Lone Wolf (↑)

I could expect anything less than amazing and moving from Jodi Picoult. I just finished Lone Wolf (and I mean JUST finished. As in not even 5 minutes ago!), and I'm still in awe. I'm not one to cry when reading books, but I actually got a lump in my throat when I was at the end. I loved that I was able to learn so much about the pack mentality of wolves, and yet also be able to relate it back to what was happening within the human family. I mean I didn't spend an immense amount of time on it (only because my brain was lazy haha), but you know that the symbolism was there if you just thought about it long enough. Although Jodi Picoult's has a certain style and flow to her stories, this one did have a slight tweak. Although there was a twist, it actually didn't influence the outcome as much as I had thought it would. All in all I LOVED this book, and I can't wait to read the next one by her (The Storyteller I think it's called.)

This book starts off with a car accident where a teenage girl is severely injured, and her father has a traumatic brain injury. The son who was estrange is called and returns to the US to help make decisions as to his father's life. The son is charged with murder for unplugging his father's ventilator. The charges were dropped, but unfortunately another court case comes about to determine who should be the permanent guardian of the father. The sister wants the father to continue to live on machines as she feels guilty about the last thing she said to her father, while the son believes he should honour is father's wishes and terminate his life. In the end the son 'wins' (would one really consider it winning in this case?) the position, and the plug is pulled, and the father dies and his organs are then donated.

Amazing story, with a great premise. Jodi Picoult always knows how to choose the touchiest subjects, and make a great story behind it.  I will always continue to read her novels. Unfortunately I don't have her most recent book, but I think I will start the Divergent series. Until next time, Happy Reading!

The Secret Keeper (~)

I've FINALLY finished another book. This one is The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. In usual Kate Morton style, it starts off incredibly slow, and builds up, has a twist and then ends. Unfortunately I did find it kind of anti-climatic. The build up was there, but it certainly wasn't a 'I can't stop reading this' kind of build up. It's more of a 'Oh my god, will this ever end?' Although I enjoyed the book, I can't say it's exactly my favourite.

This story is about a woman named Laurel who is dealing with her mother's end-stage dementia. When Laurel was a child, a man came and her mother stabbed him, killing him on the spot. This incident stuck with her all her life, and it wasn't until now that she decided to start digging deeper into her mother's past. She learnt a lot about what she was like as a young woman during the Blitz, spending time with her sweetheart Jimmy. Basically what ends up happening is that Laurel's mother Dorothy ends up befriending a woman named Vivien. One day Vivien slights her, and Dorothy decided to get revenge by sending a letter and photo anonymously to Vivien's husband (who is a jealous, abusive jerk). Vivien finds out that her husband actually had some sketchy characters come and beat the living crap out of the man in the picture (who ended up being Jimmy) leaving him for dead. Vivien was afraid for Dorothy's life, and went to visit her to tell her to run away so that she wouldn't be hunted down and killed too. Unfortunately what happens is that a bomb happens to drop on Dorothy's boarding house, killing Dorothy. But how is it possible that Laurel is alive then? Well, to save herself and get out of her abusive marriage Vivien takes Dorothy's identity and ends up living her life. Anyway Laurel ends up finding all this out, and when she tells her mother, her mother is then relieved and was able to pass away peacefully.

Hopefully my synopsis won't confuse you, but that's the basic gist. It's a well written novel, but honestly the twist wasn't all that great (still unexpected though), and I did find it anti-climatic. Anyway I'm off to read a new Jodi Picoult book! Until next time, Happy Reading!

The Time Keeper (↑)

Finished another book! This one is a lot different than the books I usually read. Although it could be taken as philosophical, I actually found it easy to read and follow (way easier than The Alchemist!) This one is Mitch Albom's The Time Keeper. Although I've never ready anything by him before, I've always heard good things about his writing, how it's personal, thought provoking and emotional. I have to say though that I didn't find this book anymore emotional than any other book I've read recently. I did however find it quite thought provoking. It's basically talking about the concept of time, and how it would change when you were given the 'gift' of not aging. I guess it would make one more appreciative of aging and the ending of a life. Although it's always sad when someone passes away, it's a part of life, and it's what makes us human. It allows us to rethink what's going on, and makes it become more appreciative of the time we have. If we don't age, we won't realize the time we spend on earth is a precious commodity, and we wouldn't take the lessons we learn to heart. Anyway, enough of that blabbering of what I got out of that book. Time for a synopsis.

This book has 3 storylines. The first is based in pre-historic times and follows the creator of time. He is shunned from their village, and as his wife dies, he runs back to the village, and up the Tower of Babel to speak with the gods. Instead of the gods listening to him, he was sent to a cave for thousands of years listening to all the humans asking for more time, or less time, etc. After a couple thousand years, he was sent back to earth to help 2 humans. The 2nd storyline is about an elderly man who is dying of cancer who wants to take part in a cryonics experiment in order to extend his life. The 3rd storyline is about a young girl who wants to end her life because she learns that a boy she likes (to whom she made advances) posted all over social media sites that she is pathetic. Father Time then helps these two individuals by stopping time and showing them the future and what they would be missing out on, or returning to. It almost seemed A Christmas Carol-ish. Anyway, it changed their views, and they ended up returning to the present time and changing their views and living their lives (or for the old man, dying naturally and not taking part in cryonics).

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this book, as it really does make you think about life and the concept of time. Anyway, until next time, Happy Reading!

What the Night Knows (↑)

I've finished another one! This one was by Dean Koontz. What the Night Knows. I don't usually get freaked out by books, but there were multiple times while I was reading this that I had to put it down and walk away because I kept getting the creepy-crawlies. I've read books by Dean Koontz before, so I know he's a suspense/thriller writer, so I shouldn't have been surprised by reading this, but honestly I was. Although it's very long (about 400 pages I think), it was definitely worth it, and kept me engrossed in the story throughout the whole thing.

Onward to the actual plot. This book is about a man who as a boy had his whole family viciously murdered before he killed the serial killer. Twenty years later, the serial killer's spirit comes back and possesses people who then continue his dirty work (killing families). The spirit targets the man's family, haunting/tormenting them for a few months before it all comes down to the 20 year anniversary of his family's death. A supernatural battle ensues where (hopefully) the man sends the spirit back into the pits of hell. They never really say if he does end up back there, but one can only hope/assume.

Anyway, I would recommend this to anyone who wants a nice creepy thriller, and doesn't get too creeped out by things that go bump in the night! Until next time, Happy Reading!

A Secret Kept (~)

Finished another book! Not as quickly as the James Patterson one, but quickly compared to the last few books! This time I finished A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay. Although I enjoyed this book, I can't say it's my favourite, nor that it's as gripping as Sarah's Key. I just didn't find the storyline as interesting. Although there was an internal struggle in the main character, honestly, I didn't find it as heart wrenching as her other novel. I'm not saying I hate it (as you can see from the rating I gave it, there were some redeeming qualities) I'm just saying it's not my favourite. I certainly didn't get bored with it, and I wanted to continue to read it, but I'm not sure if that was because I wanted to see if there was more depth to it, or if it was truly interesting for me.

This novel follows a man who had gotten into a terrible car accident with his sister when they were returning from celebrating her 40th birthday at their childhood vacation spot. His sister about to tell him a flashback she had encountered during their stay there when she veered off the road. During her recovery, she told him that she remembers going to their mother's room and seeing her laying there naked with another woman. Antoine then spent the rest of the novel determining who this woman was and why/how their mother died. There are other personal/familial events that occur that honestly confused me a bit as to why they were even in the novel, but I'm not going to mention them as I don't deem them important.

I believe this book is a meh read. You can read it if you like, but don't compare it to Sarah's Key as you will most likely be disappointed.  I must say though, this won't stop me from reading more of her novels as they come out! Anyway, I'm off to read a Dean Koontz book! Until then, happy reading!

Sundays at Tiffany's (~)

So, when I said I was going to read something easy...I guess I didn't clarify. I meant chick lit... so I just finished Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. I probably could have finished it within a day, but I wanted to space myself out with it as I've been so used to taking months to finish a book...

So this one is about a woman who falls in love with her imaginary friend (who she had when she was 8) and accidently runs into him in real life when she was in her 30's. It follows their 'love story', although it wasn't a very well developed story. But I suppose after reading the Millennium series, no stories would have the plot twists and such that that series did. But anyway, the premise behind the book was cute and I could definitely see a romantic comedy movie come out of it, if the story itself could be better developed.

It was a nice step back into the world of reading fiction. But now I'm onward to Tatiana de Rosnay's A Secret Kept, if it's anything like Sophie's Key, I should love it! But until then, Happy Reading!

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (~)

Finally finished another book. This time it's the last book in the Millennium series The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larrson. The book was alright, but I have to say that because of how detailed it was, it was hard to keep track of everything, so unfortunately I don't really remember all the details. What really annoyed me was that nearing the end of the book, it seemed really out to lunch with the court proceedings. The defence was able to bring in random witnesses that the prosecution knew nothing about. I know in North American judicial systems that's not allowed. The case would have to be completely restarted, so either Swedish judicial systems are different, or Mr. Larsson was out to lunch. What prosecutor goes only by what the police tell them? I thought they would do their own research and figure things out. Anyway, those are really my only 2 gripes with the book. I mean obviously the fact that Lisbeth and her brother are basically superhuman seem a little out to lunch, but it's a fictional book....I shouldn't complain too much.

Basically, this book picks up where the last one left off. Lisbeth and her father are in the hospital. It follows Lisbeth as she's kept in isolation and guarded in the hospital, and then put into prison. And then follows the court proceedings and research that went into that. It ends by tying up all loose ends for characters.

Not my favourite book, but I'm glad I'm finally finished the series and can move onwards to something that might be a little easier on my brain. Anyway, until then, Happy Reading!