The Bravest You - Adam Kirk Smith

A NetGalley e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is a great self-help book for those that think they are stuck in a rut. I pretty much have the same day Monday-Friday, with dinner being the main point of change. I am not unhappy with my life but there are definite days where I ask myself, why am I not doing more?

I like the workbook style of the authors narration. The pointed questions to get you as the reader thinking about your life in relation to what is being discussed in the current chapter. 

I did wish there were more real life examples. The author did play it safe and used very well-known public figures and not always recent ones. 

I liked the authors different take on bravery, that it can even be found in the smallest of actions. When I was pre-high school I was terrified of people. I was overboard shy and only talked and felt comfortable around people that I had known a long time. I was told to make an effort by my English teacher to just smile at one person every day. It was a huge thing for me at that time since I only stared at my feet or my book. She helped me see that being brave is more than running into battle and this book made me think of the same thing.

You - Caroline Kepnes

The story is a house with a loose mouse running around inside.

Wow...can you say twisted? Creeptastic? This book is jam packed with insane, psychotic, obsessive and manipulative scenes. Who is the most insane though?

Joe Goldberg works at a bookstore. He meets Beck and instantly becomes obsessed with her. Just like he did Chandra, who we only get snippets of history on. Joe manages to implant himself gradually into Beck's life. He saves her, he hacks her email, he watches her through her open windows.

Guinevere Beck is a writer and college student. She comes into the bookstore where Joe works and starts her manipulative games. She likes the attention she gets from wearing no bras and short skirts. She keeps her windows wide open and does not have curtains up. She displays herself to the world, and to Joe who happens to sit on the bench outside.

You Were Here - Gian Sardar

A Penguin First to Read ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This book literally had everything. Murder, love, revenge, love triangle, family trouble, serial killer... but it was woven together so well. The ending still haunts me. Did I love it? Did I hate it? I just don't know yet. It left me thinking about it and all the what ifs. Seriously considering buying myself a copy and my mother in law and maybe a coworker and a friend... 

Death has been a constant fixation for Abby Walter’s from a young age. Preoccupied by thoughts of a reoccurring nightmare of being buried alive she sees death everywhere. Crossing the street, maybe that taxi won’t stop. Driving through an intersection, maybe a truck driver fell asleep at the wheel. Out of all these nightmares though, it’s the taste of dirt from being buried alive that feels the most real and when Abby has the same exact nightmare 14 years later outside of her hometown she wants to go back and figure out what it all means.

The story shifts from “then” to “now” and is wonderfully told. As the plot builds so does your excitement, and need, to finish the book. 

Then: Abby has always been fascinated with her Grandmother’s wedding ring, a ring that has been hidden away from the world due to horrors it is tied to. A seventy year old love triangle that ended in a nightmare for all those involved.

Now: Abby has reoccurring nightmares of being buried alive. As the plot thickens "then", her life is up heaved "now". A serial killer is punishing mothers by killing their daughters literally down the hall while they sleep.


I had this as my "work" read and got so caught up in it I started to bring it home. I then forgot it when I only had 70 pages left! My picture of woe: Shelf.Loving

Target Omega (Mike Garin Thriller #1) - Peter Kirsanow

A Penguin First to Read ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Action packed thriller following the “innocent man on the run, will do anything to prove innocence while being a hero to the world” theme. 

I would recommend this to those that like military themed thrillers. It is action packed, violence packed and relies heavily on special force references and training to move the plot along since the average Joe would have died by chapter two and the average grunt would maybe make it to chapter three.

This is book one in the Mike Garin Thriller series. Mike Garin is special forces of a highly questionable and guarded secret team, the Omegas. The team just got back from a successful trip to Pakistan when all of them, but Garin, are killed. Garin is left as the prime suspect and the government as well as his enemies want him eliminated. 

Garin tries to avenge his teams death, keep his family safe and bring down a conspiracy that threatens the USA power as tensions in the Middle East climb.

Woman No. 17 - Edan Lepucki

A Penguin First to Read ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Lady Daniels is a 40 something living in Hollywood Hill. She is recently separated from her husband and wants a nanny to come watch her toddler while she writes a book about her life with her older son Seth, a non-verbal kid with nothing physically wrong with him. In comes “S” aka Esther Shapiro aka Esther Fowler.

S has fled Berkeley after her artist boyfriend leaves her for not being enough of an artist. She decides to take on a new project, becoming her mom. She finds Lady and starts to be her nanny because that was what her mother had done.

Both these female characters are irresponsible and complex in their dealings with other characters in the story. We learn that expression is more than just what we voice. 

Lots of alcohol abuse, sex, lies and countless secrets are revealed. I did not care much for either Lady or S but the story line still kept me reading.

May Book Challenge

I am part of an awesome book group and we host challenges. I am the lucky bee that got to host it for May! Feel free to join and use the hashtag below. You can find my pictures on Instagram @shelf.loving

First of May, first of May! Outdoor… READING starts today!

Welcome to the second #coolbookbitches reading challenge of 2017 ! This will span the whole month.

There are (4) categories and (4) challenges! Below find the day of the challenge and the category inspired book choice prompt (to read at any point through the month). Each challenge must be done by the end of the day (you can post them earlier, but late submissions won’t count, you can send them directly to me or post on Instagram with our hashtag)!

May 1 – Mother Goose Day

·         A Retelling

·         Challenge: What is your favorite retelling/or favorite children’s book? Take a picture and explain why!

May 8 – Mother’s Day

•   A book that the mom is the driving force/or main character.
•  Challenge: Take a picture of the book that has your favorite or most hated “mom” or “mom-like” character and explain why!

May 11 – Eat What You Want Day

•     A book with food in the title
•     Challenge: Take a picture of a book and food, caption your favorite and least favorite food!

May 30 – Memorial Day

•     A memoir or military themed book
•   Challenge: Post a picture of a book that makes you remember something special whenever you see it!

Image from https://sites.google.com/a/freeholdtwp.k12.nj.us/mrs-murphy-mrs-killian/monthly-news/may 

Change Agent - Daniel Suarez

A Penguin First to Read ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review.

It is 2045 and the world’s economy has shifted to synthetic biology and Singapore is the leading nation while United States has fallen to third world status.

Genetic modifications are growing in the black market. While it is okay to make some modifications to rid ones children and future generations from disease/mutations that handicap it is illegal to change things like height and intelligence. 

Durand is a researcher that is recruited by Interpol to hunt down the illegal labs and find Wyckes, the leader of the most dangerous and fast growing genetic cartel that is exploiting human trafficking to grow his list of genetic alterations. Before Durand is able to act he is injected with something while standing in a crowd and wakes from a coma weeks later. Durand doesn’t wake up as himself though, but as a physical doppelganger of Wyckes, the most wanted man in the world. 
This book sucked me in, but then again I’m a sucker for “innocent men on the run trying to right the wrongs done to them and get back to their family” plots. 

It is an interesting future that the author creates. Can you imagine that your couch was grown? That the meat you consume is deathless? That almost everything is biologically created? That bio-terrorism is built so specifically that a poison can be engineered to exploit your personal DNA weaknesses?

How far will science take us? Or more importantly, where will greed and exploitation take us?

This book is scheduled to publish today! I definitely would recommend it for those that love fast paced thrillers.