Dead Dreams by Emma Right
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dead Dreams is about two young girls, Brie, who wants to become independent and is living on her own for the first time, and Sarah, an independently wealthy secretive know-it-all.

The book is supposed to be a psychological thriller for YA, but reads more like chick-lit with the light, casual, conversational feel of the book, with some mystery thrown in. There's lots of twists and turns that will keep you reading - the part that I enjoyed, along with the good writing.

But Brie is so, so stupid and unbelievably immature. She's always whining about her mother, who is just there to watch over her & to protect her and to make sure she's safe. And clearly Brie needs watching over, because she starts off by making a bad decision and just keeps on making bigger and badder mistakes. She knows she's making bad decisions and just goes ahead and makes them anyway - trying to prove her independence and maturity, perhaps? But all she's doing is proving what a sniveling child she really is. Can you tell I'm NOT a Brie fan?

So, if I dislike Brie so much, why am I rating this book 4 stars? Well, because of the character of Sarah. She's so secretive and mysterious and sure, is beyond manipulative, but that's exactly why I like her - it's like hate watching certain tv shows. You know it's awful, but you can't help watching and yelling at the TV screen anyway. That's exactly how I felt about Sarah.

The book ends with another twist, and leaves you feeling very confused - so confused in fact, I honestly wanted to give the book 3 stars for this reason. Yes, you want a cliffhanger at the end of any book in a series, but this feels like Right ended the book literally in the middle of the book, not written in such a way that opens up the next part to the story.

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A Dark and Stormy Knit

A Dark and Stormy Knit by Anne Canadeo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Being a big knitter, naturally I had to request a review copy of this book from netgalley. I have not read any of the previous books in this series, something I normally HATE, but was not an issue at all in this series.

I do want to admit that I am not really a fan of cozies - I just don't get the genre. I understand the need for violence off screen, but the whole genre is just too light and fluffy for me.

Of course, I keep trying to read cozies anyway, because I do like crime books/mystery books for an occasional different read.

Like any other cozy, the setting is a small town world, with a murder you have to solve. I figured it out in about 3 seconds. The book is very slow paced - I don't read enough cozies to know if that pace is normal or not, but for me it was very slow.

The best part of the book is definitely the friendship and connection between all the women. Part of me is envious of that, but mostly I just feel it's so far-fetched. I don't have kids, yet I don't have time in my schedule to get together with my friends once a week no matter what, so how are they all having the time to do that? Still, the idea is just so cool that I'm drawn to it all the same.

(source unknown)

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Under the Dome

Under the Dome by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first read this book a few years ago, when it first came out. Hubby enjoyed the first season of the show so much he wanted to read the book - even though he isn't much of a reader. Well, needless to say, I ended up rereading it & hubby read 20 pages.

I'm a big King fan, though I probably have only read about 1/3 of his books. This one is no exception. Sure, it's long, sure there are sections that drag, and sure it's far-fetched, but that's why it's called fiction. Dale and Julia are two of the many, many, many characters in the book, and they are probably my favorites. Junior, Jim Rennie's Sr.'s crazed son, is also one of my favorites, in that "love to hate him" sort of way. This book, at its heart, is about ordinary people trying to survive and live another day.

My only gripe with the book is the exact same one as the first time I read it - you spend 1000 pages reading about what is happening Under the Dome, for it all to end in a small handful of pages, and without enough of an explanation to satisfy me. There's a lot of fore-shadowing throughout the book, which I noticed the first time but sort of ruined the book for me the second time (yes, I did know how it ended, but it still ruined the ending).

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naked in Death

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An oldie but a goodie.

I used to read this series years ago & lately I've been thinking about picking up the series again, so I borrowed this as an e-book from the library. I knew it was romance & mystery in a future setting, and when I read the series years ago, I really liked the blend of genres.

Now, I was just so bored with the romance story line - I just can't get into romance in books anymore.

That being said, I still enjoyed the book - I love Eve, I love Eve meeting Roarke, and I love the whole universe that's created in these books, the little futuristic devices that seem so funny now, but when this world was first created, it was so cool to have little gadgets that fit in the palm of your hand.

After rereading the book, I'm not sure if I'll reread the rest & continue reading the newer books in the series.

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Martyr's Fire

Martyr's Fire by Sigmund Brouwer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Having not read the 2nd book in the series, I did feel as if I was missing part of the story, something I hate when reading. but I knew that coming into the book.

Thomas, the main character, is now a wanted man, and is struggling finding out who he can trust and believe in. The book is well written and well paced. There's a lot of good verses evil in the book, but can be read more as an adventure novel then necessarily as a Christian book.

I did like this one more than the first book in the series.



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Red Rising

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have such mixed feelings about this book.

I love the mix/blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and dystopia. I love the world and character building. But the character I fell in love with right away dies, leaving me wishing things were different, each and every page.

Darrow, the main character, is such a great mix of good and bad, hard and soft, you can't help rooting for him even as horror, carnage, pain, suffering, friendship, etc. all surround him.

I loved the first 20% or so of the book, which I read in about an instant because I was so engrossed in it.

That was all the good stuff - now the reason for the mixed feelings.

I just couldn't get into the book after that first 20% or so. I loved, loved, loved the setting and the characters and the events that all happened in that first part of the book, and the rest of it - eh. Not so much. I just couldn't bring myself to care about everything that happened to Darrow for the rest of the book.

There's sections where the action happens fast and furious and I think to myself that I'm finally really enjoying the book again, and then the pace changes and I was, just, quite simply, bored.

The ending however, is simply fabulous. Even though half the book I really didn't enjoy, the ending had a couple of twists and it makes me want to read the rest of the series.

-
book received from netgalley in exchange for my honest review

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The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner

The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was very excited when I first heard about this book, and was thrilled when I received a review copy. The book sucks you into the drama of Brendan Prescott from the first page. Every time you "meet" a historical character for the first time in the book, such as Elizabeth or William Cecil, you get a little "thrill". It reminded me of when Star Wars was re-released in the theaters, and every time a main character entered the screen for the first time, the audience loudly applauded.

Being called "The Tudor Secret" obviously the book had its secrets & mysteries. I was hoping for a little more romance & magic that I love to find in historical fiction books, but the characters are well written.

I received a copy of this book to review from the author.

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