What's new since my last blog post?

Reading..........

                     Reading.................

                                                  Reading..............!

I was on a bit of thriller kick, as you could see from my last post. I continued in that vein with Perfect Days and I felt there was a strong tie in to two books I read in 2015.


One of the more interesting books I read was Perfect Days by Raphael Montes. It was translated from Portuguese, as Montes is from Brazil. It is an Amazon Best Book of February pick. The book is currently available for pre-order and the publication date is February 16. My review below and a comparison to another creepily, twisted book, You by Caroline Kepnes, along with my review of that book.



This book was quite intriguing. It reminded me a bit of Caroline Kepnes, You. Teo of Perfect Days was a bit like Joe from You. Teo is a socially awkward medical student living with his widowed mother in Rio. He meets Clarice at a BBQ and becomes obsessed by her carefree, bohemian ways. He sets out to make her his girlfriend, but rather than call her up and ask her out, he begins to follow her and eventually kidnaps her. The story was a little slow going in the beginning, but once he's got Clarice things move along at a fast clip. Teo doesn't see anything wrong with the "relationship" he has with Clarice. He even begins to dislike much of the things that initially attracted her to him. Teo is just normal enough that people don't suspect him of anything. Teo is forced to kill and maim for his love, but it's all okay, as long as he has his love, Clarice in the end. Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Press for the early read.


Wow, this was an interesting book. Did I ever think I'd be feeling sympathetic for a creepy stalker who kills 2 people, one by adding peanut oil to a soy latte (victim a pathological liar, who said he was allergic to peanuts!)? No way, but that's exactly what happened, I often felt bad for Joe Goldberg. He just wants to be loved, even if that means he must remove all impediments between himself and Beck. I think anyone who liked Gone Girl or Girl on the Train will enjoy this book. Comparisons have been made to Misery. Joe, Beck, Peach and friends are special kind of odd. Plenty of twists and turns to keep you wondering what's going to happen next. I guarantee you will be creeped out when you realize all the things that Joe can find out by monitoring Beck's online activity. Hopefully you will think twice about posting every moment of your life on social media after reading You. If there are people that are such complete sickos, I hope I never come across any. I'm happy to be entertained by them in fiction, though.

Joe is back in Hidden Bodies. Expected publication date for Kepnes second book in the You series is February 23. Here is my review of the ARC I received from Net Galley:



Book two, following the serial killer you can't help but like. We open with Joe still working at Mooney's Rare and Used Books and he hires a new assistant, Amy, to fill Beck's place. Well, not to give away too many spoilers if you have not read You, but let's just say Beck, Joe's girlfriend/assistant didn't make it to book 2 along with a few other friends from Beck's life. Joe and Amy have a super sizzling romance, plenty of steamy, hot, sex scenes (this book is not for you if you are not okay with that) and they seem to have a mutual love of books and a certain respect for each other. Maybe Joe will finally turn over a new leaf or maybe not. Amy gives Joe the slip and takes off with $23,000 worth of rare books and Joe's hot on her trail. The trail leads to Los Angeles and New Yorker Joe is like a fish out of water. He works hard to fit in while searching for Amy. Things take a turn for the worse when serial killer Joe, emerges to take out a few more people, a notable stand-up comedian who may be dating Amy, his neighbor in the transient apartment where he sets up his home, and even a cop. One or two people he really wants to kill, get away, but in all this Joe finds Love with a capital L! The story has an unexpected ending and it seems like Joe will be back with his Love, if he can get out jail.

Next, I'm taking a slight turn into historical fiction as I read A Girl Like You, Fall of Poppies, and will be reading a few more historical fiction before my next post. Signing off to go grab my dinner and continue with my light chick-lit reading of Claire Cook's, The Seven Year Switch.

Happy Reading..................................   :-)



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