2013 in Review

We are well into the new year and I still have not posted due to personal and health matters but things are getting back to normal so I am taking this opportunity to review my reads of 2013. Unfortunately due to ill health I was not able to make my challenge of 60 books but I was blessed with reading many great works from outstanding authors. So in a glance here are some of my favorites in no particular order.

1. A Body Displaced (Lansin Island #2) by Andrew Butcher is a great read that I just couldn't put down. It starts where book one left off. Although you could possibly read this book without reading book one since there are references to what happened in book one (which is great because it refreshed my memory), I still suggest you read book one first (A Death Displaced which I reviewed in 2012) otherwise you would be missing so much. Both books are excellent!

2. Purgatory Reign by L.M. Preston is a Young Adult Fiction book but I would go further and say it is a Paranormal, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense with some Action and Adventure thrown in for good measure.

3. The Bones of Others (A skye Cree Novel - Book One) by Vickie McKeehan is a fictional story about pedophiles and human slave trafficking of young girls which sounds like something I wouldn't want to read since it is so negative but it also deals with survival and even a little bit of revenge. What I found so memorable is the way that the young girls are abducted. It is so real, so scary and as a parent I don't think I would ever look at a picnic in the park the same way again. As I said it is fictional but it is very realistic and believable as far as that goes.

4. Mayan Interface by Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin is a great read. Once I started it, I hated when I had to put it down. It is not packed with action scenes nor is it a boring history book but it has both action and history in it and so much more. It is a mystery that has me looking at history a little differently and makes me wonder, what if? It is also about the spiritual with the Uay and mystical with the Zaztum and so much more.

5. Kaylee's Ghost by Rochelle Jewel Shapiro is far from a typical boring 'soap opera' story. The plot is great and has so many twists and turns it kept me guessing who was going to do what next. I didn't read "Miriam the Medium" and was not at a loss as this book stands on its own.

6. Above by Mackie Burt is a truly enjoyable fictional read that I wish was on every high school 'to read' list. The plot it is about life after death in a different sort of way. Certain people are so special that they become Guardians and have to go to school only this school is not like high school, the first book here is your life's story or to be more accurate, all the mistakes you made during your life. It is called The Book of Mistakes. Callie, the main character is one such person. She first needed to accept she was dead and then she as well as others in school tell about their lives. Much of the learning here is intense and experience can bring the reader to tears so have a tissue handy. It is extremely interesting about the lives they lived and the mistakes they made as well as the 'looking in' on those they left behind. 

7. Redwood Violet by Robin Mahle is one of those books you should not open unless you have time to read it because you won't want to put this book down. From page one I was hooked on this fascinating mystery/crime solving read. 

8. Seven Point Eight: The First Chronicle by Marie Harbon is unlike any other science fiction, paranormal, fantasy I have ever read. It mixes actual historical events which not only help establish the timeline, it it is used to help validate the paranormal/science-fiction activities in the book. It also uses actual events to question what we perceive as reality all the while questioning and trying to answer fundamental questions, such as "does my life have a purpose?" Many of the questions asked throughout the story are ones that have been asked throughout time and scientists still try to prove today. Although this part clearly is not unique to only this book only, the way it is presented is. Including extensive talk of physics or should I say quantum physics, which was easy to follow. Clearly the author did extensive research before writing this book.

9. Seven Point Eight: The Second Chronicle by Marie Harbon is a very long story that fits into so many different genres/sub-genres I am not even sure where to put it. It is a fiction for sure but it also fits into: romance, mystery, sci-fiction, action, fantasy, horror, thriller, and I am sure many more. It sounds overwhelming but believe me, this author really worked it all in to create a glued-to-your-kindle type of story. With each turn of the page she had me wanting to know what was going to happen next because there are so many twists and turns and "where did that come from?" moments that I wasn't able to predict many of the outcomes at all. 

10. Death Never Sleeps by David Grace is an excellent detective story that is captivating right from the beginning of the story with a wood chipper murder and stays just as interesting right until the end. (This is the same author who wrote The Concrete Kiss which I reviewed in 2012, another great read!)

Don't let this mislead you, I have read many great books including Paper, Scissors, Death (Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-n-Craft Mystery #1) by Joanna Campbell Slan is the first full length book I read by this author and it won't be the last! Plus for all of you moms and grandmas out there with young grand/children, Corey the Christmas Calf (there are others too) by Patty Johnson is a children's book. I don't write reviews for every children's book I read, I write them only when I come across an exceptional one and this one really deserves that title. There are many more too so don't be shy and look back to my posts to find some great reads you will enjoy.