Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new at all.”
Abraham lincoln
We spent time at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. yesterday. It was a solemn, humbling experience. Across from Ford’s Theater is The Petersen House, where Lincoln took his last breath. This exhibit is a lovely tribute to such an amazing man in United States History.
This photo shows a book display inside of The Peterson House exhibit. Being a self proclaimed bibliophile, I audibly gasped at such a beautiful display of books. The plaque at the bottom of the display explains the reason behind this display. It reads:
In 1922 the New York Times wrote, “It is, perhaps, a fact that among modern Americans no one has had more books devoted to the multifarious phases of his career and personality than Abraham Lincoln.”
Bree’s sister Alissa goes missing and her brother seems to be the one to blame. This trailer park family is supposed to be about sticking together and being there for each other, but they show none of those values. The father is abusive, the mother is absent most of the time, the brother is selfish and only cares about himself, and the missing sister is just a lost soul in the mix. It felt like a lot of this book was tell and not show 😕.
The wording used in the text was basic. And phrases like “creepy meter” were cringy. Another issue is the over explaining of things like: …”or burner phones, as they were often called in the moves…” to explain what a disposable cell phone is. There were several examples of a wordy, unnecessary explanation of something. Such as, “Splitting up would have allowed them to cover twice as much ground, but since the moped headlight was their main source of light, they had to work together.” This is long and wordy and over explaining. And it happened often in the book. I was able to skim through whole pages and still get the gist of what was happening,
One particular description of a male was a bit strange. He is described as having “wrinkles around his eyes” that “suggested that he was at least in his mid-twenties.” When I think of a guy in his mid-twenties, I do not think wrinkles around the eyes! Mid-twenties is way too young for that kind of description.
I didn’t have any emotional connection to any of the characters. I can’t really say if any of them were likable or not because I don’t feel like I got to know any of them well enough.
The plot felt more lifetime movie, less thriller. The PG-13 way that the ending was handled left much to be desired. Honestly, I still don’t know that reason that Alissa was taken. I mean, I know the reason, but was left to wonder to what end. I still don’t understand what the end goal was for this abductor. It was all a bit abrupt and glazed over. It seemed that the abductor had no agenda but to play games with Bree and her family. Which is ironic, because his stepdaughter literally states the he “doesn’t lie or play games”. I actually rolled my eyes at that one.
There were a few decent action scenes. But that was about it.
Overall, this thriller was not well done.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for a review copy of I Know You in exchange for an honest review.
I listened to the Audio of All These Beautiful Strangers. The voices were great. Especially Alistair’s. I kinda swooned. lol .
So, in All These Beautiful Strangers, Grace takes off and leaves her husband and two daughters with no explanation. Anyway, now Charlie (the oldest daughter) goes to the elite boarding school that her father went to. Charlie soon gets invited to become a member of a secret club on campus called The A’s. These no good snotty brats are all terrible people. They make inductees do horrible things as a final way into the club.
Charlie starts to uncover all these secrets that her father and her family have been keeping from her. Secrets about the A’s. Secrets that could lead her to learning more about her mother’s disappearance.
The story is told from different perspectives and from different time frames. The characters were all interesting to read about. Alistair was the bastard you want to hate, but just can’t. He just had that something. Grace’s perspective was heartbreaking. Every time I got to her part, I felt sadness. Charlie was the teen girl I think most girls can relate to. Insecure, unsure of herself, trying to find her way, trying to be a good friend. She had all the normal teen issues we have all faced, with a whopper of a missing mother and an absent father as the cherry on top. Serafina, the younger daughter, was barely present in the story. I thought this was a bit odd. The other characters were all interesting as well. There were quite a few, but all had distinguishable traits.
The scandals, the lies, the cover ups, the tea. It was like Gossip Girl meets Days of Our Lives.
Although I found it to be a bit too long, I really enjoyed the story. I thought that the ending was well thought out.
I’ve recently started to notice retellings – everywhere. We have a Disney trip planned for this year, so it’s perfect timing. I don’t think that I’ve ever read a retelling, honestly. But, they do seem like some good fairy tale fun. I thought I’d start with The Shadow Queen. A retelling of Snow White.
So here’s the sitch: Loralei is a princess that does not need to be saved. She is out to take back her family’s throne from the wicked queen, Irina. She finds herself a hunstman by the name of Kol who has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Here’s to Fairy Tales! May they always be there for the grown ups who need a little bit of Magic in their very grown uppy lives!
If, Then was a very readable Sci-Fi Novel. Maybe that’s because it’s much more than Sci-Fi. It addresses real human experiences like love and heartbreak and loss and guilt.
One of the most impressive things about If, Then is the way that it is written. I mean, a delight for the senses, ya’ll. I started to write down my favorites – and the list just got too long. But here are a few winners:
“…smells of tobacco and printer ink…” “…smells of dust and burnt coffee…” “…the thumping whine of a photocopier…” “In the half light the tiled shower is a pearly gray cave.”
I mean, is that last one a beautiful metaphor or what?
Let’s talk characters. Well, just one of the families, in particular. One family stuck out to me. Mark is clearly jealous of his wife’s success. He is emasculated by her. She doesn’t respect him at all and his colleagues don’t either! The man can’t even grow a proper beard. I often found myself thinking ‘Poor Mark”. He is the most affected by the visions that everyone is having. Because he is so moved by this other Mark he keeps seeing, he continues to put his son in danger! Mark’s stronger state of panic than the rest is not only his fragility, but also because Mark thinks he knows what’s up. Now, Ginny, Marks wife is a real piece of work. She is one of the most unlikable characters I’ve read. She is a terrible wife and an absent mother. Yes, she is overwhelmed by her work as Head of Surgery, but her busy schedule isn’t what makes her terrible. Even when she is available to her family – she isn’t. She is influenced to make very poor life decisions after her VERY first vision. Ginny seems to use any excuse in the book to cater to her selfishness. Meanwhile, their poor preteen son is caught in the middle of it all.
I’m not a usual Sci-Fi reader. I’m usually intimidated by them. But this novel was easy to understand. I like how there was a definite THING that happened right before each person had a vision. It helped me as a reader to be able to mentally defer the vision from the reality.
If I were to have a criticism, it would be that there were a lot of name brand references. It felt a little “sponsored by…”. Also, the title of the book. Although it is clever – it is impossible to find using a search engine.
Overall, it was a great read. I will definitely read more from this author. She knows how to bring Sci-Fi to the masses.
This March was a success for my reading life. I got to read plenty of books and almost all of them were 4 or 5 stars! That hardly ever happens for me. So, if you’re looking for your next book, check out my list. It might bring you to your next 5 star read!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐ *Thank you Katie Bassel and Macmillan Publishing for an ARC of An Anonymous Girl in exchange for an honest review.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐ *Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of Your Life Is Mine in exchange for an honest review. Full Review on Goodreads.
⭐⭐⭐
.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ *Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of The Starter Wife in exchange for an honest review. Full Review on Goodreads.
Between The Pages 