Happy Monday - What are you reading?

Book Date now hosts It's Monday What Are Your Reading?  The meme that we use to share what we read this past week and what our plans are for the upcoming week.  It's a great way to see what others are reading and add to your own To Be Read List.

HAPPY MONDAY

My last review - I was disappointed, only 2 stars

My current read - I'm enjoying it

Book club choice this month - I read it as my first read of the year.  My review 4 1/2 stars

I have no idea what is next - I am feeling a pull towards Adult Fiction and not my normal of suspense, so we will see.

Review - Sister by Rosamund Lupton

Book Summary

When her mom calls to tell her that Tess, her younger sister, is missing, Bee returns home to London on the first flight. She expects to find Tess and give her the usual lecture, the bossy big sister scolding her flighty baby sister for taking off without letting anyone know her plans. Tess has always been a free spirit, an artist who takes risks, while conservative Bee couldn’t be more different. Bee is used to watching out for her wayward sibling and is fiercely protective of Tess (and has always been a little stern about her antics). But then Tess is found dead, apparently by her own hand.

Bee is certain that Tess didn’t commit suicide. Their family and the police accept the sad reality, but Bee feels sure that Tess has been murdered.  Single-minded in her search for a killer, Bee moves into Tess's apartment and throws herself headlong into her sister's life--and all its secrets. 

Though her family and the police see a grieving sister in denial, unwilling to accept the facts, Bee uncovers the affair Tess was having with a married man and the pregnancy that resulted, and her difficultly with a stalker who may have crossed the line when Tess refused his advances. Tess was also participating in an experimental medical trial that might have gone very wrong.  As a determined Bee gives her statement to the lead investigator, her story reveals a predator who got away with murder--and an obsession that may cost Bee her own life.

A thrilling story of fierce love between siblings, Sister is a suspenseful and accomplished debut with a stunning twist.


My Review - 2

This is my first Rosamund Lupton book and it has been on my TBR for a long time.   I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more a few years ago.  I was bored.  The beginning was fantastic and really pulled you in.  I enjoyed the change of style where Bee writes a letter to Tess and the story unfolds mainly in this style.

My problem is that there are no highs and lows by 60% I was so bored, it felt all the same and just went on and on and on so I went to the last 2 chapters just to see the ending.

I really do not understand how so many loved this one.  I enjoyed the sister touch, they were very different but had the special sister connect.  Sweet......but not enough to capture a beautiful emotional story-line for me.

I understand not believing she committed suicide and making sure to prove it for the legacy of her sister.  None of the characters stood out to me.  The mom was there but not.  Others accepted the suicide easily, was Bee just desperate.  Just a weird story, nothing came together for me.

I found the execution to be completely off and I don't think I would give this author another try.  I was quite disappointed. It had me on the edge of falling into a reading slump.

I chose to read Brother by Ania Ahlborn

Thanks for participating in my poll.  Me Before You actually won out by 1 vote but a few of you also said it is not my kind of book which I agree.  It is a mood book for me and I just wasn't sure so I went with the 2nd choice from poll.

Thanks

I chose..........

Brother by Ania Ahlborn

From the bestselling horror author of Within These Walls and The Bird Eater comes a brand-new novel of terror that follows a teenager determined to break from his family’s unconventional—and deeply disturbing—traditions.

Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it’s served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don’t knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing as to what’s buried in the Morrows’ backyard.

But nineteen-year-old Michael Morrow isn’t like the rest of his family. He doesn’t take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he’s sure that someday he’ll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he’s immediately smitten. For a moment, he nearly forgets about the monster he’s become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place…





 

What should I read next?

So blogging friends, I started the year amazingly and was on a high with my choices, the past 3 have been torture and I have wasted a month.  I am even behind 2 reviews now because I just don't want to review them.  My goal this year was to review all.

Please help with what I should read next please.  These are my ideas:

Poll is on sidebar, please choose 1 or  2.

1) Brother by Ania Ahlborn

From the bestselling horror author of Within These Walls and The Bird Eater comes a brand-new novel of terror that follows a teenager determined to break from his family’s unconventional—and deeply disturbing—traditions.

Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it’s served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don’t knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing as to what’s buried in the Morrows’ backyard.

But nineteen-year-old Michael Morrow isn’t like the rest of his family. He doesn’t take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he’s sure that someday he’ll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he’s immediately smitten. For a moment, he nearly forgets about the monster he’s become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place…



2)  me before you by Jojo Moyes

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?



3)  The Girl you Lost by Kathryn Croft

Eighteen years ago your baby daughter was snatched. Today, she came back.

A sinister and darkly compelling psychological thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of The Girl With No Past.

Eighteen years ago, Simone Porter’s six-month-old daughter, Helena, was abducted. Simone and husband, Matt, have slowly rebuilt their shattered lives, but the pain at losing their child has never left them.

Then a young woman, Grace, appears out of the blue and tells Simone she has information about her stolen baby. But just who is Grace – and can Simone trust her?

When Grace herself disappears, Simone becomes embroiled in a desperate search for her baby and the woman who has vital clues about her whereabouts.

Simone is inching closer to the truth but it’ll take her into dangerous and disturbing territory. 

Simone lost her baby. Will she lose her life trying to find her?




4)  Don't you cry by Mary Kubica

In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her friend and roommate Quinn Collins to wonder where Esther is and whether or not she's the person Quinn thought she knew.

Meanwhile, in a small Michigan harbor town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her charm and beauty, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more dark and sinister than he ever expected.

As Quinn searches for answers about Esther, and Alex is drawn further under the stranger's spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion and shows that no matter how fast and far we run, the past always catches up with us in the end.



5)  The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

When Kristin Chapman agrees to let her husband, Richard, host his brother’s bachelor party, she expects a certain amount of debauchery. She brings their young daughter to Manhattan for the evening, leaving her Westchester home to the men and their hired entertainment. What she does not expect is this: bacchanalian drunkenness, her husband sharing a dangerously intimate moment in the guest room, and two women stabbing and killing their Russian bodyguards before driving off into the night.

In the aftermath, Kristin and Richard’s life rapidly spirals into nightmare. The police throw them out of their home, now a crime scene, Richard’s investment banking firm puts him on indefinite leave, and Kristin is unsure if she can forgive her husband for the moment he shared with a dark-haired girl in the guest room. But the dark-haired girl, Alexandra, faces a much graver danger. In one breathless, violent night, she is free, running to escape the police who will arrest her and the gangsters who will kill her in a heartbeat. A captivating, chilling story about shame and scandal, The Guest Room is a riveting novel from one of our greatest storytellers

Review - Field of Graves by JT Ellison

Published Release Date - June 14, 2016

Book Summary from NetGalley

With FIELD OF GRAVES, New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison goes back to where it all began… 

All of Nashville is on edge with a serial killer on the loose. A madman is trying to create his own end-of-days apocalypse and the cops trying to catch him are almost as damaged as the killer. Field of Graves reveals the origins of some of J.T. Ellison's most famous creations: the haunted Lieutenant Taylor Jackson; her blunt, exceptional best friend, medical examiner Dr. Samantha Owens; and troubled FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin. Together, they race the clock and their own demons to find the killer before he claims yet another victim. This dark, thrilling and utterly compelling novel will have readers on the edge of their seats, and Ellison's fans will be delighted with the revelations about their favorite characters.

My Review - 3 1/2

JT Ellison takes us back to where it all started and we get to meet characters who we already know for the first time.  I didn't enjoy this part as much as I thought I would because I have followed the journey's of theses characters and love both Dr. Samantha Owens (the medical examiner) and Lieutenant Taylor Jackson series.  I thought it would bring new information for us to know which I didn't really think it did and of course we get to have a case to follow which is the great part of her series.

I have read 4/8 of LT Taylor series and all but one of Sam Owens, they both appear in both series because they are an amazing team together. I will have to analyzing why I enjoy Dr. Sam Owens series more.

We get to see how Baldwin and Taylor get together which was interesting, a nice to know.  They found each other when they were put together on this case and their history and the support was a perfect match, more than the spark they initially felt. I like that they are still together and now show the dynamics of the balance of work and personal.

I am also a fan of Andrea Kane, and this story reminded me of one of hers, Twisted.  University students are going missing and found murdered, all but one who ended up being the chosen one.  I really like the style of letting the reader be a part of the investigation, guessing along the way, profiling the killer, agreeing or not agreeing with the detectives.

I did feel like it took to long to investigate one part of the story coming together, which I believe could have made the difference in possibly two being murdered.  The illness of the killer didn't sit well with me and so the ending wasn't climatic.

JT Ellison is one of my favourite authors and I will read all her new works while still catching up on the older ones.  I expected a different spin on this one since it was taking us back but it fits perfectly with the LT Taylor series.  I would put this as Book 1 maybe in the series. My expectation not being met and the investigation missing a key clue to get to the killer earlier makes it a 3 1/2 instead of a  4 or 4/12 on a favourite series, which I highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for this read, they really help to keep me updated on her books.

It's Monday, What are you reading?

Book Date now hosts It's Monday What Are Your Reading?  The meme that we use to share what we read this past week and what our plans are for the upcoming week.  It's a great way to see what others are reading and add to your own To Be Read List.

Published - December 2011
My current read.......

I read another JT Ellison, her newest to the LT Taylor series - 3 1/2 
My Review

I reviewed this NetGalley read - 2 1/2 - 3 stars
My Review

My Bookclub's choice this month - it was my first read of the year
My Review

I just started my current read so I am unsure what is next.




I have completed my Yoga Certificate, I am now a certified Strala Yoga Guide, have you heard of Tara Stiles and Strala?  I'm so excited.........