14 Ways to Die

 

I had a gift card for Barnes and Noble so after an hour or so of browsing a store while out of town I was intrigued by the title and cover of 14 Ways to Die.

Jess has clearly never gotten over the loss of her mother to a madman whom her father nicknamed The Magpie Man. Interesting serial killer name choice but it fit the scenario. Wanting to help capture the killer Jess signs up to have her life filmed on reality tv in an attempt to draw views to the case. It works and soon the whole town is following Jess and her escapades to capture the magpie man before it is too late and he kills again. 

What I liked is Jess's passion at getting justice for her mother. I liked that the chapters were consistent and all were short with no outliers.

What I did not like was how Jess did not care for her safety or the safety of anyone else around her. This is a man who has killed numerous adult women and she is just daring him to come try to kill her. 

The plot was okay, it had too much filler. Even though the chapter were short some felt unnecessary and I did end up skimming large parts of the story. This was a debut novel so I could see the author learning from this and growing. Cutting the story down, making it a better reading pace, and adding more action. 

Alibi's Collection

 I looked at the library for Death Row since I am a fan of Freida McFadden but it seems it is an amazon exclusive. Since I had to have surgery I figured I would treat myself. The complete set of short stories was around 6 dollars. None of the authors were familiar to me except for Mrs. McFadden so I had hopes I would enjoy all 6 short stories and find more authors to explore in the future. 

I did not like three of the stories at all. I tolerated two and enjoyed one. Good Neighbors was the only story I liked. It was a full story with great pacing. 

Overall the stories felt like they were rushed, more of an outline, some impossible to solve, had a character(s) I did not care about or even disliked reading about. 

Hopefully I wont fall for a well written email with a catchy book banner again. 

The Tenant

 

The Tenant is the first book I have read by Mrs. McFadden that had a male as the main characters point of view and I loved how it was a different twist from what I am used to in that regard. 

Blake is a well rounded character, one who has it all going for him, his dream job, a great personal life, a new home, and enough money to make life comfortable. However that soon all comes crashing down when he looses his job and is forced to take in a tenant. 

Nothing is as it seems with the hidden twists and turns that await. Despite having read several of Mrs. McFadden's books I did not see all the mysteries, catch all the hints, or figure out the major thoughts Blake had until revealed. 

I was glad for a book that held my attention. I am still dealing with a lot. I finally finished moving. Hooray for that. Now I need to focus on my physical health and mental health. Reading has always been my favorite hobby so it is so hard to admit I am struggling to want to read. 

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons

 

My friend lent me I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons and I see why she was drawn to it. The cover is lovely, fun, and enticing all at the same time. 

Robert was by far my favorite character, I love the first chapter that described him and it totally drew me into the story. My issue was with the princess, I felt nothing for her. She just came off as annoying to me. The prince grew on me as I read about his life and learned his thoughts. 

This is a shorter story but tells a whole story leaving nothing to question. I liked that part a lot. The ending was not my favorite but it makes sense and fits the story. The writing was consistent, flowed well, and was a joy to read. 

Icebreaker

 

I went into Icecbreaker blind. I just saw it at a second hand store for a couple bucks and knew it was popular. This is not the normal type of book I read at all. 

Anastasia is annoying. She clearly cannot recognize abuse or that she is being treated like a doormat by her skating partner Aaron. 

Nate is the captain of the hockey team and comes off as perfectly understanding women. Which seems far from true. I don't remember a single guy from college that understood women. 

The book was way too long. The story could have been told in half the amount of pages. I can understand a spicy scene but at least half the story was various spicy scenes. It felt like I was just reading a smut book. I kept waiting for the story to start but it never really started. It was not even until I got to almost 3/4th of the book that Nate even started skating with Anastasia like the back of the book mentioned. It was the last 3/4ths of the book was the strongest part of the story. I will not be continuing the series. 

The Last One at the Wedding

 

I randomly choose The Last One at the Wedding from the eBooks the library had available. 

It is rare that I read a mystery novel with a man as the main character that does not involve a lot of action and intense moments of physical activity. The Last One at the Wedding had none of that. 

Frank is obsessed with his job and keeping his record at his job pristine. He is so obsessed with his job he does not really even know those around him. So it is a surprise to him when his daughter calls to inform him she is getting married. Suddenly whisked into the world of the ultra wealthy Frank is soon not sure what is going on, who to trust, or even if he can trust his own eyes. 

The story was ok, the writing was consistent but slow in parts. Very little in the mystery and more about a man reaching retirement age soon with no purpose in life. 

The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom

 

Even though I like watching true crime I rarely read about it. However after learning about the Franke family I knew I wanted to hear more and learn how neighbors did not know what what was going on with those poor children. The House of my Mother gave some insight into how horribly those poor children were treated while keeping some boundaries to protect the minors. 

I never ever question the narrative being told in true stories. It is not my place to judge how someone interprets what has happened to them in their life. Instead I critique the way they present their account. 

Shari clearly has major psychological issues from her upbringing and that comes across in the story in a way that makes you feel for her. At times I was frustrated with lots of happenings in Shari's life and other times I was sad hearing how help was denied to all the children. 

It was a really easy read, the story just flowed with a simple way of writing. It did not drag or go into overly abusive situations just told a bigger picture of what it had been like living with someone like Ruby.