It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A quiet weekend at home made for some great reading time.

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia
In Her Bones by Kate Moretti
We All Love the Beautiful Girls by Joanne Proulx
Vox by Christina Dalcher

Currently Reading:

What My Sister Knew by Nina Laurin

Next on the TBR pile:

Shadow Child by Rahna Reiko Rizzuto

Review: Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia

Leave No Trace

by Mindy Mejia

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 352

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  There is a place in Minnesota with hundreds of miles of glacial lakes and untouched forests called the Boundary Waters. Ten years ago a man and his son trekked into this wilderness and never returned.

Search teams found their campsite ravaged by what looked like a bear. They were presumed dead until a decade later...the son appeared. Discovered while ransacking an outfitter store, he was violent and uncommunicative and sent to a psychiatric facility. Maya Stark, the assistant language therapist, is charged with making a connection with their high-profile patient. No matter how she tries, however, he refuses to answer questions about his father or the last ten years of his life

But Maya, who was abandoned by her own mother, has secrets, too. And as she’s drawn closer to this enigmatic boy who is no longer a boy, she’ll risk everything to reunite him with his father who has disappeared from the known world.

Kritters Thoughts:  Maya Stark is a speech therapist working in a psychiatric facility.  An interesting case enters the place and Maya is placed as the responsible person to bring this young man out of his shell and tell them what happened to him.  You see, he showed up after going missing in the woods with his father 10 years ago and his reentrance into society was quite dramatic.  At the same time, the reader knows that everything in Maya's life isn't exactly all sunshine and rainbows and its going to be a journey to find out.

I was on board with this book and liked most parts of it until one thing happened 2/3 of the way through - don't want to give too much away to spoil anything.  At that point I just shook my head and was disappointed as to where I thought and realized the book was going to go.  

I still liked Maya as a character and found her past to be the most interesting part of the book.  I loved learning about how she became who she was in the present and how that affected how she treated her patients.  At the same time, I also loved the chapters from the past of Josiah, the glimpses into how and why this father son ended up in the woods was the heart of the story for me.  

I wish I had held onto this book to read on a cold wintry weekend.  The location in Minnesota and the time of year made this book a good wintry read.  I maybe would have enjoyed the setting of the book more if I was snuggled in a warm blanket.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 73 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Fallen by David Baldacci

The Fallen

by David Baldacci

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 421

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Amos Decker and his journalist friend Alex Jamison are visiting the home of Alex's sister in Barronville, a small town in western Pennsylvania that has been hit hard economically. When Decker is out on the rear deck of the house talking with Alex's niece, a precocious eight-year-old, he notices flickering lights and then a spark of flame in the window of the house across the way. When he goes to investigate he finds two dead bodies inside and it's not clear how either man died. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. There's something going on in Barronville that might be the canary in the coal mine for the rest of the country.

Faced with a stonewalling local police force, and roadblocks put up by unseen forces, Decker and Jamison must pull out all the stops to solve the case. And even Decker's infallible memory may not be enough to save them.

Kritters Thoughts:  Amos Decker is supposedly on vacation and of course his vacation is interrupted by a few murders and him and his journalist friend Alex Jamison are pulled into the thick of it and vacation turns into a murder investigation.

This book is the fourth in a series and I have not read book one through three.  I am assuming that this is like other mystery series where you can mostly pop in and out and you are missing some of the main character development, but each mystery is self contained in each book.  

At this point, I have read a few David Baldacci books and after every one so far I have been meh about the book.  After finishing this one and talking to my mom, I have finally realized why I am not a Baldacci fan and maybe why I may quit reading his books.  

In his books there is a male main character and in the books there gets to a point where the main character seems like they are mansplaining things and at least in this particular book he completely repeated all the facts that the reader knows from reading the entire book.  Even to a point where I said I KNOW out loud because I was ready for the review to end and to get to the conclusion of the book.  

So at the same time I have seen David Baldacci speak twice and he seemed a bit pompous during his talks so I have his voice in the back of my mind when I read his books and I can't put two and two together and enjoy the book.  I say all of this because I have decided to quit reading him.  I would like to read books where there are more female main characters and they are leading the investigations.        


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Grand Central Publishing.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: A Little Bird Told Me by Marianne Holmes

A Little Bird Told Me

by Marianne Holmes

Publisher: Agora Books

Pages: 277

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  As the heatwave boils on, tensions in the town begin to simmer. Everyone is gossiping about her mum, a strange man is following her around, and worst of all, no one will tell Robyn the truth. But this town isn’t good at keeping secrets…

Twelve years later, Robyn returns home, to a house that has stood empty for years and a town that hasn’t moved on, forced to confront the mystery that haunted her that summer.

And atone for the part she played in it.

Kritters Thoughts:  Robyn and her brother are returning home after twelve years and Robyn wants to know the whole truth.  She wants to know about the secrets of her parents and those surrounding her.  While the reader is reading about her diving in the past, the book also goes into the past to give the reader the whole view point and what Robyn lived and maybe what she is seeing through different eyes.

I always love a story with a past and a present.  For me the two timelines seemed muddy and confusing.  I had a note sheet and I still felt like I was all over the place and couldn't keep things straight - this is strange for me and thus was really frustrating.  

I liked Robyn and her brother as characters but I couldn't get connected to them.  I can connect to unlikeable characters and want to know their journeys but I just couldn't with these two.  

I was bummed that this book didn't live up to my expectations, I wanted so much more from this.  It didn't turn me off completely from the author, I may have to try another from her.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Agora Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Feminasty by Erin Gibson

Feminasty

by Erin Gibson

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 288

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Since women earned the right to vote a little under one hundred years ago, our progress hasn't been the Olympic sprint toward gender equality first wave feminists hoped for, but more of a slow, elderly mall walk (with frequent stops to Cinnabon) over the four hundred million hurdles we still face. Some of these obstacles are obvious-unequal pay, under-representation in government, reproductive restrictions, lack of floor-length mirrors in hotel rooms. But a lot of them are harder to identify. They're the white noise of oppression that we've accepted as lady business as usual, and the patriarchy wants to keep it that way.

Erin Gibson has a singular goal-to create a utopian future where women are recognized as humans. In FEMINASTY-titled after her nickname on the hit podcast "Throwing Shade"-she has written a collection of make-you-laugh-until-you-cry essays that expose the hidden rules that make life as a woman unnecessarily hard and deconstructs them in a way that's bold, provocative and hilarious. 

Whether it's shaming women for having their periods, allowing them into STEM fields but never treating them like they truly belong, or dictating strict rules for how they should dress in every situation, Erin breaks down the organized chaos of old fashioned sexism, intentional and otherwise, that systemically keeps women down.

Kritters Thoughts:  I don't read a lot of non fiction and every year I hope to rectify that and read just a little more than I did the year before.  When I was approved to read this book on Netgalley, I was excited to read something a little out of my comfort zone.  

With this review, I am going to try to not get too political, but at least say that socially I lean left and in my viewpoint Erin Gibson doesn't lean left she sit squarely on the left side of the world.  I think because of this her book would be polarizing and if I didn't at least lean that way, I would have had a harder time reading this - still had a little bit of a hard time.  

I say all of the above, but will give her a lot of credit because in almost all of the essays I learned something new.  There were many points that I maybe didn't completely agree with, but I at least learned something and when I read non fiction that is my goal - to learn something.  My absolute favorite essay was the one on periods.  I love the extreme honesty and candor on this subject that both women and men shy away from talking about.  She said things that I would love to say to the men in my life!

I read the essay about the need for women to support each other and I completely agree, so I hate to say what I need to say next, but I felt as though in most of her essays she was a little shouty.  This goes with the above thoughts and her extreme feelings, so I understand that she is extra passionate, but there were some moments where I had to put it down and come back later.  

I am glad I read this one, but will need a break from this genre for a bit before I can come back and read another.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 71 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A rainy weekend helped make this week of reading a really good one!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

See Also Proof by Larry Sweazy
Feminasty by Erin Gibson
Double Click by Lisa Becker
The Fallen by David Baldacci

Currently Reading:

Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia

Next on the TBR pile:

In Her Bones by Kate Moretti

Review: See Also Proof by Larry Sweazy

See Also Proof

by Larry Sweazy

Publisher: Promethus Books

Pages: 250

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Marjorie Trumaine, a freelance indexer from rural North Dakota in the 1960s, risks her life to help local law enforcement track down a missing, disabled girl.

Dickinson, North Dakota, 1965. It's a harsh winter and freelance indexer Marjorie Trumaine struggles to complete a lengthy index while still mourning the recent loss of her husband, Hank. The bleakness of the weather seems to compound her grief and then she gets more bad news: a neighbor's fourteen-year-old disabled daughter, Tina Rinkerman, has disappeared. Feeling she needs to do something to help the Rinkerman family, Marjorie joins Sheriff Guy Reinhardt in the search for the missing girl. Their investigation quickly leads to a shocking discovery and further complications. Not far from the Rinkerman's house, the body of grocery store manager Nils Jacobsen is found with a bullet in his head.

Despite a looming deadline for the book index, Marjorie is more and more distracted by the disturbing events surrounding the hunt for Tina Rinkerman. Instead of focusing on her work, she follows leads that take her all the way to the Grafton State School, some five hours away. Until recently, Tina had been a resident there. The information she uncovers raises more questions, but it ties together the murder of Nils Jacobsen and the girl's disappearance.

On a treacherous drive home to Dickinson, she becomes aware that someone doesn't want her to return. She fears the person who murdered Nils will not hesitate to silence her, now that she knows an age-old secret.

Kritters Thoughts:  The third in a series and as I stated yesterday in my review this is a series that is best to read in a row because there is just too much character development to skip around in this series.  

Marjorie Trumaine is a fantastic character and by this book she has earned some trust from the police department and they even use her as an asset in this book in the murder investigation.  I loved seeing her have more of an official role in this book and to see the detectives actually listen to her perspective.  

There isn't much to say in general that I haven't already said in the last two reviews.  As a book lover it is fun to have a little bit of the book world in a mystery, it makes it so much more entertaining.  I have said this before but for me, Marjorie the character completely makes this series for me, I just love reading about her.  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Promethus Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: See Also Deception by Larry Sweazy

See Also Deception

by Larry Sweazy

Publisher: Promethus Books

Pages: 240

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In a small North Dakota town in 1964, indexer Marjorie Trumaine investigates the alleged suicide of the local librarian, uncovering a web of secrets that puts her own life in jeopardy.
 
October 1964—Just months after freelance indexer Marjorie Trumaine helped solve a series of murders in Dickinson, North Dakota, she is faced with another death that pulls her into an unwanted investigation. Calla Eltmore, the local librarian, is found dead at work and everyone considers it suicide. But Marjorie can't believe that Calla would be capable of doing such a thing.
 
Marjorie's suspicions are further aroused when she notices something amiss at Calla's wake, but the police seem uninterested in her observations.
 
Despite pressing job commitments and the burden of caring for a husband in declining health, Marjorie sets out to uncover the truth. What she finds is a labyrinth of secrets—and threats from someone who will kill to keep these secrets hidden.

Kritters Thoughts:  The second in a series and this is one of those series where you should read them in order.  The mystery themselves are self contained in each story but there is so much good character development that I wouldn't read these out of order at all.

Marjorie Trumaine is the main character of this book and she is still doing her indexing book which is so interesting!  I love seeing how this job changes her and how she processes life.  It is so cool to see how she takes in information and then makes an index of all of it.  

The mystery in this book is so close to Marjorie's heart.  The first death in the book is her beloved friend, the librarian, Calla.  It was so sad to watch Marjorie deal with her death and for her to have to investigate it.  I wanted so bad to reach in the book and hug her because I know that this death affected her both personally and professionally.  I loved reading this book and watching her investigate and figure out what happened to her close friend.  

I have enjoyed this series.  But mainly because of the main character, Marjorie.  The writing is ok nothing out of the ordinary and the pacing is just ok.  For me, Marjorie makes this series. 


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Promethus Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: See Also Murder by Larry Sweazy

See Also Murder

by Larry Sweazy

Publisher: Promethus Books

Pages: 250

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In 1964, a grisly murder is committed in the small town of Dickinson, North Dakota. Erik and Lida Knudsen are found murdered in their bed, their throats slit. Two sons—Jaeger and Peter, ages 19 and 20—live in the same house, but claim to have heard nothing while asleep in their rooms. 

Sheriff Hilo Jenkins is called to the scene and discovers a strange copper amulet clasped in Erik’s hand. Knowing that his friend Marjorie Trumaine is a skilled researcher and professional indexer, Jenkins asks for her help in investigating the possible meaning of the amulet with its unusual markings.

Her search takes her to a nearby college where she discovers that Professor Phineas Strand once had a similar amulet that was stolen. Later, Professor Strand is found murdered in the same brutal fashion. And Marjorie uncovers a connection between Peter Knudsen and the professor.

As she gets closer to the truth, Marjorie feels increasingly threatened, knowing the killer will stop at nothing to cover his tracks.

Kritters Thoughts:  Marjorie Trumaine lives on a functioning farm and also works as an indexer of books for extra money.  She has an invalid husband and lives far away from most people.  When her closest neighbors are found murdered she gets swept up into finding the killer and the motive.  

I LOVE a story where an amateur sleuth is trying to solve a murder - it is my favorite mystery sub genre!  Marjorie was such a fun character to follow down this rabbit hole and I loved how she used her indexing of a book skills to use when trying to catch a killer.

With these books I also judge them on the killer and how it works in the full story and I would say I loved this one.  I loved who it was and how they were connected to the story - it made sense and even made me re-read a few parts because I wanted to see what I missed that could have maybe allowed me to guess sooner.  I love when I don't see all the clues and put hand to forehead!

At 250 pages, this book was short and sweet and just right.  It was the first in a series of three and I will be reviewing the next two in the series over the next two days.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Promethus Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

August - my favorite month

source

August is my favorite month, my birthday, my wedding anniversary and its still summer time, so with that this month was so so busy. A lot of travel happened this month and there were some boat days, so my time was taken away from reading. I think this was my smallest reading wrap up, but hopefully with some cold days on the horizon - a book and a blanket are in my future!

1. Our House by Louise Candlish
2. A Christmas by the Sea by Melody Carlson
3. After Nightfall by AJ Banner
4. A Little Bird Told Me by Marianne Holmes
5. Tiffany Blues by MJ Rose
6. Throwaway Girl by Kristine Scarrow
7. Not Her Daughter by Rea Frey
8. Good Luck With That by Kristan Higgins
9. Click by Lisa Becker
10. See Also Murder by Larry Sweazy
11. See Also Deception by Larry Sweazy


Total pages read, clicked and flipped:  3,248

Where having I been Reading?:
London
Maine
Washington
Long Island, NY
New York City, NY
Los Angeles, CA
North Dakota (2)

Review: Good Luck With That by Kristan Higgins

Good Luck With That

by Kristan Higgins

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 480

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Emerson, Georgia, and Marley have been best friends ever since they met at a weight-loss camp as teens. When Emerson tragically passes away, she leaves one final wish for her best friends: to conquer the fears they still carry as adults.

For each of them, that means something different. For Marley, it's coming to terms with the survivor's guilt she's carried around since her twin sister's death, which has left her blind to the real chance for romance in her life. For Georgia, it's about learning to stop trying to live up to her mother's and brother's ridiculous standards, and learning to accept the love her ex-husband has tried to give her.

But as Marley and Georgia grow stronger, the real meaning of Emerson's dying wish becomes truly clear: more than anything, she wanted her friends to love themselves.

Kritters Thoughts:  I love Kristan Higgins stand alone books - they are usually filled with fantastic women having real experiences and trying to do life to their best.  In this story two friends are impacted by the sudden by another friend's death.  And on her death bed she has left them with a list they created as kids that she challenged them to actually complete.  Georgia and Marley find her death to be a kick in the butt to the lives they have been putting off for the future.

I love a book with two narrators so each character gets the chance to move the story along.  Georgia and Marley were similar and different at the same time and I appreciated their real friendship.  Marley had childhood trauma that impacted her relationship with food and really set her on an unhealthy path.  Georgia had more present drama in her life and I really loved watching her confront feelings of her past and really grow in this book.  I loved how they had completely different mothers and how each mother had flaws and neither had the "perfect" mom.  The supporting cast in this book was so full, but not overwhelming.    

One may call this a "fat" book, but I would challenge that and say this is more a human book about women in regular bodies and trying to be self confident and happy in the bodies they have in the here and now.  This book struck a few chords with me and I had to have a few gut checks while reading this one.  

This book came at a weird time where life was a little up and down, it was a nice escape from the real drama of my real life!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 69 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Penguin Random House.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Throwaway Girl by Kristine Scarrow

Throwaway Girl

by Kristine Scarrow

Publisher: Dundurn

Pages: 184

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Andy Burton knows a thing or two about survival. Since she was removed from her mother's home and placed in foster care when she was nine, she's had to deal with abuse, hunger, and homelessness. But now that she's eighteen, she's about to leave Haywood House, the group home for girls where she's lived for the past four years, and the closest thing to a real home she's ever known.

Will Andy be able to carve out a better life for herself and find the happiness she is searching for?

Kritters Thoughts:  What an interesting look at the foster care system and how it may not work for the best for everyone.  Andy Burton is about to age out of the system and will get a little assistance but will basically be on her own.  To go from house to house and bad situation to bad situation and then to be on your own must be completely difficult.  This short little book gives the full back story as to why this girl is in the spot she is in and what she does after she is out of the foster care system.

I loved this little story.  It felt real and honest and a true glimpse of what life is like for these kids.  I enjoyed having fully developed secondary characters around her that showed other foster care outcomes.  There was one of the girls I won't spoil a story but I really felt for her and her situation and was really rooting for her.

After reading the books, I read some reviews and have to disagree with a few that said they thought it was too short.  I liked the length.  I thought that it was just the right amount of story with such deep topics covered.  I wouldn't have wanted page after page and much more story with such tragedy on the page.  

I am definitely interested in reading more by this author, I will have to look at her two other books and pick them up and read them soon.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Review: After Nightfall by AJ Banner

After Nightfall

by AJ Banner

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 251

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Beware of friends with secrets…

Imagine your closest friend utterly betraying you. Years later, when she seeks forgiveness, you invite her to your engagement party as a gesture of reconciliation. But seething hostilities rise to the surface, ruining everyone’s evening. After an awful night, your friend’s battered, lifeless body is found at the bottom of a rocky cliff.

Newly engaged Marissa Parlette is living this nightmare. She should be celebrating her upcoming wedding, but she can’t shake the image of her friend lying dead on the beach. Did she fall? Was she pushed? Or did she take a purposeful step into darkness? Desperate for answers, Marissa digs deep into the events of the party. But what she remembers happening after nightfall now carries sinister implications: the ugly sniping, the clandestine meetings, the drunken flirtations. The more she investigates, the more she questions everything she thought she knew about her friends, the man she once trusted, and even herself.

Kritters Thoughts:  From the synopsis, I was ready for a page turner that would be hard to put it down, so I specifically picked it to take on a beach weekend.  There was a bit of drama, but for me this one wasn't the page turner I was hoping for and there was just too much drama that was separate from the main story.  

So the main focus is a woman who is found dead at the bottom of a cliff and trying to find out how she ended up down there after a dinner party.  This is definitely a big chunk of the book - the search to find out if anyone is responsible for her death and I was satisfied with the final culprit.  BUT there was so much extra drama that just didn't feel like it fit with the rest of the story.  

All of this being said, I liked her writing and her characters.  I was definitely interested in finding out which character had the biggest reason to be involved in the possible murder.  I would read another book by AJ Banner, but I would want to be completely in love with the synopsis before I did so.  

I have read The Good Neighbor, but haven't read The Twilight Wife, should I pick that one up?


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.