Harlequin | November 26, 2013 | Mass Market Paperbound|ISBN: 978-0-7783-1555-1
My Review:
Rachel de Luca is still having visions of murders through her new corneas she receivd a few months ago in this riveting story in Book Two - companion to "Sleep With The Lights On."
Only Rachel and Detective Mason Brown are aware of her secret and they plan to keep it that way to protect the people they love - but is this the right thing to do? Giving up the secret now would cost Mason his job that he loves so much and bring shame to him and his family.
After sleeping together one single night they swear off any further bedroom trysts and have mutually agreed to keep their distance and just remain "friends." Then a string of murders brings them back together again when Mason approaches Rachel for her help in solving the crimes.
Mason decides that he can protect everyone in his family and including Rachel by taking them to a beautiful ski restort, a real winter hideaway, but little does he know that danger has already followed them up the mountain.
Guests begin disappearing from the resort and the race is on to find the murderer. Rachel knows that she herself is a target, but she must move forward anyway if she is to be of any service whatsoever to Mason. "Will acknowledging her feelings for Mason destroy her - or save them both and stop a killer?"
Story Description:
Harlequin | September 24, 2013 | Mass Market Paperbound|ISBN: 978-0-7783-1554-4
Through the eyes of a killer.
Rachel de Luca has found incredible success writing self-hlep books. Biut her own blindness and the fact that her troubled brother has gone missing have convinced her that positive thinking is nothing but bull.
Her cynicism wavers when a cornea transplant restores her sight. The new eyes seem to give her new life, until they prove too good to be true and she starts seeing terrifying visions of brutal murders, crimes she soon learns are all too real.
Detective Mason Brown's own brother recently died, leaving behind a horrific secret. In atonement, Mason donated his brother's organs, though he's kept the fact quiet. Now he wants to help Rachel find her brother, but when he discovers the shocking connection between her visions and his own brother, he suddenly has to do everything in his power to save her from a predator who is somehow still hunting from beyond the grave.
My Review:
Rachel de Luca is blind but is an author who pens self-help books but doesn't believe in half the stuff she writes about. A lot of the things he writes about are things people already know, she just puts her own spin on it to make sound more authoratative.
Her brother has gone missing and she seeking help from the police who don't necessarily want to take her very seriously since he is a grown man, however she is promised that someone will get on it right away.
After leaving the police station she steps off the curb and gets by a car driven by a police Detective named Mason Brown. Soon they are having a conversation about her brother and he promises to help her find him. But little does Rachel realize that Mason Brown has his troubles with his own brother and after he dies, Mason decides to donate all his brother's viable organs to various people. But what Mason doesn't know it the secret that his brother, Eric, left behind before he died.
After Rachel's receives a cornea transplant she begins experiencing horrible visions of murders. Like she is in the body of the murderer watching him hack his victims to death. Soon however, Mason finds a shocking truth - that there is more between his brother, Eric and Rachel than he thought. He now must find someway to save Rachel from someone who is hunting her from the grave.
SLEEP WITH THE LIGHTS ON was supremely suspenseful and a thriller of a read. I found this to be a deeply satisfying and gripping read!
Story Description:
Thorndike Press|January 8, 2014|Hardcover|ISBN: 978-0-670-02478-0
A New York Times Bestselling Author Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world. Hetty "Handful" Grimke, an urban slave in early 19th century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls of the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke's daughter, Sarah, who has always known she is meant to do something large in the world, is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women. On Sarah's eleventh birthday, she is given ownership of ten-year-old Handful, and we follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty-five years.
My Review:
THE INVENTION OF WINGS was a gripping read and is based on the life of Sarah Grimke. Sarah was an aristocrat from the south whose father was a bigtime judge. The family owned slaves and on her eleventh birthday, Sarah is given a slave of her own named, Handful. She was appalled at this "gift" and refused but was forced to accept her. Sarah just couldn't digest the fact that someone could actually "own" another person.
Handful was just ten-years-old so she and, Sarah became more friends rather than slave and owner. Handful did complete tasks normally carried out by slaves but Sarah felt terrible even asking her.
Both Sarah and Handful want freedom - Sarah to be free to choose her own vocation, that of being a lawyer which is unheard of for women of her era and - Handful to be a free person and not owned by anyone.
Sue Monk Kidd does a wonderful job of portraying the harsh realities of that time, especially the deplorable treatment of slaves. This is one read you don't want to miss.
THE GOOD SISTER (WENDY CORSI STAUB)
Story Description:
HarperCollins|Sept. 9, 2013|Mass Market Paperbound|ISBN: 978-0-06-222237-4
In New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub's electrifying new thriller, a mother races to save her daughter before her darkest nightmare comes true.
Sacred Sisters Catholic girl's school has hardly changed since Jen Archer was a student. Jen hoped her older daughter would thrive here. Instead, shy, studious, Carley becomes the target of vicious bullies. But the real danger at Sacred Sisters goes much deeper.
The only person Carley can talk to is "Angel", a kindred spirit she met online. Carley tells Angel everything - about her younger sister, about school, about the sudden death of her former best friend. Angel is her lifeline. And Angel is closer than she knows.
When another schoolgirl is found dead, Jen's unease grows. There are too many coincidences, too many links to her past. Every instinct tels her that Carley is the next target. For someone is intent on punishing the guilty, teaching the ultimate lesson in how to fear...and how to die.
My Review:
Jennifer Archer had been a student at Sacred Sisters Catholic girl's school when she was a teenager. Now married to, Thad and with two teenage daughters of her own, she hoped at least one of them would attend the same school.
Carley, was a shy, studious student whom Jen thought for sure would thrive and flourish and do well at Sacred Sisters. However, that was not the case at all. Carley found herself a victim of vicious bullying and taunts that hurt her deeply. She spoke to the Guidance Counsellor who talked her out of leaving Sacred Sisters for another school and instead told her to suck it up and hold her head up high and not to give into the bullies, and run tail tucked between her legs.
Emma, Carley's younger sister attended a different high school where she flourished and had lots of friends but Carley couldn't talk to her about anything because they didn't get along. Emma was outgoing, happy, and openly opinionated and Carley was the complete opposite.
Then, Carley found "Angel", a kind and understanding girl from California she met online. Carley ends up telling Angel everything from her sister to her family to her school problems to the suicide of her former best friend. To Carley, Angel is her lifeline but Angels is a lot closer than she realizes.
Suddenly, a second female student is found dead from suicide and Carley's Mom, Jen fears there are just too many coincidences and too many links to her past. Every thing inside her tells her that Carley is the next target and oh how right she is, for someone is intent on punishing the guilty, teaching the ultimate lesson in how to fear...and how to die.
THE GOOD SISTER was a definite page-turner with mystery, suspense and thrills at every turn of the page. As usual, Ms. Staub does not disappoint. I have read every single book she has ever written and have never been let down nor disappointed in any of her writing. Way to go, Wendy! Another finely crafted suspense/thriller that kept me at the edge-of-my-seat!
STORY DESCRIPTION:
Smite Publications|November 1, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 97809851234
Remorse...All Sean Kincaid wanted was to use his Special Operative skills to bring a domestic terrorist to justice. But he left a trail of bodies in his wake: foes, colleagues - an an innocent woman. Now he's pursued by enemies, while desperately searching for a way to make amends. Revenge...Deirdre Monahan was expecting a happy afternoon with her cousin Anna. But she found a corpse abandoned like trash - and no one who could tell her why. Now Deirdre's looking for answers, and bent on giving whoever killed Anna the gift of knowing Deirdre's pain. In Ashes, Sean sacrificed everything. In this thrilling sequel, there will be...a Reckoning.
MY REVIEW:
Reckoning is one of the most thrilling and suspenseful novels I've read in a long time. Ms. Cozy knows her characters well and delves into the intracacies of their personalities and what makes them tick.
In Reckoning we are introduced to Deirdre Monahan who is the cousin of Anna. Deirdre looks very much like Anna that it startles a lot of people. She is having a very, very difficult time coping with and accepting Anna's death, they were very close.
Deirdre decides she is going to investigate and find out who is responsible for Anna's death but what she doesn't know is just how dangerous this plan is going to be. She will be dealing with some very tough people who have no respect for life whatsoever and ends up in a few nail-biting moments.
Sean Kincaid is still on his quest to ensure Jennifer Thomson is okay. He and Deirdre eventually meet up in a scene that had me biting my own nails. I was almost afraid to see what was going to happen.
Kelly Cozy is such an amazing author who gives real voices to what seems real people. You almost forget that you're reading fiction. Her characters are so well-developed that I feel as though I know each one personally.
I would highly recommend that you read Book One "Ashes" first so you can get a better idea of the background and how all this started. You can read "Reckoning" as a stand-alone, but I promise you'll enjoy the sequel much more if you read Book One first.
I'm really hoping there will be a Book Three! Great job, Ms. Cozy you've made a fan for life!!
REVIEW
Smite Publications|Feb. 24, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 97800985123451
Jennifer Thomson worked as a receptionist in one of the Federal buildings in Los Angeles, California. She was single, happy, and enjoyed her life. One morning she was on her way to the photocopier when she ran into her friend, Cindy. They chatted for a few minutes and then made a date to meet for lunch at 11:30a.m. so they could beat the lunch crowd. Cindy then reminded Jennifer that the photocopier in their department still hadn't been repaired so she'd have to go over to the Human Resources department and use the one there. Jennifer began walking away when there was a sudden swaying and shaking of the building and then a loud explosion. Jennifer was thrown to the floor with ceiling tiles, lights, and other debris raining down on her. Suddenly it was deathly quiet and she finally opened her eyes to see a huge gaping hole in the side of the building right in front of her - 18 floors up!!! She saw a man falling past the window on the way to his death. Finally getting her sense about her, she got up and ran into Mr, Danvers who told her to get out quickly, and to use the stairs.
Jennifer ran for the stairwell and began her descent down meeting more and more people on the way. When "she survived the domestic terrorist attack, her last-minute escape became the iconic image of the event," she became front page news. Her photo was plastered everywhere!
Jennifer couldn't handle being noticed and hounded by the media, she only wanted to "disappear and become just another fact in the crowd." So, she "cashed in on her unwanted fame and moved to a small town" in Canada.
Sean Kincaid was a retired covert operative - a black ops living in Florida which I don't think he really liked all that much but it was somewhere to live.
The type of black ops that Sean was, is the kind that governments like to deny exist although we're all aware they are around and in operation. He was watching television the day the Federal building in Los Angeles came down. When he saw, Jennifer on the news something touched him deep inside and he decided he was going to help her. He was going to find those responsible for what they did and bring justice to, Jennifer "even if it meant turning rogue."
"What Jennifer and Sean will both find is that nothing goes to plan, and their paths will cross in a way neither could have foreseen."
ASHES was wonderfully written with a lot of mystery and suspense. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! I can hardly wait to read the sequel titled: "Reckoning" which is out now. Great job, Ms, Cozy...I loved it!!!
