Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly

Synopsis: Natty and Sean Wainwright have a rock-solid marriage and family. When their younger daughter falls ill on an overseas school trip, Natty rushes to her side. Luckily, Natty's best friend from college, Eve Dalladay, is visiting and offers to stay with Sean to lend a hand in the Wainwright household. But Natty returns home to find that Sean has fallen in love with Eve. Natty attempts to start anew, but Eve is there to knock her down again. Then Natty receives a mysterious note that says Eve has done this before and the consequences were fatal. On a mission to reveal Eve as a vindictive serial mistress, Natty must navigate through a treacherous maze of secrets and lies that threatens her life and the safety of her loved ones.

Thoughts: With friends like Eve Dalladay, Natasha Wainwright has no need of enemies! This is a second novel by Paula Daly, and it was equally enthralling as her first,"Just What Kind Of Mother Are You?"

This story is well written, with very well developed characters. You feel that you are right there in the thick of things with them rather than just reading about them. The surprises just keep coming, and you don't know what to expect next.

The ending was quite a surprise, even though it was a bit open-ended. We're left to presume what happens, and I found it realistic and totally satisfying
My rating: Five stars

The Kennedy Connection (A Gill Malloy Novel) by R.G. Belsky

Synopsis: Half a century after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, someone is killing people on the streets of New York City and leaving behind a bizarre calling card of that tragic day in Dallas.

In this bold and entertaining thriller from a true media insider, discredited newspaper reporter Gil Malloy breaks the story of the link between seemingly unconnected murders—a Kennedy half dollar coin found at each of the crime scenes. At the same time, a man emerges who claims to be the secret son of Lee Harvey Oswald and says he has new evidence that Oswald was innocent of the JFK killing.

Malloy, who has fallen from grace at the New York Daily News and sees this as an opportunity to redeem himself as an ace reporter, is certain there is a connection between the Oswald revelations and the NYC murders, but first he has to get someone to believe him. Convinced that the answers go all the way back to the JFK assassination more than fifty years ago, Malloy soon uncovers long-buried secrets that put his own life in danger from powerful forces who fear he’s getting too close to the truth.

Two tales of suspense fuse into an edge-of-your-seat thriller as Malloy races to stop the killer—before it’s too late.

Thoughts: I wanted to read this book because I am fascinated by anything that is somehow connected to the Kennedy assassination.  This mystery did not disappoint. It was well written, with all of the characters very well defined. It took me quite a while to figure out just exactly what was going on, which kept the suspense going through most of the book. This was the first book I've read by this author, but I do not expect it to be my last.

My rating: Four stars

Tackle Your TBR Read-a-thon, Day Six Update

Saturday, September 13, 2014
What I read today: 234 pages

Total pages read for challenge so far: 2423

Today's finished books: 
Blood Psychics, by Lindsay Edmunds (two short short stories)

Books I made progress in: 
The Kennedy Connection, by R.G. Belsky--54%
Keep Your Friends Close, by Paula Daly--58%
The Affair, by Alicia Clifford--18%

Total number of finished books: 8

Titles of finished books: 
The Book Stops Here, by Kate Carlisle
Dissonance, by Erica O'Rourke
Watercolor Dreams, by Sherry Kyle
Confessions of a Teenage Rape Survivor, by Holly Dae
An Inconvenient Year, by Yvonne Joye
Chocolate Covered Murder, by Leslie Meier
The Moment Of Everything, by Shelly King
Baby Talk (Book 1), by Mike Wells (novella)
Blood Psychics, by Lindsay Edmunds (two short short stories)

Blood Psychics by Lindsay Edmunds

Synopsis: Once upon a time, there were things called 45-rpm singles. In homage to them, this ebook has an A side and a B side. The A side is Blood Psychics. The B side (nowhere visible on the cover) is Joan Holland, a bonus as B sides always were. Sometimes people liked them better. Sometimes they were the hidden gems. 

But only you can make that call. 

Blood Psychics (Side A) 
This story is about the troubled relationship between a mother and daughter, both of whom are clairvoyant. 

Joan Holland (Side B) 
This story is about a pregnant, terrified young woman whose husband, a man of relentless goodness, has welcomed enemies of the state into their home. 
Thoughts: Two short stories 

A) Blood Psychics: This was an interesting look at a mother/daughter relationship, with the added complication that both are clairvoyant. Anna, the daughter, has used her psychic power to get ahead in life,and enjoys her relationship with Taz, while her mother, Maiah, seems to use hers only to manipulate the men in her life. The ending seemed a little abrupt to me. I would have liked to the story to have been just a bit more fleshed out.

B) Joan Holland: Anna and Taz also figure in this story,which tells of an event hinted at in the first story, mentioned but not delved into when Anna meets Maiah's latest boyfriend,Reg. It is a good story, but it didn't appeal to me quite as much as the first one.

**I was given a copy of this book in return for an honest review.**
My rating:  Four stars

Tackle Your TBR Read-a-thon Book Cover Opposites Challenge

Instructions:

1. Find two books whose covers or titles are opposites.

2. List or make an image of the books and post somewhere (Twitter, Facebook, your blog, Instagram, etc.)

My response:

Winter vs. Summer

Tackle Your TBR Readathon, Day Five Update

Friday, September 12, 2014
What I read today: 390 pages

Total pages read for challenge so far: 2189

Today's finished books: 
Chocolate Covered Murder, by Leslie Meier
The Moment Of Everything, by Shelly King
Baby Talk (Book 1), by Mike Wells (novella)

Books I made progress in: 
The Kennedy Connection, by R.G. Belsky--35%
Keep Your Friends Close, by Paula Daly--24%
The Affair, by Alicia Clifford--13%

Total number of finished books: 8

Titles of finished books: 
The Book Stops Here, by Kate Carlisle
Dissonance, by Erica O'Rourke
Watercolor Dreams, by Sherry Kyle
Confessions of a Teenage Rape Survivor, by Holly Dae
An Inconvenient Year, by Yvonne Joye
Chocolate Covered Murder, by Leslie Meier
The Moment Of Everything, by Shelly King
Baby Talk (Book 1), by Mike Wells (novella)

The Moment Of Everything by Shelly King

Synopsis: Maggie Duprès, recently "involuntarily separated from payroll" at a Silicon Valley start-up, is whiling away her days in The Dragonfly's Used Books, a Mountain View institution, waiting for the Next Big Thing to come along.

When the opportunity arises for her to network at a Bay Area book club, she jumps at the chance -- even if it means having to read Lady Chatterley's Lover, a book she hasn't encountered since college, in an evening. But the edition she finds at the bookstore is no Penguin ClassicsChatterley -- it's an ancient hardcover with notes in the margins between two besotted lovers of long ago. What Maggie finds in her search for the lovers and their fate, and what she learns about herself in the process, will surprise and move readers.

Witty and sharp-eyed in its treatment of tech world excesses, but with real warmth at its core, The Moment of Everything is a wonderful read.

Thoughts: **I received a copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review. All opinions contained in this review are entirely my own.**

This is a great story, centered around a used bookstore and the people who work and shop there. Central to the story is a copy of Lady Chatterly's Lover , in which two people, Henry and Catherine, have written love notes to each other. Maggie tries to put together their story, and makes some amazing, heartbreaking discoveries in the process.

The story didn't end the way I thought it would, but that was a good thing. It was not a predictable ending, but it fit with the rest of the novel.

If I were currently in a book club, I would definitely suggest this as a book we should read.

Rating: Four stars