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Maggie M. - , - Reviews

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10,000 Ways to Say I Love You: The Biggest Collection of Romantic Ideas Ever Gathered in One Place
Review Date: 10/3/2014


Very nice book with, well, 10,000 ideas to let someone know you love them. Some of the ideas are basic (like leaving a note someplace unexpected) and others are more elaborate. Great way to help you when you've hit a brick wall and can't come up with ideas on your own.


13 1/2
13 1/2
Author: Nevada Barr
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 46
Review Date: 12/31/2010
Helpful Score: 3


This is the fist Nevada Barr book I've ever read and boy was it good! There are enough twists to keep you interested and guessing (all the way up to the end!) and the characters are well developed. I will be reading more of this author, that's for sure.


The 13th Hour (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
The 13th Hour (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Author: Richard Doetsch, Dennis Boutsikaris (Narrator)
Book Type: Audio CD
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 8
Review Date: 4/23/2015


What an interesting ride! What would we do if we could go back in time? Would we realize that what we do would change so many things, even down to the smallest details? Or what about how many other lives, innocent lives, would change? When Nick Quinn finds his wife dead of a gunshot wound to the head/face, he loses it. After being interrogated at the police station, a stranger gives him the opportunity to do just thatgo back in time and change the history leading to his wifes death. Hour-per-hour the reader rides along with Nick as he struggles to find his wifes killer and the reason behind it. This book has quite a few twists and turns and just when you think its finished, back in time we go again! At the last hour, all is revealed and, of course, all is well, but getting there is the fun part!


The 5th Horseman (Women's Murder Club, Bk 5) (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Review Date: 2/1/2011


Love "The Women's Murder Club" as the interaction of characters is very complete and it's really easy to get involved in their lives and emotions. The storyline(s) in the book were very well written and kept the reader quessing throughout and up to the very end. What's rather upsetting, or distracting at least, is that the synopisis given about this book doesn't tell you that there is another storyline/murder going on at the same time, which can lead to confusion of the reader at first until you figure out that it's two seperate plot lines going on. Still, all-in-all, the book is a good one, nonetheless.


61 Hours (Reacher, Bk 14)
61 Hours (Reacher, Bk 14)
Author: Lee Child
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 201
Review Date: 12/31/2010


Another awesome Reacher novel...with a surprise ending that leaves you guessing. Reacher is totally the MAN and there are no other books or heros out there like him. I can't wait to get the next book!!


The 8th Confession (Audio CD) (Abridged)
Review Date: 7/23/2015


A good, quick read. Nice book for a vacation as you get a good story but you don't have to take notes on who's who and what's going on.


The 9th Girl (Kovac & Liska, Bk 4) (Audio CD) (Abridged)
Review Date: 3/29/2018


Several twists and turns will keep the reader interested; however, my anger over the parents (including Det. Nikki Liska) nonparenting and their inability to discipline or enforce such discipline to the next generation, which helps to perpetrate today's mess we call society, really took away from the enjoyment of this novel.


Abandoned (Smoky Barrett, Bk 4)
Abandoned (Smoky Barrett, Bk 4)
Author: Cody McFadyen
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 5
Review Date: 6/4/2015


One can't go wrong in an Agent Smoky Barrett novel and this one doesn't disappoint. During a wedding in which Smoky is a Bridesmaid (believe it or not!), a car pulls up and tosses out a female body...alive, but barely. The woman is finally identified as one who went missing seven years earlier. She's obviously been tortured but kept alive for all these years. Smoky's team rallies together to track down other victims and in the hunt for the torturer/killer. Smoky gets her man, but don't be fooled, there are several great twists and turns in the book that will keep the reader on their toes.


Absolute Fear (New Orleans, Bk 4) (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Review Date: 8/15/2015


All-in-all, a pretty good, interesting read featuring the mental illness of a killer, if the reader can manage to bypass the typical female bullcrap. This book had several twists and turns that actually surprised me, which, after being such a longtime reader of murder mysteries and police procedurals, it's rather hard to do nowadays. The ending is pretty good and makes up for some of the irritating parts, such as, I get really tired of the brave, strong woman who is all gun-ho for not being a victim and she's going to catch this killer, by God, and kick some ass doing it! But, as always, she starts making stupid decisions and mistakes that anyone with common sense would know better, and then I start to get frustrated with the author (and the characters, or course) for taking a strong woman and turning her into a melting heap of fear. So predictable and so upsetting. I guess I need to stick with books featuring all men and stay away from the female as being the main character. I also found myself fast forwarding through several lovemaking scenes. If I wanted to read a romance, I would have purchased a romance novel.


Abundance  (Audio CD)  (Abridged)
Abundance (Audio CD) (Abridged)
Author: Sena Jeter Naslund, Susanna Burney (Narrator)
Book Type: Audio CD
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 17
Review Date: 8/23/2013


Reading/listening to Abundance is so far out of my normal police-procedural/mystery-book genre that I didnt know if Id like it or not. But, always being a lover of period history, I figured Id give it a shot. This book does not disappoint! I loved it, from the way its written/read (language and voice nuisances), to the descriptions of the scenery and clothing, the character interactions, and all the way to the true-history tidbits thrown in. I found myself laughing at some parts and, to my chagrin, crying during descriptions of the rebellion and violence. How can humans be so horrible? Not being quite sure at times what was true history and what was creative writing added in by the author, Sena Jeter Naslund, I searched the internet for details on Marie Antoinette and the time period. In addition, I found paintings of the various characters in the books and I was able to put faces to the individuals interacting with Marie Antoinette and the revolution, as well as the locations given. Never has history been so interesting for me and, I think Ive actually retained it this time (unlike those boring high school books and classes)!

My only disappointment at all (besides the book ending, that is) was listening to the authors interview by Harper Collins at the end of the book. The author does answer some interesting questions about her writing Abundance and her research of Marie Antoinette, but I found her to be quite full of herself, and she really, really likes to hear herself talk. I ended up not finishing the interview because of that factquite vain/smug, in my opinion. Still, all-in-all, if her research and story-telling skills are based on just this book alone, then perhaps she has a right to be arrogant.


The Accident: A Thriller
The Accident: A Thriller
Author: Linwood Barclay
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 81
Review Date: 7/10/2016


This story weaves around various friends and neighbors of the Garbers, except nothing is as what you see. Trying to figure out who did what and why is half the fun of this book. A huge surprise at the end was great.


Adam
Adam
Author: Ted Dekker
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 68
Review Date: 5/23/2017


A pretty good supernatural book.


The Affair (Jack Reacher, Bk 16)
The Affair (Jack Reacher, Bk 16)
Author: Lee Child
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 241
Review Date: 8/24/2012


Another awesome Reacher book. LOVE this man! He doesn't take any guff from anyone, mets out justice as it should be, and always gets the job done. Law enforcement the way it SHOULD be! Book also includes a short Reacher story at the very end, which is also great. Can't wait for the next Reacher novel. Lee Child rocks!


After Caroline
After Caroline
Author: Kay Hooper
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 145
Review Date: 4/10/2017


Joanna and Caroline, living states apart, didn't know each other, no relation, have never even heard of one another, yet they look close enough alike to be mistaken for identical twins. After two people mistake Joanna for being Caroline, she decides to investigate who this Caroline-person really is. She finds out that both had car accidents on the exact same day at the exact same time, both die, but only Joanna is revived. Since that happened, she's been having the same dream over and over again. Joanna believes that the dream is tied into Caroline so she takes a several-week vacation and flies to the small coastal town where Caroline lived, but digging into Caroline's life can be dangerous. Joanna also falls in love with the town's sheriff, has an attempt made on her life, and solves the murder crimes occurring in the town.

Some parts of the story was interesting, others boring, and still more left me frustrated. The author tightropes on the line of paranormal and after making such a big deal about the look-alike women, we find there is no familial connection. There's also a couple "love" scenes that I found to be uncalled for, since this is supposed to be a murder mystery.

If you're a diehard murder mystery/police procedural lover like me, I'd bypass this book.


Airframe (Audio CD) (Abridged)
Airframe (Audio CD) (Abridged)
Author: Michael Crichton, Blair Brown (Narrator)
Book Type: Audio CD
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 24
Review Date: 1/24/2017


This was an interesting read in how the accident happened and how they went about finding the cause. The characters were well developed and interacted appropriately; however, I do wish this particular audio wasn't abridged. Still a great read during driving in rush hour to/from work.


The Alibi Man (Elena Estes, Bk 2) (Audio CD) (Abridged)
Review Date: 8/6/2016


I really want to like this book and to be fair, there were a few spots that I enjoyed; however, I found it to not have much substance and was just so-so for me. Elena, our hero, has a chip on her shoulder about her previous jobs/life, which leads the reader to say, "put on your big-girl panties and get over it already!" After a coworker turns up dead and half eaten by an alligator, she feels she needs to be a detective again and find her killer. Of course this leads to a lot of conflict (remember that chip on the shoulder?), blah, blah, blah. In the end, the actual killer is a surprise, just don't think about the logistics. Perhaps I've read too many serious murder/crime drama/police procedurals and they have jaded me for a more fluff-murder novel.


All in One Piece
All in One Piece
Author: Cecelia Tishy
Book Type: Audio CD
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 6/12/2013


Highly recommend this book if you like a who-dunit without profanity, blood, gore, or romance. I would have liked a bit more of the psychic play, as the book synopisis suggests, but still, all-in-all, a good read. A surprising ending doesn't disappoint.


All The Pretty Horses CD
All The Pretty Horses CD
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Book Type: Audio CD
  • Currently 4.6/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 2/16/2020


This isn't my usual type of book, but I wanted a break and I'm so glad I picked All The Pretty Horses. It was a refreshing story and I didn't want to put the book down.The only problems I had was the story started at a ranch, but the people weren't introduced and I found myself saying, "Wait, what? Who is this and where do they fit in?" The other problem was the Spanish conversations that weren't interpreted for the reader, leaving me wondering what they were saying. I understand the author was trying to put us into the story, being in Mexico and all, but if we don't know what they're saying, part of the story is lost. Otherwise, I loved this book and may look up others written by Cormac McCarthy.


The Almost Moon (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
The Almost Moon (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Author: Alice Sebold, Joan Allen (Narrator)
Book Type: Audio CD
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 21
Review Date: 7/4/2018


This novel is about a woman who grows up an only child with a mentally ill mother and, as we later find out, an enabling and slightly mentally ill father. We are taken through her childhood and some adulthood to where she is finally the sole caretaker of her elderly mother. Her final time with her mother and then her subsequent acts proves to the reader that she has not escaped her own mental illness. My biggest problem with this book is the ending. The reader is left hanging, with no ending.


Always Watching
Always Watching
Author: Chevy Stevens
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.1/5 Stars.
 15
Review Date: 1/12/2019


I liked various parts of this book; however, it dragged on and on at times. Not my favorite book but not bad enough for me to veto the author for any other books.


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