Book: As Long as The Lemon Tree Grows

 Book: As Long As The Lemon Tree Grows

Author: Zoulfa Katouh

Pages: 432

This is my 22nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria.  She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home.  She had a normal teenager's life.  Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily.  Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth.  So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.  But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive.  Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free.  And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one faeful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.  Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are - not a war, but a revolution and decide how she too will cry for Syria's freedom.

Stars: 4

Book: Legends and Lattes

 Book: Legends and Lattes

Author: Travis Baldress

Pages: 304

This is my 21st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her swod for the last time.  The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune.  But old and new rivals stand in the way of success - not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.  if Viv wants o put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.  But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way.  And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she could ever have dreamed.

This was a good book.  I liked the cozy story mixed with a bit of fantasy.  It is an easy read - finished it in a day and a half.  A lot of likable characters to continually root for.  Nice world building as well.  I will be reading the next one in the series.

Stars: 4

Book: The Lost House

 Book: The Lost House

Author: Melissa Larsen

Pages: 352

This is my 20th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

40 years ago, a young woman and her infant daughte were found buried in the cold Icelandic snow, lying together as peacefully as though sleeping.  Except he mother's throat has been slashed and the infant drowned.  The case was never solved.  There were no arrets, no conviction.  Just a suspicion turned into a certainty: the husband did it.  When he took his son and fled halway across the world to California, it was proff enough of his guilt.  Now, nearly half a century later and a year after his death, his granddaughter, Agnes, is ready to clear her grandfather's name once and for all.  Still recovering from his death and a devastating injury, Agnes wants nothing more than an excuse to escape the shambles of her once-stable life - which is why she so readily accepts true crime expert Nora Carver's invitation to be interviewed for her popular podcast.  Agnes packs a bag and hops on a last-minute flight to the remote town of Bitfrost, Iceland, where Nora is staying, where Agne's father grew up, and where, supposedly, her grandfather slaughtered his wife and infant daughter.  Is it merely coincidence that a local girl goes missing the very same weekend Agnes arrives?  Suddenly, Agnes and Nora's investigation is turned upside down, and everyone in the small Icelandic town is once again a suspect.  Seeking to unearth old and new truths alike, Agnes finds herself drawn into a web of secrets that threaten the redemption she is hell-bent on dlivering, and even her life - discovering how far a person will go to protect their family, their safety, and their secrets.

This was a decent book.  This was one of my Amazon free reads I am working my way through this year.  However - I decided to listen to this one.  It also was fulfilling a reading challenge.  It was a decent story, with an interesting Icelandic background.  Pretty predictable mystery overall and Agnes was a bit of an exhausting character.  But it was a good book to listen to - to hear all the Icelandic names pronounced.  Glad I read this one.

Stars: 3 

Book: Hazelthorn

 Book: Hazelthorn

Author: CG Drews

Pages: 368

This is my 19th read for the year

What Amazon says:

Evander has lived like a ghost in the forgotten corners of the Hazelthorn estate ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall, when he was a child.  For his safety, Evander hasbeen given 3 ironclad rules to follow:  He can never leave the estate.  He can never go into the gardens.  And most importantly, he can never again be left alone with Byron's charming, underachieving grandson, Laurie.  That last rule has been in place ever since Laurie tried to kill Evander 7 years ago, and yet somehow Evander is still obsessed with him.  When Byron suddently dies, Evander inherits Hazelthorn's immense gothic mansion and acres of sprawling grounds, along with the entirety of the Lennox-Hall family's vast wealth.  But Evander's sure his guardian was murdered, and Laurie may be the only one who can help him find the killer before they come for Evander next.  Perhaps even more concerning is how the overgrown garden is regusing to stay behind its walls, slipping its vines and spores deeper into the house with each passing day.  As the family's dark secrets unravel alonside the growing horror of their terribly alive, bloodthirsty garden, Evander needs to find out what he's really inheriting before the garden demands to be fed once more.

This book was fine.  This is really not my genre, and as I have stated many times, I am really getting away from enjoying YA.  It is written well enough, but the characters are a bit infuriating - especially Evander.  It gets a little convoluded at the end, but I finished it and no unhappy I read it.  Bit predictable horror story and an unsatisfying ending.

Stars: 3

Book: When I Fell From The Sky

 Book: When I Fell From The Sky

Author: Juliane Koepcke

Pages: 256

This is my 18th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

The true story of one woman's miraculous survival.  On December 24, 1971, the teenage Juliane boarded the packed flight in Peru to meet her father for Christmas.  She and her mother fought to get some of the last seats available and felt thankful to have made the flight.  The LANSA airplane flew into a heavy thunderstorm and went down in dense Amazon jungle hundred of miles from civilization.  She fell 2 miles from the sky, still strapped to her plane seat, into the jungle.  She was the sole survivor among the 92 passengers, which included her mother, and Julian's unexplainable survival has been called a modern-day miracle.  With incrdible courage, instince and ingenuity, she crawled and walked alone for 11 days in the green hell of the Amazon.  She survived using the skills she'd learned in assisting her parents on their research trips into the jungle before coming across a loggers hut, and with it, safety.  

This was an interesting book.  The story of her crash and survival for 11 days in the jungle were the most captivating part of the book.  It isn't especially well written, but she lived quite the life, so it is easily overlooked.  It was a terrible tragedy that affected the rest of her life.  In 1998 they made a short documentary about her ordeal when she returned to Peru with a film crew to re-walk her path of survival.  She is quite the woman.

Stars: 3.5

Book: Committed

 Book: Committed

Author: Adam Stern

Pages: 320

This is my 17th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Adam Stern was a student at a state medical school before being selected to train as a psychiatry resident at one of the most prestigious programs in the country.  His new and initially intimidating classmates were high achievers from the Ivy League and other elite universities around the nation.  Faculty raved about that group as though the residency program had won the lottery, nicknaming them "The Golden Class" but would Stern ever prove that he belonged?  In his memoir, Stern pulls back the curtain on the intense and emotionally challenging lessons he and his fellow doctors learned while studying the human condition, and ultimately, the value of connection.  The narrative focuses on these residents, their growth as doctors, and the life choices they make as they try to survive their grueling 4 year residency.  Rich with drama, insight, and emotion, Stern shares engrossing stories of life on the psychiatric wards, as well as the group's experiences as they grapple with impostor syndrome and learn about love and loss.  Most importantly, as they study how to help distressed patients in search of a better life, they discover the meaning of failure and the preciousness of success.  Stern's growth as a doctor, and as a man, have readers rooting for him and his patients, and ultimately find their own hearts fuller for having taken this journey with him.

This book was okay.  I liked the idea of it, and found a lot of the cases he was involved in interesting.  He is a psychiatrist here in Boston, so that drew me in.  The book was telling two stories though - his personal life and his cases, where after awhile the personal story took over.  It isn't necessary a bad thing, but it seemed to lose the basis for the book which was to talk about his training as a psychiatrist.  It isn't especially well written, but not terrible either.  Glad I read this - found it for a few dollars at a used book store - but not sure I would recommend it.

Stars: 3 

Book: Paper Cuts

 Book: Paper Cuts

Author: Ellery Adams

Pages: 308

This is my 16th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Nora escaped her past a decade ago.  So it feels like a visit from another world when Kelly Walsh - the woman her ex-husband left her for - walks through the door of Miracle Books along with her son.  Kelly hasn't come to gloat, though.  As it turns out, she's been dumped too.  She's also terribly ill, and all she wants from Nora is forgiveness.  Shockingly, however, this woman who's been the victim of so much misfortune is about to become a murder victim.  Who would do such a thing?  Certainly not Nora, but that doesn't stop the gossip and suspicion - especially after Kelly's brother claims that he saw the 2 women arguing.  In seeking justice for Kelly, The Secret, Book, and Scone Society joins forces with the sheriff's department, but they've barely begun their probe when life throws another wrench.  After serving a 20 year sentence Estella's father returns to Miracle Springs.  And when his past comes back to haunt him, it might be more than the 4 friends can handle.

This was an okay book.  I am working through all 8 of these books by Adams, and they have all been fine.  The first one was my favorite, and they have gotten more "meh" the more I read.  They are easy reads, but I have liked the main character, Nora, less and less.  Adams keeps writing her with a bit of a "Bite" that I don't think you would find in a bookshop owner.  That is my own opinion, but it just doesn't fit what I see for this character, so her snarkiness, and a few things she does in this book seems out of what I felt the norm should be.  Nit picky for sure, but it rubs me the wrong way.  

Stars: 3