Book: Chasm

 Book: Chasm

Author: Stacey McEwan

Pages: 384

This is my 88th read for the year

This is the second installment of the Glacian Trilogy.  Dawsyn has been captured by the Queens and is await execution.  Ryon - the hybrid Glacian is dead.  As she is metting her fate, she is rescued by her new friends in the village.  As she recovers from her imprisonment, the captain of the Queens guard decides to leave with Dawsyn to help her find the mage, Baltisse.  They know they will need her help if they are going to defeat the Queens and defeat the Glacians who continue to take people from the ledge.  What Dawsyn discovers about herself, though, will threaten to kill her before she can rescue a single person.

This was a pretty good second book.  I read the first one and thought it was good enough to see where it was going.  Stacey McEwan is a good writer - I like her character development and the wittyness of her characters that she weaves in a very serious story.  The love story between Dawsyn and Ryon remains tame enough not to distract from the real reason for the book, which I appreciate.  This one, of course, is left on a cliff hanger, so I eagerly await the third to see how it will all come together.

Stars: 4

Book: The Other Passenger

 Book: The Other Passenger

Author: Louise Candlish

Pages: 400

This is my 87th read for the year

This is a story about Jamie.  He and his partner, Claire, live a quiet, child free life in England.  Jamie lost his job due to an incident a few years ago, and ever since has been working as a barista at a local coffee shop.  Claire has a good job and her parents bought her a wonderful house for them to live in.  Life is good until Jamie and Claire meet Kit and Melia - a younger couple who are envious of what Jamie and Claire have.  Kit and Jamie start riding a ferry to work each day with a few other friends and spending time together outside of work.  One day - Melia reports Kit missing, and Jamie becomes a suspect because he is the last person who saw Kit.  As the police try to unravel the mystery, Jamie tries hard to hold a secret he is keeping from just about everyone - including his wife Claire.  As he tries to prove his innocence, his life starts to unravel.  Soon he finds himself in a situation that might ruin his life.

This was an okay book. I was interested to see where it was going and how the mystery was going to unfold.  I didn't really like the characters Jamie, Kit or Melia.  Claire was a sweet character.  The set up to the final reveal was probably a bit too long - this book probably could have been about 50-75 pages less and we would have gotten the whole point.  There were some twists that were surprising, but the "who done it" really was easy to figure out.  But not a bad little mystery book.

Stars: 3

Book: Good Bad Girl

 Book: Good Bad Girl

Author: Alice Feeney

Pages: 310

This is my 86th read for the year

This is the story of 4 women - Patience, Frankie, Clio, and Edith.  Their lives are about to enterwine in a way they never expected.  20 years ago - Clio's baby was stolen from her pram from a grocery store and never found.  Edith - Clio's mother, now in a personal care home, tries to get Patience (whom she calls Ladybug) to spring her and take her home.  Patience ran away from home and her mom, Frankie, when Frankie refused to tell her who her father was.  Frankie, who has so many secrets from her daughter, never gives up looking for her.  When the manager of the care home ends up dead and Edith missing, Patience, Frankie, and Clio all become suspects.  As their lives intertwine all their secrets come to life leaving them all realing.

This wasn't a good book.  I listened to it and should have quit.  But I didn't.  It was bad from the start.  One of my pet peeves - too many secrets and too much keeping the reading in the dark.  It was overdone.  I hated all the characters.  None of them had redeeming qualities.  The writing wasn't great - AND the author stole a line from "The Starless Sea" and Erin Morgenstern - and doesn't give her credit.  (Quote: We are all stardust and stories). The ending was subpar.

Don't bother with this one

Stars: 1

Book: Homecoming

Book: Homecoming

Author: Kate Morton

PageS: 560

This is my 85th read for the year

This is the story of the Turner-Bridges family - Nora, Polly and Jessica.  Jessica has been called to come back to Australia from London after her beloved grandmother, Nora - who raised her - had a bad fall and has been hospitalized.  Jessica has been gone from Australia for 20 years - making a way for herself in London nd she is at frist not sure she wants to return.  However, she felt she owed it to her grandmother to be there and help get her home.  While there, she returns to Darling House where she grew up under the watchful, loving eye of her grandmother.  Jessica's mother, Polly, had moved away when Jessica was 10 saying it was better for her to be raised by Nora, and Jess and Polly had drifted apart because of this.  Once Jess is settled, she thinks this might be a good opportunity to write about her grandmother and growing up in Darling House, and as she delves into her grandmother's past, she starts to uncover deep family secrets.  The pieces of the puzzle of who her grandmother was, and who her mother is come to light as Jess interviews people from her family's past.  What she discovers will change everything.

This was a pretty good book.  I have read quite a few Kate Morton books, and I keep coming back to her.  I do love a dual timeline book and watching the two timelines eventually overlap to make a final outcome.  This book is LONG.  Way too long, in my opinion.  Morton is quite wordy and overly discriptive and just seems to be filling pages with language and scenes that just did not move the plot forward.  And of course - we are kept overly in the dark for too long on this one.  You do figure out pretty quickly where the story is going and what the big secret is going to be, but a few mysteries stayed until the end for me until they were resolved.  You have inklings, but it takes Morton a long, winding path to get there.

Stars: 3.5

Book: The Quiet Tenant

 Book: The Quiet Tenant

Author: Clemence Mchallon

Pages: 320

This is my 84th read for the year

This is the story of Rachel, Cecilia, and Emily.  Rachel has been kidnapped and has been held captive by a man for 5 years.  Cecilia - the kidnappers daughter - has no idea that the woman living in her house is not just a friend of her father.  And Emily - who has started to fall for the kidnapper (who we learned is named Aidan) does not know she is in danger.  Aidan - a kidnapper and serial killer of 8 women so far - is the picture perfect father and member of his town.  His wife has recently died of cancer, and no one has any idea that he has such dark secrets.  And if Rachel cannot figure out how to escape and get to the police, Aidan will kill again.

This was not a good book.  I listened to it, and I should have quit.  I don't get the good reviews.  There are a few plot holes (like when Rachel finds take out menus in the kidnappers house but never uses those to give her a clue where she is).  It is a drawn out story with way too much discriptive language where you just want to push the fast forward button to get to the point.  Emily is a terrible character - hated her the entire book.  Rachel also - she is given quite a few chances to leave and never takes them.  In the end things really just.....ended.  There wasn't a good epilogue to wrap up the story.  It could have used a future chapter where we find out what happened to Rachel and Cecilia.  Instead - the author chose to really end it with Emily.  

Skip this one.

Stars: 2

Book: Run

 Book: Run

Author: Ann Patchett

Pages: 304

This is my 83rd read for the year

This is the story of the Doyle family.  Bernard family has had to raise his three boys since his wife's death.  Teddy and Tip were adopted as little boys and along with their older brother Sebastian, they have had to try and find their way without their mother.  Bernard Doyle - who used to be the mayor of Boston, takes his children to see speakers even when the boys don't want to.  The night that Jessie Jackson is speaking, Tip is frustrated because he has a lot of work to do.  Not paying attention, he steps into the street and is quickly pushed out of the way by a woman.  While Tip is saved from being hit, the woman is not.  While the Doyle family helps the woman who was hit, they are thrown into her life because she has a little girl who needs looked after while her mother is in the hospital.  What unfolds over the 24 hour period of this book enterwines these two families forever.

This was a pretty good book.  This is an older Patchett book that I found at a used bookstore, and I am glad I read it.  I liked the characters and how the story evolved and I liked the ending.  It is not an overly drawn out story so the point doesn't get lost in a lot of unnecessary language.  A good read.

Stars: 4

Book: None of This is True

 Book: None of This is True

Author: Lisa Jewell

Pages: 384

This is my 82nd read for the year

This is the story of Josie and Alix.  Both celebrating their 45th birthday in the same restaurant at the same time.  They found out that they were born on the same day in the same hospital.  Josie finds out that Alix does podcast about the lives of women, and decides their "Birthday Twin" situation would make a great podcast series.  Josie said she would like to tell Alix her story, and when she starts to reveal the details of her life, Alix is shocked.  Alix is unsettled about Josie's story, but knows that listeners would be intrigued, so they continue.  Soon Josie is incorporating herself more and more into Alix's life.  And when tragedy strikes, the women's lives take a dark turn.  Alix soon finds that Josie is not who she says she is.

This was a pretty good book.  I could not figure out where this was going.  It was clear pretty early on that something was wrong with the Josie character, but what we couldn't quite put our finger on.  It takes almost to the very end for the story to piece itself together.  Has a nice flow and kept me interested enough to see where it ended up.  The ending was satisfactory.  This is my first book from this author, so I might try out another in the future.

Stars: 4