The Hit (Will Robie, #2) by David Baldacci

The Hit by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this 2nd book in the Will Robie series--if you love suspense, psychological thrillers and assassin, Will Robie is an awesome hero---some of the same characters like Vance and Julie appear which I loved, and this time Robie is tasked with getting rid of an assassin just like him, working for the same team, Jessica Reel. She and Robie trained together and they are the best. So why does Jessica kill 2 of the higher ups in their agency? I really liked Jessica too when you read her back story and as the book progresses, Robie and Rell save each other always keeping in mind---they have targets on their back. I can't wait to move onto the 3rd book in this series. Just as I loved the JohnnPullen series by Baldacci---now I am captivated by this series---Yes!

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Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

Me by Amber McBride
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This YA debut by Amber McBride took me totally by surprise; Moth is so alone after losing her family in a car accident, living with an aunt and going to school feeling lonely and invisible until one day in school, she meets Sani. McBride's descriptions of Sani from Moth's POV were just so beautiful and gripping. How they find each other and becomes friends is a must read for all and oh that ending!

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Hideout by Watt Key

Hideout by Watt Key
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this suspenseful middle grade thriller about Sam, son of a sheriff, and Davey, a boy he meets on a remote island near his Gulf Shore Home. Sam is ultra responsible, but due to circumstances, when his Dad gives him a boat, Sam heads out intending to disobey his father's rules, and then he meets Davey, whose story is unbelievable, he is waiting at his family's old home in the thick of the woods. As Sam helps Davey with supplies and food, they bond as they make this place ready for "his family" but things are so not what they seem. I loved Sam's bravery and rooted for him---readers will too! A must read!

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Muted by Tami Charles

Muted by Tami Charles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great, compelling read---a novel in verse fiercely telling the story of three girls who love singing, harmonize together, and dream of escaping to the music world, singing, becoming famous and staying together----oh this does not happen! Denver and her friends Shak and Dali are 17 yrs old when they see their fave artist, Merc Ellis would be coming to their area, and decide they will make themselves heard, seen and astound Merc. As they get his eye and go back stage, all three are beguiled---what happens is that smooth Merc shows his true self and starts to isolate them---Dali and Denver if they do see it, allow themselves to be swooning over his attention and ignore the warning signals---but Shak does not and she is the first to go. Denver and Dali slip off and become Merc's proteges---but do they really? This is a must read, I could not stop turning the pages and I loved Charles' language in telling this cautionary tale. Going back and forth in time, my fear for Dali and Denver was heightened with each page I turned as they allowed themselves to go deeper and deepper into this den of horror. A must read!

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With a Star in My Hand: Ruben Dario, Poetry Hero by Margarita Engle

With a Star in My Hand: Rubén Darío, Poetry Hero by Margarita Engle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow I just continue to love all the novels in verse Margarita Engles writes and Ruben Dario's life was depicted authentically in this poetic rendering. I loved how Engle uses poetry to tell his story, also how he created the Modernismo literary movement blending poetry and prose. From his first beginnings as a cast away child, listening to the magical stories from his uncle and others and vowing to be like them wandering and speaking and writing like the storytellers who grew up listening to. With the passing of his uncle, life moves on and known as Felix Ruben Garcia Sarmiento as a lad, his adopted family decides to change his name to Ruben Dario and so begins his journey in nature, life and adventures in poetry. This is a must read!

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As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3) by Holly Jackson

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I was so so looking forward to this 3rd book in Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and the only thing I can say that I continued to love was the team of narrators who did a flawless rendering of this otherwise disappointing book. As I began to listen, I knew Pip was in some trouble because she kept repeating and repeating and repeating---so imagine a whole book of her inner monologue repeating and repeating and repeating!!! I knew all the stuff she kept repeating because I listened to ALL the books, but the fact that Pip did not seek help except through popping pills was a letdown. She was such a strong female character, I knew she could expose the DT Killer but once again and throughout this book, she did not trust the police, she did not confide in her family, and she went off on practically everything---she still had meticulous knowledge but she let her PTSD from the 2nd book drown her and this affected her confidence which the reader heard over and over again with her inner monologues. I listened to the end and was not happy at all with her decisions and how she was miserable and counting days and trying to convince herself (and the reader) she made the right choices to protect them. Come on, the Pip I knew had an arsenal of evidence and facts to turn the case around...instead she goes crazy, makes her friends complicit and then casts them off in the name of protecting them. The Pip I knew could have figured out a different way to convince the police, yet she did not---she takes one comment from the lead policeman and allows that to torpedo what she could have easily proved---but she goes back to the 1st and 2nd books and how the police would not listen to her (mind you- she only shares with Ravi, not her family and friends) I felt Pip kept me hostage the whole book and I did not like it one bit.

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The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow did I learn SO SO much from this gripping historical fiction taking place in Ireland starring Cyril Avery (who is not a real Avery) who as a 3 day old infant is adopted by Maude and Charles Avery who never should have adopted him! John Boyne's characters are all memorable, some you love and others you detest. Cyril's life is wide open for all of us to see---he has a head on his shoulders, he is gay and in love with his best friend, Julian (since the age of 7 and Julian hasn't a clue) and he lives in homophobic Ireland from the 1940s to present day. Boyne's story is very memorable, I could not stop listening, the narrator was fabulous and his voices, whether male or female, were just so spot on. I laughed, I cried, and I wanted so much for Cyril, I rooted for his happiness and that he would meet his mom. The way Boyne structured conversations with the same things being said over and over again was such a great way to get a point across, emphasize nonsense and to tell this story of being gay in a backward country through so many lenses. A must read for all!

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