Books, Books, Books, and a Cat

This was such a great thriller!  I was on the edge of my seat the entire novel. Sarah Pekkanen is a must read author for me after reading this book! Stella, the main character, is sent to see what home, Rose, a young girl who has suffered some trauma should live with.  Her wealthy parents are getting divorced and Stella needs to determine who would be the better home.  The problem is that Rose is mute due to the trauma she suffered.  She witnessed the death of her Nanny.  Stella, herself went through trauma as a child so she can relate to Rose's case.  As the novel unfolds the reader finds out that things are not quite what they seem.  The reader is left guessing what really happened.   This was a stay up all night book.  I absolutely had to know the truth of what happened.  I also really enjoyed Stella's story.  I felt very connected to her and wanted her to be ok.  This was a read in one day book for me.  I highly r...

  I'm in love.  This was such a wonderful story and of course, the perfect rom-com.  I will never miss a Katherine Center story.   I always fall in love with the characters, and can't stop reading until I finish the book.  This story had all the elements that will make it one of the best books of the year! Emma has a chance to co-write a screen play with her favorite writer, Charlie Yates.  However she is leaving her dad who needs full time care with her sister.  This is the first time she has done something for herself in ten years.  When she gets to California, things do not go as expected.  She does not know if she can stick it out especially when her all time favorite writer thinks that she is a nobody and does not want to work with her. He really has no interest in writing a rom-com script.  Emma decides to take her big chance and try to win him over to romance.  This is a can't miss novel! I easily read this in a day....

  Switched was a delightful, fun read. The main character, Serena, is a physicist in Geneva.  She meets an amazing man, Henry, one night while being stuck to her seat.  However Serena does not want to fall in love.  In a twist of fate, Serena and Henry switch bodies and have to learn to become each other.  What follows is a fun, romantic story that you will not want to miss.  This was a great escape from daily life.  I enjoyed reading about Henry and Serena becoming each other.  I have read other books and seen other shows with a similar twist, but never about two people who are romantically interested in each other.  As you can imagine this created many wonderful moments in the book.  This was a perfect Rom-Com in book form. 

 Imagine being trapped in a hotel on the coast of Maine during a major hurricane.  Now imagine that each of the guests are hiding secrets and the only way to survive is to uncover the truth.  What follows is an intense thriller with lots of twists and action! Charley lives and works at the hotel. When the owner dies and the three daughters come to the hotel to hear who will inherit what, she is worried that her life might change drastically.  She needs this job to support her grandmother in her nursing home. The same day that the three sisters are coming to the hotel she meets Bree, who needs a place to hide from her abusive boyfriend.  Charley, decides to help Bree but is risking her job to do it.  After meeting the three sisters and their families things only get more intense as we find out that each sister has her own baggage in more ways than one.  This book was told from multiple points of view which helped keep me glued to the pages. The author d...

  This was an eye opening novel for me in more than one way.  First of all this book takes place in London and is about a mixed race woman, Layla, who falls for a white man, Andy.  It turns out that they both have the same last name and there is the possibility that Andy's ancestors could have been the slave owners of Layla's family.  Layla's best friend tries to open up Layla's eyes to this fact and this sends Layla on a personal quest of discovery.   As an American, I never gave much thought to just how rampant racism could be in other parts of the world and the impact that slavery had in other places like Great Britain.  It really opened my eyes to the fact that it is not just the United States.  I also feel that reading a story like this helps me understand the struggles others are facing and really lets me into their point of view.   Besides what I learned, I just thought this was a good story about a young woman who wants to get ma...

  Be transported to the exotic Greek Islands and live the life of a carefree,  newly married woman.  However things aren't exactly what they seem.  In this thrilling, thriller, Gia is newly married and is renovating her Greek home left to her by her father.  She is getting ready to sell it so that she will have some money after being left nothing when her father passed.  She hopes to get together with her best friend Abby and brother.  Abby is excited to see Gia since they haven't spoken since a falling out she and Gia had after Gia said she was getting married.  There is so much history between these two.  When Gia doesn't meet Abby in Sweden, Abby is worried something is wrong.  Luckily Gia has left a manuscript that will shed light on what has been happening.   The novel gives Abby's view point and Gia's through her manuscript.  There is so much to delve into and you won't want to stop reading this novel. I loved that i...

  This was one of my top reads this year!  An amazing novel set in two different time periods.  The first story follows Mallory, who is a single mom, whose son is ill and in need of a kidney transplant.  The other story follows Hannah who is in Egypt during the 1950s while stuck in a loveless marriage during a tumultuous time in Egypt's history.  Both women are strong but have huge obstacles to overcome including whether to follow their heart or not.   I cannot recommend this book enough.  I find myself still thinking about it.  I really hope that there might be a follow up book as I don't want to stop reading about these characters.  There was so much to love in this book.  The settings, one in New England and the other in Egypt were fascinating to read about and transported me from one continent to the next.  As well as what they both went through and how they were able to over come so much.  I also loved the way the boo...

  An extremely unique novel that blends historical fiction with magical elements and a strong heroine.  Hecate has all the pressures that a young woman in the late 19th century must deal with such as finding a husband.  However Hecate's dad has been very supportive of her love of learning and helped her get her own job as a librarian assistant at the cathedral.  While there, Hecate discovers that she has an unusual ability; she can communicate with ghosts. What follows is an incredible story filled with mystery, and many magical elements as Hecate tries to discover who is behind the dark forces before they hurt the people she loves.   I loved that this book featured a well educated woman who was confident and strong.  She also was supported by the people around her and they did not dismiss what she was thinking and feeling.  This is extremely rare especially in historical fiction books set in the late 1800s.  I also love a book that has magic...

  "Strange Folk" is an interesting blend of magic, mystery, suspense, and even a little romance.  Lee left her drug addicted mother and her small hometown behind for college.  She established a new life in California but her marriage falls apart and she needs to create a new life for her children.  She travels back to her hometown to live with her grandmother.  Lee and her family are not quite normal.  Her son, Cliff, can see things, and her daughter, Meredith, can feel the land.  Lee's family has a history of magical abilities.  Even as her children start to embrace their gifts, Lee is still lost and turns to alcohol to help her deal.  Soon things turn from bad to worse as tragic events begin happening.  Lee must embrace who she is and confront her demons to keep her family safe.  This novel was told from different characters'perspectives which I really enjoyed.  The magical elements were an interesting touch and I was never q...

  I loved the premise behind this book but it fell a little short of my expectations.  I love a great time travel novel so when I saw the synopsis of this book I thought it looked like a book I would enjoy.  The ending was good and I loved the twist at the end that I did not see coming.  However much of the book felt a little too wordy and it did take me awhile to get through the first part.  The idea of bringing people to the future who were already destined to die in the past is a great concept.  The main character in this novel is a bridge between Commander Gore from the 1840s and the present.  She must figure out how to do her job and help Graham navigate the current century but things are not as simple as she thinks.  Another great element to this novel is that Commander Gore is a real person from the past and I did learn about his doomed expedition.  Overall, there were some great elements to this book but it just needed a faster pace f...