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Showing posts from June, 2018

Book Review: The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

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The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a historical fiction novel that spans many years and tells of the friendship between former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. I don't know if I would have picked up this book if it hadn't been the August selection for one of the book clubs I belong to in my area because I don't read a lot of historical fiction. However, I am so glad that I read it and was able to learn many things I hadn't learned about in any of my history classes.  I don't recall learning anything about Mary McLeod Bethune, and she is an important part of American history. The things she helped spearhead to provide African American people equal rights is quite impressive. One of the things I was horrified to learn about is Franklin D. Roosevelt's resistance to stop lynchings because he was afraid of losing the Southern Democrats backing for his New Deal Bill. Another thing that I fo...

Book Review: Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

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While on their way home from Paris, France, Finn and Layla stop at a rest area. When Finn comes back to the car, Layla has disappeared without a trace. Fast forward ten years, Finn has fallen in love and is living with Layla's sister Ellen. With Finn's and Ellen's impending nuptials right around the corner, Finn receives a phone call that someone has seen Layla. On top of that, he's receiving sinister emails and items left at his house from Layla's and Ellen's childhood. Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris captured my attention from page one, and I had trouble putting it down. If I hadn't been so sleepy, I would have stayed up all night long to finish it. Even though clues were dropped throughout the book, I was totally shocked when I got to the end. Every guess I made was wrong, which doesn't happen to me often. Even the artwork on the cover is a bit of a clue, even though I didn't realize what it was until I finished. (I loved everything about the ...

Book Review: Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake, #2) by Rachel Caine

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After escaping prison in Missouri, serial killer Melvin Royal is playing a cat and mouse game with his ex-wife Gwen Proctor and their kids.  With Lanny and Connor in the protection of friends, Gwen and Sam Cade are hunting Melvin so they can end the game once and for all. Rachel Caine proved that sequels are not inferior to the original with Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake, #2) . Where do I begin? The book picks up almost immediately where Stillhouse Lake left off, so it's probably in your best interest to read the books in order.  When I saw that it was being told from the perspective of several characters instead of just Gwen's perspective, I wasn't sure I'd like the book as well as the first one. However, it worked well, and it gave me better insight into what made all of the characters tick. The only downside was that I was in such a hurry to finish Killman Creek that I often didn't pay close enough attention to when it switched perspectives, and it lef...