I won this book through Goodreads First Reads. I entered because: the description was unlike any book I've read before, it had high ratings, and everyone mentioned the beautiful writing. I hated the writing. This book was basically Mayumi over-analyzing absolutely everything. Everything went on and on and there was way too much shit in parenthesis (I found it to be VERY distracting) I find the whole thing very hard to believe - everyone knew and was okay with what was going on? Mayumi annoyed me to no end. She was a very childish 41-year-old woman. I was embarrassed by some of her actions and words towards the young man. She was like a prepubescent girl with her first crush not a married, grown-up woman with a four-year-old child to take care of. The two women needed some sense slapped into them.

There aren't many options for a young woman growing up on a family farm in the early 1900's, but Liddie Treadway is determined to pursue a career instead of getting married and starting a family. She patiently waits for the day when both of her parents agree to let her work as a seamstress in town. Several obstacles are thrown into Liddie's path but eventually her dream comes true. She loves her independence, her employer, and her new friend Minnie. She even has a new-found passion: photography; but she misses her family and friends and the life she once had at the farm. Liddie must decide what she truly wants - a life of adventure or a life of love. I wanted to like this book. I felt as though the characters were mostly one-dimensional and flat. The book itself is forgettable.

Summer has just begun and eleven-year-old Timmy Quinn and his best friend Pete are looking for something to do in their small, boring town of Delaware. They go down to Myers Pond where they discover an odd looking boy sitting on the bank.  This is a really solid short story, and the first in the series about Timmy Quinn. Good writing, interesting story, never dull. I look forward to reading the next one!

Nick Hansen makes a trip to the grocery store one day and sees a young woman who looks exactly like his college girlfriend, Marissa. But Marissa died in a fire twenty years ago and when he tries to speak to the young woman, she gets spooked and runs off. The next morning the police arrive at his apartment bright and early to show him a photo of the young woman at the grocery store. She was murdered and a piece of paper was found in her pocket with his name and address on it. Nick is convinced there's a connection between the two women. With the help of his friend, Laurel, who happens to be a cop, they dig deep into the past and begin to unravel one hell of a story. This book was so good! It was a suspenseful, well-written novel - it flowed together well and the characters were three-dimensional. I'm an animal lover, so I was rooting for Riley the whole way!

Wolf is still holding Lady Killane for ransom. She is locked away in a beautiful room underground where she is served three meals a day and is allowed to bathe and read. She still struggles with her feelings for Wolf but she's also thinking hard about how to escape from the den. I can't wait to find out what happens next!