FEELS LIKE FALLING by Kristy Woodson Harvey

This is my first book by Kristy Woodson Harvey and I honestly loved it. It was told with such sweet southern charm and southern friendships that you felt right at home. I usually read thrillers and this was a nice escape from that.

Diana was just a child when her mother left her, her sister and two brothers. They wanted to stay together and tried to for as long as they could. But ultimately they were separated and put into foster care where Diana learned that she had to fight for what she wanted and needed. She had a tough life and learned to appreciate things at a young age. Family meant more to Diana than anything. She had a bad habit of falling for the wrong type of man because of a heartbreak that happened when she was only eighteen years old. A love so deep it would last her a lifetime.

Gray was a woman who had worked hard to get where she was and she didn’t want to lose her business or even half of it to her cheating soon to be ex husband and his much younger fiancé.. Gray and Greg had been married ten years when he informed her that he was leaving her for Brooke. Wagner was their eight year old son and Gray loved him more than life itself.

This story has a southern charm about it that will make you believe that almost anything can happen. No matter how hard or impossible things seem they just work out. When Diana’s ex, Frank comes back after twenty two years, they start talking again. He was her true love. The one. The only person she could ever give her whole heart too. Frank felt the same about Diana, but when they were younger things just didn’t work out for them. It’s a very sad thing but to understand it you have to live it. To live it you have to read it. This book is so full of love and laughter and some sadness thrown in for good measure that you won’t want to put it down. You will keep turning the pages until the very end because you will have to know what happens and why. What happened to the characters to make them the people they are. Can love be salvaged and can two families put aside their differences for the sake of the child. This is a very though provoking story of love that almost didn’t happen and love that may not happen. Forgiveness for things that seemed so impossible to understand when you are so young and even when you are a grown woman. Love can prevail though. If you believe strong enough and want it bad enough. Forgiveness is vital to living and loving in this life.

Thank you #NetGalley, #GalleyPocketBooks, #KristyWoodsonHarvey for this ARC. This is my own review. My own thoughts and feelings.

I had to give this story a big 5 stars. It’s a high recommendation and a real page turner from the very first page.

CAN YOU SEE HER by S E Lynes

And just like a conversation, when a kiss is deep and true, it can change the course of your whole life.
I knew I wasn’t right. But I could never have known it was the last day I would spend as a free member of society.
Anger gets trapped inside us, becomes hate. If we’re not careful, hate becomes a force often to hard to control and which solves nothing. 
‘I see the woman who hurt my fingers squeezing them when she brought my beautiful boy into the world, who did it again when she gave me my crackpot daughter. I see a woman with her nose covered in flour when I came in from work, making biscuits with the kids and no dinner for me.’ 
There are many people who live their lives thinking no one sees them: the homeless, the elderly, the poor, the lonely, the heartbroken, the grieving, the mentally ill, the disabled, those who haven’t found their voice, those who haven’t discovered what they’re good at, those who shun praise and attention, those who work quietly with love and patience. 
I want to tell you that love heals. I want to take your hand in mine. I want to tell you that I see you.
(These are some quotes that touched my heart in this awesome story)

Feeling invisible. It’s not a physical invisible, it’s an invisible where the people you love are just plain not seeing you. You are not seeing them. No one is seeing each other. They are filled with pain, loss, hurt. Or they have other reasons. When you love someone never make them feel invisible. Let them know that they are important and loved and cared for. No matter what.. 

This book is a very touching story that had me turning pages as fast as possible. It’s my first by this author and by all means will not be my last. It’s a very touching story told from a few different points of view. The story of a woman. A woman who feels alone and invisible to everyone. She doesn’t think anyone sees her. She has lost so much and done so much and can’t believe what her life has become. It’s a very touching and very sad story of what could happen. What did happen and what might happen.

I laughed, cried, held my breathe, yelled, cried more and was in shock in parts, while reading this book. It’s one that will make you wonder why. Why would anyone do these things and why this person. Did she or didn’t she is what I kept asking myself. Could she have done such horrible things or is it all in her mind. Or was it someone else entirely??? I felt such intense feelings reading this. 

This is a story of love, loss, and coming back together. Of forgiveness, believing, coming full circle, moving on. Of a loss so horrible and of a love that does not seem to exist. It’s one that will make you wonder many times, why, who, how. 

The characters in this book are likable, well developed and realistic. They pull at your heart. They pull you in close. They share feelings. A family who seems to have drifted apart. A best friend who may or may not be doing the unthinkable. A neighbor who is scheming. Trying to find a way into your life. A woman who feels she has nothing to lose and who no one seems to even see. A wife, mother, friend. 

This is a great story that will definitely, in my opinion, pull you in and won’t let go. There are a few shocks along the way but the one at the end was huge. One I did not see coming. Though a few things I did figure out the end was a shock for sure.

I absolutely loved this book. All the emotions and feelings I felt. It felt deep and raw in parts and took my breath away in places. 

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Bookouture, #S.E. Lynes for this ARC. This is my true and honest review.

I gave it 5 stars and a high recommendation..

LITTLE SECRETS by Jennifer Hillier

For minutes. That’s all it took to steal a child. A lollipop, a Santa suit, and two hundred forty seconds.
One day, all those balls will drop, and they won’t just break. They’ll shatter.
Rage, on the other hand, will get shit done.

What would you do if your child was taken from you? In the middle of a crowded market just a few days before Christmas? This is the life Marin and Derek have now. In broad open daylight, in a crowded market, their little four year old boy, Sebastian, was taken from them. He was last seen walking out an exit with a lollipop in one hand and holding Santa’s hand with the other. What they go through is nothing short of hell. Marin would do anything to turn back the clock and redo that day. She wakes each day planning on dying. She doesn’t think there is any reason to continue living without her baby.

What happens in this story will make you cringe in many ways. Hold your breathe. Pray for something to happen that will give Marin and Derek closure. To bring their son back to them. They had always had a great marriage. Filled with love and respect for each other and they went through a lot to have their son. He was their pride and joy. The light in their lives. Both were successful in their careers. Both worked hard to have the life they had. And both loved Sebastian more than life. Marin’s life is put out there for you to see. The full terror she lives with each day. The horror, pain, heartbreak, blame. She lives her life in constant heartache. Derek deals with things a bit differently but he is still hurting so much too.

They both have secrets that they have kept from each other. Things they just can’t share. Each has a part that they keep well hidden. But somehow some truths will come out. Some will be very painful. It’s up to you to judge whether what they did was understandable. How they dealt with things in their lives were forgivable. To me, I have to believe that they did the best they could given the circumstances. They were both going through the same heart wrenching pain.

There are things going on that will make you want to smack someone. Yell at someone to see what is going on right under their nose. The characters in this story are all likable. All relatable. Even the other woman is somewhat likable. The best friend is likable and the fixer...

I absolutely found myself so absorbed in this book that I could not put it down. It had me from the very beginning. The author did an exceptional job here. In all it was told in such a realistic way that you felt it. In your deepest parts you will feel it. The tears will definitely flow. Big ugly tears. It’s a very good story of the love of a mother for her son.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #St Martin’s Press, #Jennifer Hiller for this ARC. This is my own true review.

I gave it 5 stars and the highest of recommendation... I LOVED IT!!

THE SCHOOL MISTRESS OF EMERSON PASS by Tess Thompson

This is the start of a new series by Tess Thompson, author of the Blue Mountain and Cliffside Bay series’s. Both are excellent series’s and I throughly enjoyed them. I think I have a whole new favorite though. This book was so good.

Quinn is an innocent young woman new to the mountains of Colorado. She has come to Emerson Pass to teach the children there. Little does she know what awaits her. Her heart will be filled in ways she never thought possible. She always assumed she would be a spinster and just a school teacher who never got married. When she meets Alexander and his five children her heart is forever changed. She sees five angels and they worm their way into her heart from the start.

Alexander is the father to the five children in this story. He hired Quinn through the mail to come teach the children of Emerson Pass. He was under the impression that she was much older. Alexander had lost his wife when his last child was a baby. He didn’t have time for love. But the more he is around Quinn and sees how she is with his children and how sweet she is all around, he falls for her. He had come to Emerson Pass after it had burned and rebuilt it. He wanted a safe place for his family and the residents of the town.

This book is so good. It’s a story of innocence and also prejudice. There are many emotions involved, laughter, sadness, happiness, love, prejudice, murder, family. It’s the perfect story to keep you turning the pages. I felt the cold in my bones in this book. The snow falling and the children’s laughter was perfect. The love that blossoms.

There are parts that made me so angry too. The murder of Samuel Cole. He was married to Rachel who was a black woman and the people of Emerson Pass didn’t approve. That just wasn’t done in the early 1900s.

The characters in this book are all so likable. Alexander’s children are so sweet and normal, even the feisty ones. The landscaping is beautiful and you will feel like you are right there in their home, the school and the town. Descriptions are done wonderfully. The love story is so sweet. So natural and realistic. This book just has it all. From start to finish it will hold your heart captive. I think Tess Thomson wrote the perfect love story with this and I can’t wait to see how she will top it in the next book.

Thank you to #Tess Thompson, #MaryAnn Schaefer for this ARC in exchange for my complete honest review.
I LOVED IT!

A big 5 stars and high recommendation.

THE NEW HUSBAND by D. J. Palmer

One day while sitting in the cafeteria, a boy I once judged and dismissed, a boy who was an outsider himself, asked if he could join me for lunch. I was reluctant at first, but then we started to talk and I found that this boy, a boy I never would have considered before, was smart and funny, generous and kind.
That was Benjamin Odell. He turned out to be my best friend and he’s one of the reasons my family is still alive.
Judging others is easy. It makes us feel superior.
So what to do?
It’s simple. Don’t rush to judgement.
Have humility. Show empathy.
Ask: What can I do to help?
I believe we all want the same things out of life. We want to be loved, accepted, to belong to someone, to feel wanted and valued. Sometimes we make poor choices on this journey. Instead of sitting in judgment of those choices, let’s help each other get back on the right path.

Those are the main things I took from this awesome story. I did judge the mother, Nina, in this story. I judged her harshly. I felt so bad for that when I got more into the story and knew why she turned to someone when she was feeling so weak and alone.

This is my second book by D. J. Palmer and I can assure you it won’t be my last. From the very first page to the very last word this book had me in it’s grips. It had me on edge and in tears in many places. It was one that will make you eventually look back and say what would I have done? Would I have been strong enough? Would I have seen what was clearly right in front of my eyes? We are all truly way to quick to judge others. For whatever reason we tend to do that and it’s time to stop. To see what may be causing people to do the things they do. Now I have to say that some people, like Simon, yes we can judge him. He’s not the best of the best. But we also need to understand why he is like he is. If we can.

This story is told from the mother, Nina, and her thirteen year old daughter, Maggie’s, perspectives. Nina has a hard time after the loss of her husband, Glen, goes missing. She doesn’t know if he is dead or alive. Things don’t look good for him though no matter what happened.
Maggie never believes her dad is gone completely. She hates Simon, the man her mom fell for and ultimately decided to marry one day. Maggie didn’t trust him at all. She wanted her dad and as with most children her age was not going to accept anyone else.

This book will take you on a roller coaster of a ride that you can’t get away from. The ups and downs will leave you breathless and screaming for everyone to wake up and see what is going on. It’s a very intense story of love, loss, new beginnings, letting go, murder, adultery and even forgiveness. You will definitely be breathing heavy at the end when it all comes together. You won’t want to miss a thing. It’s like watching a movie and you can’t take your eyes from the screen but you also want to hide and scream at the people to stop, to look out.

This book had some great characters. Some you will love and others you will hate. But they are all well developed and their parts are done to perfection. To me this book was done to perfection. It was totally one of the best thrillers I have ever read.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #D.J. Palmer and #St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It is another big 5 stars and the highest recommendation from me.

HID FROM OUR EYES by Julia Spencer-Fleming

This is my first book by this author, Julia Spencer-Fleming and won’t be my last. Although it’s a series this was very good alone. I have a couple of the others but haven’t read them as of yet. I fully intend to though.

This book was great from the very first page. It held my interest all the way but I have to say I was a tiny bit disappointed with the ending. Though now that I know it’s part of a series of books that is ok because I’m sure my question of what happened to a certain person will be answered. It’s not exactly a cliffhanger but for me was just a very important part that I want to know about. I look forward to the next book for sure now.

The characters are all likable. There is a lot of mystery in this book. It’s not so much of a thriller as a mystery. A whodunnit book. From 1952, 1972 and present, which according to my math seems to be in the early 2000s. There are three murders. One in each year stated and three investigations. The early years, 1952 and 1972 go unsolved as there was not as many ways of finding out certain things in those years. All three murders are carried out the same way so it looks like it would be the same person doing them all. Or possibly a copycat. That remains to be seen when you read this book for yourself.

This book has many twists to it. Lots of things to make you wonder who is guilty. You’ll meet family members who truly love each other so much and others briefly who are not so close. Russ Van Alstyne and Clare Fergusson are married and very much in love. They have an infant son who they love beyond anything else. Clare is a clergy and Russ the police chief. Russ is investigating the latest murder. A young woman in her early twenties. No ID, no purse, shoes. She’s left in the road just like the previous woman. These deaths are years apart but done exactly the same way. Russ will stop at nothing to find justice no only for this death/murder but for the other two also.

This book was well written. It flows between the different time frames great. You won’t get lost or be wondering what is going on. It’s done perfectly. The descriptions are great and make you feel like you are part of the story.  You will feel emotions in many parts of the story and root for love in many. The thoughts of a killer on the loose will make you feel fear.

I enjoy this book very much. It held my attention all the way through and I look forward to reading more by this author. I think she is a very good author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Minotaur Books, #Julia Sencer-Fleming for the ARC in exchange for my complete and honest review.

I gave it 4 stars and highly recommend it to others.

QUEEN OF THE OWLS by Barbara Probst

This is a book about finding yourself. Finding out who you really are and what you want in your life. Whether it’s to be a teacher, mother, wife, lover, business owner or something entirely different. Elizabeth is going to college working on her dissertation on Georgia O’Keeffe. Through O’Keeffe’s paintings Elizabeth learns more about herself than she every thought possible. Meeting Richard at a Tia Chi class she learns to let go of her inhibitions and finding her own sexuality. But will it help her or hurt her? Can she make her husband see the things she needs or that they need to be truly a happily married couple. They have two beautiful children they both adore but Elizabeth does seem to do most of the nurturing and being there. Though she does take her time finally and leaves Ben to care for them when she needs him too. It was kind of silly in my opinion that she had to ask, when she should have just told him he was going to watch them while she went to a class or whatever she needed to do. After all, he is their father. He is a parent also. Will the choices Elizabeth makes change her life or will she be treated fairly? If she was a man I’m thinking all would have been fine. People would not judge her or say what she did was wrong if she would have been male. Maybe, maybe not. You have to judge that for yourself. Did Richard just use Elizabeth to further his career or was he sincere. Did his paintings help her to see herself as a complete woman who deserved more in life or did it hurt her? In my opinion she needed to learn who she was. That she was a desirable woman. I do not believe her and Ben should have ever married. They were to different. He didn’t seem to stand by her like a spouse should have. The desire was just not there. Though I think he believed he was a good husband, an in many ways he was, he still didn’t see her as an individual or as a beautiful woman. She was just: his wife, mother to their children, college teacher, graduate. He seemed to ignore her most of the time. This book was beautifully written and presented in a way that makes you feel like you are there. In every sense of the word there. From the halls of a college to the home with the children. From the posing for pictures to worrying to much what others thought. I would love to believe that Richard did what he did for the right reasons not for his own selfish gain and maybe he did. It was a job after all. Elizabeth may or may not have done something wrong. In my opinion she did what she had to do. It’s truly a very good story of one woman’s journey at self discovery and finding that one thing that will help her in life. He own self worth and her own beauty. I loved it from start to finish. Thank you Barbara Linn Probst for this ARC of your awesome book. I look forward to more of your work in the future. You sure started out with a great debut book! It’s a 5 star from me and a highly recommended read.

WHAT IT SEEMS by Emily Bleeker

From the author of: THE WAITING ROOM and WHEN I’M GONE comes WHAT IT SEEMS. Another great read by Emily Bleeker.

This book starts out strong and keeps going throughout. I was not sure if I was going to like this because of the theme but it is definitely a good one.

Angela is only a small child when she becomes a foster for MOTHER. She is put through so much pain and sheer torture that I wondered how she endured it all. From the very beginning MOTHER started playing mind games with Angela who she renamed Tara. She had to have total control over this girl and make her do what she wanted and she didn’t care how it was done. She was a true evil woman and Angela/Tara was terrified of her. She knew she had belonged to a wonderful family before the accident but after is when it all fell apart. She could not remember much and MOTHER would not let her forget that she was not wanted by anyone except her anymore.

At the age of 20, Angela had a fascination with the Freely family who was a You Tube sensation and soon became a part of their life. She was living a lie but didn’t know how to tell anyone. Her whole life was based on the only things she knew, stealing, shoplifting for items to sell online. She got involved with the Freely family and dreamed of being one of them. To her they were the perfect family. So full of love and caring.

Things are not always as they seem. Angela finds out some things that may turn her life around. She may be happy again. Or will she? Can she run from her past. From the twelve years she’s been taught by the best. Been taught how to steal, lie and hid. Taught by her MOTHER? Will she ever find the happiness she longs for. The love she desperately needs? Will her life ever be normal again?

This book as some characters you will hate. Deeply hate. But it has some that you will love and you will root for. I loved Angela. I felt for her. I cried for her. I cringed when she was hurt so badly. When she was forced to lie to save herself. This book will make you feel some things that you won’t soon forget. It’s so full of emotion. It’s a sad one for sure.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Lake Union, #Emily Bleeker for the ARC in exchange for my complete and honest review.

I give this one 4 stars and do highly recommend it. Just have plenty of tissues handy.