Review: All the Lovely Pieces

All the Lovely Pieces by J.M. Winchester
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting thriller with good pacing and a good plot. I thought the thriller aspects could have been more suspenseful or unpredictable but otherwise I enjoyed the read.

#AllTheLovelyPieces #NetGalley #thomasandmercer

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Review: The Harp of Kings

The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was my first time reading a Juliet Marillier book so from what I had heard and read, I had high expectations. Unfortunately, I don't think it quite lived up to this level of hype but it was maybe an okay start to a series. I was not in love with the development of the characters. I expected to care more about them and I really didn't by the end. Maybe continuing into the series will change that.

#TheHarpofKings #NetGalley #berkleypublishinggroup #Ace

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Review: The Memory Thief

The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a middle of the road YA fantasy novel in a crowded field of stand out works. The plot and characters started out intriguing but did not stand up as the book progressed and fell flat. It seemed almost as though maybe a bit more editing would have helped to clean up the story line, and keep it cohesive throughout. Overall, I'm interested in what else this author puts out but not certain if there was enough character and world building in this novel to seek a sequel read. So, just an okay read. This isn't my go-to genre though so people drawn into fantasy YA might totally love this. And I may give it a try again later. Sometimes its timing with books like this.

#TheMemoryThief #NetGalley #Blink

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Review: The Passengers

The Passengers by John Marrs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent futuristic thriller!

Incredible read! This was a captivating thriller with plot turns that I wasn’t expecting. I really enjoyed the way the author kept you engaged in the story but at the same time brought up many moral and ethical decisions about how we think about who lives and dies and who we choose to root for in a story. Very compelling story. Well done.

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Review: Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such an important syndrome. This is a rare but incredibly important syndrome to diagnose because of the treatment possibility and the risk of underlying tumor or other disease that may also be associated with the syndrome. There are many various antibody mediated neurological syndromes that fall within this spectrum, some of which present as a psychiatric disorder. In medicine, one of the biggest traps, is to think like a textbook. What I mean by that is that when you learn diseases or syndromes, you learn all the symptoms at once, as though they present this way. In fact more often the patient presents with one thing, then a period of time later something else develops. Slowly the complexity of the syndrome revels itself. Fortunately there are brilliant research/physicians who put all the pieces together and then bring the lab work to the bedside and solve some of these mysteries.


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Review: We Are All Greta: Be Inspired to Save the World

We Are All Greta: Be Inspired to Save the World by Valentina Giannella
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Our biosphere is being sacrificed so that rich people in countries like mine (GT) can live in luxury.It is the suffering of the many which will pay for the luxuries of the few...We need to focus on equity." This sums up so much of the drive behind this entire issue. The people and corporations that want to ignore this as a problem are willingly doing so by disregarding the clear science and out of greed. Meanwhile the inequity grows larger. This will only hasten the problem rather than help it. As was pointed out, one of the key factors in mass immigration is climate change. No longer having a climate that allows stability, growth of crops, clean water, access to adequate food and jobs all become the driving forces behind violence and migration patterns. The increase in climate disasters add to this as well. This is an informative, well written book. It has terrific illustrations and a good, simple message about our personal ability to act in a way that can make positive change. I feel like the message is appropriately written for the intended audience as well as adults who are interested in this topic and need a synopsis. What great courage and intelligence to develop a plan and move forward as Greta is doing.
We should all be Greta.
Highly Recommend.
#WeAreAllGreta #NetGalley #LaurenceKingPub

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Review: Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow!

This short book, in my opinion, should be required reading, not only for all young girls, young women and any women but for the men in our lives as well. This has one pearl of wisdom after another. It is absolutely brilliant and packs a punch into this compact work. There is nothing negative to say about it. I think it is speaking a universal truth about how men and women should behave that would do a great deal to improve the world and relationships in the home and in the workplace. Well Done Ms. Adichie and please keep them coming! I will read anything you write. I couldn't love this anymore!

Highly recommend.

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Review: Sorry I Ruined Your Childhood: Berkeley Mews Comics

Sorry I Ruined Your Childhood: Berkeley Mews Comics by Ben Zaehringer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These were a mixture of some laugh out loud funny and other's charming and sweet and still other's that were not either. That may have been a generational thing more than the actual comic value of each though. I could definitely see that many were "to be appreciated" by the younger generations who use all versions of social media fluidly. Overall, this was a pleasure to go through. My son sends me a daily (and random) clip of either football in the south or a clip of a comic strip that is a good laugh between us. This reminded me of that, which definitely makes me smile. Thank you for that!

#SorryIRuinedYourChildhood #NetGalley #AndrewsMcNeelPublishing

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Review: The Woman in Our House

The Woman in Our House by Andrew Hart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having done the nanny thing myself, this is one of those things that you always have in the back of your mind. What if?? Who are you really hiring?? Without giving anything away, this was a mostly well-paced, thriller that was an interesting and good book for me. I liked the story. It was gripping without being unbelievable. The characters were well written and the plot was good.
Definitely recommend.
#TheWomanInOurHouse #NetGalley #LakeUnionPublishing

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Review: Lock Every Door

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this but my one complaint is that key pieces of the plot twists seemed evident early in the book. I prefer for a thriller to surprise me and very little about this one did except maybe the "why" question. I liked it though. I would recommend it and would definitely read other books by Riley Sagar (this was my first). I'm actually curious now as to his prior books and whether they follow a similar style or formula or if they are completely different.
I hate to say anything specific about the book because as I said, the who, what, where, how (even the how) didn't seem that surprising from my suspicions at the earliest inkling that something was off. I like to go into a thriller without details from the jacket cover or from other reviews if possible so I do not want to give anything remotely spoiler-ish.
I think most readers of this genre will enjoy this book but not be awed by it either. It was better than average but not off the charts great.
#LockEveryDoor #BOTM

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Review: The Deaths and Afterlife of Aleister Crowley

The Deaths and Afterlife of Aleister Crowley by Ian Thornton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to love this. As an historical figure, Aleister is probably a distant relative so naturally I was intrigued by the premise of this book. However, I had difficulty with the layout of the story, and the history versus the fiction seemed chaotic. Not your typical historical fiction.
Overall, there were sections of the book that were interesting but I could not finish it.
#TheDaethsAndAfterlifeOfAleisterCrowley #NetGalley #Unbound

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Review: Campusland

Campusland by Scott Johnston
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I tried to read the entirety of this book. I generally adore books set at in a school-setting, whether that is college, high school or boarding school. I find them to be nostalgic for me at this point. Campusland was meant to be satire about the degree to which college (especially elite universities) are considering themselves "safe spaces" for free speech and winds up just being ill-informed propaganda. This book is basically tone-deaf to the social injustices that our young people are trying to sort out. Its one thing to actually be funny in dealing with these topics, it is another thing entirely when you miss this mark and are just mean-spirited and hateful. I would guess that most young people would be uncomfortable reading this book aloud to their peers. I honestly feel sorry for the copy editor that had to read this multiple times.
#Campusland #NetGalley #StMartinsPress

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Review: The Dearly Beloved

The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a spectacular debut from Cara Wall. This was a poignant story about two couples who are on very different paths but the husbands end up serving as ministers in the same Church jointly. They each bring different strengths to the job and their wives are very different in both their backgrounds as well as their current dreams and lifestyles. Some of the most intriguing aspects of this book for me were regarding the question of degree of faith and belief within the minister and the family of a minister and how that may impact the Church community or the minister and his ability to do his job. Also, once the children played a role in family life, obviously each wife had very different perspectives of motherhood and given the time frame that this was taking place, the options for education and decisions about possible placement into an institution for the child who was diagnosed with autism added an interesting twist in the story as well as each person's relationship with the others.
Many of these issues are things that I had never considered about the ministerial life and what having a family involved in that would be like. It really is a family career, given all of the presumed responsibilities of the minister's wife within a Church. How would the faltering of faith or the lack of belief in God or Christianity affect this role? This would honestly make a terrific bookclub read.
Thank you for the early copy!

#TheDearlyBeloved #NetGalley #SimonandSchuster

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Review: Unmarriageable

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this Pride & Prejudice retelling with a wonderful twist of characters and setting. with the setting being Pakistan of today. I thought there were some pacing issues with this book but all-in-all, I think it worked overall and was a refreshing version of the story.

I would recommend this to lovers of P&P, retellings and adding diversity to traditional English literature.

#Unmarriageable #NetGalley

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Review: Wherever She Goes

Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have only read one other Kelley Armstrong book and this was head and shoulders above that one (and it was good). She is a fantastic writer and her characters and story keep you turning the pages.
I loved that this was a stand-alone thriller and I initially worried that it would fall into the same, tired trope as many other novels of late, where the female protagonist is telling people around her what she has witnessed and isn’t even believed by her own family. Fortunately, although recently separated, her ex- is more willing to listen and without spoiling the plot, this avoids the trope of the pathetic female who no one listens to as the heroine. Aubrey has a hidden past, good and bad, that is complicated. This clearly influences many of her decisions going forward and makes for a compelling and very readable story.
Highly recommend!! This was a pleasure to read. I hated to have obligations this week because I wanted to get time to read this!
#WhereverSheGoes #NetGalley

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Review: You Belong To Me

You Belong To Me by Mark Tilbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have read by this author and I found it to be quite the page-turner. I will definitely read others by him again. This was a fast paced, thriller with several twists and turns. It was told in a dual timeline and from multiple POVs. I loved the approach, which pulled the reader right into the story.
There were a couple of small details that keep from rating it a full five stars. I had trouble believing the mother’s character and her level of dysfunction. Maybe a little more detail or consistency in her character development would have been helpful. I also felt that one of the storylines used in connecting with the “good guys” and the “bad guy” was too repetitive and therefore seemed less believable as a tactic for a character who comes across as very intelligent at one point. It doesn’t seem likely that he would be gullible in the situation he was faced with.
Even with that being said, this was a well paced, dark and entertaining thriller.

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