justine
I came with somewhat high expectations for this book, after reading Behind Closed Doors last year. Unfortunately, I was worn out after this read.
The story takes place around Livia's 40th birthday party, which Liv has made into her life goal to celebrate since she didn't have her dream wedding (what?). I found her shallow and selfish, and oftentimes confusing. She had been keeping a secret from her friends and family for weeks, just so she could celebrate this party. Instead of celebrating their marriage in some way to make up for not having her dream wedding, she makes it all about her, to the point where her husband felt the need to wait until the end of her party to tell her something really important.
Adam, Liv's husband, aggravated me as well. His inability to communicate and his thought process just frustrated me. I found the constant back and forth stressful. The miscommunication throughout the book was just too much for me, and this dragged on for more than it should have.
I wish I could have enjoyed this more, but I hated both the characters and couldn't find any sympathy for them and what they went through.
“Inspired by the true story of a daring deception that plunges a courageous young woman deep into the horrors of a Nazi POW camp to be with the man she loves.”
When I started reading this book, I thought to myself, “no way did this really happen, right? This can't be a true story.”
The horrors that the prisoners endured, the inhumane treatment and the hateful crimes seeped through the pages spectacularly. Izzy had to disguise herself as a man while being held prisoner and her fears were written beautifully by Brookes.
It felt drawn out at first, but I was captivated by the resilience and bravery of Izzy, the men that became her friends, and the prisoners that survived such cruelty.
I wanted to know what happens next. Do they survive? Do they find out about Izzy? The build-up was intense and long, but necessary. I definitely enjoyed this read.
3.5/5
I received an ARC through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Britta Tate joins EASA as a psychic intern at the age of 13. Her mother and brother joined before her, went on a mission in space, and they never came back. 10 years later, after going through training and having stronger psychic abilities, Britta takes it upon herself to track down her brother.
I thought this book had a lot to offer, but it just wasn't for me. I couldn't see much of the characters' development as it felt like the story was rushed. I found myself forgetting that we skipped to 10 years and that Britta isn't 13 anymore, because of how naive she seems and it felt awkward reading her romantic feelings for Cal. Her relationship with Cal felt forced, and I saw no chemistry between them. I couldn't connect with her either since she was too odd for me.
This was a fast-paced read. I would have loved to have read more of the war that happened when they took the shield down.
One summer night, Emira Tucker is confronted by security at a supermarket and is accused of kidnapping the two-year-old girl she is babysitting.
I think this book falls under the saying, “don't judge a book by its cover.” The bright colors and fun title masks the heavy undertones within the pages of this book. It tackles race and privilege in depths I didn't think Reid was going to take. I was intrigued as to how the story was going to play out and couldn't put it down. I was a little disappointed with how certain situations played out, because I was expecting a little more from it, but I thoroughly enjoyed following the lives of Alix and Emira!
Briar's relationship with Emira is one of the things I loved about this book. Reid captures the struggles and the joy of babysitting or being a nanny that are oftentimes under-appreciated. Another thing I loved is the multiple points of view and the different issues the characters go through that one can see or experience in real life.
If you're looking for a book with realistic situations, fun dialogue, relatable moments, and crazy bosses, I would definitely recommend this read.
Not what I expected it to be.
This is my first read from Jewell, so I'm not entirely familiar with her work. This book is filled with dysfunctional family drama, secrets, and twisted stories. I'm a sucker for that so I definitely had to finish this book to find out what really happened in the mansion and what happened to Libby's family.
I wish it was a little more creepy. I didn't get attached to any of the characters, and it felt like the narration started going in circles, but overall I enjoyed the book.
2.5/5
This was my first audiobook.
It wasn't necessarily a romance or holiday read, but a book merely about following two lives over the course of a year. I couldn't connect with the characters and their romantic feelings for each other felt forced.
With it being my first audiobook I was also having a hard time not zoning out but I'm definitely not ruling out audiobooks entirely.
Full review on my blog http://www.mypagesandbrew.wordpress.com
DNF at 20%
I am just not in the mood for fantasy when I picked this up and I was hoping it would help me get back into it, but it didn't :(
I might pick this up next time but dropping it for now.
Insanely good. Mitch Albom's writing technique/style is just so captivating and he has managed to give so much life to his characters. This is easily one of his masterpieces. I can't describe how vulnerable I felt after reading The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto. It was as if he was a real person.