May Reads

20.  Always Watching (Stevens) ~ 2.75/5

21.  The Tears of Dark Water (Addison) ~ 2.25/5

22.  The Breakdown (Paris) ~ 4/5

23.  Orphan Train Rider (Warren) ~ 3.5/5

Monthly - Yearly

Audiobooks:  2 - 19

Books:  1 - 2 

eBooks:  1 - 2 

New-to-Me Authors:  2 - 19  

Short Story Collection:  0 - 0

DNF:  0 - 2

ORPHAN TRAIN RIDER

Author:  Andrea Warren

Genre:  Young Reader NF, Standalone

Published:  1996

Personal Rating:  3.5/5 (good)

Format:  Book

Yearly Count:  23

The true account of Lee Nailling riding an orphan train is told with chapters of the history.

I enjoyed reading the story as a whole, but the writing was a bit choppy.  It was a good introduction to this period of our history and could inspire a child (or adult) to read more.

Thoughts of Joy

THE BREAKDOWN

Author:  B. A. Paris

Genre:  Psychological Thriller, Standalone

Published:  2017

Personal Rating:  4/5 (very good)

Format: eBook

Yearly Count:  22

From NetGalley:

If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?

Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods, on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman sitting inside—the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm. Her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home. And she probably would only have been hurt herself if she’d stopped.

But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing: where she left the car, if she took her pills, the alarm code, why she ordered a pram when she doesn’t have a baby.

The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.

Or the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her . . .

 This was a quick read, mainly because it kept me intrigued, so I wanted to keep reading -- even though I figured out a lot of it from the get-go.  No worries, though.  I really enjoyed it.  Yay for Paris, another "very good" from me!

Thoughts of Joy

My thanks go to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with the eGalley.

THE TEARS OF DARK WATER

Author:  Corban Addison

Genre:  Fiction, Standalone

Published:  2015

Personal Rating:  2.25/5 (not enjoyable +)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Korey Jackson

Yearly Count:  21

From NetGalley:

Daniel and Vanessa Parker are an American success story. He is a Washington, DC, power broker, and she is a physician with a thriving practice. But behind the gilded façade, their marriage is a shambles, and their teenage son, Quentin, is self-destructing. In desperation, Daniel dusts off a long-delayed dream of theirs—a sailing trip around the world. Little does he know, the voyage he hopes will save them may destroy them instead.

Half a world away, on the lawless coast of Somalia, Ismail Adan Ibrahim is living a life of crime in violation of everything he was raised to believe—except this: the love and loyalty driving him to hijack ships for ransom and to plot the rescue of his sister, Yasmin, from the man who murdered their father. There is nothing he will not do to save her, even if it means taking innocent life.

Paul Derrick is the FBI's top hostage negotiator. His twin sister, Megan, is a celebrated defense attorney. They have reached the summit of their careers by savvy, grit, and a secret determination to escape the memory of the day their family died. When Paul is dispatched to handle a hostage crisis at sea, he has no idea how far it will take Megan and him into the past—or the chance it will give them to redeem the future.

Across continents and oceans, through storms and civil wars, their paths converge in a single, explosive moment. It is a moment that will test them, and break them, but that will also leave behind an unexpected glimmer of hope—that out of the ashes of tragedy and misfortune the seeds of justice and reconciliation can grow.

 This book moved at a snail's pace.  The first half is the introduction of characters and being hijacked on the ocean. The second half is figuring out why it happened.  For me, much of it was just boring.  (second attempt)

Thoughts of Joy

My thanks go to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing me with the eGalley.

ALWAYS WATCHING

Author:  Chevy Stevens

Genre:  Thriller?, Standalone

Published:  2013

Personal Rating:  2.75/5 (eh +)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Joyce Bean

Yearly Count:  20


A psychiatrist realizes that she has much more in common with a patient than she ever imagined.

It was not believable, but I still listened to it.  And it definitely wasn't a thriller.

Thoughts of Joy