The Patient by Jasper Dewitt
Book Review 👀:
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Pub Date: 7/7/2020

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘵. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧

Parker is a newly hired Psychiatrist at an institution in Connecticut. During his interview and orientation he is introduced to some information about an “incurable” patient named Joe who has been a resident there for almost 30 years. Despite Joes gruesome reputation of constant torment, and ability to instill fear and death into anyone in contact with him, Parker is determined to be the doctor that can help him. Slowly evaluating Joes life starting at the age of 6, when he was show more admitted into the institution, Parker unravels some evil and disturbing details that could be the answer he was looking for.

First off, let me say this is a quick read. It’s about 200 pages and I finished it in 3 hours. It has all the ingredients for a great thriller novel: engaging storyline, some heart pounding suspense, and some twists and turns. I have to say this book definitely kept me flipping pages, I needed to know what was going on. This is written as a Journal, Parker is recreating his story as he remembers it, which I also enjoyed. However I felt it was slightly far fetched, and the ending was lacking a little for me. I would recommend it if you enjoy these quick read, suspense/evil thrillers.

Quick thank you to @BookishFirst & @HoughlinMH for allowing me to win a copy of this ARC, for my honest review show less

“𝚆𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚗. 𝙴𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚔. 𝚃𝚘 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚎 𝚋𝚎.”

Claire Cook is married to Rory Cook, a runner up to be the next Senator of NY. They have what seems to be a perfect life. A great house, good jobs, money, everything to keep up appearances. But no one knows what goes on behind the closed doors of their marriage. Claire is constantly on the receiving end of Rorys explosive temper. But she won’t be a punching bag for much longer, as she has a plan to disappear. After he plan gets ruin she is now forced to a cause in Puerto Rico, to leave from JFK. By chance meeting a stranger Eva James, who also seems to be running from something.... or someone. With a last minute decision to switch plane tickets, Claire is off to Oakland and Eva is off to Puerto Rico. But when the Puerto Rico flight crashes, and Claire is forced into making quick decisions and finds herself living in Eva’s house and uncovering all her secrets.

WHOA. What a ride this book was. This was a great read, and I finished it awfully quick! It’s filled with twists and turns, edge of your seat suspense, and a great story line. This book keeps you show more turning pages, and not wanting to put it down until your done. The ending for me was a little blah, in my opinion. I felt the ending could have been more. I felt the book was escalating so great with great pace, but the ending (not the epilogue) just kinda dropped. But overall it was fantastic. Definitely one of the better suspense novels I’ve read this year. Highly recommend! show less

Book Review 4/5

Emily moves to Willow Creek to help her sister April, after she’s been in a car accident leaving her temporarily immobile. Emily is assigned to be a chef, gofer, chauffeur, and now a volunteer for a local Renaissance Faire thanks to her niece Caitlin. The head of this Faire is Simon, a Pirate in Faire, a local English Teacher, and known to be quite the jerk. Emily decides to sign up to be a wench, and finds herself constantly in battle with Simon. But these interactions show Emily there is a different side to Simon, this side of him is carefree and fun, and she can’t stop thinking about him. Maybe they are perfect for each other or maybe they are just playing their part.

This was a charming read. It had great characters, I really enjoyed Simon and finding out about why he is the way he is. Emily was also great, and they weighed each other perfectly in the story. I loved the the story line, is was cute, romantic a little sexy and flirty, some laughs, it was nice and light. The pace was good, and it kept you reading. The ending is a typical ending to these books, nothing to figure out. There were a few dull areas that were slightly boring but for the most part I felt it was uplifting and just a feel good book. I enjoyed it. Recommend if you enjoy “Rom-Com” novels.

Book Review 4/5

Suzi and Nick life on an isolated street on the outskirts of town, where there are only 2 houses. The second house will soon be occupied by their new neighbor, Nora. Suzi and Nora become acquaintances but Suzi has secrets. Secrets she can never tell anyone, especially her husband Nick. But can she keep her secrets from Nora... and does Nora know more then she lets on?Suspenseful and page turning you will get tangled into this web of lies, secrets and deceit.

Just when you think you know exactly what’s going to happen, you get a little twist in the story. This was a really good read. The pacing was perfect, it kept giving you new things to think about throughout the book. And I kept thinking “I know what’s going to happen”... well, nope... I was wrong. I liked the way it was written, it a back and forth between Suzi and Nora, and I didn’t find it hard to follow. There were also a couple times it jumped to the future, which I thought just added to the suspense. There were twists and turns towards the end which I LOVE, and you don’t expect them. The characters were nicely written also, although Suzi”s character bothered me a little bit. All in all it was a good read, definitely a page turner. I would recommend it if your looking for a good suspense novel.

Book Review 3.5rounded up

Nicolette (Nic) Farrell lives in Philadelphia, engaged to a successful lawyer named Everett. Life was going great until she gets a phone call from her brother Daniel that their dad isn’t doing well and she needs to come back home to Cooley Ridge. With all the memories of that dreadful night 10 years ago, where he best friend Corinne went missing, she decides to take the trip. Two days after she arrives she is greeted with another girl going missing. The police investigating everyone, trying to tie in Nic and her high school boyfriend Tyler into both puzzles of the missing girls. Written in reverse, you will encounter unexpected twists, and some deep rooted secrets of the people in this town.

I was not a huge fan of this read. I think it was the writing style, of it being written in reverse. The storyline and plot were good, but I found it a little hard to follow, in my opinion, the past was also thrown in there throughout the chapters. Just not a fan. The characters were okay, And the pace was decent. However there wasn’t anything too “suspenseful”, more of just like “what is going on here” kind of feeling and some twists here and there. I had higher hopes for this one but it really didn’t blow me away.

Book Review 4/5

Thank you to @netgalley and #blackcatinkpress for providing me an electronic copy in return for my honest review.

Book to be released 6/23/2020

Lottie is dead. She is found in her apartment, cause of death to be murder. Anthony finds himself in possession of her laptop, after borrowing it a couple weeks prior. Anthony determined to find out what happened to Lottie, he decides to go through her files on her laptop, finding 22 entries of a video journal. Documentation of the last few weeks of her life. Starting after her got her an entry level position at his job, working with his best friend Davian. What Anthony discovers is more than he is ready to believe, he thought he knew Lottie and he also thought he knew Davian. But all is not how it appears. Lottie’s secret ends up being more than Anthony bargained for.

This was a good read. There was nothing earth shattering about it, but a good mystery, plot and story line. The book is in the eyes of Anthony, and Lottie’s video diaries, which keeps it interesting. There aren’t many characters in the book so it does keep the “who did it” factor a little more intriguing. I did figure it out before it was revealed, but it does become more apparent towards the last 20% of the book. There are some little twists here and there, which I can appreciate. It keeps you on your toes. Lottie’s character did become quite interesting, not very relatable but just interesting. This is a quick read, I finished it in 2 show more nights, although there are a couple of slower parts. All in all it was good. show less

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Tierney lives in town, where it’s believed that girls at the age of 16 receive “magic” where they are able to lure men, and create jealousy to their wives. So in the Autumn of their 16th year they are banished for 1 year where they are suppose to release their magic and come home prepared for marriage and family life. This is called The Grace Year, and it’s never spoken of. All that is known is some girls don’t make it home. Tierney being in her 16th year must now endure The Grace Year with 33 other girls. Tierney is determined to figure out what The Grace Year is all about, the secrets it hides and what the girls are facing outside of the fences. What she ends up finding is more than she bargained for.

So I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on this one. In my opinion It was very good in the beginning, and kept you interested, then in the middle is dragged, again gaining momentum towards the end. There are some twists that you don’t see coming, and some violence, you get a Lord of the Flies/Hunger games feel to the story line. The plot was good, but it was very wordy in the middle, kind of bland, and definitely a slower read. I did enjoy this, and would recommend it, just wish it was paced better.

Maggie has been living her life in Boston as an interior designer, desperately trying to outrun the reputation of Baneberry Manor, and her fathers book, where she is the main character. “The House of Horrors” was written by Maggie’s Dad, Ewan, who vividly describes haunting incidents from their brief encounter in Baneberry Manor when they moved in 25 years ago, for a mere 20 days, before fleeing for their life. Maggie never believing her fathers book, wants to know the truth of her past, and hasn’t gotten very far by asking her now divorced parents. But everything changes when her father dies and leaves her everything.... including Baneberry Manor, even though Maggie had no idea her father had kept it all these years. Maggie goes to Baneberry Manor in Vermont, where she is determined to find out the truth of what happened on the night her and her family just up and left the house, leaving all their things behind. Can Maggie figure out what’s going on, before anymore lives are lost? Or is it her life she should be scared for? This is a suspenseful and thrilling page turner that will keep you guessing.

I stayed up til 2am finishing this book. I loved it, even though I was scared lol. I enjoyed the suspense and creepiness of the whole book. The plot was great, the characters were written perfectly, it was nicely paced, and was a definite page turner. I like how Sager wrote almost 2 stories within the book, following the Ewans book, then in the present as Maggie. It show more kept you intrigued, and interested. I think this lived up to the typical Sager novels, with constant twists and turns, throwing in some creepy/scary details. I had high hopes and it did not disappoint. I highly recommend. show less

3.5 stars rounded up

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Nina and her families life is turned upside down when her husband Glen mysteriously disappears after going fishing one Saturday morning. Presumed missing Nina and her children Connor and Maggie must learn to move on without Glen. Shortly after Nina meets a new man, Simon Fitch, who is everything she is looking for in a man, and after 2 years together they decide to buy a house and start their lives together. Things start to get weird in their home, and Simon is starting to show a different side to himself. Accusations are formed, and secrets are revealed, as to whom is Simon Fitch. In a suspenseful th riller, you follow Ninas family through a heart pounding journey into her mysterious new husband.

This was a good read. The beginning is slow as it buildups the storyline. But once things get good, it becomes more of a page turner, but more towards the end. I did have a couple of issues with Nina, as I felt she was portrayed as way too trusting after her husband disappeared and she figured out all the secrets he had kept, I would just roll my eyes at her through most of the book. Over all, it was suspenseful and had a good plot, besides my issue with the slow beginning and Nina’s character, I liked it.

Thank you to NetGalley and #ThomasandMercer for providing me with this electronic ARC, for my honest review.
Kendra, Lindsey, and Dani have been best friends since they were kids. To no surprised they’re teenage sons all the same age have grown just as close. One night a terrible tragedy takes place, taking the life of one of the boys, leaving another in a vegetative state, and the other one not speaking. Along with going through such an devastating ordeal publicly, the woman must also face their own personal issues that arise throughout the book, privately. Everyone is filled with secrets they want to be kept hidden, but to find out the truth of what happened that night, the secrets must come out.
I enjoyed this entire storyline. It’s a more on the emotional side, coming from a mother’s standpoint. However, I did feel I could relate to these mothers, and all the characters were likable, except for one or 2. It’s a slower read, the buildup does take a while and there is a lot of back story, and just the mothers going through their day to day life post tragedy. I felt like the characters were written wonderfully, each riddled with their own issues and secrets along with what they all must face together, and it all pulled together in the end. I was not a huge fan in the beginning, since I felt it was awfully slow. But as I kept reading it started to grow on me more, and I enjoyed the little twists that arose throughout to keep you wanting to know more.

Thank you to @booksirens for the ebook version of this book.

See m review also on my Instagram.com/dees_bookshelf

When a couple is murdered at their cabin in the mountains, detectives Jill and Caiden are assigned the case. The entire family was in attendance at the cabin, and all of them suspects, as being the accomplice to brother Mark who has been charged with their murders. While Jill and Caiden are busy trying to solve the mystery of who is the accomplice they find themselves being the next victims of the killer. Is everything what it seems? Or is there more to this deep family drama? Will they solve it in time to save more lives?

I enjoyed this book. Written and self published, it was an actual page turner. It keeps you guessing til the very end. There are twists and turns throughout the entire book and you are reading in multiple view points. The time flipping between past and present does get a little confusing towards the end. But otherwise it was a gripping and thrilling page turner, and it was definitely in the creeper side. Definitely recommend. Let’s give this author a little more recognition!

Also see my reviews on Instagram.com/dees_bookshelf

It’s a normal night for Ollie and Lucy, when they get a phone call that Ollie’s mother, Diana is dead. At first it appears to be a suicide, but as time goes on, and evidence is evaluated it is changed to a homicide, and all the family members are suspects. Throughout the pages, deep dark secrets start to emerge, and enemies are made, making everyone look guilty. But who killed Diana? Could all the money in the world saved her life? A gripping, mystery, a great “who dun it” book, that will keep you turning the page.
I enjoyed this book. It keeps you engaged in the very beginning, and you want to know what happened to Diana. The characters are great, the story and plot are also written nicely. Although I did feel Lucy was a little annoying sometimes, and Diana just rubbed me the wrong way in 75% of the book. The ending was slightly anticlimactic for me, since I did figure out who the culprit was before it was revealed, and I even figured out the motive, and I’m sure most people will. It was nicely hidden throughout the book, making everyone look guilty in their own way. I would recommend it, although this was not my favorite mystery book.

3.5 stars rounded up.
When a family in Acapulco becomes a target of a local cartel, tragedy strikes and only Lydia and Luca survive. You are taken through their excruciating journey to the United States. Encountering many heart wrenching and evil things, you get pulled into the horrific details people endure to gain freedom from their violent home.

The story was very good. And you do really enjoy the characters, they are written amazingly. You do get sucked in at the very beginning. However I got bored at about 250 pages in. It’s basically reading the same thing over and over, with a new obstacle to overcome every now and then . I found it extremely interesting, and informative, but I just couldn’t stay focused for the last 150 pages. There are a lot of little details in the book as well, not so much gruesome details but it’s very wordy none the less. This book just honestly wasn’t for me, as much as I wanted to like it.

In 2000 a young teenage girl, full of passion and determination named Vanessa Wye goes to a boarding school in Maine. Upon becoming a sophomore at a tender age of 15 she ends up having an affair with her English teacher, Jacob Strane. Unsure of her choices she is making, unsure if it all seems right, she is convinced he loves her, and this is something she wants. Fast forward to 2017, she sees another girl has accused Mr. Strane of abuse, and is taking legal actions and trying to persuade Vanessa to get on board. Flip flopping between present day 2017 and past 2000 on, you are informed of all of Vanessa’s choices and how she became who she is all starting with her affair with Jacob Strane.
Where do I even start with his book? I know a lot of people liked this book, but I just cannot. It wasn’t terrible, and I know this book is supposed to be more on the informative side, and is supposed to make a statement, which I understand which is why I gave 3 stars. However, in my opinion Vanessa is not a strong character, she is weak, and so is Jacob Strane for that matter, but then again, he’s a predator so I guess it fits. But reading Vanessa, I honestly just wanted to shake her, and maybe that’s the point of the book, but I just found myself rolling my eyes, she just bothered me the entire time. Her parents also, not smart. Its constant bad choice all around, the only person who actually had a brain was Jenny. The book was very wordy, I felt like you could have cut a lot show more out, just page fillers as some times. I did think the writing was good and don’t get me wrong it did explain sexual assault and how it’s not always the typical “rape” we think and see in movies. Besides that, I just wasn’t a fan. show less

Margaret Jacobson had what she would describe as the perfect life. A promising new job, a great condo, and a brand-new fiancé. Little did she know her entire life was about to change. Tragedy strikes and she is forced to re-evaluate her entire life when she awakens into a situation she could never imagine. A constant feeling of loss, and “what could have been” moments, Margaret decides to fight and forgive so she can move forward and open herself up to love when she least expects it.
I did not expect to like this book. But it’s a perfect combination of love story, humor and drama that keeps you wanting more. You can’t help but fall in love with Margaret, Kit and Ian, they are very likable characters and they make the book even more worth while. I had a strong hatred towards Chip and his mother, both of them made mt skin crawl which I think was a the point, so kudos to the author on that one. This book really expresses loss in so many ways and within so many characters, it really shows that you really don’t know what other people are going through. How other people could be struggling with their own demons, but plaster on a smile (or not) throughout their day to day life. This book was beautifully written, and the story line was great. I will be looking for more by Katherine Center.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for my honest review!
Here we are again, the 3rd and final book in the Zoe Bentley Chronicles.
Zoe Bentley a Forensic Psychologist for the FBI, and world known Criminal Profiler is in Chicago chasing down the infamous Rod Glover, Now going by Daniel Moore, Zoe recently found out he is dying from a malignant brain tumor and is convinced to find him before he dies. Zoe pushes herself and Tatum into a new murder, trying to find out if it is related to the Rod Glover murders, although some of the evidence proves otherwise. Why were these woman drained of blood? Does Rod Glover have an accomplice? What are the motives for these killings? Why is Glover straying from his normalcy? The twists and turns will keep you guessing and turning the page wanting more.
I absolutely love this series. I love this author and the way he writes. He keeps you always wanting more, with the end of every book in the series, it’s a cliff hanger. All the characters have a strong sense of self, Zoe and Tatum especially. In this book, O’Donnell is the new lead Detective, who is also incredibly determined, smart and essential. Marvin, is probably my favorite character, he delivers humor into all 3 of these books, you can’t help but laugh at his personality and the things he does. This book is faced paced like the rest and you won’t know “who did it” until the author wants you too. Great ending, and great story line, show more although this one is more on the gruesome side than the other 2 books, although that doesn’t bother me. I LOVED IT! Highly recommend. show less

Emily Benedict entered her new town of Mullaby, North Carolina to live with her newfound grandfather Vance. Her mother Dulcie recently passing away in a fatal car accident forcing Emily to now face her new life, in a new town with her new grandfather, which her mother never spoke about. Little does Emily know that this town is full of secrets and “wonderful things”. Emily befriends a woman name Julia, who lives next door, finding out that she knew her mother when she was in high school, trying to piece together the puzzle that is her Mother, Dulcie. Julia also holds secrets, and a past she isn’t proud of, but being there for Emily makes her feel better, and soon Emily will realize about her mother’s past, this towns secrets and what lies in store for her future.
I finished this book in 4 hours. I absolutely loved it! This is the exact book you can turn to when you need a quick pick me up with reading. It’s light and cheerful, you’ll absolutely fall in love with every single character, you’ll laugh a little, may tear up a little, it’s magical, it’s every emotion wrapped up into one amazingly written book. It’s a love story, with drama and suspense, just beautifully written. Once you pick this book up you won’t be able to put it down, you’ll need all the answers. This I my first book by this author, but I will be looking into more of her books after reading this. I really enjoy the way she writes and really brings the story to life.

Thank you to the Publisher and BookSirens for giving me this ARC to read and review.
Andre Nolan is a 14 year old boy, who some years earlier was in the car with his mother when she was involved in a car accident cutting her life short. In the years following Andre was acting out in school, clearly suffering mentally from his mother’s death. His father Eugene sends him to live with his sister, Andre’s Aunt Michelle. Falling into the wrong crowd, Andre unveils a secret that has been buried, revealing the truth behind a missing mother.
This book was excruciating. The writing, the wording and grammar, all extremely poor. The characters were less than appealing. There were unanswered questions throughout the book, details were written about once and then never again, all very confusing and hard to follow and to be honest just painful to read. First, after Andre’s mother’s death, and his acting out, instead of his father giving him proper care medically, he sends him off to live with his aunt, never wanting him to come home. Throughout the book, Andre mentions the accident is his fault based on him holding a pair of “spectacles”, which is mentioned a couple times but the reason was never revealed as to how this was the reason his mother died. Andre then mentions that he see’s his mother several times, but the last couple time he mentions smelling lavender and he knows she’s there. This little detail was never mentioned in his prior siting’s. Andre makes a show more friend, Ronan ,who seems to be a good friend but then, he makes friends with Colin, Manny and Erin, but later in the book Colin turns out to be a bully and wants to hurt Andre? For no reason that was disclosed. Colin and Erin apparently have sex so Colin won’t hurt Andre? Ronan’s mother ended up keeping the secret as to why Erin’s mother left, instead of just telling her? The ending was anticlimactic as well. Nothing about this book made sense, how was Andre’s mothers siting’s relevant? How did Erin’s mother missing turn out to be Andre’s problem? Why did Ronan’s mother keep the secret instead of just telling Erin why her mother is missing? How did Andre repeatedly finding Colin and Erin having sex to protect Andre make any sense?
Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. I have read much better “suspense” novels, that make much more sense, with a better story line, better plot that can keep you much more engaged. Hard Pass from me. show less

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book.

Clara Jeffries, a Homicide Detective in Dallas PD for the last 10 years, gets a call from an old friend Max Anderson asking for help with a current missing persons case in her hometown in Alber Utah. Repeatedly turning down the offer, Max informs Clara that it’s her sister Delilah who is the missing person. Reluctant to return to her hometown of polygamy and her own secrets, Clara gets on a plane to Utah. Upon arrival she has seen how her town has changed, and the poverty they now live in after the passing of her father. Being raised in a Mormon/Polygamist town, having many wives and many children calls for an expensive lifestyle. Once arriving Clara returns to see her mothers and siblings to find out the details of Delilah’s disappearance, only to be met with hatred and dismissive behavior regarding her sister. Not giving up, Clara finds out there has also missing 2 other missing girls in her town, also being dismissed as them “running away” by their parents and local police. Determined to find out the truth, Clara investigates on her own, without the help of local officials to find out what happened to her sister and the 2 other girls. Gripping page turner that will keep you interested until the end.

This book was a great mystery and keeps you reading. It touched upon the life in a polygamist community and how they live which is remarkably interesting. I enjoyed the characters, and show more Clara was an incredibly determined and strong character. However the abuse Clara endured while she lived in Alber was touched upon but never really explained in detail, it kind of left it up to the reader to figure it out, I would have preferred the full back story on her life. It had multiple viewpoints throughout the book but wasn’t specified at the start of each chapter, so you didn’t know who you were reading about until you started. I prefer to have the character on the start of each chapter in these types of books. All in all, it was an exceptionally good book, and an interesting story line, something I have not read about before.
I am excited to read more in this series once it’s released and I will be looking for more book by this author. show less

First let me say a quick disclaimer, I DNF this book (180 pages in). I gave it about half way but I literally can not read this. It’s extremely slow, and the story is just blah. There are 2 main characters Theodore Finch and Violet. Both characters are suffering from some sort of mental illness, Violets I believe is depression from the untimely death of her sister, and Finch briefly touched upon “being asleep” for weeks, and “hearing colors and seeing headaches”, I didn’t get far enough into the book to actually find out what it was. Anyway, Finch initially saved Violet from committing suicide in the very beginning, which set off their entire friendship. Violet who has basically been a home body since her sister died, and Finch is trying to help her get better emotionally and mentally, meanwhile Finch only thinks about death and pretty much doesn’t sleep. Eventually he finds himself wanting to see Violet all the time, and then Violet who at first finds him weird, wants to spend more time with him as well, blah blah love story starting etc. Another book that I feel like high school students written to be so much older. Parents who do nothing to help to their kids what so ever, kids who “sleep” for weeks during an mental episode and miss school, parents have no idea. It’s just a book of page filling, and nothingness.
So many people were talking about this book, and I wanted to read it. But the story is stale and played out, and just keeps circling around show more their mental illness and an obvious future love story, and unattentive/abusive parenting. It’s a multi viewpoint between Violet and Finch, so there are parts where they tell their own separate stories and even those parts are just boring. I can’t even read the full page, I skim it. I know I am the minority on this opinion, but it’s just not for me. show less

When 5 strangers walk into detention “guilty” of the same crime and only 4 make it out alive, all 4 students become suspects in an unexplainable murder of the boy who knows all their secrets. The entertainment of Gossip girl, the secrets of Pretty Little Liars and the characters like Breakfast club. These 4 students must come together to figure out why they are being singled out. Secrets are revealed about each student to make them all appear guilty, but which one is lying? Is everything what it seems to be or is there something deeper?

This book is very juvenile, which is fitting being that it is labeled as YA. With all the hype this book got, I was anticipating so much more. The plot was average at best, the characters were high school students but written to be so much older. SPOILERS* So the summary of this book was a young male student, Simon, lured 4 unknowing students of different crowds’ “lemmings” as he would say into detention. Simon fell into anaphylaxis then later dying, after ingesting some water, later determined the water had peanut oil in it, causing his allergic reaction. Simon was the “gossip girl” of the school, having a website that disclosed the deepest darkest secrets of all the students. Riveting. Considered a Homicide, the 4 students in detention with him were considered suspects. Throughout the book you find out all 4 of them were all hiding dark (to them) secrets that and were made to take the blame, for said homicide. Then the rest show more of the book are the students trying to piece together the puzzle, as to who “killed” Simon, stumbling upon the truth at the end. Simon committed suicide by staging a fender bender outside of school to distract everyone while he put peanut oil in his water and drank it, leaving behind a Manifesto. Apparently, he wanted to do more than a “mass shooting”, he wanted to make a statement and take someone down. Just blah.
Overall I did not enjoy this. Like I said previously, the way this book was hyped up I was ready for so much more, and this just did not do it for me. show less

Many people don't like this book due to the unrealistic and unimaginable relationship between a young girl and a grown man. How I look at this book, is I see a young girl so desperate for love and attention, she takes it where she can get it. Although there are some parts that are hard to read, the whole story goes so much deeper then their relationship. The disturbing life this girl had, the unfit parents, the drugs, just everything. I really loved this book, and the characters.

This story is nothing of what it seems. When a young woman is offered an opportunity that's too good to be true, she eagerly jumps at it. Soon after weird things start happening, and she's determined to find out what's going on. She'll soon find out the weird and twisted things that made this opportunity life or death.

This book quickly climbed into my favorites. Although somewhat of a disturbing peek into an Arabic marriage, seen from multiple view points. It is the story of an Arabic daughter who is desperately searching for answers about her parents, and how they died, while trying to live her own arab/American life. It is an amazing story and will grab you instantly.

One of the better thriller books i've read this year so far. It definitely was on the creepier side and did actually scare me a little bit. I am a thriller/suspense junky but this one I couldn't read in the dark. I thought it was nicely written and great story line.

A great balance of thriller, suspense and mystery all mixed into one book. It kept me wanting more, I just couldn’t put it down. I didn’t guess the ending before it was revealed which I love and it leaves you on a cliffhanger which I also love. Needless to say I bought the sequel. You get engulfed in this mystery and you NEED to figure it all out. Two stories twisted into one which keeps turning the page. The protagonist characters are great, they’re likable and the story is awesome. I can’t wait to read the next one.

One of my favorite books of all time. This book quickly climbed onto that list. The remarkable love story of 2 people suffering from different things just trying to make their love work. The selflessness and emotion you feel is encapsulating. I am not a love story book kinda person but this book.... this book is so much more than just a love story. You fall in love with the characters, almost all of them. I LOVE this book.

As YA book, this was amazing. I read it in less than 24 hours I couldn’t put it down. You feel all the emotions and just such an amazing story line. It was a tear jerker at the end. I highly recommend this book. It expresses the struggle kids go through when they’re put into the system. You can’t help but just feel sorry for her, and her feeling undeserving of love.

What would you do if you were on a bus and you saw a someone on the street and felt an immediate attraction? Spend a whole year searching for him of course! But what about when you meet your best friends new boyfriend and it was the man you saw on the street? All the rules go out the window. Do you tell you best friend that shes in love with the man your in love with? Does this man even know you exist? Does he feel the same way about you? So many questions.

This book in my opinion seemed very dramatic for what it was. I felt like it made for a good book, but so many things could've been prevented and things could have worked out so much better with just some communication and some honesty. It kept me interested but I was also rolling my eyes a lot.

I went in having high hopes for this one since I really did enjoy the first. This one was not as much fun to read, maybe not has relatable. The comedy was definitely lacking, as well as keeping it interesting. Hard pass for me.