Contemporary · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense

Nine Lives – Sharon Sala

36576332| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: The synopsis written to this book is so bad and filled with misinformation. It was misleading and wrong. Whoever wrote that one needs to quit their job. Here, read Katy’s review on Goodreads. She knows how to write an synopsis. 😀

 

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My thoughts:

“I love how Cat not loses herself and stand strong in her opinions and still are not one of those dumb as heck characters you in the end just dislike.”

Sharon Sala is a really skilled author when it comes to mixed characters and points of view. No “this chapter, this character” way of writing. She has it all jumbled together and you jump from one character to another in the blink of an eye. And it is never confusing, never boring and you get to view an situation from several directions. It is not a skill I see often among the authors I read and feel it is important to highlight.

The book itself was really good. I liked the characters and I especially like Cat. She is an character right up my ally. The plot is insane and really intriguing, exciting and so, so sad at some moments. I can really see myself continue this series (there is a total 3 books).

I love how Cat not loses herself and stand strong in her opinions and still are not one of those dumb as heck characters you in the end just dislike. The romantic part of the book feels realistic but in no way takes over the story. I’m happy with the outcome and it was a book I could feel cozy with.

Everyday things · TBR

To Be Read – April

Every month I pick 2 eBooks from my kindle, 2 physical books from my bookshelf and 1 book from my to buy list, that I’m allowed to buy (yeah I’m on a buy books ban again) and planning to read them in the following month.

In March I had a reread and Breathe by Kristen Ashley left to read but at the time I’m writing this, I plan to start Breathe as soon as I’m done with the book I’m currently reading and it will probably happen before the end of March.

But anyway, following books are what I plan to read in the month of April. As usual there are a sixth book but that one I will not know what it will be until the meeting of my book club in the beginning of April.

april

The first book I chose, I’m looking forward to read since it is the forth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. That series has been “out of this world, great” so far.

The second book is highly anticipated which had its release in March. It is a high fantasy on almost 1000 pages. It is almost a little frighting to start even though I usually loves big books.

The third book is one in a series I follow written by Jessica Gadziala, one of my favorite authors, where we finally suppose to be told what really happened to Eli.

The fourth book is the one I’m allowed to buy in April. It is a continue on a series I last read back in 2017 and wish to pick up again.

The last one is a book by a Swedish author that I received as a Christmas present from my mother-in-law. I wish to read it so that I can say the next time I meet her that I finally have read it. I received this one several years ago so it is about time. Haha Note: The book is translated to English and it’s title is “Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All” if you are interested. 

What are you planing on reading in the month of April?

 

Contemporary · Romance · Suspense

Diamond Bay – Linda Howard

420741| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: KELL SABIN WAS IN TROUBLE

He knew it the minute the other boat drew near, the minute he heard the crack of rifle fire over water. Wounded and desperate, he flung himself into the Gulf and headed for shore.

Rachel Jones wasn’t looking for trouble, much less a man, but in Kell she found both. He was washed up on her beach, unconscious, like so much driftwood, but he was every inch flesh and blood. Her body responded in the only way it knew how, but what really frightened her was the response of her heart. Like it or not, she was in love.

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My thoughts:

“Nothing really deep that grips you but still exciting enough to keep you going.”

One word: mediocre! But to be honest the book is older than myself and we already know I’m a hard reader to please. However I did like it. Although more romance than suspense it is still nice to spend some time with an “Old, but Goldie”. It is quite light and airy. Nothing really deep that grips you but still exciting enough to keep you going.

The plot is a typical “been there, read that” and nothing surprising. Was a little fast in the end and it could have been a little more developed. I liked the characters but not the instant love situation. I liked the plot but I did not like the slowness in the middle of the book. But I especially liked the dog Joe.

Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction · Romance

A discovery of witches – Deborah Harkness

41952734| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

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My thoughts:

“The only thing I discovered was that no matter what “world” you try to place a romance story in, if you do not decide one thread to follow, it will not succeed.”

At first I thought this would be a solid five star book. But then I got a couple of hundred pages in and the author has completely abandon the original plot. That took away a star but thinking, hey it can still be good. Reading a couple of hundred more pages and now even the “love” story is so over dramatic that I started to wonder, wasn’t this supposed to be an adult romance and not a YA? Goodbye another star. I’m over 400 pages into it and it feels too late to stop now and I keep hoping for Harkness to take her common sense together and save it in the end. It can’t be possible that so many of my people on Goodreads love the book but me however not so much. I feel the need for this to be a success. However that never happens and it even gets worse.

I was hoping for an action filled, non-cheesy, paranormal romance with some substance. What I got was a highly dramatic, slow and puzzling love story, cloaked in the “discovery” of witches, vampires and daemons. Written like an YA book with every angst filled thought possible but with an analytic mind, a lot of history and details. The only thing I discovered was that no matter what “world” you try to place a romance story in, if you do not decide one thread to follow, it will not succeed. It was all over the place and Harkness should have stayed with the alchemical manuscript and the dynamic of the world with witches, vampires and daemons and left it at that.

Even though it ended quite interesting with some time traveling and other loose threads, it is not enough for me to feel the need to pick up the second book in the series. I will more likely watch the series instead, but don’t count on it.

Adult fiction/Erotica · Classic/Historical · Contemporary · Fiction/Science Fiction · Romance

The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid

32620332| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ’80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

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My thoughts:

“Can an author write so perfect that you in the end, are questioning your very own existence?”

Let me first say that I had no idea what to expect when going into 2018 most mentioned book. What I did know is that it had an interesting synopsis and I kept seeing it in my Goodreads and Youtube feed. Trying not to be caught up in the hype wave I have “ignored” it for some time while it was in my TBR pile. Well I have certainly stopped ignoring it now and joined the hype train. *toot toot* Here I come because wow this was so worth the wait!

Can a book be this perfect? Can an author write so perfect that you in the end, are questioning your very own existence? Can a story be so consummated that you start to wonder “was this really a fiction?”. I know that this is supposed to be a literary fiction but it was read more like a chick lit/true story. A deep chick lit with none of that “hubba bubba” love. It was just about life. From the beginning to the end! Honest from page one. It is the most well- devolved, character driven story I have ever read, where you have it all from the emotion spectrum. Love, hate, delight, rejection, pleasure, sadness, courage, fear, anticipation, hopelessness, willing, anger, grief, strengths and everything else.

There is so many human destiny’s and so much feelings, in so many different ways crammed between the covers that you can’t help but wonder, is it true? I ended the book at work and literally wanted to cry, not suitable for an open office landscape. I could not (off course) cry there and then but that is how strong of impact it had on me. It is so much grief and agony but still so much love that in the end it is worth it. Don’t believe me? Believe the other 33 000 people who have given it a five star rating on Goodreads.

Everyday things

I injured Mr. Tom! :(

img_2996I accidentally injured Mr. Tom last weekend and I’m so sad right now. It has been my friend, my companion and always with me for three years now. What happen was that I had put it beside me in bed after reading and then fallen asleep in the afternoon. When I later woke up I checked the time on my phone and then “threw” it beside me. I had not placed the cover back on and the phone accidentally hit the screen. Now I have a big notch in the screen which shines really brightly and creates shadows who “interferes” with the text. I have not yet decided if I should try to get used to it or if I should invest in an upgrade. I have had it 3 years and it has worked so perfect. I can’t imagine a life without my kindle. I don’t know what to do.

I tried to take a picture of it but that was harder than anticipating.

Contemporary · Romance

Dr. Strange Beard – Penny Reid

30315676| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Hunches, horse races, and heartbreak

Ten years after Simone Payton broke his heart, all Roscoe Winston wants is a doughnut. He’d also like to forget her entirely, but that’s never going to happen. Roscoe remembers everything—every look, every word, every single unrequited second—and the last thing he needs is another memory of Simone.

Unfortunately, after one chance encounter, Simone keeps popping up everywhere he happens to be . . .

Ten years after Roscoe Winston dropped out of her life, all Simone Payton wants is to exploit him. She’d also like some answers from her former best friend about why he ghosted her, but if she never gets those answers, that’s a-okay. Simone let go of the past a long time ago. Seriously, she has. She totally, totally has. She is definitely not still thinking about Roscoe. Nope. She’s more than happy to forget he exists.

But first, she needs just one teeny-tiny favor . . .

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My thoughts: Out of the now five books I have read so far in the series about the Winston brothers, this is the least favorite one of mine so far. I did not find it as funny, lovingly and straight to the heart and warm as the others. And I can’t quite put my finger on it. It is like Reid was uninspired while writing it and did it mostly because of the side story line and plot twists around the father Darrell.

I do understand it. It is an important line not to be forgotten since it has been there throughout the series, but it was a little too much and now so many different things happening and I can’t quite get it all connected in my head. There is no cliffhanger per say, but it is certainly stuff that is not yet cleared up.

I do like the characters as always, even though they were a little more shallow than usual. But hey, it was still good. And I will continue the series. This one just missed the mark this time.

Non-fiction/Biography

Becoming – Michelle Obama

38746485| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African-American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments.

Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare. In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.

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My thoughts: I’m not doing a full review on this one due to the fact that it is a memoir and I feel weird commenting on another persons life, thoughts and feelings. But I have to say I freaking loved it. It is well written, honest and I do understand the source to the hype. It’s unapologetic and the feeling I get is that Michelle have been honest and not concealed the less attractive attributes about herself or others but still emphasized that not all is what is seems and it does not always define a person. I would not determine the book as deep and a lot has probably only been scratched on the surface, but it still feel credible and always interesting. One thing I never got the feeling off (which is common in everything produced from that side of the world) is the “USA is the biggest, strongest and best no matter what” mentality. I do not doubt she love her country, but she was honest about her country’s flaws. It does not make USA worse than any other country, but it gave me a realistic view of how it is. Specially for me who never been there and my only source of information is media in different forms. And we all know how that information can be polluted at times.

My mental picture of Michelle is a down to earth, no nonsense, strong woman who is smart and only wants the best for her, her family and her country. She doesn’t want to run for president but in my opinion I believe she would have been great at it. Just as her husband. I though I would never read this book but now I’m happy that I did. It was a great nonfiction book I do recommend.

 

Everyday things

Spring cleaning TBR Part 1 – Kindle

Art by Magalie FoutrierWhen I started reading e-books I went a little overboard and bought these big sets filled with different books and series from different authors. It even got worse when I got myself a Kindle and found free books at Amazon. So through the years I have accumulated quite a list of eBooks I probably never will read.

So it is time for a spring cleaning in my electronic book TBR list. I use Goodreads to keep track of what I have and want. So those books I believe I will never read, I will delete from my account. This however do not mean that they are gone. I still have them in my amazon cloud or on my hard-drive, depending on where I bought them. So if I regret my choice I still have the ability to read them in the future. But I’m a fan of the saying “out of sight, out of mind” and that is what I will practice here. Just to get my self some peace of mind. Disorganization is extremely stressful for me.

Some of the books are part of series that I have started but will probably never continue. For an example Three sister island by Nora Roberts, due to that I hated the first book. Or Grant County by Karin Slaughter since she spoiled me so heavily in one of her other series (Will Trent) that I don’t want to continue the series.

Then I have a ton of series I never started, like for an example, Bone Island and that is because I have read some books by Heather Graham and I have never liked them. Some of the series I bought because I was interested but now I’m no longer are and after been on my TBR for years, it is time to let it go.

I have also started to delete all those “half” books. I hate that type of thing. Not a big fan of short stories either. So it is time to say “Bye Bye” to them too.

Overall I’m quite happy with my spring cleaning. It will be a lot harder when I do it in my physical TBR shelf. That will probably not be as easy.

Series I will not continue:
Krewe of hunters – Heather Graham
The bodyguards of L.A county – Cate Beauman
Three sisters island – Nora Roberts
Kate Reid – Robin Mahle
Mackenzie family – Linda Howard
CIA Spies – Linda Howard
The last stand – Brenda Novak
Truth – Mariah Stewart
Dead – Mariah Stewart
Dark Ops – Catherine Mann
Grant County – Karin Slaughter
The MC Sinners – Bella Jewel
Stark Saga – J. Kenner
The sons of steel row – Jen McLaughlin

Series I bought but probably never will read:
Bone Island – Heather Graham
Operation: Midnight – Linda Castillo
Sign of seven – Nora Roberts
Storm front – Sharon Sala
DCI Tom Douglas – Rachel Abbott
Stacy Killian – Erica Spindler
Abby Kane – Ty Hutchinson
Western Ladies – Linda Howard
Burnout Series – Dahlia West
Last – Mariah Stewart

Other books:
Copycat – Erica Spindler
Hearths of fire – Kennedy Layne
Captured innocence – Kennedy Layne
Fearless – Lauren Gilley
To die for – Linda Howard
Raintree: Inferno – Linda Howard
Blood born – Linda Howard
Dirty – Kylie Scott
Unholy – Ellen Harper
Ellie’s Story – W. Bruce Cameron

X.5 Books
8.5 Visions of sugar plum – Janet Evanovich
12.5 Plum Lovin’ – Janet Evanovich
13.5 Plum Lucky – Janet Evanovich
14.5 Plum Spooky – Janet Evanovich

So much books to read. Not enough time.Art by Magalie Foutrier

 

Everyday things

International women’s day – Five books by female authors I think you should read!

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38746485Becoming – Michelle Obama
I have not yet finished this book but I can already see that this is a strong book about a even stronger woman and I do feel every one should read it. 
2657To kill a mockingbird – Harper Lee
Harper Lee was a very private person and it bothers me not knowing why such a talent writer never wrote more than two book, the second published 55 years after To kill a mockingbird. I never read this book in school but I’m happy I finally did a couple of years ago. It is such a strong book that really makes you think. And to know she took a lot of heat due to the topic of the book and it has stand against time just makes it even better.
17347384Harry Potter – J.K Rowling
A series, loved by young and old in both books and movie form. It is certainly in my opinion one of the most influenced book series of my time. I grew up with HP and it will always have a special place in my heart. Then when you know Rowling’s story and struggles before it’s publish it makes it even better. It is the proof that if you are willing enough, you can make anything happen.
8745Desert flower – Waris Dirie
I read this many years ago. It is such a strong story about a woman grown up in a environment and culture so different from my own. It certainly made me realize how lucky I am just to be born from the mother I have, in the country I did.
1397964I have life: Raped, Stabbed & Left for dead – Marianne Thamm
I read it as a young teenager and it was absolutely horrific. But still strong, inspiring and proof of how strong a woman can be, no mater what. I was in a bad place at the time and this book help me in a way I can not explain. Not for the faint of heart but certainly a book worth reading.