Book Review / Blockade Billy by Stephen King

 Even the most die-hard baseball fans don't know the true story of William “Blockade Billy” Blakely. He may have been the greatest player the game has ever seen, but today no one remembers his name. He was the first--and only--player to have his existence completely removed from the record books. Even his team is long forgotten, barely a footnote in the game's history.

Every effort was made to erase any evidence that William Blakely played professional baseball, and with good reason. Blockade Billy had a secret darker than any pill or injection that might cause a scandal in sports today. His secret was much, much worse... and only Stephen King, the most gifted storyteller of our age, can reveal the truth to the world, once and for all.




Published:     2010
Publisher:  Cemetery Dance Publications
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone 
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

There are a few authors that I am very slowly working through their back catalogue.  Stephen King is one of them.  I had read this book before but a very long time ago and I wanted to give it another try, simply for the reason that I couldn't remember reading it.

At 112 pages, this story was easy to get through.  I have to admit that I don't follow baseball and I am not familiar with the sport but, honestly, that didn't really matter.  Yes, there were parts that I didn't really follow because it was all about the sport (and I knew that when I went into this story - so it was expected) but I enjoyed finding out more about Blockade Billy and wanting to find out what his secret was about.

This was a fun read.  You certainly do not have to be a fan of baseball to pick this one up.

Book Review / The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Set amid the austere beauty of the North Carolina coast begins the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner recently returned from the Second World War. Noah is restoring a plantation home to its former glory, and he is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories...until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again.

Like a puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. It is a story of miracles and emotions that will stay with you forever.




Published:     5th January 2000
Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

It was so good to delve back into this beautiful story.  I can't tell you how many times I have both read the book and watched the movie.  I know the story off by heart now.  Obviously, the book is better than the movie but the movie is good.

What I always enjoyed about this story the most is the love between Noah and Callie right from the day they first met to the very last moment in this story.

There's a lot more I could say about this story but honestly I don't want to spoil any other part of the story.  If you are going to pick this book up, pick it up knowing that it is a love story and don't read anything else about the story until you start to read it. 

Book Review / The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks

Julie Barenson's young husband left her two unexpected gifts before he died: a Great Dane puppy named Singer and the promise that he would always be watching over her. Now, four years have passed. Still living in the small town of Swansboro, North Carolina, 29-year-old Julie is emotionally ready to make a commitment to someone again. But who? Should it be Richard Franklin, the handsome, sophisticated engineer who treats her like a queen? Or Mike Harris, the down-to-earth nice guy who was her husband's best friend? Choosing one of them should bring her more happiness than she's had in years. Instead, Julie is soon fighting for her life in a nightmare spawned by a chilling deception and jealousy so poisonous that it has become a murderous desire






Published:     2003
Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

This is one of my favourite novels written by Nicholas, mainly because as well as including most of his trademark styles of stories but it also adds in a touch of mystery/thriller.

What I loved the most about this story is the plot.  You have Julie whose husband dies and beyond the grave he gifts her a Great Dane who soon becomes her 'Guardian'.  I am not sure whether there is something 'magical' going on here but I did get the impression that the Great Dane could have been her ex-husband has come back to protect her because he knows something bad is going to happen. 

You then have two potential love interests - Mike and Richard.  One is a more down to earth character and one is a bit more mysterious.

Mixed in with that you have someone who seems to be stalking her.  Figuring out who that was kept me hooked throughout the entire story.  Yes, I have read this before but it was a little while ago and I couldn't remember who it was!!

Yes, there is a lot going on but it kept me at the edge of my seat, wanting to keep turning the pages and not wanting to book the book down until the last page. 

Book Review / Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks comes a tender story of hope and joy; of sacrifice and forgiveness -- a moving reminder that love is possible at any age, at any time, and often comes when we least expect it. 

At forty-five, Adrienne Willis must rethink her entire life when her husband abandons her for a younger woman. Reeling with heartache and in search of a respite, she flees to the small coastal town of Rodanthe, North Carolina to tend to a friend's inn for the weekend. But when a major storm starts moving in, it appears that Adrienne's perfect getaway will be ruined -- until a guest named Paul Flanner arrives. At fifty-four, Paul has just sold his medical practice and come to Rodanthe to escape his own shattered past. Now, with the storm closing in, two wounded people will turn to each other for comfort -- and in one weekend set in motion feelings that will resonate throughout the rest of their lives.



Published:     2002
Publisher:  Warner Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source: Owned

MY REVIEW

As with most of the novels written by Nicholas Sparks, this was such a beautiful story of love, romance and tragedy.

This story is basically about Adrienne and Paul who meet one weekend.  We follow them as we discover more and more of their backstory and following their relationship as they grow closer and closer together.

What I liked the most was that this was not one of those love stories that were based on 20-year old somethings.  Adrienne and Paul are in their 40s.  They have already lived a life and certainly both have some kind of baggage before they met.  Not only are they getting to know each other and getting closer, but they have to learn about each other's pasts as well.

A beautiful story that I just could not put down and would certainly highly recommend!

Book Review / A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

There was a time when the world was sweeter...when the women in Beaufort, North Carolina, wore dresses, and the men donned hats...when something happened to a seventeen-year-old boy that would change his life forever. 

Every April, when the wind blows in from the sea and mingles with the scent of lilacs, Landon Carter remembers his last year at Beaufort High. It was 1958, and Landon had already dated a girl or two. He even swore that he had once been in love. Certainly the last person in town he thought he'd fall for was Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's Baptist minister. A quiet girl who always carried a Bible with her schoolbooks, Jamie seemed content living in a world apart from the other teens. She took care of her widowed father, rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local orphanage. No boy had ever asked her out. Landon would never have dreamed of it. Then a twist of fate made Jamie his partner for the homecoming dance, and Landon Carter's life would never be the same. Being with Jamie would show him the depths of the human heart and lead him to a decision so stunning it would send him irrevocably on the road to manhood. No other author today touches our emotions more deeply than Nicholas Sparks.

Illuminating both the strength and the gossamer fragility of our deepest emotions, his two New York Times bestsellers, The Notebook and Message in a Bottle, have established him as the leading author of today's most cherished love stories. Now, in A Walk to Remember, he tells a truly unforgettable story, one that glimmers with all of his magic, holding us spellbound-and reminding us that in life each of us may find one great love, the kind that changes everything...

Published:     1st October 1999
Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

It was so good to delve back into this story again.  It feels like it has been ages since I re-read this and other novels by Nicholas Sparks.

What I loved about this story is the realistic romance between Langdon and Jamie.  You have two people who would not have normally met or connected with by choice but due to circumstances out of their control they are brought together and slowly they realise that there is more to their relationship than they had bargained for.  This is such a beautiful story with such a sad underlying story.

Even though I loved this story I did find that reading it so many years after it was first published there were a few references in this story that, to me, felt a bit stereotypical against female characters.  That said, this did not put me off the story as, obviously, this story was not written in current times but back in 1999.

A beautiful story of love and tragedy that I would highly recommend. 

Book Review / Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

 The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.




Published:     26th July 2005
Publisher:  Dell Publishing
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 1, Outlander
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

This is a story that has become very popular in recent years, especially with the TV show being aired and being very popular.  I had watched the TV show (up to the end of season 2 so far) and thought that I really should pick up the book.  I will be honest to say that at 850 pages this story is very daunting, so I decided to pick this up on audiobook.  I loved it.  The author had a very traditional English voice that sounded just like the actress who plays Claire Randell in the TV show.

Of course, what I loved the most about this novel is the romance - the romance between Claire and Jamie.  At first, it was Claire doing what she had to do to survive in this new time that she doesn't realise how she got there but its obvious that there's chemistry between the two.

I've learned so much in history from this novel (and the TV show).  I am not sure of the accuracy but it is very interesting to learn more about the way of life in Scotland in the 1700s, especially the conflict with the English.  At times, this is not an easy read with the way that they treated the women in their family or community but that was just the way it was back in that time.   This story was also a lot racier than I had originally expected.

I really can't wait to dig into the book 2 to follow the story more and see what more it adds to the world that is not in the TV show.  It may take a while because the audio books are 30 plus hours long!

Book Review / Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

A chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.

Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders, those that are almost impossible to crack—which he titled “Eight Perfect Murders”—chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie’s A. B. C. Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin’s Death Trap, A. A. Milne's Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox's Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain's Double Indemnity, John D. Macdonald's The Drowner, and Donna Tartt's A Secret History.

But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookshop in Boston, when an FBI agent comes knocking on his door one snowy day in February. She’s looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list. And the FBI agent isn’t the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. The killer is out there, watching his every move—a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone, even his recently deceased wife.

To protect himself, Mal begins looking into possible suspects—and sees a killer in everyone around him. But Mal doesn’t count on the investigation leaving a trail of death in its wake. Suddenly, a series of shocking twists leaves more victims dead—and the noose around Mal’s neck grows so tight he might never escape.

Published:     3rd March 2020
Publisher:  William Morrow
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

I've heard so many great things and read so many great reviews for this author, I knew I had to pick up one of his novels to give it a go.  What better novel to pick up than his latest one and I am so glad that I did.

I this story we follow Mal who is the owner of Old Devils Bookship in Boston.  He is visited by an FBI agent who explains that she is looking into a series of unsolved murders that might be linked to a blog post that he wrote for his bookstore a while ago which the FBI agent believes the murders are being based off of.   Mal then sets off to try and figure out what is going on and how he is linked to this, although there is always more to the story than meets the eye and there's certainly more to Mal's story than anyone knows at the time.

What I loved the most was the fact that as the murders are happening we are not paricluarly following the murders.  We are following Mal who is discovering that the murders have happened and trying to figure out what is going on.

I loved this story from start to finish.  I just could not put it down!  I really can't wait to pick up more from this author!

Book Review / The Other Mrs by Mary Kubica

Propulsive and addictive, The Other Mrs. is the twisty new psychological thriller from Mary Kubica, the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl

She tried to run, but she can't escape the other Mrs....

Sadie and Will Foust have only just moved their family from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine when their neighbor Morgan Baines is found dead in her home. The murder rocks their tiny coastal island, but no one is more shaken than Sadie.

But it’s not just Morgan’s death that has Sadie on edge. And as the eyes of suspicion turn toward the new family in town, Sadie is drawn deeper into the mystery of what really happened that dark and deadly night. But Sadie must be careful, for the more she discovers about Mrs. Baines, the more she begins to realize just how much she has to lose if the truth ever comes to light.



Published:     18th February 2020
Publisher:  Park Row
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

After reading most, if not all, of Mary Kubica's novels I am discovering that, for me, I am no longer surprised by any of the twists and turns and can guess what is going to happen at the end most times.  But that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the novel, I liked this one a lot.  Its more about the journey of the main character in this story, Sadie, than any revealations that may come later on in the novel.

What I loved about this story....
For obvious reasons, I won't go into too much detail so as to avoid spoilers but I enjoyed following Sadie as she discovers the truth about what has been happening.  This is something that I had not come across much in novels and an expected twist that I throroughly enjoyed watch being played out.

What I didn't like about this story...
Honestly, the middle part of this story, for me, was a bit slow and it did lose my interest a couple of times but I am so glad that I stuck with it because it was completely worth it for that ending.

In summary...
A slow burn thriller with a very interesting twist at the end that was predicable for me but worth the read, for sure.