Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

The Dry – Jane Harper

27824826| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: Luke Hadler turns a gun on his wife and child, then himself. The farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily. If one of their own broke under the strain, well…

When Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk returns to Kiewarra for the funerals, he is loath to confront the people who rejected him twenty years earlier. But when his investigative skills are called on, the facts of the Hadler case start to make him doubt this murder-suicide charge.

And as Falk probes deeper into the killings, old wounds start bleeding into fresh ones. For Falk and his childhood friend Luke shared a secret… A secret Falk thought long-buried… A secret which Luke’s death starts to bring to the surface…

My thoughts: Wow! This one was so much heavier than I first thought it would be. A really good, old-fashioned crime fiction. Right up my alley and actually that genre I first fell in love with when growing up. It was nice and cozy to be back in a book like this. A book that is so great written, amazing characters and the settings was just like you really was there with them, in the heat and longing for the rain. It´s hard to believe that this is Jane Harpers debut novel. That´s how great it is.

The book was published in 2016 and has since then been a big talk about on the web. Her in my country, the book has not reached as far yet, but I believe this will be a big seller this autumn/winter.

The story is really awesome and makes you as an reader both frustrated and excited. A little slow in the start but it did pick up the speed and in the end I just couldn’t wait to get all the answers. Many did surprise me and I really like the ending. No cliffhanger but a promise that there will be more.

An there will be. The second book about Aaron Falk will be published late September 2017.

Romance

Lazarus – Jessica Gadziala

33852287| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: The war was over. The dust had settled. The numbers were increasing. Everything had finally started to calm down. Until one night on a walk, I came across her…

My thoughts: Gadziala is one of my favorite authors if i´ve not told you that before. I love her way to write an her story’s and how many off her series have a connection with each other and that is probably why she is the author I have read the most of. There is always a character in the book that you want to read more about and if that character do not have there own book (yet) you can get glimpses of him/her in the other books. Sometimes I feel like a lovesick teenager when I read her books and gets in love like that. Hehe

This book is number 7 in her The Henchmen MC series and I was quite excited to read it. I really liked Lazarus when he started to appear in sixth book. He was something different and refreshing. Specially after all that had happen throughout the series. Now however i´m a little disappointed. It feels like Gadziala could have done it better. A little deeper, a little more exciting and a lot more suspense would have placed the book higher up on my list. But I´m still glad that i read it and in the book you got to meet a new character who is Weird with a big W. He has his own book and of course I will read it. 🙂

Contemporary · Humor/Funny · Romance · Young, New adult/College

Truth or Beard – Penny Reid

23314731| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Identical twins Beau and Duane Winston might share the same devastatingly handsome face, but where Beau is outgoing and sociable, Duane is broody and reserved. This is why Jessica James, recent college graduate and perpetual level-headed good girl, has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau Winston for most of her life.

His friendly smiles make her tongue-tied and weak-kneed, and she’s never been able to move beyond her childhood crush. Whereas Duane and Jessica have always been adversaries. She can’t stand him, and she’s pretty sure he can’t stand the sight of her…

But after a case of mistaken identity, Jessica finds herself in a massive confusion kerfuffle. Jessica James has spent her whole life paralyzed by the fantasy of Beau and her assumptions of Duane’s disdain; therefore she’s unprepared for the reality that is Duane’s insatiable interest, as well as his hot hands and hot mouth and hotter looks. Not helping Jessica’s muddled mind and good girl sensibilities, Duane seems to have gotten himself in trouble with the local biker gang, the Iron Order.

Certainly, Beau’s magic spell is broken. Yet when Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who was always her adversary, now more dangerous than ever, how much of her level-head heart is she willing to risk?

My thoughts: I had this book in my kindle for months. It had such good reviews that I felt that this book/series I needed to read. And when I finally got around to do it, I wasn’t disappointed.

In this book you are introduced to the Winston brothers. There is 6 brothers and one sister. They are a tight family, who hadn’t have the best childhood. They all have their own quirks and seem to be characters I will be falling in love with in the future. This book is mostly about Duane and Jessica. I love Duane. The first impression of him is so wrong and when you get to meet the real Duane, you fall hard. Jessica is a warm and really likable characters. I often has problems with female characters in this kind of books but not Jessica. She is a grown up, funny, strong woman with enough self perspective to stop her self when she sees she is being ridicules. I LOVE THAT!

The whole book was realistic and the story felt real. It was a really great book that many times made my chest retract and give me that anxiety/tingling feeling in my stomach. I was on pins and needles when I read and tried to get to the good parts where the truth was out and everything was as it should be. Unfortunately I was missing something, I felt it was a bit slow sometimes and that´s the reason to why I cant give it a full 5 stars.

It is an adorable book and i really looking forward to read more.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

Still Life With Crows – D. Preston & L. Child

39033| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A small Kansas town has turned into a killing ground. Is it a serial killer, a man with the need to destroy?
Or is it a darker force, a curse upon the land?
Amid golden cornfields, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers evil in the blood of America’s heartland.
No one is safe.

My thoughts: This is the fourth book about Aloysius X.L. Pendergast. Yeah I know, what a name! And this is so far the least good book out of them I have read. Loved the first and second one. The third was great because it gave you the ability to learn more about Pendergast. This one however was not that exciting. It is good, absolutely. Its just kind of slow and predictable and not the greatest work.

But i´m still a little bit in love with Pendergast that i´m definitely gonna read more books in the series. And I hope i´m not gonna have more of these bad experiences. 😉

Everyday things

Top Five Best Chick Lits

Chick Lits is something I rarely read. Had some bad experience through out the years and to start reading a book labeled “chick lit” is hard for me. But I do it sometimes because there are some really good and funny books out there that i do think everyone should read. So here i have compiled a Top 5 of the best Chick Lits I have read so far.

1.
21122552The one plus one – Jojo Moyes

2.
16181775
The Rosie Project – Graeme Simison

3.
22847270
Twenty-eight and a half wishes – Denise Grover Swank

4.
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Can you keep a secret? – Sophie Kinsella

5.
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One for the money – Janet Evanovich

Which is your favorite Chick Lit book?

Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Odd Hours – Dean Koontz

2029927.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: The legend began in the obscure little town of Pico Mundo. A fry cook named Odd was rumored to have the extraordinary ability to communicate with the dead. Through tragedy and triumph, exhilaration and heartbreak, word of Odd Thomas’ gifts filtered far beyond Pico Mundo, attracting unforgettable new friends – and enemies of implacable evil. With great gifts comes the responsibility to meet great challenges. But no mere human being was ever meant to face the darkness that now stalks the world – not even one as oddly special as Odd Thomas.

After grappling with the very essence of reality itself, after finding the veil separating him from his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, tantalizingly thin yet impenetrable, Odd longed only to return to a life of quiet anonymity with his two otherworldly sidekicks – his dog, Boo, and a new companion, one of the few who might rival his old pal Elvis. But a true hero, however humble, must persevere.

Haunted by dreams of an all-encompassing red tide, Odd is pulled inexorably to the sea, to a small California coastal town where nothing is as it seems. Now the forces arrayed against him have both official sanction and an infinitely more sinister authority…and in this dark night of the soul, dawn will come only after the most shattering revelations of all.

My thoughts: Fourth book about the strange but lovable Odd Thomas. Non of the earlier books has been a wow, love and need to read more, and now after this one i´m starting to ask myself, “why do I keep throwing away time?”

Well the answer on that question is “Come on, its Dean Koontz!”. Well, I do really like Koontz and his books and I did really like the first books about Odd and to follow his life. Its just that I don´t really like the writing in this one, and the story is just weird and a complete train wreck. To many page fillers and stuff that sidetrack the story and don´t makes any sense in the end.

No black monsters this time, just weird visions and dreams. More ghosts and completely strange side characters who makes the story even more confusing. No, not one of the greatest books. Time will tell if I ever will complete the story about Odd Thomas.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

Sinister – Jana DeLeon

28603811| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the second book in the Shaye Archer thriller series.

Street kids are disappearing, but how do you report that to the police when, from their standpoint, the missing people didn’t exist to begin with? Hustle is certain that something bad has happened to his friend Jinx, and the only person he can turn to for help is private investigator Shaye Archer.

Because Hustle helped the young PI while she was investigating her first case, Shaye has already formed an opinion as to his character and believes he’s telling the truth. As she digs deeper into Jinx’s disappearance, she discovers that Hustle’s friend isn’t the only one missing. As a frightening pattern emerges, Shaye wonders if she can find the missing kids…before it’s too late.

My thoughts: Oh my! After I read and rated the first book 5 stars in this series about Shaye Archer, I thought “this cant get any better!”. So wrong I had. It could and it did get better. So good that adrenaline is still pumping out trough my veins. I absolutely love this woman. She is ice cold cool, but still hot and emotional, with an earth crust thick wall around her self. She is compassionate, honest and trough out a really good person. Minus all her history, I want to be her. But her history, I do not want.

The first book was great, the second even greater. You get to meet some of the characters from the first book again and get to know them better. DeLeon is an terrific writer who makes you as an reader in there in the story with the characters. This is the second book I have read by Deleon but if she always writhes like this, she have a strong ability to be one of my favorite writers.

The book is not in the romantic genre, but I have my suspisions that it could be in the future. And even tho I mostly read books with some kind of romantic plot, this is refreshing and oh so great.

Have you read anything by Jana Deleon?

Chick Lit · Contemporary · Fiction/Science Fiction

The Rosie Effect – Graeme Simsion

23492671| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman are back. If you were swept away by Graeme Simsion’s international smash hit The Rosie Project, you will love The Rosie Effect. The Wife Project is complete, and Don and Rosie are happily married and living in New York. But they’re about to face a new challenge. Rosie is pregnant.

Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. Fortunately his best friend Gene is on hand to offer advice: he’s left Claudia and moved in with Don and Rosie.

As Don tries to schedule time for pregnancy research, getting Gene and Claudia back together, servicing the industrial refrigeration unit that occupies half his apartment, helping Dave the Baseball Fan save his business and staying on the right side of Lydia the social worker, he almost misses the biggest problem of all: he might lose Rosie when she needs him most.

Get ready to fall in love all over again.

My thoughts: I absolutely loved the first book. I loved Don and Rosie and even disgusting Gene. I connected with Don in a way that I rarely do in books and I think that it is because I have more knowledge than the general person about these types of people. Growing up with a mother with Asperger, a sister who is high functioning Autistic/ADD, a brother with Asperger/autism and another brother with ADHD. And I have been diagnosed OCD. It is so much that Don says, thinks and do´s that are so familiar to me.

So I loved the first book, this one however I did not love. I liked it, but no love here. My heart breaks for Don. He is just trying so hard to be what Rosie needs and when one thing fails, he tries something ells. Rosie who choose to not communicate does not make it easier and I actually gets a little mad on here for her selfish ways. Yes Don has secrets and even tho i´m all for communication and honesty, I think it would not have made a difference at all if he would have been honest or not, and as a result by being dishonest, he meet new people, gets new experiences that in the end will be god for them all. Even his friends who have there own secrets and problems gets to experience new things with Don that has a positive impact on there own life.

BUT, there is no red thread or a clear plot. Rosie is pregnant, we hardly see her rest of the book except to ignore Don, do it harder on him or do something bad. Gene has a really big part of the story but he really don´t do anything. Its kind of weird. Then we have Dons friends who are there with Don trough it all. Rosies reasons for everything does not make sense to me and i cant really say anything more without giving you spoilers and we definitely don´t want that.

So no, i´m so sad. But I cant like this book as much as the first one because there is nothing besides Don him self who is touching my heart and that is just not enough. Certainly when I was bored for like 70% of the story.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Thriller/Horror

A Merciful Death – Kendra Elliot

29986740| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: FBI special agent Mercy Kilpatrick has been waiting her whole life for disaster to strike. A prepper since childhood, Mercy grew up living off the land—and off the grid—in rural Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. Until a shocking tragedy tore her family apart and forced her to leave home. Now a predator known as the cave man is targeting the survivalists in her hometown, murdering them in their homes, stealing huge numbers of weapons, and creating federal suspicion of a possible domestic terrorism event. But the crime scene details are eerily familiar to an unsolved mystery from Mercy’s past.

Sent by the FBI to assist local law enforcement, Mercy returns to Eagle’s Nest to face the family who shunned her while maintaining the facade of a law-abiding citizen. There, she meets police chief Truman Daly, whose uncle was the cave man’s latest victim. He sees the survivalist side of her that she desperately tries to hide, but if she lets him get close enough to learn her secret, she might not survive the fallout…

My thoughts: I really liked the story. I liked that preppers had a big part of the story. I know what a prepper is but the complete meaning of it was new to me until I read Fan the flames by Katie Ruggle where the female lead character had grown up as an extreme prepper. The culture intrigued me and that is mostly why I wanted to read this book.

However I wasn’t that happy about the characters. They felt kind of detached at times and some of the history never was told to you as an reader, which would have made somethings a little clearer. And I totally dont agree with the ending of the book. Tho no cliffhanger.

Overall it is an great book with some mistakes. After my experience, the first book in a series are often not that good as it could be and i´m still interested to read more about Mercy, and perhaps get some answers on stuff that you didn’t get in the first book. I do not like to end a book with questions but here it do not do anything since they are minor and just my own curiosity. Another reader would probably not even have those questions when the book ends.