 
Mateguas Island
Linda Watkins 
"It's like being in the eye of a hurricane."
After loosing his job, and eventually his families home, Bill Anderson moves his wife, Karen, and their two twin daughters from their comfortable lifestyle in California to small Mateguas Island off the coast of Maine. Little do they know, their new home has a deep, dark history, and they're about to experience its grip.
This isn't your traditional ghost story in the sense that things go bump in the night, well...they do, but not in the same way as the ghosts in movies like "The Conjuring," or "Paranormal Activity." No ones being dragged from their bed by an invisible force, but there are invisible forces at play, and they are pretty frightening. One of the best things about Linda Watkin's characters is their believably, and the realistic way she goes about building their relationships and thought patterns. Karen and Bill Anderson's story is so realistic, the reader can't help but be drawn into the story. So why only three stars? Well, as much as I enjoyed this book, I didn't LOVE it. It just wasn't a book I was racing to get through, or finish. It certainly pulled me in enough to finish the book, but I'm not running to pick up the next book in the series. With that being said, if you're looking for a good read on a rainy, stormy day, give Mateguas Island a shot!
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Let me just say, I was among the few who did not enjoy any of the Harry Potter books. In fact, I barely made it through the first and second books only to completely give up on the rest of the series. I have often thought about picking them up again, figuring maybe now that I am older they might appeal to me more, but after reading The Cuckoo's Calling by J.K. Rowling under her pen name Robert Galbraith, I don't think that's going to be happening any time soon.
If you're someone who normally enjoys murder mystery books or mystery books in general, you're probably not going to like this one. The premise for the novel is a good one, it's just the execution that's awful. A beautiful Hollywood starlet falls to her death and though it appears she had everything to live for, her death is ruled a suicide. The suicide ruling doesn't sit will with her brother and he turns to a retired veteran turned PI, Cormoran Strike, to uncover the truth behind his sisters death. To say the book was lacking in action is a drastic understatement. Ninety percent of the book is dialogue...courtroom style, boring dialogue. If you are expecting anything similar or comparative to the high adventure, high suspense tendencies of her other novels, you're going to want to toss your Kindle to the ground, stomp on it repeatedly only to never look back or even let a thought of this book cross your mind ever again. I even gave this book to a co-worker who adores J.K. Rowling, needless to say she didn't even make it half way through the book before she returned it unfinished! If you're looking for a nightstand book to turn your eyelids heavy and send you off into dreamland, pick up this book! Otherwise, stay far, far away! 
The Butterfly Garden **** 4/5
Dot Hutchison - Thriller / Suspense While reading "The Butterfly Garden," I really wasn't sure how I felt. There were several moments when I simply closed the book and took a moment to gather my thoughts. It's a very dark novel, written eloquently but with dark undertones. The Gardener's obsession with one of natures most beautiful creations, butterflies, is carried to a new extreme when he starts to collect young women. He names them, tattoos intricate wing designs onto their backs and forces them to live in a preservation jar of his own creation; a garden so beautiful, yet so terrifying. He feeds them, clothes them and cares for them deeply, but on the night of their 21st birthday he preserves them with Formaldehyde and places them in a tomb of glass, displaying their wings in a hallway of eternal beauty...and death.
"The Butterfly Garden" was certainly a book I found hard to stop reading. The plot and characters are well developed and unique in their creation, but the ending left a bit to be desired. While I understand the thought behind the closing of the book, it felt a little underwhelming. A long, twisted climb up a mountain side only to find there wasn't much of a view at the top. I think the ending could have been a bit more dramatic and deserving of the text that came before it.
Overall all, darkness and anti-climatic ending aside, I really did enjoy "The Butterfly Garden" and would recommend it.
"The Butterfly Garden" was my KindleFirst selection for May! Check out the other books in the program this month HERE.
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