Screams You Hear by James Morris
Screams You Hear
Author: James Morris
Published: January 8, 2018
275 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 2-9, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Book Description:
Murder and madness infect a small town.
For sixteen-year-old Ruthie Stroud, life on tiny Hemlock Island in the Pacific Northwest is an endless sea of boring green, in a place where everybody knows everybody’s business and nothing ever happens. Then her world is ripped apart when her parents’ divorce and a new man enters her mother’s life. But worse is yet to come.
When she drifts ashore on the mainland, hideously burned, Ruthie has a harrowing tale to tell. It begins with the murder of a family. It ends with her being the sole survivor of a cataclysm that sweeps her little island. As a detective attempts to unravel Ruthie’s story of murder and madness, only one horrifying conclusion can be drawn: whatever was isolated on remote Hemlock Island may now have come to the mainland. Is Ruthie safe? Is anyone?
Jessica’s Review:
There is nothing to really say about Screams You Hear other than I was astonished by it!
Ruthie is our narrator and tells us her tale of living through pure terror on the island she lives on. The story takes place in the present but starts at just four days previously, and the chapters go back and forth until everything combines together in a horrific way.
Ruthie’s story is one of unimaginable terror. This is a story about extreme violence against teens.This novel will not be for everyone, but if it is for you, then you will not want to put it down! Screams goes full throttle all the way up to that ending.
The only negative I can say about Screams is that I figured out the ending, so it lost some of its shock value for me. I was still left open mouthed at the ending, but not quite like most others who have read it.
Another thing to say: Once you finish it you will want to go back and read it again!
This is a novel to read in one sitting if possible to get its full effect: I wish I had been able to read it that way!
I cannot praise Screams enough and will definitely read more by James Morris. If you enjoy thrillers/horror then run and go get this one now!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Blog Tour: Only the Lonely
Today I help end the blog tour for Only the Lonely by Joanne Nicholson where I will be sharing my review! I enjoyed this one and will be looking at what else she has written!
Book Description:
After Tiffany is orphaned on the night of her 18th birthday, she discovers, as the sole heir to her parents’ estate, she has inherited a frozen embryo from when her parents did IVF to have her. Feeling lost, alone and longing for a sense of family, Tiffany can’t bring herself to destroy or donate the embryo. Instead, she decides to be impregnated with her biological twin.
A legal battle ensues over whether the embryo is a person or property and the ethics of whether it is acceptable to give birth to your own sibling.
Set in Australia, this contemporary fiction novel is full of emotion, dilemmas and unexpected friendships, as Tiffany forges a new life without her parents.
Author: Joanne Nicholson
Published: June 12, 2019
191 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: June 30-July 7, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Jessica’s Review:
I read the book description for Only the Lonely, and jumped at the chance to be on the blog tour as it was just so unique! There are so many consequences (both positive and negative) to the many decisions to the various characters that occur throughout the course of the novel.
Tiffany loses both of her parents on the night of her eighteenth birthday. Losing parents at a young age is tough (I lost my father at nineteen) and worse yet is that she is an only child, and she basically has no one. As she works to come to terms with the cause of her parents’ death and works to move on, facing a legal battle, she discovers that that there is a frozen embryo frozen from when her parents did IVF to have her. In essence, this embryo could have been her twin. She decides she wants to be impregnated with the embryo, and thus begins a second legal battle for Tiffany to deal with.
I don’t know if embryos are actually kept long term in fertility clinics, but if they did I could see this situation possibly happen as the first generation of IVF babies are now becoming adults.
The chapters are short and Only the Lonely is a quick read that will have you thinking about everything that happens throughout the novel. I connected with Tiffany and was rooting for her to win her case. She faces a roller coaster of emotions throughout the novel and we see her grow over the course of the story. I would not have been able to make the decision she did at nineteen years old and face everything that she did. The novel also shows the side of the fertility clinic, the court case and the media spectacle that erupts due to the uniqueness of the situation.
I never lost interest in Only the Lonely as I wanted to know what was going to happen and how the judge’s decision would affect Tiffany for the rest of her life no matter what the decision was. Unfortunately, I could not give the novel five stars due to a direction the novel goes with a friendship that Tiffany develops. I could see everything but that friendship happening in reality.
This novel is recommended and after reading about the other novels Nicholson has written, I will be reading more by her.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
About the Author:
Joanne Nicholson is an Australian author who enjoys boating, exercising, reading, writing, music and spending quality time with family and friends.
Joanne’s career began in advertising and marketing. After a hiatus to raise her four children, she owned an indoor play centre, worked in property management and bookkeeping. Joanne gave these up to focus on her passion for writing.
She has published the contemporary women’s fiction novels: ‘Intuition’, ‘In Another Life’ and ‘Positive’, as well as a YA novel ‘Music Score’ and several short stories. Her latest novel is ‘Only the Lonely’.
Contact Joanne:
Website
Twitter @jolnicholson
Instagram @joannenicholsonauthor
Corrupted by Lisa Scottoline
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Published: October 27, 2015
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: January 24-29, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Book Description:
Bennie Rosato the founder of the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm hides her big heart beneath her tough-as-nails exterior and she doesn’t like to fail. Now, a case from her past shows her how differently things might have turned out. Thirteen years ago, Bennie Rosato took on Jason Leftavick, a twelve-year-old boy who was sent to a juvenile detention center after fighting a class bully. Bennie couldn’t free Jason, and to this day it’s the case that haunts her. Jason has grown up in and out of juvenile prison, and his adulthood hasn’t been any easier. Bennie no longer represents those accused of murder, but when Jason is indicted for killing the same bully he fought with as a kid, she sees no choice but to represent him. She doesn’t know whether or not to believe his claims of innocence, but she knows she owes him for past failures–of the law, of the juvenile justice system, and of herself. Forced to relive the darkest period of her life, Bennie will do everything in her power to get the truth, and justice.
Jessica’s Review:
As I have mentioned in previous reviews, I have become a big fan of Lisa Scottoline and the Rosato & Dinunzio series. I have just been reading them out of order. (Not of my own choosing, it was ignorance of not knowing the first one that I read was the fourth in the series…) Now I am all caught up and have read all of the books in this series. Corrupted focuses on the enigma that is the boss-lady herself: Ms.Bennie Rosato, and I can say I saved the best for last. I finally know about Bennie’s life!.
Corrupted starts in present day with Bennie receiving a phone call from a former client who now faces a murder charge. Though she doesn’t take murder cases, she feels that she MUST take on this case because of her past failings with the client, Jason Leftavick.
Corrupted takes us back in time when Jason was a twelve year old dealing with a class bully situation that gets out of hand and Bennie takes on his case. Again, having read this series out of order I know what will happen and was enjoying knowing Bennie’s ‘future’ and wondered how this novel was going to end. There was a huge secret that Bennie has that no one knows that left me with my mouth dropped! When the ‘past’ case ends and we go back to present day I couldn’t help but root for Bennie and Jason to win their case. I had no idea how this case was going to conclude and the way it does end is shocking! It was also a bit unbelievable, but I still really enjoyed it! Due to the unbelieve-ability my rating was 4.5 stars.
The books in this series can all be treated as standalones and therefore can be read out of order and you won’t lose anything by doing that, but I would say read it in order as that is how it is meant to be read.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and look forward to future installments that Ms. Scottoline writes. There is an 11 book series that comes before this one called Rosato & Associates that I must read! Here’s to hoping my library system offers it on audio!
Corrupted is highly recommended!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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