Purified by Brian Robert Smith

Synopsis:

“There’s no use trying to escape. You’re miles from anywhere. You have no clothes, no food, no money... You’re dead, Mason.”

As far as everyone else is concerned, Mason Bushing died over a year ago, but now he’s running from Dr. Harlow who is secretly conducting an unauthorized experiment for a drug he calls Purify. It saved Mason’s life, but Mason is focused on getting what he wants most—his old life back. His plans change when he realizes his wife is more interested in the insurance money she inherited than seeing him alive. His best friend doesn’t believe his story, and the police intend on charging him with fraud and assault after he almost kills his wife’s boyfriend.

Warren is a detective who’s assigned the case. He’s been on personal leave because his wife died. His investigation turns up suspicions of lying, disturbing coincidences, and related homicides.

When Mason becomes the prime suspect, he’s forced to run again.

Imagine having to run from someone who saved your life. Imagine everyone thinking you’re dead, but you’re really alive. Questions, accusations, conspiracies… murder. What if this was all caused by a drug that’s creating the next physical evolution of man? What would you do if you were Purified?

 Purified – Do you ever dream of a life where no disease can harm you? Your body is immune to everything trying to attack it?

This sounds great until you realize that you have to come to the brink of death in order to get noticed by the Purifier.

The crazed ex-military doctor who started his own underground experiments.

Even worse, you don’t know what is happening to you until you are already purified, you have no say in the matter.

I originally picked up this book because it was July’s Book of The Month in a Goodreads group I am a part of. I saw the cover and was instantly intrigued. I know you aren’t supposed to judge a book by the cover, but I do it anyways.

I was not disappointed.

As a debut book for Robert Smith, it went very well. The beginning had a bit of a weird pace to it. There were a lot of really quick scenes. But after those first few chapters, it settled down and started to read at a nice pace.

The story was really intriguing. It was new to me, I haven’t experienced a story like it before. It hooks you by making Mason’s struggle really interesting. You would think that having a second chance at life would make someone happy, but he hates it. He already lost his old life, and everything just keeps going downhill from there.

There weren’t any dull moments, which was a definite plus, it just keeps moving along at full speed until the end.

The characters were all pretty likable in their own ways, which made it an even more positive reading experience.

I expect many good things to come from Robert Smith after this novel.

Horror/Thriller fans should definitely give it a shot.

4/5 Stars

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IT by Stephen King

Synopsis:

The story follows the exploits of seven children as they are terrorized by an eponymous being, which exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It" primarily appears in the form of a clown in order to attract its preferred prey of young children. The novel is told through narratives alternating between two time periods, and is largely told in the third-person omniscient mode. It deals with themes which would eventually become King staples: the power of memory, childhood trauma, and the ugliness lurking behind a façade of traditional small-town values.

This was my first experience reading a King novel, and it was an interesting experience for sure.

I have never seen the movie, and I didn’t even really know what the book was about aside from the clown that wreaks all sorts of havoc.

The first thing I really noticed was how long the chapters are. I don’t know if this is just King’s style, or if it is just this book, but it made it really difficult to read large chunks of the book at a time. It took me almost a full year to finish it.

The story was obviously super intriguing. The parts where Pennywise shows up were the most entertaining by far, he was so creepy and annoying.  I really wish that the story revolved more around him and his antics, and I wish that the whole thing was just about a creepy/annoying clown terrorizing these children.

That is why I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. It starts getting a little to weird when it starts revealing what is really going on below Derry. Even then, it is never really resolved for me. It is sort of along the lines of fear is only in your head, and when you enable it, it becomes real.

I did enjoy reading the book, but I enjoyed finishing it even more. The main gang of kids were great characters, and of course Mr. Pennywise. The supporting cast didn’t really do anything for me.

Final thoughts:

I wish the sections/chapters would have been shorter. That is my biggest complaint.

It is more enjoyable to read this when it is raining.

My favorite character was Ben.

3/5 stars. Good book, just such a chore to finish!

Memorable Quotes: “TV monsters and movie monsters and comic book monsters were not real. Not until you went to bed and couldn’t sleep; not until the last four pieces of candy, wrapped in tissues and kept under your pillow against the evils of the night, were gobbled up; not until the bed itself turned into a lake of rancid dreams and the wind screamed outside and you were afraid to look at the window because there might be a face there, an ancient grinning face that had not rotted but simply dried like an old leaf, its eyes sunken diamonds pushed deep into dark sockets; not until you saw one ripped and clawlike hand holding out a bunch of balloons”

“Scars can’t come back. They either are or they aren’t”

“”Whatever it was, It’s here again, in Derry. IT.”

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Cats, Scarves and Liars by Kathryn White

Synopsis:

Peppa is just your average Australian young woman, really. 23 years old, widowed and owner of a cat who can speak perfect English. (But no one will believe her about the cat.) Why is she being stalked by one of the customers from her job at the City South Post Office? What secrets does the mysterious Ivory Black know about Peppa and her past? What does he know about the strange murders that are happening all over Adelaide? And was it really necessary of him to steal her boyfriend's scarf?

Cats, Scarves and Liars is a quirky, offbeat tail tale from a unique Australian writer. You'll laugh, you'll cry you'll discover the meaning of life. (Actually, we lied about that last part.)

I didn’t really know what to expect when I got the request to review this book. All I knew was that I couldn’t turn down a book that had a cat as one of the main characters.

Cats, Scarves and Liars is a very quirky book. It is full of humor and can make you laugh. It is a pretty light read and is easy to get through.

Peppa is a really likeable protagonist. Her personality really gives the life to this book and makes it fun to read. The supporting cast was also written very well.

The storyline was a little weird, but in a good way. I feel like it could have maybe even been a little longer to go further into the lives of the supporting cast, but it is also good the way it is.

It got really weird at the end when the true story behind the talking cat was revealed, but it all came together and started making sense as well.

Overall, I felt it was just a pretty fun read. There were some deeper topics, but they were sort of glossed over and Peppa’s personality really took over.

I would recommend it for a nice Sunday afternoon if you are looking to have a little fun while reading.

3.5/5 Stars

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My Letter To Fear: Essays on Life, Love and the Search For Prince Charming by Patricia Steffy

Synopsis:

Over the course of two years, Steffy conducted interviews with the fabulous women around her and their equally fantastic friends. She put no restrictions on age, or ethnicity. They just needed to be willing to answer some questions. Steffy asked them about expectations they had for their lives when they were very young versus their current realities as adults. She asked them to tell her the best things about themselves (a question which was surprisingly difficult for people to answer) and the worst things. Those answers— the funny, the sad, and the hysterical—and her own experiences became the basis for these essays. 

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny at times, it was a bit emotional at times, and there were some essays that were just too easy to identify with. There is something for everyone mixed in the pages of this book.

The writing was fun and flowed well, there was never a point where I was bored and felt like I needed to put it down. But, I also feel like you should spread out the reading of the book over time so you can take in some of the essays and really think about them. It makes the book more enjoyable than reading it all at once at a rushed pace which results in forgetting everything you have read.

Each essay is pretty short, spanning only about 2-3 pages in length. It is the perfect office book. When you need a quick break from work to re-gather your thoughts (or sanity…) it is easy to pick up and read one or two, then put back down for later.

I think Patricia Steffy really got the feel for how a lot of women think and feel at various points in their life. That’s what makes this book so relatable and familiar.

It was a fun read.

5/5 Stars

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