Hello, beautiful readers! It's only month three, but I've managed to read ten books so far. I will be returning from a cruise as this posts, so my book count may be different from what I post here. My sister and I try to separate some time to sit on our balcony or poolside and read a bit, especially on sea days. Here are the books I would recommend this month. Remember, I only post reviews for books I've given three stars or higher.
Genre: Women's Adventure Fiction, Crime Action Fiction
Pages: 276
Book Blurb:
GOLD MEDAL WINNER - Cipa Evvy Award for Women's Fiction
When you trade the straight and narrow for the crooked pathways of crime, it's likely to become a permanent arrangement. Unless, like Sandie Donovan, you're a born grifter, determined to use your knack for deception and crime to restart your life and achieve success as an actor.
A pitch-perfect, heartfelt, and enthralling story of survival, coming-of-age and redemption. Sandstorm is a suspenseful, pacy read about a compelling character whose adventures and misadventures are dramatic and exciting.
When you trade the straight and narrow for the crooked pathways of crime, it's likely to become a permanent arrangement. Unless, like Sandie Donovan, you're a born grifter, determined to use your knack for deception and crime to restart your life and achieve success as an actor.
A pitch-perfect, heartfelt, and enthralling story of survival, coming-of-age and redemption. Sandstorm is a suspenseful, pacy read about a compelling character whose adventures and misadventures are dramatic and exciting.
My Review:
This book takes you on a journey of a young girl who was cast aside because she didn't fit into her caretakers' lives. It is a story of tragedy and resilience. Sandie simply wanted to live with her father. She had already lost her mother and needed her father in her life. Unfortunately, her father did not want the burden, so he dropped her off at a boot camp of sorts, which led Sandie on a corrupt road for survival.
Each decision she made took her further into the crime world, but throughout it all, she tried desperately to hold on to her inner morals and kindness. Time and again, she trusted the wrong people, who made her life worse. Every time she started to feel as if she was getting her life together, another tragic event happened, thrusting her into even more trouble. She viewed crime as a survival tool, but she didn't want her future to be only a matter of survival. She wanted to live happily and securely.
And she almost got her wish! She started to get honest jobs and create an identity she loved, but her past came crashing back down to destroy everything she had built. Luckily, Sandie was not one to give up.
This story is filled with heavy moments and touched upon many issues - neglect, physical and sexual abuse, drugs, theft, violence, and the underground world of crime. I wasn't in love with the ending, but it stayed true to the story and was probably more realistic for the character than what I had hoped for her. There were a few typos but nothing that pulled me out of the story. If you enjoy taking a journey through a troubled person's life, this book is right up your alley.
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Literary Fiction
Pages: 379
Book Blurb:
Former minor-league baseball player Jimmy Bailey spent four years in incarcerated after taking a plea deal for a crime he didn't commit. He believed freedom awaited him on the day his sister, Debbie, picked him up from Walpole State Prison, a maximum-security facility in Massachusetts and brought him home to live with his mother in North Weymouth, Massachusetts.. Little did he know that both he and Debbie, as well as others they knew and loved, would face stalking, kidnapping, and more from people associated with the prison, and, even though Jimmy was no longer behind bars, he still didn't feel free. Begun as a sequel to the 2017 novel Empty Seats by this author, Still Doing Time Iis a journey into intrigue, crime, conspiracy, kidnapping, baseball, and even a little romance, set in eastern Massachusetts in 1976. A touch of feminism, introspection, soul-searching, and racism cap off this novel, which also interacts with several celebrities of the time.
I absolutely loved this book! I had read its prequel, Empty Seats, when it first came out and enjoyed it, but this book took things to a whole other level. The main character, Jimmy, is being released from prison after serving four years for a crime he didn't commit. Unfortunately, some of the guards on the inside weren't too fond of his good-mannered ways, and when his sister offended one of them as Jimmy was leaving, the guards decided to get even in their own way.
Their retribution led to an all-scale investigation into an inner crime ring, which put Jimmy and everyone he loved in even more danger. Every chapter kept me needing to know what would happen next. The author did a phenomenal job in keeping so many moving parts going until they finally merged together with a climactic ending. Each character had it's own believable personality, and I truly enjoyed all of them. Besides Jimmy, my favorite character was definitely Keeshaw. And I loved the two fierce moms! They were awesome!
If you are looking for a page turner with some good wholesomeness sprinkled in between, you will love this book!
Have you read any great books this month? I'd love to hear from you.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
