Five Book Reading Wrap-Up For July 2022

Join me for my five-book reading wrap-up!
July 2022




Here is my Youtube Video





(There is an Amazon link to each book.  If you are interested in more information, click on the link.  I am an Amazon Affiliate.  If you click on the link and buy anything at all, I get a percent of the sale at no cost to you...thanks:-)


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Book 1 
"Final Act"
by Sarah Bailey
 Only On Audible Read, Narrated by Ian Bliss
Book Release Date Sept 8, 2021
Audio Book, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller
Good Reads Rating 3.36 stars out of five
My Rating is 2.5/5 stars



Overview On Audible

Pauly Johnson is a successful surgeon at a Melbourne hospital with a beautiful wife, a loving family and a memory he wishes he could erase.

One night, he takes a drive on a lonely road above a steep drop, determined to end it all, but before he can put his plan into action, a woman steps out of the darkness and into the path of his car. In an instant, her life is ended and his is saved.

Shattered by the experience, Pauly becomes obsessed with finding out who she was and why she wanted to kill herself. But he soon finds that the answers lie shockingly close to home....

Please note: contains references to suicide and listener discretion is advised.  

Quote
I don't have a favorite quote.

My Thoughts After I Read the Book

The main character is Pauly, a surgeon and a less then moral family man.  Pauly is depressed and decides to end his life.  His well-planned out demise was interrupted by a young woman, Zoe, who physically gets in his way, and she ends up dying rather than Pauly.  Now he wants to know more about her and spends his time seeking to find out why she would do this.

I was not crazy about Pauly. He is not the best example of a family man.  I really did not connect with anyone in the book.  It was interesting, so I did finish the listen because I wanted to know the outcome of the story.

An interesting story, although a bit confusing at times.  Not one of my favorites but a fairly good read.



Book Trailer/Movie
I could not find anything on a book or movie related to this book


The 5-star and 1-star reviews I found on Good Reads.

5 Star Review-Something a bit different from Sarah Bailey and I really enjoyed it. A fast paced and twisty story that really kept me guessing.

1 Star Review-DNF at 80%. So why stop when you’re almost to the finish line? Because I don’t care. Every character in this is unlikable and unsympathetic. I can deal with that - I have read many books with disposable characters. But throw in a meandering and boring story where you just repeat the same, slightly altered inner monologue. Yawn. It’s just a pass - I have no interest in how this story ends.

Me-I agree with the 5-star review in that it is a twisty story.  I also agree with the one-star review that the characters were unlikable and unsympathetic; I did not connect with any of them.  This is why I gave it a 2.5

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Book 2
"Unmissing"
by Minka Kent
I listened to this one on Audible
Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Audio Book
4.09 stars on Goodreads out of 5stars
I give this book 3.5/5



The Amazon link is below. Just click the photo.

 



Overview From Good Reads
A return from the past knocks a family dangerously off-balance in a novel of spiraling suspense by Washington Post and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Minka Kent.

Merritt Coletto and her husband, Luca, have the life they dreamed of: a coastal home, a promising future, and a growing family. That dream ends with a late-night knock on the door.

Weak, broken, and emaciated, it’s Luca’s first wife, Lydia. Missing for ten years, presumed dead, and very much alive, she has quite a story. Her kidnapping. A torturous confinement that should’ve ended with her dead. And finally, escape. Racked with guilt over the beautiful life they’ve built, Merritt and Luca agree to help get Lydia back on her feet—it’s the least they can do.

But the more enmeshed Lydia becomes in Merritt’s family, the more questions Merritt has. What is it about Lydia that’s especially unnerving? Why hasn’t she gone to the police with her harrowing tale? What does she really want of them? The answers, when they come, are terrifying.

Because Lydia isn’t the only one with secrets.
  
Quote 
“I realized then that it didn’t matter how strong a person was, how resistant they were to criticism and judgment—life could still wear a person down if they weren’t in their own driver’s seat.” 

My Thoughts After Reading the Book
I listened to this one on Audible.  It was a good listen.  There are twists that I did not see coming.  In a nutshell, without giving anything away, West was married to Lydia, and early in the marriage, Lydia goes missing.  Lydia has been missing for 10 years, and in that time, West has remarried and created a very good life for himself.  West married Merritt, and they have one child and one on the way.  Their seemly perfect life is interrupted when there is a knock on the door and Lydia has returned.



Movie/Book Trailer
I could not find anything on a movie or book trailer for this book.


5-star and 1-star reviews I found on Goodreads.


5-Star Review-I love, love, loved Unmissing by Minka Kent. Excellent read. Interesting character development, the plot twists were amazing, unexpected, and well balanced. I loved how fast paced the story was, ... sucked me in, kept me interested, and left me wanting more each time I had to put the book down. Unmissing just delivered. 5 🌟!! I highly recommend!

1-Star Review-Slow, boring, and everybody's an evil psycho. No thanks.

 Me-Here I am in the middle again.  I do agree that many in the book were "evil psycho's" but I also agree that the book kept me engaged and interested.  
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Book 3
"Liesl & Po"
by Lauren Oliver
Fantasy, Middle Grade, Ghosts, Fiction, Magic
3.85 stars on Goodreads out of 5 stars
I gave this book a 4/5


Click the photo below to go to Amazon
 



Book overview as found on GoodReads
Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice,until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.

That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places.
 
Book Quote

“Love can open like a flower out of even the hardest places.” 
― Lauren oliver, Liesl & Po


My Thoughts After Reading the Book
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  This book takes you on a journey to a different time and place.  It is a touching book about the life of young Leisl and the friends she meets along the way, one of which is a ghost.  This is the story of how Liesl escapes her evil stepmother as she attempts to fulfill one goal that is very important to her.  She has some help along the way and also roadblocks.  Great character development. The illustrations in the book are lovely. A very sweet story that I am proud to have on my books shelf
Book Trailer or Movie

I could not find anything on a movie.


A Five and One Star Review as Found on Good Reads

Five Star Review-Words can not describe how utterly heart-warming, how completely enchanted and how truly ineffably happy Liesl & Po made me feel. Out of all the children's fairytales I have read in my youth and my adulthood, this modern tale really was an absolute joy to read. The prose is breathtakingly beautiful and absolutely delightful. The characters are exceedingly loveable; instant classics. The story itself is simple enough, though layered with deep and rich lessons about love and loss. I am truly enamored with this tale and upon finishing, I find myself wishing it was a series of books; that I could remain inside this world for longer...even though I know the story has ended.

One Star Review- "As badly as I wanted to like this book and I desperately tried to focus and grasp on to the storyline. Unfortunately, this book was not my cup of tea. I'm sorry I really tried to like it but I just could not wrap the story around my head. I felt like it was all over the place. Sorry.

Me-I agree more with the 5-star review.  It is a very good read!
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Book 4
"Mary: An Awakening of Terror"
by Nat Cassidy
Horror, Fiction, Adult, Thriller
4.05 stars on GoodReads out of 5 stars.
I gave this one 4/5 stars.




Amazon Link Below, just click on the photo...
 

Description as Found on GoodReads,
Mary is a quiet, middle-aged woman doing her best to blend into the background. Unremarkable. Invisible. Unknown even to herself.

But lately, things have been changing inside Mary. Along with the hot flashes and body aches, she can’t look in a mirror without passing out, and the voices in her head have been urging her to do unspeakable things.

Fired from her job in New York, she moves back to her hometown, hoping to reconnect with her past and inner self. Instead, visions of terrifying, mutilated specters overwhelm her with increasing regularity and she begins auto-writing strange thoughts and phrases. Mary discovers that these experiences are echoes of an infamous serial killer. 

Then the killings begin again.

Mary’s definitely going to find herself.

A Quote 
I don't have a favorite quote. 

My Thoughts After Reading the Book
Mmmm, this is a tough one, but I will try.  I think what attracted me to this book was the cover.  A woman is relaxing in a bathtub with a glass of wine and a book.  But if you look carefully at the cover, a hand is coming out of the water reaching for the woman's arm...yikes!

I can relate to the hot flashes of menopause and the body aches but not the other symptoms Mary has been experiencing, thank goodness.  

I will use a few descriptive words to describe what I found in this book..hot flashes, confusion, insanity, violence against women, ants, craw spaces, blood, flight of ideas, voices, cultish, pillowcases, and the "crazy" list goes on.

I listened to the book on Audible.  The narrator was terrific.  The book length was 15 hours and 30 minutes.  I listened to 12 hours of this book, and I had to stop.  I could handle the violence up to this point, but then something was about to happen, and all I could feel was dread, so I could not continue.  It could be that Mary wakes up from this horrible nightmare to find it all a dream, but I could not take the chance just in case the worse was about to happen, and I closed the book.


Book Trailer/Movie

I could not find a book trailer or anything about a movie on this book.


A Five Star and A-One Star Review as Found on GoodReads


The Five Star ReviewThis novel is creepy, bloody & violent, and a bit all over the place––but in the best way possible. Mary is a captivating main character and I loved being on the journey with her in figuring out what the hell was going on. The atmosphere and small town desert vibes were immaculate. 


The One-Star Review-I was hoping for this to scare me, but I was mostly bored. The story goes on for what seems like forever and the audio narrator is awful. So robotic. I was hoping it might work as a juxtaposition with the graphic descriptions of gore but it did the text no favors. I’m wondering if I would’ve liked it more if I read it rather than listened, but I’ll never know because I have no plans to revisit this fragmented novel. 
tw: blood, gore, murder

Me- I decided to give this book a 4/5.  I was invested in the storyline and still wanted to know what happened, but I just could not handle where the storyline was seemingly headed. I agree more with the 5-star review.
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Book 5 
"The Ghost and Mrs. McClure"
(Haunted Bookshop Mystery #1)
by Alice Kimberly
Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
3.80 out of 5 stars on Good Reads
I give this book 3.5/5



Click on the photo below to go to amazon.
 

Book Description found on GoodReads.
Penelope Thornton-McClure manages a Rhode Island bookshop rumored to be haunted. When a bestselling author drops dead signing books, the first clue of foul play comes from the store's full-time ghost - a PI murdered on the very spot more than fifty years ago.

Quote
I don't have a quote.

My thoughts after reading the book
I listened to this book on Audible.  I enjoyed the listen.  The book store owner faces the death and the possible murder of an author speaking at her book store.  The mission now is to find the killer with the help of a ghost murdered in the same building years before.  


Book Trailer
I could not find a book trailer or movie info on this book.


A Five and One Star Review as Found on Amazon
A Five-Star Review- I think Jack Shepard must be the world‘s sexiest ghost. A rough and tough ghost murdered in the 1940’s, he comes through to save the day and the bookstore. The writing was witty and fresh and I actually laughed out loud a few times. 

One-Star Review-Could only get through half this book. It was an audible book and had two narrators. The ghost was an old PI from the 1940 and I couldn’t stand his voice. He sounded like that old tv show Dragnet. Also I didn’t like that he watched the women undress to take a shower.

Me- I do agree more with the 5-star review.  Yes, Jack was a bit crass at times, as per the one-star review, and he did remind me of the detectives from the old TV shows, but there was still something oddly likable about him. Overall an enjoyable read.
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I would love to know what you are reading. Have you read any of the above books? Did you enjoy them? Please drop me a note in the comment box.

Take care, and happy reading!

KathieyV:-

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