Flying Lessons by H. Lovely Bettison

Pages:  168

Genre:  Adult, Magical Realism

Source: Review copy from author

From Goodreads:

Henry and his daughter, Chandra, are stuck. Haunted by the past, they sleepwalk through life until unexpected relationships shake up their perceptions of reality. Henry’s new friendship with a neighbor blurs the boundaries between the living and the dead, and Chandra starts to see possibilities she’s never noticed before.

Recently retired, Henry finally has time to ponder his life and finds that it is full of regrets. After the death of his wife, he lost the spark that made his life worth living. Chandra's sense of adventure has been buried by her feelings of responsibility to her father. Life has become a chore influenced by her father's lack of motivation.

Chandra feels like she's going nowhere fast until she meets an eccentric pianist who helps her slow down and see the beauty in the simple things. Henry's friendship with a widowed neighbor who still talks of her husband as if he were alive makes his days bright again, but all of her talk of the dead starts playing tricks on his mind. He swears he can feel the increasing presence of his wife lingering in the house. Henry doesn't realize that Chandra feels it too.

Follow their frightening, but rewarding, journey of self-discovery as they rekindle the joy of living.

My Thoughts:

This is one of those feel good books.  Sixteen years ago Henry lost his wife Ava, the mother  to Chandra.  Since that time they  have been going through the motions of life.  For some reason they seem to be having difficulty moving on.  Then Chandra meets someone and her father starts  seeing the neighbor next door.  Both of them learn that it is possible to move on.  I guess what I had an issue with was that it seemed  to take them so long to move on.  I know in situations like this that not everyone reacts the same.  My brother-in-law is one of those like Henry.  He seems like a lost soul without my sister by his side.  His daughter has moved in with him to help take care of him.  This is similar to what happened to Chandra.  Both lives are on hold.  This is still a good story.  It is sometimes quirky which makes it fun to read.  I would recommend this for a nice weekend read when you want to sit back and relax.

Gilda Joyce: Bones of the Holy – Jennifer Allison

Pages:  288

Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery

Source: I purchased a copy

From Goodreads:

When Gilda Joyce's mother announces her engagement to a man from St. Augustine, Florida, Gilda is appalled. She hasn't even given him the "Joyce Family Application" yet! But as the wedding preparations get under way, Gilda realizes she has much bigger concerns. Why does her soon-to-be stepdad keep calling Mrs. Joyce by his ex-wife's name? And why is Mrs. Joyce acting like she's possessed?

With only a few short days before her mother says "I do," Gilda knows this much for sure: it's going to take every ounce of her sleuthing skill and psychic savvy to solve this one!

My Thoughts:

Jennifer Allison has done a great job in this last book in the Gilda Joyce series.  First she set it in one of my favorite places in Florida, St. Augustine.  This was the perfect setting to put Gilda in.  Gilda’s mom is acting strange and Gilda knows it involves a man.  She is not impressed with anything except the fact that the man owns a shop with vintage clothing.  This is Gilda’s all time favorite thing.  Gilda and her mom fly to Florida for the upcoming wedding.  She is to be joined by her brother at a later date.  Once he arrives they learn that things are not what they seem.  They stumble into trouble that could cost them their lives.  Can they help solve a mystery from long ago.  You’ve got to read this to find out what Gilda comes up with and how she solves this mystery.  This book is full of the fun and mystery that is one hundred percent Gilda Joyce.  For me it was full of the history of St. Augustine.  Jennifer definitely did her research on this one.  If nothing else maybe this will entice the reader to come to St. Augustine to check out some of the wonderful history and maybe even check out a ghost or two.  Definitely one of my favorite of her books.

The Trap by Andrew Fukuda

Pages: 309
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Source: I purchased

From Goodreads:
After barely escaping the Mission alive, Gene and Sissy face an impossible task: staying alive long enough to stop an entire world bent on their destruction. Bound on a train heading into the unknown with the surviving Mission girls, Gene, Sissy, David, and Epap must stick together and use everything they have to protect each other and their only hope: the cure that will turn the blood-thirsty creatures around them into humans again. Now that they know how to reverse the virus, Gene and Sissy have one final chance to save those they love and create a better life for themselves. But as they struggle to get there, Gene's mission sets him on a crash course with Ashley June, his first love . . . and his deadliest enemy 

My thoughts:
I read this third and final book in the Hunt Trilogy in a little over two hours.  It was that good.  Book two leaves us wondering where Gene, Sissy and the others are headed.  Are they headed to further danger or salvation?  The final book doesn't disappoint.  They find other hepers like themselves.  But, they find that not everything or everyone is who they say they are.  The adventure keeps you on the edge of your seat.  One minute you think everyone will survive, then there is a major change.  Gene and Sissy face one life threatening event after another.  Each time the reader is carried to the top and made to wonder how they can survive.  You see the answer then boom, you are right back wondering if they will get out of the next situation.  The discovery that Gene and Sissy make at the end of the book and the way the author ends it was such a wonderful twist.  The reasons for the situation they find themselves in show how society can change and throw life into cataclysmic change when science goes wrong.  This is a definite must read.  The best twist on vampires I have ever read.  For those who love vampire stories, this will not disappoint. If I could give it more than five stars I most definitely would.