Around 1945: Literature, Citizenship, Rights
Book
Near the end of the Second World War, new ideas about citizenship, national identity, belonging, and...
Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America
Book
Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America uncovers a hidden history of the biggest psychedelic...
Driving home to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets stuck in a terrible snowstorm. It forces her to stop at a rest area in Colorado. There she finds four other strangers stranded as well. When going back out to her car to try to get a cell signal, Darby makes a horrible discovery: in the van next to her vehicle, there's a little girl locked in a crate. Darby has no cell signal, there's no phone at the rest stop, and no way of knowing which of the four strangers has abducted this child. She's trapped and must find a way to rescue the kid. But how?
When I first picked up this book, I found it a little slow. Honestly, I think it's just because it stressed me out completely. One young college student trapped in the snow, trying to save a kid. It's a lot. I will say that Darby Thorne is a total badass (much like my hero, Darby Shaw, of The Pelican Brief).
This book is basically just a horror show, filled with violence, terror, and suspense. You don't know who Darby can trust, or what on earth will happen next. Adams packs a lot of tension into a book set in a rest area, and into a story that spans over less than half a day. It's pretty impressive.
Overall, while I can't say I completely enjoyed this book, because I was constantly worried, it's very well-done and suspenseful. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 here.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2225 KP) rated A Pairing to Die For in Books
Jan 29, 2021
The first in this series was one of my favorite books from 2020, so I had high hopes for this one. I’m pleased to say I enjoyed it. There is plenty of conflict in this book to keep us hooked. I did think the pacing started to slow in the middle, but about the time I thought that, it picked up again and kept going until we reached the end. The characters are still rich, and I appreciated the growth in their relationships, while the new characters fit perfectly into Parker’s world. For those interested because of the wine theme, there are plenty of scenes in Parker’s winery. I’d forgotten that this series is written in the present tense, which I don’t mind once my brain adjusts. There are three delicious sounding recipes with suggested wine pairings at the end of the book. If you haven’t started this series, you need to fix that. If you’ve read the first, this book will please you.
Lotto Results + : Mega Millions Powerball Lottery
News and Lifestyle
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Quick and easy access to Mega Millions, Powerball and state lottery results in the US. This is an...
BreweryMap - Find the source of your beer
Food & Drink and Travel
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BreweryMap is the best way to discover new breweries around you. Wired.com recently called...
Virtual City (Full)
Games and Entertainment
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The immersive free-to-play version, Virtual City Playground®: Building Tycoon, is already live!...
A Hamiton Christmas (HIS #9)
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While some may try, no one ruins a Hamilton family Christmas. From Romantic Suspense BEST-SELLING...
Light My Pyre (Everwood Falls #1)
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EVERWOOD FALLS… a small supernatural community tucked up in the Colorado Rockies where witches,...
Paranormal Romance Cozy Mystery
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2225 KP) rated Survive or Die in Books
Mar 7, 2019
Before things get too far, a small group of employees find a death threat left on Jack Bender’s car. The first night, someone dies, only it isn’t Jack. Was it a tragic accident? Is there a killer at camp? Who will win the raise? Or will accidents befall more people?
This is a creative book. The plot is as much about the competition as the murder, and I got caught up in both stories. One part of the climax turned things darker than I was expecting, but overall, I enjoyed the book and everything is explained by the end. While we have a core number of characters, there are a lot of them, and I had trouble keeping them all straight at times. Fortunately, we usually got the needed context when someone entered a scene. The core characters are well developed, and we get some nice growth in most of them. There is subtle humor aimed at corporate life in the book; as a corporate employee during the day, I found it fun while hitting too close to home.