A Bookworm's Book Reviews

No Ordinary Dog – Will Chesney

Title: No Ordinary Dog

Author: Will Chesney

Genre: Memoir

Plot: Will Chesney grew up wanting to be a Navy SEAL. He was bound and determined to pass all of the requirements, even when some of his friends ‘wash out.’ Will pushes through basic training, and BUDS (which included the dreaded Hell Week) for a year before he becomes a SEAL. During his first deployment in Afghanistan, he sees the values of having a dog on his team. Will signs up for dog handler training. Upon completing training, he goes to see where the military gets their dogs. The team comes back with two. Will gets assigned to a Malinois named Cairo. The two form an immediate bond. They work very well together. Everyone is impressed with Cairo’s ability to get the job done and still be friendly. Then Cairo gets injured on his first deployment during a night mission in Afghanistan. Will is obviously worried about his dog. While Cairo recovers, Will learns what happened on that mission. Cairo had done everything right and was trying to come back to Will. The dog had done everything right and saved soldiers lives when he found some of the ‘bad guys.’ Will finishes his deployment while Cairo heals from his wounds. Not long after Will returns, he gets the call that he’s getting deployed again with Cairo. Will learns he and Cairo are going to be a part of Operation Neptune Spear. This operation was going after Osama bin Laden. Their mission is clear, clear the compound, get bin Laden, dead or alive. Will and Cairo help secure the compound while the other soldiers search for bin Laden and his men. The mission goes down with few hitches. Will and Cairo, and the rest of SEAL team 6, return home as heroes. They even get to meet President Barak Obama and Joe Biden. Not long after they return, Will starts getting sick with migraines and back pain. As much as modern medicine helps, it’s being with Cairo that helps the most. As much as Will wants to stay with the SEALS, he puts in for medical retirement. Then Cairo his much deserved retirement. Will petitions to get Cairo, and is granted. Together, they learn about how to deal with life after the Navy Seals until the end.

Rating: 4.5 – a great look at the real life of a Navy SEAL and a military dog handler

Opinion: This was an incredible book. It really shows an in depth look of what happens in the military and Navy SEAL program. I liked seeing an in depth look into how tough the Navy SEAL training really is. It makes sense why only a few people in each group make it through the entire training program. You hear about how tough the training really is, but to actually see what happened, makes it that much easier to understand. It takes a special sort of person to make it through SEAL training. The book shows a great look of what it takes to be a SEAL and a dog handler. It was interesting, but understandable why not a lot of soldiers wanted to be dog handlers in the military. With all of their duties, soldiers would’ve added their dog handler duties on top of that. But, you could tell how much the dogs meant to the soldiers, and how much they helped on their missions. It was easy to see in the book how much Cairo meant to Will, and how much Will meant to Cairo. It makes sense, but I found it interesting that the military dogs had to stay in a kennel instead of staying with the soldiers. Especially since the military wanted the handler and dog to have a strong bond. I found it interesting learning more about the mission that took down Osama bin Laden. For some reason, I thought there would’ve been a lot more complications with the mission. With how big of a target he was, I thought there would’ve been more resistance. It made me so happy that Will was able to adopt Cairo after his retirement. I liked Will’s honesty with his and Cairo’s struggles after both of them retired. I liked that he found people to help and support him through his rough seasons in life. I cried when Will talked about the end of Cairo’s life. Their story was so well written. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a solider’s viewpoint of the Navy SEALs and an amazing story of the bond between humans and dogs.

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow – Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Haunting of Paynes Hollow

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Genre: Thriller

Plot: Samatha Payne is reluctant to hear her grandfather’s will. She hasn’t been in contact with him in over fourteen years. Not after she saw her dad bury a neighbor kid and took his own life after being accused of murder. Samantha wanted to leave everything behind. But with her Aunt Gail’s help, she agrees to go. The lawyer says Samantha is set to inherit her grandfather’s entire property if she can spend a month at the cabin there. He wants to truly see that her father was not the man she thought. If she can do it, she can sell the property and earn the money she so desperately needs. If she doesn’t, the property will go to someone who really doesn’t need the money or care about the place. So, Samantha goes to her grandfather’s place. Her aunt decides to accompany her. Not long after, she starts seeing things from her past. Memories she wanted to keep buried. A few days into the visit, Aunt Gail goes missing. Samantha starts to question what she’s seeing. Some of the things she seeing couldn’t possibly be real. Or could they? Are the stories she’s heard growing up have some truth to them? Is there someone, or something, behind what’s going on at Paynes Hollow?

Rating: 4.3 – a great retelling of Sleepy Hollow and local mythology

Opinion: This was a great book. It started out slow, but it built up the creepy factor real quick. It started out kind of gross creepy, but it was a part of the mental game of making the main characters think they were going crazy. It made you believe the characters could be seeing things. It also connected to the character’s childhood memories. I’m also glad there were characters that helped the main characters see things rationally. There were hints about who was behind the human components that were well placed if you know where to look. I wasn’t expecting the addition of the mythology to the book. The author did a great job of blending that into the real world. It didn’t feel fake or out of place. The way the author wrote the mythology into the book felt believable. It made me want to learn more about the mythology and history of the place. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves creepy thrillers.

Legendborn Cycle 3 – Tracy Deonn

Books 1 is Legendborn, Book 2 is Bloodmarked

Title: Book 3 – Oathbound

Author: Tracy Deonn

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Plot: Brianna Matthews, Brie for short, is now in the service of the demon king who’s mascaraing as Erebus, a leader for the Merlins for the Order. He’s teaching Brie how to control her powers. Soon after starting, Brie realizes she’s missing the people she’s ever known. She knows who she is, but can’t remember the people from her life. Twin siblings and cambions, Zoe and Elijah are servants to demon king. They have their own missions to carry out in secret. One day, Brie convinces the twins to let her come with. They’re looking into about the demon king’s lost crown. At the meeting place, Brie sees another Rootcrafter, another girl with magic like Brie, being kidnapped. She tries to help, but told not to. So she comes up with a plan to help the kidnapped girl, and keep the demon king from getting his crown. At the place with the crown, Brie finds people from her past, but she can’t remember them. Slowly, she learns who they were to her and how they can help each other. But complications arise while they search for the crown and the girls. On top of everything else, a former friend and Merlin, Selwyn, is trying to find Brie. What does Selwyn want with Brie? Can Brie and her friends find the crown and the kidnapped girls? Can Brie find out what really happened to the missing people in her life?

Rating: 3.8 – deeper insight into the world of Legendborns and Rootcrafters

Opinions: I enjoyed this book. But I wish that I’d reviewed the other two first since it’s been so long since I’ve read the first two. There’s so much details and world building in these books. It’s difficult to remember all of the amazing details. There were so many details in this book, too. It made the plot kind of slow at times, but was still interesting to read. It was interesting to see how the characters adapted to the challenges and curveballs the plot threw at them. With all of the things life threw at the main characters, it was nice to see that they all stayed true to each other and themselves. Even though Brie was missing parts of herself, she was still able to find herself again. I really enjoyed how much teamwork there was in the book. Every character brought something different to the team. They didn’t agree on everything, but they came together for the greater good. There was a little too much young adult drama for me, but it wasn’t as distracting as it could’ve been. The drama was in smaller bits and pieces and helped with the plot more than I thought it would. I liked that the continued themes of social justice. It felt a little more subtle in this book, though. Overall, I enjoyed this book and I recommend this book who anyone who enjoys well developed magic systems and doesn’t mind young adult books.

The Frozen River – Ariel Lawhon

Title: The Frozen River

Author: Ariel Lawhon

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Plot: Martha Ballard is a midwife and healer in rural Maine. It’s shortly after the Revolutionary War and everyone is trying to build a life for themselves. When some neighborhood find a body in the Kennebec River, Martha is called to examine the body. She learns the body is a respected man in town. She declares the man was murdered. When a new male doctor arrives in town and declares the man’s death accidental, Martha takes matters into her own hands. She knows the dead man was one the men accused of raping a friend of hers. So also joins the cause to see the men brought to justice. Can she give enough evidence to see the man brought to justice? Will she be believed, especially when one of the men accused is the judge?

Rating: 4.2 – a different style of murder mystery

Opinion: This was an interesting book. There was an interesting combination of mystery and historical fiction. The author paid a lot of attention to how the new world work at the end of the 1700’s, especially outside the major cities. I liked that the author talked about why so many people got married so quick back in the day. And she addressed the culture at the time and that they shushed certain things. The mystery more revolved around how the murder would be brought to justice. The were also some mystery about what the other man involved in the rape and his motives for other unsavory things. I really hoped there would be more justice for the woman, but the author kept it more true to the times. I liked that the main women were more independent and able to help themselves when they were in trouble. The characters were well written and well rounded. They were also very relatable. Their actions made sense. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves historical fiction and mysteries.

This Dog Will Change Your Life – Elias Weiss Friedman

Title: This Dog Will Change Your Life

Author: Elias Weiss Friedman

Genre: Memoir

Plot: Elias runs a now famous dog photography blog called The Dogist. Throughout the book, he talks about how dogs have changed his life, his friends and family’s lives, and the lives of the people he’s photographed. He talks about dog’s origins and how they became ‘man’s best friend.’ There were some chapters on how we as humans have evolved dogs for specific traits. And how we’ve bred some undesirable traits in dogs and how we’re starting to fix our mistakes. Elias talks about the rescue groups he’s helped over the years. There are lots of rescues and other groups that help street dogs and wounded people. He talks about how he became a photographer and dog photographer. There’s been so many people and dogs who’ve helped him become who he is today. Elias is thankful for everyone who’s helped him. There’s so much good that he’s seen people do for their dogs. Dogs have helped people become better people.

Rating: 4.3 – a human’s tale of how dogs became man’s best friend

Opinion: This was a fun book. I really enjoyed learning more about out the guy behind The Dogist blog. There were so many good stories about how he became who he is today. It made me happy that he’s still so grounded and wants to help so many rescues and dog services. I’m glad he included how people have messed up with some dog breeds but how some breeders are trying to fix the breeds. I like how he talks about the behind the scenes things with rescues and dog service programs. One thing that I didn’t love how scatterbrained this book seemed. There were so many ideas and stories in the chapters that it made it harder for me to follow. I don’t know why but I thought the book would be more about the dogs and a little less about the author. Overall, I did really enjoy the book. I highly recommend this book to all dog lovers.

Alchemy of Secrets – Stephanie Garber

Title: Alchemy of Secrets

Author: Stephanie Garber

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: After Holland St. James took a folklore and mythology class taught by the Professor, she’s convinced that magic is real. When her and her boyfriend track down a man known as the Watch Man, he tells them when they’ll die. Holland and her boyfriend blow it off at first. Until her boyfriend actually dies. Then Holland gets her official time of death. The Watch Man says the only way she’ll live past that time is to find the Alchemical Heart. Then she starts diving deep into the magic behind the old movies. Gabe and Adam appear and offer their help to find the Alchemical Heart. Both say her sister, January, sent them to help keep her alive. Both have their own motives for helping. Then Holland finds clues that could help her find the Heart. Can either of them be trusted? When they both have type of magic, who’s to say? Will Holland be able to follow the clues? Or will time run out?

Rating: 3.5 – a different type of fantasy mystery

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I really liked the idea of this book. But it kind of fell flat for me. I liked the idea of the magic system of the book, but I felt like the rules and usages for the magic was kind of glossed over. There was a vague explanation on how it worked, but not in enough detail for me. I wanted to know more about how the characters used their magic and how they got it. The characters also kind of fell flat for me. I wanted to know more about their backstories. Again, it felt like their backstories were glossed over. It made it hard for me to connect with the characters. For me, the book felt like ‘here’s some info, now on with the story.’ I really wanted to like this story, but couldn’t get into it for these reasons. I wouldn’t have minded a longer story if the world was a little more detailed. It would’ve made the plot clearer if there’d been more descriptions of characters and how the magic system worked. I really did want to like this book, but couldn’t get into it. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a different style of fantasy mystery.

The Last Train to Key West – Chanel Cleeton

Title: The Last Train to Key West

Author: Chanel Cleeton

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: There are three women in 1935 who are about to meet in the Florida Keys. Helen is a Keys native who longs for a better life. She married young to a man who’s turned abusive. They’re expecting their first child after years of trying and he’s not letting up. He’s been controlling and upset even if he ‘suspects’ that Helen’s done anything ‘unusual.’ Her boss and a restaurant regular are concerned for her and want to help. When they convince her to leave, Helen is on constant lookout for her husband to find her. Elizabeth has fled to the Keys from NYC. She’s also searching for someone there. She’s been flirting with every man along the way. The only man she hasn’t been able to charm has offered to help. But is there a catch? Mirta and her new husband are on their honeymoon in the Keys. He’s been her family’s saving grace after the Cuban rebellion. But it was an arranged marriage and they didn’t meet until the wedding. The more Mirta learns about her new husband, the more she learns that he might be connected to the mob. Over the course of Labor Day weekend in 1935, Elizabeth, Helen, and Mirta meet and help each other. Through extraordinary circumstances, and one of the worst hurricanes in US history, they learn about finding trust, hope, and family. The women learn about starting over and finding a new purpose. Can the women truly escape their past? Or will it catch up to them in the end?

Rating: 4.3 – a story about starting over and finding purpose

Opinion: I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It was a super sweet story about starting over and finding purpose. It was really nice that all the women found ways to help each other throughout the story. They were all struggling and they found people who helped and supported them. Especially when the times and society was built against women being strong and independent. The ‘new’ men in their lives were actually better for them. They encouraged and supported the women. In return, the women encouraged and supported the men. Which is how relationships should work. The super sappy romance in the book made me happy. The couples that formed were opposites but made it work. They worked well for each other. The history was really interesting. I hadn’t heard about this part of history before. I’m not entirely surprised that the government hid the soldiers away somewhere and gave them less than ideal living conditions. They meant well, but didn’t think it through all the way. The author did a great job researching this part of history and made it feel realistic. The one thing I was a little confused about was how easily Helen left her husband. Though it seemed like she was thinking about it long before the events of the story. Still, she made up her mind fairly easily. Made me a little suspicious at first. Overall, this was a very good book. It’s an easy read, and a great story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction.

Forget Me Not – Stacy Willingham

Title: Forget Me Not

Author: Stacy Willingham

Genre: Mystery

Plot: Short on income and unsure of what to do next, Claire Campbell decides to return home. Claire hasn’t been home in over twenty years. Home reminds her too much of what happened to her sister, Natalie, when they were kids. Natalie snuck out of the house one night and was never seen again. Police found evidence connecting it to her then boyfriend who was caught and sentenced to life in jail. Now being back home is bringing up all those forgotten memories. Claire takes a summer job at a farm on a nearby island. There she learns that Natalie worked there right before she disappeared. So, Claire decides to look into what could’ve happened to Natalie. There’s an old diary that could connect the farm owners to more than just Natalie’s disappearance. Then there’s the strange knowledge of medical things that the farm owners know. More than the average old school farmer should know. But when Natalie presents the evidence, no one really believes her. They say there’s no real connection to what really happened all those years ago. Can Claire find out what really happened? Is there any real evidence between the diary, farmers odd behavior, and what happened to Natalie? Or is it all in Claire’s head?

Rating: 3.5 – a slow and steady mystery

Opinion: This was an interesting book. It was a different style mystery than what I’m used to. The answers seemed really obvious. I was really hoping there’d be some sort of twist to make the ending more interesting. The ending wasn’t a really big surprise. The characters found new evidence from an old case, did the right thing, and the bad guys got caught. No big drama, no big mystery. Though I will admit that the characters did some smart things and worked their way through the problems rationally, instead of panicking. They realized what was going on and tried to correct their mistakes. It was an interesting read, just not as big of a mystery and suspense as I was expecting. The book kept me reading because I wanted to find out how the bad guys did got away with it. But there was no big drama about what really happened. It kind of made me feel like ‘really? that’s it?’ I expected higher stakes. I didn’t love this book, but I didn’t hate it. It was just meh for me. I’d recommend this book for anyone who wants a quick and easy mystery.

The Story Collector – Evie Woods

Title: The Story Collector

Author: Evie Woods

Genre: Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction

Plot: Sarah is at her wit’s end. Everything in her life is crumbling around her. She takes a spur of the moment trip to Ireland on Christmas. With the hotel she originally booked has some issues, she’s given accommodation in Thornwood, a nearby village. On a midnight panic run, Sarah finds a hollow tree with something inside. It’s a diary dated one hundred years ago. The diary’s author is Anna and it’s her tale of helping an American scholar, Harold, collect stories about Celtic fairies. Anna and Harold talk with locals, Anna translates from Gaelic, about their fairy stories and their interactions with fairies. What happens to Anna and Harold when trouble arises? What will Sarah decide about her future during her stay in Ireland?

Rating: 4.0 – a great story about healing and forgiveness

Opinion: This was a good book. I enjoyed the history. It’s not often you read about the local population of Ireland. There wasn’t a big emphasis on the Irish who spoke Gaelic. Some characters needed an interpreter and that was that. All they wanted to do was tell their story and have it written down. I also enjoyed the emphasis on healing. The characters overcome so much. They’re willing to talk with each other about their past, especially after reading the diary. The characters also help each other heal. They work through it, apart and together. The author did a good job making their journeys realistic in such a short amount of time. I enjoyed this book more than the other book I read by this author. It still had a magical feel without the magic being forced into the book. I connected more with the characters and felt like I absorbed more of this book than the other one. I feel like the dual timelines were better written and divided throughout the book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

The Book of Lost Hours – Hayley Gelfuso

Title: The Book of Lost Hours

Author: Hayley Gelfuso

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Plot: Lisavet is a young Jewish German girl during WW2. One night, soldiers take to the streets, breaking into all the Jewish owned shops. Her father opens a door and pushes Lisavet through. He promises to return. After some time, Lisavet realizes that he’s not coming back. She starts to look around the place her father pushed her into. Lisavet learns she’s in a place outside time, a place full of everyone’s memories. She meets Azrael, a memory of someone who lived long ago, who teaches her about the place. Lisavet starts to protect the memories from others who’re looking to destroy them. She draws the attention of Ernest Dusquesne, a man working with the CIA. They’re slow to trust each other. Ernest teaches Lisavet about the outside world. Lisavet teaches Ernest about protecting memories instead of destroying them. Then one day, Lisavet disappears. In the 60’s, Amelia Dusquesne finds out that her Uncle Ernest has died. Moira, the director of the Time Agency, ropes Amelia into the department’s program. Moira knows more than she lets on about Amelia and the Time Agency. The more Amelia learns, the more she questions who she can trust. But can Moira be trusted? Can she trust anyone? What does Moira really know? What does she really want?

Rating: 4.5 – a different take on time travel

Opinion: This was a really great book. It’s blend of historical fiction, sappy romance, and mystery. I haven’t found a lot of fiction books about the Cold War. The author does a good job talking about how Russia and US viewed the opposition. It was easy to see how things can be manipulated by certain people in charge. The romance was nice was that you knew what the characters did, but you don’t get the details, which is fine by me. It made it less distracting to the rest of the plot. The mystery was good and well paced. The author laid good clues along the way. I was able to pick up on them and figure them out. But it didn’t ruin the book. I wanted to know how the characters solved their problems. Most of the characters have great plot arcs. They learn from their mistakes. It takes time for them to forgive each other. They talk through their problems. The author had great world building, especially since this her first book. I would love a prequel about this world to learn more about the origins of the time travel devices and how they work. It’s been so long since I’ve wanted to explore a world more than what’s in the story. Overall, I really loved this book. I highly recommend it anyone who loves time travel and historical fiction.