2 Book Lovers Reviews
November - 2019
Book Review:
Breakfast at Tiffany's
By Truman Capote
So, I listened to Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I never saw the movie, but I loved the song. I can’t say that I know anyone who didn’t like it. It was enough to make me want to read Capote’s book.
There are certain books that everyone knows, even though they haven’t read them. Breakfast at Tiffany’s was one such book for me. When I saw it on a daily Audible deal, I thought that it was a great chance to experience it.
*Read my full review...
October - 2019
Book Review:
Rewind
By Catherine Ryan Howard
Catherine Howard intrigued me with her concept and synopsis. I love a story that kicks off with a heinous violent crime (a fictional story anyway). Rewind is a classic who-done-it.
The concept and execution may be lost on the younger generation. Rewind read like a cassette tape…fast forward to this…pause here…rewind to get the back details.
*Read my full review...
Book Review:
The Institute
By Stephen King
Once or twice a year I find myself reading a book by this Stephen King fellow. I’m starting to think that this guy might be able to quit his day job and make a go of it as a full-time author.
Some people just won’t have the patience for a book like this, I love the involved, detailed world building that King embellishes his stories with. I want to take my time and embed myself within his stories.
*Read my full review...
Book Review:
1Q84
By Haruki Murakami
1Q84 is an intimidating read to me. The hardcover is listed at 925 pages, I opted for the 46 hours and 45-minute Audible version.
Murakami took me 35 years into the past and half a world away. It was a mesmerizing journey.
There was a lot that I loved about 1Q84: the author’s patience, the careful world-building, the depth of characters.
*Read my full review...
September - 2019
Fall Reading!
There's nothing better than curling up with a good book! I've got some great reading planned for the fall months. Here are a few that are topping my list.
- The Institute - By Stephen King
- Chokehold - By David Moody
- The Lost Spear - By N.J. Croft
- 36 Righteous Men - By Steven Pressfield
- We Sold Our Souls - By Grady Hendrix
- This Book is Full of Spiders - By David Wong
- The Testaments - By Margaret Atwood
- The Twelve - By Justin Cronin
- The Rise of Magicks - By Nora Roberts
- Bubba Ho-Tep - By Joe R. Lansdale
Book Review:
Wanderers
By Chuck Wendig
I had a love/hate relationship with Chuck Wendig’s Wanderers.
I was first drawn into Wanderers by the fabulous synopsis. There is nothing I love more than a new unique twist on any type of apocalypse, and it looked like Chuck Wendig had just the thing for me.
I loved Wanderers. It is a fantastic story, filled with incredible characters.
Book Review:
Swan Song
By Robert R. McCammon
There are many authors who can tell a good story, who are creative and can capture my attention. But then there are those who create worlds that I can disappear into, and for a brief time, I can make this world a part of my life. This is what Robert McCammon did for me with Swan Song.
*Read my review...
Summer - 2019
Book Review:
Cannibal Nuns from Outer Space!
By Duncan P. Bradshaw
When it comes to creativity, corny one-liners and base humor, Duncan P. Bradshaw has it in spades.
I loved the concept of Cannibal Nuns from Outer Space! It’s a whole lot of fun to read Bradshaw’s synopses, they are always a bit tongue-in-cheek and this one goes above and beyond.
*Read my review...
Book Review:
Hideaway
By Nicole Lundrigan
This is my second go-around with Nicole Lundrigan and I continue to be impressed. She has a unique approach to her subject matter. Hideaway kicks off with a “you can’t do that,” but quickly escalates to a “what the *@#* do you think you’re doing?!”
Hideaway is told from two points of view: Rowan and his little sister, Maisy; the two unfortunate children of Gloria and Telly Janes.
*Read my review...
Book Review:
The Girl Without Skin
By Mads Peder Nordbo
I’m always looking for new-to-me Nordic Noir. Greenland, hmm…now that’s different, a little bit New World, yet still under the dominion of Denmark. This could be something with a new twist. Toss in a mummified Viking corpse – sign me up!
The Girl Without Skin was not what I expected or hoped for.
*Read my review...
June 21st, 2019
Summer Reading
Now that summer is officially here, it seems like a perfect time to plan out some of my summer reading. There are some light and heavy topics, but I hope that all of them hit the spot!
1- Into the Water - By Paula Hawkins
2- Cannibal Nuns from Outer Space - By Duncan Bradshaw
3- Hideaway - By Nicole Lundrigan
4- 'Salem's Lot - By Stephen King
5 - Fool - By Christopher Moore
June 11th, 2019
Book Review:
Hope for the Wicked
By Edward Lorn
I’ve been reading a lot of traditionally published books lately, you know the ones, with a team of editors, proofreaders, and marketing experts behind them. More often than not they’re good books, while at the same time, they can be a little vanilla. One of the so-called experts decides you can’t do this or that, someone might get offended, or worse yet, triggered.
*Read my review...
June 4th, 2019
New Release & Review:
Another Life
By Robert Haller
The famous “coming of age” story; you could say that it’s been done to death, but with each generation of authors there is always something fresh and new to the genre: the era, the locale, the gender of the protagonist or protagonists, as the case may be.
*Read my review...
May 31st, 2019
Weekend Audiobook Recommendations!
- Sci-Fi - Hyperion - By Dan Simmons - This book was excellent! I'm already looking forward to the next one in this series. Read my review.
- Thriller - Cemetery Road - By Greg Iles- Read my review.
- Horror/Dystopian - All Roads End Here - By David Moody - If you like dark stories that take you where you might not want/expect to go, read /listen to this author's books! - Read my review.
May 24th, 2019
Long Weekend Reading!
If you're looking for a book to read over the weekend, I have a few recommendations for you.
-Horror - N0S4A2 - By Joe Hill - This book is going to be on the small screen (AMC) in June, but we all know that
the book is always better! Read my review.
- Thriller - The Homecoming - By Andrew Pyper - Read my review.
- Mythology/Historical - Circe - By Madeline Miller - Read my review.
- A good laugh - Lamb - By Christopher Moore - Read my review.
Chokehold
By David Moody
Week of Nov. 11/2019
Steven Pressfield has put his own unique twist on the apocalypse/future that we are hurdling towards. Set in the not too distant future, Pressfield’s characters are not only dealing with a bloodthirsty killer, but also the natural elements that have evolved and are out of control.
36 Righteous Men is a book of layers. It is a murder mystery slash thriller mixed up with futuristic environmental touches and a flash of religious fiction.
Week of Nov. 11/2019
Twenty-one Truths About Love
By Matthew Dicks
This week's list of new
releases is posted below.
It's a great week to curl up
with a good book! Let's
read!
It seems as though I’ve
finally hit my reading stride
now that 2019 is almost over,
but better late than never.
Evvie Drake Starts Over
had been on my to-be-read
list since its release and,
while I’m kicking myself for
not reading it sooner, I’m
just so glad that I finally did. I was completely charmed
by this novel.
Fall Reading!
This is the perfect season to get cozy and fall into a good book! These are just a few that are topping my fall reading list. Of course, I am a mood reader, so my lists are always subject to change, and since we are heading into the Halloween season, I may just have to add a creepy read to my list!
- Twice in a Blue Moon - By Christina Lauren
- Twenty-One Truths About Love - By Matthew
Dicks
- Perfectly Adequate - By Jewel E. Ann
- Parallel Duet - By Elizabeth O'Roark
- Skin (A 44 Chapters Novel) - By B.B. Easton ->It's getting turned into a Netflix series!
- Calico Descending - By Keri Lake
- Husband Material - By Emily Belden
- Strange the Dreamer - By Laini Taylor ->A strong recommendation from my blogging partner!
- Regretting You - By Colleen Hoover
- Where the Crawdads Sing - By Delia Owens
This Week's New Releases!
- Insatiable: A Cloverleigh Farms Standalone – By Melanie Harlow
I didn’t mean to see him naked--it was an accident.
It had to be, right?
Because Noah McCormick and I have never been anything more than friends. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s never once laid a finger on me. And even though he was a cute lifeguard at 16 and a hotter-than-hell sheriff’s deputy at 34, he's always been that protective guy I could trust to keep his hands to himself. I never wanted to mess with that.
Until I walked in on him getting out of the shower and saw his hard, muscular body totally bare and dripping wet. At that moment I never wanted to mess with anything so badly in my entire life.
I should have covered my eyes. Said I was sorry. At the very least, I could have handed him a towel.
After all, I was only in town for a few days, and he was just doing me a favor by escorting me to my sister’s wedding. It wasn’t a real date.
But I didn’t apologize. And he didn’t cover up.
(Talk about a hot mess.)
After all those years of being just friends, suddenly we’re insatiable.
He’s made it clear he’s not interested in romance. Which is fine with me because
I’ve got a plane ticket back to my real life at the end of the week.
It’s all in fun...or is it?
- Unspoken Words – By K.M. Golland
Connor Bourke and I met when we were twelve years old. He was a quiet boy with so much to say and only one way to say it—through song. He’d lost his best friend to cancer, so I showed him there was love and life in loss, and to hold on to his memories, always.
Eloise Mitchell was a blazing fire when my world turned dark. She’d shined so bright and burned so fierce that the wall I’d built around myself simply melted to the ground at her feet.
We shared everything together:
Our first kiss,
first love,
first mistake,
and first regret.
She taught me to speak,
to forgive,
and to never forget.
Through his music, he could say all he needed to say except for, ‘I love you’.
I could never tell her those three words.
Yet, I knew he meant them, that he loved me beyond all measure, beyond time
… beyond a broken heart.
I loved her more than anything.
Our bond was unbreakable.
Our love was ever after.
But, then, we tend to destroy the ones we love the most.
And all bonds break, especially when the heart is what holds them together.
- Biker Babe (Biker Beauties #1) – By Audrey Carlan
Releasing on November 12th!
- Not the Girl You Marry – By Andie J. Christopher
Jack Nolan is a gentleman, a journalist, and unlucky in love. His viral success has pigeon-holed him as the how-to guy for a buzzy, internet media company instead of covering hard-hitting politics. Fed up with his fluffy articles and the app-based dating scene as well, he strikes a deal with his boss to write a final piece de resistance: How to Lose a Girl. Easier said than done when the girl he meets is Hannah Mayfield, and he's not sure he wants her to dump him.
Hannah is an extremely successful event planner who's focused on climbing the career ladder. Her firm is one of the most prestigious in the city, and she's determined to secure her next promotion. But Hannah has a bit of an image problem. She needs to show her boss that she has range, including planning dreaded, romantic weddings. Enter Jack. He’s the perfect man to date for a couple weeks to prove to her boss that she’s not scared of feelings.
Before Jack and Hannah know it, their fake relationship starts to feel all too real—and neither of them can stand to lose each other.
- Love You Now (Love Hurts Duet #2) – By M. Robinson - The continuation of the story that began in Hated You Then.
- Raven Lane – By Amber Cowie - Psychological thriller!
- The Fall of Legend (Legend Trilogy #1) – By Meghan March
- Trying to Score – By Kendall Ryan – Frenemies-to-lovers!
Teddy King excels at many things. Playing hockey. Check. Scoring on and off the ice. Check. Being stupidly attractive ... Double check.
I knew him way back when. Before he was the guy everyone wanted a piece of, he was just a rebellious college co-ed and one of my more energetic study partners.
But secrets have a way of getting out, and a steamy encounter from our college days (that we probably shouldn't have filmed) is about to cause a major scandal. Unless we can work together to stop it.
Teddy’s no stranger to hard work … but the thing he wants most?
Is me.
- Violent Triumphs (White Monarch Trilogy #3) – By Jessica Hawkins
- More than Friends (The More Duet #1) – By Tarrah Anders
Truth.
Dane Crawford is head over heels in love with his best friend.
Dare.
Sterling Cranefield is in lust with her boyfriend, until he abruptly breaks her heart.
When Sterling tries to withdraw from her friends following the breakup, Dane won’t allow it.
Now is his chance and he isn’t going to let it, or her, slip through his fingers.
A simple game of Truth or Dare, changes everything.
Dane and Sterling’s lives take a different direction than either of them thought possible.
Will they cross the lines of the just friend zone?
And if they do, can they find the kind of relationship that lasts forever?
- Skin and Bone: A Psychological Thriller – By Keary Taylor
I'd do anything for him, even become the woman he loves...
HER
I tried my best for years, but all he ever wanted was for her to come back. So bit-by-bit, I evolved, transforming into someone he could love. But he didn’t take the bait until I went all the way.
I became her.
Now everything is perfect. We’re happy. So in love. And he doesn’t suspect a thing.
SAWYER
Someone claiming my name sent me a video. It looks to be me, returning to my hometown, reconnecting with my high school boyfriend, Ezra. Those are my clothes, that’s my laugh, and that’s my face.
She took my freedom next. And then she made me watch as she took over my entire life, fooling everyone like a perfect chameleon. It’s clear what she wants, and Ezra is all too quick to take me back.
Only one person seems to notice something is off. Ezra’s brother, Davis—the last person I called. There’s a certain darkness in Davis’ eyes, and he’s not the type to let up until he gets his answers.
Somehow, I’ll make her pay. This imposter is going to regret the day she ever took the name Sawyer James.
- The Light We See – By J. Lynn Bailey
- More Than Pleasure You: A More Than Words Novella (1001 Dark Nights) – By Shayla Black
Releasing Later This Week!
- November 13 – Special Delivery – By Lauren Blakely – Holiday novella!
- November 14 – His Royal Highness – By R.S. Grey – Romantic comedy!
I’ve spent eight years wishing I’d fall out of love with Derek Knightley. Blowing out birthday candles, chasing after shooting stars, making it rain spare change into mall fountains—every time it’s the same wish: forget about Derek.
But the day he walks back into my life, I realize there are two things time has yet to soften: my feelings for him and his chiseled jawline.
It’s infuriating that my heart still races when he walks into a room. I refuse to fall prey to old unrequited love, so I decide the less I’m around him, the better. Avoidance is key.
Unfortunately, Derek isn’t going to make it easy. As a teenager, I would have crawled on my hands and knees to attract his attention. Now I can’t seem to escape it.
I’m not sure why he’s bothering. He’s not just out of my league—he’s out of my tax bracket. As the sole heir to the Knightley Company, he’s as close to American royalty as you can get. As for me, I’m just a part-time princess at Knightley’s flagship magical theme park.
I spend my days playing make-believe, but Derek has no use for fairytales. His unwavering confidence makes it clear he thinks I’ll surrender in the end.
He’s just biding his time.
Making me sweat.
His Royal Highness always gets what he wants.
And he wants me.
- November 14 – Conheartists – By K. Webster & J.D. Hollyfield – Romantic comedy!
- November 15 – Iron Crowne – By CD Reiss – Enemies-to-lovers!
Byron Crowne is a charming liar and a gorgeous monster.
I detest him.
I can't resist him.
He’s awakened desires I didn’t know I had.
When he touches me, I need to fight him . . . and I need him to win.
Our one night stand bruises my skin and leaves dents in the walls, but the sheets aren't the only thing we shred that night.
And suddenly, the stakes are higher than ever...
Happy Reading!
What he's reading!
What she's reading!