Book Review: The Summer House by James Patterson & Brendan DuBois

Posted on 04/27/2023 by Lenn

Title: The Summer House

Author: James Patterson, Brendan DuBois

Publication Date: June 8, 2020

Number of Pages: 429

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Century

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Suspense, Military

Synopsis:

For seven unsuspecting victims, death comes in the dark . . .

Once a luxurious getaway for a wealthy Southern family, the Summer House has long since fallen into disrepair. Its fall from grace is complete when it becomes the scene of a horrific mass murder.

Shocking evidence points to four Army Rangers recently returned from Afghanistan. The Army sends Major Jeremiah Cook, a war veteran and former NYPD cop, to investigate.

As Cook and his team struggle to put together pieces of evidence that just won’t fit, powerful forces rally against them to try to ensure that damning secrets are buried along with the victims. Continue reading →

Book Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Posted on 04/26/2023 by Lenn

Title: The Silent Patient

Author: Alex Michaelides

Publication Date: February 5, 2019

Number of Pages: 368

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Publisher: Celadon Books

Genre: Thriller, Psychological, Mystery

Synopsis:

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband―and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations―a search for the truth that threatens to consume him…. Continue reading →

Book Review: The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo #4) by Rick Riordan

Posted on 04/25/2023 by Lenn

Title: The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo 4)

Author: Rick Riordan

Publication Date: September 24, 2019

Number of Pages: 439

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Genre: Fantasy, Middle-Grade

Synopsis:

In his penultimate adventure, a devastated but determined Apollo travels to Camp Jupiter, where he must learn what it is to be a hero, or die trying.

It’s not easy being Apollo, especially when you’ve been turned into a human and banished from Olympus. On his path to restoring five ancient oracles and reclaiming his godly powers, Apollo (aka Lester Papadopoulos) has faced both triumphs and tragedies. Now his journey takes him to Camp Jupiter in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the Roman demigods are preparing for a desperate last stand against the evil Triumvirate of Roman emperors. Hazel, Reyna, Frank, Tyson, Ella, and many other old friends will need Apollo’s aid to survive the onslaught.

Unfortunately, the answer to their salvation lies in the forgotten tomb of a Roman ruler . . . someone even worse than the emperors Apollo has already faced. Continue reading →

Book Review: Finding Me by Viola Davis

Posted on 04/19/2023 by Lenn

Title: Finding Me

Author: Viola Davis

Publication Date: April 26, 2022

Number of Pages: 304

Format: Audiobook

Publisher: HarperOne

Genre: Non-fiction, memoir

Synopsis:

In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever.

This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn’t always see me.

As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you.

Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.
Continue reading →

Book Review: I’m a Therapist, and My Patient is a Vegan Terrorist: 6 Deadly Social Media Influencers (Dr. Harper, #3)

Posted on 04/02/2023 by Lenn

Title: I’m a Therapist, and My Patient is a Vegan Terrorist: 6 Deadly Social Media Influencers (Dr. Harper, #3)

Author: Anonymous

Publication Date: March 8, 2020

Number of Pages: 192

Format: E-book

Publisher: Independent

Genre: Thriller, Splatterpunk, Horror, Extreme Horror

Synopsis:

The Explosive Conclusion to the Dr. Harper Therapy series

I’m a therapist, and I’ve worked with the wildest internet celebrities… A vigilante who treated humans as factory farm animals. A germaphobe who warned of the next major plague. My own best friend. A rapist who got cancelled online — and in real life. A psychic medium with a disturbing prediction.

And the last patient I ever worked with: The one who asked me to take them off life support.

It all started with a big social media festival on a little island. We were promised endless days of sunshine, beach bonfires under the stars, and a chance to party with the world’s most renowned influencers.

Instead, we were lucky if we made it out in one piece.
Continue reading →

Stuff I’ve Been Reading Lately #32

Posted on 03/31/2023 by Lenn

BOOKS READ:

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
Talia by Daniel J. Volpe
How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight For Our Future by Maria Ressa
Mukbang Princess by Rayne Havok
Sheets by Brenna Thummler
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
You’ve Lost A Lot of Blood by Eric Larocca
I’m a Therapist and My Patient is a Vegan Terrorist (Dr. Harper, #3) by Anonymous
The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4) by Rick Riordan
Finding Me by Viola Davis

BOOKS BOUGHT:

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor
Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Bat by Joe Nesbo
World War Z by Max Brooks
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

BOOKS RECEIVED:

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
Killing Stalking #1 by Koogi
Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
The Girls by Lisa Jewell
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Continue reading →

Book Review: You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric Larocca

Posted on 03/30/2023 by Lenn

Title: You’ve Lost A Lot of Blood

Author: Eric Larocca

Publication Date: March 11, 2022

Number of Pages: 210

Format: E-book

Publisher: Independent

Genre: Splatterpunk, Horror, Extreme Horror

Synopsis:

A disturbing new vision of terror from the author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.

“Each precious thing I show you in this book is a holy relic from the night we both perished-the night when I combed you from my hair and watered the moon with your blood.

You’ve lost a lot of blood . . .”
Continue reading →

Bangkok, Thailand

Posted on 03/21/2023 by Lenn

We only had three days to spend in Bangkok after our Phuket trip, so we planned the itinerary carefully. On the day of our flight back to BKK from Phuket, our flight was delayed for an hour because of the weather in Bangkok. So we arrived at the airport at around lunch time. By then, we were famished. We had to eat at the airport because it’s still a 30-minute train ride from there to Phaya Thai and 15-minute drive from Phaya Thai to our hotel which was located in Chinatown.

Our hotel was lovely and since it’s located in the heart of the town—just across BTS (Bangkok Transit System)—it was very Chinese-themed. The hallways and the rooms were spacious and clean. I enjoyed making visits at their deck near the swimming pool because it was overlooking the town and of course, we just had to take photos!

Continue reading →

Book Review: Sheets by Brenna Thummler

Posted on 03/20/2023 by Lenn

Title: Sheets

Author: Brenna Thummler

Publication Date: August 28, 2018

Number of Pages: 239

Format: E-book

Publisher: Oni Press

Genre: Comics, Graphic Novel, Paranormal

Synopsis:

Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for.

Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world.

When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt’s Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain.
Continue reading →

Book Review: Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Posted on 03/19/2023 by Lenn

Title: Daisy Jones & The Six

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publication Date: March 5, 2019

Number of Pages: 362

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Hutchinson

Genre: Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction

Synopsis:

For a while, Daisy Jones & The Six were everywhere. Their albums were on every turntable, they sold out arenas from coast to coast, their sound defined an era. And then, on 12 July 1979, they split.

Nobody ever knew why. Until now.

They were lovers and friends and brothers and rivals. They couldn’t believe their luck, until it ran out. This is their story of the early days and the wild nights, but everyone remembers the truth differently.

The only thing they all know for sure is that from the moment Daisy Jones walked barefoot onstage at the Whisky, their lives were irrevocably changed.

Making music is never just about the music. And sometimes it can be hard to tell where the sound stops and the feelings begin.
Continue reading →