Books I Liked: Volume 3

It has been nearly a year since I've done a post like this. I hope it won't take me another year to do another post like this. Fingers crossed that I'm not under the weather for most of the next year. I feel as if I am getting more comfortable with this because this version is definitely meatier than the others.

Tantrum Tornado: A Book of Select Poems by Sweet Van Loan (@SweetVanLoan)

I was drawn to this book primarily because of the beautiful cover. I just love it and it appeals to my artsy side. I was surprised to see that this book is more than just words on a page. It is visually stimulating as well. It is not something you often see carried out in e-books. There are only a handful of poems in the book, so it is an exceptionally short read.

Before I Break (If I Break, Book 1.5) by Portia Moore (@Sheluvspink2013)

I should note that this isn't exactly a sequel to book 1 in the series (If I Break). There isn't much I can write without spoiling the entire story, but I will say that is written entirely from the perspective of Christopher Scott. Throughout the story, Christopher learns the true extent of his blackouts while navigating the fallout of his actions during the blackouts. I think the story definitely sets up the conflicts sure to arise through the rest of the series.

Silence (Silence, Book 1) by Natasha Preston (@natashavpreston)

I'll be honest here. At first, I could not remember how I came across this book or why I might have wanted to read it. It sat in my Kindle for well over a year. After I read it, I understood perfectly why I wanted to read it and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

The story is about a 15-year-old girl named Oakley. Now would be a great time to mention that the story is set somewhere in England (not London, it is inferred to be a small town, and it is a modern-day rendition). The quirk about Oakley is that she does not speak and she has not spoken in about 11 years. Her family, specifically her mother, desperately wants to figure out what makes Oakley stay silent. Meanwhile, Oakley's brother, Jasper, and her best friend, Cole, are her two fiercest protectors. In the midst of summer break, Oakley and Cole decide to take their friendship to the next level. In doing so, she slowly begins to reveal the thing that has kept her silent for so long.

I immediately went and bought the sequel after finishing this book (of course, I will review it in a future post). I'm always the first person to admit that mushy teen romances are not my thing, but there is a heavy, dark cloud that forms over this story about 1/3rd of the way in and it only grows as you keep reading the book. I could sense it coming while I read the book, but it didn't scare me off. It's possible that it could happen with other readers, but I'm certainly willing to give the next book a chance and I would hope that others do too.

Regretful Absolution (Borrowed Souls, Book 2) by Paul B. Kohler (@PaulBKohler)

I have already reviewed books 1 and 4 in this series (I came upon book 4 first). To summarize, the series, is about Jack Duffy, a man who has to adjust to his new role of being a soul collector. I mentioned that there was a twist at the end of book 1. The twist is the entire basis of book 2. I don't want to spoil book 2, so I will just say that book 2 is about Jack reliving the final hours of the first soul he is tasked to collect.

This is a very short story (took me about 20 minutes to read). It is not as thrilling as the first, but I found that the story was one, big reminder that we don't always get second chances to make things right.

Wounded Animals (Whistleblower, Book 1) by Jim Heskett (@JimHeskett)

I've read stuff from this author before and I do like his work. Having read his other work, you have to have an understanding that crazy, off the wall stuff, and gratuitous acts of violence, sex and/or drug use comes with the territory.

Anyway, this book is about a man named Tucker Candle. Tucker seems like an average guy, with an average life working an average job. His life changes when he meets a strange guy named Kareem. After that meeting, Tucker's life spirals out of control. Co-workers end up dead, his pregnant wife goes missing and it appears that Tucker's only way out of his downward spiral is for him to find and kill the mysterious stranger he hardly knows.

This story had to grow on me a little bit. Case in point, when I finished the book, the only somewhat endearing thing about the whole story was that Tucker owned a cat named Kitty and he ended up stuck with a dog that he calls Dog. I was frustrated with the book at first because it seemed like Tucker was this one dimensional guy who only seemed focused on finding his wife, even after he seemed to never be cornered by the mounting chaos surrounding him.

After spending weeks thinking about it, I asked myself, does everything have to always make sense? It is a book. As a writer, I have to remind myself that fiction writers live in our own worlds for a reason. Everything doesn't always have to make sense. Yes, I understand that people like realistic things, but levels of realism are determined by the author. The story goes where it goes and sometimes, it goes well beyond our control. We just hope that someone will read it and that too many people don't hate it. That's where I am. I don't hate this book and while I have the next book in the series, it might take some time before I work myself up to reading it, but I will read it.