Christmas in Europe

EEEKKK!!!! I'm so excited for this upcoming trip in the middle of December….we are going to be spending 10 days in Europe for Christmas.  I've always wanted to see the Christmas markets in Germany so we will be flying into Germany on the 17th and making our way by train to Holland by Christmas Day to spend it with our family there.  We fly home around the 27th!

Book Review: Last Seen

I'm on a roll when it comes to my yearly reading goal.  As of now I've read 7 books out of my goal of 15 for the year.  Last Seen, the last book in the Amateur detective trilogy, is a great book where one of the amateur detectives is now in the trap of the killer they are chasing.  The remaining detectives must not only figure out how to save their friend but also uncover the remaining pieces of the killers sorted past all while solving SEVERAL other crimes.  I think it had a perfect end to the trilogy.

Amazon Synopsis:

The stakes are higher than ever in this third installment of The Amateurs, as Aerin finds herself kidnapped by the killer she knows all too well, and her friends must work to solve a puzzle laid out by the villain in order to save her. At first, the mystery they're tasked with seems to have nothing to do with Aerin or her kidnapper. But as Seneca, Maddox, and Madison hit the Jersey Shore to gather clues, they begin to uncover the true background of the killer and the horrors that shaped him into who he is. The scavenger hunt leads them to the family of a recently kidnapped boy, a serial child-snatcher, and dark secrets they could never have seen coming. As Aerin struggles to play nice with the person who killed her sister in order to buy herself time, her friends work feverishly against the ticking clock that could mean her life, and every clue they uncover leads Seneca to suspect she's more connected to the killer's history than she ever realized. With nail-biting suspense, twisted secrets, and non-stop action, this final installment in #1 New York Times best-selling author Sara Shepard's The Amateurs series will shock even the savviest of readers with its big reveal.

Book Review: Follow Me

A couple months ago I did THIS review of the first book in The Amateurs series by Sara Shepard and I couldn't wait to move on and read the rest of the trilogy.  These books are perfect for young adults or really anyone.  A perfect Summer read, the second book in the trilogy is Follow Me.  It follows some newly graduated high schoolers and a few college kids as they try to uncover and catch a complete psychopath and murderer that is playing a serious game of cat and mouse.  The young adults really learn about themselves as they chase a friend/killer around the East coast.

Amazon Synopsis:

It was the perfect night for a party. That is, until twenty-one-year-old Chelsea Dawson disappeared. The social media star was last seen enjoying a beautiful summer night at the Jersey Shore with her friends. But after an explosive fight with her ex-boyfriend, she vanished without a trace. When Seneca, Maddox, Aerin, and Madison hear about the suspected kidnapping, they notice a jarring detail about the victim: she looks exactly like Aerin's sister, Helena, who was killed five years earlier. Seneca is convinced she knows who killed Helena, and she can't shake the feeling that the same person has taken Chelsea. Desperate for answers about the two girls, and the truth behind her mother's murder, Seneca will stop at nothing to find out if the cases are linked. So when Maddox receives an invitation to the Shore from none other than their primary suspect, the Amateurs begin an intense new investigation. Full of disturbing secrets, startling twists, and horrifying revelations, the second book in #1 New York Times best-selling author Sara Shepard's The Amateurs series follows the team down a twisted path—one crafted by a 

Book Review: 18th Abduction

Each year or if I am lucky twice a year I wait for James Patterson to put out a new women's murder club book.  The  most recent addition to this series is the 18th Abduction.  I really had no clue where this story was going to end up but I really liked how it looked back on a situation in Lindsey and Joe's past and tied it into a current situation.  This book and really the entire series are all such good books and easy, fun reads.  Perfect for a beach vacation!  I just hope another comes out by the end of the year so I can also cozy up in the Winter to the Women's Murder Club.

Amazon Synopsis:

Detective Lindsay Boxer's investigation into the disappearance of three teachers quickly escalates from missing persons to murder in the newest Women's Murder Club thriller.

For a trio of colleagues, an innocent night out after class ends in a deadly torture session. They vanish without a clue -- until a body turns up. With the safety of San Francisco's entire school system at stake, Lindsay has never been under more pressure. As the chief of police and the press clamor for an arrest in the "school night" case, Lindsay turns to her best friend, investigative journalist Cindy Thomas. Together, Lindsay and Cindy take a new approach to the case, and unexpected facts about the victims leave them stunned. 

While Lindsay is engrossed in her investigation, her husband, Joe Molinari, meets an Eastern European woman who claims to have seen a notorious war criminal -- long presumed dead -- from her home country. Before Lindsay can verify the woman's statement, Joe's mystery informant joins the ranks of the missing women. Lindsay, Joe, and the entire Women's Murder Club must pull together to protect their city, and one another -- not from a ghost, but from a true monster.

Happy Reading….currently re-reading Fifty Shades for the 3rd time :)

Spring and Summer Bucket List

I have no clue what-so-ever how it is already May of 2019.....This year has literally flown by so far.  I have accomplished a lot so far and now that Spring is here and Summer is upon us I have so much more that I want to do.

* Eat plenty of water melon

* Organize garage and hunting equipment

* Go berry picking

*Take a week in Charleston

* Get tan

* Continue growing my garden and working on my landscaping

* Go hiking OK

* Continue getting back into super good shape on my fitness journey

* Go to a Rangers Game

* Read 6 books

* Go with friends kayaking 

* Host our White Trash Bash

* Blog more regularly

* Break in our inflatable stand up paddle boards we got last year

* Do fun things with Case like the diamond mine, water park, and summer movie dates

* Take weekend getaways to Hot Springs and Austin

Well even if I accomplish half of those things listed I will have been pretty busy.  These are all great goals for me until the Fall. 

Book Review: Its always the husband

The first book I finished in 2019 was It's Always the Husband.  I really liked this book but it was a bit slower paced than I like.  It jumped in time a lot so you really had to follow along well.  The entire book my suspicions of who killed the troubled Kate jumped from character to character and I really wasn't expecting for the blame to land where it did or the actual results to pan out the way they did because they ARE DIFFERENT!  This is a tale of college roommates that had a connection but not so much a friendship.  It was a good read but I think I would give it only 2.5 stars out of 5 due to the slow pace and sort of dull details.

Amazon Synopsis:

A suspenseful, absorbing novel that examines the complexities of friendship, It’s Always the Husband by Michele Campbell will keep readers guessing right up to its shocking conclusion.

Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny first met as college roommates and soon became inseparable, despite being as different as three women can be. Kate was beautiful, wild, wealthy, and damaged. Aubrey, on financial aid, came from a broken home, and wanted more than anything to distance herself from her past. And Jenny was a striver―brilliant, ambitious, and determined to succeed. As an unlikely friendship formed, the three of them swore they would always be there for each other. 

But twenty years later, one of them is standing at the edge of a bridge, and someone is urging her to jump. 

How did it come to this?

Kate married the gorgeous party boy, Aubrey married up, and Jenny married the boy next door. But how can these three women love and hate each other? Can feelings this strong lead to murder? When one of them dies under mysterious circumstances, will everyone assume, as is often the case,that it’s always the husband?

Book Review: Girl Wash Your Face

Lauren raved about this book while she was reading it.  She even screenshot an entire chapter to me one night LOL!!! She breezed through it and then passed it along to me insisting that I read it.  It sat beside my bathtub for a month or two but when we went to Switzerland last month I knew I had to take it and read it so I could give it back to her.  I breezed through it on the airplane and it was really a good book, for nonfiction. I'm not a nonfiction person but Rachel is so witty and spoke a lot of truths it kept me entertained through the end.  A lot of the chapters were related to being a mother or having children and although I don't fall into either of those categories currently I loved reading those chapters and hopefully feel more prepared for those actual chapters of life one day.  I think that the majority of that book is so spot on to ALL females.  I mean HELLO CHAPTER 7!!!!  I told my mom about it so next the book it traveling to her.  I know I'm probably late to this party as this book was all the rage last year but better late than never with self-improvement .  

Amazon Synopsis:

As the founder of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and CEO of her own media company, Rachel Hollis developed an immense online community by sharing tips for better living while fearlessly revealing the messiness of her own life. Now, in this challenging and inspiring new book, Rachel exposes the twenty lies and misconceptions that too often hold us back from living joyfully and productively, lies we’ve told ourselves so often we don’t even hear them anymore.  With painful honesty and fearless humor, Rachel unpacks and examines the falsehoods that once left her feeling overwhelmed and unworthy, and reveals the specific practical strategies that helped her move past them. In the process, she encourages, entertains, and even kicks a little butt, all to convince you to do whatever it takes to get real and become the joyous, confident woman you were meant to be.  With unflinching faith and rock-hard tenacity, Girl, Wash Your Face shows you how to live with passion and hustle--and how to give yourself grace without giving up.