Book: Ordinary Grace

 Book: Ordinary Grace

Author: William Kent Kreuger

Pages: 336

This is my 126th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961.  The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson's Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack.  It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president.  But for 13 year old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms.  Accident.  Nature.  Sucide.  Murder.  Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family - which includes his Methodist minister fathr' his passionate, artistic mother; Julliard-bound older sister; and wise-beyond his years kid brother - he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.  Told from Frank's perspective 40 years after that fateful summer.

This was a great book.  He is a great writer.  There is great character development and the story flowed well.  There is a mix of everyday life in a small town and heartbreak that works well together.  The mystery was a little hard to figure out, but as we got nearer to the end, it started to pull together the "who done it".  Loved the epilogue.  I listened to it and it was a good book to listen to - easy to keep engaged.

Stars: 4.5

Book: Never Flinch

 Book: Never Flinch

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 448

This is my 125th book for the year

What Amazon Says:

When the Buckeye City Police Department receives a disturbing letter from a person threatening to "kill thirteen innocents and one guilty in "an act of atonement for the needless death of an innocent man", Detective Izzy Jaynes has no idea what to think.  Are fourteen citizens about to be slaughtered in an unhunged act f retribution?  As the investigation unfolds, Izzy realizes that the letter writer is deadly serious, unhinged acto of retribution?  As the investigation unfolds, Izzy realizes that the letter writer is deadly serious, and she turns to her friend Holly Gibney for help.  Meanwhile, controversial and outspoken women's rights activist Kate McKay is embarking on a multi-staet lecture tour, drawing packed venues of both fans and detractors.  Someone who vehemently opposes Kate's message of female empowerment is targeting her and disrupting her events.  At first, no one is hurt, but the stalker is growing bolder, and Holly is hired to be Kate's bodyguard - a challenging task with a headstrong employer and a determined adversary driven by wrath and his belief in his own righteousness.  

This was a pretty good book.  It took quite a bit of concentration because there are a lot of story lines in this one.  I was happy to see another Holly Gibney novel - she is such a fun character.  The story had me hooked for the longest time, but near the end it started to get really confusing with all the characters who were getting their turn in the sun.  The worst characters were the Chris/Chrissy story line - that could have been left out.  I would have liked Holly to have been more central.  It isn't scary as much as a long build up to the final blow.  

Stars: 4

Book: The Stolen Marriage

 Book: The Stolen Marriage

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Pages: 416

This is my 124th book for the year

What Amazon Says:

It is 1944.  Pregnant, alone, and riddled with guilt, 23 year old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life, unable to live a lie.  Instead, she turns to the baby's father for help and agrees to marry him, moving to the small, rural town of Hickory, North Carolina.  Tess's new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows her no affection.  Tess quickly realizes she's trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.  The people of Hickory love and respect Henry but see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain.  When one of the town's golden girls dies in a terrible accident, everyone holds Tess responsible.  But Henry keeps his secrets even closer now, though it seems that everyone knows something about him that Tess does not.  When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital.  Tess knows she is needed and defies Henry's wishes to begin working at there.  Through this work, she begins to find purpose and meaning.  Yet at home, Henry's actions grow more alarming by the day.  As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husban'ds mysterious behavior and find the love - and the life - she was meant to have?

This was a pretty good book.  I do like Chamberlain's books.  She is a great writer.  This one fell a little short for me based on her other novels.  Still an interesting story.  I really didn't love the main character.  She was fine, but not great.  I knew what the outcome was going to be - it was a pretty neatly wrapped up story to come out positive for Tess.  Happy ending which I do like, but it wasn't surprising.  Tess worked as a nurse for a bit and I found all of her skills a bit unbelivable as a new nurse.  However - overall, good story, good writing, just wished for stronger characters.

Stars: 4

Book: People of the Book

 Book: People of the Book

Author: Geraldine Brooks

Pages: 372

This is my 123rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Inspired by a true story, this is a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity by an acclaimed and beloved author.  Called "a tour de force", this ambitious, electrifying work traces the harrowing journey of the fames Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautifully illuminated Hebrew manuscript created in 15th century Spain.  When it falls to Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, to conserve this priceless work, the series of tiny artifacts she discovers in its ancient binding - an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair - only begin to unlock its deep mysteries and unexpectedly plunges Hanna into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultranationalist fanatics.

This was an interesting book.  It jumps around in time -from the 1990s where our main character is working on the story of the book, to back in time to the 1400s-1600s.  I did enjoy the 1990s sections a lot more than the flashbacks - they felt a little unfinished.  Even though those were the longest chapters in the book, we never learned more about the people - (except one) - so it felt like we were missing an ending to a story.  It does jump into the future of the early 2000s with the main character to resolve the mystery of the book, and I liked that.  Overall it is very well written - I just wish I felt like the past and present fit together a bit more.

Stars: 4

Book: Warcross

 Book: Warcross

Author: Marie Lu

Pages: 416

This is my 122nd book of the year

What Amazon Says:

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn't just a game - it's a way of life.  The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit.  Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally.  But the bounty-hunting world is competitive and survival has not been easy.  To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships - only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.  Convinced she's going to be arrested, Emika is shoked when instead she gets a call from the game's creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer.  He needs a spy on the inside of this year's tournament in order to uncover a security problem - and he wants Emika for the job.  With no time to lose, Emika's whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she's only dreamed of.  But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

This book was okay.  I liked the idea of the book, and most of the writing.  I had mixed feelings about the main character, and didn't care one way or another for the side characters.  Pretty good action scenes with a lot of details.  The romance was subpar. The twist ending wasn't that shocking.  And of course it ends on a cliff hanger because there is a second book.  I won't be continuing.

Stars: 3

Book: The Witcher

 Book: The Witcher

Author: Andrzej Sapkowski

Pages: 352

This is my 121st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Geralt is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless hunter.  Yet he is no ordinary killer.  His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world.  But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good - and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.

This was a pretty good book.  I didn't watch the show on TV, but found this book for a reading challenge I was participating in.  Interesting story, and I liked the main character.  It is a book of short stories, which isn't my favorite style, but I stuck with it.  The stories are tied together, sothat helped.  There are a lot of books in The Witcher series, but I do not think for now I will continue.

Stars: 4

Book: The Last Emperox

 Book: The Last Emperox

Author: John Scalzi

Pages: 308

This is my 120th read for the year

What Amazon says:

The collapse of The Flow, the interstellar pathway between the planets of the Interdependency, has accelerated.  Entire star systems - and billions of people - are becoming cut off from the rest of human civilization.  This collapse was foretold through scientific prediction - and yet, even as the evidence is obvious and insurmountable, many still try to rationalize, delay and profti from, these final days of one of the greatest empires humanity has even known.  Emperox Grayland II has finally wrested control of her empire from those who oppose her and who deny the reality of this collapse.  But "control" is a slippery thing, and even as Grayland strives to save as many of her people from impoverished isolation, the forces opposing her rule will make a final, desperate push to topple her from herthrone and power, by any means necessary.  Grayland and her thinning list of allies must use every tool at their disposal to save themselves, and all of humanity.  And yet it may not be enough.  Will Grayland become the savior of her civilization - or the last emperox to wear the crown?

This was a good ending to the trilogy.  There were some suprises, and of course a little bit of humor mixed into the tension.  I like most of the characters, and was sad when one of the main characters is killed.  It ended pretty well, but I would have liked a bit more.  However, overall a very good trlogy that I am glad I read.

Stars: 4