The Mystery of Mercy Close: A Walsh Sister Novel by Marian Keyes

The Mystery of Mercy Close,  is the 5th, Walsh sisters novel and it focuses on the youngest sister, Helen. Helen's life is falling apart, she's lost her flat, she's is living back at home with her parents and her detective agency is a bust. She reluctantly takes on a job searching for a washed out boy band member and it's turning out to be harder than anticipated.

Like, millions of people around the world, Helen is battling depression,which makes for a much darker novel than we are use to from, Keyes. This by no means, makes the book depressing, it just doesn't hold the usual witty, spunky, charm of her other novels. Keyes does an excellent job at keeping the reader enthralled and fully entertained.

The character's are real and the story is well crafted. It isn't the very best book she's written but it's still worth your time.

Grade: B-

Overview [B&N]

As the youngest of the five Walsh girls, Helen has had a tough time finding her way in the world—at thirty-three, she has her job as a private investigator that has proven less than fruitful and after losing her flat, she’s moved back in with Mammy Walsh. Her hunky new boyfriend, Artie, and his three adorable children are a great distraction, but his beautiful ex-wife lives a little too close for comfort. Meanwhile, Helen runs into her ex-boyfriend Jay Parker and reluctantly signs on to help him locate Wayne Diffney, the recently disappeared fourth member of Ireland’s biggest mid-nineties boy band, Laddz. Of the five Laddz, the Talented One has long gone on to better things, but the Cute One, the Gay One, and the Other One are all busily shunning carbs and rehearsing their reunion tour, and it’s Helen’s job to track down Wayne, the Wacky One. Wayne hasn’t left a trace, and Helen throws herself into the search wholeheartedly, leaving no stone unturned while watching her own life slowly fall apart, one unpaid bill at a time.

When She Was Gone by Gross, Gwendolen

When She Was Gone, follows the story of young, Linsey, who seemingly disappears from her home, shortly before she is to leave for college.

Each neighbor has their own story to tell in regards to her disappearance and one neighbor seems more suspicious than the others.

Despite the slow place, the story is well written and the characters are intriguing. You easily become part of the neighborhood and are anxious to see the story unfold.

Grade: B

Overview [B&N]

What happened to Linsey Hart? When the Cornell-bound teenager disappears into the steamy blue of a late-summer morning, her quiet neighborhood is left to pick apart the threads of their own lives and assumptions.

Linsey’s neighbors are just ordinary people—but even ordinary people can keep terrible secrets hidden close. There’s Linsey’s mother, Abigail, whose door-to-door searching makes her social-outcast status painfully obvious; Mr. Leonard, the quiet, retired piano teacher with insomnia, who saw Linsey leave; Reeva, the queen bee of a clique of mothers, now obsessed with a secret interest; Timmy, Linsey’s lovelorn ex-boyfriend; and George, an eleven-year-old loner who is determined to find out what happened to his missing neighbor.

The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness (Newly Expanded Paperback Edition) by Simon Wiesenthal

If you haven't read, The Sunflower, I recommend that you stop what you are doing right this second -- and go get a copy, now.

Wiesenthal was imprisoned in a, Nazi concentration camp and one day while on a work detail, he is taken to the room of a dying, S.S soldier. This soldier wants to confess his sins to a Jew --- in order to obtain absolution. Wiesenthal sits at the bed of this solider and listens to the atrocities he carried out against other Jews.

This raises many question on forgiveness for readers alike. To forgive or not.  This has evoked 46 printed responses on the topic of forgiveness from a variety of individuals, ranging from other holocaust survivors and political leaders.



Expect emotional turmoil --- and remember to never forget.

Grade: A+

The Indigo Spell: A Bloodlines Novel by Richelle Mead

The Indigo Spell is the third novel in the, Bloodlines series. Mead manages to keep you interested and invested in her characters. The storyline is phenomenal and each book in this series outdoes the one before it. Impossible, I know!

Sydney is battling with her emotions. They are complex and confusing. There is a lot more magic, romance and intrigue.

This book, basically starts off, where, The Golden Lily ends. There is a lot going on in this novel and I don't want to give anything away, other than to say, Sydney has some major life choices to make and watching the path she is on is very, very interesting.

Grade: A

Overview [B&N]

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch—a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood—or else she might be next. 

A Letter to My Dog: Notes to Our Best Friends

A tiny book full of love, laugher and tears.

This is such an adorably cute book. It is filled with letters and pictures of owners dogs. The letters are heartfelt and capture the love between an animal and its human(s). There are a few celebrity's pets pictured and stories attached.

This makes a perfect gift for pet lovers. The photography is beautiful and beautifully captures the personalities of these sweet, little creatures.

Grade: A+

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden) by Julie Kagawa

The Eternity Cure, will be released, April 30, 2013.

The Eternity Cure is the second novel in the, Blood of Eden, series. This book picks up a few months after, "The Immortal Rules" ended. Allison is following the the call of her, sire. He is being held up and tortured , under the hands of a sadistic vampire named, Sarren.

Kanin's call is getting fainter and with the help of Jackal, they set out to rescue him. Along the way, they discover many things, such as the mutation of the red lung disease, which is now threatening the lives of, humans and vampires.  They soon discover that the must find a cure for the mutated disease before its too late for one of them.

 The plot is dark, bloody, action-packed and engaging. It is character driven and better than the its predecessor. 

Grade: A

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The Mothers: A Novel by Jennifer Gilmore

The Mothers by Jennifer Gilmore hits bookshelves, April 9, 2014.

Gilmor's novel, The Mothers is about adoption, the process and the emotional ramifications. Her novel, follows Ramon and Jesse's struggle to have a child and the process to adopt. They come from varied backgrounds and couldn't be more different if they tried.

As, someone who can't have a child and struggles with infertility issues, I was able to easily relate to Jesse and the emotional tole it takes on her. I found it to be painfully honest and heart wrenching. 

Jesse had a lot of the same worries, concerns and thoughts that I do about adoption yet, interesting enough, I was also able to relate,  to Ramon. Ramon wanted to "reject" potential adoptee's based on certain criteria and I was able to agree with him. The author has a way of making you sympathetic to both character's feelings,which makes this read, all this more interesting.

This story is painful, engaging and emotional. 

Grade: A

Family Pictures by Jane Green

Another fantastic book by, Jane Green. The first book, I ever read by her was Jemima J and I've been hooked ever since.

This book is more reminiscent of her older works...which is a huge bonus because I enjoyed those books much more than her newer ones.

This book follows two families whose lives intersect despite living on separate coasts. You have, Sylvie and her daughter Eve on the west coast and Maggie and her three three children on the east. A rather unique and unbelievable crisis push both families to the brink and together they find a way to heal.

I don't want to give anymore away, I've gotten to the point to where I no longer read summaries of books by my favorite authors so that I can have the element of surprise and I feel I've already shared too much.

Trust me in when I say that this book is engaging, entertaining and worth your time. The character's are real and the storyline is engrossing yet mildly predictable.

Grade: A