Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

About the book:
Format: Nookbook
Published by: Quirk Publishing
Published date: June 2011
Genre: Young Adult


Synopsis
A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

About the Author:
Ransom Riggs grew up in Florida but now makes his home in the land of peculiar children—Los Angeles. Along the way he earned degrees from Kenyon College and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television, got married, and made some award-winning short films. He moonlights as a blogger and travel writer, and his series of travel essays,Strange Geographies, can be found at mentalfloss.com or via ransomriggs.com. This is his first novel.


My thoughts:
I don't remember stories that my grandparents told me as a child. I do remember hearing my grandmother talk about people in the neighborhood and such but they weren't stories that I held in my memory. Jake on the other hand were told stories of "monsters" by his grandfather as a kid. He was told stories of where he grew up with peculiar children and even had pictures to prove it. Jake didn't believe his grandfather until the day he saw one of the "monsters" his grandfather mentioned to him as a child.
Although Jake had decided that his grandfather was telling him fairy tales, the day he saw the monster he knew his grandfather had been telling the truth all along. Unfortunately, it was too late. Grandpa is now dead. However, Jake needs t face the demons in his dreams by finding closure from his grandpa's stories. 
He and his dad travels to Wales where his grandfather grew up. This is where the story begins to take a turn and a turn it did take to say the least.
The story is built around a fantastic collection of original yet unique photographs. The way the children and their peculiarities were described reminded me of a circus with the freak show acts. But I actually liked these children and didn't find them creepy. The story included quite a bit of history and time travel which I never knew I would find interest in. However, the way this book was written kept my interest and kept me wanting more. 
Ransom Riggs has written a thrillingly fantastic book. This is a new author that I plan to keep on my favorite authors list.

I GIVE THIS BOOK

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.

The Assassins Village by Faith Mortimer

About the book:
The Assassin's Village by Faith Mortimer
Format: Kindle
Lending: Enabled


Synopsis:
Bound and gagged, the shocked and terrified victim recognises his assailant. Days later, another body is discovered. How many assassins stalk the village?

In a picturesque Cypriot village an expatriate theatrical group gather to discuss their next play; but when the curtain rises it’ll be murder.
A blackmailer stalks the cast – a group riven with jealousies, rivalry, sexual tension and illicit affairs.

Unbeknownst to each other they all attempt to find solutions to their problems. Some believe it lies in murder. Can they find the blackmailer? And can they find that all important ‘little black book’ – the chronicle of their misdeeds.

When a body is discovered, Diana, a cast member, turns detective to draw up a suspects list. After the police get involved one of the suspects is found hanged - another murder or the suicide of a guilty person?

A visit to a villager’s home uncovers an ancient assassin’s weapon. Could this be the murder weapon? Is it possible that an assassin lives at the heart of this formerly peaceful and idyllic village?

Love, hate, murder and high drama all feature in this classic historical detective story. With a long list of suspects, some dramatic twists and the odd red herring, the reader is left guessing until the final curtain falls.


My Thoughts:
The Assassin's Village begins with a very thrilling and frightening scene. When I read it, I thought of the hunter is now caught by the hunted. The scene was captivating and left me wanting to read more. The rest of the book did not disappoint. It seems that throughout the book I kept wondering and guessing 'who did it. Is it this person, I bet it's that person.' It seemed there was always a reason why anyone of the characters would or could have been the killer but the story was never predictable. By the end of each chapter I was almost convinced the killer was the person focused on the most in that chapter but then the realization hit that I will not know who the killer is until I finish the book.

The author wrote a well developed story with wonderful imagery and well developed characters. I especially enjoyed each quote from Macbeth at the beginning of each chapter. This story was a fascinating story and I hope to be able to read more by this author.

I GIVE THIS

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.

Said the Spider...

About the Book: Sophisticated crime syndicate parasites invade the normally solid foundation of Midwestern banking and generations of established manufacturing. Executives and management usually in control suddenly find they are masterfully manipulated into a web of irreconcilable personal and financial seduction.

From the traumatic discovery at the river’s edge to the eventual confrontational conclusion Said The Spider seduces greedy, gullible and unsuspecting prey into a deadly and graphic whirlwind of corporate disaster leading to murder, suicide and revenge.

The early exploits of the juvenile crime spree by a youthful mastermind who cleverly manipulates his prey leads the reader to the ruthless genius manipulating the city. This drama of cause and effect with no escape from the temptations of lust, greed, and ignorance has been cleverly baited.

The corporate investigative agency and police sources enter almost too late to stop this whirlpool of turbulence as the bank Vice President’s realize their own failure and the investors and corporation officers panic and retreat from the coming Armageddon.

As murder, suicide and monumental financial losses are exposed, the crime syndicate learns of an investigation which might interrupt their lucrative operation. Crime bosses will stop at nothing to successfully complete their artistic looting of a major bank and manufacturing complex.

Time is running out. Investigators are pulling pieces of the puzzle together. Corrupt and greedy bank executives are running for their lives. The syndicate is charging ahead in their goal of complete domination and eventual departure culminating in a surprise and conclusive end to fraud and murder.

About the Author: More than 40 years Earle (Doc) Van Gilder was involved in the investigation of white-collar crime. The last 20 years he ran his own Investigative Corporation partnering with major firms, local and state government agencies and law enforcement to solve a wide range of criminal activities from internal theft and white collar crime to insurance fraud, criminal investigations and undercover operations.

Earle is also a certified Kyokushinkai Karate Branch Chief and martial arts instructor and well versed in the handling of weaponry. These experiences combined with his Marine Corp and equestrian experiences have resulted in a number of short stories which in turn led to his first novel, Said The Spider. He recently completed a second novel, Gumshoe Diary, The Month of May.

My Thoughts:

Said the Spider was written with a lot of style and character. From the first sentence of the book, I was captivated and wanted to know more of what will happen. This was one book that I wasn’t able to predict the end of the story. Van Gilder was able to write a story about a criminal mastermind with a great deal of imagery and details that made me feel like I was there in the story. The characters were well developed and the twist and turns of the story line were very intriguing. I enjoy reading a book where I can visualize everything from the story. In this book I was able to visual the people, the homes, even the circumstances where the investigation teams were in and the people and places they were investigation. It was obvious that Van Gilder used his past experience as an investigator to make this book a great read.

If someone is looking for a good criminal investigation story, make sure to pick up Said the Spider by Earl Van Gilder. You won’t be disappointed. 

I GIVE THIS BOOK

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I was asked to review by Outskirts Press, Inc.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

About the Book: Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High-from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance.

Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death-and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

About the Author: Lauren Oliver is the author of Before I Fall, which ALA Booklist called a "compelling book with a powerful message [that] should not be missed." A graduate of the University of Chicago and the MFA program at New York University, Lauren is now a full-time writer and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Delirium is her second novel.

My Thoughts:  Initially I found pieces of Before I Fall to be a little bit unrealistic. The behaviors of the teenagers weren't what I found unrealistic but the fact that it seemed like the parents were never around and all the kids did was get drunk. Then I thought back to when I was in high school and realized that I did go to high school with a lot of people like that. After that realization, it was easier for me to get through the book.
Throughout the book, I kept thinking that I would never want to relive the same day over again seven times. I liked that the author didn't have Sam automatically become this nice person on day one of her recurring days. Sam had to go through a number of days going through different emotions and realizing different things, even at the risk of losing her best friends. 
Before I Fall was very well written and I think each and everyone of us can relate to what went on in the halls of Thomas Jefferson High School in some way shape or form. I was hoping that it would have ended differently and that be the only thing that I didn't really like about the book.  It wasn't a bad ending but I wanted it to be different :-)

I GIVE THIS BOOK:

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.

Review: The Scent of Rain and Lightning

About the book (Synopsis from BN.com):

Written with the wisdom and grace devoted readers have come to expect from the award-winning author of The Virgin of Small Plains, here is a brilliantly moving tale of family, murder, and redemptive love.

One beautiful summer afternoon, Jody Linder, a young English teacher, is unnerved to see her three uncles parking their pickups in front of her parents' house—or what she calls her parents' house, even though they have been gone almost all of Jody's life. The polished boots, pressed jeans, fresh white shirts, and Stetsons—her uncles' visiting clothes—are a disturbing sign.

The three bring shocking news: the man convicted of murdering Jody's father is being released from prison and returning to the small town of Rose, Kansas. It has been twenty-six years since that stormy night when Jody's father was shot and killed and her mother disappeared...

About the author:

Nancy Pickard is the creator of the acclaimed Jenny Cain mystery series. She has won the Anthony Award, two Macavity Awards, and two Agatha Awards for her novels. She is a three-time Edgar Award nominee, most recently for her first Marie Lightfoot mystery, The Whole Truth, which was a national bestseller. With Lynn Lott, Pickard co-authored Seven Steps on the Writer’s Path. She has been a national board member of the Mystery Writers of America, as well as the president of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Prairie Village, Kansas. Visit her website at www.nancypickardmysteries.com.

My thoughts:

The Scent of Rain and Lightning was a very quick, easy read. From beginning to end the story moved very quick and was quite intriguing. The characters were well-developed and throughout the story, the author had you believing the outcome but at the end, whoa…not as predictable as I thought. The end of the story was definitely a wow moment where you never would have seen it coming and that makes it an even interesting read. If you are looking for a quick, intriguing story this is a book you want to read.

I GIVE THIS:

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.

Best Wedding Gift Ever…Or is it?

About Book: 17 year old Leeann Worthier is the perfect girl in town - or so she says. George Willets is the heir to a booming petroleum business. When they announce their engagement, George's controlling mother is unimpressed, and Leeann absolutely refuses to live with her mother-in-law. So George gives his new wife a house as a wedding gift - a house haunted by the family's most violent ghost.

About Author: Kathleen Mckenna is a transplanted Alaskan who spent twelve years on her first paragraph and now lives and writes prolifically in the opposite kind of desert in New Mexico. 

She has written eight novels to date and recently nearly lost all eight when her laptop and her back-up drive failed simultaneously. At the last count, seven had been recovered.

'The Wedding Gift' is Kathleen's third novel, the first of a supernatural trilogy. The second in the series, 'The Comeback', will be published by Night Publishing in late 2010.

My Thoughts:

First I have to say, I wish I received a mansion for my wedding gift for FREE :-).

However, nothing in life is ‘free’ is it?

The Wedding Gift is a story of a young girl who marries into a wealthy family, receives a mansion as her wedding gift from her groom’s father, but, well, some gifts are not made to be cherished. Throughout the story, I asked myself many times if 17 year old Leeann Worthier who marries 26 year old, filthy rich George Willet, is truly a gold digger, a gold digger by circumstance or as her best friend says, dumber than a box of hair.

Leeann, who is said to be the most beautiful female in all of Dalton, maybe even Oklahoma, was courted by the only son of the wealthiest family in Oklahoma. She ends up pregnant and George being a ‘gentleman’ and in love with Leeann, decides he will be responsible and marry her the week after she graduates high school. Leeann of course is swept up by the things that George has bought her and the promise of the things he will buy her. For their wedding gift, they are given the title to the family owned mansion, Willet House. Isn’t that just the grandest gift ever? Well, not so much. Willet House is haunted and has been the town haunted house since the mid 70’s when George’s uncle and his family (wife and five children) were murdered there; supposedly, by the wife. Guess who she decides to show herself to, yes Leeann. Did she or did she not kill her children? Why is she still in the house? It all unravels when George turns up dead and Leeann is the accused.

I don’t necessarily believe in ghosts, but the story was written with such vivid descriptions that I could see, hear and smell everything the author described. Kathleen McKenna has written a great ghost story that captures the readers and places them in the town of Dalton where everything is happening.

After reading the story, the answer has become more clear to me whether Leeann was a true gold digger, a gold digger by circumstance or dumber than a box of hair. Thing is, she doesn’t have a lot to fall back on besides being the most beautiful girl in Dalton, maybe even Oklahoma, so it was easy to fall for a lavish lifestyle. And for those of us who loves a hero at the end, there is one and again, the description is so vivid, I want to look into those beautiful green eyes…:-)

I give this story: 

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I was given by Night Publishing. 

Flyers...I'm finished

The Passage - Justin Cronin

Synopsis:

“It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.” 

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.

About the Author:
Born and raised in New England, Justin Cronin is a graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Awards for his fiction include the Stephen Crane Prize, a Whiting Writers’ Award, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. He is a professor of English at Rice University and lives with his wife and children in Houston, Texas.


My Thoughts:
So I finally finished The Passage and I must say, although it felt like it took way too long to finish, I'm glad it did. I know it may not sound like I'm making sense but the details in the story are just that, detailed and although it didn't seem like it would have come back around it did somehow. The end of the story left me hanging and as much as I hate that, I love it all at the same time. Basically, I WANT MORE NOW...LOL. However, I must wait until 2012 I think...FLYERS!!!!!! 


Although I thought the middle of the book did drag a bit, it seemed to have been an essential part of the story as far as the characters go. The beginning was very strong and the ending was even more intense. There were points where I feared for the group, there were times when I cried for the group and there were times when I wanted to yell 'RUN'. As much as I tried to predict the ending of the story or even the ending of sections, I found that I was not able to predict at all. 

I Give This: 

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.

I LOVE A GOOD MYSTERY

Review: Spoilt – Joanne Ellis

Book Description:

Synopsis

Passion turns to envy. Love to murder. One way or another, everyone is spoilt.

A sadistic killer is stalking the streets, carving his hatred into the bodies of beautiful, young women.

The murders are stirring up bad memories for Detective Lucas Hudson, as he struggles to remain focused - juggling the horrors of today with horrors from the past.

When Chelsea Summerville's best friend goes missing, she's unwillingly dragged into the race to stop the killer.

As Lucas and Chelsea find happiness together, Chelsea becomes the hunted rather than the hunter.

Can Lucas shake off his demons and save the woman he loves, or will everything he holds dear be spoilt?

About the author: 

Joanne Ellis is a prolific Australian writer who won the Night Reading / Publishing 'First Chapter of the Month' in May-June 2010 with her first chapter of 'Spoilt'.

Other novels written by Joanne include: 'Fire Starter', 'Womaniser', 'The Rookie', 'Charlottesville', 'Control' and 'The Mystic Garden'.

My Thoughts:  I love a good mystery. Spoilt began with a big “bang” and I loved it. It instantly captured my attention and I did not want to stop reading. The romance between Lucas and Chelsea was so intense that it made me want to believe in love at first sight. The way Lucas was so intent on protecting Chelsea was very endearing. Without, ruining the end of the story for everyone I just wanted to say that by the end of the book, I became scared for Chelsea, angry at Lucas, felt the pain and heartache they were both feeling and wanted to hurt the maniac serial killer.

Spoilt was a well written story that flowed through the chapters like melted butter. From the beginning when the murders are being investigated, to when Lucas and Chelsea initially met and then when they fell in love, the story was easy to follow. I didn’t have to go back a few pages to see if I missed anything.

I GIVE THIS BOOK

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I was given by Night Publishing.