Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy by Martin Lindstrom

My Rating: 4.7

People are predictable, and companies capitalize on this! There was also some shocking things like how they intentionally target children while they are in the womb!! How they capitalize on our paranoia and so much more.

I consider myself pretty aware of the gimmicks used to get us to buy but I still found this very interesting. Whether you are aware or not, this is a great reminder of the ways that they entice us to buy.

Bookmarks Magazine May/June 2019

I always love when my Bookmarks Magazine arrives in the mail. I enjoy devouring it with the fabulous articles, upcoming releases, books being made into movies as well as the book reviews. As always, I will take this issue with me on upcoming plane trips and glean a lot more so let me know if you think I missed any books!

How have I never heard of Canadian author Miriam Toews?  I am very intrigued to read some of her works:
    

Here are the other books  that jumped out at me first time through:
       

I already have these in my library queue as they were in previous bookmarks:
    

Let me know your picks or what good books you have been reading recently as I always love hearing from you!

That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam

My Rating: 3.0

Rebecca is a new mother who is deeply in love and also deeply overwhelmed by her newborn son. Priscilla works at the hospital and helps Rebecca navigate new motherhood so easily that she begs Priscilla to come home with her and be her nanny. Rebecca is white and Priscilla is black and much of the book is centered around questioning what that means.

I was torn as to how rate/review this book. It had such promise and even the highly literate rambling thoughts of Rebecca drew me in for a while. It explores, race, motherhood and adoption so well. At some point, it all became too much and I felt like I was getting beaten over the head with the privilege vs. prejudice. Rebecca's once intriguing rambling thoughts seemed neurotic and there were too many angry people with no plot to help sustain them. I would be open to reading something else by Alam in future but don't recommend this.

Far From The Tree by Robin Benway

My Rating: 4.7

This is about Grace, Maya and Joaquin. It starts off from Grace's perspective. Grace is an only child who was adopted at birth. Teenage Grace puts her daughter up for adoption and decides she wants to look for her biological family....enter her bio siblings Maya and Joaquin.

I enjoyed this a lot. I loved the audio version and all the characters but the voice I liked most was Grace's boyfriend Raiph...he was sweet and funny and so endearing. This had so many different messages and all of them were good.

The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

My Rating: 4.6

Abi is woken up with a phone call that is every mother's nightmare...her 17 year old daughter Olivia fell off of a bridge and is in a coma. At the hospital, Abi sees bruises on her daughters wrist and suspects foul play. Abi also finds out her daughter is brain dead and pregnant and must be kept on life support until the baby's birth. This is told in flashbacks, trying to piece together what happened that led up to this.

I really enjoyed this book told through multiple points of view. It was interesting knowing Olivia was in a coma to have her come to life in the flashbacks. I had many thoughts of what happened but didn't have it figured out. Very enjoyable and will definitely read more by McDonald.

The One by John Marr

My Rating: 4.6

This was such an interesting premise: what if there was a simple DNA test you could take and you would know who is your match...the one for you. That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA who found the gene that identifies each person's soul mate. Would you be tested?

Millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.

This book centers on the lives of five very different people who have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love.

I loved this and it made me wonder, would I take the test. I loved the ending and agree wholeheartedly with the conclusion!

Don't Wake Up by Liz Lawler

My Rating: 1.5

Alex wakes up with a man standing over her who isn't a doctor insisting she make a choice or face horrific consequences. Once Alex re-awakens unharmed, no one believes anything happened to her. Then some truly unbelievable things start to unfold.

All the characters were shallow but Laura was so ridiculous she felt thinner than the paper of the page - horrifically stupid. The plot was EXTREMELY unrealistic but I tried to go with it.  Wrong decision as the author had so many holes in police investigations, doctor protocol and most especially how to make a character sympathetic or even likable. Top all of that off with the audio version being an American accent of a supposedly British book. UGH! Definitely don't waste your time. I have to wonder at the positive reviews as this book was truly awful.

The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth

My Rating: 3.4

Three neighbors, Ange, Fran and Essie, all have secrets. When Isabelle, a single woman, moves into this family cul-de-sac, everyone wonders why. As they get to know Isabelle, secrets start to be revealed

I enjoyed the multiple POVs and how it made you feel the absolutely and total exhaustion of motherhood. It also captured many nuances of Australia life. The reason I didn't rate it higher is that none of the characters had depth and all felt a bit of martyrs with their woe is me or hard done by attitudes for things in their life. It felt that no one had passion and they were all quite flat. Still, I would read more by Hepworth.

Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

 My Rating: 4.0

Charlotte/Charlie is 17 years old and has been through many traumatic events. After receiving minimal therapy during a stay at an institution, she is about to be released to embark on life on her own.

This is a raw look at self harm. The writing is done in short snippets which made it hard for me to get in to the book. I did eventually get drawn in but then, I felt that there were SO MANY issues with all of the characters that I got numb. I would have preferred we had just the one main character and followed her journey. 

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Henricks & Sarah Pekkanen

My Rating: 3.0

Jessica signs up for a psychology study but s the questions grow more intense, Jessica feels that the psychiatrist conducting the study may know what she is thinking.

This had a very unique plot line and an ending that I didn't figure out till near the end. So why didn't I love this more? This was another case of a female character without a brain. She did such stupid things. I also felt that the book dragged on and on. This was written in the 2nd person and a very passive voice.  Disappointing when it had such potential.

The Year of Yes by Shomda Rhimes

My Rating: 5.0

This poignant, intimate, and hilarious memoir explores Shonda’s life before her Year of Yes—from her nerdy, book-loving childhood to her devotion to creating television characters who reflected the world she saw around her. The book chronicles her life after her Year of Yes had begun—when Shonda forced herself out of the house and onto the stage; when she learned to explore, empower, applaud, and love her truest self. Yes.

Three things that stand out for me about this book:
1. I have never sat down and devoured a book cover-to-cover before
2. I have never laughed so hard
3. Every memoir/self-help book should be so real, honest & fabulous

What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty

My Rating: 4.6

Alice wakes up on the floor of a gym.  Apparently she has fallen off a treadmill and hit her head. She is worried if her first pregnancy baby is ok. She is whisked off to the hospital only to discover that it is 10 years past what she last remembers - and she has three children! As Alice tries to piece together everything that she has missed in the last 10 years, she also tries to figure out how she got to this point in her life and if this is where she wants to be.

In typical Moriarty fashion, she has come up with a unique plot that makes you wonder "how would I feel if that happened to me!".  I found this very intriguing from the first page and, as it unfolded, I kept wanting to know how it would end. Wonderful easy read. 

The Witch's Elm by Tana French

My Rating: 4.7

Toby considers himself lucky. He just avoided a potential issue with work and is out having a drink at the pub with his lads. He goes home and is woken in the middle of the night to burglars in the other room. He confronts them with nothing except a candlestick and wakes up in really BAD shape in the hospital.

Toby's Uncle Hugo has terminal cancer so, Toby decides to go to the family ancestral home and take care of Uncle Hugo and recuperate from his own injuries. When a skull is found in the old Witch's Elm tree and detectives start asking questions, Toby isn't sure what he remembers and what is real.

Do NOT read too much as the ending is great and I wouldn't want it spoiled for you. As always, Tana's writing and ability to pull you in to the characters and the mystery are without parallel. I think I may love the Dublin Murder series a bit more but this was fabulous. Get the audio version from your library!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

My Rating: 4.9

Alicia is a famous painter with an affluent life and very in love with her husband Gabriel. This makes it so shocking when Alicia shoots Gabriel five times in the face. Not only that she would shoot her husband but, that she chooses to be silent...not one word since the crime. She is now in a criminal asylum.

Theo is a criminal psychotherapist who wants to work on Alicia's case and help her that he goes to the extreme of getting a job at the criminal asylum and getting assigned to her case.

The story unfolds from there.

This gives background on both Theo and Alicia as well as their current day interaction. I have been put off lately by all the thrillers that don't deliver so didn't have high hopes for this one. I am happy to say, it delivered! This may be the best book of this genre that I have read.  Thoroughly enjoyed it!

We'll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss

My Rating: 4.5

Told through letters from death row and third-person narrative, this unravels the string of events that landed a teenager in jail. Luke feels like he’s been looking after Toby his entire life. He patches Toby up when Toby’s father, a drunk and a petty criminal, beats on him, he gives him a place to stay, and he diffuses the situation at school when wise-cracking Toby inevitably gets into fights. Someday, Luke and Toby will leave this small town, riding the tails of Luke’s wrestling scholarship, and never look back.

This was a difficult read but so moving. So many tense moments held together by the dreams of what could be. This was very sad and emotional in the unfolding.