The Bones Will Speak by Carrie Stuart Parks (Gwen Marcey #2)

Goodreads Summary

Forensic artist Gwen Marcey has become the target of a serial killer who believes he's been appointed God's executioner.

In Copper Creek, Montana, Gwen Marcey is struggling to put together her life after cancer and divorce. When her dog retrieves a skull of a murder victim and leads her to the victim's grave, Gwen uses her forensic art ability to identify a serial killer. She is horrified to discover all the victims look like her fourteen-year-old daughter.

The murderer is a "lone wolf," a member of the terrorist group Phineas Priesthood-and he has a score to settle with Gwen. Unraveling the tangled Christian Identity movement, where race-not grace-provides salvation, Gwen is in a frantic rush against time. She must use all her skills to uncover the killer before he can carry out his threat to destroy her and everyone she loves.

My Thoughts on the Book

If you like watching Criminal Minds then you'll probably love this book!  Seriously, it was like watching an episode of Criminal Minds, CSI, or something like that, except without any bad language or inappropriateness.

This is actually book 2, which I didn't realize until after I started this book, but it didn't seem to make a difference. It could have been a stand alone and be equally as good.  I had a little trouble getting into the book at first, although I think it was just me and my overwhelmed mind at the time, but after the first few chapters I was hooked.

The Bones Will Speak is the first book that I have read by Carrie Stuart Parks.  I enjoyed her writing style and the fact that she is actually a forensic artist shows.  Her knowledge of it makes the book even more believable.  I really hope Carrie Stuart Parks writes another book and continues the series.  I will definitely pick it up if she does and I highly recommend reading The Bones Will Speak!

*Note: I received a copy of this book from BookLookBloggers.com in exchange for my honest review.

The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

Summary From Goodreads

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate.  For fans of Moira Young's Dust Land series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida.  The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is - although he doesn't know it - one of the MC's programmed assassins.  Is their meeting a coincidence?  Destiny?  Or part of a terrifying strategy?  And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.


My Thoughts on the Book

Ok, I finished this book earlier this month but I needed a little time to really figure out what I thought of it.  I have come to the conclusion that I do like it.  I wasn't sure if I loved it as much as I loved The Hunger Games or Divergent but I the more I think back on it the more I really like it!

If you want to read something with a lot of blood and gore...this is the book for you!  It's a YA Dystopian book but it is really mature in the blood and gore category.  I have heard a lot of opinions on this book, both good and bad, but I enjoyed it enough to finish it in just a few days even with a packed schedule.

The Murder Complex is written in dual POV's. Meadow and Zephyr, which I sometimes enjoy and sometimes can do without.  I think I would have preferred just reading from Meadows POV but I'm not sure because there were times that it seemed important to hear from Zephyr's POV.  There were several plot twists, some that I kind of expected and some that were total surprises!  The end of the book was definitely left wide open making you crave the second book so that you can find out what happens next.

I will definitely be reading the next book, The Death Code, (I actually already purchased it) and I recommend The Murder Complex to anyone who enjoys YA Dystopian books (and plenty of blood and gore).  Well done, Lindsay Cummings, well done.

Rise and Shine by Sandra D. Bricker

Summary from Goodreads

Shannon Malone thought she’d found her happy ending when she married Edmund Ridgeway, but a diving accident on their honeymoon left her in a coma. Waking up to the news that she’s thirty years old would have been daunting enough . . . but she also learns that Edmund has lost his interim battle with cancer and the world has marched on without her. Her gorgeous doctor, Daniel Petros, seems to know everything about her and becomes Shannon’s tour guide into a whole new world of madness where reality television has taken over the planet and everyone’s life appears to revolve around a tiny screen on their cell phones!

As Shannon struggles to navigate through the changes—both in the world and in her—she also must discern real memories from imagined ones. Did she really ever wear capris pants and entertain in her living room, or was that Laura Petrie from her favorite classic TV show' And where is her beloved dog, Freeway' Oh, wait! That was Jonathan and Jennifer Hart’s dog, not hers.

Shannon’s three elderly aunts flit through her life in true Sleeping Beauty style with her well-being always a priority. And Edmund’s sister Millicent descends like the Evil Queen she is, trying to extract Shannon from any claim on the Ridgeway family fortune. When a tornado moves through town and Shannon is knocked unconscious, will Daniel’s kiss awaken her once and for all’

My Thoughts on the Book

This is the second book that I have read by Sandra D. Bricker and I’m guessing that it will not be my last!  I think I liked this one even better than the last one I read!  Rise and Shine is such a delightful read!

The characters in this book are wonderfully developed and lovable.  They all seem so real and I found myself (once again) wanting to actually know them.  This, to me, is a sign of a good, well-written book!

Edmund was such a great character and it is heartbreaking when Shannon finds out about his death.  I can’t imagine waking up and, along with all of the other MANY changes in the world, the love of my life is no longer alive!  But it was honestly very well written.  Then Daniel comes into the picture and the storyline becomes even more beautiful.

This book is so enjoyable, funny, smart, and it really touches your heart.  The little bits and pieces of fairytales are perfect and the christian/faith touches are truly wonderful.  This book is certainly in my list of recommendations!

*Note: I received a copy of this book from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

Summary from Goodreads

"There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred.  There are even remedies-I mean books-that were written for one person only... A book is both medic and medicine at once.  It makes a diagnoses as well as offering therapy.  Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments: that's how I sell books."

Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary.  From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life.  Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal through literature is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared.  She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.

After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story.  Joined by a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu travels along the country's rivers, dispensing wisdom and his books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself.

Internationally bestselling and filled with warmth and adventure, The Little Paris Bookshop is a love letter to books, meant for anyone who believes in the power of stories to shape people's lives.

My Thoughts on the Book

It took me absolutely forever to read this book.  I can't remember the last time I took this long on one book.  I just couldn't seem to get into it! There were so many 5 star reviews so I was surprised that I just couldn't get with it.  I'm really disappointed...I so wanted to love this book.

The description of this book is absolutely lovely.  The owner of the bookshop "prescribes" books like a doctor prescribes medicine.  As a book lover, I was so enchanted by the very thought.  When the book arrived at my house I was like a kid at Christmas!

The beginning of the book seemed wonderful and I thought that I would be in heave but then the more I read, the more uninterested I became.  I couldn't connect with any of the characters, the storyline about the books "healing" people had already faded away, and I found myself becoming bored and kind of annoyed.  It no longer felt like the book that I had read so much about.  So very disappointing.

I kept on reading, even though I really wanted to quit this book.  I rarely quit a book before finishing, but man...I really wanted to!  I actually started counting down the pages just wanting to be done with it.  Once again, so disappointing.

I'm not saying that this was a horrible book.  It just wasn't a good fit for me.  Obviously, with all of the 4 and 5 star reviews, some find this book to be wonderful.  I just couldn't connect with it.  And that really makes me so sad!  I desperately wanted to love this book!

*Note: I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.