The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

 

My thoughts

This was a BOTM pick for me. It is so worth reading y'all.. It's this author'd debut thriller and she should be proud. I'm sure she is very proud. This book kept me turning pages until the very end. Lots of twists and turns and revelations.

What happens to young girls, young women, once they are returned after being abducted. If they are held for a few years and taught that they can't survive without their captors. If they are brutally attacked and beaten. And worse. Over time they break. No matter how strong it's bound to have a very profound effect. Bound to cause lifetime trauma. Even with extensive therapy and that is if they can afford this therapy. In this book you'll meet one young lady who was taken. Her and the others. Even a child. A nine year old child. These girls are treated worse than your worse nightmare. 

When I found out who was doing this to these girls it made my skin crawl. I traveled along with Chelsey, the detective who is on the case when Ellie Black is found. Ellie has been missing for over two years when she suddenly reappears. It's obvious that something horrible happened to her. Near malnutrition and scared of being touched by anyone. 

Ellie has a few secrets that she is afraid to share. If she shares them someone might find out. They might come for her again. Everyone tells her she is safe but she doesn't feel safe. Will she ever feel safe again? She can't even sleep in her own bed. She can't wear any of her clothes from back then. She can't hug her parents. Something horrible happened to Ellie and she doesn't want it to happen to Willa...

Who is Willa?

I picked this book for my BOTM because it sounded so good. It sounded like a thriller that I would enjoy. I never dreamed it would be this. A story of how a person survives the worse things they could. When they are faced with other lives. When they are told they are responsible for the other lives. What would you do? 

A detective, Chelsey Calhoun, is on the case. She knows that Ellie is not telling everything but who can blame her. She's been through so much. She's so terrified of everything. Chelsey wants more than anything to help Ellie. To make her feel safe. But how. What will it take. Chelsey lost her sister fifteen years ago to a murder so she knows what it's like to lose someone. But how do you help someone who is still hiding secrets. 

This story is told from Chelsey's pov and goes to Ellie when she was being held. All she endured. All Chelsey was afraid of and what she would do to help Ellie. Chelsey has a lot of guilt going on and will do anything to help save Ellie. 

All is revealed in this book. No stone left unturned. There are a few things that took me totally by surprise and that does not often happen. I can usually figure out who did it. Or why. This time it was anyone's guess. I certainly did... Guess that is.

Well done. 

About

Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state—but Ellie’s reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers.

“I stayed up late into the night turning the pages until I learned the truth of what happened to Ellie—and gasped when Jean delivered a truly jaw-dropping twist.” —Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive and Bright Young Women

It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State.

But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken—and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.

The debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a twisty page-turner that will shock and surprise you right up until the final page.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

 

My thoughts

The second book in this series. Though from the set I bought it shows it as the third. But if you read them in the right or recommended order they are suppose to be even better. So that is what I will be doing. Next will be Heir of Fire then The Assassin's Blade after. Then we will see....

This book picks up where TOG ended pretty much. It's has a lot more going on and you get a better idea of who the characters are and what they do. There are a few surprises along the way, though one was very obviously going to happen in my humble opinion. Sad but necessary I suppose. 

There is a bit more magic in this book. A lot of scary parts if you will. Celaena continues to do what she is suppose to do. I got so aggravated at how she kept letting Archer off the hook even after he stabbed her in the back a couple of times. Went totally against all I thought of her too. But it was necessary for this story to move forward. 

I wanted so bad for Celaena and Chaol to have the happily ever after in this one but that may come later in the series. Or not at all. Celaena has a job to do and she's good at what she does. I still love Prince Dorian. Though in many ways I do find him very lacking. Or I did for a bit. I still hate the King and believe him to be the most evil of monsters. I adore Fleetfoot. 

There are some characters that I hope to hear more from but only if necessary. Or maybe just learn what happened to them in the end. 

This author's imagination is wonderful. Her writing style is so good. I've read and loved the ACOTAR series and am making my way through this one and will follow with the Crescent City books. 

I gave this one FIVE big stars. Well deserved.

About

"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.

It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

 

My thoughts

I have to admit that this is a hard review to write. I loved the book. I loved all that was going on and boy it was a lot. The characters were so likable and the topic/topics were great. It was a fun book to read and somewhat edge of your seat. Maybe not edge of your seat, maybe more of a who did it and what the heck is going on. I think this author did an excellent job of pulling me in and keeping he hooked. This was a real page turner for me. WAY DIFFERENT than my usual type of book. Even though I have been reading more sci-fi and fantasy. This was not magical but it was a sort of magic. It was in many ways a powerful book. A futuristic story about a very powerful yet somewhat humble woman. At least after the fall of humanity.

I'm not positive about the timeline of this story but do know it's set in the future. It has quite a few things going on and shows in lots of ways the power of AI. Of a few humans and many, what I called Pod People. And a Fog. People are going about their lives with not to many problems when there is a murder. Thus the title of the book?? The woman who basically started this colony of people is murdered. The fog starts moving in. It's suppose to be the end of humanity as they know it. 

This book out there for sure. But it's written in a way that you just have to find out what happened and who did it. What happened before all of these people came to this island. What will happen once the fog rolls in. It's suppose to kill everyone. Tear them apart, literally. This is what they have been taught all of their lives. 

There are a select set of humans and a group of made people. The made people die at sixty. They go to sleep and never awaken. A child is sent to replace the ones that die. At the age of eight the child is sent to whatever family is worthy of having him or her. There is a strict curfew for these made people. Lots of secrets are kept from them also. But by the end of the story everyone, including the reader, knows everything. Even who the murderer is. I had to go back and read the very Prologue just to see what I may have missed. I missed nothing. lol But I do understand it more now. In the beginning someone has to die in order for the others to live...

About 

From the bestselling author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water comes an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, and an audacious solution.

Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island—and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer—and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking.

The Berlin Sisters by Soraya M. Lane

 

My thoughts

Soraya M. Lane never disappoints me. Her books are always very realistic and heartbreaking. Touching and so emotional. To say she is a great author is an understatement. She writes historical fiction like no one else can. Her books will make you stop and think. Hopefully make you want things to be better. They always make me have so many tears...

This is the story of a family. Mainly two sisters. A family that takes heart in helping a family who is in grave danger. A strict German family who help a Jewish family. A hight ranking German Officer who helps this family. 

How this family finally came together to help their friends made my heart soar. I was happy to read about a good and decent German family that helped. Even though I know that it was most likely the only family that the father and mother helped. The Mullers consisted of A father, mother and two daughters. Hanna and Ava. Hanna had already been doing a lot of work helping get Jewish children out of harms way. To safe places. The family they help, the Goldmans are the parents and their son David and daughter, Eliana. 

Hanna was a nurse and also worked driving an ambulance. The perfect cover to help children. Ava had no idea what her family were doing until she found the Goldman family living in her childhood home in the attic. 

Through a lot of horror these two girls manage to keep helping others. Once Hanna and her parents make Ava understand that they had all been so deceived by Hitler and what he stood for she was ready to help. Ava worked as a personal secretary to a very high ranking Nazi official. She's also engaged to a strong Nazi. But she learns to hate him. With good reason. 

How the people just turned their backs on lifelong friends always makes me stop and think. How do you do that. See them dragged out of their homes. Beaten, murdered. Women brutally raped. All of them treated less than animals. Many sent to camps never to be seen again. How do you justify that. I don't believe I could. I hope I couldn't. I understand fear can make you do things you would not normally do but still... Millions where murdered.

This book kept me on edge in quite a few places. Not like a thriller would but like horrific history does. It made me weep for people that I know who would probably do just this if they had too or some if they could. I never underestimate humanity anymore. I've heard things from people that I thought I knew that made my heart ache. But surely if it came down to it they could not. Surely they would have a conscience and heart. Surely....

Thank you #NetGalley, #SorayaMLane, #LakeUnion, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this heartbreaking story.

Five huge stars.

About

From the bestselling author of The Secret Midwife comes a story of bravery, sacrifice and resilience in war-torn Berlin―and two sisters who will risk it all to make a difference. Berlin, 1943: Ava Müller is a proud supporter of the German war effort, working for Joseph Goebbels alongside her father, a high-ranking official in the Reich. With her sister Hanna, a nurse, braving bombing raids to save lives, they are a model Nazi family. Until Ava discovers her parents and Hanna are secretly working for the resistance… Returning to their country home, Ava is shocked to find her childhood friend Eliana Goldman and her family hidden in the attic. Suddenly she faces a stark denounce her family, as she’s been taught, or betray her country. She knows only too well what happens to traitors―but as Eliana’s story of terror at the hands of the Nazis unravels, Ava realises her loyalty to the regime has blinded her to the horrifying truth. Drawn into the resistance network alongside Hanna, Ava begins the dangerous work of undermining the Reich from within its own headquarters. Relying on each other for courage and resilience, the sisters must risk their own lives to save others, knowing that every day brings them one step closer to making the ultimate sacrifice… Heartbreaking, hopeful and thought-provoking, this is a powerful work of fiction inspired by those who chose to fight the Nazis from within Germany and the events that followed.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

 

My thoughts

I adored this book. I did put Throne of Glass first and moved The Assassin's Blade to either third or fourth as advised by another reader. I think it's going to make it better. 

I've read and loved several of this author's books now and would not have believed it. I'm not one to enjoy this genre. Or so I thought. I actually find myself looking forward to reading them. They really take me away from everything. Into a world of magic. Not always good magic but also not bad magic. Just a divergent from the other books I enjoy. 

This one is about a young girl of eighteen who is released from prison to compete in a competition that can give her her freedom. After four years of service as an assassin to the king. Also she has to compete against some fairly strong fighters. Some not so nice about the way they do things. Some who actually cheat... Isn't that just like men when afraid of a strong female. lol 

Celaena is just a girl. Albeit a very strong girl but still just a young girl. She's been in a horrible place for a year and wasn't expected to last that long. But Celaena is very strong. Not just physically strong but strong willed. She's also soft when she wants to be. She's a good one. The Prince summoned her and gave her the choice of either staying where she was or coming and competing for her freedom after four years of service. She chose wisely although it almost kills her. 

The prince falls for Celaena as does his Captain. Celaena makes a few friends and several enemies. She goes through more than you can begin to imagine for someone so young. Even a few of the other assassins like her. She's a fair person. She's not overbearing or cruel. There is another female who has eyes for the Prince who will do ANYTHING to get him. She hates Celaena when she thinks that he is falling for Celaena. 

So much went into this book that I can't begin to write about it all without giving something away and I try very hard to never do that. Just suffice it to say that you get to read about great competitions and several murders. Gruesome murders though not to explicit. Just the right amount. There is a bit of kissing between the Prince and Celaena but that is as far as it went. Me personally wanted Celaena and Chaol to be together. And maybe they will be. In book two...

I adored this book and will read the next one as soon as I can.

Five big stars for this one.

About

Enter the world of Throne of Glass with the first book in the #1 bestselling series by Sarah J. Maas.

In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not come to kill him. She has come to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three murderers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she will be released from prison to serve as the King's Champion.

Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. And a princess from a faraway country will befriend her. But something rotten dwells in the castle, and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying mysteriously, one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival-and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

Thrilling and fierce, Throne of Glass is the first book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series that has captivated readers worldwide.

Life, Loss, and Puffins by Catherine Ryan Hyde

 

My thoughts

This is such a good book. I've never been disappointed in a book by this author. Her books leave you feeling so much better. There is always a life lesson in them and many tears on the journey between the pages. 

In this book I went all the way to Canada. A trip I'll never forget. In the bitter cold to see the aurora borealis. 

Ru and Gabriel became fast friends when Ru and her mother met him and his mother to decide whether she, Ru, could stay with them and go to a prestigious college at the young age of thirteen. Ru was what her mother called "freakishly smart." And she really was. After she loses her mother, Ru and Gabriel decide to take off on an adventure. There are a few places they want to see. 

The things that Ru and Gabriel experience are so wonderful. Along the way things just seem to fall in place for them. They work and earn cash to help them pay for gas. They meet people who change their lives. They help others also. They are good and kind kids. Ru is only thirteen and Gabriel is seventeen, almost eighteen. Things just seem to work for them. They are best friends. 

After they go through a lot of things at the Canadian boarder coming back into the states things take a different route. Things don't go quite as they had planned. Gabriel is arrested. Ru is taken back by her aunt. Things just aren't going so good. 

This author will definitely capture your heart in this breathtakingly beautiful story and not let go. It so full of meaning and heart. Filled with wisdom also. Like making you understand the true bond between a mother and child. I suppose even in a bad relationship there is a bond there. You lived in her for nine months. 

You truly don't want to miss this book. If you love good clean reads with so much heart and soul then this is one you will love. It will stay with you too. So many good life lessons involved in Ms Hyde's books. 

Thank you #NetGalley, #CatherineRyanHyde, #LakeUnionAuthors, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five big stars. It's just beautiful. Just have some Kleenex handy as you will need them.

About

An exhilarating and emotional novel about grief, hope, friendship, and taking life one beautiful and spontaneous day at a time by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Freakishly smart. That’s the unwelcome box Ru Evans is put into for life. After all, she taught herself Euclidean geometry at age seven, has an eidetic memory, and is about to enter college at thirteen years old.

Boarding at a house near campus 150 miles from home, Ru meets seventeen-year-old Gabriel, an outsider himself who, like Ru, has trouble making friends—until they form a fast sibling-like bond. Finding a relatable someone in the world to talk to is a first for both of them.

But when Ru’s mother dies and the threat of living with her miserable aunt looms, Ru hatches an escape. It’s an impulsive road trip that takes Ru and Gabriel from California to Canada, where Ru can fulfill her ultimate to see Atlantic puffins in the glorious wild.

Mile by mile, Ru discovers the joy of friendship, found family, dark night skies, and the aurora borealis, and she basks in going from being a smart person to just a person. Though she knows they’ll be in trouble when they’re caught, for the short time they are navigating twist by twist of an unknown road, the freedom is liberating, and she is living for what feels like the first time.

After Annie by Anna Quindlen

 

My thoughts

Can you believe this is my first Anna Quindlen book? I'm shocked. I'm beyond shocked. This book was SO GOOD. Sad yes. It made me shed lots of tears. It also made me laugh a few times and brought out some anger(Bill's mother). This book is a very emotional one for sure. But it's so good. 

Right in the middle of fixing and serving supper Annie had a terrible headache and fell to her sudden death. Right in front of her family. Little did they know that their lives would be so drastically changed. So irrevocably changed. Little did they know what was going to happen now. How a family can move ahead with such a loss. Four children without their mother. A husband without the love of his life. How would they make it through. 

With lots of love, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, understanding, and friendships, this family would get by. They would survive this horrendous loss. These children, Ali, the oldest at thirteen. Ant(Anthony), the next. They two smaller boys, Jamie and Benjy. They were all left without the mother who loved them more than anything. More than anyone could. Bill, her husband. He was going to face a life that he had never expected. Losing his best friend. The love of his life. The mother to his four children. What was he going to do. He did not give up. He was determined to keep things going.

You get to know a lot about Bill and Ali. And Annie's best friend Annemarie. She was a mess for sure. Her and Annie had always been inseparable. Always there for each other. Annie was her lifeline. Everyone loved Annie. Except Bill's mother who I truly hated. She was so critical. Had no feelings at all toward her own grandchildren. I don't think she even truly cared for her own son. She was just an awful woman. 

This was a good book. A very sad story but also very interesting. Seeing how this family managed after losing the part that always held them. Always made sure they all had everything they needed. Annie was just the kind of person everyone loved. 

The story talks about addiction and the loss of fetus's. It also touches on child molestation. It is a tough story in places but is written in a way that might possibly help. It's a love story and not just between a husband and wife but a best friend, a woman's children. People she helped. Annie was a good woman. Much loved. Much missed. But I also think she left enough of an impression behind that helped each character move on in life. Once they was able to stop grieving. Once they started looking to each other in life instead of pain.

Five huge stars and I so highly recommend this book. It's so good. So emotional. So touching.

About

When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her four young children and her closest friend are left to struggle without the woman who centered their lives. Bill Brown finds himself overwhelmed, and Annie’s best friend Annemarie is lost to old bad habits without Annie’s support. It is Annie’s daughter, Ali, forced to try to care for her younger brothers and even her father, who manages to maintain some semblance of their former lives for them all, and who confronts the complicated truths of adulthood.

Yet over the course of the next year, while Annie looms large in their memories, all three are able to grow, to change, even to become stronger and more sure of themselves. The enduring power Annie gave to those who loved her is the power to love, and to go on without her.

Written in Quindlen’s emotionally resonant voice, and with her deep and generous understanding of people, After Annie is a story that ends with hope, a beautiful novel about how adversity can change us in profound ways.

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

 

My thoughts

I had such high expectations for this book. It was very good but it was no ACOTAR... It was a bit slow for the first half. A lot was going on but not things that just pulled me in like the other series did. I may have read this to early. I may should have read the Throne Of Glass series first. I will start them next and then come back to the Crescent City books. 

This was almost 900 pages and while most of it was great some was just not. I enjoyed reading it and will read the next two. I want to know what all happens next after this dramatic ending. I want to know what else is in store for Hunt and Bryce. I'm not saying this book was not good. It just took me a bit to get into it. 

There is a lot of action in this book. A lot of different types of people. From Faes, angles, wolves, vamps, and part humans. There are family dramatics and love. This is a love story between a Fae and an Angel. It's about love and loss. About the town being destroyed and put back together. It's a Fantasy book and it is good. 

The second part of this book had me on edge. It made me have many emotions and yes I even cried. I was so convinced that Hunt or Bryce was going to die. It was very dramatic and boy was Bryce a strong force when push came to shove. There are characters to love and some to hate. This book, this series I think, has lots going on and gives you lots of feelings.

This author has an imagination for sure. I think maybe there was even a reference or hint of the Faes from the ACOTAR books thrown in. 

I enjoyed this book but have decided that I need to stop and read the Throne of Glass books first then get back to these. I may be wrong in that I'm thinking they are related in a way. 

4/5 stars and I do recommend you read this one but only if you read all three as this one ends with a cliffhanger of sorts. It's very good.

About

Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night-until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She'll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss's enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he's offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City's underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they'd only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.

Finding Sophie by Imran Mahmood

My thoughts

What did I just read. From the first page to the last. I truly can't believe I actually stuck with this book. 

This is the kind of review that I HATE to write. I hated this book and still couldn't put it down. I had to stick it out and find out what happened to Sophie. I had to know who possibly murdered Sophie. And what her parents got involved with. 

Sophie went missing and her parents would not rest until she was found. They terrorized the man across the street because he refused to open his door and let them interrogate him. I don't blame him. Then he is murdered. They both are arrested for his murder. But there is more going on and they both get out. The trial is dismissed. Yeah right!!

I read this whole book and it makes my skin crawl to think about. I hope I forget this one fast. It will be the one that sticks with me because it was so bad. Oh my I hate writing this review. The ending was stupid. The start was ok but the middle was stupid too. Where were the police during all the things this couple did. During the time this girl, this seventeen year old, was missing. Good grief. 

I understand that grief will make you crazy but still. Neither of these two were put in a mental hospital and both needed it bad. They used others and each other. They were nuts. Yeah I get that most parents might be in this situation but it happens and parents have to move on and live somehow. Not try and take the law into their own hands. And again WHERE WERE THE POLICE.. 

I'm sorry but to me this book is just no good. I feel bad for this author for this review but I have to be honest. I read this whole book and I have to post my feelings. Better luck next time and this is the last by this author that I will ever read.

Thank you #NetGalley, #RandomHouse, #Ballantinebooks, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

2/5 stars and anyone that knows me knows I never give that low of a rating. I did this time. It earned it.

About

Someone is guilty.

For the last seventeen years, Harry and Zara King’s lives have revolved around their only daughter, Sophie. One day, Sophie leaves the house and doesn’t come home. Six weeks later, the police are no closer to finding her than when they started. Harry and Zara have questioned everyone who has ever had any connection to Sophie, to no avail. Except there’s one house on their block—number 210, across the street—whose occupant refuses to break his silence.

Someone knows what happened.

As the question mark over number 210 devolves into obsession, Harry and Zara are forced to examine their own lives. They realize they have grown apart, suffering in separate spheres of grief. And as they try to find their way back to each other, they must face the truth about their daughter: who she was, how she changed, and why she disappeared.

Someone will pay.

Told in the alternating perspectives of Harry and Zara, and in a dual timeline between the weeks after Sophie’s disappearance and a year later in the middle of a murder trial, Imran Mahmood’s taut yet profoundly moving novel explores how differently grief can be experienced even when shared by parents—and how hope triumphs when it springs from the kind of love that knows no bounds.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week

************

Warning:  Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @A Girl and Her Books, has a permanent home now at  MAILBOX MONDAY.

************
Here is a shout out to the administrators

Serena @ Savvy Verse and Wit

Martha @ Reviews By Martha’s Bookshelf

************

THANKS to everyone for keeping Mailbox Monday alive.

Books from NetGalley

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

From the author of The Last Thing He Told Me—the #1 New York Times bestselling blockbuster and the Goodreads 2021 Mystery & Thriller Winner—comes an epic love story wrapped in a riveting mystery.

When the patriarch of a famed hotel empire dies under suspicious circumstances, his daughter and her estranged brother join forces to find out what happened, unraveling a larger mystery about who their father really was.

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar—notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death.

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora’s brother Sam has other ideas. Sam, who she barely knows. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and find an unexpected answer about their own future.

Doubling down on her trademark soulful suspense, The Night We Lost Him is an evocative and unforgettable page-turner about what it means to be the witness to someone’s life.

When The World Fell Silent by Donna Jones Alward

A story of loss, hope and redemption against the most impossible odds.1917. Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Nora Crowell wants more than her sister’s life as a wife and mother. As WWI rages across the Atlantic, she becomes a lieutenant in the Canadian Army Nursing Corp. But trouble is looming and it won’t be long before the truth comes to light.

Having lost her beloved husband in the trenches and with no-one else to turn to, Charlotte Campbell now lives with his haughty relations who treat her like the help. It is baby Aileen, the joy and light of her life, who spurs her to dream of a better life.

When tragedy strikes in Halifax Harbour, nothing for these two women will ever be the same again. Their paths will cross in the most unexpected way, trailing both heartbreak and joy its wake…

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

 

My thoughts

This is my favorite of the ACOTAR books. It gave me more emotion and feels. It's Nesta's story. A raw look at a very misunderstood human turned fae...

This book is basically all about Nesta and Cassian. Nesta is Feyre's older sister. One who never lifted a hand to help Feyre when they were starving and poor. One who only thought about herself. Except when she was worrying over Elain. They had been among the riches of the rich in the human world but their greedy father wanted more. 

Nesta and Elain were taken from their home and turned fae against their will. Nesta had so much anger. So much going on. She hated this life. She hated most everyone in it. During the war she helped bring down the high king. Beheaded him. She protected Cassian who was in fact her mate. She didn't see that yet. When her father was killed she blamed herself. Thus the beginning of her own self destruction began.

Nesta moved into a hovel of an apartment. She drank way to much and took strange men in to her bed. She didn't seem to care about anything. Mostly she hated herself and felt she was not worthy of anyone loving her. Least of all her sisters. She was heading for total destruction until Feyre and Rys along with their friends step in. Nesta is basically given no choice but to go with Cassian and train. Work in the library and train. It's that or be deposited back in the human realm and since the destruction of the wall that would not be good. Not at all.

Now here I got a bit angry. First of all why didn't they care before Nesta got so low. Why wait until they received a bill so huge to get riled up. She was obviously screaming in pain. Her own sister, Feyre, didn't bother to truly check on her. Even if she did keep saying go away. Or I'm fine. Why didn't Feyre sense that her sister was in total distress. She had reached a breaking point that she herself could not see. 

The story gives us lots of insight into what she goes through and the friends she makes. The love she finally accepts and the strength of her Cauldron power. Oh my what strength. And how loving Cassian truly is. Yes he made me so mad at first. Though he did have to wait for her to cry out for that help. In her own way of course. The part where she finally broke truly made me weep. Weep for all the pain she felt. All the guilt she was burdening herself with. All the hate she felt for herself. She did not deserve those feelings. She had been human. She was turned high fae against her will. She watched her dad be murdered. She endured so much in her young life. She had a right to be angry. 

And that ending. That part where Nesta saved... Well I can't say who but she was amazing. Raw. Real. The feelings were so spot on. She's a true friend and sister to all the women in her life.

I hope there will be another book to this series. I hear there will be. This was so much fun to read and it is absolutely wonderful. It was out of my normal comfort range. Not my usual genre, but I am happy I read it. I'll be reading more since I have all of this author's books now... Next will be Crescent City series...

FIVE big stars from me. I loved it.

About 

Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she's struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can't seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it.

The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre's Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta's orbit. But her temper isn't the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other.

Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts.

Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other's arms.

If Something Happens To Me by Ales Finlay

 

My thoughts

Alex Finlay is one of my favorite authors. This book to me was one of his best. I've enjoyed a few and though I did see what was coming at the end of the first part it did not take away from the story for me. There were to many things going on for it too cause to much stress.... 

A girl goes missing. Her boyfriend is knocked out and dragged from the vehicle. He wakes and both her and the vehicle are gone... What happened? Who could or would do such a thing and why? Alison and Ryan are out in her father's BMW at Lovers' Lane. A make out spot. When it starts raining they run get into the car. After that Ryan's world and life will never be the same. 

What happened to Alison? Did Ryan do something to her or is there really a person with no pinky's who dragged him out of the car and took her. If so why.

This story goes from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Leavenworth, Kansas. From the United States to France to Italy. A journey to find the truth and run from something. This is a story of young love mixed up in so much. Quite a few characters involved. All to find out what happened to Alison? Maybe a bit more. 

There are a couple of gruesome scenes in this story but they are so necessary for you to get the whole picture of how bad a man named O'Leary is. A suicide. Some teens killed or overdosed. A family who will never be the same. Actually at least two families who will be affected. 

I enjoyed this book and read it in one day. I didn't want to put it down. It's very descriptive and makes you cringe in places. Gasp in others. Enjoy the scenery in some. I even cried in a couple places. I laughed a time or two. It was good but not necessarily for the faint of heart. I also loved how the title of this book played into the story.

Thank you #NetGalley, #AlexFinlay, #StMartinsPress, #MinotaurBooks, for this ARC. This is my own honest opinion of this book.

FIVE big stars and a very high recommendation. 

About

For the past five years, Ryan Richardson has relived that terrible night. The car door ripping open. The crushing blow to the head. The hands yanking him from the vehicle. His girlfriend Ali’s piercing scream as she is taken.

With no trace of Ali or the car, a cloud of suspicion hangs over Ryan. But with no proof and a good lawyer, he’s never charged, though that doesn’t matter to the podcasters and internet trolls. Now, Ryan has changed his last name, and entered law school. He's put his past behind him.

Until, on a summer trip abroad to Italy with his law-school classmates, Ryan gets a call from his father: Ali's car has finally been found, submerged in a lake in his hometown. Inside are two dead men and a cryptic note with five words written on the envelope in Ali’s handwriting: If something happens to me…

Then, halfway around the world, the unthinkable happens: Ryan sees the man who has haunted his dreams since that night.

As Ryan races from the rolling hills of Tuscany, to a rural village in the UK, to the glittering streets of Paris in search of the truth, he has no idea that his salvation may lie with a young sheriff’s deputy in Kansas working her first case, and a mobster in Philadelphia who’s experienced tragedy of his own.

In classic Alex Finlay form, If Something Happens to Me is told by several distinct, compelling characters whose paths intersect, detonating into a story of twist after pulse-pounding twist. The novel cements Finlay as one of the leading thriller writers today.

Disturbing The Dead by Kelley Armstrong

 

My thoughts

I usually don't read many time travel books but these have been so good. This author has go beyond the realm of what my imagination looks forward to and I've enjoyed this series very much. 

Mallory has been stuck in 1869 Scotland for what seems a lifetime. It's been six months though. She was a housemaid but has become an assistant to her employer now. They solve crimes. They work well together and seem to like each other. I think it's love but who knows. Maybe in the next book...

While I throughly love this series I was a tiny bit disappointed in this book. In this story. To me it was so obvious what was going to happen with the unwrapping of the mummy. That didn't make me want to stop reading though. I also figured out fairly early on who the actual murderer was. But again it didn't make me want to stop. I could have been wrong. (I wasn't.)

There was another part that I was truly disappointed in but I don't know how to explain that without giving away what is possibly a bit part of this book. I'll just keep that to myself and think on it. No need of ruining it for anyone else. It has to do with Mallory though. After she is attacked in the tunnel. I also knew in my heart who was telling secrets to a writer, about Mallory and Doctor Gray. 

I have enjoyed this series and do look forward to the next book. I think there has to be a next. I like the characters and the storyline. The women who were determined to go to school and become doctors even though it was just not done in this time. That was a good thing for sure. 

This is a very good book. Just because so many things were obvious to me does not mean I didn't enjoy it. It really made it a bit better proving that I was correct. There were clues that gave it away for me. I look forward to reading more about Dr Gray and Mallory. They are truly a force to be reckoned with. I'm anxious to see what they uncover next...

This would have been a five star if not for Mallory's parents. That's all I have to say about that...

Thank you #NetGalley, #KelleyArmstrong, #StMartinsPress, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Four stars and I do recommend this series. 

About

Disturbing the Dead is the latest in a unique series with one foot in the 1890s and the other in the present day. The A Rip Through Time crime novels are a genre-blending, atmospheric romp from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

Victorian Scotland is becoming less strange to modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson. Though inhabiting someone else’s body will always be unsettling, even if her employers know that she’s not actually housemaid Catriona Mitchell, ever since the night both of them were attacked in the same dark alley 150 years apart. Mallory likes her job as assistant to undertaker/medical examiner Dr. Duncan Gray, and is developing true friends―and feelings―in this century.

So, understanding the Victorian fascination with death, Mallory isn't that surprised when she and her friends are invited to a mummy unwrapping at the home of Sir Alastair Christie. When their host is missing when it comes time to unwrap the mummy, Gray and Mallory are asked to step in. And upon closer inspection, it’s not a mummy they’ve unwrapped, but a much more modern body.