Vigilante, by Claude Bouchard

A serial killer is stalking Montreal during the summer of 1996.  But most people show little concern for stopping him.  The reason is, this killer only kills the bad guys.  Criminals, deadbeat, pimps, punks, rapists, drug dealers, that is who this vigilante killer is after.  And while at times the police force feel these lowlifes get justice, they must find the person responsible for these killings.  When the cops team up with a high tech computer security firm, several interesting suspects are brought to light.

I have to say, this is probably the best mystery/thriller book I have ever read, and I am now hungry for more books in this series!  First off, I will say the character development was superb.  There are several main characters involved in the storyline, and each one is developed in their own time and pacing, as is relevant to the story.  I felt like I really knew the characters well, and was certain I had the mystery solved.

The mystery aspect of the plot is so incredibly well written.  There are, like any good mystery, some red herrings thrown in, and done so skillfully that I was completely duped, thinking I was so smart for figuring out so early into the story who the killer actually was.  The ending, and the reveal of the killer's identity hit me like a ton of bricks, as I never expected it.  The last sentence of the book made me shiver with delight.

If more mysteries were this well written, I could become a full time mystery reader.  Absolutely fabulous story, one that had me up in the middle of the night reading, just to find out if my hunch was true.


I received a review copy of this book from the author.

Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

His whole childhood, Jacob heard his grandfather tell tales of the incredibly peculiar children with whom he grew up.  The older Jacob gets, though, the more he thinks his grandfather's tales are nothing more than make believe.  But, when his grandfather speaks a few cryptic words before he dies, Jacob is determined to learn the mysteries of his grandfather's youth.  He ends up on a creepy island, learning the startling truth of his grandfather's life/

What an incredibly imaginative book this is; I absolutely loved it.  First off, the story is so completely imaginative.  The plot is so different from most of the books out there.  The book is dark, and rich, and I just could not put it down.  One of my favorite parts of the book was the accompanying pictures.  It felt as though Riggs had taken a collection of odd photos, and wove them into an incredible story.

I though the characters were really well developed and thought out.  The characters were complex, from Jacob to the peculiar children.  I loved seeing all the different relationships unfold, and more than once found myself surprised about the revelations about some of the characters.

While the story is aimed at young adult readers, the story is complex enough to entertain and thrill adult readers.  For me, it felt much like the Lemony Snicket books, for an older audience.  The story ends in such a way that makes me hope there will be a sequel.



 I received a review copy of this book as part of the Amazon Vine program.

Bumped, by Megan Mccafferty

The world has changed ever since a virus struck, rendering adults infertile, meaning teenagers are the only ones able to reproduce.  Suddenly, girls start getting pregnant for money, and signing fertility contracts.  For twin sisters Melody and Harmony, this means life will be forever changed for one of them.  But it might not be the one everyone is expecting.  Is it a mere case of mistaken identity, or divine intervention?

Sigh.  It is always difficult to write an unfavorable review of a wildly popular book.  Such is the case for me with this book.  This is a book written for young adults, and even with that audience in mind, I found this book to be incredibly sophomoric.  The use of ridiculous futuristic slang and shallow, stereotypical characters were just a couple of my complaints with this book.

While I thought the concept of the story was good, I thought the execution was a little lackluster.  There could have been so much more done with a storyline involving global adult infertility.  Instead, it reinforced the idea that teenagers were silly, and petty, and if they really are our future then we are all doomed.  I also hate books the force preposterous visions of the future on the readers.  However, I do fully recognize that had someone written about Twitter, Facebook, or blogging in a book published in the 40s it would also have seemed ridiculous, yet here we are.

In short, if you are looking for a light easy read, whether an adult or young adult, this is an ok book, but really, I think there are much betters out there.  I know this review may make me highly unpopular among young adult fiction lovers, and I fully recognize that this book has been getting rave reviews.  Mine just is not one of them.



I received a review copy of this book as part of the Amazon Vine program.

Goodnight Tweetheart, by Teresa Medeiros

Abigail is a writer, trying hard to keep from becoming a one hit wonder.  Her publicist signs her up for Twitter, in the hopes that Abigail will be able to read more readers.  Instead, Abigail meets Mark, a man with whom she begins an online relationship.  But, as with so many online meetings, things are not exactly as Mark described.  What secrets is he hiding, and how will Abigail respond?

I am so glad that this book came out now, as opposed to a couple of years ago.  I used to think Twitter was the stupidest thing ever invented, so had I encountered this book back in those days, I would not have been interested.  But as a reformed Twitterphile, this book came to me at the perfect time, and actually stoked the fires of my Twitter love.

I adored the characters of Abigail and Mark, and it was so fun to watch their romance blossom.  As someone who found true love online, I was reminded of so many fun moments, hard moments, and butterfly in the tummy moments that happened much like they did in the book.

I actually think  the premise of the book is quite clever, and I love that much of what we read is the tweet conversations between the two characters.  It gives a nice voyeuristic feel that so many fans of social media find comforting, and really draws you in to the story.

Fans of romance will love this book, it is such a sweet romantic story.  And those who, like me, love social media will probably like the unique premise of the book.  It is pretty tame, so it would even be suitable for high school aged readers, who are much more likely to be tech savvy.

I received a touring copy of this book from Crazy Book Tours.

Lilly's Wedding Quilt, by Kelly Long

Lilly has always been in love with Jacob, but never did she think she would end up married to him, yet that is exactly what happened.  She wonders if she is merely settling, or is it actually the will of God.  She works hard to keep her heart protected, but finds herself falling  in love with a husband she never expected to have, but fears what will happen if he never feels the same.

While not all books of Amish fiction work, this one really does.  I absolutely loved this story, and while the setting and characters are clearly Amish, the heart of the story is romance, and it is so universal that all readers can relate.

I really liked the characters of Lilly and Jacob, and thought it was wonderful watching their story unfold.  It felt like a privilege to be a part of their world and their story.  I can clearly see that there is a large cast of characters within this world, and I love getting glimpses of their stories, and wondering about where these stories might lead.

This is the second novel in the Patch of Heaven series, yet this book is a wonderful stand alone book.  While it helps to have read the first book in the series, it is not necessary for the full enjoyment of this story.



I received a review copy of this book courtesy of the Amazon Vine program.

Learn Something Every Day, by Young

Who does not love learning little bits of trivia?  What if you could learn a new fact for every day of the year?  What color was Elvis' hair naturally, and was he an only child?  What did a bigwig at Crayola confess upon retirement?  All kinds of amusing, and at times outrageous, facts are contained in this illustrated book.

I thought this book was just so cool.  I am a sucker for trivia and unusual facts, so this book was right up my alley.  The pages are brightly colored, and each page is accompanied by a really cute illustration, so it was really fun to read.

Even though this book is not all that long and does not contain all that much text, I still was not able to sit down and read it all at once.  I think I started to suffer from fact overload.  I read it over the course of a few days.  For those apt to read in the bathroom, whether in the tub or otherwise indisposed, this makes great reading, because, well, like I said, it is fun.

One thing I will say, some of the facts in the book made me want to go do research, because they were so unusual or hard to believe.  Which is not necessarily a bad thing, it will get people reading more about those topics.

So all in all, a cute little novelty book that anyone would enjoy.


I received a review copy of the book courtesy of the publisher.

Kiss Me, Stranger, by Rob Tanner

No name is ever given for the country in which she resides, nor is her name ever revealed,  but the narrator of this story talks about her life as a mother and wife in a time when it seems the world is going to end.  Turmoil is the state in which they live.  Her husband and son have gone off to fight, but who knows which side they are fighting for, or which side is the right side.  Will this family ever feel normal again?

I have never been one to read much, ok, any, dystopian fiction, so I am not sure if this book is representative of the genre.  What I am sure of is that this book is totally bizarre, and in my opinion defies most rules of writing.  The setting is never really set, the characters are never really developed, and the plot only sort of exists.

The book is described as an illustrated novel, and I find this to be a grave misnomer.  The illustrations look like childish scribbles, and do not really add anything to the experience of the book.  It reads more like a stream of consciousness exercise than an actual novel, though there is at least some resolution at the end of the book.

I think maybe I just did not "get" this book, because it has a lot of great reviews out there.  But to me, it seemed as if this book was just trying too hard to be bold and artistic, to make a statement.  The only statement I got from this book was "you get what you pay for", since I got it as a free download.


This book is from my personal library.