One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

My Rating: 4.8

Emma marries Jesse, her high school sweet-heart. On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter that goes missing...and is gone. Fast forward 10 years and Emma has rebuilt her life, now running her parent's book store and engaged to Sam, her childhood friend. It feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness, until Jesse is found, alive!

I admit, I thought this was going to be cheezy. I wasn't expecting to fall in love with it, let alone wish that I had read this for bookclub as it would have made a GREAT discussion. The characters were real and well developed and nothing felt pat or easy. It was a quick easy read without being fluffy. I loved how it unfolded as well as the ending. 

The Face On The Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney

My Rating: 3.4

A 16 year old girl recognizes herself as the face of the missing child on the milk carton. Janie can't believe her loving parents kidnapped her. She realizes that there are no photos of her before she was 5 years old and other things don't add up. She starts to have memories and can't let go of wondering if she was kidnapped twelve years ago.

I enjoyed this book enough to get out book #2 and #3 from the library but, also was disappointed to discover that, despite being made into a movie, this is not based on a true story. I also felt that this was REALLY long and am concerned the sequels will be 'milking' (ha!) this even further. It definitely should have been edited down so it didn't drag so much. Still, a quick easy read.

The Night Before by Wendy Walker

My Rating: 3.2

Lori falls fast and hard for the wrong kind of men. Her sister Rosie who is happily married with a child is the 'steady' one in the family. You know that something has happened in Lori's past and you just aren't sure if it happened to Lori or she was the one who did something. Lori decides to try online dating and meets a man but doesn't come home from the date. Rosie and her husband and their childhood friend Gabe all try to track down Lori and it unfolds from there.

I loved the timeline going from Rosie and her husband in current day looking for Lori to the flashbacks to childhood as well as to Lori going out on the date. I enjoyed this until the last 1/4 which took a sudden turn in the plotline and got so horrifically cheezy that it lost me. So sad as I really did enjoy the first 3/4 of this book.

Bookmarks Sept/Oct 2019

I am always SO excited to get my Bookmarks magazine!  It has been crazy insane (more on what is going on in a video this Tuesday) but this couldn't have been more perfect timing! I don't know how to procrastinate so, when I walked to my mailbox and discovered this gem waiting for me, I immediately sought out a quiet corner in my house to curl up and devour this fabulous magazine. Such a needed escape!


      

      
   

The Baker's Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan

My Rating: 4.7

Emma is 22 years old and learning to bake since she was 13 under the tutelage of Ezra. With the Nazi occupation of her town, life changes completely. Emma has no hope of the Allied forces rescuing them but she can't handle seeing her fellow townfolk starving so, she does what she can to help them.

I really enjoyed this. Even though Emma didn't have hope of rescue, she provided hope to her fellow townfolk. It is amazing how much the human spirit can endure and survive and this captures the feeling of being one of the townfolk trying to survive.

The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason

My Rating: 4.9

Vienna, 1914. Lucius is a twenty-two-year-old medical student when World War I explodes across Europe. Enraptured by romantic tales of battlefield surgery, he enlists, expecting a position at a well-organized field hospital. But when he arrives, at a commandeered church tucked away high in a remote valley of the Carpathian Mountains, he finds a freezing outpost ravaged by typhus. The other doctors have fled, and only a single, mysterious nurse named Sister Margarete remains.

This book won't be for everyone as it does lag at times. For me, the beautiful writing propelled it along. I truly FELT each scene - the weather, the war, the emotions - and that will stay with me. Absolutely gorgeous but not a light fluffy read and at times, I didn't like where the plot went but again, the writing held me to the end. Will definitely get more by this author.

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg

My Rating: 4.6

Three different people. who find their way back from loss and loneliness to a different kind of happiness. Arthur, a widow, meets Maddy, a troubled teenage girl who is avoiding school by hiding out at the cemetery, where Arthur goes every day for lunch to have imaginary conversations with his late wife, and think about the lives of others. The two strike up a friendship that draws them out of isolation. With Arthur’s nosy neighbor Lucille, they create a loving and unconventional family, proving that life’s most precious moments are sweeter when shared.

This was a heartwarming story that I didn't want to end. I particularly loved Arthur - the epitame of the sweet quirky old man that captures your heart

The Liar's Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard

My Rating: 4.8

At St John's College in Dublin, Will and Alison are dating. Flash forward 10 years to when Alison is living in the Netherlands and Will is in a psychiatric hospital for being the most prolific serial killer in Ireland's history.

The Garda detectives visit Will to see if he can assist them in solving what looks like a copycat killing. Instead, Will tells them he has something new to confess-but there's only one person he's prepared to confess it to, and she doesn't want to have anything to do with the past she has worked so hard to put behind her.

This delicious story was like popcorn - light and I couldn't get enough. 

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

My Rating: 4.2

15 years ago, Emma and 3 other girls share a cabin at summer camp. When the other 3 girls sneak out and never return, it haunts Emma.

Fast forward 15 years and Franny, the owner of the camp, decides to reopen it and invites Emma back. It is immediately apparent that things are not right.

This had me second guessing the ending....right up until the ending (although I think my ending was better HA!) It was good but, rather repetitive and the 'sense of foreboding' seemed contrived. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if it had moved at a faster pace. 

My Name Is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

My rating: 4.9

It is the 1800's and Mary is a brilliant young midwife who dreams of becoming a surgeon. Mary travels to Washington D.C. to help tend the wounded from the Civil War.

This was wonderful in the details of the Civil War as well as the horrible lack of medical equipment and knowledge. I learned a lot and found this such a wonderful perspective of the every day person (vs the slave or the soldier) that I hadn't heard before. Very readable and I cared about all the characters. I can't wait to read the sequel to this! Definite recommend!

Watching Edie by Camilla Way

My Rating: 4.6

Edie was a charismatic teenager who got in with the wrong crowd. Now at 33 yo, she is working as a waitress and pregnant. When she becomes overwhelmed by the needs of her new baby and sinks into a bleak despair, when her former best friend Heather shows up on her doorstep. She hasn't seen Heather for 17 years and now she has to decide how much she can trust her.

I didn't see the twist coming. I enjoyed this quick paced thriller. Warning, some graphic/uncomfortable parts.

The Lies We Told by Camilla Way

My Rating: 4.4

Clara's boyfriend, Luke, disappears, everyone believes that he's left her or that he went out for a night on the town and stayed with a friend but will be back. Recent evidence suggests that Luke had a stalker, and Clara worries that he's been kidnapped. Then Luke's older sister, Emily, who vanished twenty years ago, suddenly reappears.

This was entertaining but the last chapter was obviously trying to set things up for a sequel. It felt weird and I didn't like that. I did enjoy the rest of the book. 

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..