THIS IS NOT HOW IT ENDS by Rochelle Weinstein

This was a very emotionally charged book. One that will pull at your heart in every way. It’s a very raw story of love and loss. A bit of laughter and friendships you will absolutely love. A very tight friendship despite everything that happens. It’s a beautiful story of so many feelings. One that touched my heart many times over. One that I had a hard time putting down.

Charlotte/Charley meets this man on an airplane, Phillip. They fall madly in love and become engaged. Charley’s mom gets a terrible diagnosis and leaves Charley devastated. Phillip watches her go through the worst pain a daughter has to go through. Charley has issues. Trust and giving her heart over completely are top of the list. Her dad had left when she was small never to return. That is enough to make it hard to trust. Then she loses her mother and she’s alone. Phillip and Charley though have a love that will transcend everything. He loves Charley with all his heart. But he also is gone so much of the time. He leaves Charley alone to wonder if things are what they seem. To wonder if they do truly belong together.

Phillip is a wonderful man. He fell for Charley from the start. He has his own demons but he buries them in his work. He has businesses all over the world and he takes them very serious. He takes failing businesses and makes them whole again. Makes up for the things they lack and gives people what they need. Jobs, a worry free life knowing they won’t lose said job. He loves completely and from his soul. But he has a secret also. One that will devastate Charley and one he truly wants to protect her from.

Ben... Aww Ben. I loved Ben. He is a broken man with a little boy named Jimmy. Jimmy is all he has left after losing his wife. Ben and Phillip are also best friends. Ben knows that Phillip has helped him and taken him under his wing. He truly loves Phillip and considers him family. They are such good friends. The very best of friends. Phillip is also keeping a secret from Ben though.

This is a story that will pull you in. Tear your heart out and stomp on it a few times. It will break your heart and put it back together again only to break it again. There are two letters in this story that made me weep. I do mean literally weep. I don’t see how anyone can read them and not feel like their heart is going to break into several thousand pieces. If they can they obviously don’t feel deep emotion. One is a letter to Ben. The other a letter to Charley. This is a beautifully written story of love, loss, maybe a bit of betrayal and coming together. Of a friendship that can’t be broken no matter what. Of a love that was meant to be. Of so much. It’s just one of those stories that will keep you thinking about life and what you would do. Or what could you do. Could you move on or continue. It’s the best book I’ve read by this author hands down.

Be warned, this book requires lots and lots of tissues and I don’t say that lightly. It’s going to make you cry. There are some laughs but for the most part you will have the big ugly, huge tear cries.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #LakeUnion, #RochelleWeinstein for this eARC. This is my own true review.

I had to give it only 5 stars and the highest recommendation ever. It’s worth so many more stars and an even better review.

THE MOONSHINER’S DAUGHTER by Donna Everhart

I love Donna Everhart’s writing. Her books always leave me with many feelings. This one left me in tears. From the start to the end it’s a good story. Lots of history and family involved. Also the young girl in the book has an eating disorder. No one seems to notice this though.

After losing her mother Jessie Sasser swore she would have nothing to do with the moon shining business. She blamed it and her daddy for her mother’s death. She hated anything and everything to do with moon shining. He daddy was determined that she would help though and tried to make her understand that it was what kept them in a home and with food to eat. She didn’t want anything, not even the food, that came from moonshining though. To her it was pure evil.

Lots of things happen in this book that will keep you turning the pages. From family members turning on each other in ways that cost them plenty to kids being bullied in school. It was a very well written story and obviously well researched. I’m never disappointed in a book by this author and this one is possible my favorite one yet. It certainly made me cry in many places and laugh in a few too.

Most of the characters are so likable and so well developed. There are some you won’t like at all for obvious reasons. I absolutely loved Mrs Brewer. She was like the most helpful person to the Sasser children when they needed it most. The ending left me in big tears but it somehow seemed just right. This book held a bit of a mystery for a while but you will find answers too. I did at least.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Kensington and #DonnaEverhart for this ARC. This is my own review.

I give it a huge 5 stars and a very high recommendation.

WHEN SHE RETURNED by Lucinda Berry

This book absolutely blew my socks off. It is my first by this author and believe me I do look forward to reading more. This one held me captive from start to dramatic finish. 

It’s told from the three females POV. The victim, Kate, who went missing eleven years before. Just vanished from a Target parking lot. No struggle, nothing taken, her phone and purse and even her keys still in the car. It’s like she just disappeared from the face of the Earth. Her story is told from back when she went missing and tells where she was and why she was there. What happened to her and all the emotions she had. Some crazy things she endured. It was not good. 

Meredith, the second wife, who was the most understanding women I have ever seen. There were times that I thought she should have just told Tom to kiss off and walk out the door. Now I understand he was happy that his first wife, who was the love of his life since they were just children had returned after so long and had been through hell and back. But enough is enough. He treated Meredith terribly. I don’t think he, deep down, meant to be so mean, but let’s be real. A woman does not appreciate being totally pushed away after she gives you her heart and has been there for you at times when no one else has. I truly felt sorry for her and at times thought she should tell them all to get out. Just leave her alone. But that was not her way and she turned out to be such a strong woman. I had a love/hate feeling for this woman and a pity/proud feeling. She tried so hard to keep things balanced and grounded.

Abbi the daughter. She was only five years old when her mom disappeared. She had memories from watching home movies, pictures and things her dad told her. She did a some that a child of that age might possible be able to have stored in their minds. She was so happy and excited when her mom came back. She worried all the time about something happening and just wanted them to all protect her mom at all costs. She wanted to be a part of the process that was going on to get her mom back to her former self after all the horrible things she had been through. Abbi was a typical sixteen year old who just wanted people to get along and wanted her mom to feel safe again. I think she was a little bit rude to Meredith, but to be fair most teens are rude to their parents at that age. She was confused at this point about everything and was doing her best to keep her mom around.

Tom, the husband and dad.... I felt awful for him. He was in a terrible situation and had no idea what to do. He didn’t have much back bone in certain parts of this book but he did try. To me he was not good to his wife. His current wife. He excluded her almost completely. He would not listen when she said things and that came back to bite him. Even though he and Kate had been friends from a very young age, and been high school sweethearts, does not make them the perfect couple. Things chance in almost all relationships. Kate wanted to work. He didn’t want her too. She was bored staying home all day. He should have listened to her. But was it his fault what happened to her? No he was not. He did love her. He tried so hard to find her and it took him years before he would declare her dead and move on. Remarry. Make a new life. But still in the home he and Kate had made. I didn’t like that. But it sure made the story more interesting.

I really liked Dean. He was a family friend after Kate went missing. He was also in charge of finding her when she went missing. He was FBI and became a must trusted family friend. I liked how he interacted with Abbi. He was kind and understanding and knew her secret place when she wanted to feel close to her mother. I just liked him.

Things are not at all what they seem in this story. From the beginning you feel so bad for all Kate went through. For the abuse that was so obviously inflicted on her. But where had she been. Did she go on her own or was she taken. If she was kidnapped why no ransom, or was it someone who just wanted a woman. So many questions came to my mind but in the end I found the answers I was looking for. There was a twist that just floored me. One I did not see coming at all and that does not happen a lot in this type of book. I usually have some idea but not this time. I was totally shocked and that is putting it mildly. This was an excellent book in my opinion. From start to finish I didn’t want to put it down and didn’t much. I didn’t want to do anything but find out what happened next and why it happened. 

This book touched on several things, cults, brainwashing, kidnapping, abuse and the most horrible, death or murder. It will make you cry in parts because you’re human and will feel sorry for some of the characters. It will make you very angry in parts again because you are human. This is a story that will keep you turning pages until all your questions are answered. I did love the ending but still felt sorry for the characters throughout.

In my opinion they are well developed and you will feel different emotions toward them in each chapter. I think the author did a great job with this book. It made me cringe in parts where it felt so realistic. Up to the very ending... 

Thank you #NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Lucinda Berry for this eARC. This is my own review told from my heart.

I gave it 5 stars because I felt it was worth it and I highly recommend it.

TRUE TO ME by Kay Bratt

Another beautiful book by Kay Bratt. Her books leave you breathless and with tears in your eyes. Both tears of sadness and joy. Heartache and happiness. Such emotions make her books some of the best I’ve ever read. Through in a laugh or two and you have a wonderful, heartfelt, touching, loving, story.

Ohana, means family. All Quinn wanted was a big family. Sisters and brothers. A dad who was there for her. What she had was a mother who would do anything for her. Anything to keep her safe. She loved her unconditionally and with every part of her. On her death bed she made a confession to Quinn that would change everything that she thought she knew about her and her mother.

Quinn goes to Maui to take her mother’s ashes home. That was her mother’s wish and being the kind of person she was Quinn was determined to grant her mother’s last wishes. Little did she know that her life was going to make a dramatic turn. Changes were coming for her that she would have never believed. She was leaving behind a life she thought at the time was what she wanted. Engaged to a man she thought she loved so much and would do anything for. In Maui she found her true self. Her strengths. She met people who changed her life in ways she never would have dreamed of. Sounds a bit like paradise to me in many ways.

This story is told in a way that you truly feel like you are there. The beauty of the water. The paths through the woods. The buildings and the house that changed Quinn in many ways. The family that lived in the house that is. She found so much that she never realized was missing and more. They all became family to her. This is a story of a love so deep and moving that it will take your breath away. The love of strangers and family and a best friend. Unconditional love. The only true kind.

This story made me have lots of ugly crying tears. Not all in a bad way either. The joys and happiness. The ups and downs. The breakups and losses. Family can be such a beautiful thing and it’s not just blood that makes a family. It’s in your heart.

Kay Bratt has a way with words that will have you reeling from chapter to chapter. From one thing to the next. Her books always leave me feeling full. I can’t wait for the next book now to see who we meet and who comes together. Yes, Ohana means family. A huge big family that were strangers just a few days before.

I loved this book from the first word to the very last. It pulled me in and pulled at my heart. It kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. The characters were so likable and you will feel like they are old friends. With the exception of the fiancé, Ethan. I didn’t like him at all. Nothing about him. But all the rest were so loving and kind and felt like family and old friends.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Lake Union and Kay Bratt for this ARC. This is my own review and is from my heart.

I give this one 5 stars and a high high recommendation.. A must read.

CHILD’S PLAY by Danielle Steel

I’ve read and enjoyed so many of this author’s books. She’s a great author and knows how to draw in an audience for her different genres of books. This one was about family, love, loss and moving on finally.

Kate’s husband and the father of her three children was killed when the children were small. Kate worked very hard to do something with her life. Yes she did have many advantages to get to do this but she was not left a ton of money from her husband. She worked hard. She went back to college at an age where others were much younger. She graduated then went on to work at a prestigious law firm and became a lawyer who didn’t like to lose. She could be relentless. She wanted the best for her children just as any mother would. Kate didn’t want to remarry and go through the pain of losing anyone else like she did her husband. She spent her time making a life for her children and working hard to get somewhere in life. To show her kids that you can survive in the face of tragedy.

These characters were mostly likable. With the exception of Claire and even Amanda, they were all truly good and caring people. Kate to me was great. A strong woman who fought for what she wanted. Her mother who was always there for her and supported her emotionally as well as her grandchildren.  Amanda was engaged to Kate’s son and she was in my opinion not really in love with him. She was in love with the idea of spending a fortune on a wedding and then wanted to start having babies right from the start. I was so glad to see her gone. I didn’t like her at all. No one bullied her or treated her badly. Anthony, Kate’s son, was right to not marry her and it was truly best for them both. Never marry for all the wrong reasons. Tammy, Kate’s oldest daughter was probably my favorite. She worked very hard and had a huge secret of her own. I can’t give it away here so you’ll have to read this book for find it out. But she’s very likable and when she tells her mother her secret, which I figured out quickly, I think Kate handled it very well. Claire, I totally detested her. She was a spoiled brat who needed very badly to grow up. I mean for goodness sakes she is 26 years old and acting like a little kid whining and acting like the world revolves around her and her alone. Each of Kate’s children are old enough to be married and have families so the part that did bug me was how the grandmother acted like they were still young children. I mean a 29 year old man who should wait to get married until he is grown. He is grown!! But he is a good man and after a couple of months of big mistakes he does the right thing. I liked him. I liked Tammy and I liked Kate but I did not like Claire. At least not after her big news came to light. I loved Kate’s mother. She was a very likable person.

This story is a good one that takes us into the lives of a family with a bit of drama going on. They depend on their mom for a lot but they also know what they want and finally go for it. Some of the scenes in this book made me laugh. Some made me mad. But overall it was a very good book. It deals with a mother’s fears for her children which in my opinion we never stop having and she helps when she can. She steps back and lets them work things out too. She also decides she does need a life of her own but will she find that? I think Kate is a great mother, great daughter and really a very very likable woman. So she is possible well off. I would not say she is a privileged white woman as I read in another review. She worked very hard to have what she does and be able to give her children a good life. I mean all alone. Yes she was able to do that but I certainly do not begrudge her that. I could never have done it. I didn’t have the support, emotional support, to. So yes I liked Kate. I admired Kate. I think she should have told her youngest to either grow up or not come back until she could act right and treat her the way she should have. I don’t believe anyone bullied or picked on Amanda like another reviewer suggested. Maybe it looked that way to them but in reality Amanda was only in the story for a short while so I disagree with that assessment entirely.

I truly enjoyed this book. It felt like a real family with real problems and possible the right solutions for each. I think the characters were great, again except Claire. Very likable and did what they needed to be happy without hurting others. Even a broken engagement is necessary at times.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Random House-Ballantine and Danielle Steele for this book. This is my own honest review.

I give it 4 stars and a high recommendation!!

STAY by Catherine Ryan Hyde

How can one choice change a person’s life forever? One decision? Just one little thing you decide to do that changes the course of your life and the people you love most?

Lucas Painter is a child. Only fourteen years old and he already has the weight of the world on his shoulders. At least that is the way it turns out in the summer of 1969. His parents are constantly yelling. His brother is in Vietnam. His best friend is so messed up he doesn’t ever leave his house unless Lucas can convince him too. Then just for short periods of time. Lucas is a good boy. He never lies. He’s fair to everyone. He tries so hard to be the kind of kid people like. One day he decides to take a shortcut home and his life is never the same.

Lucas thinks he has to be strong for everyone but himself. He gives. He gives without expectations. He is always there to listen. To help anyone who may need him. The day he takes this shortcut is the beginning of a summer that will shape him, his brother, his best friend and a woman, Zoe, who thought it was time to go. But Lucas helped her to STAY!! He convinces her to STAY! Everyday Lucas goes running with Zoe’s dogs. They love to run, he loves to run. It helps him release stress and he definitely has a lot of that. Then one day he meets Zoe. Zoe has a whole story of her own and Lucas finally gets to know it all.

Throughout this story you learn more and more about the characters and it will touch your heart in ways you may not have experienced with a book. Though I have felt every emotion there is while reading, this one gives me every single one of those feels. The loneliness, sadness, happiness, tears, laughter, love, despair, need, wanting, you name it it’s in here. This is one book that truly is a page turner. Once you start it you will not want to put it down. It’s by far my favorite book by this author and I have read and loved several.

You’ll love the characters. The time frame. The town. Most of the people. The descriptions. You’ll feel like you are right beside Lucas during all of this. It starts going back in time to the summer of 1969 then in the end goes fifty years ahead to let you know what happened to everyone and I do mean everyone. It does not leave you guessing or hanging. It has the perfect ending to what to me is the perfect book.. I honestly loved this book so much. I won’t be forgetting this story. It did make me do some ugly crying but it was so worth it.

Thank you #NetGalley, Lake Union and Catherine Ryan Hyde for this beautiful ARC. This is my own true review.

It’s a huge 5 stars and I most highly recommend it to everyone.

NOT AGAIN by Maria T. Henriksen

This is a very cute and touching story of a young girl who has to face many things in her life. From what seems to be a mother who is not really there for her emotionally to being assaulted by a neighbor boy who was just plain evil. Falling in love at what seems to be to be a very young age and going through all the ups and downs that go with that. Being 13 is a very hard age but when I was that age I was not at all into dating or boys yet. I of course noticed a cute boy but would never have thought about going with one. While to me Christina was just to young to be dating as was her first love Avery, they did seem to have a good relationship. Young love is hard enough when you are 16 but to be 13 and thinking you are in deep love is tough. You should be enjoying be a child not worrying about kissing and making out. That being said this book was a good one. The story was cute and endearing but also hard to read in places. I’ve been there where Christina was when she got hurt so badly. You don’t get over it. It stays with you forever. You learn to move on and have a life though.

This book made me laugh out loud in places. Like when Christina calls her boyfriend, who is only 14, a man. LOL He’s a child as she is but they do feel deeply for each other at the time. Love is hard but it’s also beautiful and when you meet the right person it seems like things do fall into place as they should be. Christina and her friends are all looking for something in life. Between the Christian parts in this book and the young people going to parties and doing a bit of drinking, they form deep friendships. Deep rivalries too. Kids can be mean and cruel at times and then they can be your best friends. The ones you confide in. Tell your deepest secrets too. Or most of the secrets anyway.

Christina, Avery and Joey are all friends who love each other in many ways. Christina is in love with Avery and he is in love with her. Joey is also in love with Christina but knows that she will love Avery for a long long time, possibly forever, so he steps down. He will find that special someone in his life eventually I’m sure.

This book is a Christian book and filled with very likable characters. Some will get under your skin while others will make you smile. It’s just a very good book but for a young age group than me. While it’s also one that you will enjoy too at any age. I loved how the author wrote things that happened in the early 80s true to the time period. The songs that they kids listened to or skated to. The way they depended on each other for moral support at times and were always there for each other when someone hurt or tried to hurt one of them. True friends are here no matter what.

I gave this book 4 stars and that is because I enjoyed the book immensely, but I also found it hard to imagine kids so young being so into dating. Of course when I was in school at that age it seems half the girls there were expecting babies so what do I know. I thought it was contagious. I swear I did. I was not at all smart about those things. So apparently young kids fall in love and have sex even back in the 70s when I thought drinking after them might cause it.

Thank you very much Maria T. Henriksen for this book. I throughly enjoyed it and I do recommend it to my book loving friends.

SNOW CREEK by Gregg Olsen

WOW!! OMG!! What a story. This book takes you on a path that you won’t soon forget. The twists and turns are so well done. Just when I think I have things all figured out another twist hits. The only thing I did get was who actually did the killing. I thought I had it then a total surprise hit. One you won’t see coming. Then when I thought I had it another hits. I love a book that takes me on such a wild and twisting ride.

I felt like I was in the woods in the mountains of Washington where this story takes place. I felt so bad for the Wheaton children. Their mother and father are missing. Have been missing for a while and they have no idea what is going on. They are not where they said they were going.

Megan Carpenter is the detective on the case of the missing parents. Ida Wheaton’s sister reported them missing then went back to her hometown in Idaho. Now this story is full of week women with very dominating husbands and they are a bit on the fanatical religious side. Ruth Turner, Ida’s sister tells the detective that she is to only call her husband’s phone if she absolutely has too. Talk about dominating but good grief.. This is about her sister going missing.

There is also the strange neighbors that live on the somewhat isolated mountain. No one wants to be bothered and they are not a friendly bunch. There is a crazy cat woman that lives next door to the Wheatons and the two women who moved way out here to be left alone in their marriage. People just don’t want to be dragged into each other’s business. Though before it’s over some very bad things will come to light here.

While all of this is going on we also learn a great deal about Megan Carpenter’s life before she came here. She has been through so much already and dealing with that is enough to make you cringe. You’ll read about the things she went through, found out and did. How she survived some pretty messed up things in her life. Her time with a shrink that helped her a lot. She listens to the tapes the Dr made for her. They sure tell a story of their own too. It’s kind of like reading two books in one and done so well. I never lost a thing with this. It made the story even better. It would not be what it is without everything that happens.

I throughly enjoyed this book. Most all the characters are very likable. Even the crazy ones. Even the killers are somewhat likable. This book is a very good one. I can’t wait for the nest one. I know it will be great and I’ll find out what exactly happened in Megan’s life that she had to fight so hard to overcome. She’s one strong female and you will like her.

This is my first book by Gregg Olsen and will by no means be my last. I loved it. I didn’t want to put it down for anything. Trust me it is a very good pager turner that will have you guessing and second guessing.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #GreggOlsen and #Bookouture for this ARC. This is my own review.

It’s a big 4 stars. Make that 4.5 stars and a high recommendation to anyone that likes a good mystery/thriller series.