The month of March ended with 13 books read. As usual there were many genres. Thanks to my Book Club I even branched out to one book that I never would have picked on my own - "The Sun Down Motel" - a ghost story of sorts. I read one "dud" in my view, with all the rest ranging from just below an average read to above. So another good month. I had 4 excellent reads - "The Push" - "Three Wishes" - "Vermilion Drift" and "Rush Home Road". All are very different from each other, all well written and all interesting stories.
As a side note. I enjoy a physical book more than an e-book. I usually buy my books and have found a good place where most of the books pictured above came from - Book Outlet. If you haven't bought from them and decide to check them out, please use this link - Book Outlet. By using that link when you sign up and place your first order, I'll get $10 off a future order of my own. They have great prices and free shipping on orders over $35.
Enough of the commercial - here's my books and views from my March reading adventures.
I don't even know how to tell you how I feel about this book. It is a dark book that should have had me super depressed but it didn't. It drew me in to the story and the psychological aspects. I would go back and forth about what version of the events to believe. I surprisingly felt detached and attached at the same time to the people. I don't want to give any spoilers so I'll just say that if you like psychological dramas and can handle the darkness, read this book. It surprised me how much I liked it.
"Three Wishes" by Liane MorIarty
Triplet sisters who are very different yet also the same are reaching their 33rd birthday. The drama that unfolds at their celebration is told as viewed by observers. The backstory is also told so we can know what led up to the drama. A great, easy read.
This was my "after a heavy read palate cleanser" and it was perfect for that! I loved getting to know each of the triplets. Their personalities, their love lives, the way they related to each other, the twists and turns of their lives. All of it! Liane Moriarty is probably known by most as an author of mystery type books such as "Big Little Lies" and "The Husband's Secret". This is a different genre but is still pure Liane Moriarty. She has a great way of developing characters and I've never been shocked by how any of them react in her books. She keeps them true to themselves. A great author and a delightful book!
"The Sun Down Motel" by Simone St. James
A run down hotel, ghosts, a serial killer and a young motel night clerk. Sounds like a light read, right? Viv had left her home in Illinois headed for NYC. Along the way though she ends up taking a detour and lands in Fell, NY - a sleepy upstate town. Sleepy that is except for an inordinate number of murders of young women. Viv herself disappears and her body is never found. 35 years later, her niece Carly goes to Fell in search of information about her Aunt Viv - what happened, why the police not search for her, are there any hints about who killed or abducted her aunt? Through a strange twist of fate the Sun Down Motel, still as it was in 1985, is looking for a night clerk and Carly sees it as an opportunity to help solve the mystery. The hotel is occupied by ghosts - not the scary, going to kill you kind, but the scary open and close doors and turn lights on and off kind. Viv and Carly both meet them and both set out to find who these ghosts are, why they are at the motel and what do they need. All with the main story of what happened to Viv.
Ghost stories are generally not my genre, even though I did enjoy reading an Odd Thomas book my dad had recommended. The ghosts in this story are not evil or even scary to me. They are basically unsettled souls wanting some kind of resolution. I never felt terror or suspense even when reading this even though it is classified as such. Positives to the book - I enjoyed the story. All through it I was trying to solve the case and while I didn't come up with the exact ending, I came close. There were enough clues, people and questions to keep my interest. The negative to the book is I didn't always like the dual time line. I wished at times that Viv's story and Carly's story were both told one at a time. Viv and Carly have a lot of the same character traits and at times I would have to remind myself which one I was reading about. The positives outweigh the negatives though and I'd recommend this book.
This was my Book Club book for March. I resisted joining a Book Club for a long time because I didn't want to "have" to read a book. I finally got real about it and decided that as much as I read, I could sacrifice reading time for one book a month. I am so glad I did. Since joining a little over a year and a half ago, I have read some books that I never would have picked up. There's only been one book that I didn't enjoy that much but felt compelled to finish. I enjoy talking to others about the book we read, and of course I enjoy the food and company. This is one of the books that I had looked at in the past and passed over because of the ghost story element. I'm thankful I had a reason to read it.
"The Lost Family" by Libby Copeland
Not exactly the book I thought it was going to be. While there are personal stories, they are interspersed with details about how DNA testing works, how it was and is being developed, uses for it, misuses of it, ethical questions, etc. A lot of the detail about the how it works and how people use it was a little above my head since I'm not really interested in that. I enjoyed the personal stories about the results of people taking the consumer DNA tests and how lives are affected by it. The issue is that people who didn't sign up for the test or the results are caught in it because of the DNA that is available. If someone from your family has had a DNA test, then there is a chance that people can find you. We are also reaching the point where there is so much DNA that has been tested that nobody will have the privacy when it comes to that.
The other reason I didn't connect so much to this book is that I am one of those strange people who don't feel the pull to know about my ancestors. My family I know is my family - they are the ones who shaped me. It is their culture that I know and is part of me. I don't have that feeling of needing more or more connections. I understand that there are people who do, but it's just not me. A non-fiction book like this one takes me longer to read and there were times I almost stopped, but decided to see it through. A little below average book to me for the reasons I've stated. Which means someone else with different interests may love it.
"Half Finished" by Lauraine Snelling
A story of a group of women who start a UFO - UnFinished Objects club. There are some simple rules - you can only work on a project that is already started but unfinished. They put fliers out and open it up to the community. The interest surprised them. Through that we meet other other people and get a glimpse into these ladies lives.
At one point I thought I might leave this book half finished. It may be that my expectations were high, but I just had a hard time getting into the story. There are a lot of characters, all intertwined, and while I liked them I felt there was no depth to them. I also had a hard time with the writing style. I can't really say why, but I did. I think it's that when I read a book I like to be immersed in it - almost to the point of forgetting it's a book This one didn't do that for me. Bottom line, I would say this is a solid 2 1/2 on a scale of 5.
"Vermilion Drift" by William Kent Krueger
In this Cork O'Connor story we find out part of the story of Cork's dad. We learned this as a current day mystery connects back to that time. The story brings up questions and answers about what is the truth all through the story.
My monthly Cork novel did not disappoint. Ten books into the series and this one filled some of the background to Cork's earlier life while dealing with a current day problem too. I was a little disappointed near the end that there was one event the Cork didn't see coming, but we all make mistakes. 😀
"Everything Here is Beautiful" by Mira T. Lee
A touching story about mental illness and the affect it has on family members and those who love the person suffering. The story is told in alternating views between Miranda, the older sister, and Lucia, the younger sister who is the one struggling with mental illness.
This is a quiet read whose style fits the story. There is a lot packed into this book and it left me with many emotions Even in the sad story, there is joy at times. A book that has to settle after reading.
"The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland" by Jim DeFede
Gander, Newfoundland is where several commercial planes were diverted on 9/11 when the United States airspace was closed. A small island that had an airport that could handle it, but it presented quite the challenge to the town. Not surprisingly, the people rose to the challenge.
This is an encouraging story of community. It is always amazing to see people take in strangers, feed, clothe, shelter them. It is a scene that has played out again and again in my lifetime after disasters. I believe that people on the whole are good and want to help others. While not downplaying the need and heroics of people stepping up during disasters I often think of how during normal times, we often just live our lives, blind to needs around us. Big needs are easy to spot. It's the little ones often ignored. However, that doesn't take away from what the people of Newfoundland did. A reminder of how we should all be.
"Rush Home Road" by Lori Lansens
A story that spans the interesting life of Adelaide Shadd. Adelaide was born in Ontario in an all black town started by fugitive slaves. The story begins in the modern day when she takes in a mixed race girl, Sharla Cody, after her mother abandons her. As the story develops Sharla helps Adelaide come to terms with the past and brings her to a place of peace and forgiveness.
I don't know how I missed this book until now. It was written 18 years ago by an author that I've read and enjoyed before. This is an epic story. It is not a short book - over 500 pages - but I did not want it to end! I loved learning the story of Adelaide. She was a strong woman who had a heart of gold. She was one of those people who on the outside may not have come across that way always, but she had a lot of heartache in her life. Sharla was a ray of sunshine even in the circumstances of her life - an absent father who she never knew, a mom who picked men over her, a poor economic situation and of course being abandoned with a woman she didn't know. Ms Lansens brought these people to life.
Having said that I didn't want the book to end, I have to register my only complaint - the ending. There was a little bit of an unbelief factor with an event that made for a nice story but made me partially roll my eyes. But the rest of the story is well worth a little eye roll.
"The Family Next Door" by Sally Hepworth
How well do any of us know our neighbors? That is the question asked on the cover of this book about a neighborhood in a sleepy town. It is a family neighborhood that suddenly has a single woman move in the midst of them. The question is why would she pick that location out of all her choices? After all the other houses are all family units. Family units dealing with depression, affairs, lies and loneliness, and all the other things that you can probably find in most neighborhoods.
This was an interesting book that did keep me guessing, but I wasn't on the edge of my seat. There were a few plot twists that I found to be stretches, but overall a good book.
"What You Wish For" By Katherine Carter
The story of a school librarian in Galveston whose crush she had moved away from ends up as the headmaster at her school. Duncan comes back into Samantha's life after the passing of her father figure who was the founder and headmaster of the school. Duncan is no longer the man that Samantha knew and in addition to dealing with the loss of a dear friend, she is now dealing with her emotions in dealing with the "new" Duncan.
This is the 3rd Katherine Carter book that I've read and it was my least favorite. I had a hard time picturing Samantha as an adult. For a person to move across country because their crush who they barely talked to was getting engaged seems more like a 16 year old than a 20 something. I've seen the phrase "over the top" to describe this book and I have to agree. It is a light read and does have a message of finding joy in all areas of life - even among the sadness. I'm not giving up on Ms Carter's books to satisfy my need for a light RomCom from time to time, but just had a hard time with this one.
A psychological thriller told from 2 perspectives, His and Hers, with a 3rd perspective thrown in from time to time by the killer. A murder in a small town, a detective on the case who had an affair with the victim, and a tv news journalist who is the detectives ex-wife and as a teen was best friends with the victim. As the story develops we learn about him and her and are left guessing who the killer is as the circle of victims widens.
I like this book. I like the way the characters were developed and also the manner in which the story was told. I spent most of the book trying to solve the crime and often thought I had. There are several options as it went along but through the 3rd person perspective and what I learned about each person in the book, I solved it several times. In other words I couldn't settle on one person until right before it was revealed. The best thing though is it all fit together and made sense. So many times at the end of a book like this I think - "Really?! That just doesn't make sense from what I've read." It's refreshing to be able to finish a book and feel satisfied with the ending.
That's it for March. Now on to April! Happy Reading All!!
Comments