The Keeper by Rebecca E. Neely

Imagine getting stuck in a traffic jam on your way to work one morning.  For most people this would just be an inconvenience.  For Libby Klink, it's her worst nightmare. The Keeper begins with Libby stuck in gridlocked traffic on I-279 near Pittsburg.  Having a long history of anxiety attacks, she is struggling to keep one at bay.  Running late for work at a job she doesn't much care for, her boss is mad at her, she needs a restroom, then of all things, she sees a man WALKING done the road and knocking on car windows.  She watches him wondering what in the world is going on, her anti-anxiety medication just taking effect.  Until he reaches her car and taps on her window and says her name!?!  That would be enough to rattle most any woman, imagine how hard it would be for one who suffers panic attacks.

Nick Geary is walking down I-279 looking for Libby.  When he finds her he had the challenge of convincing her they need to talk.  This will not be an easy task considering she's fairly certain she's never met him before.  Will he manage to get her to trust him and help him with out her thinking he is completely crazy?

Nick and Libby team up to battle evil forces that threaten to take over the world.  With help from Nick and his family, Libby is able to learn more about her past, her grandparents, and her mother.  She learns to use her anxiety attacks to help herself instead of letting them control her.  This is an amazing feat as anyone who has ever suffered even a minor anxiety attack will agree.  Libby's transformation is encouraging for those who suffer similar issues.  Such a great read.

I received and Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Imogen's Secret by B. Fleetwood

Imogen's Secret tells the story of 16 year-old Imogen.  She lives with her mother, who has been comatose for almost 10 years. She visits her grandfather at the care center he lives in, and attends college with her best friend, Chrissie.

Imogen has always known she was different from everyone else.  She's spent her life pretending to be normal.  She even has drills she goes through on a regular basis that her grandfather taught her.

As the story unfolds new characters emerge.  First Imogen meets Araz.  He makes her nervous, but she's unsure of why or what it is about him.  She tries to avoid him, while he tries to get close to her.  She eventually meets Leo.  He confuses her.  Both Leo and her grandfather, Harry say they have known each other for years, however Leo can't be much more than a year older than Imogen.

Imogen eventually realizes that both Leo and Harry are keeping things from her, important things.  Imogen begins to put the pieces together herself, but they don't make sense.  By the end of the book she has put the pieces together, but still has to finish coming to terms with the truth.

At first I found this book confusing.  There would be chapters about Imogen, then it would go to a different set of characters in another place and time. I eventually realized these confusing chapters were the "pieces" Imogen needed to put together the puzzle of her life.  I found myself taking notes to keep things straight.  At one point I contemplated making like a family tree.  This really frustrated me.

By the end of the book the pieces had fallen into place.  I was really enjoying the book.  Then it ended.  I don't know that it really felt like the end of the book, but I guess that was this author's way of getting you to read the rest of the series. 

I received an Advanced Review Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

My current to be read list

Here is my current to be read list in order I plan on reading them. Feel free to contact me if you have suggestions to add to my list.

1.  Imogen's Secret by B. Fleetwood
2. The Keeper by Rebecca E. Neely
3. Making Faces by Amy Harmon
4. Love Me While I'm Gone by Diana T Scott
5. Speaker of the Lost by Clara Coulson
6. Ruby's Letters by Maggie Van Well  Will be posted 10/17
7. Shadow Descendant by L.D. Goffigan  Will post 10/20
8. Eden Wakes by C.S. Harte  Will post 10/22
9. Color Me Yours by Diana T Scott   Will post 10/24
10. May at the Peacock Ranch by Michele Machado  Will post 10/26
11. Thanksgiving by Naomi Stone done reading review coming soon
12. Damned by Alexandrea Weis with Lucas Astor done reading review coming soon.
13. Songlines by Carolyn Denman
14. The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan
15. Love and Other Dangers by Mummies Anonymous

 

 

This list is subject to change as occasionally I receive books with a short deadline that requires them to be moved up on the list. I hope to have reviews for all of these posted by the end of October.

Our Demons, Best Friends by Diana T Scott

Ava is a first year resident at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.  She decided to become a doctor when her twin sister, Ally, became very sick and eventually passed away at the age of 14.  Ally had been her lifeline as a teen.  Ally kept Ava from closing herself up to the world.

During the first year of her residency Ava finally makes friends.  She starts to open up, and develop some of the personality traits she had always admired in Ally.  She gets an apartment with her 3 best friends, Emily, Paige, and Miles.  Who are also first year residents in the same hospital. They enjoy meals together as often as possible, and celebrate birthdays and holidays together.  They become so close they are like a little family.  Ava truly loves her new found friends, and the way that she is learning to enjoy life.

Ava also meets Sebastian at the hospital.  He is a second-year resident, who looks older than most, and appears to be mad at the world.  For Ava there is an immediate attraction to him.  When he's around Ava he seems to drop his mad at the world act.  Sometimes he even genuinely smiles or laughs.  She can tell he has been through a lot.  They develop a friendship that Ava cherishes.  At times they are very close, then Sebastian pushes her away.  She gets so frustrated with his "I want you in my life, no you're too close" act.  She feels like he feels the same attraction to her that she feels for him, but refuses to admit it.  Will they end up together?  Can they each overcome their own demons to achieve true happiness?

Our Demons, Best Friends is an excellent well written romance.  I became deeply attached to Ava.  I could relate to her frustration with Sebastian.  It is a very difficult position to be in.  I really enjoyed experiencing the trials of being a first year resident.  I now have even more respect for all doctors have to go through to become a doctor.  I highly recommend reading this book.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz

In the summer of 2015 the Disney channel debuted an original movie titled Descendants.  On the night it aired I put my then 1 year old son to bed, made some popcorn, and sat down to watch the movie with my girls, ages 5 and 7 then.  We absolutely loved the movie. We watched it numerous times that summer, and my girls loved everything Descendants.  We found out about this book about the same time as the movie.  Given their ages then I wasn't in a real big hurry to run out and buy the book, and just never made it to the library toe check it out.

For my oldest daughter's 9th birthday I bought here the hardback copy of this book and the second book in the series Return to the Isle of the Lost.  She had expressed interest in reading this book and was finally getting good enough at reading I thought it might be at her level. She has yet to read the whole book, unfortunately.  She complained to me because it isn't like the movie from the beginning. I kept telling her to give it time, books are often better than the movie.

Then this summer I checked out a copy and read it for myself.  Wow, it was not at all what I was expecting.  It is an excellent book, that is well written for middle grade ages, but could also be easily enjoyed by anyone who loves the Disney characters.  As I started and made my way through the book I found myself agreeing with my daughter, it's nothing like the movie.  However, as an adult that has read enough books that has had a movie based on it, I knew that movies can never fit all of the information that the book has, so I kept going.  Eventually I realized that this book is not the book version of the Descendants movie at all.  It is in fact the prequel to the movie.  After realizing this it made so much more sense.  I explained it to my daughter, and she seems a little more excited about reading it now.

This book is an engaging story about Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay.  It tells the story of how they became friends on an island where friendship is kind of frowned upon and evil reigns.  It would be a great story for your middle grade children to read to themselves.  It would also be a great family read, a book for you to read aloud to your children for you all to enjoy.

Marrow by Tarryn Fisher

This was the third book I read by Tarryn Fisher. It took me a little longer to get into this one. But by the end I was glad I stuck it out. I found this book a little more twisted than the other books I have read by her. There were times I struggled to understand what was going on in the story, things just didn’t add up. I did fall in love with Margo though, and even if she was breaking the law with what she was doing I completely understood why she did it, and felt that if I were in her shoes I would have wanted to do the same thing.

In the end I enjoyed this book.  It left me feeling a bit confused though.  Tarryn Fisher has a real talent for writing about life.  She writes about the parts of life that most of us want to ignore, in a way that makes you realize your pain and past are what make you who you are and that's okay. This book is real life, be prepared before you read, there are no filters. Life in the poor neighborhoods of America is rough, this book portrays it well.

Ravensdale

In Ravensdale we join Lucy Donohue for a summer that she hopes will be spent working in a castle in Connemara, giving tours, helping organize events, and working on her PhD thesis. She leaves her dad and brothers and her home in Donegal, Ireland to spend her summer at Ravensdale Castle.  Like life, things don’t work out the way Lucy plans.

Lucy gets to spend her summer chasing off groupies, because a famous star is shooting a movie in the castle. There’s the disappearance of one of those groupies who also happens to be the castle owners granddaughter. To top it off she has two men vying for her attention.

Owen Dawson is the grandson of the castle owner. He helps run the day to day operations, as well as make repairs. He grew up in the castle, knows all of the secret passages, and hopes to inherit it someday. When Lucy talks with him he seems to actually be interested in what most people would consider her very boring research. Lucy and Owen work together trying to help keep the castle running. When Owen’s cousin goes missing he seems to think it’s just a stunt for attention from their grandmother.

Dylan Winters is a famous actor. He is staying at the Ravensdale Castle while filming a remake of Dracula. He seems to enjoy Lucy’s passion for her thesis and gothic literature.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the way I could relate Lucy’s struggles. I also loved the way Lucy dealt with Dylan’s groupies.  I wish the book would have had another chapter or two at the end though. It really left me wondering what happened to Lucy. If you enjoy books with some romance and mystery I highly recommend this book.  While this book is not in the YA genre, as a parent I would have no trouble with my teenager reading this book.  There are no dirty scenes, just some kissing.

I voluntarily received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Bewitching Hannah

Bewitching Hannah is a page turner about 16-year-old Hannah. It tells an amazing tale of how her life changes, challenges she faces, and survival.  Hannah has lost both of her parents, and goes to live with her Aunt J.  When she starts school, she makes new friends, and frenemies. Although dealing with these high school “mean girls” does not happen in the normal fashion.

Hannah has spent her entire life trying to be ordinary. With help from her new friends, a new love, and her aunt, she comes to terms with the fact that she is anything but ordinary.  She embraces who and what she is to save the ones she loves and all the people in her town.

This is a powerful tale of self-acceptance with magical elements. There are characters you grow to love, and others you grow to hate. An incredible read, one that I couldn’t put down.  This YA Fantasy novel is absolutely wonderful.  As a parent I think it would be perfect for teens and even preteens who like stories with magic.

I voluntarily received an early reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.