My Best of 2015

One thing I really love about this time of the year, are the "Best Of" lists.  The radio is counting down the best songs of the year.  MTV and VH1 are playing the best videos of the year(Wait?!? Do they still play videos on these channels?).  The news is showing the top stories of the year in varying categories.  Facebook is giving you your "Year in Review".  Instagram and Twitter show you your most liked, retweeted and shared content.  My favorite by far though is the lists made by my fellow book lovers, publishers and writers on the Best Books of 2015.  There hasn't been a book that I have given a 5 star rating on as of yet this year, so this list is comprised of my highest rated books.

I have reviewed several lists that have come across my email, Oprah's Bookclub, Goodreads, BookRiot.com, and The New York Times; and I have compared their list with my Goodreads Read 2015 list and here are my best of 2015.

First, I'm going to start with Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman.  This was one of the most anticipated works of literary fiction for the year.  We hadn't heard anything from Ms. Lee since To Kill A Mockingbird some 55 years earlier.  For me this book was just alright.  I gave it three stars.  It didn't live up to all of the hype that it has been receiving up until its release.

Next, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins another highly acclaimed book for this year that didn't disappoint, but wasn't as great as I was anticipating. Think about how many pictures you saw this year with girls on a train reading The Girl on the Train.

Another book that made the top of my list this year is The Murder House by James Patterson.  James Patterson is one of my favorite authors.  Every year he releases several new books and this one by far is one of my favorites by him in a very long time.  It is a standalone and an outstanding read.

This year I was introduced to several new authors, thanks in part to this blog and groups I am a part of on Goodreads.  Here are some that I highly recommend:

H.N.Wake--I was given her book, A Spy Came Home in exchange for my honest review.  This is the first book in her Mac Ambrose series.  Deceits of Borneo is #2 in the series and that is waiting patiently for me on my Kindle now for a read and review.

Vince Milam--His book Evil Runs was a very interesting religious themed thriller.

Libby Fischer Hellmann-- She has written several books, but she is a new author to me.  I was given her novella, The Incidental Spy as a part of her Review Crew and I am looking forward to reading all that she has written.

This year, I also was much more involved with NetGalley and First To Read(a program through Penguin).  Here are some of the books, I received from these services that are on my best list:

Don't Fail Me Now by Una LaMarche
In Search of Sam by Kristin Butcher
The Mask by Taylor Stevens -- This is #5 in her Vanessa Michael Munroe series, but this is the first one I read.
Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave
The Underwriting by Michelle Miller
The Sound of Glass by Karen White
Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge
The Truth and Other Lies by Sascha Arango

So here is my list.  Some of these books are included on the lists mentioned above.  But this is what I liked.  Please share with me your favorite books of 2015 and/or what you are looking forward to reading in 2016(I will have a blog post of that at the beginning of the new year).

Review--The Incidental Spy by Libby Fischer Hellmann

The Incidental Spy: A Novella by Libby Fischer Hellmann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the mid 1930's, Lena comes to Chicago in the United States to escape what was happening to Jews in Germany at the time. Quickly she learns English and get a job at the local University in the Physics Department. This is where she meets her husband, Karl. After his tragic death, Lena has to find a way to support herself and her young son. When she meets Hans and agrees to work with him she feels she has no other choice in order to survive and protect her family.

I wasn't sure where this book was going to take me, but I'm glad I was along for the ride. What would you do if you were faced with a situation where either choice seemed like the wrong answer? If I was faced with the same predicament, I can't say that I wouldn't have chosen the same as Lena. If you say no, you could lose your family, if you say yes, you can lose a whole lot more. Lena is brave and stoic in her efforts to keep her and her son alive. She finds help in unlikely sources and is able to keep herself and her son safe in the process.

Libby Fischer Hellmann writes a great story that keeps the reader hooked from the start. I can't wait to read more by this author.



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