LYING NEXT TO YOU by Gregg Olsen

This is my first book by Gregg Olsen and it certainly will not be my last. This was one heck of a book.
It kept me guessing all through the story. Who could be trusted. Who was telling the most lies. It had two stories going in lots of places but they connected in a way too. Lee’s story and Adam’s. It was a story of life altering events that will keep you turning the pages.

The characters were ones you will love to hate, with the exception of Lee and Montrose. Lee had a lot going on in her life at a very young age. Very traumatic events that shaped her into the great Detective she is. She and Adam where childhood friends but they didn’t know each other as adults. Until that fateful day when his wife went missing.

What could possibly have happened to Adam’s wife. Who could have taken her and why. All of this is answered for you. This book is very well written and keeps you turning pages to find out what comes next.

Told from multiple points of view you won’t know who or what to believe. From an innocent child to a cruel vindictive adult this story will keep you captivated until the very end. I felt bad for Adam in so many ways. I felt bad for a few of the characters. But for one my heart broke.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good who done it. It’s a very good book.

Thank you to #NetGalley and  #Thomas and Mercer for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. I truly loved this book.

A 5 star book for sure.

EMILY GONE, by Bette Lee Crosby

Bette Lee Crosby has outdone herself with this awesome, heartfelt, loving, heartbreaking, beautiful book.

It’s the story of a loss so great you won’t be able to read without many tears. I mean big ugly faced tears. How to you deal with waking up to an empty crib. A baby gone. You don’t have a clue what happened or where that baby is. If it’s being loved or hurt. That is exactly what happened to Rachel and George Dixon. They put their baby girl down for the night and went to bed like always. They had been awake for a couple of nights because of a concert so close that it was impossible to sleep. But this night they slept. What they found the next morning changed their lives forever.

This book will bring you so many tears. From the start to the very end you will keep turning pages to find out what happened to Emily. Will they ever find her and is she being cared for. Rachel prays that whoever kidnapped Emily is kind and loving. Is the kind of mother she is.

This book is so well written you feel all the heartache all the sadness and longing. You feel the loud music in your chest as if you was there. You will shed many many tears while unable to put this book down. It’s a bit different from most of Bette’s books. I think it just may be the very best so far. The characters are all so likable believe it or not. I could not find fault with any. Pity, sadness, heartbreak yes, but no dislike at all. My heart broke for all the mothers in this story of such great loss. There were a few tiny stories within this one about other women who had lost babies and were grieving. It’s one that will stay with you for a long long time.

I honestly loved this book with all the tears and joy. It’s full of love and happiness and so many tears. A book that all mothers should read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union publishers for the ARC of this book. I also bought it too. I highly recommend it.

A HUGE 5 STARS..... From the very first word to the last period!!

I’LL NEVER TELL by Catherine McKenzie

Three simple words. Her family’s motto. I’ll never tell.

This book will leave you speechless. That ending!! WOW! I did not see that coming at all. Never even got close. Catherine McKenzie did one terrific job of capturing the readers and pulling them in to such a dramatic story of love, loss and uncertainty. There was so much going on that you had many ways of thinking about who did what and who was innocent. This family definitely had lots of secrets. Some to protect themselves and others to protect family. They were definitely a mixed up bunch but also loved each other to the end. 

This book will take you to a lake in a campground and you will feel like you are right there. I could picture all the places it described. I could feel the water on my skin. Cold and invigorating. The rocks and trees. The cabins and the MacAllister family. 

What happened to Amanda was tragic. She was just a young girl looking for something. You will feel her pain in so many ways. Her fears and loss. Her youthful wanting. She was just a young girl who should have had her whole life ahead of her. This whole story is based on what happened to her and you will not see it coming. 

Told from each of the siblings and the family friend’s point it will draw you in like you won’t believe.

A tearful ending to a very emotional story. 

Thank you to #NetGalley #Lake Union Publisher’s for this ARC.

Another 5 star book. I highly recommend this book!

DEAR WIFE by Kimberly Belle

Dear wife, I found you......

What a wild ride. This book will take you places you won’t believe. It will have you guessing at every turn. Kimberly Belle writes stories that leave you holding on for dear life and this one is one of the best. I was holding my breath in so many places. Shedding tears in others. On the edge of my seat a lot. 

From missing persons to tragedies to abuse. To family, friends and acquaintances. You meet lots of people in the book and will like most. There were a couple that I truly despised. They were well written but not likable as people. 

This is one book that you most likely won’t figure out. The dramatic ending is so suspenseful that you will cringe. I was holding my breath through the last ten percent of this book for sure. 

It’s very well written. Rich well developed characters, whether you love them or hate them. Makes you feel as though you are there with them. It will break your heart and lift you up too. It’s a wonderful story but one you need to read. It has so much feeling and so much going on. Easy to follow though. 

It hooked me from the very first and didn’t let go until the very end. 

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Harlequin for this copy in exchange for my complete and honest review. 

A 5 star book for sure. More if it was possible. A must read and I HIGHLY recommend this one.

THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER by Patti Callahan Henry

The people we most love do become a physical part of us, ingrained in our synapses, in the pathways where memories are created. Meghan O’Rourke, The Long Goodbye.. (I loved this)

This was such a good book. There are not enough words to express exactly how much I loved this story. It was magical in so many ways. Poetic in so many ways. The family dynamics. Family strengths and weaknesses. Love, laughter and anger. This was one of those books you won’t want to put down until you read the very last word. It will make you cry some very ugly tears in so many places too. But it’s so good that you won’t care. 

Three siblings dealing with their dad having such an ugly disease, Alzheimer’s. It’s such an awful thing to think about... losing your memories. This family has been through a lot and this is the one thing that brings them all together for the ride of your life. You will get a chuckle or two along the way but overall you will want to slap a couple of faces, hug a few necks and console these three siblings. They certainly have their faults. They have many ups and downs. But it appears almost anything can be forgiven. Almost. 

Wonderful characters. Descriptions that will make you feel you are there and feelings deep in your soul. This author captured this book perfectly. She did a wonderful job. 

This book touched my heart in ways that a book has not done in a while. I’ve read some wonderful books but this one is in a league of it’s own. A must read for anyone that loves family dramas. Coming to terms with things and finding the way back home. The most important of all is, finding the way back home. Two things in this book that truly popped out for me was near the ending: I believe home is a land that calls for you, a place that shelters. It’s a family with all the complications that a family can be.
Home is more than a place, it’s a love story....

I have to thank #NetGalley, #Berkeley Publishing for the copy in exchange for my honest review. 

This is definitely a 5 star book. I so highly recommend this one.

HER SECRET SON by Hannah Mary McKinnon

Two quotes from this awesome book that stick with me.
1) We get comfortable, believe nothing else can go wrong because fate has already played with us the most, seen how far we can be stretched and bent, twisted into the shape of a pretzel before becoming brittle and shattering into a million pieces.
2) A boy named Logan came into my life one stormy afternoon...

This book had me going all over the place in so many parts. I thought of so many things that could have happened. When Grace died it was devastating. It tore Josh’s world apart. It tore Logan’s world apart. Neither of them knew what to do and I felt so sorry for them both. I was upset with Josh’s boss for not being more understanding under the circumstances. She should have been way more giving and forgiving. He lost his partner in a horrible way and blamed himself and had a boy to take care of who lost him mother for goodness sakes. It was beyond sad. It was earth shattering horrendously weepy eyed sad. My heart broke for Josh and Logan.

I have no idea what I would have done in Josh’s shoes but what he did do was nothing short of awesome in my book. This was a story of so much love. So much loss. So much happening that you won’t know what is coming next. It’s full of surprises and the ending will totally stun you, or it did me. I did not at all see it coming. I had plenty of guesses but not that one. 

Hannah Mary McKinnon is a wonderful storyteller. Her books take you by the heart and don’t let go. They pull you into the story and keep you going until the dramatic ending and you won’t just don’t know what hit you. I absolutely loved this book. The happy, the sad, the thriller, the all of it. The whole book was done perfectly in my opinion. The characters were wonderful, well developed, likable and even lovable. This book has a bit of it all. Even laughter. 

I highly recommend this book. This is one that will stay with you for a good long time. I could see parts of this book playing out as I read it. Felt like I was there. Felt the pain, the tears, the sadness and the happiness. 

It’s a huge 5 stars from me.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Harlequin-MIRA for this ARC in exchange for my complete and honest review. I truly loved it.

THE SHADOW WRITER by Eliza Maxwell

For some crazy reason when I first started this book I was not expecting much. Even though I have loved this author’s work before I didn’t hold a lot of hope for this book. I have no idea why because it’s now in my top ten favorite books. From the beginning to the end this book held my attention. Made me want more. Made me want to know what was coming. What happens next. Who exactly is Graye/Grace. Why is she the way she is. Then wham, I got almost to the end and it all came together like you won’t believe. All the answers to who did what and why. What happened to little Grace that made her so afraid and timid all the time. What exactly in her life made her who and what she was.

This book is truly a very good thriller. It held me on the edge in so many places. Made me cry in so many places. I really truly liked Graye/Grace. I think she was a victim of circumstances starting at a young age. The abuse, neglect, hatred all made her become the woman she was.

The characters are so well developed and likable with the exception of a couple. I did not like David West at all. I loved his wife Laura. I liked Sister Margaret but she also made me a bit mad in a couple of places. She had her reasons for what she did though. 

This book is like a book within a book. It is a story about a child who is a grown woman and it’s about a grown woman who was once a child. A child who needed to be held and loved. She wanted a friend. A true friend who would not leave her.

This book will definitely give you lots of emotions. It will make you wonder about what you are reading and keep you wanting more. Eliza Maxwell has written a beautiful story that will haunt you for a time to come. Make you feel for a child lost.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Lake Union Publishers for this ARC. It’s my review in my words and my thoughts.

It’s a 5 star book by far. I loved it and HIGLY recommend it.

HEALED: Stone and Pepper by Tess Thompson

This is such a wonderful series. Healed: Stone & Pepper is a sweet story of true love, some laughs, a bit of tragedy, friends and family. 

Stone is a great guy. Maybe my favorite of the Cliffside Bay men. He’s a gentle giant of an ex marine who loves completely. He comes from a horrible childhood and overcame so much to get where he is now. He never takes things for granted and knows what he wants.

Pepper came from a very good childhood but had a terrible tragedy to happen. It was so sad to that this happened. It made me cry so hard. Life can deal us blows that we certainly don’t deserve, but finding that special someone can help. Pepper is such a sweet young woman who thought she would never have what her best friends have. She didn’t think she deserved much and seems like she didn’t expect much. But she found the kind of love that will last a lifetime. True, complete, honest love.

This is such a good series. Every book has a story that will life you up and make you believe. 
The trip to the mountain to check out a site for a wedding was so good. The preacher made me laugh until I had tears. 

The Hickman children all suffered so much. They overcame nothing short of poverty to make a life. Great choices and wonderful friends. This book made me have all the feels again. In parts I cried so hard then would read the next chapter and laugh like a nut. Tess Thompson has a way of writing that makes you feel like you are there. Like you are part of the story. The characters are your friends and you root for them. You want to know them. 

Quote from this book that I loved: “Do you know something, Stone Hickman: I no longer feel broken.” She placed her hand over his. “I think you’ve healed me.”

Healed is the perfect name for this awesome book...

I can’t wait for the next book. 

Thank you Tess Thompson for this ARC in exchange for my complete and honest opinion. I loved it from start to finish. 

A big 5 star book for sure and a high recommendation to everyone. Fall in love with Stone and Pepper.