Swerve ~ by Vicki Pettersson – 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Serial Killers, Thrillers

 I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review. Release Date: July 7, 2015 Synopsis ~ It’s high summer in the Mojave Desert, and Kristine Rush and her fiance, Daniel, are en route from Las Vegas to Lake Arrowead, California, for the July Fourth holiday weekend. But when Daniel is abducted from a desolate rest stop, Kristine is forced to choose: return home unharmed, but never see her fiance again, or plunge forward into the searing desert to find him…where a killer lies in wait.

I’m a fan of Vicki Pettersson’s urban fantasy Zodiac series, so when I saw this thriller by her offered on NetGalley, well, let’s just say I was intrigued. I started it at 8:00 in the evening, and stayed up until 2:30 in the morning to finish it. Yes it’s THAT good! At some point my poor husband tried to get me to put down my kindle but he quickly backed off, because I think I may have looked like this:

The action starts immediately as Kristine, who’s a physician’s assistant, and Daniel, a surgeon are on their way to his snobbish mother’s for the holiday. After a mishap involving spilled coffee, they pull into a deserted rest stop so Kristine can change clothes. As she’s doing so, she’s attacked by a mysterious assailant and knocked out. Once she regains consciousness, she staggers outside to their car to find that Daniel has disappeared leaving only his phone behind. Within minutes it rings and the psychopath who calls himself Malthus, tells her if she wants to see Daniel again, she’ll have to follow his instructions. And so begins the scavenger hunt from hell.

The first half of the book focuses on the cat-and-mouse game between Malthus and Kristine as she scurries to do his bidding. The situations he puts her in are humiliating and gruesome. Even worse, he’s has no issue killing anyone she comes in contact with and as the body count rises, he manages to make everything point to her as the murderer. About halfway in the true identity of Malthus is revealed and although I had my suspicions, I was still left reeling.

The second half of the book focuses on Kristine’s desperate attempts to survive, as she tries to save not only herself, but the person she loves most in the world.

I absolutely adored Kristine. She’s a tough, intelligent woman who finds herself pulled into a nightmare. She’s loyal to a fault and will do anything to protect her loved ones.  As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Kristine has had practice at surviving, as she reflects upon her traumatic childhood. Several times I found myself wanting to scream: “Can someone please give this poor woman a break?!”  Not once does she indulge in self-pity though. She stays focused on her mission and is determined to beat Malthus at his own game. All I can say about Malthus is that he’s bat-shit crazy. Please forgive my language. Honestly though, this is someone who has absolutely NO redeeming qualities. By the end of the book I was hoping for the most painful death possible for him. And I swear, I’m not a violent person! The ending was perfect, and left no loose ends which I appreciated.

Swerve is an adrenaline-fueled rollercoaster ride which will leave you emotionally exhausted, in a good way! In my humble opinion Vicki Pettersson has joined the ranks of Dean Koontz, Gillian Flynn, and even my beloved Stephen King. So, will I be recommending this to everyone I know? Heck yeah!

 

 

 

 

Fairytale Funnies

Tags

Beauty and the Beast, Disney, Dumbledore, Fifty Shades of Gray, Funny Quotes, Twilight, Where's Waldo

Steven got me feeling nostalgic with his Beauty and the Beast Review so I had to share one of my favorite quotes:

Gaston: How can you read this? There’s no pictures!

Belle: Well, some people use their imagination.

And then I stumbled upon these. I hope they give you the giggles like they did me!

Beauty And The Beast (1991) IMDB Top 250 Guest Review

An awesome review of my favorite animated Disney movie of all time!

Cinema Parrot Disco

Today’s IMDB Top 250 Guest Review comes from Steven of Past, Present, Future In TV And Film. Thanks for the review, Steven! 🙂 Now let’s see what he has to say about Beauty And The Beast, IMDB rank 228 out of 250…

There are still some movies up for grabs if anyone wants to do a guest IMDB Top 250 review. You can find the list of remaining films HERE. See the full list & links to all the reviews that have already been done HERE. Also, if you’d like to add a link to your IMDB review(s) on your own blogs, feel free to use any of the logos I’ve used at the top of any of these guest reviews.

Animated films. You grow up with them as kids, watch them over and over, and love them to pieces. Sadly, it seems, these films can lose…

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The Escape ~by Hannah Jayne – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Amnesia, Mental Illness, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, YA Fiction

 I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 7, 2015

Synopsis ~ Trying to liven up an otherwise boring afternoon Fletcher and Adam decide to go on a short hike. When neither of them return, search parties are formed to comb the dense woods. Avery, the police chief’s daughter discovers a badly beaten and disoriented Fletcher who’s covered in blood. He has no memory of what happened and doesn’t know where Adam is. As danger and suspicion build through the town, only one thing is clear. No one can escape the truth.

“I’m going to die.

The thought came to him with a sickening dread. 

I don’t want to die.”

That’s just one gut-wrenching glimpse into the mind of Fletcher who basically tore my heart out and stomped on it during this psychological thriller.

The Escape quickly sets up all of it’s players and then focuses on the mystery of what happened to these two teenage boys. It’s told in the alternating third person POV of Fletcher and Avery which for the most part works, although I think the story would have been even more intense if it had been told in the first person. Fletcher is definitely the heart and soul of this story. A loner before the mysterious attacks, Adam, a popular jock, is his only friend. I wish there had been a little more regarding his backstory as he’s considered a “Freak” by many of his classmates, yet there’s no explanation as to why. The majority of his POV deals with his pain and guilt at surviving, and his desperate attempts to remember what happened. 

Avery reminded me a little of Veronica Mars. While not designated a “Freak” like Fletcher, she’s the quintessential “good girl” and also a loner. Having lost her mother to an unsolved hit-and-run, she and her father share a very close bond. While she knows Fletcher through school, they don’t become friends until she finds him during the search and rescue. She winds up becoming extremely protective of him and does everything she can to help him remember the horrible events of that day. The secondary characters basically serve as foils for the two main characters and don’t really add anything substantive to the story. 

While I wasn’t completely surprised at the outcome, the way the plot unfolded still kept me in suspense. There’s no romantic angst which would have taken away from the tension, and I found myself second guessing my conclusions quite a few times. There’s some passages where I found myself squirming as Fletcher’s memory starts to return, hence the aforementioned heart stomping.

When I was a teenager many, many, many years ago, one of my favorite authors was Lois Duncan and Hannah Jayne definitely reminds me of her. This isn’t a perfect book, but it’s fast-paced and at 256 pages, an easy read. I don’t wish to give away any spoilers, but it’s also an interesting look at a mental health issue in teens which isn’t dealt with a lot in YA fiction. It’s inclusion is interesting and added another layer to an already intriguing story. Overall The Escape kept me on the edge of my seat, and I have no problem recommending this to anyone who enjoys YA thrillers.

Migraine Simulation

This is a great post by Emily. The migraine simulation gives you a pretty good glimpse of what life is like for a migraineur.

More Than a Headache

I have mixed feelings about Excedrin. I’m always a little skeptical of migraine products – their use, their effectiveness, their cost. Excedrin can be a dangerous thing if misused. With the combination of medicine – 250 mg Acetaminophen, 250 mg of Aspirin and 65 mg of Caffeine, people can often take too much of this medicine. More than 2 pills in a 24 hour period is overdosing which will lead to rebound headaches. Rebound headaches often cause the sufferer to take more headache medicine creating a vicious cycle where no relief can be found without withdraw. This isn’t the company’s fault – it’s the consumers misuse.

A couple of Excedrin’s products make me raise a skeptical eye brow. They make numerous headache/migraine products. The mild headache commercial makes me cringe. My “everyday” headache is not something that Excedrin can treat. This woman’s mild headache could be banished with the loss…

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Follow You Home ~ by Mark Edwards – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Relationships, Thrillers

 I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Amazon Publishing/Thomas and Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Release Date: June 30, 2015 Synopsis ~ It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down. After a perfect start, Daniel and Laura’s travels end abruptly when they’re thrown off a night train in the middle of nowhere. To find their way back to civilization, they must hike along the tracks through a forest…a haunting journey that ends in unimaginable terror.  Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what they saw that night. But as they try to fit back into their old lives, it becomes clear that their nightmare is just beginning…

After finishing Follow You Home all I could think is why haven’t I read Mark Edwards before? This is a pulse-pounding thriller that despite being 402 pages long, transfixed me so that I finished it in two days. 

As the story opens, we’re introduced to Daniel and Laura, a couple who are ready to settle down and start a family. Before doing so they decide to splurge and embark on a grand tour of Europe. All goes well until they visit Romania. As they’re traveling on a night train they meet another young couple, Ion and Alina. Shortly thereafter their passports mysteriously go missing and they and Alina are tossed off the train by Romanian guards. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, they decide to follow the train tracks to the nearest town, but first Alina steps into the forest to relieve herself. When she fails to return Daniel and Laura desperately search for her, finally tracing her to a ramshackle house where they hear a baby crying. While something obviously horrifying happens, the story quickly segues to the couple being back in London, three months later, trying to pick up the shattered remnants of their lives. They’re both so traumatized by what’s happened that Daniel is in therapy, and Laura has moved out because she can’t look at Daniel without unwanted memories boiling to the surface. They avoid telling anyone what’s happened, so it’s a while before the reader finds out what transpired. The problem is that even though Daniel and Laura think they’re safe now, sinister events begin to unfold, and it’s soon apparent that the evil they thought they left behind in Romania has followed them home.

All too often in psychological thrillers and horror fiction, I’ve found that the main characters make some incredibly stupid decisions which make it difficult for me to emphasize with them. Through the first half of the book Mark Edwards tantalizingly lays a trail of breadcrumbs out until what happened in Romania is finally unveiled. Once it is, although mistakes were made, I found Daniel’s and Laura’s actions for the most part completely understandable. The only thing I had a little difficulty with was their decision to keep quiet, especially once they’re out of Romania and safe at home. They are both people who have always tried to do the right thing, yet when faced with unimaginable evil, discover it’s not so easy. The story is told from Daniel’s perspective for the most part, so I found myself identifying with him more than Laura who remains an enigma through the majority of the book. The secondary characters are multidimensional and intriguing, and had me constantly guessing as to their true motivations. The only thing obvious is that no one is really as they first seem.

The richly layered plot is filled with so many twists and turns that just as I thought I had everything figured out, something would happen that spun everything in the opposite direction. For a good portion of the book I felt as though I was on a runaway train and was almost afraid to discover each new revelation. Even the ending rocked me to the core! Once I finished it was apparent to me that Mark Edwards not only has the ability to get into the minds of his characters, but also those of his readers. Now I have to hunt down the rest of his books! If you enjoy high octane thrillers and psychological suspense, and writers such as Linwood Barclay and Harlan Coben I highly recommend this. It’s not a story you’ll soon forget.    

Letters to Zell ~ Camille Griep – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Fairytale Retellings, LGBTQ

 I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Amazon Publishing/47North in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 1, 2015

Synopsis ~ Have you ever wondered what happened after the perfect endings in some of the most beloved fairytales? For Zell (Rapunzel), CeCi (Cinderella), Bianca (Snow White), And Rory (Sleeping Beauty), it’s not all hearts and flowers. Each of them is struggling with a personal crisis which are all detailed through letters. Will they be able to find their “happily-ever-afters”?

At times hilarious, and at times sad this intriguing novel opens, with a crisis in Grimmland, which ultimately starts a chain reaction. Zell has moved to Oz to run a unicorn sanctuary with her husband without a word of warning to her three closest friends and book group members. While they’re initially angry, Zell’s actions cause each of her friends to re-evaluate their lives, and what they’re looking for in their own happy endings.

Under pressure to produce a royal heir, CeCi wishes only to become a world class chef.

Bianca is not only being forced to marry a man who she likes, but doesn’t love, but also to decide the method of her step-mother’s death which will take place at her wedding.

Rory is desperately trying to keep her marriage intact, despite her husband’s roving eye.

I think my favorite character is the foul-mouthed Bianca, who is torn between her duty to Grimmland and her love for Rachel, a mortal in the outside world. Bianca has a funny cynical view of the world which had me laughing out loud. She initially comes across as being somewhat bitchy, yet her letters reveal a softer side. 

CeCi is also an endearing character. She puts up with her obnoxious step-mother living in palace mainly for the sake of her two blind step-sisters who she cares for. She and Edmund (Prince Charming), adore each other yet she keeps secret her desire for a culinary career because she doesn’t think he’ll understand. 

Rory, for me is the weakest character. She out of all the characters comes across as a stereotypical goody-two-shoes Disney princess. Trapped in a loveless marriage, she eventually takes a selfish way out in complete disregard of the hurtful consequences. While I emphasize with her pain, there are so many different actions she could have taken.

Letters to Zell is slow to start but picks up the pace about fifty pages in. I think this because the back and forth nature of the letters take a little getting used to. While the worldbuilding is good, I wish a little more history was included in regards to the fairytale realms. The story unfolding through letters is clever but doesn’t always have an authentic ring to them. They mainly serve to push the story forward. What’s important to me though is that the underlying theme of pursuing your dreams and not allowing yourself to be trapped by societal conventions and other’s expectations is successfully conveyed in an imaginative and entertaining manner.

Despite it’s flaws I did enjoy this and I think if you’re a fan of fairytale retellings and authors like Gregory Maguire you should give this a try. 

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Same Sex Marriages!

A personal side to what the Supreme Court’s decision means to couples across the U.S. Congratulations Jonathan and Aaron!

I can’t believe it. I just can’t. Looking back, growing up I would have never thought that one day (in the not so far off future), same sex couples would get to marry. It was hard to imagine while living in a world filled with bigotry. But things are changing. People are spreading love and equality rather than hatred. With a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court has officially voted in favor of same sex couples. What does this mean? Well, it means that LGBT couples can now marry all across the United States. I can’t tell you how happy I am about this vote. Although Aaron and I were lucky enough to live in a state we can marry, it saddens us that others can’t share in our bliss just because of their location. As a couple, we always talk about the future, trying to see where we might end…

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Today’s The Day Love Wins!

Tags

Celebrity Quotes, George Clooney, June 26 2015, Marriage Equality in the U.S., Supreme Court Decisions

“At some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won’t be an issue, and everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black.”

~ George Clooney ~

Little Girls ~ by Ronald Malfi – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Ghost Stories, Horror, Mystery

 I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 30, 2015

Synopsis ~ When Laurie was a child there was one room in her house which she was told never to enter by her father. Now an adult, Laurie has returned to her childhood home to settle her recently deceased father’s estate. Accompanied by her husband and ten-year-old daughter, she thinks she’s ready to face the past, but it soon becomes apparent that the past is still alive. Now Laurie begins to wonder if she’s losing her mind like her father, or is there truly is some unspeakable evil at play.

Have I mentioned how much I love scary atmospheric horror, that slowly builds until a huge climax? Well I do, and Ronald Malfi is a genius with this genre. 

As the book opens, Laurie Genarro has returned to her childhood home after her father, who had Alzheimer’s, commits suicide. Once there she finds herself confronted by memories she had long since buried and when odd things start happening, including the appearance of a strangely familar and creepy little girl who befriends her daughter, Laurie needs to figure out what is real and what is imagined if she’s to have any hope of saving her family. 

That’s all I’m going to really say on the plot because if you choose to read this it’s better if you do so cold turkey.  I will say though there’s a reason why I stuck the above gif in! I know. I’m such a tease! Seriously though, Little Girls is not one of those stories where the action immediately starts on the first page. Instead, it wraps itself around you and slowly draws you in, much like a spider with it’s web. 

Laurie is a flawed yet sympathetic character who’s not only trying to deal with her emerging childhood memories, but also what is happening in the present day, as she desperately tries to uncover the truth, yet at the same time save herself and her family. Her husband is a likeable, yet not always supportive husband, and their daughter Susan is a cute and engaging child. The only problem I had with the book was that the characters were a little too predictable. 

° Haunted wife with traumatic childhood.

° Likeable but unremarkable unfaithful husband.

° Adorable child possibly in mortal peril.

° Mysterious demon-like child.

° Really frightening housekeeper whose motives are a mystery.

While I would have liked a little more originality regarding the characters, I would definitely call this a plot-driven book with plenty of plot twists that I did not see coming, including one of the most shocking endings I’ve read in a long time. If you enjoy ghost stories that develop at a slow pace, yet contain quite a few surprises, I highly recommend Little Girls. Just don’t read it right before bed.