Audible Escape Continues

Honor's Splendour
by Julie Garwood

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such a delight revisiting this 28 year-old story that I haven't read since probably high school. I still love it, all these years later.

Pages: 374

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Complicated by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a lengthy story, but the characters are so well-developed that it never felt tiring or tedious. There's also plenty of intrigue and conflict with the plot and subplots. I would definitely pick up another book by this author. I particularly enjoyed the personalities of the love interests, and all the family themes and children that were involved in this story. They made it richer, well, most of them.

Pages: 567

Some 5 Star Reads

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a nonlinear story that brings together the stories of two different orphans, from two distinctly different time periods, modern and past. I really enjoyed it.

Pages: 278

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Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read, and I tend to be somewhat critical of the category. I loved hearing about his unique childhood, and I even choked once, when I was eating a snack and something he said just struck me so funny that I couldn't help breaking out into laughter. And then I kept laughing, while still choking, because it just tickled me that much.

Pages: 304

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The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an absolutely stunning read on so many different levels.

Pages: 368

The Lonely Silver Rain: A Travis McGee Novel by John D. MacDonald

 
272 pages
Billy Ingraham asks Travis McGee to locate his $700,000 custom cruiser.  McGee doesn’t feel like sticking out his neck for this case, but Billy’s wife  convinces him to take the case. With the help of a  pilot friend he locates it, only to find everyone on board murdered.

McGee finds himself in center of an international cocaine ring, while being confronted by a secret from his past.

Breakthrough: The Making of America's First Woman President by Nancy L. Cohen

Nancy Cohen interviewed dozens of women politicians from both parties, political consultants, and voters. She takes us through the history of women's involvement in the public square, starting with the fight to win voting rights. The book was written during Hillary Clinton's campaign for president,  but deals with the path she followed to get there, not whether or not she would win (which of course, she did not.

Focusing on the struggle to get women elected, she examines attitudes about women in this country, and the way young women are breaking through the barriers erected to hold them back, especially in politics, but also in many other areas.

I think this is an important book for everyone to read, but especially women. We need to understand our own biases toward ambitious women, and why it is important to have their leavening influence on society.


338 pages

Heartland: A memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

Sarah Smarsh is from a fifth generation Kansas wheat farm family on her Dad's side, and the product of generations of teen mothers on her Mother's side. Writing about her experiences growing up on a farm west of Wichita, she gives her perspective into the lives of poor and working class Americans living in the heartland.

Her legacy was a work ethic that enabled her to create a solid professional life for herself, but that doesn't alleviate the pain of growing up seeing the way that poor people are marginalized and made to feel
"less than".

304 pages

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I'm working on reading through my bookshelves and Jane kept popping out at me. I hadn't read it since my All About the Bronte's class in college (that's right, all things Bronte all semester. So romantic yet utterly depressing). I loved it just as much then as I do now. Don't get me wrong, there are passages that seem to go on forever with information I do not really care about, but the conversations between Rochester and Jane were intriguing and I love how truly independent Jane becomes throughout the story. Best part, Bertha running through the house at night setting fires is still creepy.

Rating 5/5

Pages: 332

War of the Sons (Supernatural #6) by Rebecca Dessertine & David Reed

War of the Sons (Supernatural #6)
by Rebecca Dessertine & David Reed

4/5  |  320 pages

Twenty-seven years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. In the years after, their father, John, taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America... and he taught them how to kill it.


On the hunt for Lucifer, the boys find themselves in a small town in South Dakota where they meet Don - an angel with a proposition... Don sends them a very long way from home, on a mission to uncover the secret Satan never wanted them to find out.

I enjoyed this one.  It can be hard to capture TV characters, but I think this novel does a pretty good job.  I am going to start at the beginning of these novels and work through them as I re-watch the show in preparation for Season 15.  I will so miss this show.

The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton

The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I really don’t get it, and it burns me up. I have so much book wrath right now, but clearly I’m in the minority.

I would have quit reading this book by the end of chapter 2, if I wasn’t reading it for a work committee on Missouri authors and stories. By that point, it was already clear that this wasn’t going to be a solid and enjoyable read for me, but alas, I continued onward. Each chapter felt like a new form of endless torture. I was constantly checking exactly how much was left to read, with a fervent wish that I would discover the book was shorter than it actually was. No such luck.

It was a serious chore to force my way through this book. My brain is absolutely numb from boredom, and I was never able to develop any emotional connection to the story or characters at all. There is no apparent plot. No drama. No tension or suspense. None of the characters are particularly interesting or well-developed. The writing is unremarkable. It’s just meh all around for me.

This is also a very dated story with a tedious amount of setting and description. All the characters are thrown at you at once, with way too much information, so it is difficult to keep anyone straight. I suspect this is intended to be a character driven story, which is probably why it reads so poorly, considering the characters aren’t distinct or memorable.

It also has dated language that is occasionally offensive, though still accurate to the time period. This book definitely didn’t stand up to the test of time. Perhaps if I had read it 25 years ago, it would have made a different impression, but I tend to doubt that.

There’s lots of religious commentary and undertones, so if that isn’t your cup of tea, you’ve been warned. I’m talking about the Old Testament, extremely judgmental, down your throat, you have sinned, and now we are going to quote bible verses at you and go attend sermons type of religious commentary. There’s lots of hypocritical morality, as well, which I agree is pretty common in Missouri, but it’s still exhausting.

After about the 4th time they ate ice cream in 5 chapters, I just no longer could even care about ice cream. I didn’t even want to hear the word ice cream ever again. There has to be more to a story than what you ate. Ice cream is not a plot. Playing in water on a hot summer day is also not a plot, but that also occurs about 3 or 4 times in the first 5 chapters. Also, beating me over the head with constant talk of the blooming moonflower vines does not make me like the title of the book more. But seriously? How does a book ruin ice cream? That’s a sad state of affairs.

I just really can’t believe I wasted part of my life reading this. I now understand why Oedipus poked out his own eyes. This book is way too long, considering there’s not even a decent storyline here, but I guess you need a lot of pages to continuously relay to the reader trivial domestic scenes that have no value to the overall context of the story.

Also, I have heard it compared to TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, which is a complete joke, as this is not even remotely consumable by the general public. Mockingbird is a classic that even children read in school and love, so it’s an insult to a beloved book to compare it to this nonsense. Now, I actually want to go reread Mockingbird, so I can remember what reading a good story feels like.

End wrath.

Beautiful Darkness (Beautiful Creatures #2) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Darkness
(Beautiful Creatures #2)
by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.


Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

2/5

503 pages

This series is just not for me.  I did finish this one, but I have no desire to read the remaining books.  It's just SO DRAMATIC.  Drama-relishing-teens will love this; me - not so much.

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

On March 18, 1990, thirteen renowned works of art were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Claire Roth, a struggling artist who specializes in Degas, makes a living reproducing such works for an online retailer. She is approached by Aiden Markel, owner of the hip gallery Markel G, to forge a Degas masterpiece stolen from the Museum in the heist. However, when the painting is delivered to Claire's studio, she begins to suspect it's not the real Degas, either.

360 pages.

The Custard Protocol Series by Gail Carriger

Prudence (Book One)

3.5/5  |  357 pages

Imprudence (Book Two)

4/5  |  355 pages

Competence (Book Three)

4.5/5  |  309 pages

Reticence (Book Four)

5/5  |  339 pages


I love this writer.  I love this world.  If you're interested in reading any of Gail Carriger's work (and I recommend that you do), start with Soulless or Etiquette & Espionage, depending on if you want adult characters or teen characters, respectively.  I only have Carriger's novelettes and short stories left, but you better believe I'll be reading them!

 

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#BecRereads2019

I have to confess that it has probably been 20 years since I first read this book, so it was fun to revisit it. I had forgotten a lot about how the series starts. However, the only bad thing is that now I want to go back through and reread the whole series, instead of stopping at just book one, which was the original plan.

I find Stephanie to be an extremely relateable character. Perhaps that means my life is a bit of a comedic disaster as well, but even so, at least I know it's not just me.

Pages: 320

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

After Storm of Swords I needed something short and sweet so I finally picked up this book that has been sitting on my shelf for at least a year. I really liked it! You can tell that this is the inspiration for the typical P.I. noir. Street smart Phillip Marlowe takes on a case with the rich Sternwood patriarch and the mysteries unfold. It has a great pace and the action kept my attention. It was really hard to put the book down! Recommend for anyone who loves a good detective story. Now I need to watch the movie with good ol' Bogart.

Rating 4/5
Pages: 231

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

Now that the show is finished, I'm coming back to the books! This is the third book of the Game of Thrones series, and it picks up right where the second left off. Political scheming, marriages red and purple, battles, and squished eyeballs ensue. It's really fun to see all the deviations from the show and I finally got to see more of Beric Dondarrion and his Robin Hood crew, oh and Lady Stoneheart (I had only her about her in passing), and Cold Hands. Guys he rides a freaking giant elk. Why didn't they put that in the show??!! So much cooler.

Rating 5/5
Pages: 1008

Deacon Locke Went to Prom by Brian Katcher

Deacon Locke Went to Prom by Brian Katcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This concept is fantastic and heartwarming, though the plot is a bit all over the place. The pacing is off for me, as well, and the story drags after the first 1/3. It did help that the novel has a lot of voice, which kept me reading forward, even when I was staring to get bored.

Deacon is awkward and has a very dry, self-deprecating sense of humor that I find very funny, but it occasionally comes off flat, since those types of personalities can be a bit more difficult to pull off on the page. Personally, I’m a fan of his angsty internal monologue and find it easy to relate to, but I can see at times how it could come off as a bit too flip, like he doesn’t really care about much, when really he cares about everything. A lot. It definitely took me time to settle in and fully understand him as a character.

The side characters are all thoroughly enjoyable and add a lot to the overall story. Conversation between Deacon and Soraya is unnatural and stilted at times, and not just in a “everyone is nervous” sort of way. There’s something about it that just doesn’t always feel authentic or accurate for the way teenagers who are not in an inspirational movie would speak. It could be because there’s a good amount of telling through their dialogue, and it’s hard for that not to be awkward and feel out of place.

Regardless, I am happy that I read this story.

Pages: 400

Titan's Son by Rhett C. Bruno

Titan's Son by Rhett C. Bruno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, I really enjoyed this one, even though I still wanted stronger character development and to better understand character motivations. I could have even used a bit more world building. It's probably more of a 3.5 for me, but I always round up.

The action is solid, but the lack of emotional resonance makes the action seem a bit tedious after a while, rather than exciting. That makes the book lag in the middle, at least it did for me. I needed a bit more connection to characters motivations and emotions, so that their actions seem honest and authentic.

There was more gratuitous death, which with the female characters seems like a waste of potentially fascinating characters and opportunities. I had my heart set on a badass female in this story, and it didn't really go down like that. If it had, then maybe this would have been closer to 5 stars for me. I would love to see women be delegated stronger roles in future novels, rather than just the general stereotypes like mother, lover, protester, fanatic, etc. Most of the ladies are too one-dimensional for my taste, but that is likely because they are primarily used as plot points, more than anything else.

Overall, I liked it, but I'm not sure if I'm invested enough to continue on to book 3. I guess only time will tell.

Pages: 300

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Summary: "When apprentice librarian Elisabeth is implicated in sabotage that released the library's most dangerous grimoire, she becomes entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy that could mean the end of everything."

Wow! Wow!! Wow!!!

This book deserves to be read in one sitting. 


456 pages

goodreads | MOBIUS

Deacon Locke Went to Prom by Brian Katcher

Summary: "Too shy to look for a prom date, Deacon decides to ask his grandmother to the event and when a video of their dancing goes viral, he finds his life taking an unforgettable turn."

A fun, adorable and meaningful story!

The author's approach was fun and entertaining. However, the pacing was a bit weird at times, and the overall flow was a bit disjointed. 

I wanted more out of Deacon's personality, but the other characters made up for it.


389 pages

goodreads | MOBIUS

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#BecRereads2019

So much fun to revisit these old friends.

Pages: 377

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The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#BecRereads2019

Fun to revisit this one. Probably actually more of a 4.5 for me. Best part of the story is Tyson.

Pages: 279

PREVIOUS REVIEW:
The second book in the Percy Jackson series does not disappoint. It is longer and more dangerous than the first. Percy is always getting himself into scrapes, and he gets on the wrong side of a few gods and goddesses during his quest. You will get to meet a few new heroes and also a new family member that Percy didn't know he had. Will Percy and all of his friends survive their Quest? A good hero turns bad in this book. Who will it be?

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The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#BecRereads2019

I love the dam snack bar. And the cow.

Pages: 320

PREVIOUS REVIEW:
This is the 3rd book in the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. You will see some of your favorite characters from the first two books, but we also get introduced to quite a few new and interesting heroes, mortals, monsters, gods, and goddesses. This book is action-packed and full of humor. It is shorter than the first two books, so make sure you have the 4th book on hand when you finish, as you won't want to wait around to see what is going to happen next.

Personal Improvement

Summary: I’ve been reading quite a few books lately designed to help me better understand myself and those

around me, looking for ways to bring out the best in all of us.

Review: I have found some piece of truth in each of the books below. By far the most engaging and helpful titles were When, Grit, and Quiet, which I rank 5 out of 5. The others were good as well, though, so I give them each a 4 out of 5.

Author	Title	Pages
Joyce Meyer	Eat the Cookies - Buy the Shoes: Giving Yourself Permission to Lighten Up	208
Angela Duckworth	Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance	353
Charles Duhigg	The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business	400
Brene Brown	The Gifts of Imperfection	158
Daniel Pink	When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing	272
Cain, Susan	Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking	368

Cozy Mysteries

Tiffany Black Mystery Series by A.R. Withers

Summary: Tiffany may work in a casino, but she hopes to leave that job behind her for good once she gets her private investigator’s license. Ironically, her very first case is investigating the death of casino mogul, Ethan Becker. Throughout the series there are loveable characters, like Nana and Ian, as well as a love interest or two.

My Review: It’s no secret, I tend to binge-read cozy mystery series. This one kept me interested until about book five, when the plots, dialogue and characters started to fizzle. I hung in there for a few more titles, in hopes the author could pick it back up again. But alas, she did not. That said, though, if I were looking for a quick read on a lazy day, I might seek out book 9 in the series.

Title	Pages
1. Innocent in Las Vegas	217
2. Green Eyes in Las Vegas	248
3. Red Roses in Las Vegas	252
4. Lost Kitten in Las Vegas	263
5. Reality Check in Las Vegas	235
6. Deadly Disco in Las Vegas	148
7. Pesky Politicians in Las Vegas	256
8. A Perfect Murder in Las Vegas	201

My Rating: 3 out of 5

Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich

Summary: There's nothing like a good deli, and the Red River Deli in Trenton is one of the best. World-famous for its pastrami, cole slaw, and for its disappearing managers. Over the last month, three have vanished from the face of the earth, and the only clue in each case is one shoe that's been left behind. The police are baffled. Lula is convinced that it's a case of alien abduction. Whatever it is, they'd better figure out what's going on before they lose their new manager, Ms. Stephanie Plum. – Publisher’s description

My Review: After the Tiffany Black mysteries fizzled, I knew I needed to find a sure winner. Stephanie Plum and company are up to their usual antics, and it’s all fun!

My Rating: 5 out of 5

Upper Elementary and Middle School Reads

Books by Gary D. Schmidt

My Review: I had the privilege of hearing author Gary D. Schmidt while on an Author Visit in Springfield, and was very impressed with his storytelling abilities. His writing is also masterful as he leads the reader through coming of age stories.

Title	Pages
1. Pay Attention, Carter Jones	224
2. Orbiting Jupiter	192
3. The Wednesday Wars	272

My Rating: 5 out of 5

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

Summary: Supernanny Mary Poppins joins the Banks family in a mystical fashion, blowing in on the wind holding her infamous umbrella aloft. Throughout the first book, we are introduced to a woman who has little time for frivolity and yet is able to take us on wild, imaginative adventures that teach us life lessons along the way.

My Review: When Mary Poppins Returns came out and I learned that the author of the series, P.L. Travers was disappointed in Julie Andrews’ portrayal of Mary Poppins in the movie, I had to see why. It’s true, the movie didn’t do a good job of staying true to character – but I sure loved the music!  I found the movie version of Mary the more captivating of the two. I’m not sure I would have finished the book were it not for wanting to compare the two Marys to the bitter end. I rank the book a four, just because of the inspiration it provided for the musical. Pages: 232

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Billie Standish Was Here by Nancy Crocker

Billie Standish Was Here by Nancy Crocker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Upon rereading this, I had forgotten about the historical setting. It's not immediately evident or in your face, so I found my brain judging the actions of characters by 2019 standards, which wasn't not working out or adding up. A decade of time apparently made a big difference on some of my initial impressions about the first half of the story, but I carried on, calmed down, and remembered why characters do the things that they do, shifting myself back to a place of understanding and appreciation for this story.

Anyway, long story short, the actions of the characters make sense when you consider both the historical setting and their personal histories. It's still a beautiful story, and I'm glad that I reread it and reconsidered it with my 2019 brain. Some of the actions that take place and decisions that are made post-trauma definitely aren't okay by current standards, but they make sense in their historical context.

At its heart, this is still a story of overcoming the worst, supporting each other through the struggles, and growing into the best person that you can be.

Pages: 288

PREVIOUS REVIEW:
This is an excellent story about facing a nightmare, finding a way to keep living a normal life in spite of it, and letting others help you heal again. It also reminds people that friendships defy demographics (age, race, gender, income, education, etc.) This book deals with some serious stuff. It might make you cry, and it will definitely touch your heart.

Titanborn by Rhett C. Bruno

Titanborn by Rhett C. Bruno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So Audible recently had sci-fi week, and I clearly bought a bunch of books, which I'm now reading. This one surprised me and ended up being a pretty solid read.

I'm on the fence with whether or not I'm going to fork over the money to buy the rest of the audiobooks in the series or not. There's something that happens near the end of this story that makes me feel unsure if I would want to continue on with the series, so I'm going to wait a few days and see if my curiosity insists upon it, or not.

Pages: 282

Infinite by Jeremy Robinson

Infinite by Jeremy Robinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an unexpectedly quirky and unique sci-fi novel. I admit that I was along for the ride and had moments where I wasn't even sure what was going on and what was real, which I think was kind of the point.

Pages: 400

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, that was fun and science heavy. I guess I've watched the movies before and never really read the book, so it seemed like time.

The book is far less horrifying to me than the movie, but I startle very easily and have a bad scream reflex. So me watching the movie is far more dramatic than me reading the book, even though the book also has a certain level of stress and suspense.

I liked it.

Pages: 399

Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, do I love this series. May it never end.

Pages: 352

Mascot by Antony John

Mascot

by Antony John

4/5

336 pages

Noah Savino has been stuck in a wheelchair for months. He hates the way people treat him like he’s helpless now. He’s sick of going to physical therapy, where he isn’t making any progress. He’s tired of not having control over his own body. And he misses playing baseball—but not as much as he misses his dad, who died in the car accident that paralyzed Noah.

Noah is scared he’ll never feel like his old self again. He doesn’t want people to think of him as different for the rest of his life. With the help of family and friends, he’ll have to throw off the mask he’s been hiding behind and face the fears that have kept him on the sidelines if he ever wants to move forward.

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a good, fun, safe MG read with tons of puzzles and riddles. The main character is smart, determined, and kind, which are good qualities for this type of environment. I probably would have liked him even more if he had a few more flaws, but hey, that's just me.

Personally, I could have done with a bit less puzzle and a lot more story and character development (especially in the side characters, so they seem a bit more 3D and not so flat or sterotypical). However, that being said, it's a reasonably enjoyable and quick read.

This is probably more of a 3.5 for me, but I always round up.

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An interesting hypothesis, and solid research, about the Dyatlov Pass deaths.

Pages: 288

We Are Legion by Dennis E. Taylor

We Are Legion by Dennis E. Taylor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

There was a lot of potential, action, humor and science, but I found the character development to be weak and the story lacked any sort of emotional resonance which made it hard for me to connect with.

The plot is pretty convoluted, and there’s this feeling of constant over explaining that makes this seem like a tedious read. It started out well, but things quickly devolved.

Pages: 383

In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I had to finish this book so that I could see how it ended. However, it is not one that I would readily recommend. The big "reveals" were disappointing. The setting was the strongest element of the story.

354 pages

The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky by Holly Schindler

Summary: "Auggie and her grandfather use found objects to transform the appearance of their home and, in the process, change a whole town's perceptions of beauty and art."

This book is like a nightmare. It is like a bad dream that you can't wake up from. Similes overtake every page, like a something on a something.

Auggie's story could have been fun and cute, if it just cut down on the wordy descriptions and amped up the plot/action. 100 pages less would have worked just fine!

240 pages

MOBIUS | goodreads

Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn

Summary: "Cat has been the glue holding her family together. But even the strongest glue sometimes struggles to hold. When a summer trip doesn't go according to plan, Cat and Chicken end up spending three weeks with grandparents they never knew."

What a sweet concept this book is. I would love to spend three weeks with my grandparents on Gingerbread Island!

I wish the author had more openly discussed Chicken's meltdowns - what they are and what they mean. I appreciate the diversity in this novel, but I think the author could have gone further with it, in a more organic way.

The ideas, settings, emotions and characters are all there, but it just didn't quite all come together in the most satisfying way. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading it, and I think others would enjoy it too.

295 pages

MOBIUS | goodreads

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gut-wrenching. This has some plot and resolution issues for me, but overall, it really pulled me in and set me on an emotional edge.

Pages: 248

Beautiful Creatures (Beautiful Creatures #1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures (Beautiful Creatures #1)
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

3/5

563 pages

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

This was a reread for me, and I still feel very 'meh' about it.  It was easy to listen to without having to constantly pay attention, and I think the narrator definitely added to the book.  I don't remember ever finishing this series, so I might give book two a go - especially as it has the same narrator - but I'm not holding my breath. 

Wandfasted (The Black Witch Chronicles 0.5) by Laurie Forest

Wandfasted (The Black Witch Chronicles 0.5)
by Laurie Forest

5/5

235 pages

When they painted "Heretics" on our barn and set fire to it, I thought that was the worst it could get.

Until they sent the dragons.

But they didn't count on us having dragons of our own. And they certainly didn't count on Her. Our Great Mage. The Bringer of Fire. The Storm of Death. The Crow Sorceress. Our Deliverance.

The Black Witch.

This story, y'all.  I am SO glad I forgot my headphones and had to resort to whatever ebook was downloaded to my phone.  The story is pretty standard; it has a whole Pride & Prejudice thing going on.  So why 5 stars?  The characters.  I really felt them.  As in, there were some goofy smiles, tears, scowls, and other involuntary reactions.  I'll definitely be reading this series, but I'm not ready to meet the new characters (Wandfasted is a prequel).  So, I'll give it a couple of days to recover from my book hangover, and then I'll move on to book one.

Men of the North Series (continued)

The Athlete
by Elin Peer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun change of pace.

Pages: 297

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The Genius by Elin Peer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The more books I read in this series, the more I love this world. I think I'm going to be heartbroken when I reach the end. The character development and world building get better with each new book.

Also, while it's romance, there's a whole lot to each story that is about the dystopia, and I really enjoy that.

Pages: 308

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The Dancer
by Elin Peer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Drama. So obviously, I love that. Nice representation for anxiety.

Pages: 350

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The Fighter
by Elin Peer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have become more and more obsessed with this adult dystopian romance series. While this isn't my favorite in the series, I still enjoyed Raven's story.

Pages: 292

Evidence of the Affair

Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An epistolary novella about an affair. A wife finds intimate letters from another woman to her husband, so she writes the other woman's husband to inform him, which sparks a series of letters back and for between both sets of people.

Pages: 115

Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn

Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There's some things about this story that are just lovely, including diversity and the family struggles. There are a few beautiful sentences, and the overall themes are great. I wanted to love it far more than I did.

There's some definitely plot issues, and a few things that happen in the first 30% of the book that just make no sense. It may be my inner-educator popping out on this one, but I had to suspend disbelief to continue onward, and that was almost impossible for me to do. I think it was clear that the author hadn't done enough research, or didn't have enough experience to write on some of the issues in this story, particularly related to parenting an autistic child. For me, the mom being unaware of so much about her son lacked truth and honesty, and since it's contemporary fiction, I struggled with that. She may be an absent parent, but there's no way she could be so clueless. If nothing else, the school would keep her informed about her child, so this whole idea that she's unaware of his struggles (such as the running) really got under my skin.

The writing is pretty decent. There are a few lines that really stuck with me and made me think. However, there are also quite a few spots where the author just really beats the reader over the head with her message, because she doesn't think we are smart enough to get it on our own. But we are. Granted, I'm an adult, but after teaching middle school for 6 years, I can say that my students were also smart and picked up on things. They didn't need or want books that talked down to them. I wish the messages had just been made through the storytelling, instead of being forced on the reader, as that felt inorganic.

Overall, it's a decent story, though the plot continually lags. It has a lot of emotion, which I appreciate, and the character development is mostly decent. I appreciated the attempt at diversity, though I wish things with Chicken had added up better.

This book will likely appeal most to 5th & 6th grade girls. The voice can be a bit too childish at times, but overall it works. I love the cover. I just wish the overall concept made more sense.

Pages: 304