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Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckieTigger
I was thinking about that one too. Let me know if it is any good before the month is over. It sounded a little bit too scary with the blurb saying it is not a real superpower, but in theory possible.
I'm going to start it tonight although I don't know if I'll finish it by the end of the month. I'll post my thoughts about it before the end if I don't finish. When I read the blurb I thought of Charles Manson. He was able to use mind control on his followers, even decades later in prison they were still brainwashed into following him. This book does look scary and I hope I can finish it. Only because it might be possible.
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Duckie I'm about 50 % read on Trance. I'm really enjoying it so far. There are no supernatural elements that I've read so far. It's more psychological and fascinating. The villain is a complex character and very well written. To understand what happened and how he got to be that way is the premise. The psychologist brought in to evaluate is using conventional methods is terrified but also knows that looking beyond fear are the answers. I'll try to finish before the end of the month. So far I'm highly recommending this book. It kept my attention from page one.
Duckie I'm about 50 % read on Trance. I'm really enjoying it so far. There are no supernatural elements that I've read so far. It's more psychological and fascinating. The villain is a complex character and very well written. To understand what happened and how he got to be that way is the premise. The psychologist brought in to evaluate is using conventional methods is terrified but also knows that looking beyond fear are the answers. I'll try to finish before the end of the month. So far I'm highly recommending this book. It kept my attention from page one.
Thanks. Don't worry about hurrying. I bought it and got as far as the cell of thirteen.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckieTigger
Thanks. Don't worry about hurrying. I bought it and got as far as the cell of thirteen.
Oh that part is intense ! I found out this is part of a 3 book series, the next book " Pain " is available for preorder at $4.99 and will be released in November. I'm probably going to order it when I'm finished . Curious to know what you thought of Trance when you've read it. I should have more time to read and finish it this weekend.
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I read " Trance " and gave it a 5 star review. I'm glad I didn't pay attention to the first few reviews and gave it a chance. I also preordered the next book in the series.
From the USA Today bestselling author of A Curve in the Road comes a spellbinding novel about one woman’s love, loss, and courage during wartime.
After a crushing betrayal by the man she loves, Gillian Gibbons flees to her family home for a much-needed escape, but when she finds an old photograph of her grandmother in the arms of a Nazi officer, Gillian’s life gets even more complicated. Rattled by the discovery, Gillian attempts to unravel the truth behind the photos, setting her off on an epic journey through the past…
1939. England is on the brink of war as Vivian Hughes falls in love with a handsome British official, but when bombs begin to fall and Vivian’s happy life is destroyed in the blitz, she will do whatever it takes to protect those she loves…
As Gillian learns more about her grandmother’s past, the old photo begins to make more sense. But for every question answered, a new one takes its place. Faced with a truth that is not at all what she expected, Gillian attempts to shine a light not only on the mysteries of her family’s past but also on her own future.
This gorgeously written multigenerational saga is a heart-wrenching yet hopeful examination of one woman’s struggle to survive, perfect for fans of The Nightingale and Beneath a Scarlet Sky.
Editor's Notes:
Spoiler:
From Amazon Charts and USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean, A Fire Sparkling is a heart-wrenching yet heartwarming dual-timeline novel perfect for fans of Mark Sullivan’s Beneath a Scarlet Sky and Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale.
When mysterious photographs of Vivian taken during World War II are discovered by her granddaughter, Gillian, in the modern day, it opens the door to a dark secret from Vivian’s past and sets Gillian off on her own path of discovery. Despite the generations between the grandmother and granddaughter, and their very different life experiences, there were many commonalities that tied the two stories together—love, heartbreak, loss, resilience, second chances, and redemption. Watching both women struggle to figure out who they are and what they are made of, and then taking control of their destinies, made for an emotional and empowering reading experience.
Between Gillian’s relatable personal problems, the action-packed scenes from World War II, the mystery behind the old photographs, and both the familial and romantic relationships explored in the novel, A Fire Sparkling has a little something for everyone. At times charming and other times heartbreaking, this gorgeous novel made me laugh and cry—it’s a perfect summer read!
- Alicia Clancy, Editor
What You Did - Claire McGowan - Psychological Suspense
Quote:
‘A brilliant, breathless thriller that kept me guessing to the last shocking page’—Erin Kelly, Sunday Times bestselling author of He Said/She Said
A vicious assault. A devastating accusation. Who should she trust, her husband or her best friend?
It was supposed to be the perfect reunion: six university friends together again after twenty years. Host Ali finally has the life she always wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful family with her college boyfriend, now husband. But that night her best friend makes an accusation so shocking that nothing will ever be the same again.
When Karen staggers in from the garden, bleeding and traumatised, she claims that she has been assaulted—by Ali’s husband, Mike. Ali must make a split-second decision: who should she believe? Her horrified husband, or her best friend? With Mike offering a very different version of events, Ali knows one of them is lying—but which? And why?
When the ensuing chaos forces her to re-examine the golden era the group shared at university, Ali realises there are darker memories too. Memories that have lain dormant for decades. Memories someone would kill to protect.
Editor's Notes:
Spoiler:
One moment. One accusation. One choice. That’s all it takes to destroy your life.
What You Did opens with a scene on a precipice. A group of six friends, long separated, finally reunited for a perfect dinner at host Ali’s beautiful home. But it’s the calm before the storm – because this perfect, blissful moment is about to be consumed by horror.
Ali’s best friend stumbles in, bleeding and traumatized. She claims to have been assaulted by Ali’s husband, Mike, who vehemently denies it. Nevertheless, he confesses a secret that he has kept hidden for decades.
She does not know whom to believe. The answer, no matter what she chooses, will only bring more ruin. Claire McGowan writes with such sophisticated, breathless suspense and pace that I felt myself swept up in the emotional charge of the novel immediately. It only grew, as I discovered deep-rooted suspicions and kinetic tension that knitted these multidimensional characters in a web that could not seem to let them go.
And as I raced towards the thrilling conclusion, I was reminded of the question I had to continually ask about the characters’ actions throughout: What would I have done? But by the final page, with the terrible truth laid bare, the question morphed into something else, as it did for them: If I had done the same, how could I live with myself?
An unlikely pair teams up to investigate a brutal murder in a haunting thriller that walks the line between reality and impossibility.
When small-town police officers discover the grave of a young boy, they’re quick to pin the crime on a convicted criminal who lives nearby. But when it comes to murder, Officer Susan Marlan never trusts a simple explanation, so she’s just getting started.
Meanwhile, college professor Eric Evans hallucinates a young boy in overalls: a symptom of his schizophrenia—or so he thinks. But when more bodies turn up, Eric has more visions, and they mirror details of the murder case. As the investigation continues, the police stick with their original conclusion, but Susan’s instincts tell her something is off. The higher-ups keep stonewalling her, and the FBI’s closing in.
Desperate for answers, Susan goes rogue and turns to Eric for help. Together they take an unorthodox approach to the case as the evidence keeps getting stranger. With Eric’s hallucinations intensifying and the body count rising, can the pair separate truth from illusion long enough to catch a monster?
Editor's Notes:
Spoiler:
Have you ever seen something that seems completely impossible? For geology professor Eric Evans, seeing the unusual is par for the course; he’s had schizophrenic hallucinations for years. But there’s something about his latest vision of a young boy that unsettles him. He chalks it up to stress, and tells himself to get more sleep.
And then he sees a photo of the same boy on the local news...
Detective Susan Marlan has been investigating the murder of the young boy, whose body was found buried in a farm field. It should be a big case for her—the FBI and the media are hot on the trail—but her boss tells her to back off.
Eric goes to the police to talk to the detective on the case. His visions can’t be a coincidence...can they? But he also knows that there’s no reason for Susan, or anyone, to believe he’s not crazy. He has trouble believing it himself.
What makes Forgotten Bones so compelling is Vivian Barz’s convincing and well-researched characters. The characters behave realistically, challenging themselves, wondering how the impossible can be seemingly possible. Even when things seem irrational, Eric and Susan follow through, eager to uncover the truth no matter the cost.
A cross between Bones and Supernatural, Forgotten Bones gives the police procedural an unexpected twist sure to delight new readers.
In 1920s New York, the price of a woman’s independence can be exorbitant—even fatal.
In 1924 Manhattan, women’s suffrage is old news. For sophisticated booklover Julia Kydd, life’s too short for politics. With her cropped hair and penchant for independent living, Julia wants only to launch her own new private press. But as a woman, Julia must fight for what’s hers—including the inheritance her estranged half brother, Philip, has challenged, putting her aspirations in jeopardy.
When her friend’s sister, Naomi Rankin, dies suddenly of an apparent suicide, Julia is shocked at the wealthy family’s indifference toward the ardent suffragist’s death. Naomi chose poverty and hardship over a submissive marriage and a husband’s control of her money. Now, her death suggests the struggle was more than she could bear.
Julia, however, is skeptical. Doubtful of her suspicions, Philip proposes a glib wager: if Julia can prove Naomi was in fact murdered, he’ll drop his claims to her wealth. Julia soon discovers Naomi’s life was as turbulent and enigmatic as her death. And as she gets closer to the truth, Julia sees there’s much more at stake than her inheritance…
Editor's Notes:
Spoiler:
There’s something magical about getting lost in a world that feels far removed from our own, which is why I fell so hard for Relative Fortunes. Author Marlowe Benn brings 1920s New York to life in prose so rich it’s impossible not to feel transported to the Jazz Age parties and gilded homes she so vividly describes.
Just as vibrant is Julia Kydd, the novel’s unforgettable protagonist. Julia arrives in Manhattan in 1924 with one goal: to claim her inheritance so she can start her own publishing press and live life her way. Julia has no interest in settling down with a man just because society expects her to. But when her inheritance is threatened and she becomes entangled in the mysterious suicide of an outspoken suffragette, Julia learns independence has its costs. Behind the glitter and glamour of the era, bigotry endures.
Though this novel takes place nearly a century ago, there’s a timeliness to the issues Julia faces—as transporting as Relative Fortunes is, it’s also incredibly resonant. Sometimes, it seems, being whisked away to another world is the best way to hold up a mirror to our own.
From the Amazon Charts bestselling author of An American Princess comes the true story of an unconventional family divided by war and prejudice during WWII.
When they fell in love in 1928, Rika and Waldemar could not have been more different. She was a thirty-seven-year-old Dutch-born mother, estranged from her husband. He was her immigrant boarder, not yet twenty, and a wealthy Surinamese descendant of slaves. The child they have together, brown skinned and blue eyed, brings the couple great joy yet raises some eyebrows. Until the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands explodes their promising life.
What unfolds is more than the astonishing story of a love that prevailed over convention. It’s also the quest of a young boy. Through the cruelty of World War II, he will fight for a connection between his father’s South American birthplace and his mother’s European traditions. Lost and displaced for much of his life, but with a legacy of resilience in his blood, he will struggle to find his place in the world.
Moving deftly between personal experience and the devastating machinations of war, The Boy Between Worlds is an unforgettable journey of hope, love, and courage in the face of humanity’s darkest hour.
Editor's Notes:
Spoiler:
There are people who enter your life through their stories and simply never leave. That’s how it’s been for me with Waldy Nods, a biracial boy born into the turbulent and hostile environment of the Netherlands during World War II.
We also meet Waldy’s parents, a divorced white woman with four older children and a young black student from Suriname, themselves deeply in love and having created a magical space for their family and the community they cultivate in the middle of the chaos around them. Love doesn’t conquer all, however, and the family’s joy and connection cannot save them from bigotry and betrayal. While young Waldy himself survives the war, he’s alone and cast adrift, struggling to find his place in a devastated world without the family that nurtured him.
And I’m certainly not alone in being touched by Waldy and his family. Author Annejet van der Zijl’s biography of the boy who lost so much during the war, a book that afterward touched millions of people in her native country, was a long-running bestseller there. It is considered a contemporary classic, topping the favorite-book charts year after year along with other classics like The Diary of Anne Frank.
But Waldy’s story is not simply one of loss—through van der Zijl’s research, the adult Waldy recovers more memories of his parents, has many questions answered, and shares their stories, earning them all a place in readers’ hearts. I hope they find a place in yours, too.
Pirate Emma is about to start kindergarten! But Emma’s not so sure she’s ready for a new captain and crew. Especially since Cap’n Chu—the roughest, toughest, awesomest preschool cap’n ever—is right down the hall. So Emma decides to head back to the preschool ship to see if she can stir up a mutiny against kindergarten! Is that what she really wants? Or does she just miss her beloved Cap’n Chu? Batten down the hatches, mateys, because the first day of school is going to be stormy!
Editor's Notes:
Spoiler:
Emma loves pirates. But underneath all of her rough, tough pirate talk is a little girl who is nervous about starting something new—something that would bring out the anxiety in any of us: kindergarten! So on the first day of school, Emma decides to sail back to preschool instead. With a classroom bedecked in the pirate theme and the coolest cap’n ever, it’s clear why it’s so hard for Emma to let go of preschool. But with a little help from Cap’n Chu, Emma will learn that pirates need to keep moving forward—and kindergarten might just hold some excitement of its own.
I love how this story explores the affection that Emma has for her preschool teacher. Young kids become so attached to their teachers, yet we don’t always acknowledge or focus enough on these relationships. With its cartoon-style art, pirate-themed text, and Emma’s over-the-top emotions, I hope this book will help your own little pirates prepare to face some new adventures. Good luck, mateys!
Racism, class, and betrayal collide in this poignant debut novel about restoring the broken bonds of family and friendship.
Every morning, seventeen-year-old Maria Anís Rosario takes the subway an hour from her boisterous and close-knit family in Queens to her private high school on the Upper East Side, where she struggles to fit in as one of the only Latina students—until Rocky welcomes her into this new life. White, rebellious, and ignored by her wealthy parents, Rocky uses her money toward one goal: to get away with anything. To Maria, it’s a dazzling privilege.
As a bond develops between these unlikely friends, neither can see what they share most—jealousy and the desire for each other’s lives. But crackling under the surface of their seemingly supportive alliance, the girls begin to commit little betrayals as they strive to get closer to their ideals regardless of the consequences.
Told from the perspectives of Maria, Rocky, and their fathers, They Could Have Named Her Anything explores the heartfelt expectation of what it means to live up to the name you’ve been given and the more rewarding discovery of what really matters.
Editor's Notes:
Spoiler:
What’s in a name? For seventeen-year-old Maria Anís Rosario, her name is a reminder of a woman struggling to live up to expectations, to a life bifurcated. There’s the Maria with a soft r to her white classmate Rocky, at her private high school on the Upper East Side where Maria is one of the few Latinas in a sea of flat-ironed hair and effortless wealth. Then there’s the accented María to her boyfriend, Andres, and at home a world away in Queens, in a cramped but homey apartment with her lively family. How does she reconcile both parts when Rocky opens her up to a whole new life she previously didn’t have access to?
Meanwhile, Maria and Rocky’s fathers are each making their own series of calculations for the cost of their family’s happiness—Maria’s father, Miguel, sacrificing his happiness for the sake of appearing strong to his children after he loses his job; Rocky’s father, Charlie, choosing hedonism as his marriage crumbles from within. These four protagonists are flawed yet hopeful, and they leap off the page with heartfelt expectations and skewed realities, each questioning what it means to live up to the roles you’ve been given. Poetically and truthfully grappling with racial tension, class privilege, female friendship, and familial expectations, Stephanie Jimenez’s They Could Have Named Her Anything is a propulsive debut novel from a fresh new voice.
The searing, wry memoir about a woman’s fight for a new life after a devastating brain injury.
When Sarah Vallance is thrown from a horse and suffers a jarring blow to the head, she believes she’s walked away unscathed. The next morning, things take a sharp turn as she’s led from work to the emergency room. By the end of the week, a neurologist delivers a devastating prognosis: Sarah suffered a traumatic brain injury that has caused her IQ to plummet, with no hope of recovery. Her brain has irrevocably changed.
Afraid of judgment and deemed no longer fit for work, Sarah isolates herself from the outside world. She spends months at home, with her dogs as her only source of companionship, battling a personality she no longer recognizes and her shock and rage over losing simple functions she’d taken for granted. Her life is consumed by fear and shame until a chance encounter gives Sarah hope that her brain can heal. That conversation lights a small flame of determination, and Sarah begins to push back, painstakingly reteaching herself to read and write, and eventually reentering the workforce and a new, if unpredictable, life.
In this highly intimate account of devastation and renewal, Sarah pulls back the curtain on life with traumatic brain injury, an affliction where the wounds are invisible and the lasting effects are often misunderstood. Over years of frustrating setbacks and uncertain triumphs, Sarah comes to terms with her disability and finds love with a woman who helps her embrace a new, accepting sense of self.
Editor's Notes:
Spoiler:
Traumatic brain injury garners headlines when it comes to the ethics and big business of professional sports, but what happens when a single blow to the head alters the course of one PhD candidate’s life? That question—and all the ones that followed about identity, shame, and perseverance—burned hot in my mind as I read Sarah Vallance’s lyrical memoir.
It begins with a simple accident, no blood, no dramatic visit to the hospital, just a bump on the head and a dazed drive home. One single, violent blow and then things begin to be taken from Sarah. There are immediate measurable losses: her IQ is slashed by roughly 40 percent, her job disappears, her strained family breaks apart, and she isolates herself, trusting only her dogs to love and understand her. But there are insidious immeasurable shifts too: her personality changes, language and logic evade her, and her shattered confidence melts into a period of depression and confusion. In short, the things that Sarah believed defined her—intelligence and ambition—begin to disappear completely.
While many of us readers may have been lucky enough to avoid staring into a similar abyss, I must admit that, in a similar position, I may have given up and resigned myself to a life of hiding at home. But Sarah is made of more resilient stuff. Prepare to feel heartbreak, frustration, and anger as you watch Sarah fall headfirst into the void, but know those feelings will be followed by pride, hope, even some laughs, and a deepened understanding of the personal experience of brain injury as you watch Sarah decide—over and over again—to pull herself out, to grieve each new thing she has lost, and to look forward to an altered but untrammeled future.
Curious to know what you thought of Trance when you've read it.
I don't quite agree with your assessment that there is no supernatural elements. Maybe you changed your mind since you said that when you were halfway through the book.
Spoiler:
Say if it is not supernatural and only depends on talking and body language, then there is absolutely no reason that an adult could not learn it, while only children respond to "treatment", but not all either.
Ignoring for a second if it is possible or not, the book itself had a very interesting pace. Never boring at any one point. Some mysteries were a little bit too easy to solve.
Spoiler:
For example the day after his escape the connection between two women being one and the same was so plainly clear that I was surprised he drug it out until the end to finally confirm it.
Also the ending is rather abrupt and with a lot of convenient black boxes.
Spoiler:
Instead of explaining things a bit more, a complete and thorough memory block has been installed. How were they going to fix it? They weren't, they simply turned out to be the even greater evil than the one they were fighting. A chance for the next book to go even more over the top, perhaps.
Last edited by DuckieTigger; 07-07-2019 at 08:53 AM.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckieTigger
I don't quite agree with your assessment that there is no supernatural elements. Maybe you changed your mind since you said that when you were halfway through the book.
Spoiler:
Say if it is not supernatural and only depends on talking and body language, then there is absolutely no reason that an adult could not learn it, while only children respond to "treatment", but not all either.
Ignoring for a second if it is possible or not, the book itself had a very interesting pace. Never boring at any one point. Some mysteries were a little bit too easy to solve.
Spoiler:
For example the day after his escape the connection between two women being one and the same was so plainly clear that I was surprised he drug it out until the end to finally confirm it.
Also the ending is rather abrupt and with a lot of convenient black boxes.
Spoiler:
Instead of explaining things a bit more, a complete and thorough memory block has been installed. How were they going to fix it? They weren't, they simply turned out to be the even greater evil than the one they were fighting. A chance for the next book to go even more over the top, perhaps.
Interesting thoughts Duckie
Yes, I thought that character was easy to spot early on too. Practically telegraphed.
I'm still thinking it's not supernatural , just plain old human evil. The dream states were interesting. If you've ever been in a dream that was terrifying and had trouble getting out of, but we all get out of the dream and wake. To be manipulated while in that state would be evil. Like being trapped in a maze and never able to bring yourself out. Your aware but nothing can be done , would cause madness. Although they were not sleeping. They could be manipulated in some way. I think it may be possible. I really hope it isn't possible though.
My email about the July PRIME books, included a statement that we are allowed to pick TWO books this month (in honor of Prime Day). It worked for me - I got two books.
I rarely get around to *reading* these books, having so many purchased books on my to-be-read list. But It's still nice to collect them, when there are some that appeal to me.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rcentros
I somehow missed this post. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look into it.
I liked this time period best of all. Marconi's new invention of transatlantic telegraph, coincided with spiritualism that was very popular at that time, and many thought the messages were from the same source. I've been to the place where Marconi set up his telegraph towers in Wellfleet on Cape Cod. They are just ruins now but still an historic place. On this side of the atlantic.
06-24-2019, 08:21 AM
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