Tag: book

Posted in Bookish and Bingeable

Bring Her Home

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

By S.A. Dunphy

She had taken only one step towards the hotel when she heard the car door opening, and then something had her by the shoulders in a grip like steel. Penny tried to fight, but it was no good. The last thing she heard as consciousness drifted away was the whisper of a familiar song…

In a small town on Ireland’s west coast, a young woman named Penelope O’Dwyer leaves a restaurant. It should take five minutes to walk back to where she’s staying. In those five minutes she disappears without a trace.

It’s a few days before the tape arrives. The kidnapper’s face is masked, his voice distorted, but no one doubts for a second he will follow through on his threat: a ritual murder at the end of October – and after that, many more murders to come. Penelope has two weeks to live. And the police don’t have a single lead.

This was a first read for me by this author. I opened the book yesterday morning and didn’t stop reading until I was finished. This doesn’t happen for me very often. I just HAD to know how it ended! 

While I’m not a huge fan of crime/serial killer stories, this book sucked me in. It gave me a lot of Joy Ellis vibes (and I am a huge fan of hers). The camaraderie and friendship between Jessie, Seamus and Terri reminded me a lot of Jackman and Evans. They’re easy characters to care about. I loved how each one was introduced. We get a bit of each of their backstories without leaving the path of the story. Each backstory is introduced just at the right time and is essential to the story. 

This book also gave me a few CJ Tudor feels, with the folklore added to the storyline. I love Celtic folklore. It was weaved brilliantly into the story and mixed well with the modern day mystery. 

I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I won’t but reading this book was like putting together a huge puzzle. Mr. Dunphy put each corner together first giving us a glimpse of what the whole picture would like. Then, he skillfully connects each little completed piece to give us the whole picture, like a fuzzy image coming slowly into a clear view. And yet, even with all that, we’re still left wanting more with a bit of something left over for the next book. 

My recommendation is READ THIS!! Set aside a day and start in the morning because once you start, you will not want to put this book down. Personally, I cannot wait to virtually go to Ireland and visit Jessie, Seamus and Terri again. I’m so curious to see what the future holds for all of them!

My rating – :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

Posted in Bookish and Bingeable

The Strangers on Montagu Street

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

by Karen White

Psychic realtor Melanie Middleton is still restoring her Charleston house and doesn’t expect to have a new houseguest, a teen girl named Nola. But the girl didn’t come alone, and the spirits that accompanied Nola don’t seem willing to leave…( nicked from Goodreads)

I have four words to say about the ghostly aspect of this book. 

Dollhouses creep me out. 

They creep me out more than empty rocking chairs, more than creepy old dolls, more than clowns and even more than those shaggy old monkeys with cymbals attached to their hands that play for no reason at all. 

*shudders*

From the moment Nola, Jack’s estranged daughter, laid eyes on the dollhouse in Jack’s mom’s antique shop, I knew I was in for several nights sleeping with the lights on. As usual, Karen White gives us a super scary ghost story (complete with a ghost dog!) while weaving it into a more gentle one involving Nola’s recently deceased mother. 

We get a gift in this book – we get to go a little deeper in the characters. Up to now, we’ve only seen the talented, smug, sexy side of Jack who would love nothing more than to have Melanie put her trust issues behind her and give him a second glance. This book introduces us to the parental side of Jack – the Jack who stumbles and bumbles his way through attempting to parent a teenager (a teenager, no less! Karen’s not easy on this guy at all!). There’s a lovely side of Melanie we get to see also. 

Nola is a refreshing, funny, witty, sarcastic teenager who’s hanging on to life by a thread. I fell completely in love with her. As a mom of girls (both adults now), I wanted nothing more than to reach into the book, grab Nola and hug her under all the bad things in her life disappeared. I felt her distrust,  her every disappointment but most of all, I felt her complete love for her mother. I hoped the relationship between her and Melanie would give the latter some insight into her relationship with her mother but that inched along as the story progressed. 

What I did like to see if for once, we got to see Melanie lay down a bit of her OCD-ness and search inside for some real wisdom in dealing with Nola. Nola, unable to live peacefully with her dad, moves in for some much needed perspective and space while she heals. And yet, while Melanie is so capable of being so wise where Nola is concerned, I’m still left wondering why she fails to apply any wisdom to her own life. 

Still on rocky ground with her daughter, Ginnette makes a reappearance as does Melanie’s dad. There’s a super sweet reconnecting of these two characters in a “love never dies” type of way. It’s warm and heartfelt, even though I find myself wanting to kick Melanie’s dad for STILL failing to acknowledge the abilities of his ex-wife and daughter. 

Melanie finding out she’s pregnant is just rewards for trying so hard to retain any control over her rapidly fraying life. There’s nothing like a baby to shake one up and make one realize that little is within our control. 

My rating: :star: :star: :star: :star: :star: