Reviews – Page 10 – Books Dani Likes

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Hello Kittens! This week’s creepy tale should cool you off if you’re mired in the heat like we are down South. This one gave me the major heebie-jeebies. I was reading it on a dark and stormy night and ended up yelping out loud when thunder clapped just as I read, “There was someone in the field.” It was way creepier than it sounds, okay? I was actually in the middle of Our House by Louise Candlish when this library hold came in for me. It was perfect timing because I needed an emotional break from the characters in Our House. I ended up devouring this book in 3 days. This was my first title from Simone St. James, but I am officially a fan now, so I’ll be looking for more from this Canadian author in the future.

Title: The Broken Girls

Author: Simone St. James

Author website: http://www.simonestjames.com/

Publisher: Berkley

Publish date: March 20, 2018

ISBN: 9780451476203

Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

From the first few pages, The Broken Girls draws the reader into a creepy world where something dark is stalking girls in the woods of Barrons, Vermont. This story follows the trend of the last few years of dividing its storyline between two time periods in the same place. We meet Katie, Roberta, CeCe, and Sonia in Barrons in 1950. All four girls are students at Idlewild Hall, a boarding school that takes girls who are unwanted by their families or other boarding schools. These are tough girls whose pasts are already haunted, but they are in for more of the same at Idlewild, because something sinister lives there too. “Do not let her in again!”

Then we fast forward to 2014 and meet Fiona Sheridan, a freelance journalist who has her own tragic history at Idlewild. The school was already closed down when the body of Fiona’s sister, Deb, was found there, but it is no less haunting for her 20 years later. When Fiona learns that the property has been purchased and that the new owner intends to renovate the school and re-open it, she knows she has to act. So much of what happened to her sister is unresolved for Fiona, that she has to keep digging to figure out what happened, and she just so happens to stumble upon the rest of the story of Idlewild in the process.

All of these women have survived terrible things, but as the story vacillates between 1950 and 2014 all of their stories will come to a point, revealing many long-held secrets.

The pacing of this story was excellent, and the plot twists were superb. I truly had no idea how St. James was going to tie all of the threads together, but she did a wonderful job. It’s difficult to pinpoint the real villain in the story, and there is an incredibly creepy ghost influencing the story throughout. The suspense in this novel was taut and the historical details added a new level of intensity midway through that kept the story moving when it might otherwise have stalled. It reminded me of…nothing. It was truly a unique read for me, and that was a very pleasant surprise.

Disclaimer: None needed. I got this title from my library.

My rating:

lemonade_icon 4 glasses of lemonade= a book you could recommend to a book group or anybody who reads. You might find controversial subject matter, but it is handled delicately.

There are a few things that might trouble a reader in this story, namely, ghosts, rape, children born out of wedlock, grisly murders. Nothing graphic and not overly descriptive of the worst parts.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Hello Kittens! This week I have a book that is making some headlines down south. Currently, a police union in South Carolina is protesting the inclusion of this book on a high school reading list. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has been on my TBR list for a while. I started hearing about it shortly after it came out and the cover was intriguing. It’s coming to theaters in October and the first trailer that is out for it looks fantastic. This story is one of those that I struggle with as a Librarian, because the book and its story is so important, but I live where I live, so…it’s a difficult choice.

Title: The Hate U Give

Author: Angie Thomas The Hate U Give

Author website: http://angiethomas.com/

Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

Publish date: 02/28/17

ISBN: 9780062498533

Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

The Hate U Give tells the story of a teenage girl named Starr Carter and the way her life changes dramatically when she witnesses the shooting death of her childhood friend by a police officer. As she struggles to deal with the death of her friend she is also confronting issues with her identity and her desire to support the activism in her community while maintaining her own security. She has a lot of difficult decisions to make in this book, decisions that no teenage girl should have to make. She is torn between the desire to defend her friend’s memory, protect her family, and protect her identity. She faces threats that are very real as she prepares to speak her truth to the courts in the hopes of gaining justice for her friend.

The subjects that this book tackles are incredibly timely. There are some objections to this book out there, mainly they argue that it encourage distrust of the police. I don’t see that argument being made in this book. I think Thomas managed to convey an honest evaluation of the feelings these incidents incite, both at an individual and a community level. A lot of the book is written in Starr’s vernacular, and I will admit that I didn’t quite get all of the references, although that could be my age. I was able to get the sentiment even if I couldn’t connect all of the dots.

The writing is strong and I think any judgments that are made are balanced. Ultimately, I just think this book is important. It reads as hauntingly real. I think when the film version comes out, the response is going to be visceral.

Disclaimer: Not needed. I got this book from my library.

My rating:

lemonade_icon 2 glasses of lemonade= a book that you could probably recommend to family and close friends. They may not like everything that’s in it, but they’re not going to start sending you cards with holy scripture written in them as messages to get you back on the path of righteousness after reading them either.

Let me be clear here, I LOVED this book. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. I think that everyone should read this book. That being said, from a professional point of view, there are people in my community who would be outraged to read anything that suggests that not all police officers are without guilt in these circumstances. Also, there was a fair amount of cursing throughout the book.

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Hello Kittens! Sometimes I Lie is one of those books where I thought I knew what I was getting into before I even opened the cover, but the reading experience ended up being completely different from expectations. This title was everywhere for a while and it has been out for some time now, so I am extremely grateful that no one ruined the plot twists for me. This is a twisty plot with an unreliable narrator who will have you guessing what is real many times before the end. For fans of modern psychological suspense, this is a definite must-read and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this story transformed for the screen sometime in the next few years.

Title: Sometimes I Lie

Author: Alice Feeney

Author website: https://www.alicefeeney.com/

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publish date: March 23, 2017

ISBN: 9781250144843

Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Amber Reynolds is 35-years-old, is married to Paul, and is in a coma. Thus this book starts off with the first twist from the very first chapter. The reader will follow Amber backwards in time, unraveling the lost memories of what led to her coma along with flashes from her childhood which help the reader get to know who Amber really is. Amber is in a coma, aware of everything that is going on around her but unable to move and unable to remember how she got in this situation. Her husband, Paul, and her sister, Claire, are frequent visitors in her hospital room, and Amber believes she has reason to fear them both…if only she could remember why. Lastly, a mysterious visitor who she can’t identify is sneaking in and out of her room whispering sinister things in her ear…if he is real and not one of her dreams that is.

As you read, you won’t know who to trust. Did Paul hurt Amber? Did he cheat on her? Why is Amber afraid of her sister? Why does her childhood factor into this? Is Amber guilty of cheating? What is real in Amber’s life and what has she imagined and why? Who is the mystery man in her room? Did Amber bring this on herself? I loved how much tension the dream sequences in this book built up. Just when you think Amber is remembering something significant, you discover that she is dreaming, but her dreams are all significant, with specific takeaways. The ending weaves all of these differing pieces together and answers so many questions. It was highly satisfying in that respect.

Sometimes I Lie is the debut title from writer and journalist Alice Feeny. Considering how much buzz I have been hearing about this book for the past several months, I was surprised by how slowly it started off. There are a lot of important foundation points that are built in the first several chapters, but there are so many competing narratives, and with an unreliable narrator who can’t trust herself to parse out what is real and what is not, it can be a little tedious for the reader. That being said, even now, several hours after having finished the book, I am still doubting that I understand everything that happened in the end. I have seen some people compare this book to Gone Girl, and I can see that in the sense that it almost reads as though it were two different books. Half the book is spent positing potential theories of what is going on, and the other half is spent allowing the mind to unwind the truth that is stranger than fiction. An extremely engaging ending, and a very promising start from this writer.

Disclaimer: Not necessary. I waited so long to read this one that I was able to get it from my library.

My rating:

There are definitely some disturbing scenes in Sometimes I Lie, including stalking, rape and murder. I know murder isn’t generally mentioned when it comes to thrillers, being somewhat expected, but the murders in this book were a little ghastly. While the writing is strong, the content could make some uncomfortable. Keep the recommendations on this one to those whose reading preferences you know well.

I Flipping Love You by Helena Hunting

Hello Kittens! As the mercury and the humidity hit their highest levels here in the South I thought it was time to get our internal temps rising as well. Which is why I have a steamy romance novel for you today. I Flipping Love You is a sexy romp set in the Hamptons that will have readers fanning themselves while dreaming about attractive men at the beach. There’s heart to this story, but it’s also got everything your average romance fan is going to love: mistaken identity, horrible blind dates, sex in public places, and genuinely lovable characters. Good luck staying cool while you read this one.

Title: I Flipping Love You I Flipping Love You (Shacking Up, #3)

Author: Helena Hunting

Author website: http://www.helenahunting.com/

Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Publish date: 05/29/18

ISBN: 9781250183972

Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Rian Sutter (pronounced like Ryan) and her sister Marley are out shopping for groceries when she meets an undeniably attractive man in a sharp suit, a man who seems to be tracking her throughout the store, a man who confronts her and begins yelling at her? In one of several deliciously funny mix-ups, this story starts off with a case of mistaken identity. Rian and her sister are hard-working entrepreneurs, trying to escape their family’s sordid past, and rebuild a life while selling and flipping homes in the Hamptons. They are finally beginning to do well and start working towards some of their long-term goals, barring that little grocery store incident. But fate isn’t done with Rian and Mr. Sharp Suit, Pierce, because he and his brother are buying, renovating, and renting homes in the area as well. As the Summer heats up, so does the chemistry between Rian and Pierce, but after being abandoned on numerous occasions due to her family history, Rian cannot open up to Pierce in the ways he wants her to. One thing’s for sure, they have crazy chemistry that is obvious to anyone who sees them. You’ll find yourself rooting for them all the way to the end.

I Flipping Love You is the third title in Helena Hunting’s Shacking Up series. While you don’t need to have read the first two books for this one to make sense, I understand based on reading the synopsis that at least one of the characters that appears in I Flipping Love You appears as a protagonist in the previous book. I have not read the other two and still managed to thoroughly enjoy this book. My one complaint about this book will barely register for most romance fans, but I’ll state it anyway: there’s not enough time spent in the book talking about flipping houses. That is supposedly a major point of the plot, it’s even in the title, but there are no specific details in the book that lend weight to that. It reads as though someone who doesn’t know much about construction set a book in that world.

That being said, the plot was still enjoyable. It moves at a decent pace and tension builds throughout. You won’t find much in the way of surprises in the plot, with every revelation being teased a few chapters before, but the characters are so adorably flawed that you still anticipate how they are going to react to each other when it all hits the fan. Pierce is definitely the dream romance character: extremely attractive, wealthy, and a good guy, while Rian is also attractive (but unaware of it), determined, and sassy. You’ll love them both as they come to love each other. This book was funny, a little sad at times, and constantly steamy. A winning combination as far as I’m concerned.

Disclaimer: I received an electronic galley of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

1 glass of lemonade= a book that can only be recommended to someone whose reading taste you know well, like a best friend. There may be a fair amount of curse words, spicy sex scenes, or potentially morally repugnant behavior. This does not mean that the book is bad, just that the audience might be a little more limited.

Sex, sex, and more sex for this one, no real cursing or immoral behavior. Nothing wrong with any of that and it’s typical of romances, but I still wouldn’t be recommending this one to anyone but known romance fans.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Hello Kittens! This is my first Sci-Fi recommendation for the site. Part of my goal with this site was to motivate myself to read genres that I don’t normally engage with, and Sci-Fi is one of those genres that I didn’t think I liked. I heard about this book on the All the Books podcast from Book Riot and requested it from my library. It’s been out for a while, but the rest of the series is upcoming. As I was reading it during my lunch break, I found out that not one, but two, of my co-workers had recently finished the book and also loved it. If there is someone in your life who doesn’t think they like Sci-Fi, then this is the novella for them. Best of all, the entire series will be published by the end of the year. The second book, Artifical Condition, is already out, with Rogue Protocol (#3) expected in August, and Exit Strategy (#4) expected in October.

Title: All Systems Red All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Author: Martha Wells

Author website: http://www.marthawells.com/

Publisher: Tor.com

Publish date: 05/02/17

ISBN: 9780765397539

Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

All Systems Red is the first book in the 4-book Murderbot Diaries series. It chronicles the adventure of a security robot who has renamed itself Murderbot, who has hacked its protocols after a traumatic event and is acting in secret as a free agent. Set on a distant planet and featuring an expeditionary crew of scientists, this story starts with a bang and the pacing doesn’t let up throughout the story. There is intrigue, secrecy, corruption, and sabotage.

Wells doesn’t spend a ton of time on world-building in such a slim book, and that makes for an incredibly exciting story where the reader’s imagination is free to fill in the gaps. Murderbot breaks free from the system that controls its every move but has to hide in plain sight, never revealing its liberated abilities to the humans it is providing security for in an effort to avoid the scrap heap. When things on their mission begin to go dangerously awry, Murderbot is left with no choice but to open up a little in order to keep these humans alive. There are forces on this planet that mean them harm, and no one’s entirely sure who to trust. Murderbot knows its only choice is to keep these humans safe until they can all get off this planet ASAP.

You experience the entire story within the mind of Murderbot which can come across cerebral at times. While the reader is unlikely to forget at any time during this short plot that they are dealing with a non-human protagonist, the character’s development endears Murderbot to the reader. The pacing is so quick that there is no chance to anticipate any of what is going to happen next, so readers who always think they’ve got the plot figured out will enjoy the challenge of this storyline.

Bottom line: This was short, sweet, and unexpected. I will definitely be using this one as a recommendation for my Sci-Fi enthusiast patrons from now on. I will be picking up the rest of this series throughout the year, and I will be trying some additional Sci-Fi and Fantasy authors over the next few months. I love a book that changes my mind. Well done, Murderbot.

Disclaimer: Not really needed this time. I got this book from my library.

My rating:

lemonade_icon 5 glasses of lemonade= you could recommend this book to anyone. There is nothing in here that is going to upset anyone and you could start handing it out on street corners. (This kind of book is a Librarian’s dream. As much as we love good literature, suggesting a book for someone can be nerve-wracking work that can backfire BIG TIME.)