Book: Here Be Dragons

 Book: Here Be Dragons

Author: Ralph Whitlock

Pages: 222

This is my 177th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Dragons are deeply embedded in the folklore of the British countryside, their presence echoing through the history of countless hamlets and villages.  These mythical creatures snarl from church carvings, linger in the traditions of mumming plays and pageants, and live on in the stories passed down through generations.  Tracing their remnats - whether in art, legend, ro ritual - offers more than just a fascinating pursuit; it provides a window into their lives, beliefs, and practices of our rural ancestors.  To them, dragons symbolized evil and destruction, embodying the fears and challenges of their time.  

Stars: 4 

Book: The London Seance Society

 Book: The London Seance Society

Author: Sarah Penner

Pages: 352

This is my 177th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

1873.  At an abandoned chateau on the outskirts of Paris, a dark seance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D'Allaire.  Known worldwide for her talentin conjuring the spirits of murder victimes to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by windows and investigators alike.  Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister's death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy.  With shared determination, the women find companionship that perhaps borders on something more.  And as they team up with the powerful men of London's exclusive Seance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves.

Stars: 3 

Book: Games Untold

 Book: Games Untold

Author: Jennifer Barnes

Pages: 448

This is my 176th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

An amnesiac playboy and the woman with every reason to hate him.  A daredevil, his favroite heiress, and 3 nights in Prague.  An unlikely pairing between a cowboy and a goth.  4 brothers with an inescapable bond, strengthened by the family they chose, in a house of wonders that promises to always deliver one more secret.  

This was an okay book.  I read the 4 books in the Inheritence games and thought this was a next book, and it kind of is.  Mostly it is a recap of the stories over the last 4 books - untold stories of when the characters were younger, side character stories, etc.  It was fine.

Stars: 3 

Book: Beatrice and Virgil

 Book: Beatric and Virgil

Author: Yann Martel

Pages: 224

This is my 175th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Fate takes many forms.  When Henry receives a letter from an elderly taxidermist, it poses a puzzle that he cannot resist.  As he is pulled further into the world of this strage and calculting man, Henry becomes increasingly involved with the lives of a donkey and a howler monkey - named Beatrice and Virgil - and the epic journey they undertake together

Stars: 3

Book: The Memory Collectors

 Book: The Memory Collectors

Author: Dete Meserve

Pages: 336

This is my 174th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

What would you do if you could spend an hour in your past?  4 stragers in the beach town of Ventura, California are about to find out.  Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son who died in a senseless accident.  Any is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance.  Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair.  Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake.  Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreakingime travel invention of Mark Saunders - which allows some lucky clients the chance to spend an hour in their past.  Even though Aeon's technology ensures time travel can't alter the furture, all 4 clients, including MArk's ex-wife Elizabeth, yearn to revisit the hour that changed their lives forever.  But when their hour extends beyond 60 minutes, they find themselves stranded in the past.  As their paths intertwine unexpectedly, they unreath shocking secrets hidden in the shadows of their shared history: All their lives were shattered the same night on a secluded highway by the beach.  As they delve into the hidden truths of thatpivotal hour, a startling revelation emerges.  They were not alone.  Someone else was present, harboring dealy intentions.

This book was infurating.  I liked the idea of it, but the characters made we crazy.  Once they decided they were going to change their fate, and then couldn't because fate is inevitable, the book lost me.  Did not make any sense.  The people all knew what they were trying to change what happened, and yet they all did the exact same thing they did in the future.  Just no.  

Stars: 2 

Book: Sorry I Missed You

 Book: Sorry I Missed You

Author: Suzy Krause

Pages: 335

This is my 173rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

When Mackenzie, Sunna, and Maude move into a converted rental house, they are strangers with only one thing in common - important people in their lives have "ghosted" them.  Mackenzie's sister, Sunna's best friend, and Maude's fiance - all gone with no explanation.  So when a mangled, near-indecipherable letter arrives in their shaed mailbox - hinting at long-awaited answers - each tenant assumes it's for her.  The mistmatched trio decides to stake out the coffee shop named in the letter - the only clue they have - and in the process, a bizarre kinship forms.  But the more they learn about each other, the more questions(and suspeicions) they begin to have.  All the while, creepy sounds and strange happenings around the property suggest that they ghosts from their pasts might not be all that's haunting them.  Will any of the housemates find the closure they are looking for?  Or are some doors meant to remain closed?

Stars: 3 

Book: The Burning Side

 Book: The Burning Side

Author: Sarah Damhoff

Pages: 336

This is my 172nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

When April and Leo's house burns in the middle of the night, they escape with their 2 young children and the quiet knowledge that the fire is not the only thing threatening their family.  They retreat to April's childhood home in Dallas, where her spirited parents and siblings provide both comfort and complication.  As the family reckons with the aftermath - grief, guilt, logistics, and memories scorched and intact - the fire exposes the cracks already forming in April and Leo's marriage.  Te Novel unfolds in alternating perspectives: from April, who feels the crushing weight of motherhood, marriage, and sel-blame; from Leo, a high school history teacher shaped by a lonely, fractured childhood; from Deb, April's generous and no-nonsense mother who has to contend with her husband's recent Alzheimer's diagnosis; and from flashbacks that trace April and Leo's relationship from its earliest days of connection to the devastating decisions that led them here.  A family sage suffused with humor, longing, and heartbreak, this book is about what we inherit and what we choose, about forgiveness and the ache of being known.  It is about the meaning of home and the costs of long love.

stars: 3 

Book: Breathless

 Book: Breathless

Author: David Quammen

Pages: 416

This is the 171st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

This is an analysis of SARs-CoV-2 and its fierce journey through the human population, as seen by the scientist who study its origin, its ever-chagning nature, and its capacity to kill us.  David Quammen expertly shows how strange new viruses emerge from animals into humans as we disrupt wild ecosystems and how those viruses adapt to their human hosts, sometimes causing global catastrophe.  He explains why this coronavirus will probably be a "forever virus" destined to circulate among humans and bedevil us endlessly, in one variant form or another.  As scientists labor to catch it, comprehend it, and control it, with their high-tech tools and methods, the virus finds ways of escape.  Based on interviews with nearly one hundre scientists, including leading virologists in China and around the world, Quammen explains that infection disease experts saw this pandemic coming.  Also the precise origins of this virus may not be known for years, but some clues are compelling and some suppositions can be dismissed.

Stars: 4

Book: The Left Hand of Darkness

 Book: The Left Hand of Darkness

Author: Usula Le Guin

Pages: 336

This is my 170th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

On Gethen, human envoy Genly Ai has been sent to convince the planet's leaders to join the Ekumen, a loose confederation of planets who do not rule one another, but who cooperate in matters of interest to all Ekumen members.  Barriers to Ai' success include Gethenian pride, antipathy and discord between that world's rval nation-states and Ai's lack of understanding in a global culture fueled by the ambisexual nature of Gethenians.  The only native who believe sthe Ekumen can save Gethen is Estraven, a native whom Ai regards with suspicion. But when politics casts Estraven in a criminal light, Ai is dragged into a fierce powerplay and finds himself imprisoned, beaten, and left for dead.  Only by abandoning his prejudice - and learning to trust the Otherness of his savior - can he survive his ordeal.

Stars: 4 

Book: Caller Unknown

 Book: Caller Unknown

Author: Gillian McAllister

Pages: 352

This is my 169th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

There is nothing that Simone won't do for her daughter, Lucyt.  The 2 have always been close, and with Lucy about to leave home for university, they depart the UK for a vacation to Texas to spend some quality time together.  But when Simone awakens on their first morning in the desert, Lucy is gone, missing from their retnal cabin.  In her place is a cell phone, and a voice on the other line issues a shocking ransom demand.  Don't tell the police.  Come to this location.  And be prepared to do a deal.  Though Simone's husband urgest her to bring in the authorities for help, she knows she can't take any chances.  The kidnappers might kill Lucy if she tells anyone.  No mother would take that risk.  Instead, that night, she drives to the isolated meet-up.  What she finds there changes everything.  The mysterious kidnapper doesn't want money.  They want Simone to do something.  The unthinkable.  A catastrophic chain of events is set in motion, with chiling consequences that extend beyond simone and her family.  What follows is a heart-pounding jouney through the small towns and punishing desert of remote Texas, in which Simone's courage - and morality - is pushed to the brink as she discovers what it truly means to be a mother.

This book was just okay.  I have read a few other books by this author and liked them, but this one missed the mark.  Did not really care about the characters.  There was a lot of over writing (saying the same thing 3 different times in a row for page filler is something I really dislike).  The execution got repetitive.  And it did drag a bit.  The ending was okay.

Stars: 3

Book: The Beauty of the End

 Book: The Beauty Of The End

Author: Debbie Howells

Pages: 320

This is my 168th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

"I was 14 when I fell in love with a goddess".  So begins the testimony of Noah Calaway, an ex-lawyer with a sideline in armchair criminal psychology.  Now living an aimless life in a inherited cottage in the English Countryside, Noah is haunted by the memory of the beguilling young woman who left him at the altar sixteen years earlier.  Then one day he receives a troubling phone call.  April, the woman he once loved, lies in a coma, the victim of an apparent overdose - and the lead suspect in a brutal murder.  Deep in his bones, Noah believes that April is innocent.  Then again, he also believed they would spend the rest of their lives together.  While Noah searches for evidence that will clear April's name, a teenager named Ella begins to sift through the secrets of her own painful family history.  The same age as April was when Noah first met her, Ella harbors a revelation that could be the key to solving the murder.  As the 2 stories converage, there are shocking consequences when at last, the truth emerges.  Or so everyone believes.  

Stars: 3 

Book: Dungeon Crawler Carl #6 - The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

 Book: The Eye of the Bedlam Bridge

Author: Matt Dinniman

Pages: 832

This is my 167th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, have survived longer and leveld up highter than anyone ever thought they could in the galaxy's most popular reality show, but after the shocking conclusion of the 7th level, it's now anyone's game.  Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, have survived longer and leveled up higher than anyone ever thought they could in the galaxy's most popular reality show, but after the shocking conclusion of the 7th level, it's now anyone's game.  A pantheon of forgotten gods.  An old grudge between a talk show host, an heiress, and the man they shattered along they way.  A rapidly deteriorating AI system.  An inconvenient tiara upon the head of a friend.  It is bedlam on the 8th floor.  The crawlers are given a new taks: Find and capture 6 monsters, each of which will be turned into a card.  The stronger, the dealier, the better.  At the end of the floor, the bad guys will also have decks, made of some of the most powerful cards available.  So it's crucial for crawlers to assemble the toughest squad possible.  But, like always, there is a catch.  There's always a catch.  If Carl and Donu want a winning hand, they'll have to capture the most lethal and terrifying moster of them all: Shi Maria.  She was once married to a now-missing god.  Her special attack is known to drive one insane.  They call her the Bedlam Bride.  But even if Carl and Donut can capture her, they know all to weel that just because someone has been captured, it doesn't mean they have been tamed.  Welcome, Crawlers.  Welcome to the 8th floor of the dungeon.

Yet another amazin installment in the Dungeon Crawler world.  Book 6 - with only 2 more to go at this point - and I am going to be so sad when I get to the end!  I love, love, love listening to this book series.  It is by far the best audiobook reader I have ever come across.  The voices are amazing.  This book - like all the others - was fast paced with humor, and incredible world building.  Amazin characters.  There is a new one in this book - Uzi Jesus.  Perfection.  I cannot get enough of this series, and I cannot wait for the next one.

Stars: 5 

Book: Raising Hare

 Book: Raising Hare

Author: Chloe Dalton

Pages: 304

This is my 166th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Imagine you could hold a baby hare and bottle-feed it.  Imagine that it lived under your roof and bounded around your bedroom at night, drumming on the duvet cover when it wanted your attention.  Imagine that, more thatn 2 yeras later, it still ran in from the fields when you called it and slept in your house for hours on end.  For political advisor and speechwriter Chloe Dalton, who spent lockdown deep in the English countryside, far away from her usual busy London life, this became her unexpected reality.  In FEbruary 2021, Dalton stumbles upon a newborn hare - a leveret - that had been chased by a dog.  Freating for its life, she brings it home, only to discover how difficult it is to rear a wild hare, most of whom perish in captivity from either shock or starvation.  Through trial and error, she learns to feed and care for the leveret with every intention of returning it to the wilderness.  Instead, it becomes her constant companion, wandering the fields and woods at night and returning to Dalton's house by day.  Though Dalton feared that the hare would be preyed upon by foxes, weasels, feral cats, raptors, or even people, she never treid to restrict it to the house.  Each time the hare leaves, Chloe knows she may never see it again.  Yet she also understands that to confine it would be its own kind of death. 

This was a really great book.  I found it on the shelf at the library in our booksale room and a friend said I needed to reat it.  She was right!  It was such an interesting story about how the author let this hare - and several others - completely consume her home and life.  I kept picturing what it might look like with wild rabbits running in and out all the time, but maybe it was truly more magical than messy?  I learned a lot about hares in general among the sweet story, and I am so glad I read it.

Stars: 5 

Book: The Bookshop Below

 Book: The Bookshop Below

Author: Georgia Summers

Pages: 384

This is my 165th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

If you want a story that will change your life, Chiron's bookshop is where you go.  For those lucky enough to grace its doors, it's a glimpse into a world of powerful bargains and deadly ink magic.  For Cassandra Fairfax, it's a reminder of everything she lost, when Chiron kicked her out and all but shuttered the shop.  Since then, she's used her skills in less ethical ways, trading stolen books and magical reading to wealthy playboys and unscrupulous collectors.  Then Chiron dies under mysterious circumstances.  And if Cassandra knows anything, it's this: the bookshop must always have an owner.  But she's not the only one interested.  There's Lowell Sharpe, a dark-eyed, regrattably handsome bookseller she can't seem to stop bumping into; rival owners who threaten Cassandra from the shadows, and of course, Chiron's murderer, who is still on the loose.  As Cassandra tries to uncover the secrets her mentor left behing, a sinister force threatens to unravel the world of the magical bookshops entirely.

Stars: 3

Book: This Story Might Save Your Life

 Book: This Story Might Save Your Life

Author: Tiffany Crum

Pages: 368

This is my 164th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Best friends Benny and Joy like to say they've been saving each other's lives since the moment they met.  Until the day Joy disappears and Benny is suspected of murder.  Benny Abbot and Joy Moore host one of the most beloved podcasts in the world.  Each week, they delight listeners with a different "against all odds" survival story, gleefully finding the weird, life affirming humor in near-death experiences.  Since their first episode on Joy's experience with severe narcolepsy, they've been the best friends everyone wants to befriend - and thanks to the meticulous management of Joy's husband, Xander, they've built a lucrative empire.  The problem is, their next survival story may be their own.  When Benny arrives at Joy and Xander's one morning to record, he finds shattered glass and an empty house.  The one clue shedding light on the couple's disappearance is the incomplete, preveiously unseen first draft of Joy' memoir.  Benny is desperate to find them, even when the police soon zero in on him as their prime supsect.  Millions of devoted listeners think they know the "real" Benny and Joy.  But as the hours tick by, and the odds seem increasingly stacked against Joy and Xaner being found alive, not even the most devoted fans could guess the terrible secrets their favorite famous BFFs have hidden from the world - and from each other.

Stars: 3.5 

Book: The Light We Lost

 Book: The Light We Lost

Author: Jill Santopolo

Pages: 368

This is my 163rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Lucy is faced with a life-altering choice. But before she can make her decision, she must start her story - their story - at the very beginning.  Lucy and Gabe meet as seniors at Columbia University on a day that changes both of their lives forever.  Together, they decide they want their lives to mean something, to matter.  When they meet again a year later, it seems fated - perhaps they'll find life's meaning in each other.  But then Gabe becomes a photojournalist assigned to the Middle East and Lucy pursues a career in New York.  What follows is a 13 year journey of dreams, desires, jealousies, betrayals, and ultimately, of love.  Was it fate that brought them together?  Is it choice that has kept them away? Their journey takes Lucy and GAbe continents apart, but never out of each other's hearts.

This book was just okay.  The writing, for the most part, was pretty good.  Which is why I torn with my "okay review".  There were some bits where I felt like the author was doing page filler, but for the most part - writing is good.  However - the content I did not enjoy.  The story of Lucy and Gabe with her poor husband on the side was borderline ridiculous.  This was supposed to be a love story, but it did not feel that way to me.  I will not be reading the second one.

Stars: 3

Book: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

 Book: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Author: Hank Green

Pages: 352

This is my 162nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

The Carls just appeared.  Roaming through NYC at 3 am, 23 year old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture.  Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship - like a 10 foot tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor - April and her best friend, Andy, make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube.  The next day, April wakes up to a viral video and a new life.  News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world - from Beijing to Buenos Aires - and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight.  Seizing the opportunity to make her mark on the world, April now has to deal with the consequences her new particular brand of fame has on her relationships, her sefety, and her own identity.  And all eyes are on April to figure out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.

This was a pretty decent book.  I liked all the characters, and was pulled in to the story right from the beginning.  It is a fascinating story, but there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way which dropped it a star for me.  Overall - great character development and interesting story.  What bothered me was these are young people, and the thing with the Carl's got very big very fast and yet the strangeness of them got the government's attention very late.  That didn't make sense - that the government wouldn't at all try to control something that just appeared?  These days a weather balloon gets shot out of he air and makes national news.  Otherwise - a solid read, and I plan on reading the sequel.

Stars: 4

Book: Run

 Book: Run

Author: Blake Crouch

Pages: 336

This is my 161st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

No time to think.  No time to ask why.  Only time to run.  5 days ago, the epidemic of rage began.  4 days ago, the rash of senseless murders swept the nation.  3 days ago, the president addressed the country and begged for peace - even as the murders increased tenfold.  2 days ago, the killers began to mobilize.  1 day ago, the power went out.  And tonight, the killers are reading the names of those to be killed over the Emergency Broadcast System.  Jack  Colclough is listening over the battery-powered radio on his kitchen table in Alburquerque, and he just heard his name.  People are coming to his house to kill him, his wife, his daughter, and his son.  He has no idea what's happening, or why, but the time for questions is long past.  His only chance is to run.  

This was an okay book.  I do like Blake Crouch's books, and when looking around, I realized I missed this older one of his.  It wasn't as good as his more recent books, but I am glad I read it.  It is fast paced, and a good survival story, but weak in the science fiction side of things.  Ending was just okay.

Stars: 3

Book: The Alienist

 Book: The Alienist

Author: Caleb Carr

Pages: 512

This is my 160th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

The year is 1896.  The city is New York.  Newspaper reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned by his friend Dr. Laszlo Kreizler - a psychologist, or "alienist" - to view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy abandoned on the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge.  From there the 2 embark on a revolutionary effort in criminology: creating a psychological profile of the perpetrator based on the details of his crimes.  Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who will kill again before their hunt is over. 

Stars:4 

Book: House of Odysseus

 Book: House of Odysseus

Author: Claire North

Pages: 432

This is my 159th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power.  Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never came home.  In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace - a peace that is shattered by the return of Orestes, King of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.  Orestes' hands are stained with his mother's blood.  Not so long ago, the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra's life on Ithaca's sands.  Now, wracked with guilt, he is slowly losing his mind.  But a king cannot be seen to be weak, and Elektra has brought him to Ithaca to keep him safe from the ambitious men of Mycenae.  Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the furies circle him.  His uncle Menelaus, the battle-hungry king of Sparta, longs for Orestes' throne - and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims.  Trapped between 2 mad kinds, Penelope fights to keep her home from being crushed by a war that stretches from Mycenae and Sparta to the summit of Mount Olympus itself.  Her only allies are Elektra, desperate to protect her brother, and Helen of Troy, Menelaus' wife.  And watching over them all is he goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own.  Each woman has a secret.  And their secrets will shape the world. 

This is the second book in the Ithaca series, and I liked it almost as much as the first.  It was well written and the story flowed nicely.  Aphrodite as the narrator is great.  Unsung heroine Penelope reigns supreme.  And Helena makes an appearance in this book.  Glad I found these gemes of Mythology retelling.

Stars: 4

Book: Memoirs of a Debulked Woman

 Book: Memoirs of a Debulked Woman

Author: Susan Gubar

Pages: 320

This is my 158th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Diagnosed with ovarin cancer in 2008, Susan Gubar underwent radical debulking surgery, an attempt to excise the cancer by removing part or all of many organs in the lower abdomen.  Her memoir mines the deepset levels of anguish and devotion as she struggles to come to terms with her body's betrayal and the frightful protocols of contemporary medicine.  She finds solace in the abiding love of her husband, children, and friends while she searches for understanding in works of literature, visual art, and the testimonies of others who suffer with various forms of cancer.  Ovarian cancer remains an incurable disease for most of those diagnosed, even those lucky enough to find caring and skilled physicians.  

This was a pretty good book.  Hard to hear these stories, as always.  This book is over 12 years old now, and she was diagnosed a few years before she wrote this book.  I looked her up and was happy to see that she was alive and doing well 18 years after her diagnosis.

Stars: 4

Book: Margo's Got Money Troubles

 Book: Margo's Got Money Troubles

Author: Rufi Thorpe

Pages: 304

This is my 157th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet's always known she'd have to make it on her own.  So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can't imagine how she'll ever make a living.  She's still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor - and while the affair is brief, it isn't brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant.  Despite everyone's advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naivete and a yearning for something bigger.  Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction.  She needs a case infusion - fast.  When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare.  Then Margo begins to form a plan she'll start an only Fans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx's advice from the world of wrestling.  Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you.  Before she knows it, she's turned it into a run away success.  Could this be the answer to all of Margo's probelms, or does internet fame come with too high a price?  Blisteringly funny and filled with sharp insight, Margo's Got Money Troubles is a tender tale starring an endearing young heroine who's struggling to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her.  It's a playful and honest examination of the art of storytelling and controlling your own narrative, and an empowering portrait of coming into your own, both online and off.

I really enjoyed this book.  I did watch the Apple TV series first, and found it pretty good, but I did like the book better.  I think in the book Margo holds it together a little better - seems a bit more mature.  I liked that OnlyFans wasn't the biggest part of the book - it was her trying to care for Bodi.  I liked that most of the people in the book are calmer than they are in the show.  There was strife, of course, and relationship discourse - but not like the show.  It had a great ending.  Glad I read it.

Stars: 4

Book: The Night We Lost Him

 Book: The Night We Lost Him

Author: Laura Dave

Pages: 320

This is my 156th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Liam Noone was many things to many people.  To the public, he was an exacting, self-made hotel magnate fleeing his past.  To his 3 ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated.  To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar - notably, a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death.  The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estraged brother Sam have other ideas.  As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel they mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father's past and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

This was a pretty good book.  There was good character development, and I liked the dynamic of the family.  Mystery was decent.  The story moves along at a good clip.  There is plenty of conflict.  Good writing.  Satisfying ending.

Stars: 4 

Book: Logan's Run

 Book: Logan's Run

Author: William Nolan

Pages: 192

This is my 155th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

In 2116, it is against the law to live beyond the age of 21 years.  When the crystal flower in the palm of your hand turns from red to black, you have reached yr Lastday and you must report to a Sleepshop for processing.  But the human will to survive is strong - stronger than any mere law.  Logan 3 is a Sandman, an enforcer who hunts down those Runners who refuse to accept Deep Sleep.  The day before Logan's palmflower shirts to black, a Runner accidentally reveals that he was racing toward a goal: Sanctuary.  With this information driving him forward, Logan 3 assumes the role of the hunted and becomes a Runner.

This is an old book.  My husband bought it for me as a present thinking I might like it since this is my favorite genre.  But this book was weird.  It is short, and that is about the best thing it has going for it.  I had a hard time getting into it, and there were a million story lines.  Just odd.

Stars: 2 

Book: Ithaca

 Book: Ithaca

Author: Claire North

Pages: 416

This is my 154th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

17 years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca.  None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom.  Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus.  While he lived, her position was secure.  But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door.  No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus empty throne - not yet.  But as everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca indo a bloody civil war.  

This was a great book.  I found it on a discount rack, and what a gem!  The writing is excellent and the story is intriguing.  Love the characters.  It is focused on the women - and told by one of the gods.  The story centers around Penelope, but heavily involes Clytemnestra - which is a favorite of mine (side note - you need to read the book Clytemnestra by Constanza Casati.  It is excellent).  This is the first book in the trilogy and I cannot wait to read the next one.  Check this one out.

Stars: 5

Book: Cell

 Book: Cell

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 384

This is my 153rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

There's a reason cell rhymes with hell.  On October 1, God is in His heaven, the stock market stands at 10,140, most of the planes are on time, and Clayton Riddell, an artist from Maine, is almost bouncing up Boylston Street in Boston.  He's just landed a comic book deal that might finally enable him to support his family by making art intsead of teaching it.  He's already picked up a small (but expensive) gift for his long-suffering wife, and he knows just what he'll get for his boy Johnny.  Why not a little treat for himself?  Clay's feeling good about the future.   That changes in a hurry.  The cause of the devastation is a phenomenon that will come to be known as The Pulse, and the delivery method is a cell phone.  Everyone's cell phone.  Clay and the few desperate survivors who join him suddenly find themselves in the pitch-black night of civilzation's darkest age, surrounded by chaos, carnage, and a human horde that has been reduced to its basest nature - and then begins to evolve. There's really no escaping this nightmare.  But for Clay, an arrow points home to Maine, and as he and his fellow regugees make their harrowing journey north they begin to see crude signs confirmingtheir direction.  A promise, perhpas.  Or a threat.

I did not realize after going through my Stephen King list that I had miss an old one.  I saw the Cell movie years ago, but don't remember much about it.  I listened to this book and it made a good audiobook.  It is an interesting story, and a good take on a zombie type trope.  Had a decent ending.

Stars: 4

Book: The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea

 Book: The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea

Author: CL Miller

Pages: 304

This is my 152nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

When a painting vanishes from a maritime museum and a dead boyd is found nearby, Freya Lockwood and her Aunt Carole of the Lockwood Antique Hunter's Agency are called to investigate.  Following a lead that takes them aboard a glamorous antiques cruise sailing toward the Red Sea in Jordan, they quickly discover that the ship's art gallery is filled with stolen antiquities.  Each antique is also listed in Freya's late mentor's journals that detail unsolved cases.  In chasing a murderer with a stolen painting, they may have found soemthing more sinister than they could've imagined.  Their hunts soon turns deadly when they learn the enigmatic and dnagerous art trafficker named The Collector could be on board.  But on a ship full of antiques enthusiasts - plus some unexpected familiar faces - will Freya and Carole be able to discover the Collector's identity and stop his murdrous plans before the ship docks?  Or will the killer strike again?

This was a pretty good book.  It is a second in the series, and I think I liked it better than the first.  It is a bit better written, and I was more interested in the story this time around.  Looking forward to reading the 3rd.

Stars: 4

Book: Run Away

 Book: Run Away

Author: Harlan Coben

Pages: 384

This is my 151st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

She' addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend.  And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found.  Then, by chance, you see her playing guitar in Central Park.  But she's not the girl you remember.  This woman is living on the edge, frightened, and clearly in trouble.  You don't stop to think.  You approach her, beg her to come home.  She runs.  And you do the only thing a parent can do: follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed.  Before you know it, both your family and your life are on the line.  And in order to protect your daughter from the evils of that world, you must face them head on Age Range: Adult.  

I have read quite a few Coben books this year, and find most of them fine -if not just fluff.  But this was one of the better ones I have read.  I liked the mystery.  The characters are well developed.  There are a lot of twists in this one.  It is entertaining.  You try to put yourself in the dad's shoes to see what you would do if you were him.  After I read this book, I watched the show on Netflix and I can highly recommend that as well.

Stars: 4

Book: From a Buick 8

 Book: From a Buick 8

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 480

This is my 150th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Since 1979, the state police of Troop D in rural PA have kept a secret in the shed out behind the barracks.  Ennis Rafferty and Curtis Wilcox had answered a strange call just down the road and came back with an abandoned 1953 Buick Road Master.  Curt Wilcox knew old cars, and this one was - jut wrong.  As it turned out, the Buick 8 was worse than dangerous - and the members of Troop D decdied that it would be better if the public never found out about it.  Now, more than 20 years later, Curt's son Ned starts hanging around teh barracks and is allowed into the Troop D family.  And one day he discovers the family secet - a mystery that begins to site once more not only in the minds and hearts of these veteran troopers, but out in the shed as well, for there's more power under the hood than anyone can handle.

This was a decent book.  Still working my way through all the Stephen King novels - getting close to the end now.  I listened to this one and that was a good way to absorb this novel.  It isn't particualarly scary.   This isn't his first creapy car novel.  I did like that it took place in Western PA - that is where I grew up.  It is a leisurely story, but not dull.  It lays out a story and leads to a build up with one of the main characters, but it doesn't quite tip over into horror for me.  Has a good ending.

Stars: 3.5 

Book: Atlantia

 Book: Atlantia

Author: Ally Condie

Pages: 320

This is my 149th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamed of the sand and sky above - of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia.  But in a single moment, all Rio's hopes for the future are shattered when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected choice, stranding Rio Below.  Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio's true self - and the powerful siren voice she has long silenced - she has nothing left to lose.  Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother's death, her own destiny, and the corrupted system constructed to govern the Divide between land and sea.  Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

This was an interesting book.  I really liked Condie's Matched Trilogy that I read years ago.  This one wasn't as good as that trilogy, and I find that she tried to do too many things in a 300 page book.  I think if she would have taken her time like she did with Matched, this book would have been hire rated for me.  It took along time for her to get to the "problem" and then she sped through it.  She tried to build a world and solve a mystery in a very short book.  That is hard to do.  I liked the characters - they were all fine.  The writing wasn't great - it was fine.  It started well, and I was curious enough to see where the author was taking it.  And it had a satisfying ending.  But overall - I was hoping for more.

Stars: 3.5 

Book: The Unmaking of June Farrow

 Book: The Unmaking of June Farrow

Author: Adrienne Young

Pages: 352

This is my 148th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

In the small mountain town of Jasper, NC, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her.  The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm - and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line.  The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow's disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors.  It's been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren't there.  Fair wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere-the signs of what June always knew was coming.  But June is determined to end the curse once and for l, even if she must sacrifice finding love and having a family of her own.  After her grandmother's death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother's decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions.  But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she's been searching for?  The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold.  And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.

This was a pretty good book.  I listened to it and it made a good audiobook.  There is decent character development, a mystery, and found family.  Satisfying ending.  This is not chick flick fiction - this has supernatural and paranormal elements to it - which is hard to tell by the cover.  I was left wondering why this "curse" started.  And I wish it was more about the generational circle than about the overall mystery and love story.  There is one other fault that it just a personal one for me, but I will not share it because it would be a spoiler.  (for my blog only - I hate when books travel back in time and not forward and then the characters stays there).

Stars: 4

Book: Sprinting Through No Man's Land

 Book: Sprinting Through No Man's Land

Author: Adin Dobkin

Pages: 316

This is my 147th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

On June 29, 1919, one day after the Treaty of Versailles brought about the end of World War I, nearly 70 cyclists embarked on the 13th Tour de France.  From Paris, the war-weary men rode down the western coast on a race that would trace the country's border, through seaside towns and mountains to the ghostly western front.  Traversing a cratered postwar landscape, the cyclists faced near-impossible odds and the psychological scars of war.  Most of the athletes had arrived straight from the front, where so many fellow countrymen had suffered or died.  The cyclists' perseverance and tolerance for pain would be tested in a grueling, monthlong competition.  An inspiring true story of human endurance, this book explores how the cyclists united a country that had been torn apart by unprecedeted desolation and tragedy.  It shows how devastated countrymen and women can come together to celebrate the adventure of a lifetime and discover reewed fortitude, purpose, and national identity in the streets of their towns.

This was an interesting book.  My dad is a huge Tour fan.  He and my mom actually went one year to follow the tour for several weeks on a tour of their own and watch the race.  It was interesting to read about the Tours beginnings and how it differs from today.  It was a bit dry in spots, and there is just about as much about WWI as the tour, which was a bit odd  I know what the author was trying to do, but I would have liked the book to just focus on the bikers.

Stars: 3

Book: Dispatches From Grief

 Book: Dispatches From Grief

Author: Danielle Crittenden

Pages: 207

This is my 146th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

On a February morning, Danielle Crittenden's world cleaved in two: the life before her daughter Miranda was found dead in her Brooklyn apartment, and the life after.  In this luminous memoir, Crittenden maps the territory of profound loss with the clarity of a foreign correspondent filing reports from a country no parent ever wishes to visit.  With unflinching honesty and unexpected grace, she chronicles not just the shattering impact of a child's death, but the strange afterlife of grief itself - the way it infiltrates grocery stores and social media, transforms old friendships and forges new ones, and ultimately reshapes the mourner as fundamentally as it has reshaped the world. Here is grief in all its terrible specificity: the police call that changes everything, the surreal task of choosing a burial dress, the well-meaning friends who offer advice about "stages" that don't exist.  But here too is love in its most distilled form - a mother's meditation on a daughter who commanded dinner tables at 12 and who transformed from a precocious girl into a sparkling young woman living her dreams in NY.  Crittenden brings a journalist's eye to the landscpae of loss, coining the perfect term for those who try to explain grief to the grieving, finding dark comedy in a hotel clerk's relentless cheerfulness.  It will speak to anyone who has loved deeply, lost profoundly, and wondered how to continue when continuation seems impossible.

This was a heartbreaking book.   It is a short book, and I read it all in one sitting.  Make sure you have your tissues as you read along with a mother's greatest fear and what happens after.

Stars: 4.5 

Book: The Man Who Died Twice

 Book: The Man Who Died Twice

Author: Richard Osman

Pages: 368

This is my 145th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim - the Thursday Murder Club - are still riding high off their recent real-life murder ase and are looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet at Cooper's Chase, their post retirement village.  But they are out of luck.  An unexpected visitor - an old pal of Elizabeth's (or perhaps more than just a pal?) - arrives, desperate for her help.  He has been accused of stealing diamonds worth millions from the wrong men and he's seriously on the lam.  Then, as night follows day, the first body is found.  But not the last.  Elizabet, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are up against a rutless murderer who wouldn't bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians.  Can out 4 friends catch the killer before the killer catches them?  And if they find the diamonds, too?  Well, wouldn't that be a bonus?  You should never put anything beyond the Thursday Murder Club.

This was a pretty good book.  I had read the first one and just thought it was fine, and figured I was done with the series.  However - a reading challenge threw me into the second book, and I am glad I read it.  I did watch the show on TV, and I think that helped.  I now had people to put their the characters in the book and it made this one more enjoyable.  It is clever and fun, and I understand the TV series will continue, so hopefully we will see this one played out soon.

Stars: 4

Book: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 5: The Butcher's Masquerade

 Book: The Butcher's Masquerade

Author: Matt Dinniman

Pages: 720

This is my 144th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

A lush jungle teeming with danger.  Savage dinosaurs seeking blood.  A fallen princess intent on vengeance.  A mysterious, end of floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed "The Butcher's Masquerade".  But that's not all.  Just when Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, think they've seen it all as they compete to survive in the galaxy's most popular game show, the latest dungeon level introduces a terrible new threat.  The 6th floor.  The Hunting Grounds.  As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, outside tourist are finally allowed to enter the game, and they are ready to hunt.  Among them is Vrah, a famed and veteran hunter, intent on collecting the biggest trophy of her career.  But her prey is far from harmless, and this season they are fighting back.  Welcome, crawlers.  Welcome to the 6th floor of the dungeon.

Another great installment in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.  These books do not get less entertaining.  They are fun, and clever, and the world building is amazing.  In the beginning I really had to take my time to try and figure out the game, but not that I understand it, the books are so enjoyable.  Characters are well developed.  Carl and Donut are so easy to like and root for.  Samantha - introduced in the last book - is even more hilarious in this installment.  If you have not tried this books, I encouage you too.  I know they are tomes, but worth it.

Stars: 5