The Longest Ride.

GoodReads Synopsis-- Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together – how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage. 

A few miles away, at a local rodeo, a Wake Forest College senior’s life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death – loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he’s keeping doesn't destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart. 

My Thoughts-- There was A LOT that I liked about this story.  First, that it took place in my hometown and at my law school alma mater!  Also, I thought the budding romance between Luke and Sophia was beautiful and genuine.  The life of love between Ira and Ruth was touching and inspiring.  Like many of his books, the author weaves parallel stories together in unexpected (and sometimes far-fetched) ways.  This one was one of the slightly more far-fetched and too-neatly-wrapped-up stories.  But the ending that had me rolling my eyes a bit did not diminish at all the beauty of the pages that came before it.

Hide.

GoodReads Synopsis: It was a case that haunts Bobby Dodge to this day—the case that nearly killed him and changed his life forever. Now, in an underground chamber on the grounds of an abandoned Massachusetts mental hospital, the gruesome discovery of six mummified corpses resurrects his worst nightmare: the return of a killer he thought dead and buried. There’s no place to run...  Bobby’s only lead is wrapped around a dead woman’s neck. 

Annabelle Granger has been in hiding for as long as she can remember. Her childhood was a blur of new cities and assumed identities. But what—or who—her family was running from, she never knew. Now a body is unearthed from a grave, wearing a necklace bearing Annabelle’s name, and the danger is too close to escape. This time, she’s not going to run. You know he will find you... 

The new threat could be the dead psychopath’s copycat, his protégé—or something far more terrifying. Dodge knows the only way to find him is to solve the mystery of Annabelle Granger, and to do that he must team up with his former lover, partner, and friend D. D. Warren from the Boston P.D. But the trail leads back to a woman from Bobby’s past who may be every bit as dangerous as the new killer—a beautiful survivor-turned-avenger with an eerie link to Annabelle. From its tense opening pages to its shocking climax, Hide is a thriller that delves into our deepest, darkest fears. Where there is no one to trust. Where there is no place left to hide.

My Thoughts:  I have mixed feelings about this book.  The mystery around Annabelle Granger was fantastic, and her back story was incredibly interesting.  I only figured out who the bad guy was a bit before the protagonist, which is a sign of good mystery writing.  But I really don't connect at all with D.D. Warren or Bobby Dodge, and I'm not sure why.  Perhaps one day I'll pick up the next book in this series, but I'm not in a hurry to do so.

The Secret Life of Violet Grant.

GoodReads Synopsis-- Manhattan, 1964. Vivian Schuyler, newly graduated from Bryn Mawr College, has recently defied the privilege of her storied old Fifth Avenue family to do the unthinkable for a budding Kennedy-era socialite: break into the Mad Men world of razor-stylish Metropolitan magazine. But when she receives a bulky overseas parcel in the mail, the unexpected contents draw her inexorably back into her family’s past, and the hushed-over crime passionnel of an aunt she never knew, whose existence has been wiped from the record of history.

Berlin, 1914. Violet Schuyler Grant endures her marriage to the philandering and decades-older scientist Dr. Walter Grant for one reason: for all his faults, he provides the necessary support to her liminal position as a young American female physicist in prewar Germany. The arrival of Dr. Grant’s magnetic former student at the beginning of Europe’s fateful summer interrupts this delicate détente. Lionel Richardson, a captain in the British Army, challenges Violet to escape her husband’s perverse hold, and as the world edges into war and Lionel’s shocking true motives become evident, Violet is tempted to take the ultimate step to set herself free and seek a life of her own conviction with a man whose cause is as audacious as her own.

As the iridescent and fractured Vivian digs deeper into her aunt’s past and the mystery of her ultimate fate, Violet’s story of determination and desire unfolds, shedding light on the darkness of her years abroad . . . and teaching Vivian to reach forward with grace for the ambitious future––and the love––she wants most.

My Thoughts-- I love love loved Vivian Schuyler.  She was so cute and fun and feisty that I found myself rushing through the Violet story to get back to the Vivian story, even though Violet's was definitely more interesting.  Overall, it was a very well done story with two stories, fifty years apart, woven together seamlessly and beautifully.  I had no idea where Violet's story would end up, and it was a fantastic ending.  The only downfall was how the abuse of Dr. Grant made me cringe a few times.  Plus, the story lagged a little in the middle and lost me for a bit, so I gave it four stars instead of five.

We Were Liars.

GoodReads Synopsis: A beautiful and distinguished family.

A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

My Thoughts:  I read this book in an afternoon because I just HAD to know what happened.  This is your quintessential unreliable narrator, and we're taken on her journey of trying to remember why she can't remember anything for the last two years.  Yes, the writing is odd and took a bit to get into.  But once I just embraced it, it didn't bother me anymore.  This reminded me a lot of the movie Memento and The Sixth Sense in that once you know the truth revealed at the end, it changes the whole story you've just read or seen.  It's a wonderful storytelling technique, and Ms. Lockhart pulled it off phenomenally.

Six Years.

GoodReads Synopsis-- Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd. But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for . . . but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for more than a decade, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life—a time he has never gotten over—is turned completely inside out. As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart—and who lied to him—soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on carefully constructed fiction.

My Thoughts-- Another twisty/turn-y thriller from Harlan Coben.  I was glad to see him deviate from the unhappy suburbanite parent theme of some of his books preceding this one.  Six Years was a true mystery with the classic Harlan Coben wit I love.  Four stars.

Pronto.

GoodReads Synopsis-- The feds want Miami bookmaker Harry Arno to squeal on his wiseguy boss. So they're putting word out on the street that Arno's skimming profits from "Jimmy Cap" Capotorto—which he is, but everybody does it. He was planning to retire to Italy someday anyway, so Harry figures now's a good time to get lost. U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens knows Harry's tricky—the bookie ditched him once in an airport while in the marshal's custody—but not careful. So Raylan's determined to find the fugitive's Italian hideaway before a cold-blooded Sicilian "Zip" does and whacks Arno for fun. After all, it's a "pride thing"...and it might even put Raylan in good stead with Harry's sexy ex-stripper girlfriend Joyce.

My Thoughts-- My love for Justified and Raylan Givens led me to pick this up even though Raylan isn't the main character in this story.  I definitely saw some glimpses of the Raylan I know, but otherwise it was quite different.  Elmore Leonard sure knows how to tell a story though.  For a cat-and-mouse story with such high stakes, there's a remarkable amount of humor and wit.  I definitely need to pick up more from Leonard.  Four stars.

No Second Chance.

GoodReads Synopsis-- Dr. Marc Seidman awakens to find himself in an ICU, hooked up to an IV, his head swathed in bandages. Twelve days earlier, he had an enviable life as a successful surgeon, living in a peaceful suburban neighborhood with his beautiful wife and a baby he adored. Now he lies in a hospital bed, shot by an unseen assailant. His wife has been killed, and his six-month-old daughter, Tara, has vanished. But just when his world seems forever shattered, something arrives to give Marc new hope: a ransom note. The note is chilling, but Marc sees only one thing-he has the chance to save his daughter. He can't talk to the police or the FBI. He doesn't know who he can trust. And now the authorities are closing in on a new suspect: Marc himself. Mired in a deepening quicksand of violence and deadly secrets-about his wife, about an old love he's never forgotten, and about his own past-he clings to one, unwavering vow: to bring Tara home, at any cost.

My Thoughts-- Another great Harlan Coben book.  I sounds like a broken record at this point, but he's just so great at writing twisty, turn-y thrillers, and this one was no different.  Four stars.

Shoe Addicts Anonymous.

GoodReads Synopsis-- Helene Zaharis's politician husband keeps her on a tight leash and cancels her credit cards as a way of controlling her. Lorna Rafferty is up to her eyeballs in debt and can't stop her addiction to Ebay. Sandra Vanderslice, battling agoraphobia, pays her shoe bills by working as a phone sex operator. And Jocelyn Bowen is a nanny for the family from hell (who barely knows a sole from a heel but who will do anything to get out of the house).  On Tuesday nights, these women meet to trade shoes, and, in the process, form friendships that will help them each triumph over their problems—from secret pasts to blackmail, bankruptcy, and dating. Funny, emotional, and powerful, Shoe Addicts Anonymous is the perfect read for any woman who has ever struggled to find the perfect fit. 

My Thoughts-- It took me a while to get into this one, but it really picked up about midway through. The second half was fantastic! Such a cute story about four women who have nothing in common but their love for shoes.  Four stars.

6 Ranier Drive.

GoodReads Synopsis: Debbie Macomber continues her warmhearted tour of Cedar Cove, Washington, with this sixth installment in her bestselling series. This one focuses on Seth and Justine Gunderson, whose business, the Lighthouse restaurant, was destroyed by arson. While young runaway Anson Butler is the prime suspect, his stalwart girlfriend, Allison Cox, doesn't believe it for a moment. Meanwhile, the fire has caused a rift in the Gunderson marriage, and Warren Sager, who never stopped loving Justine, is all too willing to offer a shoulder to cry on. But solving the mystery of who started the fire is hardly the only plotline. There are new developments in the romance between Linnette McAfee and Cal Washburn, big changes in the lives of Jon and Maryellen Bowman, and an unexpected, whirlwind romance between hair stylist Teri Miller and a chess superstar. Rainier Drive is packed with the updates Macomber's many fans expect to get.

My Thoughts:  Another good one in the Cedar Cove series by Debbie Macomber.  This is probably one of my favorites-- a little mystery always makes a story better, in my opinion.  This one definitely had that plus a little less cheesiness than some.  These are great books to just pick up and fly through if you are looking for some easy reads.

Play Dead.

GoodReads Synopsis: No sooner had supermodel Laura Ayers and Celtics star David Baskin said "I do" than tragedy struck. While honeymooning on Australia's Great Barrier Reed, David went out for a swim-and never returned. Now widowed and grieving, Laura's search for the truth will draw her into a web of lies and deception that stretches back thirty years...

My Thoughts: This was Harlan Coben's first-ever novel.  He states at the beginning that if this is your first novel of his to attempt to read, to put it down and get another one.  I would agree with that advice.  It's not his best book, but I was able to appreciate it a bit more, I think, because I already love his writing.  This one was long and windy, and I saw the two big twists at the end coming.  That said, it was a great suspenseful story, always left you wondering who you could trust and who was really the bad guy.

50 Harbor Street.

GoodReads Synopsis: This is the fifth book in the Cedar Cove series. As this story opens, Corrie and her private eye husband Roy McAfee have been receiving a series of mysterious, unsettling anonymous postcards. Their search for the culprit takes them back to an old family secret that's haunted them for years. Side-line plot developments include a date her mother bid on at a bachelor auction; daughter Linnette has a new job and a crush on a doctor; widow Grace Sherman is hoping to reconcile with a local rancher she once dated; and more.

My Thoughts:  This one was really interesting.  There was some intrigue going on, and maybe I wasn't trying very hard, but I didn't see the end coming.  I'm starting to really enjoy these Cedar Cove books despite some of their cheesiness.

Love Does.

GoodReads Synopsis:  As a college student he spent 16 days in the Pacific Ocean with five guys and a crate of canned meat. As a father he took his kids on a world tour to eat ice cream with heads of state. He made friends in Uganda, and they liked him so much he became the Ugandan consul. He pursued his wife for three years before she agreed to date him. His grades weren't good enough to get into law school, so he sat on a bench outside the Dean's office for seven days until they finally let him enroll. Bob Goff has become something of a legend, and his friends consider him the world's best-kept secret. Those same friends have long insisted he write a book. What follows are paradigm shifts, musings, and stories from one of the world's most delightfully engaging and winsome people. What fuels his impact? Love. But it's not the kind of love that stops at thoughts and feelings. Bob's love takes action. Bob believes "Love Does." When "Love Does," life gets interesting. Each day turns into a hilarious, whimsical, meaningful chance that makes faith simple and real. Each chapter is a story that forms a book, a life. And this is one life you don't want to miss. Light and fun, unique and profound, the lessons drawn from Bob's life and attitude just might inspire you to be secretly incredible, too.

My Thoughts:  I read this after both my husband and my mother told me that I should.  And it was full of some wild and crazy stories.  I love one of the things he said in the book about seeing the "whimsy" in life and just doing crazy things sometimes for the fun of it.  There were funny stories, sad stories, sweet stories, and touching stories.  And despite me not 100% agreeing with some of his theology, I was definitely challenged to DO love.  Not just speak love or feel love, but to actually put feet to feeling.  Great book!

44 Cranberry Point.

GoodReads Synopsis: I love living in Cedar Cove, but things haven't been the same since a man died in our B and B. Turns out his name was Max Russell, and Bob had known him briefly in Vietnam. We still don't have any idea why he came here and-- most important of all-- who killed him. Because it now appears that he was poisoned. I sure hope somebody figures it out soon! Not that we're providing the "only" news in Cedar Cove these days. I heard that Jon Bowman and Maryellen Sherman are getting married. And Maryellen's mom, Grace, has more than her share of interested men! The question is: Which one is she going to choose? Olivia -- I guess it's Olivia Griffin now -- is back from her honeymoon, and "her" mother, Charlotte (who's in her mid-seventies at least), seems to have a man in her life, too. I'm not sure Olivia's too pleased.... There's lots of other gossip I could tell you. Come by for a cup of tea and one of my blueberry muffins and we'll talk.  -Peggy

My Thoughts: Another solid entry in the Cedar Cove books by Debbie Macomber.  These books are great when you need something light and quick.  My only complaint about them is that even now after reading five of these books, there are SO many characters that I tend to get them mixed up when she jumps from scene to scene.  But despite that, they're sweet stories that always end well.  And I'm a sucker for a happy ending!

Just One Look.

GoodReads Synopsis-- An ordinary snapshot causes a mother’s world to unravel in an instant. After picking up her two young children from school, Grace Lawson looks through a newly developed set of photographs. She finds an odd one in the pack: a mysterious picture from perhaps twenty years ago, showing four strangers she can’t identify. But there is one face she recognizes—that of her husband, from before she knew him. When her husband sees the photo that night, he leaves their home and drives off without explanation. She doesn’t know where he’s going, or why he’s leaving. Or if he’s ever coming back. Nor does she realize how dangerous the search for him will be. Because there are others interested in both her husband’s past and that photo, including Eric Wu: a fierce, silent killer who will not be stopped from finding his quarry, no matter who or what stands in his way.  Her world turned upside down, filled with doubts about her herself and marriage, Grace must confront the dark corners of her own tragic past she struggles to learn the truth, find her husband, and save her family.

My Thoughts-- Another great Harlan Coben book!  It was incredibly suspenseful and intriguing.  I read it within a day, so it definitely was interesting enough to keep me reading, and it had a great twist at the end that I did NOT see coming. 

Miracle Cure.

GoodReads Synopsis--They’re one of the country’s most telegenic couples: beloved TV journalist Sara Lowell and New York’s hottest basketball star, Michael Silverman. Their family and social connections tie them to the highest echelons of the political, medical, and sports worlds—threads that will tangle them up in one of the most controversial and deadly issues of our time. In a clinic on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a doctor has dedicated his life to eradicating a divisive and devastating disease. One by one, his patients are getting well. One by one, they’re being targeted by a serial killer. And now Michael has been diagnosed with the disease. There’s only one cure, but many ways to die...

My Thoughts-- This book was fascinating on several levels.  First of all, it's Harlan Coben, so of course it's twisty and mysterious and unpredictable.  But also, it's a book about an AIDS clinic from 1991 (Coben's first book ever written).  So it's kind of surreal to read about how AIDS was treated and misunderstood and feared not that many years ago.  Definitely an interesting read, but not my favorite Coben novel.  Don't let this be the first one of his you pick up.

Last Night at Chateau Marmont.

GoodReads Synopsis:  Brooke was drawn to the soulful, enigmatic Julian Alter the very first time she heard him perform “Hallelujah” at a dark East Village dive bar.  Now five years married, Brooke balances two jobs—as a nutritionist at NYU Hospital and as a consultant to an Upper East Side girls’ school, where privilege gone wrong and disordered eating run rampant—in order to help support her husband’s dream of making it in the music world.

Things are looking up when after years of playing Manhattan clubs and toiling as an A&R intern, Julian finally gets signed by Sony. Although no one’s promising that the album will ever hit the airwaves, Julian is still dedicated to logging in long hours at the recording studio. All that changes after Julian is asked to perform on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno—and is catapulted to stardom, literally overnight. Amazing opportunities begin popping up almost daily—a new designer wardrobe, a tour with Maroon 5, even a Grammy performance.

At first the newfound fame is fun—who wouldn’t want to stay at the Chateau Marmont or visit the set of one of television’s hottest shows? Yet it seems that Brooke’s sweet husband—the man who can’t handle hot showers and wears socks to bed—is increasingly absent, even on those rare nights they’re home together. When rumors about Brooke and Julian swirl in the tabloid magazines, she begins to question the truth of her marriage and is forced to finally come to terms with what she thinks she wants—and what she actually needs.

My Thoughts:  I really, really liked this book.  It was more emotional and "grown-up" than her previous works.  The main character was entirely relatable, and I found myself laughing with her and crying with her.  It was a great story about a couple trying to figure out marriage in a world of change.  Four stars.

The Pelican Brief.

GoodReads Synopsis-- In suburban Georgetown, a killer's Reeboks whisper on the front floor of a posh home... In a seedy D.C. video house, a patron is swiftly garroted to death... The next day, America learns that two of its Supreme Court justices have been assassinated. And in New Orleans, a young law student prepares a legal brief... To Darby Shaw it was no more than a legal shot in the dark, a brilliant guess. To the Washington establishment it was political dynamite. Suddenly Darby is witness to a murder -- a murder intended for her. Going underground, she finds there is only one person she can trust -- an ambitious reporter after a news break hotter than Watergate -- to help her piece together the deadly puzzle. Somewhere between the bayous of Louisiana and the White House's inner sanctums, a violent cover-up is being engineered. For someone has read Darby's brief. Someone who will stop at nothing to destroy the evidence of an unthinkable crime.

My Thoughts-- I didn't love this book as much as I was hoping to.  I love John Grisham, and I loved the movie version of The Pelican Brief.  But for some reason, the book wasn't nearly as exciting or tense as I had hoped.  It was still very good, so perhaps my expectations were too high.  Overall, it was very enjoyable.  I just wish that I hadn't already seen and loved the movie.