places are the way they are, right? Ghosts! Ghosts with unfinished business, ghosts who just like to make noise, and ghosts who like to cause some mischief.

In California, there is a high school that is said to be haunted by three, yes, I said 3 ghosts! It’s a very old all-girl school, where three different ghosts roam the premises. To me, that sounds like somewhere I would like to visit. I wouldn’t mind running into the white, glowing spirit of a nun floating around the library. Since she is seen most often in the library, she must be a quiet spirit, but I wonder what her story is. Why does her spirit still remain? If you hear a piano playing in the school, see if you can find the source. Most likely, you will not be able to find one. That is ghost #2. Ghost 2 likes to play the piano, but you will not find it or the piano. There had to be piano in the school at one time, wonder why it’s so connected to it. Ghost #3 might be an issue for me. Careful when swimming in the pool at this school. Years ago, there was an accident where a girl drowned. Sometimes, individuals swimming feel that someone is pulling on their legs. Yep, that would freak me out.

What about the school who built their bell tower on the grounds of an old cemetery? Think that went, ok? What about the college student who was pledging for a fraternity when the members took him to some railroad tracks? Call it unexpected, call it total trust, I call it insane. When the fraternity brothers came back, this college student was dead. Now, his spirit is seen every year in the fraternity house he wanted so badly.

I found that this book is my least favorite so far. I think because all the stories dealt with ghosts and the stories were very tame in nature. Most of the stories had closure, they weren’t creepy in nature, and the spirits were not evil.

I really like the map feature on the back. In the back, there is A World of…… Eerie Education. On this 2-page spread, the author marks each of the places that was featured inside the book on the map. All the places in this book were in North America, from coast to coast. In the back is also a great glossary and index. There’s a page of Read More which gives the reader 4 more books they can read to gather more information about this subject matter. On this page, there is also Learn More Online which features a QR Code to scan (if you like) or a web address that you can go to that links you up to a lot more information. It’s a entertaining book to read about some schools in North America which individuals believe are haunted with ghosts. 4.25 stars.

Horror Healing: Scary Hospitals and Asylums (Where You Dare Not Go) by Dinah Williams

5 stars Nonfiction

I’ve read quite a few of these Where You Dare Not Go books. I like the short little stories that go with each stop, as they take you around the globe, hitting on a few of the most particular and interesting places that pertain to each of the books in this series. Each book features actual pictures that accompany each story, a captivating tidbit highlighted in an eye-catching bubble, and in the back of each book, the author expands upon the books theme. This week I read 2 of the books in this series. Horror Healing was filled with 18 stories of creepy, haunted, and/or famous hospitals and asylums.

Many were for individuals who were fighting diseases, some had “doctors” who were “practicing “ on their patients, and some lived their whole lives inside a building because of their health.

There’s the state hospital in Illinois where individuals lived and died. A patient who had worked as a gravedigger for the hospital passed away. As they lowered his coffin into the ground, they heard crying from a nearby tree. In years pass, this would be the gravedigger who was crying for the other patients who have died but now, the gravedigger is the one being laid to rest. As the grievers looked towards the tree, they saw the deceased individual crying. Then, there is the story inside a Massachusetts’ state hospital where a patient came up missing. When her purse was found, they discovered an axe inside it. She had been killed with that ax! She had been killed by another patient, but how did she get that ax inside her purse?

There are many stories of hospitals that were being used to treat individuals for diseases. Thinking about all the chaos and death inside the hospitals – it’s so sad. How to keep the patients who are trying to get well separated from all the death around them had to be stressful and emotional. One hospital used rail cars to transport the dead outside to awaiting hearses. Designing a 500-foot, pitch-black chute, this body chute secretly transported the dead bodies to the outside world.

I found that this book very interesting. From Gettysburg, Singapore, Florida, and onto New Zealand, this book covers the world. Some stories are creepy, ghostly, and/or haunting, so think about the reader before giving this book to a small child. I really like the map feature on the back. In the back, there is A World of…… Horror Healing. On this 2-page spread, the author marks each of the places that was featured inside the book on the map. The places in this book cover North America, Europe, Australia, Asia, Hawaii, New Zealand, Singapore, and Italy.

In the back is also a great glossary and index. There’s a page of Read More which gives the reader 4 more books they can read to gather more information about this subject matter. On this page, there is also Learn More Online which features a QR Code to scan (if you like) or a web address that you can go to that links you up to a lot more information. It’s an entertaining book to read about some hospitals and asylums around the world which are not doing any healing. 5 stars.

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

4.5 stars Thriller

What the ! I felt my head spinning while reading this book. Who was I to trust in this twisted mess? Who was I to like and cheer for? Who was worthy in all of this mess? No one! That’s who! Everyone in this book felt unworthy because of something that they said or didn’t say or it was based on their actions or lack of them. Alice had me guessing, I was rereading portions of this book as I knew that I had to have missed something, she is truly a great storyteller. By the end of the book, I was exhausted. What a great read.

The book begins with Eden leaving her house to go for a run. I found it odd that her husband still works at his previous job, in the town that they previously lived in. Odd? They still have their house in that town too, so he sometimes just stays there. Their daughter lives in a home because of an accident. This pretty much leaves Eden by herself at the new address. When Eden returns from her run, her house key doesn’t work in the door. When a strange woman answers the door, the fun begins. Harrison Wolf arrives home and he doesn’t know who Eden is, yet Eden claims she is his wife. Eden is baffled as this is her house and standing in front of her are two individuals who claim to be married to one another, Eden and Harrison Wolf which leaves Eden out of the equation.

Flashbacking in this book, we find another story taking shape. Hold onto your seat as you’re in for a wild ride. Olivia Bird has just returned from her doctor with devasting news. Her outlook on life is dark when someone arrives and informs her that she has just inherited her grandmother’s house, Spyglass. Confusion continues to mound as Bird doesn’t remember much about her grandmother. At least now, Bird has something else to focus on.

You’ll hear numerous points of view as you put this story together. Eden’s identity and the Bird’s new life at Spyglass will keep you turning the pages. 4.5 stars

One Word, Six Letters by Adib Khorram

4.5 stars YA

It only took one word. One single word to send everything off balance. One single six lettered word had such a rippling effect upon everything in its path. From the lives of the individuals in its path, to the chemistry and environment it hit along the way, this word had a life of its own. Can they ever recover from its effect? Will the volume ever go down surrounding this event?

Dayton was hungry. He was promised the money, and that was all that mattered to him. It rang throughout the gym and there was no going back after the word left his mouth. It was just one word, six letters, which he thought wasn’t supposed to be a thing, but it was. That word packed a punch. There was no going back. The implications of that one moment caused individuals to do some soul-searching, reflecting upon every detail of their life.

I really enjoyed this book and the implications that it addresses. Although Dayton may not have thought about his actions at the time, the author shows just how far reaching something like this can extend. External and internal difficulties and feelings are addressed by different individuals so the whole story can be told. Interesting novel which is perfect for our society today. 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

4.5 stars Fiction

I never would have picked up this book had it not been a book for book club. The cover is beautiful, but the synopsis just didn’t grab my attention. This book was like the weather here in Iowa. Sometimes I felt like I was inside a tornado, other times I was enjoying a nice summer day, and other times, I was just waiting for the storm to come, watching for the signs as I knew they were just on the horizon. It was a book that I had to think about, ingest what I had just read and understand its content. I did enjoy the language inside this book, it flowed across the pages and tried to keep the temperatures down when the storms began to stir.

He and his grandma had a special bond. I still have the image of him plucking the “snow rooting” in her hair while she would tell him stories. These “Do you remember?” stories complete with her dramatic pauses and inflections, were a weekly occurrence for the two of them. The stories were so familiar that he would often mouth the same words along with his grandma as she would recite them to him, yet he would never get tired of them. The precision and familiarity were something that he treasured. He was grandma’s Little Dog, a name so carefully thought out, a name to hopefully protect him.

I felt that his mom hid behind her son but then used him as a shield. Such a hard balance for a young boy to handle. She expects him to be strong yet she herself is a weak individual who doesn’t know how to help him. Frustrated when he is being picked on, she can’t and doesn’t do anything to help him. A victim herself, his mother, comes after him and he becomes a victim, himself. There are other issues with his family that are uncovered inside the book and as I read, I hoped that he would find some good in all of this.

The book covers a lot of issues as it should. He was brought up in an environment where things were unstable, and the pieces of the puzzle were already scrambled before he arrived. As he matured and discovered what life has dealt him, he needed to find his own way in the world. I was glad that he did his own thing, that he stood on his own two feet, and that he didn’t follow in the footsteps of those before him. His grandma was a good influence.

This book shows that: all the different working parts in a person’s life create an individual. This book deals with belonging. Where did he belong? To what did he belong and to whom? I felt he experienced a full life, from his family, bullying, physical abuse, sexuality, and drugs, he had lived through it all. (Triggers)

Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino

4.5 Stars

What a great book! The energy that the story projected, and pace of this story was fantastic. I liked the main character’s determination as she tried to make a difference. Struggling with personal issues, Sunny tried to solve these problems on her own issues. Sunny was fortunate to have the means to resolve her issues, and she felt great knowing she had accomplished what she set out to do but along the way, she realized that she was not the only one suffering. Looking around, she realized she was not the only one suffering. Sunny stepped up and XYZ was born. Sunny was on top of the world so let’s throw some romance into the mix, why not.

From a small age, Sunny had loved fashion, but the fashion world did not like Sunny. It did not like Sunny’s body. She lived in a world of “older woman’s “clothing no matter what age she was. What was supposed to fit her for her age, never did. She was always, “sizing up” and when out with friends shopping, Sunny would hit the accessories. Clothes shopping was just too depressing and discouraging. I could relate to the frustration that Sunny felt. Accessories are widely available and they fit anyone.

Sunny finally had enough when she went out with her friends shopping for their beachy trip to the Bahamas. She tried to make light of the situation as they all oohhed and aahhed over the swimwear hanging on the racks. It was when her friends started to grab the perfectly sized suits to try on, that Sunny began to lose it. She knew there would be nothing on those racks for her. It was a fact. She knew from past experience that her size “might” be available online or in a totally different department in this store. But there was nothing on those racks for her! Sunny was getting so tired and frustrated with this. With her inner voices taking over, Sunny couldn’t handle it any longer and she ran. She ran away from the size 4’s and 10’s, she ran away from her friends who had slipped into the dressing rooms with their new finds, Sunny ran away to escape the pressure of not fitting in, not fitting into what someone thought was “normal.”

Sunny has a great career in Public Relations. Using her knowledge in Public Relations and her friends’ support, Sunny ventures out and creates her own business. Sunny poured her heart into her business; this business meant a lot to her. She listened to her clientele; she was their advocate. She wanted to make a difference for them and herself. Sunny is creating a new life for herself, this is all new territory and she’s enjoying it. What happens when romance enters her life? Will her expectations change because of her role? Should she expect more because she’s now a successful business owner?

I really enjoyed this book. I loved stepping into Sunny’s shoes and finding success in the business world. Conquering an issue that has bothered her for years, I was thrilled that she was able to find success and when romance entered the picture, I wondered how things would work out. There were lots of possibilities and the author did a great job addressing them. A fun read. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for supplying me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is my own honest opinion.

Hansel and Gretel by Stephen King

5 stars Children’s Fairy Tale

I liked this new interpretation by Stephen King of the old classic. Make sure you read the introduction at the beginning of the book as it sets the stage for this children’s picture book, and I felt it helped me appreciate the story more. Illustrated by Maurice Sendak, King took the illustrations and wrote this book based on the whimsical drawings contained inside the book. King used some of the original sentences from this classic fairy tale within the story, but King also added his own touch creating a story that is more elaborate than the original.

Hansel and Gretel lived with their father and their stepmother at the edge of the great dark forest. Their father is a poor broom maker, and the stepmother is a spoiled wicked woman. The family is running out of food so the wife convinces the husband that in order to survive, they must take the children out deep into the forest and leave them. She convinces him that God will care for them and they will be safe in the forest. Now, father was not convinced that leaving his children out in the wild forest but she kept at him, convincing him nonetheless.

Hansel had overheard the plans and started making a plan. Gretal was upset after learning what her parents were planning to do but Hansel convinced her that it would be okay. As they slept, they both had dreams. You can imagine how different their dreams were from one another. The next morning, father and mother walked off with their children into the forest. It was just like the parents had planned, only they didn’t know that Hansel had a plan of his own in the works. The personalities of both the parents were felt and seen as this scenario played out.

The parents returned home alone as the children found refuge with each other inside the dark forest. Imagine the stepmother’s surprise when the children knocked on their door the next day! Ha – surprise! Time passed and food was still scarce. The woman again convinced her husband that the children had to go. They had to leave them deeper into the dark forest this time! Oh, she was wicked!! Just like before, father needed to be convinced, Hansel heard the plan, he thought of a different plan, Gretal was scared, and the dreams came back. They journeyed into the dark forest. When the parents returned home, they were alone and the children had fallen asleep in the dark forest. Hansel had put his plan to work. When the children awoke, they were surprised to find that Hansel’s plan had failed. Stuck in the dark forest, would the children ever make their way home again?

I liked how King wrote the story to match the illustrations. These were definitely Maurice Sendek’s signature illustrations. From the candy cottage in the forest, to the twisted trees swallowing up the pages, and the children’s dreams materializing on the page, Sendek and King worked their magic on this classic. There’s harmony with the text and illustrations, each of them sharing the spotlight. What a great combination. 5 stars

Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid #2) by Nita Prose

4.5 stars Mystery

Listened to this on audio. Molly has worked her way up to head maid at the Regency Grand Hotel and she is so proud of her accomplishment. If anyone could write a book on how to properly clean a room, it would be Molly. Molly is training a new hire and I loved how proud she is of her job and how thorough she was with instructing her.

There’s to be a crucial press conference at the hotel, by an award-winning author, when that author dies suddenly at the hotel. Fans and guests were buzzing around the hotel anxious and excited about this important event and now, the author is dead.

The police are on the scene, and the hotel staff are brought in for questioning. The staff knows more than they realize and Molly, with her attention to detail, becomes central to the investigation. We learn more about Molly in this book. Her grandmother played a key role in Molly’s life, and she was dear to her. Molly is able to carry on her responsibilities as a head maid as she helps the police in this investigation. She makes a fantastic detective (and I guess she could go into this line of work should she want to retire her maid attire) as she helps them solve this case.

A fun and entertaining story. 4.5 stars