6.29.2018 - The Last Time I Lied

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Dutton, and Riley Sager for the opportunity to read her new book.  I was a big fan of her debut novel, Final Girls, and this one did not disappoint! 

Emma got the opportunity to go to summer camp in upstate New York for her first time away from home.  She is put in a cabin with older girls and falls under the spell of Vivian, the clear leader of the group.  They play Two Truths and a Lie, discovering each other's deepest secrets.  Until one night when Emma sees her 3 cabin mates sneak out in the middle of the night never to be seen again.

Fast forward 15 years and Emma is an artist, still fighting her demons from that summer at camp and her role in the girls' disappearance.  The camp owner, Franny, spots her and makes an offer to come back to the camp as a painting instructor as Franny reopens the camp for the first time since the girls' disappearance.  Emma decides to confront her demons and uses the opportunity to see if she can find out what really happened to the girls.

A great, well-written mystery that has you questioning everyone.  Definitely a must-read around the campfire with a side of 'smores!

6.26.2018 - Into the Darkness

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Sibel Hodge for the opportunity to read her latest book. 

Wow.  Creepy, disturbing, scary, you will read this book with your heart in your throat and you won't be able to do anything else until you finish it!   This is the second of Hodge's books featuring Detective Sargent Carter but definitely a stand-alone read.

Told from the points of view of The Missing, The Vigilante, and The Detective, there are two mysteries going on.  DS Carter is investigating the seemingly random shooting deaths of an elderly couple at their remote farm.  Carter has a lot on his own plate - he's scheduled to leave the force and take another job with his ex-partner and friend investigating wildlife crimes.  The Viligante, Mitchell, comes to the aid of the wife of his deceased military operative friend when she calls him needing his help to find his missing daughter.  The Missing is that daughter, Toni, an 18-year-old.

When all these threads start coming together, you will not be able to put this book down!  Adding some needed light moments to the book are diversity issues in the police department.

6.25.2018 - All We Ever Wanted

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Emily Giffin for the opportunity to read her latest book - 5 stars!  I've always enjoyed Giffin's books before but this one takes a turn towards the more serious side of core values, class issues, and social media - very current in this #metoo climate.

Nina is living large in Nashville - she married Kirk who sold his tech company and is now uber-wealthy.  They enjoy galas, philanthropy, and want for nothing.  As does their son, Finch, a senior at Windsor, in an elite private high school, driving his own Mercedes SUV, and headed for Princeton.  However, one night causes her to change her views on her world and those in it.

Tom is living on the other side of the river in Nashville, a single dad raising Lyla alone after her mother took off.  A carpenter who makes extra money driving for Uber, Tom is thrilled with Lyla gets an academic scholarship to attend Windsor.

One drunken night and photograph from a party changes all their worlds.  What would we do for our children?  Are we teaching them the right things?

Great story - this would be a great book club selection especially for those raising teenagers.  Highly recommended!

6.23.2018 - Before and Again

Thanks so much to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Barbara Delinsky for the opportunity to read her latest book - a true winner!  I've been a big fan of Delinsky's books and this one will not disappoint.  4.5 stars!

Mackenzie Cooper was distracted for a moment, looking at her GPS, while driving her young daughter to a playdate when the unthinkable happened.  In that moment, she lost everything that she held dear.  She moved to a small town in Vermont to start over - a new name, a new job, a new life - and kept her past a secret.  She has a job she loves, doing makeup at a luxury spa in the area and sculpting with clay at a studio as her release.  Then a close friend's son gets into trouble for hacking and her friendship with his mom threatens to ruin her probation terms.

This is a great story that has lots of topics to consider - forgiveness, grief, family, media.  Very character driven - I couldn't put it down!

6.21.2018 - The Summer List

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Graydon House, and Amy Mason Doan for the opportunity to read and review this book - 4.5 stars for this debut novel!

This is the story of two friends - Casey and Laura.  Laura grew up in a small lakeside town in California, adopted by much older parents.  Her mom was very religious and Laura didn't fit in at school.  Casey moves in across the lake with her free-spirit mother and the two girls become fast friends.  With Casey by her side, school is a different place and Casey's home life a refuge from her very different one.  Casey's mom, Alex, makes everything an adventure, including big scavenger hunts.  Laura falls in love with JB - a college boy who comes into town for the summers.  Laura and Casey make plans to live together in LA where they will all attend school.  Until one fateful night, when everything changes and Laura runs away from everyone. 

Fast forward and the former friends are in their 30s and they are still estranged.  Until an invitation shows up in Laura's mailbox from Casey asking her to come for a weekend for one last scavenger hunt.  The clues take them back to all their favorite haunts but lead to lots of unanswered questions and long-held secrets.

This was just a book to fall into - very well-written and going back in different time periods to eek out the story.  A great story about friendship, loyalty, secrets - it's all here.  Highly recommended and I can't wait to read more from this author!

6.20.2018 - A Steep Price

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Robert Dugoni for the opportunity to read and review his latest Tracy Crosswhite novel - loved it!  Reading this book was like getting reacquainted with old friends (well, okay, if your friends are Violent Crime detectives!).  You definitely need to read this entire series but even if you haven't, you could easily enjoy this book as a stand alone.

This book is basically two mysteries in one.  Tracy is drawn into a missing person case of a young Indian woman.  Kavita is smart, beautiful and on her way to medical school but is also estranged from her family who are pressuring her into an arranged marriage.  The other storyline involves Del and Faz investigating a mob-related police shooting of an unarmed man.  Meanwhile, Tracy is hiding her pregnancy from her fellow officers and contemplating her future with the Seattle Police Department.

Highly recommended - much to discuss in this book with the different traditional beliefs as well as current issues with police shootings.  Dugoni is just a great writer.  After The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, which I loved, in addition to this Tracy Crosswhite series, I can only hope that Dugoni continues to put many stories to paper in the years to come!

6.19.2018 - Lost for Words Bookshop

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Stephanie Butland for the opportunity to read and review her book - absolutely loved it - 5 glowing stars!  This is why I love NetGalley - the opportunity to discover new authors - I want to go back and read everything Butland has written!

Loveday is a book person, definitely not a people person.  She is happy in her small flat in York, working for the eccentric Archie in his secondhand bookstore.  Something happened in her past to make her build a bubble around herself and not let anyone in too close.  But does someone know where she is now and is threatening to burst that bubble?

Told in Loveday's voice in different time periods to complete the tale, I fell hard into this book.  If you love books, people who love books (Loveday has tattoos of first lines of books meaningful to her), bookstores, all with a good mystery thrown in, this book is for you.  Highly recommended!  This book is out today so don't miss it!

6.16.2018 - Heaven Adjacent

Many thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Catherine Ryan Hyde for the opportunity to read her latest book - 5 glowing stars as always!  I can't get enough of this author's books from the first one I read, Pay It Forward.  Each one makes you think about difficult subjects but in a way that is never over the top, preachy or sappy.

Roseanna wakes up one morning in NYC and decides to call in that she won't be showing up for work that day as a partner in a law firm that she started with her best friend, Alice.  She gets in her car and starts driving.  She ends up in a rural town upstate and comes across a dilapidated small farmhouse on beautiful acreage in the middle of nowhere.  And decides to buy it on the spot and live simply and off the grid.  Which is fine - until she realizes that there squatters on the property and more people keep coming into her world.

So many things to ponder in this book - highly recommended as are all of her books!

6.14.2018 - Bring Me Back

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Books, and B.A.Paris for the opportunity to read her latest twister!  I've been a big fan of this author and this is another good book, although maybe not as good as some of her previous ones for me.

Finn and Layla are young and in love.  They are coming home from vacation when they stop at a service station.  While Finn goes into the restroom, Layla waits in the car.  When he comes out, Layla has vanished.  Fast forward 10 years and Finn is engaged to Layla's sister, Ellen.  Layla has never been found but all of a sudden there is a sighting of her and Finn starts receiving mysterious emails.  Finn has never been completely truthful with the police about the night Layla disappeared nor is he completely honest with most every one else in his life.

Told in Finn's voice from the present and the past along with chapters from Layla, this one will keep you guessing!

6.13.2018 - Number One Chinese Restaurant

Thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Lillian Li for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the story of the Beijing Duck House - a family-owned and operated restaurant in Maryland - and the family and employees involved.  There is lots of family drama - two brothers both fighting and helping each other out, mothers who don't always know the best thing to do for their children, debts to others, love interests, loyalty in many different fashions. 

Chinese restaurants in particular are such family-driven establishments and it was interesting to delve more into the dynamics.  However, while I typically love quirky family dramas this one never quite kept my interest as much as I hoped.

6.11.2018 - Lying in Wait

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gallery/Scout Press, and Liz Nugent for the opportunity to read her new book.  I was a big fan of Unraveling Oliver and this book will not disappoint - crazy good!

Lydia is married to Andrew, a judge, is mom to Laurence, and they live together at Avalon, her family home in Dublin.  The book opens with Lydia stating that her husband killed Annie Doyle but he didn't mean it.  The book is told in the voices of Lydia, Laurence, and Karen, who is Annie's sister.

There is so much here - obsessive love, mental illness, grief, guilt - all wrapped up in a well-written story that you won't be able to put down complete with some crazy twists.  Highly recommended - loved it!

6.9.2018 - Jar of Hearts

Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Jennifer Hiller for the opportunity to read this twisty thriller - I loved it and couldn't put it down which definitely rates it a 5 star book to me.

Georgina (Geo), Angela and Kaiser were best friends in high school.  Then after a party, Angela goes missing and her body isn't found until 14 years later.  In that time, Geo is an executive at a pharmaceutical company, engaged to the boss.  Kaiser is a detective who has continued searching for Angela and her killer.  Angela's remains are found near Geo's home and is found to be a victim of the so-called Sweetbay Strangler, Calvin James who was Geo's first love.  Kaiser soon arrests Geo for her part in the murder and she is sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Enough said - you really need to read this book!  I couldn't put it down and the many twists will keep you guessing.  Highly recommended!

 

6.7.2018 - Little Big Love

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley, and Katy Regan for the opportunity to read this heart-warming novel - 4.5 stars for a great read!

Zac is a ten-year-old boy living with mom, Juliet.  Zac is heavy and is the target of bullying at school.  Thankfully, he has a best friend who is a girl, Teagan.  Juliet has always told Zac that his dad did a "runner" before he was born but lately Zac and Teagan are on a mission to find his dad.  However, just the mention of his dad causes Juliet and her parents much grief.  Everyone is harboring secrets about a night long ago that caused an accident in the family that no one can forget or forgive.

Told from the viewpoints of Zac, Juliet and Mick (Juliet's dad) this is a story of what keeping secrets can do and how one boy can change the path of everyone's lives.  Great characters and a wonderful book!

6.5.2018 - Something in the Water

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Catherine Steadman for the opportunity to read her debut novel.  4.5 stars to this Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick!  Wow - can't wait to read more from this author because this was a great book! 

The book opens with Erin digging a grave to bury a body.  Not just any body - her new husband's body.  Then we go back in the past several months to Erin and Mark's story of their relationship and marriage.  They hit some hurdles before the marriage - Mark loses his job as a banker and Erin is busy with her film documentary following prisoners leading up to and after their release - but they eventually find themselves on an idyllic honeymoon in Bora Bora.  Until they find something in the water.

This is a fast-paced thrill ride although it can be similar to watching a horror movie and shouting to the screen, "No!  Don't go in that creepy basement by yourself!"  But it is written in such a way that will have you thinking along the lines of...what would I do in this situation? 
Highly recommended - bravo on a great debut novel!

6.3.2018 - When Life Gives You Lululemons

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Lauren Weisberger for the opportunity to read and review her latest book - loved it!

This is apparently my week for sequels and again this book did not disappoint and was maybe a better book than the first (is that sacrilegious to say about The Devil Wears Prada?).  This book is probably a tad more relatable I thought, which made it even more fun.

This book centers around Emily - the past assistant to Miranda Priestly - who is now an image consultant in Hollywood.  When a couple clients ditch her, she heads to NYC for a break while her husband is out of town.  Her friend Miranda, a high-powered attorney in NYC who gave up her job to move to Greenwich, CT, and be a stay-at-home mom, convinces her to come for a visit.  Meanwhile, another friend of Miranda, Karolina, is married to a senator who has presidential aspirations and is stepmom to Harry.  When Karolina is arrested for a DUI with Harry and his friends in the car, she flees to her home in Greenwich.  Then all the fun begins as these three women navigate their lives in the suburbs, where everyone is wearing the latest Lululemons and has perfect lives with a little help from the plastic surgeons. 

These are great friends - the kind that is not afraid to tell you the truth, who will hold your hand and pass you the wine to support you, and just help each other out.  What a fun read - absolutely loved it!

6.2.2018 - Social Creature

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Doubleday and Tara Isabella Burton for the opportunity to read this book.  I'm sure this will be one of those books that people will either love or hate but I'm giving it 4 stars for the creepy writing and the social media take.

Lavinia is a rich socialite, living in NYC on a break from school with more money from mommy and daddy in the bank than is good for her.  Louise fled to NYC to get away from her boyfriend and family - she wants to be a writer and is barely scraping by with 3 different part-time jobs.  When the two meet and start an unlikely friendship, things get complicated.  Lavinia is so needy and Louise wants to be loved and needed as well.

One of the most interesting things about this book was the social media aspect.  Everything that happens is portrayed online and events are staged online just to project a certain image and agenda.  If it doesn't happen online, does it happen?  Or if it's happening online, is it happening in real life?  Very intriguing.

While the characters are all basically unlikeable, I thought the writing was great and feel like there would be lots to discuss about this book with the right group!

6.1.2018 - How Hard Can It Be?

So many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Allison Pearson for the opportunity to read and review her sequel to the wonderful book, I Don't Know How She Does It. 

I loved the first book in this series about Kate trying to navigate her life with a high-powered job, a marriage and two small children.  Of course, since I'm now even older than Kate in the sequel, while I remember how much I loved that book, that's about all I remember!  (Where is Roy when you need him?)  As the years have passed, Kate is now pushing 50, her husband lost his job and is reinventing himself with trying to become a counselor, the kids are older, and she's worrying about their parents, trying to find a job, and entering menopause.

Because this is Allison Pearson, everything is so relatable, so funny, yet has serious undertones.  I found myself highlighting passage after passage.  It's all here - ageism, sexism (lots of #METOO moments here!), social media, guilt, raising children today, and still trying to have time for you.  In short, for a woman, while time passes we are still dealing with very full plates.  Thankfully Pearson is here once again to make us laugh and cry.

Highly recommended - I loved it!