amanda_readingnwritinglife's Reviews (180)

Kept me guessing.   I had theory after theory about this book, and I was right in a few of them, but not all.  I like the unreliable narrator and how we were never quite certain if she knew what was going on and who she even was at times.  Blurring the line between reality and hallucinations or imagination was a good technique for keeping me guessing and on my toes.  I like Alex and how she tells this story and I thought the characters surrounding her were really well done.  I recommend this for anyone who likes that kind of thriller.  

 I hope that this means 2023 is going to be a great reading year because I kicked off the year with a 5 star read!! I own a few books by Lisa J, but I'd never read any of them and this one was randomly chosen for me (from my TBR game), so it randomly became my first read of 2023, and I could not be more pleased.

We have three different timelines told by three different women and they all come together and converge at just the perfect moment. I thought the pacing was great in here. Also, the look at all the different relationships that these women experienced from parental to romantic and all the friendships in between was just so well done. I really enjoyed this book and could not put it down once I hit the halfway mark (which is why I finished it so quickly!) :) Here's to many more Lisa J books for me and to many more great reads in 2023! Happy New Year! 

 This was an eye-opening read, and the subtitle says it covers from 1890 to present. However, the book actually covers way more years than that. This book gives a wonderful overview of North America and what it looked like pre-Columbus and what it's like now to be "Indian" specifically in America. We read about treaties that were made and broken. Discussions that were had and ignored. Betrayals and defeats and under it all, a sense of survival blossoming. A shared history and spirit of hope and strength that is ever present in the descendants of the original inhabitants of North America. 

 I didn't really know what to expect from this book. I mean, clearly the main character was going to be the daughter of a pirate. But I don't like to know specifics about books before I start. I was pleasantly surprised by this. We meet the daughter at the beginning as she's getting taken prisoner from a different pirate ship. We find out lots of info about her father and about what she's doing there as well as what the other pirates are all looking for. Things don't seem to go the way she wants them to, but it didn't feel forced or stretched out to make it longer. I was actually looking forward to reading more when this one ended. It's not really a cliff hanger, but it did leave me wanting to know more and what is going to happen next. A really good, solid read. 

  I liked a lot about this book, but there were other things that I didn't like so much about it. I loved the overall military actions and the stuff that went along with most of military life. Our family is in the military and so a lot of it felt really true to my experiences. However, the main character was very obsessed with women and they seemed to be the only reason he was okay with fighting in a war. Some long-lost genetic thing inside him that made him only want to fight for that reason. We also spent a really long time remembering lectures he had heard in a class he said he hated. The author spent a lot of time saying that the problem with our world right now is that we don't spank/whip/punish children enough when they're young, so they become criminals when they reach adulthood. He likened it to punishing a puppy for having an accident in the house "he doesn't know better, so you have to rub his nose in it and spank him harder and harder until he figures it out". All of that kind of talk really took me out of the story and made me cringe. The overall characters development was really well done and I even liked how the story seemed to come full circle for him, but I just couldn't rate it any higher for the things I felt like it was wrong about. 

 My second Stephen King book and the second book he wrote. 😁 I had no idea this was about a vampire. I very rarely read the descriptions of books, especially if I’m reading a series and I just know they go together. I got a list of extended dark tower books and this was one of them, so I picked it up to read. I enjoyed it. I thought it had enough action and not a ton of descriptions so that I was bored. It was definitely dark and sad, but I expected that. I can’t wait to read more of his books. 

 This had such a good premise. I love the fact that Cassidy can go into the living and not-so-living world. I love her friend who saved her life, and their relationship is so great. I love her parents and their relationship with her and each other. This was just apparently an easy read with some great characters. There was just enough suspense to keep me guessing and wondering how it would all be wrapped up. I am adding this series to my series reading list because I want to see more adventures with her and her friends. 

 This book was really cute. It had a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. We meet Sage, the orphan when he’s being bought by someone from the orphanage. He is a pickpocket and smart mouth. He finds out that the man has bought him and two other orphans to make one of them pretend to be the lost prince of the kingdom. Sage finds himself constantly in trouble with the teachers and especially the man who bought him and wanted to create the next prince. What follows was a great story of intrigue and lies. A really good read. 

 ** spoiler alert ** I was sufficiently satisfied with the ending. While I wanted it to end a little differently, I’m not complaining (too much). It ended with hope and happiness and I can’t really think of a better way to end.
I also don’t usually like epilogues, but this one was so satisfying. Lazlo was just the best and I loved reading about him I’m both books and discovering about the world and everything right along with him made it feel fun and not too teach-y. This duology was just great and I’m so glad I read them.