Ben Jones, protagonist of the glowingly reviewed Never-Open Desert Diner, returns in a devastatingly powerful literary crime novel about parenthood, loss, and the desert in winter.
Winter
has come to Highway 117, a remote road through the Utah desert
trafficked only by oddballs, fugitives, and those looking to escape the
world. So when local truck driver Ben Jones finds an abandoned, mute
Hispanic child at a lonely gas station along his route, far from any
semblance of proper civilization, he knows something has gone terribly
awry. With the help of his eccentric neighbors, Ben sets out to help the
kid and learn the truth. In the process he makes new friends and loses
old ones, finds himself in mortal danger, and uncovers buried secrets
far more painful than he could have imagined. @goodreads
When I saw this was a sequel to The Never-Open Desert Diner
I quickly grabbed it up. And while it wasn't the 5 star review the
first book was for me, I still loved it and revisiting some old friends.
A momentary silence was all that marked the passing of
summer into winter. After living most of my almost forty years in the
high desert of Utah, twenty driving a truck, I had come to the
conclusion there were really only two seasons: hot and windy and cold
and windy. Everything else was just a variation on the two.
Late
in the evening I lay half-awake in my single bed and knew the silence
meant the season had changed. I like to think maybe I know a thing or
two about silence. Real silence is more than just absence of sound: it
is something you feel. A few heartbeats earlier a steady wind scattered
the leftover sounds from evening-a car a steady wind scattered the
leftover sounds from evening-a car passing, neighbors talking from
behind closed doors, somewhere a dog barking-all the usual muffled
racket of nearby lives. Then there was nothing, nothing at all, as if
the desert and everyone in it had vanished and left nothing behind but
an indifferent starless light.
I
loved coming back home to the characters from Route 117. I don't know
what it is I love about this story but it just gets me. I guess the idea
of people just living in a small place. Some of them coming together to
help each other when they can.
This book is full of evilness
and some murder. And I don't like what happened to a couple of animals
and one of my favorite characters.
Ben is heading out one
morning to start his haul. He's getting gas when the owner tells him
there is something for him down a few lanes. Then he locks himself away
in the gas station. Ben thinks it's some kind of a joke until he finds a
child and a dog out in the winter cold. Of course he has to take them
with him. There is a note pinned to the child's shirt asking for him to
watch the child. He has no time to try to figure it out and off they go.
He ends up with his neighbor's baby as well. So here he is with a
child, dog and baby driving the winter roads and hoping nothing will
happen to them on the treacherous roads. Sounds like an ordinary day.
Not!
This ends up being a journey that no one should have to
take, but there are evil people in the world and the people on Route 117
have to ban together to try to help one another. Oh, and not get killed
in the process.
I enjoyed the book and the people so much. Like I said, it wasn't as good as the first one but that's okay. It was still great!
*Thank you to BloggingForBooks for a print copy of this book*
Happy Reading!
Mel ♥
GOODREADS REVIEW
They call him
father, liberator, warlord, Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls
toward the pale blue planet, his armor red, his army vast, his heart
heavy. It is the tenth year of war and the thirty-second of his life.
A
decade ago, Darrow was the hero of the revolution he believed would
break the chains of the Society. But the Rising has shattered
everything: Instead of peace and freedom, it has brought endless war.
Now he must risk everything he has fought for on one last desperate
mission. Darrow still believes he can save everyone, but can he save
himself?
And throughout the worlds, other destinies entwine with Darrow’s to change his fate forever:
A young Red girl flees tragedy in her refugee camp and achieves for herself a new life she could never have imagined.
An ex-soldier broken by grief is forced to steal the most valuable thing in the galaxy—or pay with his life.
And
Lysander au Lune, the heir in exile to the sovereign, wanders the stars
with his mentor, Cassius, haunted by the loss of the world that Darrow
transformed, and dreaming of what will rise from its ashes.
Red Rising was the story of the end of one universe, and Iron Gold is the story of the creation of a new one. Witness the beginning of a stunning new saga of tragedy and triumph from masterly New York Times bestselling author Pierce Brown. @goodreads
Silent, she waits for the sky to fall, standing upon an
island of volcanic rock amidst a black sea. The long moonless night
yawns before her. The only sounds, a flapping banner of war held in her
lover's hand and the warm waves that kiss her steel boots. Her heart is
heavy. Her spirit is wild. Peerless knights tower behind her. Salt spray
beads on their family crests--emerald centaurs, screaming eagles, gold
sphinxes, and the crowned skull of her father's grim house. Her Golden
eyes look to the heavens. Waiting. The water heaves in. Out. The
heartbeat of her silence
Men call him father, liberator, warlord, Slave King,
Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls toward the war-torn planet, his
armor red, his army vast, his heart heavy.
It is the tenth year of war and the thirty-third of his life.
So much of this book was me talking out loud to Darrow. Mainly, "What are you doing?"
Obviously, I'm not going to spoil anything with all of that stuff.
All of my babies are having babies =) Well, two of them more so than others. I wouldn't expect less of those two =)
Some
of the main characters that came back took a little bit of a backseat
to some new characters. And when I think I might find one I'm going to
love, they get killed so what's the point. Although, I really want to
see what's going to be up with Tongueless. I'm very intrigued by him.
I
did fall in love with Lyria. Her story starts out horrible right from
the start. I felt really bad for her. And even though she does some dumb
things, I think she's learning and going to be a great character. At
least she better be!
I
know some people might be upset over someone's death in the book but
for some reason I don't think it really happened. Pierce Brown doesn't
usually do it so calmly and by that I mean, sort of push it off to the
side and moving on. Nope. It didn't happen. We shall see in Sept!!!!
Yes!
PB is the man! Who puts out the second book of the trilogy in the same
year! THE MAN that's who. Now watch, I just jinxed it!
Anyway,
we have some other characters come back from the original trilogy and
take a front seat. They were good but all I wanted to focus on was Sevro
and Darrow. I love Sevro so much and I'm so afraid something is going
to happen in the next two books or at the end of the third one. Pierce
Brown you better not! I have so many scenario's in my head that I can
even think straight. But, it will be what it will be.
This book
is more of a picking up after the wars sort of book. You have some
people that were lied to, you have some people that turned traitor, you
have people that keep doing stupid things, you have other people that do
more stupid things. You have people being set on fire. That was fun.
Evil person gets set on fire. We have underwater stuff that I thought
was cool. We have some blood and gore as usual. Not tons but still. I'm
not sure Darrow taking on an evil person to help him take another person
out was such a good idea, but it worked. Now lets just see what havoc
they are going to start in the next book. Or they could just sit on one
of the planets and be all nice. Right!!
Either way, I loved the
book. I loved being with my peeps again. I actually want Sevro and
Victra to have their own book with some of the howlers in it with them.
They need to have their own planet and just do the crazy things they do
=)
I really, really, really hope Darrow comes to his senses. What is wrong with you Darrow?
I
just don't know what to do with that ending. I hope it's going to end
well and maybe Darrow knows something we don't know. I feel like I don't
know who he is and I felt that way in the very beginning. We shall
see... 
Happy Reading!
Mel ♥
PS ~ When the cool stuff arrives, I will be adding it =)
GOODREADS REVIEW
AMAZON REVIEW
I absolutely loved this box!
I always try to add my main picture first =)
I'm going to write exactly what they have from the inside card for each picture and I might add some notes of my own.
Enjoy!
Like Hansel and Gretel, will you fall victim to the old witch in the woods? These exclusive gingerbread scented wax melts from Spireside Candles will definitely tempt you! (They smell amazing)
We wouldn't send wax melts without including a special burner to use them with! This ceramic burner was designed exclusively by Owlcrate. It can be used with both wax melts and essential oils. Instructions on how to use it are printed on the box! (There is a cute little owl face on the bottom and sweet little designs on the back)
We hope you adore this beautiful handmade bracelet from Authored Adornments. It features a quote from Rapunzel, a faux leather strap, and was designed exclusively for Owlcrate. The glass piece can also slide on and off like a charm bracelet. (I added the monthly button to the picture)
You'll be happy to fall into an endless slumber with your new exclusive pillowcase from Stella's Bookish Art! It was designed with love and inspired by the tale of Sleeping Beauty. (I love this so much)
Journey through the forest on your way to Grandma's house, but watch out for the Big Bad Wolf! We hope you love this exclusive art print by Anne Lambelet, inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. (I love this print so much I'm going to get it framed. I'm also for the wolf because Hood is a liar! =D)
When Jude is young, her parents are murdered and she's taken away to the realm of Faeries. As she comes of age, she struggles to find her place in the world of the fey, and among peers who hate her. She is bullied relentlessly by Prince Cardan, the youngest and most ruthless son of the High King. When Jude is offered a chance at making it into the High Court, she'll have to risk everything and defy Prince Cardan in ways she never imagined. Thus begins a dangerous journey filled with political intrigue, deception and bloodshed. The Cruel Prince is a lush and intricate story, with the most flawed yet wonderfully written characters. We hope you love this Owlcrate edition of the book, which features an exclusive cover and signature from Holly Black. We've also included a letter from Holly, as well as an exclusive sticker!
Happy Reading! And thanks for being awesome!
~Owlcrate
What a lovely card they wrote! I'm excited about all of these things and I look forward to reading the book!
Mel ♥
In the #1 New York Times
bestselling Mercy Thompson novels, the coyote shapeshifter has found
her voice in the werewolf pack. But when Mercy's bond with the pack and
her mate is broken, she'll learn what it truly means to be alone...
Attacked
and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches
of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use
against alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In
coyote form, Mercy escapes only to find herself without money, without
clothing, and alone in the heart of Europe...
Unable to contact
Adam and the rest of the pack, Mercy has allies to find and enemies to
fight, and she needs to figure out which is which. Ancient powers stir,
and Mercy must be her agile best to avoid causing a war between vampires
and werewolves, and between werewolves and werewolves. And in the heart
of the ancient city of Prague, old ghosts rise... @goodreads
Oh Mercy! Someone is always causing trouble for you to fix, but this time they steal you away! My favorite shifter coyote! ❤️
We have vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witchcraft, a golem and this that and the other!
Oh
and this time there was another narrator joining Lorelei King. His name
is George Newbern. I was skeptical at first but he did a good job and
they both narrated great together.
This book was fun! Well, not
the bad stuff but it was a bit different then any of the other books in
the series. At least I think so. And Mercy put in a cage! You know
that's didn't go over well! And the ghost friend, that's all I'm saying.
Some heads rolled!!! < -- okay and that!
Either way, I had fun going back into the world of Mercy and her hot werewolves. Just sayin' 😊
Happy Reading!
Mel ❤️
GOODREADS REVIEW
AMAZON REVIEW
Rowan and Citra take
opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds,
in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.
Rowan
has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom
through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave,
he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt
scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a
dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt
scythes in flames.
Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie,
sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out,
but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order”
scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of
Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being
“deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on
earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But
will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes
into decline? @goodreads
"Scythe Johannes Brahms, you are accused of abusing your position and multiple crimes against humanity."
"How dare you!" Brahms gasped. "Who are you to accuse me?" He
struggled, trying to rally strength, but it was no use. The painkillers
that were in his system were filling his responses. His muscles were
weak and useless to him now.
"I think you know who I am," the young man said. "Let me hear you say it."
"I will not!" Brahms said, determined not to give him the satisfaction.
But the boy in black jammed a knee so powerfully into Brahm's chest
that he thought his heart would stop. More pain nanites. More opiates.
Brahm's head was swimming. He had no choice but to comply.
"Lucifer," he gasped. "Scythe Lucifer."
Well, this one didn't make my 5 star but I will re-read it
on audio later and see if it was just my mood because the first book was
totally awesome!
Rowan is doing his own thing and I just love him! Love him! There wasn't enough of him in the book though.
Scythe
Anatasia (Citra) has her own way of gleaning people, which has the
scythedom in a uproar. Actually, Rowan and Citra have them in an uproar.
We have the Thunderhead giving us tidbits here and there and he's using someone to try to sort things out.
I enjoyed Greyson in the book. He had all kinds of stuff going on with him and that ending with him! What!?
Actually,
that ending, PERIOD! There was some sadness there =( I can't even begin
to imagine what will happen in the next book! And I do hope it moves
back up to my 5 star review position in the next book!
Overall, I enjoyed it, but I just wish there were a bit more to it. It was a little slow in some areas for me.
Happy Reading!
Mel ♥
GOODREADS REVIEW
AMAZON REVIEW
After her husband,
Jack, dies in a climbing incident, Shauna has only her five-year-old son
and her helicopter charter business to live for. Every day is a
struggle to make ends meet and she lives in constant fear of losing even
more than she already has.
When her business partner is
murdered, his final words convince Shauna that she’s in danger too. But
where can she turn? Zach Bannister was her husband’s best friend and is
the person she blames for his death. She’s barely spoken to him since.
But right now he seems her only hope for protecting her son.
Zach
is only too happy to assuage his guilt over Jack’s death by helping
Shauna any way he can. But there are secrets involved dating back to
Shauna’s childhood that more than one person would prefer to stay
hidden.
In The View from Rainshadow Bay, suspense, danger, and a longing to love again ignite amid the gorgeous lavender fields of Washington State. @goodreads
Shauna runs a helicopter charter business. Her husband Jack died in an accident that she blames their friend for. It was a climbing accident gone wrong. She blames Zach and hasn't had anything to do with him in some time.
But when Shauna's friend and business partner is murdered, she enlists the help of Zach and other friends and cops to help find the killer. The killer ends up murdering again before they can find them.
Then, the killer takes Shauna's son Alex!
It turns out there are all kinds of bad things connected to several deaths and to Shauna's past.
I enjoyed the book and the characters.
*Thank you to BookLookBloggers for a print copy of this book*
Happy Reading!
Mel ♥
Magnus Chase has always
been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived
alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step
ahead of the police and the truant officers.
One day, he’s
tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was
dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a
Norse god.
The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are
preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for
doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a
weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.
When an attack
by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives
of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.
Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . . @goodreads
I enjoyed this book a great deal. I'm wanting to get into more Norse
Mythology and even though this was a more funny take on those things I
still enjoyed it. One star off for making my wolves the bad guys in a
book once again. < -- And no, I need no commentary on that.
I
loved Magnus friends, well I loved him too. There is a lot of snark and
funny moments in the book. And I figured that going into this. I WILL
be reading as many books as I can of Vikings etc that are more history
based.
Magnus has no idea who his father is as it goes and he
has to hunt for a sword so the world doesn't come to an end. Well, that
is something to lay on a kid who has been living on the streets for two
years. He has some trusty friends named, Hearth and Blitzen, that stay
with him. They turn out to be something else and I love them to pieces.
There are other friends in the book that I enjoyed:
Sam
X
Mallory
TJ
Halfborn Gunderson
and I probably left someone out as I tend to do, but not on purpose.
I will continue on with the series to see what they get up to in their next adventures.
I will leave you will a couple of excerpts.
I'd seen some weird stuff in my life.
I once
watched a crowd of people wearing nothing but Speedos and Santa hats job
down Boylston in the middle of winter. I met a guy who could play the
harmonica with his nose, a drum set with his feet, a guitar with his
hands, and a xylophone with his butt all at the same time. I knew a
woman who'd adopted a grocery cart and named it Clarence. Then there was
this dude who claimed to be from Alpha Centauri and had philosophical
conversations with Canadian geese.
**
"Long enough to know you're an idiot," she grumbled.
"What she's trying to say," T.J. offered, "is that hallmates always protect each other. We'll cover your escape."
The door of my room shook, Cracks spiderwebbed from the nameplate. A decorative spear off the way of the corridor.
"X!" T.J. called. "Help!"
The
half-troll's door expolded off its hinges. X lumbered into the hallway
as if he'd been standing just inside, waiting for the call. "Yes?"
T.J pointed. "Magnus's door. Squirrel."
"Okay."
X marched over and shoved his back against my door. It shuddered again, but X held firm. Enraged barking echoed from inside.
Halfborn Gunderson stumbled out of his room wearing nothing but smiley-face boxers, double-bladed axes in his hands.
"What's going on?" He glowered at Blitz and Hearth.
"Should I kill the dwarf and the elf?"
"No!" Blitzen yelped. "Don't kill the dwarf and the elf!"
"They're with me," I said. "We're leaving."
"Squirrel," T.J. explained
Halfborn's shaggy eyebrows achieved orbit. "Squirrel as in squirrel, squirrel?"
"Squirrel squirrel," Mallory agreed. "And I'm surrounded by morons morons."
A raven soared down the hall. It landed on the nearest light fixture and squawked at me accusingly.
"Well,
that's great," Mallory said. "The ravens have sensed your friends'
intrusion. That means the Valkyries won't be far behind."
Happy Reading!
Mel ♥
GOODREADS REVIEW
