Review: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When Barry Fairbrother dies the small town's dirty laundry starts to air (not literally).

I thought this was going to be an entertaining murder mystery. I was sorely dissappointed! Not only were the characters flat but the boring was so boring it was hard to get through. I would not recommend this book to anybody.

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Review: Capturing the Devil (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #4) by Kerri Maniscalco

Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell have landed in America, a bold, brash land unlike the genteel streets of London they knew. But like London, the city of Chicago hides its dark secrets well. When the two attend the spectacular World's Fair, they find the once-in-a-lifetime event tainted with reports of missing people and unsolved murders. Determined to help, Audrey Rose and Thomas begin their investigations, only to find themselves facing a serial killer unlike any they've heard of before. Identifying him is one thing, but capturing him---and getting dangerously lost in the infamous Murder Hotel he constructed as a terrifying torture device---is another.

Even though the timeline was a little off, I really enjoyed the way Maniscalco entwined the World's Fair story into the Audrey Rose and Thomas mystery. I was less thrilled with their particular personal story than I have previously been in the other three books.

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Review: The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade - ARC

The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Note: I received an advanced copy of this book from Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley.

Casey's world is turned upside down when her sister Sutton goes missing. As she joins the search efforts, Casey grapples with her anger towards Sutton, unable to reveal their recent argument. Despite the perception of Sutton as a perfect and popular girl, Casey knows the truth about her sister's manipulative nature, even stealing from her. However, the disappearance of Black or mixed-race girls often goes unnoticed, and Casey is determined to find her sister, believing there is an angel in need of saving.

When Sutton mysteriously reappears, Casey's initial relief turns to unease. Sutton has no memory of her time away or her previous life, including the pain she caused Casey. Her behavior is unsettling, particularly her intense interest in spending time with Casey and observing her goldfish.

Driven by her growing suspicion, Casey embarks on a journey to uncover the secrets Sutton kept hidden. The more she delves into her sister's past, the more questions arise. Did Casey truly know Sutton at all? Why is there silence surrounding the other missing girls in their community? And what sacrifices will Casey have to make to uncover the truth behind it all?

This book had a plethora of well-crafted characters. Seriously, they were so on point, even the side characters stole the show. I loved how diverse and intriguing their backgrounds and motivations were. And let's talk about the main character's attitude towards her sister—hilariously relatable! It had just the right amount of teen angst to keep things interesting without going overboard. Kudos to the author for capturing that dynamic so well.

Now, let's talk about the resolution. I mean, come on! I needed more!

All in all, if you're a YA reader looking for a quick and easy read, this book will hit the spot. Just be prepared for some unresolved subplots and a villain that needs a serious upgrade. But hey, the characters and the magical elements will make it worth your while.

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Review: Brighter Than the Sun (The Lyndon Sisters, #2) by Julia Quinn

Brighter Than the Sun by Julia Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Charles has to marry soon or he will lose his title and inheritance to go with it. As luck would have it he fell, quite literally, at the feet of the most perfect woman for him.

This story was exceptionally better than the first one, I would even go so far as to put it on my favorites list. Ellie was so loving and full of life. I loved her positive attitude in the face of everything yet she wasn't afraid to let her temper show. Charles on the other hand was the epitome of a reformed rake. He had a certain idea in his mind about what he wanted but once he met the woman for him everything completely changed. He was so heartwarmingly loving and protective and understanding.

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Book Review: Noir[ish] by Evan Guilford-Blake

4 stars

Format: Kindle Edition

159 pages

Published by Dutton Guilt Edged Mysteries

Published on September 18th 2012

ISBN13: B0095ZP0ZG

Where to Buy: Amazon

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Synopsis:

It’s Los Angeles. June, 1947. In the wake of mobster Bugsy Siegel’s violent murder, Private Investigator Robert Grahame is confronted with a case unlike anything he’s ever faced before. Lizabeth Duryea, a stunning yet peculiar young woman, hires Grahame to find her brother, Dan Scott, and leaves him with a small, mysterious package for safekeeping. But Grahame’s investigation becomes much more complicated when another mob big shot gets an anonymous tip that Grahame killed Siegel and hid the evidence in his office.

With the help of LAPD’s only female detective, Lauren Stanwyck, Grahame tries to discern the truth behind his mysterious client’s improbable story and find out who really killed Bugsy Siegel—haunted by his lost love at every step. As he stares into the face of his own cloudy past and the face of the fantastic, Grahame--in the classic noir tradition--is tempted by a femme fatale, followed by a shadowy figure, beaten up, accused of murder, and threatened. Ultimately, he uncovers a most unexpected plot, one which jeopardizes his way of life and puts him in mortal danger.

My Review:

This is a fresh and upcoming take on a classic murder novel.  I loved how the characters interacted with each other and the suspense and mystery kept me entertained throughout the whole novel.  The storyline was compelling and interesting especially for someone who didn't grow up in the era of the time.  This was a great read and an enjoyable story.

Note: I received this book via Netgalley.

Giveaway and Book Review: BLACK and WHITE and DEAD ALL OVER by Michael Bradley

4 stars
Genres: Mystery, thriller
Format: ebook
1, 166 pages
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published on August 2nd 2012
ISBN: 1478224037
ISBN13: 9781478224037
Where to Buy: Amazon
View on Goodreads
 
Synopsis:
When the skeleton of a teenage girl is uncovered at a construction site in Newark, journalist Brian Wilder must follow a twenty-two year old trail of deceit and lies to uncover the truth behind her death.
While still struggling with his own tragic past, Brian uncovers a haunting secret of passion and anger that could threaten to destroy one of the most powerful political families in Delaware.
 
My Review:
The book portrays an excellent murder mystery full of intrigue, love triangles, and jealousy. The book as a whole is fast-paced with an interesting storyline and compelling characters. While the drama unfolds the characters each have their own uniquely defined role that helps to move the story forward and create their individual personalities. My only criticism would be that the story started off a little slow and was hard to get into, although once the mystery starts to progress it rapidly takes hold of the readers attention.
 
Note: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
 
About the Author:
Born and raised in southern New Jersey, Michael Bradley is an author and IT consultant, whose frequent travels bring him in touch with a variety of people up and down the east coast. When he isn’t on the road, Michael hits the waterways in one of his three kayaks. Being an avid Apple fan, Michael loves to preach the benefits of Apple’s Mac OS X and iOS. Before working in information technology, Michael spent eight years in radio broadcasting, working for stations in New Jersey and West Virginia, including the Marconi Award winning WVAQ in Morgantown. Becoming an author has been a lifelong dream for Michael, which was finally realized with the release of his first book in 2012. Among the writers in which he finds inspiration, Michael favors P.D. James, Raymond Chandler, Leslie Charteris, Simon Brett, and Ian Fleming. He lives in Delaware with his wife, Diane, and their two furry four-legged “kids”, Simon and Brandy. Michael does all of his writing on an Apple iPad 2 with a Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover.
 
Contact: Michael Bradley
Email: mjbradley88@mail.com  
Blog: http://mjbradley88.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mjbradley88
 

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A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1) by Libba Bray

3 stars
Genres: Young Adult, Magic, Romance, FantasyFormat: Paperback
416 pages
Published by SIMON & SCHUSTER CHI (first published December 9th 2003)
Published in May 2nd 2006
ISBN: 0689875355
ISBN13: 9780689875359
Where to Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble
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Synopsis from Goodreads:
A British girl uncovers the mystery of her mother's death -- and discovers powers she never knew she possessed -- in this engrossing, imaginative Victorian-era novel by Libba Bray.

Two months after her mother's sudden and puzzling suicide, Gemma Doyle travels from India, where she was raised, to England for her new life at an all-girls preparatory school. At Spence Academy, Gemma feels dispirited by the stringent etiquette and her classmates' cruel pecking order, but she finds herself befriended by a group of girls with aspirations of being more than "proper ladies." Aside from school troubles, Gemma is also preoccupied with nightmarish visions, and following her discovery of a long-lost diary that describes "the Order," she learns that she has supernatural abilities that link her to the spirit world, her mother, and an evil force that wants to usurp Gemma's powers. And it's almost too late before Gemma realizes that she holds the key to her own and her friends' destinies.

My Review:

I was first intrigued by the cover of the book and then when I started reading it the plot is what really kept me going.  I made it through the book, however, I thought it was lacking in parts and the story kind of drug on, especially in the first part. 

The characters were not overly interesting and I disliked most of them.  Pippa and Ann complained a great deal making them just annoying and hard to deal with; I would not want to be their friends.  Gemma was the most genuine out of all of them.

Overall it was not a bad story and did do a lot of credit to the strengths and independence of women.

About the Author:

What is it about writing an author bio that gives me that deer-in-headlights feeling? It's not exactly like I'm going to say "I was born in Alabama..." and somebody's going to jump up and snarl, "Oh yeah? Prove it!" At least I hope not.

I think what gets me feeling itchy is all that emphasis on the facts of a life, while all the juicy, relevant, human oddity stuff gets left on the cutting room floor. I could tell you the facts-I lived in Texas for most of my life; I live in New York City with my husband and five-year-old son now; I have freckles and a lopsided smile; I'm allergic to penicillin.

But that doesn't really give you much insight into me. That doesn't tell you that I stuck a bead up my nose while watching TV when I was four and thought I'd have to go to the ER and have it cut out. Or that I once sang a punk version of "Que Sera Sera" onstage in New York City. Or that I made everyone call me "Bert" in ninth grade for no reason that I can think of. See what I mean?

Summer In Salem (Electi #1) by Brina Courtney

4 stars

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery, Romance

Format: ebook

Pages: 191

Published by Laurelis Press

Published in September 2012

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Note: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Teagen’s summer has been turned upside down by a body, a pentagram necklace, and an old flame.

Nine months ago, Teagan Matthews' boyfriend disappeared and took her sense of stability with him. But when the opportunity to live with her aging grandmother in Salem arises, she decides it's time to get on with her life. A new home, new job and new friends are adding up to a beautiful summer...

...until a young girl's body shows up one night in town, wearing a necklace exactly like Teagan's.

Now a guy looking remarkably like her missing boyfriend has arrived in Salem along with a mysterious stranger who may have some answers that Teagan has desperately been searching for. Teagan must now decide who to trust. It's a matter of life... and her death.

My Review:

Overall the premise was extremely refreshing and the story was a quick read.  I got caught up in the setting and plot right away and was not disappointed.

Character wise Teagen was a good heroine.  Her rationality was believable as well as her emotional interactions with those around her.  I think my favorite character in the whole story was Lark though, she really drew my attention in a good way and in reality she seemed like someone I would want to be friends with.  Seth is still kind of a mystery for me but I did like him.  He was very cryptic at first but he ended up growing on me.

I felt that Jason needed a little more explanation, I never really liked him as a character and I did not understand his reasoning for what he did.  Also, the book needed a little bit more explanation, I know what it is but the importance of it never really came through.  Those two things confused me a little during the whole book.  Courtney set the ending up very nicely for a sequel though so maybe those two things will be explained in more detail.

 

About the Author:

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She's spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine #1) by Ransom Riggs

2 stars
Format: eBook
Genre: young adult, fantasy, mystery, horror

352 pages

Published by Quirk

ISBN: 1594744769 (ISBN13: 9781594744761)

Synopsis:

Jacob, a sixteen-year-old boy, grew up believing his grandfather’s stories were a bunch of fairy tales.  That is until after his grandfather dies and he witnesses something a little off.  He becomes convinced that there was some truth in what his grandfather was saying and goes in search of a mysterious island in Wales and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

My Review:

The story started off interesting and unique in the prologue, which caught my attention, but everything else beyond that went horribly down hill.  The rest of the story was boring and hard to get through.  The pictures are awkwardly placed throughout the book and Riggs relies to heavily on them to tell his story.

Jacob is an extremely un-relatable character.  He comes off as being pretentious and obnoxious with conveniently wealthy parents.  The other characters in the story were flat.  Riggs relied only on the abilities of the particular children giving them neither individual personalities nor backgrounds.  I don’t even want to start on Emma, the only character slightly more developed, and only so because she was the creepy seventy year old love interest.

About the Author:

Riggs was born in Maryland on a 200 year old farm, and grew up in Florida where he attended the Pine View School for the Gifted.  He studied English literature at Kenyon College, and studied film at the University of Southern California.  His work on short films for the Internet and blogging for Mental Floss got him a job writing The Sherlock Holmes Handbook which was released as a tie-in to the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film.

Riggs had collected curious vernacular photographs and approached his publisher, Quirk Books, about using some of them in a picture book. On the suggestion of an editor, Riggs used the photographs as a guide from which to put together a narrative.  The resulting book was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which made the The New York Times Best Seller list.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9460487-miss-peregrine-s-home-for-peculiar-children