Otherwise Engaged
by Amanda Quick (Goodreads Author)

Phyllis Hoffman Jacobs's review

Jul 21,20 15  ·  edit

4 of 5 stars

I never read a book by Amanda Quick, but I will probably be reading some of her other books. She goes under other names just like Nora Roberts is also J.D. Robb. I usually don't read historical fiction books but this one was an exception. The setting took place in high society Victorian England. I liked the different expressions the characters used to explain different parts of the story. Quite different from what I am used to hearing.

This book involves 2 love stories but not overly done at all. I don't like reading books that include nothing but romance. This book also includes the murder of 5 women, and a spy scandal. There was something about the beginning of the book that pulled me in but I am not sure of what it was. Different characters were introduced and lots of clues as well. AS with any other mystery/suspense story the reader has to remember all of them in order to solve the mystery. I found the middle of the book not so captivating . As the story unraveled with all the clues coming together (last 100 pages or so)I was glued to the book. I was surprised to learn who the murderer was and why the events and people in his life lead up to his murder spree.

The Good Luck of Right Now
by Matthew Quick (Goodreads Author)

Jul 13,20 15  

4 of 5 stars

For thirty-eight years, Bartholomew Neil has lived with his mother. When she gets sick and dies, he has no idea how to be on his own. His redheaded grief counselor, Wendy, says he needs to find his flock and leave the nest. But how does a man whose whole life has been grounded in his mom, Saturday mass, and the library learn how to fly?

Bartholomew thinks he’s found a clue when he discovers a “Free Tibet” letter from Richard Gere hidden in his mother’s underwear drawer. In her final days, mom called him Richard—there must be a cosmic connection. Believing that the actor is meant to help him, Bartholomew awkwardly starts his new life, writing Richard Gere a series of highly intimate letters. Jung and the Dalai Lama, philosophy and faith, alien abduction and cat telepathy, the Catholic Church and the mystery of women are all explored in his soul-baring epistles. But mostly the letters reveal one man’s heartbreaking earnest attempt to assemble a family of his own.

A struggling bipolar priest, a “Girlbrarian, Elizabeth, who is obsessed with aliens. Her feline-loving, foul-mouthed brother, Max who has Tourette's syndrome , and the spirit of Richard Gere join the quest to help Bartholomew, who has Asperger's syndrome. In a rented Ford Focus, they travel to Canada to see the cat Parliament and find his biological father . . . and discover so much more.


My Review:

I liked this book because it had quirky characters who were there for each other. I found Bartholomew to be a caring person and he was trying to find himself and how he was trying to learn how to be on his own. I liked him the best. The bipolar priest had a secret that we learn about toward the end of the book. I didn't see the secret coming. Elizabeth was strange with her love for aliens. Her brother, Max, was the character that was really annoying. Every other word out of his mouth was f--k. It got old after awhile. I was skipping over some of the dialog because of the profanity.

All in all I will probably read another book by this author.

Nemesis
by Philip Roth

May 31, 2015 

4 of 5 stars

 

Read in May, 2015

This is a frightening story about a polio epidemic that spreads throughout the Jewish community of Newark during the excruciating hot summer of 1944, and the struggles of 23 year old Bucky Cantor who's 4-F military status keeps him from joining his buddies in the war.

Bucky, a physical education teacher, is an extremely conscientious and kind-hearted young man who sincerely cares for the children in his care and is well-liked and admired for his athletic ability and easy-going ways in return, but as his "kids" become infected, he continually questions his decisions, and fights a guilt-ridden battle within himself and his beliefs.

Review:

The reason I chose to read this book is because it takes place in the neighborhood I grew up in until I was thirteen years old. All the streets and places,in the book, brought back good memories of my childhood.The Yiddush words were always spoken by my parents and grandparents so they brought back memories for me as well. The author is from the area as well.

It is also considered a historical fiction novel. The characters' names are fiction but the events are very real. The book opened my eyes to the Polio Epidemic that was happening in the 1940s. I remember getting the Polio Vaccine when I was a kid. I was definitely able to relate to this book.

Fax Me a Bagel
by Sharon Kahn

May 18, 2015  

3 of 5 stars

Read in May, 2015

This first title in the new Agatha Award-acclaimed series features Ruby, the widow of the rabbi in Eternal, Texas. When a patron drops dead in The Hot Bagel, Ruby's friend the baker faces interrogation--and Ruby starts wondering about a connection to her husband's still-unsolved hit-and-run death.

My Review:

I picked up this book to read because I liked the title. It has a lot of humor even though it involved a murder. It wasn't a very deep murder though as in not a lot of twists at all. It was a fast read. I liked the main character, Ruby but didn't care for Essie Sue or the new Rabbi. I connected with this book because of the Yiddish words in the book. They were words that my parents and grandparents always spoke. There were also settings that I was familiar with which made the book more personable I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

The Stranger
by Harlan Coben

May 01,20 15 

5 of 5 stars

Read in April, 2015

The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world.

Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage to a beautiful woman, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American Dream: a big house, a good job, a seemingly perfect life.

Then he runs into the Stranger. When he learns a devastating secret about his wife, Corinne, he confronts her, and the mirage of perfection disappears as if it never existed at all. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corinne’s deception, and realizes that if he doesn’t make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he’s stumbled into will not only ruin lives—it will end them.

Review:::

Harlan Coben writes crime thrillers that keeps the reader guessing until the end of the book. This book was no different. There were twists and turns which I love in a book.I found some of them shocking and surprising and some were predictable. Even though some of the characters had secrets about their growing up years, it was selfish of them to ruin the lives of other people to compensate for those secrets. The book was engrossing and I didn't go to bed until I finished it. It was a page turner for me. I felt like a detective trying to solve the crimes. I had mixed feelings about the ending. Some events were upsetting while others were the way I wanted them to be. Coben finished the book with a cliffhanger which he basically did with all his chapters in the book. He is one of my favorite crime thriller author and i always look forward to reading his books.

What Alice Forgot
by Liane Moriarty (Goodreads Author)

Apr 24,20 15

4 of 5 stars

Read in April, 2015

Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.

So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes.

Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over.

My Review;

I enjoyed this book. As I was reading it , I put myself into Alice's shoes and wondered how I would feel if I didn't remember the last 10 years of my life. What a scary feeling. I like how the story unraveled and how Alice found out about all the events in her life that occured before the accident. She was in for a shock. All in all, I like how the book ended.

This was a new author to me book. I plan on contuing to read books by her.

The Girl on the Train
by Paula Hawkins (Goodreads Author)

Apr 03, 2015  

5 of 5 stars

 

Read in April, 2015

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

A compulsively readable, emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller that draws comparisons to Gone Girl, The Silent Wife, or Before I Go to Sleep, this is an electrifying debut embraced by readers across markets and categories.

My Review::

I absolutely loved this book. It was very hard to put it down. I was so engrossed with trying to solve the crime. Any character could have committed it. I was definitely surprised with the ending!!