The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

Goodreads has this to say:

Laurel Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty. Coming from a family with a literal skeleton in their closet, she’s developed this talent all her life, whether helping her willful mother to smooth over the reality of her family’s ugly past, or elevating humble scraps of unwanted fabric into nationally acclaimed art quilts.
Her sister Thalia, an impoverished “Actress” with a capital A, is her opposite, and prides herself in exposing the lurid truth lurking behind life’s everyday niceties. And while Laurel’s life was neatly on track, a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in lovely suburban Victorianna, everything she holds dear is thrown into question the night she is visited by an apparition in her bedroom. The ghost appears to be her 14-year-old neighbor Molly Dufresne, and when Laurel follows this ghost , she finds the real Molly floating lifeless in her swimming pool. While the community writes the tragedy off as a suicide, Laurel can’t. Reluctantly enlisting Thalia’s aid, Laurel sets out on a life-altering investigation that triggers startling revelations about her own guarded past, the truth about her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.
Richer and more rewarding than any story from Joshilyn Jackson, THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING is destined both to delight Jackson’s loyal fans and capture a whole new audience.

There are many things I liked about the book – the mystery, the ghosts, and the dynamics between the two sisters.  The author brings out the good and terrible things that make up a family – it is both funny and filled with irony.  Family fights but they always make up and always have each other’s backs.  I enjoyed the flow for the most part.  The ending was both predictable yet surprising.  I knew what happened before I was halfway through the book but I was a little off on the motive.

The thing I did not like was how the author kept switching from present to past – I think some of these flashbacks could have been eliminated but that is my opinion.  I found it confusing and less interesting because of it.  The book overall was good and I ended up liking both Laurel and Thalia – I could relate to Thalia more and could see my sister more in Laurel.

I give the book a “B” for the switching back and forth.  The history provided was good but going back and forth was giving me whiplash.

Finally Friday

Yes! It is finally Friday not only for millions of regular people but for me as well! I Can’t say I’m unhappy about it but I also can’t say I have any plans either.  I’m not a big fan of having weekends off as you might all know from previous posts.  My son and I both work on rotating days off so we rarely have a weekend off together – I’d rather have a week day off so things aren’t as busy as they are on weekends.

I need to write a review of the book I finished this morning.  I’m still reading the same one as yesterday too so not much to say other than I’m still plodding away at it.  I’m afraid it isn’t that interesting so far so I can’t see how am I going to make it through 500+ pages of it?

The next book I am going to read is:

One of my coworkers said it is her favorite author and is also reading it at the moment.  I hope it is good.  I have so many books to read!!

Thriller Thursday

Well, it is Thursday afterall.  I was thinking it was Wednesday but nope, it’s not.

So the thriller I am still reading is:

 

It is moving rather slowly but I’m still plugging away at it.  I’m looking for other ghost/haunted house stories so if anyone knows of a really good one, please let me know!!

Ditz

I have to admit it, I’m a ditz.  I so got two books mixed up because their covers are similair.  Let me clarify this all.

Virginia recommended the following book which is the one I am going to read next.  I am not really sure where the other book came from…I thought someone recommended it but for the life of me I can’t remember who.

I don’t even own the other book…must have been a major brain fart…or I’m just a ditz, take your pick. 

Goodreads  summary:  Laurel Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty. Coming from a family with a literal skeleton in their closet, she’s developed this talent all her life, whether helping her willful mother to smooth over the reality of her family’s ugly past, or elevating humble scraps of unwanted fabric into nationally acclaimed art quilts.
Her sister Thalia, an impoverished “Actress” with a capital A, is her opposite, and prides herself in exposing the lurid truth lurking behind life’s everyday niceties. And while Laurel’s life was neatly on track, a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in lovely suburban Victorianna, everything she holds dear is thrown into question the night she is visited by an apparition in her bedroom. The ghost appears to be her 14-year-old neighbor Molly Dufresne, and when Laurel follows this ghost , she finds the real Molly floating lifeless in her swimming pool. While the community writes the tragedy off as a suicide, Laurel can’t. Reluctantly enlisting Thalia’s aid, Laurel sets out on a life-altering investigation that triggers startling revelations about her own guarded past, the truth about her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.

Teaser Tuesday

Ha, I’ve only been working on this post for two hours now and this is the first sentence I have written.  What has taken me so long? Pictures…trying to make pictures for Teaser Tuesday.

That took so much energy that I’m not sure which book I want to use yet.  HA…ha.

pg 92: The door of the room from which the noise came, the door which had been securely locked, so that I had not been able to break it down, the door to which there could not be a key – that door was now standing open.  Wide open.

pg 102: …reaching and stretching my trunk and my arms forward, inch by inch, gasping for breath until, just as the last of her body sank, I lunged out and grabbed the dog about the neck and hauled and strained and tugged with all the force I could, a strength I would never have dreamed I could have summoned up, born of terror and desperation; and after an agonizing time, when we both fought for our lives against the treacherous quicksand that tried to pull us both down into itself and I felt my grip on the sippery wet fur and wet flesh of the dog almost give, at last I knew that I would hold and win.

Great book! Can’t wait for the movie!!

It’s Monday, what are you reading?

I have decided to take a break from ghosts and move on to something different.  Therefore, the following book is up on the docket next.  It was recommended to me by Virginia over at Adventures in Writing (link under blogroll).

Goodreads:

On the night their mother drowns, sisters Marnie and Diana Maitland discover there is more than one kind of death. There is the death of innocence, of love, and of hope. Each sister harbors a secret about that night-secrets that will erode their lives as they grow into adulthood.

 After ten years of silence between the sisters, Marnie is called back to the South Carolina Lowcountry by Diana’s ex-husband, Quinn. His young son has returned from a sailing trip with his emotionally unstable mother, and he is refusing to speak. In order to help the traumatized boy, Marnie must reopen old wounds and bring the darkest memories of their past to the surface. And she must confront Diana, before they all go under.

Virginia is one I have long used for adding to my list of books to read.  She recommended the Ladybug series, the Woman in Black, and many others over the years.  Thus I have high expectations for this book – who knows, maybe it will be another one I have to buy so I can share with the gals at work again. 

Happy reading everyone!!

Firefly Rain review

Goodreads:

When Jacob left home for a new life, he pretty much forgot all about Maryfield, North Carolina. But Maryfield never forgot him. Or forgave him.

After a failed business venture in Boston, Jacob Logan comes back to the small Southern town of his childhood and takes up residence in the isolated house he grew up in. Here, the air is still. The nights are black. And his parents are buried close by. It should feel like home—but something is terribly wrong.

Jacob loses all his belongings in a highway accident. His car is stolen from his driveway, yet he never hears a sound. The townspeople seem guarded and suspicious. And Carl, the property caretaker with so many secrets, is unnervingly accommodating. Then there are the fireflies that light the night skies . . . and die as they come near Jacob’s home. If it weren’t for the creaking sounds after dark, or the feeling that he is being watched, Jacob would feel so alone. He shouldn’t worry. He’s not.

And whatever’s with him isn’t going to let him leave home ever again.

Started this book last night and finished it around 2pm this afternoon.  Yes, I stayed up after I got off work to finish the book though I kept telling myself I’d stop after one more chapter all the way to the end.

There is so much about the book that I really liked.  His talk about chasing fireflies, his descriptions of a small town bent on not being yanked into the 21st century, the fields, the woods, the farm and even the house made me homesick for a home I never had.   It was so idyllic that I wanted it to be my home – minus the parents that is.  To sit out on a large porch watching the sunset with only the sound of the bullfrogs breaking the silence – to look up not only at zillions of stars but also thousands of fireflies – to feel that sense of peace of mind…wow, it really spoke to me.

It wasn’t hard to figure out what was going on though I found myself getting angry with Jacob a time or two for his bullheadedness.  He was so blind but then, that is what the book is about, him realizing his mistakes and claiming his home.  The moral of the story is keep your promises – don’t promise stuff lightly with no intention of fulfilling it.  Promises made and broken affect more than just yourself and can hurt a person so much that they can’t forget it, even after death.

The book is not scary – the ghosts are very friendly and nothing scary happens through the whole thing.  It goes to show that not every ghost story has to involve ghosts bent on revenge or death.  I found the ghosts endearing and wouldn’t mind being haunted if it were by good ghosts.

Before I went to bed I was thinking I would give the book a C because I was so disgusted with Jacob for being so stubborn.  However, now that I’m refreshed and rested, I easily give the book an A because it made me think, it entertained me and it was well written.

It’s Sunday, What’s In Your Mailbox??

I have to admit that I have been a bad girl this week.  There were too many books out there that I wanted so I gave in when I shouldn’t have.  LOL.  Here are the books I couldn’t resist having:

       

And because I liked it so well and have some people who would like to borrow it, I purchased a paperback copy of

I have several other of my ebooks I want hardbound or paperbacks of – all of Jeff Strands for sure – but those will have to wait for now.

What was in your mailbox? Read Forever! (My nook always tells me this whenever I turn it on).  

Finally Friday

Yes, folks, we are finally to Friday so most people are thrilled the weekend is here.  I hope you all have a great one.

The snow stopped finally here so hopefully the roads will be cleared for me to make the pilgramage to work.  I’d like to say today is my Friday but it isn’t.

Last night I started the following book but didn’t get very far because we were interrupted a lot.  It is a ghost story so hope it is good.  So far it is interesting.  I know we will be busy tonight at work so won’t be reading anything much but maybe I can finish it by Sunday.

Thriller Thursday

I know it is late and you probably worried I had forgotten about Thriller Thursday but that is not the case.  Have any of you started Supernaturals yet? I’m still thinking about that book days later.  As I tell more and more people about it, they seem eager to join me in my quest to find the haunted house – maybe one day we will be successful.  Even those who profess no love of ghost stories are helping – why? Because though they don’t believe, there is still a part of them that wants the thrill a haunted house offers.

But on to the thriller at hand.  It is another ghost story, I must confess:

Goodreads says:

For four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. Now they are about to learn what happens to those who believe they can bury the past — and get away with murder.  

I hope it lives up to my expectations.  Surprisingly, with all the ghost stories I’ve read lately, I haven’t been having nightmares.  Yes, some aspects of it do seep into my dreams but I never feel threatened or wake in a sweat.  Yesterday I did wake up so cocooned in sheets that I had a brief claustrophobic episode but I was finally able to pull free – I can’t imagine how much tossing and turning I must have done to get so wrapped up.

Happy reading everyone!!!