Second Chapter Reads

In this psychological thriller, questions of ethics and morality swirl around the twists and turns of the plot. You'll find yourself asking who is lying? Who can be trusted? How is Jessica going to extricate herself from the manipulative web of lies that she finds herself?! "An Anonymous Girl" by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is a fast paced, page turner that will leave you questioning every single character right up to the end.

Do you enjoy YA novels? Fairy Tales? Re-tellings of beloved classics? What about Beauty and the Beast? If you answered yes, have I got the book for you! This book had me hooked after the first few chapters. My FAVORITE part of it, was the heroine. You know how usually in these Beauty and the Beast stories the girl is beautiful, kind, perfect in every way? Harper has cerebral palsy, an absent father, a dying mother, a brother that has turned to some shady people to keep their family together... so, when she is essentially kidnapped and taken into an alternate universe, she is NOT happy. She is fierce, determined, and is not making it easy for Prince Rhen to break his curse. The book was really fun and Brigid Kemmerer made the story her own which I loved. So, if you're looking for a fresh take on an old fairy tale, add this to your "to read" list for 2020! Already read it? Comment below with your thoughts.

I know I'm a few years behind on reading this one, so many of you have probably already read A Man Called Ove.  If you have put this book on your "to read" shelf and forgotten about it, I demand that you take it down, dust it off, and read it at once.  **Side note: Ove is pronounced "oo-vuh" I had to look it up. I will say, it took me a few chapters to fully attach myself to the book, but there was a moment where I was sitting in the hallway of a public dance school while my son was in class. I was reading this book and had to put it down, because I was about to full on start weeping in front of all of these random people I don't know!  This book got to me. I have a soft spot for grumpy old men. I married a grumpy man. They are fiercely loyal and utterly loveable. The writing in this book is unbelievably good. There is a chapter when he talks about the friendship between Ove and another old man, Rune, and why the friendship ended. BUT, he does it...

Oh. My. Gosssshhhhhh. You guys. I finished this book a week ago and I am still reeling. You know I love me a good suspense thriller novel, but even more specifically, give me all the psychological  thrillers. Is that weird? I just think it is brilliant when a book can totally mess with my mind. If you agree... stop everything you are doing and go find a copy of Behind Her Eyes  by Sarah Pinborough. Shook. Mindblown. What just happened?! I pride myself on usually being able to guess a twist before it happens and I thought I had this book all figured out. The twists are neverending and amazing. But. That LAST CHAPTER!!! I think my jaw dropped to the floor! I don't like giving anything away, so no spoilers, but I need everyone to go and read it. After you do, come back and message me because you will be freaking out. Promise.

Today I bring you the 5 apps that every reader needs! Are you super attached to your paperbacks? Do you love books, but feel like you're spending too much money on your favorite reads? Did you know that you can check out ebooks and audiobooks for FREE from your library and have them available on your eReader AND phone?! Do you wish someone knew your taste in books well enough to give you AWESOME recommendations? What you need to begin: a smart phone, an eReader/ tablet (my favorite is the Kindle), and a library card! Seriously, if you don't have a library card, you need to stop reading right now and GO GET ONE!!! The Kindle App Whether or not you have a Kindle, you should be able to download the Kindle app. It stores all of your ebooks. It allows you to change the reading settings, size of font, color of font, etc. My favorite part, though, is that I can read an eBook on my Kindle, and then later if I pick up my phone and open my Kindle App, it goes to the exact pag...

I decided to choose my next read from The New York Times Bestseller List. "The Dutch House" by Ann Patchett has been sitting in the top five of the list for a few weeks now. I then found it on the "Most Wanted" shelf at my library and decided to see what the fuss was about. The summary on the cover of the book was vague and didn't make much sense, so I won't give you a summary. This is one of those books about humanity, about people, about relationships, about family. The book is described as a fairytale, but I'm not really sure I would describe it that way. The book is narrated by the brother or the son, Danny. I have to note that it is always interesting to have a male narrator written by a female. It makes me wonder if this is really how he would have seen his own story and why Ann Patchett didn't tell the story from Maeve's point of view instead. However, in doing the narration this way, because Danny is telling Maeve's story, too, it...