Review: The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: December 2019

She is one of three wives. Seth, her husband, splits his time with all three and her day is Thursday. They don't know each other. When she finds a slip of paper in Seth's pocket with another wife's information, her curiosity is peeked. She befriends this wife and learns things about her husband she never knew. What other secrets could he be hiding?

I read this book in one day. I couldn't put it down. I love how thriller authors draw you into a book and you have no idea what is going to happen. This story starts off pretty normally, except for the whole polygamy aspect. I didn't know what to think of that. Not only that, another surprise was that not only was the main character's day with the husband on Thursday, her name was also Thursday.

It's hard to talk too much about this book without giving out spoilers. This book had me at the edge of my seat and I didn't want to get off the ride. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was twisted and turned in another direction. I wasn't sure which character to trust and who to believe.

Would you ever enter into a polygamist relationship? Do you think you would be able to trust your husband or yourself?

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Review: Getting Schooled by Christina C. Jones

Getting Schooled by Christina C. Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Published: May 2019

Reese works as a grad assistant for her mother at BSU. Most of her job consists of reading over papers. On the latest assignment, there is one paper that really stands out from the rest and catches her attention. Written by the mysterious J. Wright. She doesn't know which student this is, but she is definitely attracted to his writing. Jason Wright is not happy with the grade he got on his paper. When he goes to talk to the professor about it, he is met by her sassy outspoken Grad assistant instead. While she is sexy and has a perfect ass, she is probably way too young for him and he won't deal with her attitude. Chance encounters between these two, keep happening ... what will happen next?

Christina C. Jones is a new author for me. I have read one other book by her, but I love her writing style and the cute romantic stories she writes. I fall in love with the characters each and every time. Reese and Jason are nontraditional college students, both older than they should be for their place in school. Each encounter they have with each other whether it be in or out of the school environment, there is a lot of sexual tension between them.

If you love a good romance with strong female characters, you will love this one.

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Review: Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Published: December 2019

Meg has just been named, The Planner of New York City, for her custom planners. She writes out the lives and plans of the rich and famous in lettering and colors that are perfect for them. She also does this in their homes and stationary. But she has decided that she is done with weddings ever since the last one where she hid a message in the program. No one would have noticed the message, except for her. Except, someone did notice, the groom and now he's back in the store to confront her about it.

I read this as part of #TogetherWeRead

At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to like the book. I wasn't sure where the story was going to go. There was a part at the end that had a twist that I really didn't see coming. I was really drawn to the character of Reid (the groom that found the hidden message in the program) because he was very quirky and for a while, I thought he may have Autism. He was very invested in his job that dealt with numbers. Numbers were his thing while letters were Megs. I liked the way their relationship develops and the twists and turns that came about to see if they were going to actually end up together.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and I will read others by this author.

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Review: Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Published: January 2019

This is a series of short stories that talks about different topics among the African American community. Some of the topics covered in the selection are Cosplay, homosexuality, friendships, and weight issues. I really enjoyed the collection of stories, but there were only a couple that really left a lasting impression.

Usually, I'm not a fan of short stories because it's never enough for me. I always want more of the story which I think you miss. My favorite story was that one about the Frenemies and one of the characters from that story carried over to another story.

I was able to finish listening to the entire book in one day.

From Amazon: Each captivating story plunges headfirst into the lives of utterly original characters. Some are darkly humorous—two mothers exchanging snide remarks through notes in their kids’ backpacks—while others are devastatingly poignant. In the title story, when a cosplayer, dressed as his favorite anime character, is mistaken for a violent threat the consequences are dire; in another story, a teen struggles between her upper middle-class upbringing and her desire to fully connect with so-called black culture.




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Audio Book Review: Free Cyntoia by Cyntoia Brown-Long

Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System by Cyntoia Brown-Long
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: October 2019



At the age of 12 Cyntoia Brown began a downward spiral that she couldn't get out of. Thinking she was finding love, she was trafficked until the age of 16 when she killed a man. She claimed self defense, but was charged as an adult for murder. Serving a life sentence Cyntoia is determined to turn her life around and get out of jail.

I had heard a lot about this book from many different people. I didn't really know her story though until the book came out.

Cyntoia was a troubled young lady. Her biological mother was into drugs and so she was adopted. Her adopted family loved her and did everything they could for her, but there was still something inside her that made her act out and do things she shouldn't have been doing. At a young age, she was pimped out by men who she thought loved her.

It took a long time for Cyntoia to love herself and stop being so destructive with her life. In the end, it was a long hard road, that she made it to the end of. Today she is still fighting for women's rights in sex trafficking.

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Audiobook Review: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: December 2019
 

Emira Tucker is 25 and unsure about what she wants to do for the rest of her life. Right now she enjoys working for the Chamberlain's and caring for their two year old daughter, Briar. WHen she is asked to come to the Chamberlain's after an incident in their home, Emira leaves a friend's party and take Briar to the local grocery store a few blocks away. Briar loves going to the grocery store to look at the nuts and smell the tea. When they are approached by a security guard curious as to why a black woman is with a little white girl late at night. Another patron films the exchange, but Emira would rather forget the whole incident.

As a person who used to babysit and work at summer camps with kids who didn't look like me, I can understand the situation Emira is in. I have never been approached by someone questioning the children in my care. When I was a baby, though, my mother many times got asked who's child she was watching. My mom is dark skinned and I am very light skinned.

This books has some twists I didn't see coming. Emira is a character any one would love.


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Audio Book Review: One Good Deed by David Baldacci

One Good Deed by David Baldacci
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: July 2019

Aloysius Archer has just been released from prison for a crime he didn't commit. When he has to do his probation in Poca City, he's in for a lot more than he bargained for. Rules, a job, women, the list is endless. When the guy he took a job from ends up dead, Archer is the number one suspect. He'll do whatever he can not to go back to prison an innocent man. Set in 1949, Archer is a veteran of World War II and he is just trying to find his way in this world. Will Poca City be a stepping stone or a stopping point?

I really enjoy listening to David Baldacci's books. Even though historical fiction isn't one of my favorite genres, this book drew me in from the beginning. I had to see what was going to happen with Archer and how he was going to get himself out of the situations he got in to.

Women is what always seems to get Archer in trouble and Poca City has a couple of women who will leave him on his toes.


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Audiobook Review: The Friends We Keep by Jane Green

The Friends We Keep by Jane Green
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: June 2019
 

Evie, Topher, and Maggie come from very different backgrounds, but they immediately become friends as soon as they start University in England. They spend the next three years living together and taking care of each other. When it is time for graduation, again they each go their separate ways vowing to always be in touch. As we all know as we get older, it gets harder and harder to stay in touch. Each doing their own things and they make a vow that if they are all single in their 60's then they will live together as they did in college. Will they be able to keep this vow, or will events from their adulthood upset the friendship that they have had for so many years?

I have always enjoyed Jane Green's books. This one was not exception. The story got away from me at different times since I was listening to it, but I was intrigued to find out what was going to happen with these three friends.

We all know that as we get older, it is harder to make and maintain friendships as we did when we were younger. We all live different lives growing in different directions. Keeping in touch isn't always as easy as it seems. With today's modern technologies and social media, it makes it a bit easier to keep in touch, but it's still hard.

As Evie, Topher and Maggie grow older and grow farther apart we see each of their lives individually and how they intersect. When they are finally able to be together once more, the times and secrets of their younger years, will come back to haunt them and may destroy their friendship forever.


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Review: Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: May 2019
 

Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope completed the police academy together. They began their rookie years as partners in the New York City Police Department, and then they moved in next door to each other. Francis' youngest daughter, Kate, and Brian's son Peter, instantly became the best of friends. The adults don't always get along, but the kids are inseparable. One day, a dramatic event separates Kate and Peter. They are brought back together as adults, but can they get over the past to have a future? Will their past forever destroy their relationship with one another as well as with others?

This book started off really good, but started to slow down toward the middle. This is a very dramatic story that will have you questioning how well you know your neighbors and the parents of your children's friends.

What would you do if your best friend's mother, did something to change your family's life forever? Do you think you would be able to remain friends with that person? When we are children, it's difficult to see things from the point of view of our parents, it's not until we get older that we understand all of the things our parents tried to teach us and shield us from through our lives.

This book spans over 40 years. The beginning is very concise, but the ending jumps around that at times you're not sure where in the book you are.


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Review: A Lie for a Lie by Helena Hunting

A Lie for a Lie by Helena Hunting
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Published: October 2019
 

I stayed up way past my bedtime to devour this book.

Rook is looking forward to this Alaska trip with his brother. They go every summer when hockey season is over. The break is much needed. When his brother lets him know he won't be able to make it, Rook decides to go anyway and enjoy the peace and quiet. Lainey is headed to Alaska for a few weeks this summer to study the mating patterns of dolphins and whales for her thesis. This is her third masters and she may finally be done with school. When she literally falls into Rook's lap, she doesn't know how that will change her summer plans.

I really enjoy Helena Hunting's writing. You can easily sit down with a title and get lost in it. You start reading and the next thing you know, you have forgotten the whole world around you and you are engrossed.

I really liked Rook and Lainey. Alaska is one of the best places I have ever visited and to have the story take place there, really drew me back to that time. Lainey is a home-school woman who is working on her third master's degree. Rook is a professional hockey player who has women falling all over him. The chances of them meeting in regular life, are slim to none, but fate has drawn them together in inexplicable ways. They quickly fall in love and then lose each other just as quickly.

If you're looking for a good romance, please try this book or any of Helena's other titles.

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Review: The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Published: November 2019
 

Thea and Gavin have only been married for a few short years, so it's a shock to him when she asked for a divorce. Gavin is a professional baseball player, married to Thea and they have twin daughters. He is crushed when she asks for the divorce and drowns his sorrows in a bottle of alcohol. His friends and teammates come to his rescue as they had been down that road and know they can help. Their methods are quite unconventional, reading romance novels, but it can't hurt right?

When I first saw this book advertised last year, I was intrigued by the title. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I wasn't disappointed. It made me laugh out loud, made me tear up, and made me put myself in the mind of a man for a little while.

What would you do to save your marriage? Would you do everything in your power? For Gavin and Thea, they have a lot of work to do to break down walls that they didn't even know were there. Their love story was not a long one, but there were things about each other that they didn't know. When you keep secrets in your relationships, little things that trigger those secrets help to make holes in the relationship.

When Gavin's friends find him drunk in a seedy hotel, they pull him into the secret club they have formed to keep their wives and girlfriends, The Bromance Book Club. They read romance novels, which women love, to help their relationships. It was already proven to help one relationship and Gavin was willing to do anything to save his. But Thea isn't so sure. She gives him one month to try and win her back, if it doesn't work, then they will be done for good.

I read this book in two days. I couldn't put it down no matter what. Highly recommended.

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Review: The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: September 2019
 

Hiram Walker was born into slavery. He doesn't remember much about his mother except that she was taken from him at a very young age. Hiram was born with special gifts, that he discovers when his life is in danger. Will he have to continue to live a life of slavery, or will he find a way out of his situation and find out what happened to his mother.

When I picked this title as my Book of the Month selection, I was very excited to read it. I'm not a big fan of non-fiction so I haven't read any of Ta-Nehisi's other books. I did try, Between the World and Me, but it never really grabbed my attention.

From the start I was engrossed in The Water Dancer. I loved the way the story was being told. Shortly through, though I found myself getting lost in the words and having to go back and read passages. This happened several times throughout the book and I found myself wanting to put it down and give up on it, but I stuck with it and overall it wasn't too bad. I'm giving it 3.5 stars for all of the stopping and rereading I had to do.

This was definitely a new take on the story of the Underground Railroad. We even have the opportunity to meet Harriet Tubman in this book. After finishing the book, we watched the movie Harriet that my daughter has been wanting to see since it was released. There were a lot of things in the movie, that I recall from the book and that made the book a little more interesting after the fact. Weaving actual truth into the story makes it a little better for me.

The story takes you on a journey through Hiram Walker's life, from his time living and working on the plantation, to when he is able to move into the big house where his father, the master lives. We see him grieve for several members of his community, but none more than the mother he can't remember, even though he is often put on display for his memory.

If you're struggling through the book, I say stick with it, it is worth it in the end.

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Review: The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: July 2019

Sarah Hall has just graduated in the top of her business school class. She thinks it will be a breeze to find a job with her marks. But finding work was more difficult than she imagined. When she finally does find a job, she is at the bottom of the totem pole and has to work hard to get the attentions of her coworkers. Even though she is on an elite team on her fellow team mates don't treat her as such. When a big project comes up and ends up being messed up, everyone's job is on the line, they turn against each other. Some of the team comes together to meet with each other when they get stuck in an elevator. Will they be able to get out alive?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I read this book over the summer when life was super busy and I was just reading and I didn't have much time to do reviewing or blogging. Here's what I remember:
Sarah was a girl I could really relate to. We've all be in a position where we are the new person at work and having to find our way with a team that has already been established. Sarah is not as strong as the other members of her team, but she has a great head on her shoulders. There were parts of this book that were predictable, but there was a twist that I really didn't see coming.

I really enjoyed this book and I wish that I would have reviewed it sooner. I did take a few notes, but not enough to write the kind of review I normally like to do. I know I liked the book and that it held my attention all the way through. I recommend it to everyone who likes books were the girl is the heroine.

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Review: Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger

Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Published: September 2019
 

Naima Rodriquez has just lost her father and it has turned her world upside down. She was upset after the last time he left and she hadn't been in contact with him the way she usually would have been while he was deployed. She decides to move in with her grandparents, since she is used to them and they are used to her quirkiness. When she discovers that her grandparents have a new neighbor, Dew and that he spent some time with her father before his final deployment, she may have to leave her comfort zone in order to find out what was going on with her dad in his final days.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was surprising for me. I wasn't sure what to think of Naima. I lost my father over 10 years ago, but under very different circumstances. I wish I had someone who I could have talked to like Dew who had been with my father when I couldn't be. Naima has a lot of quirks and she isn't too keen on new people. She was upset with herself about how she had been treating her father in her last days, but she wasn't pleased with how he treated her either.

This was a cute YA novel that was alright for me. I felt some parts could have been stronger. This is first book I've read by Candace Ganger, but I will read more of her titles.

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