Book: Where The Library Hides

 Book: Where The Library Hides

Author: Isabel Ibanez

Pages: 400

This is my 178th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

A lush immersive hustorical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, and a rivals-to-lovers romance like no other.  Inex Olivera traveled across the world to Egypt, seekin answers into her parents recent and mysterious deaths.  But all her seaching led her down a perilous road, filled with heartache, betrayal, and a dangerous magic that pulled her deep into the past.  When Tio Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance, she's left with only one option to consider.  Marriage to Whitford Hayes.  Former British soldier, her uncle's aide de camp, and one time nemesis, Whit has his own mysterious reasons for staying in Egypt.  With her heart on the line, Inex might have to bind her fate to the one person whose secet plans could ruin her.

Didn't like it as well as the first one.  What Whit did to her should have been unforgivable.

Stars: 3

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