A Bookworm's Book Reviews

A Talent for Murder – Peter Swanson

Title: A Talent for Murder

Author: Peter Swanson

Genre: Mystery

Plot: Martha’s new husband, Alan, is a traveling salesmen. He sells nerdy merchandise for teachers and does well. Martha notices some blood on Alan’s shirt after a trip. She mentions it to him but he brushes it off. Still, something about it seems suspicious. Martha searches unsolved murder from his recent trips and there’s a murder in every city at the time Alan was there. Martha goes to her friend Lily for help. Lily’s a private detectives and can keep a level head. Lily believes Martha’s story and promises to look into Alan. But then she finds Ethan Shultz, an ex-boyfriend of Martha who also seems to be looking into Alan. But why is Ethan looking into Alan? Is Alan hiding something? Is he behind the unsolved murders? Or is someone else behind everything?

Rating: 4.0 – a different take on a murder mystery

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I was expecting more of a slow build story, but the plot jumps right into the mystery. There are also some interesting plot twists in the book that I wasn’t expecting. It was one of those ‘well that was different’ and ‘I didn’t expect that’ kind of plot twists. Part of me thought the plot twist was for shock value. But it made the book a little more interesting. Another part of me thought the person behind everything could’ve been developed a little better. The plot was still well paced. It kept me interested and I wanted to see where the mystery went and how it was solved. But overall this was an interesting book. I enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who wants a different a different style of murder mystery.

The Midnight Library – Matt Haig

Title: The Midnight Library

Author: Matt Haig

Genre: Sci-Fi

Plot: Nora Seed isn’t happy with her life. Life didn’t turn out how she thought. She’s not sure she wants to continue on. Then Nora’s transported to the Midnight Library. The librarian is Mrs. Elm, her middle school librarian. She tells Nora that all the books in the Midnight Library are variations of her current life, if she’d made other choices. There are obvious choices but none of them are what Nora truly wants. Will Nora ever find the life she truly wants? Or will she stay in the Midnight Library forever?

Rating: 4.5 – a good book about living life

Opinion: This was a great book. I really need to read this book at this point in my life. I found it really relatable because it’s easy to not be happy with where you’re at in life and wish that you’d made different choices along the way. It makes it easy to relate to the characters, too. I liked the choice Nora made at the end of the book. It was different than what I was expecting, but in the end it was the right choice. It made sense in the end. Parts of the book felt similar to the movie Soul. Overall, I loved this book. I really needed this book right now. It’s one of the few books that spoke to me in this moment of my life. I highly recommend this book for anyone who needs a reminder that you made the right choices.

Pet Semetary – Stephen King

Title: Pet Semetary

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror

Plot: Louis Creed has just taken a job with a local university in Ludlow, Maine. He and his family live on a busy road with lots of semi-trucks. On a path in the backyard, there’s a pet cemetery. The neighbor Jed takes them there. Rachel, Louis’ wife is terrified of the cemetery. On Louis’ first day, a student dies. Then Louis sees the student in what feels almost like a dream. The student takes him to the pet cemetery and warms him of what can happen there. Louis is cautious at first. Then the family cat dies while Rachel and the kids were out of town. Jed shows a different place to bury the cat. The next day, the cat returns home. But the cat isn’t acting like its normal self. It stinks of death. It brings home dead birds. Then something tragic happens. What will Louis do? Will he fix the tragedy? Or let it be? Can anyone stop what’s been done? Or will the tragedy continue?

Rating: 4.0 – a different take on local legends and death and resurrection

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I liked that it combined local legends and lore with horror. It made it feel more real and spooky. I liked that the characters had good reasons and motivations for what they did and how they acted. Though it was a little distracting to the main story. The one thing I didn’t like was that the main character kept doing stupid stuff. It was the classic horror story stupid decisions that put others in danger. It was the first time in a while that I’ve yelled at a character out loud while I’ve been reading. It made for an interesting book, but I also just had to face palm a lot and think ‘did you not learn the first time?’ But the plot was interesting so I kept reading. I kept thinking some of the characters were behind it, but then it was something else. It made it more chilling. Overall, this is another classic horror book. It made me realize why Stephen King is such a good writer. I recommend this book who loves a good thriller.

The Ministry of Time – Kaliane Bradley

Title: The Ministry of Time

Author: Kaliane Bradley

Genre: Sci-Fi, Historical Fiction

Plot: A British Ministry worker receives a promotion for a new, top secret department. The Ministry has a time travel door. They’ve picked seven people from history to see if they’re able to adjust to modern times. Everyone in the program is assigned to a time traveled person. The modern day person is called a bridge to their assigned time traveled person. Our narrator is assigned to Commander Graham Gore who was a commander in the doomed Arctic expedition of 1847. Commander Gore adjusts well to modern day life. But there are others after Commander Gore and his bridge. But what do they want? Can Commander Gore and his bridge escape them? Or can they find a way to stop them?

Rating: 3.7 – a different take on time travel

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I liked this book’s idea of time travel. It took a more psychological take on time travel. Like how can a person from the past to the modern day. It was an interesting idea and was interesting how the author wrote about it. The book kept me interested. The plot was slower but steady. The one thing that that kinda bugged me was that that the main character didn’t have a name. It made sense after reading the book, but it took me by surprise. I just found it strange everyone else was named when the main character wasn’t. But it was an interesting book and was well written. I liked the different take on time travel. I highly recommend this book who likes time travel and historical fiction.

Cujo – Stephen King

Title: Cujo

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror

Plot: In the little town of Castle Rock, Maine, nothing really happens. There was that one thing, but that was a while ago. One summer, the Camber’s dog Cujo gets bit by a bat. The Cambers don’t think much of it at first. Charity Cambers takes Brett, her son, to visit her sister’s family. Joe, Charity’s husband, decides to take a secret trip with a friend. Across town, the Tadmores need to get their car fixed. But Vic, husband of Donna and father of Tad, goes out of town for a business conference. Donna reluctantly takes their car to Joe Camber, a local mechanic. Tad insists on coming along. But he’s missing. And Cujo is keeping guard. Something is wrong with Cujo. He’s rabid and has taken Donna and Tad captive inside the car. Can Donna and Tad escape? Will someone save them? Or will Cujo get them? And can Cujo be stopped?

Rating: 4.0 – a good slow build up horror

Opinion: This was better than I expected. I see why this book is a classic. I was expecting a more edge of your seat thriller through the whole book. It more of a slow build thriller. I found it interesting that there were character switches that paused the thriller. Though the storylines were a little confusing at first, but it sorted itself out. The one thing I didn’t love about the book was the lack of chapters. There were double spaces when there was a character perspective change, there were no set chapters. It made it hard to find a good pausing points in the book. There were a couple scenes towards the end that grossed me out. It was a very well written book. But overall, I really enjoyed this book. It kept me wanting to read more. I recommend it for anyone who wants to try a Stephen King horror book.

The Watchmaker’s Daughter – Larry Loftis

Title: The Watcher’s Daughter

Author: Larry Loftis

Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Living

Plot: Corrie ten Boom is the daughter of a watchmaker. She dreams of following in her father’s footsteps. As she does, WW2 breaks out. She and her family start hiding Jewish people in the house and shop. But her and her family are found out, separated, and sent to concentration camps. Corrie and her sister Besty are always together. They find hope in each other and in Jesus. They tell others about Jesus and share in their hope. When Betsy dies, Corrie learns to live without her. Corrie renews her faith in Jesus and keeps sharing with everyone. She learns forgiveness, too, as she speaks to the Germans.

Rating: 3.6 – a different viewpoint of Corrie ten Boom’s story

Opinion: This was an interesting story. I thought it would focus more on Corrie ten Boom’s story. Instead, it focuses on the overarching facts and history that connects to Corrie’s story. The author talks about Anne Frank and her family, as well as Audrey Hepburn. I didn’t know that Audrey was Dutch and helped the Dutch Resistance. While I liked the additional information, it kinda took away from Corrie’s story. This was a great story about faith, hope, love, and forgiveness. I recommend this book for anyone who loves historical fiction from a Christian perspective.

All We Were Promised – Ashton Lattimore

Title: All We Were Promised

Author: Ashton Lattimore

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Charlotte and Nell are two black women in Philadelphia in 1837. They’re united in their cause for helping others win their freedom. Nell has the means to do so but her parents aren’t as supportive of her ‘radical’ ideas. Charlotte is a recent runaway with her father who’s hiding from their former master. Her father is posing as a white man who’s overprotective of his daughter. But then, Charlotte’s friend, Evie, and former slave at the same plantation appears at the local market. Their former master is in town and looking to get married again. Evie wants to escape and asks Charlotte for help. Charlotte accepts and asks Nell for help. Together they work to help Evie escape. Will their plan work? Will their master find out? And find Charlotte and her father? What will happen to everyone?

Rating: 3.8 – a different side of history

Opinion: This was a good book. I enjoyed learning about life in pre-civil war north. It was nice to hear from the free black people during that time. No one really talks about the fact that some black people back then could be rich and have influence. It was nice to learn about that part of history. I enjoyed learning about how northern cities worked during that time period. I liked that those cities had laws to make the run away slaves free after living there after a certain time. Though it was sad to learn how slave owners got around those laws. It was interesting, but not surprising, that certain things about society haven’t changed much. The characters were well written and relatable. This was a slow and steady read with lots of good details about life back then. I recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction.

Listen for the Lie – Amy Tintera

Title: Listen for the Lie

Author: Amy Tintera

Genre: Thriller

Plot: Everyone in Plumpton Texas think Lucy Chase killed her best friend Savannah five years ago. But Lucy has no memory of that night and there wasn’t enough evidence to convict her. Five years after Savannah was killed, Lucy’s grandma asks her to come back to Plumpton for her grandma’s birthday. Right before Lucy returns, she learns about a podcaster, Ben Owens, doing a true crime podcast about Savannah’s murder. He wants to know what really happened, if Lucy really did it or not. The more Ben digs into the town’s past, the more shady things come to light. Then some contradicting evidence that comes to light. What really happened the night Savannah died? Did Lucy really kill her? Or did someone else?

Rating: 4.3 – an interesting murder mystery

Opinion: This was a great book. I was unsure about the book at the beginning but it ended up being really good. There were many times I wanted to keep reading the book but it was either too late or I was at work. The book made some good points about life. There were also some dark topics in the book. The characters in the book are also really well written. The main character isn’t your typical nice girl. She speaks her mind and doesn’t care what others think. It’s a nice change. I like the twists in the book. The people react in a real world way to the twists and the dirt that’s brought up. But there was some more dramatic reactions. Which added to the suspense. I was really hoping my suspect was wrong and I was so I glad I was wrong. I liked the ending and that it wasn’t a perfect ending, but a good ending. Overall, this is a great book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves thrillers.

The Crimson Moth 1 – Kristen Ciccarelli

Book 2 is available and is called Rebel Witch

Title: Book 1 – Heartless Hunter

Author: Kristen Ciccarelli

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Rune’s world has changed in the last two years since. The witch queens were overthrown and witches (and their sympathizers) are hunted and killed. In order to prove herself in this new world, Rune’s been masquerading as a socialite. She’s had to hide the fact that she’s a witch and been helping other witches escape under the name, Crimson Moth. In order to gain inside information, she decides to court Gideon, a witch hunter. He’s got a secret plan of his own. Neither of them trust the other. Both use each other to gain information. Who will win this battle of wits? Or will love win the day? Can Rune keep her secret as the Crimson Moth? Or will she be found out?

Rating: 4.0 – an interesting twist magic and enemies to lovers

Opinion: This was an interesting book. There was a trying to rebuild after a revolution feeling and punishing the reason for the revolution vibe that made it feel like the French Revolution to me. I liked the magic system in the book. It had a good set of rules to follow and limits to a person’s magic use and abilities. It was interesting addition that magic marked the witches. I liked that idea for how the witch hunters found the witches. This book had an interesting take on enemies to lovers. The couples stuck to their morals when their relationship was challenged and broken. They did what they thought was right in the moment. This is part of a series and I’m curious to see where it goes. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes a darker magical romantic book.

Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus

Title: Lessons in Chemistry

Author: Bonnie Garmus

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist in the 60’s. She’s never been one to take no for an answer. She knows what she wants out of life. Her main issue is that none of her male colleagues take her or her work seriously. No one except Calvin Evans. They hit it off right away. Then the accident happens and Elizabeth is left alone with a dog and unexpected child. Now she must learn to survive and make a name for herself in the field of chemistry while raising a child. Her first break is a tv cooking show, Supper at Six. But she wants to do it her own way, cook with chemistry. Will it work? Or will she be pushed out of another field? Can she make it in a man’s world?

Rating: 4.0 – a different side of history and science

Opinion: This was a great book. It was written in a very matter of fact style, much like Elizabeth. It took me a little to get used to the small breaks in the main story to read a short backstory or side story about Elizabeth or one of the other characters. It was a bit jarring because it happened right after a bit of information was dropped, then the story stopped so you could get a backstory about what just happened or was said. I enjoyed learning about science and cooking, and the science of cooking. There were moments that made me sad, some that made me made, others that made me laugh, and some heartwarming moments. I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction and a woman who won’t back down.