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From the author of the critically acclaimed Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell thrillers, here is a heart-stopping ride that Cheryl Strayed (author of #1 New York Times bestseller Wild) called “deeply intelligent and grippingly suspenseful…a wickedly brilliant masterpiece.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Kick Lannigan has taught herself to be dangerous. She can pick any lock, fire any weapon, throw any knife, and aim a punch at her opponent’s trachea. She has also taught herself to be safe. So when enigmatic John Bishop shows up asking her to help him rescue missing kids, Kick has every reason to be wary. He appears to have access to limitless money, high-level contacts, and details of Kick’s background long kept sealed by the court. Yet everything he tells her about himself seems to be a lie.                                                                                                                           Headstrong by nature, suspicious by circumstance, and a smart-ass by self-determination, Kick can’t help but see the writing on the wall: together, she and Bishop could make an unstoppable team, willing to do whatever it takes—legal or not—to see justice served…if they don’t kill each other first. For Kick, whose interest in child abduction is deeply personal, it’s a gamble worth taking.                                                                                                                                                 Critically acclaimed as “excruciating…compelling” (Booklist, starred review) and “a propulsive new thriller” (People), One Kick is an engrossing, entertaining new novel you won’t want to miss.

It's tough to resist a summary that intriguing, don't you think?  I certainly couldn't.  Even though the novel concerns child endangerment/abuse through abduction, isolation, and exploitation—subjects which always turn my stomach—I kept reading.  Why?  Believe me, I asked myself that more than once.  The answer is simple: Kick Lannigan is a fascinating character.  After her own traumatic childhood, the now 21-year-old promised herself she would never be vulnerable again.  And she isn't.  She's tough, she's shrewd, she's cool under pressure.  Yet, she makes mistakes.  She's not one of those slick kick butt heroines whose methods and decisions are always spot-on.  No, Kick is very real.  Because of her painful childhood as well as her devotion to those who need protection (her brother, James; her blind/deaf dog; the kids she tracks down with Bishop), she's a sympathetic character.  You can't help rooting for her, even if her tactics are not always admirable.

Besides Kick, the novel's compelling because it's suspenseful, action-packed, and just all-around engrossing.  I couldn't put it down, even though it's seriously disturbing.  Now I'm kinda regretting that I read it, seeing as how the sequel, Kick Back, is coming out in January 2016.  I have no self-control because darn it, I'm going to read it, I'm excited to read it.  I'm just not sure my stomach will be able to handle another wild ride with Kick Lannigan ...

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

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Stella Layne has always been known as the girl with The Voice.  Ever since kindergarten, the 15-year-old has stunned people with her singing.  For shy Stella, it's become a pathway to fitting in, finding her place.  Something she desperately needs now as she deals with both her parents' divorce and a move that lands her in a new high school.  But, just as she's using her talent to make herself known, a freak accident steals one of her most precious possessions—her hearing.  Without it, Stella can't hear herself speak, let alone sing.  The accident has not just robbed her of the starring role in the upcoming school musical, but also of her lifelong goal of singing on Broadway.


Destroyed by the demolition of all her dreams, the last thing Stella wants to hear is that everything is going to be okay.  And yet, that's exactly what Hayden Rivers is trying to tell her.  With his movie star looks, the 17-year-old would probably be the most popular guy in school if it weren't for his persistent stutter.  Stella doesn't care about that—she's been drawn to him ever since she first saw him.  So, when he challenges her to give him 17 days to show her all the things she can do without her hearing, she takes him up on it.

As Stella steps outside her own grief, she realizes that there's more to Hayden than she ever could have imagined.  And that there's no one with whom she'd rather spend her time.  With an operation that could restore Stella's hearing fast approaching, both teens worry that it will change them, change the relationship they've built ever since Stella's accident.  Will Hayden's attention wane if she no longer needs his pity?  Will Stella turn her back on the boy who stutters if her life goes returns to normal and she doesn't need him anymore?  Can the two damaged teens find their happily ever after?

Silence, a new contemporary YA novel from actress/singer/songwriter/lawyer Deborah Lytton, is a clean, compelling novel about one girl's journey to find herself when she thinks everything that defines her is lost forever.  A quick read, Silence was engrossing enough to keep me turning pages, if not racing through them.  That being said, there are some big things in this book that drove me batty.  Stella, for one.  Her obvious pain garnered my sympathy—for a time.  After awhile, though, her absorption with her own suffering bugged.  I liked Hayden, who spent all his time trying to help other people despite his own trials, much better.  Stella also seemed a little aimless since her only concrete goal—making it to Broadway—was so far-off.  Prose-wise, Silence got very tell-y (as opposed to, you know, show-y), which made it feel overwritten and melodramatic.  So, while I appreciated that it told a clean, inspirational story (which isn't easy to find in teen lit), Silence's irritating heroine and lackadaisical writing turned me off this one.  In the end, then, I found it to be just an average, okay read.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a little of Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler and When the Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright)

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New books come into my house every day, it seems.  Sometimes I look around and wonder where in the world they all came from.  My husband's cousin once said, "I've never seen this many books in one house before."  Which made me laugh, because she didn't even know about the boxes of review copies that are stuffed into my guest room closet.  Book nerd problems, I tell ya!

Considering my *little* book acquisition addiction (you can never have too much of a good thing, right?), today's Top Ten Tuesday topic du jour seemed especially appropriate.  But before we get to that, I want to make sure you know how you, too, can join the TTT fun.  All you have to do is go on over to The Broke and the Bookish, read the instructions for posting, write up your own TTT list, and share it with the rest of us.  So easy.  And fun!  You want to get in on this, trust me ...

Okay, here we go with the Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession:



1.  Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton—After watching Jurassic World, which I didn't love (it was exciting/entertaining, but seriously lacking in plot and character development), I realized I'd never actually read the Jurassic Park books.  I tried reserving the first one at my library, but they only had a couple of copies of the novel and both had looonnnggg waiting lists.  So, I bought it.  Read it.  And ... yeah.  Bottom line:  I liked Jurassic Park the movie a lot better.


2.  Still Life by Louise Penny—Lately, I've been really enjoying traditional murder mystery series set in small towns around the globe.  I like the local color just as much (maybe more) than the twisty plots.  I've been hearing about Penny's popular series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and finally decided to give it a try.  Verdict:  I'm loving it.


3.  I Am David by Anne Holm and L.W. Kingsland (translator)—This is an older book, but I just barely heard about it.  It's a survival story starring a 12-year-old boy who's been trapped in a brutal Eastern European prison camp his whole life.  When a chance to escape arises, he takes it.


4.  Open Season by C.J. Box—Like I said (see #2), murder mysteries set in quirky little places have been finding their way into my home a lot these days.  This is another popular series that I've been meaning to read for awhile now.  Open Season is waiting for me at the library—I just need to go pick it up.


5.  Bones on Ice by Kathy Reichs—I love the novella trend.  These short books help tide me over while I wait for the next installments in my favorite series.  This one has my girl Temperance Brennan examining a mummified corpse from atop Mt. Everest.  Sounds intriguing, no?


6.  The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler—This YA contemporary caught my attention because of the brown-skinned, black-haired girl on the cover.  I always love it when books feature characters who look like my beautiful bi-racial daughter.  The fact that the novel is a modern version of The Little Mermaid makes it even more enticing.


7.  Earthquake by Aprilynne Pike—Even though it's a little predictable (at least in some ways), I enjoyed EarthBound.  Thus, I had to comb the library shelves for its sequel.  Voilá!


8.  Summer of the Dead by Julia Keller—This is the third book in the Bell Elkins mystery series and the best, in my opinion.  Set in small-town West Virginia (see #2 and #4), all these books offer didn't-see-that-coming plot twists as well as fascinating ruminations on Appalachian culture.  Can't wait for the next book in the series, Last Ragged Breath, which comes out in August.


9.  A Thousand Miles to Freedom: My Escape From North Korea by Eunsun Kim—I just got a review copy of this book from the publisher.  True survival stories always intrigue and inspire me, so I'm excited to delve into this one.


10.  Weightless by Sarah Bannan—A copy of this contemporary YA about a good girl who gets shunned because of a scandalous video gone viral just landed in my mailbox.  Sounds timely and interesting.

There you go.  So, what do you think of my recent acquisitions?  Have you read any of them?  More importantly, if you have any suggestions for good mystery series set in a small town anywhere in the world, let me know.  Also, I'd love to see your TTT list.  Leave me a comment and I'll gladly return the favor.

Happy TTT!

(All book images from Barnes & Noble)