An interesting tale of the twists in one year of life for these six friends. Not your usual story of angst, rather it speaks of real-life issues we get ourselves into, sometimes ending in good results, other times not. The emotions are real, the lives devastating. The author manages to tell the plight of these six people in a voice that fits each, and to tie endings to their stories that leave you haunted, questioning and yet, satisfied.

Although this is a sequel, it works well as a stand-alone, as I have not read Dodd's first book. I enjoyed this story, and looked forward to seeing how it would work out. It works very well as a romance and mystery, and follows the sad consequence of a sole survivor of a storm none of the victims had any business being caught in. It's a very entertaining and engaging story. Although there were some explanations, at times there could have been a bit more to let the reader truly believe why - such as why there were so many people angry that Greg survived, and why Greg so easily accepted the truth of his savior.

Still, as stated before, I was drawn to this tale and eager to find out what would... and will happen in the third book of this series.

Merciless is a book very fitting it's title. It mercilessly puts the reader into the mind of not only the villains, but the victims. The name's sake part of the book eloquently speaks of the victims of this true life crime, making them real and relatable. The story evoked all the emotions you get from the decisions teens make, while later putting them at a raised level while the reader watches them try to weather the storm they happened into with dignity. Very well written.

The subsequent fiction stories were gripping and put the reader square in the lives of these twisted people. The last story, "All I Ever Wanted," pulled all the stops, dragging your emotions through the ringer by the main character's hopes, strive to meet her goals, and her ultimate fate.

Quite intense story with real characters. After getting over the distracting paragraph breaks, as there are many, the story flows well and is intricately told. As complex as it is, each character has an important role that pushes the plot forward. I, unfortunately, don't get the feeling of caring for any of the characters, which made me want to complete the story only to get to the end of it. Being part of a series, there's no surprise that questions are still raised by the end of this first part. The ending, however, was too abrupt and gave no sense of finality.

Being Christian, I also found the basis of the story far fetched. Written in a style of providing facts and arguments, I had to remind myself that it is meant to be fiction, which made it a bit more tolerable. Those, however, who are looking for a new way of viewing Christianity, may find this quite imaginative, evocative and intriguing.

"Life Begins" is an endearing story of a man who wishes he were resigned to just survive instead of really living life. When given an unlikely opportunity to change his unsatisfying existence, he grudgingly grabs at it, and his life changes much more and much less than he ever dreamed.

This is a well-written story that takes you into the main character's mindset, which is ripe for the manipulations and twists of his fate. It's a story that gets readers to think of what things in our lives are we unsatisfyingly letting fallow instead of cultivating them to let blossom.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been truly scared reading a book or, in this case, a story. This one did scare me, caused my heart to beat faster from the suspense of it all, and it continues to. I don’t think I’ve ever read a zombie book or story ever, and this was a great introduction to the genre. Loved the main character. Jillian’s voice carried me throughout, and her neighbors and husband, as well as her descriptions of her sisters, seemed very real. The scenes, conversations, zombie outbreak, all seemed very believable. The storytelling was superbly done, with the side stories (or explanations) giving it a grotesquely genuine spice. Hopefully I’ll have no scary or even strange dreams from this.

A nicely detailed story of a hunted woman living in two worlds, one a dream, the other real. There is great characterization in this short tale. The intensity of the chase, coupled with the relaxed lifestyle of the other world, draw the reader into mystery of this story. The catcher is the ending that comes out of nowhere to give the reader that final-line joy.

A short story of horror, Watcher goes into the mind and acts of a grizzly stalker, rapist and killer. The killer's motivation are thoroughly hashed out, and how you think the story will play out, thankfully, does not. Instead, the story ends with a not-so-nice (pun intended) twist. Some of the storyline could have been developed and "shown" more instead of being "told," however, linger questions keep you intrigued even after the story ends. In the whole, this was an entertaining story into a demented mind.

Extraordinary book, with realistic characters, in some cases, irritatingly so – purposefully mastered by the author – and the plot is unpredictable. Great storytelling. Though the writing needs quite a bit of editing, even without it, I found the book, especially the latter half, to be a joy and couldn’t wait to get to the end of it… and am looking forward to see whether I’ll learn the rest of our history in a sequel.

This book takes you on a bit of a ride through Michael Moore's life, accomplishments, beliefs and fears. Very interesting and quite an entertaining story that takes you back and forth from his youth to adulthood, from his incessant doubts to how his many gifts brought him to fulfill his dreams.

A truly unique book that's extremely imaginative. Very long and detailed. If you're someone who enjoys the inner turmoil and thoughts of characters, knowing every aspect of why they commit their acts and what their purposes are, this book will satisfy you greatly. Assassins, writers, cults, childhood love, and much more, this book take you on an unimaginable ride.

The one criticism is that the inner dialogue and some of the inner stories went on for a very long time, and was often repetitive. But still, a worthy piece of fiction.

Ripple deals with the serious topics of incest, rape and child pornography, handled from the perspective of a teenage girl and her absentee mother who is a high powered attorney. It's a good thing when writers aren't afraid to take on the more serious and heart-wrenching topics such as these, and the author did a decent job.

It's a long book, with too much superfluous information and lots of characters. The main characters and dialog are strong, however. The final scene of a main antagonist is incredulous to me, given who he is, which contrasts with the other more realistic aspects of the book. Overall, the story flows well and the author's knowledge of the legal system and psychological dynamics come through. The characters' inner dialog do lend to developing and understanding the issues this book tackles.

The best thing about Sanford's books are his strong characters and the humor. Good story, violent and engaging. Hearing it stories told by Richard Ferrone brings it to another level of entertainment.

Polar Nights has a mellow start and makes you wonder where’s the mystery going to come from. You meet Aleksei and thing “interesting.” Then you get to really know Danny, the main character, a cop on a track to ruin after the death of his wife, and you’re hooked in the story: Crazy killer and the alcoholic cop after him. What really grabs you is the dialog, which rings harshly real and makes you feel for the characters. And it ends with a nice finishing touch.

A fantastic, funny and sad book that held you from the beginning to end. Burroughs is good at portraying himself as humorously intellectual, socially stunted, and otherwise a genuine soul. Touching. I couldn't wait to see how it ended, while not wanting it to end.

Okay, Alex Cross, you're getting too good at your own game, that your same issues tend to spread throughout all of the books. That is, the case gets settled all at once and is so overwhelming, after feeling like it's his prerogative to be involved with the case. He should know by now that he is always the lead in one way or another despite others' will to keep him out. At least this time he was after a bad guy who must have spent years dreaming up a plan to kidnap the 1st kids, then, it seems, to spend an afternoon coming up with a plan to kill AC. Of course, both fail, but that's par for the course in this series. A series that needs a new edge.

Enjoyable read. At first, I thought the main character was overwrought and droll, but then you get deeper into who he and his family are, and that's when the story flows. The manipulation. Is he going crazy? Is the therapist a nut?

But the action and story work well. I think the therapist's character could have been more human, more real, but other than that the story drew you in and made you want to know what was happening.

Awake is a decent story about a successful novelist, Lee, who has a rare, genetic and fatal insomnia disorder. Once he learns that the disorder is incurable, he decides to purchase an RV and go traveling across the country with a best friend. After picking up a couple of “hot” hitchhikers, the four enjoy the tourist’s life with an unlimited budget – Lee’s dying, so why not enjoy his stored loot? Only, along the way, a demon follows in pursuit, taking over a seemingly unawares tourist, and gives him demonic stares. This, of course, freaks out the writer. Lucky for him and his friend, the hitchhikers are perfect mates, and Lee has his soul mate by his side while traveling the sites, trying to get in enough sleep to keep going, dreams of the demon in pursuit when he does sleep, and on occasion viewing the demon at almost every stop.

The characters and dialog are realistic; however, the repetitive nature of the story goes on for too long. It makes you think that this is a buddy traveling story; not quite what I was expecting. I was also not sure why Lee remains so terrified of the demon who does nothing but takes over the form of a tourist and glares at him. Though the nightmares are sufficiently scary, at least I feel I’d be scared if it was me having them, they are very short. The other worlds Lee happens into is another good sidetrack of the story, that should, instead, be the main part. The demon and Lee’s disorder have very little to do with the story at show more least for half of the book, again being a buddy traveling book.

The ending has a sufficient amount of action, though the resolution seems a bit too un-supernatural. show less

Nice, intriguing tale. Really enjoyed the courtroom scenes and not knowing how things would turn out. The ending was a bit of a disappointment - only a bit - and I felt it tied up too quickly. Other than that, the main story was reminiscent of Michael Connelly's books.

A fun book, reminiscent of The Rainmaker and The Runaway Jury. I enjoyed the characters and story.

One thing that bothered me, and does of many books, movies, etc., is how it speaks of overweight people almost as less than human. I hope it's something that will change in the media, as often times, being obese - in that the lifestyle that it stems from - is a mental health issue, and is often times not born of people who are lazy and lacking in will power. Many obese people have been raised in abusive households/situations. Their eating and exercise habits are unfortunately lasting results from that abuse, and are of the hardest things to overcome and maintain in a healthy manner.

Quite an imaginative story. I did like the characters and storyline and was enthralled to see what would happen. At times I found it a bit preachy, in that it was preachy about being a nonconformist, free spirit. But it still made some good points on both sides of many arguments. To me, though, for an entity with all the world's knowledge, it would have had no choice but to acknowledge the existence of God. Still I highly enjoyed this book.

Very ingenious story. Loved the main characters, the Book Thief and her foster parents. Novel take on a WWII story. I think I would have liked it better reading it in my own voice in head than the narrator's. The accent was a bit off-putting for me. If only I had the time to read as I used to.

Truly enjoyable read. Loved the Biblical accuracy and the storyline. I looked forward to going back to this every time, and will look out for the next one.

Criticisms: The relationship between Buck and Chloe, which seemed a little juvenile - the dialogue, etc. Also, Hattie's character was a bit too "dumb blondish". Other than that, I loved it and will have to watch the movie again.

When I was young, riding in the car with my mom and peering at the cars that we passed, or looking out the window of BART at the passing homes, I often wondered what the lives were like of the people in the many cars and houses. The collection in The Ice Cream Vendor's Song gives you a glimpse into quite a few people's possible lives. It is an interesting and memorable book of flash fiction.

Although many of the stories I wouldn't call complete stories, some are, and all have something worthy about them.

Very interesting and entertaining mystery. The beginning really got you wanting to find out what was going on with this poor boy. By midway through the book, some of the characters got confusing as to who was who.

After completing it, I relistened to the first disk and had no idea who those characters were in the very beginning, and don't know if they ever came up again. They seemed to be other characters that had different names however. Also, the end of the book, to me, kind of just dropped off.

I forgot that I'd already heard this book on audio before. I enjoyed it, though I loved the first book, Infected, much much better. This one was more about the fight against the invaders than their effect on humankind. Many of the characters were enjoyable, but those tough, mean military guys get cloned too often. I don't remember what I thought about the ending, but remember liking the book as a whole.

Good characters and story line for the most part. There is the usual romance of the newbie falling for the mean boss' wife, but other than that it was a good look into the otherworld of the circus of the past. I thought there was going to more to the main character's relationship to the elephant, but all-in-all it was an enjoyable book.

Some funny moments in the book, and an interesting if strange story Sedaris' sister told. Don't like that almost half of it had the same stories as was in his other books.

An enjoyable book with real emotions. The characters hit on the emotional mark, even if you wanted to yell at some of the decisions they made. The writer did a good job of relating the motives of each character in this off the beaten path family dynamic story.

Have to say, the epilogue was a trip. Had to listen to it twice to get it. Then you think how clever and strange.

I won this book in a LibraryThing Member Giveaway.

Learning to Fly is a book of short stories with characters that are well developed, relatable and oh so real. They are stories that tell of a difficult moment in people’s lives. In Fallen Leaves, there is the widowed mother who must consider taking in a difficult, elderly in-law. The question is why? Listen to the Rain, is about a young pregnant couple that must learn whether it’s worth surviving past the chapter in their lives when neither of them say what they mean to and end the day in arguments. The character I related to most was the mother in Caring for Lily who is trying to find a daycare for her baby so she can return to work – truly that’s what she wants, right? Then there’s the blogger in For Good or For Bad with a good husband and two children, but who can’t stop thinking about the one who got away. Finally, there’s Is This Seat Taken? where a young pregnant woman at a bus station meets a young college guy. Are they both lost and looking to find their way?

As I stated above, the characters are real and the book is well written. What was most amiss for me was that to me they weren’t short stories, but excerpts of longer pieces, as none of them was a complete story. It seemed to be what the author intended, but I was always of the belief that a short story has a beginning, middle and end. These all lacked an ending, some more than others. The last story was the most mystifying. It was unknown what show more the conflict was and why the pregnant woman was at the bus station. At least with the other stories, you could think of how the stories could turn out and dream up possible endings. For the last one, however, since it’s unsure what the conflict was, you have no idea what might happen.

Still, Rachel Elizabeth Cole is a very good writer who is great at character development, something I admire in a writer. I would be interested in reading a complete novel by her to see how she does finalize stories. show less