Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved, Loved, Loved. Yes, I went through that phase of loving horses (as a twelve-year-old). I read all the Black Stallion books, Black Beauty, and books about Man O’War. Even named one of my Marx horses after him. Of course, I knew who Seabiscuit was from that time, so I recognized tons and tons of names (mostly the horses’ names!) Whirlaway, Citation, Whichee, and naturally, War Admiral. I loved getting to know all the players in the book – and I love that Ms. Hillenbrand used quotes and obviously did her research. This was my second time reading it, and it still kept me hooked all the way through. Makes me want to get all the old books out and re-read them too.

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Colors of You by Jane Charles
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Lightweight. I really didn’t care about either of the main characters. There are other books in this series, don’t think I’ll read them. Took me a long time to read this because it didn’t interest me, but I am kind of OCD about finishing a book once I’ve started it.

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Julius Katz Mysteries by Dave Zeltserman
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

First off, I don’t like Archie. And I didn’t really like Julius. And the way the mysteries were “solved” – bogus. Archie at least talks about his theories. Julius just ‘thinks’ about his ideas and then poof! The mystery is solved. No clues or foreshadowing at all. Even Mrs. Fletcher let you see all the things she saw when trying to solve the murder. Julius did all his solving inside his head and then announced it. I assume this was supposed to be something akin to Sherlock Holmes. Nope. Not even close.

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Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The whole thing made me think of ‘The Great Gatsby’. I don’t know if that’s because the time periods were the same or the author captured some of Fitzgerald’s style. I haven’t seen the movie, I wanted to read the book first. I don’t think I’ll go see the movie now – some pretty graphic scenes in the books that I wouldn’t want to see on a screen.

I know it was a different time, but I can’t fathom the outright cruelty that not only the animals endured, but also people. I guess I’m sheltered because I’m sure that there are places in the world (and in the US) that this situation wouldn’t seem so unbelievable.

On a lighter note, it was a great look into the old circuses. I’ve never seen a Ringling Bros. circus (I can’t remember the name of the one that used to come to my hometown all during my elementary school years), but I still remember how sparkly and glamorous that life seemed. Water for Elephants showed the dark side of the traveling circus, but kept some of the glamor too.

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The Last Airship by Christopher Cartwright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was worried at first that it was title Sam Reilly #1. I hoped there wasn’t a cliffhanger ending, and there wasn’t. (At least not overtly cliffhanger-y.) The story was taken to its conclusion, but there was one thing left open to pursuing in the next book (or two, maybe). The story itself kept me interested. I took the author at his word as far as the science and climbing information went. Bottom line, I liked it enough that I’d read more by this author.

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The Queen of New Beginnings by Erica James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a quick read too. It was a nice story, and I liked all of the characters. The very end was pretty predictable (about what George did at the end for Alice) I was interested enough in the story to keep reading-kept turning pages. Nice and light with a happy ending.

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Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beneath a Scarlet Sky is about the ‘forgotten front’ – Italy in WWII. Since it’s based on real life, it doesn’t have a completely closed ending. A few unanswered questions, but yeah, that’s life. The story itself was engaging and I cared a lot about all the characters, got to know Pino well and I could understand his motives and why things happened the way they did. Also felt his guilt. Going to look for more books by this author.

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The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s easy to see how things could get to be this way – post apocalypse world and all. I just wanted more closure. I guess people can say that it ends the way it does because the things that are left unanswered in the book would probably be unanswered in that world. Too bad. It’s a book. I wanted answers. That’s my OCD talking. I need an ending and the book didn’t give me one.

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Crimes Against a Book Club by Kathy Cooperman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nice easy read. The ending was plausible. Good summer reading.

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Wrath by T.R. Ragan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The final book of the trilogy – this was the perfect ending. I got as much closure as I needed, all the loose ends were tied up. (Don’t you hate when you put in the time to read three books and there is still one or two subplots to tie up?) Thankfully, that does not happen in this case. My only wish for this would be for the author to recommend some organizations that help find people who are victims of sex-trafficking. (Not that I couldn’t research that myself, but let’s face it, I’m lazy)

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