The Last Daughter by Soraya M. Lane

 

My thoughts

This is the last in the series of Lost Daughters by this author. It's like the beginning that came at the end. The one that started the whole thing. It's beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. A story of love and loss. 

When Mia's Aunt dies she is left to close up Hope's House. Mia is Hope's great niece. This is the story of how Hope House started. Who helped Hope when she was at her very lowest. When she needed someone more than ever. It's also the story of Mia. How Mia goes searching for answers but finds love instead. Mia was the one who gave each box to each of seven young ladies whose grandmother's had left them behind. Each with a clue as to who they were and why they had to give up their baby.

Hope had to leave home because of her cruel dad. He was abusive to her mother and in time to her also. This was in the early 1920s. Before the war. Before women could have a say whether they got an education or married or had families. Hope left home because she didn't want to marry a stranger. She didn't want the kind of life her mother had. She wanted to paint. To live. To learn about life. She had hopes and dreams. 

Mia was going through her own sadness. She was somewhat of a reclusive young lady. She had lost the love of her life and didn't know how to move on without him. Even after so many years had passed. But when Mia had a chance to find out more about her Aunt Hope she jumped at the chance. 

Both of these women had a destiny of sorts. Hope to help unwed mothers. Mia to find love again. You get to know more about Hope and all she went through and it's heartbreaking. I hoped all the way for one thing to happen. Up to the very end I held on to that hope. Mia went on this journey and found a guy. Joe. Joe was a good man. He had his own bar and worked hard. He had some hardships he dealt with also. Maybe together they can find peace. Maybe they can find each other and the happiness each deserves.

This is the last in this series and it's so good. After reading the previous books and knowing this one had to come eventually it was kind of hard to see it end. I adored Hope. She was such a good person to do what she did. After all she lost she was still so kind to other women who came to Hope's House for help. Opening the house to help others helped Hope in so many ways too. 

A well written book about a subject that is so sad. How horrible women and girls were treated for simply having a baby and not a husband. What they had to go through. 

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC.

4.70 stars. 

About

Hope looked up at Gus, his fingers linked with hers as he smiled down at her. The wind whipped at her hair, cool against her skin, but all she cared about was the man standing in front of her. ‘I choose you, Hope,’ he whispered. ‘A thousand times over, I choose you.’

London, Present Mia clutches the last remaining box found at Hope’s House in her hands. For months she has been determined to reunite every box with its rightful owner. But now it’s time for her to discover Hope’s own heartbreaking story.

France 1938: When Hope meets Gus in the lively streets of Paris, she finally feels that she has met her kindred spirit. But as they plan their dream future together, it is clear that Gus’s father will never allow their romance to develop. Defying his wishes, Gus promises Hope that they will be together after his army training.

But with France on the brink of war, Hope travels back to London for safety, cradling a life-changing secret. Then devastating news arrives which threatens Hope’s future and shatters her heart. In the darkest days of war, will Hope find the courage to give others the chance of a brighter future? And will her own story of strength inspire Mia to follow her heart?

The utterly gorgeous and heartbreaking final novel in the Lost Daughters series will leave you spellbound and is the perfect read for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Victoria Hislop.

More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen

 

My thoughts

There is definitely More Than Enough of this story. It's about a lot of things. A book group. Four women, Polly, Jamie, Helen, and Sarah. who meet to do all but read. They talk about things. They are friends. Polly and Sarah are very close and know things about each other before sharing with the others. It's about a woman who wants a baby. Her and her husband have been trying so hard. Lots of IVF treatments. No luck. A woman whose dad is  in a care facility for dementia. One woman and so much going on. 

Polly is a school teacher. She loves her job and her life. She has the perfect marriage, after a disastrous first marriage, to a veterinarian.  Mark is a wonderful man. He loves Polly so much. He loves their life. 

When the group give Polly a DNA test as a joke Polly takes it seriously. She finds she has a possible niece. But from where. Who. Her brother swears there is no way it could have been him. 

There is an Alpaca farm and so much else going on. I found myself lost at times in this story. I enjoyed it but thought it was a bit too much. At least for me. I rooted for Polly and Mark to have a baby. They tried so hard. I was hoping all would turn out good for Polly's bff Sarah. Sarah was recovering from breast cancer. I had all kinds of hope while reading this book. Some things were great and others not so much. 

The author did a good job of writing this but had so much going on that it became a bit overwhelming at times. All the characters. All the excitement. All the drama. I loved how much Polly loved her dad. I felt sick when she finally did find out how she was related to the girl from the ancestry kit. But I can also see it happening. I didn't really care for Polly's mother. I did like her brother and Mark's family. Yes, a lot going on.

I liked this book but didn't love it. It just fell a bit short for me. To much going on and to many characters to keep up with. And a book club that never read. I can understand that though. They got busy with other things. 

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.

3 stars 

About

A woman confronts the surprising results of an ancestry test and begins to question the meaning of family and friendship in this wise, tender novel teeming with life—from the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of After Annie

No one knows you like your book club.

High school English teacher Polly Goodman can talk about everything and anything with the women in her book club, which is why they’ve become her closest friends and, along with her veterinarian husband, the bedrock of her life. Her students, her fraught relationship with her mother, her struggles with IVF—Polly’s book club friends have heard about it all.

But when they give Polly an ancestry test kit as a joke, the results match her with a stranger. It is clear to Polly that this match is a mistake, but still she cannot help but comb through her family history for answers. Then, when it seems that the book club circle of four will become three, Polly learns how friendships can change your life in the most profound ways.

Written with Anna Quindlen’s trademark warmth, humor, and insight into the power of love and hope, More Than Enough explores how we find ourselves again and again through the relationships that define us.

You Did Nothing Wrong by C. G. Drews

 

My thoughts

I listened to an audio while reading. The audio kept me reading. Without it I would have marked this one a dnf. The narrator did a great job. She kept this story flowing and gave it life. 

This book started out so good. Then it took a turn. It had so much gross going on. At least that is my opinion. Who says they want to open someone's chest and crawl inside? Who does that? It's said so many times by Elodie. I mean love can be so strong but that is unnecessary grossness. 

It was like a true love story between Elodie and Bren. They are young and so in love. Elodie is from Australia and has a small child. A little boy she named Jude. Elodie has some secrets that could be deadly. Or she could just be a mixed up young woman who needs to be loved and cherished. Her parents certainly did care for her. Her baby brother drowned in the tub and they laid all the blame on her when she was only eight years old. She was a child. 

Elodie gave birth to Jude when she was only sixteen years old. In the bathroom of her house. No one helped her. Not many sixteen year olds could handle such a horrific event. Elodie is not exactly your average kid though. She's had an unlovable life and decided that she should have a baby. That she named him Jude was kind of crazy. That was also her baby brother's name.  

When Elodie and Jude move into Bren's family home she seems to be very happy. All seems good. Then Jude starts saying that the house is trying to eat him. Bren says it's not. He tries so hard to help with Jude. It seems Jude loves him. Elodie just won't allow it. She's a bit possessive about Jude. He's hers and hers alone. 

Bren has secrets too. He was just a little kid when his parents died. His older sister Ava took care of him with the help of other relatives. Bren is set on fixing up his parent's house. He works hard and seems to get nowhere. But he loves Elodie and Jude so much. 

Elodie is expecting another baby. This one is Bren's and it's another boy. He's so excited about becoming a father. Jude is not happy about this at all. Everything seems so good. Then it's not.

This book was ok but so repetitive. It seemed like the ending was all excitement. All the things that would go wrong happened at the end. Maybe not go wrong but all the big twists and turns. All of them. Not thrown in throughout the story. Elodie stumbles on some things that make her question what is happening. She's also a complete nut. I'm not so sure that Jude is autistic. I think maybe all the things Elodie did might have messed him up. She's trying to make amends it seems. At times anyway. 

The ending of this book was ok but didn't wow me. I figured out some things and others were just grossly awful. I could picture all the blood and gore seeping from the "walls." I could picture Bren's sisters face when Elodie appeared. I could picture Jude's cries. I could also picture other things that I didn't want to picture. 

Parts of this book were great and others were just not good at all. I could only take so much of how many times Elodie talked about ripping someone open and crawling inside of them. Or how she was tethered to Jude by the umbilical cord. 

I had high hopes for this one but was let down.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for this ARC.

3.75 stars 

About

A relentless, horror-inducing psychological suspense for fans of The Push and Baby Teeth by New York Times bestselling author CG Drews.

Single mother Elodie’s life has become a fairy tale. She’s met Bren, equal parts golden-retriever devoted and sinfully handsome. He’s whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house he’s renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect.

Then Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are “hurting” the house. Even Elodie can’t ignore it–something strange is going on. The question is, is it with the house, or with her son?

Then the one secret Elodie has been hiding is revealed, and no one is safe anymore.

A pulse-pounding, clever take on the haunted house novel, You Did Nothing Wrong examines the complexities of motherhood and the twisted bonds of family as it races to its shocking ending. 

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

 My thoughts

I received an arc for this book and the audio via NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio. It was also a BOTM choice for me. It's so good. A retelling of Cinderella from the Stepmother's POV... 

Etheldreda married the man she fell in love with and had two daughters, Rosamund and Matilda. Her husband died and her father in law was going to give her small girls to brothers as wives. They were still young children. Ethel married another man to protect her girls. That is when she became the "stepmother" to Elin. Her second husband died and she was left to raise the three girls. Everything her second husband had was left to his child for when she married. 

Ethel was a good mother. She tried her best with Elin. Elin had different ideas as to how to get by. She quoted a book that seemed to always be with her. A book teaching her how to be a lady. She was not at all like the Cinderella that we all knew and felt sorry for. She was a bit lazy. Rosie and Matilda did their share of work. Both were good at doing things. 

When there was to be a ball to find the Prince a wife Ethel of course found a way to get all three girls invited. They had to make their dresses and do their own work to get ready and Ethel's two girls did fine. Elin however didn't do good at all. But as you know Elin is the one the Prince would choose.

The Prince had secrets. Not good secrets. He was definitely not the Prince I grew up knowing about. But he was to be married to Elin and that was all that matter. 

This book gives you a whole other take on the story and family. I loved Ethel. I thought she was very resourceful and knew how to get things done. I felt for her a lot of times and really hoped she would be able to do what she needed to do. I liked the stepsisters too for the most part. Elin however had to grow on me. She came across as a spoiled brat. Always seeming to faint at just the right time. And the Prince. He was a whole other set of problems... When things got intense though Elin did come through. She helped in a way that I could hardly believe. Ultimately she did learn how to persevere. 

This book was a fun read but also serious. It was a page turner and so good. I highly recommend you read it. There are not an abundance of characters but enough. The story being from the "Stepmother;s" POV was fantastic. Very well done. I'll be looking for more by this author in the future. 

The narrator did a wonderful job. She did each character perfectly and kept the story moving at a great pace. 

Five stars  

About

A breathtaking reimagining of Cinderella, as told through the eyes of its iconic "evil" stepmother, revealing a propulsive love story about the lengths a mother will go to for her children

A widow twice-over, Etheldreda is now saddled with the care of her two children, a priggish stepdaughter, and a razor-taloned peregrine falcon. Her entire life has become a ruse, just like the manor hall they live grand and ornate on the exterior, but crumbling, brick by brick, inside. Fierce in the face of her misfortune, Ethel clings to her family’s respectability, the lifeboat that will float her daughters straight into the secure banks of marriage.

When a royal ball offers the chance to secure the future she desperately desires, Etheldreda must risk her secrets, pride, and limited resources in pursuit of an invitation for her daughters—only to see her hopes fulfilled by the wrong one. As an engagement to the heir of the kingdom unfolds with unnerving speed, she discovers a sordid secret hidden in the depths of the royal family, forcing her to choose between the security she’s sought for years and the wellbeing of the feckless stepdaughter who has rebuffed her at every turn.

As if Bridgerton met Circe, and exhilarating to its core, Lady Tremaine reimagines the myth of the evil stepmother at the heart of the world’s most famous fairytale. It is a battle cry for a mother’s love for her daughters, and a celebration of women everywhere who make their own fortunes.

I Came Back For You by Kate White

 My thoughts

I really enjoyed this book/audio. It was an arc from NetGalley and Brillance Audio. Narrated by Sarah Naughton. It was very well done. Held my attention and she did a great job of doing each character. I love when a narrator can do this. It makes the story flow so much better. 

When Bree's ex husband comes to her home out of the blue she is somewhat dismayed. Having no idea what he could possibly want. She hasn't spoken to him since moving so far away. But Logan brings some very shocking news. 

After the murder of their daughter Bree and Logan thought the murder was paying for what he did. Then Logan finds that this may not be true. There may have been another murderer. But how could anyone else know what happened to the other women. To do things almost exactly the same way. To murder Melanie and why. What would be the motive.

This book caught me and would not let go. I throughly enjoyed listening to it. All the way from start to finish. I had a big guess. I was totally convinced that I knew who the killer was. I was so wrong. I was way off. I didn't see it coming.

The author wrote a great edge of your seat thriller with enough mystery to keep me guessing. Enough description to make me feel I was there. By the lake. In the woods. At the Inn. At the crime scene later in the story. On that desolate lonely road. I enjoyed this book so much. 

I loved how the love story played out too. Though I don't think I would have been so giving to Logan. I adored Bree's new partner Bas. He was perfect for her. And so understanding. They were perfect for each other. I just hope they stay that way. 

Thank you NetGalley and Brillance Audio for the ARC. 

4.75 stars...

About

A mother begins to challenge everything she’s been told about her daughter’s murder in a shocking novel of suspense by a New York Times bestselling author.

Ten years after her daughter, Melanie, was murdered, Bree Winter is finally moving on with a new love, a new home, and a new beginning. Then a deathbed confession from the convicted killer throws Bree’s life into a tailspin all over again. He readily confesses to murdering four girls. But not Melanie.

At first, Bree and her ex-husband don’t buy a word of it. Until inconsistencies about the crime emerge. So does the dreadful feeling that the monster who shattered Bree’s family isn’t lying. The only way she can get to the truth is to power through the trauma and return to the town in upstate New York where Melanie’s life came to a brutal end.

Bree will do anything to find justice for her daughter and finish this nightmare forever. Instead, it’s just beginning. Not only could the real killer still be in their midst, but as Bree begins to dig through Melanie’s past, what she discovers calls into question everything she has believed—about the crime and about Melanie herself.

The Girls Before by Kate Alice Marshall

 

My thoughts

I received an audio from Macmillan via NetGalley for this book. Karissa Vacker is the narrator and did a fabulous job with this book. She kept the characters straight and the book moving at a great pace. 

An edge of your seat story in almost all parts. I figured ou who did what and who is who. I did figure out who one character was. That was the only part I found unbelievable but still loved the book/audio. 

Imagine being in a bunker underground in total blackness. The only light coming when someone comes to bring you food. Or water. Or unimaginable abuse. Imagine what it would feel like if you stopped seeing the light. Almost out of food. Almost out of water. Chained to a wall. What would you do? Knowing there were other girls before you that didn't make it. Names carved on wood. Some advice to help you carved in wood. No way to get out. Until someone does open that door. 

Audrey is a search and rescue expert. She lost her best friend many years ago and won't let go of the search for her. Audrey goes to great lengths to help find missing people. Audrey has a dod named Barry that I fell in love with. He's the best. He's also trained to find people. Both alive and dead people. One day as they are hiking Barry goes nuts and leads Audrey to a door. A door to a bunker.

This was a fast paced story. It kept my attention all the way through. I truly didn't want to put it down. It's one you can easily read in a day. It starts out good and ends up good. 

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for this ARC. 

4.75 stars... 

About

A search & rescue expert. A kidnapped woman. The lost girls who haunt them both.

"Veteran narrator [Karissa] Vacker performs the novel skillfully.... Her soothing voice, clarity, and intonation draw the listener into the story, while her convincing performance of Theo will hold their attention until the very last syllable." —Booklist on A Killing Cold (Starred Review)

There is a girl in a basement.
The door has stopped opening.
The light is gone.

Stranger is trapped in the dark, with only her imagination and the scribbles on the wall left by long-dead girls to keep her company. Nearly out of food and water, she makes one last attempt to escape. But if the door opens at last, will it mean salvation, or only the beginning of her fight to survive?

Audrey is a search and rescue expert who never stopped looking for her ex-best friend, Janie, who disappeared when they were teenagers. Janie used to love the local legend of a forest witch who saves girls from bad men, but Audrey knows now that for every one saved, there’s always another one lost. When she stumbles upon evidence in the forest that a teenage runaway might have actually been kidnapped from land belonging to the town’s most prominent family, she will have to dig through decades of secrets to reveal the biggest one of what happened to the girls before.

Kate Alice Marshall, bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods, No One Can Know, and A Killing Cold, is back with the thrilling new novel Ashley Winstead calls, "magnetic, shocking, heartbreaking, and unputdownable."

"Narrator Karissa Vacker, with scores of audiobooks under her belt, provides a pitch-perfect performance... [her] voice is a solid touchstone guiding listeners through shocks and twists." —Booklist on What Lies in the Woods

A Good Animal by Sara Maurer

 

My thoughts

It's hard to believe this is a debut. It is so beautiful and heartfelt. A story that will capture your heart.

Do you remember what first love felt like? Was it good? Was it heartfelt? Hopeful? Did you end up with that first love? Or was it a bad experience? Sad? Hurtful? This story is so full of love and hope. Hope for a future. A first love that is told from the young man's point of view. From his feelings. His heart. And what a story it is. 

Everett met Mary during the summer before their senior year in high school. Mary had just moved to  Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and couldn't wait to leave. She only had one year left and she could do whatever she wanted. She had plans to move to California and be an artist. 

Everett was a farm boy. A young man who loved everything about being a sheep farmer. He had big plans too. To buy his own sheep and make his life as a farmer. Then he met Mary. He feel hard and fast. They were young and threw caution to the wind. It was such a pure and sweet time for them. 

Mary told Everett from the very start that she was not staying. She told him about her plans and she meant every word. But Everett truly thought he was in love. And possibly he was. Sometimes first loves are the strongest. The deepest. The most intense. But something went wrong. Something unexpected. 

This book is truly beautifully written. It's just one that will keep you turning the pages. I cried so much reading this book. I did laugh a few times too but mostly it brought tears to my eyes. Not just from the love between a boy and a girl but from what happens to sheep. Things I didn't know that happened when you show animals. 

I learned a few things reading this book. All about sheep, but still I did learn some things. This author knows sheep and she knows what that first love feels like. From a boys POV at that. 

This book was a quick read for me. 

I received an audio arc also and have to say that the narrator, Michael Crouch, did a fantastic job of making this book flow just right. Of bringing each character to life. Of giving it the feeling it needed. 

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Macmillan audio, for the arc. Also it was my BOTM last month. 

4.75 stars... 

About

A heart-wrenching coming-of-age debut novel by a stunning new voice in fiction, for readers of Barbara Kingsolver and Ann Patchett.

In the farm country outside Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan—a border town where life moves slow and dreams run fast—most kids want out. Not Everett Lindt. He’s set on staying put, rebuilding his family’s sheep farm, and carving a future from the land he loves.

Then he meets Mary, a new girl in town with restless energy and bigger plans. When their relationship reaches a crossroads, Everett sees a life together; Mary, however, is desperate to find a way out. Together, they make an impulsive choice—one that will change everything.

Tense, lyrical, and deeply felt, Sara Maurer's unforgettable debut breathtakingly captures the ache of first love, the beauty and brutality of rural life, and how one decision can echo through generations and shape who we become.