My Reading Diary (with spoilers)

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke My rating: 4 of 5 stars I had the pleasure of meeting Attica Locke recently at an author event and grabbed a copy of Bluebird, Bluebird while I was there. I really loved the writing style and the flow of the story. I could completely see this becoming a movie. It was a story filled with racial tension and mystery, showing the battle between police forces. I enjoyed the Texas Ranger story line, the Rangers are a unique entity and this made me realize I would like to read more stories that include them as a character line. The one flaw I saw with this story was that there were so many characters thrown at you so early in. I contemplated stopping to put a sticky note inside the book cover to keep them straight. But as the story moved along, the primary characters came to the forefront and you could let the others go the side. I liked the way the author moved in and out of timelines fluidly, allowing characters to reminisce for a moment about some...

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda My rating: 4 of 5 stars I would say this is a 3.5 star read, rounding up because I was compelled to keep reading it to see what happened. I had a really difficult time following the writing style in the beginning. It was just difficult to follow. The narrator, Leah, was so standoffish and kept referring to things in her past but so cryptically that you really had no idea what was going on. So the flow of the writing was a turn-off, but the mystery was a draw that kept me reading. I wasn't sure if Leah was crazy, if her friend Emmy was real, if all of this was just in Leah's mind. Kudos to the author for writing a good mystery. View all my reviews

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is my second book by Kate Quinn, the first being The Huntress. I really enjoyed Alice Network but I think The Huntress is still my favorite of the two. This story bounces back and forth between Eve and Charlie as narrators. Eve's timeline is set during WWI and Charlie's timeline is set after WWII where she seeks out Eve's help in locating her cousin Rose who has been missing since the war. This book is a story of female spies during WWI but also a story of how the effects of the war lingers for many years. It's a story of revenge. It's definitely a story of powerful women (a Kate Quinn thing, it seems!). You will learn how Eve and Charlie's stories overlap as the timelines move along. It's a very good read and the characters are likeable. But I definitely didn't feel the level of tension that you normally see from novels in this genre. View all my reviews

The Obituary Society by Jessica L. Randall My rating: 4 of 5 stars I grabbed this book for free on Amazon Kindle and was looking forward to a fun and lighthearted "girl goes home to small town" story. There was definitely some of that, but there was also family secrets and bad guys! Who has a bad guy in a small town? A little paranormal as well. It was more than it appeared but it was a fun, quick read. View all my reviews

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book was a difficult, but oh so necessary read. I was late to the party on this one. I hadn't heard anything about it until I saw it on a list of "books to read before you watch the movie." I am not a huge non-fiction reader just because I tend to find it too wordy and cumbersome and I enjoy escaping into fiction. However, this is an important topic and so I bought a copy a couple of months ago from a local bookstore. This week I felt drawn to pick it up and honestly expected it to take me at least a week to get through it assuming that I would break it up with something fiction in between. How wrong I was. I picked it up yesterday afternoon and finished this morning. The way the author structured this book was so well done it really kept you engaged throughout. The main story highlighted on the book summary is that of Walter McMillian, who Bryan (author/lawyer) met as a yo...

In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was a very difficult book to read. It was heartbreaking. I love a good cry book, but this one tested my limits. As a parent, as a human. I am giving it 5 stars because... wow. But boy did it hurt. The one saving grace is that so much is shared in the book summary. At one point in the earlier part of the book I actually stopped reading to come back to the summary and got a little relief on knowing at least the immediate fate of some of the characters. You have the first 25% of the book which is focused on an introduction to the characters and then this horrible accident and the immediate aftermath. That was tragic enough. Then the remaining 75% of the book is about life after this tragedy. This was a book club pick, and I imagine our discussion of this will not be without tears again. There was so much sadness here. But loss is sad and in that regard, this author did a fantastic job of putting this into words. Vie...

Followers by Megan Angelo My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have been really looking forward to catching up on my library books and book club books to finally pick up this book that has been sitting on my shelf for a few months. That fact that I ended up reading it during a week when most of the world is quarantined due to a nasty virus, made it that much more disturbing of a read. The book takes place in two alternate timelines: 2015 and 2051. In 2015, the world is what we know... social media obsessed and in love with celebrities and "influencers." In 2051, the world is different. As you bounce between these two timelines, you begin to piece together what happened 35 years prior to change the world as we know it. This wasn't a book you could really speed through, there are a lot of little nuggets of information dropped throughout the book that give you little bite size pieces of information. So you have to pay attention. In some ways I felt like this book was a little...

Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was literally a one-sitting read. It moved so quickly that it was like watching a fast-paced movie. This was my first book by this author. I met him recently at an author event and he was quick witted and funny - that came through in his writing. Even when writing about a pretty intense topic. This is listed as #1 with a new character, Eve Ronin. I hope to see more on this character because I really liked the tough female detective and her almost ready for retirement partner as a detective duo. It was very reminiscent of Michael Connelly and Harlan Coben. If you like those authors, you will enjoy this! View all my reviews

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson My rating: 5 of 5 stars All fans of murder mysteries... stop what you are doing right now and GET THIS BOOK! This was such a fun reading experience. There were so many references to classic murder mysteries that it reminded me of all the books that I haven't read in ages and want to read again! What made it even better was that it was written in a style that is very reminiscent of those classics. It was a slow burn but not slow moving. I finished this book in less than a day. I just saw this book has an under 4 star average... which is really surprising to me. I have to imagine that the people who didn't like it haven't ever enjoyed those classic mysteries. The summary on Goodreads does an excellent job of telling you what the story is about. If you an appreciate an Agatha Christie novel, you will appreciate this one. I commend the author on recreating this style! View all my reviews

The Kill Club by Wendy Heard My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was a super fast-paced thriller set in the grungy side of Los Angeles. The story is broken into chapters titled by that chapter's narrator... some narrators you know and some you only meet briefly. What you are quickly pulled into is a secret club of people identified to kill someone random in exchange for having someone they know that is causing them problems killed. Think abusive spouses, child abusers, etc. This book has several spoilers to be shared along the way so I am trying to be careful with what I share. The main character, Jazz, is a tough young woman with a few too many tattoos, who gets in to a few too many fights, is a drummer in a band and spends her days working in a Trader Joes. She is a tough girl you can get behind. This is a gritty story that keeps you guessing right until the end. It's an upcoming book club pick which introduced me to this author for the first time and I look forward to readi...

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord My rating: 4 of 5 stars I put this one on my library hold list after seeing a few of my trusted bookstagrammers sharing positive reviews. It sounded like a perfect "break book" after reading something heavier. It was exactly that! The library had the book labeled as "older teen" and that was pretty accurate. I definitely felt like I was too old to be reading this story of two high school seniors attending an elite private school in NYC and engaging in a flirtatious twitter war. It's silly and sweet and endearing. It will also make you hungry. There are so many delicious descriptions of mac & cheese sandwiches and decadent desserts. If you are a foodie and enjoy some modern day pop culture references and want something light and fun to read... pick it up! View all my reviews

The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton My rating: 4 of 5 stars I did a mix of audio and reading for this one, which allowed me to move through it pretty quickly. Three friends are faced with an opportunity at the age of 50 to go back in time 10 years to their 40th birthday and make some different decisions. The deal is that they get to spend one year there and then they will have to decide (all or none) on either continuing their new paths and reliving that decade or jumping back to 50 again. So just stop there and ask your self what would YOU? Pick an age that you feel like was a pivot point in your life... would you go back to it? I know my answer... As with all books like this, these women make some really frustrating decisions that make you want to just yell at them. I think I have decided that these are the types of characters that I dislike the most in a book... flaky women. I'm not lowering the rating because of that, it's just a personal opinion. I thought this ...

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough My rating: 4 of 5 stars ( MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD) I am starting the draft of this blog post as I am about 20 pages from finishing this book.  I have no idea how it is going to end, but I can tell you this is not the book I thought it was going to be.  On the back cover of this book, in big bold print, it says " Why is everyone talking about the ending of Behind Her Eyes?"   I am assuming there will be a big twist, but I don't know what it will be... Yet. Here is what I do know... The book jumps around between narrators and  timelines.  So there are two narrators, Louise and Adele.  Then there are three timelines: Then, Now and Later.  In the beginning its a little confusing.  Most of the story is taking place in the "now" with several glances into the "then" and not much on the "later." Adele is married to David. David is a psychologist.  Adele is flipping crazy.  Let's ju...

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson My rating: 4 of 5 stars This random book about children who spontaneously catch on fire kept popping up in my life in various ways (book club chatter, instagram post, etc). So when I saw it available on Audio, I decided to give it a try. What a quick fun read. I think this is one of the books where the audio is a must because the reader was just so good. The Southern accents were spot on and the dialect just made you chuckle. This was a sweet story about a young woman who is a little lost and who agrees to help an old college friend who has never really been a great friend to her. When Lillian is asked to come and live with Madison to care for Madison's step children who just happen to spontaneously catch on fire Lillian agrees thinking it will be nice to live in a fancy house and make good money while being close to this friend that she has held on a pedestal for so long. What Lillian doesn't expect is to really come to love these ...

Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey My rating: 5 of 5 stars I met this author recently and she was so sweet and funny. She was talking about book 3 in this Peachtree Bluff series and after hearing her discuss this trilogy I knew I wanted to read it. Book one did not disappoint. It is set in coastal Georgia and is full of Southern characters, several "y'alls" and lots of feisty ladies (i.e., everything you would expect from a book like this!). Mom (Ansley) has 3 daughters who all for various reasons come back home to Georgia to live with their mother at the same time. You explore the bond between sisters, the love of a mother, and a few other stories of past loves, broken hearts, and the challenges of marriage and kids. This book alternates between Mom's point of view and the oldest daughter Caroline's point of view. What I already knew from hearing the author speak about the book is that each book is written the same way with Mom and one of t...

When You See Me by Lisa Gardner My rating: 4 of 5 stars Continuing the story of Detective D.D. Warren, Special Agent Kimberly Quincy and victim turned vigilante Flora Dane is always a tense adventure! I immediately request these from the library as soon as they come out. I felt like this one was a little slow to start, but that may have just been my mood in the beginning. The central character in this story is a young girl who can't speak and has witnessed unspeakable crimes. DD, Flora and Kimberly have to learn how to communicate with her to figure out what is happening in these mysterious Georgia mountains. Flora also gets the opportunity to look more into her former captor's life and gets some more questions answered (which was a great continuation of that story line). As always, they say these books can stand alone - and technically the could. But, I think you would appreciate the story better if you at least went back to the original book where we met Flora Dane....

F*ck Marriage by Tarryn Fisher My rating: 5 of 5 stars My book club friends insisted I take this book home from a book swap because everyone thought it would be hilarious if I came home with a book titled F*CK Marriage after just getting engaged a couple of weeks before. I brought it home, put it on the pile and honestly wasn't sure I was going to read it. Then a couple of weeks ago, I read Tarryn Fisher's newest book, The Wives, and LOVED it. So I picked this one up, read the summary and thought I would give it a try. This is very different from The Wives. This is a romance/chick lit type book with three primary characters: Billie, Woods and Satcher. Billie and Woods were married, Woods cheated, they divorced and Billie ran away across the country for a couple of years. She came back to NYC, feeling attractive and confident and ready to screw with Woods (who is now engaged to be married to someone new). Satcher was Woods' best friend. They all end up ...