Women Of A Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart

 

My thoughts

Another winner from Donna Everhart. This one is a heartstopping, heartbreaking, historical about how females were treated when the government decided they were causing servicemen to catch STDs. Not the men being treating any such way, just the females. Even in cases of rape and incest. All those innocent men.... Right!!

In this story you meet several females from various ages. Each placed in a detention center for being promiscuous. Or possibly being promiscuous. They all seemed to have STDs even if they had not done anything of a sexual nature. They were just taken and placed in a place where they were treated lower than the lowest. Some even being sterilized without consent. Sometimes it was a spouse who put them there. I guess they just weren't cooperating enough. Not doing exactly what they were told by their husbands. 

Stella was a child. A fifteen year old who did nothing wrong. Her father impregnated her. Forced her to do what he wanted. She was a very poor girl. Her mother was a basket case who was not there for her. Her dad was the lowest excuse ever. 

Ruth was a single woman who was minding her own business. Walking to work. When a cop approached her. He forced her to go with him to a doctor who said she had a STD and had to be taken away. To protect the service men. She was only twenty four. She was just a single woman who had not done anything wrong. 

There are several females in the Colony. You'll meet a few and hear parts of their stories. The main ones though are Stella and Ruth. And some of the staff. 

Dorothy Baker came to work at the Colony after losing her job at another home that had been set on fire. She was a hard hearted woman. She tended to blame all women for what her ex-husband did. She caught him in their bed with another woman. She was the type to blame women instead of standing by them and fighting for women. I didn't like her at all. Even after hearing her entire story I did not like her. The only thing she did that was possibly kind was being kind of nice to Stella.

This author did a wonderful job of making me feel the pain these females went through. She did great research and put her heart into this story. You can feel the pain of these young women. How hard they tried and what they felt at their weakest periods. The isolation they felt when put in rooms for extended lengths of time to think about what they did. All the emotions are so raw and realistic. It hurt to read this book. It's heartbreaking. 

To think that this actually happened is beyond comprehension. More than my mind can take. It can happen again too. Never think it can't. 

Well written. Realistic. Real. Heartfelt. Heartbreaking. Sad. There is so much going on. So much emotion. 

Thank you Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. 

About

The day Ruth Foster’s life changes begins the same way as many others—with a walk through her North Carolina hometown toward the diner where she works. But on this day, Ruth is stopped by the local sheriff, who insists that she accompany him to a health clinic. Women like Ruth—young, unmarried, living alone—must undergo testing in order to preserve decency and prevent the spread of sexual disease.

Though Ruth has never shared more than a chaste kiss with a man, by day’s end she is one of dozens of women held at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. Some, like 15-year-old Stella Temple, are brought in at their family’s request. For Stella, even the Colony’s hardships seem like a respite from her nightmarish home life.

Superintendent Dorothy Baker, convinced that she’s transforming degenerate souls into upstanding members of society, oversees the women’s medical treatment and “training” until they’re deemed ready for parole. Sooner or later, everyone at the Colony learns to abide by Mrs. Baker’s rule book or face the consequences—solitary confinement, grueling work assignments, and worse.

But some refuse to be cowed. Against Mrs. Baker’s dogged efforts and the punishing weight of authority, Ruth and other inmates find ways to fight back, resolved to regain their freedom at any cost . . .

Such A Clever Girl by Darby Kane

 

My thoughts

This was a confusing book. The problem being to many characters. I can usually keep up with them with no problem but not this time. They didn't connect like I hoped they would. They didn't even seem to like one another. They needed each other at times but didn't seem like friends. 

Talk about family drama. This story is filled with it. Murder, intrigue, affairs, hookups, suspicion on an epic level. The book has all of that. But to me it lacked emotion. I read it and never felt the usual emotions that I get from a good thriller. I figured out part of it and knew part of it. I mean get real I knew she was guilty. Not a big surprise to me. Though it was a good ending. It had that. A good ending is always useful and can make or break a book. It definitely helped.

I don't need to give a synopsis since there is one already but you will get to know these characters and how they were involved in the disappearance of a family. A whole family. All four of them. Then the father of the man who disappeared dies and it's a full on investigation of everything and everyone. Well almost. The reading of the will unveils a lot. A whole lot of secrets. 

I didn't like any of these characters. Not one. I didn't find any of them believable except maybe Aubrey and no one even liked her. She was one of those you don't like but like to hate. I didn't really hate her though. She was abused by an older man. An older married man. Good grief he should be horsewhipped. Or maybe he can run for president and win...

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for this arc.

3 stars 

About

Darby Kane, author of the #1 international bestseller Pretty Little Wife, returns with a gripping domestic thriller in which a family goes missing and a long-buried family mystery resurfaces.

Fifteen years ago, the Tanner family vanished without a trace, leaving behind a chilling half-eaten meals, a bloodstain by the door, and a smoldering fire consuming their business across town.

The once-vibrant home stands untouched, a haunting relic of the past. As rumors fade into local folklore, the mystery of their disappearance seems destined to remain unsolved—until Aubrey Tanner returns.

Now a hardened thirty-year-old, Aubrey arrives in town with secrets etched in her silence. Why did she come back? Was she a victim of the night that changed everything, or does she hold the truth of what happened to her family? The town is rife with theories, but three women share a dangerous they know more than they’ve ever confessed.

As the past resurfaces, old alliances fray. A teacher, a café owner, and a psychologist are drawn together by memories they’d rather forget. Each holds a piece of the puzzle—and a dark secret of their own. When a new disappearance sends shock waves through the town, blackmail begins, and the stakes climb higher.

In a race against time, these women must confront the truth or risk becoming the next victims of a past they cannot escape. With tension rising and danger lurking, one thing is someone is destined to kill again.

What Tomorrow Will Be by Julianne MaClean

 

My thoughts

This is a very touching story. A story of love and loss. Of new beginnings and possible endings. Of marriage with all it's ups and downs. Children. The hardships of being a single mother while married to the man you thought loved you above all else. A story of so much hope. 

When Sienna was nineteen years old she thought she had it all. The love of her life. A wonderful life. Parents who loved her. A best friend. Then she fell....

Sienna survived that fall in many ways. But in one way she lost everything. You get to follow her life after the fall. Meet her husband and children. See what her life was all about. How it turned out. All the ups and downs of Sienna's life. Then she falls again...

This book was very good. A very emotional one. This author obviously has strong religious feelings. It's obvious as you follow what happened to Sienna and Jacob. You'll meet Jacob's sister Becky who is also Sienna's best friend. And then there is Nate, Amanda, and Connor. Each of these characters play such a huge role in this book. All are very likable. I adored Jacob but fell hard for Nate until Nate let Sienna down. Then I got angry at him and I got angry at her too. She literally tells him to go. Go to the restaurant.  That place was part of the reason they got where they were. And she said go. 

Amanda was Sienna's oldest child. She was actually very smart. At times beyond her years smart. I thought she handled herself so well in the hospital. And in life. I'm not so sure many sixteen years olds are that reseilant these days. 

And don't forget the dogs. They play a fairly big part in this book. And each sounds adorable. Just as a pup should...

This book was well written and very heartbreaking while at the same time heartwarming. There was one scene that I found to be quite silly but that is me. I don't believe any surgeon would talk to children with the medical terms the one in this story did. It would just blow their young minds...

I listened to the audio and it was pretty good. Kept great pace and did keep my interest.

Thank you Lake Union Publishers and Brillance Audio for the ARC. 

4 stars 

About

Some loves never die. But only one will shape her future…

At nineteen, Sienna MacKay believed she had it all—a promising career ahead of her and a young love destined to last forever. But a tragic accident shatters that idyllic existence, leaving her with a heartbreaking loss.

Years later, Sienna has rebuilt her life. She’s a successful designer, a devoted mother, and a woman who has dared to love again—with Nate, a passionate, rising-star chef. But as Nate drifts further into ambition, cracks surface in their once-bright marriage. A stormy confrontation ends in disaster, and Sienna becomes caught between two worlds—her near-perfect past and her more complicated present—where she must ask What is the price of true love…and is she willing to pay?

Set on the majestic, rugged coastline of Nova Scotia, What Tomorrow Will Be is a magical, emotional novel about first love, second chances, and finding the courage to stay…or the will to go.

Gone Before Goodbye by Harlan Coben & Reese Witherspoon

 

My thoughts

I absolutely loved this book. I listened to the audio and the cast did such a great job. Reese Witherspoon was the voice of Maggie. Maggie was the main character.

The authors really brought to life how humanity should work. The hearts of doctors working in countries where so many are hurt. During wartime and after. Three friends , Maggie, her husband Marc and friend Trace. One betrayed the other two in a horrible way.

This book took me from my living room to New York. To Russia then Dubai. To France. It kept me on edge through a lot of it. Hoping for something through other parts. And finally back to the US where it all started.

A lot of good characters and enough bad ones to keep me wanting to see justice.

I think my favorite character had to be Porkchop. Yep that was what he was called. Porkchop was Marc’s dad and Maggie’s father in law. He was quite the person.

I liked how they used AI in this story to help Maggie. I liked almost everything about this book. It was my first Harlan Coben book. It won’t be my last.

About

Maggie McCabe is teetering on the brink. A highly skilled and renowned Army combat surgeon, she has always lived life at the edge, where she could make the most impact. And it was all going to plan ... until it wasn’t.

Upside down after a devastating series of tragedies leads to her medical license being revoked, Maggie has lost her purpose, but not her nerve or her passion. At her lowest point, she is thrown a lifeline by a former colleague, an elite plastic surgeon whose anonymous clientele demand the best care money can buy, as well as absolute discretion.

Halfway across the globe, sequestered in the lap of luxury and cutting-edge technology, one of the world’s most mysterious men requires unconventional medical assistance. Desperate, and one of the few surgeons in the world skilled enough to take this job, Maggie enters his realm of unspeakable opulence and fulfills her end of the agreement. But when the patient suddenly disappears while still under her care, Maggie must become a fugitive herself—or she will be the next one who is ... Gone Before Goodbye

Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher

 

My thoughts

WOW!! This book knocked my socks off. I didn't read the synopsis but thought it had to be good. It's T. Kingfisher... I was right of course. 

This review is very hard to write . What can you say about a story that has you cringing about bugs. About an artist who paints these bugs. A man who studies them so intently.... This book will give you so many feelings, including laughter. Yes laughter. It's a horror, thriller, mysterious story that will have you gasping. But it does contain laughter. 

Does it contain a monster. Yes. But not where you think. Does it have a hero. Yes. A couple actually. This book was a fun and very quick read. It has everything you need for a good thriller, horror, story. 

When Sonia Wilson arrives in response to a job she accepted, she has no idea what lays in store for her. Dr Halder studies bugs. He knows everything about bugs. Or he thinks he does anyway. He's the most unpleasant person Sonia as met. His housekeeper/cook are friendly and make her feel welcome. Sonia is to draw and paint the bugs that Dr Halder is writing a book about. She's an illustrator and he expects the pictures to be perfection. He is not a nice man. He doesn't smile. He doesn't seem to like anyone. He just is...

When things take a turn for to the dark side Sonia finds herself a great odds. Does she continue with this job or run. Sonia stayed. 

This was a book about bugs, painting, cruelty, possibly murder. A story about things you truly only read about in books. This author wrote this in such a way that once you start you won't be able to stop. You'll keep turning the pages until the very end. 

It's different from any I've read but still right along with how you would except this author to write. A story that could end all stories. It's good. It's so good. Evil though. Good and evil? Possibly.

The narrator did a wonderful job with this. She brought the cringes to life. The gasps. The howls. The feelings of bugs crawling on your skin. She did a fantastic job. Mary Robinette Kowal, narrator.

Thank you Tor Publishing Group and Macmillan Audio for the ARCs. 

Five stars 

About

Something darker than the devil stalks the North Carolina woods in Wolf Worm, a new gothic masterpiece from New York Times bestselling author T. Kingfisher

“I saw the devil in these woods.”

Sonia Wilson is a talented scientific illustrator—but she is only able to follow her dream because of her father’s reputation as a renowned scientist. Such is the lot in life for a woman in science in 1899. And after his death, she is left without work, prospects, or hope.

So when the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house and put her talents to use.

Once there though, she encounters dark happenings in the Carolina woods, and even darker questions come to light, like what happened to her predecessor? Why are animals acting so strangely, and what is behind the peculiar local whispers about “blood thiefs?”

With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a twisted road. His ground-breaking discoveries come with a cost—one that Halder is paying with human flesh.

If Sonia can’t find a way to stop the monstrosity, she may be next under the knife.

Save Her Family (Nikki Hunt #11) by Stacy Green

 

My thoughts

This is the eleventh book in the Nikki Hunt series. Each one is tense and emotional. 

In this book you find out who murdered not only Nikki's neighbor but also a few other people in the town. What was the motive. What did each have in common. Someone who refused to be undone. Someone who thought they were above the law and would never be caught. A person who had to have things their way no matter what!!

Nikki Hunt's daughter Lacey witnesses a murder. She sees when the woman is shot and killed. But she does not see who did it. She has no idea why someone would do this. She only wants to help the small girl that is left, along with her infant sister. Lacey is terrified but determined. She takes the child inside and locks the door. Then she hears the footsteps on the porch.

This book takes you on a wild ride. Through a few murders. A fire that caused the death of two and through Nikki's determination to solve the case. 

I did figure out who the killer was. It was just obvious to me. It didn't take away from the story though. It just kept me reading to see if I was right. To find out why. To see if this person would try to harm Nikki's child. Of course Nikki solves this one as she did every other one. 

This was a good read that kept me turning the pages. Kept me guessing until it just finally hit me who was who and why they did this heinous crime. What drives a person to kill. What makes a person a cold stone murder???

Thank you Bookouture for this ARC.

4.75 stars 

About

The girl’s heart races as she edges towards the bright yellow farmhouse where children’s toys lie carelessly in the overgrown grass. The air is too still. On the front porch, a woman takes her last breath and crumples to the ground…

Special Agent Nikki Hunt feels her chest tighten as she looks down at the body sprawled beside the lilac bushes. This morning, her ten-year-old daughter Lacey witnessed the murder of local mother Elle Harper. Out riding her bike, Lacey saw the killer escape from the house and rushed inside to protect Elle’s daughters Maisy and Maya.

Nikki promises Lacey she’ll do whatever it takes to help the poor innocent girls who now sit in her house clutching their teddies. But before she has a chance to return them to the safety of their stepfather Tim, he’s reported missing. Local gossip suggests that fights between Elle and Tim had been spilling out of the farmhouse, and Nikki soon wonders if Maisy and Maya were ever safe in their own home.

But just as Nikki zones in on her suspect, she realizes she’s too late. A body is pulled from the river, and Nikki’s heart shatters as Tim is pronounced dead. Nikki’s gut tells her that someone is targeting the whole family. But with this killer stalking her in the shadows, what sacrifices will she have to make to save them, and keep her promise to her daughter?

A mind-blowingly brilliant thriller from USA Today bestseller Stacy Green. Fans of Lisa Regan, Mary Burton and Kendra Elliot will be up all night flipping the pages until the final, unputdownable twist.

It's Not Her by Mary Kubica

 

My thoughts

I've read a couple of Mary Kubica's books and enjoyed them very much. This one is on a whole other level of thrills. It actually had me feeling tense and scared in places. I was thinking everyone was guilty at some point. I never, ever, never, thought of what was revealed. That was brilliant. It was masterful. The best kind of twist. Actually both twists were great but the first one left me speechless...

My favorite line and the saddest line in this story: But who's to say what a grieving parent sees when they want so badly to believe??? That line would haunt anyone.

Two families on vacation at a cabin resort. Four adults who are related and four children between them.... Cousins will be cousins and siblings will be siblings. At times you truly want to strangle them, but at a time when only horror has happened you want to be there. To do what you can. But how. If you are so afraid then how. 

Courtney and Elliott have a ten year old daughter Cass. They are the best parents they can possibly be. Courtney's brother, Nolan and sister in law, Emily, have three children. A daughter, Mae, who is Cass's age. The two are very close. They are trouble from the word go but only as most all ten year olds can be. They love teasing Reese, Mae's seventeen year old sister. Mae also has a brother, Wyatt, who is fourteen. He's that brother who loves to blackmail you if he gets anything on you. He does this to Reese repeatedly. 

The two couples are very close. They get together almost nightly while in the cabins to play games, eat, drink. Just be free to be free. Nolan and Emily are having big problems. Seems they are not getting along well at all. 

Then the unthinkable happens. Nolan and Emily are brutally murdered and their daughter Reese is missing. Their son Wyatt slept through it all. Thus the story begins...

This book is great. It has all the feels and all the tension you want from a thriller. It has plenty of twists and turns. Lots of people to blame. A whole lot of guesses. And that ending. That unexpected, dramatic, earth shattering, ending. Ok maybe not earth shattering but it's till fantastic.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row Books, HTP the Hive and Harlequin Audio for the arcs. 

The narrators, Jennifer Jill Araya; Brittany Pressley; Gary Tiedemann, did a great job with this story. Kept it moving at a great pace and portrayed the characters perfectly. 

I received a physical copy from Harlequin also. 

FIVE big stars 

About

Two families vacationing at a secluded lake resort are at the center of a chilling crime and mysterious disappearance in this twisty, unputdownable thriller

A stunning discovery…
Courtney Gray's tranquil family vacation is shattered when she hears a blood-curdling scream from the lakeside cottage next door. There she finds the lifeless bodies of her brother and sister-in-law. Her teenage niece Reese is nowhere to be found, while her nephew Wyatt lies asleep upstairs, unharmed.

A shocking investigation…
As the police descend on the quiet resort town, disturbing secrets about Courtney’s family start to emerge. When she learns that the town has secrets of its own, it makes her wonder if Reese is another victim in a brutal crime or if she’s the killer.

A truth no one could have imagined …
As Courtney begins to unravel the terrible mystery, she realizes that everyone around her has something to hide. And the closer she gets to the truth, the harder it is to see…