I show you my books, you show me yours vol.9

Happy 1st year to the greatest link-up ever!  Thanks to Jana & Steph for being the hostesses with the mostestesses. 

1. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (originally published as The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry, and if your library is like mine, this is the title on the shelves) - Oh.  This book.  If you have not read this book, do yourself a favor and read it. I mean, it's a book about books, booklovers, and a bookstore.  It is endearing and wonderful and sad and quirky.  I laughed, I cried, and it may have leapt up to one of my all-time favorites. 5/5

2. The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow - I've never read the Godfather, but I imagine this book is similar. If you turned it into a movie, you'd need a trilogy. Spanning 25+ years, a DEA agent, a priest, a high-dollar prostitute, some Hell's Kitchen mobsters, and Mexican drug lords mix it up with murder, drug and weapon smuggling, betrayals, conspiracies, politics, corruption, sex, and more. Prior to selecting this book for a book challenge, I was unfamiliar with this author.  (He wrote the book that the movie Savages was based.)  I will definitely be reading more from him.  There's also a follow-up to this one; don't read about it on goodreads (if you intend to read this one and don't want spoilers) like I did. 5/5

 3.  The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson - This is a book that I'd added based on this link-up's recommendation (but I can't remember who recommended it), and I'm sure glad I did. There were several plot twists that I thought were excellent.  I was a fan of how it ended.  My only criticism was this: there were a few loose ends or holes that I thought should have been explained, but I don't want to say what they were that bothered me, because I don't want to spoil a thing.  You should still read this.  I'm just being pedantic.  If you like suspense mixed with some messed up folks, this is a good one.  4.25/5*

4.  Depending on where you live or what year the publication of the book you pick up, this book is either titled I Am the Messenger OR The Messenger by Markus Zusak -There is some really great stuff here.  At times, I got really annoyed and slightly angry.  Then, as the story continued, I liked that I had that response.  It was thought-provoking and demanded an array of emotions to be experienced.  I also felt encouraged, hopeful, and was brought to tears more than once.  Sometimes, I wanted to hug and applaud the main character; other times I wanted to tell him that he was a complete idiot.  Read it for yourself, and you decide. 4.5/5

 5. Motive by Jonathan Kellerman - There is a reason that Jonathan Kellerman is on his 30th book of the Alex Delaware series...the combination of a psychologist with his L.A. homicide detective best friend plus well-done pyscho thriller plots makes for enjoyable reads.  These stories have re-occurring characters, but don't hesitate to pick up one of these books if you haven't read others in the series.  They work as stand-alone stories too.  4/5

6. Speak No Evil by Allison Brennan - You know how goodreads recommends books to you based on what you've read and rated?  Allison Brennan has been regularly recommended to me.  Then, Kerry and I were chatting about it because she's read a lot of this author.  She recommended I start with this series/trilogy, so that's just what I did.  The villian is a severely damaged whackjob-psycho-sociopath-rapist-murderer-creep...and as much as I don't want to know that kind of person in real life, I do read some books with these kinds of folks.  I will definitely read more of this author.  Thanks for the recommendation Kerry & goodreads! 3.75/5*

7.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie -  Quirky and cute. Sad and depressing, yet full of hope and inspiration too. A quick read that I read in honor of Banned Books Week. 4/5

8.  The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay - How many of you have recommended this book?  A lot of you.  Well, thank you.  I finally read it, and it was magnificent.  This conversation occurred after I openly weeped on my train commute while reading:
My guy: Is that fiction?
Me: Yes
My guy: Then, why are you crying?  It's not like it's real.
Me:  Because.........emotions........so many emotions
My guy:  mmmmmmkay
5+/5

 9.  Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter - Thriller readers, have you read this author?  You should.  She's one of my absolute favorites.  She has a couple of series books, but this one is a stand alone.  If you like creeptastic bad guys, read this.  But I'm warning you, this one is especially vile, and the evils committed are gruesome. Due to some far-fetched parts, I score it 4/5.

*The way I score books has gotten ridiculous.

I've shown you mine, now show me your books!