Book Review: Twist of Faith

Title: Twist of Faith
Author: Ellen J. Green
Source:  Amazon Publishing in return for an honest review 

Goodreads Summary:

After the death of her adoptive mother, Ava Saunders comes upon a peculiar photograph, sealed and hidden away in a crawl space. The photo shows a shuttered, ramshackle house on top of a steep hill. On the back, a puzzling inscription: Destiny calls us.

Ava is certain that it’s a clue to her elusive past. Twenty-three years ago, she’d been found wrapped in a yellow blanket in the narthex of the Holy Saviour Catholic Church—and rescued—or so she’d been told. Her mother claimed there was no more to the story, so the questions of her abandonment were left unanswered. For Ava, now is the time to find the roots of her mother’s lies. It begins with the house itself—once the scene of a brutal double murder.

When Ava enlists the help of the two people closest to her, a police detective and her best friend, she fears that investigating her past could be a fatal mistake. Someone is following them there. And what’s been buried in Ava’s nightmares isn’t just a crime. It’s a holy conspiracy. 

My Thoughts:

This book was super cuckoo pants but in a good way! It was riveting, I couldn't put it down.  I loved the character Ava, and found her absolutely fascinating. She is a giant mess, her family is a giant mess, even her house is a giant mess. The only thing not a giant mess about Ava, honestly, is her pure drive and desire to solve a mystery that she is sure is tied to her own past, about which she knows nothing, other than that she was found abandoned in a church. Following the clues lead to more questions, and her friends become quickly as swallowed up by the desire to find out the answers as Ava. 

Then boom - in the middle a gigantic twist. 

I couldn't believe it. I won't spoil it but holy moses, I wasn't expecting what happened!

Then boom - the ending! Another crazy twist! This book was definitely edge of your seat kind of stuff, riveting, twisty and dark, with oh so many secrets. 

A great read for a rainy or stormy spring evening. (or day!) 

The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

We had a great week, celebrating Wyatt's birthday! The weather was just nice enough for us to spend a little time at the zoo, seeing some of our favorites (the river otters and penguins!) and celebrating with our family. We are lucky to have such a loving family close by. 

And his cake was so good! Omg. The bakery did an amazing job decorating the cake, and the cake itself was delicious! Wyatt loves vanilla and cherry, so we ordered vanilla batter with cherry jam filling and it was fantastic. There was not one piece left!

Read Last Week:

  

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson: I feel like I am having a great reading year! Not necessarily in quantity, but definitely in the level of enjoyment from what I have read. I completely devoured this book! I even got up super early, like 530-6, and read for 3 hours in the morning before Wyatt got up so that I could finish it! I loved it!

The New Bohemians Handbook: This was an interesting read. I love this sort of boho feel, and got a lot of great ideas from this book. Especially about plants! I also found out that my spirit environment is the mountains. I feel like it just confirmed what I already knew - that the mountains are calling and I must go..(John Muir) I love the mountains. 

Reading This Week:

I really want to read the next installment of Truly Devious, but it doesn't exist yet. Or is not out. So I am concentrating on review books. I am even going to skip the library this week! I have enough books for little man from last week's haul, and I need to buckle down and get some reviews done. I want to read them, I just have Kindle avoidance issues. I really don't care for it, and will almost go out of my way to not read on it. :(

 

and for the third week in a row, 

Watching:

The Finder on Netflix. We are flying through it though and I know it was only one season! I don't even know if it was a full season. I love it though, and will be sad when it is done. :(

The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Last week was a bust for reading - I spent the week preparing for Wyatt's upcoming preschool IEP meeting, and more fun, his birthday party, which is this coming Saturday. We are going with a gnome theme, it is going to be adorable. I hope. Lol. 

Wyatt also had an amazing day at speech the other day, surprising his teacher and I both! This kid is full of surprises and strength, and sunshine and joy. It was a bright spot in a kind of sad, gray week.  I'm just ready for spring.

Read Last Week:

Who do I turn to, when my soul needs comforting? Why, Laura Ingalls of course.

I was reading Plum Creek the other day, and there is this part where grasshoppers simply devastate the area where they live. Millions of grasshoppers eat everything there is to be eaten, including Pa's wheat crop that is to pay for all their stuff and then some. Pa is down but not out, and decides to walk to find work, in his old, worn out boots. He walks 300 miles before finding a job, and all that time Ma is home alone with the three kids, in a land that is devastated by grasshoppers. Their cows were starving. The well was dried up. It is so crazy to think about. Neither Ma nor Pa are going to be able to easily get in touch with each other, if at all. They wait and wait for letters to arrive, and weeks go by in between. They don't know if the other has lived or died, really. But as usual, the family perseveres and is reunited. It just really blew my mind to think about.

Reading This Week:

I am looking forward to both of these reads!

Watching:

Outlander (finished Season 3! Can't wait for 4 now.....), Tiny Home shows on YouTube - Living Big in a Tiny House, and Tiny House Giant Journey (I'm strangely obsessed right now), Top Chef.

How about all of you? How are you doing?

The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hi all! I hope you all had a wonderful week!  I've gotta tell you, I am feeling homebound and shut in, between the weather and the flu, but honestly, the flu more. We have been trying like heck to avoid it, and have been staying in or just going outside, but not really going anywhere. It's beginning to take a little toll on us! We did make Valentines for Wyatt's cousins and friends, and even managed to deliver a few. We have a few left, but it's never too late to deliver happy little notes, in my opinion. I wish I would have snapped a pic, they were adorable. We traced Wyatt's hand and folded down the fingers to the ASL sign for "I love you", since Wyatt is still working on gaining speech. We put a little heart in the palm that said Happy Valentines Day, signed them, and that was that. Adorable. I saw them somewhere first, this was not my idea, but unfortunately I can't remember where I saw them. Billy and I are going to go out to dinner next weekend to celebrate - better late than never!

Read Last Week:

I finished Nevernight, which was AWESOME! Books usually don't surprise me too much, but this one definitely did. So good!!! I can't wait to read the next one in the series. 

I also loved the Adichie book, although much much different!

This Fallen Prey - I was so excited to read this! I love the Rockton series, and this one wasn't as good as its predecessors. I did enjoy it however. Still good, just not as good.

Reading This Week:

I have only read on Bowen book, but I loved it. I am looking forward to reading and reviewing this one, courtesy of Lake Union Publishing.

Watching:

The Olympics, Riverdale, Home Town, Outlander

How about all of you? How was your week?

Book Review: Now That You Mention It by Kristan Higgins

Title: Now That You Mention It
Author: Kristan Higgins
Source: Harlequin 

Goodreads Summary:

One step forward. Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying? Two major steps back.

Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There's only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn't necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.

With a tough islander mother who's always been distant and a wild-child sister in jail, unable to raise her daughter--a withdrawn teen as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was--Nora has her work cut out for her if she's going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family.

But as some relationships crumble around her, others unexpectedly strengthen. Balancing loss and opportunity, a dark event from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise...and the chance to begin again.


My Thoughts:

I truly think Kristan Higgins just gets better and better with each book. Always a good go-to author for an enjoyable read, lately her work has become something more.

I grabbed this book from my review pile, needing something not-scary (I read this all the way back in October!) and I couldn't put it down! I read it way past my bedtime and finished it in one day, something I did all the time with books before I became a mother, but something that is rare these days, and a testimony to how compulsively readable this book is.

I was mesmerized by this story and this character. Nora had such an amazing journey throughout the book - from the time we meet her, the stories that are behind her, and the future in front of her. The supporting characters are quirky, relatable, imperfect. Just like all of us. Their struggles are real. This book is rich in its wealth of great characters. 

Nora is a woman who has survived and withstood some pretty huge events, traumatic events, anyone of which may have stopped her from attaining her dreams and goals. Instead, they bolstered her, she survived, and persevered. She was strong, resilient, and never gives up. Her positive outlook is contagious, and she has a well of kindness inside of her. This book had moments that made me nervous, some that made me sad, others that made me laugh out loud. And her dog - her dog! I want a Boomer now too. 

This book was hands down fantastic. I highly recommend it!! 

The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

  

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

So this was the week in Michigan when it snowed. And snowed. And snowed some more. The snow here is so high - not crazy multiple feet high, but for us, pretty deep! We took Wyatt outside to play in it, and he loves snow as much as we do - at least for now. I also did some garden planning, trying to think spring, and we read lots of books. So despite the days of snow, we had a good time. And the best of all? The Olympics are on! I am such a fan of the Olympics! I think my favorite events are the moguls, alpine skiing, and figure skating. Wyatt seems to love the figure skating too! He dances along with the music, shaking his hair about wildly. He is such a musical kid.

Read Last Week:

The November Girl - I loved this book! Mostly for the Michigan settings, but I loved the world that Kang created, and the way that Anda could commune with everything. I especially liked her interactions with lighthouses. :)

Nevernight: My husband wanted me to read this and I finally started it. And I love it!! I call it Hogwarts for Assasins, or Harry Potter meets GoT. There is more to it than that though, and is its own entire world and story, but that is the best way to sum it up, in my opinion. Lol. I am only halfway through it, and I already feel like it is going to be a favorite series for me. 

Reading This Week:

February is my book club month, and I picked the two Adichie books for us to read. They are so short that I felt we could handle both. :) I am looking forward to reading them!

And of course I am going to finish Nevernight. 

Watching:

Top Chef, Riverdale, Outlander, The Alienist

What about you all? What have you been up to?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

So this week we toured Wyatt's future preschool. It's hard for me to believe that he will be going this year! I am not ready, I want to keep my peanut at home with me. He is starting because his Early On program ages kids out at 3, and he needs the extra help before starting school. This place is perfectly suited for physically challenged kids, with great support services. And my kid is so social - he is going to love being with the other kids! Although, I will be freaking out at home. Or in the parking lot with a book, so I can stay close....lol.

Read Last Week:

  

Spectacle was so good! I really enjoy this crazy series. I also read Twist of Faith, which was....hmm. I started off gung ho but then by the end, I wasn't feeling it as much. Review soon.

Reading This Week:

  

So I really wanted to read The November Girl for its whole Michigan thing - Lake Superior and Isle Royale, all that. But I also promised my husband I would read Nevernight, and since he always reads what I suggest, I need to get on it. Lol. So I will probably be reading both this week. :)

Watching:

Riverdale, Outlander, Grace and Frankie (or Frankie and Grace, I can never remember), Home Town. Watching Outlander makes me want to move to Scotland so bad! I even googled it the other day. My grandma is from Scotland and we still have family there, so maybe one day I will at least visit. :)

How about you all? How was your week?