Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry - 5 Stars

 "We forgive murderers, not pedophiles. Not since Lionel Shriver brought us We Need to Talk About Kevin has a writer delved into the complexities of a disturbed mother/son relationship. Until now. Meet Noah—an A-honor roll student, award-winning swimmer, and small-town star destined for greatness. There weren’t any signs that something was wrong until the day he confesses to molesting little girls during swim team practice. He’s sentenced to eighteen months in a juvenile sexual rehabilitation center. His mother, Adrianne, refuses to turn her back on him despite his horrific crimes, but her husband won’t allow Noah back into their home. In a series of shocking and shattering revelations, Adrianne is forced to make the hardest decision of her life. Just how far will she go to protect her son? Saving Noah challenges everything you think you know about teenage sexual offenders. It will keep you up at night long after you've read the last page, questioning beliefs you once thought were true."

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Wow! Just wow! I don't think I've ever read a more heart wrenching book. It actually made me cry, which books don't usually do. The last 25% tore my heart apart. It makes you think about how you'd act in a situation like the events that happen in the book. The ending was not what I was expecting, especially the last chapter before the epilogue. 

Killer Nurse by John Foxjohn - 5 Stars

 She was hired to nurse them back to health...instead, she took their lives.

For months, the DaVita Dialysis Center in Lufkin, Texas had been baffled by the rising number of deaths and injuries occurring in their clinic. In April alone, they’d rushed thirty-four patients to the hospital. But no one expected such a horrific cause to be behind it all.

Kimberly Clark Saenz was a well-liked licensed vocational nurse at the center. The East Texas nurse was a mother of two, and known for her smiles and the stories she told to help patients pass the time. But on April 28, 2008, witnesses came forward to say that instead of lifesaving medication, they’d seen Saenz adding toxic bleach to IV ports. Turns out, it wasn’t the first time. Once caught, the shocking story of Saenz’s murderous practices began to unravel…

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I really enjoyed this one. It helped that I was familiar with the dialysis process. There were a couple of things that irked me, one was the repeating of details. But I guess that's understandable to help explain to those that don't understand the process. 

Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine - 3 Stars

 Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom.

With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband’s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace.

But just when she’s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake—and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed—or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is certain: she’s learned how to fight evil. And she’ll never stop.

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I honestly don't know how this has a 4.12 star rating on Goodreads. The premise is good, but the book was just not that great. It's a VERY slow read and a lot of it dragged on and repeated itself. I was really hoping for more out of it, but it let me down. 

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren - 3.75 Stars

 "Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky."

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This was a cute, fun read. The characters were likable and the story moved along well.

Alphabet Soup Challenge 2024

 

2024 Alphabet Soup Challenge

A-
B-
C-
D-
E- The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb
F- For the Sake Of (1) by Judith Sonnet 
G-
H-
I-
J-
K- Killer Nurse by John Foxjohn
L-
M-
N- Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
O-
P-
Q-
R- A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa 
S- Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine
T- Top Secret Twenty One by Janet Evanovich
U- The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

V-
W-The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
X-
Y-
Z-