Book Review: My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

Book Review: My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

Publisher:  Random House Publishing Group – Random House

            The Dial Press

Everyone is guilty of it at one time or another. You post something to one of your social media accounts to try to make your life look better than it really is. You use an Instagram filter or Photoshop to make a picture look good. You brag about a delicious meal that you ate when in reality it wasn’t really yours. You post about your picture perfect life despite the fact that the washer flooded the house and your kids have explosive diarrhea.

Little white lies that make your life look better than it really is and for a time make you feel better. Katie Brenner does that in this book. She makes her job and social life look glamorous when she’s actually really lonely and a peon at her job. She models her social media presence after her boss’s life, not knowing that her boss isn’t as perfect as she seems.

How things look are not always how they are in real life. Some people forget that. Katie spends so much time trying to erase her life as a farm girl that she misses out on any real emotion. Things start looking good for her when her boss and a hot guy take an interest in her but that quickly falls apart. Her boss fires her and the romance turns out to be nothing more than a fantasy. She soon returns to her boring farm life and the father that she has been trying to desperately to make proud.

Not a lot more can be revealed without spoiling the book but let me say that parts of the story really had me laughing out loud. I got strange looks from my future spouse. Katie, who was a little bit whiny and annoying in the beginning soon find her footing and makes you root for her.

The ending. Again, without spoilers, the author could have taken the easy and predictable way out and tie everything up with a pretty bow. She didn’t and that was a pleasant surprise for me.  It actually made me crack a smile.

This book was a pleasure for me to read.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: In the Blue Hour by Elizabeth Hall

Book Review: In The Blue Hour by Elizabeth Hall

Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing

Elise Brooks has a dream that someone driving her car drives off an icy road. She can’t see who the driver is so when her husband Michael dies the exact same way she dreamed she is devastated. She is stuck in a rut and can’t move on. She’s depressed and can’t shake the feeling that Michael is trying to reach her from the other side.

I have experienced encounters with spirit-type beings so this wasn’t really a stretch for me. It was one of the reasons why I requested the book. This book was more eerie than scary so it’s not going to keep you up at night. One of the underlying themes that run through the whole book is that you have to live with the consequences of the actions you take and choices you make. Grief and how to move on is another theme.

The writing is very descriptive of the scenery. I found myself wanting to head out to New Mexico and the surrounding areas just to see the colors.

Some of the “chance meetings” were a little far fetched for me. At the end I could understand Elise’s path and how she ended up where she did but at times I just shook my head in disbelief. It was still well written and her journey was interesting to read.

The best part of this book, for me, was Elise. Even though she was suffering from grief, she eventually pulled herself up and got back to living. She had a mystery to solve and it gave her purpose but at the same time she found the inner strength that she had the whole time. It was nice to read a character that wasn’t a poor me pity me crybaby for the entire book. She was simply a woman who had been dealt a blow, and even though she wallowed in it for a time, she fought her way back to herself. She wasn’t written perfectly, she was written as a genuine human being. That is what I enjoyed the most.

I’d definitely recommend this to a friend as a good read. It didn’t drag and the characters were believable. Some were a little quirky but not over the top.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: The Most Dangerous Place by Lindsey Lee Johnson

Book Review: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson

Publisher:  Random House Publishing Group – Random House

Where is the most dangerous place on Earth? According to the author it would be high school. This white school is in an affluent county in California so I didn’t really consider it to be all that dangerous.

The book starts with the suicide of a middle school boy named Tristan. He’s a social outcast and generally ridiculed by his peers. There is a girl that he has a crush on and he writes her a letter to profess his love. She gives it to the boy she has a crush on and he and his friends harass and bully Tristan online until he takes his life. I cried over the first few chapters.

The rest of the book starts in freshman year of high school. Tristan is rarely ever mentioned except in a joking manner. Each chapter is told from a different point of view and yet none of them really connect to each other. What started out as a story I cared about with a character I cared about (Cally, Tristan’s crush) went off the rails and never really came back to the track. At the end of the book I thought each kid was snooty, selfish, and stupid. Each chapter seemed to be an almost ripped from the headlines cliché about rich, white, high school kids and the stupid things they do and none of it was flattering. 

The writing itself is good but the format to this story was lacking. I would give the author herself another try but not if she sticks to the same kind of storytelling. 

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney

Book Review: The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney

Publisher:  Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine

Two different women, years apart, agree to the insane rules imposed by the architect to rent a home. The rules list is 200 items long and include “no leaving clothing on the floor” and “no books allowed”. Those two alone would have disqualified me because my life is all about the clutter and the books. These women are apparently ok with or plan to tolerate the rules.

The house is a character all its own. Gleaming and perfect and plain white walls, the place sounded a bit like an insane asylum. The house is equipped with the newest in technology as it adjusts the lights, temperature, etc. based upon your mood or actions. It seemed rather creepy to me.

The story is told from the alternating points of view of Emma, the first tenant, and Jane, the current tenant. Normally I cannot stand this way of telling a story but I stuck it out. The one real thing that annoyed me about this is that the “Emma” chapters held zero quotation marks. This made it a wee bit difficult in differentiating between dialogue and thoughts.

Emma moves into the home with her boyfriend Simon after their apartment is burglarized. The security system on the home sways her decision. She craves a safe sanctuary and the privacy the home affords. Jane is looking for a quiet place to start over after the stillbirth of her daughter. She’s looking for someplace to think and rebuild. They believe the house is perfect for their needs.

You soon learn about Emma’s breakup with Simon and her falling into a relationship with the mysterious owner of the house, Edward. Let me tell you that if he were a real person I would avoid him at all costs. He’s a creepy perfectionist with a dead wife. Jane all into a relationship as well and soon becomes obsessed with him, his dead wife, and the death of Emma. Oh, did I forget to mention she died in the home that Jane now lives in?

The Girl Before is a quick and intriguing read. I’m pleased that the author led me down the path thinking I could predict what was going on and then fooled me completely. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a mystery with a thrill and a creepy house thrown in.

I read that this book is going to be coming out as a movie directed by Ron Howard. I’m eager to see how it shapes up compared to the book.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: 39 Bayshore by Donna J. Grisanti

Book Review: 39 Bayshore by Donna J. Grisanti

Publisher:  Phoenix Publishing Group

            Independent Book Publishers Association

This book had an interesting plot idea. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to expectations. Carolyn is suffering from ill health, the sale of her business and the death of her mother. Her three aunts, none of which are blood related, buy her a falling down and decrepit home as a present to shock her back to life. She soon has more problems then you can shake a stick at.

First off, the formatting in this book was horrid. Bold and italicized words appeared in totally random spots. Double words (portport or thatthat) appear sometimes three times on a page. The author’s name sometimes popped up in the middle of a page of paragraph. This made the book hard to read and I almost put it down but I pushed through.

The book started with a murder that is never again mentioned in the book. Never. What was the point of even including it?

There are a ton of characters. Just when you think you have the whole cast figured out the author adds a new face. The supporting cast gets a bit muddled at times. The author tries to explain people and why they are there but it starts to ramble.  Some characters aren’t even introduced until nearly the end. The ending feels rushed and slapped on. The “mystery” seems like an afterthought.

This is supposed to be the first book in a series. I am hoping that the next book will be better and at the very least not be so slow. I’d be reluctant to give it a try.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: And Then She Was Gone by Christopher Greyson

Book Review: And Then She Was Gone by Christopher Greyson

Publisher:  Greyson Media Associates

This book is a prequel to other novels in the Detective Jack Stratton series but also functions well as a stand alone. Jack Stratton is a 17 year old on the verge of being 18. He’s enlisting in the Army so he can pay for college and then fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a police officer. His only problem is that he is cocky and thinks he’s smarter then everyone else. He also has a good heart despite being abandoned by his mother and forced into the foster care system

Stacy Shaw is a pregnant woman who decides to take a shortcut through the woods when her car doesn’t start after work one night. She never comes out. Jack is drawn into the mystery of her disappearance when one of his childhood enemies is accused of stealing the Stacy’s wallet. The problem is Jack keeps having mishaps and getting into trouble that he needs to avoid. The Army won’t accept him if he has a criminal record and he keeps getting in trouble with the cops working the case.

I know that other people have said that they didn’t like the exchanges between Jack and his adopted brother Chandler but I enjoyed them. I felt like I was watching two brothers pick at each other. This showed the reader how much of a bond the two boys formed despite of being adopted. I haven’t read any other of the Jack Stratton novels but I hope if Chandler makes an appearance in them they have the same brotherly bond.

The mystery is a bit predictable but still enjoyable. If you want a quick reading whodunit, this would be the perfect book for you.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: Fractured by Catherine McKenzie

Book Review: Fractured by Catherine McKenzie

Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing

I would say that I couldn’t put this book down but I read it on my Kindle app. I guess I could say that I couldn’t stop swiping the page.

Julie Prentice moves her family to Cincinnati to get away from her stalker and for them all to start fresh. She’s the author of a best selling novel and it brought out the crazy in one of her former friends. All she wants is some piece and quiet and to be able to get her second book written. She thinks Pine Street will be able to provide everything she needs.

She soon discovers that this quiet street is full of nosey, overly friendly people. Cindy, the self appointed president of the neighborhood, is a meddling control freak. After a few mishaps it seems like Cindy sees Julie and her family as blights on her perfect community. Cindy starts going out of her way to make Julie’s life miserable.

The book is also told from the point of view of John. John is Julie’s neighbor across the street. He soon becomes her running buddy and friend and confidant. When it verges on becoming more than platonic, things start going awry.

All through the book, the author builds these complex characters that keep you guessing. Who is behind the pranks at Julie’s house? Is it her stalker or someone from the neighborhood? Is Julie losing her mind and doing things to try to gain sympathy or is there a true threat out there? The author also alludes to an accident, which is explained later in the book, and it makes the story compelling. You just want to keep turning the page to find out what happened. The twists and turns were well written and towards the end, when I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was happily proven wrong.

As an aspiring author, I really connected with Julie. Her worries about meeting a deadline (I wish!) and her daily word count were something that interested me. It also shows that for many authors the words don’t just drop out on to the page. It’s real work.

This book was suspenseful and enjoyable. I highly recommend it. If you have cleaning to do, a chapter to write, a kid or pet to feed…wait to read this until you are finished with all that because once you start this book you won’t be able to stop reading until you get to the end.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much! It was a privilege to read this!

Book Review: Who We Were Before by Leah Mercer

Book Review: Who We Were Before by Leah Mercer

Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing

Zoe and Edward’s marriage is hanging by a thread. Their son Milo was killed in an accident that Zoe can’t stop blaming herself for. She wanders through life, numb to everything. She and Edward don’t touch, don’t talk, and don’t even seem to like each other let alone love each other anymore. In an attempt to help them reconcile her parent’s treat them to a weekend in Paris.

Once there, Edward wanders off to text the woman he is emotionally cheating with. In her dazed state Zoe has her wallet and phone stolen. They are split apart and after an initial burst of anger they both decide that neither is going to look for the other. This struck me as two children saying “Fine then, be that way.”

Zoe wanders Paris and Edward prepares to take his cheating to the next level. The book is set in a series of flashbacks between their past and present which seems to be jarring at times. While I like reading about things from both their points of view I feel like it should have been split into “before” and “after” instead of a jumping of back and forth on the timeline.

While I felt empathy for Zoe, I just felt anger for Edward. Then at times I just wanted to yell at them for to stop being so stupid. The constantly “missing” each other when they finally realize they want to fix their marriage was annoying and almost made me stop reading.

It’s a quick read and touches on grief and survivor’s guilt in a real and honest way. I can appreciate that. It wasn’t a bad book but the formatting left a lot to be desired. It might be that it’s just not to my taste. The ending came rather abruptly and left me feeling like the book was a bit unfinished.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Bound by Fire by Elizabeth Sinclair

Book Review: Bound by Fire by Elizabeth Sinclair

Publisher:  Salt Run Publishing, LLC

            Independent Book Publishers Association

Karen is a freelance photographer who happens to be pregnant with her deceased boyfriend Paul’s baby. After a successful attempt to mend fences with her estranged sister she decides she wants her baby to have the family she never had. She decides to track down Paul’s family and friends. She also hopes to glean some more details into what happened to Paul.

Jesse is one of Paul’s friends and co-workers. He’s feeling guilt over Paul’s death because instead of following his instincts and following Paul into the fire that killed him, he followed Paul’s orders and stayed away. Now he’s asking questions about Paul’s death and he is soon ordered to take time off or lose his job. This raises suspicions. What really happened to Paul?

This book is definitely a quick read. The suspense was a little on the bland side but it was there. The resolution to the mystery seemed a bit rushed.

Speaking of rushed, we start the book with Karen still grieving over Paul and worrying about her unborn baby and quickly fall into Karen falling madly into love with Jesse. It happened so quickly that if you blinked you would miss it. Of course she ends up saving Jesse from his broodiness and the book ends about how you would expect. It was a little disappointing to say the least.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.