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BookGirl1313

BookGirl1313

Joined May 2016

I'm a proud Indy Bookseller and I only read real books--none of that ebook stuff for me! Right now I'm concentrating on that tall YA/Middle grade TBR
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Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan
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The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George
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BookGirl1313
Dead to Me | Mary McCoy
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Pickpick

This was a gem of YA noir, very late 40's Hollywood meets Veronica Mars. Murder, sex, fame, big stars, private eyes, secrets, estranged sisters--it's all there!

2 likes1 stack add
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BookGirl1313
The War that Saved My Life | Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
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Pickpick

Wow, what a great story of heart, strength, resilience & love. Newbery Honor for sure! This book is proof you don't need much to survive but love is the thing that makes you thrive. Can't wait to read the sequel!

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BookGirl1313
Genuine Fraud | E. Lockhart
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Mehso-so

I have to start by saying how much I loved her book We Were Liars--it was haunting & surprising & twisty and I read it in 1 glorious gulp on a summer afternoon a few years ago. I was beyond excited when I brought this home! I'm glad she acknowledges @ the end that it heavily "references" The Talented Mr. Ripley because it's basically Ripley as a YA female. No surprises. Every twist I anticipated. Even a "death by oar" scene. ?

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BookGirl1313
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Pickpick

Between a Pick & a So-So for me for personal reasons. I've spent the last year propping up a good friend while her teenage daughter struggles with Borderline PD, so being inside the head of someone immersed in extreme anxiety and a type of OCD was not pleasant or enjoyable. However, I think Green nails it and while it's not necessarily a fun read it is true & raw & relatable., and as usual very well written.

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BookGirl1313
The Secrets She Keeps | Michael Robotham
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Loving this story of 2 women who both have skeletons in their closets.

Vihrig I REALLY didn't like one of them's secrets. 6y
1 comment
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BookGirl1313
One of Us Is Lying | Karen M. Mcmanus
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Pickpick

This is what it looks like when The Breakfast Club & Murder On the Orient Express have a baby. Exactly what I need in these last few harried bookselling days before Christmas! #oneofusislying #itsnotme #islandbooks #mercerisland

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BookGirl1313
Trouble is a Friend of Mine | Stephanie Tromly
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Was skeptical this would remind me of #VeronicaMars, but there it is on page 33! 🎶A long time ago, we used to be friends🎶.

RaimeyGallant The song just started playing in my head. 7y
2 likes1 comment
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BookGirl1313
Arrowood | Laura McHugh
Mehso-so

Why am I usually disappointed after a stunning debut? I couldn't stop handselling McHugh's "The Weight of Blood" when it came out, both in hardback and pb. Still do! This was fine enough: good writing, I loved the gothic creepiness of the house/setting and the premise of lost children years ago. But many characters weren't fleshed out enough, a few too many red herrings, and as soon as the UR was mentioned I knew the broad strokes of the reveal.

Bette I was disappointed too, I had high hopes. 😢 7y
5 likes1 comment
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BookGirl1313
The Trespasser | Tana French
Mehso-so

I love Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad novels, or I loved the 1st few & have been frustrated with the last few. This 1 is no exception, sadly. Narrator was immensely unlikeable which was disappointing as she was only the 2nd female lead character & I was looking forward to a women's perspective again. SO REPETITIVE as to be painful. Slow until the end which then felt rushed. I guessed it was 1 of 2 "suspects". Less excited for future books.

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BookGirl1313
Pickpick

Really enjoyed this, very similar to her breakthrough novel "Where'd You Go Bernadette". Being from Seattle, she truly "gets" us! The "walking from the Sculpture Park to Costco" bit was distracting, akin to Meg Ryan in her car following Tom and his son in their tiny outboard boat from Lake Union to Alki Beach in "Sleepless in Seattle" (can't be done) but it was amusing. Because of the 1 day construct it's best read in 1 gulp, I think.

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BookGirl1313
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Every morning for 12years now she must clean my hands right after eating her breakfast. It's imperative, and it makes her so happy.

Lauren_reading ❤️🐶 8y
Bette 💕 8y
5 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BookGirl1313
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I've worked in an Indie Bookstore in one way or another since 1993, but my current store is truly special! We've been around for over 40 years (in fact, just as long as Elliott Bay Book Co, the only bookstore in Seattle to most people). Island Books on Mercer Island is a gem and I'm proud to be an Indie bookseller! #getindie

BarbaraTheBibliophage Great photo treatment! 8y
BookGirl1313 Thank you! I took billion pics w/Prisma and they all looked good but this was my favorite. 8y
18 likes2 comments
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BookGirl1313
All the Missing Girls | Megan Miranda
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Life is good when you're by a river on a deck in Montana with a good book. #RubySpringsLodge #fishing #reading #lovinglife

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BookGirl1313
Behind Closed Doors | B. A. Paris
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Mehso-so

I don't know whether to laugh at the absurdities or scrub my brain in an attempt to cleanse it of the psychological torture. Jack's "a bit" over the top! It's certainly not a Charlie Rich song, that's for sure. Compelling read, I'm sure the author will improve as subsequent books are written.

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BookGirl1313
Amy Snow: A Novel | Tracy Rees
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"Bailor Dunthorne? How could I forget? An hour spent in his presence was like an hour in a chamber of falling swords. You might be lucky. You might escape without injury. But it wasn't assured, and the experience was accordingly enjoyable."

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BookGirl1313
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Panpan

Wow, I'm in clearly in the minority here because....what a tedious clunker of a book. Absolutely horrid main character whose whiny narration got old very quickly, and a story that just repeated itself endlessly. I guessed the "gasp*twist" as well. So disappointing.

WordWaller Wow, that ARC cover is very different! Funny how that makes all the difference for me wanting to read it. 8y
4 likes1 comment
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BookGirl1313
Dark Matter | Blake Crouch
Pickpick

I thought this was imaginative and compelling, an interesting way to look at and write about identity in all of its forms.

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BookGirl1313
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Empty boxes, happy customers! #hogwartsclassreunion #islandbooks

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BookGirl1313
Cashelmara | Susan Howatch
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Which one was first? It's too close to call. #firstadultbooks

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BookGirl1313
The Crown's Game | Evelyn Skye
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Mehso-so

I thought it would be Night-Circusy and maybe a little GoT fantasy like. It's more the former but nowhere near as wonderful. The magic aspect is great/creative, and the alt-historical Russian setting is beautiful...but there's no urgency to the Game, no feeling of real stakes or direness besides talking/thinking about it. And the love triangle/quadrangle was weak, bland. The ending more than hints at a sequel "surprise" that's no surprise.

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BookGirl1313
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Pretty excited to open these bad boys in a week and share the magic with everyone! #islandbooks #harrypotterforever

scripturient Ooooh, the temptation!!! :) 8y
Suzze It should say 12:00:01 because no one wants to wait a whole minute. When I worked at B&N we weren't supposed to bring them out of the back room until midnight. 8y
9 likes2 comments
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BookGirl1313
Sweetbitter: A novel | Stephanie Danler
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Mehso-so

Hmmm. Good enough writing. I liked the beginning. I almost liked the end until Tess made another bad choice just to put a period on that part of her life. The middle? The food was good, the drink was fine, but I could've done w/o the tattooed bad-boy bartender cliche that went on&on&on&on.

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BookGirl1313
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Pickpick

Quick, creepy, makes you want to start over right away (disclaimer: I did).

Suzze Yup. 8y
4 likes1 comment
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BookGirl1313
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Well.....that's both subtle and really obvious on the second read-through!

5 likes1 stack add
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BookGirl1313
Crown's Game | Evelyn Skye
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This sounds a bit like YA version of The Night Circus crossed with Game of Thrones, so I'm intrigued. Can't wait to start it on Friday!

2 likes2 stack adds
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BookGirl1313
Truly Madly Guilty | Liane Moriarty
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Pickpick

I think I'm far enough in to say it's quite good! Not so much a mystery as an exploration of relationships and friendships in the wake of tragedy.

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BookGirl1313
Before the Fall | Noah Hawley
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Mehso-so

Less mystery/suspense & more of a psychological study/meditation on tragedy in our digitally connected, hyper-over informed world. I found some of the dialogue so unrealistic it kept taking me out of the story & the resolve is very left field & a bit disappointing. That said, couldn't put it down.

anwade88 I agree with your review totally 8y
4 likes1 comment
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BookGirl1313
Before the Fall | Noah Hawley
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That age old dilemma for a reader--which one next? The answer of course is both!

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BookGirl1313
I Take You: A Novel | Eliza Kennedy
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Mehso-so

Hmmmm. Witty snappy dialogue is always appreciated. Too bad the character voicing it is so deeply unlikeable. I feel like the author thinks she wrote a feminist novel because the woman in it has a lot of sex with people that aren't her fiancé? I hope her next book is better.

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BookGirl1313
End of Watch | Stephen King
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I'm sensing a current theme to my reading choices...

TheNextBook Yes!!! Read City of Mirrors! Have The Fireman. Need to get End of Watch! 8y
BookGirl1313 Just finished The Fireman, trying to finish 2 other books so I can get started on City of Mirrors and End of Watch at the same time! 8y
TheNextBook @BookGirl1313 I finished City of Mirrors! I have two more before I can read End of Watch and The Fireman!!! 8y
2 likes1 stack add3 comments
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BookGirl1313
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First page is wonderful!

3 likes1 stack add
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BookGirl1313
Little Bee | Chris Cleave
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Pickpick

Amazing. Dark. Sad. Emotional. A real thought-fest.

6 likes3 stack adds
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BookGirl1313
Night Circus | Erin Morgenstern
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Pickpick

Maybe the most creative book I've read in the last 8 years? I've never been on board w/the Harry Potter comparisons--just because there's magic doesn't mean it compares (and I love the whole HP series). I wanted to crawl into the author's brain to see how she came up w/most of it. Beautiful.

ChasingOm This is one of my favorite books ever -- it may be time for a re-read! 8y
mrsbatman85 I have never ever wanted to crawl inside a book so badly! How amazing would it be to see some of the sights described? Perfect book!!! 8y
4 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BookGirl1313
Shadow of the Wind | Carlos Ruiz Zafon
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Pickpick

Just...the best. And this is from a (mostly) non-magical realism girl. Charming, enchanting, wonderful. 1 of my favorite books to hand sell at our store.

Gissy Totally agree! I loved it 8y
6 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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BookGirl1313
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Pickpick

Loved this! I think Sittenfeld does a great job of modernizing the characters while staying true to who they are (with the exception of Mrs. Bennet, she just doesn't work well in the 21st Century).

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BookGirl1313
Up to This Pointe | Jennifer Longo
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Instead of flowers I bring stacks of ARC's when I go to lunch w/friends!

TheNextBook Sounds like the kind of friendship I need! 8y
TheNextBook @creepycomforts A friend that brings book! My kind of party 8y
3 likes3 comments
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BookGirl1313
The City of Mirrors | Justin Cronin
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Some people use their dining table to eat. For me it's just another place for a TBR pile or 3.

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BookGirl1313
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What more can be said? Just don't.

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BookGirl1313
Maestra | L S Hilton
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Just a few ideas for the weekend!

ZoeyPeacock That's an adorable swell bottle! 8y
BookGirl1313 @ZoeyPeacock I know! We love selling them for our thirsty readers. 8y
3 likes2 comments