Two Dogs and a Book

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin will surely be one of the must-reads in 2018. This is the story of four siblings who went to a fortune teller when they were children to find out the dates when they each will die. Morbid, you would think, but not really. What would you do if you knew the exact date of your death? Would you live your life differently? Would you try to cheat death? These are the dilemmas that Varya, Daniel, Klara, and Simon face. The story follows their unique journeys and their quests to live their lives before the clock stops. There is no escaping death even when you know the day it will knock at your door. Let’s face it, that we want it or not; we all die someday. Chloe Benjamin writes a story of family, love, loss, forgiveness, and despair. This book will move you and will pull your heart's strings. It is beautifully written and deals with hard subjects such as homo...

Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris My rating: 4 of 5 stars I big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for granting me an advanced copy of Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris. This book will be available in your favourite bookstore on June 19, 2018. This is a story of passion, loss, and damaged hearts. Twelve years ago, Layla disappeared from Finn's life in a very tragic way. Years later, he is dating Layla's sister, Ellen, and asks her to marry him. Soon after their engagement is published in the newspapers, Russian dolls start showing up everywhere and he receives emails from the one he thought he lost forever. The Russian dolls are sending a clear message to Finn: get rid of Ellen. Conflicted, Finn tries to solve this mystery, but there are too many lies and how can it be possible that Layla would still be alive? But is it Layla? Who would want Ellen out of his life? Bring Me Back is a page turner which will leave an imprint on your thoughts. Every time I put ...

Every Note Played by Lisa Genova My rating: 5 of 5 stars I want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for granting me an advanced copy of the Every Note Played book by Lisa Genova. Lisa Genova, author of "Still Alice" and "Inside the O'Briens", delivers yet another masterpiece. Every Note Played is a novel which addresses the devastating effect of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) on a celebrated pianist and his family. ALS (a.k.a. motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease) causes the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles. Over time, as the muscles of the body break down, someone living with ALS loses the ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow, and eventually breathe. At 45, Richard is diagnosed with ALS. His career is over and he has no one to turn to for help. Karina, his ex-wife, driven by guilt, becomes his reluctant caretaker. This endeavour is more than she bargains for, and both she and Richard are faced w...

Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is the last book in the Gold Seer Trilogy. I really enjoyed the first two and the third one was ok. The story is interesting and there are several historical facts about the California gold rush. The third book did not add much to the story but was still entertaining. Great YA series. View all my reviews

The Coincidence Makers: A Novel by Yoav Blum Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Have you ever wonder why it seems that a series of events often takes place in order to bring birth to an incident? I recently read a book about the Great Halifax Explosion of 1917 and that is exactly what happened. A series of events, which occurred in the perfect order, was needed for this deadly disaster to materialize. “The Coincidence Maker” is about these beings whose sole mission is to create coincidences for something to happen without disturbing the free will of humanity. Two people bump into each other and fall in love. Two leaders who randomly meet and bring world peace. No coincidence is too small or too big. Emily, Guy, and Eric have been recruited to join the 75th class of Coincidence Makers. They called themselves “The Three Musketeers”. Guy used to be an imaginary friend and once fell in love with ...

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Story of Arthur Truluv is a heartfelt book. Nowadays our seniors often have given hope to be useful although they have so much to give. This story is about Arthur, a widow, who visits his wife's grave every day at noon to have lunch with her. While in the cemetery, he befriends Maddy, a teenager who has never felt like the rest of her peers. Raised by an emotionally absent father, Maddy finds herself in a situation where she makes the decision to leave home and turns to Arthur for help. Their relationship blooms into something very special as Maddy gives Arthur a purpose and Arthur provides the emotional support Maddy so craves. The story is beautifully written and might bring a few tears to your eyes. View all my reviews

The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism by John U. Bacon My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Great Halifax Explosion is a historical depiction of the tragedy which took place in the Halifax harbour in 1917. As a Canadian history buff; I thought I knew a lot about what transpired on that dreadful December 6, 1917, but I was wrong. On that day, it is estimated that 2,000 people were killed, 9,000 wounded and 6.6 square kilometres (2.5 square miles) were destroyed in one-fifteenth of a second blast. Never in the history of mankind, had such shocking event taken place. John U. Bacon did an extraordinary job researching for this book. Each account added a new dimension to this horrific event. The book honours the astonishing heroism that took place which saved thousands of people. From a disastrous experience came so much positive. The branches of ophthalmology and pediatrics made astounding advancements, ...