Readers' Favorite

January 30, 2016

"Scary Story" ~ No Rest for the Wicked by Dane Cobain




When the Angels attack, there’s NO REST FOR THE WICKED.

Father Montgomery, an elderly priest with a secret past, begins to investigate after his parishioners come under attack, and with the help of Jones, a young businessman with an estranged child, Montgomery begins to track down the origin of the Angels.

The Angels are naked and androgynous. They speak in a dreadful harmony with no clear leader. These aren’t biblical cherubs tasked with the protection of the righteous – these are deadly creatures of light that have the power to completely eradicate.

When Jones himself is attacked, Father Montgomery knows he has to act fast. He speaks to the Angels and organises a final showdown where he’s asked to make the ultimate sacrifice.


Wickedly paced supernatural thriller ~ Michael Israel Jarvis

A tasty, spooky morsel ~ Jo Evans

Enjoyable read!!! ~ Megha






Buy No Rest for the Wicked at Amazon


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January 29, 2016

Intense ~ The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

review by Susan Roberts

The Things We Keep

The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth has two intersecting stories - the first is about Anna - a 38 year old paramedic with early onset Alzheimer's disease. At the beginning of the novel she is going to live at Rosalind House, an assisted living center where all of the residents except for her and one man her age (who also has a brain injury) are elderly. The novel traces the disease as she loses her words and the knowledge of who her family is.  She and the young man at Rosalind House develop a relationship, much to the dismay of their families.

The other story is about Eve and her daughter Clemantine.  Eve is a young widow whose husband committed suicide after being caught as the leader of a Ponzi scheme. She goes to work at Rosalind House as a cook/cleaner and tries to help Anna.

The novel is very intense and very sad, especially in the sections about Anna and makes the reader question how they would react to Anna if they were in Eve's place. I thought that the novel was very well done and I enjoyed reading it and would highly recommend it.

Buy The Things We Keep at Amazon


book info:
available formats: ebook, audio, print (352 pages)
published: January 2016 by St. Martin's Press
ISBN13: 978-1250051905
genres: women's fiction




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January 28, 2016

So Much to Love ~ Sinister by Jana Deleon

review by Elisa Hordon

Sinister

There is so much to love about Sinister by Jana Deleon.

Shaye is back with another mystery to solve. I love Shaye. She is one of those characters that stays with you long after you've finished the book, Shaye is strong, smart and she can kick ass when she needs to, but she also has a vulnerable side which she hides. After everything she's been through, you wonder how she is still functioning.

Jackson Lamonte a great cop, an awesome detective, even if his surly partner doesn't think so and the one person outside of Shaye's family that she has come to trust. Jackson saved Shaye's life once; can he keep her safe again and keep his feelings for Shaye in check? Jackson is finding the more time he spends with Shaye the more time he wants to spend with her.

Jackson is a great guy: he is charming, good looking and great at his job even if he is saddled with a partner who doesn't care. Jackson finds a way to get the job done even if it means bending the rules and working with Shaye. I love that Jackson is willing to blur the lines to get the job done but in a good way. Working with Shaye is the right way to go even if technically he shouldn't and really they both work so well together especially with that spark of chemistry between them.

When a street kid named Hustle comes to Shaye with a missing person case, she jumps straight on it. When that missing person case collides with Jackson's murder case, things get more interesting and when more street kids go missing Shaye and Jackson do everything they can to figure this case out before Hustle goes missing forever.

Sinister is a thrilling, captivating adventure that I just couldn't put down.

Buy Sinister at Amazon


Book info:
available formats: ebook
published: January 2016
genres: crime, mystery, suspense






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January 27, 2016

The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner - A Review

by Kathleen Barker


cover The Summer of Letting Go


Navigating the murky waters of adolescence is difficult enough, but when your little brother drowns on your watch, your best friend transmutes into someone else's girlfriend and your father appears to be having an affair with a neighbor...

Life for Frankie (Francesca) Schnell is spinning out of control.  Choking on the guilt of her brother Simon's death, she feels invisible.  Her mother's grief drives her to devote her time to a drowning prevention foundation, while Frankie's best friend has acquired a swoon-worthy boyfriend. An unexpected summer job offer lands her face to face with a little boy who is the same age as Simon was before he died, a boy who unnervingly resembles him and says things that shake Frankie to her core.  Is she losing her mind, or is this boy a reincarnation of Simon?

Her father's friendship with a pretty neighbor across the street from her house begins to make Frankie suspicious.  And when her best friend goes out of town, she finds her self the knee-quaking object of her absent-friend's boyfriend.  Should she stay true to her best friend and resist or give in to his spectacular kiss?  Should she confront someone about her father's perceived infidelity?  Confront who...her father, the neighbor, her mother?

As much as I loved her previous book, The Pull of Gravity,  author Gae Polisner scores a home run with The Summer of Letting Go as she lovingly peels back the layers of a young teen's fears and vulnerabilities. Polisner allows Frankie to work through her multiple dilemmas without resorting to an unrealistic sitcom resolution.  As in real life, not every question is answered.

I read this book to screen it before gifting to my granddaughter, but found myself falling in love with the characters as well.  Polisner's understanding of the fragile young heart and mind is a gift that resonates, weaving a bond between the reader and the characters she has so lovingly created.        


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January 26, 2016

Emotional - The Feathered Bone by Julie Cantrell

review by Donna Huber



The Feathered Bone


Friday, October 29, 2004 The Day
A magic moves the day as if anything could happen. Perhaps it's the pulse of jazz in the air, or the rhythmic churn of the riverboats, or the warm winds that swoop the levee, but there's a hint of mystery surrounding us. Something has charged the marrow walled within my bones. Pay attention, it says. And so I do.









Wow! As I have just clicked the last page of The Feathered Bone by Julie Cantrell on my Nook, I sit here trying to process all the thoughts and feelings this book has caused to swirl within me. The only word I can come up with to sum up the depth of emotions and thoughts I'm left with is 'wow' yet that seems to be so lacking of a word for such a powerful story as the one Cantrell weaves.

I knew going into The Feathered Bone that it was going to be a dark tale. With every page turned, with every new place the children visited, I waited, the anticipation building until the moment I knew was coming. And when it happened I felt literally sick to my stomach. For the first time, I thought I might not be able to precede with a book due to the physical illness it was causing. I have read a number of dark stories (I love Heather Hoffman and her series focused on human trafficking) so I was unprepared for the affect this story was having on me.

I don't know if it was because days ago the story of the 2 year old boy being found dead broke in the news. Or if it played on my own fears of losing a child entrusted to my care in the midst of a crowd.

I'm glad that I was able to pull through and continue with the story. I feel like my world has both been shaken as well as made to stand still by this book. Does that make any sense?

Once Sarah disappears I wasn't sure if we would see her again. To be honest, part of me hoped not. I just wanted to get to the part of the story were everyone had to pick up the pieces and move on with life. I read these dark stories because I love to see how people deal with crisis, how such terrible things can happen yet they keep on living - makes my problems not look so insurmountable.

Yet we do hear from Sarah as she writes letters to the sparrow at her window. And I have to tell you that her words are some of the most powerful ones in the whole book. You know what they say about faith of a child. As the adults struggle with their own faith in the midst of this tragedy here is the little girl living the tragedy yet holding fast to the truths she has been taught. And it is not just something to give her hope. In the middle of it all, where many of us would be cursing God for the injustice and abandonment, Sarah shows compassion for her captors. She knows she is loved and while she may bend she will never break.

Though Sarah's abduction could clearly be the main focus of the book, it is not. Life goes on for her parents Beth and Preacher, for her chaperon Amanda, and others in her Louisiana town. And life is messy.

Amanda is clearly a people pleaser in denial. She is a clinical social worker you has stood by other families as they experience domestic violence, abuse, suicide and more. Yet she won't admit what is happening in her own life. Like Amanda, I wonder what her life would have been like had she returned with both girls that day. Would she have continued to make excuses for her husband's behavior? Would she have continued trying to be the perfect wife and mother so that she deserved to be loved?

The Feathered Bone is really the story of two women who have been caged by others. One a young girl who is tricked in to the cage and another an adult who does it out of love, a love that is never fully returned. 

I probably cried through a good half of this book. It was so incredibly emotional and Cantrell's writing fully immersed the reader into the story. The pain these characters faced have been faced by all of us to some degree. If I had to settle on one theme for The Feathered Bone it would be "Do you know you are loved?"

This beautiful story isn't easy to read, but if you are willing to follow the path these characters are on you will be richly rewarded. I do not believe that anyone who reads The Feathered Bone will walk away unchanged.

Buy The Feathered Bone at Amazon



Book info:
available formats: ebook and print (384 pages)
published: January 2016 by Thomas Nelson
ISBN13: 978-0718037703
genres: Christian fiction, women's fiction, suspense
source: Netgalley




A free egalley was provided for this review. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.




January 25, 2016

Quirky fun ~ Dear Clementina by Colin Burke #MondayBlogs

review by Claire Rees


cover Dear Clementina

Dear Clementina by Colin Burke is uniquely written from the point of view  of a border terrier, Stanley, writing to another dog, Clementina.

We follow Stanley for the first year of his life, from the time he is a pup, meeting his new owners, learning the rules of his new  house, to being left with strangers while his owners go on holidays.

The story follows him as he grows older and meets other dogs, and has fantastic experiences.

He writes to Clementina often, telling her of the wonderful places he goes on holidays and the things he learns from other dogs. He tells her of his trips to the vets and about his lively owners.

Through Stanley we hear about the adventures of other dogs that he meets as they tell him stories about their lives.

The book ends around Stanley's first birthday and I enjoyed reading about the fuss they made of him.


I loved this quirky, fun little book, it made me smile and giggle all the way through. I recommend Dear Clementina to all who love a fun, light read and to all of the dog lovers out there.


Buy Dear Clementina at Amazon


Book info
available formats: ebook and print (88 pages)
published: October 2015 by Matador
ISBN13: 978-1784624231
genres: humor
source: publicist


A free ebook was provided for this review. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.

January 24, 2016

"Charming Read" ~ Pudding, Poison & Pie by Sigrid Vansandt


Snow is falling, puddings are rising and hearts are heating up in Marsden-Lacey this Christmas. Helen and Martha enter the village's First Annual Pudding and Pie Bake-Off and quickly find themselves up to their elbows in meringue, marmalade and murder.

But before the baking teams square off, the girls are invited to a lonely, ancient estate to evaluate a manuscript that's been buried in a dusty Jacobean library for hundreds of years. Martha is sure the old house is haunted and Helen wants Mr. Brickstone, their client, to keep his hands to himself.

The girls will have to blend no-nonsense Southern charm with Yorkshire grit to avoid running afoul of a half-baked killer. With a sprinkle of fun and a dash of love, Martha and Helen will tempt hearts and try to taste sweet success at the most treacherous bake-off Yorkshire has ever whipped up.


Fun to read ~ Julie Writes

Great characters and storyline ~ Paula

Thoroughly entertaining ~ Marsha Nelson Carr



Buy Pudding, Poison & Pie at Amazon


Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.

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