Piper Perish

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.  :)  Let me start off by saying that I tend to love journal style prose.  I find the casual honesty refreshing and I enjoy getting inside the character's head and "hearing" their most true thoughts and feelings.  That being said, sometimes I wanted to choke Piper and call her all sorts of childish names, lol.

Piper's personality was a weeeeeeeeeee bit grating on my nerves.  Sometimes I really liked her and could understand her perspective.  Other times, she annoyed the crap out of me and I felt like she was being a pretentious little brat.  She evolved over time into a much more tolerable human.   I must say, I HATED the obsession and seemingly constant references to her idol, Andy Warhol.  I do not admire Andy's work; it just isn't my cup of tea.  Piper trying to emulate his look, attitude and life goals were a bit over the top.  That being said, she seemed to grow up quite a bit over the course of the book and actually began to find an identity of her own!  Hallelujah!

Piper's friends:  spoiled with definite 1st World problems.  There is the stereotypical gay ex-boyfriend who needs to come to terms with himself and then come out to his parents.  There is the rich and spoiled best friend with workaholic absent parents.  The kooky art teacher with all the answers and a heart of gold who believes in Piper and inspires her to push herself harder.  The generic friends, Sammy and Jen, who don't get much in the way of character development.  The ex-boyfriend's new man who Piper hates out of principle at first but then ends up bonding with.  

Piper's family:  Sister Marli is crazy, no two ways about it!!  I mean, why is everyone scared of upsetting her and tiptoeing around her like a really bad abusive relationship gone way wrong?  So many eggshells being walked on!  She is clearly unstable, aggressive, manipulative, sneaky, disrespectful, ungrateful and a total narcissist!!!!  Ugh.... absolutely could not tolerate her!  The parents put up with WAY TOO MUCH, and let Marli get away with everything.  For that reason, I think they were extra lenient with Piper.  She was drinking, hooking up, partying late and coming home at 2AM while still in high school - my parents would never be down with that!!  Piper's Mom was proud of her hickey... ewwww.  

I read the book pretty quickly and overall I did enjoy it.  I either liked the characters a lot or I loved to hate them.  Either way, Piper reminded me of a young Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City when she was leaving her small town for the big city.  Totally unique premise?  No.  Fun read?  You bet.... but be prepared to want to reach into the book and pull a few characters out for a stern talking to and an attitude adjustment!!!!  :)

I was drawn in by the fact that I've loved other books by this author.  She has a way of making you feel as though you're a part of Victorian London.  Her descriptions of people, places and even mundane things are a true lyrical gift.  However, the middle of this book dragged on for me.  It was as though we were living through Maud & Sue's dreary days with them.  I get that some of that is necessary to create suspense, but after a while, it seemed overkill and it got stale.  

The beginning and the end were fabulous, and even parts of the middle sucked me in.  There were a lot of twists that got me and some that didn't.  No doubt, however, that there is no clear "good" or "bad" characters in this novel, only varying shades of gray- and I loved that!!  

Don't get too attached to characters in this book, phew!!  I must say, I loved the setting, the dialogue, the gothic vibe and the unreliable narrator.  I also really enjoyed some of the characters and their metamorphosis throughout the story, especially the two cousins and Aunt Penelope.  I'm sure glad I didn't grow up in that house!  Appearances can be deceiving.....

I would have given this book a 5-star review, except for the fact that the full story never came forth.  I never got a clear understanding of why the land was sacred, what exactly was wrong with "Mother" that she needed to feed on teenage girls and be immortal.  Why???  What purpose did she have, what ultimate plan did the club members have and how did they fool their husbands into thinking they were in charge?  I'm not saying the ending needed to be tied in a neat and predictable bow, but just a bit more would have been great!

Haunted: The Arnaud Legacy Book 1

Hmmmmm..... What to say about this book?!  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it.  However, I had it figured out way too early to be fun (probably because I watch horror movies like it's my job and this kind is my favorite).  Despite having guessed the end, I felt like the writing was crisp and descriptive without being annoying.  I enjoyed the setting and the moodiness, but I wanted more spook!  More scare!!  More creepy!!  Phoebe and the gang defeated Madam Arnaud far too easily, in my opinion.  The plot and execution of said plot was only a couple of pages of the book.... Easy peasy.  No buildup or sense of desperation or dread.  Boom... Done.  I know I've watched too much Michael Myers, but come on!!  It's never that simple!  There is a book 2 & 3 however, so maybe the story of Madam Arnaud isn't over just yet!!  Or maybe I'm desensitized, lol

In The Graveyard Antemortem

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  Here goes....

This book blew me away! It's so wonderful to have a fresh take on a classic genre.  I adore ghost stories, love a good mystery and have a never ending affection for big creepy houses and anything paranormal.  This book included all of these things (sort of), but did it in such a vibrant new way, I was hooked!!!  I think I have a new favorite author to add to my list.  Thank you!! 

Conversion

I absolutely loved this story!!  Both the retelling of the witch trials and the incidents in 2012.  Very thought provoking and extremely gripping!!  A+++++++

The Secret of Goldenrod by Jane O'Reilly

I was given a free advanced copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I adored this book! What a breath of fresh air! This is not a run of the mill haunted house story. Nor does it set out to scare you. This book is whimsical, sensitive and appeals to every desire I remember having as a child. I wanted so badly to live in a big creaking mammoth of a house and have a talking doll, adventures galore & the comfort of a close knit community. Fantastic!

The Stopped Heart by Julie Myerson

This book made me uncomfortable from the start.  The way in which it is narrated - past, present, and jumping around within the two, was not even the reason why.  I actually liked that.  The author gave tiny bits of information at a time and the puzzle was intricate.  However, the heaviness, depression, dread, grief..... You feel it all yourself.  You are forced time and again to absolutely KNOW that bad things are coming and the characters you have come to know so well are going to somehow suffer.  And then you suffer with them.  There were so many parts that made me cringe and dread what was coming.  I devoured the book but it was, in a way, to rip the band aide off.  I was terrified to reach the end, but I also knew I really needed to.  This book affected me in a very powerful way.  Just.... Wow.

We bought a house!!!!!! I see myself reading a lot of books out here!

The Beach House - Jane Green

Wow, not impressed!  It seems as though the author took no time at all to research American slang or even conversational norms.  Also, I bought the Kindle edition and it was atrocious.  There were absolutely no space breaks between narrators, which made for a very stilted read.  Extremely distracting!!  I'd be reading along, finally becoming invested in a character's storyline when suddenly, and without warning, the narrator would change.  At least give me a few spaces between paragraphs so I know we're transitioning!!!!  Infuriating!  

The story itself was full of extremely predictable plot and characters that tell you EVERYTHING instead of letting the reader do some thinking.  

Sadly, this will be my last Jane Green read.  

The Last to Know - by Lisa Caretti

3.5 Stars!!  I absolutely loved the premise of this novel!!!  Not to mention the location, and the characters were pretty interesting too.  Bretta basically lives my dream - to have the money and resources to restore a victorian mansion in a small town and spend her days cooking and playing in the garden.  Yes please!!  However, I think the editor of this book needs to go back through it and take their job a bit more seriously.... LOTS of typos, missing words, etc.  This only bothered me slightly, but I know it would really annoy some readers.  

Overall, this book was fun and there was enough suspense to keep me happy throughout.  Very entertaining mystery with a few twists along the way!  👍🏻👍🏻

I can't get out of bed......

Can't. Stop. Reading.

When I'm Gone - Emily Bleeker

I was given a free copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Full disclosure: I was worried when I began reading this. I felt as though it was going to be a Nicholas Sparks-ish retelling of the movie, "P.S.- I Love You". I was wrong. I am not going to spoil the story, but there were enough twists to keep me very happy. Also, I loved the very real emotions felt by Luke throughout. He isn't putting his wife on a pedestal after her death. He's seeing her as a person, one who has made mistakes that hurt him after her death. Luke is honest, vulnerable and raw throughout the first 2/3 of the book. Slowly he begins to transform into a survivor from death. Someone who had tragedy touch his life, rip his wife from his safe nest and devastate his family. He handles this with strength and honesty. Sometimes he makes mistakes, sometimes he lets anger take over, but he never gives up. I admired him, my heart broke for him and I found myself cheering him on. 

The reason for the 4-star review: It felt as if Luke was a very REAL character and I enjoyed getting to know him. However, I felt that more character development could have gone into the other characters, i.e. his children. They seemed rather generic and their feelings and reactions weren't quite as well developed.

Overall, a very emotional and engrossing read. Oh!!!! And if you don't like an ending that isn't neat and tied with a bow - you will be angry at the end!