The Poisoned House will freak your freak!

I received this free through NetGalley.

This was a simple and heart-thumping novel. I honestly couldn't put the book down from beginning to end and read it in one sitting. (I was literally walking up and down the hall with the Kindle.  You can imagine that Audrey wasn't thrilled and kept trying to get my attention!)

I fell in love with Abi and completely feel sorry for the way she's being mistreated. I have to say, I kind of saw the ending coming but that didn't make it any less powerful...I've just learned to anticipate some of the twists and turns. I love the way it worked out for her at the end and I'm so glad that she was able to get the last word. The appearance of her mother completely freaked me out to the point where I had to leave a little night light on. Yes, I'm a lightweight when it comes to thrillers but angry ghosts make me crazy! And I also love the way the author incorporated something found in history with a little paranormal!  There were not a bunch of details or character development, but honestly, it worked very well that way because you knew what you had to know about them...you always knew enough.

Good writing...not a whole lot of awkward points or negatives that really stood out or detracted from the story.  I love books like this.

Rating: 4 (but only because I figured out the ending too soon)

Not really Proof of the Afterlife

First let me start out by saying, I do agree with the hypocrisy of most Christians and their "Do as I say, not as I do" philosophy.  I feel like most people get too lost in their own faults and lives to realize what a negative affect their words and actions can have on the people around them (as well as their own hereafter).  I feel like this was important for the author to get across and he did so very well.  However, that's about all I was able to take in from this novel. 
Throughout the book the author was extremely repetitive about what was in the upcoming chapters.  He kept starting to talk about something and then reference a later chapter, so the whole story was given in pieces and parts that went back and forth in time with no fluidity or transition.  There were a few gramatical errors and horrid comma use but otherwise the problem wasn't the sentence structure.  The book was not what I expected.  I was looking for a more Diary of Anne Frank feel where the author detailed his near death experience in his journal and how it made him feel.  What I got was a little more preachy and a tad more far fetched in some assumptions.  It was filled with a few tiny journal passages and then the rest was simply speculation about events that tied into some of the author's dreams.  It was very hard to keep up with what was going on and when.  I do, wholeheartedly, believe that God talks to us in so many ways and that everything in this book could have happened, but I feel like in this book, it was a little too much.  The journal entries weren't journal entries in a sense that they didn't feel "real."  What I mean is that when someone writes in a journal, there are no limitations--most of the time people write what they are feeling and it's not proper and well written all the time.  These entries seemed strained...and there was way too much abiguity.  So much so that the author had to take a ton of time explaining what he went through...because the journal didn't have any details about the experiences.  To me, it just left so much room for improvement.

Rating: 2

The Guardian

From Goodreads:
Plunge into the world of seen and unseen forces in The Guardian. Anna Riley has just come into possession of a two-thousand-year old scroll that God gave to John the Disciple. Her mission—to guard the scroll and unlock its secret. Jason Lang, her protector, has his work cut out for him as they begin their journey around the world, facing corruption and dodging bullets—all the while trying to keep his attraction to Anna at bay. Will he succeed in defending the woman he’s vowed to protect? Will Anna, forced to trust other people to stay alive, fulfill the challenge that she’s accepted?

What I thought:
I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.  The first thing I was reminded of when I sat down to read this was that the book was remniscent of The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons with a little more reflection on faith and God.  I loved how it incorporated all of the historical and biblical factors with a little bit of suspense and chase! I was able to learn something new about the bible and get completely engrossed in the story.  It was fast paced and very easy to read.  I thought it was beautifully written.  The balance between description and action was key.  I didn't feel like I wanted to skip ahead because of a lot of boring details.  I read every word and couldn't put it down because I had to see what was going to happen next.

Overall, it was a great story that had me smiling (with goosebumps) at the end.  I was able to fall in love with Anna and Jason as well as the security team. (Without major spoilers, I was a little sad at some of the events-because I was so invested in the characters, I didn't want to see anything bad happen to them)  The character development was top notch as well as the story.  In reading it, I began questioning my own faith.  What would I have done in Anna's situation?  Would I have been too afraid to trust? 
I also liked how the author didn't really talk about what happened to the "Pope"...he left it to interpretation.  Usually, that sort of thing would annoy me, but in this case, I think it was beautifully done and everyone kind of figures out what happens.  This would definitely be a novel I would recommend to my friends and family.

Rating: 5

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a time for everyone to share what books they acquired over the course of the week. Ok, so I'm not sure if I am doing this right, but I've received several ARCs that I must now review--and I have had ZERO time to read. 

 

 I will just make a list of the books I received/won this week (and last week) and where I got them from...shew!  I got my work cut out for me:

• Does Change have to be so H.A.R.D.? By Julie Donley, RN- received from author
• Proof of the Afterlife by BR. Gary Joseph-received from author
• The Amazing Adventures of Thomas and Erin w/Grandad (not shown) by John Vassey- childrens book received from author (this one I did read and review already).
• The Poisoned House (ebook)- received from publisher through NetGalley
• The Guardian (ebook)- received from publisher through NetGalley
• Picking Up the Ghost (ebook) by Tone Milazzo- received from publisher through NetGalley (already read and reviewed)
• Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder- received through First Reads from Goodreads
• Stealing Mona Lisa by Carson Morton- received through First Reads from Goodreads
• The First Victim (ebook) by J.B. Lynn- received through NetGalley
• The Strange Life of Walenty Karnowski by Gerald Schmidt- received from author

I honestly don't know where to begin on all of these.  I think my next one is going to be the Proof of the Afterlife, since it's the one I got next in line. 

 

Wish me luck!!!

Shadowlight-Lynn Viehl

 

 

From Goodreads:

 

With just one touch, Jessa Bellamy can see anyone’s darkest secrets, thanks to whoever tampered with her genes. What she doesn’t know is that a biotech company has discovered her talent and intends to kill her and harvest her priceless DNA.Gaven Matthias is forced to abduct Jessa himself so he can protect her, but Jessa has a hard time believing the one man whose secrets she can’t read. As a monstrous assassin closes in and forces them to run, Jessa will have to find another way to discover if Matthias is her greatest ally—or her deadliest enemy

 

What I thought:

 

This book was o-k. It was a little hard to follow with all the jumping to different characters in the beginning but once I had gotten through the first part, the second part was a bit easier to follow. And lets face it...there was a "love" scene that made me a little hot and bothered.  I honestly wouldn't have picked it up if it wasn't for a book challenge I was doing and I had limited options.  It was not horrible, but it wasn't a stand out novel either.  Maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea.

 

Rating: 3

 

Picking Up The Ghost

I received this ARC in e-reader format through Net Galley.
Let me start off by saying that this book had the potential to be something different and good...but in saying that, I believe that it fell short. 
As far as the actual writing was concerned, there were very awkward sentence structures and a few grammatical errors that really took away from the root of the story.  I am hoping the final edit will get some of those taken care of but it seriously made it hard to enjoy any of it because it was hard to read.
You can read a summary of this on Goodreads, so I won't waste time on that.  I will say that the meat and potatoes of the story was good.  Cinque, a young man living in a poor town, set out to find out why such strange things were happening to him.  Outside of that, it was super confusing.  There is one part where he becomes faceless and nameless and I believe it was WAY more complicated than it needed to be.  I also think that the story dragged in parts and I found myself wanting to skip forward to see the action.  It is my opinion that there were too many characters with weird names that weren't introduced properly, lots of lose ends that weren't tied up and a few inconsistencies, including dialogue/speech.  Maybe there weren't and I just missed something, but the point in all this was that the book was extremely hard to follow from beginning to end.  The characters were not ones that you fall in love with and they seemed to develop the "answers" out of thin air.
I hate giving bad reviews and I'm an open minded reader, for sure, but I did not enjoy this book at all, and it's a shame.  I am interested to see what the actual released book will be like.  The premise and set up to such a thing would have been great but based on the book that was received, I can only give 2 stars.

Dead Dead Dead Dead Dead

From Goodreads:

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life--and one of her coworkers checks out...Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea. A fun, fast, funny, and wonderfully intriguing blend of vampire and mystery that's hard to put down, and should not be missed.

What I thought:

First of all, I thought the whole premise behind this book was hilarious.  The writing, the characters, the accent, the clothes--made me laugh hysterically...and I'm not sure why.  I don't know if it was meant to evoke that type of reaction, but it did.  I thought Sookie was insane and her vampire BILL sounded a little unorthodox as well.  I love the fact that his name is Bill...hahaha. 
OK
So I am not 100% sure why this series is as popular as it is, but at the same time, it's lighthearted and a quick read.  I am not saying it wasn't enjoyable.  Maybe a little too far fetched in a genre where having a relationship with a vampire is already a bit far fetched in the first place.  I can't imagine reading ALL of the Sookie Stackhouse series--because I mean, how much of this stuff can one person go through...but I am curious to read a few more in the series to see where it's going. 

I really don't have much else to say about it.  It made me laugh...which isn't a bad thing, I suppose.

Rating: 3