Book: Jessica Jones Alias

 Book: Jessica Jones Alias

Author: Brian Bendis

Pages: 195

This is my 73rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Meet Jessica Jones.  Once upon a time, she was a costumed super hero - but not a very good one.  Her powers were unremarkable compared to the amazing abilities of the costumed icons that populate the Marvel Universe.  In a city of Marvels, she never found her niche.  The self-destructive would-be Avenger is now the owner and sole employee of Alias Invertigations - a small, private-investigative firm specializing in superhuman cases.  When she uncovers the potentially explosive secret of one hero's true identity, Jessica's life immediately becomes expendable  But her wit, charm and intelligence just may help her survive another day.  Thrust into the midst of a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels, has JEssica burned too many bridges to turn to old friends for help?

Stars: 4

Book: Everything You Are

 Book: Everything You Are

Author: Kerry Anne King

Pages: 337

This is my 72nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

One tragic twist of fate destroyed Braden Healey's hands, his musical career, and his family.  Now, unable to play, adrift in an alcoholic daze, and with only fragmented memories of his past, Braden wants desperately toescape the darkness of the last eleven years.  When his ex-wife and son are killed in a car accident, Braden returns home, hoping to forget a relationship with his troubled 17 year old daughter, Allie.  But how can he hope to rescue her from the curse that seems to shadow his family?  Ophelia "Phee" MacPhee, granddaughter of the eccentric old man who sold Braden his cello, believes the curse is real.  She swore an oath to her dying grandfather that she would ensure Braden plays the cello as long as he lives.  But he can't play, and as the shadows deepend and Phee finds herself falling for Braden, she'll do anything to save him.  It will take a miracle of forgiveness and love to bring all 3 of them back to the healing power of music.

Stars: 2

Book: The First Witch of Boston

 Book: The First Witch of Boston

Author: Andrea Catalano

Pages: 326

This is my 71st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1646.  Thomas and Margaret Jones arrive from England to build a life in the New World.  Though of differing temperaments, cautious Thomas and fiery Margaret, a healer, are bound by a love that has lasted decades.  With a child on the way, their new beginning promises only blessings.  But in this austere Puritan community, comely faces hide malicious intent.  Wrong moves or words are met with suspicion, and Margaret's bold and unguarded nature draws scorn.  Soon, Margaret is mistrusted as more cunning woman than kind caregiver.  And when personal tragedies, religious hysteria, and wariness of the unknown turn most against her, even the devotion Margaret and her husband share at a risk.  Inspired by actual diary entries and court records, this book is at once the riveting story of a woman unjustly accused and a love story set amid the political and social turmoil of both Old and New England.  Harrowing, and with a deep understanding of the human heart, history is brillantly imagined.

This book was okay.  It is based on true events, which is a plus for me.  I just didn't find it overly well written.  There is a lot of repetition that could be cut out, and over explaining.  This was a free read for me through Prime - trying hard to get through all those books.  Was hoping for more here, but not sad I read it considering I live in the Boston area and the book had some truth.

Stars: 3

Book: Voyage of the Damned

 Book: Voyage of the Damned

Author: Frances White

Pages: 464

This is my 70th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces.  To mark this incredible feat, the emperor's ship embarks upon a 12 day voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain.  Aboard are the 12 heirs of the provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing.  All except one: Ganymedes Piscero - class clown, slacker, and all-around disappointment.  When a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect.  Stuck at sea and surrounded by a powerful people and without a Blessing to protect him, Ganymedes's odds of survival are slim.  But as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be.  Can he unmask the killer and their secret Blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia?

This was a pretty good book.  I will say upfront that it is not normally my type of read - I have been trying to veer away from YA.  But this one started out pretty great.  I liked the main character, Ganymedes  - who goes by Dee - immediately.  His wit and snarkiness spoke to me.  I could not figure out where the mystery was going, but loved the world building from the start.  It did lose me a bit getting closer to the end - starting to become a bit more YA than it started (I know I know), but redeemed itself in the end.  Did have a bit of a twist as well.  Glad I read it.

Stars: 4

Book: Basket Full of Heads

 Book: Basket Full of Heads

Author: Joe Hill

Pages: 187

This is my 69th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Twisted tale of June Branch - trapped with 4 cunning ciminals who have snatched her boyfriend for deranged reasons of their own.  How she must fight for her life with the help of an impossible 8th century Viking axe that can pass through a man's neck in a single swipe-and leave the severed head still conscious and capable of supernatural speech.  Each disembodied head has a malevolent story of its own to tell, and it isn't long before June finds herself in a desperate struggle to hack through their lies and manipulations - racing to save the man she loves before time runs out.  But is Jun Branch a woman fighting for her life-or a deranged axe murderer with a basketful of paranoid fantasies?  The truth is even more horrifying than a basketful of heads.

This was an interesting graphic novel.  I read anything by Joe Hill, just like I do his dad, and he does not disappoint in the horror genre. It is a wild story with quite the woman hero.  It is a pretty quick read overall, but a lot of great art on each page that will slow you down some.  Well written.

Stars: 4

Book: Edge of Madness

 Book: Edge of Madness

Author: Kyla Stone

Pages: 314

This is my 68th read for the year

What Amazon says:

On the 5th anniversary of his wife Hannah's disappearance, small-town cop Noah Sheridan takes his son Milo to a local ski resort to remember - and to try to heal.  Then the impossible happens.  Everything electronic dies.  The power grid fails.  Cars stall.  Phones go dark.  In an instant, their quiet holiday becomes a desperate fight to stay alive.  When a white out blizzard slams Southwest Michigan, the town is cut off from the rest of civilization, and the rule of law swiftly collapses along with the power grid.  The frigid cold sets in.  Food supplies dwindles.  Strangers turn threatening and neighbors choose sides.  Noah must make impossible choices, forge uneasy alliances, and face enemies unlike any he's ever known.  At the end of the world, he'll have to risk everything to save his son and protect the home he loves.

This was another good book in this series.  The first was about the Hannah character in this book, and this one was about her family.  It back tracks back to the beginning of the EMP and the world being thrown into chaos, but told from the view of her husband and little boy.  It is well written and has a very intense story line.  Hard to read parts of it.  Makes me want to run out and start to hoard food for sure.  This is a 7 book series, and so I plan on continuing.

Stars: 4

Book: Victim 2117: A Department Q Novel

 Book: Victim 2117: A Department Q Novel

Author: Graeme Malcom

Pages: 480

This is my 67th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

The newspaper refers to the body only as Victim 2117 - the 2117 refugee to die in the Mediterranean Sea.  But to 3 people, the unnamed victim is so much more, and the death sets off a chain of events that throws Department Q, Copenhagen's cold cases division lead by Detective Carl Morch, into a deeply dangerous - and deeply personal - case.  A case that not only reveals dark secrets about the past, but has deadly implications for the future.  For troubled Danish teen Alexander, whose identity is hidden behind his computer screen, the death of Victim 2117 becomes a symbol of everything he resents and the perfect excuse to unleash his murderous impulses in real life.  For Ghaalib, one of the most brutal tormentors from Abu Ghraib - Saddam Hussein's infamous prison - the death of Victim 2117 is the 1st step in a terrorist plot years in the making.  And for Department Q's Assad, Victim 2117 is a link to his buried past - and the family he assumed was long dead.  With the help of the Department Q squad - Carl, Rose, and Gordon - ASsad must finally confront painful memories from his years in the Middle East in order to find and capture Ghaalib.  But with the clock ticking down to Alexander's first kill and Ghaalib's devastating attack, the thinly spread Department Q will need to stay one step head of their most lethal adversary yet if they are to prevent the loss of thousands of innocent lives.

Stars: 3