Tahoe Ghost Boat (Owen McKenna #12) - Todd Borg

An Amazon top 100 free read.

Really liked this book. As I mention continuously I love a good mystery and thriller. This book kept throwing twist after turn after back flip. Owen McKenna is a relate-able guy and nothing seemed overly far fetched or too unrealistic to follow (and you just have to love that his side kick is a Great Dane). Not only is the story line enthralling but it comes with good lessons. The young female character personally has to overcome being victim to the worlds perception of beauty and what makes people worth being noticed (not that being kidnapped should shoot you into stardom but that working hard for what you want is worth more then being naturally gifted).


My former sidekick Great Dane <3 miss the big guy.

Finding Joy: A Christian's Journey to an Unschooled Life - Julie Polanco

Goodreads First Read

I am not Christian or highly religious but I liked the premise behind this book. I was almost two years younger then my peers growing up but education came very easily to me and I was bored most my academic career. When I got to college I struggled a bit because I did not some basic things like how to study or work with teams (I was in a lot of accelerated course and due to the lack of accelerated students group work hardly ever occurred and I had to rely solely on myself). Knowing all this about my own education I do not want my kids to be faced with the same problems. This book brought up many ideas for educating children that do not involve standardized testing and school methods that I can apply with my children. I probably will not have the ability to just home school my children but I can help them during the times I am around to learn in different ways.

Cottonmouth and the River (book one) - CS Fritz and bonus book two...

Goodreads First Read

Really pretty illustrations and the story was good too. A little mystery and a life lesson on the power of promises and those that make you break promises with fancy words. Not really a children's book but definitely worth keeping in the library until the kids are a little older.

Cottonmouth and the Great Gift - book two

Goodreads First Read

Second book in the series that I received with the first which was the actual giveaway.

I liked the first one a lot better. Once again the book was illustrated beautifully but this one did not have a vivid life lesson like the first. Both books ended kind of abruptly but I feel like this one really just cut the story in half while the other one came to a good resting point.

more free reads from Amazon top 100

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

As I have mentioned in previous posts I like a good suspenseful book that makes me think. I liked these stories because I was familiar with the characters (Sherlock and Watson etc) but the stories were all new to me. It was fun watching characters that I know in many shapes and forms take on yet another life and face a new adventure every chapter. This was a book that I kept to reading a "chapter" a day so that the stories did not get mixed up or boring.

Ebola K - Bobby Adair

I liked this book! It went really fast and kept me interested the entire time. Yes, some of the scenes were hard to digest and with the recent Ebola scares throughout the states it was more easily believable that this story could happen in real life. Definitely would recommend this as a read to anyone that likes a bit of a terror plot thrown in with humanity being found in young members of society, even if they did lose their way for a while.

The Vanishing Game - William Boyd

This book was almost written like a movie script. Super quick read. It was not that it was bad I just wished it was a lot more developed.

Big Girls Don't Cry - Taylor Lee

Another book that grabbed my interest throughout. I was not in love with the language chosen (too many honeys and sweeties as the characters talked to each other) and there were a lot of super cheesy moments I could have done without. There was also a lot of the main character knowing she looked sexy, I am sorry, if you are avenging your beloved brothers death I would not be winking at myself as I checked out my butt in the mirror... If you can get past these flaws in the story though it was good!

The Articulate Witness - Marsha Hunter

Goodreads First Read

I think this book, even though targeted at someone being a witness for the first time, would be good to review in any situation where you may feel nervous and unsure how to react. Some points made could be beneficial in scenarios such as job interviews. Super quick read, took me about 15 minutes to read it straight through. The intro though suggests you take the time to put it down and complete the exercises that are presented.

Too Many Crooks Spoil the Broth (Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery #1) - Tamar Myers

I ranked this book as OK. This was another free top 100 from Amazon. I like mysteries and this one keeps you guessing as to "who dun it". I am not a huge fan of when people are taken advantage of or needless bickering and this book was full of both. It is also full of references how people are hypocritical when it comes to their religions which is another topic I am not a huge fan of. (This also could be the author not being well educated on the religions?) So while the mystery kept me intrigued the rest of the story I could have done without.

Where She Went (If I stay #2) - Gayle Forman

This is the second book in the If I Stay series that my hubby bought for me for Christmas. The first book was told from the female leads perspective and was really good. This one was told from the male leads prospective and was just as good.

The first book was all about the girl falling into a coma after a tragic car accident and her decision to stay or leave. This second book is set three years later and about how her decision to stay has impacted their relationship. I liked how these two books tie into each other, how his conversation begging her to stay alive, even if he has to let her go, would be better then if she left (died). (Spoiler coming up) How he knows that this doomed their relationship yet could not stop a moment of weakness to beg it of her changes their lives for the next three years in ways he did not want to anticipate. Of course this is fiction and where real life would leave these star crossed lovers doomed they manage to find a way back to each other and rekindle their old passions for each other.

This book is worth the money spent :)