Into the Suffering City by Bill LeFurgy

Summary

Baltimore, 1909. The city is jumping with danger and excitement. New thrills are everywhere: cars, cocaine, ragtime music, moving pictures. Old troubles also thrive, including murder, corruption, and the painful divisions of gender, class, and race.

Dr. Sarah Kennecott is on the autism spectrum—a trait that is unidentified and unappreciated at the time. Her passion is justice for murder victims, and after getting fired for looking too closely into the killing of a showgirl, she refuses to back down from the investigation. Sarah forms an unlikely bond with Jack Harden, a tormented, down-on-his-luck private detective. Jack pushes the case into Baltimore’s seedy underworld, a vitally corrupt realm of saloons, brothels, and burlesque theaters.

When Sarah and Jack pull the pieces together, they discover a stunning pair of secrets, each of which is worth killing to keep.

"Into the Suffering City" is a fast-paced, emotionally immersive story that combines originality and historical detail to explore the lives of people living in Baltimore during the early 1900s.

My Thoughts

Definitely a book worth picking up!  I enjoyed learning about Historical Baltimore just about as much as I enjoyed the actual storyline!  Once again, this is a book that I may not have picked up on my own but I'm so glad that I was given the opportunity to read it.

Sarah is great!  Jack is ok, Lol!  He's not my favorite but he's alright.  I will say, it took me a bit to finally get into the story.  You have to give it time.  It's not the kind of book that you fall into instantly.  Still good though!  I recommend reading this book!

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

Flight of the Spark by Evelyn Puerto

 

Summary

Duty. Desire. Destiny.

How far would you go to be safe... to be free...to be loved?


Iskra doesn't question the rules. The rules are there to keep her safe from those who are deemed unsafe or unfair. Anyone who breaks the rules is taken, never to be heard from again. But that's the price everyone gladly pays for peace and safety. And no one wants to live like the Riskers--barbarians who reject order and justice, and could kill or be killed at any moment.


When a friend is taken because of Iskra, the guilt forces her to do the unthinkable: seek out the Riskers. Iskra's quest to save her friend quickly entangles her fate with a cryptic prophecy and a young Risker named Xico, who ensnares her heart and is willing to put it all on the line to win her.


With every risk Iskra takes, the closer she gets to true freedom. But every choice carries a consequence. The choices she makes set events she never imagined into motion, and the price of her freedom could very well be her life and the life of the man she loves.

My Thoughts

I haven't read a dystopian book in quite a while.  I guess I just haven't been in the mood for that genre.  So, when I picked this book up I was, as bad as I hate to admit it, dreading it.  Well, I soon realized that there was no need to dread!

I highly enjoyed this book and had a really hard time putting it down to get my work done.  I was so into it!  That is the sign of a good book!

I do have to say, while I understand the reason for the way this book ended, I did not like the ending!  I wasn't expecting it to be so abrupt!  And, like I said, I get it....but I don't have to like it! Lol!

If you enjoy dystopian books at all, you definitely need to pick this one up!  So good!

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

Y, Bo Go Up, and Cat Egg by Larry Baum

Y

Summary

The first in the Bo Books series, using very short words in order to make it easier for children to learn how to read. "Y" uses only one-letter "words", "Bo, Go Up!" uses words no longer than two letters, and "Cat Egg" uses words no longer than three letters.

"Y" is about a little girl who asks her dad why the sky is blue and the grass is green. He doesn't know and gets frustrated, but she opens his eyes, literally and figuratively.

Bo Go Up

Summary

The second in the Bo Books series, using very short words in order to make it easier for children to learn how to read. "Y" uses only one-letter "words", "BO, GO UP!" uses words no longer than two letters, and "Cat Egg" uses words no longer than three letters.

In "Bo, Go Up!", two friends play with a ball until the ad on one of their t-shirts leads them to a hot air balloon ride.

Cat Egg

Summary

The third in the Bo Books series, using very short words in order to make it easier for children to learn how to read. "Y" uses only one-letter "words", "BO, GO UP!" uses words no longer than two letters, and "Cat Egg" uses words no longer than three letters. Three friends in "Cat Egg" play with a pet cat, which surprises them by appearing to have laid an egg.

My Thoughts

I read these books to my kindergarten class last school year but I forgot to post about them!
They are cute little stories that my class enjoyed.  The best part is that they were able to read them by themselves later!

Note: I received copies of these books in exchange for an honest review.

What's the Worst That Could Happen by Yewande Daniel-Ayoade

Summary

What’s the worst that could happen? Easy for grandma to say. But Kayla could only imagine the worst-case scenarios as she tried to make friends at her new school. Will Kayla overcome her fear of rejection? Or will an overactive imagination get in the way?

'What's the Worst that Could Happen?' tackles the subject of social anxiety in children with a deft, yet gentle hand. Children with social anxiety will find Kayla very relatable. Adults that struggled with shyness as children will also see themselves reflected in this book.

My Thoughts

I read this book to my class and they certainly enjoyed it!  A cute book with a good message!

*Note: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Today's Book Highlights!

Today I'm going to post a little book highlight.  I have been getting so many books to review and I'm getting quite behind!  I went through all of the books on my review tbr list and made some hard choices.  I decided to do a highlight post for some of the books instead of doing a review.  See, sometimes I receive books that aren't exactly ones that I would have chosen for myself.  And, in the past, I have even accepted books for review that I wouldn't typically choose because I just didn't want to say no.  The problem with that is that if I read the book and didn't enjoy it, simply because it wasn't my kind of book, I would not post the best review.  That is unfair to the author.  So, I have decided that I am going to be a lot more picky with the books I accept and with the books I already have I will choose which ones to read and review and which ones to post a highlight about.

So..... Time for today's highlights!

Rising Tide by Lynn Steigleder

Summary

Rising Tide depicts a world in which land is at a premium due to the advancing sea, where man’s attempt to adapt has led to a decay of morals into survival of the fittest. In the midst of the ocean, a crew of racketeers rescues a stranded diver, Ben Adams. Is the rescue just a fortunate coincidence for Ben, or has he been led to this rendezvous with fate for a common goal? A mysterious island inhabited by a primitive yet advanced race of people. A devious ship captain’s metamorphosis into the essence of evil and a ship’s container discovered by itself in a billion square miles of ocean all play a role in this tale of rebirth for a world corrupted by the collapse of morality.

Mission From Venus by Susan Plunket

Summary

The dark side has infiltrated many governments and much of the world of finance. The mission from Venus threatens their planned takeover of Earth. Failing a takeover, the dark lords will cause the planet's destruction through nuclear war, to prevent Earth from ascending to the fourth dimension on the path of light. The volunteer wanderers are all that stand in the way.

Why Didn't I Notice Her Before by Beth Cramer

Summary

In the fall of 2017, Beth Cramer went to a doctor for heartburn and came home with seven samples of Prilosec and stage 4 ovarian cancer. Over the next several months Cramer was in and out of hospitals and doctors’ offices with her three fearless sisters, parents, husband and son by her side. However, it was through her diagnosis and impending death that she was finally set free from an obsession and debilitating regret that had defined nearly a quarter of her life. Who would have thought that the journey towards purpose and peace would be achieved through the teachings of cancer?

Irreverent, painfully honest and often hilarious, Why Didn’t I Notice Her Before? Is a beautifully observed memoir that finds courage and humor in the face of undefeatable odds. It questions the importance of regret and life choices, and it explores motherhood, marriage, friendship, and family while examining the elusive questions we all grapple with. Why me? What am I living for? And who can I negotiate with to make my life and legacy more meaningful than driving a carpool?