My SPOILER ALERT Book Reviews!

  Isola by Allegra Goodman is based on the true story of Marguerite de la Roque . The story started out kind of slow and I was even questioning my choices, but then the speed picked up and my oh my, the book is SO GOOD! Like, I can't even put it into words kind of good. Like, I'm SHAKING AS I'M READING kind of good. Then afterwards, I read the true story of Marguerite de la Roque and I CAN'T BELIEVE how close the book is to the real story. This was a 5 out of 5 for me. Isola tells the story of an orphaned child, Marguerite de la Roque. Her mother died in childbirth and her father died in a battle saving the king. Marguerite de la Roque is only 9 years old. She lives with her nurse Damienne at Perigord chateau. Her guardian, a distant relative of her father's, Jean-Francois de la Roque de Roberval, oversees her inheritance.  Damienne raises Marguerite like her own child. She used to work for Marguerite's parents so she would tell her stories about her wonderful f...

  The Stranger Beside Me: The Shocking Inside Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy by Ann Rule didn't really shock me, perhaps because I knew the story of Ted Bundy well. If you didn't, I'm sure you would find it shocking. What I found most shocking was the fact Ann Rule kept sending Ted Bundy money time after time, but we are getting ahead of ourselves here. Ted Bundy, one of the most famous serial killers in America, has always been a topic of intrigue. Unlike many others, Ted was handsome, charismatic, outwardly kind and considerate, successful with dating, and highly intelligent. I think it's the double life that makes people curious. (Or the fact he escaped from prison twice, with the second time possibly successful had he not committed more HEINOUS crimes, or the fact he represented himself in court.) Why would someone this successful and charming go kill women by the dozens?  Ann Rule was Ted's coworker at the suicide hotline center for years. Oftentimes, they wo...

  A very interesting novel that tells the story of the selection process after the Pope dies. 90% of the book is highly intriguing, thrilling, page turning, but the final 10% gives a twist that seems silly and unnecessary.  Conclave is told through the narration of Jacopo Cardinal Lomeli, who tries to facilitate the selection process after the current Pope passes away. The process is completely new to me and very interesting. There are several people competing for the post: Joshua Cardinal Adeyemi, Joseph Cardinal Tremblay, Aldo Cardinal Bellini, Goffredo Cardinal Tedesco, Vincent Cardinal Benítez. All of them have their strong suits and shortcomings. Some people also like to vote for the protagonist, Cardinal Lomeli, who openly says he doesn't want to be the next Pope. As secrets uncover and events happen, different Cardinals take the lead of the poll but no Pope is selected after several rounds because the minimum vote isn't met. Lomeli continues to try to get there, because...

  LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS!! Definitely written for a younger audience, this book is cute, funny, sweet, and made my heart skip a beat a few times! Quick and easy read that is enjoyable the whole way through. I can't wait to read the next two books in the series! To All the Boys I've Loved Before tells the story of Lara Jean Covey who lost her mom at an early age. Her older sister Margot took up the role of being a mother, until she had to go to college. Lara Jean is now 16 years old and takes on the role of the mom now for her little sister Kitty. One day, a classmate, Peter Kavinsky confronts Lara Jean about a letter he received from her that talked about his flaws. Lara Jean remembers writing the letter in MIDDLE SCHOOL. Lara Jean realizes someone may have sent out all the letters she wrote to all the boys she had a crush on over the years! She runs home and looks for her hatbox containing all the letters, and unsurprisingly, the hatbox is missing! Initially, she suspected her...

  The Housemaid's Secret is the second book in the Housemaid's series by Freida McFadden. I'm a big fan of Freida McFadden and I've read quite a few books by her . I plan to read all of them eventually. I've always felt like The Housemaid is one of her less stellar works, even though it's the most popular one by quite a lot. I slightly hoped The Housemaid's Secret would redeem the series for me, but it didn't. The Housemaid's Secret continues with the the protagonist from the first novel, Millie Calloway, who works as a housemaid for rich families typically with the wife in abusive situations. After how she "took care of business" in the first novel, she kind of got a reputation and job has been steady. The beginning of the book quickly mentions several clients she worked for (where she "took care of business") and that she's now working for Amber Degraw as the housemaid and babysitter to Amber's baby, Olive.  That is, un...

  I was pleasantly surprised by how good this was!! Everything We Never Said is a story about a high school senior Ella Graham who accidentally killed her best friend Hayley Miller in a car accident. She doesn't have much memory from the accident. She feels very guilty for killing her best friend, and to make matters worse, she starts developing feelings for Hayley's boyfriend at the time of her death, Sawyer Hawkins. When Ella is helping Hayley's mom go through Hayley's stuff, Ella finds Hayley's journal and decides to steal it. What she learns from the journal opens a whole can of worms.  Everything We Never Said draws you in immediately. I've read enough thrillers to know that nothing is what it seems in the beginning of a thriller, so I'm dying to find out how Hayley really died (surely Ella didn't kill her). We are told that Hayley's body was never found because the car crash was near a ravine and her body was assumed to have been thrown overboa...

  Oof. Another one that started out pretty strong and got more and more boring as the book went on. The Last Thing He Told Me is told through the narration of Hannah Hall, a 40 year old woodturner who is looking to solve the mystery of her husband Owen's disappearance. Initially, it is believed that her husband is on the run from some illegal activities involving his company, but as thriller readers, we know that we will likely find out this isn't the case. I was quite intrigued at the beginning, but the book turned out to be more of a mystery than a thriller - I never felt like I was on the edge of my seat, I was merely curious of where the story was going to go. Another pet peeve - the book introduces a lot more characters in the final third of the book to explain the mystery, something I don't like because it comes across as a cheap device to me.  The Last Thing He Told Me tells us how Hannah Hall met Owen Michaels through her high end furniture showroom. Owen was accomp...

  The Reformatory by Tananarive Due is a historical fiction horror based on the real life reform school, the Florida School for Boys , which had a history of abuse, rape, and even murders during the 111 year span of operation. The book is terrifying and heart-wrenching. A must read for everyone. The Reformatory tells the story of Robbie Stephens, Jr. who is sent to the reformatory for protecting his older sister Gloria from a white boy's harassment. The boy, Lyle McCormack, has a powerful family. The reformatory has a pretty scary reputation and Robbie is very scared. Gloria looks for ways to get him out.  The reformatory is haunted by ghosts of the boys that were killed there. The author calls these ghosts "haints". Robbie can see the haints, while most others boys can't, except for a haint named Blue that seems to be visible to most. Robbie befriends two boys, Redbone and Blue (Robbie didn't know Blue is a haint at the time) when he's assigned to kitchen dut...

  Wonderful premise of a story that had my heart pumping for the first 2/3 of the book, then, it's as if the book is written by a different author for the remaining 1/3. Starts out as a 5 star book and completely deflates down to a 2 star by the end.  The Chain tells the story of a kidnapping scheme. Unlike a regular kidnap, The Chain is facilitated by a mysterious group who started this "chain" of kidnapping years ago, where the ransom isn't just money, but also requires the victim's family to abduct someone else. Only when the new victim's family successfully carries out the next kidnapping is the previous child safely returned. The book opens with the abduction of 13 year old Kylie. Her mother Rachel, who has been through a divorce and cancer treatments, has just learned that her cancer has possibly returned and she has an important appointment with her doctor. She ends up missing that appointment because she receives the phone call from the husband and wif...

  I enjoyed The Note by Alafair Burke. The story keeps you guessing and the pacing is just right. The Note tells the story of three female friends, May, Kelsey and Lauren, who spend a weekend together in the Hamptons. The trio first met 15 years ago at a music camp called Wildwood. At the time, Lauren was a camp counselor, and May and Kelsey were college aged campers. Lauren had a secret relationship with the camp owner, Thomas, who was married. Later, a camper named Marnie drowned in what was ruled as an accident. Regardless, Lauren was fired due to the drowning. Lauren continues her relationship with Thomas. May had a scandal of her own - as a powerful attorney, she has a reputation to uphold. However, a viral video appeared online where she had an altercation with a Black man at a subway station. Kelsey and Lauren supported May through the scandal. Kelsey also had a scandal of her own. Five years prior to the current trip, Kelsey's husband Luke was shot and killed. Kelsey, who w...

 What started out as a great premise went oh so flat. The Children of Men is a dystopian novel about a time when human can no longer conceive. People don't know the cause, and they have been researching for the cause for quite some time, but they simply don't know why women can no longer get pregnant. The last group of children born is called the Omegas, and after they die, there would be no more human on earth. To search for truth, men are subjected to semen testings and women are subjected to gynecological exams.  The main character in the book is Dr. Theodore Faron, who goes by Theo. He's a professor at Oxford University. His cousin Xan is the Warden of England, the one in charge. There's a group of five people called Five Fishes who are trying to overthrow Xan's system. These five people are Julian (a woman), Rolf, Miriam, Luke and Gascoigne. Julian is married to Rolf, but had an affair with Luke.  Julian approaches Theo, and asks Theo to talk to his cousin Xan ...

  Was this cheesy? Yes. But did I love it? ABSOLUTELY!  The Paradise Problem tells the story of Anna Green and Liam Weston, who entered their marriage fraudulently in order to qualify for cheap housing at their college. At the time, Liam was attending graduate school while Anna was an undergrad. Two years later, Liam graduates and moves out. Anna assumes they are divorced, but Liam never actually turned in the paperwork - he knows he would receive nearly $100 million from his grandfather in an inheritance if he's married for at least 5 years. Now, 5 years is almost over, but his sister Charlie is having a wedding and the family is urging Liam to bring his wife, whom no one has met. To further complicate matters, there's a loophole in the inheritance - if any of the 4 siblings' marriages turns out to be a fraud, then no sibling would get the inheritance. So Liam needs to keep the charade on for the benefit of everyone.  Liam shows up at Anna's house and explains to her o...

  Title:  Pet Sematary   Author: Stephen King Five Word Review: " A Masterpiece of Psychological Horror " My Thoughts: I haven't read as many Stephen King books as I'd like, and I'm actively working to change that. When researching his most acclaimed works,  Pet Sematary  consistently appeared at the top of many lists. It immediately moved to the top of my "must-read" list, and I'm thrilled to say it did not disappoint. This is truly a unique story—horrifying and deeply psychological, all while possessing remarkable depth. It's safe to say this one will be living rent-free in my head for quite some time. The Setting and Inspiration Pet Sematary  unfolds in a small town in Maine, a setting directly inspired by Stephen King's own experiences living there while working as a professor at the University of Maine. Indeed, some of the characters and incidents within the novel are even inspired by real events from that period of his life. Introducing...

  I was so excited to read another book by Colleen Hoover after my great experience with the Maybe series of hers. Perhaps this is what happens when you set your expectations too high. Slammed is the first book written by Colleen Hoover, and it kind of shows. The writing is still super smooth and easy to follow, which I like, but it wasn't as well written, and I was a bit annoyed by the similar ways she's pulling at our heartstrings - terminal illness, forbidden love, using some kind of artsy thing to connect the lovers (poetry in this book vs. lyrical writing in the Maybe series, which is SO similar).  Slammed tells the story of Layken "Lake" Cohen, who unexpectedly lost her father to a heart attack. Her mother Julia moved the family to Michigan, citing financial issues, but Lake later learns it's because of Julia's cancer treatments. Lake befriends a neighbor, Will Cooper, who shares a love of poetry. Will lost his parents in a tragic car accident and is ...

  Enjoyable book. I wouldn't say I was super enthralled but the story moved along and I didn't figure out the killer until it told me, so that was good. This is the third book I've read by this  author  and I plan to read more.  The Last House Guest  is told through the narrator, Avery Greer. Avery is the property manager at a vacation rental agency in a small seaside town in Maine. The owners of the properties are the Lomans, a wealthy local family. The story opens in 2017, at a party, when Avery's best friend Sadie Loman (the daughter of the Lomans) failed to show up. Avery tries to text Sadie but gets no response. Sadie's brother Parker Loman, his girlfriend Luce, and Avery's ex-boyfriend Connor are also at the party. The police arrives and tells everyone they found Sadie's body at the beach. It's ruled a suicide due to the suicide note the police found in her house. The suicide note said, "I'm sorry. I wish it didn't have to be this way....

Title : Listen for the Lie Falls 5 Word Review "Grandma's Great, the Rest's Not" Detailed Review: My excitement for Listen for the Lie quickly waned, as the book ultimately fell short of my expectations. While I've enjoyed several books centered around podcasts, Listen for the Lie simply didn't meet the same standard. Listen for the Lie tells the story of Lucy Case, whose best friend, Savannah, "Savvy" Harper, was killed five years ago. Lucy was considered the prime suspect; though everyone in town believed her guilt, there wasn't enough evidence to charge her. Lucy claims she suffers from amnesia regarding that night and can't remember what happened. The story opens as a popular podcast, Listen for the Lie, unearths this cold case, which quickly goes viral and costs Lucy her job and boyfriend. The podcast, hosted by Ben Owens, aims to find Savvy Harper's true killer and put them behind bars. Lucy's grandmother, Beverly, invites her ...