Isle of the Books

Too Close to Home is by Tressa Messenger and is the first book in the Forensic Files series. It's a mystery and crime book. " When the beautiful blond senior head cheerleader, Melissa Cooley, is found stabbed to death on a teacher’s desk in the local high school this small coastal town nestled on the east coast of North Carolina goes into frenzy. To make matters worse another body of slacker boy, Ronald Marks, is found hanging from the field goal post only a day later. Pamlico County native Detective Carma Jones and her partner Harold Green set out on a search for this ruthless assailant who is causing so much havoc in her peaceful home town. No one is safe and everyone is a suspect. The twists and turns along the way lead them in a direction Carma would never have guessed with deep secrets meant to stay buried. Will she be too late to stop the real murder from killing again? "~Goodreads I first found out about this book through Theresa Delayne in one of her newsl...

Cold Fury is by T.M. Goeglein and is the first book. It is a thriller and action. " Jason Bourne meets  The Sopranos  in this breathtaking adventure  Sara Jane Rispoli is a normal sixteen-year-old coping with school and a budding romance--until her parents and brother are kidnapped and she discovers her family is deeply embedded in the Chicago Outfit (aka the mob).  Now on the run from a masked assassin, rogue cops and her turncoat uncle, Sara Jane is chased and attacked at every turn, fighting back with cold fury as she searches for her family. It's a quest that takes her through concealed doors and forgotten speakeasies--a city hiding in plain sight. Though armed with a .45 and 96K in cash, an old tattered notebook might be her best defense--hidden in its pages the secret to "ultimate power." It's why she's being pursued, why her family was taken, and could be the key to saving all of their lives.  Action packed, with fresh, cinematic writing,  Cold Fu...

Why do readers post reviews in the first place? Because we want to express our feelings on the book. And while we definitely all do that, not all book reviews are, well, reviews. Some might not even give us a good basis about whether we should read the novel or not. I like to read the reviews on Goodreads, from one star to five star and hear everyone's thoughts. Here are the Pros and Cons of reading book reviews. Pros: Good Detail- First, I don't mean as in spoilers. I avoid those unless I'm really iffy about a book. This one sort of applies to the next one. The review describes the book how it is-- if it's about a giant war and not saying it's about unicorns. Analysis- The reviewer analyzes the book well without ripping it to shreds. They provide great insight and give opinions that are helpful. (See Over Critique  below.) Perspective- Sometimes a new viewpoint is brought to our attention and it makes us think. That can be good (or can ruin it, which I don...

Unraveling is by Elizabeth Norris and is the first book in the series. It is sci-fi/romance. " Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared. And that was before she died... and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet. "~Goodreads Almost the instant I started reading I was sucked in. There's no hesitation in getting the story started. As of late, I feel like I'm getting more into sci-fi, and finding something that wasn't typical was like  a breath of fresh air. And ...

Two Truths and A Lie is by Sara Shepard and is the third book in the Lying Game series. The genre is mystery. " Sutton Mercer watches from the afterlife as her long-lost twin, Emma Paxton, takes over her identity to solve her murder. But after ruling out her early leads, Emma still hasn’t found Sutton’s killer. A lot of people wanted her dead—but one name keeps popping up: Thayer Vega. When the gorgeous and mysterious Thayer returns to town, Emma has to move fast to figure out whether he’s back for revenge…or if he already got it. Set in a town where friends can turn into dangerous enemies and everyone harbors dark secrets, The Lying Game is a juicy new series that fans of the #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series—and the hit ABC Family show—will love. "~Goodreads Shepard has a way with words. Since there are only bits and pieces of conversations, it seems like that person is the murderer based on a snippet. So then I go back and forth, debating if the...

Demigods and Magicians is by Rick Riordan. It is a cross-over series with Percy Jackson and the Kane Chronicles and includes all three short stories in the series. " Magic, monsters, and mayhem abound when Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase meet Carter and Sadie Kane for the first time. Weird creatures are appearing in unexpected places, and the demigods and magicians have to team up to take them down. As they battle with Celestial Bronze and glowing hieroglyphs, the four heroes find that they have a lot in common--and more power than they ever thought possible. But will their combined forces be enough to foil an ancient enemy who is mixing Greek and Egyptian incantations for an evil purpose? Rick Riordan wields his usual storytelling magic in this adrenaline-fueled adventure. "~Goodreads I was so excited to finally be reading the Son of Sobek. Percy is one of my favorite characters, and his reactions can produce a good laugh. Despite it being from Carter's perspective,...