ChaosHappinessBookMama

Quick,  easy read.  Carnegie gave away his wealth with grace; sharing hope, opportunity,  education.  One of the libraries in my community started as a Carnegie library.   In 1883, Clara is sent to America with the hope of providing her Irish farming family with extra income. Their landlord has started reclaiming parcels of their 20 acre farm. By the hand of Fate,  Clara assumes the identity of a different Clara who likely died on the passage. Clara becomes Mrs Carnegie's maid.  Clara and Mr Carnegie begin a friendship - easing the loneliness of both.  I loved these characters- the dismal circumstance of Clara's family both in Ireland and Pittsburgh.  Mr Ford, the family's cook, broke my heart. On their journey north on the Underground Railroad, Mr. Ford was separated from his wife and daughter.  I recommend if you're looking for a family drama.

I have been counting down to reading this book - I can't wait anymore! 

Four teenage boys raised on the Blackfeet Reservation go out shortly before Thanksgiving to hunt elk. They end up driving the herd over a cliff, reminiscent od their ancestors hunting for meat to last them through the winter.  A few months later, Ricky moves off the Reservation; at the bar one evening,  Ricky spots an elk damaging trucks.  Ten years later, Lewis starts seeing an elk.  Shortly afterwards,  Cass and Gabe are haunted. 

Jess was hired by Glass Towers to houses sit at a historical house in Oxford - multimillion dollar historical homes, closing monitored by the North Oxford Protection Society.   Leo is called to the house behind Jess - the gardener discovered a body.  Considering the decomposition,  it had been hidden for quite some time.   An elite school. An elite neighborhood.  Children of sworn enemies falling in love. Jess' humor,  day job and her boss Paul. And of course Leo's narcissistic mother. All make an interesting plot, great mystery. I was given a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #RedHouse

Original.  Thrilling. Suspense.  Satisfying.   At the age of 12, Eve Black survives a serial killer's attack on her family- she was in the bathroom.  She writes a book about his kills at the age of 30. The killer is reading her book.  Eve works with Ed Healy, a detective who obsessive worked the case. Together they reviewed every report,  tip, photo, etc of the case.  Jim obsessively reads the book - commenting on errors, questions and overall irritated by Eve's account of his crimes.   Very original plot. I read I'll Be Gone in the Dark several months ago - a great spin. Highly recommend.

At the age of 12, Eve Black survived a serial killer's attack on her family- she was in the bathroom.  She writes a book about his kills at the age of like 30. The killer is reading her book. Creepy!!  I want to pull an all nighter! 

Zoey's Aunt Sylvia has died - her Aunt Ivy is distraught without her sister-in-law.  They lived together for fifty years - even during their marriages. Zoey had been laid off after her library branch closed. Struggling to find her place in the world,  Zoey sublets her apartment and moves in with Aunt Ivy. Zoey's niece, Gabi, is struggling as well. Her dad's struggle with alcohol, Gabi lashes out. Her stepmom sends her to the cottage for some rest and space.   Zoey's cousin,  Mark, seems to be too interested in Aunt Ivy's cottage - pressing for updates and renovations.  

This is a slow build thriller.   Jane is a chemistry teacher at a local high school.  She follows the rigid rules, careful to not overstep.  Elena is a new hire - English Language Arts, fails to adhere to the strict guidelines.   Before school starts, a confidential email goes out naming Rowan as a student to add to the school's watch list. Disregarding Jane's warnings and concerns,  Elena starts a poetry club after school as a way to reach out to Rowan.  Amy is also a recent hire - newly divorced,  she takes a part time job at her daughter's school. Phoebe struggles with her identity,  the loss of her social circle.  Amy wants to control Phoebe and ban her rebellion.   The plot was well developed - though it was lengthy,  well worth it. Great twist if a little transparent.  

⭐⭐⭐.5 I am huge fan of the humor in this book - sarcasm of course. The interpersonal relationships. I loved reading about these characters.  As a teenager,  Tucker commits horrific crimes. Rein and Wylan track him down, nab a conviction.  Fifteen years later, Tucker is released from his psychiatric hospital.   The brutal killings begin again.  Carrie convinces Rein to join her as they work to convict Tucker again.  Decent plot twists if a little predictable.  Great book!

⭐⭐⭐⭐ I read this book in one day - yes, you must know. Great fast paced plot with good twists.   Selena discovers her husband,  Graham, is having sex with the nanny. He was laid off,  supposedly looking for a new job. Guess not.  Pearl lives with her mom, Stella - never told her dad's identity. Stella dates Charlie who starts to work at her bookstore.  Anne is having sex with her boss - she's a con artist working her latest scheme.   Geneva is the nanny. She goes missing after leaving Selena's house.  Little predictable but oh what a plot.  Highly recommend. 

The ending - really.  As much as I enjoy a vague, poetic ending - this one seriously challenged me. It made me question my entire understanding of the book. I may have to read it again just to delve deeper.   Infidelity.  Male Infidelity.  Lucy receives a voicemail on an normal, average, carting the children around, making meals day. A man informs Lucy her husband, Jake, is having an affair with his wife.  Though Jake is often late home from work,  Lucy has never questioned Jake's behavior.   Lucy was exposed to domestic violence as a young child- warping her sense of power, forgiveness. These memories are reviewed while Lucy tries to forgive Jake, to move on.  Jake agrees Lucy can hurt him three times. Lucy chooses violence, control, fear to forgive her husband .  A part of me doesn't think she is wrong.  Lucy doesn't understand how to work through her anger, depression,  sense of safety. She must rob Jake of his.  L...

The wind is blowing hard today in Broome County, NY. I crave a good, creepy book on these days. And snuggles from my old lady, Penny.  I snagged Lisa Unger's newest from my local library. Reviews on Goodreads has had me drooling for weeks.  Told from several points of view - Selena, a working mom, discovers her unemployed husband having an affair with the nanny.  Anne is having an affair with her boss - a calculated move as she loves her job. Geneva- Selena's nanny, who has told Graham he needs to find a job and leave her alone. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book sucked me in by the cover and wrung me dry. The emotion. The crew. West. Fable. Saint. Dredging. I need days to recover.   Fable was left on Jeval - an island of thieves, at 13 to fend for herself. For four years,  Fable has done whatever she needs to for survival and earn her way off the island. Back to Saint, who promised her her due.  Fleeing death, Fable begs and pays for passage aboard the Marigold, West's ship and a mismatched crew. With sheer will, Fable is determined they won't regret giving her a chance.  Amazing adventure, thrills and romance.  Highly recommend.  

My current audiobook, The Harpy.  Lucy listens to a voicemail - Vanessa's husband letting her know she is having an affair with Jake, Lucy's husband.  Though the signs had been there, Lucy is sucked.   Lucy considers her options - rough, real language,  anger and hostility.   I'm enjoying how raw Lucy's emotions are written. 

Can we just talk about this gorgeous cover?? Swoon

DNF at 50%.  I skimmed it until I just couldn't any more.  Zoe has been stuck on her college boyfriend for years. Finally she has let go and ready to find herself someone to love. With the help of her sous chef, Zoe creates a Tinder profile. She isn't just looking for love - she is sampling the Zodiac signs in an attempt to determine which is best for her.  At the gym, Dani meets Fabian and gives up herself to have a relationship . At least Zoe realizes this is wrong and tries to help her friend.   The idea of using astrological signs just made this attempt at a rom com irritating. And it isn't a rom com. Zoe retelling her experiences does not grant humor to the situations.  

Charlotte dates the bad boy of her high school- and ends up pregnant. At the clinic,  Charlotte decides she is keeping her baby.  Paula has struggled for almost 20 years to move past her sister,  Lizzie's death.  Paula remembers Lizzie was pregnant- but no one foundna baby in her apartment.   Marian is Lizzie's social worker - she has dreamed of being a mother. Her husband,  Tom, seems to be drifting away.  This story sucked me in. Was Lizzie pregnant? What happened to her baby?  Great character development, division of story into parts to allow for the Paula to recount her memories.  The connections between characters were well developed and added great suspense.   Overall, a great read though I wouldn't call it a psychological thriller.  There really wasn't any delving into the reason why.   #NetGalley #HerSistersChild

Started this psychological thriller yesterday-  Paula's sister,  Lizzie, died over 16 years ago due to heavy drinking. Paula was a teenager when Lizzie died - but she's sure Lizzie had given birth shortly before her death.  No one believed her.  At a local pub, Paula runs into an old classmate, Johnny. He believes Paula - Lizzie had been pregnant.  Together they begin to investigate.   I'm about 40% through - and have to know what happened to Lizzie's baby?  #NetGalley  #HerSistersBaby

Five deaf students go camping in the woods with three adults  - interpreter, social worker and head teacher.  After the first night,  one student disappeared and the head teacher has been murdered.  Paige is hired to interpret as the police investigate. Singh leads the case as newly appointed DS.  When Paige arrives at the cabin,  she realizes the school's interpreter is her abusive ex - five years together,  three years since they saw each other.   As the case builds,  Paige struggles to maintain her distance from Mike while working on her relationship with her current boyfriend,  Max.  There are some good twists in this book - but overall predictable.   I feel this book did a great job bringing attention to children in care and their vulnerability.  Often they are targeted,  exposed to predators.   Thank you, Netgalley , for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.   #N...

This book just sucked me in - first paragraph,  and I was hooked. The present tense made everything creepy,  heightened suspense.   Sam lives with her mom, Agnes, in their ancestral home. Elizabeth,  seven months pregnant,  moves in after leaving her husband.  The house is a large mansion on the edge of swampland- added onto in such a way the house became a maze. With all the emotional memories still playing in its rooms, the house holds the past while supplying hazy glimpses of the future. Like Julian, Elizabeth's son.  Creepy. Poetic and lyrical descriptions. Violent men. The Swamp Witch. Old copper electical wiring.  And a mysterious locked room.  Great read! 

Who else is a fan of Loreth Anne White? This woman can write a serious suspense thriller with gasp out loud twists.   In her latest novel, In the Deep, Ellie is a grieving mother. Her toddler died tragically at the age of three - pulled from her arms while swimming in Hawaii. Consequently,  Ellie turns to drugs and alcohol.  She finds her husband having dinner with another woman.  Ellie continues to struggle on an evening she meets her successful,  wealthy father for dinner.  With his latest girl friend, seemingly a few years old than Ellie herself.  After a public display of anger, Ellie and her best friend continue to drink. On her way out, Ellie literally runs into Martin. He sparks something in her. Something that has been dead for a long time.  Following a whirlwind courtship,  Martin convinces Ellie to invest in his Australian marina land development.  And that's when the fun begins.  This story is told in several narrati...

 Good morning! Welcome to my blog! Totally new at this so thanks for stopping by!  I'm a 40 year old single mama to a high intensity 4 year old and angsty 13 year old - both girls! Yeah me! Divorced twice - thank you. And yes of course a dog named Penny who is my old lady.  Reading - that's what I do. Children's books. Young adult to encourage my teenager. Piles of library books. Just piles falling over.  I'm a staff assistant by day, mother and ferocious reader whenever I can squeeze it in.  Goodreads - my lists are out of control. I'm addicted to requesting books on Netgalley.com - the approvals feed my soul; the declines just make me want more.  Anyway - that's me! Have an amazing day!