I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon

I Was Anastasia
By: Ariel Lawhon
Publisher: Doubleday
📖📖📖/5
// I received this ARC for free from NetGalley in return for an honest review //
Check it out on March 27, 2018!

I Was Anastasia follows Anastasia Romanov's last years as tsarevna of Russia and Anna Anderson, the woman who claims to be the murdered Anastasia Romanov herself. The story is told in duel fashion with one storyline following Anastasia up until her alleged death in 1918 and the other following Anna as she tries to prove to the masses that she is the true heir to the Romanov name. Anastasia's story moves in chronological fashion as Anna's moves backwards in time. Along the way the reader is never sure whether or not Anna truly is Anastasia and it leaves you guessing until the very end.

To be honest, I have no idea how I feel about this book. The duel timelines were not my favorite. It was often hard to follow the story because of how often it jumped back and forth. I also didn't like the story or any of the characters for about 80% of the book as well. There seemed to be little character development which is a pet peeve of mine. Without sounding too harsh, I kept asking myself when it would end and if I could stop reading it. Luckily, I stuck it out until the end to finally figure out if she was Anastasia or not. Sorry, no spoilers here! (Though honestly you could look up the true story online) The Anastasia story line, to me, was much more interesting than hearing about Anna and her troubles. It was interesting to read a bit of what her finalyyears could have been like. I found that I couldn't put the book down in the last 10% of the book. Had Lawhon kept the suspense that she packed into the last 10% throughout more of the story it would have been stronger in my opinion.

I did enjoy the writing style overall and Lawhon's description of the events in 1918-1919 were vivid and I found myself imagining what it must have felt like to be the family in their final moments. For these reasons I recommend this book to historical fiction lovers or those curious to read a story involving the last Russian royal family.

#iwasanastasia #netgalley #books #historicalfiction #doubleday

Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna

Two Girls Down
By: Louisa Luna
Published By: Doubleday
Rating: 📖📖📖.5/5

Two Girls Down is a kidnap/mystery story about the two Brandt girls, Kylie and Bailey, who disappear from a strip mall while their mother makes a quick stop in a K-Mart. In the town on Denville, Pennsylvania the police are overwhelmed and undermanned. A Brandt family member reaches out to Alice Vega a private investigator known for finding missing children. Vega enlists the help of a former cop named Max Caplan who knows the area and the local police force. The two discover just how twisted the story is behind the girls' disappearance and learn that even small towns hold big secrets.

I must say that this story sounded oh-too-familiar when I found out it took place in Pennsylvania. A town that is riddled with drug problems? Seems to be par for the course in Pennsylvania these days. When Luna mentions places like Lebanon and Hershey, I couldn't help but laugh as those areas are so familiar to me. It's nice to read a book and actually be able to visualize the area in your head and how the story could fit in there.

The story itself was decent. You have the slightly off investigator (Vega) who is eerily similar to Salander of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fame and the rejected cop who end up being the heroes. The writing is good if missing a little detail. I did want to be sucked in a bit more. There are definitely moments where I couldn't put the book down, but at the end I didn't feel satisfied. I didn't really want to know how the family turned out or if Cap and Vega ever work together again in the future. When I read a book I want to feel like I lost a friend. I just didn't feel that with this book. But overall, it was still a good read!

I would recommend this book to the mystery buff for a quick, easy read!

Bad Man by Dathan Auerbach

Bad Man
By: Dathan Auerbach
Published By: Doubleday Books
Rating: 📖📖📖📖.5/5
// I received this ARC for free in exchange for an honest review //

It started as any other day. There was a game of hide and seek and then a trip to the grocery store with your little brother. We've all been there, having to babysit a younger sibling while trying to get something done. For Ben, it was just another day until his brother Eric disappears from the bathroom. Ben immediately goes into panic mode and begins looking for his brother to no avail. Over the next five years Ben never gives up looking for his brother although it seems like the town has given up. In spite of the horrible memories the store invokes, Ben takes a job at the very grocery store where Eric disappeared. But the store has plans for Ben as he slowly unravels the mystery of what may have happened to his brother.

Wow. Just wow. I can't even put into words how confused, drained and invested I was in this book. I thought it might never end...in a good way! Auerbach has a way with words and character development that is often missing in horror books. I felt what Ben was going through has he looked for his brother. I actually yelled at the book at one point because I was so surprised what happened. I just wanted to know what happened to Eric and how it would all turn out in the end. Just when I thought it was over and everything was resolved, Auerbach threw in just one more twist that made me say "ugh, that ending!" It is really hard to write this review without giving away any details, so I will keep it short.

I highly, highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good mystery. I will likely pick up Pen Pal too because I can't get enough of Auerbach's writing!

#doubleday #badman #netgalley #dathanauerbach #mystery #kidnap #suspense

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

The Chalk Man
By: C.J. Tudor
Publisher: Crown Publishing
📖📖📖📖/5


In C.J. Tudor's ¨The Chalk Man we are introduced to Ed and his crew of friends who unwillingly start a chain of events when a ride at the fair goes haywire. Ed helps save a young girl, whom he calls Waltzer Girl, injured in the accident. Ed becomes famous in his town for saving the girl's life. Later, one of the group of friends receives sidewalk chalk as a birthday gift from an unknown source. They decide to leave each other symbols about when and where to meet one another. The "chalk men" become a new way the boys can communicate with one another throughout the town. What starts as an innocent communication between friends becomes more when the body of a girl is found with similar chalk men around it. Tudor leads the reader down a path of twists and turns and just when you think you have solved the mystery, you are left in the dust.

I have to admit that at first I thought I would not enjoy this book at all. The flip flopping of time periods confused me and it was hard to grasp the story at first. I'm not generally a fan of time jumping but I quickly got used to it as the story went on and we were given more details in the story. On top of that, the story got off to a slow start. However, as the story unfolded I found myself hooked. Tudor does an excellent job building suspense. And the use of many, many red herrings made the story more exciting. I also enjoyed the delving into the mental state of some of the characters. There were many times I was sitting there wondering what was real and what may have been imagined by the characters. No spoilers here, but I can tell you that not everyone is as they seem in this book. If you are looking for a book with many twists and leaves you questioning your own mental state, this is the book for you!

Egyptian Enigma by L.J.M Owen

Egyptian Enigma

By L.J.M Owen

Published By: Echo/Bonnier Publishing Australia

Publish Date: March 1, 2018

Bookies Rating: 📖📖📖.5 / 5

// I received this ARC from #netgalley for free in return for an honest review //

Egyptian Enigma is the third installment of the Dr. Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth series. The story follows Dr. Pimms (Elizabeth) as she visits Egypt only to find something doesn't seem right in the Cairo Museum as she studies the display of one of the mummies and its corresponding papyrus. While in Egypt, Elizabeth's journal is stolen for an unknown reason and Elizabeth wonders what she has gotten herself into. As she returns home, she meets with her fellow colleagues and they begin to unravel the mystery of the suspicious papyrus and The Golden Tomb. They learn of Egyptian royal murder and also find that their work can bring unwanted consequences for Elizabeth's own family. 

Egypt?! Archaeology?! Mystery?! There are few other strings of words that could make me want to read a book more than these. The archaeologist/historian/book nerd in me was screaming to get access to this upcoming book. Owen does a great job of weaving historical facts with the mystery without making the facts sound boring. I actually found myself enjoying reading about the royal families and the history aspects more than the majority of the modern aspect of the story. I wish I could have liked the overall story more, however it was very hard to do so. I don't know if it is a product of not reading the previous two stories, but I didn't feel like I could connect to any of the characters other than Elizabeth and even that was hard. It was hard to figure out where the author was trying to go. 

The entire book I was wondering why her journal was stolen, why her grandfather was attacked and why I needed to know anything about her tutoring at the college. I felt as if there were too many questions and not enough answers. Having loose ends that tie into the next book is fine, but it is my opinion that through the book you have to at least give the reader some hints or clues to major events before the end of the book. But for the flaws (and every book has them), it was a neat little book that spoke to my inner history buff. I did enjoy the science that the group used in order to solve the mystery and I was often reminded of Bones, the TV show, which I am a huge fan of. I'm hoping to snag the previous two books and will keep an eye out for the next. I'm happy I had access to this one. Thanks NetGalley!