INVINCIBLE SUMMER by Hanna Moskowitz

Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm thinking this isn't my genre. This is the second book that I've read like this in the past two days. I'm reading them for a specific reason. I have one more that's supposed to be like this. I just don't feel it. I don't know if the books aren't any good or if I just don't gravitate towards them. I find myself skimming them by the time I'm half way through.

Although I didn't see Charlie Cloud, it feels like this could be like that. It's the four summers in Chase's life from when he's 15 year olds to 18 years old, and the changes in his family and his relationship to them as well as the friends who inhabit the summer house next door.

The one thing I can say, and the only reason I gave it an okay, is that when reading it, I can see the way someone ages and becomes more aware of his life and how things impact him. At 15, everything was fun and anticipation and love, Chase is the second child and son, but in a lot of ways he's the oldest in his family. He takes responsibility for everyone. I can identify with that being an only child to a single parent. I was always the adult in the room, even when I was a child. But love happens, heartbreak happens, divorce and loss happen. All of this happens around the quotes of Camus, which Chase, his brother Noah, and the girl next door who will change his life all use to explain their lives.

Again, it was okay, I just don't know if this is for me.

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BAREFOOT by Elin Hilderbrand

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There were things that I really liked about this book. I liked how Josh's voice starts the book off almost like that joke, "Three men walk into a bar..." In this case he says, "Three women step off of a plane." There were moments of sweetness, sadness and even funny moments, but nothing that was gripping enough to pull me into the story and wish that it wold never end.

There are four main characters; Brenda, who's suffered a disgrace and public humiliation that has ruined her career. Vicki, Brenda's sister who has two small children and a loving husband, but happens to be suffering from lung cancer. Melanie, who's husband has been having an affair he doesn't seem to want to give up, while she's been try to have a baby to the tune of seven in-vitro fertilization tries, only to discover she's pregnant. And finally, there's Josh, the college senior, who wants to be a writer and knows immediately when he see's these women step off the plane in Nantucket, that they will somehow change his life... and they do.

The problem is that there are too many characters or voices in this story. I can't settle on who's story this is. I know it's about all four of them, but it just comes across as too much. Brenda and Melanie are so wrapped up in their problems that they can't focus on the one person they are there to care for. Where they end up having to hire Josh to take care of Vicki's two young sons. Though Josh has his problems and I like him, he's very one note. I also don't understand how he goes from immediate response to Brenda physically and emotionally, to reluctantly with Melanie to the point that he loves her. He almost ignores her and Melanie becomes jealous of his immediate attraction to Brenda. There is only a minor mention that he did notice Melanie first coming off the plane in explanation of his sudden change in attraction and devotion to her.

The author tells the story, as it folds out, from the 4 different perspectives and voices. So much so that I can't really tell who this is about, what is the moral of the story. It starts off with Josh's voice and ends with Vicki.

I didn't want to say it was just okay, because there were moments, but I can't say I "liked it" either. hard one to grade.

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SUPERNATURAL DEVICES by Kailin Gow

Supernatural Devices by Kailin Gow

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I don't like giving bad reviews, but in this case I have to as I got this book and will only get others on condition of reviewing. The character of Scarlett was interesting only because she's a strong, self sufficient young woman in the Victorian era. But that's the only saving grace for this book. The author has thrown in all the elements of the supernatural from vampires to fey and not really landing on a story. I can guess, but only from the last few pages of the book that Scarlett has some sort of ability that an old Order of Vampires wants her to use to help them in order to rule the world, but I'm not even clear if Scarlett is human or not.

It starts with the idea that she's connected to Sherlock Holmes through a friendship with her parents, who are archeologists, but he's barely in the book and you only realize later that it was some actor playing him, but using a glamour, which is attributed to the Vampires, but the fey are the creatures who are supposed to do that.

Also, Scarlett can't seem to resist kissing every gorgeous man who comes into her path. And they are all gorgeous. I just don't get this book at all. The story is all over the place, I have no idea what it was trying to accomplish. The best thing about it was that it was only about 240 pages could be read quickly.


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VENGEANCE by A.J. Scudiere

Vengeance by A.J. Scudiere

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. Trying not to give too much away, the relationship between Sin and Lee was ever evolving and great. You could read the hard shell slowly sloughing off of both of them layer by layer as their relationship evolves, giving them something to live for.

Each backstory for Lee and Sin, made you understand how they had both chosen a path of killing and how it had almost killed their humanity. Their coming together, even under such horrific circumstances allowed them to trust and care for another human being again. They were the only two who could understand what the other had been through and why they were doing what they were doing and not judge.

The first quarter with the FBI story was a little slow and boring. It was hard to break from the action and get in to the meandering of Owen discovering the little pieces of what what happening, but eventually that section ramped up as well. I loved the dichotomy of doing your job as an FBI agent, but knowing that what the killer was doing was ridding the world of really bad people and asking yourself the question of do you really want to stop him/her/them. Owen's relationship with his wife was a nice part of the story. He was aware enough to know that his job took him from his family and to fear losing them from the neglect. He knew he had to eventually leave the FBI in order to keep his family, though Annika said she would never leave him.

Most stories like this, I find are wrapped up too easily, too completely, but this had all the urgency of people wanting to get their lives back and doing what they needed to do, even to to the point of almost getting caught in order to get out and have a life again. Knowing the only way to do that was to expose the people who could eventually get to them, but not turning themselves in.

I'm a independent producer and could see this as a film.

I highly recommend this book. The only reason it's not getting a full 5 is because the beginning FBI part was slow. I would say it was more of a 4.5.

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ILL WIND by Rachel Caine

Ill Wind by Rachel Caine

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It was all over the place, skipping between past and present, which is fine if it works, but in this case it doesn't. Joanne is a woman who trusts no one to the point of not listening to anyone who may or may not be giving her good advice. And why? I have no idea, since her own instincts never serve her well either.

She's running from a storm trying to kill her, but doesn't get that its a storm she created. Everyone who tries to tell her the right thing to do, but she does the opposite to her own detriment at every turn. I just don't get this character. She made me crazy always doing things her way and the wrong way. I have no idea why this is a successful series. Because I wanted the character to be put out of her misery as much as the storm did.

I did like the character if David. I got right away who he was in this story and why he was in her life. But there are two other men in the story that Joanne has either been in love with or has been in love with her and it dissipates the relationship with David. She like a guy going from girl to girl and liking something in each of them, but not enough to respect the fact that his presence makes it tough on them. I get that she's supposed to be tough and independent, but it makes her just as much of a user as anyone else, in my opinion.

I didn't hate it and liked the action, although the constant car chase made me nuts. I just wanter her to get there already. But, I didn't hate it. It was just OK.

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