Anwar Kabir Kabir itibaren Chandke, Punjab, Hindistan itibaren Chandke, Punjab, Hindistan

I would have given this 3 stars if the author hadn't made several attempts to equate his self inflicted troubles with those of the leprosy patients and his continued expressions of feeling that he understood what they were going through - or had gone through. White has champagne tastes and a raging ambition to be the best at something. In efforts to establish a publishing empire he begins to kite checks - rob from Peter to pay Paul as my mother use to say. He is caught and sentenced to 18 months in a federal prison. That prison is in Carville Louisiana. Established as a leprosarium in the 1800's it continued to house patients as well as acting as a prison. Mr. White has several epiphanies during his incarceration. And, although I may or may not be able to relate to his realizations of what he has done to his family and how much he misses his children, I thought it got bogged down with descriptions of every shared action when he and the children are together or times with them in the past. The history of the leprosarium and the stories of the patients are very interesting and definitely worth the read. But White's seeming naivete is a little puzzling.

The 4th book in The Witches of Santa Anna series, and again I am a little disappointed in the length of this book, another 20 minute read. Although the content of the book does not disappoint! Again we are thrown into the world of Nat and Cam, and this time the secret of the Triad is out! The discovery of a black butterfly necklace is all it takes to convince Nat that there is something strange going on with the 3 most popular girls in school, combined with a strange ex-boyfriend who keeps appearing and the new relationship between Cam's best friend and one of the triad I am dying to know what happens next, and hopefully the next book will wrap up the story.

One book that has been on my TBR list that I finally got around to reading (and I’m so glad I did!) is Minder. If you read my blog enough, you know that I have series issues with abuse in stories. I just can’t read it myself--don’t watch it in movies, and find it very difficult to invest myself in a book that deals heavily on the subject. When we first meet Maddie, she is in the midst of being attacked. Oh God, my heart almost gave out on me. I almost put the book down. However, the scene was quickly over, and no sooner was she attacked than she was able to save herself. The means in which she defeated her attackers had me hooked on the story by the first chapter. I’m so happy I pushed through. What Maddie had endured, and the way she handled it, brought me very close with her character. And as she began a new life in the Ganzfield boarding school, I felt for her as she faced all new obstacles and hardships. She was more than a likable character. I always fail in my reviews to express just how much I love a character when they truly touch me, but just trust me; Maddie is a strong, fierce, and thoughtful girl with amazing insight. And that’s not just because of her ability which allows her to see into other’s minds, though that does help with her growth as she evaluates the rights and wrongs of doing so. But she herself grew throughout the story to become a much stronger person because of who she was and her principles. What I really loved about this story was the relationship between Maddie and Trevor. Normally I’m all swoony over a great lead guy, but I’m hooked on Trevor in a deeper way. He is drop dead gorgeous for sure, but because we are able to see what he’s thinking through Maddie, we are given everything. His vulnerability, worries, desires, strengths, weaknesses…. Everything. He’s an amazing character. The love between Maddie and Trevor literally made me breathless. While I was reading, there were passages where Maddie had to remind herself to breathe, and I found that I’d been holding my breath also. It’s just that passionate. The paranormal aspect of the story was phenomenal. I'm so picky about this. For me, if there's not a strong enough plot, the romance fails. Both have to balance each other to make the story work. I completely lost myself in this story--rooting for the characters as they discovered more about their abilities and also following along with the logic and theories. I didn't pause once to question if something wasn't plausible, I simply nodded along, caught up in the world. Even had a discussion with my 13yo son later at the table about lucid dreams lol. Okay, when I love a book this much I can go on and on. I tend to ramble. So I’m going to end my review here and simply say that Ms. Kaynak is an amazingly talented writer. I loved the voice of this story, and I fell in love with the characters. If you’re looking for something fresh in the YA Paranormal Romance department, do yourself a favor and check out Minder. If I still listed my review flames for ratings on my site, my blog would be on fire!

What I liked about this book: It was an incredible story, first off. And it was just well written. I liked that I knew it was a non-fiction account so I didn't have to wonder what was true and what wasn't. I thought Hillenbrand did a fantastic job putting together the story of the main character, as well as the history of what was going around him during World War II. This one's worth the read.

weird and interesting.