Persephone

Fun Xmas novel

Reviewed: 12-09-24

I wanted this last year but decided to wait and pick it up on sale. I had a great time reading this as I do with all Lisa Unger novels that I have read.

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1 person found this helpful

Good mystey

Reviewed: 09-27-19

4 out of 5 stars

When Reese moved with her Mom to the wealthy community of St.Claire five years ago she was shocked that the most popular and beautiful girl in school, Charlotte Walters wanted to be her friend. Charlotte is the light in the school, everyone follows her around like moths to a flame but Charlotte picked her and wanted to be HER best friend.

Come Senior year though something is off about Charlotte. Normally she is bright and bubbly but when she came back from a vacation she was quiet and distant. She seems obsessed with death and dying but though Reese sees that there is something different she doesn't think it is that drastic until Charlotte disappears the night of her ghost themed Halloween party.

After Charlotte disappears Reese begins to go over everything. She will stop at nothing to find her friend. She can't be dead can she?

I only gave this four stars because there are still two more books in this series so I plan to grade as a whole after the last book.

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Perfect Halloween Story

Reviewed: 09-24-19

5 out of 5 creepy strangers!

Clare Cassidy teaches English at Talgarth High School former home of famous author R.M. Holland and his beloved wife Alice who met her untimely death from a fall or perhaps a push? It is said that sometimes you can see the Lady in White as she roams the school. Clare also happens to be writing a novel about the author. R.M. Holland is known for one short story "The Stranger" and was said to have hated it.

One Fall day shortly before Halloween Clare's best friend and fellow teacher Ella is found dead. She was murder and "Hell Is Empty, and All the Devils Are Here ". Just like what is written in Holland's one famous book.

This is the perfect book leading up to Halloween. It's is a lovely blend of Gothic Victorian writing and a contemporary mystery sure to capture you and not let you go. I have never read an Elly Griffiths novel before but she has a new fan. Her writing is beautiful. You can picture the old, Victorian school Clare teaches at. You feel as if you are creeping up the dark stairs leading to Holland's study. The university campus Clare and her daughter visit is written so well you can almost smell the Autumn air.

My favorite part of the book though is definitely the characters. They are written so beautifully that you hear each and every voice. Georgie definitely sounds like a teenager. An extremely smart one but still a teen. You will love meeting D.S. Harbinder Kaur and her parents as well. Each voice is distinctive.

I would recommend listening to the audio version if you can. There is a book within a book and the narrators are so good.

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A really good Southern Gothic novel

Reviewed: 04-07-19

4.5 out of 5 stars

I decided to listen to the audio version of this because I always like to pick one audio book to listen to as I get ready for bed. This was a good choice. The narrator Kate Orsini was really good.

If you love a good Southern Gothic then this novel is for you. Meg has spent her whole life in the shadow of her novelist mother. Francis Ashley is famous for the novel "Kitten" the ultimate "killer kid" novel. The book which may or may not have been based on an actual murder was such a sensation it attracted a group of fans so obsessed they call themselves Kitty Cultists. They are so obsessed that they used to travel to the famous hotel on Bonnie Island where the real murder the book was based on took place. They spend hours online researching, determined to solve the crime. To prove that the real "Kitten" murdered young Kim Baker when she was just eight years old. As the 40th anniversary of the novel's release approaches the hype around the book grows even more.

As all of this is going on Meg is dealing with an unnamed illness as well as her complicated feelings for her Mother. The two have never been close. Meg was raised by a serious of nannies and has felt as if her Mother never truly cared for her. After she goes home to visit at her Mother's request and finds that not only has her Mother left but has been keeping something extremely important Meg has had it. An opportunity to write a tell all about their relationship comes up and though she is tempted she just isn't sure until two thing happen, one is her Mother getting married without telling her and the other? An opportunity to clear the name of the real life Kitten, a woman named Doro who has agreed to meet with her.

As Meg arrives on Bonnie island the atmosphere of the book changes. There seems to be secrets everywhere, things hide in the shadows and nothing is what it seems. As Meg tries to solve the mystery she feels more confused than every before.

This novel is full of interesting characters, an intriguing location and a great mystery.

I certainly would recommend this!

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A horror film in book form!

Reviewed: 03-20-19

5 out of 5 stars

Quincy Carpenter is a member of a very exclusive club, she is a final girl. There are three girls that are members of this club and to be one you must be the lone survivor of a mass murder. Quincy managed to survive the Pine Cottage Killings ten years ago back when she was in college. She thinks she has her life together now, a live in lawyer boyfriend, a successful baking blog and a lovely apartment in NYC. Sure, she also happens to drink too much wine and she depends on Xanax a little bit too much.

The life that Quincy thinks she has starts to fall apart after she finds out that the original Final Girl Lisa is found dead and the only other Final Girl Sam shows up on her doorstep.

I loved this book. It totally read like a horror film. There were many good twists and turns some I completely saw coming and some that did come as a surprise. The biggest weakness was the fact that Quincy was so easily influenced. That is something that I would have expected to change after all that she had been through but I guess sometimes people just are who they are.

If you want a twisted, taut, well written thriller I would definitely pick this up.

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Sex,Drugs and Rock n Roll with love and heartbreak

Reviewed: 03-20-19

5 out of 5 stars!

Another fantastic book by Taylor Jenkins Reid! I love "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" and I loved this book just as much. I really feel that Taylor Jenkins Reid's books read best as audio books and this was the best audio book I have listened to. The cast was phenomenal. Jennifer Beals as Daisy,Pablo Schreiber as Billy and Benjamin Bratt as Graham and January LaVoy as Camilla were brilliant but for me Judy Greer really knocked the role of Karen Karen totally out of the park. Karen also happened to be my favorite character.

A wonderfully written,addictive and intoxicating novel that tells the story of Daisy Jones & The Six, the rock and roll scene from the 60's. Sex, drugs, rock n roll and of course love and heartbreak. The Six were doing well as a band, a hit here or there, your name on everyone's lips and yet there is something missing. That something is Daisy Jones, a groupie girl with a beautiful rough voice who also happens to be an extremely talented song writer. Daisy and Billy together? Fireworks! The problem is that Billy is happily married.

I loved the tangled relationships between the band members. This book really felt like you were back there with the band in the late 60's/70's. I devour books from this time. One of my all time favorite books is "I'm with the Band" by Pamela Des barres. This book really has that feel to it. I also couldn't help but see Daisy as Stevie Nicks in a lot of ways. Hell, the band felt like Fleetwood Mac and the big album? Totally felt like Rumours!

There is a very "blink and you miss it" call back to "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo". Just a few sentences but it was kinda cool.

If you are worried to read this after falling in love with "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" don't be. It is different of course but it is a wonderfully written book!

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