Book Review - Thunder Bay (Cork O'Conner Series #7) by William Kent Krueger

Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've listened to the previous six books in this series and wondered if I liked them because of the stories or because David Chandler was reading them. When I first heard Buck Schirner begin the narration, I was admittedly disappointed. I'd become so familiar with Cork O'Conner's voice (via David) it was almost sad to hear someone else speaking for him. But I do love the characters, the plots, the mysteries and the scenery of this series so I kept listening. I did warm up to Buck's voice and felt he gave a wonderful performance, especially the part where he was speaking as a young Henry Maloux.

Krueger did not disappoint in writing another captivating book. I especially liked this one because it had little to do with Cork's life (hasn't that poor man been through enough?) and focused on the life of Henry, one of my favorite characters since book #1.

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Book Review - The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a longgg book and at times was slow moving, but that is exactly what was needed to describe how quickly a normal (for the times) life can suddenly spiral out of control fueled solely by fear. Of course I'm familiar with the Salem Witch Trials but had no idea what really happened. The lengthy descriptions of what led to the trials and what happened after was so perfectly delivered it is hard to imagine how unbelievably cruel humans can be to each other.

I wish I could just say, "Thank goodness it's fiction and that really could not have happened!" and forget it. But this is one of those books that delivers such a historical message, it has made me much more interested in that period if only in hopes that I discover it was far more exaggerated than the truth. Sadly, I don't believe that will be the case.



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Book Review: The Beach Trees by Karen White

The Beach Trees by Karen White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An intriguing enough story with a lot of twists. Maybe because I was forced to read it, put it down for awhile and come back, but it really did jump all over the place and I don't mean the two time frames with two protagonists. I don't feel the characters were strongly developed over the course of the book so when then answers finally emerged, I had to pause to recall who was who and how they were involved. To me, the most interesting part was the author's real life explanation at the end of the book of the Katrina Trees and how her other books (the Tradd Street series, which I love) ended up in Charleston instead of New Orleans.

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Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"What did I think?", Goodreads asks. I'm almost dumbfounded for words. First my review, then, I am forced to react to some of the reviews on Goodreads (which I never do and unless it's one of my friends, I don't even read what other people think because frankly, I don't care.)

What else is there to write about in this world on the tragic story of a young person suffering from a terminal illness?

Book Review: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a big fan of historical fiction, especially the Antebellum era, there were times when I felt this might not have reached it's potential of genuine sentiment. However, over the course of the book, and certainly by the end, I came to better understand the characters and their place in the story. There were a lot of opportunities for the characters to grow even more,

Book Review ~ Brightest Kind of Darkness

Brightest Kind of Darkness by P.T. Michelle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


For a YA book, it was ok. But doesn't anyone just write one story anymore? Does everything have to be part of series? Even that's not so bad if the current storyline is finished up and a new issue with the same characters is created in the next book. Not with this. I noticed I was only ten or so pages from the end and I knew there was no way even one of the ends was going to be tied up before I finished.

To the writers that do this (A Discovery of Witches) comes immediately to mind, I will buy your next book if the first one is good enough. I won't buy it if you just stop writing so the reader has to buy the next one to see how the first ends. In most cases, I'm not that interested and there are plenty of other writers out there that know how to keep good characters and stories alive over a series.



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"Through a Glass Darkly" ~ by Karleen Koen

I got this book on Free Nook Book Friday from Barnes and Noble and because I had nothing else going on, started reading it.  A little daunted when I saw it was 726 pages (I was really just looking for a light read) I scrolled to the first page and dove in.  Literally.  I could not put this down.

Unfortunately, reviews of the second book aren't that good so I probably won't buy it.  But, if it comes up at the library, I will despite the reviews.