Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich - 4 Stars

Book 17 in the Stephanie Plum series.
In this book, Stephanie has 3 different killers after her and all she wants to do is solve the local murder. Bodies with notes addressed to Stephanie certainly have her on guard.
On top of her murder investigation, Stephanie's mom is trying to set her up with the former high school football star. Stephanie is still torn between Morelli and Ranger and to top it off, Morelli's grandmother keeps putting "spells" on Stephanie.

Another fun Stephanie read. I'm surprised that I'm still reading a series this many books in, but I find that Evanovich finds a new way to make Stephanie's antics a good, fun read.

The Trouble with Turkeys by Kathi Daley - 3 Stars

Zoe agrees to help her friend at a local turkey farm 2 weeks before Thanksgiving and suddenly finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. Caught up in messy turkey droppings, turkeys that appear drunk, and a bunch of hungry heirs to an estate, Zoe decides to take it on herself who the actual murderer is.

This was a cozy mystery, but I found it quite a bit different than the other cozy mysteries that I've read. I also felt there were way too may suspects and had a hard time keeping them straight. Not sure if it was the editing or the writing, but I found a few errors in the book as well. Overall, I don't think I'll read any more in this series.

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris - 4 Stars

Sookie Stackhouse is still recovering from the recent disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the explosion at the vampire summit, but she is safe. Her boyfriend, Quinn, is missing and things in the vampire world are rapidly changing. Sookie once again finds herself at the center of the vampire world, where things are about to change drastically. 

I enjoy the Sookie Stackhouse books, but found this one to lag a bit in the middle. Not on the top of my list, but still enjoyable.

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini - 4 Stars

Craig is your typical teenaged boy, but is driven by his desire to get in to a top Manhattan pre-professional school. The stress of the school gets to him and he feels like he wants to commit suicide. Craig checks himself in to the local psychiatric hospital. This is where he meets many different people with many different issues. 

I enjoyed this one, but not on the top of my list for the year. The story was good and the characters were relatable. 

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon - 5 Stars

Maddy has a rare disease in which she is basically allergic to the world. She stays indoors and the only people she sees are her mom and her nurse, Carla. 

Then one day a moving truck appears next door and Maddy sees "him"...Tall, lean and wearing all black. His name is Olly.

Maddy immediately knows she's going to fall in love with Olly and it's going to be a disaster. 

I devoured this book. It only took me 3 days to read it and that's working all day, too. LOL! Definitely one of the best books I've read this year. 

Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed - 4 Stars

Maya is an American born Indian Muslim who is torn between 2 worlds. One being the world her parents want her to live; the perfect Indian daughter who stays close to home, obeys her parents and marries a good Indian boy. Then there's the world she wants to live in; moving to NYC to attend college, graduating from film school, and pursuing a boy that she's only known from afar since grade school.

But after a horrible crime that happens hundreds of miles away, Maya's real world is turned upside down. Maya is faced with hatred and bigotry. As she tries to make sense of what happened and how it affects her life, Maya must figure out where she truly belongs. 

Undead and Unreturnable by MaryJanice Davidson

Queen Betsy is in the middle of planning her dream wedding to the hot vampire, Eric Sinclair when all of a sudden she finds herself hunting a serial killer. 
Betsy is also plagued by ghosts who need her help with unfinished business. 
Book #4 in the Undead series, this was a fun vampire read. I enjoy the fluffy and humorous vampire reads. Can't wait to see what Betsy is up to next. 

The Good, The Bad and The Guacamole by Rebecca Adler - 4 Stars

It's the annual Homestead Days Music Festival in the little town of Broken Boot, Texas. The celebration is going well until the lead singer of the headlining band is found dead. Josie Callahan, local waitress and part time reporter sets out to find who really killed Jeff. Her best friend, Patti, local goth princess has been arrested and is being held in the local jail. 

This was another fun cozy mystery. The 3rd one just came out and I'm looking forward to it. 

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich - 4 Stars

Book 16 in the Stephanie Plum series

In this one, Stephanie's boss, Vincent Plum has gotten himself in to hot water with his gambling and has been kidnapped by his bookie. Stephanie, her sidekick, Lula, and the office secretary, Connie task themselves with not only finding Vinnie, but raising the money to get him back.
Stephanie and Lula get in to their usual comical predicaments and Stephanie is still romantically torn between Ranger and Morelli.

This was a quick, fun read as this series usually is, but I didn't find it as funny as some of the others in the series.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly - 5 Stars

Lilac Girls tells the stories of 3 women during World War 2. While the women are all very different, their stories intertwine. 

Caroline lives in New York and is working at the French consulate when Hitler invades Poland. This is when her life changes.

Worlds away, in Poland, Kasia's life also changes and her carefree youth is ripped away from her. Herta is a young German doctor who responds to a Nazi ad for doctors and is thrown in to Hitler's evils. 

I really enjoyed the story, but did find it sluggish towards the middle of the book. It did pick back up in the last 10% or so, though. All together it was a moving story.

The Stranger by Harlan Coben

From Goodreads: 
"The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world.

Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage to a beautiful woman, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American Dream: a big house, a good job, a seemingly perfect life.

Then he runs into the Stranger. When he learns a devastating secret about his wife, Corinne, he confronts her, and the mirage of perfection disappears as if it never existed at all. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corinne’s deception, and realizes that if he doesn’t make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he’s stumbled into will not only ruin lives—it will end them."

This was a fast paced book, with Coben leaving you guessing up until the last few pages. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't one of my favorites by him. 

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer is best known for her first movie, "Trainwreck", and for being a stand up comedian. This is her first book.

The book started off on a good foot and had me laughing for the first few chapters, then it started to go downhill. From the middle of the book on, I only got a few laughs. Overall I was disappointed in it and only gave it 3 stars because there were actually sections that made me laugh.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery - 3 Stars

From Goodreads:
"With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures."

I thought the book was cute, but really don't understand all the hype over it. I liked the quote that says "One sees only clearly with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes". I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't a classic or if it was originally written in English. Either way, it was a quick read.

Latte Trouble by Cleo Coyle - 4 Stars

Book 3 of the Coffeehouse Mystery series...Clare Cosi is ready for fashion week and starts out by hosting a party for a fashion designer that is revamping her line. Things take a turn for the worse when one of her employees serves a poisoned latte to one of the guests. Clare must then find out who the real target was and why in order to save her employee. 

This was a quick cozy mystery. I enjoy the coffee references, even though I'm not a huge coffee connoisseur. LOL! Looking forward to book 4. 

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See - 5 Stars

Pearl and May are 2, young, carefree girls living in Shanghai, the Paris of Asia, in 1937. That is until their father gambles away their savings and sells the girls to be brides to Americans who have traveled to China for Chinese brides.
As the war expands, Pearl and May's lives are turned upside down and they must do everything they can to survive. The story follows them from Shanghai to the United States over the course of about 20 years.

I loved the story of Pearl and May, even though it was heartbreaking to see them go through the trials and tribulations that they went through, even after coming to the US. I'm looking forward to the follow up book, Dreams of Joy.

The A List by Zoey Dean - 3 Stars

Anna is tired of her perfect life in New York City, so she jets off to live with her dad in Beverly Hills. Anna has a whirlwind first 24-hours in the city, attending the wedding of a Hollywood movie star, hitting an elite New Year's Eve party, and meeting a guy who may just be Mr. Perfect. But when Anna has a run in with Hollywood's teenage A-list, things quickly turn upside down.

Anna was somewhat of a likable character, but the book was typical teen fluff. I wasn't expecting much from it, since, after all it is a YA romance book. Not sure if I'll pick up the next one just to see what happens to Anna. 

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven - 4 Stars

Meet Theodore Finch, a boy who thinks constantly about suicide, but always find something, even something small that always stops him.
Meet Violet Market, a girl who thinks about nothing but the future and getting out of the small Indiana town she lives in after the death of her sister. 
When the 2 meet on the edge of the bell tower at school, both of their lives change. It's unclear as to who saves who, but the two quickly become friends. Violet learns that there's more out there than what she's looking at and Finch learns that he can be himself around Violet, no matter how weird. 
A story of 2 unlikely friends who changes each other's worlds forever.

This book was a bit slow starting out for me. It really didn't pick up until about half way through. But once it picked up, it really moved. I enjoyed the story. 

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich - 5 Stars

Stephanie is a bounty hunter for cousin Vinnie. Problem is that she's not that good at it and she always gets herself in a bind. In #15 of the series, Stephanie is out to find who decapitated a BBQ mogul who was in town for a cooking contest. Her sidekick, Lula witnessed the murder and now the culprits are after her. Throw in a mix of Grandma Mazur and things are even more hilarious.

The Stephanie Plum books are always a quick fun read. I love the predicaments that Stephanie manages to get herself in to.

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather - 4 Stars

Amazon describes it as the Salem Witch trials meets Mean Girls. When Samantha moves to Salem, strange things start happening and people are blaming her. Being the descendant of Cotton Mather, a man who was responsible for the hangings centuries ago, people do not welcome her with open arms. To top it off, the descendants of those witches have it out for her as well. 

On top of that, Samantha comes in contact with a spirit who wants her to go away, being that she moved in to his old home. Samantha doesn't know what to think of all this, but knows that there is a cycle that she must break before more people die.

This was a fun read that was a bit spooky at times. There's another one by Mather that I think I may check out and see what kind of twist she puts on that historical event. 

Final Girls by Riely Sager - 3 Stars

Quincy, Lisa, and Samantha are all what the press calls a "Final Girl". All of them have survived a horror movie style killing spree. Lisa survived a sorority massacre while Samantha survived the "sack man" killing while working the night shift at her local hotel. Quincy, the newest final girl survived a night of killing in a cabin in the woods.

Quincy has finally put her life back together, thanks to xanax and her caring boyfriend, Jeff. But when the first final girl, Lisa, is found dead in her bathtub and Sam shows up on her doorstep, things start to go awry. Why, after all these years, does Sam seek her out? Why is Sam so intent on her remembering what exactly happened at Pine Cottage all those years ago?

This book took about 3/4 of the way to really pick up. I was really pushing myself to get through it. The end did have a twist that I wasn't expecting. I was thinking through the whole middle part of the book that I had it all figured out, but was surprised at the end that I didn't. Other than that, it probably would have gotten a 2-star rating from me.  :(

The Red Hat Club by Haywood Smith - 5 Stars

Georgia, SuSu, Teeny, Diane, and Linda have all been best friends since high school...30 plus years. They meet weekly at a local restaurant wearing, of course, their red hats to gossip and catch up with one another.
When the group finds out that Diane's husband is cheating on her, they hatch a plan to bust his no good behind.
Love, laughter, and friendship prevail as the story tells the history of each one of the women from the 60's through the present.

I thought this was such a fun read. It reminded me of my 35 year friendship with my best friend and what we'd be getting up to if we lived close to one another. I read it for the decathlon and am happy with the choice. I plan on reading book #2 and can't wait to see what the girls get up to in it.

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Calahan - 4 Stars

Susannah is a young, vibrant reporter for the New York Post with a promising future when things start going awry. She wakes up strapped to a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. Now she was labeled as violent and psychotic. She has spells of catatonia and delusions, along with mysterious seizures. She has many tests that all come back normal and as things get progressively worse for Susannah, her family fears there may not be a cure for her, let alone a diagnosis.

This was an interesting story that took several different turns, as far as what doctors thought was wrong with Susannah. It's a scary story, too, knowing that something like this could happen to anyone.