Book Review ~ The Test by Sylvain Neuvel

If you love the show Black Mirror, you will love The Test. While it is a short book, it will pull you in quickly and remain fast-paced throughout until the typical Black Mirror-like ending. Personally, I LOVE Black Mirror and so this book was high on my list to read!

It is a dystopian story, set in the UK. Idir is taking the British Citizenship Test and he has to answer 25 questions on this test, but when the test takes an unexpected and shocking turn, Idir is faced with some life changing and devastating choices.

Oh myyy, yes he is, and what follows is a disturbing account of those choices and what they mean for Idir and for his family’s future. There were many a twist and turn and I was hooked from page 1. There were also some difficult subjects addressed that truly made me think.

It is hard to say too much more about this book without giving the story away but I will say it is gripping and thought provoking and I would highly recommend it! 4 STARS 🙂

Book Review ~ Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

March 4, 2019March 4, 2019 CathyLeave a comment

Wow… Behind Closed Doors certainly packs a punch. I had my own preconceived ideas of what the story would be when I started reading.. um, WRONG. I was surprised and slightly disturbed quite honestly. It was a bit difficult to keep reading just because it felt so dark at times but it definitely kept my interest and I plowed through it in less than 2 days!

In this book, we meet Grace and Jack, the perfect couple who seemingly have it all. They appear to be such a good match, so in love, and how lucky for Grace it is that Jack has accepted her younger sister, Millie, who has Down syndrome as part of his life as well… Things seem utterly perfect, but who knows what really goes on behind closed doors.

Once I started reading, something seemed off right away, I felt unsettled and I wanted to know what was going on. I could tell this guy was a piece of work. I jotted my thoughts down at only page 20:

“Ok, I hate this guy, I’m annoyed at this guy. I’m disturbed and I’m already thinking of ways she can get away before I even know what he is capable of. There is a definite sense that whatever it is, it is chillingly dark.”

When a book can bring out such emotions in me at only page 20, it is usually a book that has sucked me in, hook, line and sinker. Even though it was at times pretty dark, it was a fast paced, thrilling story, one that I enjoyed immensely! Definitely recommend! 4 STARS! 🙂

Family · Life Updates · New Baby Girl · TBR

Life Updates and March TBR List!

March 3, 2019March 3, 2019 CathyLeave a comment

Good morning and Happy Sunday! Two posts today! Imagine that! 🙂

Just an update on my life and the exciting things happening this month!! Also since it is the first week of a new month, I came up with the grand idea to begin monthly posts with my TBR choices for that month! It will be a nice way to set a monthly goal for myself and to see how I did looking back! Perhaps even give you ideas for new books to read!

So without further ado, here are my TBR books for the month of March…

I’m pretty excited 🙂

I’ll link each book to goodreads so you can take a look if you’d like and see if you’d like to read it yourself!

I’m reading Behind Closed Doors now and let’s just say, its bringing out some emotions, and I’m only a few chapters in! I guess that’s a good thing because its making this book quite a page turner for me. I totally expect to finish it this weekend.

I’m a fan of horror and so Baby Teeth stuck out to me when I saw a review for it on goodreads. The premise is interesting and I’m curious to discover if it will live up to the hype!

I’m also a huge fan of the Netflix show, Black Mirror, and because The Test is supposed to similar, I can’t wait to read this one! It is a short book and I should be able to finish it in one sitting.

Ahhhh… Verity. What can I say about Verity? It’s a thriller that was just published in December and is apparently blowing people’s minds! I’m SO excited to read this one! I actually purchased it from Amazon for my Kindle app because I didn’t want to wait for it to arrive in the mail. This book has some major hype surrounding it and I seriously hope it is as good as the reviews say.

Swear on this Life is a romance that I have been wanting to read for awhile based on the review of one of my favorite bloggers, Mix and Match Mama. I grabbed it from my library this week and I am hopeful it will be a lovely read.

I really love thrillers and The Last Mrs. Parrish certainly seems right up my alley. Fingers crossed that I will love it!

So there you have it! That’s my list for March! I am hopeful I can finish them all but that remains to be seen. This month is going to be a busy one as it nears the end! My beautiful daughter is due to have her baby girl on March 22.

She lives in another town and so I will be going to stay with her and her husband for a few days to help out when that precious baby girl is born! She has asked me to be with them in the delivery room as well and I’m just over the moon excited!

Needless to say, that could put the brakes on my reading for a little bit and that is just fine 🙂 I expect I’ll find some time here and there in between baby snuggles ! What a truly amazing time it will be.

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday! I’ll be checking in again soon with another review and very likely a new baby post as well!

🙂

Beach Read · book review · Chick-lit · Romance · Womens Fiction

Book Review ~ The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center

March 3, 2019March 3, 2019 CathyLeave a comment

The Bright Side of Disaster is the second book by Katherine Center that I’ve read and it was a cute, enjoyable read. There wasn’t a lot of depth but it was a feel good story that made me chuckle more than once. We meet Jenny Harris who is pregnant, engaged and happy when suddenly she shockingly finds herself alone and on the brink of single motherhood. The book follows her struggles in the months that follow and finding her way back to happiness and perhaps a better life than she could have imagined.

I find that this author has a penchant for making me chuckle or laugh quite out of the blue! I’m often minding my own business, quietly reading along and .. boom.. guffawing out loud!

For example, re: Dr. Blandon, the fat cat:

“”I snuck him out to the park last week,” Meredith said. “He likes it.”

I looked at Dr. Blandon. He looked at me.

“No, he doesn’t,” I said.

I left Dr. Blandon licking his belly fur on the sofa, hoping that Dean wouldn’t notice him right away. But Dean did notice him – as soon as he came to bed. He woke me at around three in the morning saying “Why is there a raccoon sleeping on your face?””

Sometimes it is subtle or dry humor, but it gets me every time. What can I say? I enjoy it. I enjoy her stories. They lighten my mood and just make me happy, and I close the book with a smile on my face. How can you beat it really? 4 STARS 🙂