Review: The Voice Inside

The Voice Inside by Brian Freeman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First off I’d like to thank Netgalley, the author and of course the publisher, for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Night Birds was the first book in this series, and if you haven’t read it, this would be a good book to start with from the author. If you don’t want to start a new series and just read a book, this one does make a good standalone one to read.

Frost Easton is back, after the death of his sister, by a serial killer, works in homicide for the San Francisco Police Department. The killer was caught and imprisoned, but now may go free, because a fellow police officer, and his closest friend planted false evidence to put Rudy Cutter behind bars.

Rudy has sworn revenge on those who has wrong him including a woman who wrote a book about him, and seems to know more about him than anyone else. Easton wants nothing than to keep him behind bars. All the while Frost is battling his own demons. He has a cat named Shack, and he’s pretty important to Frost, and he’s got on huge personality! He doesn’t talk, he doesn’t go and solve the murders for Frost, and he’s just your typical, every day, cat.

The book well keeps you turning the pages long into the night. I loved the plot and the characters, the action, the adventure, the suspense; the pace of the book was really good. I’m looking forward to a third book and hopefully many more from this series.


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Review: Hair of the Dog

Hair of the Dog by Carlene O'Neil
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First off I’d like to thank Netgalley, the author and of course the publisher, for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
I do enjoy reading a good cozy in between some of the heavier reads or after a good psychological thriller, and this one hit the nail on the head for me! One thing I like about these books is there not hard to figure out…sometimes, other times I can change my mind several times, or I have been known to be completely wrong.

The book is set in a winery in California, Penny Lively is the main character and she is working to keep the family winery going. Drugs go missing from her cousin’s, Annie Moore veterinarian office, and Penny just has to get involved. Annie does have a business partner, Brian, and when he comes up dead, Annie is the top suspect, as the police finds more than enough reasons for motive on her part.

This story is fast paced, with wonderful descriptions, to where I see everything as though I’m standing right there. The characters are approachable including the ones you’re not supposed to like as well. The plot is good, it seemed as though the author really thought through this one with clues that lead you from one person to the next, making you think. This book, which is the third book in the series, was very enjoyable.


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Review: If I Forget You

If I Forget You by Thomas Christopher Greene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off I’d like to thank Netgalley, the author and of course the publisher, for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a typical story boy from a working class family goes to college, meets a girl from a wealthy family, falls in love, then goes their separate ways. That is, until 20 years later they meet again only this time on a Manhattan street. When they meet again and start talking, they both have secrets to hide; both have been living their own lives and have changed, some for the better, some for the worse, but their love still burns for each other.

I read the author’s book The Headmaster’s Wife and fully enjoyed it. I thought I would love this one as well. I liked it well enough, but it seemed like all the other books like it, I didn’t find anything special about it.


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Review: The Girl: Marilyn Monroe, The Seven Year Itch, and the Birth of an Unlikely Feminist

The Girl: Marilyn Monroe, The Seven Year Itch, and the Birth of an Unlikely Feminist by Michelle Morgan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First off I’d like to thank Netgalley, the author and of course the publisher, for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I thought my daughter who loves Marilyn would really enjoy this book, but I must admit, I really did enjoy reading this more! There are a lot of books out there about Marilyn Monroe, and most of them say the same thing about her. One thing I loved was you got to take a peek inside the feminist side of her.

One of the things she helped do was open the door to other women in Hollywood. Marilyn was more than the bleach blonde bombshell with a chest most men adored, and although some people think she was the “dumb blonde”, but she was much more than that. Marilyn was strong, independent, and was pretty smart, she was often underestimated. She wanted to break the mold of the dumb blonde in women, but in the era of the 50’s and 60’s times were so much different than they are now, and it was an uphill battle for her, but she did what she could and passed the torch onto the next generation, and the generation after that, and so on and so on.

This book also expanded on a few things in which was mentioned in other books, but was never followed through, as the other authors of those books didn’t want to say any more about it as it wasn’t what they were wanting to right the book on. I feel this book has been in the wings, waiting for the time to be written in the right time and era. I’m sure if Ms. Monroe was alive today, THIS would be the book she was most proud of that was written about her.

If you’re a Marilyn Monroe fan, and have or want to read books on her life, this is the mush have book for you to read.


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Review: Strange Things Done

Strange Things Done by Elle Wild
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First off I’d like to thank Netgalley, the author and of course the publisher, for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wish we could give half stars because sometimes the half will determine wither or not I actually rate it towards the next number up or down, in this case it went down. This is a debut novel by Elle Wild. It was a good book but for me, it really didn’t hold my attention well. I do like to read while we watch T.V., and I usually read during commercials, and then continuing on when the show comes back on, there were times, the commercials held my attention more. I did struggle with the over the first half of the back, and then out of the blue, it grabbed me!

The main character Jo Silver is a journalist; she lives in Dawson City, the Yukon. I did find it hard to read about her, I felt she needed to be more developed, she need to have something more to her character, she rather felt like a character who should be popping in and out. However it was a nice twist for the author to make her the main character, instead of one that others saying, I connected with the character, I felt like she was an old friend in which I was visiting again. No this character wasn’t all of that. She is who she is.

The story takes place in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, where Jo takes a job as the editor of the paper. She ends up here after she withheld information about a serial killer, which the Vancouver police had told her not to revile to the public. Out of guilt she moves to Dawson City, not realizing this town is cut off from the rest of the world in the winter. Soon after her arrival, the body of Marlo McAdam, local activist and politician, is found in the river. Jo can’t really get any information out of the police, but she does think it’s a murder and not suicides, as they think it is or want her to believe. Along the way Jo discovers some of the secrets the town has been hiding, and then Jo is made a suspect in the murder.

Even though I didn’t love the book, I didn’t hate it and I’d be will to read another of Elle Wilder’s book





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Review: The Dream

The Dream by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A short story by the remarkable Agatha Christie.

A man contacts Hercule Poirot, telling him he's had this same dream of him dying by his own hands. Later the man is found dead exactly how he told Poirot it happened in his dream. Was it suicide? Was it murder? Was it all a dream? All the members of Benedict Farley becomes suspects.

I really enjoyed it, at times I thought I had it right, then next thing I knew I was changing my mind. This is such an easy read while your sitting waiting for her kids to get done at practice, or just need something short to read before falling asleep. After all it is a short story.

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Review: In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It

In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It by Lauren Graham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I adore Lauren Graham, I like her humor, her acting, her wit, and I love her as an author. In this short book she gives some great advice as she delivers a speech to her old high school graduating class. She tells them about how she tried out for a school play, and didn’t get the lead, yes she was upset, but she went on and played the character, who she says didn’t even have a name, and that was ok.

She tells the class, not to worry, if they haven’t accomplished something great at this point, don’t worry about what all they have or have not done, it’s ok to be in the moment and they are good enough.

She tells them little things that happened to her along the way in her career, and what people told her, and she was ok with that. When she finally figured out, she didn’t have to worry about it. She gives a very lovely speech, and really encourages and gives permission, to don’t worry about it. I really wish I could tell you more, but then you wouldn’t read the story, and a lot of the things she tells the graduating class, we all need to hear every once in a while.


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