Book Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

In a split second, Jenna Gray's world descends into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of a cruel November night that changed her life forever.

Slowly, Jenna begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating . . .

My Thoughts:

This book has left my mind spinning!  Much like the last book I read, this one has a plot twist that you will absolutely not see coming!  At the end of part one, I had to reread the last paragraph just to make sure I was understanding it because everything I had been thinking I knew about the characters just flew out the window. 

The story starts out with a young mom walking her little boy home from school.  It is raining and she is laughing with her son and keeping a close hold on him until they are across the street from their house.  She lets him go and suddenly her whole life is changed.  A car comes out of nowhere and her child is struck down and killed and the driver of the car just drives away.

DI Ray Stevens takes on the hit and run case with his trainee, Kate.  Ray is dealing with his own issues at home that he would really just like to run away from.  This case gives him a reason to stay away from home and Kate is young and ambitious and reminds Ray why he is doing this job to begin with.

After the accident, Jenna ends up leaving Bristol and heading out to anyplace that will help her hide her memories.  She ends up at the coast in Wales.  She is happy starting fresh but soon her secrets will come out and she will have to deal with her past again.  

I cannot say much more about the plot in this book because I don't want to give anything away.  I loved all the characters but Jenna had some moments for me.  During her talks with Ray and Kate, I sometimes felt that she was weak and wanted to say "just tell them already" but I have never been in her position so I am not sure how I would have handled it either.  Jenna redeems herself at the end when she finds strength that seems to come out of nowhere.  

This book easily kept my attention and was a very fast paced read.  Once you get to the end of part one, the story seems to fly by and I really had a hard time putting the book down.  I figured out what happened towards the end but there were still enough twists that it kept me wanting to finish the book just to see if I was correct in my thinking.  

This is an excellent, fast paced and totally unpredictable psychological thriller.  Make sure  you pick this one up when it comes out and see if you can predict the ending.  

**A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!**

  

Teaser Tuesday: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.



Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The grief I feel is so physical it seems impossible that I am still living; that my heart continues to beat when it has been wrenched apart.  I want to fix an image of him in my head, but all I can see when I close my eyes is his body, still and lifeless in my arms.  I let him go, and I will never forgive myself for that.
~page 40 of I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh 

Book Review: Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her friend and roommate Quinn Collins to wonder where Esther is and whether or not she's the person Quinn thought she knew.

Meanwhile, in a small Michigan harbor town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her charm and beauty, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more dark and sinister than he ever expected.

As Quinn searches for answers about Esther, and Alex is drawn further under Pearl's spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion and shows that no matter how fast and far we run, the past always catches up with us in the end.

My Thoughts:

I have read both of Kubica's other novels, The Good Girl and Pretty Baby.  I loved The Good Girl but I found the characters in Pretty Baby to be annoying and unrealistic.  I was very interested to see how I was going to like Don't You Cry.  I am pretty sure this book will remain on my top ten best books of 2016 list.  Don't You Cry was so filled with twists and turns and every single time I was sure that I knew what was going on, Kubica would throw in another twist and everything I thought I knew went out the window.  For  me, this book was very unpredictable, I had no idea what was going on until Kubica wanted me to know and it kept me intrigued through the entire story.

The story starts out with Quinn.  Quinn lives in Chicago with her roommate Esther.  Quinn wakes up after a night out to discover that Esther is missing.  Her bedroom window is open, her blankets are on the floor and Esther is gone.  Quinn is sure Esther will return and spends the day waiting for her.  When Esther doesn't return and Quinn finds some disturbing letters and other strange items in Esther's room, she finally starts to really worry.

Then we skip to Alex.  Alex lives in a small town in Michigan, about an hour from Chicago, and works at a local diner.  His mother left his father and him when Alex was  young and Alex's father is nothing but a drunk.  Alex has heard stories about the dilapidated old house across the street from him.  Stories that claim the house to be haunted by a 5 year old girl who drowned in a bathtub while her mother was busy attending to her younger sister.  Alex and his father see strange lights in the house and just figure it is squatters.  Then comes the day when "Pearl" enters the diner that Alex works at.  Pearl fascinates Alex and he takes a great interest in her.

This story is told in alternating views of Quinn and Alex.  You don't have any idea how the stories intertwine until the end (even though you think you might know....you don't).  Quinn works hard to find out what happened to Esther and in return she finds out some horrible things that make her believe Esther actually wants Quinn dead.  Alex gets to know Pearl and then finds that she holds some very dangerous secrets.

This book is fast paced, intriguing, and completely unpredictable.  It hooks you from the very first page and keeps you turning those pages late into the night.  If you want a psychological thriller that you can't put down, get this book when it comes out.  You won't be sorry!

**A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book**

Teaser Tuesday: Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.


Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 Anyone with half a mind would have immediately called the police or ran in the other direction, not trailed her.  But now here I am, hiding in the bushes of an all-but-abandoned cemetery while some wackadoodle unearths a corpse from the ground.

~page 264 of Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

I am loving this book!  It is so creepy and twisted and completely unpredictable.  I wanted to finish it last week but had a crazy week so I will definitely finish it tonight and write up my review!

Teaser Tuesday: Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.


Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser today comes from an ARC of Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica.  So far, I am really enjoying it!

Every single town in all of America has its own haunted house. 
Ours just so happens to be right across the street from mine.

~page 69-70 of Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica  

Book Review: What the Dead Want by Norah Olson

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

16 -year-old Gretchen takes photographs to understand the world around her, a passion her mother Mona fostered and encouraged when she was still around. Since her mom disappeared years ago, Gretchen and her dad have lived on their own in New York City, haunted by Mona’s absence.

When Gretchen’s great aunt Esther calls unexpectedly to tell her that she has inherited the pre-Civil War mansion on her mother’s side of the family in upstate New York, Gretchen understands nothing except that her aunt needs her help. But what she finds there is beyond her imagination. The house is crumbling apart, filled with stacks of papers and journals from decades, even centuries past, and it’s crawling with rodents. It’s also full of secrets and a legacy of racism and violence so reprehensible that the ghosts of the past are exacting revenge on the living.

Somehow the mystery of Mona’s disappearance and the atrocities that happened on the land during the Civil War are inextricably intertwined, and it’s up to Gretchen to figure out how…before even more lives are lost. 

My Thoughts:

This book was an interesting and quick read for me.  It had a lot of action and mystery so I really didn't want to put it down and while it was a little creepy, it wasn't nearly as creepy as I had hoped.  It had some parts that didn't make sense to me and seemed a bit rushed.  There was a lot thrown at you all at once.  

Gretchen lives in New York with her father, sort of.  Gretchen's mother disappeared and now her father tries to keep himself distracted by traveling all over the world as a doctor.  This leaves Gretchen at home with her mother's best friend, Janine.  

One day, out of the blue, Gretchen receives a phone call from her great-aunt, Esther.  Gretchen has never met Esther and only vaguely remembers hearing about her from her mom.  Esther tells Gretchen that she has inherited the Axton mansion.  Esther asks Gretchen to come out to the mansion and help her with it.  The  next day, Gretchen is on her way.  This is one part that was just slightly odd to me.  Gretchen has never met Esther, never been to the mansion and decides that she will go out there for the entire summer to help this woman.  Janine doesn't seem to find anything odd about it, no one consults the father (although he is some poor village with no working phones).  I just don't know if I would have been so ready to just leave everything with a couple hours notice.  

Once at the mansion, Gretchen realizes that it isn't at all what she had expected.  It was dilapidated and weird things start to happen.  Her aunt is a little eccentric and doesn't seem to mind that the mansion is in such a sad state.  

From this point on, I don't want to say a whole lot more about the story.  Everything seems to happen so fast and then the end felt incredibly rushed.  The author did tie up some loose ends but I still had a few questions that were left unanswered.  There were some slightly creepy parts but nothing like what I was hoping or expecting.  

I had some issues with this book but in the end, I enjoyed the fast pace of it and the slight creep factor.  I would have no problem recommending it to anyone but would let them know not to expect anything like Stephen King or John Saul.  

 

Teaser Tuesday: What the Dead Want by Norah Olson

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.



Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Gretchen blinked, closed her eyes, shook her head and then opened them again.  They were still there.  One of the girls smiled defiantly and turned her head to the side, like a contortionist in the circus, her vertebrae cracking.
~pg. 89 of What the Dead Want (ARC copy) by Norah Olson 

Teaser Tuesday: Opposition (Lux #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.


Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


 
"There was a flash of intense light, a shocking wave of heat that seemed to lift me off my feet, and then there was nothing."
~Page 29 of Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Book Review: The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

The Darkest Corners is a psychological thriller about the lies little girls tell, and the deadly truths those lies become.

There are ghosts around every corner in Fayette, Pennsylvania. Tessa left when she was nine and has been trying ever since not to think about it after what happened there that last summer. Memories of things so dark will burn themselves into your mind if you let them.

Callie never left. She moved to another house, so she doesn’t have to walk those same halls, but then Callie always was the stronger one. She can handle staring into the faces of her demons—and if she parties hard enough, maybe one day they’ll disappear for good.

Tessa and Callie have never talked about what they saw that night. After the trial, Callie drifted and Tessa moved, and childhood friends just have a way of losing touch.

But ever since she left, Tessa has had questions. Things have never quite added up. And now she has to go back to Fayette—to Wyatt Stokes, sitting on death row; to Lori Cawley, Callie’s dead cousin; and to the one other person who may be hiding the truth.

Only the closer Tessa gets to the truth, the closer she gets to a killer—and this time, it won’t be so easy to run away. 

My Thoughts:

I'm not really sure how I felt about this book.  It grabbed my attention at first and I really enjoyed the mystery.  It kept my attention all the way through (and I would have finished it sooner if this flu bug hadn't kicked my butt for the last 8 days) but there were some things towards the end that just made me hesitate to give it four or five stars.

The book begins with Tessa in the airport on the way to her childhood home.  Her father, who is in prison, is dying and Tessa feels like she should see him one last time.  Tessa is dreading going back to Fayette because when she was young, her best friend and her put a man on Death Row.  When Tessa and her friend, Callie, were young, Callie's older cousin was murdered.  Tessa and Callie said they saw the man who did it but now Tessa is starting to question what they really saw.  

   

Once in Fayette, Tessa is staying at Callie's house, much to Callie's dismay.  Callie and Tessa haven't spoken since Tessa left Fayette.  When Tessa goes to visit her father and finds out that he has already died and that her missing sister was there, she tries to find a way to stay longer to try to find her sister and her mother.  

Then one of Tessa and Callie's friends turns up murdered in the exact same way as Callie's cousin and the other girls.  Now Callie and Tessa are wondering if they really helped to put away the Ohio River Monster or if they put an innocent man on Death Row. 

This book kept the mystery going and I honestly had no idea who the Ohio River Monster was or who killed Callie's cousin.  There were so many questions that kept coming up.  The ending was so chaotic for me though and there were way too many things going on.  First you find out who the Ohio River Monster was and that whole part felt very rushed to me at the end.  Then you have Tessa's mom and the whole question of why Lori was murdered.  Last you have a whole new kidnapping plot thrown in for a twist that just seemed off to me.  It just felt like way too many plots thrown into the ending chapters.  

I am happy to say that this book was completely unpredictable though and I did enjoy that.  There were some issues with the police procedures and how they did things but the book was a good mystery with many, many twists and turns.  

**I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review**

 

Book Beginnings and The Friday 56

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by  Rose City Reader.  Simply share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading and link up in her linky.  

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.   

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it)
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. 
*It's that simple.

Hell is a two-hour layover in Atlanta.

~Beginning of The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas.

Yes, I am a liar, but there are a couple of things I feel the need to say about that.

~Page 56 of The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas.                                                                                                                            

Book Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

 

There are some things you can’t leave behind…
A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

My Thoughts:

This was a difficult book to read for me.  It dealt with some really hard issues like drug addiction, abandonment and abuse.  I think this book is definitely for a more mature reader.

Carey and Jenessa are living in the Hundred Acre Wood (named after Jenessa's favorite books, Winnie-the-Pooh).  They live in a camper with no running water or electricity.  Their mom has been MIA for many weeks and their food is getting low.  Carey does her best to take care of her little sister and is very alarmed when she hears other people coming into the secret world.  It turns out that these strangers know her name and Jenessa's too.  Carey soon finds out that their mother has written to CPS and told them where to find the girls. 

Along with the social worker is Carey's biological father.  Carey only knows what her mother has told her about him and none of it good.  When she finds out that she and Jenessa have to go live with him, she is very wary.  

Once at her father's house, Carey meets her new stepmother and stepsister.  Melissa is so sweet.  You have to love her.  She very easily accepts these two girls as her own and helps them as best as she can to get adjusted to all the many, many changes.  Delaney, Carey's stepsister comes across as a selfish and spoiled brat but you can see where she is coming from, at least a little bit.  It would be very difficult to be an only child for so long only to have all that attention suddenly taken away from you and focused on two unwanted sisters.  Delaney does come around though and by the end I actually liked her.

There were some issues I had with this book.  The first thing is Jenessa.  You see, Carey's mom kidnapped Carey when she was only 5 years old.  Jenessa wasn't born yet and is not the biological daughter of Carey's father.  Carey's mother hid deep in the woods and Jenessa was a "trick baby."  So I am not sure how Carey's father or the social worker would even know about Jenessa except for the fact that the letter said "daughters". The implication was that the social worker and Carey's father immediately started looking for them so wouldn't have had time to make up not only Carey's room but also a room for a child they didn't even know existed.  The room was painted, furnished and had all the stuff that Jenessa would like.  They wouldn't even have any idea how old Jenessa was.  Maybe she was only an infant but they had the room furnished for a five year old.  

There were also some things with the way CPS was portrayed.  A social worker would never stay in a hotel room with children.  The liability of that is crazy and they simply wouldn't put themselves or their department in that situation.  

Jenessa, even though she refused to speak, had no problems trusting these random strangers.  I find that very difficult to believe, especially since she is only 5 and the things she has seen makes me believe that she wouldn't be so trusting so quickly.  

These are only a few things that were bothersome but not enough that it made me want to put the book down.  I actually was very captivated by the story and read it quickly but there are definitely some "off" parts for me.  Again, I definitely think this is for a more mature reader due to the contents.

Teaser Tuesday: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.



Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser is from If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch.  I can hardly put this book down!

I don't know.  I don't know how it's going to be.  All I know is, if I want to be normal, I'm going to have to work at acting normal.  Talking normal.  

Fake it through until I make it true.

~page 82 of If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
  

Book Review: Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

 

From Harper Lee comes a landmark new novel set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch--"Scout"--returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in a painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past--a journey that can be guided only by one's conscience.

Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humor and effortless precision--a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of To Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context and new meaning to an American classic.

My Thoughts:

First, let me say that I did not know there was any controversy around this book when I bought it.  I loved To Kill a Mockingbird and was so excited to read more about Scout and Atticus.  This book did not grab my attention like TKAM did or keep me interested but I thought it was still a good read.

Scout is now in her twenties and has moved away to New York.  She comes back to visit Atticus, who is now living with Alexandra, Scout's aunt.    While at home, Scout is forced to see Atticus in a new light as well as her longtime friend, Henry.  You see, Scout thinks that Atticus has changed since TKAM and it was shocking to her.  She feels as if she no longer knows who Atticus is or ever was. 

 I personally did not feel that Atticus changed his opinions much.  I felt like Scout was naive as a child and put Atticus on a pedestal.  She saw no wrong in her father.  Atticus is a product of the time and place he grew up in.  He didn't believe the south was ready for total equality.  Is it right that he thought that way?  No.  But that is how he had grown up and that is how everyone around him thought and he just simply didn't know to think anything else.  

I think Scout had to understand that Atticus was just a human.  He thought bad things sometimes.  He did bad things sometimes but that majority of the time, he tried to do what was right.  I think she saw him as perfect and when her image was shattered, she didn't know what to do.   

This book took me much longer to read than TKAM because it didn't capture my interest like TKAM.   It wasn't what I was expecting it to be but I was glad to see Atticus taken down a notch and made human.  

 

Teaser Tuesday: Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.



Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.  I LOVE To Kill a Mockingbird so I am really excited to finally read this one!

The one human being she had ever fully and wholeheartedly trusted had failed her; the only man she had ever known to whom she could point and say with expert knowledge, "He is a gentleman, in his heart he is a gentleman," had betrayed her, publicly, grossly, and shamelessly.
            
                 ~From page 83 of Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee 

Book Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  

 

Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets.

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.

Yet not all promises can be kept.

Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope.

My Thoughts:

This is the second book that Ms. Sepetys has written about World War II.  What I really appreciate about both Salt to the Sea and Shades of Gray are that they are about a part of the war that many of us don't learn much about.  We all know the atrocities committed by Hitler against the Jewish people and those he found "inferior."  I don't feel that many people learn a lot of Stalin and the struggles of the Lithuanians.  In fact, until I read Shades of Gray, I knew nothing about any of that.  I have to appreciate a story that teaches us about another aspect of the war.  I think we can all stand to learn more history.  

Salt to the Sea takes us back to World War II and the tragic sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German ship that was overfilled with refugees fleeing the country.  The Wilhelm Gustloff was a real ship that was actually sunk but until this book, I had never heard of it. 

 

The book is told from alternating views (Joana, Florian, Emilia and Alfred) and starts with a group of refugees fleeing from the Russian soldiers that are invading Germany and Poland.  They are traveling to Gotenhafen, on the coast of the Baltic Sea.  The group includes Joana, Eva, a blind girl (whose name is completely slipping my mind at the moment), the Shoe Poet and the Wandering Boy. This group meets up with a German soldier, Florian, and a Polish girl, Emilia.  

 

Joana is a Lithuanian nurse and feels an incredible need to help people.  She is also carrying a very guilty conscious and a sad secret.  Eva is a giant of a woman who speaks her mind in a "sorry, not sorry" kind of way.  The shoe poet was one of my favorite characters.  He was an older gentleman who was a shoemaker and did his very best to keep everyone's spirits up.  He was the sunshine in that group.  The Wandering Boy (Klaus) was a child that was fleeing with his grandmother until the morning when his grandmother simply didn't wake up.  

 

Florian is a German who was working with Gauleiter Erich Koch.  He was unwittingly aiding the Germans in their theft of priceless art.  Florian was gifted with being able to copy any document almost to perfection, a gift that comes in very handy for him.  After finding out that he has been deceived, Florian is on the run with a secret of his own.

 

Emilia was sent by her father to a farm for safety.  Little did he know that his daughter was not at all safe and she ends up running away from the farm with a heavy burden.  She meets Florian when Florian saves her from a Russian soldier.  Florian is also wounded and the two are lucky to meet up with Joana's group.

 

The story is also told from Alfred's point of view.  Alfred is a character that I hated with every single fiber of my being.  He was your typical Nazi.  He felt that the "superior" race was the only race that should be alive.  The funny thing about Alfred is that he is so far from "superior" that it's amazing that he even got into the German Army.  He is weak and sick, not to mention quite crazy (or maybe just brainwashed).  He made up letters in his head to a girl and tells her about how important he is when in reality he is a nobody in the army.

Once they get to the Wilhelm Gustloff, the group is loaded on board the ship along with 10,000 other crew and refugees.  The ship's capacity was only1,880.  Russian torpedoes sink the ship hours after it left the coast and resulted in over 9,000 deaths. 

The short chapters, alternating views and constant activity made this book hard to put down.  I was able to read it very quickly, connect with most of the characters and was heartbroken at the end.  The only thing I wish was that the conclusion of the story was a little....more.  You find out what happens to the majority of the characters (except Eva...I wanted to know if Eva made it) but you don't really find out if Florian found his sister or Joana found her mother.  I would have liked a little more in depth explanation as to how they got to where they were but that is my only complaint about the book. 

I think this is a fascinating story about a part of history that many people have never even heard about.  I think it's a book everyone should read, to be honest.  I definitely recommend it!

Teaser Tuesday: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.






Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser is from Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys.  I just started this book so I'm not very far into it but I really like it.  

I leaned over and put my mouth to his ear.  It was barely a whisper. 

 "I'm a murderer."

From Salt to the Sea pg. 47.

Book Review: Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head...

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated. 

My Review: 

This past summer I read and LOVED The Good Girl so I was pretty excited when I got my hands on this book. However, I was a little disappointed in this one. It definitely was not up to par with The Good Girl.

Heidi is always trying to help people. She is married to Chris and has a 12 year old daughter, Zoe. Heidi's dream was to have a large family but a bout with cancer derailed all those plans. Heidi's husband, Chris, is an investment banker. He spends a lot of time at work and on different business trips. Zoe is a very angry 12 year old. She hates everyone and everything. Zoe's attitude reminded me more of a 15 or 16 year old's attitude. I thought it was strange that she was only 12. I have an 11 and a 13 year old and neither of them act anywhere close to that (maybe I'm just lucky?) yet. I don't know but it just didn't ring true to me.

Heidi sees Willow, a young, homeless girl with a baby one day at the train station. She then makes it her mission to take the girl and the baby in to help them. Chris, understandably, has a problem with this. Who takes in a homeless girl and her baby with NO information about them. From this point on, I really disliked Heidi. She did not care at all about her family's safety. She has a 12 year old daughter and she just brings in this stranger and expects her husband and daughter to be okay with it and also for her daughter to let Willow "borrow" some clothes.

From this point on, it is hard to tell you about this book without giving away some major spoilers. So I will just tell you that I really didn't like Heidi. She obviously has some serious issues that need to be dealt with and towards the end, her attitude towards her daughter is ridiculous. She completely ignores her, forgetting to pick her up after soccer practice, forgetting to attend her soccer games or pick her up from them or make her dinner. You will find out what is going on with Heidi but I still didn't like her.

Chris was so busy with work that he was hardly home but with a wife like Heidi, I kind of don't blame him. Once Heidi brought Willow in, Chris was more involved for the safety of his daughter but was still gone a lot. At least he had a little common sense though. I actually really liked Chris.

Willow was a sad and complicated character. Her story was heartbreaking to me and I could completely relate to the things she did. That's not to say she made the right choices but you could understand how her mind was working.

I thought the book was a little slow through the beginning and middle. It was one that I was easily able to put down and do other things and not pick up for a day or two. Once I got towards the end though, I could not put it down at all and ended up staying up late to finish it. I was disappointed in the ending because I had so many questions left over. What happened to Matthew? What happened to Heidi and Chris and Zoe? So many unanswered questions...

So, this was definitely a good book but not the best. If you like psychological thrillers, I would recommend this. Just know that the conclusion will leave you with many unanswered questions.  

 

Book Review: The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant by by Joanna Wiebe

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Life and death, light and dark, spirit and flesh-on Wormwood Island, the lines are always blurred. For Anne Merchant, who has been thrust back into this eerily secretive world, crossing the line seems inevitable, inescapable, destined.

Now, as Ben finds himself battling for the Big V and Teddy reveals the celestial plan in which Anne is entwined, Anne must choose: embrace her darkly powerful connection to a woman known as Lilith and, in doing so, save the boy she loves...or follow a safer path that is sure to lead to Ben's destruction at the hands of dark leaders. Hoping the ends will justify the means, Anne starts down the slippery slope into the underworld, intent on exploring the dark to find the light. But as the lure of Lilith proves powerfully strong, will Anne save others-only to lose herself?

My Thoughts:

This book begins right where the last one ended.    Anne has returned to Wormwood Island where Villicus is no longer headmaster.  The new headmaster, Dia Voletto, has brought many new ideas with him.  Mephisto is still at the island however, and Voletto and Mephisto have plans for a new college.  

Anne finds Ben, who is now a student at Cania Christy with his ex, Garnet, as his guardian.  Ben's feelings for Anne have not changed at all though and Anne has to make Ben want to try to win the Big V.   Anne will do anything to make sure that Ben wins the Big V.  Once she finds out who she is, she goes to great lengths to make sure her plan for Ben works out.

I loved that Molly, Pilot and Teddy were back in this book!  I even liked Harper in this book (at least I liked her more than I did in the last one).  Harper still has some serious attitude but I enjoyed it.  The Seven Sisters were also an amazing addition to the story! 

The twists in this book definitely keep you on your toes!  There are so many of them too!  I won't go into detail about any of them but just for an idea...there is the twist on who Anne really is, who Molly turns out to be,  what happens to Dia and who he really is.  There were so many that I was kept in the dark the whole time.  I didn't see any of the ending coming and that is how I like my books...completely unpredictable!

I really enjoy this series and cannot wait for the third book to come out!   I highly suggest you go out and get the first book in this trilogy to read if you haven't yet to get prepared for the release of this one.  You won't be disappointed!

**Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy for review**

 

Book Review: The Recipe Hacker by Diana Keuilian

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

 Have your cake and eat it too! (and your pizza and your tacos and lots more.) This mouthwatering collection of healthy recipes takes out all those troublesome ingredients like gluten, dairy, cane sugar, and soy and leaves in all the flavor and indulgence.

My Thoughts:  

I was contacted to review this cookbook and I was really excited to accept!  In the last year, I have lost over 70 lbs. and it's all been from eating a clean diet and exercising.  Eating gluten free, grain free, sugar free is not easy for a lot of people and the recipes aren't always the most appetizing.  

This cookbook has sections for Breakfasts, Appetizers, Main Dishes, Sides and Desserts.  The first recipe I tried was the Banana Pancakes (mostly because I had all the ingredients but I thought maybe my kids would like them too).  These were easy to make but they obviously did take longer than making pancakes from a mix would.  I am happy to report that even my very picky children liked these pancakes.  The banana flavor wasn't strong at all and they had no idea that these pancakes were so much healthier for them.  

I tried the Green Smoothie next.  By the looks on my kids' faces, I knew they wouldn't even try it so it was up to my husband and myself to give it a try.  The recipe calls for a scoop of chocolate protein powder but we chose to use vanilla instead.  Both my husband and I thought this recipe was a yummy smoothie recipe.  We drink green smoothies a lot so it wasn't a new idea for us.  The flavor was mild and we didn't even use any stevia.  In my opinion, the spinach is sweet enough with the protein powder.  

The last thing I made from this book was the Teriyaki Salmon.  I love teriyaki anything so was excited to give this one a try.  Now, my husband is not a huge fan of salmon but even he ate it and appeared to enjoy it.  I loved this dish!  The sauce tasted just like teriyaki you get at the store or restaurant but it had no soy in it!  I may have added a little extra garlic because I love it so much but other than that, I followed the recipe exactly and will definitely be making this one again.

Eating healthy and clean is not easy in today's world.  Almost everything has something modified in it.  We are not perfect at eating "clean" but this cookbook has definitely helped us!  It is filled with excellent looking recipes that aren't difficult to make.  Some of the ingredients (like coconut aminos), I had to really look for because I had never bought them before.  Of course, eating "clean" is also going to be more expensive.  Almond flour and coconut flour are not cheap but I figure that our health is worth the extra money and honestly, since we've been eating better, we hardly ever get sick!

I highly recommend this cookbook if you want some excellent, clean recipes.  Even if you are new to eating this way, this book will help you out so much!  

 

Book Review: The Perfect Mother by Nina Darnton

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  When an American exchange student is accused of murder, her mother will stop at nothing to save her.

A midnight phone call shatters Jennifer Lewis’s carefully orchestrated life. Her daughter, Emma, who’s studying abroad in Spain, has been arrested after the brutal murder of another student. Jennifer rushes to her side, certain the arrest is a terrible mistake and determined to do whatever is necessary to bring Emma home. But as she begins to investigate the crime, she starts to wonder whether she ever really knew her daughter. The police charge Emma, and the press leaps on the story, exaggerating every sordid detail. One by one, Emma’s defense team, her father, and finally even Jennifer begin to have doubts.
  A novel of harrowing emotional suspense, The Perfect Mother probes the dark side of parenthood and the complicated bond between mothers and daughters.

 

My Thoughts:

 

Jennifer is awoken in the middle of the night by a phone call from her oldest daughter, Emma.  Emma is attends school at Princeton but is studying in Spain for the year.  The news Jennifer gets shocks her.  Emma has been arrested in Spain for the murder of a young boy.  As Jennifer tries to sort through everything Emma is telling her and trying to free her daughter, she discovers that she doesn't truly know Emma at all.

This book is obviously loosely based on the Amanda Knox story so I was instantly interested in it.  As a mother, I found myself wondering what I would do in this situation.  I found Jennifer to be very naive when it comes to her children.  She is constantly telling Emma's lawyer and the private investigator and even her own husband that if Emma said it happened this way then that's what happened because Emma wouldn't lie.  Now, as a mom myself, I want to believe my kids are perfect.  However, I know they're not and I know that they don't always tell the truth.  I would certainly want to give my child the benefit of the doubt but Jennifer seemed to be very blinded.  

I didn't care for Jennifer's husband, Mark, either.  Mark is an American lawyer and instead of heading to Spain to be with his wife and daughter, he stays to finish up some cases.  Throughout the book, while Jennifer is in Spain the entire time, dealing with all these issues by herself, Mark constantly tells her that he has to work to pay for all the legal expenses and Jennifer's living expenses in Spain.  I do see where the expenses would be a serious issue and how he might need to stay and work and also be there for their other kids, I thought he appeared cold and not very caring.  

There were a lot of unresolved issues in this book.  First off, is Emma really telling the truth?  There is quite the twist at the end but it just left you hanging.  There are unresolved issues with Jennifer and what she ends up doing with her life now.  What happens between Jennifer and Mark (did Mark ever cheat on her?  Was he currently cheating on her?  Do they make their marriage work?) and what happens with the relationship between Jennifer and Roberto.  There are just a lot of remaining questions that I have and it annoys me (just my personal feelings here) when I don't have all the loose ends tied up.  

I enjoyed this book and it definitely showed me what kind of mother I do NOT want to be.  I really would have liked more answers at the end but the book was easy to read and had some twists the kept you interested.

**I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review**