Dark Waters by Chris Goff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Completely phenomenal! I have a new go-to author. I will read whatever Chris Goff writes I think. I received an e-Arc via the publisher, Crooked Lane Books - Penguin Books in exchange for an honest review. I am a bit behind with reviewing titles due to work and previously working on my dissertation. I truly loved Dark Waters. I will always dig in to read a great thriller that has special forces from Israel or really from anywhere really. Throw in two kick-ass women that lead the story and I am all in.

Jordan is Russian but was mostly raised in the U.S. where she works as an agent for the government. She has been recently stationed in Israel where she is replacing an agent who needs to return to the U.S. immediately, however, it appears he was not being truthful and he is involved in something so deadly that when the shooting starts it appears a judge and his daughter who are visiting Israel from the U.S. are the targets. There actually are no shortages of targets in that plaza when the shooting starts. Not to mention an Israeli agent who is on the scene for her own reasons that are just as deadly. It is not quite clear who started the shooting, who the actual target is, and what the reason is for the assassination, but, Jordan, who is quite intelligent, and learns that she can be just as deadly when she is assigned assets for protection. What Jordan uncovers is a plot that is far reaching and really a plot within a plot that really kept me enthralled. I am really looking forward to the next book, i.e., Red Sky by Chris Goff.

Girl from Nowhere by Tiffany Rosenhan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am totally enamored of Girl from Nowhere. I received a copy via the publisher, Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I work a lot of hours each week. It used to take me a few hours or at most a day or two to read a book. Sometimes it takes me 2 weeks, if I am lucky and have not forgotten some of what I have read. Part of this occurred when I was working on my dissertation and I thought I will get to read more leisure reads now that this is done. But, no, work just replaced it. I have a pretty good reading month and I am happy to say that I honestly loved Girl from Nowhere. I am a big fan of YA Action books, especially those where the protagonist is someone the reader can like and admire.

Sophie and her family move to a new town in Montana which oddly enough is a place that my best friend has been harassing me to visit. I have no clue why and it is not really on my list but, it worked well in this book. Sophia has parents that have traveled the world as diplomats for the government since she was born and she is always with them. They have never really had a permanent homestead to stop at and take a break from. They move often. It turns out that something occurred during one of their trips which has traumatized Sophia. The author does a great job of having Sophia slowly tell her story as she meets new friends and makes a more permanent home for the first time. Her parents have gone out of their way to make a home for her by actually taking their things from storage and decorating their new house. Sophia is adjusting when what they appear to have been running from seems to have found them. Girl from Nowhere vividly introduces colorful characters, good and bad, and even makes the places Sophia and her parents travel into characters, i.e., Montana, Istanbul, etc. I do not know if there are any plans to continue Sophia’s story, but, I can see room for it and it also had a great ending if this is the last we see of Sophia.

Killing November by Adriana Mather
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yes, I know I am well behind with this review. This happens when I fall in love with a cover and book blurb and then work interferes. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I did receive a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and Killing November definitely goes in my, Yes!, category. I already love books that have the boarding school backdrop. Take a student who doesn't want to be there, who knows nothing about why she is really there, or for that matter, who knows nothing about who she really is or who her family really is and the reader gets a great experience.

When I read the title, I wondered if November is killing people or if she is being killed. Finding out is something I will leave to other readers. There are so many things to love about Killing November so I will just list out my favorite things. The bad guys were truly terrible and the reader and even November do not really know who really is a bad guy and who might be a good guy that turns bad and vice versa. The character development is top-notch. Every character stood out and if you were meant to hate them you really do hate them. I have to admit that there were times I just wished that November would develop some sort of supernatural power and wipe the floor with a whole lot of people. Now, I was raised that guys just did not hit girls and if the girl hit them first they should just walk away. Apparently, these guys did not have the same home training. Of course, these girls could hold their own and were just as skilled at wiping the floor with a guy many times their size.

You should have guessed by now that this is not a normal boarding school. It trains students in things nowhere near what we usually learn, like grammar, writing, mathematics, and other scholastic topics. Learning a foreign language is even different at Academy Absconditi. Even the name sounds ominous. November really has some surprises in store and she also will be doing some of the surprising. I cannot wait for Hunting November.