Book Review: Thornbird

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Thornbird
by E. Kennedy

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: YA thriller, romance

Gabrielle Thorn’s father confessed to murdering 6 women, but for 10 years, he refused to reveal where their bodies were. As both the 10th anniversary of his conviction and the date set for his execution approach, Gabrielle returns to the town where the murders took place with a new name and new story. Now she’s Ryan Shipley and even the cousins she’s living with don’t know who she really is. Ryan just wants to live as normal a life as she can before she graduates and leaves town for good, but as the search for the victims’ bodies heats up, she starts to get texts from an unknown sender threatening to reveal her true identity.

I don’t think I’d call this book a thriller, and it’s not much of a mystery either. For one thing, the murders have been solved. The only mystery here is where the bodies are, and Ryan does not spend any remotely significant amount of time in the story trying to figure that out—in fact, she actively avoids it as much as possible. For me, there was some suspense in the book, but that was really mostly due to me thinking there was going to be more going on than met the eye. There really wasn’t. A lot of the book is spent with Ryan feeling guilty, nauseous, etc. over what her dad did, the lasting effect he still has on his victims’ families, and keeping her secret from people she’s getting close to. She constantly does things she thinks are a bad idea, mostly chalked up to hormones, and basically is just carried along by the actions of those around her.

Romance is here in full force, though, albeit a worldly, YA version of romance. Ryan is pursued by the football quarterback, which then turns into a predictable-yet-ridiculous love triangle. In fact, around the 75% mark, when a thriller should be heating up, instead the serial killer side of the story slows way down as the romance heats up, and for a few chapters it seems the only focus is the physical side of this new relationship (which, by the way, is the only side to the relationship). After that, there are some reveals, at least one that could probably be seen as a twist, but I still kept expecting something else exciting or unexpected to happen, but the story played out fairly blandly to the end. So much of what happens in the last several chapters is illogical or just really stupid decisions on Ryan’s part.

So, I don’t really recommend this book to anyone. Younger readers might not be as bothered by the plot holes, terrible characterization, or other things that made me roll my eyes. However, the graphic nature of at least one of the physical interactions between Ryan and her triangle guy is inappropriate for teens. And for once, after reading other reviews, I’m not the only one that felt that it went too far, even amongst reviewers that are less conservative than I am. So let that be a warning to anyone considering reading this, of any age, really.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s Books for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Find out more about Thornbird

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

July in Review

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

I read 21 books last month, which is pretty much insane for me. Not only is that a high monthly number for me, I broke my previous record of pages read during one month with 766 more pages than my previous high, set in January of this year. My audiobook consumption is getting insane… (10 of these books were audiobooks). I’ve been doing a lot of re-reading via audiobooks lately, mostly to refresh my memory on books I read a while ago before my daughter and I record podcast episodes for those books. It’s really helpful to have so many books I don’t have to write new reviews for…I don’t know if I could have very easily written 21 reviews last month.

Here are the books I read in July:

Homicide at Blue Heron Lake by Susan Page Davis & Megan Elaine Davis (4 / 5)
Dead Men Don’t Play Fetch by David Rosenfelt (4.5 / 5)
Genius Camp by Chris Grabenstein (4 / 5)
Parks and Rec by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (2 / 5)
Boy-Crazy Stacey by Ann M. Martin (2 / 5)
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (5 / 5)
Out of Darkness by Daniel J. Atkins (4 / 5)
The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans (4 / 5)
Newsboy by John James (5 / 5)
Flop Dead Gorgeous by David Rosenfelt (5 / 5)
Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko (4 / 5)
Berserkers by M.A. Larson (4.5 / 5)
The Librarians and the Mother Goose Chase by Greg Cox (3.5 / 5)
The Indebted Earl by Erica Vetsch (4.5 / 5)
Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt (5 / 5)
A Fatal Encore by S.A. Reeves (3 / 5)
The Game Masters of Garden Place by Denis Markell (3.5 / 5)
The Institute by Stephen King (4.5 / 5)
Thinking Things Over by Charles Francis Guittard (3.5 / 5)
Evil Genius by Chris Grabenstein (4 / 5)
Library of Forbidden Books by Mario Escobar (2 / 5)

This list includes 5 ARCs and 8 re-reads. My favorite book from July was Flop Dead Gorgeous. I started 2 series, continued 3 series, and finished 2 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

Book Review: The Institute

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Institute
Stephen King
Read by Santino Fontana

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Sci-fi thriller

When 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped from home, it turns out his kidnappers don’t care at all about his high IQ. They want him for his minor psychic abilities, along with other kids, all of whom are taken to the Institute and given lots of tests and shots. When they first arrive, they are in Front Half, where the food is good but the adults are cruel. Luke learns that kids are eventually taken to Back Half, after which, they’re told, they’ll be returned to their families. But Luke doesn’t trust these people who punish any slight insubordination with brutality, and as his time in Front Half nears its end, he becomes increasingly desperate to escape.

I really enjoyed this book and was engaged all the way through. Even when I felt like the narrative had taken a strange turn, or when I was confused when the first several chapters seemed completely unrelated to the main story, I was interested, invested, and always looking forward to when I could get back to listening to the audiobook again. The suspense and intensity build throughout the book, as stakes get higher and more is revealed about the Institute. I really appreciate that the main character isn’t the strongest, psychically speaking. He’s a genius, but really on a meager TK (telekinetic). He needs help from other kids, especially one that’s a particularly strong TP (telepath). And the anticipating of seeing how Luke’s story would intersect with the seemingly unrelated man we’re introduced to in the first 15 chapters adds to the suspense.

The ending was a little anti-climactic, maybe a little bit of a letdown after an otherwise great story. Overall, though, I really enjoyed my first full-length Stephen King novel. I’m still not sure I’m ready for any of his horror books yet, but this won’t be my last King novel. Santino Fontana did a great job with the narration, too, and added to my enjoyment of the book. I can’t speak to how this compares to King’s other works, but I do recommend this books to anyone interested in the premise or genre.

Find out more about The Institute

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Library of Forbidden Books

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Library of Forbidden Books
by Mario Escobar

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Historical fiction

Helene Nathan is a librarian in Berlin, one of the first women to hold a management position in a major library in Berlin. As Hitler begins his rise to power in Germany, the Nazi party begins to confiscate books that are by authors they don’t like or that are seen as contrary to the German worldview. Helene and her fellow librarians will do what they can to protect as many forbidden books as possible, but it’s not easy to stay ahead of the Nazis.

One of my biggest issues with this book is that it tries to do too much and thus the main plotline suffers. Besides the premise above, Helene’s significant other, Derek, is the 2nd-in-command to Werner von Blomberg, who eventually becomes Minister of War. A lot of the book shares details about pre-war Germany, the Nazi party’s rise to power, and political and military machinations. Helene spends time in a women’s concentration camp, which is also a decent portion of the book. Spanning over 10 years, the narrative dips in to days or moments here and there and then speeds by other times. Though various different aspects of the book are interesting and informative, it wasn’t the kind of story I was expecting to read. I never felt all that connected to Helene, and in the end, I couldn’t help but wonder what the real purpose of the story is. Maybe it’s only meant to warn against the dangers of censorship, but it all felt fairly light, really.

The vast time frame of the story and the fact that Helene Nathan is based on a real person, the book does read like nonfiction, or at least a fictionalized version of a real story. But though of course real details about German before and during WWII were used in the book, very little of the story is real. Every side character that isn’t someone in the Nazi Party is fiction, and Helene’s life beyond her job as librarian and a stint in a Jewish bookstore is made up, including her time in a concentration camp and the hiding of forbidden books. I’m not saying I’m against any of this fictionalization, even with a real person as a starting point, but it brings me back to my issue with there being too much going on in the book. Maybe Escobar felt it would be too convenient if Helene was never arrested or simply wanted to show a concentration camp for part of his story. Maybe there just wasn’t enough for a whole book without the inclusion of these extra things, and it’s true that even feeling bloated, the book isn’t really all that long. I’m not sure there’s much in this book that I haven’t read in other books, fiction or non. Due to the publishing company being Thomas Nelson, I kept hoping for something to come out of Derek starting to have talks with a Christian pastor. But in the end, we’re left with more hopelessness than anything uplifting. The wins, at least to me, outweigh the losses. And sure, I guess that’s realistic, but since Escobar isn’t intending to stay true to a real-life narrative, I would have preferred an ending where the library isn’t the only winner.

Ultimately, this book missed the mark for me, but if you’re interested in the premise, don’t let my preferences dissuade you. Check out positive reviews at the link below and decide for yourself.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Find out more about Library of Forbidden Books

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Game Masters of Garden Place

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Game Masters of Garden Place
by Denis Markell

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

Since they were first introduced to the tabletop roleplaying game Reign of Dragons at around 10 years of age, Ralph and his friends began to play the game weekly. Over the next couple of years their characters face monsters and perils in search of the components of a powerful item, which no one has managed to complete in the history of Reign of Dragons. But since Ralph and his friends have gotten farther in the campaign than most, Ralph is sent a special set of dice by the game creator’s son. This leads to Ralph’s gaming group’s fantasy characters coming to life in the real world, and it’s up to Ralph and friends to rein them in and try to get them back home.

I found most aspects of the fantasy characters in the real world enjoyable, including the fact that it wasn’t left to just be a vague, no-real-reason-given effect. Ralph (known as RPG by his friends) is trying to keep his friend group together as they’re growing up a little and developing different interests, though I feel like that angle to the story wasn’t really needed. I really appreciate that the characters aren’t all just stereotypes that I often see in books for this age range; for example, the athlete/warrior character is a female.

There are several scenes that are “in-world,” meaning they are written as if the story is about the fantasy characters and their quest. At first, this is used humorously, as it ends with the characters talking as their real-world players and discussing the need to be done playing due to real life calling. But the more we’re taken back to that world, the more I started to skim those sections. I didn’t really feel the need to know that much detail about their campaigns. Maybe people who are really into Dungeons & Dragons (the game on which Reign of Dragons is based) and other games like that would enjoy it more. And it’s entirely possible that Markell used those sections to build up the characterization of the fantasy characters so we’d be more connected to them when they came into the real world. I can’t really say for sure how necessary they were for that, but I can say that, for the most part, Markell did pretty well having distinct personalities for the five fantasy characters.

Sometimes the kids act a little too old for their ages, especially when you think about the fact that they’re only 10 when they come up with some of the backgrounds that they do for their characters. There’s also something a little off-putting about these grown adults being in a somewhat intimate setting with 12-year-olds, but nothing that was a huge deal in the end. Though one of the fantasy characters is revealed to be gay, which means that A) his 10-year-old creator decided to make his character gay (or decided on that at some point in the next 2 years) and B) the young creator is also most likely gay (which is hinted at in the story as well). I’ve never been a fan of the attempt to normalize these things for kids, and I am certain that there are others who will want to be aware of this in advance. At the very least, if you have the same concerns at all, I would recommend reading the book first, to evaluate for yourself whether you feel it’s okay for them to read or to simply be able to discuss it with them as/after they read the book. I did not factor any of this into my rating, and I know many people won’t care one way or the other, but I share this for those who do. With that in mind, though, I think many people, kids and adults, who are fans of fantasy roleplaying games or other similar ventures will enjoy this book. My husband has played some D&D over the years, so I have enough peripheral knowledge of the game to have found the real-life D&D characters aspect of this book interesting. Overall, really, anyone who’s played any kind of game where they play as fantasy characters, or even who has written a book with…well, characters, could probably identify with the main premise here.

Find out more about The Game Masters of Garden Place

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Flop Dead Gorgeous

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Flop Dead Gorgeous
Andy Carpenter #27
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

Though semi-retired defense attorney Andy Carpenter dated famous actress Jenny Nichols in high school, his real connection to her is from her adopting a miniature French poodle from Andy’s dog rescue foundation. Still, when she’s accused of murdering her co-star after an encounter at dinner the night before, Andy is less reluctant to take her case than he usually is.

This book brings a whole new angle to the series, and I really enjoyed it. Twists and turns, running gags, and Andy’s signature snarky humor made this a fun, engaging book. The K-Team gets a lot of use in this book, and I have to admit that, though I like them, I much prefer them on the sidelines than starring in their own series. For a series like this that is so formulaic, deviations in the formula are usually very welcome, and this definitely has one that just added to my enjoyment of the book and the series as a whole. Grover Gardner is wonderful as narrator, and if it’s not clear, I recommend this book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas, as well as the books that precede it in the series.

Find out more about Flop Dead Gorgeous

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Thinking Things Over

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Thinking Things Over
by Charles Francis Guittard

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Memoir

There are 3 main styles within this book about two 80-year-olds meeting online and falling in love. First, there is a series of essays written by the author himself, Charles Francis Guittard, who is clearly very interested in history, especially that of his own family. The essays cover Guittard’s time growing up, focusing on what his parents both did to try to make him a well-rounded individual, with some included backstory of his parents’ lives. Then there’s a large middle sections that is a collection of emails between Guittard and his now-wife Nancy Davis Labastida, when they first met and got to know each other, all the way through about a week before their marriage. This covers only around 3 months, but includes a lot of emails. Finally, there’s a section of stories about Labastida’s tiime growing up in semi-interview format—Guittard asking questions for her to answer. The last section of the book is a fictional imagining of someone facing judgement upon their death, so I guess that’s sort of a 4th style, but that and the section about Labastida’s childhood are comparatively short.

Strangers to married in 3 months sounds crazy to most people, but I have to say that the amount of info they shared in their emails does make it a lot more understandable. I can also understand a desire to not wait very long to be with someone you feel so connected to, when you’re in your 80s. The emails read like two teenagers falling in love for the first time, though they had both been married before. There are parts of their romance that I did not connect with, but that’s not to say that made it bad somehow. Overall, I did enjoy the book more than I didn’t.

I question the inclusion of the short story at the end. It’s essentially a courtroom drama where God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are sitting in judgement over a man who claims to have lived a good life. There are 2 lawyers questioning making arguments and even questioning a couple of witnesses, but it leaves me really confused about what Guittard understands about salvation and eternity. He includes a lot of church lingo and seems to have a decent understanding of what is important to salvation, but at the same time, he seems confused as well. For one thing, the fictional defendant sort of claims that the Trinity is made-up, which he says to the panel made up of the triune God…so…that makes sense (unless he’s making the theological point that Jesus and the Holy Ghost aren’t God?). But more importantly, he talks about a “come to Jesus” moment vaguely and talks about denominations and baptism and tithing as if those are a big part of whether or not someone is saved. The question is simple: have you repented of your sins and accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord? I think the clear answer here for J. Hiram Harmless (the fictional defendant) is: no.

Though normally, I don’t have a lot of negative to say about an autobiography or memoir, understanding that the author has shared what they wanted to share, whether I wish there was more or less of anything. But, the dip into fiction aside, I will say, there are portions of this book that I had to skim. A lot was included about tennis and bridge, neither of which I’m particularly interested in (or know anything about at all, in the case of bridge). There are other personal details that I also skimmed, but I may just not be the right audience—I have a feeling that people interested in genealogy or personal family histories will enjoy those parts a lot more than I did.

Find out more about Thinking Things Over

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Newsboy

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Newsboy: My Story of Hope and Second Chances
by John James

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Memoir, Christian non-fiction

When John James first stepped down as the Newsboys lead singer in the late 90s, I was in high school. I had no idea what had led to this decision, but the band kept making great music, so I was content enough. Then, I remember very well the Newsboys concert my husband, son, and I attended (it had to have been around 2009-2011, since it was soon into the band’s new era), when John James stepped out onto the stage to talk. I’m pretty sure most of the people around us had no idea who he was, but I did. I had been to at least one concert before he left, owned several cassette tapes or CDs of the early Newsboys, and had seen Down Under the Big Top many times (I even had several of his lines memorized from the movie—still do, in fact, and still have the VHS tape). I hadn’t seen him in a long time and was excited he was there! He began to tell his story, talking about his addictions and sinful behavior that had led to his departure from the band. He talked about the moment he thought about killing himself, making a joke about it, and the people around us laughed. I didn’t find any humor in it, though; my husband and I stood there with mouths agape. I’m pretty sure I was holding back tears. I’m really glad I didn’t know about any of that back when I was a teen and the Newsboys was fasting becoming my favorite band (especially since the info circulating at the time was largely worse than the truth), only hearing some of the details after James had allowed Christ’s redemptive work to change his heart and his life.

This book expands a lot on what he shared during that concert over 10 years ago, and James is transparent and vulnerable in the text, not hiding or sugarcoating his choices and downward spiral. He starts with his childhood, a foundation that shows that he wasn’t just paying lip service to Christian tenets when he first started writing songs and speaking on stage as the frontman of the band. But like all of us who are sinners saved by grace, he made wrong choices, which he then compounded with more wrong choices and the decision to hide those choices from friends and loved ones. He talks of danger points, like disconnecting from a local church and neglecting one’s personal time with God, and he ends the book with a very hopeful note. I don’t think I’d call it a “happy ending,” exactly, because he is still suffering some consequences from how he lived for a while. But the major theme here, which is infused throughout the book, is that God can redeem those that are lost and is waiting to do so, if we’ll turn and repent. This book is definitely worth reading for anyone who is a fan of the Newsboys (in any iteration), is interested in stories about the Christian music industry, or is in a position where you believe you’ve fallen too far to be forgiven by God.

Find out more about Newsboy

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: A Fatal Encore

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

A Fatal Encore
The Bookshop Mysteries #6
by S.A. Reeves

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Murder mystery

When the frontman of a famous rock band dies on stage during a music festival, the toxic inner workings of the band are exposed as the death is investigated by David, a local detective inspector, his girlfriend Gemma, who works as a police consultant and owns a local bookstore, and some of their friends.

The bulk of the mystery in this book was overall interesting, and the elements about the behind-the-scenes parts of a rock festival, and even what the band is up to in days after seem well researched (at least to someone like me that knows little to nothing about these kinds of things). I had a theory from pretty early on about who the culprit was, though it was more based on tropes and formulas of a murder mystery than the content of the story, and I turned out to be more or less correct. The less part is one of the areas of this book that confused me. I don’t know if I can explain without spoilers, but essentially, the difference between a murderer and an accomplice is apparently very different in my mind than it is in the minds of the authors of this book (2 authors under 1 pen name).

The mystery feels complex at times, but I eventually came to realize that it wasn’t really all that complex. I think it felt that way to me because the characters kept rehashing the different suspects, motives, and clues over and over, which could make it a little hard to follow. When I started skimming these repeating sections, the story moved more quickly and felt a lot simpler. I also realized after a bit that the book would have been novella-length at most if the excess repetition and unrelated side plots had been removed. Side plots aren’t always a bad thing, but in a murder mystery, they can detract from the main focus enough to make them feel unnecessary, and that is what happened here. Gemma’s brother comes to town with his own problems that only end up related to the murder mystery in a way that felt forced and way too easily wrapped up. This is book #6 in a series following Gemma and her bookshop gang, and maybe if the side intrigue involved a character that had been around before and given the reader a chance to get invested in him, it would have seemed more relevant. Granted, I haven’t read any of the previous books, but it seemed pretty clear that the brother was introduced here for the first time. There is a murder-mystery book club meeting at the bookstore, and the entirety of their meeting is shown. No relation to the case at all, so it just felt like a way for the authors to share their thoughts on the subject; plus, it was probably about 15 minutes of discussion, which seems pretty short for a book club gathering.

All in all, I did generally like the book as I was reading it. It may have been bloated, but the bones are good. I don’t feel like any of the major characters are introduced very well for anyone who hasn’t read previous books, so keep that in mind if you consider diving in here like I did. It could have probably used a little more editing, but for a (as far as I can tell) self-published book, it was better than most. I’m fairly certain many fans of cozy mysteries wouldn’t be bothered by things that stuck out to me and would probably find this book, and very possibly the series it’s part of, enjoyable.

Find out more about A Fatal Encore

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Boy-Crazy Stacey

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Boy-Crazy Stacey
The Baby-Sitters Club #8
by Ann M. Martin

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

I am so disappointed in this book. Stacey has been tasked with helping babysit a large group of kids when the family goes on vacation. She ends up spending the entire time distracted by a guy she has a crush on, leaving the other babysitter to do all of the work. Yes, she apologizes in the end, but only because she spots the guy making out with another girl. Mary Anne, the other babysitter on the trip, lets her off really easily, and then Stacey proceeds to find another guy to crush on and spend time with. She doesn’t act as badly that time, but mostly due to different circumstances, not because she’s really learned her lesson.

It reminded me so much of when I was younger—my family used to go on camping trips every summer, and my oldest sister would basically end up with a “boyfriend” at every campground. It’s entirely possible that younger me was a little jealous of her, but I also remember knowing that the whole thing was weird, ridiculous, and pointless—they’d never see each other again after everyone went home anyway! And let’s not forget that these girls are only 13 years old (my sister was older than that), which is way too young for this storyline anyway. On top of all of that, Stacey is very proud of her skimpy (make that “very skimpy”) bikini. That is just too much!

Now let’s address for a moment the tendency of publishing companies to “update” and re-release some of these older books. I don’t know why kids can’t just read about the actual time the book was written in, but whatever. The issue, though, is that until I realize I’m reading an updated version, I’m just confused, like when cell phones are mentioned in a book originally published in the 1980s. And more specifically in this book, apparently the guy that Stacey crushes on (who does flirt with her as well) is college age in the original version! So when they re-released it, they made him 15. But she and Mary Anne still talk a lot about how he’s too old for her (2 years isn’t remotely enough to be worth all that discussion), and he still checks out a college-age girl himself, so…frankly, they didn’t do very well with the updating.

This was my least favorite book in the series so far and in general is just not a book I’d recommend for kids.

Find out more about Boy-Crazy Stacey

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!