The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse

This story is set in 16th century France during the religious wars. Minou Joubert receives a cryptic note saying only "she knows you're alive" and also overhears part of a conversation between her father and a friend hinting at a secret long kept. Shortly after, she and her brother are sent to live with their aunt, where she meets Piet, a rebel fighting for the Huguenot cause and falls in love. Dangers are everywhere and it's hard to tell friend from enemy.
This is a time period I don't know much about, so I had a hard time with the beginning of the book, but once the action picked up it got really good and i couldn't put it down. I look forward to the next book in this series!

Fathom Volume 1 by Michael Turner

Aspen was adopted as a young girl by the captain of the ship Paradise after it capsized. She doesn't know where she came from, but she feels drawn to the ocean, becoming a marine biologist. She is invited to be a researcher in a deep marine facility off the coast of Hawaii. What she finds there will forever change how she views the world and even herself.
This is my first graphic novel and the storyline was intriguing to me. The artwork was phenomenal and really added to the story. I look forward to the rest of the series so i can continue Aspen's story.

The Vanishing Season by Dot Hutchison

A little girl is kidnapped on the anniversary of the disappearance of Eddison's sister, Faith, and the similarities between the cases bring back all the pain and guilt. When they start to investigate, they find a string of disappearances of blonde haired, blue eyed girls across the country.
This was such a great series. I loved The Butterfly Garden and The Summer Children best and I was so excited to get a chance to read the series conclusion early. I love how close the whole FBI team has gotten and especially the relationship between Eliza and Bran. I look forward to seeing what this author writes next.

Home for Erring and Outcast Girls by Julie Kibler

This story is based on a real couple who started a shelter to keep so called fallen women with their babies and help them get back on their feet to survive on their own or stay at the home. The story centers on Mattie, trying to find medical help for her young son, and Lizzie, the young mother who helps comfort Mattie when her son dies shortly after arriving at the home. The story alternates between past and present when a librarian uses the archived journals of these fallen women to help her confront her own troubled past.
I liked reading about this actual home that helped support women instead of sending them away in shame to deliver their babies in secret and force them to give them up. And even in the present, rape victims are often blamed or doubted while their rapists escape punishment. This was a very emotional and heartbreaking story.

Until the Day I Die by Emily Carpenter

Grieving the loss of her husband Perry, Erin throws herself into work at the company she, Perry, and a couple of college friends started. After suffering memory blackouts, the worst being when she stole a friend's car and showed up drunk at her daughter's college party, she is urged to check herself into an island spa resort. But the resort is a front for something far more sinister and Erin is soon running for her life in the creepy jungle.
This is a thriller with a lot of twists and turns. The jungle island setting was creepy but beautiful. I like the alternating perspectives of Erin and her daughter, Shorie and how they worked to find the traitor. It was not who I was expecting!!

Mona Lisas and Little White Lies by John Herrick

After a chance encounter when Ryder, a starving artist, rescues a drunk Lily at her cousin's wedding, he can't get her face out of his mind. She becomes his muse in everything from his own personal paintings to magazine and billboard advertisements.
Lily, an auto mechanic, has become a celebrity without even knowing it and everyone is clamoring to find out who the woman in the paintings really is. When she finds out, she tracks Ryder down to confront him but ends up falling in love with him. She only wants to be the glamorous woman he's created on canvas. One little white lie about her job won't hurt. But when the truth hits the tabloids, everything falls apart.
I thought this was a different twist on the Cinderella story. Like the Prince in the fairy tale only having a shoe to find his true love, Ryder has only a first name and the memory of her face. Cute story.

Deep River by Karl Marlantes

Three Koski siblings-Ilmari, Aino, and Matti-escape Finland during political unrest and find a home in Deep River, Washington. The two boys find jobs in the dangerous logging profession while Aino, the central character of the book, works in the logging kitchens. She sees the terrible working conditions of the men working long hours for little pay and becomes a strong voice for unionization.
The story follows the three through the downfall of the logging operation, river salmon fishing and the rise of unionization.
I think Aino was a strong female character in the book, and I like how passionate she was about fighting for the common worker. But I also thought she was so selfish putting the cause before everything else: her husband, her freedom, and even her daughter. This is a large book, but well worth the time. Great story!