How To Stop Time by Matt Haig

Rating: 3.0

Tom has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. Tom has lived history--performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life. Not aging sounds like a great problem to have but, when people start noticing, it is time to move.

This flashes back and forth in time showing us the many lives that Tom has lived.  While this started off as enjoyable it quickly felt like a forced history lesson and it dragged (maybe how Tom felt living so long). A better time travel book would be The Time Traveler's Wife

Our Kind of Cruelty by Arminta Hall

My Rating: 3.5

After a brutal childhood, Mike has met the love of his life in Verity. V taught him about love, and in return, Mike has dedicated his life to making her happy. He’s found the perfect home, the perfect job, he’s sculpted himself into the physical ideal V has always wanted. He knows they’ll be blissfully happy together.

It doesn’t matter that she hasn’t been returning his emails or phone calls. It doesn’t matter that she says she’s marrying Angus. It’s all just part of the secret game they used to play. If Mike watches V closely, he’ll see the signs. If he keeps track of her every move he’ll know just when to come to her rescue.

Despite having some slower sections, I felt that this was a page turner so, why didn't I rate it higher?  The ending drove me as crazy as Mike! I have so many questions. I don't like books that tie up in a neat bow but, I truly didn't know what to think at the end and that frustrated me.  No matter who was in on what, this was about a lot of craziness.Don't read this if you think there is a big reveal or surprise as there is not.

Us Against You by Fredrick Backman

My Rating:4.9

This is a continuation of Beartown's hockey team vs the neighboring town of Hed's hockey team as well as the other residents of this remote Swedish town. This is about so much more than hockey.

Backman's simple sentence structure is so powerful. In my opinion, you have to read the 1st book in this series which is Beartown in order to understand Us Against You. 

The Name of the Wind by Philip Rothfuss

My rating: 5.0

This flashes back and forth in time between modern day when Kvothe is an innkeeper and back to his youth. He recalls how he grew up with amazing loving parents in a troupe and how they were family who fostered him to grow into the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

What an amazing writer. This reminded me of a much more mature version of Harry Potter with less magic. The back story on the gods was a bit tiresome (picture reading about Greek Gods) but I loved the rest and will definitely be reading the other books in this series.

The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner

My Rating: 4.2

A young mother disappears leaving behind her husband and four year old daughter. Detective Sergeant D. D. Warren senses something off about the picture of wholesome normality the couple worked so hard to create. On the surface, Jason and Sandra Jones are like any other hardworking young couple raising a four-year-old child. But it is just under the surface that things grew murky.

I am enjoying this series but this wasn't my favorite of the four I have read so far. Still, I will keep reading to see what else unfolds in this twisted, thriller, series.