The Rumor by Lesly Kara

Hi Dewey Readers!

What would you do if a suspected murderer lived on your street? In Lesly Kara's novel, The Rumor, a mother named Joanna is forced to face that question head on.  Joanna moved back to her quiet seaside hometown after her son was being bullied at his old school in the city.  The move is little bit farther from her son's father but it isn't all bad, Joanna now has the help of her own mother.  


But then a small rumor sparks.  Someone who was convicted of stabbing a boy, when they were a child them self, may be living in their tiny neighborhood under a different name.  But who is it?  As the rumor spreads, partially at the fault of Joanna, everyone becomes a suspect, the innocent become the scapegoats, and no one is really safe... even within their own families.  

I read this book in ONE DAY.  I could not put it down!  It is an excellent fall thriller to sit on the porch with at night.  I leave you with a rating of 5 out of 5 Coffee Beans. 

Until the next read!
~Jessica   

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez- Reshelved Books

Maybe it's just me but I always have a hard time writing a review about a book that I didn't like.  I feel bad for putting it out there that I just didn't like a book.  I don't want to offend the author and anyone who's reading here who may have liked the book.  I can only imagine how much time it takes to write the book, to look for a publisher, etc.

I'm just going to come out and say this right now: This book was too much. 

And for that... I didn't like it. Side note: I know that I get stuck in these funks where all I read are books that I find to be less the stellar. 

In The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez focuses on two characters: Kristen and Josh.  
Kristen: 24 year old, owner of her own business, is about to have a major life changing surgery.  The outcome of this surgery is what's preventing her from getting attached to Josh.  Kristen is currently dating Tyler, who is finishing up his tour overseas. 
Josh: 29 year old, former Marine, current firefighter/paramedic.  Josh moved to California from South Dakota after a bad breakup. (Josh also believes that Kristen is his "unicorn" - he wants to be with her and he will do anything to show her that they are worth the risk.)

Book Cover Link Here

Josh and Kristen both happen to be in the same wedding: Kristen is Sloan's maid of honor and Josh is Brandon's best man.  


As any good rom-com story would go; Kristen and Josh have a chance encounter before officially meeting one another.  (Apparently, you can go X amount of time as someone's best friend and never ever meet their finance's best friend).

Kristen was driving Brandon's new truck, when she slipped her coffee and stopped short.  Josh was driving behind her and he happened to be looking at his phone and when Kristen stopped; Josh didn't react in enough time and he ended up tapping his truck against the back of the one that she was driving.

Logically (I say this lightly), this is Josh's fault and he offers to help clean up the mess and offers Kristen his shirt.  Since this is a book, Kristen uses her shirt to clean up the mess (as it was already stained) and then she goes and changes into Josh's shirt. 

It wasn't until Josh arrived at the fire station, did he realize that he hit Brandon's truck while Kristen was driving it!

For the sake of speeding things along... 

Kristen ends up hiring Josh to be her carpenter for her business.  'Cause you know, Josh conveniently had a woodworking hobby on the side.

During this time, they get closer to one another but after multiple conversations with Josh, Kristen learns that he dreams of settling down and having a big family.  Part of the reason *why* Josh broke up with his ex-girlfriend and left South Dakota was because she didn't want to have children. 

Kristen knows that she could never give Josh what she wants (or so she believes).  But sometimes, love is such a strong emotion and force, that it needs up conquering all.

Kristen's health and her surgery are big part of the book.  That was something that I didn't have a problem with.  How she felt about that and how that influenced what she did with Josh. (I actually liked that part about the book. I thought it was important that she covered topic like that and the fears that along aside it!)

My problem was all of the added stuff that didn't seem to be important!

This next part is going to contain a spoiler, so advert your eyes! If you so choose...

Brandon and Sloan are the reason why Josh and Kristen were brought together.  Okay. But what didn't need to happen was killing OFF Brandon! That came out of left field for me and I didn't really think that it was needed.

Another thing that I couldn't really stand was Kristen's attitude toward *everything*.  She wasn't a very wholesome, nice person.  I know not every character in every book is going to be sugary and sweet; that's not what I'm saying.  The issue that I had with her character was that she's a cynical, crass and nasty person. 

This book does have high ratings on Goodreads.  Sadly, it's not going to get more than 2.5 coffee beans from me. 

~ Jillian

The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig b Don Zolidis -- Reshelved Books

Hi there Dewey Readers!

Are you looking for a cute and quick y.a. read?  Look no further than The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig by Don Zolidis.  Okay, maybe cute isn't exactly the right word.  The book opens by stating that the ending is not happy, and true to it's word it isn't, but it is something that we can all relate to.

The book takes place in the mid 90s and follows the not-so love story of an on again off again couple, Amy and Craig.  Amy keeps breaking up with Craig for reasons we don't quite understand (Craig doesn't either), and yet they still keep getting back together.  It's about what it means to be a family, what it means to fall in love, and the choices we make.  It's about wanting more than your parents have and struggling (financially) to make a better life for yourself even when it looks like it might not be in the cards.  

It's a super quick and easy read.  You won't regret picking it up (hopefully from your local library).  I leave you with a rating of 5 out of 5 Coffee Beans.

Until the next read!
~Jessica 

One Hot Summer Anthology - ARC

 

Hiya all!

Today's blog post will be featuring One Hot Summer which is a compilation of different stories by different authors.

Cover is from Amazon- the Arc didn't include this?!

I feel kinda bad about not liking this book but I really couldn't like this anthology.  We were sent this anthology in exchange for an honest review.  Ready? Here we go!

First things first: this book is like an appetizer platter.

That is the best way that I can describe it.  I signed up for the reading blitz thinking that it would be an actual anthology of short stories?  I didn't realize that this would a collection of the first several chapters of completed books.  While there are 7 different authors, their stories featured in this anthology range from having 7 to 11 chapters and then they just tell you to go and buy the book when it's available for purchase.  Which is fine (I guess?) but really, if I'm going to buying a book with only parts of books in them- be up front with that... Don't be misleading. 

I also signed up for the blitz because I happen to be a fan of Katy Regnery!  I like her books and I really liked her YA book when she wrote under the pen name, Callie Henry.  So I figured, why not?!  NOW I didn't have any problem with Regnery's story in this anthology.  (I liked her story and I actually plan on buying Single in Sitka was when comes out next month.) 

I'm going to go in order of the books as they are featured in the anthology to tell you a little bit of what I thought about them....

Here goes nothing!

The Summer of Us by Melanie Moreland: 
I'm reading the synopsis of the story now on Amazon about this book and for the life of me, I can't remember what I read under The Summer of Us!  It didn't do anything for me.  I was fairly neutral about this one. 

The Inheritance by Amy Briggs:
I liked this one! I thought it was well written and I could definitely see myself reading the rest of the book.  I liked the idea that this woman, inherited a small fortune (and a home and a dog) from a colleague.  I liked that Briggs wrote a story about how you might not be with someone in a physically intimate way to make them love you and share things with you.   

Summer Seduction by Caisy Quinn:
NO. Just a big fat NO.
What the heck?!
This story follows a 17 (A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD!!!) and the night she spends with a 24 year old guy from her college level art history class.  This 24 year old guy is also about to be her HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER!!
NO. NO NO NO.
I wanted to crawl out of my skin while reading this one. 
Just. NO.

By the Seaside by Heidi McLaughlin:
While writing this review, I've realized that this one and The Inheritance seemed fairly similar to me.  There is something underlying about them both that makes me think that... This one was okay.  I didn't really get how this one "event" could change everything for the main character, Kelly- how she was basically driven out of her hometown and lead a life that she didn't really want.  But traumatic events change people and even though an outsider might not see it as that, it depends on how the person living it sees it. 

Love's a Beach by Danielle Pearl
This is another one that I liked.  This one who quite real.  There wasn't anything about it that was far fetched. It tackled something that was very real and something that a lot of women experience.  (A perk about this book? There's a character named Jillian!!)

Single in Sitka by Katy Regnery
What can I say? I'm a fan of Katy Regnery.  I started to find myself swooning over Luke Kingston! I liked the interactions between him and his kids.  I liked the real fears that his older son, Chad toward Amanda.  I liked how the story started off in a goofy way.  I thought it was cute.  I'm very excited for when this book comes out in October.  It ended on a true cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what will happen next!

The Secret at Sunset by Shari J. Ryan
I didn't care for this one either.  I found the main character Alexa to be self absorbed.  Meh. 

Out of 7 stories, I have to say that I would confidently go and buy 2 of the books to find out what happens.  Two of them were good and while I could see myself going out and getting copies to see what happened- would I really do it? No.  Then the last 3... while I found two to be meh, so much to the point where I don't remember what the heck happened in them.  That ONE really made me get upset (ask MB!).  I would honestly say to pass this anthology.  Go out and get copes of Love's a Beach and Single in Sitka when they become available!

~ Jillian

The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros - Reshelved Books

Hi guys.

Let me apologize for not posting at ALL in August.  I went away on vacation at the beginning of the month and I have been away on vacation ever since.  Alas, it's September and the reviews need to start up again...

It's not that I haven't been reading.  I have!  I have been reading A LOT.  I just haven't been posting.  I have a lot of started reviews sitting in the queue.  (And we all know how much Jessica loves when this happens)
The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros is why this post exists today.

Cover is courtesy of Amazon.com!

This book, you guys. Soooo incredibly amazing. I cannot. 

It also made you fall in love with Beckett Gentry, call sign Chaos.  Honestly, if I could have a literary boyfriend, I would have pass up Mr. Darcy for Mr. Gentry. (It’s said by fellow characters in The Last Letter, that Beckett looks like Chris Pratt. Who doesn’t love Chris Pratt? I must say that Chris Pratt circa Parks and Rec is my favorite Chris Pratt.)

Beckett Gentry, or Chaos as he’s known in his unit; is serving a tour with Ella’s brother, Ryan.  Early on in the beginning of the book, the reader sees that Ryan or Mac, is persuading Beckett into writing letters to Ella.  Ella has a lot going on, not only is she a single mom who's running her own business while raising twins but one her children is diagnosed with a neuroblastoma. Even though he understands this, Beckett is reluctant to do so- he doesn't want the attachment, he doesn't want the what ifs or the what could bes.  But something happens, as Chaos writes Ella, he starts to fall for Ella.  Ella starts to feel the same way about Chaos.  When Mac becomes a prisoner of war and then loses his life, Chaos just stops writing to Ella.  Which breaks Ella. 

The title "The Last Letter" comes from the last letter that Mac wrote in the event that he died.  It was addressed to Chaos- inside it was asking Chaos to go to Telluride, CO; and take care of Ella and her kids.  

Chaos does just that.  He goes to Telluride and rents a cabin for 7 months at Solitude.  
Only Chaos is now Beckett.  
Chaos doesn't exist- he died with Mac.

The start of each chapter starts with a letter either from Ella to Chaos, or from Chaos to Ella.  Each chapter is told from their respected prescriptive only. 

I cried. I literally had tears streaming down my face. To the point where I couldn’t read the words that were in front of me and I needed to stop and get myself together. 


This book had everything. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made you feel love, it made you feel heartbreak. And lastly, it made you feel hope. 

I give this book 5 coffee beans out of 5!  If you're in the market for a new book- I would strongly recommend this one.

~ Jillian