The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow

My Rating: 5.0

This extremely gritty novel follows DEA Agent Art Keller in his hunt for the Berrera Brothers and their drug cartel. From the streets of New York City to Mexico City and Tijuana to the jungles of Central America, this is the war on drugs like you’ve never seen it.

This is so graphic, real and gritty. The torture, sex and drugs will haunt you...as will the reality of what is going on. I googled so many things in this book and they were all true! I think all men would love this book about the war on drugs with Mexico and Central America. This is the Sopranos combined with Pablo Escobar - on steroids. Although this is labeled as fiction, every single thing I googled was fact so I would label this as historical fiction (the names have been changed to protect the guilty). This is being made into a Netflix movie and I can't wait! I will definitely be reading the other two books in the trilogy. Wow. Absolutely stellar

Bookmarks Magazine July/August

I always get so excited when my favorite magazine arrives in the mail. Here are the selections that jump out at me at first glance:
      
         

I already have this one in my queue thanks to a previous edition of Bookmarks and my book-twin Jeana:


I absolutely loved The Dog Stars and how Heller captures nature so I had to add this one:

The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda

My Rating: 3.0

Kelsey's mom was kidnapped when she was 17 years old. She hasn't been outside their home since she escaped and had Kelsey. Kelsey knows very little of that time except the extreme fear and precautionary measures her mother gets her to take. When Kelsey is in an accident that gets press coverage, she suddenly finds out a lot of things her mother has been hiding from her.

I loved the first half of the book but then so sad when it fell apart and the ending was just meh. Hate when that happens..

Weaving the Strands #2 by Barbara Hinske

My Rating: 4.7

This is #2 in the Coming to Rosemont Series. Maggie continues her life in Westbury. She is facing a lot of criticism from her job, she has too many guests for Thanksgiving dinner and just has her hands full all around.

This is a fast, fun and wholesome read. So enjoyable. I will definitely be reading more in this series.

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

My Rating: 4.9

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late 60's, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

 Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

This is such a unique book. I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to like it and then I fell in love with it! It is told in the form of an interview style (picture members of Led Zepplin, Motley Crew, Ozzy Osbourne or The Beatles but with more pop style music-- being interviewed by The Rolling Stones Magazine). I loved all the various perspectives and you felt like you really knew these characters and were a fan of the band. Definite recommend and the audio was great as well.

Coming To Rosemont by Barbara Hinske

My Rating: 4.6

When Maggie's husband dies of a heart attack, she finds out he has been keeping a lot of secrets....including that he inherited a beautiful mansion called Rosemont in a small town in the Midwest called Westbury. Maggie goes to Westbury fully intended to sell Rosemont and instead falls in love with it. She makes an impulsive decision to sell everything from her California life and start fresh by moving to Rosemont.

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful feel-good book. I loved all the characters (ok, not the bad guys lol!) including the dog Eve. It made me want to move to Westbury. This is a wholesome book without being syrupy. If you want a wonderful uplifting book that will keep you entertained, this is it!

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

My Rating: 2.0

When Ren's master dies, he has to find his finger to reunite it with the body. Ren has to do this in 49 days after his master's death or his soul will forever roam the earth.

Ji Lin wants to be a doctor but, as a girl in 1930's Malaysia a dressmaker is the best she can hope for. Ji Lin also moonlights as a dancehall girl to help pay off her beloved mother's Mahjong debts. One night, Ji Lin's dance partner leaves her with a gruesome souvenir: a severed finger. Convinced the finger is bad luck, Ji Lin enlists the help of her erstwhile stepbrother to return it to its rightful owner.

As the 49 days tick down, and a prowling tiger wreaks havoc on the town, Ji Lin and Ren's lives intertwine in ways they could never have imagined.

I know I am in the minority in my rating of this book but I thought it was awful. It isn't that Choo is a bad author as I quite enjoyed the writing. It is that the story was absolutely boring. Throwing in some touches of local customs and folklore doesn't a story make. The characters were flat and there was no story other than what I put above. I should have stopped reading this as it was a complete waste of time. Definitely do not recommend. If this is an indication of Reese Witherspoon's book picks, I will skipping them. UGH!

Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

My Rating: 4.8

It is in the 1960's in North Carolina with two stories unfolding.  One is of Kya Clark, the Marsh Girl, who has had her family abandon her and she is forced to raise herself.  The other is of the discover of the dead body if Chase Andrews.

This is a quiet and beautiful read. It captures the marsh, the creatures and living life alone. The beauty of the gulls, the sand and discovering the smallest of creatures. It unfolds in such beauty that you don't want it to end...or for man to encroach on that peace. It is a coming of age story that captures live in the Carolinas. Loved it!

Captivate by Vanessa Van Edwards

My Rating: 2.3

Do you feel awkward at networking events? Do you wonder what your date really thinks of you? Do you wish you could decode people? Apparently, you need to learn the science of people.

This seemed more geared towards someone who is completely lost when it comes to reading people and their facial expressions...like COMPLETELY lost. I don't know anyone who is this inept at reading people. Maybe I have exceptional interpersonal skills (NOT!) but even when I got others who I viewed as less socially adept to take the quiz in this book, everyone scored very well. This book seemed very rudimentary without anything groundbreaking. Overall, this felt quite fluffy with advice like "don't force yourself to do things you don't want to do" and not anything amazing. 

The Banker's Wife by Cristina Alger

My Rating: 4.5

Matthew and Annabel are living in Geneva for Matthew's job that is working as a banker at Swiss United.  A couple boards a private plane bound for Geneva, when the plane disappears. It's wreckage is uncovered in the Alps with Matthew as one of the passengers.

Marina is a journalist who is engaged to Grant. Marina's future father-in-law is running for President. As she starts exploring the story of Swiss United, she realizes that she is disturbing things that some want to be left alone.

Love that this is filled with strong smart female characters! You get pulled into the world of offshore banking and the twists of this mystery/thriller. The writing is not nobel prize worthy but it was a fun entertaining read and I would read more by Alger.

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

My Rating: 4.9

What does every couple do to spice up their marriage.....agree to murder someone of course! This is told by the husband about his wife Millicent and their two children Rory and Jeana...and how they decide to spice up their marriage.

Oh wow, my head is still spinning with the ending. WOW! Do not read too much about this. Just read it.  Hold on for the ride and enjoy the twists!

Emma In The Night by Wendy Walker

My Rating: 4.7

Three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared. When Cass shows up on her mother's doorstep without her sister Emma, a game of cat and mouse ensues.

This psychological thriller had lots of layers. Every chapter got more twisted as it revealed their history and the depravity of the characters. While I knew that Cass couldn't be trusted, I didn't see the ending or the many twists that happened. Loved it! This was great on audio.

American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson

My Rating: 2.8

1986 during the Cold War, Marie as a young black woman, is finally given her chance with the FBI to make a name for herself. She is given an assignment to undermine Thomas Sankara, the charismatic revolutionary president of Burkina Faso whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention

This was a unique twist in that this was written as Marie writing the story to her twin boys along with the unfolding of her being an FBI agent / spy. I think this started off with a lot of promise and then quickly dwindled from there. It had too many different agendas and dragged on too long for me.

For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn

My Rating:  1.5

This is a collection of surveys sharing that men want respect vs women wanting love, that sex is a man's way of connecting, that they are visual and a bunch more basic ground-breaking discoveries that Feldhahn claims to have made from her discovery while admitting she plagiarized others work.

The author is very taken with herself and her "discoveries" and yet, it appears she stole all of her "findings" from Dr. Emerson Eggerichs who she does give credit to. I don't know why she had to rewrite his book and recommend you read the much better written Dr Eggerich's Love & Respect book. Her delivery on the audio is very annoying.Definitely do not recommend.

This is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay

My Rating: 4.6

Welcome to 97-hour weeks. Welcome to life and death decisions. Welcome to a constant tsunami of bodily fluids. Welcome to earning less than the hospital parking meter. Wave goodbye to your friends and relationships. Welcome to the life of a junior doctor. Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, comedian and former junior doctor Adam Kay’s This Is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line (with a foreword attempting to explain the National Health Service to a non-UK audience). Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking by turns, this is everything you wanted to know—and more than a few things you didn't—about life on and off the hospital ward. And yes, it may leave a scar.

This definitely has both comedy and tragedy as it looks at healthcare (and even though it is in Britain, most countries have similar challenges). I would think any pre-med student would reconsider their career choice if they read this book. There is a lot of British coloquelism and medical terms that are footnoted but not easy to reference on a kindle but I still found it easy to follow along and got some good chuckles.