The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's a quick, relaxing read that's perfect for a lazy weekend. I give it a 4 out of 5 and here's why.

When I first opened the book, it wasn't to the first chapter, or even a prologue, it was a letter from the author, which was short and sweet just like the rest of the book. I liked that. Straight from the beginning, before the story even started, I already knew why this story was written and what it was really about; letting go of all inhibitions and just being yourself. That it's okay to love and be allowed to be loved just as you are, something that every person should remember.

The characters themselves were a lot of fun. Each one had a very distinct personality, each one adding it's own quirk to the story. I didn't feel that any of the characters were there to just fill up space, but were useful to the plot.

Overall, I found that the story moved smoothly and quickly. I didn't feel like there was a lot of useless information or characters, there wasn't too much going on and unlike our last book, I wasn't begging for the story to hurry up and end because I was bored. Instead, I found this read to be thoroughly entertaining, with it's brief love scenes, mystery, moments of suspense, and brief but enjoyable humor.

So, why 4 out of 5 instead of just an all out 5? I was able to predict the ending halfway through the book, but to be fair, there were no other options for the ending.

Right now the author only has two books out, The Replacement and The Space Between. I'll be adding The Space Between to my GoodReads list, "to-read" and will probably use it for the club at some point. But I really look forward to more of her books.

June's Book Pick

Dean Koontz's 77 Shadow Street will be our very first pick for the month of June. I've never read this one and it's been a very long time since I've read one of his books since I prefer some of his older writings. In fact I think you can find one of his books under Just Couldn't Put It Down tab up top.

I actually discovered this one on Good Reads (LOVE that site) and the blurb about it just captured me;

"I am the One, the all and the only. I live in the Pendleton as surely as I live everywhere. I am the Pendleton’s history and its destiny. The building is my place of conception, my monument, my killing ground. . . .

The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill at the highest point of an old heartland city, a Gilded Age palace built in the late 1800s as a tycoon’s dream home. Almost from the beginning, its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, suicide, mass murder, and whispers of things far worse. But since its rechristening in the 1970s as a luxury apartment building, the Pendleton has been at peace. For its fortunate residents—among them a successful songwriter and her young son, a disgraced ex-senator, a widowed attorney, and a driven money manager—the Pendleton’s magnificent quarters are a sanctuary, its dark past all but forgotten.

But now inexplicable shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, elevators plunge into unknown depths. With each passing hour, a terrifying certainty grows: Whatever drove the Pendleton’s past occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again. Soon, all those within its boundaries will be engulfed by a dark tide from which few have escaped.

Dean Koontz transcends all expectations as he takes readers on a gripping journey to a place where nightmare visions become real—and where a group of singular individuals hold the key to humanity’s destiny. Welcome to 77 Shadow Street"

Most of the books I've read of his are more thriller/suspense/mystery/paranormal-but-not-necessarily-scary, so this is the first horror book of his that I'll be reading. And from some of the comments and reviews on this book I think this month's read will be very promising/


So what other Dean Koontz books have you read? Do you remember the first one to get you hooked? Mine was "From the Corner of His Eye." I love how all the characters are connected together. I felt like I was playing "6 Degrees of Seperation with Kevin Bacon."

Also, don't forget to tune into the forums to discuss 77 Shadow Street at 8:30Pm on Saturday June 30th.