Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson

If the last Alex Cross book failed to meet some of my expectations, this one met all of them plus some.

It seems that the more messed up the bad guys are, the better the book turns out to be.

One of the things I liked most about this one was that you are kept guessing about who the bad guys are, and one of them comes as a huge surprise.

Alex is making his transition from the Washington PD to the FBI. Of course, this does not come without some hardship. Alex is having a difficult time adjusting to how the FBI runs things and how they coordinate takedowns.

He decides he has to take charge at some times, but he is still new, so they don’t always listen to him.

As if the transition was not stressful enough, Christine returns and threatens to take away his son.

The Wolf runs a large ring of selling Americans for money. He employs kidnappers to take them and give them to the people who “order” them.

The thing is… no one knows who the Wolf is. He is a mystery man from Russia who is also in the Red Mafiya.

The Wolf has some connection to the FBI. I was waiting and waiting for this to be explained in this book, but it never was. The Wolf story line was not resolved either though, so I expect more to come out of it in the next book.

Also, just as I was praising the last book for showing us more John Sampson, this one hardly had him it in at all. You gain some, you lose some I suppose. There are still a lot of books in this series that I have to catch up on, so there is bound to be more about John later.

4.5/5 stars. More Sampson please!

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So Say the Waiters: Book 2 by Justin Sirois

This is a great book two in a series. There is no drop off in quality from the first book to this one. It complements the first book, and it starts right where it left off.

This book two gives readers more background information on kidnApp and how and why it was created. It goes into more detail about the founders including bringing forth a family relationship that was not known before.

Henry and Dani are back and are continuing their partnership in taking waiters. Henry is still not completely sold on the idea that he could do this as a job, but Dani’s enthusiasm keeps him going.

Their personalities balance each other out. Henry is very laid back and unsure of himself, while Dani is very outgoing and energetic. Carrying over from the first book, Henry is still whiney. I am curious to see if that continues as the series comes to a close, or if he becomes more confident in the job. I have the feeling that if either of them are going to mess up, it is going to be Henry.

As I was hoping, the story lines of Jess and Uly was continued, and they became way more relevant in this one. I was glad to see that since they were the only characters I didn’t really understand in the first book. Now, I am curious to see how they continue on as well.

I really liked the waiters that were introduced in this one. They were interesting. One is a reporter working on a story about the app, the other is a man with severe OCD. I was wondering how that take was going to work out, and I was really pleased with how it went.

The world of kidnApp seems like it is heating up with Haymaker going a little crazy towards the end to try to prove himself. I am looking forward to seeing how it affects the company.

As I started with, this was a great middle book. It tied up a few loose ends, gave some background information, and was open enough to make you look forward to reading the third one.

4.5/5 Stars

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Four Blind Mice by James Patterson

I was really back and forth on this book. So, I will explain both story lines.

Alex Cross and John Sampson:

This book gives more character development for John Sampson than any of the previous ones had. I really liked that. Usually he is only presented to us as Alex’s best friend/partner. But here we get to see a little bit into his personal life. It is a different side of John that we don’t normally get to see, and I would like to see more of.

Alex’s family life is evolving. Jamilla is becoming a larger part of his life and Nana Mama is getting older. It is going to be interesting to see how these two things impact the series as it progresses.

The Four Blind Mice:

The bad guys in this book were just kind of boring. You don’t figure out that they know who Alex is until the very end. I feel like this series is at its best when the killer(s) know Alex Cross is onto them and they are fighting against each other; The killer(s) fighting to keep their games going without Cross catching them, and Cross fighting to solve the cases.  They became more interesting at the end, but not enough to make up for the whole book.

These guys were not that interesting to me.

Overall, I DID enjoy the book. I feel like it is a good filler book in the series. The character progression for Alex and John were great, but where the book faltered was with the bad guys.

3.5/5 stars 

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Quotes in Polkadots by Rula Abdo

Quotes is Polkadots is a different type of book. It isn’t a story or novel. It is a book of life quotes written by the author.

As described by the title, the pages are designed with polkadots. The author herself is a young graphic designer, so I like that artistic touch she added to the book.

There is a different quote on each page, so if one really speaks out to you, you could tear it out (or print it if you buy the ebook) and hang it up in your home or office as a cute reminder.

I love reading inspirational quotes, so that may be why I enjoyed this so much. But, I believe it would be a good gift to yourself to look through during hard times or stressful days, and it could also be a nice gift for someone close to you.

These quotes were written from life experiences from the author. There is something in here for everyone. You may not relate to all of them, but you may find a special one that really touches you.

I say it is worth the purchase!

4/5 stars I sort of with the design would change a little throughout the book, but the change in colors is nice too. The simplicity is nice. 

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Revelations by Léia Kiuski

Thera’s Eyes Series Book 1

Revelations sets the foundation for the Thera’s Eyes series.

It follows a group of young people who are given special gifts. They are considered “Warriors” and are the only ones that are able to fight the demons that threaten to destroy their town of Silver Blade.

The main character, Beth, was specially chosen by Thera (a goddess) herself to be the leader, but she is also the main target of the demons threatening them and the town. Her friends are her guardians and their job is to help fight the demons and make sure that Beth is safe and stays alive in order to carry out the necessary tasks.

The book begins with Beth struggling to accept her current life situations. Her parents recently died in a freak plane crash (which is later explained in the book). Her twin brother was also on the plane but mysteriously had no physical damage. He was in a coma though, and the doctors could not figure out why or when he would come out of it.

Beth constantly wakes up screaming from what the doctors tell her are “night terrors” although she doesn’t quite believe those are exactly what she is experiencing.

When a stranger named Leon comes into town and rents out Beth’s guest house, everything is set into motion. The warrior in her and her friends is awakened, and their abilities are used to fight the demons.

There is one main quest, they must find and close the portal before noon on Halloween day, or else the demons will have complete access to their world. This includes the strongest demons that they have not yet had to come in contact with. They must accomplish this all while trying to protect the town and the people in it.

Did I mention Beth and all of her friends are still in school?

They miss basically every day of school, but because her parents are dead, and the parents of the other warriors are out of the country, no one can be contacted and made aware of the problem.

I didn’t think I would find myself connecting with these characters and getting as invested in them as I did. By the end I was really rooting for them, and rooting for the budding romance that takes shape as well.

The ending leaves much to be imagined, but I would assume that is because this is only book one in a series, and the answers will be revealed in the upcoming books.

The writing was pretty smooth. I felt that it had a pretty good flow, and despite coming in at about 200 pages (PDF version so I don’t know what the published versions will be), it was a pretty quick read. The chapters were kept relatively short so it didn’t seem as though it was dragging on.

My one complaint is that it does need some more editing before being called a finished product. There were time were I found the incorrect word being used (have instead of has), and that was pretty consistent throughout the book.

Otherwise, the writing overall was pretty good. It kept my attention which isn’t always an easy thing to do with sci-fi type books.

4/5 stars. 

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Pascal’s Wager by Mark Jacobs

What a great way to start off a new year – By reading a thrilling murder/mystery type book!

Pascal is a private investigator living in Las Vegas, and above all, his goal is to win the World Series of Poker.

After giving up his promising academic career of attaining a Philosophy degree, he decides moving to Vegas and pursuing his poker dreams is a better idea.

When a prominent figure in the Vegas hotel scene gets murdered, his daughter hires Pascal to find answers. Her mother is accused of the murder, and she knows that she is innocent. It seems almost impossible that it would be anyone else, so Pascal has a hard job ahead of him.

Meanwhile, the daughter that hired Pascal is also arrested and accused of murdering her half-brother. As if his current mess wasn’t enough, he has to try to get her off as well.

Pascal then finds himself be threatened by a very prominent Chicago crime family. While it seems to be a big problem at first, it ends up helping him put the whole mess together and he finds answers through the chaos.

Pascal is a fun character. His constant references to philosophy and poker make for an entertaining read. He is an interesting person, and I would like to read more books with him as the main character. I feel as though he is the sort of character that you could make a series out of such as Alex Cross or Lindsay Boxer just to name my favorites.

I would like to hear more of his backstory, and I would like to see him actually go on to win the poker World Series.

The writing was easy to follow. It didn’t allow for any boring moments, and the flow of the book ….. flowed well. It all ran together well, and none of the parts seemed out of place.

5/5 stars.

It was nice to experience Vegas again through this one. I haven’t been there in a while! :) 

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Sign Changes by Bart Hopkins Jr.

Sign Changes was an interesting book.

It follows four different story lines that seemingly are all connected despite the fact that they take place at different times sometimes centuries apart.

What I gathered from it was that it was a book about language and communication. It makes you think about how language was made and how it has carried throughout time to keep communication consistent.

The stories by themselves were interesting, but where it lost me was when they were supposed to connect. Maybe it would have been a bit more clear is each story was told in its entirety, then it moved on to the next. But, it jumped around so much that I found myself confused more often than not. I would just start getting into one of the stories, then it would switch to one of the others.

I feel like the idea for this book was right on point as it was really interesting, the execution was just a bit off to me. It was hard to follow at times.

In saying that, I did enjoy the writing style, or maybe I should say the author's voice. I did not find myself bored reading it. I don't feel the author went over the top or tried too hard in the execution which is something you find a lot when dealing with books that are a little different from the norm.

So overall, the actual writing was good, but the layout and arrangement (or execution) was a bit off. 

3/5 stars. I liked it, but I was confused. 

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Soldier Hill by Phil Rossi

Soldier Hill is a touching story celebrating the lives of soldiers who have fought for their country.

Eddie is a high school kid. He doesn't do well in school, and he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. His guidance counselor doesn't think he is going anywhere with his life. Aside from all of this, Eddie shows how big of a heart he has.

When Eddie discovers a tablet honoring a boy named Billy on his school grounds, he decides to find out more about him. Having someone die who lived so close to him really hit home. He felt a connection to Billy and wasn't sure why.

With the Vietnam War taking too many young people and affecting families all over the country, Eddie was determined to find out who Billy was, where he came from and who his family is.

This book follows Eddie is his adventure from researching at the library to asking around town.

Joe is a lonely old man in town that everyone talks about. They spread nasty rumors about him being crazy and even a little creepy. There is a room in his house that is closed and locked so no one can venture in.

When Eddie becomes friends with Joe despite everyone’s warnings, he uncovers all of the answers he needs.

When the tribute to Billy is then threatened to be destroyed by contractors taking down the trees around the school, Eddie enlists the help of his good friend Dave to save the tree and the tablet in order to protect the memory and tribute to Billy. Through much hard work and determination they preserve the memorial, and it turns out even better than they ever could have imagined. 

This is a wonderful story about being selfless and honoring those who sacrifice so much their country.

It is touching and memorable for being just a short novella.

I really enjoyed the writing style as well. A lot of times with historical fiction, (okay, it isn't THAT far back in history, but stick with me) authors tend to try too hard to make it authentic, and it just ends up being boring and having no good flow to it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case with this one. It had a nice flow to it, and I didn't find myself bored at any part of the story.

I did find myself wondering why there was so much focus on the “crazy” old man, but it all comes full circle and makes sense at the end.

The story is sweet, the writing is on-point, and it is easy to get through.

5/5 stars from me. I did really enjoy it. 

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The Christmas Town by Elyse Douglas

The Christmas Town is a beautiful time travel book about happiness and love.

I almost just want to leave it there, because that is all you need to know, but I shall continue.

The Christmas Town begins with two women trying to get home for Christmas. When a large winter storm threatens their journey, they must share a car from the airport.

One their way home, they get lost and end up crossing a mysterious bridge. They ended up in a small, seemingly vintage, town on the other side of the bridge When they notice that other people’s reactions to them and their car were those of fear, they figured out something was a bit off.

When they fall in love with two army boys fighting in World War II, they have a difficult decision to make. Do they stay out of their time in place to wait for their men to come home from war, or do they ignore their hearts and try to get home?

It is easy to find yourself rooting for the girls and their men to be together. It was such a happy and uplifting story that just needs to be read.

The Christmas town is a beautifully written story. It sucks you in from the first page, and fully engages you up until the very last.

The story is funny, happy, and sort of magical.

The characters are all likable and all very well-rounded.

This is a great book to read during the holiday season, and it could really be great during any time of the year.

5/5 stars. 

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The TOP SECRET Diary of Davina Dupree (Aged 10) by S K Sheridan

This cute little book is a Children’s Fiction book.

It is written completely in diary format coming from Davina Dupree.

Her parents sent her to boarding school, and she decided to keep a journal with her to write down her experiences.

During the first part of her year there, Davina and her roommate discover there is just something not quite right with their art teachers.

Being typical young girls, they decide to be little detectives. This was what I liked the most about this book. Kid’s always have fun trying to be detectives, so reading this book will be fun for them to read and relate to.

They help to uncover the truth about their mysterious teachers and help save people’s lives and famous artwork all at the same time.

This is a cute story for children. I even enjoyed it, and it is a book I would have thoroughly enjoyed reading it as a kid.

It was written well for children to read and enjoy. They will be able to relate to the characters and their imagination can run wild with all of the plot twists.

5/5 stars. This book would make a great gift for young readers.  

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