{Black Hole Work}

I enjoy Scottoline’s writing and have read all of her books featuring attorney Bennie Rosato. This is outside of that series and with it, Scottoline has hit a home run! The development of all the various characters is excellent. There is good insight into the mind of a (non sexual) predator and a twist (well more than one) that has you guessing and makes you not want to put down the book until the end. As a bonus, you even learn a little about our government! Be prepared to read this book well into the night……

Anna Rose Johnson's debut takes readers to Michigan in the early 1900s to explore themes of family, belonging, and the quest for security and happiness alongside young Norvia, the main character of the story, who has to navigate a new school, new family after her parents divorce and her mother remarries, and new sources of comfort and discomfort as she tries to take control of her life. That constant quest for security and happiness is partially what keeps readers turning pages, as the author raises question after story question that the reader must have answers to.

The characters are another part of what makes this story as engaging as it is. Dicta, for instance, the youngest of the children, had a unique sort of personality as well as show more a physical disability, spoke her mind on all subjects, and was vain and not at all tenderhearted. There's a sort of innocence about her in spite of her curious and disregarding manner, and the way she carried out her ideas with her youthful confidence and enthusiasm brought a certain light to the story.

Elton was the second-oldest after Herman, the brother who left the family to be employed elsewhere, and his time was spent in the fields doing work that he loved and being the steady remaining older brother to his siblings.

Casper's role wasn't as front and center, but he learned valuable things about choice in education, training, and hard work.

And Norvia is the one of whom Dicta remarks in the second half of the book that she is "never happy." I didn't realize that until she pointed it out, after which it became glaringly obvious. She found solace in books and in trying to make things the way they were in some ways, but she wasn't really happy, and she couldn't truly be happy for others either. Part of that has to do with her journey in the book, as she wanted a better life with the ability to make her own choices. Her goals and outlook change as she does, and it was such an intriguing journey.

Of the school friends, Kitty seemed one-dimensional at times, with her unfailing loyalty to the protagonist and the way she was made out to be a flighty, clumsy scatterbrain of a sidekick. I wish we could have seen more of her value outside of her usefulness to the main character. She seemed like such a sweet and kind person, and Norvia's ideas of what Kitty ought to be would certainly not be kind to her if they were carried out.

Altogether, The Star That Always Stays is a children's book geared perhaps towards older children, with its content of messy family relationships, childbirth, and sorrow/helplessness. There's a certain thread of hope that ties the story together, perhaps most evidently at the end, and it creates an experience that is hard to forget. I've enjoyed my time with these characters, and I look forward to reading more by Anna Rose Johnson.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through the publisher for review purposes. A positive review was not required.

Content: joking about ghosts and a crazy wife locked in a room, fear in reference to that conversation, fairies and witches mentioned, a character stares into his teacup "as if reading his future in the [tea] leaves" show less

This novel thoroughly irked me. Sure, it was enjoyable enough (though I can't tell exactly why) but there were so many problems I had with it.

In my personal opinion, Rema does not show the necessary skills to become queen. She is kind and beautiful, but has nothing else going for her. A main character should have the right mix of uniqueness to set them apart from the other characters while also making sure they're not overpowered and made to be wayyy better than everyone else. Rema is placed on a pedestal compared to all the other characters with no valuable traits to back it up. She should have earned the people's respect, but it was just handed to her.

The plot fairly dull and can be described as "everything revolves around Rema." show more Really, this series has been all about protecting Rema but it has given me no reason to want Rema to be protected. The pacing was all over the place randomly skipping weeks/days. There were also parts in the novel that just made me cringe that I had to put the book down.

We did get to see more of the side characters. But, I didn't really enjoy them that much. Savenek had the potential to be an interesting character, which he was, but that was quickly ruined. His personality did a complete flip for the worse because of sudden love for Rema. WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT SUDDEN HAREM?!

The love triangle was not necessary AT ALL. It added nothing but extra drama. All the romance in this book seemed to be handled poorly. Not only was there an unnecessary love triangle, but in the midst of a freaking WAR, characters decide to get all up close and personal with each other. WHAT. I THOUGHT WE WERE PAST THIS.

I have very mixed feelings about the ending of this book. I liked the last 10% but in the last 2% I was just really irritated. show less

This is a really impressive debut novel. It deals with a criminal family that crosses three generations who live in the mountains of Georgia. It is told from the perspectives of many characters over the years. One member of the family takes a different route by becoming the local sheriff to the chagrin of his brothers who have linked their operation to a "big" city organization in Jacksonville, Florida. Throw in a federal agent who is trying to bring everything down. You have a wonderfully well written book that doesn't leave you lost in a pretty complicated plot. Great book!

Part of a series of mysteries written in the golden age of British crime novels. The book centers around a pair of brothers. It appears they are involved in a love triangle with John having an affair with William's wife. When John turns up dead William is the logical suspect. However, shortly thereafter William also turns up dead the victim of an apparent suicide. This unleashes a complex series of twists and turns that lead to a very satisfying conclusion. Detective Meredith must unravel layer after layer which he does in a very methodical way. An old style who dunnit (perhaps a bit slow for some) but I liked it.

This book was cute! I fell in love with Sawyer and Clover. Sawyer needed a buffer to save him from his matchmaking mama. So his crazy brother, sends an add for someone, to come to his rescue. Enter Clover, she needs a temporary position so that she can save money to go to Australia. Sawyer is about to send all the buffers in his office away, since he thinks it ridiculous and that he does not need one, but when his mother enters with two candidates, Clover gets up and sends his mother away. Sawyer is shocked and hires her on the spot. The banter between these two was funny, and their chemistry was awesome. Enjoy!

Before America Singer there was Queen Amberly. This novella touches on Amberly's life as part of the Selection. There are hints of abuse in the story as well as Queen Abby being a drunk. All in all it was an okay read. I think reading about Amberly from start to finish rather than this short story would've worked better, but it does give you an insight of her life before she became Queen.