Four Stars

The River at Night

the-river-at-night The River at Night by Erica Ferencik

Publication Date: January 10, 2017
Read Date: January 4, 2017

Amazon, Goodreads

Winifred is lonely. Her husband has left her for a grad student, and her beloved brother has taken his own life. But every year, her and her three best friends go on a vacation adventure to get away from all of the worries of the world and to catch up with each other. The latest trip idea though is worrisome. White water rafting on a river that has only ever been navigated by a 20 year old who is also going to be their guide? No way. But Wini doesn’t want to be left behind, the one who chickens out while the others end up having a blast and she’s left alone. The adventure ends up taking a turn for the worst, and not only are their friendships tested, but Wini has to dig deep and see what she’s made of to survive.

This is a suspenseful thriller that kept me captivated by the truthfulness and realness of their friendships with each other. I could picture my friends in each of those roles and would know that we would have acted very similarly to these characters. It felt like I was almost testing myself, that I was in Wini’s shoes and would have made similar choices.

There’s a similarity between Wini and her brother and a later character, Dean, that I really enjoyed. I think those scenes in particular are what really makes Wini have her own voice and it’s awesome.

Ultimately, in this was a suspenseful thriller, I felt like we were really watching Wini accept herself and to not be so afraid of the world, to be welcoming of whatever comes next because nothing can be as fearful as the river at night.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!

four-stars

The Sound of Rain

the-sound-of-rain The Sound of Rain by Gregg Olsen

I have grown accustomed to female leads that are just kick ass detectives. So, at first, this one was a little hard for me to stomach. Nicole is a great detective with the extreme issue of being a total pushover and a gambling addict. They’re not a good combination at all as she takes out her stress of not saying anything to the people who manipulate her by gambling.

We know that Nicole has a downfall. We know she loses her job. But it was still tough for me to read. I just kept wanting to tell her to grow a spine and speak up for herself. But when she finally did, it was too late and it cost her dearly. This honestly would have been five stars for me if I hadn’t been so irritated with her, despite understanding why she was like that, I still wanted her to get a grip.

Part two of this book though…my God. Incredible. So many twists and turns, you really have no idea who the bad guys or the good guys are. It was an absolute roller coaster of discovering what exactly happened to the little girl whose case cost Nicole everything.

This is a must read. My only other issues besides the slow pacing of part one and Nicole’s immobility to defend her opinion, are the spelling errors and missing words in sentences. It pulls me out of the story every single time, especially because I’m an editor myself. Also, I don’t really think the title fits well with the story; I think there could have been something stronger.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this awesome read!

four-stars

Walk Into Silence

walk-into-silence Walk Into Silence by Susan McBride

Jo Larsen Series:
Book 1

So when I first started this book, I had felt like the adrenaline was kind of pushed, and it didn’t really get me into the story. That could have just been my mindset when I started reading, though. Because after I pushed through the first couple of chapters, I could not put this book down.

Jo is a detective whose gut instincts have definitely gotten her far. She was referenced a couple of times as being like a dog with a bone–very determined. A strong female lead is always enjoyable to read, especially when she doesn’t really question herself. She may have this past that’s incredibly painful that she’s trying to get away from, but it’s exactly that past that makes her a stronger detective.

The story of Jenny and her past as a parallel to Jo and her own past was really striking. It was so sad to read, to see how other people look at you when you’re consumed with grief. Jenny’s son had tragically fallen from a tree and died during her first marriage. The three-year anniversary is coming up and Jenny is seeking answers, no matter the cost. I loved all of the writing from Jenny’s perspective. Really, really great work there.

I adored Jo’s boyfriend, Adam, one of the medical examiners. He was so strong and determined to be there for Jo, even if she thought she didn’t need him. She really needed that foil against her mother who was not there for Jo when she needed her most. It was an important distinction to make her a stronger detective.

One thing I would have changed though is the formatting. There are two different perspectives in this book, Jo and Jenny, and those perspectives are in the same chapter while still being first person. It would have been better just to split each perspective into its own chapter. It was difficult to distinguish sometimes who was supposed to be talking and I had to keep going back to double check. This could have been a formatting issue with the Kindle and it could be fine for print.

Kind of funny how often Coke was the drink of choice in this book, it almost felt like an advertisement. Sorry if this review came off more like an essay, it just felt so right!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

four-stars

I Let You Go

i-let-you-go I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Tragedy befalls a single mother. We are then in the perspective of Jenna Gray, who is so devastated, that she decides to leave her home and try to start new somewhere a lot further away to help move on. The other perspective we’re in for part one of this book is of Detective Ray Stevens, who struggles with trying to maintain his family life while trying to promote up, all while feeling an undeniable connection to his new trainee. In these particular scenes, I am not familiar to the correct UK terminology for the police department, so I get quite confused and don’t remember what those acronyms mean. Not that that’s an issue with the book, it just pulls me out because I really should remember these things!

Quick note here: There is domestic violence in this novel. If that’s not something you can stomach–don’t pick it up.

Part one was honestly pretty slow. I understood why the pacing was that way and how it related to the story. The slowness was a parallel to the lull in the case for the detectives, and the recovery process Jenna was going through.

Part two, though…that’s where things really started picking up and I virtually could not put it down. A third perspective is introduced in this part and it is… quite chilling. There may be something sick and demented about enjoying the writing in this perspective, but it’s written very well, so it’s difficult not to appreciate it.

I didn’t really care too much about the relationship between Stevens and Kate, the trainee. It made sense with the book though, showing how tough the job can be while trying to stay happy with the home life you almost never see. He starts growing an attachment to the person he’s with for several hours, so it makes sense, I just feel like that was a subplot that didn’t pull me into the mystery of the book.

I really liked seeing the beginning of Jenna’s relationship with Ian, and how the manipulation process started. Again, I know it sounds creepy with me saying that, but to be inside of a man that…manipulative. Good stuff. I think this one is definitely worth the read. I know everyone and their mom has talked about the twist, but I liked that twist too. 😉

four-stars

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

I decided to read this book, and its accompanying prequel and sequel after completely falling in love with the movie. It is important to point out, though, that the movie is quite different from this novel, and that’s totally OK! I think that one particular scene that would have been awesome in the movie is when Elizabeth is at Rosings and Lady Catherine wants her to duel against her best ninjas–Elizabeth, in defiance, duels them blindfolded. It was a very fun grotesque scene!

I listened to the audio book for this; Katherine Kellgren is incredible. I’m a total lover of Pride and Prejudice and this book  was just loads of fun. Zombies, Ninjas, Brains, and Badassery. I feel like my only issue for characterization was that of Mr. Collins, who makes a drastic decision after learning something about Charlotte (I can avoid spoilers!). It felt pretty out of character, even if it was something that was done out of fun because people don’t really like him. That’s where the movie had me totally enraptured, I’m a huge fan of Matt Smith and he was hands down, one of my favorite characters.

I know that this review feels part book, part movie, but when you read a book because of the movie, you can’t help but notice the drastic differences. This was a fun read, nothing serious, and with the mash up of Jane Austen’s text and Seth Grahame-Smith’s text, it’s exactly what the title tells you it is: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

four-stars