Books, Books, Books, and a Cat

  This was a fun murder mystery that featured a 40 year old ghost helping a 20 year old.  Cordelia (love the name), died in her apartment and now she is a ghost.  She is not just any ghost but a ghost who has the ability to move things although she can't be seen or heard.  Ruby has just moved into an apartment that was fully furnished due to the former tenant (Cordelia) dying with no one to take her stuff.  It is Ruby's first time away from home and she is excited to live on her own except she has barely any money and no job.  Things go from bad to worse when there is a corpse outside her apartment building that turns out to be another tenant.  Ruby and Cordelia decide to team up and find out why their neighbor died as it seems the police have given up on his death.  This book had lots of cute moments. I loved the idea that a forty year old ghost could be friends with a 20 year old as well as be able to solve crime.  There were some funny mom...

A unique twist on Dracula!  I'll be honest I wasn't sure that I was going to like this book because the cover threw me off and the romance in this book is not my cup of tea.  However I found this story extremely engaging and I was surprised by how much I liked the book. The story is told from four different perspectives at first.  Iris is our main character who is living in the present day.  The other is of Lucy, who lived in the late 1800s, her story is told through her journal.  Third is a client transcript from the present day, but you learn about her past as a vampire.  The last perspective is that of Dracula.  Each perspective gave a unique view into vampires and their struggles.  Iris, as the only human, was my favorite character.  It was interesting to see how all of these characters were connected and to see their lives intertwined.   The story was more than about vampires but about overcoming obstacles and finding your true...

 A Winter Wish was a good enemies to lovers Christmas time novel.  This book did resonate with me more than I thought it would because of the fact that Lexi's father had unexpectedly died of cancer.  She hadn't spoken to her father in years as he left her mom and her for another woman and was not as present of a father as he should have been.  My own father died of cancer and also passed away without me having seen him in a couple years.  My relationship was better with my father but he also left my family for another woman.  With all of this going on I could relate to some of the emotions Lexi felt in this novel.  There were some parts when I was a little frustrated with Lexi and her inability to see the other side of things especially when it came to her half sister.  I was rooting for her and hoping things would turn out well. This is the third book I have read by Emily Stone and I always enjoy them.  In this novel there was a lot of trave...

  Liane Moriarty does it again!  Imagine being told when and how you would die? This is the basic premise behind this book.  Moriarty weaves a tale about several different passengers who were on that plane and how their prediction is affecting their life.  She also delves into the life of the woman who made the predictions.  This made for a fascinating story where I cared about each of the characters.  Told in short chapters that focused on all of the different characters, I was riveted to the pages.  This is a longer book but it honestly didn't feel that way.  I wanted to know if the death predictions would come true and what would happen to them.  The novel is set in Australia and follows several characters of all different ages and lifestyles.  One is a new mother who is obsessed with her son's prediction.  Another is a 42 year old man who works too much.  Another is a recently wed young woman who is navigating a new life be...

This is the perfect book to read when you want a good scare.  There were moments when I was reading this at night when I started hearing noises in my own house and got a little paranoid.  In "I'll Be Waiting," Nicola lost her husband in a tragic accident and now she is obsessed with being able to contact him again.  She has done numerous seances but they have all turned out to be fake.  She decides to have one more in the location where her late husband grew up.  Only things do not go as she hoped.   What really makes this book interesting is Nicola's back story.  She has Cystic Fibrosis and has already lived longer than expected.  There is also something tragic that happened to her in the past.  As the pieces of the story were revealed they absolutely hooked me as a reader wanting to know how things were connected.  I am not a huge fan of horror but I love Kelly Armstrong's books so I wanted to try this.  I enjoyed it even tho...

Jackie was a great piece of historical fiction that felt like it could be a memoir.  I learned so much and I had no idea the type of strength this woman had.  She went through so much yet persevered through all of it.  I'll be honest that I had surface level knowledge of the Kennedys before reading this book.  They are a fascinating family but I do think Jackie might have been the most interesting one.  I had no idea what her life was like after JFK was shot and the latter half of this book was very insightful.  My biggest take away was her love of reading and the impact that had on her life.  It made me like her even more.  Although I was not born during the majority of time that she was on this earth my parents were.  It was interesting to read about marriages during this time and what people accepted.  It made me understand my parents marriage a little better.  This is a longer novel but the writing flowed so it read very quickly...

  I'll be honest, I was surprised by how much I liked this book.  When I chose it I did not look at the back but I really liked the cover and it said it was a fairy tale retelling.  The story was long but I enjoyed each page. The ending blew my mind when I realized what fairy tale this was from and who the main character turned out to be.   Ayleth is the heroine of the story but she is also a witch.  In this story the witches are the good guys and they are being unfairly persecuted in the realm.  All Ayleth wants is her sister back but her mother is determined that she will become her second.  Ayleth must go on her own journey to try and save her world but there are so many obstacles in her path.  This book was filled with action and great characters.  I enjoyed each page as I Ayleth's journey and how she was going to meet each obstacle thrown her way.  Although the romance in this book was not my cup of tea, it was extremely well w...

  not going to lie, this book completely blew my mind.  Like most educated people, I have read several books by Shakespeare.  What I have never stopped to consider is that he might not be the real author behind his plays.  This novel is told from two points of view.  One is Emilia, a woman living in the 1500s, who is intelligent, smart, but can't make her own decisions about her future.  The other is Melina.  She is a modern woman who wants to be a playwright but is not able to have the success she wants due to her gender.  Both stories are compelling and engaging.  I felt deeply for Emilia and all of her struggles.  What she had to endure and go through was sometimes difficult to read as I know so many women have suffered through similar situations.  Melina, even though she is living in the 21st century has her own difficulties.  Society has come so far yet it still has so far to go.  My overall take away from this book ...