book-reviews – Page 7

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Published on March 3, 2024 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

If you think word of mouth doesn’t work – think again. The rave reviews everywhere I looked caused me to pick up this book and give it a try. I am so glad I did. What an adventure! ~Sheila

Martha Ballard is a midwife and a healer. One day in Maine, Martha is requested to come and examine a body of a man found frozen in the river. Martha knows this man well as he had been documented in her well kept daily journal as a suspect in a rape. But it is 1789, and Martha’s documentation needs a lot more to make this accusation ring true.

As fingers are pointed and stories told of what not only happened to cause the body to be found in the river, but details of incidents in the days prior to the death that can bring a number of things to light.
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The heart of this story really falls into Martha’s incredibly detailed documentation of her whereabouts and visitors – it is a rare for a women of this day and age to read or write and Martha has the ability to do both.

The book was just as engaging as others in my circles were saying it was. As the details come to light I found myself reaching for this one every chance I had to inch my way towards the truth – and when it does come out, its so worth the wait.

None Of This Is true by Lisa Jewell

Published on February 21, 2024 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

An adventure of twists and turns and rights and lefts… never knowing what is going to happen next – but in a good way. A very good way. ~ Sheila

Popular Podcaster, Alix Summers meets Josie Fair while out celebrating her birthday. Turns out, it is Josie’s birthday too. A few days later, the two women find each other again and Alix in intrigued by this mysterious woman who showed up with a matching birthday. Josie, who has been listening to Alix’s podcasts feels she would be a great subject to be interviewed as she has an interesting life story. Intrigues, Alix agrees – calling the podcast, “Birthday Twins” and sharing with her fans the story of how she and Josie met.

As the two women dig into the podcasts, Alix finds that not only is Josie’s retelling of her life story interesting – it is down right shocking. Married to a much older man when Josie was only 16, Alix finds herself thinking of words like – pedophile, groomer, and rapist – and truly begins to worry about Josie.

As the two women create some sort of friendship, the unthinkable happens to Josie and the only place she feels she can turn is to Alix… and Alix, dealing with her own troubles in her marriage, feels that she has no choice…. not knowing – this would be the beginning of the end and her podcast was about to be introduced to a new and darker theme. Darker than anyone seen coming.

My gosh it has been a long time since I have read Lisa Jewell and after reading (well listening to) this, I wonder what has taken me so long to return to this incredible author. The story line held me, and while at first the breaks in the narration by the podcast felt odd… the style of reading grew on me and actually ended with me thinking if was pretty brilliant to put the audio version together this way.

I actually really enjoyed this dark read and feel those who enjoy a good twisted story would find this one interesting. I use the word dark in my description as topics of child rape/neglect, as well as abuse are themed throughout the book.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Published on February 18, 2024February 20, 2024 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

If a book could be saved by narration, Will Wheaton would be the one to do. Sadly, not even Will could save this book for me. ~Sheila

Charlie was stuck. A divorced, substitute teacher, living in a house that belonged to his recently deceased dad because he can not afford other options, with a cat that honestly – followed him home one day, and in Charlie’s opinion – the cat just decided this was home.

When a rich and eccentric uncle passes away that Charlie barely knows – he is surprised to find that this uncle has a plan for him that includes an interesting inheritance. But all inheritances… are not awesome and Charlie finds himself in a strange world he never knew existed in a leadership role he could have never made up in his wildest dreams.

Full disclosure – I chose this book because I noticed that Will Wheaton was the narrator. And to continue with this line of honesty, I was intrigued in the beginning as it had the essence of Ready Player One (also narrated by Will Wheaton). It started with a guy down on his luck and about as low as one could go… and then… a crazy guy dies who has more money than he knew what to do with and said loser… er, protagonist, has the opportunity to change his life, and of course the amazing Will Wheaton narrating in the way that has made me a mega fan of his work.

Sadly – the similarities end there. The book gets weird. There are smart-talking cats and mega Villains, and as mentioned – reading other reviews, I am clearly one of the few who didn’t laugh out loud or feel this was brilliant.
That’s ok – they can not all be winners. If you have read this one I would love to hear other opinions. I only finished this because of the narrator.

Beneath the Surface by Kaira Rouda

Published on February 15, 2024 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

-Had a bit of trouble putting this one down… way to go Kaira! ~Sheila

An invite to be aboard a grand yacht.

A weekend like no other.

Dress code: Yacht Fabulous

What could possibly go wrong?

Richard Kingsley is about to make some big decisions. Life has been good, he has made his fortune through his company, has had 5 wives, and now , with Serena his 5th wife, has purchased an incredible yacht with all the bells and whistles (far bigger than his brothers) and has invited his adult children and spouses aboard to talk about the future.

The thing is, none of the siblings know the others are coming. With no love lost between the two brothers, John and Ted, are both hoping the person to take the helm of the company will be them. They both need this for separate reasons… when half sister Sibley shows up in extraordinary fashion, Richard is delighted to see the sparks fly between his children… after all, he does enjoy competion.

Of course, there is always something lurking beneath the surface….

Honestly – WOW. I love a book that grabs you right from the start and Beneath The Surface did just that. I loved the invite in the front of the book inviting us all aboard the Splendid Seas for the weekend. I really felt as though I had joined this family as secrets rolled around the waves, jealousy, competition and truths surface. I enjoyed the chapters named after who was thinking and plotting – honestly I hated to step away from the book and could not wait to see what would happen and how we would get there.

Kaira Rouda has never disappointed me, every book I have read of hers has been a WOW and its always exciting to see what she will do next. It was fun to finish this book on a ferry to Key West… surrounded by water, turning page after page and leaving me with an audible “Whoa”.

Also reviewed:

Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda

The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda

First Book of 2024 – The 11th Annual!

Published on December 17, 2023 by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

It’s Happening! I am excited to announce that this is the 11th Year of The First Book Event! If you put “First Book” in the search on this page you can bring up the years and years of fun posts and pictures of people all over the world with their first book of the year that they are planning to read or are reading into the New Year! It’s a great way to get ideas on what is being read and what to add to your own To Be Read list!

So what is First Book? First Book is the first book you plan on reading in the New Year. It can be a long-coveted read you have not had time for, a guilty pleasure read like a re-read of a favorite… really it can be anything – it is…after all…YOUR First Book.

Make it AWESOME.

Once you have picked what it will be -email/ Facebook message/ text me a picture of you with the book (send it to sdechantal@gmail.com). This adds to the excitement of the First Book. You have between now and December 31st to send in your choice. On January 1st I will post all the pics in a collage format of all of you around the world that are doing First Book. I do hope you will join me – friends, family, fellow book lovers, a friend of a friend of a friend… you there in the corner looking at this crazy site for the first time – you as well. I enjoy putting this together every year and seeing all the great books and pics come in really makes my heart smile.

Here are just a few of the over 100 books that came in last year: