Okay so I tried my hardest to read Big Little Lies and I just couldn't do it. I think that my expectations were way to high for it after having read all the glowing reviews. It just didn't pull me in like the other books. I asked on Facebook if it was just me and maybe I should try it again and it was 60-40 with them telling me to try again. Some told me that the series was better and they didn't like the book, or loved the book but couldn't read any of her other ones. So I just decided that maybe it wasn't for me. I guess that just goes to shoe you that no two people can read and love the same book.
I finished up 13 Reasons Why and it was just as good if not better than the series. The only thing I found different between the two was Tony's role. In the book he doesn't show up until its Clay's turn to listen to HIS tape, he said he was been following people around to see when it would get to him waiting to be there for him while he listened. In the series Tony is there in almost every scene. I really liked this book and would recommend that every teenager read it, and then watch the series. With their parents or not, with their teachers in school or not. This shed light on things that are happening every where in every school. Yes some parents are very pissed that they "GLAMORIZED" suicide. That is not what they did. I think the only reason they are saying this is because it brought it out in the open; I mean if we don't talk about it, it doesn't exist right? WRONG very wrong, it exist even if they don't want to believe it. They don't want to think that their child could be suicidal or a bully to some one that could potentially kill themselves because of the things that they are going through. But again that is just my opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own.
I also went back to the library after paying to renew my library card $10 later because I live outside city limits! I just finished The River at Night by Erica Ferencik. Winifred Allen needs a vacation.
Stifled by a soul-crushing job, devastated by the death of her beloved brother, and lonely after the end of a fifteen-year marriage, Wini is feeling vulnerable. So when her three best friends insist on a high-octane getaway for their annual girls’ trip, she signs on, despite her misgivings.
What starts out as an invigorating hiking and rafting excursion in the remote Allagash Wilderness soon becomes an all-too-real nightmare: A freak accident leaves the women stranded, separating them from their raft and everything they need to survive. When night descends, a fire on the mountainside lures them to a ramshackle camp that appears to be their lifeline. But as Wini and her friends grasp the true intent of their supposed saviors, long buried secrets emerge and lifelong allegiances are put to the test. To survive, Wini must reach beyond the world she knows to harness an inner strength she never knew she possessed. Going into this book I had expectations and when I finished this book, it had totally smashed all of them. It wasn't anything like I had thought it was going to be. I really liked Wini from the beginning and was hoping for the best outcome. I mean going in to the wilderness with some young guide and hoping that you don't die. I liked how the author incorporated the use of ASL in the book. I think that is why I liked Wini so much, she was able to communicate to some one that was being mistreated in and lied to about his life. I liked the ending it made me happy to see her be able to help. If I told you any more I would give away the ending. I liked this book because it made me think about my best friends, I have had the same to girlfriends for almost 27 years. I would be lost without them and know that they feel the same. We have been through so much and continue to have each others back.
I am starting The Couple Next Door By Shari Lapena, I am about 8 chapters in so I am hooked.
Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all—a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years. What follows is the nerve-racking unraveling of a family—a chilling tale of deception, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist. It all starts at the dinner party. This was a really good book and I really enjoyed it. I read it in one day. I really liked the main character Anne but didn't really care for Marco. I had my suspicions on what was going on in the beginning. I didn't see the twist coming until the end. I still not sure how you could leave your child at home while you go to a dinner party even if it is next door, I would tell the hostess if she didn't want my baby then I wasn't coming. I didn't care for the neighbors either. I liked the style that the author had going on in the book, I liked that she told it from everyone's point of view but didn't confuse the story with the characters. I will be reading more from her, this was my first book by her.
Getting ready to start The Girl Befiore by JP Delaney. Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.The request seems odd, even intrusive—and for the two women who answer, the consequences are devastating
EMMA Reeling from a traumatic break-in, Emma wants a new place to live. But none of the apartments she sees are affordable or feel safe. Until One Folgate Street. The house is an architectural masterpiece: a minimalist design of pale stone, plate glass, and soaring ceilings. But there are rules. The enigmatic architect who designed the house retains full control: no books, no throw pillows, no photos or clutter or personal effects of any kind. The space is intended to transform its occupant—and it does.
JANE After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street she is instantly drawn to the space—and to its aloof but seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the untimely death of the home’s previous tenant, a woman similar to Jane in age and appearance. As Jane tries to untangle truth from lies, she unwittingly follows the same patterns, makes the same choices, crosses paths with the same people, and experiences the same terror, as the girl before.
This book drew me in from the beginning, I could not put it down. When I first started it I didn't really care for Emma, I didn't know why I didn't like her but towards the end I realized why. I also didn't care for The architect that built the house he came across as kinda pervy and domineering. I really liked how the author went back and forth telling the story about what had happened. I read it in about two sittings. Its a pretty straight forward plot until you get to the last fifty or so pages then its like WHAM this is what is really going on. I will definitely be reading more books by them. I am excited to hear that Ron Howard is adapting this book into a movie!
I also finished up That Night by Chevy Stevens
As a teenager, Toni Murphy had a life full of typical adolescent complications: a boyfriend she adored, a younger sister she couldn't relate to, a strained relationship with her parents, and classmates who seemed hell-bent on making her life miserable. Things weren't easy, but Toni could never have predicted how horrific they would become until her younger sister was brutally murdered one summer night.
Toni and her boyfriend, Ryan, were convicted of the murder and sent to prison.
Now thirty-four, Toni, is out on parole and back in her hometown, struggling to adjust to a new life on the outside. Prison changed her, hardened her, and she's doing everything in her power to avoid violating her parole and going back. This means having absolutely no contact with Ryan, avoiding fellow parolees looking to pick fights, and steering clear of trouble in all its forms. But nothing is making that easy—not Ryan, who is convinced he can figure out the truth; not her mother, who doubts Toni's innocence; and certainly not the group of women who made Toni's life hell in high school and may have darker secrets than anyone realizes. No matter how hard she tries, ignoring her old life to start a new one is impossible. Before Toni can truly move on, she must risk everything to find out what really happened that night.But in That Night by Chevy Stevens, the truth might be the most terrifying thing of all.
This book also was amazing, it was the second book by Stevens that I have read, I will continue to read more of her books too! I liked Toni in the book. I liked how the author told her side of the story by taking us back in time to when everything started and then up to present day about what she is doing. I really hated her mother in the beginning and then I hated her even more in the end. I can see where she was upset but come on that's ridiculous to hold it against her even after she was let out and then when she goes on to prove her innocence. I didn't really see the killer as who they pinned it on, I had my guess but after realizing what was going on it all made sense. I would definitely recommend this book!
And lastly I just finished The Perfect Girl by GIlly Macmillan.
Zoe Maisey is a seventeen-year-old musical prodigy with a genius IQ. Three years ago, she was involved in a tragic incident that left three classmates dead. She served her time, and now her mother, Maria, is resolved to keep that devastating fact tucked far away from their new beginning, hiding the past even from her new husband and demanding Zoe do the same.
Tonight Zoe is giving a recital that Maria has been planning for months. It needs to be the performance of her life. But instead, by the end of the evening, Maria is dead.
In the aftermath, everyone—police, family, Zoe’s former solicitor, and Zoe herself—tries to piece together what happened. But as Zoe knows all too well, the truth is rarely straightforward, and the closer we are to someone, the less we may see.
I was kinda hesitant to start this one, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but I am glad that I read it. I really liked it. I liked Zoe from the start. I can see why she was the way she was. I mean at the beginning she started out as the defendant and towards the end she becomes the judge. All this takes place in a little over 48 hours. Zoe comes to learn that the past is never really forgotten and cant be erased when people know what happened. I really liked her aunt but I didn't like that she was cheating on her husband. I know that's is not a regal part of the story but it bothered me. After reading some of the reviews I can see where some of the people that read it wouldn't like it, but I actually did. So I would say go ahead a take a chance on a book even if no one else liked it, it may become your favorite.
Friday, June 16, 2017
Saturday, May 20, 2017
BIG LITTLE LIES!!
So I just finished Gone Without a Trace by Mary Torjussen. This book took me longer to start but once I did I read it in two days. I really liked the concept of the book. I guess I was hoping for a more sinister outcome. I mean Hannah the main character comes home from a business trip and her boyfriend of four years is gone, and when I say gone I mean he has taken everything of his and left. Made it look like he was never there. He replaced his things with hers. Deleted messages, photos, numbers and emails from him to her from her phone and computer. Like he never existed. As the days go on she begins an obsessive search for him that soon begins to take a toll on her and her work. Her friends start to think that she is crazy. As she digs for answers she begins to see answers about herself and her friends and family. I didn't really care for the ending. I liked that it was an ending I wouldn't have thought of. I had who I thought had helped and did it from the start only because I didn't care for her friendship, she was always putting her down and making her second guess herself. It was an okay book definitely not one of my favorites to say the least, but I would like to see what else the author has in store for us in the future.
I am getting ready to start Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. A murder...A tragic accident...Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.
I am excited to start this I have heard so many things about it. We Shall See!
Baskets and Books
Well I have to say that the baskets that I made for my senior graduates were a hit! I bought a laundry basket and then filled it up with stuff:
I recently finished The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda. Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.Determined to find Emmy, Leah cooperates with Kyle Donovan, a handsome young police officer on the case. As they investigate her friend’s life for clues, Leah begins to wonder: did she ever really know Emmy at all? With no friends, family, or a digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Soon Leah’s credibility is at stake, and she is forced to revisit her past: the article that ruined her career. To save herself, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey—and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.
When I started this I was kind of concerned because I had read the reviews and some of them were not so nice and they hated the book, because it was implausible and the plot didn't make sense to them. I on the other hand really liked the plot and think that the author wrote it in a way that if it were to happen it could. I really liked Leah from the start and had questions about Emmy for sure. Even though there was a lot of backtracking in the story; it made the story that more interesting like you had to pay attention to what was going on. I like that it had a plot that I could guess and in the end I would be wrong. I had it right with who I thought was behind everything but I couldn't put a finger on why this was happening. I overall liked the book very much and cant wait for the next thing that she comes out with.
I also finished Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother's sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she'd never return.
With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present..
It took me a little bit to get into this one only because the author used multiple characters to tell the story; once I got them straight I was able to read straight through and ended up loving the book. It wasn't really anything like The Girl on the Train but I liked it none the less. I really liked the main character but it took a lot for me to not want to ring her neck every now and then. I liked the back story from the characters too, I mean it added more to the story. I do have to say that my favorite character was the crazy lady that knew more than she could let on. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery.
I am getting ready to start reading Gone Without a Trace by Mary Torjussen. Hannah Monroe's boyfriend, Matt, is gone. His belongings have disappeared from their house. Every call she ever made to him, every text she ever sent, every photo of him and any sign of him on social media have vanished. It's as though their last four years together never happened.As Hannah struggles to get through the next few days, with humiliation and recriminations whirring through her head, she knows that she'll do whatever it takes to find him again and get answers. But as soon as her search starts, she realizes she is being led into a maze of madness and obsession. Step by suspenseful step, Hannah discovers her only way out is to come face to face with the shocking truth...
pop tarts
chap stick
laundry detergent
pens, pencils, highlighters
gum
candy
air freshener
dish soap
notebooks, notepads, notecards
pringles
tide pen
lint roller
hand sanitizer
mini stapler
planner
first aid kit
ramen noodles
Clorox wipes
sleep mask
When I started this I was kind of concerned because I had read the reviews and some of them were not so nice and they hated the book, because it was implausible and the plot didn't make sense to them. I on the other hand really liked the plot and think that the author wrote it in a way that if it were to happen it could. I really liked Leah from the start and had questions about Emmy for sure. Even though there was a lot of backtracking in the story; it made the story that more interesting like you had to pay attention to what was going on. I like that it had a plot that I could guess and in the end I would be wrong. I had it right with who I thought was behind everything but I couldn't put a finger on why this was happening. I overall liked the book very much and cant wait for the next thing that she comes out with.
I also finished Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother's sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she'd never return.
With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present..
It took me a little bit to get into this one only because the author used multiple characters to tell the story; once I got them straight I was able to read straight through and ended up loving the book. It wasn't really anything like The Girl on the Train but I liked it none the less. I really liked the main character but it took a lot for me to not want to ring her neck every now and then. I liked the back story from the characters too, I mean it added more to the story. I do have to say that my favorite character was the crazy lady that knew more than she could let on. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery.
I am getting ready to start reading Gone Without a Trace by Mary Torjussen. Hannah Monroe's boyfriend, Matt, is gone. His belongings have disappeared from their house. Every call she ever made to him, every text she ever sent, every photo of him and any sign of him on social media have vanished. It's as though their last four years together never happened.As Hannah struggles to get through the next few days, with humiliation and recriminations whirring through her head, she knows that she'll do whatever it takes to find him again and get answers. But as soon as her search starts, she realizes she is being led into a maze of madness and obsession. Step by suspenseful step, Hannah discovers her only way out is to come face to face with the shocking truth...
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Having a heart to heart with myself is tough
So have you ever watched Good Luck Chuck, you know the movie about he guy that after he sleeps with a woman, she in turn finds her true love and gets married? Well I have been thinking that I am the female version of stupid Chuck! I swear everyone that I have been with is NOW in a nice healthy relationship; hell some are even married. I have no ill feelings towards the fact that they are now happy I mean hell apparently we weren't happy and it didn't work for us but come on every last one of them. I just kind of wish that it had that effect on me, not that I am not loving my single life, I mean I am 30 years old I have to eventually settle down right? There is someone out there for me isn't there; because at this point I am beginning to think that he is never going to appear. I will be the old lady that dies with her cats.
On to a lighter topic, we had a major, record breaking rain and flood here in town last weekend. It started off with just rain and then it just kept coming. So that made the ground soft and when I came into to work one day my tree in the parking lot had fallen over almost hitting my Post Office. I will post pictures. Then like I said it never stopped, it got to be where we had a river running through our yard, which soon turned into coming in through our door and flooding our house. We had to take the carpet out and thankfully we live in an Old Methodist Church, its walls are cement so it didn't bother that. We did have to move the TV stand which is VERY heavy and I had popped my pelvis and back out the week before so it was a bitch to move. Finally while it was raining so much out bridge had a flood stage of 13ft and we made it to 30ft. It was up to the side of the bridge running over the road, it made it to the bottom of the train bridge that we have. It also washed out the train tracks and they had to work through the night to get gravel up here from Texas to get the trains running again. It has been a hectic few weeks to say the least.
I just finished reading The Dry by Jane Harper, and OMG is all I have to say. This was the authors first book and man she came out to win. Her writing style kept me from tuned in from the beginning. The way she introduced the characters made you want to know more about them right then but she kept you in suspense until the time came to give you more. I love small towns I mean I grew up in one and still live in the same town, so I know all to well how they are. You can tell one person something and by the time you make it to the end of the street everyone knows. Secrets are the same way, either everyone knows or nobody tells a soul and they take it to the grave. Unless you cant keep it in any longer.
After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead.
Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.
This book took me two days to read and I would recommend it to anyone. I really liked that even though it was dealing with a murder set in the present time, it went back through the past and answered questions. I wasn't left with questions when I closed the book like I was when I finished In The Woods by Tana French.
I also finished reading Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. I can say that this book took me longer to read than I wanted it too, I really liked it. On the day she was abducted, Annie O'Sullivan, a thirty-two year old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever- patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.
I really liked how the author went back and forth with the present time and during the time she was kidnapped. I also like the main character a lot, she went through so much and I wont lie I may have cried at a point to two. She is a strong character and I wish things would have worked better for her in the end, if you read or have read the book you know what I am talking about, I wont spoil it for you. I didn't really see the end coming until I was about 3/4 through the book and I knew there was a reason I didn't care for that character at all. if I say anymore I will spoil it, I can say though that I will be checking out more of her books!
I am getting ready to start The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain. This will be the first book that I have read by this author too so I am excited. *update* I completely finished this book in one day! OMG this book was amazing. I loved it so much. In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has spent her entire life believing that her older sister Lisa committed suicide as a teenager. Now, over twenty years later, her father has passed away and she's in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary. Lisa is alive. Alive and living under a new identity. But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now? As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family. Riley must decide what the past means for her present, and what she will do with her newfound information.
I started this book at work and I finished it about 10:30 last night. I couldn't put it down. When I started it I was pulled in by the author's writing and way with her words. She painted the picture so well, I felt like I was there. I loved Riley from the beginning and even felt a little sorry for her brother Danny. I loved how she didn't just throw everything at you and the fact that the other characters kept letting little things slip. I liked how it went back and forth telling the story between Riley and Lisa, I kind of figured out some of it but not all of it. I can see why she was getting mad at the real estate agents, I mean they were just rushing her and I think it was because they didn't want her to start asking questions that they had tried to hide for nearly 20 years. A lot of people in the book was trying to hide stuff from her and she worked hard to discover what was going on. I think it made me think that we never really know the whole story nor do we every really know someone like we like to think that we do. I would recommend this book to anyone, it was absolutely one of my favorites. I will be looking for more of her books for sure!
I finally used my Barns and Noble gift card from Christmas and my books came in today: I got The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda, Into the Water by Paula Hawkins, and Gone Without a Trace by Mary Torjussen. I can not wait to read them!!
I am working on two "Off To College" baskets for two very special girls that are graduating next week. I will post a picture of them when I am done and what all I put in it. I wish someone had done this for me, I know it would have been very helpful to start out with stuff and not have to buy everything by yourself. I know that they will go far!
On to a lighter topic, we had a major, record breaking rain and flood here in town last weekend. It started off with just rain and then it just kept coming. So that made the ground soft and when I came into to work one day my tree in the parking lot had fallen over almost hitting my Post Office. I will post pictures. Then like I said it never stopped, it got to be where we had a river running through our yard, which soon turned into coming in through our door and flooding our house. We had to take the carpet out and thankfully we live in an Old Methodist Church, its walls are cement so it didn't bother that. We did have to move the TV stand which is VERY heavy and I had popped my pelvis and back out the week before so it was a bitch to move. Finally while it was raining so much out bridge had a flood stage of 13ft and we made it to 30ft. It was up to the side of the bridge running over the road, it made it to the bottom of the train bridge that we have. It also washed out the train tracks and they had to work through the night to get gravel up here from Texas to get the trains running again. It has been a hectic few weeks to say the least.
I just finished reading The Dry by Jane Harper, and OMG is all I have to say. This was the authors first book and man she came out to win. Her writing style kept me from tuned in from the beginning. The way she introduced the characters made you want to know more about them right then but she kept you in suspense until the time came to give you more. I love small towns I mean I grew up in one and still live in the same town, so I know all to well how they are. You can tell one person something and by the time you make it to the end of the street everyone knows. Secrets are the same way, either everyone knows or nobody tells a soul and they take it to the grave. Unless you cant keep it in any longer.
After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead.
Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.
This book took me two days to read and I would recommend it to anyone. I really liked that even though it was dealing with a murder set in the present time, it went back through the past and answered questions. I wasn't left with questions when I closed the book like I was when I finished In The Woods by Tana French.
I also finished reading Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. I can say that this book took me longer to read than I wanted it too, I really liked it. On the day she was abducted, Annie O'Sullivan, a thirty-two year old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever- patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.
I really liked how the author went back and forth with the present time and during the time she was kidnapped. I also like the main character a lot, she went through so much and I wont lie I may have cried at a point to two. She is a strong character and I wish things would have worked better for her in the end, if you read or have read the book you know what I am talking about, I wont spoil it for you. I didn't really see the end coming until I was about 3/4 through the book and I knew there was a reason I didn't care for that character at all. if I say anymore I will spoil it, I can say though that I will be checking out more of her books!
I am getting ready to start The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain. This will be the first book that I have read by this author too so I am excited. *update* I completely finished this book in one day! OMG this book was amazing. I loved it so much. In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has spent her entire life believing that her older sister Lisa committed suicide as a teenager. Now, over twenty years later, her father has passed away and she's in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary. Lisa is alive. Alive and living under a new identity. But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now? As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family. Riley must decide what the past means for her present, and what she will do with her newfound information.
I started this book at work and I finished it about 10:30 last night. I couldn't put it down. When I started it I was pulled in by the author's writing and way with her words. She painted the picture so well, I felt like I was there. I loved Riley from the beginning and even felt a little sorry for her brother Danny. I loved how she didn't just throw everything at you and the fact that the other characters kept letting little things slip. I liked how it went back and forth telling the story between Riley and Lisa, I kind of figured out some of it but not all of it. I can see why she was getting mad at the real estate agents, I mean they were just rushing her and I think it was because they didn't want her to start asking questions that they had tried to hide for nearly 20 years. A lot of people in the book was trying to hide stuff from her and she worked hard to discover what was going on. I think it made me think that we never really know the whole story nor do we every really know someone like we like to think that we do. I would recommend this book to anyone, it was absolutely one of my favorites. I will be looking for more of her books for sure!
I finally used my Barns and Noble gift card from Christmas and my books came in today: I got The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda, Into the Water by Paula Hawkins, and Gone Without a Trace by Mary Torjussen. I can not wait to read them!!
I am working on two "Off To College" baskets for two very special girls that are graduating next week. I will post a picture of them when I am done and what all I put in it. I wish someone had done this for me, I know it would have been very helpful to start out with stuff and not have to buy everything by yourself. I know that they will go far!
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Talk to someone; they will listen
Well lets see its been a while since I posted and still not much has happened. April is almost over and I have read three books The Night Sister, The Cellar and The Cabin. I will talk about them in a little bit. I watched the Netflix series Thirteen Reason's Why and I want to read the book now. I have officially lost 17 pounds but just cutting back what I eat and have been downing water like its going out of style. I use the treadmill about four out of the seven days of the week and have recently started planking. I will be starting a 30 day body challenge next month along with my treadmill workout. I am very proud of myself for sticking with it. I have also recently found a love of the outside. We go outside every night with the boys and I look forward to it after I get off work. I never was an outside kid when I was little I was usually in the house reading or playing with my barbies. Now I love sitting outside in the yard; maybe its because I am getting older lol.
The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon
Once the thriving attraction of rural Vermont, the Tower Motel now stands in disrepair, alive only in the memories of Amy, Piper, and Piper's kid sister, Margot. The three played there as girls until the day that their games uncovered something dark and twisted in the motel's past, something that ruined their friendship forever.
Now adult, Piper and Margot have tried to forget what they found that fateful summer, but their lives are upended when Piper receives a panicked midnight call from Margot, with news of a horrific crime for which Amy stands accused. Suddenly, Margot and Piper are forced to relive the time that they found the suitcase that once belonged to Silvie Slater, the aunt that Amy claimed had run away to Hollywood to live out her dream of becoming Hitchcock's next blonde bombshell leading lady. As Margot and Piper investigate, a cleverly woven plot unfolds—revealing the story of Sylvie and Rose, two other sisters who lived at the motel during its 1950s heyday. Each believed the other to be something truly monstrous, but only one carries the secret that would haunt the generations to come.
I bought this book from a group that I follow on Facebook. When I received it I started reading it and was done with it by the time I left work that day. I only work four hours a day at the post office. I really enjoyed this book and the author painted a great mental image for the story. I have added Winter People by the same author to my TBR list. The author alternates between three time frames: The present, the 80's when the girl's were friends, and the 50's when Sylvie and Rose grew up. What starts out as a mystery, soon turns into so much more! At the center, it is still a mystery thriller, but with elements of the supernatural, horror, and a love story that centers on several characters--all in different ways. There is no "easy" explanation here, and every chapter is worth reading.
The Cellar by Natasha Preston
For months Summer is trapped in a cellar with the man who took her—and three other girls: Rose, Poppy, and Violet. His perfect, pure flowers. His family. But flowers can't survive long cut off from the sun, and time is running out...She quickly finds herself trapped in a world of nightmares, subjected to rape, and forced to witness brutal murders.
I ordered this off of Amazon after a friend recommended it to me. I am so glad that she did this book was a great read. I had a lot of anxiety that came with reading it because I had to know what was going to happen I couldn't put the book down. I really liked her boyfriend because he never gave up searching for her. if I say much more it will give away spoilers and if you haven't read it yet I don't want to ruin it for you.
The Cabin by Natasha Preston
A weekend partying at a remote cabin is just what Mackenzie needs. She can't wait to let loose with her friends. But a crazy night of fun leaves two of them dead-murdered. With no signs of a forced entry or struggle, suspicion turns to the five survivors. Someone isn't telling the truth. And Mackenzie's first mistake? Assuming the killing is over... there my only be one killer but no one is innocent. I enjoyed this book up until the very last page. I had already thought I knew who the killer was but was wrong. I liked the relationship between Mackenzie and Blake. I like the smart-assed comments that they make to each other. I didn't really care for the other characters in the book, because the are not likeable and then when one secret leads to other secrets it really made me not like them. I could have done with a better ending I mean you find out who killed but still are left hanging in a way. I hate books that leave me hanging by a thread!
Like I said I recently watched Thirteen Reason's Why on Netflix which originally was a book by Jay Ahser.Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever. This series was hard to watch at times because it deals with drinking, drugs, bullying, rape, cutting and suicide. I know all things that teens deal with, I mean I dealt with them a teen, and as a college student. I was a cutter, was being the word. I never told anyone and I kept my scars hidden. I never wanted to end my life and now as I am older it makes me think that maybe if I had talked to someone I wouldn't even had been cutting myself. I think all kids in school should have to watch this either with their class and teachers or their parents. It is a real eye opener for sure. I know that kids today have it harder than we did back then so I really think that there needs to be a person that they KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT they can turn too. I really think the counselor let her down in the case along with her closest friends. So I guess what I am saying is watch out for signs and let your friends know that you are there to listen to them whenever they need someone even if it is 3 in the morning.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
30's not so bad...
Well I officially turned 30 on the 13th of this month and its not been as bad as I thought it would be. I mean age is just a number. I did get the chance to see Miranda Lambert in concert at the BOK Center, I won two tickets off of Facebook. It was a great show, she was awesome!
Then later that week we took the boys to Branson for Spring Break. It was fun, cold and rainy but still fun.
While in Branson I got to meet my pen pal of 22 years for the first time. When I was in the 3rd grade we set off drug free balloons at the football field and mine traveled to Forsyth Missouri. The lady that picked it up thought it was trash until she looked at it a little closer and saw that it had a name and address on it. She sent me a letter and from there we started writing letters back and forth, we moved on to emails and now we Facebook each other.
I joined a few book clubs on Facebook and now I have an even bigger TBR pile going on. I also participated in a book exchange, I sent my books off yesterday to a girl in Florida, hope she likes them. I know I did. I also bought a book from a lady on there The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude. I am excited to read this book, I have wanted it for a while now.
I did not finish Afterwards by Rosemund Lupton, I couldn't get in to it at all. I really enjoyed Sisters by her so I was kind of let down that I couldn't read it.
I recently finished In The Woods by Tana French.As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and his partner Cassie find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past. I really hoped I would like this book since there are others that follow not about the same storyline but with the characters. Sadly though I did not like this book at all. I felt that it took me entirely too long to read; I had to renew my library books just so that I could finish it and the other one that I have out. This book left me with more questions than answers by the time that I read the last page. I posted about it on one of the groups on Facebook and I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one that didn't like it. I mean I felt cheated by the ending not answering any questions that you start to form in your head while reading. Now that I have read this book and knowing how it ends I can not bring myself to read the other books in the series.
I started the third book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, I am still loving this series. I hope to finish it soon that way I can read The May Queen Murders and then go back to the library to start knocking out my TBR pile. 
Then later that week we took the boys to Branson for Spring Break. It was fun, cold and rainy but still fun.
While in Branson I got to meet my pen pal of 22 years for the first time. When I was in the 3rd grade we set off drug free balloons at the football field and mine traveled to Forsyth Missouri. The lady that picked it up thought it was trash until she looked at it a little closer and saw that it had a name and address on it. She sent me a letter and from there we started writing letters back and forth, we moved on to emails and now we Facebook each other.
I joined a few book clubs on Facebook and now I have an even bigger TBR pile going on. I also participated in a book exchange, I sent my books off yesterday to a girl in Florida, hope she likes them. I know I did. I also bought a book from a lady on there The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude. I am excited to read this book, I have wanted it for a while now.
I did not finish Afterwards by Rosemund Lupton, I couldn't get in to it at all. I really enjoyed Sisters by her so I was kind of let down that I couldn't read it.
I recently finished In The Woods by Tana French.As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and his partner Cassie find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past. I really hoped I would like this book since there are others that follow not about the same storyline but with the characters. Sadly though I did not like this book at all. I felt that it took me entirely too long to read; I had to renew my library books just so that I could finish it and the other one that I have out. This book left me with more questions than answers by the time that I read the last page. I posted about it on one of the groups on Facebook and I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one that didn't like it. I mean I felt cheated by the ending not answering any questions that you start to form in your head while reading. Now that I have read this book and knowing how it ends I can not bring myself to read the other books in the series.
I started the third book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, I am still loving this series. I hope to finish it soon that way I can read The May Queen Murders and then go back to the library to start knocking out my TBR pile.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
February Wrap Up
So today is the first day of March and its officially 12 days until I turn 30! I am still not sure how I feel about turning thirty, I mean I don't feel that old and I have been told recently that I don't look that old so I guess its just a number right? I mean I hear all the time about women turning thirty and they are freaking out. I am not doing that....yet anyways.
I guess I feel a little let down by myself I only read five books last month and I feel that I could have read more. I mean I know that Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn and Before I Go To Sleep by S.J Watson took me longer to read then most books, so that may be way I didn't read as many. Also its a short month. I will rank them by my favorites
I guess I feel a little let down by myself I only read five books last month and I feel that I could have read more. I mean I know that Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn and Before I Go To Sleep by S.J Watson took me longer to read then most books, so that may be way I didn't read as many. Also its a short month. I will rank them by my favorites
1. The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
2. Sister by Rosamund Lupton
3. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
4. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
5. Before I Go To Sleep by S.J Watson
I finished The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian and omg is all I have to say.When Annalee Ahlberg goes missing, her children fear the worst. Annalee is a sleepwalker whose affliction manifests in ways both bizarre and devastating. Once, she merely destroyed the hydrangeas in front of her Vermont home. More terrifying was the night her older daughter, Lianna, pulled her back from the precipice of the Gale River bridge. The morning of Annalee's disappearance, a search party combs the nearby woods. Annalee's husband, Warren, flies home from a business trip. Lianna is questioned by a young, hazel-eyed detective. And her little sister, Paige, takes to swimming the Gale to look for clues. When the police discover a small swatch of fabric, a nightshirt, ripped and hanging from a tree branch, it seems certain Annalee is dead, but Gavin Rikert, the hazel-eyed detective, continues to call, continues to stop by the Ahlbergs' Victorian home. As Lianna peels back the layers of mystery surrounding Annalee's disappearance, she finds herself drawn to Gavin.
Can I just sat that I was pulled in from the beginning and stayed until the end like a kid waiting on dessert time. I had figured out the ending by the time I got 3/4 of the way through the book and can say I was surprised at the twist that the author took. I mean there are so many questions that I had running through my head that I am sure was running through Lianna ( the daughter) head like : why does the detective know so much about her mother, why does her mother only leave to sleepwalk when her father goes out of town, and if she did die while sleepwalking how come they haven't found a body. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a good twist. I know that I read some reviews before choosing to check it out at the library and some were really good while others said it was morbid and they wished that they could forget the whole story. I disagree its a wonderful story and I am really excited to read his other book The Guest Room.
I have started Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton. I became a fan of her writing after reading Sister. When her children's school is set ablaze, Grace runs into the burning building to rescue her teenage daughter, Jenny. In the aftermath, badly injured, Grace learns the police have identified the arsonist, but they have blamed the wrong person. Only Detective Sarah McBride, the sister-in-law Grace has never liked, is searching for the real arsonist--a hunt that becomes urgent when it's clear Jenny is still the perpetrator's target. I am only 55 pages in so I will let you know how it stands up to her to her other book. I have high hopes that it will be just as good.
I am really enjoying the Sookie Stackhouse series. I definitely recommend it to anyone that loved the True Blood Series, it follows it pretty much to each episode.
This month my goal is to read more for sure. I have a few books on my to be read list that I hope to check off.
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