As followers of this blog may know, Lisa Gardner is an author that I enjoy and look forward to reading. Touch & Go brings back the character of Tessa Leoni from Love You More and this time she is trying to rescue a family from their abductors before time runs out. Like most of Lisa Gardner's novels, there is usually an unexpected twist at the end and this novel did not disappoint. Lisa Gardner always pens a good thriller and Touch & Go should be added to that long list.
The Rosie Effect is the followup to the very successful The Rosie Project, which I read and really enjoyed. I thought The Rosie Project was a fun read and offered something different from what I had been reading. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this sequel.
To me, what made The Rosie Project a good book had much to do with the interaction between the two main characters and that is lacking in this second book. There were some humorous scenes in this second book, but I don't think there were enough to merit recommending this book to others. However, I would recommend reading the first book The Rosie Project as I enjoyed it very much. I was really looking forward to reading this book. The concept sounded interesting and I also thought it might be funny as well. Overall, I was disappointed. I think the characters could have been better developed and more relatable. I do think there are important issues that the book was trying to address, such as aging and grief and how that is handled at different ages. I feel the book failed at really working through everything that was there. It also bothered me that dialogue was shown in italics instead of quotation marks. For some reason, it made it difficult to follow. That combined with the three different narrators and then the passages with reflections by the narrators of times past, made it seem choppy to me. The ending also felt abrupt and unfinished. On the positive side, it was a quick read and certain passages were humorous. The book did make me spend some time thinking about how different people handle grief and aging.
When the written word moves you to tears, I think that is the sign of a superb book. The Time Between made me both laugh and cry. This novel is set in present day Charleston and Edisto Island, and also involves Hungary during World War II. We explore the lives of three Hungarian sisters Helena, Bernadett and Magda and the journeys their lives have taken from World War II to today. We also get to meet two sisters who grew up on Edisto Island, Eleanor and Eve, and have seen their own share of tragedy. Eleanor’s boss, Mr. Beaufain, hires her to serve as a companion for his elderly aunt Helena and Eleanor jumps at the opportunity to escape domestic issues of her own as well as revisit her childhood home Edisto Island. The relationship that develops between Eleanor and Helena is at the center of this book. Helena’s life isn’t quite what it seems and Eleanor is determined to find out more. Karen White is one of my very favorite authors and The Time Between is one of her best novels. This book would also make an excellent book club choice.
I received this book as part of the First Reads program on Goodreads and was really excited to read it. I had not read anything by Jennifer McMahon before and my cousin had recommended the book to me. The Winter People will definitely keep you reading late into the night. The story is very suspenseful and twisted. The writing is well paced and unfolds quickly. The author does an excellent job of character development and you feel like you know each character well. Honestly, this book is a little outside of what I normally read, but I did enjoy it and believe that fans of Steven King and Gillian Flynn should add this book to their to-read list.
This was the second book that I had read by Sarah Jio and I enjoyed it very much. Her earlier book The Violets of March was a great read as well, but I felt that you could really see how much she had grown as an author in this second selection.
The Last Camellia is a story told from two different perspectives. We meet Flora, who is traveling to England just prior to the beginning of World War II, to work as a nanny but her real purpose is to help flower thieves locate the elusive Middlebury Pink Camellia which is believed to be located on the estate. Flora uncovers mysterious happenings at the estate. We also meet Addison in present day who travels to the same estate and learns that some of those same mysteries were never solved. This is great book for fans of historical fiction. The Girl on the Train is a very suspenseful story and could definitely be read in one setting. It is written from three different perspectives. Rachel is the main protagonist and is certainly not without her own set of problems. Rachel drinks excessively and then blacks out, not remembering what has happened. She hasn't been able to move on from her divorce, and invents stories and personas for people that she sees in their homes while passing by on her daily train ride. Anna was the 'other woman' and is now married to Rachel's ex-husband. Anna is very disturbed by Rachel and is ready for Rachel to move on. Megan is one of the people that Rachel feels like she knows since she watches her each day on her train ride, but hasn't actually ever met her. Megan disappears and Rachel finds herself right in the middle of the case. This story is fast moving and has many twists and turns.
Tanglewood Plantation has all the makings of an interesting story. It weaves historical fiction, a little romance, ghost story, time travel/science fiction and mystery. It is a little bit of a bumpy ride, but I wanted to keep reading to see how the story would end. This book is a quick read and fans of Southern Fiction should find it interesting.
The House on Mermaid Point is the third book in the Ten Beach Road series by Wendy Wax. This series is a fun read and The House on Mermaid Point was no exception. The book further the stories of Avery, Maddie, Kyra, Deidre and Natalie. They were all thrown together in the first book of the series Ten Beach Road, and remodeled a home together, which created a reality tv show called Do Over. The House on Mermaid Point finds them on their way to Key West for a new season of Do Over. It also introduces William Hightower, a rock star/recovering addict, who is the homeowner and is definitely against the entire construction project. I enjoyed the way the characters grew throughout the book and look forward to future books in this series. I was able to escape to Key West and enjoyed my literary vacation.
I first heard about this book on the Facebook page of one of my favorite authors Kate Morton. She rarely recommends a book, but she gave this book a glowing recommendation so it immediately went on my 'to read' list. Of course, it was also on many Best Books of 2014 lists, so I was really looking forward to reading it. I was definitely not disappointed. In All the Light We Cannot See, you meet Marie Laure, who at the age of 6 becomes blind. Her father builds her a miniature version of their neighborhood in Paris so that she can learn to navigate the real area on her own. When the Nazis invade France, Marie Laure and her father go to Saint Malo to stay with her uncle Etienne. Marie Laure's strength throughout her life was inspiring. You also meet Werner and his younger sister Jutta who are growing up in an orphanage in a mining town in Germany. Werner is a genuinely curious boy and learns to repair radios, which sets him on a different journey than what he expected. Werner's story caused me to think about all of the young Nazi soldiers and what so many of them endured as well. As you read their alternating stories, you begin to wonder how their lives are going to intersect. This book is a very engaging story and the author does a fantastic job of character development. I was very interested in learning more about even the more minor characters and the journeys their lives took. If you are a fan of historical fiction, this should be on your must read list.
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