ARC – One Chapter

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

4 stars Thriller

Emma has a lot going on these days. A phone call from her sister, Phoebe, got Emma excited as she finally thought she could relax and quit lying about her past but nope, her life just got more complicated. Emma has been carrying around a secret which has a timepiece attached to it. As the days go by, Emma’s anxiety and uncertainty skyrocket as her future is up in the air.

Emma does have a mother but to those who know her, Emma’s mother is dead. This was Emma’s choice as she informed everyone years ago that her mother was dead but now, Emma will have to do some explaining. Why was Emma just at the hospital? What’s her sister Phoebe here for? Why did she lie about her mother’s death?

There were multiple situations that ran through my head as I thought about why Emma lied. Her sister Phoebe has been visiting their mother lately, without telling Emma, so whatever happened in their family must have affected Emma more than Phoebe. Emma’s birthday is coming up and instead of being excited or perhaps just accepting it as “just another day,” Emma is dreading it. It’s like dooms day for Emma. As the book counts down the days till Emma’s birthday, we watch Emma fall apart.

When Emma’s mother turned forty, it was a traumatic experience. Emma remembers, clearly, the day that her mother turned forty. The curse that her mother placed on her that year has plagued her mind repeatedly throughout the years and now, Emma feels that curse will soon be playing out for all to see. It will be hers and that is all she can think about.

Boy, my anticipation was growing as I turned the pages on this one. I wanted to feel for Emma, I wanted to understand her anxiety and frustration, but I also wanted her to just enjoy life. Phoebe didn’t seem to understand everything that Emma was juggling, or I felt she just didn’t take to heart what Emma was feeling. Emma was the emotional one, Phoebe just went with it. Maybe Emma was too emotional? I didn’t know but something was seriously happening here as Emma was losing it. 4 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.

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.

When I Kill You by B.A. Paris

4.5 Stars Suspense

Someone is following Nell, she’s sure of it. She feels it yet she has no proof. She’s old enough to understand what’s going on, she’s 36 for heaven’s sake, she can’t be imagining these feelings. Alex, her older friend, can’t be the culprit, she’s pretty sure about that one.

Flashing back in the book, we find a younger Nell, a Nell who goes by the name Elle. Elle was looking out her window when she saw an interaction between a young woman and a gentleman taking place. It was one of those incidents that you watch unfold before your eyes. As it happens, you can’t believe that you are actually witnessing it, taking place. Elle tried to help the woman once she realized what was happening, she really did, but it was too late. Once the police were brought in, Elle did her best to help with the investigation but it’s not over. There’s more, will it ever be over?

The fragile flowers arrived for Nell, at work. Void of a card and with the flowers brightening up the room, Nell wondered who could have sent this huge bouquet for no reason. They discovered that the sender paid cash for the flowers. With Nell being sure that her boyfriend would never send her flowers at work, the identity of who purchased these flowers added another layer to her mystery.

Throughout the story, we do read excerpts from “Extract From Notebook #” which is the person who is actually following Nell. This person gets physically close to Nell and tells their point of view of the who, what and why. Why they chose Nell, what they’re doing, her reactions, and they always close their entry with the same sinister comment. I thought it got creepy sometimes reading Nell’s narrative and then, reading these “Extract From Notebook #” narratives as you read/see their different points of view. I can’t believe how close this individual got to Nell and she didn’t recognize their repeated appearance and figure out who this creepy individual was. Or was it someone that Nell knew who was following her, and giving her the creeps?

Such a suspenseful story that had me wondering who the menace was and why. There were a few individuals that I had suspected but narrowing them down was the tricky part. I’ve always enjoyed B.A. Paris’ books, and this one was no exception. I did wish there would have been story about the younger Nell. Elle’s innocence and drive created the perceptive and over-attentive Nell. 4.5 stars

A big thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this fantastic thriller in exchange for my honest review.

Keeper of Lost Children by Jadeqa Johnson

5 stars Historical Fiction

I could not read this book fast enough! With multiple timelines, I was thrown between the lives of Sophia, Ozzie, and Ethel. The situations of the characters were different enough to keep the character’s stories separate as I read but when I had to put the book down to actually go to sleep, I did write down some notes as I didn’t want to lose track of any of the important information in the lives of these captivating individuals.

It is the 1940’s, his world is at war and Ozzie wants to make a life for himself. Enlisting with the Army, Ozzie is sent to Germany, where desegregation of the military has just begun. Ozzie thinks he’s keeping his life together amidst all the activities surrounding him. Being alone for the first time in his life, he has made a few friends, and accountability rests all on his shoulders. Although he left his mother back home, her voice is constantly replaying in the back of his mind. The temptation is just too great and Ozzie can’t resist. Out with the guys at a club, he meets a local, Jelka. She fills the void that Ozzie left behind at home. It’s all fun and games for a while until he hears the words that snap him to attention, she’s pregnant.

It’s the mid 1960’s, Sophia is living on a farm with her brothers and parents. Sophia bears a lot of responsibility. Sophia has always felt more like a farmhand than a daughter to her parents, but she never questioned it because life on a farm is hard. A smart student, she earns the opportunity for a free ride to a prestigious school, West Oak Academy. I loved the way Sophia navigates her way to the academy, as she knows the reality of the circumstances that she lives in. Once there, the reality of the situation hits. This is a good academic fit for Sophia, but when she arrives with her meager belongings, she realizes there are going to be many more hurdles that she’ll have to jump over besides the ones she just cleared. It’s hurdle after hurdle as Sophia tries to make a better life for herself. These obstacles left me cheering for Sophia throughout the book. She’d have to be successful, right? She had the determination and the makings to be successful individual. She couldn’t let outside issues and a couple bullies bring her down, could she? She’s going to have to face her parents someday and when that happens, it should be interesting. Sophia can’t keep dodging the facts.

And we have Ethel. Ethel was trying to make the best of her life, but she was missing something. She wanted to have children. It’s the mid 1950’s and Ethel and her husband were unable to have children of their own. Ethel notices a group of nuns with children in the distance, so Ethel approaches them which creates life changing events for her. I saw Ethel as an innocent, sweet women with a huge heart. Ethel wanted to help the nuns and the children, whose lives they oversaw easier. Ethel started out doing what she knew she could do and she later enlisted the help of others. I don’t think Ethel knew the intensity or the impact that she would make in the lives of these individuals.

I enjoyed all the individuals inside this story and as their stories merged, I loved the story even more. The effect that each one of them had with one another created a deep and long-lasting impression. This book was more than I expected when I first read about it. Definitely a must read. 5 stars

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, NetGalley, and Sadeqa Johnson for providing me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

99 Ways to Die: And How to Avoid Them by Ashely Alker

5 stars Nonfiction

Covering a whole mountain of information, this book breaks everything apart and lays it back down in a nice, organized fashion. We are presented with material that we can read and understand the implications that it has. The book is not all technical and over-your-head facts and figures; there are personal and relatable information packed inside along with information that you can apply to your own life. There are tons of information inside this book, I mean tons. I bet you’ll walk away knowing something that you didn’t know before or better yet, pass along this information to others, who just might think you’re pretty smart. I do have to admit that I did have to take a break from this book for a few days as I needed time to ingest everything I had read. My mind was churning with all the different comments and interactions that hadn’t even crossed my mind before opening this book and I did notice I had become more aware of the world before me. Not paranoid but just aware of things.

Let me share what I enjoyed about this book. I really enjoyed how the author broke the book into different sections. I think these different groupings helped me understand and comprehend the information better. I also liked how the author described each method in medical or technical terms and then expanded on that and explained it in normal everyday language that I could understand. These stories, personal and firsthand accounts made each of these methods practical and more meaningful.

The author put herself in the writings, not only with her personal stories but with her personality and humor which was shown throughout the book in her writing. The tension, knowledge and load of emotions were felt within each section.

I’ll never be able to remember everything that I read in this book, oh my goodness! It’s great to know that this book is available to have as a resource. I know that when I closed this book I knew more and felt more educated than when I first opened it.

I read this book on vacation which probably wasn’t such a good idea. Here I was in a different country reading a book about 99 Ways to Die. Reading this beside my husband, I can’t tell you how many times, I hit him and asked him, “did you know this?’ and then I’d start reading him a passage out of the book. Some great conversations were had over this book.

An interesting and enlightening read for those who are intrigued, ever questioned, or enjoy learning would benefit from this book. I have tons of highlights inside this book, areas that I found interesting and/or eye-opening for me. These sections I found very interesting: the section on penicillin, antibiotics, Ebola, tapeworms, vaccine-diseases (especially since there is a controversy over this now), water, and warfare. The whole book was great, but these previous items were the cream of the crop for me. This was a great read for me. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Ashley Alker, and St. Martin Press for providing this book to me in exchange for an honest review.

Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong

4.5 stars Mystery

I jumped into this series which worked out for me. I’ve read some of Kelley Armstrong’s books before and when this popped up on NetGalley, I knew it would be good, but I was curious if jumping into a series was a wise choice. Kelley provided enough background information so I wasn’t lost but I think to understand the chemistry between the characters, it would be wise to start at the beginning of this series.

The bleakness of the weather situation drew me in. Located in the Yukon Wilderness in Canada, this area is rugged, a true frontier, where nature rules. As the locals gathered, it seemed like a typical night. She doesn’t remember how she ended up on the edge of town. Right now, she’s glad that she’s alive. She hadn’t had that much to drink, which was good otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to put up much of a fight. But what happened? Who was behind this? And why?

The sheriff and area detective are called in. Eric and Casey begin investigating the assault when the weather takes a turn for the worse. Temperatures plummet and a blizzard hits the area. Looking at the area where the assault occurred, the team discover a frozen female body. The body is disturbing in nature which alerts the women. Who would be out in these conditions? What are they dealing with?

This is a very small community which they felt was a close-knit group but now, they are second guessing this community they are living in. The residents start to feel unsure of their neighbors and start to question each other. If that wasn’t enough to fill your mind with, Casey is pregnant and very close to her due date. Casey wants to do her job, to continue to be a detective who is committed to justice but she’s also about to be a mother, can she do both successfully? With mysteries and interesting characters, I enjoyed this fast-paced book. It’s a small town where everyone has their own story, their own secrets and who can you trust. 4.5 stars

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Lions’ Run by Sara Pennypacker

5 stars Middle School

A fabulous read! The last half of this book, I could not put down! I was up into the early morning hours as I had to know what happened, yet I didn’t want my journey with Lucas and Alice to end. Could I have predicted that Lucas would meet up with Alice? No. What transpired between them was not romance but something deeper and far more reaching than either of them could have predicted.

Lucas was a delivery boy. It got him out of the abbey where he lived. It wasn’t quite freedom, but he was free from the eyes of everyone around him. The Germans did monitor the world outside the abbey, but Lucas was getting used to their checkpoints and the restrictions that they placed on the residents. Lucas knew what they expected and he knew how to make his deliveries within the town. Lucas had a soft heart which got noticed around his peers and thence he got the name Petit Éclair. At first, his peers thought this name was funny and Lucas fought hard to get rid himself of this title, but it is, what it is and now, there were only two bullies who would taunt Lucas by calling him Petit Éclair.

The story takes off when Petit Éclair (a.k.a. Lucas) rescues a sackful of kittens from the hands of the bullies who still taunt Lucas. They had thrown the kittens into the canal. Desperate to find shelter for these kittens and get back to his deliveries, Lucas places them in a deserted barn located at the end of a trail, for now.

How Lucas was going to care for these kittens was beyond me, but he might have the means since he has access to different delivery customers. Returning to tend to the kittens, Lucas discovers a horse in the barn. The horse Bia belongs to Alice who is attempting to also hide it, only she is hiding it from Hitler’s men for fear of what they would do it. Alice is determined to get her horse to America where it can be free. I loved Alice’s energy and her confidence as she began to inspire Lucas. She shows him what it is like to be resourceful in difficult situations. Lucas and Alice’s were so different yet here they were, striving for the same dream, which pushed them closer together.

When Alice opens Lucas’ eyes to the truth behind Bois Larris, he immediately changes. His maturity leaps. Lucas knew that it held many secrets but as Alice peels back the layers, Lucas sees the truth right before his eyes. I believe this is what powers Lucas, this is the nudge Lucas needed. There was no stopping Petit Éclair now. He has the means to take control, to change things, and with Alice by his side, Lucas will make a difference.

This was another great novel by Sara Pennypacker. Definitely one that I highly recommend. Thank you to Fierce Reads, Goodreads and Sara Pennypacker for sending me this copy of The Lions’ Run. I won this book in Goodreads Giveaway. 5 stars.

The Library of Fates by Margot Harrison

3 stars Fantasy

I really loved the idea behind this book. A magical library. Can you just imagine that?! Inside this magical library, lives a magical book which is governed by a special librarian. This magical book, The Book of Dark Nights, gives those who use it a gift. Those who write upon the pages of this magical book are granted a glimpse into their future. Sounds amazing, right? Yet, what must be written on the pages are your own deepest confessions. Would you be willing to share your most private confessions to see a glimpse of your future?

It’s a difficult decision but it becomes even more complicated when the predictions don’t materialize like they should. It’s a special library, and the librarian is part of the magic. If you tell the librarian that you “need” a book (no title suggested), she will go into the library’s shelves and find you the perfect book that you “need” for your situation right now.

Told in dual timelines, we follow Eleanor when she is a young student in college and when she is middle-aged. As a student, the library is a new experience and she’s excited to be a part of it. She’s dating a new guy and the library becomes a part of it. As an adult, Eleanor has been a mentee at the library but is now suddenly thrown into the position of Librarian. I liked the dural timelines, but I didn’t like how frequently they switched, I would have rather become more involved in one time period and then switched over, then have the constant switching. I was having a hard time connecting to the characters and I thought the story was choppy in the middle with all the flip flopping. Eleanor first job is to hunt down the missing The Book of Dark Nights. It’s a interesting journey with her mentor’s son beside her.

I wished that more of the back stories of the characters would have been explained to us. The story felt so long and drawn out in the middle, and I think it was because I was jumping through timelines and I had to switch the characters back and forth. I did like the characters, and I liked that there were not a lot of them. I was lost about Daniel and his actions. I just couldn’t understand why he didn’t recognize anything even after everything Eleanor said and did. Why wasn’t anything explained in the dual timeline? It was an okay read for me. 3 stars

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne

4.5 stars Fiction

I have mixed feelings about this story. I liked the story, but I was confused with the anagrams that the character created in her mind. Lennie was a character who was content with her life, a well-constructed life that she had created. She keeps everyone at arm’s length, and she is in control. Lennie enjoys playing Scrabble so when she finds herself constructing the anagrams in her head, is it because she enjoys word playing? Or it is something else? I thought the use of the anagrams in the story felt too randomly used and they started to annoy me. I just didn’t know when they would pop up and as I read, the anagrams broke up the flow of the story and I started to skip them.

Lennie lives a very strict and structed life. A strict and structed life, alone. She hasn’t made any deep connections with anyone, and I think in the back of my mind, she was just used to that. She buys the same food week after week, and her bookshelf is lined with copies of The Hobbit. She played Scrabble with her imaginary friend, Monica (Lennie loved watching Friends), and her most recent addition is a dog that she rescued from the street. Lennie is now not walking down that street anymore, for she fears that she might run into some individuals who would not be happy about her newly “adopted” dog. Yes, Lennie leads a very strict and structured life, a life that Lennie is content in and she’s happy.

Lenny, the schoolteacher, would have loved to live this way forever but one day, she received a letter which changed her life. The return address, on this letter, stumps her. She doesn’t know anyone from the Adult Parole Board, or did she? Lennie is forced to remember her past, a past that she didn’t recall she had forgotten.

This book reminded me of a book I had read previously, up to a point. Lennie had suppressed her childhood, and it took the letter to start bringing back everything. As she finds the truth, I hoped that it was worth it and that she would finally be able to make some connections with individuals who were actually real. This was a good story that I enjoyed, and I was happy to see the new Lenny. 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin Press, and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.