Blade by Wendy Walker

 

My thoughts

I'm a huge fan of Wendy Walker's books. I've not read one yet that disappointed me. There is always an edge. Always a thrill. And always tears to be shed. This one is excellent. A real page turner. I usually shy away from books about sports. This one drew me in and didn't let go until I turned that last page.


A book about ice skaters. Where they stayed and what they did. The competitions and the friendships made. Even enemies made. There is always a bit of jealousy in any competition. This story puts it all out there. How children are treated when away from home. When staying with an adult who can pick and choose whatever and whoever she wants. This is a very complex story about girls competing for championships and hopeful olympic placement. Girls who compete against each other but are still there for each other in so many ways.

The author takes you into the depths of the ice skating world. The trials each puts on themselves. How lies can ruin a life. How doing good can make you or break you. What happens when you are away from family. When tragic events take shape. Girls who are truly not ready to take on the tasks of acting grown up. Partying. Having grown ups put up barriers for them. These girls are just children who want to skate. Yes they want to win but mostly they just want to be loved and accepted as they are. Whether they pass of fail.

You get to know some of these girls and yes this is fiction but loosely based on things that do happen. Adults who take advantage of these kids. Both women and men. Seems there is a lot of abuse. In most every way.

My heart broke for these young girls. Yes they wanted to skate but they didn't want to be hurt. Lied too. Taken advantage of.

This is about a murder. A young girl who is accused of this murder. It looks bad for her. Of course it does. Her lawyer went to this same school fourteen years earlier. Ana knows what it was like. As does this girl's mother. Grace is in so much trouble. Accused of murder. Murder of a well liked man. Her mother, also lived here before. Back when the girls were training to be olympic ice skaters. Now Grace and Ana have to fight to find out who did what and why. Grace doesn't want to say anything. She doesn't trust anyone. Least of all Ana...

This story goes from before to now. From before to after. Told mainly from Ana's POV. You will find out all you need to know.

I was immersed in this book. Couldn't look away. I throughly enjoyed it. I cried. I cringed. I even laughed a bit. I never figured out who the killer was.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.

4.75 stars.

About

From USA Today bestselling author—and former competitive skater—Wendy Walker comes a chilling psychological thriller set in the cutthroat world of elite figure skating.

Ana Robbins was an Olympic star in the making—until tragedy forced her to leave that world behind. At the age of sixteen, she gave up her dream and never looked back. Fourteen years later, she’s a successful defense attorney, revered for her work with minors. But when her former coach turns up dead, Ana lands right back where it all began, and abruptly The Palace, a world-renowned skating facility nestled high in the mountains of Colorado.

Ana returns to The Palace to defend the young skater accused of the brutal crime—Grace Montgomery. Despite her claims of innocence, all evidence points squarely at Grace’s guilt, and she’s days away from facing charges of first-degree murder.

But Ana’s investigation dredges up childhood memories of her own, triggering the fear that permeates this place where she once lived and trained far from home as an “Orphan.” With a blizzard raging outside, and time running out for Grace, Ana is determined to uncover the truth—even if it means exposing her own secrets that she buried here long ago.

Family Drama by Rebecca Fallon

 

My thoughts

I almost didn't finish this one. It was not a fast paced book at all. It was intense and did keep pulling at me. I just didn't want a DNF. I am glad I finished it now. The ending truly made up for so much. I did think this book was well written. The author put her heart and soul into it I'm sure. For anyone to say it is poorly written is just wrong. It's slow for the first several chapters but interesting.

This family is definitely troubled. A man who raised his twin children almost alone. Their mother died of cancer when they were very young. Before that, she was not really there. She was a soap star. She was away for most of their lives. I do believe she loved her children and her husband. I know he loved her. No doubt about it. Al was a good guy. He supported his wife's career even though he truly wanted her to stay home. Not to travel. To be his wife and their children's mother. But she wanted to be a star so he supported it. Al was truly a keeper.

This one starts out with the twins watching as their mother's body is lowered into the sea. She wanted to be buried that way and Al was doing just that. 

This story takes you back and forth between when the twins, Viola and Sebastian, experience their mother's burial and when their mother is in California working on a soap opera. All that happens in those years is told. It's definitely a drama but not a bad one. 

I think the author really did a good job. This one kept me reading. I never thought about putting it down. I did start to DNF it a couple of times. That was just crazy though. I highly recommend this book. It's got so much to keep you reading. It's family. It's drama. It's twin crazy. A mom and dad problem. A soap opera. A love between an older man and younger woman. Actually that is twice. Al is several years older than Susan. But it seemed like their love was at first sight, in a way. Al really flipped over her. Susan's sister, Sadie, didn't much like Al but she was crazy over the twins. 

The last few chapters of this one made me weep. I was crying so hard while reading about Susan's death. How the twins were with her while she was sick. How her son seemed to love his mom more than anything. They didn't know their mom was a star. They had no idea she was ever in a soap opera. 

Yes this book started out a bit slow but it did grow on me. I am glad I read it. I liked the characters. Mostly. I was angry at Susan for leaving her family for a soap opera but that was what she wanted. Her career. She had a right to do that. Her children could be selfish but that was understandable too. They lost their mother at such a young age. This is one to make you think...

A debut novel. I give this author a lot of credit for writing such a heartfelt story. 

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

4 stars. 

About

A vibrant debut and powerful meditation on family, motherhood, and the cost of holding on to your dreams, reminiscent of Ann Napolitano.

In New England, Susan Bliss is a young mother married to a professor.
In LA, Susan Byrne stars in a soap opera beloved coast to coast.
Decades after she’s gone, her twins have no idea of their mother’s fame. But the past can’t stay hidden forever.

It’s 1997, and snow is blanketing a New England beach. Two befuddled seven-year-olds watch as their mother’s body is tipped overboard a crumbling boat. A Viking funeral, followed by a raucous wake. A send-off fit for soap opera Susan Bliss.

Fifteen years earlier, Susan is a blazing, beautiful young woman, passionate about her art. It’s impossible not to fall in love with her, and so Alcott, a practical professor, does—hopelessly. And so begins the love story of Susan’s two-paneled an unconventional, jetlag-filled arrangement that takes her back and forth between her life in New England as a wife and mother to young twins to the bright lights of Los Angeles, where she becomes the beloved star of a daytime soap.

In the present, Susan’s twins grow up in the shadow of her all-consuming absence. Sebastian, a sensitive artist, cleaves to her memory, fascinated with the artifacts of her starry past. Viola, resentful of her mother’s torn allegiances, distances herself from the memories of her. But when Viola runs into her mother’s old costar Orson Grey—now a renowned Hollywood star—she finds herself falling deeply in love with him and begins to put together the pieces of a mother she never really knew.

Sharp, assured, and beautifully written, Family Drama is a story told in double-helix, with intertwined timelines that explore the different versions of ourselves we share with the world and with each other.

The House Of Hidden Letters by Izzy Broom

 

My thoughts

If you read one historical this year this is the one. It's so good. It has it all. History of course. A love story. Two timelines. Possibly murder. An abusive(albeit not in great detail.) A Greek island. A lottery winner. A group of people who come together for each other. No. Matter. What.

This is a book that will capture your heart. It will also leave you on pins and needles in places. Things happen to make you think. To make you appreciate what you have. Always keep your friends close. Even the ones you might have just met.

When Skye wins a lottery she knows it's her chance. Her chance to get out of a horrible relationship. Her husband, Martyn, is awful. He is not who she thought he was. They had a whirlwind relationship and marriage. He wanted her and he got her. 

Skye wins a house on a Greek Island. It's an older place that needs a lot of repair. It only cost her the price of a lottery entry. There are a few others who won houses too. Skye doesn't share any private things with the new neighbors. She keeps it to herself. Skye and her mother have problems also. 

When Skye finds letters hidden in her house and starts reading them you get to know more about the history of the island. What happened to the previous owners. 

Then we go to 1940 and meet Katerina. Katerina and Stefanos. They lived on the Greek island as the war starts. When Mussolini started taking over and started wars it was coming to Greece. To their peaceful island. Stefanos had to leave. He had to go defend their country. Katerina's sister's husband goes with him leaving the women behind. 

A lot happens in both timelines. It's very easy to keep straight though. This is such a good book. It has so many things to keep you turning the pages. Some edge of your seat things too. A few mysteries. The love story was beautiful. 

This book gave me a few feelings. Tears. Anger. Expectations. Hope. Love. Loss. It had it all. The writing was wonderful. This story will hold your heart. 

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishers for this ARC.

Five stars 

About

“A joy from start to finish.”—Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient

A beautiful and escapist novel full of heart, for fans of Elin Hilderbrand and readers who love book club fiction.

For Greek cottage. One euro.

Skye MacKinnon is desperate for an escape. When she wins a lottery to buy a run-down cottage on a Greek island for only one euro, Skye jumps at the chance to get out of England and start over. As she unlocks the tattered blue door of her whitewashed new cottage, the sun-kissed sea glinting in the bay outside her windows, Skye immediately feels like she’s found her true home.

Skye and the other lottery winners—the first residents in these houses since the 1940s—form a tight-knit group, finding in one another the strong relationships they’d been missing in their own lives. When Skye and local contractor Andreas find a set of mysterious letters, they begin to unravel the history of the prior residents, and the truth about life on Folegandros during World War II.

Sweeping, escapist, and full of heart, The House of Hidden Letters reminds us of the importance of human connection. Izzy Broom has written a poignant and hopeful novel for those who have found love and family in unexpected places.

The Last Daughter by Soraya M. Lane

 

My thoughts

This is the last in the series of Lost Daughters by this author. It's like the beginning that came at the end. The one that started the whole thing. It's beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. A story of love and loss. 

When Mia's Aunt dies she is left to close up Hope's House. Mia is Hope's great niece. This is the story of how Hope House started. Who helped Hope when she was at her very lowest. When she needed someone more than ever. It's also the story of Mia. How Mia goes searching for answers but finds love instead. Mia was the one who gave each box to each of seven young ladies whose grandmother's had left them behind. Each with a clue as to who they were and why they had to give up their baby.

Hope had to leave home because of her cruel dad. He was abusive to her mother and in time to her also. This was in the early 1920s. Before the war. Before women could have a say whether they got an education or married or had families. Hope left home because she didn't want to marry a stranger. She didn't want the kind of life her mother had. She wanted to paint. To live. To learn about life. She had hopes and dreams. 

Mia was going through her own sadness. She was somewhat of a reclusive young lady. She had lost the love of her life and didn't know how to move on without him. Even after so many years had passed. But when Mia had a chance to find out more about her Aunt Hope she jumped at the chance. 

Both of these women had a destiny of sorts. Hope to help unwed mothers. Mia to find love again. You get to know more about Hope and all she went through and it's heartbreaking. I hoped all the way for one thing to happen. Up to the very end I held on to that hope. Mia went on this journey and found a guy. Joe. Joe was a good man. He had his own bar and worked hard. He had some hardships he dealt with also. Maybe together they can find peace. Maybe they can find each other and the happiness each deserves.

This is the last in this series and it's so good. After reading the previous books and knowing this one had to come eventually it was kind of hard to see it end. I adored Hope. She was such a good person to do what she did. After all she lost she was still so kind to other women who came to Hope's House for help. Opening the house to help others helped Hope in so many ways too. 

A well written book about a subject that is so sad. How horrible women and girls were treated for simply having a baby and not a husband. What they had to go through. 

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC.

4.70 stars. 

About

Hope looked up at Gus, his fingers linked with hers as he smiled down at her. The wind whipped at her hair, cool against her skin, but all she cared about was the man standing in front of her. ‘I choose you, Hope,’ he whispered. ‘A thousand times over, I choose you.’

London, Present Mia clutches the last remaining box found at Hope’s House in her hands. For months she has been determined to reunite every box with its rightful owner. But now it’s time for her to discover Hope’s own heartbreaking story.

France 1938: When Hope meets Gus in the lively streets of Paris, she finally feels that she has met her kindred spirit. But as they plan their dream future together, it is clear that Gus’s father will never allow their romance to develop. Defying his wishes, Gus promises Hope that they will be together after his army training.

But with France on the brink of war, Hope travels back to London for safety, cradling a life-changing secret. Then devastating news arrives which threatens Hope’s future and shatters her heart. In the darkest days of war, will Hope find the courage to give others the chance of a brighter future? And will her own story of strength inspire Mia to follow her heart?

The utterly gorgeous and heartbreaking final novel in the Lost Daughters series will leave you spellbound and is the perfect read for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Victoria Hislop.

More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen

 

My thoughts

There is definitely More Than Enough of this story. It's about a lot of things. A book group. Four women, Polly, Jamie, Helen, and Sarah. who meet to do all but read. They talk about things. They are friends. Polly and Sarah are very close and know things about each other before sharing with the others. It's about a woman who wants a baby. Her and her husband have been trying so hard. Lots of IVF treatments. No luck. A woman whose dad is  in a care facility for dementia. One woman and so much going on. 

Polly is a school teacher. She loves her job and her life. She has the perfect marriage, after a disastrous first marriage, to a veterinarian.  Mark is a wonderful man. He loves Polly so much. He loves their life. 

When the group give Polly a DNA test as a joke Polly takes it seriously. She finds she has a possible niece. But from where. Who. Her brother swears there is no way it could have been him. 

There is an Alpaca farm and so much else going on. I found myself lost at times in this story. I enjoyed it but thought it was a bit too much. At least for me. I rooted for Polly and Mark to have a baby. They tried so hard. I was hoping all would turn out good for Polly's bff Sarah. Sarah was recovering from breast cancer. I had all kinds of hope while reading this book. Some things were great and others not so much. 

The author did a good job of writing this but had so much going on that it became a bit overwhelming at times. All the characters. All the excitement. All the drama. I loved how much Polly loved her dad. I felt sick when she finally did find out how she was related to the girl from the ancestry kit. But I can also see it happening. I didn't really care for Polly's mother. I did like her brother and Mark's family. Yes, a lot going on.

I liked this book but didn't love it. It just fell a bit short for me. To much going on and to many characters to keep up with. And a book club that never read. I can understand that though. They got busy with other things. 

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.

3 stars 

About

A woman confronts the surprising results of an ancestry test and begins to question the meaning of family and friendship in this wise, tender novel teeming with life—from the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of After Annie

No one knows you like your book club.

High school English teacher Polly Goodman can talk about everything and anything with the women in her book club, which is why they’ve become her closest friends and, along with her veterinarian husband, the bedrock of her life. Her students, her fraught relationship with her mother, her struggles with IVF—Polly’s book club friends have heard about it all.

But when they give Polly an ancestry test kit as a joke, the results match her with a stranger. It is clear to Polly that this match is a mistake, but still she cannot help but comb through her family history for answers. Then, when it seems that the book club circle of four will become three, Polly learns how friendships can change your life in the most profound ways.

Written with Anna Quindlen’s trademark warmth, humor, and insight into the power of love and hope, More Than Enough explores how we find ourselves again and again through the relationships that define us.

You Did Nothing Wrong by C. G. Drews

 

My thoughts

I listened to an audio while reading. The audio kept me reading. Without it I would have marked this one a dnf. The narrator did a great job. She kept this story flowing and gave it life. 

This book started out so good. Then it took a turn. It had so much gross going on. At least that is my opinion. Who says they want to open someone's chest and crawl inside? Who does that? It's said so many times by Elodie. I mean love can be so strong but that is unnecessary grossness. 

It was like a true love story between Elodie and Bren. They are young and so in love. Elodie is from Australia and has a small child. A little boy she named Jude. Elodie has some secrets that could be deadly. Or she could just be a mixed up young woman who needs to be loved and cherished. Her parents certainly did care for her. Her baby brother drowned in the tub and they laid all the blame on her when she was only eight years old. She was a child. 

Elodie gave birth to Jude when she was only sixteen years old. In the bathroom of her house. No one helped her. Not many sixteen year olds could handle such a horrific event. Elodie is not exactly your average kid though. She's had an unlovable life and decided that she should have a baby. That she named him Jude was kind of crazy. That was also her baby brother's name.  

When Elodie and Jude move into Bren's family home she seems to be very happy. All seems good. Then Jude starts saying that the house is trying to eat him. Bren says it's not. He tries so hard to help with Jude. It seems Jude loves him. Elodie just won't allow it. She's a bit possessive about Jude. He's hers and hers alone. 

Bren has secrets too. He was just a little kid when his parents died. His older sister Ava took care of him with the help of other relatives. Bren is set on fixing up his parent's house. He works hard and seems to get nowhere. But he loves Elodie and Jude so much. 

Elodie is expecting another baby. This one is Bren's and it's another boy. He's so excited about becoming a father. Jude is not happy about this at all. Everything seems so good. Then it's not.

This book was ok but so repetitive. It seemed like the ending was all excitement. All the things that would go wrong happened at the end. Maybe not go wrong but all the big twists and turns. All of them. Not thrown in throughout the story. Elodie stumbles on some things that make her question what is happening. She's also a complete nut. I'm not so sure that Jude is autistic. I think maybe all the things Elodie did might have messed him up. She's trying to make amends it seems. At times anyway. 

The ending of this book was ok but didn't wow me. I figured out some things and others were just grossly awful. I could picture all the blood and gore seeping from the "walls." I could picture Bren's sisters face when Elodie appeared. I could picture Jude's cries. I could also picture other things that I didn't want to picture. 

Parts of this book were great and others were just not good at all. I could only take so much of how many times Elodie talked about ripping someone open and crawling inside of them. Or how she was tethered to Jude by the umbilical cord. 

I had high hopes for this one but was let down.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for this ARC.

3.75 stars 

About

A relentless, horror-inducing psychological suspense for fans of The Push and Baby Teeth by New York Times bestselling author CG Drews.

Single mother Elodie’s life has become a fairy tale. She’s met Bren, equal parts golden-retriever devoted and sinfully handsome. He’s whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house he’s renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect.

Then Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are “hurting” the house. Even Elodie can’t ignore it–something strange is going on. The question is, is it with the house, or with her son?

Then the one secret Elodie has been hiding is revealed, and no one is safe anymore.

A pulse-pounding, clever take on the haunted house novel, You Did Nothing Wrong examines the complexities of motherhood and the twisted bonds of family as it races to its shocking ending. 

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

 My thoughts

I received an arc for this book and the audio via NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio. It was also a BOTM choice for me. It's so good. A retelling of Cinderella from the Stepmother's POV... 

Etheldreda married the man she fell in love with and had two daughters, Rosamund and Matilda. Her husband died and her father in law was going to give her small girls to brothers as wives. They were still young children. Ethel married another man to protect her girls. That is when she became the "stepmother" to Elin. Her second husband died and she was left to raise the three girls. Everything her second husband had was left to his child for when she married. 

Ethel was a good mother. She tried her best with Elin. Elin had different ideas as to how to get by. She quoted a book that seemed to always be with her. A book teaching her how to be a lady. She was not at all like the Cinderella that we all knew and felt sorry for. She was a bit lazy. Rosie and Matilda did their share of work. Both were good at doing things. 

When there was to be a ball to find the Prince a wife Ethel of course found a way to get all three girls invited. They had to make their dresses and do their own work to get ready and Ethel's two girls did fine. Elin however didn't do good at all. But as you know Elin is the one the Prince would choose.

The Prince had secrets. Not good secrets. He was definitely not the Prince I grew up knowing about. But he was to be married to Elin and that was all that matter. 

This book gives you a whole other take on the story and family. I loved Ethel. I thought she was very resourceful and knew how to get things done. I felt for her a lot of times and really hoped she would be able to do what she needed to do. I liked the stepsisters too for the most part. Elin however had to grow on me. She came across as a spoiled brat. Always seeming to faint at just the right time. And the Prince. He was a whole other set of problems... When things got intense though Elin did come through. She helped in a way that I could hardly believe. Ultimately she did learn how to persevere. 

This book was a fun read but also serious. It was a page turner and so good. I highly recommend you read it. There are not an abundance of characters but enough. The story being from the "Stepmother;s" POV was fantastic. Very well done. I'll be looking for more by this author in the future. 

The narrator did a wonderful job. She did each character perfectly and kept the story moving at a great pace. 

Five stars  

About

A breathtaking reimagining of Cinderella, as told through the eyes of its iconic "evil" stepmother, revealing a propulsive love story about the lengths a mother will go to for her children

A widow twice-over, Etheldreda is now saddled with the care of her two children, a priggish stepdaughter, and a razor-taloned peregrine falcon. Her entire life has become a ruse, just like the manor hall they live grand and ornate on the exterior, but crumbling, brick by brick, inside. Fierce in the face of her misfortune, Ethel clings to her family’s respectability, the lifeboat that will float her daughters straight into the secure banks of marriage.

When a royal ball offers the chance to secure the future she desperately desires, Etheldreda must risk her secrets, pride, and limited resources in pursuit of an invitation for her daughters—only to see her hopes fulfilled by the wrong one. As an engagement to the heir of the kingdom unfolds with unnerving speed, she discovers a sordid secret hidden in the depths of the royal family, forcing her to choose between the security she’s sought for years and the wellbeing of the feckless stepdaughter who has rebuffed her at every turn.

As if Bridgerton met Circe, and exhilarating to its core, Lady Tremaine reimagines the myth of the evil stepmother at the heart of the world’s most famous fairytale. It is a battle cry for a mother’s love for her daughters, and a celebration of women everywhere who make their own fortunes.

I Came Back For You by Kate White

 My thoughts

I really enjoyed this book/audio. It was an arc from NetGalley and Brillance Audio. Narrated by Sarah Naughton. It was very well done. Held my attention and she did a great job of doing each character. I love when a narrator can do this. It makes the story flow so much better. 

When Bree's ex husband comes to her home out of the blue she is somewhat dismayed. Having no idea what he could possibly want. She hasn't spoken to him since moving so far away. But Logan brings some very shocking news. 

After the murder of their daughter Bree and Logan thought the murder was paying for what he did. Then Logan finds that this may not be true. There may have been another murderer. But how could anyone else know what happened to the other women. To do things almost exactly the same way. To murder Melanie and why. What would be the motive.

This book caught me and would not let go. I throughly enjoyed listening to it. All the way from start to finish. I had a big guess. I was totally convinced that I knew who the killer was. I was so wrong. I was way off. I didn't see it coming.

The author wrote a great edge of your seat thriller with enough mystery to keep me guessing. Enough description to make me feel I was there. By the lake. In the woods. At the Inn. At the crime scene later in the story. On that desolate lonely road. I enjoyed this book so much. 

I loved how the love story played out too. Though I don't think I would have been so giving to Logan. I adored Bree's new partner Bas. He was perfect for her. And so understanding. They were perfect for each other. I just hope they stay that way. 

Thank you NetGalley and Brillance Audio for the ARC. 

4.75 stars...

About

A mother begins to challenge everything she’s been told about her daughter’s murder in a shocking novel of suspense by a New York Times bestselling author.

Ten years after her daughter, Melanie, was murdered, Bree Winter is finally moving on with a new love, a new home, and a new beginning. Then a deathbed confession from the convicted killer throws Bree’s life into a tailspin all over again. He readily confesses to murdering four girls. But not Melanie.

At first, Bree and her ex-husband don’t buy a word of it. Until inconsistencies about the crime emerge. So does the dreadful feeling that the monster who shattered Bree’s family isn’t lying. The only way she can get to the truth is to power through the trauma and return to the town in upstate New York where Melanie’s life came to a brutal end.

Bree will do anything to find justice for her daughter and finish this nightmare forever. Instead, it’s just beginning. Not only could the real killer still be in their midst, but as Bree begins to dig through Melanie’s past, what she discovers calls into question everything she has believed—about the crime and about Melanie herself.

The Girls Before by Kate Alice Marshall

 

My thoughts

I received an audio from Macmillan via NetGalley for this book. Karissa Vacker is the narrator and did a fabulous job with this book. She kept the characters straight and the book moving at a great pace. 

An edge of your seat story in almost all parts. I figured ou who did what and who is who. I did figure out who one character was. That was the only part I found unbelievable but still loved the book/audio. 

Imagine being in a bunker underground in total blackness. The only light coming when someone comes to bring you food. Or water. Or unimaginable abuse. Imagine what it would feel like if you stopped seeing the light. Almost out of food. Almost out of water. Chained to a wall. What would you do? Knowing there were other girls before you that didn't make it. Names carved on wood. Some advice to help you carved in wood. No way to get out. Until someone does open that door. 

Audrey is a search and rescue expert. She lost her best friend many years ago and won't let go of the search for her. Audrey goes to great lengths to help find missing people. Audrey has a dod named Barry that I fell in love with. He's the best. He's also trained to find people. Both alive and dead people. One day as they are hiking Barry goes nuts and leads Audrey to a door. A door to a bunker.

This was a fast paced story. It kept my attention all the way through. I truly didn't want to put it down. It's one you can easily read in a day. It starts out good and ends up good. 

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for this ARC. 

4.75 stars... 

About

A search & rescue expert. A kidnapped woman. The lost girls who haunt them both.

"Veteran narrator [Karissa] Vacker performs the novel skillfully.... Her soothing voice, clarity, and intonation draw the listener into the story, while her convincing performance of Theo will hold their attention until the very last syllable." —Booklist on A Killing Cold (Starred Review)

There is a girl in a basement.
The door has stopped opening.
The light is gone.

Stranger is trapped in the dark, with only her imagination and the scribbles on the wall left by long-dead girls to keep her company. Nearly out of food and water, she makes one last attempt to escape. But if the door opens at last, will it mean salvation, or only the beginning of her fight to survive?

Audrey is a search and rescue expert who never stopped looking for her ex-best friend, Janie, who disappeared when they were teenagers. Janie used to love the local legend of a forest witch who saves girls from bad men, but Audrey knows now that for every one saved, there’s always another one lost. When she stumbles upon evidence in the forest that a teenage runaway might have actually been kidnapped from land belonging to the town’s most prominent family, she will have to dig through decades of secrets to reveal the biggest one of what happened to the girls before.

Kate Alice Marshall, bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods, No One Can Know, and A Killing Cold, is back with the thrilling new novel Ashley Winstead calls, "magnetic, shocking, heartbreaking, and unputdownable."

"Narrator Karissa Vacker, with scores of audiobooks under her belt, provides a pitch-perfect performance... [her] voice is a solid touchstone guiding listeners through shocks and twists." —Booklist on What Lies in the Woods

A Good Animal by Sara Maurer

 

My thoughts

It's hard to believe this is a debut. It is so beautiful and heartfelt. A story that will capture your heart.

Do you remember what first love felt like? Was it good? Was it heartfelt? Hopeful? Did you end up with that first love? Or was it a bad experience? Sad? Hurtful? This story is so full of love and hope. Hope for a future. A first love that is told from the young man's point of view. From his feelings. His heart. And what a story it is. 

Everett met Mary during the summer before their senior year in high school. Mary had just moved to  Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and couldn't wait to leave. She only had one year left and she could do whatever she wanted. She had plans to move to California and be an artist. 

Everett was a farm boy. A young man who loved everything about being a sheep farmer. He had big plans too. To buy his own sheep and make his life as a farmer. Then he met Mary. He feel hard and fast. They were young and threw caution to the wind. It was such a pure and sweet time for them. 

Mary told Everett from the very start that she was not staying. She told him about her plans and she meant every word. But Everett truly thought he was in love. And possibly he was. Sometimes first loves are the strongest. The deepest. The most intense. But something went wrong. Something unexpected. 

This book is truly beautifully written. It's just one that will keep you turning the pages. I cried so much reading this book. I did laugh a few times too but mostly it brought tears to my eyes. Not just from the love between a boy and a girl but from what happens to sheep. Things I didn't know that happened when you show animals. 

I learned a few things reading this book. All about sheep, but still I did learn some things. This author knows sheep and she knows what that first love feels like. From a boys POV at that. 

This book was a quick read for me. 

I received an audio arc also and have to say that the narrator, Michael Crouch, did a fantastic job of making this book flow just right. Of bringing each character to life. Of giving it the feeling it needed. 

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Macmillan audio, for the arc. Also it was my BOTM last month. 

4.75 stars... 

About

A heart-wrenching coming-of-age debut novel by a stunning new voice in fiction, for readers of Barbara Kingsolver and Ann Patchett.

In the farm country outside Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan—a border town where life moves slow and dreams run fast—most kids want out. Not Everett Lindt. He’s set on staying put, rebuilding his family’s sheep farm, and carving a future from the land he loves.

Then he meets Mary, a new girl in town with restless energy and bigger plans. When their relationship reaches a crossroads, Everett sees a life together; Mary, however, is desperate to find a way out. Together, they make an impulsive choice—one that will change everything.

Tense, lyrical, and deeply felt, Sara Maurer's unforgettable debut breathtakingly captures the ache of first love, the beauty and brutality of rural life, and how one decision can echo through generations and shape who we become.

Watching Over Her by Jean Baptiste Andrea

 My thoughts

This review is a bit harder to write than my usual reads. This book absolutely stole my heart. It touched me in a way that no other book ever has. It's beautifully written and heartbreaking, while at the same time it will give so much more. I laughed, cried, cringed. All the feels and maybe some we never expect. 

I went into this book completely without knowing the first thing about it other than I loved the title and cover. What I got was a lesson in love. Forgiveness. Peace. So much that I honestly can't begin to say it all.

This is told by a very old gentleman who is dying. He's living, well dying, in an Italian Monastery. He's lived there for many years. Before that he was a very poor man. Born a dwarf and abandoned as a young boy by his mother. Yes she did abandon him. She went to find money and it took twenty years for her to finally come back to him. That was not a good choice. But for him maybe it was. 

Michelangelo or Mimo as he liked to be called was a dwarf. He was bullied horribly. He was loved unconditionally. He was lonely even when around others. At times. He worked hard and also drank away his money. But only after he had been let down by the one woman he truly loved. 

Viola. Viola was the daughter of a very rich family. Also a very powerful family. She never wanted to get married and have a family. She wanted to fly. To become a pilot. But her father had different ideas. A female could not do this. She was expected to marry and make their family stronger.

Mimo and Viola met as children in a cemetery of all places. They became fast friends. They were the same age and just hit it off. As they got older Viola grew but Mimo stayed at a little over four feet tall. Viola didn't seem to care at all. Mimo was her friend and that was all that matter. 

Their's is a story to be heard. Though they are seperated many times they are also there for each other. When a tragedy hits it makes Viola see things differently. For some crazy reason she no longer wants to see or hear from Mimo. Mimo goes and works hard. He makes so much money that he doesn't have to worry. But he also drinks to much. 

This book is so beautifully written. It describes the areas and the people so well. The love that Mimo feels for Viola. The anger they both have at times. The fall that makes it impossible for Viola to ever do what she wanted. The hurt. All the emotion you'll feel reading this book. It's definitely one, or the, most beautiful stories I have ever read. 

I started this book and almost didn't keep reading. I still have no idea why. The beginning make me scratch my head. Then it just clicked. This book took my breath away. It's so worth reading.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster for this ARC.  

Five stars 

About

In an Italian monastery, a sculptor named Mimo lays on his deathbed. For decades, he has lived among the monks who watch over his masterpiece, an arresting statue that haunts all who see it.

During his final hours, he reveals his life his impoverished childhood, brutal apprenticeship, and most importantly, his meeting with Viola Orsini, the only daughter of a powerful and dangerous aristocratic family. A chance meeting, Mimo and Viola are instantly drawn to one another, viewing themselves as outsiders—Mimo for his dwarfism, and Viola for her ability to remember everything she has ever read or experienced. Together, they traverse the unrest of the 20th century, from the rise of fascism to the violence of the world wars. While Mimo strives to become a celebrated artist, Viola chases her own dreams of becoming an emancipated woman. Over the decades, they will lose and find each other time and again, but never will they give up on the love they share.

Immersive, moving, and at times hilarious, Watching Over Her is a dynamic love story and timely exploration of the power of creativity during the rise of fascism.

Good Intentions by Marisa Walz

 

My thoughts

This was a pretty good debut. I hated how often the main character, Cady, said Dana. Dana was her sister's name. Her twin sister. Dana was killed in an auto accident. Dana was also ten weeks pregnant. It was horrible and I do understand where Cady was coming from as she navigated her life without her sister. Though I do believe she should have shown the man who hit her sister's car a little sympathy. Especially after reading the ending. 

It took me the whole book to understand Cady's obsession with Morgan. Seemed like Cady had a great life. With the exception of losing her twin she did have it all. She ran her own event planning business and was doing extremely well. She was married to the love of her life. She had not been able to have a baby and had miscarried not that long ago. But she could try again. She could learn to stop lying. I hated that about her. She was a horrible lying person. She convinced herself it was all for whoever's good. Whoever she was doing wrong at the time. The way she treated her husband was unexceptable. Maybe I should give her a little slack but good grief she was so busy stalking and sticking her nose in other people's business she just didn't have time to keep her business afloat. Her great employees were doing so much for her. But did she appreciate them? And always accusing Matt of infidelity. The poor man was so worried about her he didn't know what was happening. Until he did...

This book was pretty well written. I could picture Cady as she sat in her car. As she convinced a group of her losses. As she yelled to Matt. She should have put her life first. Her marriage that is. But the whole book is about the crazy things she is doing. It didn't all start after losing her twin either. That was why I didn't find it so believable that she just flipped after that accident. She was always sort of weak and possessive. Always a kind of control freak. I would have felt bad for Cady but when she did what she did and I read about it I just wanted to smack her. Wake up. See what you have. Dana would have wanted her to hold on to her life and do the right thing.

Turn back around and take responsibility.....

Great narration. The narrator kept the story flowing great. Did pretty good with each character. 

Thank you St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARCs. 

4 stars 

About

A deft and immersive psychological suspense debut about a luxury party planner who becomes obsessed with a woman she encounters in a hospital waiting room.

Cady has worked hard to have a good life. She has a thriving luxury event-planning business, the man she’s loved since she was seventeen, and a social calendar she can barely keep up with. She also has Dana, her identical twin, her beyond best friend, her most trusted confidante. When Cady gets a call that Dana has been in a serious accident and arrives moments too late to say goodbye, her world falls apart.

But to Cady’s family’s growing concern and confusion, it’s not Dana’s death that consumes her. It’s Morgan, a grieving mother Cady encountered in the hospital waiting room, the day her sister died. It can’t be a coincidence, that they both experienced tragedy at the same moment, in the same place—Cady doesn't believe in coincidences. Instead, she is convinced that she must help this stranger overcome her tragedy, in order to come to terms with her own.

Or...is there more to it? Is it possible that Cady wants something else from Morgan? Something she can’t even admit to herself?

Slyly twisted and deeply provocative, Good Intentions captures the moral ambiguity that can arise in the face of impossible choices. Like the aftermath of a car accident—and against your better judgment—you won't be able to look away.

An Unconventional Lady by Sarah E. Ladd

 

My thoughts

A first for me by this author. I enjoyed it so much and hope to read more of her work.

This is the story of Ella Wilde. Ella lost her mother at the age of ten. Being raised only by her father Ella was well educated and well loved. Ella's mother wanted her to be educated as she was. Ella wanted to prove that her mother did not commit suicide and she wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps in other areas. 

Ella's father became sickly and thought it best for Ella to be married so she would not lose the school for boys that her mother's father started so many years ago. He thought if Ella married a man who could take it over and take care of her things would be ok. Ella had different thoughts about this though and fell in love with a different man. She didn't want to be in a loveless marriage to a much older man. 

This book has a few things going on. Ella's best friend falling in love with a bad man. Of course she didn't know he was bad but Ella had her suspicions. Also a friend from the past comes and turns Ella's world upside down. Well sort of. She falls in love with him. Confides in him. 

There is suspense in this story, love, kidnapping. It's one that will keep you turning the pages to find out what comes next. To see if Ella can find her true love and solve her mother's mysterious death. Helping her best friend who was taken in by a house guest of the Wilde's. Just being there for her. Phoebe and Ella have been lifelong friends and let a man come between them. The faces of love.

This was a fun read that taught me about phrenology. A subject I had not heard about. It was the main setting for this story. The Phrenology is the theory that a person's traits and intellectual abilities can be found by learning the shape and size of their skull. How ridiculous is that? But at this time it was believed to be true. 

A very enjoyable read/listen. This is a clean romance story. At times it was intense. Other times it was a bit romantic. A well written regency era story.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the ARCs. Also thank you to Uplit Reads for choosing me for this.

4.5 stars 

About

One woman works to expose a scientific fraud while also finding love in the latest sweet Regency romance by Sarah Ladd. Perfect for fans of Julie Klassen, An Unconventional Lady delivers what Publishers Weekly calls Ladd's "pitch-perfect blend of suspense and sweetness" (The Cloverton Charade).

She faces the worst ultimatum possible for a woman--marry a man she detests or lose the future she's always imagined.

Charming and headstrong, Ella Wilde always knew she was different than other women. Thanks to her unorthodox upbringing as the daughter of Keatley Hall School for Young Men's headmaster, Ella has long dreamed of opening a school for girls that would meet the needs of inquisitive, brilliant, unconventional young women just like her--girls who longed for the education exclusively reserved for boys. But there's just one Unless she marries before her father dies, Keatley Hall will pass into the hands of a distant cousin. In that case, Ella will be left destitute, and at this point her only option appears to be an undesirable marriage.

Ella's family had long been proponents of phrenology, the belief that an individual's personality and dispositions were predetermined by the shape of their head. Shortly before her death, however, Ella's mother's views on phrenology changed, and she endeavored to expose phrenology as nothing more than a fraudulent parlor trick. Consequently, she earned the wrath of phrenologist community, who called her "unstable," "bizarre," even "dangerous"--and branded her daughter the same.

Now, renowned phrenologist Thomas Bauer is about to arrive at Keatley Hall to speak at the Natural Philosophers' Society gathering, and Ella embraces the opportunity to clear her mother's name--and her own--once and for all. And her partner in crime? None other than her childhood friend Gabriel Rowe, who's grown into an ambitious, handsome London solicitor.

Gabriel has his own scores to settle, and when he learns that Thomas Bauer is visiting Keatley Hall, he jumps at the chance to prove himself and right past wrongs. As he is drawn deeper into the unusual happenings, it's clear that he and Ella must work together if they want to unmask the truth. Over time, Gabriel's attraction to Ella's beauty and wit becomes impossible to ignore, and as the lines between professionalism and passion blur, they both must decide what they're willing to risk for happiness.