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

Possible spoilers, so if you haven’t read the summaries of the books…or the books themselves, don’t continue reading here.

The second book in the trilogy was just as engaging as the first. Action filled, with character development to fill in. I got to know a lot more about the other main characters (besides Faith), and their stories are just as interesting as hers. This one ends with part of Faith’s mission accomplished and some of the aftermath of that. It also sets up the last book to the point that I finished it and started the third book immediately after.

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

yes, this is the first part of a trilogy, except the summary was too interesting to skip it. I was just happy to be able to get all three books for free using Kindle Unlimited. The story was big enough to fill all three books – maybe it could have been put into two, but the way the author split it up was probably best.

I could definitely see things playing out the way they did in the book, it felt (for lack of a better word) logical. I liked all of the main characters, although I did have to warm up to the police detective. I was engaged and interested throughout the whole book, it moved along at a great pace. Worth the time it took to read, enough action to keep things going, and enough character development to make me care what happened.

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Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General by Bill O’Reilly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pretty compelling argument for a cover-up (but then, I’m sort of a conspiracy theorist anyway, so I would expect the evidence to point to an assassination rather than a car accident). What surprised me is the obvious dislike O’Reilly had for Eisenhower and Bradley. Liked this one enough that I want to get hold of Killing Kennedy. That should give my little conspiracy heart some good reading….

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