November Wrap Up

I had a pretty good reading month.  I read 9 books and 4 audiobooks.  I am finally caught up on all of my ARCs that I needed to review.  And I knocked out 5 reading challenge prompts.  

Books/Ebooks/ARCs

• Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
• Review
• This came out October 2nd.  I got super backlogged in October.  This was fairly long, and it took me a while to read.  This wasn't scary at all, and it was a bit slow paced.  Overall I liked it.  It had decent diverse representation and good character dialogue.
• Lies by TM Logan
• Review
• This came out on September 11th.  The plot was pretty good, and there was a great plot twist at the end.  Overall, I thought the main character kept doing really idiotic things to get himself in trouble, which played into the twist eventually.  It was certainly not the scariest or best reads of the year as promised.  It was an OK mystery/thriller and a quick read.
• Evermore by Sara Holland
• Review
• This is the sequel to Everless.  I really like the premise of how time is currency in this story.  This moved a bit slow for me.  There was a long time where not alot happened as the main character tries to remember her past lives.  It is a good conclusion to the duology, but what I was expecting.
• Cranberry Bluff by Deborah Garner
• It fits the prompt for a fruit or vegetable in the title.  It was a quick, cozy mystery type book.  I got it for free and it was pretty cute.
• Blue Water by J.A. Armitage
• Review
• This is a reverse fairy tale/retelling of The Little Mermaid.  It is a fun YA story line with some interesting mythology that I'm enjoying.  Overall I'm liking the series and am looking forward to the third book.  
• Pittsburgh Irish by Gerard F. O'neil
• I read this for the reading challenge.  I really enjoyed learning about the city I grew up in and walk around in everyday.  I learned so much from this and about the surrounding areas of Pittsburgh.  It was really nice reading about places that I know and learning about their namesakes and more about the events that took place there and the people who formed the city I call home.
• Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
• I used this for my time travel prompt book.  I'm so glad I read this.  It was a quick enjoyable read.  I really enjoyed the historical and secret society aspects to the story.  I also like that the main character is not having he male chauvinism and she is speaking up for herself more and more as the story progresses.
• The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Loved this Lux spin-off series.  I always thought Luc was a great character and I'm happy we get to finally know him.  We meet some new characters, and see the return of some old favorites.  I would have liked to see Katy and Dee, but we got Daemon and Archer so...
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
• This fulfilled another reading challenge prompt for a book I meant to read last year, though it could have filled several others.  It was a short, but powerful book.  I really loved it and the illustrations were as beautiful as the words.  So glad I finally read it!

Audiobooks

 I did pretty well in the audio department this month.

• Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
• I really enjoyed this.  It was a little heavy on the romance, but it was still great!  I loved the mythological and paranormal element to the story.  I can't wait to read more of Taylor's writing.  This didn't really go where I expected, but I liked where it ended up.
• A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
• I loved this installment of the series.  We finally get to know what happened to Sofos who kind of just disappeared from the story a while back.  It also kind of brings all of the political plotting of the 3 kingdoms together once and for all.  There is still plotting but it seems that finally all of the kings and queens will be united.  This series keeps getting better.
• The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
• Review
• I got an ARC of this from Edelweiss after it was published, so in an attempt to get to clear my review list up I grabbed the audio book.  This was a great mystery with alternating times.  I really enjoy the way Sager tells stories.  If you liked Final Girls check this out.
• Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
• This surprised me by following a completely new character in the series.  It took me a bit longer than normal to get into the story, but it was just as good as the rest of the books.  The writing is amazing, and now I have to wait patiently for book 6 which doesn't come out until March.

Review: Lies by T.M. Logan

Lies by T.M. Logan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  This was released September 11, 2018.  I know this review is up super late, but here it is. 

This was a fast paced read with a decent plot. I give the author kudos for the plot twist, as I didn't see it coming. I didn't find it to be much of a psychological thriller or very intense from the thriller perspective, it was more of a dramatic mystery. I kept shaking my head the entire book as the main character Joe continually makes bad decisions, recognizes he's making poor choices or is told not to do something and does it anyway. This makes him look kind of idiotic throughout the book, giving this "thriller" a comical edge. Then again, I'm not sure what a real person would do in this situation so it may be completely realistic, it just felt like he was being ridiculous at times. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, it isn't what I look for in a thriller. I was engaged while reading it, and I did like it.

Onto the plot, our main character Joe is kind of a boring guy. He's an English teacher, he is a doting father to son William, an a loving husband, he follows the rules, gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, and really has no aspirations to achieve more in life than what he has now. His wife Melissa is a go-getter, she is beautiful, outgoing, a high achiever, and while she loves her family she has an active social life outside of the home as well. Joe and his son spot Mel's car on their way home one evening and decide to surprise her, this leads to an unraveling of events and lies that Joe could never imagine he would ever find himself in the middle of. He learns that Mel has been lying to him for quite some time and their relationship is not as happy as he thought it was. Joe finds himself accused of crimes he didn't commit, and he is determined to prove his innocence in the matter. As Joe impulsively runs about trying to prove he had nothing to do with the crime his is being accuse of, he finds that he doesn't know what is true and what is a lie, all he knows is he didn't it and someone is trying to ruin him. I won't go into the plot any further or else it will spoil it for you.

If you like mysteries and thrillers that aren't too intense, give this a chance.


View all my reviews

September TBR

Well the kids are back in school, and fall activities have started back up with a vengeance.  That means everyday after work I have to be somewhere and there is little time for reading after feeding the hungry hoard.  Thank goodness for audiobooks.  Between commuting and the chaos of life I would never get to read, so I listen.  Now if only I had time to post all of the reviews I meant to write.  I'm still feeling like I'm in a bit of a reading slump, I've got a ton of books I want to read but I can't stay focused.  I read for 5 minutes then I go do something else.  I'm still reading everyday so I'll break out of it eventually.  It isn't the book either they are all good so far, I think I'm getting run down by life and I took on too many ARCs in August.  Here's to September being a little better.

Books/Ebooks/ARCs

• Ruin of Stars by Linsey Miller
• This is out already and I'm way overdue with my review.  I'm hoping to finish this over the holiday weekend and get my review up.  So far its action packed and picks up with Sal still wanting to exact revenge on those who wronged her and her country in the past.  
• Rule by Ellen Goodlett
• This comes out on September 11th.  This is supposed to be a Three Dark Crowns meets Pretty Little Liars.  Now I know nothing about PLL but I liked Three Dark Crowns so I thought I'd give it a go.  
• Lies by TM Logan
• I already started this and its a perfect family thriller.  I haven't gotten very far but its good.  This comes out on September 11th.
• The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
• I've had this for a while now and its about time to get to it.  This comes out on September 18th.  I believe it is out in other countries though and I've seen good reviews.  It promises a murder mystery and a kind of weird groundhog day plot line.  Sounds really interesting.
• Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
• This comes out in October, and is another YA thriller/horror novel.  The plot reminded me of my beloved R.L. Stine books that I adored in elementary school.  I couldn't get enough of them.  This sounds perfect for fall.  
• Broken Things  by Lauren Oliver
• I've read a bunch of Lauren Oliver's other books and I really like her thriller/mysteries.  I'm really looking forward to getting to this especially as we get into the fall.  This come out in October as well.

Audiobooks

I've got a ton of stuff on hold at the library so I'm not even going to mention them.  I never know what's going to happen audio-wise and most of them are repeat mentions from the past.  I do have 2 currently checked out so I will mention those.  Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake comes out on the 4th, and I'm looking forward to continuing The Three Dark Crowns Series on audio.

• Strange Weather by Joe Hill
• I haven't read anything by Joe Hill.  I love Stephen King so I'm anxious to see how his son's books compare.  I'm reading this for a challenge prompt as a book I saw a stranger reading.  There is always a gentleman sitting outside of my office building reading every morning before I got into work and he was reading this one day.  I just started it and it's interesting so far.
• Before The Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray
• I'm loving The Diviners series.  I love the historical aspect of the series and the paranormal happenings.  I really love the characters and the audio books are so gripping.  I already have this checked out and as soon as I finish Strange Weather I'm starting this.