Book Review: Written on the Apple Tree

“Psychological suspense” is a fitting description of Written On The Apple Tree: A Mystery Psychological Suspense (Tales of the Unexpected Series Book 4) by Ann Girdharry. The story drew me in, held my interest until the very end, and then ended almost suddenly. I was left confused, a bit melancholy, and feeling overwhelmingly sorry for the central characters, Kim and Oliver. For about a week I was convinced that I didn’t like the story at all. I don’t often read short stories, and I don’t like when stories end without being neatly tied up; I’m still not sure what the author intended to convey. Ultimately I decided the lack of clarity may be part of the story’s genius. It can be interpreted any number of ways: the story could be about reincarnation, or love and loss, or even mental illness. I still don’t really like that it’s unclear, but it is a good and engaging piece of writing regardless of my personal taste. As I read, I truly felt like I understood Kim despite the story’s brevity, and I could almost feel her evolving emotions. The story is at it is described: if you like psychological suspense, you will surely like Written on the Apple Tree.

Three stars.

Many thanks to author Ann Girdharry for providing a free copy of the story in exchange for an honest review.

Thought of the Day

“It’s now way too late for anyone to back out. Not in the literal sense-any one of them could still take off running out the door-but people don’t work like that. More or less, they do what others expect them to.”

— The Perfect Storm (Kindle location 686, emphasis added)

Maybe we all need to do a little more of what makes us happy. What do you all think? What would you do differently if you didn’t feel bound by social expectations? Share in the comments!

I got a Kindle!

I got a Kindle for Christmas! I am entering the 21st century…a blog and a Kindle! Who knew I could be so modern?

Anyway, I just wanted to share my exciting news. I already read one book (The Perfect Storm – SO good) on my Kindle since Christmas. I was a lot more comfortable with it this time than I was with the last book I read, and I wonder if it’s just because it’s mine and not Adam’s and so I’m not worried about accidentally pressing something I’m not supposed to and messing up his stuff. I also enjoyed being able to turn up the light and read in the dark AND I have an awesome pink cover 🙂

This also means I’ll be able to accept novels in e-book format for review, which is really great. I had to turn down quite a few requests in the last couple of months, and some sounded so good that I was really disappointed. I will, of course, still accept hard copy books and I will continue to read hard copy books of my own – I got about 5 as Christmas gifts 🙂

PS – No Munchkin Monday tomorrow. I’m feeling uninspired.

PS again – I’m going to get rid of these really lame ads that are showing up at the bottom of my posts. Ew.