Book Thoughts ~ What Doesn't Kill Her

What Doesn't Kill Her (Cape Charade #2)

by Christina Dodd
published by HQN
release date: January 29, 2019
genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

**Received an e-copy from NetGalley/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Summary (Goodreads): One secret, one nightmare, one lie. You guess which is which.
1. I have the scar of a gunshot on my forehead.
2. I have willfully misrepresented my identity to the US military.
3. I'm the new mother of a seven-year-old girl.
Kellen Adams suffers from a yearlong gap in her memory. A bullet to the brain will cause that. But she's discovering the truth, and what she learns changes her life, her confidence, her very self. She finds herself in the wilderness, on the run, unprepared, her enemies unknown--and she is carrying a priceless burden she must protect at all costs. The consequences of failure would break her. And Kellen Adams does not break.
What doesn't kill her...had better start running.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed most of this book so I'll talk about those things first. When this book starts Kellen is trying to figure out how to be a mom and not faring well. Hiding in bushes and feeling like a failure because she can not bond with her daughter Rae. Looking for a way out Kellen takes a job running an artifact up the mountain. Of course nothing works out. Terror and mayhem ensue. Kellen manages the job and gets every priceless thing up the mountain.
While I didn't have a problem with it, it was slightly jarring going from all of that to event planning at the winery. This was just as frantic and came with its own set of problems. It's also where we find out who is trying to kill Kellen and why. This is where my personal problem comes in. Even in a thriller I like to be able to try and figure things out. The answer made sense to Kellen's life but caught me off guard trying to figure out if I had ever heard of the person before.
Overall, even with not having a clue on who, I really enjoyed this book. Christina Dodd does a great job setting a scene and bringing the characters and dialogue to life. I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next with Kellen and her new found (refound) life.

Rating: 4

New Releases ~ week of 01/28/2019

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (#1 A Curse So Dark and Lonely)

A Murderous Marriage by Alyssa Maxwell (#4 Lady and Ladies Maid)
All About That Kiss by Susan Hatler (#6 Kissed by the Bay)
Before He Lapses by Blake Pierce (#11 Mackenzie White)
Cast in Oblivion by Michelle Sagara (#14 The Chronicles of Elantra)
Crooked Street by Brian Freeman (#3 Frost Easton)
Dark Burning by Lori Ryan (#6 Dark Falls)
Dead as a Door Knocker by Diane Kelly (#1 House-Flipper Mystery)
Death by Chocolate Malted Milkshake by Sarah Graves (#2 Death by Chocolate)
Death by Committee by Alexis Morgan (#1 Abbey McCree Mystery)
Dragon Betrayal by Charlene Hartnady (#4 Water Dragons)
Drawn Into Love by Aurora Rose Reynolds (#4 Fluke My Life)
Escaping His Grace by Kristin Vayden (#2 Gentlemen of Temptation)

Flare Up by Shannon Stacey (#6 Boston Fire)
Governess Gone Rogue by Laura Lee Guhrke (#3 Dear Lady Truelove)
Grand Slam Murders by R J Lee (#1 Bridge to Death Mystery)
Hot Fudge Murder by Cynthia Baxter (#2 Lickety Splits Mystery)
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (#1 Nikolai Duology)
Lavender Blue by Donna Kauffman (#3 Blue Hollow Falls)
Moonlight Scandals by Jennifer L Armentrout (#3 de Vincent)
Murder, She Meowed by Liz Mugavero (#7 Pawsitively Organic Mysteries)
Mystic by Cheryl Brooks (#2 Cat Star Legacy)
No Escape Claws by Sofie Ryan (#6 Second Chance Cat Mystery)
Not a Hero by Cherise Sinclair (#1 Sons of the Survivalist)
One Tough Cowboy by Lora Leigh (#1 Moving Violations)
Out of the Dark by Gregg Hurwitz (#4 Orphan X)

Pruning the Dead by Julia Henry (#1 Garden Squad Mystery)
Ransacker by Emmy Laybourne (#2 Berserker)
Reckoning of Fallen Gods by R. A. Salvatore (#2 Coven)
Tained Forever by Terri Anne Browning (#5 Tainted Knights)
Tempt Me With Diamonds by Jane Feather (#1 London Jewels Trilogy)
The Cerulean by Amy Ewing
The Gun Also Rises by Sherry Harris (#6 Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery)
The Havana Game by John Lutz (#2 Thomas Laker)
The Shadowlands by Katrina Charman (#5 The Last Firehawk)
The Sheikh's Inherited Bride by Clare Connelly (#5 Evermore)
The Way You Love Me by Miranda Liasson (#2 Angel Falls)

The Whole Package by Marie Harte (#1 Movin' On)
The Wrong Highlander by Lynsay Sands (#7 Highlander)
Three Little Words by Jenny Holiday (#3 Bridesmaids Behaving Badly)
Vengeance Road by Christine Feehan (#2 Torpedo Ink)
What Doesn't Kill Her by Christina Dodd (#2 Cape Charade)
You Will Suffer by Alexandra Ivy (#3 The Agency)

New Releases ~ week of 01/21/2019

A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery by Curtis Craddock (#2 The Risen Kingdoms)

Ashes To Ink by Carrie Ann Ryan (#4 Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs)
Bound by Obsession by Trish McCallan (#5 Bound by)
Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye (#1 Circle of Shadows)
Contagion by Eric L. Harry (#2 Pandora)
Covert Games by Katie Reus (#6 Redemption Harbor)
Darkness Embraced by Tillie Cole (#7 Hades Hangmen)
Demon's Mercy by Rebecca Zanetti (#10 Dark Protectors)
Heart Burn by Becky McGraw (#1 Deep Six East)
Illegally Yours by Kate Meader (#2 Laws of Attraction)
Imprison the Sky by A. C. Gaughen (#2 The Elementae)
Jillian by Lia Davis (#4 Coven's End)
Katie's Highlander by Maeve Greyson (#3 Highland Protectors)
My Kind of Forever by Tracy Brogan (#2 Trillium Bay)
My One and Only by Iris Morland (#4 The Youngers)

Secrets at Cedar Cabin by Colleen Coble (#3 Lavender Tides)
Shattered Vows by Kaylea Cross (#3 Crimson Point)
Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler (The Wells of Sorcery #1)
The Conspiracy by Kat Martin (#3 Maximum Security)
The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley (#10 Flavia de Luce Mystery)
The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty (#2 City of Brass Trilogy)
The Rule of Law by John Lescroart (#18 Dismas Hardy)
The Suspect by Fiona Barton (#3 Kate Waters)
The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson (#2 Truly Devious)
Unnatural Disasters by Jeff Hirsch
Vultures by Chuck Wendig (#6 Miriam Black)

This Week's Reads

12 Chinese Mythical Beasts
by Zu-Nasr (DeviantArt)

**Crazy week, son getting ready for exams only to have a snow day due to icy roads. At least he gets time to study over the weekend for history.

Book of Mythicality by Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal
A Field Guide to Curiosity, Creativity, and Tomfoolery (Goodreads)
**This is one of my favorite Youtube channels. I've found over the past year whenever I need a break or just a good laugh, these two deliver.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Thursday Next #1 (Goodreads)
**I've read Fforde's The Last Dragonslayer books which prompted this series to show up on a recommended list. It sounded interesting enough with a little bit of everything thrown in that I'm giving it a try.

New Releases ~ week of 01/14/2019

A Merciful Fate by Kendra Elliot (#5 Mercy Kilpatrick)

Age of Doom Part 1 by Jeff Lemire (#3 Black Hammer)
Crave the Heat by Marnee Blake (#2 Smokejumpers)
Dragon Claimed by Donna Grant (#14.5 Dark Kings)
Eighth Witness by Kathi Daley (#8 Writers Retreat Southern Seashore Mystery)
Game On by Kelly Jamieson (#8 Aces Hockey)
Love is a Many Splintered Thing by Jamie Lee Scott (#12 Gotcha Detective Agency Mysteries)
No Mercy by Joanna Schaffhausen (#2 Ellery Hathaway Series)
No Sunscreen for the Dead by Tim Dorsey (#22 Serge Storms)
Pisces Floors Taurus by Anyta Sunday (#4.5 Signs of Love)
Shadow Captain by Alastair Reynolds (#2 Revenger)
Spartan Promise by Jennifer Estep (#2 Mythos Academy: Colorado)
Stain by A.G. Howard
Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson #13)
Tear It Down by Nick Petrie (#4 Peter Ash)
Texas Legacy by Lorraine Heath (#1 Rawley Cooper)
The Devilish Lord Will by Jennifer Ashley (#10 Highland Pleasures)
The Flimflam Affair by Bill Pronzini (#7 Carpenter and Quincannon Mysteries)
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (The Gilded Wolves #1)

This Week's Reads

Star Drop
by Jade Merien (DeviantArt)

A couple of NetGalley books this week

Ghosts of Gotham by Craig Schaefer
(Goodreads)
**Based on the blurb I thought this book was going to be going in one direction, then looking it up on Goodreads, it seems to go into a very different direction. One that I enjoy (witches) just not sure how it's all going to work out.

What Doesn't Kill Her by  Christina Dodd
Cape Charade #2 (Goodreads)
**Didn't realize when I requested this that it was the 2nd in the series so had to hurry and read Dead Girl Running. I really enjoyed both and they started the 2019 reading year off on the right note.

Mirror Gate by Jeff Wheeler
Harbinger #2 (Goodreads)
**Picked this up at the library. Storm Glass was one of my favorite reads in 2018 and I've been looking forward to reading more in this series.

New Releases ~ week of 01/07/2019

Bones Behind the Wheel by E J Copperman (#10 Haunted Guest House Mystery)
Dark Terror by Sandra Owens (#5 Dark Falls)
Daughter of War by Brad Taylor (#13 Pike Logan)
Evidence of Desire by Lexi Blake (#2 Courting Justice)
First, Kill the Lawyers by David Housewright (#5 Holland Taylor)
Flight of the Bluebird by Kara Lareau (#3 Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters)
Forever Broken by Carrie Ann Ryan (#9 Talon Pack)
Her Last First Kiss by Liz Isaacson (#1 Last Chance Ranch)
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire (#4 Wayward Children)
Lipstick Voodoo by Kristi Charish (#2 Kincaid Strange)

Lives Laid Away by Stephen Mack Jones (#2 August Snow)
Murder Likes It Hot by Tracy Weber (#6 Downward Dog Mystery)
Nobody’s Duke by Scarlett Scott (#1 League of Dukes)
Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole (#2.5 Reluctant Royals)
Promises by Aleatha Romig (#3 Web of Sin)
Schooled in Death by Kate Flora (#9 Thea Kozak)
Seven Deadly Zins by Nancy J Parra (#2 Wine Country Mystery)
Slayer by Kiersten White (#1 Slayer)
TBH, Too Much Drama by Lisa Greenwald (#3 TBH)
Teasing the Princess by Nana Malone (#2 Royals United Duet)
The Alchemist's Illusion by Gigi Pandian (#4 Accidental Alchemist Mystery)
The Best of Us by Robyn Carr (#4 Sullivan's Crossing)
The Guy Who Died Twice by Lisa Gardner (#9.5 D.D. Warren)
The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty (#2 City of Brass Trilogy)
The Lost Traveller by Sheila Connolly (#7 County Cork Mysteries)

The New Iberia Blues by James Lee Burke (#22 Dave Robicheaux)
The Void Protocol by F Paul Wilson (#3 ICE Sequence)
The Wicked King by Holly Black (#2 Folk of the Air)
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden (Winternight Trilogy #3)
Through Fiery Trials by David Weber (#10 Safehold)
Touch of Eon by Anna Hackett (#2 Eon Warriors)
Undying by Meagan Spooner, Amie Kaufman (#2 Unearthed)
Untouchable by Jayne Ann Krentz (#3 Cutler, Sutter, & Salinas)
Warrior of the World by Jeffe Kennedy (#3 Chronicles of Dasnaria)
White Stag by Kara Barbieri (#1 Permafrost)
With this Pledge by Tamera Alexander (#2 Carnton)

Happy New Year ~ 2019

** Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas. ~ Charles Kettering

January
by Kuschelirmel (DeviantArt)

** You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. ~ C.S. Lewis

Snow Fae
by twosilverstars (DeviantArt)

** Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, "It will be happier." ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson