Author's last name starts with G/H

Look For Me by Lisa Gardner

Look for Me by Lisa Gardner is one fabulous ride!  First you think one thing, then another and then still another!  How great is that!!  This book is part of a series, but I was able to pick up the main points without having all the background… however - I enjoyed it so much, I might need to find some of the first ones.

Roxy is gone.  Her family is brutally murdered.  Did she cause this?  Did she do this? Or is she going to be killed next?  D.D. Warren needs to figure all this out.  To help her Flora Dane (a character from an earlier book) has agreed to help figure out what is happening.  Flora is a bit of a wild card as she was a victim and is now a survivor and maybe a bit vigilante.  However, D.D. needs the help and Flora can go places D.D. can’t.  

I found this book exciting and thrilling and a real page turner!  The characters is were interesting and the story was fascinating.  Not just the present day story, but the horror of the past that kept creeping in really brought you into the story. Lisa Gardner is now a must read author for me!!! Look for Me by Lisa Gardner was a fabulous read!   

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert is a fun cosy mystery.  The plot is so small town with everyone knowing everybody and talking to and around others.  The storyline of a librarian leaving a larger college library due to a bad break up with a jerk and moving to live with an old aunt and run the local library is not remarkable.  BUT what is remarkable is where the story goes from there, with the twists and turns of the plot, with the various people (some good - some not) is what keeps this cosy mystery moving.  

Amy Webber is moving on from the disaster that was her life!  Her small town library is short on funds but has plenty of strange town folk, add in a new HOT neighbor Richard Muir and a murder in the archives and then the small town starts to bristle with accusations.  To top it off Richard Muir is determined to investigate the death of the house’s original owner and with all the undercurrents of the past life gets quite interesting!  Amy is not going to fall for Richard - at least so she thinks - and nobody is going to get hurt with her doing some research into the town’s history - right!

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert is the first book in a new cosy mystery series called The Blue Ridge Library Mysteries.  The book is a fast read that keeps your attention with all the plot twists. A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert is a good read!!

 Broken Rebel by Sherilee Gray

Broken Rebel by Sherilee Gray was a fun read.   The main characters of Neco and Ruby made me root for them and their love.  Nico and Ruby had been together forever.  Neco protected her from her crazy mom and Ruby helped Nico with her love.  Both found a sense of family in the other one.  However Nico thinks he is not worthy of loving Ruby because of all the bad things he has done.  Ruby tries to get over him again and again.  To top it off, Ruby wants to work with the King Agency where Neco works, but not as the receptionist.  

The King Agency handles problems and finds out information.  The employees are men who are a mixture of hard, bad, sexy and alpha.   I enjoyed the bad guys to mostly good guys plot line.  I enjoyed the twists and turns of the thriller aspect.The story certainly had some dark elements, but I did not find them to be overwhelming. Reading Broken Rebel by Sherilee Gray made me want to read the first book of the series and all the others that will come out.  

Broken Rebel by Sherilee Gray was a good read.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green 

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green was a fabulous read.

That’s it.  It was a wonderful portrayal of teenagers in the midst of a life that is neither fabulous or horrid.  It shows their emotional states as it rollercoasters and brings them both to the peak  and the bottom of the same mountain within seconds.  The constant need for reassurance and the constant drive for independence.  Into this world we find Aza, a girl who struggles with anxiety and OCD while trying to find her place in the world.  Her world contains her mother, her father’s cell phone, her bestie Daisy, her first love Davis and the ever spiraling thoughts that get tighter and tighter.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green was a fabulous read.

Touch of Red by Laura Griffin 

Laura Griffin’s newest book about the Delphi Center is awesome.  We meet fingerprint and evidence collector Brooke Porter.  She is determined, thorough and focused on finding answers, even if she puts herself out there looking for answers.  Sean Byrne is the detective who caught the same crime scene.  He has noticed her for a while and is interested, but had to heal first.  Brooke has noticed him as well but is in a man free zone for a while.  On top of that Brooke is feeling like she is being followed by an ex - one who seems to struggle with backing off.

The evidence suggests an horrific crime, but without a clear motive or suspect. Both Brooke and Sean work the evidence and keep “bumping” into each other. Sean does not want Brooke helping out.  He is worried about her but she cannot seem to help herself!   As they get closer, so does the killer to Brooke.

Touch of Red by Laura Griffin is one of my favorite kinds of book - a romantic thriller, with love interests finding each other while trying to outwit the bad guys. Laura Griffin’s addition with the Delphi Center always having new ways to track down evidence just makes the book more interesting!   

Touch of Red by Laura Griffin was a great book!

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is a story about a family and love and a story about fear and pain.  The book brings you down to the lowest depths and then up into the heights.  Leni, the main character is brought up to Alaska as a teen.  She knows that her father is damaged and her mother always tries to keep things moving to a safe place.  Moving to Alaska without enough money, food and knowledge was a dangerous choice.  However, Leni begins to flower with the land and people.  Her father continues his slow descent into hell and her mother continues to try to keep everything together.  Leni meets Matthew and realizes that for the first time she has a friend, a home, an opportunities, but life is not a smooth path.  Things happen as the seasons change, yet Leni continues on the rocky path with her family.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is a fabulous book. You know a book is fabulous when your emotions are so tied to the characters that you breath when they breath.  A book is a fabulous book when you are so entranced with a book, but you are almost afraid to complete the book, because you are so worried about what will happen next.  I loved reading this story with all the ups and downs.  I cried and laughed and smiled and shivered in the cold.  

There are always books that leave you speechless. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah was one of those books for me!  

The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abduction by Tracey Hecht

The Mysterious Abductions by Tracey Hecht is a the first book in a series called The Nocturnals. The book is populated with animals who have been personified by their personal traits into characters in the story.  The story takes place in Australia, so the animals are from Australia and all are animals that are active at night.  I do have to admit, I needed to google some of the animals so that I knew what they looked like and some of their behaviors.  Knowing the information about the animals made the book easier to understand (especially because kiwis in the United States are fruits - not birds).

In the first adventure three animals band together to discover what is happening in their forest to various animals that are disappearing.  The concern does not seem to be related to a single species, but to a variety.  The fox (Dawn), the pangolin (Tobin) and the sugar glider (Bismark) are unlikely friends, but together they make a force to be dealt with - according to Bismarck.  

The book has any fine qualities for a young reader.  The adventure, friendship and perseverance are all fine qualities for everyone to read about and adopt.  The writing is good, although I found the understanding of the game quite confusing until I saw a couple of the pictures to help me ‘see’ it in my mind’s eye.  I think the book would be interesting to those who love to read about fantastical adventures with animals.  The Mysterious Abductions was an interesting read.  

Th Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry

OH MY!  

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry was awesome.  The book brought me on a journey and from beginning to end I was hooked.  Cady became such an important character to me, I found myself giving her advice outloud and at one point may or may not have shouted out.

A girl woke up in a room, on the floor, obviously beaten, and didn’t know who she was or why she was there.  Then she heard, that she was supposed to be removed from the cabin and “taken care of”.  What happened next is just the beginning of the two days where the girl is trying to find out who she is and why bad men are following her.  Make no mistake they are BAD men!  Throw in a couple of twists and a surprise friend and you have yourself a rolling thriller!

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry is a young adult book that can catch to a number of different readers. It is exciting while keeping things somewhat realistic.  The themes of loyalty and love for family, courage in the face of adversity, and determination are strong and positive.  The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die is a great read and I encourage others to read the book!  

Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand

Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand is the last of the books from the Quinn Family at the Winter Street Inn on Nantucket.  This is the fourth check in with the Winter Street Inn.  Each book adds to the previous book about the Quinn Family and their ups and downs.  The family is together for one last time and the book is a tear jerker.  Each of the children have seemed to find a new way forward.  Each seem to have something to move forward with, yet this is the last year that they will be at the Inn.  When Kelley dies, Mitzi’s going to sell the inn.  There are bitter sweet moments and some hard lessons still to learn.  

The series has been generally quite good and I am glad they are ending here before it starts to drag.  The holiday lights and glitter cannot cover the struggles and decisions that the families have to make.  Nor can the beauty of the island and hope of the reader change the course of the story.  The last of the books about the Quinn Family - Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand

The Liar's Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard 

The Liar’s Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard was a great read. Alison Smith was so excited, she was chosen to attend college at St John’s in Dublin.  This was her first choice and she was excited. The fact her best friend Liz was also going to attend was a bonus.  After a minor housing crisis, the girls began college situated in a large dorm on campus.  It was then that Alison met Will and they became friends and lovers.  Until he was arrested and jailed for being a serial murderer of five girls and drown them in the Grand Canal.  

The story is told in multiple viewpoints with the majority of the story’s voices being Alison in the past and Alison in the present. Woven into the story the unknowns continue to haunt you as more and more information trickles out.

I really enjoyed the story and found the book quite compelling (Translation: Didn’t want to put it down at all!) The author’s method of letting out some pieces of information and moving between the past and the present allowed me to feel fully involved in the story.  The end:  Well it was a kick!

The Liar’s Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard was a great read.  

The Most Dangerous Duke in London by Madeline Hunter

The Most Dangerous Duke in London by Madeline Hunter is a great start to a new series of historical romances.  The Duke of Stratton, Adam has always been looked at with jaundiced eye.  His family history and his associations with the Decadent Dukes Society has returned.  He has questions about his father’s death and blames the Cheswick family.  

However, the Cheswick family proposition Adam to marry the families together and offers her youngest granddaughter.  While there Adam espies Clara, the eldest granddaughter.  She is an intelligent bluestocking who is only interested in her journals for women.  Together they spark, Clara is positive they will not marry, Adam is taking matters into his own hand and has determined she will be his wife.

I loved the contest of wills between Adam and Clara.  I found the play between them fun.  The Most Dangerous Duke in London by Madeline Hunter is a fun read.  I enjoyed the storyline and the ending did have a couple of twists that kept my attention.

The Most Dangerous Duke in London by Madeline Hunter is a great read.

Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde

I have enjoyed every book I have read by Catherine Ryan Hyde!  I find that even if they don’t catch me in the first chapter - I am all in by a few chapters later.   Allie and Bea caught me and reminded me that there are good people in the world. There are people who care and people who want to help others, special people.  I often feel that way after I finish one of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s books.  It is the gift she seems to share with us, even though each of her stories are different.

Bea was just getting by, until she was taken in by a telephone scam.  Suddenly broke and without a place to live, she gets in her van with Phyllis the cat and drives to the beach.  She has this idea of making people pay for what happened to her, but in reality, she was trying to survive the only way she could figure out how.  Allie’s parents cheated the IRS out of serious money.  They were arrested leaving Allie alone in the world without a safe place to stay.  Allie felt she had to leave the group home and then things managed to get even worse.  Allie and Bea needed each other even if they didn’t understand it or recognize it.  Together, they take a road trip that opens everyone’s eyes.   

I didn’t like Bea at first with her attitude and then she was scammed and I hated watching her figure out how to survive.  The story was read all in one night as it was so good, I did not want to stop reading until I knew they both were going to be safe!

Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde was a fabulous read!  ENJOY

The Wake Up by Catherine Ryan Hyde 

The Wake Up by Catherine Ryan Hyde was another great story.  I love how she weaves the characters and the plot together to hold the reader in the palm of her hand.  This time she weaves in abuse with the story of new beginnings and an overwhelming sensitivity to the feelings of animals.

The main character Aiden “wakes up” one day with the ability to feel what the animals on his farm are feeling.  This changes his life totally as he is a rancher.  Meanwhile, he meets Gwen and starts to fall for her.  She has two children, one Elizabeth ( a dream child) and Milo (a very angry child who acts out - a lot). The collision between Milo and Aiden and the animals on the farm is huge…  How do you make a family when there is such abuse in the past and no trust for the present? How do you survive with such an sensitivity in the middle of ranch country?

Catherine Ryan Hyde’s newest book was interesting and enjoyable to read.  I felt the book was not as emotionally appealing as the last two I read (Say Goodbye for Now & Allie and Bea).  The Wake Up by Catherine Ryan Hyde was a good read!

Go Ask Fannie by Elisabeth Hyde

Go Ask Fannie by Elisabeth Hyde is a book about family, the Blair Family.  Murray Blair, an older gentleman with his farm of sunflowers has invited his children for a weekend.  Ostensibly, to help break his younger daughter up with an older man who is a player. In reality, the weekend turns into a series of memories from when his family was younger, before the death of his wife and a son.  

The children all come with various concerns and issues. His daughter, Lizzie lives nearby and is a tenured professor just broke up in a rather radical fashion with the boyfriend.  George, his son, is a nurse and a marathon runner with commitment issues. The oldest daughter is Ruth, a lawyer who lives down near Washington and is unhappily married. The weekend starts with an unhappy note as Lizzie brings her mother’s old battered cookbook by Fannie Farmer that was ruined by the ex-boyfriend.  

Each characters shares memories from when they were younger that ties the past to the present. As the stories are relayed more information is gained about the importance of the cookbook and their mother and brother.  The story is about a family and the stories that connect them.  I found the setting in New Hampshire with the various locals mentioned fun. Go Ask Fannie is a well written and poignant novel allowing the reader an intimate view into the family and the ties that bind them.   I enjoyed Go Ask Fannie by Elisabeth Hyde and found the book to be a good read.