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.

My Cramathon TBR!!!

Ok, so it someone suggested that I do a Cramathon Challenge!  There are 7 challenges to do in 4 days (Today through Friday).  I think it'll be fun so I thought I would post a Cramathon TBR (To Be Read) blog post.  Here we go!

The first challenge is to Read a Children's Book.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Dr Seuss so I picked a Dr Seuss book that I have never read before.  I chose Yertle the Turtle and I'm actually so excited to read it!

The second challenge is to Read a Hardcover Book so I picked one that was sent to me from Bloggingforbooks.com.  It is The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George.

The third challenge is to Read 2 Books in 24 hours so I think I'm going to be nice to myself and read the children's book and the novella or graphic novel (which I haven't gotten to either of those yet) in 24 hours.  I think I can handle that! Lol!

The fourth challenge is to Read a Graphic Novel.  I chose Kellie's Diary by Thomas Jenner and Angeline Perkins.  I actually don't know anything about this book.  I just went to Amazon Kindle and looked up free graphic novels.  It seemed a bit creepy but I figured that it would be something totally different than I usually read!

The fifth challenge is to Read a book written in verse.  Once again, I went to Amazon and looked up books written in verse and this one had good reviews so I picked it.  It is Elevated: Young Adult Contemporary Romance by Elana Johnson.

The sixth challenge is to read a novella.  I chose Glitch by Brenda Pandos.  This is another that I don't really know anything about but I don't own any novellas that I haven't already read so I had to get one pretty quiche so that I could do this challenge.

The seventh and final challenge is to read a total of five books and that is how many I have chosen so it works out perfect!

I am getting started with my reading right now and I'll do a follow up post when the challenge is over! If anyone else would like to join the challenge that would be great!  It doesn't have to end Friday for you, just 4 days from start to finish.  Ready, Set, READ!!!!

Her Brother's Keeper (Amish Secrets #1) by Beth Wiseman

Summary from Goodreads

Charlotte's heart has been hardened by personal tragedy, but now she has the chance to find peace in a place she didn't expect.

Charlotte Dolinsky arrives in Lancaster County with brand new Amish digs and a renewed purpose.  It doesn't take her long to fit into the close Amish community.  She might not know how to cook, sew, tend a garden, or milk a cow, but she knows how to lie.  And she is a woman on a mission - to wreak havoc on the Plain people and seek revenge for the death of her only brother.  But a quiet stranger throws a kink in her plan not long after she arrives.  As she delves deeper and deeper into what ames this handsome Amish man tick, she begins to wonder about her intentions and the direction her life is taking.

At twenty-four, Isaac Miller is still unmarried and doesn't see his status changing anytime soon. The Lord has blessed him with above-average physical attributes, but his awkward shyness keeps him from pursuing a relationship with anyone.  When Charlotte - or "Charlie" as she calls herself - arrives in Paradise, she steals his heart, and he longs to be a different man.

Can Charlie get past the resentment she feels and open her heart?  What happens when Isaac comes out of his shell, drawing attention from all the available women in the area?  Will Charlie be able to hold onto him?  And will he still want her when he learns the truth?

My Thoughts on the Book

Anyone who is a fan of Amish Fiction is sure to love this book!  It's not exactly a romance novel, though there is a little bit of romance in it, but kind of like a mystery.  Not a suspenseful type of mystery, but still a mystery...if that makes sense at all.

Once again, Amish Fiction isn't something that I would normally choose but this book was still very good.  This book is about a girl named Charlotte who is trying to find out why her brother, Ethan, took his own life almost a year ago.  Ethan had met and fell in love with an amish girl and was living in the Amish community.  Charlotte decides to pretend to be "Mary" and live in the Amish community so that she can get some answers about her brother.

When you think about the Amish community, all that they do and believe, "Mary" is pretty much the complete opposite.  She tries to fake it but isn't very good at it at all.  She doesn't understand the dialect and she doesn't even believe in God!  Even still, the Amish community welcomes her and they treat her wonderfully.  She starts to understand why her brother loved this life and the Amish community.

I don't want to say too much more because I don't want to spoil it for you!  If you enjoy reading Amish fiction or if you never have before but want to try it out then this would be a good book to read.  It's a story of love, faith, and forgiveness.  I do recommend Her Brother's Keeper to all of my book loving friends!

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

If The Shoe Fits (A Contemporary Fairy Tale) by Sandra D. Bricker

Summary from Goodreads

Julianne used to believe in fairy tales; she's been watching for Prince Charming to come charging in on his white steed ever since the day her mother read her Cinderella for the first time.  But she's never come close to finding the perfect man-instead she's always tripping over her childhood best friend, Will.  And who finds their Prince Charming on a 10-speed bicycle on the other side of the cul de sac? Well... Julianne does.  Only she doesn't have a clue.

She and Will are attorneys now, and they've joined up in private practice in a beautiful Cincinnati office building that overlooks the Ohio River.  And then one day Julianne is on her way to court, and runs right smack dab into Prince Charming.  But when she looks again, all she finds is a metaphoric sign she is certain came straight from Heaven: The Price's toolbox has fallen off the back of his truck, and a work boot along with it.  What better way for God to grab the attention of a Cinderella-in-training than to show her a glass slipper...errrr, work boot?...waiting to be reunited with its owner?

So she sets out to track down the mysterious Prince Charming.  He's the most gorgeous guy she's ever seen...and a caring animal rescuer, too.  Surely he must be the soul mate God has prepared her for.

But, Julianne"s prince is starting to look less and less charming all the time.  No matter how she tries to romantisize him, he just keeps tumbling down off that dumb pedestal.  And with the Bar Association dinner coming up that will honor her for her outstanding charity work over the year, Julianne wants so much for her friends and colleagues to see her with someone besides her best friend Will.  To make matters worse, Prince Charming has no designs on wearing a penguin suit and attending a stuffy old dinner.  With her pride pressing in on her like sticks from a cactus, Julianne sinks to the bottom of the proverbial barrel and actually offers to pay Paul to be her date.

Julianne is on a collision course with God's perfect plan for her life...if only she could open her eyes and see it before it's too late.


My Thoughts on the Book

This was such a cute book!  If the Shoe Fits is a perfect, fun, weekend read.  I love reading books that actually make me laugh out loud and not just in my head!

The characters came to life in my imagination!  It's funny how my imagination works...sometimes I picture different celebrities when I'm reading, as if it's a movie playing out in my head.  While reading this book, I was picturing Reese Witherspoon as Julianne and at one point of the book another character called her Reese Witherspoon!  I got a chuckle out of that!

When I read the description of If the Shoe Fits, I was worried that it was going to be super cliché and just annoyingly overdone but it wasn't at all!  Sandra D. Bricker brought a new, fun twist to the story and it is definitely a book that I will recommend!  It was cute, funny, and well-written and I will be reading more of her books soon!

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

Giveaway???

Would anyone be interested in a giveaway?  I have been blessed with several new books and I thought it might be nice to have a giveaway!  Let me know if you're interested!  Follow the blog and comment or send me a tweet!  I'll pick a book or two and post a giveaway blogpost soon!