Books I Bought

Finally earned enough credits for Amazon to pay up. Here’s what I bought:

Laura Bickle’s WITCH CREEK http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071VBHPW7?tag=tesa06-20
Heather Davis’s A CURSE SO DARK http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075PG99GC?tag=tesa06-20
Lauren DeStefano’s THE GLASS SPARE http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N27P6R5?tag=tesa06-20
Merrie Destefano’s SHADE: THE COMPLETE TRILOGY http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KSDPPX4?tag=tesa06-20
Erica Hayes’s UNFORGIVEN http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JQ4625D?tag=tesa06-20
Erica Hayes’s HEARTLESS http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K1P2Y4X?tag=tesa06-20
Lydia Kang’s THE IMPOSSIBLE GIRL http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BDHGKJX?tag=tesa06-20
Sophie Littlefield’s SURVIVORS http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z2I6HS?tag=tesa06-20
Mindy McGinnis’s THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AFXMGTO?tag=tesa06-20
Lila Veen’s DROWNING IN A DREAM http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DY6GRFO?tag=tesa06-20
Lila Veen’s THE AIR THAT I BREATHE http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FWGA3R2?tag=tesa06-20
M. D. Waters’s ANTITYPE http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IIVFKSA?tag=tesa06-20

Check out the stuff I bought, and see if the stories and prices are right for you.

[REVIEW] Infected – Sophie Littlefield

Sophie Littlefield
Infected
Penguin Random House Delacorte (US & CA: 6th January 2015)
Buy (US Kindle Edition) Buy (US Hardcover) Buy (UK) Buy (CA Kindle Edition) Buy (CA Hardcover) Buy (Worldwide)

There are times when characters in love are necessary to the story. This is not one of those times. Carina unknowingly infected Tanner via saliva with a killer illness. The plot does not require them to be in love. Carina could have gone on the run with anyone she may have kissed.

This takes place BEFORE the book begins, so we’re told right from the start that Carina and Tanner are in love. And we’re repeatedly reminded throughout the novel, often bordering on border prose. It’s TELLING, rather than showing. Because we haven’t seen them face struggles hooking up, it’s hard to care for their love. I don’t ship it. Neither of the characters stands out on their own, or together. Which means you’d hope to be invested in the plot instead.

Alas, no. The thing with thrillers is that you can change location, and go on the run as many times as you want. But if the story doesn’t advance, and it’s just an extended chase sequence… *shrug* Albanians are the antagonists here, so it’s not sterling rep for that country’s people.

I’m not sure how a story with a dangerous, life-threatening infection could be so shrug-worthy, but here we are. I’ve read much better books by the same author – try Garden of Stones instead.

March 2016 Reads

Yes, this is coming a week late, but it took time to summon up the brainpower to even write a single paragraph about a book. In the end, I reviewed six books, and wrote a paragraph for a seventh.

Megan Shepherd: Her Dark Curiosity: 5 stars
Erica Spindler: The Final Seven: 3 stars: Review
Blythe Woolston: MARTians: 5 stars: Review
Carrie Mesrobian: Cut Both Ways: 3 stars: Review
Megan Hart: Hold Me Close: 4 stars: Review
Robin Bridges: Dreaming of Antigone: 3 stars: Review
Sophie Littlefield: The Guilty One: 3 stars: Review

HER DARK CURIOSITY
When Book 1 in a series is worth five stars, you may hesitate to pick up Book 2. What if the sequel can’t live up to the quality of its predecessor? I needn’t have worried, because Her Dark Curiosity is another smashing read from Megan Shepherd. The novel opens with science, which bodes well for the rest of the story, a battle not to cure but to perhaps manage a violent condition. I’m not sure why Juliet shags Edward, but otherwise it’s a fabulous read that I definitely recommend. (NOTE TO ANIMAL LOVERS: There’s a dog character, and he’s alive for the entire book. There are thoughts against him, though thankfully none of them turn into action.)

[REVIEW] The Guilty One – Sophie Littlefield

Sophie Littlefield
The Guilty One
Simon & Schuster Gallery (US & CA: 11th August 2015); Head of Zeus (AU: 1st January 2016; UK: 7th January 2016)
Buy (US Kindle Edition) Buy (US Paperback) Buy (UK Kindle Edition) Buy (UK Hardcover) Buy (UK Paperback) Buy (CA Kindle Edition) Buy (CA Paperback) Buy (Worldwide Hardcover) Buy (Worldwide Paperback)

CONTENT WARNING: Suicide threat, partner murder, child abuse.

This has been terribly mis-marketed. The UK edition has the word “thriller” TWICE on its back cover: one as a classification, and one in publisher’s hype. This wouldn’t be a problem, except…this book is not a thriller. I’d call it general/mainstream fiction. Anyway, the mislabelling could explain the middling reviews – people did not get what they expected.

Also? The novel’s summary talks about an event as if it takes up the whole story, which was what I expected. Instead, that event is resolved within the first few chapters. That’s it.

And entire chapters feature nothing but shopping, cleaning, and inventory. I’m not even exaggerating.

I’m no stranger to Sophie Littlefield’s works, having previously read and enjoyed four of her other books. And I like The Guilty One to an extent. It’s about life AFTER crime, for parents of the perp and the victim. Can people escape generations of violence, or are they – like their forefathers – doomed to hurt those they love?

Had The Guilty One been more honestly marketed, it would’ve been received better. Still, it’s great to see a positive representation of women being friends.

January 2016 Releases

Done with December 2015 Releases? Here are January 2016 Releases. For future releases, check Reading Wishlist.

11th August 2015 Releases

Happy Release Day to:

Sophie Littlefield
The Guilty One
Simon & Schuster Gallery (US & CA: 11th August 2015)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Maris’s safe suburban world was shattered the day her daughter was found murdered, presumably at the hands of the young woman’s boyfriend. Her marriage crumbling, her routine shattered, Maris walks away from her pampered life as a Bay Area mom the day she receives a call from Ron, father of her daughter’s killer. Wracked with guilt over his son’s actions (and his own possible contribution to them), he asks Maris a single question: should he jump? With a man’s life in her hands, Maris must decide, perhaps for the first time, what she truly wants. Retribution? Forgiveness? Or something more? Having lost everything, she’s finally free to recreate herself without the confining labels of “wife,” “mother,” or “mourner.” But will this shocking offer free her, or destroy her?

August 2015 Releases

Done with July 2015 Releases? Here are August 2015 Releases. For future releases, check Reading Wishlist. If reading this in a feed-reader, the formatting may be off. Click on the title to see the post properly at WordPress.

6 New Covers (Jones, Leicht & Neal, Littlefield, Sheehan)

5 New Covers (Kaufman & Kristoff, Littlefield, Panitch, Woolston, Zhang)

[REVIEW] The Moon Pool – Sophie Littlefield

Sophie Littlefield
The Moon Pool [also published as The Missing Place]
Head of Zeus (UK: 9th October 2014; AU: 20th October 2014); Simon & Schuster Gallery (US & CA: 14th October 2014)
Buy (US Kindle Edition) Buy (US Paperback) Buy (UK Kindle Edition) Buy (UK Hardcover) Buy (UK Paperback) Buy (CA Kindle Edition) Buy (CA Paperback) Buy (Worldwide Hardcover) Buy (Worldwide Paperback)

SPOILER WARNING: This review contains a spoiler. (It doesn’t tell you whodunit, but who didn’t.)
TRIGGER WARNING: The novel contains ableist and racist slurs, but the review doesn’t.

Two mothers from different lifestyles band together to find their sons. In icy North Dakota, humble humans take on big business in an underdog story –

Well, that’s what I expected. And for two thirds, the book is like that: the heroines asking questions, getting shut down/threatened… So far, so good.

But in the final third, where the mystery is solved, the story takes a totally different turn. Admittedly, it’s been a long time since I regularly read crime novels, but I seem to remember that if the story is set in a certain place or occupation, it has something to do with the case.

In this novel, the oilfields – and reservations leasing rights to drill – are red herrings. The disappearances have nothing to do with those. This story could’ve been set ANYWHERE, but I thought the oil and money might’ve been important to the case. They aren’t.

Up until then, I really enjoyed this novel. But that final third doesn’t live up to the greatness of the rest of the book. Disappointing.