Book Review - A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena

Photo Credit - Amazon

Almost newlyweds Karen and Tom Krupp are happily living the American dream. They have a lovely home and a comfortable life together. All that changes when Tom comes home and finds out Karen has disappeared. Her car is gone but, she left her purse and phone at home.

Tom begins to panic and calls their friends and then the police to report Karen's disappearance. The police arrive to take Tom to the hospital because Karen was in a car accident. Karen was speeding through a rough part of town and lost control of her car. Karen suffered a concussion and a few scrapes. When the cops come to ask her about details surrounding her car accident, Karen claims that she lost her memory and has trouble remembering the night before. The police believe her memory loss is very convenient and that she is hiding something.

When Karen returns home, she wants to heal and move on. However, she starts to notice her stuff being moved around in her house. It feels that someone has been in her house. Karen is unsure who she can trust because she has a few dark secrets she wants to keep hidden.

I was excited to read this book because I enjoyed Lapena's debut novel "The Couple Next Door". There were a few twists and unexpected discoveries in the novel but, because I didn't care for any of the characters, I didn't care about anything they were experiencing. However, I am still looking forward to reading more books by the author.

 **Disclosure -  This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Book Review - Shine! by J.J. Grabenstein & Chris Grabenstein + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

Piper's hero is an astronaut, astronomer, and television host. Piper lives by Nellie Dumont Frisse's motto "Shine on!". However, Piper feels that there are two types of people: those who are born to shine and those who don't. She believes she falls into the latter category. When her dad gets a new job at the elite Chumley Prep, Piper is reminded that everyone is good at something and she isn't. Will Piper be able to find something she can excel in?

The book was a heartwarming read and filled with teachable moments. While the book was a bit predictable, it allowed readers to join a young girl on her journey on learning what type of person she wants to be. The book is packed with valuable lessons for children (and adults!) of all ages!

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Title: SHINE!

Author: J.J. Grabenstein & Chris Grabenstein

Pub. Date: November 5, 2019

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 210

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

"Inspirational, commonsensical, and a whole lot of fun." --James Patterson

Everyone deserves to shine in this sparkling new book from the New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library , Chris Grabenstein, and coauthor J.J. Grabenstein--just right for fans of Word of Mouse and The Fourteenth Goldfish.

"Who do you want to be?" asks Mr. Van Deusen. "And not when you grow up. Right here, right now."

Shine on! might be the catchphrase of twelve-year-old Piper's hero--astronaut, astronomer, and television host Nellie Dumont Frisse--but Piper knows the truth: some people are born to shine, and she's just not one of them. That fact has never been clearer than now, since her dad's new job has landed them both at Chumley Prep, a posh private school where everyone seems to be the best at something and where Piper definitely doesn't fit in.

Bursting with humor, heart, science, possibilities, and big questions, Shine! is a story about finding your place in the universe--a story about figuring out who you are and who you want to be.

Co-author J.J. Grabenstein reads the first chapter of SHINE!:

Link:

https://vimeo.com/369610019

About JJ & Chris: 

J.J. Grabenstein is the co-author, with her husband, ChrisGrabenstein, of SHINE! This is her first novel as a co-authorbut she has been the "first editor" on everything her husband hasever written, including the award-winning/bestselling ESCAPE FROMMR.LEMONCELLO'S LIBRARY series and more than fifty other works.

J.J. and Chris live in New York City with their cat Phoebe Squeak.

CHRIS GRABENSTEIN is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO'S LIBRARY, MR. LEMONCELLO'S LIBRARY OLYMPICS, THE ISLAND OF DR. LIBRIS, WELCOME TO WONDERLAND: HOME SWEET MOTEL and many other books, as well as the coauthor of numerous fun and funny page-turners with James Patterson, including I FUNNY, HOUSE OF ROBOTS, TREASURE HUNTERS, and JACKY HA-HA. Chris lives in New York City with his wife, J.J., two cats, and a dog named Fred. You can visit Chris at ChrisGrabenstein.com.

Website

Follow JJ!

Goodreads 

Follow Chris!

Twitter | Facebbok | Instagram | Goodreads 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of SHINE!, US Only.

Rafflecopter Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba21018/?

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

11/5/2019	BookHounds YA	Excerpt
11/6/2019	Nerdophiles	Review
11/7/2019	@___nimraaa	Excerpt
11/8/2019	Books_andPoetrii	Excerpt

Week Two:

11/11/2019	Cuz I’m a Nerd	Review
11/12/2019	HBB Reviews	Review
11/13/2019	onemused	Review
11/14/2019	@fictitious.fox	Review
11/15/2019	Twirling Book Princess	Excerpt

Week Three:

11/18/2019	Wonder Struck	Review
11/19/2019	For the Love of KidLit	Excerpt
11/20/2019	Savings in Seconds	Review
11/21/2019	Popthebutterfly	Review
11/22/2019	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt

Week Four:

11/25/2019	Jaime's World	Excerpt
11/26/2019	Southern Girl Bookaholic	Review
11/27/2019	Smada's Book Smack	Excerpt
11/28/2019	Books a Plenty Book Reviews	Review
11/29/2019	Fyrekatz Blog	Review

Week Five:

12/2/2019	BookishRealmReviews	Review
12/3/2019	She Just Loves Books	Excerpt
12/4/2019	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt
12/5/2019	Owl Always Be Reading	Excerpt
12/6/2019	Two points of interest	Review

Book Review - The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell

Photo Credit - Amazon

Two young women who are complete opposites of each other, find their lives intertwined. Ruth Butterham is a poor seamstress awaiting trial for murder. Dorothea Truelove is a wealthy socialite with an interest in phrenology. Following her mother's footsteps, Dorothea volunteers at the Oakgate Prison where she meets Ruth. Dorothea believes that the shape of a person's skull can help predict a person's traits and personalities including, the ability for murder. 

Ruth maintains that she can kill someone with just a needle and thread. Ruth believes she has a supernatural power that transfers to her stitches. As Ruth begins to tell her tale of betrayal and bitterness, will Dorothea be able to trust Ruth's story?

I thought the novel had an interesting premise and was an enjoyable read. However, I felt like the writing was choppy and hard to follow during some parts of the story. I also felt like that the story was drawn out and the ending was a bit rushed and out of place. I wish the story was a bit more developed and the author spent more time building out the ending. Since I enjoyed the premise of the story, I would be open to reading more books from the author.

 **Disclosure -  This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Book Spotlight - Anyone by Charles Soule + Giveaway

Imprint: Harper Perennial
On Sale: 12/03/2019
Pages: 432
List Price: 21.99 USD
ISBN: 9780062890634
ISBN 10: 0062890638

Praise for ANYONE

“(Anyone) is fast-paced and suspenseful. Soule’s uncomfortable vision of the future will please readers of cutting-edge speculative fiction. ” —Publishers Weekly

“With his second novel, Anyone, Charles Soule establishes himself as an author that readers of speculative fiction will love for years to come. The book will leave you thinking about gender, power, and what it means to be human for long after the final chapter.” —Jennifer Wright, author of Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes That Fought Them

“Soule has wrapped a sharp, prescient investigation of the human mind inside a breakneck thriller that will have you riveted until the very last twist. Anyone is truly a book for everyone.” —Peng Shepherd, author of The Book of M

“I spent much of my childhood inside DARPA, where my father was Deputy Director, and this book captures the imagination and double-edged sword of our greatest scientific leaps. The same technology that can cure the world’s ills might also cause us to spiral into our own greed, selfishness, and vanity. Charles Soule’s Anyone is a remarkable, consequential novel and a terrifying wake-up call.” —Susan Henderson, author of The Flicker of Old Dreams

“Anyone is an intense, superbly crafted, edge of your seat thrill ride. I loved the two slowly converging storylines, not to mention the most dedicated, hardcore character I’ve read in a long, long time. Who would you be if you could be anyone? I’d really like to be Charles Soule and have written this book.” —Sylvain Neuvel, author of Sleeping Giants

“An imaginative, time-fragmented thriller about the bitter and potentially deadly consequences of body-snatching. Readers won’t feel that they’re on the edge of their seats as much as they’re on a balance beam above a pit of lava while trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube.” —Kirkus Reviews

Charles Soule brings his signature knowledge—and wariness--of technology to his sophomore novel set in a realistic future about a brilliant female scientist who creates a technology that allows for the transfer of human consciousness between bodies, and the transformations this process wreaks upon the world.

Inside a barn in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a scientist searching for an Alzheimer’s cure throws a switch—and finds herself mysteriously transported into her husband’s body. What begins as a botched experiment will change her life—and the world—forever…

Over two decades later, all across the planet, “flash” technology allows individuals the ability to transfer their consciousness into other bodies for specified periods, paid, registered and legal. Society has been utterly transformed by the process, from travel to warfare to entertainment; “Be anyone with Anyone” the tagline of the company offering this ultimate out-of-body experience. But beyond the reach of the law and government regulators is a sordid black market called the darkshare, where desperate “vessels” anonymously rent out their bodies, no questions asked for any purpose - sex, drugs, crime... or worse.

Anyone masterfully interweaves the present-day story of the discovery and development of the flash with the gritty tale of one woman’s crusade to put an end to the darkness it has brought to the world twenty-five years after its creation. Like Blade Runner crossed with Get Out, Charles Soule’s thought-provoking work of speculative fiction takes us to a world where identity, morality, and technology collide.

You can purchase Anyone at the following Retailers:

        

Photo Credit: Marc Lemoine

Charles Soule is a Brooklyn, New York-based novelist, comic book writer, musician, and attorney. While he has worked for DC and other publishers, he is best known for writing Daredevil, She-Hulk, Death of Wolverine, and various Star Wars comics from Marvel Comics (Darth Vader, Poe Dameron, Lando and more), and his creator-owned series Curse Words from Image Comics (with Ryan Browne) and Letter 44 from Oni Press (with Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque.)

His first novel, The Oracle Year, about a man who can see the future and way this ability changes the world, will be released in April 2018 by the Harper Perennial imprint of HarperCollins.

        

WEEK ONE

DECEMBER 2nd MONDAY JeanBookNerd INTERVIEW

DECEMBER 3rd TUESDAY Movies, Shows, & Books EXCERPT

DECEMBER 4th WEDNESDAY Two Points of Interest REVIEW

DECEMBER 5th THURSDAY Stephanie's Life of Determination REVIEW

DECEMBER 5th THURSDAY Crossroad Reviews REVIEW

DECEMBER 6th FRIDAY Insane About Books REVIEW

WEEK TWO

DECEMBER 9th MONDAY BookHounds REIVEW

DECEMBER 10th TUESDAY Wishful Endings INTERVIEW 

DECEMBER 11th WEDNESDAY A Backwards Story REVIEW

DECEMBER 12th THURSDAY Little Bookish Thoughts REVIEW

DECEMBER 12th THURSDAY TTC Books and More EXCERPT 

DECEMBER 13th FRIDAY Casia's Corner REVIEW

*JBN is not responsible for Lost or Damaged Books in your Nerdy Mail Box*

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