The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman is fantastical story about an adult remembering events from his childhood.

I picked this one up when I saw it at a local thrift shop. I almost started reading it time and time again, but something kept making me wait. When the book was chosen for my book club, I finally gave it a read.

Unfortunately, this one fell very flat for me.

My thoughts:
There were so many things about this book that I could have loved, but they all just didn't have much oomph. For example, I normally would have loved learning more about all of the fantastical elements as the boy was exposed to them. I would have normally loved the mystery of trying to figure out what was going on. And of course I would have loved the darker tone that was hiding just under the surface throughout, but only made itself known a handful of times.

But I was bored. So very bored.

Almost everything just fell so darn flat for me. I didn't think it was very well written at all. The pacing dragged. It was very repetitive. I didn't care about any of the characters because I didn't feel that they were very well developed... which of course can work well in some books, but it didn't work for me here.

If this wasn't the book that I was hosting for my book club, I wouldn't have finished it.

However, to end on a lighter note: I did enjoy all of the little bits and pieces that hinted toward other things. Some of these were quite obvious from the start, but others only sank in once I had finished the book. This is definitely one that I could see people re-reading simply to catch more of those instances.

I absolutely love stories that move in a full circle! So I really loved the last sentence of the book.

Perhaps it was an afterimage, I decided, or a ghost: something that had stirred in my mind, for a moment, so powerfully that I believed it to be real, but now was gone, and faded into the past like a memory forgotten, or a shadow into the dusk.

My favorite passages:
Childhood memories are sometimes covered and obscured beneath the things that come later, like childhood toys forgotten at the bottom of a crammed adult closet, but they are never lost for good.

We picked some pea pods, opened them all and ate the peas inside. Peas baffled me. I could not understand why grown-ups would take things that tasted so good when they were freshly-picked and raw, and put them in tin cans, and make them revolting.

My final thoughts:
Unfortunately a miss for me. Though I can definitely see why others absolutely love this one.

Chromosomes by Ashleigh Reynolds is an action-packed read that will make you feel incredibly uneasy while you can't help but continue to flip the pages to see what happens next.

Pick this one up on a day off! You won't be able to put it down!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

This is another read that I highly recommend you go into a bit blind. So I will keep this review pretty brief!

This book was so addicting; I really struggled to put it down. Once I started reading, I was totally hooked. I just had to know what would happen next!

There were so many elements that were incredibly unsettling, but I couldn't help but be interested in the darkness.

The two main characters were lovely. They were certainly characters that I found myself rooting for. I really enjoyed learning more about each of them while they also got to know one another.

I found the main female character, Emma, absolutely hysterical! I loved her inner thoughts that were shared through the narration and how she poked fun at many things that would have been taken too seriously (or not seriously enough!) in other instances.

One thing that I really loved was that the author commented on things that I had thought about just moments before. For example, Emma kept telling people to, "keep the change." When I found myself questioning her actions, the author explained it in the following paragraph!

I also really enjoyed that this story both started and ended with a bang! I was getting nervous toward the end, hoping that we weren't going to be left hanging. But then, the author ended it perfectly.


My favorite passages:
He was the thing of nightmares mashed in with the thing my pesky hormones dreamed about. Handsome, sure. Would murder me in a second without a wavering thought, definitely.

We passed down the corridor in a flash with me barely able to make out the numbers on the doors. I took a hesitant glance down and saw that my feet weren't even touching the ground. He had me tucked under his arm, as if I weighed nothing. As if I was a football, an he was making a last-ditch effort at a touchdown.


My final thoughts:
While reading Chromosomes, I couldn't help but think about the Beauty and the Beast TV Series. So of course I would love to see this book turned into a movie or show! If you're a fan of shows in that genre with some darkness added in, I highly recommend this book!

Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson is a vibrantly colored, action-packed space adventure about friendship and a young girls' determination to save her family.

When this graphic novel was recommended to me, I immediately requested it from my local library. I'm so happy that I was able to get my hands on it so quickly!

This graphic novel was such a fun read! I mean, I'm a sucker for stories set in space to begin with. Add in a great cast of characters and a rather bizarre plot, and it was all over for me! I picked this up and didn't put it back down until I had reached the last page.

The artwork was just lovely! The bright, vibrant colors were very captivating! I loved that some panels had a lot going on because it made me slow down and really look at all of the details included to make sure I didn't miss anything.

I thought so many elements of the artwork and story were very interesting! I especially loved that there was a focus on the sea. For example, many of the ships in space were boats but there were also barges and fishing shacks. And of course... there were also the whales!

The characters were all so much fun! I loved all of them so much. The parents were developed very well, even though the story didn't really center around them.

Violet was a wonderful main character! She was so curious and so determined from the very start and she only settled more into her role as a leader as the story moved on! I loved seeing her grow up a bit over the course of the storyline.

Zacchaeus was wonderfully feisty! He was the mouth and muscle of the crew, occasionally causing issues with his hotheadedness.

Elliot was the brains of the group who struggled quite a bit with his anxiety, but turned out to be very loyal even though his hesitations.

Then of course there were all the eccentric side characters that were so interesting!

The writing was awesome. The storyline flowed so well, the dialogue was wonderfully written, and the humor made me laugh right out loud numerous times!

Of course there were a number of things that were a bit ridiculous and bizarre, but it all worked so well! Take, for example, the time dental floss was used as a weapon.

One of my favorite pages was a panel where Elliot breaks the fourth wall to look at the reader. I thought this was hysterical!

My final thoughts:
I'm sure it's clear by now that I really enjoyed this one! I can definitely see myself re-reading it sometime in the near future. I would also love to see this turned into a tv series or film!

If you enjoy middle grade stories set in space with a hysterical cast of characters, you gotta check this one out!

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel is an autobiography that, I'll admit, I had major difficulty reading.

I really struggle with autobiographies, especially darker ones that are difficult to read. This one was certainly very difficult for me.

I was recommended this one, so I dove into it pretty blind. At first I wasn't sure what to think. I almost DNFed because of how difficult it was for me. I always feel like I'm being nosey when I read autobiographies and such about dysfunctional families. Like I'm trespassing into their lives or reading a personal journal. Needless to say, it made me incredibly uncomfortable...

But something about this graphic novel just wouldn't let me put it down.

I really loved all of the notes that the author added to point out certain things. And the little splashes of "normalcy" and humor were very refreshing.

This story must have been an incredibly therapeutic thing to write. I just couldn't stop thinking about how the author must have felt once the story was completed.

Of course, this book certainly won't be for everyone. In fact, I don't think it was really for me either. But I am very happy that I took the time to read it and, despite my personal rating, I would highly recommend giving it a go.

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan is an interesting look into the lives of the manager and his employees working the very last night before their location is shut down.

I've never been to a Red Lobster because I don't eat seafood, but I was still interested to check this one out when I first head about it.

I picked this book up one afternoon and didn't put it down until I had finished reading the whole thing. I always think it's so interesting to see little glimpses into other people's lives; and this certainly gave us an interesting story!

While I didn't really care much for any of the characters, I did relate to a few of them with my previous work experience.

This book will take you on a rollercoaster of emotion; you'll be sad, you'll laugh, and your blood will boil. But in the end, you're going to be happy you took the time to read this.

I would definitely recommend this to all! Especially those that tend to be rude to your waiter/waitress or anyone else in a customer service-related job (seriously, cut that out!).

The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen was an interesting crime mystery that totally threw me for a loop at the end!

If you enjoy novels that are a bit of a slow-burn, but that really picks up toward the end, you have to check this one out!

First of all, I have to talk about how much I love this cover! The jacket design is by David Baldeosingh Rotstein, and the photo by Carmen Winant. Though the award sticker is a bit of a bummer... I honestly wish that wasn't in included at all because it totally ruins the tone of the cover. But of course, I do understand why it was stuck on there.

I really love the cover image and how some of the woman's hair has been blown across her face, further blurring her in the fog. I also really love the way the title also blurs out. And then of course there is the orange and red hues that are included in the 'S' and the 'H' in "Vanishing" which really caught my eye!

Overall I enjoyed this read. Though I thought it was a strange mix... I wasn’t ever really hooked as it was a pretty slow-burn. But I did love the little twists and turns that it took.

And I was totally caught off guard by the reveal! The author definitely leads you into thinking that the bad guy is a different character, and then right when the suspense builds, bam! Twist!

One of my favorite elements of the book was a dog named Speed Bump, or Bump for short. I really loved the scenes that he was in!

I also really enjoyed that the characters discussed other true crime individuals such as Herbert Mullin and Edmund Kemper. There were also quite a few pop culture references made that had me grinning.


Beware, the negatives:
My main complaint was this this book sometimes lacked consistency.

One minute Ellery isn't letting Reed follow her home and the next she’s driving him to her house.

They kept talking about a beer bottle, but then it’s suddenly referred to as a can of beer.

Reed wouldn’t let her leave his sight...only when she used the bathroom. They’ve flagged the culprit as someone with power, possibly a cop... and then he lets her go off alone to a house in the woods with a cop?

In the beginning of the book, there was a bit of repetition that bothered me, but luckily it didn’t carry over into the rest of the book. Though I do have to say that it almost made me put the book down.

And lastly, I just didn’t really care for the characters. I wanted to like Ellery and Reed. But they just weren’t likable characters for me. I found them both to be a bit dry and dull.


My favorite passages:
... his colleagues would sometimes ask, “How do you read people so well?” He would answer that it was easier than anyone believed; people would gladly tell you who they were if you only cared to listen.

Everyone expects the bogeyman to look like some sort of freak, but these guys, half of them could pass for Mr. Rogers.

She had seen the message and felt the wind go out of her, the past rising up like an icy wave to steal her very breath. Someone knew. New enough to find her birthday, and the rest would come tumbling after. She’d escaped from the paper-thin edge, run off the page of her own story only to discover should failed to shut the book.

Ellery stopped her truck the first available spot along the side of the road and leapt out practically before the thing was in Park. Bump barked after her, clambering into the driver’s seat, and Reed seized this moment of freedom to get out.

“Great,” Reed said under his breath. “I’m going to get my eye poked out because some grungy mutt thinks he’s got a starring role in Lady and the Tramp.”

When your whole world blew apart, the shrapnel sprayed far and wide, taking out anyone in its path.


My final thoughts:
Overall a worthwhile read for sure! I'd like to see this one become a movie at some point. I would recommend this to fans of slower crime mysteries.

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor is a wonderfully written mystery/thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Make sure to start this one on your next day off; you won't be able to put it down!

Let's dive in to my review!

My thoughts:
Oh my goodness. The Chalk Man was one of my most anticipated book releases of 2018 and I am so happy to say that it lived up to my expectations!

Right from page one, I was hooked. I would recommend picking this one up on a day that you can just sit and read. I made the mistake of starting this one before I had a number of plans already set up... When I wasn't reading, my thoughts kept turning back to the book; I couldn't wait to pick it up again!

The writing style was lovely. Everything flowed so well! When I saw that this book was organized in two timelines, the past set in the 1980's and the present of 2016, I was a little nervous. However, this author did something that I personally haven't seen before but I LOVE! Each chapter ended in varying levels of cliffhangers before swapping into the next timeline. But at the same time, each chapter flowed seamlessly into the next. And when we jumped back to the other timeline, we picked right up where we had left off! Wonderful!

The characters were all perfectly developed for their roles. I really enjoyed following the main character through both the past and the preset, and learning about how he interacted with all of the other characters over time.

The plot, I can't go into because it would totally spoil it! So I will just leave it with this; I loved the little hints that were dropped here and there. Now that I have read the conclusion, more of them are beginning to stand out in my memory. I cannot wait to re-read it!


My favorite passages:
There were extensive searches, questions and appeals but, despite the best efforts of all the detectives and all the town’s men, her head was never found, and the girl in the woods was never put together again.

If our world was a snow globe, it was the day some casual god came along, shook it hard and set it back down again. Even when the foam and flakes had settled, things weren’t the way they were before. Not exactly. They might have looked the same through the glass but, on the inside, everything was different.

She was tall, with short dark hair, and brown eyes that could bubble with fun or blaze almost black when she was angry (and, like the Incredible Hulk, you didn’t want to make her angry).

My hair is still thick and mostly dark, but my laughter lines lost their sense of humor some time ago.

Of course, the facts have been embellished over time, the truth gradually worn away at the edges. History itself is only ever a story, told by the ones who survived it.

I hate it when people ring the doorbell and use the knocker, implying that I must be incapable of hearing or that their need to enter is so urgent it requires a full frontal assault on the exterior of my property.

I worried about other stuff, too. People think kids’ lives are worry free. But that’s not the case. Kids’ worries are bigger because we’re smaller.

Did we become a bit obsessed with it all? I guess. But then that’s what kids do. Get obsessive over things for a few weeks or months, then wear that idea down into the ground until it’s no good and can’t be played ever again.

I push the door open. It feels cold in here, too. Not normal cold. Not the slight chill of a house at nighttime. This type of cold wraps itself around your bones and sits like a lump of ice in your intestines. Fear-cold.

We think we want answers. But what we really want are the right answers. Human nature. We ask questions that we hope will give us the truth we want to hear. The problem is, you can’t choose your truths. Truth has a habit of simply being the truth. The only real choice you have is whether to believe it or not.

Maybe it’s time to take a ride all the way back down good old memory lane. Except, this is not a sun-dappled stroll along the path of fond recollections. This particular route is dark, overgrown with tangled knots of lies and secrets, and full of potholes. And along the way, there are chalk men.

None of it was true, but rumors are like germs. They spread and multiply almost in a breath and, before you known it, everyone is contaminated.

Every kid wants to find a dead body. About the only thing that a twelve-year-old boy wants to find more is a spaceship, buried treasure or a porn mag.

“We didn’t say that, Eddie.”
They didn’t have to. I was twelve, not stupid.

I arrive back just after nine, hot, crumpled and numb down one side from being crushed against the window by a man who looked as if he played rugby for the Titans (the gods, not the team).

I walk briskly back home. I could have driven to St. Magdalene’s, but it’s only 30 minutes on foot from town and I wanted to clear my head. Although, to be honest, not much clearing is going on. Words and phrases keep floating around my mind, like confetti and a snow globe.

I stare around the room. Empty, except no room is ever really empty, not in the darkness. Shadows lurk in the corners and pool on the floor, slumbering, sometimes shifting. But that’s not what has woken me. It’s the feeling that someone, just seconds ago, was sitting on my bed.

I stare at Mickey’s scribbled notes and something suddenly blooms with absurd clarity in my mind. I can almost hear the ping of the lightbulb illuminating.


My final thoughts:
All around, a wonderful book! Everything was just perfect; the writing style, the organization of the chapters and storyline, the characters... I would highly recommend this one to fans of mysteries with a heavy dose of thriller, sprinkled with some dark elements.

This is definitely a book that I will be re-reading time and time again!

Bravo, C.J. Tudor!

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware just wasn't a book for me. It was so slow and repetitive. I can't believe I read through the whole thing. Another I most definitely should have DNFed.

There were a few things I did enjoy about the book, but heads up; this review is short and quite negative.

Let's start with the positives:
1) I did enjoy some of the foreshadowing.
2) I enjoyed the suspense at the beginning of the book before I noticed how repetitive it was
3) I really like the book cover
4) I enjoyed the passages below

My favorite passages:
Speaking those fears aloud makes them read, and I can't admit to myself that this is a possibility, that the whole nightmare should be starting up again.

Before the Salten reunion I went months, years even, without, speaking to the others. But now the urge to talk to them is like a constant itch on my skin, a craving beneath the surface like the cigarettes I suddenly want again.

But the questions beat at me, things with wings and claws, battering against me so that I flinch as I walk, turning my face as if I can avoid them, but I can't.


Now, onto the negatives:
So back to my comment about the foreshadowing. I did indeed enjoy some of it. But a lot of it was just overdone in my opinion, which made things much too predictable.

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if it was shorter... If the author had simply cut out 75% of the repetition. It was just way too much. I felt that I was reading the same things over and over and over, and that the story was progressing at a snail's pace. There was also a lot drama that fell flat with me.

I also didn't care for any of the characters. The main character, Isa, was incredibly unlikable for me.

There were two main mystery elements. The first was revealed about halfway through. After all the build up, I definitely thought it was going to be something more. But it ended up being pretty underwhelming for me. I almost DNFed at that point, but I kept reading to see what the conclusion of the second mystery would be. Yet another underwhelming reveal that was done in such a rushed way.

... and that ending. I wanted to enjoy the action. But it felt rushed and unorganized. Like it was forced and trying to wrap things up quickly. I didn't like it at all.

I think I finally need to call it and say that Ruth Ware's writing style just isn't for me.

I may have picked this one up at a bad time... but I didn't like anything about it. The first few pages almost made me close it because of the format. Luckily, that was just a flash into the stories that a character in this graphic novel had written. Unfortunately, these flashes came back from time to time. I didn't care for any of the characters or the storyline. It felt like we were just dropped into the middle of something with no idea what was going on. It felt rushed and jumbled. Nothing seemed to flow well to me. I also didn't really care for the art style or the formatting of some of the lettering.

Perhaps I will give this another go in the future. We'll see.

The Last Straw by Ed Duncan is a crime thriller filled with suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you watch the story unfold!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

I said it in my review for Pigeon-Blood Red, and of course I have to say it again here. Ed Duncan's writing style is so fantastic! It's so easy to read and very realistic. The action and suspense is so well done that I struggled to put The Last Straw down!

I just love how well the author organizes his stories; there are various characters and different storylines, but they are all woven together in such a wonderful way!

One of my favorite things about Ed Dunkin’s writing style is that he is able to write these sentences that totally catch me off guard. It happened this time on page 27. It was another instance where I read the sentence, stopped, and immediately had to jump back and reread it.

Because this was the second book, I was really interested to learn more about a few of the characters we had met in book one. We got to see Paul and Evelyn together which stuck in another very intense situation. And while stressful, there were also some really lovely moments. I enjoyed the very tense relationship between Rico and a man named John D'Angelo. I couldn't wait to see how things would turn out there! And I especially loved getting to know Rico and Jean more and seeing a more "normal" look into their dynamic as a couple.

There were some other main characters, but I don't want to discuss too much there because I'll give away too much of the plot! So I'll just say that I thought Sandra was an incredibly strong character, even though her involvement in the actual narrative was on the lighter side. I do wish the story had spent just a little bit more time with her, but the time that was focused on her was very powerful because it was so brief.

All in all, another wonderful crime novel by Ed Duncan! I cannot wait to see what he writes next! If you enjoy crime novels with characters that will stick in your mind, you have to give this one a read!

My favorite passages:
“I’m sorry,” Jean said. “But it’s such a shock to hear you admit that you’re human.”
“Don’t get excited. It’s not that big a deal.”

The last few days he had felt like he was inside of Salvador Dali painting or a Franz Kafka story. It was as though he were wide awake and sound asleep at the same time. He could see all kinds of bizarre things happening around him and to him, but he was powerless to influence or stop any of them.

“You’re very brave young lady,” Evelyn said after Sandy confided in her.
“No, I’m not. I’m scared to death.”
“The two aren’t mutually exclusive. Brave people are frightened all the time, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t brave. What makes them brave is standing up for what they believe in or risking their own safety despite being scared.”