Review: The Perfect Stranger, by Megan Miranda

The Perfect Stranger, by Megan Miranda

Simon & Schuster Audio
Thriller
Audiobook
Narrated by Rebekkah Ross

9 Hours, 42 Minutes

The Perfect stranger, by Megan Miranda is a novel of slow building suspense.

Leah Stevens was a newspaper reporter in the big city, until one day when she finds herself having to start over somewhere new, somewhere where nobody knows her or the past she wants to keep hidden. 

As luck would have it, she runs into her old friend Emmy - who, just out of a bad relationship,  is also looking to relocate. They decide to move to a rural town in Pennsylvania together. The town is on a sudden upswing and Leah is able to get work teaching. Emmy works odd hours, so they really don't see a lot of each other. But when a woman bearing a resemblance to Leah is found assaulted, and Emmy appears to be missing for several days,  Leah begins to worry. 

When it appears she has no choice, Leah reports Emmy missing. Oddly enough, the young police officer cannot find any proof that Emmy ever existed, let alone gone missing. Leah knows she has to find Emmy herself. Leah uses all her investigative reporting skills to try and find out what happened to Emmy. Once thing is for certain, Leah didn't really know Emmy as well as she thought she did. 

This story was a little slow for me, but overall it was entertaining enough.  There was a lot going on in the story, with the plot, sub-plots, plot twists, time frames, and characters, making it easy to lose track and become confused at times, and causing me to back up and re-listen here and there.  For me there was almost a little too much going on, weighing slightly heavy on an otherwise good story line. 

Narration was performed by Rebekkah Ross with clear and pleasant tone and cadence, and with emotional scope in keeping with the events of the story. 

While not particularly suitable for those who are looking for a quick paced, thrill-ride of a story; there is enjoyment to be had by those who enjoy a slow build suspense

Happy Reading,

Christine

Sunday Summary: October 5th to November 2nd, 2019

Wow, October flew by in a blur! 

As a Canadian, I celebrated thanksgiving in October. This year, thanksgiving was accompanied by an early winter storm. Trees were heavily damaged, some ripped out by their roots, and our city was estimating 20, 000 to 30,000 trees damaged.  A lot of people lost power during the storm, and many did not have theirs restored for days or weeks.  I kept my phone, Kindle, and rechargeable book-light charged "just in case", but we were fortunate to not have had any interruption to our power. We were even more lucky that my husband''s close call with a heavy tree limb was nothing more than that - a close call. 

Of course, October is also time for Halloween! I enjoyed seeing all the little kids coming to our door.  My own son had a bookish costume this year as he became Harry Potter for a day☺

Click on any of the cover images below to be taken to the corresponding Last Page Turned review! 

I am currently reading A Brightness Long Ago, by Guy Gavriel Kay.and I am currently listening to The Book Of Dreams, by Nina George

I have reviews pending for The Perfect Stranger, by Megan Miranda, and I See You, by Claire Mackintosh.

Notable titles on deck include Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo. 

Happy reading, 

Christine.

Review: Bruja Born, by Zoraida Cordova

Bruja Born, by Zoraida Cordova

Recorded Books - 2018
Fantasy, Paranormal, YA
Brooklyn Brujas - Book 2
Audiobook
Narrated by Maria Liatis
8 Hours, 19 Minutes

The Mortiz sisters return in the second book of the Brooklyn Bruja series. A series steeped in rich Latin American Folklore.  

If you want a reminder of the first book, you can read my review of Labyrinth Lost HERE.

In the months following the events that occurred in Los Lagos, Lulu struggles to recover. She just cannot seem to regain her emotional footing.

On the way to a school sporting event, there is a catastrophic accident involving the school's bus, carrying among the  many others, Lula and her boyfriend Maks. Almost everyone on that bus was killed or seriously injured in the accident. 

Lula, though badly injured, wakes in the hospital to find that Maks is in ICU and death seems imminent. Lula, unable to let Maks go, performs a canto to take him back from death's tentative grip . Again, like in the first book, the spell goes wrong. Shortly after performing the canto, she discovers that the bodies of the dead that were involved in the crash, have gone missing from the morgue.  Her spell has gone awry and she has created a group of zombie-like creatures known as casi muertos. 

I enjoyed to story, but  not overwhelmingly so. 

It seemed to follow the same formula as the first book - spoiled sister bruja ignores the rules and tries to have things her way, putting the entire family in jeopardy when their spell goes wrong. Not a bad formula at first, but as a sequel it seems a tiny bit redundant. Of course after the events of the first book, it seems a little more reckless of Lula and makes her less likable because of it.  The one aspect that I felt seemed a little "forced" in the firsts book, I am happy to say felt much more organic in this one.  

I really do enjoy the Latin American folklore woven into the series story. That richness of culture makes the series enjoyable

Narration was provided by Maria Liatis.  At first I was a little disappointed to find that this book was not narrated by Almarie Guerra as was the first - but then it became clear that this book was being told by Lula's point of view - not Alex's, so it made sense to have a different narrator. Liatis performed with a clear, pleasant voice, good tone and cadence, and was able to portray the emotions relevant  to the events of the story. 

I have enjoyed the two books available so far in the series.  The third book in the series - Wayward witch is expected August 2020. 

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: Dreamland: A Magical Ghost Story, by Nick Clausen

Dreamland: A Magical Ghost Story, by Nick Clausen

Independent* - 2019
Fiction - YA/Paranormal
E-book
160 Pages

- I received this digital Review copy courtesy of the author - Nick Clausen, in exchange of an honest review. This does not influence the following opinions which are my own.

    
* Nick Clausen is an author from Denmark who has traditionally published books in his native language of Danish. He is currently working on translating his works into English. 

Dreamland is an entertaining tale that satisfied my craving for ghost story. Despite being a short story, Clausen was able to create an eerie atmosphere to send a shudder down your spine. 

Twelve year old Louie lives alone with his mother. His father died when he was still a baby ,and it has been just the two of them since. His dreams had always been vivid, but lately they have been different. His dreams have become more like chapters in a book, continuing from one night to the next. He is also sleeping more and more, and becoming harder to wake. 

In his dreams he there is a man who seems to know him well. Very well. He tells Louie that he is Louie's father. Soon, the influence of this man is causing problems for Louie in his real life, and Louie is struggling to wake from his dreams. There is something sinister going on and Louie realizes too late that his dreams might actually be nightmares.

This story packs a lot into a short read.  While the book has a definite creep factor, there are other, deeper themes as well.  The grieving single mother, a boy who never really knew his father trying to make sense of his own place in the world without him. The ability of a child to miss something they never even really had, and the never ending love of parents. 

A ghastly good read. 

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: The Family Upstairs, by Lisa Jewell

The Family Upstairs, by Lisa Jewell

Atria Books - Available November 5, 2019
Thriller - Psychological
E-book
352 Pages

* I received this digital ARC courtesy of Atria Books, via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. This does not influence the following opinions which are my own.

Lisa Jewell delivers another taut and twisted thriller in The Family Upstairs.

Twenty-four years ago, a baby about 10 months old was found in a house with three dead adults, their identical dark tunics and leggings marking them as suspected cult members, and the other four children known to be living in the house vanished without a trace. 

Almost twenty-five years later, that baby - Libby, opens a letter that will change her life. The letter detailing the inheritance from her birth parents that has been held in trust for her. She has been waiting for this birthday, and the expected letter from the solicitors that comes with it, for as long as she can remember.  Libby is shocked to learn that she has inherited a house in the swanky Chelsea district on the banks of the Thames. A house valued in the millions. With the help of a local reporter, Libby hopes to open the secrets of her past,

But Libby is not the only person who has been waiting for her twenty-fifth birthday.  Other people have been waiting for it too. And while she is looking for answers, they are looking for her.

Jewell's latest offering is a real page turner! The story is filled with all the things that make a psychological thriller great. Lies, scandal, sex, deception, secrets...(well you get the idea), all carefully woven into one twisted, stunning, page turning tale.

The story is told in alternating time lines of past and present, and through multiple points of view, which may take a little getting used to early on, but  thanks to good writing, it does not present a problem, and in my opinion was a great way to tease out this twisted tale.  The plot is well thought out, and each detail was carefully considered. Even when I thought I had a vague sense of what was going on, new details would be revealed raising more questions.  Anticipate some late night reading once you start this book, you won't want to put it down!

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: Labyrinth Lost, by Zoraida Cordova

Labyrinth Lost, by Zoraida Cordova

Recorded Books - 2016
Fantasy, Paranormal, YA
Brooklyn Brujas - Book 1
Audiobook
Narrated by Almarie Guerra

9 Hours, 27 Minutes

Alex lives in Brooklyn with her mother and sisters. While Alex just wants to be a normal teenager, her life is anything but normal. 

Alex is a Bruja (a type of witch), coming from a long line of Brujas, and she is a powerful one at that. During a celebration attended by her family, both living and dead, there is to be a ceremony in which she is to perform the rites to  accept her powers in full, and to become the great Bruja she is destined to be. But Alex doesn't want to be a Bruja. 

During the ceremony, instead of performing the rites to accept the full power of her magical gifts, she performs a different spell in an attempt to banish her gifts. The spell does not work as Alex had expected, and instead of her magic, it is her family that is banished, vanishing into thin air right before her eyes.

In order to get her family back, she enlists the aid of Nova, a Brujo with strange dark markings and tattoos that she has only recently met, and cannot trust. They travel to the darkly magical realm of Los Lagos, where they embark on an epic and dangerous journey and must get past many darkly strange creatures and spirits in an attempt to find and free her mother and sisters.

The basic story line was intriguing and really caught my interest. I loved the Latin American mythology that is at the roots of this story. I enjoy exploring other cultures through books steeped in that culture's mythology.

I felt like the book could have used some additional minor polishing. Without dropping spoilers, I will say that there was an element of this story that felt forced for me. As if it were added to adhere to a certain formula, but  did not feel like it fit tightly into the story.  I would have like to have seen it snugged into the story a little better, or failing that, removed completely. I'm sure that is an unpopular opinion, but it is mine.  To be fair, there is another book in the series, and perhaps that part of the story will create the shape needed for that part to fit better for my tastes.

Narration was skillfully performed by Almarie Guerra. Guerra told the story in a clear and pleasant voice, her tone and cadence were good, and she performed with good range of emotion and character. She easily switched between a Brooklyn accent, and a Latin American Accent and back again.  She made the audiobook a pleasure to listen to. 

At the end of the day, I felt it was a good book, that was well performed and I plan to continue the story with the next in the series, Bruja Born.

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: The Nest, by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

The Nest, by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

HarperAudio - 2016
Fiction - Literary
Audiobook
Narrated by Mia Barron

11 Hours, 6 Minutes

The Nest is an enjoyable book, but for me, not a particularly memorable story. 

The book centers around the clearly dysfunctional Plumb family, particularly the four siblings Leo, Jack, Melody and Bea. 

Their father had created what he planned to be a small trust fund for the siblings to split in their mid-lives, to be paid when Melody - the youngest, turned forty. He meant the amount to be a modest mid-life boost, but that tidy trust fund, through good investments and good luck, turned into much more than than the modest amount he had planned.

Each of the siblings is counting on their share of "the nest" to solve problems created by their own poor decisions. Months shy of the trust fund payout, Leo gets in an accident while behind the wheel of his car, drunk and in the company of a 19 year old waitress. The nest is drastically depleted in order to pay for the fallout of the accident and now the siblings are dealing with their own emotional and financial fallout as their expectations may not be met. 

While the story is good, it is somewhat predictable as it follows the typical formula of "counting chickens before the eggs hatch" followed by a journey self-discovery when forced to face the possibility of fewer chickens. The characters aren't particularly likable, they generally come off as spoiled and difficult to sympathize with. When you don't really like any of the characters, you might like the book, but it's hard to love the book. 

Narration was performed by Mia Barron with a clear voice and  pleasant cadence and tone, as well as good range of character and emotion.

Happy Reading,

Christine