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Sunday Matters

We had a beautiful Saturday. We spent some if it in the small town of Ojai and then went to the beach on a whim. The view. Absolutely gorgeous. This was taken without filters right before dusk. The rain was on its way and it was a mild 70 degrees.

After our lovely day, we had a rough night. The Otter Pup was not feeling well. She barfed on my phone, got spooked by a balloon in the backyard but we didn’t know this at the time and then right after my son got home at 3 a.m. from work, someone threw a pumpkin through my neighbor’s rear car window and completely destroyed it. It was about to rain so my son and the Hub helped to cover it up but can you believe that?

So…we had no sleep. Who could sleep after that?

Right Now:

It’s late. I seriously did not have time to post this until now so I am in my room trying to get this posted.

But earlier…

We had church this morning and then went to my MIL’s house for lunch and a little football. Then, The Teen and I left for the middle-school ministry’s Halloween party. I have so much fun with those students.

Happy Halloween

This Week:

My neighborhood gets into Halloween so even though it’s a school night, I’m sure we’ll have lots of trick-or-treaters. We’ve had rain off and off for the past few days so if it rains that might affect how things go. Maybe.

Halloween is a work day for us too so we’ll be fighting traffic to get home. I hand the candy out with The Otter Pup and then The Hub usually follows The Teen and her friend around while they go from house to house.

Thursday is book club but my church is having a worship experience so I may attend that instead. Haven’t decided yet.

Reading:

I am almost done with Summer of Night by Dan Simmons. I am supposed to be reading a book about witches for book club. Even though it’s certainly the right time of year for it, I haven’t started it yet and we meet this Thursday.

Watching:

I am still watching The Walking Dead although last week’s premiere really upset me. I know viewers always say “if so and so goes, we riot” but seriously, that is how I feel right now! But yeah, I’ll still be watching tonight.

American Horror Story has gone off the rails. It’s bloody and messy and funny at the same time. Where are they going with this story?

Making:

Not a thing. Haha. For Halloween, we will make Trader Joe’s pizzas and eat little snacks here and there.

Grateful for:

That beach day we had. I really needed it.

I have to catch up on all your posts from this weekend but I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that you all have a great Halloween!

Fractured
By Catherine McKenzie
Lake Union Publishing, Paperback, 9781503937826, October 4, 2016, 349pp.

The Short of It:

Say hello to crazy town.

The Rest of It:

Julie and Daniel move to Cincinnati. Their house, somewhat charming but mostly a copy of the other homes around them, provides the perfect view of the house across the street and that’s how the story opens.

I live in a city that is known as “Awesometown”. Yes. That is how it is advertised and it’s made the list of Top 25 Cities a few times. So when I picked up Fractured, I saw a lot of similarities to my own hometown. This grabbed my attention from page one.

So what’s the story about? Well, Julie is a well-known author. Her bestselling book, The Murder Game, put her name on the map and with it, came a stalker by the name of Heather. Heather and Julie knew each other in law school but when they lost a mutual friend, Heather became obsessed with Julie and with Julie’s recent fame, even a restraining order can’t keep Heather away, which is why Julie, her husband Daniel and their two kids move to Cincinnati.

But things are not good. Julie doesn’t fit in and the Pine Street Neighborhood Association head, Cindy, takes it upon herself to make sure Julie is miserable. Especially when it’s rumored that Julie has a thing for the married guy across the street, John.

John’s immediate attraction to Julie spells trouble. He’s happily married to Hanna (and knows it) but life in the ‘hood is drab if not boring without something or someone to look forward to and when things begin to happen to Julie, John is the run she runs to.

Have I piqued your interest?

This book is all kinds of crazy. I seriously questioned what was going on many, many times. The author plays with the timeline quite a bit and to be honest, this took a little bit of getting used to. The story is also told from John and Julie’s POV. This also took a bit of getting used to because at the beginning, John and Julie are almost too similar. I had to keep reminding myself who was telling the story. But, by the half-way point, their characters were pretty distinct and I no longer had that issue.

Julie is a difficult character to like. She’s kind of annoying and does nothing to improve her situation. It seems as if she is always getting into trouble but man, witnessing her awkwardness makes for great entertainment.

This book is built on a big secret which the author manages to keep until the very end. Yes, you can speculate and try to guess what’s happened, because at the very beginning you know that something has happened, but you really can’t be sure until you read those final pages and it’s a fun ride, Full of interesting characters, ones you love to hate and plenty of drama to keep you engaged, Fractured is a real page-turner.

In case you missed the link above, the book featured in Fractured, The Murder Game is actually a real story and coming out in November!

If you’d like a chance to win your very own copy of Fractured, check out the giveaway details below.

Catherine McKenzie

Connect with Catherine:

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

This giveaway is for one copy of Fractured and is open to the US and Canada. A winner will be chosen randomly by me. The book will come directly from the publisher. Only one entry per person. Giveaway closes on November 5 (pacific). I will contact the winner for his/her mailing address.