Book Review: The Twenty Seventh Letter of the Alphabet by Kim Adrian

This book is hard to follow. At times it is confusing. The book is written how Kim lived her life. Growing up with an alcoholic father and mentally ill mother, must have been confusing and erratic. The book totally portrays what Kim and her sister went through. This is not for the faint of heart. Reading it may be depressing and sad. Reading it shines a light on mental illness, which certainly needs to be done. I am so sorry that the author had to go through this, but I deeply appreciate her sharing her story. *Thank you to Netgalley, Kim Adrian, and University of Nebraska Press, for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book.

Book Review: Abused by Rachel Haines

Thank you, Rachel, for sharing your story with us. I appreciate the honesty in this story. Some areas of her gymnastics career were positive, others extremely negative. While I find the sexual abuse sickening, I am even more disgusted that Larry Nassar approved and encouraged her to compete with the life-threatening injuries she had sustained. I am so glad that he will not continue to be allowed to hurt anyone. I wish Rachel the best of luck throughout her continuing life journey.

*Thank you to Rachel Haines, Netgalley, and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book. 

Book Review: The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

I really wanted to love this one! How could I not love a book where the main character purposely tries to build a "haunted house"? Sadly I just didn't love this one. I wanted a ghost story. It really wasn't what I was expecting. A big part of the problem was Olive. I just didn't find her interesting. I understand why she was in the story, but that didn't make her easy to like. For me this one was a miss. *Thank you to Jennifer McMahon, Doubleday Books, and Netgalley, for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book.

Book Review: Dead in the Water by Penny Farmer

This is the story of a sister and her love for her family. She must find out what happened to her missing brother. The whole family spends years searching for answers. They look for help wherever they can get it. Many years later the perpetrator is caught, but justice is never served. I appreciate the fact that the author was aware of how hard it was for Boston's children to help her. I also found it revealing that Boston's extended family knew the things he had done, but hid them away. I had a hard time connecting with the writing. At times the story was repetitive and disjointed. I have a feeling that the editor went a little easy on the author because of her personal connection to the story. *Thank you to Penny Farmer, Diverson Books, and Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced ebook.

Book Review: The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

This was a quick read. My recommendation is suspend all disbelief before reading. The fact that the families were so close in proximity, and the way the book ended made it all a little hard to swallow. *Thank you to Minka Kent, Thomas &Mercer, and Netgalley, for providing me with a free copy of the book.

Book Review: Death March Escape by Jack J. Hersch

This was a story of a son following in his father's footsteps. He did his best to follow the same paths his father followed and to visit all the places he hid. The father has an amazing story of having escaped two Nazi death marches. At the time of rescue he was 80 pounds and suffering from several terrible ailments. The fact that he lived to tell his son the story is a miracle. I appreciate the son sharing his story. The story was hard to read as it was broken into sections skipping between father, son, and army movements. I feel the story would have flowed better by seperating it into sections. *Thank you to Netgalley, Jack J. Hersch, and Frontline Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

Book Review: Dannemora by Charles A. Gardner

I enjoyed the background of the criminals who escaped. I didn't even mind the details about the prison buildings. I did get a bit bored after the escape. The writing became uninteresting toward the end. *Thank you to Mr. Gardner, Netgalley, and Kensington Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Book Review: Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

Having been through an experience where I just gave birth and my nurse commented "I won't steal your baby, you can go to the bathroom", which sent me into an all-out meltdown, where I pulled my baby into the bathroom bed and all and threatened the nurse. This was so realistic to me. Obviously, a lot of women are not in the best place mentally, or hormonally, after going through the exhaustion of giving birth.

I don't want to spoil any of the story. I do want to say I read this in two days and was totally drawn into Lauren's world. I loved Harper and hope she will return for another Golding novel.

The atmosphere this book created was absolutely chilling. I can only hope that Golding will continue to write. This was perfect for Halloween. I loved that the ending wrapped up all the storylines. Bravo Melanie Golding! You have a new fan!!!

*Thank you to Melanie Golding, Crooked Lane Books, and Netgalley, for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Book Review: Chasing American Monsters by Jason Offutt

I wish I could give this a better review. I didn't like the fact that the book was divided by states. This produced a lot of repetition for creatures seen in multiple places. There was not enough detail about the creatures. I was expecting more. *Thank you to Netgalley, Llewellyn, and Mr. Offutt for providing me an advanced copy of this title.

Book Review: If The Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss

I was surprised that there were so many characters in this story. I wanted to know more about Sadie. I found a lot of the story repetitive due to the many different points of view of the varied characters. I did like Sadie but a few of the characters were quite annoying. I honestly thought parts of the story weren't needed. Having so many characters with their own chapters did cause me confusion at times. *Thank you to Sourcebooks, Leah Weiss, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Book Review: Where Monsters Hide by M. William Phelps

Wow! This was one messed up couple. This case makes me wonder how many more this woman or couple killed that we don't know about. I am sure that we will never know. I am glad she is unable to hurt anyone else. I was beginning to think that she was going to get away with it.

*Thank you to Netgalley, M. William Phelps, and Kensington Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Book Review: Inconvenience Gone by Diane Marger Moore

This is a very tragic case of a child who was murdered by his own mother. This story focuses on the case and the trial. This was very well written. It flowed nicely and was easy to follow. I am embarrassed that this woman is back on the streets. I hope she doesn't have any more children.

*Thank you to Diane Marger Moore, NetGalley and WildBlue Press for providing me with a free copy of this book.