Shelfari 50 Book Challenge discussion
Paula's 2017 challenge
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Paula
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Aug 14, 2017 06:25PM
I really liked it Kat, hope you will too. : )
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47. The Clairvoyants - Karen Brown3*s
Martha comes from a family of 4 or 5 girls. She is next to the youngest and she is closest with her youngest sister Dell. Martha sees dead people.
This audio book just plodded along for me. I kept waiting for that one thing that would hook me but nothing ever did. It was just ok for me.
48. The Life She Was Given - Ellen Wiseman4*s
Lilly has been living in her families attic for her whole life. It is 1931 and all she knows is what she can see out her small window and her books that her father brings her when he can. Her mother says she is an abomination and would scare people if she were allowed out. On the eve of her 10th birthday, her father is out of town. Her mother makes a rare appearance in the attic and tells Lilly that she must hurry, she is going to a special show just for her at a circus across their property. Lilly is frightened of everything, the world outside is so large! Lilly is wishing she could just go back to her attic room and especially after her mother sells her to the circus.
Nineteen years later, Julia, who ran away from her mother a couple of years ago, is found by a private detective and told she has inherited the family farm after her parents death. She goes back home to find there are many secrets surrounding her family that she knew nothing about, such as having an older sister.
This is a well written book that brings the story to life. You have rollercoaster emotions going through it and can't wait to see how it turns out, it brought tears to my eyes more than once. There is human as well as animal abuse in the story so if you don't like those types of books, you should skip this one. I love circus stories anyway but Wiseman brings out the family aspect and how everyone sticks together.
49. The Narrows - Michael Connelly5*s
Harry gets a call from the wife of his friend Terry McCaleb. Terry died from an apparent heart attack but his widow wants Harry to check into it, something doesn't seem right. As Harry starts going through his friend's things, he finds a box of unsolved cases that Terry was working on, one being the case of Bob Backus, known as The Poet. The FBI thought he was dead but new evidence proves otherwise. Harry and Rachel Walling, who has been isolated from the FBI since her botching of the case, team up to find the Poet.
Very good story and moves quickly.
50. The Loft - Bette Lee Crosby4*s
Annie and Oliver have married and are leaving on their honeymoon. Oliver is excited, he has plans for them as a married couple including dinner that night in an exclusive restaurant in New York. Annie is trying to reach Ophelia, her 92 year old friend to check on her but can't reach her. She is very worried. She finally gets a call telling her that Ophelia is in the hospital after having suffered a heart attack. Ophelia will be fine but it will take time.
Another heartwarming story from Crosby. She reminds us what friendship and love are all about. These are always a pleasure to read, I feel as if they bring back good friends and we meet new ones that we are eager to learn more about.
51. Perfect Chemistry - Simone Elkeles4*s
I picked this book up because there was a write up in our newspaper that some parents wanted it banned from middle school. I decided to read it and see what all the controversy was about. It's the story of two teens, Brittany from the rich side of town and Alex from the poor side. Not only is he poor but he is a gangbanger.
I thought the book was well written and I would think more for high schoolers, but that being said, if it's already in middle school, I wouldn't remove it. As a parent, I would not hand my kid this book in middle school and recommend it, but if they were already reading it, I would think it would make a good discussion book. I think there are some good points made in the book. Some areas are passed over quickly, but overall a good read.
52. The Child - Fiona Barton4*s
The body of a baby is found in an excavation site. Kate Waters (who we met in "The Widow) thinks this will make a good human interest story for her paper. The more she digs, the more interesting the story becomes.
I liked "The Widow" but loved this book better. I listened to it on audio and as the story unfolds, I had a hard time pushing the "stop" button. Good thriller.
53. Dream Lovers - Dodd Darin4.5 *s
I loved Sandra Dee growing up and knew who Bobby Darin was somewhat until I saw the Kevin Spacey movie. Dodd tells the story of his parents lives, warts and all. This is one of the better biographies that I've read. Dodd really did a lot of research into his parents past, and at the time, he still had Sandra to give her side. Very good read, I would have given it 4.5 stars if I could, not a 5 because there was some repetition but a good memoir.
54. The Winter Rose - Jennifer Donnelly4*s
Loved this sequel to "The Tea Rose". It had been so long between books but I quickly got back into Fiona and the Finegan's. There is so much in this book it's hard to know where to begin.
India has just graduated from medical school. She comes from a wealthy family but they were against her becoming a doctor so she has nothing to do with them. Her dream is to open a clinic in Whitechapel for the poor. She wants to make a difference with her life. Her childhood love is to be her fiancé but she cannot make the commitment yet. Freddie is working with her parents behind her back to get her to give up her "silly" notion of being a doctor to the poor or anyone for that matter.
Joe and Fiona, Charlie and Seamie all have parts in this wonderful coming of age story. I hated for it to end but will pick up the final book in the trilogy soon.
55. Arrowood - Laura McHugh4*s
Arden moves back to her childhood home after 17 years. Her parents had moved much earlier after Arden's baby sisters went missing. Arden has never gotten over their disappearance. She remembers seeing a blonde head in a gold vehicle leaving after she had gone to get the twins some flowers and has never forgiven herself. Now she is back and is working with Josh who is writing about the mystery of the twins.
Pretty good story, I'll read more by this author.
56. The Couple Next Door - Shari Lapena3*s
Anne and Marco go to a dinner party at their next door neighbors house. The babysitter has cancelled last minute but Marco wants to go. The very sexy and attractive Cynthia doesn't care for children and doesn't want them to bring 6 month old Cora. Anne doesn't want to go but Marco insists. They have the baby monitor and they share a common wall with Cynthia and will check on her every 30 minutes so everything should be fine. Cynthia flirts with Marco all night and Anne just wants to go home. When they finally go about 1:30 AM, little Cora is missing.
This was a page turner but all the characters in this book are so flawed that I didn't care for any of them. I couldn't help but keep reading to see what had happened to baby Cora. And now I'm going to go take a shower.
Paula wrote: "56. The Couple Next Door - Shari Lapena3*s
Anne and Marco go to a dinner party at their next door neighbors house. The babysitter has cancelled last minute but Marco wants to go. The very sexy a..."
I think I might like this. I'm going to check it out!
Tessa (FutureAuthor23) wrote: "Paula wrote: "56. The Couple Next Door - Shari Lapena3*s
Anne and Marco go to a dinner party at their next door neighbors house. The babysitter has cancelled last minute but Marco wants to go. T..."
You'll have to let me know what you think when you finish. : )
57. The Haunted Fixer Upper - Rose Pressey3*s
Alabama and her boyfriend Reed are going to his family reunion in Georgia. When their truck breaks down, they have to walk and Alabama spots an old abandoned house. She thinks it's beautiful and would like to reno it, so she and Reed find the owner and buy it. Later the ex-owner has some paperwork for them and when they go to get it, Reed finds him dead. Alabama is seeing a female ghost in the house who wants her to find her killer.
Cute, lighthearted cozy. It had some issues with editing which I don't usually mark down for, but these were pretty bad and there were some repetitions.
58. I Am Watching You - Teresa Driscoll4*s
Two 16 year old girl friends are going on a well deserved holiday after doing well in school. They are on the train to London when they are approached by two young men who admit that they have just gotten out of jail. Ella, mother of a teen boy is on the train and hears the conversation. She is wondering if she should figure out who the parents are and call to let them know that the girls might be in danger but disregards it as being too nosey. Later when Anna turns up missing, Ella does call the police and tell them what she knows.
This was a well written thriller written from four major POV's. Everyone has secrets so it keeps you in suspense until the very end.
59. 13 1/2 - Nevada Barr4*s
A family is murdered and 11 year old Dillon is left holding the axe. The only survivor is his older brother and while Dillon is in a juvenile psychiatric hospital, Richard visits regularly. Dillon cannot remember anything about that horrible night.
Polly is a 15 year old girl who is abused and neglected. She runs away to New Orleans and makes a life for herself.
This is a very different story than the Anna Pigeon books but I really liked it. Quite a page turner but not for the faint of heart.
60. The Closers - Michael Connelly4*s
Harry goes back to work. He and Kiz are now in the Unsolved unit. They get a case from 1988 where a biracial girl is murdered. Of course, nothing is as it seems and Harry and Kiz are in a quandary.
Another good Bosch book, I'm glad he's back on the force.
61. The Maids of Misfortune - M. Louisa Locke4*s
Annie is a widow who has moved to San Francisco and owns a boarding house. She moonlights as Sybil, a clairvoyant who gives financial advice to well to do gentleman. When one of her clients dies and is ruled suicide, she doesn't believe it for a minute.
I got this free for Kindle and enjoyed the story very much. I thought it was well written and was a fun read. I'm looking forward to the next in this series.
62. New Year's Eve Murder - Leslie Meier3*s
Lucy and her oldest daughter Elizabeth go to New York for an all expense paid mother daughter make over that Elizabeth won. Someone is murdered and Lucy wants to know why.
I enjoy these books but this one had a few issues for me. First of all, when Elizabeth was in ICU, someone forgot to check on the rules for ICU patients. Also a lot of characters to keep up with made the story a little difficult to follow at times and anthrax was a BIG issue. Anthrax takes the story to a whole different level.
Still a quick read but not much believability to this one.
63. The New Neighbor - Leah Steward3*s
Margaret is 90 years old and lives in Tennessee. Across from her is a house that has been empty for a while but one day while reading on her deck, she notices a new neighbor.
Jennifer has just moved in with her son Milo. She is running from her past.
This started out promising but it became a laborious read (listen). It was way to wordy and the characters weren't particularly likeable.
64. Murder on Washington Square - Victoria Thompson4*s
Sarah's neighbor Nelson asks to meet Sarah about a delicate matter. He takes her to a boarding house where a woman lives and says that Nelson has put her in a compromising condition. Anna Blake has a fit when she see's Sarah with Nelson so Sarah leaves. Later when Anna is found dead and Nelson is arrested for her murder, Sarah is on the case with Detective Malloy.
Very good story. I love how Thompson describes Victorian New York and it's people. I can't wait to get to the next one in the series.
65. Into the Water - Paula Hawkins
3*s
I really enjoyed "Girl on a Train" so was looking forward to this book. For me there were too many characters, and a lot of detail on location. Each chapter was dedicated to one of the characters and they all had secrets. To me it was a big build up of what was coming and by the time I got to the end, it was a big let down.
The book has a gothic feel but doesn't follow through. This one just didn't do it for me.
66. Closer to the Light - Melvin Morse4*s
I thought this was a very informative read about children who have had near death experiences. Morse does his research and looks through the records to see if drugs they were given could have caused the reactions or could it have been something else. He was very thorough.
67. A Simple Amish Christmas - Vanetta Chapman4*s
Annie is called home to help her Dad after an accident. She has been living with her aunt in Philadelphia for the past 3 years while doing her rumschpringe. She has gone to school and is a nurse. Her family doesn't know that she's a nurse and she's so happy to return to her Amish roots that she doesn't tell them right away but is glad to be able to help her father. She meets Samuel who she knew when she was a child and is now the acting doctor for the Amish. After a rocky start, they become attracted to each other.
This was a good read. Chapman did a good job of fleshing out her characters and making them likeable. I will miss reading about Annie and Samuel.
68. The Bridge at Chappaquiddick - Jack Olsen3*s
Interesting book about a long ago case. I liked that Olsen took the words from the actual people who were involved in the case. It seemed pretty bungled from the get go, and there was nothing new added from what I remember of the case when it happened. It's frustrating that Kennedy was held up as a celebrity and with all the discrepancies between his written statement and his TV announcement, no one bothered to follow it up. The Kennedy's have always been untouchable.
69. Dear Santa - 4*s
A delightful book of children's letters to Santa from 1870 - 1920. It gives an overview of how the concept of Santa started and where. It also gives definitions to some names of toys popular at the time. It was a fun read, seeing how much things have changed. I found it quite sad at times and funny at others. Good read.
70. Knitting the Season - Kate Jaocobs3*s
Dakota is all grown up now and was a nice catch up on how the other members are doing. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others but it was an ok read.
71. Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty5*s
The school is having a trivia night party, and everyone is supposed to dress as either Katherine Hepburn or Elvis. What should be a fun night ends in one of the parents being killed. The detectives think it's murder but no one is talking.
The three main characters, Madeline, Jane and Celeste are a mishmash of personalities but best of friends. The more you get to know them, the more you like them.
I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to the next Moriarty.
Shelfari 50 Book Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Into the Water (other topics)The Girl In The Ice (other topics)
An Amish Kitchen: Three Amish Novellas (other topics)
Beyond the Ice Limit (other topics)
The Abduction of Mary Rose (other topics)
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