September 10, 2024

Review: Feral Creatures of Suburbia by D. Liebhart






Product Description:

THREE ORDINARY MOTHERS. TWO TERRIBLE SECRETS. ONE HEART-STOPPING CRISIS THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Mothers will do anything to protect their children . . . but the greatest threats come from within.

Julie White's once-sweet son has morphed into a teenage terror. She hoped it was normal growing pains but a glimpse into his private messages shatters that illusion. Now she wonders if her moody teen is actually a ticking time bomb.

Varvara Perlman's researcher job is hard, but caring for her emotionally-complex daughter is harder. After dismissing the latest call from the school counselor as another ploy for attention, she can only hope it's not too late when she finally understands. This latest crisis may not only be real, but deadly.

Crystal Carrasco is as warm and fuzzy as steel wool. Nothing gets to her, not even her own terminal illness diagnosis. When she realizes her newly-married son will cancel his upcoming honeymoon if he finds out, she decides to do the only thing that makes sense. Do whatever it takes to hide the truth.

Three ordinary women linked by one heart-stopping crisis. When faced with the unthinkable, how far will they have to go to protect their children?



My Thoughts:


Feral Creatures of Suburbia was really one of those "ripped from the headlines" kind of books. All three characters are dealing with situations that sadly we see happen so often nowadays. I was instantly pulled in by the characters and their difficult decisions. 


Each mother had a difficult decision regarding their children and as so often is the case they start second guessing everything over the course of the novel. I was moved by the real emotions coming through the pages and the author made the story come alive. I am eternally grateful I got through my son's teen years with no major troubles and watched friends and family deal with difficulties all the time. 


This one is very powerful and deals with topics we all hope we never have to face; violence, suicide and mental and physical health. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves women's fiction and current headlines.  




July 5, 2024

Review: Mexicanos Hustle by J Benjamin Sanders



Product Description:
Glenn Helka’s business has never been what you’d call lucrative. But chasing bond jumpers and following cheating spouses pays the bills. Most of the bills. Some of the time. Occasionally.

When a woman drops a fat stack of cash on his desk to bring her wayward son home from Mexico, Glenn thinks he has it made. One tiny detail—the son is dead, and the local authorities are refusing to release his body.

Was it the money or the haunting look on the face of the bereaved mother? Maybe it was Glenn’s barely functioning moral compass finally pointing true north. Or, in this case, south to Mexico where he takes on corrupt government officials, drug-dealing hitmen, and everything the desert can throw at him.

My Thoughts:
Mexicanos Hustle was a fun noir crime mystery. Not only did Glenn have to deal with the very crooked Mexican authorities but he also had to deal with two low life thugs chasing him across the border. 

This was a fast-paced read that kept me reading late into the night. Overall I enjoyed the story and how the ending played out. 

Recommended for anyone who loves crime fiction. 



May 30, 2024

Review: Come and Get Me by Marisa Rae Dondlinger



Product Description:

When Vanessa kidnaps her ex-lover’s newborn baby, some might call her evil. Those who know her story might call her justified.

Vanessa thought she found her soulmate in August. Mind-bending sex. Soul-baring conversations. Safety and acceptance and being seen. Perhaps too perfect? Yes. August is married to his college sweetheart, Cassidy. When Vanessa gets pregnant, August manipulates Vanessa into getting an abortion with promises of a future together, but dumps her soon after. Vanessa plots her revenge, kidnapping August’s baby, Daisy, from her nursery.

Each member of this haunting love triangle tells their story as a nationwide search for Daisy ensues. August’s secret affairs play a pivotal role in the police investigation, Cassidy learns her marriage is a sham, and Vanessa struggles to keep Daisy alive.

Come And Get Me is a forty-eight hour pulse-pounding domestic thriller that explores issues of truth and consequence and how one decision can have an unforeseeable rippling effect on countless lives.


My Thoughts: 
Come and Get Me was very much a page turner. The chapters frequently ended on a cliff hanger that left me reading well past my bedtime. The book really gets into the mind of the scorned woman well and as the story unravels she gets even more unhinged. I love these types of fast-paced, well written thrillers. It makes the read that much more enjoyable. 

My Recommendation:
This book is perfect for anyone who loves a good suspense thriller.

February 12, 2024

Review: All Of Us Alone by Holly Payne-Strange


Product Description:

In the dead of night, an alien family crashes into the middle of New Mexico. Refugees from across the stars, they've only just escaped a planet wide catastrophe when they arrive on Earth. But they are not given a warm welcome.

The remnants of their crashed spacecraft are swiftly appropriated by the US military, stranding them entirely. Adapting to this unwelcoming new world becomes their only choice. Though they manage to evade the army, they are quickly pursued by

 so called ‘paranormal investigators’, who want nothing more than to catch them on camera- and expose them to the whole world. They must adjust swiftly to this new and hostile planet, where a single misstep could mean death- or worse, brutal experimentation.

As they grapple with the strangenes of Earth, they are forced to choose between their true selves and survival, deciding which pieces of their identity to relinquish for a chance at life. What must they sacrifice in order to live? And what's more, how could they even know?

Explore a captivating journey through uncharted territories, where a family's fight for survival transcends planets, and the human experience takes on a whole new hue.


My Thoughts:
I loved the storyline of aliens crash landing on earth after fleeing their home planet. We've seen this story before but this one was a fun take on what the aliens were up to while on earth and their quest to get back to the stars. The younger aliens are running around trying to get a glimpse of what humans are really like, the parents are struggling with their current reality and working on putting their destroyed ship back together and the grandparents are working hard at keeping their secret regarding why they had to flee their planet.


All in all I really enjoyed this one but I feel like it needs just a little more polish with editing and explaining more about how the aliens know everything about our planet and humans. Other than that I recommend this to anyone who loves a quick sci-fi read.


January 22, 2024

Books I've Read in 2024

Books
January
  1. All of Us Alone by Holly Payne-Strange
February
  1. Witch Is Where Chickens Go To Roost by Adele Abbott
April
  1. The Texas Twist by John Vorhaus
May
  1. Come And Get Me by Marisa Rae Dondlinger
  2. Tiger Chair by Max Brooks
June
  1. Mexicanos Hustle by J Benjamin Sanders
July 
  1. Acts of Violets by Kate Collins
August
  1. Feral Creatures of Suburbia by D. Liebhart 

Audiobooks
January
  1. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
  2. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
February
  1. The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
  2. Antarctica Station by A.G. Riddle
  3. Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian
  4. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
  5. The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James
March
  1. The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn
  2. Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
  3. The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen
  4. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
April
  1. The Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz
  2. In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros
  3. Camino Island by John Grisham
  4. The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill
  5. Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly
May
  1. They Never Learn by Layne Fargo
  2. Slow Time Between the Stars John Scalzi
  3. The Mosquito by B.A. Paris
  4. The Authorities by Scott Meyer
  5. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
  6. Snowglobe by Soyoung Park
  7. A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci
  8. The Love of my Life by Rosie Walsh
June
  1. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
  2. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
  3. The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
July
  1. A Short Walk Through a Wide World Douglas Westerbeke
  2. Camino Winds by John Grisham
  3. You Like It Darker by Stephen King
  4. Bloodsworn by Scott Reintgen
  5. The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
August
  1. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
  2. The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
  3. The Other Valley Howard by Scott Alexander
  4. The Lost Story by Meg Shaf
  5. Quicksilver by Dean Koontz
  6. All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
  7. Stoner by John Williams
September
  1. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
  2. The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
  3. Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate
  4. The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  5. Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes
October
  1. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Total: 53