The Watchmaker's Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom

 

The Watchmaker's Daughter was an impulse checkout. I am sort of lost with what to read right now. 

Corrie was an interesting character and since the story is based upon a true person I have no right to say what is or is not true about Corrie's life. I learned new history and viewed World War II from a different point of view.

I wish the writing was smoother and more polished. At times the story read like a text book and at other times like a story that was just warming up with a nice flow before cutting off. In a fiction story I would blame the editor not sure who to blame with a story based on a real person. Maybe that is how Corrie's writing were all over the place.

All in all I was able to read the whole story. I learned new things. I care about Corrie but I would not recommend the story due to the writing. 

Small Favors

 

My friend lent me Small Favors and it was just the thing I needed to get out of my reading slump.

I was expecting a lot of things with Small Favors since I know my friend's taste in books well and it did not disappoint. The story was magical, mesmerizing, and terrifying. 

Ellerie lives a happy life learning all about bee keeping from her father while helping her mother run the household. Everything is lovely in her life until the oddities start to happen and then the people are attacked in the woods. Who, what, or is anything going on in the woods? Ellerie wants answers and will stop at nothing to get them.

I like the writing style a lot, it was full of fancy and fun but then turned dark and creepy without missing a beat. It did not seem awkward in the writing or loose any of it's charm despite having dark undertones. Ellerie was a fun character and I enjoyed how she questioned her own sanity and what was happening to the town, it made her far more believable. Despite the ending being somewhat open I liked how things ended and most of my major questions were answered. 

What Lies in the Woods

What Lies in the Woods was a random late night choice when I felt I had enough energy to try to read. 

Naomi just wants to forget what happened in the woods that awful summer and she has done a good job so far until the attack dies in prison causing her to receive notification. Unable to hide from her demons any longer she heads back to her hometown and starts trying to learn the truth of what happened that summer. 

The writing was okay and transitions were smooth. The main character was not my favorite. I get she was suppose to be slow on the uptake of learning thing but she was painfully slow. I figured out the whole mystery before anything was revealed which is annoying. I don't mind figuring out part but I like some shocking twists and turns. 

Not sure when I will get motivated to read again. My husband passed and I have been spending all my time working on his estate. By the time I go to bed just the thought of picking up a book is totally overwhelming.