Book: Eerie Basin

 Book: Eerie Basin

Author: Ivy Pochoda

Pages: 72

This is my 96th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Erin tends bar at the last dive left in gentrified Red Hook, Brooklyn, where old-timers spin tales of the bar's legacy and the waterfront's crime-ridden past.  Her boss, Jimmy, a real estate magnate responsible for much of the neighborhood's shiny transformation, also has a story to share.  Back when he was a struggling beat cop, 2 neglected boys introduced him to an ancietn creature that made Jimmy's dreams come true.  Nightmares too.  Erin doesn't believe a word.  The bar is her life.  But this bar at the end of the world is also home to a deadly stowaway.  And it's looking for a new host.

This was a pretty good short story.  I am still working through all the Amazon Free Reads I have collected over the years, and in the evenings, I can take an hour and burn through some of these short books.  This one had good character development, a good mystery, and a good ending.  I enjoyed it.

Stars: 4

Book: Lovers at the museum

 Book: Lovers At the Museum

Author: Isabel Allende

Pages: 25

This is my 95th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Love, be it wild or tender, often defies logic.  In fact, at times, the only rationale behind the instant connection of two souls is plain magic.  Bibina Aranda, runaway bride, wakes up in the Guggenheim Museum in Bibao still wearing her wedding dress, draped in the loving arms of a naked man whose name she doesn't know.  She and the man with no clothes, Indar Zubieta, attempt to explain to the authorities how they got there.  It's a story of love at first sight and experience beyond compare, one that involves a dreamlike journey through the museum.  But the lover's transcendent night bears no resemblance to the crude one Detective Larramendi attemps to reconstruct.  And no amount of fantastical descriptions can convince the irritated inspector of the truth.  

Stars: 3

Book: Tesla's Attic

 Book: Tesla's Attic

Author: Neal Shusterman

Pages: 272

This is my 94th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

After their home burns down, 14 year old Nick, his younger brother, and their father move into a ramshackle Victorian house they've inherited.  When Nick opens the door to his attic room, he's hit in the head by a toaster.  That's just the beginning of his weird experiences with the old junk stored up there.  After getting rid of the odd antiques in a garage sale, Nick befriends some local kids - Mitch, Caitlin, and Vincent - and they discovered that all of the objects have extraordinary properties.  What's more, Nick figures out that the attic is a strange magnetic vortex, which attracts all sorts of trouble.  It's as if the attic itself has an intelligence - and a purpose.  Ultimately Nick learns that the genius Nikola Tesla places the items-his last inventions - in the attic as part of a larger plan that he mathematically predicted.  Nick and his new friends must retrieve everything that was sold at the garage sale and keep it safe.  But the task is fraught with peril-in addition to the dnagers inherent in Tesla's mysteriou and powerful creations, a secret society of physicists, the Accelerati, is detemined to stop Nick and alter desitny to achieve its own devious ends.  It's a lot for a guy to handle, especially when he'd much rather fly under the radar as the new kid in town.

This was a pretty good book. It is definitley a middle grade book, but I have a lot of Shusterman books on my shelf, so I figured I would try these.  It is the first book of a trilogy.  It is well written with a nice mystery that keeps you guessing through the whole book.  I liked all of the characters, and the story kept a good pace.  I am looking forward to reading the next one.

Stars: 4

Book: The Easy Life in Kamusari

 Book: The Easy Life in Kamusari

Author: Shion Miura

Pages: 205

This is my 93rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Yuki Hirano is just out of high school when his parents enroll him, against his will, in a forestry training program in the remote mountain village o Kamusari.  No phone, no internet, no shopping.  Just a small, inviting community where the most common expression is "take it easy".  At first, Yuki is exhausted, fumbles with the tools, asks silly questions, and feels like an outcast.  Kamusari is the last place a city boy from Yokohama wants to spend a year of his life.  But as resistant as he might be, the scent of the cedars and the staggering beauty of the region have a pull.  Yuki learns to fell trees and plant saplings.  He begins to embrace local festivals, he's mesmerized by legends of the mountain, ad he might be falling in love.  In learning to respect the forest on Mt. Kamusari for its majestic qualities and its inexplicable secrets, Yuki starts to appreciate Kamusari's harmony with nature and its ancient traditions. 

This was an okay book.  Kind of boring.  It is very short, and I listened to it, so maybe that was the problem.  It is slow paced, and just about everyday life - not a lot of excitement.  It isn't well translated.

Stars: 3

Book: The Price of Honey

 Book: The Price of Honey

Author: Liane Moriarty

Pages: 34

This is my 92nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

When a tech billionaire's widow and ex-wives gather for his funeral, they witness a final reversal of fortune.  In the car on the way to her husband's funeral, Honey Beckett still can hardly believe that Barney is actually dead.  Granted, he was more than twice her age.  But he was Barney Beckett, visionary tech genius, full of surprsies - by turns romantic, inspirational, and controlling.  Always in control.  At the service, she impulsively goes to sit with the 3 ex-wives: practical Rita, fiery Svetlana, ambitious Meredith.  Each broke up with the other's marriage in turn - and now, one final betrayal awaits.

This book was just meh.  It is a short story, and a recent Amazon free reads.  I really like Moriarty's books, but this one was a miss.  It started out okay, but she never made it go anywhere and the ending just fell apart.

Stars: 2

Book: The Blanks

 Book: The Blanks

Author: Grady Hendrix

Pages: 35

This is my 91st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Residents have an unspoken pact with the island's unnatural inhbitants: ignore them, live happily.  But in this thrilling short story, one boy can't look away - and pays the price.  Jeckle Island offers Rachel's children the chance to spend summers roaming wild and free, as long as they follow the rules.  But when her son comes face to face with a terror they dare not speak of, she must prepare for their perfect world to change.  Forever.

I have not read any Grady Hendrix books, but this was an Amazon Free Read I had on my shelf.  Very short story, but Grady does a great job packing a whole story into 35 pages.  Terror at its finest.  Had a great laid out story, and I had no idea where it was going.  Creepy and heartbreaking, I am glad I read this one.

Stars: 4.5

Book: A Night To Remember

 Book: A Night To Remember

Author: Walter Lord

Pages: 209

This is my 90th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

At first, no one but the lookout recognized the sound.  Passengers described it as the impact of a heavy wave, a scraping noise, o the tearing of a long calico strip.  In fact, it was the sound of the world's most famous ocean liner striking an iceberg, and it served as the death knell for 1500 souls.  In the next 2 hours and 40 minutes, the maiden voyage of the Titanic became one of history's worst maritime accidents.  As the ship's deck slipped closer to the icy waterline, women pleaded with their husbands to join them on lifeboats.  Men changed into their evening clothes to meet death with dignity.  And in steerage, hundreds fought bitterly against certain death.  At 2:15am, the ship's band played "Autumn".  Five minutes later, the Titanic was gone.  Based on interviews with 63 survivors, Lord's moment-by-moment account is among the finest books written about one of the 20th century's bleakest nights.

This was a great book.  I love a good non-fiction, and this one was very well written.  It is older - written in the 50s, bt the detail in this book was on another level.  I have read many stories about the titanic over the years, but this was really well told.  It is a short book, but it captures alot in those pages.  Check this one out.

Stars: 5

Book: The Humans

 Book: The Humans

Author: Matt Haig

Pages: 320

This is my 89th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

When an extra-terrestrial visitor arrives on Earth, his first impressions of the human species are less than positive.  Taking the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a prominent mathematician at Cambridge University, the visitor is eager to complete the gruesome task assigned him and hurry home to his own utopian planet, where everyone is omniscient and immort.  He is disgusted by the way humans look, what they eat, their capacity for murder and war, and is equally baffed by the concepts of love and family.  But as time goes on, he starts to realize there may be more to tis strange species than he had thought.  Disguised as Martin, he drinks wine, reads poetry, develops an ear for rock music, and atast for peanut butter.  Slowly, unexpectedly, he forges bonds with Martin's family.  He begins to see hope and beauty in the humans' imperfection, and begins to question the very mission that brought him there.

This was a decent book.  It started out strong, and I was interested to see where it was going.  By the middle it did start to sag a bit - and got a bit monotonous.  Wrapped up well, but I didn't like it as well as The Midnight Library.

Stars: 3.5

Book: Roxy

 Book: Roxy

Author: Neal Shusterman

Pages: 384

This is my 88th read for the year

What Amazon Says:  

The freeway is coming.  It will cut the neighborhood in two.  Construction has already started, pushing toward this corridor of condemned houses and creacked concrete with the momentum of the inevitable.  Yet there you are, in the 5th house on the lieft, fighting for your life.  Remey, I.  The victim of the bet between 2 manufactured gods: the seductive and lethal Roxy (Oxycontine), who is at the top of her game, and the smart, high-achieving Addison (Adderall), who is tired of being the helpful one, and longs for a more dangerous, less wholesome image.  The wager - a contest to see who can bring their mark to "The Party" first - is a race to the bottom of a rave that has raged since the beginning of time.  And you are only human, dazzled by the lights and music.  Drawn by what the drugs offer - tempted to take that step past helpful to harmful - and the troubled places that lie beyond.  But there are 2 I. Rameys - Issac, a soccer player thrown into Roxy's orbit by a bad fall and a bad doctor and Ivy, his older sister, whose increasing frustration with her untreated ADHD leads her to renew her acquaintance with Addy.  Which one are you?

This was a great book.  I am a big fan of Shusterman - most of his books are hits for me.  This once was clever, and kept me on my toes trying to figure out what drug he was speaking of - giving them human names and lives.  It is well written, and had me turning the pages to find out where the story was going.  Ending is tragic, but a solid read.  Glad I got to this one.

Stars: 4.5

Book: A Far Flung Life

 Book: A Far Flung Life

Author: ML Stedman

Pages: 448

This is my 87th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

When we do something that can't be undone or mended, how do we go on living?  How do we find out North Star when there is no right answer?  This is a sweeping and epic story of a family, a tragedy, and the aftermath that reverberates for decades.  Remote Western Australia, 1958: here for generations, the MacBrides have lives on a vast sheep station, Meredith Downs. It is a million acres, an ocean and arid land.  On an ordinary day, on a lonely road, under the unending blue sky, patriarch Phil MacBride swerves to avoid a kangaroo.  In seconds the lives of the entire MacBride family are shattered.  And then, tragedy revisits when a twist of consequences claims the life of one sibling, and leads another to give up evertying for the sake of an innocent child.  Matt, the youngest MacBride, is plunged into a moral and emotional journey for which there is no map, no guide.  The secrets at the heart of this gutting and beautiful story force him to choose between love and duy, sacrifice and happiness.  Can a fleeting momen unravel a whole life, mar it indelibly and irrevocably?  Can compassion, resilience and forgiveness allow us to come to terms with our human imperfections?

This book was fine.  It wasn't really for me.  I should have looked at the warnings before I picked it up, because I probably would have skipped it.  It starts out strong - the accident, the baby, another unexpected death.  Then it just got....blah.  It was slow and depressing.  Not as good as The Light Between Oceans.

Stars: 3

Book: Horse

 Book: Horse

Author: Geraldine Brookes

Pages: 464

This is my 86th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Kentucky, 1850.  An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South.  When the nation erupts in a civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union.  On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack.  New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a 19th century equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance.  Washington DC, 2019.  Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, aNigerian-American art historina, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse - one studying the stallion's bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success.  Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.

Stars: 3.5

Book: Everyone In This Bank Is A Thief

 Book: Everyone In This Bank is a Thief

Author: Benjamin Stevenson

Pages: 368

This is my 85th read for the year

What Amazon Says:  

I've spent the last few years solving murders.  But a bank heist is a new one, even for me.  I've never been a hostage before.  The doors are chained shut.  No one in or out.  Which means that when someone in the bank is mudered, everyone is a suspect.  The bank roober, the manager, the security guard, the kid, the film producer, the priest, the receptionist, the patient, the caergiver, me.  Turns out, more than one person planned to rob the bank today.  You can steal more from a bank than just money.

This is my 4th Benjamin Stevenson book, and it was just as enjoyable as the others.  I like his books, his main character - Ernie - and the snarky commentary that always appears in his writing.  He is a good writer, and I like his mysteries.  Good character development.  This book lost a half a star for me only because I didn't love the direction he took Erine for a bit in this book, but he redeemed it with the ending.

Stars: 4.5

Book: Murder at the Church Picnic

 Book: Murder at the Church Picnic

Author: Denise Jaden

Pages: 359

This is my 84th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Mallory Beck never imagined she'd be Honeysuckle Grove's next amateur slueth.  After all, she was more at home with a muffin tin than a magnifying glass.  But when a casserole delivery to a grieving family leads to her unexpctedly solving her first murder, Mallory realizes life in her quiet little town isn't as peaceful as it seems.  What was supposed to be a simple contribution to the church picnic potluck quickly spirals into a deadly mystery, involving a sarcastic teenager, a charming cop with green eyes, and a cat with an uncanny knack for sniffing out trouble.  Can Mallory uncover the truth before the picnic turns into a full-blown crime scene?  It's a race against time in this cozy culinary caper!

This was a great little book.  I found it because for a reading challenge I needed a book with a picnic basket on the front - which was harder to find than I realized.  But I stumbled upon this book and it was a gem!  It is well written, and a good mystery, and some good characters.  This is a second book in a series - and while it was fine to read it without reading the first, it might have helped a little bit with background on the characters.  But only a little.  Author did a good job not adding too much to this book to make it impossible to follow if you don't read in order.

Stars: 4

Book Piranesi

 Book: Piranesi

Author: Susanna Clarke

Pages: 272

This is my 83rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls lined with thousands upon thousands of statues.  Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; and waves thunder up staircases, while rooms are flooded in an instant.  But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself.  He lives to explore the house.  There is one other person in the house - a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowlege.  But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.

This was an interesting book.  I read Susanna's tome "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (and watched the show which helped clear some things up), so I was interested to read another one of her books. Thankfully this one was a lot shorter.  It is an interesting tale, and even with its short length, it took some concentration to follow the story to the end.  This is not a skimmable book.  The world Piranesi has built is an interesting one but also one that was hard to understand his love for at the same time.  I kind of knew where it was going after while, but it became clearer near the end.

Stars: 4

Book: Rain Before Rainbows

 Book: Rain Before Rainbows

Author: Smriti Prasadam-Halls

Pages: 32

This is my 82nd read for the year

What Amazon Says: 

In this heartfelt story about courage, change, and moving on, a girl and her companion fox travel together away from a sorrowful past, through challenging and stormy times, toward color and light and life.  Along the way they find friends to guide and support them, and when the new day dawns, it is full of promise.  With gorgeous, richly realized illustrations and immense hope at its heart, Rain Before Rainbows holds out a ray of sunshine for anyone looking for light.

Cute book I read for a reading challenge.

Stars:4

Book: Winterdance - The Fine Madness of Running The Iditarod

 Book: Witerdance - The Fine Madness of Running The Iditarod

Author: Gary Paulsen

Pages: 272

This is my 81st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Fueled by a passion for running dogs, Gary Paulsen entered the Iditarod - the 1180 mile sld-dog race through the Alaskan wilderness - in dangerous ignorance and with a fierce determination.  For 17 days, he and his team of dogs endured blinding wind, snowstors, frostbite, dog fights, moose attacks, sleeplessness, hallucinations - and the relentless push to go on.

This was a good book.  I have always been interested in the Iditarod, and it was neat to read about it from a first hand view of someone who did this race as a rookie.  How he trained, how he found the dogs he wanted to use, and the rules of the race and care of the dogs.  It is amazing what these dogs can do - especially the lead dog.  I think about my two lazy doodles and cannot even imagine them being able to drag us around the yard let along 1180 miles.  Pretty cool

Stars: 4

Book: The Mystery Knight

 Book: The Mystery Knight

Author: George RR Martin

Pages: 160

This is my 80th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Westeros is eerily peaceful.  King Aerys I sits on the Iron Throne.  A ravaging plague has abated.  Yet beneath te surface, tensions linger 16 years after a failed rebellion.  In these restless times, noble hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall - Dunk, to his friends - and his precocious boy squire, Egg, travel the Seven Kingdoms performing chivarlrous deeds, though Egg's bloodline must be concealed at all costs.  After heading north for Winterfell, Dunk and Egg are lured off the kingsroad by a wedding feast - and an unusuall lucrative tournament.  The champion jouster will claim a rare trophy indeed: a dragon's egg.  Dunk, always better in a melee, would be satisfied with a hot meal, a cup of wine, and a purse full of coins.  But a treasonous plot is more likely to hatch before another dragon ever stretches its wings.  Someone's on to Egg. And a mystery knight with designs on an even bigger prize soon throws the entire affair into chaos.

This was a good graphic novel.  I will read anything in the Game of Thrones world, and since this year there was the HBO show "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" which was about the two main characters in these novels, it may be get back into them.  It is a well written story, and I do like graphic novels.  Especially when it comes to fantasy worlds - gives good insight into the mind of George RR Martin.  This is the 2nd book in this series.  

Stars: 4

Book: Direction of the Wind

 Book: The Direction of the Wind

Author: Mansi Shah

Pages: 318

This is my 79th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Sophie Shah was six when she learned her mother, Nita, had died. For 22 years, she shouldered the burden of that loss.  But when her father passes away, Sophie discovers a chache of hidden letters revealing a shattering truth: her mother didn't die.  She left.  Nita Shah had everything most women dreamed of in her hometown of Ahmedabad, India - a loving husband, a doting daughter, financial security - but in her heart, she felt like she was living a lie.  Fueled by her creative ambitions, Nita moved to Paris, the artists capital of the world - even though it meant leaving her family behind.  But once in Paris, Nita's decision and its consequences would haunt her in ways she never expected.  Now that Sophie knows the truth, she's determined to find the mother who abandoned her.  Sophie jets off to Paris, even though the impulsive trip may risk her impedning arranged marriage.  In the City of Light, she chases lead after lead that help her piece together a startling portrait of her mother.  Though Sophie goes to Paris to find Nia, she may just also discover parts of herself she enver knew.

Stars: 2

Book: Black River Orchard

 Book: Black River Orchard

Author: Chuck Wendig

Pages: 640

This is my 78th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

It's autumn in the town of Harrow, but something besides the season is changing there.  Becasue in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusal trees.  And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: strange, beautiful, with skin so red it's nearly black.  Take a bite of one of these apples, and you will desire only to devour another.  And another.  You will become stronger.  More vital.  More yourself, you will believe.  But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing - and become darker.  This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard.  Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples - and what's the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful?  Even if something else is buried in the orchard besides the seeds of these extraorinary trees: a bloody history whose roots reach back to the very origins of the town.  But now the leaves are falling.  The days grow darker.  It's harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

This was an excellent book.  I really like Chuck Wendig's books.  He is a talented writer.  His books are toms, but I could not put this down.  I had some good solid reading time this week, so I was able to get through this one quickly.  The story is wild.  Even though you know this is going to be an off the rails sci-fi story, it starts innocently enough.  I wasn't really sure where it would take off to, but it was a crazy story.  There are a lot of interesting characters, a bit of apple history, a bit of history of Bucks County PA (which is where the author lives, and the home of my son's college Lehigh).  It has a good wrap up ending and a nice epilogue (which are always my favorite).  So good.

Stars: 5

Book: Electric State

 Book: Electric State

Author: Simon Stalehag

Pages: 144

This is my 77th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

In late 1997, a runaway teenager and her small yellow toy robot travel west through a strange American landscape where the ruins of gigantic battle drones litter the countryside, along with the discarded trash of a high-tech consumerist society addicted to a virtual-reality system.  As they approach the edge of the continent, the world outside the car window seems o unravel at an ever faster pace, as if somehwere beyond the horizon, the hollow core of civilization has finally caved in.

Stars: 4

Book: Bookshops and Bonedust

 Book: Bookshops and Bonedust

Author: Travis Baldree

Pages: 352

This is my 76th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.  Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk - so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.  What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?  Spending her hours at a belaguered bookshop in the compnay of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.  Stll, adventure isn't all that far awa.  A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

This was a great second book in this series.  It is actually a prequel to his first book, and it gives us a little more insite into Viv's past.  IT is well written with good character development.  You cheer for everyone in Viv's circle.  There is a cozy adventure and a sweet character that is made all of bones that you can't help adore.  Looking forward to reading the next one.

Stars: 4.5

Book: The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

 Book: The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

Author: Jennifer Ryan

Pages: 384

This is my 75th read of the year

What Amazon Says:

As England becomes enmeshed in the early days of WWII and the men are away fighting, the women of Chilbury village forge an uncommon bond.  Tey defy the Vicar's stuffy edict to close the choir and instead "carry on singing", resurrecting themselves as the Chilbury Ladies' Choir.  We come to know the home-front struggles of 5 unforgettable choir members: a timid widow devastated when her only son goes to fight; the older daughter of a local scion drawn to a mysterious artist; her younger sister pining over an impossible crush; a Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia hiding a family secret; and a conniving midwife plotting to outrun her seedy past. 

This was a pretty good book.  I listened to this one because that is how it was available at my library, and that ended up being the best way.  There is a large cast of characters  - all with different narrators - that made this an enjoyable story.  It has a great cast of characters, quite the scandal, and a town pulling together while a war is going on.  All circling around a ladies' choir that wants to give the town some joy.  The ending wraps up nicely.  This was a book recommended to me by a family friend and I am glad I decided to listen to it.

Stars: 4

Book: The Nature of Fragile Things

 Book The Nature of Fragile Things

Author: Susan Meissner

Pages: 509

This is my 74th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno  Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.  Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a NY tenement that seh answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about.  San Francisco widower MArtin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly beautiful.  While Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin's silent 5 year ld daughter, his odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn't right.  Then one earl-spring evening, a strager at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events.  Sophie discovers hidden tiesto 2 other women.  The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep.  The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.  The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belif that love can overcome fear.  

This was a great book.  I am a big fan of Susan Messiner - "Fall of Marigolds" one of my favorite books of all time.  She is a solid writer, and she keeps you wanting to turn pages to see where the story is going.  The first half of the book was better than the second, but it finishes solidly.  I liked most of the characters (the ones you are supposed to like) and was pulling for the 3 women in this book to make it to the end.  It wasn't as good as her past reads, for me, so I dropped it a star, but overall I am glad I read it.

Stars: 4

Book: Jessica Jones Alias

 Book: Jessica Jones Alias

Author: Brian Bendis

Pages: 195

This is my 73rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Meet Jessica Jones.  Once upon a time, she was a costumed super hero - but not a very good one.  Her powers were unremarkable compared to the amazing abilities of the costumed icons that populate the Marvel Universe.  In a city of Marvels, she never found her niche.  The self-destructive would-be Avenger is now the owner and sole employee of Alias Invertigations - a small, private-investigative firm specializing in superhuman cases.  When she uncovers the potentially explosive secret of one hero's true identity, Jessica's life immediately becomes expendable  But her wit, charm and intelligence just may help her survive another day.  Thrust into the midst of a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels, has JEssica burned too many bridges to turn to old friends for help?

Stars: 4

Book: Everything You Are

 Book: Everything You Are

Author: Kerry Anne King

Pages: 337

This is my 72nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

One tragic twist of fate destroyed Braden Healey's hands, his musical career, and his family.  Now, unable to play, adrift in an alcoholic daze, and with only fragmented memories of his past, Braden wants desperately toescape the darkness of the last eleven years.  When his ex-wife and son are killed in a car accident, Braden returns home, hoping to forget a relationship with his troubled 17 year old daughter, Allie.  But how can he hope to rescue her from the curse that seems to shadow his family?  Ophelia "Phee" MacPhee, granddaughter of the eccentric old man who sold Braden his cello, believes the curse is real.  She swore an oath to her dying grandfather that she would ensure Braden plays the cello as long as he lives.  But he can't play, and as the shadows deepend and Phee finds herself falling for Braden, she'll do anything to save him.  It will take a miracle of forgiveness and love to bring all 3 of them back to the healing power of music.

Stars: 2

Book: The First Witch of Boston

 Book: The First Witch of Boston

Author: Andrea Catalano

Pages: 326

This is my 71st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1646.  Thomas and Margaret Jones arrive from England to build a life in the New World.  Though of differing temperaments, cautious Thomas and fiery Margaret, a healer, are bound by a love that has lasted decades.  With a child on the way, their new beginning promises only blessings.  But in this austere Puritan community, comely faces hide malicious intent.  Wrong moves or words are met with suspicion, and Margaret's bold and unguarded nature draws scorn.  Soon, Margaret is mistrusted as more cunning woman than kind caregiver.  And when personal tragedies, religious hysteria, and wariness of the unknown turn most against her, even the devotion Margaret and her husband share at a risk.  Inspired by actual diary entries and court records, this book is at once the riveting story of a woman unjustly accused and a love story set amid the political and social turmoil of both Old and New England.  Harrowing, and with a deep understanding of the human heart, history is brillantly imagined.

This book was okay.  It is based on true events, which is a plus for me.  I just didn't find it overly well written.  There is a lot of repetition that could be cut out, and over explaining.  This was a free read for me through Prime - trying hard to get through all those books.  Was hoping for more here, but not sad I read it considering I live in the Boston area and the book had some truth.

Stars: 3

Book: Voyage of the Damned

 Book: Voyage of the Damned

Author: Frances White

Pages: 464

This is my 70th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces.  To mark this incredible feat, the emperor's ship embarks upon a 12 day voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain.  Aboard are the 12 heirs of the provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing.  All except one: Ganymedes Piscero - class clown, slacker, and all-around disappointment.  When a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect.  Stuck at sea and surrounded by a powerful people and without a Blessing to protect him, Ganymedes's odds of survival are slim.  But as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be.  Can he unmask the killer and their secret Blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia?

This was a pretty good book.  I will say upfront that it is not normally my type of read - I have been trying to veer away from YA.  But this one started out pretty great.  I liked the main character, Ganymedes  - who goes by Dee - immediately.  His wit and snarkiness spoke to me.  I could not figure out where the mystery was going, but loved the world building from the start.  It did lose me a bit getting closer to the end - starting to become a bit more YA than it started (I know I know), but redeemed itself in the end.  Did have a bit of a twist as well.  Glad I read it.

Stars: 4

Book: Basket Full of Heads

 Book: Basket Full of Heads

Author: Joe Hill

Pages: 187

This is my 69th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Twisted tale of June Branch - trapped with 4 cunning ciminals who have snatched her boyfriend for deranged reasons of their own.  How she must fight for her life with the help of an impossible 8th century Viking axe that can pass through a man's neck in a single swipe-and leave the severed head still conscious and capable of supernatural speech.  Each disembodied head has a malevolent story of its own to tell, and it isn't long before June finds herself in a desperate struggle to hack through their lies and manipulations - racing to save the man she loves before time runs out.  But is Jun Branch a woman fighting for her life-or a deranged axe murderer with a basketful of paranoid fantasies?  The truth is even more horrifying than a basketful of heads.

This was an interesting graphic novel.  I read anything by Joe Hill, just like I do his dad, and he does not disappoint in the horror genre. It is a wild story with quite the woman hero.  It is a pretty quick read overall, but a lot of great art on each page that will slow you down some.  Well written.

Stars: 4

Book: Edge of Madness

 Book: Edge of Madness

Author: Kyla Stone

Pages: 314

This is my 68th read for the year

What Amazon says:

On the 5th anniversary of his wife Hannah's disappearance, small-town cop Noah Sheridan takes his son Milo to a local ski resort to remember - and to try to heal.  Then the impossible happens.  Everything electronic dies.  The power grid fails.  Cars stall.  Phones go dark.  In an instant, their quiet holiday becomes a desperate fight to stay alive.  When a white out blizzard slams Southwest Michigan, the town is cut off from the rest of civilization, and the rule of law swiftly collapses along with the power grid.  The frigid cold sets in.  Food supplies dwindles.  Strangers turn threatening and neighbors choose sides.  Noah must make impossible choices, forge uneasy alliances, and face enemies unlike any he's ever known.  At the end of the world, he'll have to risk everything to save his son and protect the home he loves.

This was another good book in this series.  The first was about the Hannah character in this book, and this one was about her family.  It back tracks back to the beginning of the EMP and the world being thrown into chaos, but told from the view of her husband and little boy.  It is well written and has a very intense story line.  Hard to read parts of it.  Makes me want to run out and start to hoard food for sure.  This is a 7 book series, and so I plan on continuing.

Stars: 4

Book: Victim 2117: A Department Q Novel

 Book: Victim 2117: A Department Q Novel

Author: Graeme Malcom

Pages: 480

This is my 67th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

The newspaper refers to the body only as Victim 2117 - the 2117 refugee to die in the Mediterranean Sea.  But to 3 people, the unnamed victim is so much more, and the death sets off a chain of events that throws Department Q, Copenhagen's cold cases division lead by Detective Carl Morch, into a deeply dangerous - and deeply personal - case.  A case that not only reveals dark secrets about the past, but has deadly implications for the future.  For troubled Danish teen Alexander, whose identity is hidden behind his computer screen, the death of Victim 2117 becomes a symbol of everything he resents and the perfect excuse to unleash his murderous impulses in real life.  For Ghaalib, one of the most brutal tormentors from Abu Ghraib - Saddam Hussein's infamous prison - the death of Victim 2117 is the 1st step in a terrorist plot years in the making.  And for Department Q's Assad, Victim 2117 is a link to his buried past - and the family he assumed was long dead.  With the help of the Department Q squad - Carl, Rose, and Gordon - ASsad must finally confront painful memories from his years in the Middle East in order to find and capture Ghaalib.  But with the clock ticking down to Alexander's first kill and Ghaalib's devastating attack, the thinly spread Department Q will need to stay one step head of their most lethal adversary yet if they are to prevent the loss of thousands of innocent lives.

Stars: 3

Book: Necessary Lies

 Book: Necessary Lies

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Pages: 354

This is my 66th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

After losing her parents, 15 year old Ivy Hart is left to care for her grandmother, older sister and nephew as tenants on asmall tobacco farm.  As she struggles with her grandmother's aging, her sister's mental illness and her own epilepsy, she realizes they might need more than she can give.  When Jane Forrester takes a position as Grace County's newest social worker, she doesn't realize just how much her help is needed.  She quickly becomes emotionally invested in her clients' lives, causing tension with her boss and her new husband.  But as Jane is drawn in by the Hart women, she begins to discover secrets of the small farm - secrets much darker than she would have guessed.  Soon, she must decide whether to take drastic action to help them, or risk losing the battle against everything she believes is wrong.  Set in rural Grace County, NC in a time of state-mandated sterilizations and racial tension, this book tells the story of these 2 young women, seemingly worlds apart, but both haunted by tragedy.  Jane and Ivy are thrown together and must ask themselves: how can you know what you beleive is right, when everyone is telling you it's wrong?

This was a pretty good book.  I do like Chamberlain's books - I think she is a great writer.  She took a complicated subject and let readers visit it from two sides.  It is a quick read - keeps you wanting to see where it is going for both sides of this story.  Jane was infurating at points, but I see where the author was trying to go with that character.  I did not know much about the sterilizations that were happening in the 40s, so it was a learning curve for me as well.  It has a really nice wrap up ending which I appreciated.

Stars: 4

Book: Shogun

 Book: Shogun

Author: James Clavell

Pages: 1000

This is my 65th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

After Englishman John Blackthoren is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen-Nippon.  Thrust into the closed society that is seventeenth-century Japan, a land where the line between life and death is razor-tin, Blackthrone must negotiate not only a foreign people, with unknown customs, and language, but also his own definitions of morality, truth, and freedom.  As internal political strife and a clash of cultures lead to seemingly inevitable conflict, Blackthorne's loyalty and strength of character are tested by both passion and loss, and he is torn between two worlds that will each be forever changed.

This was a good book.  It is a Tome that has been on my shelf for awhile.  We watched the show on Disney and it was excellent.  The whole first season is the entire book.  I will admit this one I listened to on two very long car trips to get it done, and it was a good listen.  It is an intense story and about something I knew nothing about, so I was intrigued.  Glad I finally tackled this one.

Stars: 4.5

Book: End of Watch

 Book: End of Watch

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 448

This is my 64th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

For nearly 6 years, in Room 217 of the Lakes Region Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, Brady Hartsfield has been in a persistent vegetative state.  A complete recovery seems unlikely for the insane perpetrator of the "Mercedes Massacre" in which eight people were killed and many more maimed for life.  But behind the vacant stare, Brady is very much awake and aware, having been pumped full of experimental drugs - scheming, biding his time as he trains himself to take full advantage of the deadly new powers that allow him to wreak unimaginable havoc without ever leaving his hospital room.  Brady Hartsfield is about to embark on a new reign of terror against thousands of innocents, hell-bent on taking revenge against anyone who crossed his path - with retired police detective Bill Hodges at the very top of that long list.

This is the final book in the Bill Hodges trilogy.  It took me longer than necessary to get to this one - considering I do really like this world.  There have been a few spinoffs of this world that are equally as good.  This book is well written and a good wrap up to the trilogy.  The paranormal activites continue in this book.  It will keep you guessing on where it is going and how Bill and Holly are going to get the bad guy in the end.  Was it a bit more of a word salad than I would like?  Yes.  True to Stephen King, he doesn't to short.  But overall - good wrap up.

Stars: 4 

Book: Bright Young Women

 Book: Bright Young Women

Author: Jessica Knoll

Pages: 383

This is my 63rd read for they year

What Amazon Says:

The book opens on a Saturday night in 1978, hours before a soon-to-be-infamous murderer descends upon a Florida sorority house with deatly results.  The lives of those who survive, including a sorority president and key witness, Pamela Schumacher, are forever changed.  Across the country, Tina Cannon is convinced her missing friend was targeted by the man the papers refer to as the All-American Sex Kiler - and that he's struck again.  Determined to find justice, the 2 join forces as their search for answers leads to a final shocking confrontation.  This book doesn't put its focus on the murderer.  It's more interested in his victims - and the survivors who are on a mission to catch him before he kills again.

This was a pretty good book.  It is based on the true story of the Ted Bundy killings.  The author took a lot of liberties with the details, but the general facts of the Florida sororoty house deaths were true.  It is captivating from the start when the head of the sorority is trying to figure out what happened and not being able to wrap her head around what was going on.  Overall it is well written and it reads like a "based on a true story" tale.  The only defult I found with it personally, is I felt there was too much time spent on the second story that was happening in this book.  I think it would have been better to just focus on the one, but that is just me.

Stars: 4

Book: The Astral Library

 Book: The Astral Library

Author: Kate Quinn

Pages: 304

This is my 62nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Alexandria "Alix" Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster-care system: unlike people, books will never let you down.  Working 3 dead-end jobs to make ends meet and knowing college is a pipe dream, Alix takes nightly refuge in the high-vaulted reading room at the Boston Public Library, escaping into her favorite fantasy novels and dreaming of far-off lands.  Until the day she stumbles through a hidden door and meets the Librarian: the ageless, acerbic guardian of a hidden library where the desperate and the lost escape to new lives...inside their favorite books.  The Librarian takes a dazzled Alix under her wing, but before she can escape into the pages of her new life, a shadowy enemy emerges to threaten everyone the Astral Library has ever helped protect.  Aided by a dashing costume-shop owner, Alix and the Librarian flee through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen to the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes and the champagne-soaked parties of The Great Gatsby as danger draws inexorably closer.  But who does their enemy really wish to destroy - Ali, the Librarian, or the Library itself?

I want to first state that I have read quite a few Kate Quinn books and have enjoyed them all.  She took a leap out of her comfort zone with this book, and in my opinion - not sure she should have.  For me, this was a miss.  I liked the idea of it, but the writing just didn't work for me.  I had a hard time getting into the story, I found the over use of swear words unnecessary, and the middle was just boring.  I will not give up on Kate though!  If she goes back to writing what she is good at - I am there.

Stars: 3

Book: A Spindle Splintered

 Book: A Spindle Splintered

Author: Alix Harrow

Pages: 126

This is my 61st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

It's Zinnia Gray's 21st birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have.  When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition.  Not much is known about her illness, just that no-one has lived past 21.  Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel.  But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate.  

Stars: 1