Review: The Pact

The Pact by S.E. Lynes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this book. It drew me in right away. Two sisters live together and the youngest, Toni, is the widowed mother of a teenaged girl, Rosie.  The little triangle family sticks together and the older sister, Bridget is devoted to helping her sister raise her daughter. The two sisters border on over protectiveness to Rosie. But danger lurks and the three discover that it can be very close to home.

Highly recommended if you like a bit of psychological thriller. The book peels away bit by bit but be patient as all will be revealed.

Review: The Martian

The Martian by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It was very detailed technically about a trip to Mars gone bad. But Mark, the main character endears us to himself with his ingenuity.

Some type of accident happened while on their Mars mission.  The commander, believing that Mark has died, gives the order to evacuate the planet. When Mark finally revived he realized that his mission crew members had left for their main ship and left him on his own on the planet with some life preserving tools but with no communication system or any way of letting anyone know that he had survived.

An excellent read and also an affirmation that we should never give up hope and should always try our very best no matter how hard the circumstances.

Review: The Story of Arthur Truluv

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a lovely story. Arthur has lost his wife and visits her grave every day and takes his lunch to have with her. During his lunch break with his wife, he becomes aware of a teenaged girl named Maddy who is also spending time in the cemetery.

Arthur is such a lovely man and does his best to befriend this lonely girl, as well as befriending his next door neighbour, Lucille, who is very lonely and at very loose ends.

This little trio finds ways to help each other. A very heartwarming story. I read this almost straight through.

Review: Tell Me Everything You Don't Remember: The Stroke That Changed My Life

Tell Me Everything You Don't Remember: The Stroke That Changed My Life by Christine Hyung-Oak Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an excellent read. A thirty-three year old woman has a stroke and it takes a couple of days for anyone to recognize that she isn't "right", at which time her husband rushes her to the hospital.

In order to remember, or try to remember what is happening, she writes everything in her journal. And that journal forms the basis of her novel.

This was an excellent description of what happens and what you go through with a stroke. It is probably something that everyone should read, in order to recognize stroke for yourself and for others around you.

Review: The Foundling: The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me

The Foundling: The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me by Paul Joseph Fronczak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent story and account of one man's search for his identity. Paul shares everything with his readers, the good and the bad.

When Paul was about ten years old he was snooping for Christmas presents and came across some clippings from a newspaper story regarding a stolen baby. As he grew older he wanted to find out more about this and as an adult he turned to the Ancestry website.

It started a very long search with many twists and turns. But his story is sad and happy all at the same time.

Anyone who wants to know more about searching through DNA and Ancestry will learn so much from this book, but also its a story about a real person.

Review: Ralph's Party

Ralph's Party by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ralph's Party is a great story. Its not a thriller but more of what I would call a quiet comfortable read. Jem is looking for a new flat to share and she finds what she sees as a great place. The flat is owned and occupied by Smith, who seems quite financially ok and his buddy, Ralph, who is more the arty type and doesn't really have any visible means of support.

Jem has a dream of the type of fellow she will meet and that will be her soulmate and she thinks this is the place that she will find what she is looking for.

This block of flats also includes a couple living on the ground floor with their own issues and a woman on the top floor, Cheri.

Their lives intersect in ways that you wouldn't have anticipated.

This is the type of story that you just give yourself over to and enjoy. This author has become very high on my list of favourites.