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This intellectual thriller of a novel details what happens after Alexandra Southwood, devoted wife and mother, fails to return home from work one day. The narration trades between the hell Marc is going through as he comes to grips with his wife's disappearance and Alexandria's memories of her relationship with Marc, from their initial meeting to their marriage and raising their two daughters. Because the novel follows the trendy format of alternating points of view between Alexandra (who is apparently being held captive by some psychopath) and her husband, Marc, it would be tempting to call it yet another "Gone Girl," although that would not be fair at all to this book. True, there are numerous twists and slow reveals, some of which you can see coming from far away and others that will leave you gasping in surprise.

But whereas "Gone Girl" was a thriller from start to finish, "Exhibit Alexandria" has a serious subtext and addresses topics such as feminism and art, with a particular focus on the category of performance art. Alexandria was a serious art student before she met Marc, and a portion of the book is devoted to a rumination of her decision to turn her back on her career to devote time to her family. As one of Marc and Alex's mutual friends tries to explain later, voicing the hypothesis that Alex had been unhappy in her marriage before she was abducted, "It's still always the woman who changes her desires to meet the man's. It's still a world built for you and not us."

Given the main character's immersion in the art world, the novel itself also discusses at length the nature of performance art and the ethics of art: Is it ever okay to inflict pain on others as a work of art? The author describes some real-world artists and controversial works of art in this regard, a discussion I found fascinating and thought-provoking, although other readers expecting a more generic thriller may find it off-putting or of less interest.

Without offering spoilers, I will say that the conclusion of the book left me unsettled and unhappy, but unsettled in a good way, in that it was so thought-provoking I immediately went to my husband and told him all about it, because I wanted his take on how it turned out. (He didn't mind that I spoiled it for him. He's a good husband.) And it stayed with me all through the next day, leaving me with an uncomfortable ambivalence about how to feel toward the characters. In my mind, that's a good book.

Stags

"S.T.A.G.S." written by M.A.Bennett is a superb story that was such a different read to my normal books, yet still in keeping with the thriller genre.
I knew as soon as I started reading this that I was going to enjoy it and I wasn't proved wrong. With twists and turns right to the very end, readers will love this book - so easy to follow with brilliant characters (I could certainly see the attraction with Henry!) and a seriously captivating plot.
Greer MacDonald has won a scholarship at the very elite and prestigious St. Aidan the Great School in Northumberland. She doesn't make many friends at the school due to not being the wealthy and socially acceptable student all the others are. When Greer receives the much coveted annual invitation to join a group of 'Medievals' (unofficial prefects of the school) at Longcross Hall, she accepts the "huntin' shootin' fishin'" invitation in the hope she will make new friends and be socially accepted. However, things aren't as they seem in the invitation and things start to go disastrously wrong once the deadly weekend gets underway. We know from the start that a death has occurred - quite possibly a murder - and we are taken on a twisty turny journey that Greer relates in great detail, keeping the reader engrossed in a tale of medieval history, traditional blood sports and the power of long established well to do families.
Living myself beside the hauntingly beautiful counties of Northumberland and Cumberland, I could really relate to the areas the school and Hall were located, the descriptions were truly spot on! I also particularly enjoyed the little references Greer made relating to movies incorporating film scenes where that situation was occurring, and the fact it was written in the first person means we get to hear Greer's doubts and feelings first hand.
"S.T.A.G.S." could easily be made into a movie, there's a huge audience of all ages that would enjoy this story and I highly recommend the book - I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would happily read it again.
5 stars 

Lemon

With 60 recipes for healthy dishes and all-natural beauty treatments, Lemons Are a Girl's Best Friend lets you have your Pomegranate Facial and eat your Halloumi, Orange, and Pomegranate Salad, too. Each of the recipes uses just a handful of all-natural, common ingredients to make deliciously clean dishes and easy treatments for healthier skin, hair, and nails. Each superfood is introduced with a list of its active compounds, which are then translated into tangible benefits--for example, the Vitamin C in the Tomato and Basil Bruschetta gives your immune system a boost, while the lycopene in the Tomato Face Mask protects your skin from free radicals and UV rays. With recipes for grocery store staples (oats, sweet potatoes, cucumbers) and buzzy superfoods (seaweed, chia seeds, cider vinegar) alike, there is something in Lemons for everyone!

Breaking up

The size of this book is smaller than a traditional paperback but larger than a trade paperback. The cover is attractive. When my husband saw it sitting on the coffee table, immediately reached for the book. He's not a big reader, so the fact that he was interested in looking through this book should say something about how eye-catching the cover is and how important the topic is.

This book is practical. It's informational. It's a good read for anyone struggling with phone addiction...which honestly, might be most of the world. Phones are no longer a "want," they have become a "need," and phone addiction is so common that it's accepted as normal. I wanted to read this book to help shake me of my bad phone habits. And I wanted to read this book because I'm sick - so very sick - of how much time it robs me of during the day. If you reach for your phone like a nervous tick or just want to read more about phone addictions, this is a great resource.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Sps

This book is beautiful! It's filled with Jenne's energy, passion, and compassion and it is motivating me to get in the kitchen and explore Southern cuisine (not my natural habitat). :-) It has lots of sweet potato-based recipes along with other classics using peaches, pecans, and so much more. Although there is a lot of oil for some of the fried foods most of the recipes are pretty healthy veganized versions. Great job Jenne 

New book!

Fire breathing dragons, spoiled children of an immensely wealthy upper class, a psychopathic
killer with magical drugs and a feral girl child meet in a dystopian future.
We want our fictions to be plausible, to flow with a sense of reasonable cause and effect. We
want believe that these interesting characters could act as they did, and at the same time we
want to be surprised and amazed at the rich invention of the plot. The Sky is Yours is a fantasy,
a genre that excels in the invention part but often struggles with a plausible flow of action.
The scene is Empire Island is the city, loosely based on Manhattan. It has been ravaged by two
fire breathing dragons. Duncan is heir to the Ripple fortune, a massive accumulation of wealth
that permits the family to live on Empire Island essentially insulated from the grim realities of
poverty, lawlessness and dragon fire. Duncan is a narcissist, not smart and terribly spoiled.
Swanny Dahlberg is his betrothed, and likewise from great wealth; her lands are more or less
the Westchester or Connecticut suburbs. She has been raised to become a grande dame.
Swanny is fairly smart, but incredibly naive. Abby is a feral girl who lives on an island of garbage
near the city, who rescues Duncan when he crashed his flying machine. She can speak
telepathically with some of the genetically modified animals. Eisenhower Sharkey is the prime
mover in the prison city encapsulated within Empire Island. He creates and deals in a narcotic
that renders the past visible.

These and other grotesques meet and interact in a wide ranging plot filled with lust, passion,
sacrifice, love and death. It is a pretty glorious romp, marred by character development that
doesn’t appear congruent. It’s as fun, but a bit scattered.

Black veil.

Close college friends, a small boy, and a German teacher are locked into the old and crumbling Eastern State Penitentiary. The doors had been open when they’d arrived, and they debated about whether or not to explore it. When a cat came out, the young boy in the group, a brother of one of the college students, went in after it. The others entered, too, in order to find the child. After they had found him and were about to leave, they found that the doors were locked. As one student climbed a tree to go get help, they found that one of the students was missing.

Twenty years later, the body is finally found, and the friends reunite. Only Quentin has a lot to lose, if he shows up. His whole life can be destroyed if his secret is revealed!

I loved following Quentin throughout the twenty plus years of the book. That character was the most developed. However, I felt that the book, with its many main characters, was somewhat scattered. The mystery was fun, and a mystery lover will enjoy it.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review.