All the Books.

"Tom and Isabel live a quiet, isolated life on Janus Rock, where Tom is the lighthouse keeper. Their attempts to start a family have been met with tragedy and they've all but given up hope of having children of their own until one day a boat washes ashore and in that boat, is a perfectly healthy, baby. They're faced with a decision and the one that they make will cause a ripple effect that will alter the course of not just their lives but everyone around them. This was a deeply emotional, heart-wrenching novel about love, grief, morality and the impossible choices people make for those they love." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ Pros:  Tom such a good, kind, gentle person who would do anything for Isabel/The Piano tuner at the end of Part One, like ❤️😢 Cons:  The choice that Tom and Isabel make isn't necessarily the right one but I completely understand why they did what they did/The ending wasn't the ending I wanted but it worked, in a gut wrenchingly realistic way.   Full Review...

​ "On the day she decides to die, Nora Seed finds hereslf in The Midnight Library. A place where she's given the chance to undo all of her regrets, to live a thousand lives, to be whatever she wants to be. She'll soon find though that nothing is ever that simple, that all of her lives hold some sort of struggle and time might very well run out before she can find the life she feels is worth living."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: It   was definitely a unique idea/It had a good message, that life will never be perfect, nor should it be, without pain you wouldn’t know joy.   Cons: The pacing left something to be desired/Nora was a bit indecisive and frustrating/ Noras' cluelessness when first "starting" a new life got rather repetitive and there always seemed to be some disaster waiting for her. Full Review: Nora Seed feels like a failure. She feels like her life has been one bad decision after another, never committing to anything, constantly letting her friends and famil...

"There's no magic slipper, no Fairy Godmother, no returning home at the stroke of midnight lest the magic wear off. This was a dark and gritty, re-telling of the Cinderella story that showed how the "wicked step-mother" is just a woman doing what she can to keep her family safe. Hocchauser didn't pull any punches and I liked it for its stark and brutal honesty."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ Pros: I liked the character of  Moussa, in a way he was the Fairy Godmother/The intricacies of court were interesting tidbits of knowledge, like how to carry your train over your left shoulder and bow with your right foot leading.  Cons:  Goodness, Elin was painfully useless. I wanted to take her little book of virtue and smack her with it/Characters always think the danger is over when really, they should always have one eye open, sometimes their obvliousness can be laughable.  Full Review:  Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley has been married. Twice and with each husband that's p...

"A heartfelt and satisfying, though rather long winded ending to an entertaining, fast paced, exciting and interesting series."   ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros:  Same cast of characters, so there weren't too many people to remember/The scenes with Ansel were heart wrenching/All the characters have an amusing and entertaining repartee and it's fun to have them all together.   Cons:  Mahurin has a tendency to overuse terms, such as "my legs grew roots" as in, the character was rooted to the spot, so that was somewhat irritating/All of the constant monologuing, the characters never stopped talking/ I wish Mahurin had expounded upon what exactly happened to Claud Deveraux but perhaps that's for another book.  Full Review: ***Disclaimer***If you have not read Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin, please go and do so and then come and read this at leisure. That way you'll know what I'm talking about. Our weary travelers are on their way to Chateau Le Blanc, to face Morgan...

"Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt are in fierce competition for the position of Columnist at the Oath Gazette. They write about the war brewing between two Gods, Dacre, God of the underworld and Enva, Goddess of the sky. The war has ravaged the countryside and taken Iris' brother, Forest, away, since she hasn't heard from him in months. When tragedy strikes, Iris decides to sign up as a War Correspondent and head to the frontlines and Roman isn't far behind. This had an interesting, idyllic, WWI, fighting in the trenches feel and though the magic was vague, it was believable and I quite enjoyed it. I'm eager to see how the series progresses."  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: It's quite a unique way to introduce the Frenemies trope but Ross did it well/Roman was an intense, gentle, caring soul, a very good character, very likable.  Cons:  Frenemies trope/Iris' cluelessness about Carver made me chuckle/The romance was a bit melodramatic and silly at times.  Full Review: Iris Winno...

“Dolores Price is just trying to navigate the eternal roller coaster of life. She’s has her fair share of ups and downs, Divorce, Mental Illness, Abuse but through it all she keeps plodding along and Lamb, in his honest, heartfelt way makes her journey one that you won’t soon forget.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: Though Dolores sometime makes bad choices and can be difficult, you’re rooting for her unequivocally/That gut-punch in Part 3 😞/Lamb is a master at ending and he had me tearing up at times.  Cons: I kind of wish Dolores would stop sabotaging herself at every turn/Her mercurial moods got old/Her relationship with Dante started off badly and just got worse.   Full Review:  This is the story of Dolores Price. We watch as she grows from a child, to a teenager and into adulthood.  Along the way she has to learn how to navigate the tricky parts of life and for Dolores a lot of her life is tricky. Her parents divorce, she learns that her mother is unwell and is soon hospitalized....

"Every day Rachel rides the train into London, gazing out the window at her old street. She often sees a young couple that lives a few houses down from where she once lived, when she was married and happy. She likes to pretend that the couple she sees is passionately in love but when she sees something that shatters that dream, she decides to get involved and is soon entangled in a desperate web of lies, half-truths, betrayal and murder. This book once again had all the hype but for me, it just didn't quite deliver."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: Another book that kept me guessing and curious until about 60% of the way through. Since I’ve read that far, I might as well finish it but it’s been a frustrating reading trend lately.  Cons: None of the characters in this book were honest or very likable IMO/Another book that had all the hype but just ended up being obnoxious and tiresome by the end.  Full Review:  Rachel rides the train into London every morning. And every morning she p...

"The final installment in what has been an incredible series but this book, sadly, was a bit of a disappointment. It had its entertaining moments and its fair share of twists and turns but once it all came down to the end, it was a little too perfect and it went on for far too long."  3 Stars Pros:  The same cast of characters except for the addition of Simone and Bradley, two scouts from Viola's convoy/The story did keep me on my toes and there were definitely a few times where I was floored with how things turned out. Cons:  The ending was just a little too rote and perfect, "skipping off into the sunset" for me. I liked it since it wrapped up the series but it all just seemed a little too perfect. Full Review:  ***Disclaimer*** - If you haven't read The Ask and the Answer,  please do so and then come back and read this at your leisure. That way you'll know what I'm talking about. Starting off right where The Ask and the Answer  left off, t...

"A coming-of-age story where Suzanna runs off to Woodstock with her best friend, Livy and learns about life, love and the Lord. The big reveals hit hard but they all happened very late into the story. Suzannah's shock at the freedom of Woodstock started to get old and she and Livy's constant cattiness was ridiculous. This one was almost a DNF."  ⭐️⭐️ Pros: It had its moments where Suzannah really came into her own/The research into Woodstock was impressive, though became tedious in the end/The reveals all packed quite a punch.  Cons: It's only explained very far into the book as to how Suzannah manages to run off with Lily to Woodstock when her Father watches her every move/Both Livy and Suzannah could be annoying, petty, childish, selfish and immature/It went on for far longer than necessary.  Full Review:  Suzannah Withers is attending the 50th year anniversary of Woodstock with her grand-daugther. Who's just at the cusp of college and all that life has to...