Making Faces - Amy Harmon

Making Faces by Amy Harmon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I'm not going to lie, I shed a few tears with Making Faces, which is pretty common so it almost doesn't say anything. Apparently I'm more sensitive than I thought I was, especially when it comes to the underdogs.
Fern has been in love with Ambrose for as long as she can remember, but he is not like her. He's beautiful, popular, and the best wrestler in their school. Fern is small, red-headed, and kind of a dork. Her best friend is her cousin Bailey, and they are inseparable. When Ambrose decides against the wrestling scholarship to Penn State, and instead enlists in the Army, the whole town is shocked. Four of his best friends decide to join him, but he's the only one that returns home. Returning home alone, feeling the guilt of surviving, and no longer looking like anyone remembers, keeps Ambrose feeling bitter. He tries to keep to himself, but the people that love him, especially Fern are determined to be there for him, even if he doesn't want them there.



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Five Ways to Fall - K.A. Tucker

Five Ways to Fall by K.A. Tucker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



K.A. Tucker is a boss at writing books that suck you in. I have always loved Ben, and his wicked sense of humor, but Reese is definitely a match for him there. The two of them are perfect for each other, and Reese deserves such a great guy after the douchebag she married. Though there are plenty of laugh out loud moments, there is a little bit of heart wrenching reality mixed in. Luckily Reese's friends are pretty amazing too, and with Ben around she may stay out of trouble.



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Don't Look Back - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Don't Look Back is one of Armentrout's best. I am not usually crazy about books with high school age characters, even though I have read many of them. I finished this one pretty quick, because it's hard to put down once you get started.
Samantha is found walking down the road in a wooded area, but doesn't remember anything. She doesn't even know her own name. She has no idea where she and her best friend Cassie have been for the past four days, or where Cassie is now. Everyone around her is a stranger, although they all remember her. Friends and family try to help her, but she's not sure all of them are being honest. One thing is clear very early on, that she was a major b***h before she went missing. She's trying to see this as a second chance at redemption, but with Cassie still missing, and memories or hallucinations haunting her, who knows how things will turn out.



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The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Cormoran Strike is thrilled at all of the new business he's acquired after solving the Lula Landry murder. When Leonora Quine comes to him requesting his services in finding her missing husband, she believes that he is simply throwing another of his usual tantrums. He has left many times before, but isn't usually gone this long. Strike agrees to take the case and track him down. Once he starts investigating, he realizes that one of the last acts Quine accomplished before disappearing was to turn in his finished manuscript to his agent Elizabeth Tassel. Tassel tells Strike that at the time she read the manuscript she was sick with the flu, and admits she only scanned it before forwarding it to two publishers. What she realized later was that the book was libelous, and many who read it would be unhappy with how they were portrayed. She was unsuccessful at getting it back once it was sent out, and all of the people that were characterized negatively had a chance to read it. Once Strike, and his assistant Robin (love her) are able to put together enough of the clues, Strike finds Quine brutally murdered, and left in a macabre scene. As the list of suspects is whittled down, the circumstances become even more bizarre.



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Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






The Summer I Turned Pretty is a little difficult to rate, and review. Belly (real name Isabel) is annoying, and self-centered, but really aren't most 14/15 year olds? So I think Han did a good job in creating Belly as realistic, even if she did so at the expense of her being well received. Taylor, her bff is even more annoying which helps put Belly's personality in perspective. The rest of the characters, but especially Susannah & Conrad were great.

Belly, her brother Steven, and her mother have spent every summer of her entire life at Susannah's beach house with her two boys Jeremiah & Conrad. Belly has been in love with Conrad her entire life, but it isn't until this summer that he notices her as a girl, and not the annoying tag a long she has always been. Jeremiah has always noticed Belly, but he also knows that Belly only has eyes for Conrad.



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Review: Night Road

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 5 of 5 stars






Night Road has been on my to-read shelf for almost three years. I was recently looking for books for vacation, and noticed this one. I immediately picked it up, and didn't even read the description because I knew it was something I had been meaning to read. So I do have the actual book, (not the e-book) if any local friends are interested. Unfortunately because I didn't read the description before buying, or reading Night Road I felt like a real idiot trying to discreetly wipe my tears at the beach. Doing this while hoping no one noticed the idiot crying over a book, while in one of the most beautiful places on earth..

As far as my review of the book, it was heartbreaking. Kristin Hannah is extremely good at pulling an emotional response for her characters, from the reader. Parts of it made me so angry, and I felt betrayed on Lexi's behalf. On the other hand, I know as a mother that Jude's grief was more urgent than thinking logically.

I would definitely recommend reading, just do so in private with tissues at hand.



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