Friday, May 31, 2019

The Glass Mermaid

Title: The Glass Mermaid
Author: Poppy Lawrence
Publisher: Capture
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: For Fun
 
Thoughts: Beautiful, bittersweet fantasy romance.

Rating: 4/5

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Indebted

Title: Indebted
Author: Charmayne Hafen
Publisher: Capture
ISBN: n/a

Why Read?: Early Review
  
Thoughts: I have no problem with religious fantasy, but the Bible as we know it seemed very out of place in a world plagued by dragons.

Rating: 2/5

The In-Betweener

Title: The In-Betweener
Author: Ann Christy
Publisher: self
ISBN: n/a

Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: This whole story - not just the flashbacks - felt like a long exposition.

Rating: 3/5

Monday, May 27, 2019

Panic

Title: Panic
Author: Harold Schecter
Publisher: Amazon
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: So far, the best of the Bloodlands series, focusing on multiple similar gruesome crimes, that happened over the course of a few months in 1939.

Rating: 5/5

Married at Midnight

Title: Married at Midnight
Author: Gerri Russell
Publisher: Montlake
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: First Reads
  
Thoughts: Just plain fun rom-com.

Rating: 4/5

The Brick Slayer

Title: The Brick Slayer
Author: Harold Schecter
Publisher: Amazon
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: An interesting case I have never heard of, but I am not quite sure if the Afterword was conjecture or fact.

Rating: 3/5

Occasional Magic

Title: The Moth Presents Occasional Magic: True Stories About Defying the Impossible
Author: Catherine Burns, ed.
Publisher: Crown Archetype
ISBN: 9781101904428
Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: Highly compelling, uplifting, and heart-tugging anthology of personal essays.

Rating: 5/5

More Than Words

Title: More Than Words
Author: Jill Santopolo
Publisher: Books on Tape
ISBN: n9780525590736
Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: Very character-driven work; unfortunately, nothing made me care about any of them.

Rating: 2/5

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Trust Exercise

Title: Trust Exercise
Author: Susan Choi
Publisher: Henry Holt
ISBN: 9781250309884

Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: This books is designed to make you feel off-kilter, which I believe is what Choi was going for, and it definitely makes you ponder a lot at the end, but there still seemed to be something missing to make me enjoy it.

Rating: 2/5

Girl, Stop Appologizing

Title: Girl, Stop Appologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embrazing and Achieving Your Goals
Author: Rachel Hollis
Publisher: HarperCollins Leadership
ISBN: 9781400209606

Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: This book was so not written for me, and that might be why I felt Hollis was very self-aggrandizing.

Rating: 1/5

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Southern Lady Code

Title: Southern Lady Code
Author: Helen Ellis
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: Hilarious personal essays and advice; all are even better read by the author.

Rating: 5/5

And Then He Kissed Me

Title: And Then He Kissed Me
Author: Kim Amos
Publisher: Forever
ISBN: 9781455557493
Why Read?: Fresh Fiction
  
Thoughts: Small town romance that took me a while to get into, but had a great ending.

Rating: 3/5

Saturday, May 11, 2019

Stacking the Shelves: 4/28-5/10

LibraryThing Early Review:
Emeralds and Envy by Angela McRae

Bought from Scholastic:
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
The Girl in the Locked Room by Mary Downing Hahn

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

A Thousand Dances

Title: A Thousand Dances
Author: Sara Holliday
Publisher: Coral
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: Early Review
  
Thoughts: Interesting historical mystery, but I think Holliday (who is America) was trying too hard to sound British - especially 60s Mod - that it made reading difficult at points.

Rating: 3/5

Whiskey in a Teacup

Title: Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits
Author: Reese Witherspoon
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: n/a

Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: Fun, light reading about Southern hospitality, but probably better as a physical book than an audiobook.

Rating: 3/5

Friday, May 3, 2019

Nine Perfect Strangers

Title: Nine Perfect Strangers
Author: Liane Moriarty
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: Some really great moments with emotions all over, but a little slow at times.

Rating: 3/5

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Parasyte Vol. 1

Title: Parasyte Vol. 1
Author: Hitoshi Iwaaki
Publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781632365279

Why Read?: For Fun
  
Thoughts: The manga has held up really well over the last few decades and is still enjoyable today.

Rating: 4/5

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

The Vintner and the Vixen

Title: The Vintner and the Vixen
Author: Alexia Adams
Publisher: self
ISBN: 9780993912610

Why Read?: Fresh Fiction
  
Thoughts: Rather unconvincing plot with not fully-rounded characters.

Rating: 2/5

Close Your Eyes

Title: Close Your Eyes
Author: Paul Jessup
Publisher: Apex
ISBN: 9781370248957

Why Read?: Early Review
  
Thoughts: Very confusing cyber punk space opera.  I really had no clue what was happening.

Rating: 1/5

Roosevelt's Beast

Title: Roosevelt's Beast
Author: Louis Baynard
Publisher: Henry Holt
ISBN: 9780805090703
Why Read?: First Reads
  
Thoughts: Rather uneven in terms of pacing.  Not one of Baynard's best.

Rating: 2/5
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