It's been a couple weeks since my last Fiction Friday, since I was in Vermont for Ragnar last week. I have six books to talk about this week!
The first 3 books...…
1. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. This was an easy read! I finished it in one day, I had some travel woes that day and spent all day in airports and on planes which made for lots of reading. It was exciting from beginning to end, and I truly did not see the end coming until the last second! I LOVE when books are so mysterious!
From Goodreads:
When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind. Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she keeps a meticulously crafted existence among her beloved books, eccentric colleagues, and the BookFrogs—the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store’s overwhelmed shelves.
But when Joey Molina, a young, beguiling BookFrog, kills himself in the bookstore’s upper room, Lydia’s life comes unglued. Always Joey’s favorite bookseller, Lydia has been bequeathed his meager worldly possessions. Trinkets and books; the detritus of a lonely, uncared for man. But when Lydia flips through his books she finds them defaced in ways both disturbing and inexplicable. They reveal the psyche of a young man on the verge of an emotional reckoning. And they seem to contain a hidden message. What did Joey know? And what does it have to do with Lydia?
As Lydia untangles the mystery of Joey’s suicide, she unearths a long buried memory from her own violent childhood. Details from that one bloody night begin to circle back. Her distant father returns to the fold, along with an obsessive local cop, and the Hammerman, a murderer who came into Lydia’s life long ago and, as she soon discovers, never completely left.
2. Where'd You Go Bernadette? This book is coming out in the movies, and it looked so good that obviously I had to read the book! It was very funny and frantic, full of crazy mishaps. It was all too easy to connect with Bernadette, and I read this book in less than 24 hours. Mostly due to the aforementioned travel woe, but also because I just had to know how it turned out. It changed perspective between some of the characters, which was hysterical to see the different views on the same events.
From Goodreads:
When her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces--which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. Where'd You Go Bernadette is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are and the power of a daughter's love for her mother.
3. How to Find Love in a Bookshop was a sweet book following the lives of some intertwined characters as they fell in love, and not always with the expected soulmates. It was full of twists and turns, an easy read that I devoured in less than a day.
From Goodreads:
The enchanting story of a bookshop, its grieving owner, a supportive literary community, and the extraordinary power of books to heal the heart
Nightingale Books, nestled on the main street in an idyllic little village, is a dream come true for book lovers--a cozy haven and welcoming getaway for the literary-minded locals. But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open after her beloved father's death, and the temptation to sell is getting stronger. The property developers are circling, yet Emilia's loyal customers have become like family, and she can't imagine breaking the promise she made to her father to keep the store alive.
There's Sarah, owner of the stately Peasebrook Manor, who has used the bookshop as an escape in the past few years, but it now seems there's a very specific reason for all those frequent visits. Next is roguish Jackson, who, after making a complete mess of his marriage, now looks to Emilia for advice on books for the son he misses so much. And the forever shy Thomasina, who runs a pop-up restaurant for two in her tiny cottage--she has a crush on a man she met in the cookbook section, but can hardly dream of working up the courage to admit her true feelings.
Enter the world of Nightingale Books for a serving of romance, long-held secrets, and unexpected hopes for the future--and not just within the pages on the shelves. How to Find Love in a Bookshop is the delightful story of Emilia, the unforgettable cast of customers whose lives she has touched, and the books they all cherish.
4. Run For Your Life: I have been devouring Patterson lately, and I thought this was a stand alone book when I brought it on my trip to Vermont. Unfortunately it was second in a series, but I had no problem following along. It moved at breakneck speed, and I could not put it down! I read most of it on the flight there and finished it on the flight back. If I hadn't been there for Ragnar, I would have finished it while I was there! I can't wait to read more of Michael Bennett's adventures! This was another one with a twist that took me awhile to figure out!
From Goodreads:
A calculating killer who calls himself The Teacher is taking on New York City, killing the powerful and the arrogant. His message is clear: remember your manners or suffer the consequences! For some, it seems that the rich are finally getting what they deserve. For New York's elite, it is a call to terror.
Only one man can tackle such a high-profile case: Detective Mike Bennett. The pressure is enough for anyone, but Mike also has to care for his 10 children-all of whom have come down with virulent flu at once!
Discovering a secret pattern in The Teacher's lessons, Detective Bennett realizes he has just hours to save New York from the greatest disaster in its history. From the #1 bestselling author comes Run For Your Life, the continuation of his newest, electrifying series.
5. Under Currents: I began this right before Vermont, but had to leave it home because it's a library book. I finished it right after I got back. I am addicted to Nora Roberts, I can never get enough. Definitely a guilty pleasure! Her mysteries are always engaging and this one was no different. I did figure it out just before the final mystery was revealed, and she did that final twist some justice.
From Goodreads:
Zane Bigelow grew up in a beautiful, perfectly kept house in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Strangers―and even Zane’s own aunt across the lake―see his parents as a successful surgeon and his stylish wife, making appearances at their children’s ballet recitals and baseball games. Only Zane and his sister know the truth, until one brutal night finally reveals cracks in the facade, and Zane escapes for college without a thought of looking back...
Years later, Zane returns to his hometown determined to reconnect with the place and people that mean so much to him, despite the painful memories. As he resumes life in the colorful town, he meets a gifted landscape artist named Darby, who is on the run from ghosts of her own.
Together they will have to teach each other what it means to face the past, and stand up for the ones they love.
6. Scythe I saw this book on Litsy, and received it in a swap awhile back. It's been sitting on the shelf awhile, and I finally brought it out for the trip to Vermont. I didn't end of reading it there, but started it after returning home. It's a sort of post apocalyptic book....but also not. It takes place in the future without being to futuristic, and really shows a lot of the human condition, and how it never really evolves. It shows different perspectives, and really keeps you interested. It is the first of a series, and I look forward to reading the next one!
From Goodreads:
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.
What should I read next??
