Sharing the Stories

May was a month for mystery reading, unintentionally, I ended with 7 mysteries and one Greek Mythology story.   The Paris Apartment by  Lucy Foley- audiobook courtesy of Hoopla.  Jess needs her brother, Ben, the one person she can turn to when things get hard. Arriving in Paris she finds Ben gone. He seems to have just vanished leaving behind everything. Slowly Jess starts to put together that the residents of his gated apartment have the answers to his disappearance.  Great plot twists and turns, interconnected characters, and fast-paced.  The It Girl by Ruth Ware   is   a back-and-forth between present and past. College friends are turned apart when one of them is murdered. The testimony that convicts John Neville has left Hannah with more questions than answers. Could he truly have killed April? And if he didn't do it, then who?  Surprising ending. Purchased at the Literary Indie bookstore.  The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane   cou...

 And like that January is done with 9 books. A great start to this reading year with some new mysteries & thrillers, a sweet coming of age to discover who you truly are meant to be, and a solid non-fiction story.   Mystery & Thrillers: *previously reviewed. Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney. A troubled marriage, isolated bed & breakfast, interconnected characters, page-turner! The House in the Pines   by Ana Reyes *  The Searcher  by Tana French. Retired police officer looking for a quiet place, a child needing help, a close community willing to keep outsiders out. In The Woods by Tana French * Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson. A family reunion will expose everyone's secrets, set in a snowed-in resort, motives, and suspects abundant,  and great unexpected reveals.  Historical Fiction The House Girl   by Tara Conklin * Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 1970's a rock band, icon...

Late posting what this past reading month, October, had in the books for me. It was a month of variety with various genres, and surprisingly more actual books than audiobooks, which are my preferred option. Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry~ what could be the worst thing that happens to an atheist? For Michael that is having to attend a new school in a new town, but not just any school. A Catholic School. No friends until he meets Lucy, possibly another non-believer after she challenges a school teacher, a nun nonetheless! But Michael is in for a world of revelations.  Great humor story.  The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune. Loved this slow-building fantasy world with the most lovable characters. Linus Baker has always followed the rules until he's assigned to the Marsyas Island Orphanage where six dangerous magical youths live. His mission is to be impartial and report on his findings. But how does he that when the secrets he uncovers challenge everything he has t...

  Unforgettable. Transformative. Heartbreaking. Hopeful.  How do you move forward if you only look at the past?  A small forgotten town, a big corporation with immunity to walk away from all the damage they had caused.   Three girls with a unique bond coming of age in a town that has given them every advantage while holding them back.   Meet... Mad always doing the right thing because "it's the least she can do". Monday the analytical, questioning, by-the-rules sister. Mirabel is trapped within herself with a remarkable mind bursting to share ideas with the world. Their combined actions will forever change the future of their small town and with it their own destinies. 

  A mystery wrapped in the past slowly unfolds the story of a "royal" heir.   What starts with the boring task of cleaning her aunt Anna's old attic will turn into an unusual discovery.  Tucked away in the attic is an old chest filled with leather-bound journals.  Could these Russian journals be the story of princess Anastasia Romanov?  In the pursuit of finding her aunt's story, Jess will travel back into a past that is hard to understand and that will challenge her desire to believe the story she wants to believe.  Beautifully written with alternating perspectives and voices.