Book Reviews 2017: Catching Up On Book Reviews

**All reviews on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

Okay, most of these were read in 2016, but of course, I'm behind on my reviews. If you are on GoodReads, you can follow me here. I'm better about posting reviews there as soon as I read the book! :) I also have more reviews there than I have posted on my blog.

The Girl on a Train by Paula Hawkins

It took me a while to finish this book (mainly because I had a lot going on and didn't make time to read). I kept hearing how GREAT this book was, and while I feel it was okay, it just didn't jump out at me as a great novel. Maybe it was too hyped up and I was just expecting too much.

I'll admit, I liked the concept of the story, which is why I wanted to read it. The book jumps around from three different POV- Rachel (the girl on the train), Megan (the missing girl), and Anna (the girl who stole Rachel's husband from her). There was a heading so you knew who was narrating (which was helpful because all three characters talked and sounded the same to me). 

The character of Rachel was super annoying (maybe she was supposed to be). I did feel sorry for her though, it seemed nothing was going right for her and her life was falling apart. She was an alcoholic, she lost her job, and her husband cheated on her and was now married with a new wife and baby. She couldn't control her drinking or her drunk phone calls to her ex. The only thing she has going for her is that she thinks something bad has happened to a complete stranger she passes by everyday. 

After thinking about it, I didn't really like any of the characters in the book- it seemed everyone was messed up and whiny about something. Towards the end of the book, I didn't care what happened to any of the three main women (usually I can sympathize with at least one character and want something good to happen to them- but I couldn't care less what happened to the characters in this one). 

Even though I didn't care for the story itself, the writing style was okay and I would be willing to check out something else written by the author.

Book summary:

Murder Ties the Knot by Christy Fifield

I like Christy Fifield and I think her books get better with each one that she writes. I believe this is book four of this particular series. They are fun, easy to read mystery books. If I had made time, I could have easily finished this book in a day or two (but life gets in the way of my reading schedule, so it took me over a month). 

I love Glory, the main character, as well as Bluebeard, the talking parrot who may or may not be channeling the spirit of Glory's deceased uncle. 

This book didn't have as much to the mystery as the other three, but it was still an enjoyable read.

I read somewhere that the publisher did not pick up another book of this series, but I really hope the author either self publishes or finds someone else to publish one. I really hope there are other mysteries for Glory to solve.

I also love that the author includes the recipes for the meals mentioned in the book. :) 

Book summary:

The Stranger by Harlan Coben

This was the first book I've read (well, listened to) by Harlan Coben and I will definitely be checking out some of his other novels. 

This book has everything- secrets, deception, and suspense. I really enjoyed it. I was guessing up until almost the very end. 

I listened to the audiobook version read by George Newbern and he did a fantastic job. :) I'll also check out some of his other audio work! 

Book summary:

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

First of all, I really liked this book- I spent an entire afternoon reading it (it is my first book read of 2017). I personally wouldn't compare it to Gone Girl (which I've also read), but that's just me. It seems lately any suspenseful novel with a female lead character is compared to Gone Girl. In my opinion, this book is nothing like Gone Girl, but it is still excellent.

This is another book full of secrets, deception, but also sadness. Obviously with the description of the book, you know that Amelia is dead (so that's NOT a spoiler), but it's still heartbreaking to read the story of what happened leading up to her death. I don't want to get too much into the story because I don't want to give anything away. 

The author did a great job developing the characters and with the story. I look forward to reading more books by the author.

Book summary:

Have you read any good books lately?

XOXO!

Book Review 2016: The Uninvited

**All reviews on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

The Uninvited by Heather Graham

I listened to the audio version of this book several months ago (yes, I'm behind on my reviews). Narrator Luke Daniels gave another great performance- he has become one of my favorites when it comes to listening to audio books.

This is another book in the Krewe of Hunters series. Like I've mentioned before, I've read them out of order and it hasn't been a huge problem. I like the American history portion of this novel (some of it was factual and some was made up by the author), but she was very thorough even with the fictional historical characters. I'm a history nerd, so I enjoyed that.

I didn't really like the main character, Allison Leigh, too much at first, but she eventually grew on me. I do like the character of Tyler Montague (he's been a character in other Krewe of Hunters books). If you aren't a huge history buff, parts of this book might not interest you as much since she does talk about history-related stuff, but it shouldn't be too distracting. I actually found it kind of interesting!

Like most of the books in this series, there is a mystery, ghosts, and romance, but the plots and characters are different enough that it doesn't get tiresome to read (or listen to). I normally finish these books pretty quick (unless my schedule is just very hectic). They are a great weekend or vacation read. And if you have a long commute to work, check out the audio version to listen to while you drive. Like I said before, Luke Daniels does a great job! This isn't my favorite in the Krewe of Hunters series, but it was an enjoyable read. 

Book summary:

I always highly recommend Heather Graham, she is easily one of my top five favorite authors. I'm never sorry that I read one of her books.

XOXO!

Book Review 2016: Dropped Third Strike

**All reviews on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

Dropped Third Strike by Micah K. Chaplin

It is NO secret that I'm a HUGE baseball fan, so I LOVED the baseball aspect of this book, but even for a casual or non-baseball/sports fan, this book is an enjoyable read and I loved it.

In so many books today (especially romance books), the characters are so perfect and "flawless" that it's not only unrealistic, it's ridiculous. Who can relate to someone who is so perfect? I know I can't. I love that the characters in this book have their own individual imperfections, so they are easier to relate to and seem more "real".

Now, I don't work for a major league baseball team (I could only wish), but I could relate to Kate in some ways. She has insecurities and hang-ups that we all have (even if we wish we didn't). I can also relate to what she goes through with her singleness- the struggle can be very real.

I love that the author included a glossary of baseball terms (to help out those non-baseball fans). I hope that this encourages a non-fan to give the book a chance. You never know, you might also fall in love with the sport of baseball! :)

I have high hopes that this will become a series because there were some minor characters in the book that could have their own story line. I look forward to the next one! :)

Why yes, I did order an autographed copy! :)

XOXO!

Book Review 2016: Ten Things God Desires For You

**All reviews on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

Ten Things God Desires For You by Jeremy Gaston

Have you ever read a book and felt the author was talking specifically TO you? That was how I felt reading Ten Things God Desires For You. I couldn't put the book down. I could relate to EVERYTHING the author said. 

I read this book in one sitting, but I feel it would make a great Bible study (either as an individual or a group). It made me think about situations currently going on in my life and what I need to do to make my life better. I loved at the end of each chapter the author listed "Things to Consider". That was one of my favorite things about the book. 

I highly recommend this book to everyone, regardless where you are in your walk with God. You will not be disappointed. You can find the e-book or paperback on Amazon. 

Book summary:

XOXO!

Book Review 2016: Catching Up On Book Reviews

**All reviews on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

The Betrayed by Heather Graham

No, this was not written by the Heather Graham who is an actress. This is ANOTHER Heather Graham. I have read many of her novels (in fact, I've reviewed a few of them before here on my blog). I checked out the audio book version of this novel from the library last month when I took the road trip with my BFF (I wanted something for the long part of the trip when I would be driving by myself). Since I've always enjoyed books by Heather Graham, I chose this one. 

I've read several books in her Krewe of Hunters series. I haven't read them in order, but so far, that hasn't caused any big plot issues. Most of her books deal with mysteries and the paranormal (usually some character is able to see and/or communicate with ghosts). I don't know why, but I find that fascinating (ghosts, that is). I've always been a fan of ghost stories. 

The author does a great job of describing the locations in her novels. I'm not sure if Sleepy Hollow really looks the way she described it, but I have a great picture in my head of what she imagined it looked like. I didn't necessarily love the main characters, but I liked them enough that it didn't distract me too much from the story. My favorite character was probably Rollo (the dog). :)

Some of the story was predictable, but again it wasn't distracting. The narrator for this particular audio book was Luke Daniels and he did a fantastic job. 

Book summary:

I'm not going to call this a "must-read", but if you like mysteries, ghosts, and a little romance, you should check this book out.

The Night Is Watching by Heather Graham

Although I like Heather Graham and would have read this book because she wrote it, I honestly picked up the audio book version from the library a few weeks ago solely because I enjoyed Luke Daniels as the narrator in the last book.

This is my favorite book so far in the Krewe of Hunters series (granted, I've only read about five out of the fourteen, but still). 

I liked the characters of Jane and Sloan and felt they had great chemistry. Again, the author did a great job describing the scenes. I really felt like I was in this little western town and could visualize the shops, theater, and even the townspeople. It seemed like a "tourist place" that I would like to visit.

To me I felt the ghost story aspect was better in this novel than the last one I read by the author. I don't want to say it was more "realistic" (because I will not get into a debate if ghosts or real or not) but I thought it flowed better. I also like a lot of the minor characters in this book. Once again, Luke Daniels did a fantastic job with the narration.

Book summary:

If you unsure but think you want to check out a book in the Krewe of Hunters series, I recommend this one. So far I feel it's the best. And like I said in my last review, it doesn't seem to hurt to read the series out of order. 

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

I downloaded this book about a year or so ago on my Kindle app because it was free. I had never watched the TV series it was based on, but I had a little idea of what it was about. I flew to Ohio last week on business and decided to read this on the plane. It was a very easy read (I read the majority of it on my flight from Dallas to Cincinnati). 

A lot of it was predictable and some parts were a little unrealistic (don't even get me started on the whole Aria/Ezra story line), but I seem to be drawn to these YA fiction stories full of teen angst. It's a curse. Lol.

There were characters that I didn't particularly care for (and even disliked), but I think the author wrote them that way. Evidently this is a series of about sixteen books (I don't think I realized there were that many books in the series). This book was entertaining enough that I would read another book in the series if I came across it, but it's by no means at the top of my reading list.

If you don't mind teen angst and characters that make you want to reach through the pages (or iPad) and slap them, this is a book good for a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Book summary:

Dearest Daughter: Become Who You Were Created To Be by Jeremy Mark Lane

This is an emotional and well-written devotional book. It seemed no matter what day I read a passage, it was something I could relate to.

I tend to let life and the world consume me from time to time. There are days where I struggle and feel I am completely lost. I could turn to any random page in this book and would read a passage that lifted me up.

Regardless of your relationship status, age, or where you are in your walk with God, I recommend this devotional to all women. I truly believe it will be a blessing to you in one way or another.

XOXO!

Book Review 2016: A Night In With Audrey Hepburn

**All reviews on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five-star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and on one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

A Night In With Audrey Hepburn by Lucy Holliday

My wonderful niece-in-law Jennifer tagged me in a post about this book a few weeks ago on Instagram. I had never heard of it before then, but this is me whenever I see or hear anything about Audrey Hepburn.  

                                

I was intrigued. I immediately went online to see if it was available for check-out at the library near my house and I was sad to find out that NO branch of the Dallas Public Library carried it. After a search of local bookstores, I found a Barnes and Noble not TOO far from me that had the book in stock, so I "forced" myself to make a trip to buy a copy. I possibly bought two other books besides this one while I was there. I have no self-control in a bookstore.

First of all, this is a work of fiction. I don't want to lead people into believing this is some sort of biography of the great Audrey Hepburn by the title. This was a fun book to read, even if you AREN'T a die-hard fan of Audrey (like I am). The protagonist, Libby Lomax, in a kind-of-wannabe-actress who would rather spend her evenings at home watching Audrey Hepburn movies than be out socializing (I can relate to that-except being an actress part). When Libby goes through a life and career crisis, Audrey all of sudden appears next to her on the couch, ready to give her some much needed advice. What Audrey fan WOULDN'T like that?

I love how the author makes Audrey "come alive" in her writing. The stuff that Audrey says in the book is written in the style that Audrey would have said it. I could "hear" her voice in the dialogue. Libby is a likable character and next to Audrey Hepburn, I would say my favorite character is Libby's reliable best guy friend, Olly. I will admit to laughing out loud throughout the book, the characters are really great (even the ones you want to dislike).

This is a fast read (or at least it was for me) and is the perfect read for a weekend or vacation getaway. It's a simple plot (I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean it was easy to follow). I will admit, it starts out a little slow, but it picks up quickly. I like the author's writing style.

This is book one of a trilogy, I look forward to reading Libby's further adventures with classic Hollywood movie stars (book two has Marilyn Monroe in it).

XOXO! 

Book Review 2016: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

**All reviews on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five-star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Let me say this first: I wanted to like this book, I REALLY did, but it just didn't do anything for me. I have never read the original Pride and Prejudice, so I honestly can't compare the two. The only version of Pride and Prejudice that I have ever watched was on the TV show Wishbone (click here for that video). Maybe if I was more familiar with the original story, I would have at least found this book humorous.

First of all, he should have called this book Pride and Prejudice and Ninja Training with some Zombies. There was a lot of ninja talk. More ninjas than zombies actually. I didn't realize that being a trained ninja was a prerequisite for killing zombies. But, I'm no zombie-killing expert. The zombie parts weren't THAT bad (even though the word zombie rarely appeared), but the rest of the story line just seemed a little boring to me. I felt like I was back in school forcing myself to read a book for class and I had no interest in it.

I didn't really like ANY of the Bennet sisters. Lydia probably annoyed me the most. I kept hoping she would be the victim of a zombie attack. Even Elizabeth (the heroine of the story) didn't appeal to me that much. I've read in other reviews of this book that her character was changed from the original story (besides her being a ninja-trained zombie killer) so even people who loved her in the original story didn't like her in this one. But yeah, I definitely wasn't cheering for her at any point in this book.

Mrs. Bennet had a "Kris Jenner" attitude going for her (thank you to my friend Cara for giving me that analogy). She annoyed me more than Lydia. She just seemed nasty to her family and made her daughters seem worthless that they weren't married.

Mr. Darcy seemed like the biggest jerk* ever. The story between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy made me think of all the bad teen TV shows and movies where you know two people are going to end up together, but you HATE the idea of it. If I were to do a top ten list of the biggest jerks* in literature, he would make the list. Again, I don't know if his personality was changed for this version or not. So my apologies to Ms. Austen if he's a nicer guy in her book. But in this one, I just didn't like him.

I don't know if I could recommend this book or not. It's gonna have to be your call if you want to sit through it. I personally will never read it again. I will see the movie though (because that is the only reason I read the book in the first place). Maybe this will be one of those few instances where the movie is better than the book.

*I really wanted to use a word other than "jerk", but my mother might read this review

XOXO!

Book Review 2016: The Silkworm and Career of Evil

I'm horrible about posting my book reviews. I still have several from last year (I will get to them eventually). Today I thought I would combine two since they are in the same series. I actually finished The Silkworm last year, but never wrote the review. I just finished book 3 of the series, Career of Evil, last week. If you would like to check out my review of the first book in this series, The Cuckoo's Calling, click here.

**All reviews published on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five-star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

This is the second book in the Cormoran Strike series. After finishing the first one, I couldn't wait to start this book. This time the private investigator and his sidekick secretary assistant Robin Ellacott are hired by the wife of novelist Owen Quine to track down her husband. She is convinced he has gone off to escape from the world for a few days and she wants Strike to bring him home. 

During the investigation Strike and Robin discover that Owen has written a "tell all" book, revealing intimate details about the lives of several people, including fellow authors and some women in his life. Although it was "supposedly" a work of fiction (and names were changed), it was written in such a way that the "guilty" parties would know who was who. It's no surprise that Owen is later found brutally murdered and that there are many suspects. (Note: the author does go into some great detail describing the murder scene, so just a warning if you are squeamish). 

I will confess this book started out a little slow, but once it picked up, I really enjoyed it. This book is over 450 pages, so it's not the kind you can sit down and read on a Saturday (unless you have absolutely nothing else to do except read all day. Honestly, those are my favorite kind of days). 

The Silkworm takes the reader more into Robin's personal life and her relationship with fiancè Matthew. I'll leave my personal opinion of those two out of this review (so I don't spoil anything for those who will read this series). It also shows the growth of Strike and Robin's professional relationship (which I really liked). Robin moves past being just a secretary to a colleague that Strike can rely on, and someone he truly respects. 

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

I checked out the first two books of this series from the library. When this book came out, there were 53 people on the waiting list AHEAD of me, so I broke down and bought it. (Okay, I bought the first book in the series eventually because a certain friend of mine was too lazy to go to his library to check it out. I finally bought it so he could borrow it. He loved it (I knew he would). He's hooked on the series too. Lol.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I keep bugging friends to finish it so we can discuss it. :)

The book starts with Robin receiving a severed leg in the mail (I know, gross, right?) The package was addressed to her, but Strike is convinced it was meant for him. Strike can think of four people from his past who are capable of doing such a horrible thing (for the record, I don't know ANYONE who could be capable of mailing a severed leg). 

Strike and the local police have different theories on who is responsible (of course they do), so Strike and Robin set out on their own to track down the killer (mailer?) J.K. Rowling I'm sorry, Robert Galbraith, once again gets very descriptive in some of the scenes (so that is another word of warning for my squeamish friends). In my opinion, this book is creepier and darker than the first two. Of course this would be my favorite of the series. Lol.

SPOILER ALERT! Only click this button if you have read the book (or just don't care about spoilers).

Robin is helping Strike with this investigation all while planning her upcoming wedding to Matthew. Matthew is obviously jealous of her working relationship with Strike, and this is causing issues between the couple.

This book made me desperately wish that book 4 was already published. But sadly it's not. And there isn't even a release date. OH THE TORTURE! I decided to tweet about it on Friday afternoon (copying Robert Galbraith and J.K. Rowling's Twitter handles). For those who didn't read my review of book one, Robert Galbraith is J.K. Rowling's pseudonym. When I checked Twitter later that evening, I noticed that J.K. Rowling had "liked" my tweet. I'm convinced we are best friends now. Lol.

If you have read this series and would like to discuss, please let me know! I'm desperately wanting to talk about it with people. Lol.

I promise more book reviews to come soon! 

XOXO!