I was really loving this book.  The cliffhangers at the end of each chapter actually had me holding my breath in suspense.  I lost some much needed sleep last night to get to the end of this book.  And get to the end I did.

I am sad to say that the ending was such a disappointment.  For me it left unanswered questions.  And I have to add that once the "horrible events" were revealed they were not very believable and yes, I am still scratching my head thinking WTH?

I absolutely loved how the book was written.  The author really has a way of pulling you in and holding you just where he wants you.  You know you have to sleep but you just can't put the book down, you have to find out what happens next.  Excellently written, good story that just did not have me believing it as it went on.  

If you like hold your breath thrillers, give this a read.  I certainly will read this author again.

From Goodreads:

THE LEGEND LIVES
Everyone knows the legend of the Jersey Devil. Some believe it is an abomination of nature, a hybrid winged beast from hell that stalks the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey searching for prey. Others believe it is a hoax, a campfire story designed to scare children. But one man knows the truth...

THE DEVIL AWAKES
Sixty years ago, Boompa Willet came face to face with the Devil—and lived to tell the tale. Now, the creature’s stomping grounds are alive once again with strange sightings, disappearances, and worse. After all these years, Boompa must return to the Barrens, not to prove the legend is real but to wipe it off the face of the earth...

THE BEAST MUST DIE
It’ll take more than just courage to defeat the Devil. It will take four generations of the Willet clan, a lifetime of survivalist training, and all the firepower they can carry. But timing is critical. A summer music festival has attracted crowds of teenagers. The woods are filled with tender young prey. But this time, the Devil is not alone. The evil has grown into an unholy horde of mutant monstrosities. And hell has come home to New Jersey...

My Thoughts:

I live in New Jersey, not far from where this book takes place so of course I had to read it. Hmmmm. I was less then thrilled. It was a gore-fest. I was hoping for a creepy, scary novel but what I got was blood, guts and more guts. I am not squeamish and blood and guts can have their place in a book but for me, it was just too much and not enough story. If that is your thing then this book is for you.

Click here to read about The Jersey Devil

Blurb:  Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence, and to that moment in a girl’s life when everything can go horribly wrong.This is how I looked reading all of the unnecessary word vomit that this book had!

I always cringe when a book that is so well reviewed looks good to me.  I have a pretty bad track record with loving the books that so many others seem to love.  BUT, I have a sick fascination with all things Manson and this book is loosely based on the "family" so I had to give it a go.  

I wanted so badly to love it even though just a few pages in the word vomit started.  I thought just give it a chance.  I am sad to say it never got better.  There is so much unnecessary descriptions and cutesy prose that it was all I could do to keep reading.

For example: I tended to the in-between spaces of other people’s existences, working as a live-in aide. Cultivating a genteel invisibility in sexless clothes, my face blurred with the pleasant, ambiguous expression of a lawn ornament.

 

To be totally honest, I skimmed the last half of the book just to be able to say I finished it and did not bail.  I wanted to but I keep thinking maybe it would get better.  It did not.

I am glad that I read it, and sad that it did not click with me.  I know thousands of others will love it and I am glad.  

Author's Website

Meet Baba Yaga, the witch that flies around in a cauldron hunting children to kidnap and eat. Yes, this is a children's book. 

In the pages of this story we meet Olga, a young girl whose mother died leaving her with her father who marries providing Olga with the infamous wicked stepmother!  Before Olga's mother died, she gifted her with a special doll that Olga always kept in her pocket.  It is this doll who helped Olga outwit Baba Yaga when the good ole evil stepmother sent her off to Baba's house under the premise of getting a needle and thread.  But we all know it was so Baba could eat her!

I knew the story of Baba Yaga but had never read the fairy tale.  I enjoyed reading the story and especially enjoyed the photos.  I feel that reading the actual book instead of on a Kindle will bring the photos and the story to life.  The photos are cute and friendly and not horribly scary.  (I don't think they are scary at all but I am trying to see them as a 5 year old child would)

This is a fun little book that children who are old enough to understand that it is a fable, and that no cauldron riding witch will be hunting them, will enjoy.  

Suggested age is 5 and up.  

Author's Website

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the free galley of this book.

There is not a whole lot I can say about this book other than I am glad that I read it.

The author shares his experience watching his father decline from a robust, strong man to a man who can no longer do anything for himself.  ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a horrible, horrible disease that needs to be eradicated NOW!  This is a disease that slowly kills your body but never your mind.  Imagine being stuck, a prisoner in your body, a body that you can no longer control, no longer move, yet your brain is as strong and functioning as ever.  That to me is hell on earth.

The book takes us from the past telling stories about "Pa" and the man he was to the present, the man he was forced to become.  We walk the path to death along with the author and his family.  Like everything else, Pa died the way he wanted to proud and strong.

Books like this need to be written and read.  Death does not need to be swept under the bed.  It is important to know how these diseases take a toll on not just the person diagnosed but the entire family.  So We Go is a well written book that will make you laugh and cry but you will be glad that you were invited into this private moment.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a free galley of this book.