"The Chosen Ones," by Veronica Roth

The Chosen One, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is Veronica Roth's first novel written specifically for adults.  I requested to review on Netgalley, with little hope, because these big authors usually have hard requirements to meet on Netgalley to review...but to my amazement I was accepted!  I couldn't wait to dive in.
Five teenagers have been prophesied to defeat an enemy that is ravaging the world. Years later our main character Sloane cannot seem to find her place in the world.  She doesn't mold well with the new celebrity lifestyle that has been thrust upon her and is now without a purpose.  Parallel worlds, zombies, magic, an impending apocalypse...this book has everything.  The plot takes several twists and turns and keeps you from closing the book and getting some sleep!  I know this is not supposed to be a YA book, but honestly it kind of felt like one to me (not a bad thing). The relationship backstories and developments are solid. I did figure out some of the twists, but not others so it was suspenseful enough.  Overall I really liked this read and would recommend it to anyone who likes dystopian.  The next book in the series cannot come out soon enough!

A copy of this book was provided to me for review by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

"Acceptable Risk," by Robin Cook

I was hesitant to write a review for Acceptable  Risk, by Robin Cook but was egged on a bit by my favorite  book friend Bean (Hey, Bean!) after texting her  a picture of the singularly worst sentence I've  ever read. Yes, worse than Bella naming her baby Renesmee in Twilight! Not only was it the worst sentence  I've ever read, but it was in an unnecessary  chapter. Who adds a chapter  in the last 100 pages to introduce  two new characters  only to do nothing with that storyline?
Beyond that the dialog  was clunky and awkward. Specifically on the romantic front but really just all around. It was like Cook is a hermit and has never had human interaction . To make it worse our main character goes from dating one a-hole to another as  if the world has no good men and even though she knows it's she is too submissive and ashamed. What women does this author  know? Not one relationshipr or aquantance-ship in this book was believable.
The characters  all held jobs that required them to be of high  intelligence, but throwing a large word in clumsy dialog  doesn't  make it any better nor the characters  more believable .
Also, I find it extremely hard to believe a SICU nurse would be allowed to take 4 consecutive  weeks of vacation .

The above is all unfortunate  because the plot was quite good. Somewhat of a dual line story "present day" (1994) and the Salem Witch trials. I wish there was more POV of the Salem Witch time line but the letters that were found were well done and the plot was interesting  enough to keep me reading.

Overall I wouldn't  recommend and will never read this author again. If the plot sounds interesting   read "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane," by Katherine Howe instead.

"Stories that Bind Us," by Susie Finkbeiner

 Stories That Bind Us, (Revell), by Susie Finkbeiner is a coming of age story.  Our main character Betty Sweet marries her childhood sweetheart only to be widowed at 40. Her in laws are her greatest support system but she is quickly unraveling.  Unexpectedly her estranged sister shows up accompanied by a nephew Betty didn't know she had. As we learn of her sister's mental health issues stories from her childhood explain the full picture. As Betty's sister tries to heal, Betty is left as the sole caretaker for her 5 year-old nephew.

As they are both grieving in their own ways Betty tells stories.  She uses them as a way to teach, inspire, and help Hugo (her nephew) not to feel so alone. The way story is used to heal is so endearing.

Other heavy topics are touched upon lightly as Hugo is a mixed child being raised during the hight of the Civil rights movement. A 5 year old that feels abandoned by his mother, has to struggle to understand why he is ostracized because of the color of his skin, and learn to drop the heavy responsibility of care taker and learn to be just a little boy.

As heavy as that all sounds this was a pretty light read. Hallmarkish in a sense. It felt southern although it wasn't. And I had to remind myself Betty was only 40 as she felt a lot older. 

I would recommend as a poolside read (that is if you have access to a pool this pandemic summer...otherwise just as an easy relaxation).

A copy of this book was provided to me for review by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

"The Woman in the Window," by A.J. Finn

Image credit: Hoopla

They say that those in the mental health field often have their own severe mental health issues to give us. That's just ONE reason our main character is unreliable. And how much more interesting than it gets then trying to unravel the story of an unreliable narrator, and yet the end still shocked me. This would be a great read for those who loved gone girl, except this one doesn't get too drawn out in the middle. It's much more regularly riveting

"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" by Suzanne Collins

Most of this book many characters are morally gray. Which I think people like to ignore, but aren't situations more often gray than black and white? And then when people chose to do good sometimes their motive is inherently selfish, so then are they good or are they really bad? It also focuses much on the topic that it's NOT ok when a society is not allowed to question the belief system. We do not grow if we do not learn and we do not learn if we do not ask questions.
Alas, this story gives you a hope you know will not come true. You see hints of Snow's goodness, and you root for him to be. But we all know the end of that story. And when it was evident that he was cold, it still broke my heart.