Mindy

It's nice to read a Stephen King book set in Castle Rock that is heartwarming for once. Does it feature a crazy premise? Absolutely. Does someone die? Of course. But the things we've come to know and love about Stephen King's works are used to create a beautiful and sweet tale.

Elevation follows a man who, despite the fact the is not physically losing weight, is rapidly losing weight. Confusing? Not when you read it. The best way I can describe Scott Carey's condition is that he is losing gravity. I don't want to give too much away, but I promise that this is a charming story, and it is beautifully written. But if you're reading this hoping for the dark and scary place that is Castle Rock, you'll have to turn to another book. There are a few nods - both a Cujo and It reference -to previous works, but I promise you, no horror.

Clocking in at fewer than 150 pages, this is a book you can polish off in one setting. And I promise that you'll be glad you took the time to read it. Enjoy!

What's the quickest way to this girl's heart? A well-told Sherlock Holmes tale. So imagine how happy this girl is to have read seventeen stories inspired by the greatest detective who never lived. Off the charts happy.

Now, I'm a little nervous of collections like this, because they tend to run the gamut from just okay to amazing, but this is one of the rare short story collections in which nearly all were gems. And the only one I didn't care too much for was not due to the quality; I just wasn't a fan of the genre used to tell the story. I'm shocked at how fantastic each of these stories, including a comic, were. My personal favorites were “Before a Bohemian Scandal” by Tasha Alexander, “Mrs. Hudson Investigates” by Tony Lee and Bevis Musson, “The Adventure of the Dancing Women” by Hank Phillippi Ryan, and “The Adventure of the Empty Grave” by Jonathan Maberry (the reason I decided to read this book).

So, if you like Holmes and enjoy mysteries, this is a great book to try. I hope you'll like it as much as I did.

What an incredible debut novel. I found myself in love with every piece of this book. The world is so wonderfully built. The story is absolutely gripping. And the characters, oh my, gripe characters are so well-developed.

Nora is your everywoman. She's so relatable, and the. She gets pulled into the incredible world and is allowed to do things every woman has dreamt about. I could go on and on about how easy it is to fall into Nora's world and join her for the adventures she undertakes.

It's weird how much I fell in love with this book. Emily Croy Barker created such an incredible world. It was hard not to just lose myself in the world the same way Nora did. I haven't had a book pull me in so deep since last summer when I read The Fireman by Joe Hill. We need more books and worlds like these to get lost in. They're just perfect.

But seriously, I need the sequel to come out now. I need more!!

I just discovered Rainbow Rowell's books, and I'm already booked. She has a tremendous way with words and an instructor ability to draw you into the story. Her characters are damaged but in incredibly believable ways.

In Fangirl, she manages to bring readers a strong story of love, loss, and geekdom. Cather is someone any person who has ever experienced anxiety, grief, and love will connect with instantly. And the story managed to give me butterflies, something I never expected.

I'm excited to read Carry On, which stems from this novel. And I'm excited to read more of Rowell's works.