Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams

 Two women. 

A remote cave system.

One stranger.

A struggle for survival. 

Secrets...and a lie.

The plot:  As kids, Tess and Allie were best friends. Now, Allie travels the world as a successful travel influencer and Tess works as her part-time assistant. Allis is adventurous and fearless. Tess is more of an introvert. But she's also a survivor. Going caving together is supposed to help them reconnect. But then a stranger follows them into the cave, threatening them. And when Allie gets shot, Tess finds herself alone and on the run, going deeper and deeper underground, with the man following close behind. 

My thoughts:  This book is part survival story, part psychological thriller. And it's very entertaining. The chapters alternate between Tess's harrowing experiences underground, and her time in the hospital where she recounts what happened to her and Allie to a police detective. Which lessened the suspense a little, because you know right from page 40 that she survives her ordeal. But the cave scenes are intense. And there are several surprises along the way. I guessed one of the big plot twists early on, though there were moments later on that I started to doubt my suspicions. I liked that Adams kept me guessing. And the ending was great! 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Randomness...

I won another book from Goodreads! Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson. Haven't read it yet, but it looks good, doesn't it? 

I've been learning to make wire jewelry with my niece; I'm not very good at it yet, but it's a lot of fun, and next week we're going to learn how to grow Bonsai trees! 

Two Saturdays ago I went with my sisters to see the funniest play: PETER PAN GOES WRONG! It's hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard since I saw their first play: THE PLAY GOES WRONG. If you ever get a chance to see either of these...GO! They're so entertaining. 

I have spring break coming up next week and I'm very much looking forward to having seven days free of work in which to hike, sleep in, read a slew of books, play some board games, catch a movie or two, craft, paint, and just have some needed fun. 

Other good things:  all the pink blossoms on the flowering plum trees in my neighborhood, the bright yellow forsythia bushes that are blooming, the morning songs of the robins in my backyard, warm sunshiny days, cool breezes at night, and the lovely light of spring. 

What I'm reading...

 

I actually just finished reading Gregg Hurwitz's latest Evan Smoak novel, Antihero. And I loved it. It's another action-packed book in this thrilling series. Evan's working with Joey and Candy in this one to make certain bad things right; Mia and Peter are back, too. I'm not going to say much else about it, only that for me this was another 5 star read. 

And I'm right in the middle of reading American Spring by Walter R. Borneman. It mostly focuses on the first six months of 1775 and the decisions and turning points that led to America's revolution. It's interesting and well-written and I'm enjoying it. I'm just not getting through it very fast. But I hope to finish it up soon, because I want to start reading Dolin's Rebels At Sea next month. 

And I just started reading Janice Hallett's The Killer Question. It's an epistolary mystery set in a pub in England and is told through texts, group messages, police interviews, and emails. It's pretty amusing so far, even though I have no idea where it's headed. I do know there will be a murder. The characters are pretty funny, especially how caught up they get in the pub's weekly Monday night quiz contest. If you want to read an excellent review of it, check out Helen's review. It's what made me want to check it out myself. 

So no reviews today. 

Just some good books and some happy reading. 

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

 "...his voice is both exultant and sad. Both happy and unhappy. Because it's that sort of story, with that sort of ending."

I was not planning on reading this book. It wasn't even on my TBR list. But then my co-worker, Leigh, raved about it, said I had to read it, even brought me her copy to borrow. So I very reluctantly took it home. But once I started it, I did not want it to end. It's the loveliest of books: poignant, heartbreaking at times, but heartwarming, too, lyrical, captivating, endearing, and utterly unforgettable. 

It's a book about four friends one very memorable summer, a painting that changes everyone, and a girl. And it's so much more! It's a coming of age book about friendship and love, art, life, desperation, hope, grief, beauty, laughter, daring to dream and finding family. 

It made me laugh.

And it made me cry.

There were parts so good I had to go back and read them a second time. I loved these characters and their profound friendships. I loved their triumphs and their struggles. Most of all, I loved the beautiful prose. There's truth and beauty in this book. And it will definitely be at the top of my favorites list this year.

"The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else's belief in them."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dark Objects by Simon Toyne

 

From the blurb:  "A glamorous woman is murdered in her ultra-luxurious and highly secure London mansion, and her husband goes missing. But according to public records, neither of them exists. The only leads police have are several items arranged around the woman's body, including a set of keys and a book called How to Process a Murder by Laughton Rees, an academic and forensic expert who does not work live cases. But the presence of her book at the scene draws her into this high-profile investigation working alongside DCI Tannahill Khan. As the dark objects found beside the body lead them closer to the victim's identity, a dangerous threat to Laughton and her daughter emerges." 

My thoughts:  Tantalizing and compelling. This mystery is a nice blend of police procedural and psychological thriller. And I really like DCI Tannahill Khan and Dr. Laughton Rees; it was fun seeing how they met and connected. Rees is a nicely complicated character who is still dealing with the traumatic death of her mother when she was younger. She's very smart and has some interesting quirks and OCD tendencies centering around the number three. And the mystery itself has some nice twists. I hope Toyne writes many more books with her and Khan. This is the first book in the series; I previously read the second book, The Clearing, last month, which is an equally good read.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

In honor of it being March 17th, today's theme is GREEN BOOK COVERS.

Here are 10 books from off my own shelves with lovely green covers: 

My Lucky Charm by Courtney Walsh

A Judgement of Powers by Benedict Jacka

The Geographer's Guide to Romance by India Holton

The Detective Wins the Witch by Kristen Painter

This Green Hell by Greig Beck

Kilt to Order by Susannah Nix

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Shadowland by Adam Wright

Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle

Have you read any of these?

🍀 Happy Reading! 🍀

Haiku Reviews...

 

Seeing Other People by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Two ghosts. Two hauntings.

Morgan wants hers gone; Sawyer doesn't.

What do the ghosts want?

Romance.... 322 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(So many poignant moments as Sawyer copes with tragic loss and grief, and finds new life, hope and love. He and Morgan are so good together.)

Hail Marry by Martha Keyes

He saves her life; she

saves his football dream by offering

a marriage of convenience.

Romance .... 337 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(A cute and clean rom-com with one of my favorite romance tropes.)

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong

Hikers. Miners. Spies?

Two murders put Haven's Rock

on high alert.

Mystery .... 337 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Another excellent mystery; I really love Casey Duncan and her husband, Eric Dalton, and their cute Newfie, Storm. And Haven's Rock, hidden somewhere in the heart of the Yukon, is such a great setting.)

Happy Reading!