Bent By: Martin Sherman

WOW!  As powerful a read as it is to see a live production!  This play doesn't pull any punches and is incredibly powerful, upsetting, tender and moving. A play about the persecution of homosexuals during the Third Reich, when there was little to know information known about this, is quite amazing, the fact that this was written in the 1970's and made it to the West End, transferred to Broadway and earned Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominations is extraordinary!

 

Guardians of the Galaxy: Quest for the Shield By: Jim Valentino

 A re-read of this superbly drawn, yet slightly juvenile and condescending story. 

Match By: Brandon Gorski

A gritty and violent look at loneliness and friendship.  I was lucky enough to meet the author 10 years ago and get a signed copy! The story was great, but the art work is fantastic!

 

Wonder Woman No. 235 By: Gerry Conway, J. Delbo and V. Colletta

Sometimes it's nice to revisit the classics-Wonder Woman fighting the Nazi's-only this time she's battling Steve Trevor!

The Hunt By: Kelly J. Ford

This is how you write a "is there or isn't there-will they or won't they-what the hell is going on?" thriller!  Deeply flawed (with reason) characters populate a small town where a possible serial killer pops up like a bad egg every Easter, during a radio sponsored Egg Hunt. Exceedingly well plotted, this fantastic read will leave you guessing long after the last page!

 

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz By: Lucy Addington

An absolutely fascinating history of talented textile workers and how their expertise help them survive the Holocaust.  Meeting the women in these pages was a privilege and allowed me new insight into the trauma, devastation and horror of what the Nazi's did, and the strength of women that is so often overlooked.  This is history, well written, it is history well needed and should be well heeded!

When We Believed In Mermaids By: Barbara O'Neal

This was a total miss for me. I didn't really like any of the characters, so I couldn't feel for them, it was a little schizo in terms of it's numerous plots-I wasn't quite sure which one I should be focusing on.  The ending was SO saccharine sweet that my teeth hurt (and I wear dentures!!!)!  The author tried too hard and it didn't know what kind of story it wanted to be.

 

Safe By: S. K. Barnett

While a great deal of this is totally implausible it was still a really good read!  This story has so any twists and turns and none of them end up where you think they will.  Just when yu think you've got it all sorted you're thrown for another loop. It's truly one of those books that's hard to put down because you end up so engrossed that you HAVE to know what happens next and how it will end. (side note-this particular copy of the book was missing the title page, the copyright page and the first 24 pages a publishing glitch, because they weren't torn out-starting with page 25, I have to say it read perfectly fine-I had no problem getting into the story or knowing what was going on) 

Total Control By: David Baldacci

A fascinatingly twisted thriller, that was maybe about 200 pages too long. While this early book by Baldacci has all the hallmarks of his future works, this one could have used an edit.  Don't get me wrong-it's well plotted, interesting characters and lots of story lines that all get wrapped up neatly in the end-it's just that it tended to drag because there were SO many storylines, some of which weren't really necessary they just added more bad things on top of the main character-they had more than enough.  Still a great read.

 

Apples Never Fall By: Liane Moriarty

My God, these people are F**ked up!!!!  That's what I kept thinking as a I read this delightfully twisted novel.  A family of tennis pros are faced with an unimaginable event and a mysterious stranger.  Nothing and no one is what it seems in this brilliantly plotted , edge of your seat family drama. A really great read!