Ghosted by Rosie Walsh

2 Stars

I was fully prepared to come to this space and present myself sort of like this . . . . .



Now that I’ve logged on I realize only one of my GR friends to read this selection and she didn’t even rate it because it didn’t work for her either. It was Instagram that was flooded with this one since it was a Book of the Month selection awhile back. What a great feeling to be able to tell myself (at least for a minute) that I read something right ; )

Seriously, though, I’m obviously a lemming and if something shows up on my feed enough (except here, because somehow the GR recs are totally on crack and they need to tighten that game up) I’ll take the bait. I’ve also confessed about eleven trillion times that I either (a) don’t read blurbs at all or (b) only read the first line or two – and duhhhhhhh, I’m a fast reader so it’s not like I really feel like I wasted my life on something even if I don’t fall all over myself about it.

Ghosted is the book that proves I should stop doing everything I mentioned above and complete change the way books get added to my TBR. I immediately dismissed the “when Sarah meets Eddie, they connect instantly and fall in love” because Eddie then went missing and I was super psyched for some . . . .



But that was not meant to be. What I got instead?????



Ugh. This was NOT. FOR. ME. I really want to give it 1 Star because it was truly turrrrrrrrrible and the worst form of tragiporn full of every cliché you could possibly throw in to one book and sooooooooooooooo not a romance I could be a fan of (and trust me, homegirl has been getting down with some romance books lately – and not just the hide-the-salami kind either). I’m going to be generous and give it 2, though, because I should have at least scrolled the first page of reviews and noticed all the 1s and 2s instead of blindly jumping off the cliff.

But Enough About Me by Burt Reynolds and Jon Winokur

4 Stars

WARNING: THIS IS 127% GIFS. IF YOU DON’T HAVE UNLIMITED DATA, STAY FAR FARRRRRRRR AWAY. (SORRY, CRICKET WIRELESS USERS LOL.)

Burt Reynolds had been appearing in movies/television shows for 20 years before I was even born. Due to my age, along with a pretty severe allergic reaction to most Western movies, his arrival in my life was marked by a film that would remain one of my favorites forever . . . .



When I got older I got a chance to experience his role in one of the most iconic films ever made . . . .



(And when I got reeeeeaaaaaallllllly old I even read the book.)

But Enough About Me covers nearly all the highs (and lows) of Burt Reynolds’ career. From good decisions such as appearing in the two aforementioned films - to things he would later determine were decisions such as . . . .



From great friends, both male . . . .



And female . . . .



To the one who got away . . . .



And the role that revamped a career (along with the line he didn’t want to say) . . . .



What’s different from other memoirs is that Burt tells these stories with himself playing second fiddle. He focuses on the person he is speaking about at the time and their impact on his life rather than the other way around. He’s not afraid to tell it like it is – especially when it comes to his opinion of Marlon Brando and a handful of others - but does his best to gloss over his failed marriage with Loni Anderson rather than dragging her through the mire. At times his ego shows through and I definitely have a hard time believing he was quite the choir boy he attempts to make himself out to be when it comes to the fairer sex. But he’s Burt so somehow it all works.

I put myself on the wait list for this after hearing of Burt Reynolds’ passing. I wanted to hear him talk to me a little more, I guess, and tell me about his life on my way to and from work. It was like having coffee with an old friend. If you’re a fan, I highly recommend.

Hush Money by Robert B. Parker

4 Stars

This didn’t even make it to my “Currently Reading” list. What an idiot! Anyway, Hush Money was a currently reading . . . or rather listening to . . . selection of mine about a month ago. Full disclosure: I had no clue that these books were actually this . . . .



Full disclosure #2 – I also didn’t really watch Spenser: For Hire. It was more like background filler while I played Barbies and waited with bated breath for my types of shows to come on. You know, real classy stuff like Dallas, Dynasty or my favorite: Knots Landing.

If you’re wondering how I came across this series and decided to start at the ripe ol’ number of 26, there’s a simple answer . . . .



You see, Burt Reynolds died and I was about as bummed as I can get about a stranger’s passing so I went to the library and searched his name. There ended up being a waiting list (natch) for But Enough About Me, however a couple of these Spenser stories popped up as options due to Burt being the narrator. And what a narrator he was! A different (and more importantly) believable voice for each character, his easy charm simply oozed through my speakers and was the perfect fit for both Spenser as well as Hawk.

The story itself wasn’t too shabby either. A dual “whodunit” (both of which happen to be of the pro bono variety) featuring a potential sex scandal ending up with the suicide of a young gay man taken on as a favor to Hawk - along with a stalking case brought by Spenser’s long-time girlfriend Susan. I’m pleased to say this has aged quite well, since it is nearly 20 years old. I’m sad to report it could have been written today as far as case #1 is concerned.

In the strangest variety of coinky-dinks I followed a fellow named Ace Atkins because I am smitten with all things David Joy and ol’ David seems to pal around with Ace a tad. Imagine my surprise when I discovered several months later that it is Atkins himself who picked up Robert B. Parker’s fallen pen after he passed and has continued on with this series. Add on to that an apparent revamp of the program via way of Netflix starring Marky Mark (wearing more than underpants and without his Funky Bunch) is in the works. Talk about timing! I highly doubt that I will go back to the beginning of this series, but I will be listening to at least one more as the library has it and once again it is read by Burt.

I Call Upon Thee by Ania Ahlborn

4 Stars

I have commented numerous times over the years that I have a hard time with the “horror” classification because I don’t find many things horrifying. Books seem to fall into other genres for me - thrillers or mysteries or, in the case of the previous Ania Ahlborn I read, super-barf-baggy-cannibalistic-hillbilly (that should totally be a bookshelf at Barnes & Noble because I have read a bunch of those stories). Even the Master of Horror himself, Uncle Stevie, has only terrified me a handful of times. When I started I Call Upon Thee I feared it would be the same as a story of a creepy old doll left in a cemetery was introduced fairly quickly leaving me looking a little something like . . . .



#lame.

But then our leading lady Maggie told the story of her twelfth birthday and how she went to the Toys R Us to find something special that would show she was not a baby anymore and decided on . . . .



Making me immediately like . . . .



Seriously. What a pansy! Nothing even happened and I had to put the dang thing down. Boy did I talk a big game of “ooooh it’s gonna be stormy tonight and Imma read the shit out of the scurrrrrry book” only to want to hide under the blankets like a big fat chicken instead. Once I picked it back up what did I find????

“You shouldn’t play in there. Bad things are inside.”



^^^^Yep, that’s me.

I have no idea if anyone else will react the way I did. I will say if you’re a woman (and quite possibly a man) of a certain age and read about the soundtrack in the background during the first Ouija session which included a song by a band called Echo and the Bunnymen, but which was currently offering up a selection featuring a haunting children’s choir “harmonizing something that sounded like the commandments” there’s a good chance you’re gonna be all . . . .



And automatically want to give it all of the stars. Seriously . . . .



Hell, this story might have sucked. It was kind of a hodge-podge of themes with creepy dolls and creepy kids and creepy board games and creepy deaths in the family and creepy creepy creepy. I’m pretty sure I blacked out and spent a couple of hundred pages fantasizing about Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patrick and Jamie Gertz after that Cry Little Sister reference and that right there is good enough to dole out a 4. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have something important to take care of. Like immediately digging out my copy of . . . . .

The Watcher by Caroline Eriksson

3.5 Stars

Elena moved in to a townhome temporarily while on a bit of a hiatus from her marriage. During this trial separation, she will allow herself no contact with her husband – instead focusing on herself and her career . . . which sadly is kind of non-existent. Living on residuals from her one hit novel, Elena passes the time proofreading other’s writing, having Friday night dinner with her sister and sitting at the kitchen window . . . . .



Until she finally decides to take her publisher’s advice and . . . .

“Dig where you are.”

And then????

“It’s like what I write has repercussions in what takes place in the Storm house.”

I snatched this one after seeing my friend Michelle’s review and I’m happy to report I was not disappointed. While not quite as good as The Woman in the Window, this was waaaaaay more of a satisfying domestic thriller to me than The Girl on the Train. I enjoyed the three narratives (Elena, the husband and the new book) and didn’t mind that I kind of new what was going on before the big reveal. 3.5 Stars.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley!

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

4 Stars

JFC I read this one a looooooooooooooooooooong time ago. This was my third Kara Thomas book and I’m happy to report each one has gained a Star on its predecessor (a reminder to all – especially myself – to not tank an author because of one mediocre experience). The title alone had me singing . . . .



The premise of The Cheerleaders goes a little summin’ like . . . .

“Some people say a curse fell over our town five years ago. What else could explain the tragic deaths of five girls, in three separate incidents, over the course of three weeks?”

I mean, really . . . .

“What are the odds that five girls from the same school, all friends, would die within a month of each other?”

When Monica, the sister of one of the aforementioned dead cheerleaders, finds an ominous note and her deceased sister’s cell phone hidden away, she decides she’s going to take it upon herself to . . .

“CONNECT THE DOTS. FIND THE TRUTH.”

Then it’s only a matter of time before she realizes . . . .

“If you look hard enough, you’ll find something that’ll make you wish you hadn’t.”

Before anyone gets all . . . .



Please remember this is a YOUNG ADULT mystery. Of course this gal is gonna get all up in the Mystery Machine in order to figure out if Old Man Jenkins had anything to do with all of this . . . . wait, am I mixing my metaphors or some such type of thing there? Whatever. Just go with it. Anyway, if you don’t enjoy YA there’s a good chance you won’t like this either. But if you do? I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised that it’s willing to go a little dark.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley!

Sadie by Courtney Summers

3 Stars

Nearly everyone I know has given this off-the-charts marks . . . which is why I avoided it until this point. I’ve read a few Summers’ books now and, despite rating them all fairly high, I always feel like the missing link after finishing. Same was the case here. I think my problem is twofold:

1. I have no heart. The thing is, I’m not sure the author has one either (and no, I don’t mean that as an insult). While Summers presents material that draws emotions out of readers, she doesn’t present it in an emotional manner to me. Since I don’t fire on all cylinders I feel a sense of detachment when reading her characters. I believe other readers have an abundance of feelings/empathy that they can project onto a story when it’s lacking and never feel that void. Sadie probably would have earned more stars from me if it had focused solely on the podcast transcription and not included the narrative by Sadie herself; and

2. Summers’ books seem to ride the coattails of the latest trend. That’s not to say she can’t spin a yarn, because I’ve blown through all of her books I’ve picked up. There just comes a point where things are a little too coinky-dinky. I could ignore This Is Not A Test, because errrrrybody was writing zombies – maybe I could do the same with the “mean girls” trend and Some Girls Are. I steered clear of the rapey All the Rage 100% and never looked back after my bestie read it wrong because I didn’t want to get in that line for fangirls to kick my ass along with hers. Now revenge stories are the new black and here Summers is with her own spin. If she’s an “anything you can do I can do better” type of gal, she certainly puts her money where her mouth is because her stories are good. I just wish she’d come up with a fresh idea . . . .