Review: Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann

I got this book from the Waterbrook Blogging for Books Program.



About the Book

Battling his own personal demons, Police Chief Jonah Westfall knows the dark side of life and has committed himself to eradicating it. When a pair of raccoons are found mutilated in Redford, Colorado, Jonah investigates the gruesome act, knowing the strange event could escalate and destroy the tranquility of his small mountain town. With a rising drug threat and never-ending conflict with Tia Manning, a formidable childhood friend with whom he has more than a passing history, Jonah fights for answers—and his fragile sobriety.

But he can’t penetrate every wound or secret—especially one fueled by a love and guilt teetering on madness.

From best-selling author Kristen Heitzmann comes a spellbinding tale of severed connections and the consequences of life lived alone.

For more information about Indivisible you can visit Kristen Heitzmann's website. or you can like her on Facebook.

Purchase this book from my Amazon Store. 

My Review

Being an animal lover this one was kind of hard for me to read. The writing was great but the subject matter was something that really makes me emotional. I can't stand to read about hurt animals, and this book had quite a few hurt animals in it. The whole book I wanted to know who did it and I wanted to do the same horrible things to them.

I couldn't figure this whodunit out until the very end. I guessed it just a few pages before they discovered it in the book. I was so surprised, it was such a crazy twist! I would have never thought of ending the book the way it was. But it was so awesome that now that I know how it ends there's no way I'd ever want it to change. It really blew me out of the water!

The writing was very well done in this book. I didn't get lost in the dialog, and the dialog actually was "real." I also think the handling of the subject matter was done nicely. This book had a few gruesome parts, but it didn't focus on the gruesome, it focused on the love story that arises from the chaos is great. A real love triangle!

Despite the gruesome parts this book was still very good and I couldn't put it down. I think I laid in the tub for well over an hour because I didn't even want to set it aside while I got out of the tub. It really keeps the suspense going. Just as things start to wind down they get going full speed again. I really makes for a fast and compelling read.

Review: Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

I think I bought this book at a garage sale, but I can't really remember. It's been on my shelf for a while, and it looks like it has seen much better days!




About the Book

In the hopeful 1950s, Frank and April Wheeler appear to be a model couple: bright, beautiful, talented, with two young children and a starter home in the suburbs. Perhaps they married too young and started a family too early. Maybe Frank's job is dull. And April never saw herself as a housewife. Yet they have always lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. But now that certainty is about to crumble.

With heartbreaking compassion and remorseless clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying not only each other, but their best selves
Purchase this book from my Amazon Store. 

My Review

I have to admit that the only reason I finally picked up this book was because I caught the last 30 minuets or so of the movie on TV and was intrigued. Then I learned that it was a book and so I decided to read the book before I watched the whole movie. I still have yet to see the whole movie, but based on what I saw the book is better than the movie and I thought what I saw was pretty good!

I'm really not 100% sure why I liked this book so much. I didn't like Frank, and I despised April. They just weren't good people. They both seemed to be a bit self-centered and not quite "grown-up". So how I enjoyed a book so much when I didn't like the main characters is a mystery to me. I thought that they both needed a big dose of reality and that the world needed to knock them down a bit. But the supporting characters were pretty good. And the overall character development was great. It would have been a lot harder to despise them if I'd not had such a good understanding of them!

The writing in this book was great. I could picture everything in my mind as I was reading. At the beginning of the book I saw Leonardo and Kate as Frank and April, but as I continued to read the image I had of them in my mind changed so much. That was really impressive to me. When I read a book after I've already seen the movie I tend to use the actor's and actresses in my mental image of the book. I don't know if it was more attributed to the fact that I've only seen part of the movie or the fact that the writing in this book was really good and over-rode my natural tendency to rely on images I already have. Either way it was refreshing to read a book without picturing the actors that were in the movie.

Review: Always in My Heart by Catherine Anderson

I bought this book at a Friends of the Library Sale. Support your local library! Many of them are suffering. It's a great resource and once they're gone it'll be hard to get them back!!!!



About the Book

Two years ago, Elbe Grant would have fallen apart at any reminder of her ex-husband, Tucker. But now she doesn't bat an eye when "their song" comes on the radio. She's unfazed by the thought of Tucker's perky new girlfriend. Ellie Grant is over him. And things are better for Tucker as well. The single life agrees with him. And certainly they've both done a good job of being civil to each other, for the kids' sake.

But the kids aren't buying it. Zach and Kody are convinced that deep down, their parents are still meant to be together. Up to their elbows in scheming and dreaming, the brothers hatch a plan. They'll run away from home into the Oregon wilderness and stay there until their parents agree to get back together. Surely Ellie and Tucker will come to the rescue --- and to their senses.

Let the games begin and the sparks fly ...

For more information about Always in My Heart you can visit Catherine Anderson's website.

Purchase a copy from my Amazon Store.

My Review

I did like this book, but it took me forever to read. It was almost the end of the book before I got "hooked". The writing was good enough to keep me going, and the story itself was pretty good I just couldn't get into the groove with this one.

I can't even imagine being in Ellie's position. How she managed to keep going, given everything that she's been through was a feat in itself. Then to have to deal with her kid's hair brained plan... There would be two sorry kids if that was me.  At the beginning of the book I was thinking, well they're just acting out, but by the end of the book all I could think was these kids need to be flogged!

But the love story between Ellie and Tucker was enough to keep me reading. There was one point when I was kind of scared for them. I wasn't really expecting there to be a sense of fear in the story. There were so many emotions worked into it. I think the mix of emotions was what really kept me reading.

Review: A Mile in My Flip Flops by Melody Carlson

My sister let me borrow this one. She doesn't read much but when she does she picks some pretty good ones!



About the Book

Thirty-something Gretchen Hanover is stuck. Seeking solace from a broken heart, she traded her wedding plans for home improvement shows and ice cream—but she knows she can’t live on Ben and Jerry’s forever. She also knows that her enthusiastic Lab puppy has outgrown her tiny apartment.

The perfect patch for Gretchen’s dilapidated plans? She’ll become a first-time house-flipper. As ideas go, it’s daring and genius. She’ll take out a short-term loan, buy a fixer-upper, renovate it, resell it, and use the profit for an adorable house of her own. What could be easier?

But Gretchen’s plans to flip quickly flop when the house turns out to be in worse shape than she expected. She is relying on her retired contractor-father, but he wants to draw in his carpenter friend Noah Campbell. And although Noah is handy with tools, Gretchen isn’t so sure about the baggage he brings with him. Will she be able to loosen her grip on the tools when it seems Noah may be her only help?

A whimsical look at color swatches, mismatched curtain rods, and the building of relationships, A Mile in My Flip-Flops reminds us that it takes faith to renovate the heart, as well as the home.

For more information about A Mile in My Flip Flops you can visit Melody Carlson's website.

Purchase from my Amazon Store. 

My Review

The fact that the title has flip-flops in it (my shoe of choice from March till October!) made me very interested in reading it. This was a really cute book. Even though it was predictable I was still drawn into the story.

I liked Gretchen. I could see myself in her flip-flops - literally. I tend to get grandiose ideas, however I don't have as much follow through as she does. I can't even imagine going through purchasing a house on a whim to flip it. That's a little overwhelming to me... Even though I'd never do anything that substantial on a whim there were many things that she did throughout the book that I could see myself doing. I really connected with her and wanted everything to work out for her. She was. like many people, just coasting through life. The fact that she finally realized that if she wanted different results she would have to take the lead was what really made me connect with her.

The story was fun and quirky and I didn't want to put it down. I do think the ending was a bit rushed, but it was still a good ending. And like I said it was predictable, but it was well-written and kept my attention. After looking through Carlson's website there were a few other titles that stuck out to me and I think I'm going to have to pick them up!