“False Hope” by Lynne Lee         

Published by Amazon Publishing UK

Finished 2/26/21 - 4/5 stars

 

To me, this is a suspenseful story of motherly love…….

A dying mother’s wish for her son to grow up in a loving, safe home.

A mother’s love to protect both her birth son and her adopted son who was formerly her nephew.

A mother’s unconditional love for her troubled son and her need to continue to be a grandmother to his child.

And a mother’s love for her daughters and grandsons, wanting to ensure that her daughter that has died is not forgotten.

The question is, how far would you go to love and protect the ones you love?  Whose recollection of the past do you believe to ensure you are making the right choices for their future?

Although I would occasionally become annoyed with the authors use of very long sentences throughout the book, I enjoyed the storyline and characters and felt the past and present were well entwined to make it flow well.  It was a page turner as well so that was a nice bonus.  I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The Children's Blizzard

 

“The Children’s Blizzard” by Melanie Benjamin

Finished 2/19/21 – 5/5 stars

Published by Random House

 

Bravo!  Bravo!  What a fabulous historical fiction.  I’m not a huge fan of reading books that take place in the 1800s but because the subject matter was children and the author is well known for other titles, I thought I might enjoy it.  And I truly did.  As a bonus, I learned about an event in American history that I was not aware of. 

A horrific blizzard in the prairies with zero visibility, in a time when there weren’t timely weather forecasts so people were unprepared and taken by surprise.  To make the situation worse, the storm arrives just as children have been released or are about to be released from school.  This is the fictional telling of this storm based on the lives of those children and their teachers trying to walk home, praying they are going in the right direction.  And after it passes, the aftermath it leaves behind of bodies frozen in the snow, amputations from frost bite, and lives ruined.  All of this makes for a true page turner. 

I highly recommend this book.  Not only do I think it’s a great book for pleasure reading (especially while snowed/iced in myself) but I think it would be a good book for high schoolers to read for an assignment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Whisper Man

 

“The Whisper Man” by Alex North

Published by Celadon

Finished 2/11/21 – 5/5 stars

 

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book as suspenseful as this one was at times.  And a very well written one at that.  One of the things I truly liked about it was that there wasn’t that gimmicky tell all scene at the end where the killer confesses.  Obviously, there were revealing moments to tie things together but it wasn’t forced.

Without giving too much away, when a young man lost his wife, he and his son moved away to start a new life.  What they didn’t know at the time was that they were moving into “the scary house” in town.  From there you learn about the dark past of the town in which 20 years ago people were murdered or went missing.  They caught the serial killer at the time but now another young boy has gone missing.  And from there, you’ll have to read it to find out what happens next.

Great book and highly recommended.

Flower of Darkness

 

“Flowers of Darkness” by Tatiana De Rosnay

Finished 10/11/20

3.5/5 stars

 

I feel bad giving this novel just 3.5 stars because I truly enjoyed the characters and their relationships but there’s just a little too much “big brother” and robotic pieces for me to fully enjoy it.  In other novels by Tatiana De Rosnay like “Sarah’s Key” and “A Secret Kept”, she created characters and storylines I greatly enjoyed.  This time the storyline fell short due to some of the AI aspects – without giving anything away, there are two robots in the story that make it more of a sci-fi book than a mystery or suspense novel in my opinion.  I did enjoy the characters though.  Most are likable and relatable in some sense.  There could have been more relationship development between some of the characters but overall I still enjoyed their interactions.  I really enjoyed the main character’s relationship with her granddaughter, but again, I think there could have been more done around it.  Overall, I found it to be a good read, just not a great read.

Thank you to both Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for an early eGalley in return for an honest review.

A Spool of Blue Thread

 

“A Spool of Blue Thread” by Anne Tyler

3/5 stars

 I honestly don’t know what to say about this book other than it was just OK.  None of the characters were great but I can say Denny was my favorite.  The storylines weren’t anything special, although at times a little odd.  There just wasn’t anything pulling me in and drawing me back to pick it back up to read.  I think that’s why it took so long to finish.

 On to the next 😊

The Turtle Warrior

 

“The Turtle Warrior” by Mary Relindes Ellis

 4/5 stars

 I’m at a loss to understand how this wonderful book published 15 years ago has less than 800 ratings on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble combined.  How did word not get out about this book?  It has great characters all struggling with their own issues, a beautiful setting in Wisconsin, and a story line that will have you feeling all the emotions.  It should have thousands of ratings and reviews.  The author needs a better marketing team.

This is the story of 2 families that live in neighboring farms with nothing in common.  In one farmhouse you have the Morriseau family - a sweet, childless couple and their dog that they rescued from a ditch.  In the other, you have the Lucas family - an alcoholic and abusive husband, a very timid and soft spoken wife, and their 2 sons that are about 10 years apart.  After enduring as much as he could, the oldest enlists and is sent to Vietnam, leaving his younger brother to try to survive their father’s drunken episodes while their mother loses herself in worry over her son off at war.  During the 33 years this story spans, there are lots of ups and downs that the characters go through.  Mainly downs, but yet it’s not a depressing story.  The overall feel is one of struggling to survive, with the hope of a better life, and leaning on others to help you get there.    

Daisy Jones & The Six

 

“Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

3/5 Stars

 

Well that was different.  The way this book is written, you feel like you are reading an article in a magazine except there are no questions from the interviewer.  Just a story being told from different perspectives.  But not a full story, just little snip-its.  And those snip-its have just enough information to give you the bigger picture.  Truly, in that sense, it’s very well written.  Unfortunately, I still feel it’s just an OK book overall.  Yes, I was invested in some of the characters.  Yes, I enjoyed the storyline.  I just didn’t love it.