The Mad Wife by Meagan Church

 

My thoughts

This author is an automatic go to for me. I read her first two books and grabbed this one as soon as I could. It is her best yet. Though the other two were so good too.

I listened to the audio along with reading an ARC. The narrator did a magnificent job. She gave this story so much life and depth. Made it come alive. 

Living in this timeframe had to be so hard for women. The 1950s. It's before I was even born so I wonder how the women in my family dealt. The best they could I suppose. 

The women in this story are all neighbors. Friends. All mothers and wives. They had schedules. Actual schedules that they were expected to adhere too. A layout for their days. Cleaning, primping, cooking, laundry, visiting each other. And yes they judged each other. Why women never have stood together is more than my fickle mind can comprehend. Together possibly we could make it a much nicer place. But that was not how it was nor is it how it is now....

When the huge twist is reveal, and I mean huge, I actually gasped out loud. I also broke out in tears. After that what happens is beyond barbarrick... A woman's biggest fear I suppose. Back then anyway. As I was reading I tried to picture what was going through this person's head. I mean really going through it. Not what I read but if she had been real just exactly how scared she must have been. How scared any woman was back then when threats of being institutionalized seemed to be normal. And they did lobotomies. Actually did them. And electro shock. Good grief what it mush have been like. Please don't let us go back to a time like that....

This author wrote a story that will pull you in and make you turn the pages. It was sad but lyrical. Haunting but real. A gut wrenching story of how things were for women back in the 1950s. 

You really need to read this book. It's beautiful in a scary sort of way. Jaw dropping. Heart melting and heartbreaking. The prose is spot on. One that will definitely stick with me. 

Thank you Source Books and RBmedia for this ARC.

Five big stars and will be in my top twenty for the year.

About

They called it hysteria. She called it survival.

Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu's carefully crafted life begins to unravel.

When a new neighbor, Bitsy, moves in, Lulu suspects that something darker lurks behind the woman's constant smile. As her fixation on Bitsy deepens, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life. The more she uncovers about Bitsy, the more she questions everything she thought she knew—and soon, others begin questioning her sanity. But is Lulu truly losing her mind? Or is she on the verge of discovering a reality too terrifying to accept?

In the vein of The Bell Jar and The Hours, The Mad Wife weaves domestic drama with psychological suspense, so poignant and immersive, you won't want to put it down. 

Her One Regret by Donna Freitas

 

My thoughts

This book left me speechless. It was truly one of the best I've read. 

I read some of the reviews and was flabbergasted at the a couple of very low stars and saying hardly anything other than "it's not a thriller." Or that it was flat. I so disagree. Yes most of the way it was more mystery. But it did have some parts that kept me on the edge. Parts that shook me to my core. This is a subject that needs to be talked about more. Women go through a lot after giving birth. Yes some have big regrets. I believe most of us do to an extent. That doesn't mean we don't love our babies more than life itself. It's just something that happens. Being a mother is hard. The hardest job we will ever face. And yes there are times when a woman can feel regret at becoming a mother. Just like she might regret becoming a wife...

This book is about three women. Three mothers. Three wives. Each has a story. Each has a child or children. One goes missing and you won't know what happened to her until almost the end. There are actually two mysteries going on. One is the next door neighbor. What might he be hiding. The other is, what could have happened to Lucy. Was Lucy really taken or did she run. 

This is a very touchy subject. One I really never gave much thought to. I think in many ways we all have some postpartum going on after giving birth. I mean your body goes through so much and what happens to your brain is just unbelievable. Hormones going nuts. And a crying baby that is totally dependent on you. But it seems you can't really talk about it or you get crushed. The judgement is awful. If you are lucky enough to be able to afford therapy it might help. 

Having a best friend to talk to is the best. Even when what you have to say is not what she wants to hear. Such is the case with Lucy and Michelle. They have been friends since college. The best of friends. They know everything about each other. Almost... 

This book is about Lucy, Michelle, and Julia. What each women is dealing with. What secrets they have. How they feel about being new mothers. About being a wife too. The book gives you a fairly deep look at how some women feel about being a mom. How other women judge them if they feel it was a mistake. 

Julia was, in my opinion, the one going through the most. She didn't have anyone to confide in. No one to talk to about how she was feeling. No one to give her any relief or time to just be herself. Her son was with her all the time no matter what. And boy did he cry. That didn't mean she didn't love him. Julia really needed someone...

No woman should be shamed for what she deals with being a mother. You have no idea what she's going through or gone through. Every woman is different. What may appear to be the perfect life could be one you would never imagine...

Thank you RBmedia and BOTM for this book/audio. So worth reading.

4.85 stars 

About

From the author of the book club favorite The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano comes a riveting feminist thriller that tackles an unspeakable taboo: regretting motherhood.

When successful Rhode Island real estate agent Lucy Mendoza vanishes, leaving her baby behind in a grocery store parking lot, the news quickly makes national headlines. Lucy’s best friend, Michelle, is devastated, and terrified that Lucy’s life is at stake. But she knows something that could complicate the police investigation. Lucy had confessed something unspeakable: She regretted becoming a mother so much that she’d fantasized about faking her own kidnapping. If the police and media were to find out, Lucy would become a monster in public opinion. Michelle is sure Lucy would never abandon her daughter. But could she be wrong? Could Lucy have been so desperate she chose to escape her life?

Bestselling author Donna Freitas has drawn from ground-breaking research to bring readers this unforgettable novel. Her One Regret is at once a pulse-pounding feminist thriller, a moving depiction of the realities of motherhood, and a rich exploration of a subject our culture and society have rendered nearly verboten—the possibility that for some women, motherhood is an unfixable mistake.

A Resistance of Witches by Morgan Ryan

 

My thoughts

This is a debut book and it's so good. Very well written and puts a whole new spin on witchcraft and WW2. 

Could Witches have help to make or break WW2. Could Hitler have taken over the world if they would have helped him?

This isn't really a book that goes into what happened during that time period. It's a story of what might have happened had witches been involved. Had some of them been followers of Hitler. Had they wanted to help him take over everything. The fallout that would have caused. 

History is an amazing thing. Writing is also very amazing. When an author writes a debut that keeps you wanting to know more then you can bet it's a good book. But thank goodness it is only a story and not what happened. This book will keep you turning the pages. 

A coven of witches are tasked with finding a book. A book called Grimorium Bellum. It's a book of what I'd call horrors. Not a good thing by any means. And it's up to Lydia to find this book. To bring it back with her so the Nazi witches can't use it's power for evil. Or destroy it. Whichever way is best. 

Lydia is on a mission to save the world. She has some selfish reasons for doing what she does too. The loss of her best friend being one. 

When Lydia Polk, Rebecca Gagne, and Henry Boudreaux all meet this story is on a whole other level. They go through a lot of fighting and pain. Henry also has some magic. He and Lydia seem to like each other. They fight to help each other until the very end. 

A story that will make you laugh out loud and cry hard ripping tears. A lesson in trust. Friendship. Family. A lesson steeped in magic and bloodshed. 

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. It was very good and as a debut this author has to feel very proud of her work.

Thank you Penguin Group Viking Penguin for this ARC.

4.5 stars 

About

RESISTANCE IS MAGIC

“War II meets A Discovery of Witches…I raced through this one.” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Briar Club

“Historical fantasy at its absolute best.” —Alexis Henderson author of The Year of the Witching and An Academy for Liars

As World War II rages around her, a witch abandoned by her coven must journey to find a book of unspeakable power before it lands in Nazi hands

Stubborn, plain-spoken and from an unimpressive family, Lydia Polk never expected to be accepted into the Royal Academy of Witches. Now, with Hitler’s army rampaging across Europe, the witches of Britain have joined the war effort, and Lydia is key to the she must use her magic to track down magical relics before Hitler and his sycophants can. When a Nazi witch infiltrates the Academy with heart-breaking consequences, the coven is left shaken, exposed and divided. The elder British witches have no interest in further loss of coven life in service of a government that has forced them into hiding for decades, no matter the consequences to the world. But with the discovery of the Grimorium Bellum, an ancient book that leaves a trail of death and destruction wherever it goes, Lydia knows her mission has never been more urgent.

Alone and woefully outnumbered, Lydia makes her way to the heart of occupied France, where she finds allies in Rebecca Gagne—a fierce French resistance fighter chockful of secrets—and Henry Boudreaux—a handsome Haitian-American art historian with a little magic of his own. Together, they traverse the country, stalked by the natural and supernatural alike, in search of the grimoire. But, as Lydia soon discovers, finding the book is only half the battle—the Grimorium Bellum has a dark agenda all its own. Lydia must subdue it before the Witches of the Third Reich can use it—but she’ll have to survive the book herself, first.

The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton

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 My thoughts

Another excellent book by Chanel Cleeton. I loved her last book, The House on Biscayne Bay, very much. I look forward to more by this author. 

A book about a book. What could be better? Not much. This one is told in three timelines by three women. They are very different and at the same time so alike. How this book touches each woman is woven perfectly into this story. From start to finish I was captured. 

It starts out in London the year 2024. Margo is a very ambitious young lady who finds lost items for people. In this case it's a book. She is hired to find a book titled A TIME FOR FORGETTING by Eva Fuentes. 

Then we go to Havana in the year 1966. Pilar just lost her husband to the horrors of Cuba's leader Fidel Castro. He was taken into custody by the secret police. Her neighbor was getting out of Cuba but had a book that she wanted Pilar to take to it's author. The book was A TIME FOR FORGETTING.... Eva read the book several times. And she does go in search for Eva Fuentes to return this book.

Eva Fuentes lives in Havana. In 1900 she is a teacher who goes to the US to Harvard to study. While there Eva meets a man and falls hopelessly in love. Of course there is a man right... Things don't quite go as planned with him. Once she returns to Cuba she finds herself in trouble. Eva returns to the US and when she can't work things out with James she starts writing a book. A TIME FOR FORGETTING.

This book was so touching. Kept me wanting more and I hated for it to end. There are a lot of emotions in this book. A big mystery too. A little bit of a thriller in places too. A very well written book that kept me turning the pages. 

Be sure and read the Author's Notes at the end. A bit of good info there. An excellent book that I think anyone who loves a good historical will appreciate. 

Thank you @Berkley for this ARC.

4.5 stars 

About

London, 2024: American expat Margo Reynolds is renowned for her talent at sourcing rare antiques for her clients, but she’s never had a request quite like this one. She’s been hired to find a mysterious book published over a century ago. With a single copy left in existence, it has a storied past shrouded in secrecy—and her client isn’t the only person determined to procure it at any cost.

Havana, 1966: Librarian Pilar Castillo has devoted her life to books, and in the chaotic days

following her husband’s unjust imprisonment by Fidel Castro, reading is her only source of solace. So when a neighbor fleeing Cuba asks her to return a valuable book to its rightful owner, Pilar will risk everything to protect the literary work entrusted to her care. It’s a dangerous mission that reveals to her the power of one book to change a life.

Boston, 1900: For Cuban school teacher and aspiring author Eva Fuentes, traveling from Havana to Harvard to study for the summer is the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s a whirlwind adventure that leaves her little time to write, but a moonlit encounter with an enigmatic stranger changes everything. The story that pours out of her is one of forbidden love, secrets, and lies… and though Eva cannot yet see it, the book will be a danger and salvation for the lives it touches.

The Widow by John Grisham

 

My thoughts

I throughly enjoyed this book. John Grisham has talent for pulling a reader in. This one seemed to be dragging until I realized that without all of it you had nothing. As the story shapes and molds, you have to know exactly who Eleanor Barnett truly was. To see who Simon Latch was. You had to know all the details.

This book had me holding my breath. Not a thriller but a what is going on here. Who did this awful thing. Will it turn out to be the lawyer? 

Greed pulled Simon in. Murder had him wishing he had never met Eleanor. This was a chance of a lifetime for Simon. He was in a horrible marriage. In the process of divorce. He has three children who he loves with all his heart. His law practice is barely keeping him afloat and he seems to gamble to much. But Simon is a good guy. Isn't he?

As this story progresses you find out a lot about Simon and Eleanor. Also about how many innocent people are wrongfully convicted in this country. You learn a little about the law and a lot about how prosecutors and cops consider a case closed once they find a defendant. Once they say you are guilty their jobs are basically over. Well not the prosecutor. They have a lot to do and will go to any measure to convict.

You get to know the people in this story. Simon's children. His exwife. His girlfriend from college. And the Widow Eleanor Barnett. You also get a good look at her two stepsons. They are true pieces of work. There is a lot that goes on in hospitals that you learn about. Maybe more than you want to know.

I did enjoy this novel. It was an eyeopener for me in so many ways. I thought I had it all figured out but I was way off base. Of course maybe Mr Grisham planned it that way. ha ha

Thank you to the publisher for the ARCs. Both a hardcopy and an ecopy. This book was very good. 

4.5 stars 

About

Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his bills while his marriage slowly falls apart. Then into his office walks Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune, and no one knows about it.

Once he hooks the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But soon her story begins to crack. When she is hospitalized after a car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems, and he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder.

Simon knows he’s innocent. But he also knows the circumstantial evidence is against him, and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. To save himself, he must find the real killer….

The Book Of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso

 

My thoughts

I'm at a loss here. Totally blown away. I don't want to give anything away so will have to say... This is a great book. It's so good. It will definitely be in my top 10 books for this year. It was a BOTM and I got an ARC. 

If you are looking for a book that will knock your socks off this is it. I highly recommend it. It's that good.

What happens to memories? We have memories. Memories that we accumulate throughout our lives. What happens to them once we are no longer here? Once we pass on to wherever it is we go too. This book tells a story of what may happen to them. A beautiful, touching, loving, story. 

Back when the world turned dark. During the times of the Nazi's and Hitler and death, murder, removal of a race of people. Or the attempt to erase said race there was a man. A man who made watches. He had a secret. They wanted to know his secrets. They wanted to know how he did what he did. How the watches worked exactly. So when they came to his door he pushed his young daughter through a door and pulled it closed. He would do whatever he could to protect her. 

That is how you meet Lisavet  Levy. She is living in what appears to be a library. But not your usual library. This one is a library of memories. Lisavet is only eleven years old and has no idea what to do or how she is to survive. But through many years she does learn. She doesn't have to sleep or eat. She meets people. Some not so good. Some who come to destroy memories. Memories that need to be saved. So begins Lisavet's journey of saving memories. 

Lisavet meets a man. A living man. They fall in love. They go through a lot. Ernest becomes someone she needs. Someone she loves more than anything. He was one that started out burning memories. Until he met Lisavet and she told him not to do that anymore. It's a bit more complicated than that but that is what this story is about. Lisavet and Ernest. When they are and when they aren't. 

Lisavet would have spent her whole life inside this book world. Filled with so many bookshelves that are filled with many books. Lisavet discovers a whole world that she had no idea existed. Things that happened. Things that the outer world want everyone to forget.... Lisavet is determined that no one will forget. 

The Book of Lost Hours is what I have to call perfection. Between the covers of this book is a story like none I have ever read. It's beautiful. It's inspiring. It's so full of hope and love. Yes there are bad things. There are tears to be shed. But this author did such a good job with this one. It's just beyond words for me. 

I enjoyed this book so much. I didn't want to put it down. It's a page turner filled with lots of emotion. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed reading this one. 

Thank you @BOTM, @Atriabooks, for this book. 

5 big stars 

About

For fans of The Ministry of Time and The Midnight Library , a sweeping, unforgettable novel following two remarkable women moving between postwar and Cold War-era America and the mysterious time space, a library filled with books containing the memories of those who bore witness to history.

Enter the time space, a soaring library filled with books containing the memories of those have passed and accessed only by specially made watches once passed from father to son—but mostly now in government hands. This is where eleven-year-old Lisavet Levy finds herself trapped in 1938, waiting for her watchmaker father to return for her. When he doesn’t, she grows up among the books and specters, able to see the world only by sifting through the memories of those who came before her. As she realizes that government agents are entering the time space to destroy books and maintain their preferred version of history, she sets about saving these scraps in her own volume of memories. Until the appearance of an American spy named Ernest Duquesne in 1949 offers her a glimpse of the world she left behind, setting her on a course to change history and possibly the time space itself.

In 1965, sixteen-year-old Amelia Duquesne is mourning the disappearance of her uncle Ernest when an enigmatic CIA agent approaches her to enlist her help in tracking down a book of memories her uncle had once sought. But when Amelia visits the time space for the first time, she realizes that the past—and the truth—might not be as linear as she’d like to believe.

The Book of Lost Hours explores time, memory, and what we sacrifice to protect those we love.

The Perfect Hosts by Heather Gudenkauf

 

My thoughts

I always enjoy this author's books. She has never let me down. 

The Perfect Hosts is another great one. Edge of your seat last few chapters and guessing all the way through.

This book is about a gender reveal party. A party for the rich, ultra rich, couple who are having a baby. Everyone is there. Even some that were not invited. The couple are Wes and Madeline Drake. It's also about a horrible thing that happened thirty or so years prior. When a teen girl went missing and her brother was beaten almost to death. So in a way it's two stories in one with the main focus being on the gender reveal...

Madeline and Wes have been married eleven years. They seem like the ideal couple... Until they don't. A lot of secrets come out. A few people show up after the explosion that have big surprises for the Drakes. One being Madeline's step sister Lucy. The other is a young women Mellie, who was hurt at the gender reveal explosion. She was a waitress at the event. She has secrets and intends to have what she wants no matter what. 

You get a sense of all the characters and why they do what they do. You pretty much know them pretty well by the end. At first I didn't much like Lucy but did understand why she might be angry at her sister. Until I found out what she was really intended. Then I kind of thought she was a great sister. 

This book is literally explosive. It holds your interest. It keeps you wanting more. To know who did what and why. 

There is spousal abuse in this one so be warned.

Another well written page turner from one of my favorite authors. 

Thank you @harlequintradepublishing & @harlequinaudio for this book.

4.75 stars 

About

A couple’s gender reveal party turns deadly and everyone is a suspect in this gripping thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest.

Is it a boy or a girl? They would die to know…

Madeline and Wes Drake have invited two hundred of their closest friends and family to their sprawling horse ranch for the most anticipated event of the year: a “pistols and pearls” gender reveal party so sensational it is sure to make headlines. But the party descends into chaos when the celebratory explosive misfires, leaving one woman dead and a trail of secrets.

As the aftershocks of the bloody party ripple across the small town, Agent Jamie Saldano is brought on the scene to investigate. Battling his own demons from the past, Saldano unearths a web of deceit spun around the Drakes. The appearance of some unexpected houseguests only deepens the mystery. And as tensions mount, it becomes clear that the explosion wasn’t just an unlucky accident. But who was the target, and why? As the shadow of a killer looms, the happy parents-to-be must unravel the truth before it’s too late.