10.30.2017 - Little Secrets

Many thanks to NetGalley, Mira Books, and Anna Snoekstra for the opportunity to read and review her latest book. I was a fan of her debut novel, Only Daughter, and really enjoyed her sophomore book.

Rose is a young woman who is desperate to escape the small town of Colmstock, Australia, for a career as a journalist. But her dreams keep fading as newspaper closures and rejections come her way. Add to that a stepfather who is demanding that she leave home. Rose is barely making ends meet waitressing at the local pup while still trying to escape to the city.

Meanwhile, the town is in turmoil. First, there is a huge fire at the courthouse made worse by the fact that a small boy was inside. Then, porcelain dolls start appearing on the doorsteps of houses - dolls that look just like the small girl living there. The community becomes paranoid and scared, which leads to desperate acts by too many people, including the police.

There are lots of twists and turns in this book and I enjoyed them all.

10.28.2017 - Seven Days of Us

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley, and Francesca Hornak for the opportunity to read her debut novel - loved it!

This is the story of the Birch family - a stereotypical British family, not great at communication, each family member with lots of secrets and inner feelings that aren't shared. But Hornak writes each section of this book from the viewpoint of a different family member, so that we get to learn all those innermost feelings.

There is Andrew, the patriarch, a food critic for the newspaper, silently mourning his days as a war correspondent. Emma, the mom, fills her days worrying about her two daughters, slipping away from her husband. Eldest daughter, Olivia, a physician, is home from Africa after treating the Haag epidemic. Phoebe, the baby of the family, is doted on by her father and spends her time preparing for her wedding.

Olivia comes home at Christmas, forced into a 7-day quarantine period that includes her family. Being in close quarters for that time, this family must learn to deal with each other and some of those long-kept secrets.

At its heart, this is just a great family character study. How much of ourselves do we hold back from those we love? And why? Even the characters you may not like will grow on you. I was sad to see my time with the Birch family come to an end along with the quarantine!

10.26.2017 - The Rules of Magic

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Alice Hoffman for the opportunity to read and review this magical book!

This is a prequel to Practical Magic but you don't need to have read that book (I haven't but it's now on my to-read list!) to enjoy this one. Besides, anything that Alice Hoffman writes is so wonderful you must read it!

This is the story of 3 siblings, raised in NYC, who grew up knowing they were different but not understanding fully what that involved. Their mother tried to shield them from their heritage, although she gave them lots of rules about what to avoid.  When the eldest child, Franny, comes of age she is summoned to a small town in Massachusetts to learn about the Owens family heritage. The siblings spend the summer coming to an understanding of their abilities in much different ways before returning home to NYC. The one lesson they all learn is that they must not love. A family curse says that harm will come to those they love. But, as we all know, the heart cannot be denied!

This is just a book to curl up with and delve into a world full of love, family and magic! Highly recommended!

10.23.2017 - The Ghostwriter

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and Alessandra Torre for the opportunity to read this amazing book - a great suspense/psychological read. This is the first book I've read by this author so I had no preconceived notions on what to expect. I don't want to give much away because this book deserves to be read and discovered the way the author intended!

Helena Ross is a best-selling romance novelist with a reputation for a nasty tongue and her lists of rules. But when she discovers she has only months to live, she knows she has to write one last book. With her illness, she knows she'll need help so she contracts with her rival - Marka Vance. Marka is known for her best-selling erotica books, ones that Helena lambastes at every opportunity. The two go on a journey that the reader follows to reveal the secrets Helena did not want to take to her grave.

You must read this book - highly recommended!

10.20.2017 - Never Coming Back

First - thanks to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Alison McGhee for the privilege of being able to read and review this book - I loved it!

This is a book about words - those we say, those we don't say, those we tell ourselves and others. It is a beautifully written book about mothers and daughters and all those words between them.

Clara is a professional writer who is summoned home when it is discovered that her mom has early-onset Alzheimer's. Clara finds a small cabin in the Adirondack Mountains where she grew up and where her best friends, Sunshine and Brown, now also live. While trying to come to grips with this new version of her mother, Clara finds herself with so many questions about their past. Is it too late to ask those questions?

I really loved this book - I realize I'm gushing. It touched my heart, made me laugh, made me cry, made me think about all those words.

Highly recommended - and extra points for being set in the Adirondack Mountains where I live!

10.18.2017 - Second Acts

Thanks to NetGalley, Amberjack Publishing and Teri Emory for the opportunity to read and review this book - I loved it. Just a great, relatable read.

Three friends - Sarah, Miriam and Beth - meet in college in the 1970s and become lifelong friends, despite their differences in backgrounds and temperaments. The book is laid out in different times of their lives - starting with the college years up through after 9/11 - and each chapter is told in the voice of one of the friends. So you really get to learn about each character this way.

I loved each of these women for their own strengths and weaknesses. Their main focus was on being there for each other forever. How lucky to have friends like that - to know that people always had your back no matter what. And especially to be beginning that "second act" of our lives with such good friends in your corner.

Great read!

10.15.2017 - White Bodies

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Touchstone, and Jane Robins for the opportunity to read and review her first novel!

This is a great psychological read - creepy, lots of obsessions, and of course the necessary twists and turns. Callie and Tilda are twins - Tilda has always been the shining star, an actress, while Callie works part-time in a bookstore, content to be in Tilda's shadow.

Tilda meets a new man, Felix, and quickly becomes obsessed with him. Callie becomes worried about Tilda - she stopped working, has bruises on her bodies, tells Callie about Felix's violent tendencies. Callie likewise becomes obsessed with trying to save Tilda from Felix. She joins an internet group about controlling men and gets entrenched into the stories. So much so that lines start blurring between what's real and what's not.

I don't want to say any more - definitely a big to read and discover the secrets on your own. I couldn't put it down!

10.13.2017 - The Stolen Marriage

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Diane Chamberlain for the opportunity to read and review this great book!

Set in the 1940s, with war and racial tensions on everyone's minds, Tess is a Catholic girl from Baltimore's Little Italy, engaged to a doctor who is her childhood best friend. A weekend away in Washington with her girlfriend changes her life, and Tess finds herself in a strange marriage to Henry, a wealthy furniture factory owner, and living in Hickory, NC. Tess isn't accepted by Henry's family or the community, and finds herself constantly bewildered by Henry's strange behavior. She finds that she is losing the part of her that made her who she always believed she was. When the polio epidemic hits Hickory, a hospital was quickly set up to deal with it. Desperate for nurses, Tess finds herself in the middle of caring for the afflicted. And maybe starting to find that part of herself.

This is a great read that truly transports you to a different time and place. Lots of twists that you'll have to discover on your own but it is a great ride. Highly recommended!

10.10.2017 - The Surrogate

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Louise Jensen for the opportunity to read and review this book. Also to my Goodreads friend, Sandy, for the recommendation!

This is a great psychological thrill ride that will keep you guessing until the very end. The book opens with the murder of two people - trust me, you won't figure out who those two people are until you close the book!

Kat and her husband, Nick, are desperate to become parents. They have tried international adoptions which only led to heartbreak. An opportunity to have a surrogate presents itself but also opens up ties to the past that were best hidden.

Saying any more about the plot of this book may lead to spoilers and you definitely want to read this book to discover all its secrets yourself!

Great book - first I've read of this author and I'm anxious to go back and read her other works.

10.8.2017 - Hanna Who Fell from the Sky

Thanks to NetGalley, Park Row Books and Christopher Meades for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the story of a polygamous community called Clearhaven. Hanna is getting ready to celebrate her 18th birthday. That occasion also means that she will be married off to someone chose for her by her father. Hanna has never been away from Clearhaven nor really ever questioned her path. She grew up in a family with an abusive father, her mother and her sister-mothers as well as 14 siblings. Hanna has always been the responsible, oldest child even though she doesn't resemble any of her siblings. She is especially close to her sister who was born with a spine deformity. Days before her wedding, Hanna meets Daniel, the heir apparent to a wealthy family in Clearhaven. Daniel opens her eyes to another world but will she have the courage to forge a different path?

I'm rounding up to 4 stars - I really liked so much of this book but probably could have done without the magical component. The story was strong enough on its own merit, exploring growing up in such a lifestyle.

10.6.2017 - The Blind

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Park Row Books and AF Brady for the opportunity to read and review her debut novel.

This is the story of Dr Sam James, a psychologist at Typhlos, a psychiatric institute in NYC. At work, she has the reputation of being the best doctor and the one able to reach those patients no one else can. However, the private side of Sam is very different. She is a barely-functioning alcoholic in a very abusive relationship. She feels like she can't save herself so her mission is to save others.

Richard comes to Typhlos an enigma. He won't talk, won't complete his paperwork, seems to function at a high level. No one can understand why he's there and they've only heard rumors about why he was in prison for so long before coming to Typhlos. Sam takes Richard on, only to be confronted with her own demons while she's trying to figure out his.

A great debut novel - kept me reading til the ending, which I loved.

10.1.2017 - The Good People

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The story revolves around 3 women - Nora has just lost her husband. They were trying to take care of their grandson, whom Nora remembers as a happy baby. After their daughter died, their son-in-law couldn't care for the boy and dropped him off with his grandparents. Dealing with her grief over her husband, Nora hires Mary, a young teenager from a nearby town to help her with the boy and the farm duties. The young boy can neither talk nor walk and spends most of its time screaming and crying. The two are beside themselves and turn to an old woman who is believed to have magical curing abilities. They believe the boy has been taken by fairies and they have to do various treatments to get the boy returned.

I remain a bit conflicted on this book. It's beautifully written and I enjoyed learning more about Irish folklore as well as how difficult lives were back in the 1800s in rural Ireland.

However, the story dragged for me as well as became repetitive. I found myself just wanting to get to the part with some answers and didn't enjoy the journey too much.