When tragedy strikes, there’s only before and after.
It’s almost as though I can feel the oxygen being vacuumed from the room, the air Favorite Quotes:
When tragedy strikes, there’s only before and after.
It’s almost as though I can feel the oxygen being vacuumed from the room, the air replaced with a suffocating silence.
My Review:
This one kept me guessing and threw several red herrings in my path. The main character frustrated me as she was rather mono-focused and clueless and needed a few good kicks to the keister to dislodge her noggin, but she finally came around and opened her eyes. Several smacks and alarming shocks will do that to a person, both of which this wily scribbler provided in spades. ...more
Not to worry. I still have eyes like a hawk and reflexes like the jungle cats of the Amazon, according to my doctor.
Being out in publiFavorite Quotes:
Not to worry. I still have eyes like a hawk and reflexes like the jungle cats of the Amazon, according to my doctor.
Being out in public with Maverick was an interesting experience. He was warm and cordial to everyone they interacted with, but his face made people stare as if someone on a most-wanted list had walked past.
God, I’ve been nervous and excited all morning. Nervo-cited. Let’s hug.
My Review:
This one kept me reading long past my bedtime as I didn’t want to put my precious Kindle down. The storylines were easy to follow, well-nuanced, and cleverly layered despite having three timelines. The characters were well-developed and realistically flawed yet generally likable. This was my first exposure to this wily author’s word-craft; count me an instant fan....more
Not a lot of good comes out of there, but a lot of bad passes through.
While turning a funeral into a bender isn’t a crime, it is frownFavorite Quotes:
Not a lot of good comes out of there, but a lot of bad passes through.
While turning a funeral into a bender isn’t a crime, it is frowned upon, like driving naked or marrying your stepsister.
We always remember our firsts and lasts, don’t we? It’s everything in the middle that ends up in one congealed mess.
He takes that as his cue to get out of the car, skirting around a patch of fake hair flattened to the asphalt like roadkill. Tumbleweave comes with the territory. It’s all fun and games until someone’s wig gets yanked off.
I’ve finally accepted that some feelings are only meant to be felt, not explained.
My Review:
I consistently peruse over a hundred or more books a year and can’t recall but a few storylines from most of them soon after. However, even several years later, this dark and gritty series has stayed with me, far beyond the salient details. Hannah Morrissey has strong word voodoo and has mastered the craft of storytelling. She pulls me into an absorbing vortex with her compelling tales and paints complete and startling movie reels with her descriptive word choices, which are most often simultaneously heart-squeezing, consuming, and brain-tickling. I had been longing for Hazel and Cole to reconnect with each other since the first installment, and had cracked open each new addition to the series with that eager anticipation. Now my fervent hopes are for yet more installments of Ms. Morressey’s addictive missives. ...more
I wanted something punny, something that would make people laugh, so I chose 'This.' That way I could enter chatrooms asking, 'Does anFavorite Quotes:
I wanted something punny, something that would make people laugh, so I chose 'This.' That way I could enter chatrooms asking, 'Does anyone want a piece of This?' and take credit when people typed, 'This is wonderful!' or 'This is the greatest thing since sliced bread.'
And let's face it - with the name Reid Wright, the man was pigeonholed into a career as either a teacher, writer, or a floppy disk.
My Review:
Expired Listings was not at all what I was expecting. I had no idea Realtors were among the least respected and most hated of professions, apparently their level of despicability ranks close to used car salesmen and politicians. The story seems to be a hybrid of genres - crossing women's fiction, family drama, suspense, and a serial killer murder mystery with an element of BDSM kink, and a dash of romance. Some of the characters were involved in the BDSM/sex club lifestyle - although the descriptions of their scenes were generally brief and limited to portions of their S&M play. Some of the descriptions had me flinching and cringing, as I am not a fan of sadism in any form. While there were no completed sex scenes depicted - sex was frequently mentioned and there were a few interrupted erotic scenes. I would classify the overriding genre as suspenseful women's fiction with an extremely clever mystery and a cavalcade of heinous, odious, and abhorrent characters. The story was craftily erected, complicated, intricately detailed, and completely unpredictable. I enjoyed the clever humor, witty puns, intrigue and slippery storyline. D.M. Barr has to be a bit of a twisted sister to have come up with such a devious and cunning tale.
Merged review:
Favorite Quotes:
I wanted something punny, something that would make people laugh, so I chose 'This.' That way I could enter chatrooms asking, 'Does anyone want a piece of This?' and take credit when people typed, 'This is wonderful!' or 'This is the greatest thing since sliced bread.'
And let's face it - with the name Reid Wright, the man was pigeonholed into a career as either a teacher, writer, or a floppy disk.
My Review:
Expired Listings was not at all what I was expecting. I had no idea Realtors were among the least respected and most hated of professions, apparently their level of despicability ranks close to used car salesmen and politicians. The story seems to be a hybrid of genres - crossing women's fiction, family drama, suspense, and a serial killer murder mystery with an element of BDSM kink, and a dash of romance. Some of the characters were involved in the BDSM/sex club lifestyle - although the descriptions of their scenes were generally brief and limited to portions of their S&M play. Some of the descriptions had me flinching and cringing, as I am not a fan of sadism in any form. While there were no completed sex scenes depicted - sex was frequently mentioned and there were a few interrupted erotic scenes. I would classify the overriding genre as suspenseful women's fiction with an extremely clever mystery and a cavalcade of heinous, odious, and abhorrent characters. The story was craftily erected, complicated, intricately detailed, and completely unpredictable. I enjoyed the clever humor, witty puns, intrigue and slippery storyline. D.M. Barr has to be a bit of a twisted sister to have come up with such a devious and cunning tale....more
He glanced at the fifth of Maker’s Mark propped up in the passenger seat, reached for it, had himself a snort. That’s how he describedFavorite Quotes:
He glanced at the fifth of Maker’s Mark propped up in the passenger seat, reached for it, had himself a snort. That’s how he described it to himself: a snort. It sounded vaguely cowboy, decidedly western. When he drank alone he sometimes entertained himself via self-mocking role-play.
The harsh malignance— the venom— in the man’s voice took Sam aback. This was worse somehow than the message. Live, he didn’t sound like an actor pretending to be a criminal in a movie, which was Sam’s only reference. He sounded like a person who habitually hurt other people, who liked doing it, whose life had been defined by his willingness and ability to hurt others. The vast majority of people weren’t like that. Certainly no one Sam had ever known was like that. He felt childish and naïve, stripped naked, even over the phone.
Sam’s butterflies had been slowly morphing into nauseous abdominal pit bulls...
Summer liked the museums. She said they were like funnels concentrating human endeavor and knowledge in one place where you could soak up a lot at once.
Darwin was unsure whether to believe him, didn’t want to believe him, but kind of did believe him and disliked the implications.
My Review:
This was a thoughtfully written and complicated tale with multiple timelines and multiple plotlines that slowly converged. The intense storylines were well populated with bizarre, oddly unique, complex, and well-textured characters that often weren’t all that likable yet tugged at my curiosity. I was deeply invested and intrigued by the storytelling and deeply perceptive and absorbing writing style that slotted me into each scene, so much so that I often had the urge to bathe while the characters were camping for extended periods or living rough. I was planning to give a 5-star rating until I came to the last chapter and an ending that has left me quite aggrieved. But I know I am rather ridiculous about such things. ...more
This tale was packed with teeth-grinding and ire-producing family drama in all directions as well as tense plot lines of suspense including a hideous This tale was packed with teeth-grinding and ire-producing family drama in all directions as well as tense plot lines of suspense including a hideous child kidnapping under peculiar circumstances. The details were intricate and I began to feel the tediousness and fatigue of the oppressive heat and the smell of polluted air from the nearby out-of-control wildfire that essentially became a secondary character in the story. The human characters were complicated, well-textured, and not always likable yet realistically flawed and authentic. I despised most of them except for the hapless yet well-meaning Jay, he was more of a victim than the kidnapped child. ...more
“The child is holding very still. I think he might be up to something.” I wrinkled my nose. Zach was definitely up to something. “He’sFavorite Quotes:
“The child is holding very still. I think he might be up to something.” I wrinkled my nose. Zach was definitely up to something. “He’s grunting and his face is turning red. I think he’s possessed.”
It was only a month into the new year, and I was throwing my third resolution into the fire like a cheap champagne flute.
My Review:
I gleefully bounced in my chair and frequently laughed aloud while I inhaled this amusing and cleverly penned series. I loved every well-chosen arrangement of words. Elle Cosimano is absolutely brilliant, and her Finaly Donovan creation is a gift. Poor Finaly, she was a semi-successful writer who had an ex-husband who couldn’t keep it in his pants and a toddler who refused to keep his pants on, or toilet train. Finaly was a hot mess.
Her adventures started with an inadvertent slip of paper on a Panera tray, which eventually led her to helping various women living in difficult situations who were “seeking a specialist with a certain skill set.” Finaly didn’t actually have the skill set, but she and Vero, her ever helpful nanny, kept managing to accidentally kill bad people, some they were supposed to, others just had the bad luck to die in their vicinity.
The engaging storylines were active, eventful, smartly plotted, and populated with a colorful cast of oddly compelling characters, many of whom were unlikable, yet quirkily and knowingly drawn. I downed six in a row and finished the last one hoping there are more to come....more
Usually he could talk his way out of anything. His teachers said he talked too much. His mum said she couldn’t hear herself think for Favorite Quotes:
Usually he could talk his way out of anything. His teachers said he talked too much. His mum said she couldn’t hear herself think for him sometimes. Even his gran would deliberately take out her hearing aid when he’d been in her house for more than ten minutes.
It was a bad day when the nobodies in this town cut off ties. Even the pizza delivery service wouldn’t return his calls. He was toxic.
Pippa had been around for a few months– a remarkable achievement given that his girlfriends usually had a higher recycle rate than the paper bin in his office.
Having Hollywood’s top scandal hound as a friend had many advantages– great insider info, fast news and a network of spies that could rival the CIA during the Cold War.
This was the kind of one-off event that journos talked about until someone scattered their ashes over the news desk.
My Review:
This tale was an interesting balance of clever snark, angst, fragile facades, edgy humor, toxic family drama, and the ever ratcheting sense of impending doom. The characters were uniquely obnoxious yet oddly endearing, I couldn’t help but care about them – even when they were annoying me. The storylines were gritty and tense and kept me intrigued yet on edge. I was primed for any little tidbit to uncover the mystery of what had caused the trio of friends to implode. I conjured and tossed several theories, but was only partly correct by the conclusion. I love when that happens....more
“Everyone thinks old people are old except for old people.” Maris knew what she meant. When she was twenty, she thought forty-two sounFavorite Quotes:
“Everyone thinks old people are old except for old people.” Maris knew what she meant. When she was twenty, she thought forty-two sounded like you had a foot in the grave, but despite the math she still wouldn’t call herself middle-aged.
When she and Noel started dating, they called it second adolescence, only better than the first because they had high limits on their credit cards.
Maris felt like someone had told her the earth was flat, then strapped her in and sent her flying over the edge.
She missed her students. Two had emailed her to say Dr. Scanlon had fallen asleep at the front of the class while they were taking a test and had farted himself awake.
I am worthy, she thought. I am loved. And then, My god, it’s like I finally understand bumper stickers, and she hiccuped out a laugh.
My Review:
This prickly book had a bit of everything and was distressingly realistic with family drama, addiction issues, social ills, complicated yet frighteningly plausible neuroscience, a twisted mystery, and deeply flawed characters who were self-involved yet generally well-meaning while difficult to fully appreciate.
I battled with the slow and irregular pace as well as the self-admittedly poor decisions the main character continued to make – I wanted to smack her in the back of the head with my beloved Kindle - yet I was also unquestionably curious, deeply invested in the story, and compelled to know how it was going to resolve.
The Easter eggs hidden in the storylines were clever and twisty yet the various story threads kept me itchy and dissatisfied with the annoying behaviors of the struggling characters. Needless to say, I’m more than a bit conflicted about how to rate this one yet the inner musings and narrative style were insightful and perceptive with occasional glimmers of wit and brilliance....more
Seattle’s so weird… Everyone wants to look like they just hiked back from chopping down a pine tree and now they’d like an extra-tall eFavorite Quote:
Seattle’s so weird… Everyone wants to look like they just hiked back from chopping down a pine tree and now they’d like an extra-tall espresso to go.
My Review:
This fast-paced novella kicks off an unexpected genre from this talented scribe. The storylines were busy, action-packed, and went in all directions at once while introducing three quirky mercenaries with an eye on taking down bad guys. This installment was short, amusingly detailed yet tense with impending peril while peeling back just enough layers of their past to taunt and tease my curiosity while leaving me hanging about their future. If I didn’t know the next installment was already on its way I would be stamping my little foot and swearing a blue streak as well as a pox on this wily author for the heinous cliffhanger. I do believe I’m hooked. ...more
My memories are a nest of spiders suddenly caught in bright light. They skitter to dark corners.
“Scott and I have been divorced for thFavorite Quotes:
My memories are a nest of spiders suddenly caught in bright light. They skitter to dark corners.
“Scott and I have been divorced for three years. Heart problems did us in.” “Was he sick?” “No. He thought I was missing mine.”
My Review:
I have a new favorite author who has scribbled out an exceptional piece of writing with uncommonly engaging prose and evocative arrangements of words that smacked me around and squeezed my insides. I could see and hear these people and their revelations and interactions gave me chicken skin! The unpredictable yet realistically unbelievable while believable storylines were laced together with a powerfully emotive writing style that kept me on edge, nibbling on my cuticles, and anxious and even somewhat fearful to keep reading. I generally despise angst but this was fantastic!...more
Maddy’s school reports often said, “Talks too much.” Her mom defended the trait as inquisitive. Her dad didn’t say much about it, but Favorite Quotes:
Maddy’s school reports often said, “Talks too much.” Her mom defended the trait as inquisitive. Her dad didn’t say much about it, but she could tell he wasn’t a fan of her endless questions. She’d never realized that talking could have landed her in this much trouble. Perhaps this was why everyone had been trying to get her to shut up her whole life.
Maddy looked around the waiting room, every last person with their head bent to their phone. There were no tattered magazines gracing the various chairs and tables of the room. No one wanted to read secondhand copies of People magazine anymore when they had their phone to gaze at, loaded with personalized content just for them. Maddy sometimes visualized people’s phones swapped out for mirrors, a whole world of people staring in silent awe at digitized versions of themselves.
He made it sound so easy. Find some sperm. As if by looking in enough of Joseph’s creases and crevices they’d dredge some up from somewhere.
“You could both be charged with statutory rape,” said Ivan, looking entirely serious about the whole thing, even though the notion that they were both simultaneously busy raping each other at the same time was clearly ridiculous.
My Review:
This book was heaving with unreliable, treacherous, untrustworthy, selfish, and horrifyingly fractured characters. I despised them all by the last page, yet I was undeniably hooked and invested in unraveling their heinous schemes. I devised multiple theories of gaslighting, mental illness, revenge, retribution, rage, hatred, betrayal, and abuse, but who was guilty? The community was apparently a viper’s nest of vile and self-serving individuals, which in reality, under the surface, every community is similarly populated.
The writing and storylines were original, sneakily witty, compelling, and perceptively detailed from multiple points of view. I was engrossed, annoyed, and biting my cuticles from the tension brewing from the petty, destructive, and deplorable manner the characters treated each other. They were all guilty of something, so what is wrong with me that I voyeuristically needed to know exactly what?...more
With his horn-rimmed glasses, drab gray suit, and his leather satchel thrown over his shoulder, he had to be the nerdiest-looking BlacFavorite Quotes:
With his horn-rimmed glasses, drab gray suit, and his leather satchel thrown over his shoulder, he had to be the nerdiest-looking Black man she’d ever seen in her life. Well, that wasn’t true. He was maybe a distant second to Steve Urkel. He had absolutely no swag and stood out like a sore thumb among all the other men in the room, making her laugh to herself.
“Mama, why do you insist on talking about regular people like they’re peasants?” “Because they are, as far as I’m concerned.” The older woman shoved her sunglasses back up the bridge of her button nose. “I didn’t marry three wealthy husbands because I was enamored with being ‘regular,’ sweetheart. I put up with a lot of bullshit so I wouldn’t have to be that anymore.”
She wondered why she hadn’t spotted the resemblance before. Maybe it was because their temperaments were so different. Whereas Darius came off cool and calm as a soothing creek in the forest, Tariq was a sleeping volcano, with bubbling magma just beneath the surface, ready to explode when you least expected it. Unfortunately for Darius, a creek couldn’t quell a volcano, no matter how hard he tried.
Tariq was a hustler. A survivor. A chameleon. Darius swore Tariq had nine lives— unfortunately, he suspected all those lives would be lonely ones.
My Review:
The conclusion to the saga was quite a riveting tale and had a rather bittersweet ending for my favorite characters, although some finally got what was due them. The entire cast of disagreeable and questionable characters from book one carried over with a few new additions added into the mix. The intriguing storylines were active, taut with tension, and well-honed with sharp imagery, bad decisions, and impending peril. The writing was emotive and on point, while peppered with liberal use of the “n-word” which I found rather unsettling as I have been conditioned to find any use of the pejorative quite jarring and oddly far more egregious than profanity. ...more
This installment was far more tragic and complex with metaphysical elements than the earlier volumes, yet I found it just as gripping and shrewdly ploThis installment was far more tragic and complex with metaphysical elements than the earlier volumes, yet I found it just as gripping and shrewdly plotted. I’m typically rather lazy when it comes to reading this mix of genres due to all the world-building and the creation of otherworldly rules and skills, so due to my sloth, I seldom read them, but this one was well worth the effort and I'd gladly continue on with subsequent volumes if the author could be bribed to continue on.
The uniquely crafted and cleverly contrived storylines were engaging and actively building in tension and menace while keeping my curiosity primed. Yet I kept wondering why a policeman turned farmer living in the country and experiencing threats didn’t have a gun. I was fully invested and had several theories going while often holding my breath in foreboding dread as I was afraid of what was to be unearthed concerning Jamie, the vulnerable child with Selective Mutism, or was he? I worried there was a dark force around or within him as he had no discernible soul or aura to those who could see them. I never would have guessed his contribution to the conclusion of the story and found it quite appealing. R.V. Biggs is a wily one. ...more
‘Education is the key to all success, after all.’ ‘I thought that was inherited wealth and liposuction.’
I listened to a My Rating:
4.5
Favorite Quotes:
‘Education is the key to all success, after all.’ ‘I thought that was inherited wealth and liposuction.’
I listened to a radio interview with the lead psychiatrist from Broadmoor Prison. ‘I’d rather work with a psychopathic murderer than counsel a couple in crisis,’ she joked. ‘It’s easier.’ But I found I wasn’t laughing. Laughing was getting harder these days for some reason.
The realisation hit me between my eyes, like a baton coming down. Like a fist. I had a picture in my mind, then, of all the women who ended up killing their husbands, who took a kitchen knife, who didn’t even know they had made that fatal thrust, who killed through hatred and sorrow, warped by a love laced with fear, a love that knew no other place to go – and then I knew. I knew I was capable of killing him too.
… word to the wise: if your small boy comes home boasting of learning about his Balzac, don’t be fooled into thinking he means the French writer, as I was, when in fact he means his own ball-sack. Pride so often comes before a fall.
My Review:
This is a unique hybrid of women’s fiction, suspense, and family drama. This was an oddly enticing book that kept my curiosity at the brain itching level with fret-inducing and tangled storylines while cast with obnoxious characters that continually annoyed and disappointed me, yet I had to know how their knotty issues would unravel. I was hopelessly hooked, ensnared, and unable to resist Ms. Seeber’s fiendishly clever plotting with strategic lashings of caustic wit and cunning insights. This was my first sojourn with Ms. Seeber and I plan to be a frequent flier from now on. ...more
While other girls got boobs from puberty, I got migraines. I would have much preferred the boobs… Puberty was a bitch. Second cousin tFavorite Quotes:
While other girls got boobs from puberty, I got migraines. I would have much preferred the boobs… Puberty was a bitch. Second cousin to Karma.
I shivered as I recalled the immortal signature of what I assumed was a demon lurking about the neighborhood. That thick, slimy sensation of being coated from head to toe with sludge made my stomach roil… It was darker than sludge, but I didn’t catch the scent of sulfur, which was odd. Demons always carried the aroma of Hell on their flesh. It was a defining marker of their defiance in the game of souls.
It was at that very moment my stomach decided to truly embarrass me. It let out a sound that would frighten away wild dogs.
Several flights of stairs swirled around and around all the way up to the top of the domes. I imagined at any second they would start moving of their own accord, which brought a smile to my face. I’d finally made it to Hogwarts.
My Review:
I rarely read this genre as I am far too lazy for all the world-building that is typically involved, yet for this talented author I was willing to give it a go and I am ever so pleased with my brilliant foresight – this was the bomb! Although, I was anxiously second-guessing my choice during the Prologue which featured Jesus as the main character, as ugh - I typically avoid Christian books due to weirdly religious parents. Needless to say, I have more than a passing familiarity with their heavily biased and hypocritical interpretation of the Bible, although my parents’ odd zealotry seemed to have glossed over the existence of Nephilim and the wars and mingling of man and angels. So, of course, I felt compelled to consult with Mr. Google and fell down a rabbit hole, something that seems to occur all too often.
Shaking myself loose and trusting this beloved wordsmith, I read on. Hot damn, this was an intriguing, cleverly contrived, action-packed, and brain-itching page-turner. I had trouble putting it down and am currently on pins and needles and eager to see the next installment. Jeanne McDonald not only has me ensnared but wiggling on the hook. I fervently hope she is banging away on her computer this very moment and near the end at churning out volume two of this curiously addictive series. I never would have believed it possible that I could EVER find Christian mythology this enticing. Ms. McDonald has strong word voodoo and may well have used bewitched ink. ...more
There will be more rain, more darkness, of course there will. But there will always be rainbows. You just have to weather the storm, anFavorite Quote:
There will be more rain, more darkness, of course there will. But there will always be rainbows. You just have to weather the storm, and then lift your face up and look for them.
My Review:
This was a slowly unfolding, busy, and multi-layered tale that kept me tethered to my Kindle, although I was conflicted with the main character throughout as I found her to be annoying and rather witless. Maybe because I was a mercilessly bullied youth myself, so I had a heaping helping of antagonism toward her for being such a horrid and vicious little madam as a pubescent young teen, and then a somewhat erratic and anxious adult. Yet this infuriatingly crafty author had me ensnared and I remained edgy and curiously vexed and aggravated as I nibbling on my cuticles while reading. Jackie Kabler is a wily one. I couldn't seem to read fast enough. ...more
Since my husband’s death, I’d been making foolish decisions. Buying stuff I didn’t need, not being able to follow my instincts, losingFavorite Quotes:
Since my husband’s death, I’d been making foolish decisions. Buying stuff I didn’t need, not being able to follow my instincts, losing and misplacing things, my brain scatty and unfocused. I couldn’t rely on myself to do the right thing. It’s a strange feeling when you can’t trust your intuition anymore. I was a cat without whiskers, a black sky without stars.
There were several “Klinics,” though, in and around Zurich. One was a sort of “quack” place— not that I’m against alternative medicine— but when someone has stage four cancer, a colonic irrigation, suction massages, and injections of mistletoe (really?) are unlikely to do the trick.
My Review:
I struggled with this book, valiantly I might add, as I despised ALL the characters, and I do mean ALL of them. I only had positive feelings for the dog. The human characters were either manipulative and vile beings, stone-cold sociopaths, selfishly annoying, or in the case of the main character - incredibly limited in functioning brain cells. One character had snarkily noted, “How you ever got to be an attorney, I’ll never know” I had the same thought - all the way through - how could she have been so gullible?
But then again, I couldn’t seem to help myself either. I wanted to unravel this tangled mess as I was curious to know the real secrets buried beneath all the sinister maneuvering and deceit, and I had a feeling those secrets would be huge. While the pacing of the vast majority of this tense tale was agonizingly slow, the last few chapters zipped and pinged with action-packed and clever twists and reveals that almost made up for the disappointing lead-up, almost. The wily author did keep me reading with cunning elements and an intriguing premise, but the framing and tedious execution were a disappointment and could have been so much better. ...more
Pilar wasn’t fond of the woman, especially after Olivia scanned her from head to toe in petulant judgment the previous day. When OliviFavorite Quotes:
Pilar wasn’t fond of the woman, especially after Olivia scanned her from head to toe in petulant judgment the previous day. When Olivia traced a finger along the fireplace mantle and blew dust into the air, Pilar realized things would change drastically in the Glass home. She’d heard various stories while Olivia was away and researched the family many times before accepting the job. Experiencing Olivia Glass differed from hearing about Olivia Glass…
Caleb always hated having unreliable gaydar, as in Halley’s-Comet-once-every-seventy-five-years gaydar. It’d been a curse since he was a teenager and stuck in the closet with six different kinds of professional-grade locks. Mostly, he had wannabe gaydar, the kind where he wished every hot guy he saw was interested in jumping his bones. It rarely worked out. What happened in the movies and on television never occurred in reality. Well, almost never.
Hurry up, it’s as frigid outside as Leona Helmsley before she got herself incarcerated and consented to turn slightly nicer than a pit of vipers.
If you ever ask me that again, papi, the only handy you’ll get again is a vengeful nurse swabbing the cauterized wound where your manhood used to be.
Children aren’t an opportunity to fix your past. They’re a chance to improve the world’s future.
Emma had once suggested to Teddy that people were like clocks. They came in all different shapes and sizes. Some were wound up; others needed a source of powerful energy to keep them running. In the end, they all functioned for the same reason—a slow and careful passage of time…
My Review:
I am delighted to report that I continue to be impressed by this wily wordsmith, his latest tale involved several intriguing and well-paced storylines while also richly textured with compelling and prickly character development. His Glass family serves as a cautionary tale and puts a new spin on the definition of dysfunctional. After three years and with a staggering seven other novels in between, Mr. Cudney has produced a wry and clever sequel to his striking debut novel of Watching Glass Shatter. And as extraordinary and remarkable as his debut was, this follow-up was even better....more
‘I thought we were getting somewhere, until he sent me his photo,’ she says. ‘Oh, not a pretty face?’ I ask. ‘I don’t know, didn’t seeFavorite Quotes:
‘I thought we were getting somewhere, until he sent me his photo,’ she says. ‘Oh, not a pretty face?’ I ask. ‘I don’t know, didn’t see his face.’ ‘Oh gross.’
My Review:
I am a bit concerned about the British system as this office was staffed with social workers that were so poorly trained they should petition their universities for a refund on their educations. I waffled over how to rate this book, but as the writer kept me reading and second and third guessing and shrewdly included several unpredictable twists and curveballs near the end that livened up the tale, I felt generous. The storylines progressed slowly with questionable characters and red herrings tucked in all the way through. I seriously wanted to give the main protagonist several swats to the head to hopefully wake up or jar loose a few working brain cells, but alas, it would have been a waste of my energy as she was truly entrenched and a lost cause. ...more