False Witness

 

While browsing the e-library looking for a book I saw False Witness and the cover intrigued me. 

Harleigh and Callopie are both used to having a hard life. With a mother that care more about money and less about being a mother the two girls both get jobs at a young age. Unfortunately for both of them the father of the boy they babysit for is a child predator. These incidents clearly messed up both girls for life as they struggle with their own problems in adulthood. 

Harleigh has legally changed her name to Leigh to leave the horrors of her childhood behind, now a rising attorney she has a lot going for her until an old friend shows up. Horrified to see the young boy she use to babysit accused of a brutal rape Leigh wants to refuse the case but knows she cannot. Her horror continues as she slowly begins to think that Andrew knows what happened the night his father disappeared.

Callie never ever recovered from her time in high school, from being raped by her employer to a cheerleading accident her life has been one problem after another. Now a serious drug addict Callie just wants to wallow in the relief drugs provide to forget about the pain in her broken body. That dream is destroyed when her estranged sister shows up and says someone knows their secret.

I am honestly not sure why I kept reading since I did not like the writing style nor did I like the main characters. Both characters came off as brutally hard to like, they kept making the same mistakes and reverting to the same way of handling things. Eventually I did get to where I skimmed the story since it felt like every part about Callie was about her various methods of shooting up drugs which I had no interest in reading about. It was my fault for thinking this was more a mystery when it is really more of a thriller, no real mystery to any part of it.

A Good Yarn

 

I feel like I am turning into my grandmother reading so many books by Debbie Macomber but it is what is available in the local free library. 

Normally I find Debbie's books to be a light read that are fast and do not require much thought, this was not the case with A Good Yarn. I am not sure if it is because it was a sequel but I had to think a lot more while reading to keep all the characters straight. 

I really only liked Courtney the teenager who is trying to adjust to her life without her mom and a father working in another country. She was believable and I found that her attitude was realistic.

Maverick was my second favorite and he was not even one of the main characters. Despite having a gambling addiction Maverick felt like a caring and giving man. The rest of the characters bored me and I often got them mixed up.

At this point I do not plan on continuing the series unless it is the only thing available in the local free library. 

Coffin Road

 

Coffin Road was in the local free library, the only book I did not put in fact. 

A man wakes up on a rocky beach with no memory of who he is or where he is. I really liked Neal and I imagine if I woke up without memories or any sign of who I was in life I would be freaked out as well. His amnesia seemed believable and his reactions to it seemed believable as well. It is only because of Neal that I kept reading that story.

Karen is a typical teenager who is rebelling against her mother. Pissed her dad committed suicide and angry at the world she goes out of her way to upset her mother. I did not like Karen at all, she was boring and far too predictable. In fact I skimmed most of the parts about her. 

The detective did not have much time in the book so I do not really fee like he was part of the story.

This without a doubt is the most technical mystery I have ever read, it was too technical for me in a lot of ways. While not my cup of tea I do have the perfect friend to pass it on to. 

The Inquisition

 

The Inquisition is the second book in the Summoner series. 

Once again Fletcher is in trouble, thrown into prison for the attempted murder of Dedric, a bully from the town Fletcher grew up in. To Flecher's horror Dedric is now a lord and willing to use every single trick he knows to get Fletcher convicted so he can throw him back in his prison for life. The description gives it away that Fletcher is not throw back in prison but chosen to lead a dangerous mission behind enemy lines along with his friends. 

In some ways this felt like two stories thrown together. I read the part about the Inquisition then stopped. It felt like it was completed despite Taran Matharu's best attempt to tie the next three fourths of the story to the first. Maybe a novella on the trial would have been a better option. Since this is more of a book geared towards middle school students the action never stopped. It just kept going keeping the reader interested. I read the book in two sittings. 

Despite it feeling like two books mashed into one I enjoyed the story. Unlike more series I read The Inquisition did not suffer from the dreaded second book syndrome. Oddly enough I enjoyed The Inquisition more then The Novice. It is rare I like a second book more then a first. 

I am eager to see where else Fletcher's adventures take him and the new demons that Taran Matharu brings to life with his vivid story telling. 

Pretty Little Wife

 

Pretty Little Wife was a random choice from the books available on the e-library page. 

Lila has it all, a nice house, a husband with a steady job, and is the envy of coworkers who say her life is picture perfect. If only they knew, everything fell apart when Lila found the videos, those horrible videos of her disgusting husband preying on teenage girls. Unable to tolerate the monster Aaron is Lila decides to do something about it then everything goes wrong. 

The story kept me jumping, I was not sure what was going on or who to believe most of the time. I liked the writing and the way that Lila thought as she did her best to out think everyone else. Even better I did not figure out the killer, I had a guess but guessed wrong. Mysteries have to be fast paced for me to enjoy them and keep feeding enough information to make me want to turn the page. Pretty Little Wife did all that and more. Everything was wrapped up well in the ending leaving me with no questions. 

A Reaper at the Gates

 

A Reaper at the Gates is the third book in the Ember in the Ashes series. Once again the story is told from three different points of view along with a small part told from a fourth characters point of view. 

I am still struggling to feel connected to the characters. Laia is my favorite but I do not think I would have freaked out if she had been killed or even had something really horrible happen to her. She is just too focused on saying her people forgetting that her people are the reason another whole race was decimated. 

Helen has a one track mind, protect the people of the empire and keep her sister safe from the emperor. Neither one ever goes well for her, time and time again she falls into the commanders traps. They seem to obvious and even her higher ranking officers are unable to help her stay out of the traps. It is sort of sad to see her try to hard and fail over and over.

I really feel like Elias was given the short end of the deal, he barely had any page time, and the little he had involved little to no character development. 

Since a friend gave me the series I will finish it up with the fourth book but I do need a break from all the blood and gore that occurred. 

Among the Enemy

 

Among the Enemy is the sixth book in the Shadow Children series. I was hoping Luke/Lee would be lead once again but that was not the case.

Matthias knows what it means to survive, he has been doing that all his life. Forced to care for two younger illegal third children when their guardian is killed Matthias has a deep rooted fear of the population police. When a raid rounding up the children from the school occurs Matthias knows they have to escape no matter the cost. Due to bad planning and just plain bad luck both of the younger children are seriously injured thus leaving Matthias alone to deal with several problems at once. After some hastily made decisions Matthias is recruited by the population police. Terrified he will be found out Matthias does not wish to the play the dangerous game of rebel spy.

I understand this is a middle school book but things fall into place so easily at times. Also a lot less action then previous books, I had to force myself to keep reading since I was bored. One book in the series remains and I really hope Luke/Lee is the main character again. At this point it does not really feel like the population police are going to fall easily so I am eager to know how that will occur.