Posts

Showing posts from March, 2015

The Scent of Rain and Lightning

Twenty-six-year-old Jody Linder was three when her father was murdered and her mother was taken from their home and never found. Billy Crosby, the man who has been behind bars for twenty-three years for the murder, is released from jail thanks to his son, Collin, who conveniently grows up to become a lawyer.  Read this boring book to find out what really happened to Jody Linder's parents that stormy night. Only the last few chapters of the book were interesting, everything before that was dull and predictable. The characters were flat.

These Things Hidden

I hated this book. If I could just abandon a book after I've read a little bit of it this would be one of those books. This story was unrealistic and it was predictable. The characters were one dimensional. I felt like I was reading a book and not there secretly watching the people going about their drama.  Ugh.

Everything I Never Told You

We learn about this dysfunctional family through a story that alternates between the past and the present. Chinese-American James Lee knows what it's like to be different. All his life he has been left out because he doesn't look like everyone else. Marilyn's dreams of becoming a Doctor were put on hold to raise her family. Lydia is the middle child of James and Marilyn and also their favourite child. Her parents both want her to have what they never had: in her father's case it's popularity. He wants her to fit in, to be a social butterfly. Her mother wants her to become a Doctor. Lydia becomes weighed down by their expectations, never telling them how she truly feels. A believable, well-written story with real, three-dimensional characters. I loved it!

The Dry Grass of August

During the summer of '54, 13-year-old Jubie, her mother, her siblings, and their black maid Mary head from North Carolina to Florida to visit her uncle. Along the way Jubie sees derogatory signs. Jubie's mother finds it hard to find a place for Mary to sleep for the night, she even finds it hard to find a place for her to use the restroom. On their way back home to North Carolina they get into a car accident. They're stuck in Georgia when they see just how ugly racism is. The book was really good up until almost the end, it didn't seem as solid as the rest of the book.

The Girl on the Train

The story goes back and forth between three women. Rachel takes the same train into town every weekday. The train stops at the same signal allowing Rachel to look out at the couple who are usually on their deck. She has named them and she knows everything about them. Their lives are perfect. But one day she sees something and what she has imagined for this couple is shattered. Wanting to help, she tells the police what she saw, but being a drunk no one really takes her seriously. A definite suspenseful page-turner. There was one part towards the end where I didn't like the book after that, otherwise, obviously, it would have been a five star book.  

Never Sleep

A fast-paced, quick read. Thora Green's insomnia has lasted for months. She is staying at a Clinic where Doctors observe and experiment on her but never actually treat her. Desperate to get help Thora and her brother, who is also an insomniac staying at the Clinic, head to New York City in search of the Insomniac Café. There are clues around the city to lead them to the Café, but there are also Sleepers - enemies - who will try their best to keep them from reaching their destination.

Inside the O'Briens

This book is pretty much the same as her other ones only this one touches on a different subject - Huntington's Disease. Joe is a loving husband, proud father, and respected Boston cop in his mid-forties when learns he inherited Huntington's from his mother and that each of his four children have a 50/50 chance of getting it. Read along as this disease wrecks havoc on the O'Brien family. A bit repetitive at times (HD, HD, HD) but overall it's not a bad book.  

There's An App For Love

The world's most famous sex guru, Liam, is asked to write a book about a dating app called Flame. He doesn't know anything about using Flame, he can't even get the app on the old cell phone he still uses. Plus he considers himself a failure at love.  Liz's friend convinces her to have one last fling before she leaves for Singapore in a few days. Using her Flame profile, her friend picks out a gorgeous man for Liz. Find out what happens when Liam meets Liz instead of the woman he thought he was going to meet through Flame. A quick read and, I have to be honest, there's quite a few spelling errors.