Thursday, January 25, 2018

Patient H69: The Story of My Second Sight by Vanessa Potter

Patient H69: The Story of My Second Sight
This is a fascinating true story told by Vanessa who suddenly and totally unexpectedly became blind and had numbness in her extremities.  At first, her condition was a mystery to the doctors as well and was very frightening to Vanessa and her family.  After quite a few tests, the doctors realized that she had Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD), a rare illness that can cause sudden blindness and paralysis. Vanessa explains in detail how her sight disappeared and how it gradually reappeared.  The first half of the book is her story of her illness and in the second half she explores the medical condition and what exactly happened to her vision and how vision works.   

The Birds & Other Stories by Daphne Du Maurier


These are excellent, fun to read classic creepy short stories!  The Birds is quite creepy and although I don't think I have seen the movie, I can tell that the story would make a good movie.  Each story is just a bit oddly creepy and has surprising twists in it. 

Friday, January 19, 2018

Found, Near Water by Katherine Hayton

Found, Near Water (Christchurch Crime, #1)
This is an intriguing psychological thriller with some rather gruesome parts.  Christine is an ex-psychiatrist who now volunteers as a victim's advocate.  She is called in on a case in which a woman who was found in a car wreck claims that her 4 year old daughter had been with her and is now missing.  The police are not sure, however, if that is true, since her ex-husband did not mention a daughter.  Christine runs a little support group for women with missing children and the book examines their stories as well.  There are several  plot twists that mystery readers will enjoy.This is well written for a first novel. 

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Select b y Marit Weisenberg

Select (Select #1)
Julia Jaynes has always lived a sheltered life with her perfect family and the rest of their group.  They are more than human and must hide their special abilities from the rest of the world.  When she gets in trouble and is sent to a public school with regular humans, she finds out that they are people too and she becomes more than friends with a boy named John, whose mind she can read when he is thinking about her.  This is a fun to read paranormal romance and I look forward to the next book in the series!

Monday, January 15, 2018

Haven by Mary Lindsey

Haven
Rain has never belonged anywhere.  He has always lived on the streets and in homeless shelters with his drug addicted mom.When she dies and he is sent to live with an aunt who he never knew existed, in a small town with secrets and a hot girl named Freddie, his life changes in more ways than he thought were possible.  I like that this paranormal romance is told by the boy and not the girl.  I think fans of Twilight and this genre will enjoy it. 

Friday, January 12, 2018

Hidden Deep by Amy Patrick

Hidden Deep (Hidden Saga, #1)
Fans of Twilight are sure to enjoy this paranormal romance.  When 16 year old Ryann meets a mysterious boy in the woods named Lad, she realizes that he is the boy who saved her life when she was 5 years old, only now, he is a very good looking 17 year old.  Not only does Lad like Ryann, but so does the handsome and charismatic up and coming rock star, Nox.  Romance, mystery and intrigue abound in this first book in the series. 

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Elsie Mae Has Something to Say by Nancy J. Cavanaugh

Elsie Mae Has Something to Say
Elsie Mae loves spending the summers with her grandparents in the Okefenokee Swamp.  When she hears that a company wants to build a canal through the swamp and ruin the swamp, Elsie Mae writes a letter to president Franklin Roosevelt asking him to save the swamp.  She has many adventures this summer at the swamp with several unexpected surprises.  There are hog thieves, dogs, gators and boats and her son of a preacher cousin, Henry James.  Can they catch the hog thieves and save the swamp?  This is a fabulously fun to read middle grade historical fiction book that I highly recommend!

The Beekeeper's Daughter by Santa Montefiore

The Beekeeper's Daughter
This is a nice romance story with a bit of mystery.  It follows Grace, in England in 1932 and her daughter, Trixie in 1973 through similar romances. The settings are lovely and made me want to visit both England and Nantucket.  I enjoyed this book and I think others will too.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge

A Skinful of Shadows
This is an interesting and rather unique book.  Twelve year old Makepeace has always known she was different and has never understood why her mother would lock her up in the graveyard with the ghosts in order to learn how to fight them off.  After her mother's death, and when a ghost inhabits her and she is sent to live with her father's relatives, she learns the secret that the family desperately tries to hide.  This book is intriguing and hard to put down!