Review: Brain Storm by Elaine Viets

Brain Storm

by Elaine Viets

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Pages: 322

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The ultrawealthy families of Chouteau Forest may look down on a woman like death investigator Angela Richman, but they also rely on her. When a horrific car crash kills a Forest teenager, Angela is among the first on the scene. Her investigation is hardly underway, however, when she suffers a series of crippling strokes. Misdiagnosed by the resident neurologist, Dr. Gravois, and mended by gauche yet brilliant neurosurgeon Dr. Jeb Travis Tritt, Angela faces a harrowing recovery.

It’s a drug-addled, hallucinating Angela who learns that Dr. Gravois has been murdered…and the chief suspect is the surgeon who saved her life. Angela doesn’t believe it, but can she trust her instincts? Her brain trauma brings doubts that she’ll ever recover her investigative skills. But she’s determined to save Dr. Tritt from a death-row sentence—even if her progress is thwarted at every turn by a powerful and insular community poised to protect its own.

Kritters Thoughts:  A medical mystery that was just entertaining.  What started as I thought as just a mystery with the main character being a death investigator who shows up on scene to evaluate the person who died and gives an opinion on how they died.  She heads to the hospital with extreme headaches and the book takes an interesting turn about the drama that can happen in a hospital.

I was surprised by the book, but it ended up being a happy surprise.  I know there is drama in every workplace and what fun to read about extreme politics in the ranks of a hospital.  When it comes to hospitals I always think about the patients not those who work and now I may just think about the infighting and crazy that goes behind saving peoples lives!

I didn't predict the suspect, they came a little of no where and in this instance I was a little frustrated.  Sometimes I LOVE it when they come out of nowhere, but sometimes the surprise is frustrating because I like to think I am picking up on the clues.

Has anyone read Elaine Viets?  This was my first experience and I am intrigued if this is typical of her back list.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 29 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Wunderkind PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter

The Kept Woman

by Karin Slaughter

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 480

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A body is discovered in an empty Atlanta warehouse. It's the body of an ex-cop, and from the moment Special Agent Will Trent walks in he knows this could be the most devastating case of his career. Bloody footprints leading away from the scene reveal that another victim - a woman - has left the scene and vanished into thin air. And, worst of all, the warehouse belongs to the city's biggest, most politically-connected, most high-profile athlete - a local hero protected by the world's most expensive lawyers. A local hero Will has spent the last six months investigating on a brutal rape charge.

But for Will - and also for Dr Sara Linton, the GBI's newest medical examiner - the case is about to get even worse. Because an unexpected discovery at the scene reveals a personal link to Will's troubled past. The consequences will wreak havoc on his life and the lives of those he loves, those he works with, and those he pursues.

But Sara's scene-of-the-crime diagnosis is that they only have a few hours to find the missing woman before she bleeds out . . .

Kritters Thoughts:  First, I am embarrassed to say that this was my first Karin Slaughter read and for a girl who reads a lot of mystery/thriller books, I had to fix that.

First there is a prologue that sets the stage with dead bodies and a mother and a daughter.  Then in chapter one we go to the police investigation after the discovery of the dead bodies.  The reader follows the police through their procedures and then about halfway through the author takes us back in time and into the few days leading up to the dead bodies.  Then after 100 pages you go back to the police procedure and finish the book.

I loved the set up of this book.  As described above, I thought it was so unique and I loved the mix of police procedure and then into the actual events.  I loved seeing both sides of the story.

The characters were great.  I loved how intertwined the police were to the characters involved with the tragedy.  The police were just as much as a part of the story as the victims and suspects.  

This is most definitely not my last Karin Slaughter, but I will warn that these books are chunky not only in pages but in depth, so they are books that are perfect to curl up with in a full weekend.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from  HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Life She Wants by Robyn Carr

The Life She Wants

by Robyn Carr

Publisher: Mira

Pages: 368

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In the aftermath of her financier husband's suicide, Emma Shay Compton's dream life is shattered. Richard Compton stole his clients' life savings to fund a lavish life in New York City and, although she was never involved in the business, Emma bears the burden of her husband's crimes. She is left with nothing. 

Only one friend stands by her, a friend she's known since high school, who encourages her to come home to Sonoma County. But starting over isn't easy, and Sonoma is full of unhappy memories, too. And people she'd rather not face, especially Riley Kerrigan. 

Riley and Emma were like sisters—until Riley betrayed Emma, ending their friendship. Emma left town, planning to never look back. Now, trying to stand on her own two feet, Emma can't escape her husband's reputation and is forced to turn to the last person she thought she'd ever ask for help—her former best friend. It's an uneasy reunion as both women face the mistakes they've made over the years. Only if they find a way to forgive each other—and themselves—can each of them find the life she wants.

Kritters Thoughts:   A wonderful stand a lone from Robyn Carr and I love these books to intermix them as we wait for the series to continue!  Emma Shay Compton is returning her hometown after her world was turned upside down as her husband was found guilty of a ponzi scheme and no one can imagine that she was clueless through it all - so essentially she has been found guilty by public opinion.  

I love when books are pulled from the headlines but really expanded upon and made bigger than a news story can make them.  I also loved that the ponzi scheme already occurred and this is the after.  I am so glad Carr sent her home, but life at home wasn't sunshine and rainbows, there was unresolved drama there, but nothing over the top!  I loved that she had to resolve the drama within her from the failed marriage and also what she ran away from home at the same time and I think resolving them both made her such a fierce woman.  

I love Robyn Carr!  When I hear she has a new one coming out, I know that I will love it and the characters will be so worth the journey!


Rating: perfect beach read

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Little Bird Publicity.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Marrow by Elizabeth Lesser

Marrow

by Elizabeth Lesser

Publisher: Harper Wave

Pages: 320

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A mesmerizing and courageous memoir: the story of two sisters uncovering the depth of their love through the life-and-death experience of a bone marrow transplant. Throughout her life, Elizabeth Lesser has sought understanding about what it means to be true to oneself and, at the same time, truly connected to the ones we love. But when her sister Maggie needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life, and Lesser learns that she is the perfect match, she faces a far more immediate and complex question about what it really means to love—honestly, generously, and authentically.

Hoping to give Maggie the best chance possible for a successful transplant, the sisters dig deep into the marrow of their relationship to clear a path to unconditional acceptance. They leave the bone marrow transplant up to the doctors, but take on what Lesser calls a "soul marrow transplant," examining their family history, having difficult conversations, examining old assumptions, and offering forgiveness until all that is left is love for each other’s true selves. Their process—before, during, and after the transplant—encourages them to take risks of authenticity in other aspects their lives.

But life does not follow the storylines we plan for it. Maggie’s body is ultimately too weak to fight the relentless illness. As she and Lesser prepare for the inevitable, they grow ever closer as their shared blood cells become a symbol of the enduring bond they share. Told with suspense and humor, Marrow is joyous and heartbreaking, incandescent and profound. The story reveals how even our most difficult experiences can offer unexpected spiritual growth. Reflecting on the multifaceted nature of love—love of other, love of self, love of the world—Marrow is an unflinching and beautiful memoir about getting to the very center of ourselves.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two sisters of a family of four sisters, the two in the middle of the pack who were polar opposites and now as adults they never really connected, but when a disease enters their family, they find a place to bond and it changes each of them forever.

I described this book to my sister (who reads a lot of self help and inspirational books) that this was the perfect combination of the science and feeling of cancer and disease and then how family can be there to lean on.  And even more - how the trials in your life can either build you or bring you down its all how you approach them.  So if you are a self help/inspirational reader you will like this, but if you don't tend to read those and you like memoir - try it, it had enough plot for me to feel like it was still a story.

Maybe as a spoiler/warning, do not read the last two chapters in any sort of a public place.  I don't completely outwardly cry often in books, this one brought tears but not sad cancer tears more of wow, sisterhood tears!  If you are a sister whether you have or had a good relationship, it is great to read a story of the ups and downs of sisterhood.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from  HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

Just another great week of reading, a quiet weekend helped!!
A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Boy, 9, Missing by Nic Joseph
The Life She Wants by Robyn Carr
Brain Storm by Elaine Viets
The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter

Currently Reading:

Snowfall on Haven Point by RaeAnne Thayne

Next on the TBR pile:

Devil Sent the Rain by Lisa Turner

Review: Boy, 9, Missing by Nic Joseph

Boy, 9, Missing

by Nic Joseph

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Pages: 336

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It should have been just a quiet evening with friends. But Francis lost his brother that night in what was ruled a tragic accident. He's tried to move on in the last twenty-three years, even though his father certainly hasn't. Indeed, his father still blames the lone witness, Sam, the nine-year-old son of friends. Perhaps if Sam would have just said something, anything, about what happened that night, but Sam still seems unable-or unwilling-to utter a word about the accident.

And now, twenty-three years later, Sam's own nine-year-old son has disappeared. 

Kritters Thoughts:  Francis lost his younger brother in a drowning in their home and more than twenty years later he is moving back home for a job opportunity, but the wounds haven't healed and he is swept into the past from the first time he crosses the border.  The crazy thing is that his child isn't aware of his past, none of it.  

I loved this book.  I can't place in one genre, instead I think it is a combination - family drama and mystery.  Yes, there is a mystery - what happened to Lucas and Matthew, but I feel as though the heart of the story are the two families and how a tragedy can affect them to their core for years.  

I guessed wrong when I made the guess as to who kidnapped Matthew and sometimes when I am wrong it affect my reading of the book, but in this case I loved the outcome more than the path I thought it was headed.  I love when a book surprises me!

I loved this one and can't wait to see what comes next.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 28 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Sourcebooks PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti

The Vanishing Year

by Kate Moretti

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 304

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Zoe Whittaker is living a charmed life. She is the beautiful young wife to handsome, charming Wall Street tycoon Henry Whittaker. She is a member of Manhattan’s social elite. She is on the board of one of the city’s most prestigious philanthropic organizations. She has a perfect Tribeca penthouse in the city and a gorgeous lake house in the country. The finest wine, the most up-to-date fashion, and the most luxurious vacations are all at her fingertips.

What no one knows is that five years ago, Zoe’s life was in danger. Back then, Zoe wasn’t Zoe at all. Now her secrets are coming back to haunt her. As the past and present collide, Zoe must decide who she can trust before she—whoever she is—vanishes completely. 

Kritters Thoughts:  Going into fall one of the types of books that I love to read are the creepy ones and this one had a major creep factor!  Zoe Whittaker is now living the high life, but her past was very very different and not many people know the full story.  She thinks that she has hit the jackpot with a husband who can take care of her, but is her life truly perfect.  

Do not judge the book by the shortness of this review, it is just too creepy and good that I just can't share too much and ruin it!  Zoe was a great character.  This was one of those books where I may have shouted at the book DON'T OPEN THE DOOR or something to that affect.  I love when a character and a book move me so much that I physically react and am "talking" to the book.  I love it!

So if you love a book with a fair amount of creepy then this one is definitely for you.  

I was excited to find out after reading this book that Kate Moretti had a fair backlist, so I will be picking up something else from her soon.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 27 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Secret Ways of Perfume by Cristina Caboni

The Secret Ways of Perfume

by Cristina Caboni

Publisher: Berkley NAL

Pages: 416

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Ten-year-old Elena lives in Florence with her cold and distant perfumier grandmother. Only when enveloped in aromas does Elena feel at home, and she has nurtured a unique gift: the ability to decipher the ingredients of a perfume, and experience the feelings it evokes.

Years later, Elena’s talent leads her to the cobbled streets of Paris. There she rediscovers an old, secret family perfume recipe that no other perfumier has been able to replicate.

As Elena begins to open her heart to new adventures she meets a man who is guarding his own secrets. From France’s sun-drenched lavender fields to the ancient heart of Italy, together they will follow a path of secret scents, distant memories and new hopes . . .

Kritters Thoughts:  Elena comes from a long line of ladies who have devoted their lives to the perfume world.  She ran away from that world and thought the man she was with would help her build a new life; instead he is almost repeating her childhood and she must go to Paris to find a new path.  

The one thing that I didn't love about this book was the amount of time spent on Monique, Elena's best friends life.  I felt as though there were a few spots where I could have read less of her story because it didn't affect Elena's story; I just felt like it was too much and I wish it had been left out a little.

Beyond that, I loved it.  I have read quite a few books at this point about perfume and there were a few times in those books that they felt so technical and I lost the story - NOT so in this one.  Of course there were technical moments, but they didn't interrupt the narrative, but instead added to it at the right times.  

So add this one to your list of great perfume novels.  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley NAL.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Goodbye Year by Kaira Rouda

The Goodbye Year

by Kaira Rouda

Publisher: Sparkpress

Pages: 312

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Melanie, a perfectionist mom who views the approaching end of parenting as a type of death, can t believe she has only one more year to live vicariously through her slacker senior son, Dane. Gorgeous mom Sarah has just begun to realize that her only daughter, Ashley, has been serving as a stand-in for her traveling husband, and the thought of her daughter leaving for college is cracking the carefully cultivated facade of her life. Will and his wife are fine as long as he follows the instructions on the family calendar and is sure to keep secret his whole other life with Lauren, the woman he turns to for fun (and who also happens to have a daughter in the senior class). 


Kritters Thoughts:  What a GREAT read!  This was absolutely an ensemble book where the author had to include a page to define the family and who was in each family that the book centered around - 5 families!  Not only do the parents and their drama take place in the book, but the seniors in high school also get a chance to tell their sides of the story.  

First, I loved the place in life that this book took place.  The parents are dealing with impending empty nest syndrome and the kids have legit senioritis.  I think of this transition as a full family transition and it affects everyone in the home, so what a great time in a family's life to highlight in a novel.  

I am a Kaira Rouda fan, I love how she keeps it real in books, but doesn't overdramatize things one bit.  There was only one spot in this book in one storyline where I shrugged my shoulders and wasn't in love, but I can't reveal the spot, it would ruin too much!  This one spot did not in one way affect my overall feelings of the book and this makes me want to forgo what I was going to read and go find another Kaira Rouda to read!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

I actually don't know how all this reading actually happened, but I am so grateful, this year has been the hardest year in regards to finding reading time.  My reading numbers are actually their lowest in a long time, so to have a great week and weekend makes me so grateful!
A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell
Marrow by Elizabeth Lesser
The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti
The Goodbye Year by Kaira Rouda
The Secret Ways of Perfume by Cristina Caboni

Currently Reading:

Boy, 9, Missing by Nic Joseph

Next on the TBR pile:

The Life She Wants by Robyn Carr
The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter

Review: The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell

The Girls in the Garden

by Lisa Jewell

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 320

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Imagine that you live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses. You’ve known your neighbors for years and you trust them. Implicitly. You think your children are safe. But are they really?

On a midsummer night, as a festive neighborhood party is taking place, preteen Pip discovers her thirteen-year-old sister Grace lying unconscious and bloody in a hidden corner of a lush rose garden. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?

Kritters Thoughts:  The idyllic neighborhood with the perfect community park seems like the perfect spot for Clare to move her two daughters after a tragedy occurs at their home taking their father away from them.  She thinks the community feel may help them heal.  But tragedy can strike anywhere and in the first chapter, the reader finds out that Clare's older daughter is found in this idyllic park unconscious and in a compromising situation.  The story then goes back in time to show what events lead to the incident in the park.

I always love a book that opens with the main event and then takes the reader back in time to show all the puzzle pieces to get the characters to that conclusion.  This book not only did that, but had an end chapter to give a full story conclusion as to how the characters were 10 months after the incident - I am so glad!  I loved getting to visit the characters after the incident and see where it took them.  

If you have read Lisa Jewell, you will know that she is so good at writing each individual book and making them unique, she doesn't use a formula or follow the same steps.  I love that I know it will be a solidly good read, but will still be different from the others I have read of hers.  I haven't read everything she has written!  

Have you read Lisa Jewell?  Do you have a favorite?


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.