Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

If you have not already had the chance to read Caroline Kepnes' YOU, hurry out and get yourself a copy. You will need to read the first one to make sense of just who Joe is in the novel. What makes this man tick is both twisted and seductive at the same time. First I must offer a warning, dear readers, about the graphic nature of what is featured in this novel. It is not for the faint of heart!

"YOU is a terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation, debut author Caroline Kepnes delivers a razor-sharp novel for our hyper-connected digital age. You is a compulsively readable page-turner that’s being compared to Gone Girl, American Psycho, and Stephen King’s Misery." 

I know that grabs your attention, so I will continue with my caveat. There is foul and graphic language, and detailed descriptions of horrific events. All this to tell you that I really enjoyed reading them! There were times I thought to myself, "I should not be enjoying this as much as I am." These two novels were delicious, and I devoured them like a Sprinkles Red Velvet cupcake. Joe is the quintessential bad guy who looks good. While listening to the audio version of YOU, I was utterly mesmerized by Santino Fontana's narration of Joe's character, and I couldn't wait to finish the story. When I was finished, I could not contain my excitement at the thought of Joe's story having a continuance. Caroline Kepnes' portrayal of this crazed man is unparalleled in modern literature. These are two hot books that you should read, but consider yourself warned! Page-turning reading is up ahead.

You by Caroline Kepnes 

Mystery/Thriller Books are the New Black

The cyclical "I cannot find anything to read" blues has hit the Simons' household in a bad way. A few times a year I'll rifle though my stack of galley's, read about 25 pages, and run off to do housework. HOUSEWORK! (in all caps) It's not that the book is awful, it's just that it came into my life at the wrong time. I'll usually give them a second chance, but if I'm speaking honestly, I don't often post about them because they just weren't right for me. So, to spice up your winter reading list, I'm throwing out some incredible Mystery/Thriller books that will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to turn those pages. They contain graphic content, so if that is not your thing, then you will want to scroll on past, my friends. I promise you that after reading one of these titles, you will be snuggled up cozy, and tight for a warm winter's nap, and also hoping that people in the real world are nothing like the characters in these books! Happy Winter Reading!

Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

in a dark, dark wood by Ruth Ware

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

This book. I did not receive an early copy of this book, and was on the fence about reading it for a very long time. This book was a sleeper. Quiet for a while, and then all at once like an angry toddler waking from a nap. Loud, everywhere, and wildly selling. So, I headed to the library to check the book out. I knew it was popular, so I knew it would have a hold on it. Mind you, this was February, and not long after its release. I was #239 on the hold list. Wait a second...let that sink in. #2-3-9. yes, that is a whole THREE DIGITS. What in the world? two weeks ago, it actually became available for check out. In the entire Los Angeles County, it has taken months for me to receive a copy of this book for check out. For those of you wondering why the heck I didn't just borrow it from a friend, the answer is that it was a little of a contest to me to see when I would actually get a copy.

Now, to the nitty-gritty. After all that wait, did I actually like the book? Was the long wait worth it. The answer is a resounding YES! This was absolutely 5 stars for me. By the end, I could not wait to know what was to come of Rachel, Anna, Megan, Tom and Scott. I am not on the fence about this book, I really liked it. For those of you who hated Rachel and thought she was awful and unlikeable, you have added a feather in the cap of Ms. Hawkins writing hat. To be able to write a character that people hate is truly a gift. If you become so involved in the story that you loathe a character, then the writer has done their job really well.

I think you should read it! See for yourself. That is a challenge.

Synopsis
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

Compulsively readable, The Girl on the Train is an emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller and an electrifying debut.

Happy Reading!

I'll Give You The Sun

I'm in love with this cover art!

I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson was a book that I nearly gave up on. It was one of those reads that you don't know whether to love it, or leave it. I strongly considered leaving it, but I am thrilled to tell you that I loved it in the end. My perseverance (or stubbornness) prevented me from quitting this book. Thank Clark Gable! The two siblings in this book have lives so tightly wound together that they are inextricably linked to one another, even through tragedy. In the end, my heart swelled, and I felt satisfied. I found this under Young Adult, though I doubt I'd have put it there myself. Beautifully written.

"Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world."

Tales of the supernatural, same love, and art weave together a beautiful story by Jandy Nelson. Check it out!

Jandy Nelson
Twitter @JandyNelson

Audio Mania!

It is no lie when I tell you that for most of my life I was unable to focus on listening to an audio book for longer than a minute. The energy it required to have me complete two tasks at once (driving and listening) was too much for me. I love reading so much, and once I started driving, I thought it would be a fantastic way to continue "reading" when I couldn't physically hold the book. I tried and tried. Book after book was rented from the public library, only to be returned a week later. I would hand over my failure while the media clerk sifted through to make sure I didn't hold on to one of the CD's. She didn't need to do that. They were all there. I never made it past CD #1. I was pretty frustrated with myself that I couldn't remember what I had just read, and drifted off into Never, Never Land every time a narrator's voice would blare out over the speakers. I gave up trying after a while and thought it best to listen to music in the car. Short attention span was how I justified it.

Years passed by with maybe a check out or two a year. I never truly gave up. I always thought the next year would change my brain. Make me somehow competent enough to listen and remember. Every year I repeated the same sequence of events. Check out audio book. Return a week later. Wait for clerk to count CD's. Wash, rinse, repeat. Again, I cursed the short attention span.

On a spree of reading a series of self-help books, I read in one of them that you could make anything happen that you truly set your mind to. Your determination and fortitude could generate the results you desired. With that in mind, I purchased an audio book payment plan, and loaded my phone up with a few titles. I also checked out an audio book from the library. I trained myself to listen every single day, and to repeat the events as they happened, as an exercise in active listening. 1 hour turned into two, into three, and soon all I was doing was listening to audio books. In lines, in the car, during my lunch break, walking through the store. I bought an auxiliary cable for my car, so I could listen non-stop whenever I wanted.  Pretty soon, I was adding a book a week. I did it! I accomplished the very goal I thought to be impossible. I used to think that self-help stuff was a bunch of horse shit, but it worked!

So here I am, preaching to all my fellow book readers who have short attention spans. It can be done. You say audio books aren't for you? Well, I will give you a list of some of the best ones to add right now. This, from the biggest critic. If it is even slightly boring-it's out! Now I don't loathe my commute far to work, or driving everywhere taking my kids to their practices, and myself to teach Spinning and Pilates classes. Happy Valentine's Day!

Accidents of Marriage by Randy Susan Meyers



The Martian by Andy Weir



The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd



Any you could add to the list?

The Martian by Andy Weir

This audiobook was so far from what I normally choose it may has well have been on Mars rather than on Earth, a click away. I knew this particular book was being made into a movie, and my audiobook selections this year are going to be all of the books I am interested in reading that are being made into movies.

In The Martian, Mark Watney (who will be played by Matt Damon) and his crew are on a NASA mission on Mars when something goes terribly wrong. While completing an exercise on the Red Planet, Mark is struck with an antennae which punctures his suit. His crew, thinking he is dead, leaves the planet after an exhaustive effort to save Watney. Turns out Watney is far from dead. This botanist is made of the tougher stuff, and manages to survive for much longer than anyone else could have. The question that remains for the reader is whether or not Watney will be saved. He has NASA, JPL, and the American people rallying for his safe return to Earth. Will Watney be able to survive the number of Sols required to survive life on Mars? If you are into Science Fiction, I doubt you'll find a story more engaging. I continued listening to the book, even though the first half hour was a little dry for my taste. The one drawback for me would be all the Science lingo, even if it was fictional. This book definitely earned 5 stars from me! Incredible narration on the audiobook.  

See who would be playing your favorite character in the movie version of The Martian.