5.28.2018 - Every Single Secret

Many thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Emily Carpenter for the opportunity to read her latest work - a creepy thriller that you won't be able to put down!

Daphne and Heath are engaged - both feel they found their soul mate because they both have pasts they don't want to talk about so they agreed to keep their pasts to themselves.  Until Heath begins having nightmares that scare them both.  Although Daphne is opposed to psychotherapy, she agrees to accompany Heath to a couples retreat where he hopes to be able to talk through his problems so that he can live with them.  The retreat is held in the mountains far away from civilization and has strict rules about no cellphones, no talking to the other couples, and being videotaped almost all day.

The less said about this book the better - it is a deliciously creepy ride and you won't ever guess how it all ends up!  Highly recommended - I couldn't put it down!

5.28.2018 - Great Dog

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and Davide Cali for the opportunity to read this young children's book.

This is a cute story about a father showing his child pictures of their relatives and telling him that he can be anything he wants.  Great message with an interesting twist at the end that I was a bit confused by.  Illustrations were different but I thought they were appropriate.

5.26.2018 - The Last Thing She Ever Did

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Gregg Olsen for the opportunity to read his latest work - I couldn't put this one down!  Full of unlikeable characters, this book will grip you until its final pages.

Liz and Owen live next door to a wealthy couple, Carole & David, who moved into the Bend, Oregon, riverside community, tore down the small house, and built a huge mansion in its place.  The two couples become friends and Liz loves their small boy, Charlie.  When a horrible accident happens, Liz makes the beginning of many mistakes that lead to the explosion of both couples' lives.

This is a twisty tale and I don't want to say too much about it to ruin the ride.  Suffice it to say that it will keep you glued to the pages.  I've always been a fan of Gregg Olsen's work - both fiction and non-fiction - and this latest is wonderful!

5.23.2018 - Beauty in the Broken Places

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Allison Pataki for the opportunity to read this moving memoir.

Alli, 5 months pregnant, and Dave, a surgical resident, were on a flight to their babymoon where they were looking forward to some much-needed downtime.  Mid-flight, Dave turned to Alli and said that he couldn't see out of one of his eyes - Alli noticed that the pupil was very dilated.  Then he collapsed.  The plane had to make an emergency stop in Fargo, ND, where doctors tried to save his life.  It turned out to be a rare form of stroke - especially in someone who was only 30. 

In order to make sense of her world and to show Dave when he recovered, Alli started a series of letters to Dave, outlining his medical journey and their new lives which became this book.  We also get alternating chapters of the story of Alli and Dave's relationship with each other and their families.

This is one of those books that makes you grateful to be alive.  While our bodies are amazingly resilient they are also very fragile.  Alli and Dave were lucky in that money was not a real object and they had incredible family support and guidance - including Dave's dad who was a neurosurgeon.  However, Alli's faith was so incredibly moving to me as well as her honesty in documenting her "new normal" life.

Highly recommended - this book will stay with me for a long time.

5.21.2018 - The High Season

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Random House and Judy Bludell for the opportunity to read her first adult novel - a great summer beach read!

Set in what sounds like the perfect quiet beach town a few ferry rides away from the Hamptons, this is a gossipy story of one family's life during the summer.  Mike and Ruthie were both struggling artists in NYC. with baby Jem.  After 9/11, when they inherited an old house near the Hamptons, they decided to uproot their world.  The marriage didn't last but they remained friends and never legalized the divorce.  They redid the house but in order to afford the lifestyle, they had to rent it out for the summer season.  Enter Adeline Clay - the ex-wife of Ruthie's old boss, hugely wealthy who swoops in to rent the house while Ruthie and Jem move to a friend's guest home.

This is certainly a book about class differences, longing to fit in, along with lots of family issues.  But it's a fun read and makes you think about change in our life - even when forced on us, many times it's for the best.  Thoroughly enjoyable summer read!

5.18.2018 - Three Secrets

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Clare Boyd for the opportunity to read her next book - I was a huge fan of her debut novel, Little Liar, and this one didn't disappoint!

The Tennant family is rich and dysfunctional.  Francesca married into the family but her husband Robert killed himself.  Francesca is filled with guilt but the family convinces her to move close to them.  Francesca soon learns that she is not the only one with secrets.  The story is told in two voices - Francesca and John, Robert's brother - and in two different timeframes, alternating the past with the present.

There were great characters in this book - some good, some evil but all developed and intriguing.  I couldn't put this one down to find out all the secrets!

5.17.2018 - How it Happened

Many thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown and Company, and Michael Koryta for the opportunity to read his latest work.  A great, twisty crime drama!

The first chapter gives us a version of the story - a drug-fueled night that ends up with two people dead.  The problem?  The person telling the story, Kimmy, is an addict, a known liar and is in jail.  She tells the story to FBI Agent Rob Barrett, who is making a name for himself for being able to decipher the truth - and he believes Kimmy.  He's given this assignment because he has a history in the coastal Maine town where the crime occurred - his grandfather was a resident and Rob spent his summers there.  As Rob begins investigating the story and trying to find the bodies where Kimmy said they would be, he finds himself on the wrong side of just about everyone.  Soon his career and even his life will be in jeopardy.

This story kept me in its grips until the end - highly recommended!

5.15.2018 - Paper Ghosts

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, Ballantine Books, and Julia Heaberlin for the opportunity to read and review her latest book - this is a very good psychological thriller.  4.5 stars

Grace was 12 years old when her older sister, Rachel, went missing.  Her body or her killer were never found.  Grace spent practically every moment since then obsessing about Rachel's killer.  When her investigations lead her to Carl, a famous photographer who is now living in a halfway house and has been diagnosed with dementia, she hatches a plan to get him to confess to the murder of not only Rachel but other young women she has discovered and related back to Carl.  She spends much preparation time and eventually pretends to be his long-lost daughter who is anxious to take him on a road trip. 

The road trip is quite the cat-and-mouse game - and you're never quite sure of anyone's plans or motives.  Is Carl a serial killer?  Or is he just a sick old man?  Neither trust each other which leads to quite a few crazy adventures. 

This book is very well-written and holds you in its grasp until things are resolved.  Loved the haunting pictures in the book and be sure to read the author's note.  Highly recommended!

5.13.2018 - The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gallery Books and Amy Reichert for the opportunity to read her latest book - a 5 glowing star read!  And what a perfect book to finish reading on Mother's Day!

Three generations of women are having trouble connecting.  Lorraine has always been the critical voice in her two daughters' lives.  Those daughters, Gina and Vicky, are now mothers themselves.  Gina and her daughter, May, are struggling to get on with their lives and their new relationship now that Gina's husband, Drew, is gone.  When Lorraine has a stroke, it brings forth a long-held secret in the family.

This book will make you laugh and cry and leave you hungry (oh, those food descriptions!).  It's the story of family secrets, family loyalty and love, and moving on after grief.

Highly recommended - loved it!  And can I please have the recipe for those bacon caramel brownies?

5.12.2018 - The Favorite Sister

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Jessica Knoll for the opportunity to read her new book.  I was a big fan of Luckiest Girl Alive and was anxious to read this one.  3.5 stars.

This is the story of 5 women who take part in a NYC-based reality show called Goal Diggers.  Touted to be different from the rest of the popular women-based reality shows, Goal Diggers shows that women can be powerful, successful, happy - all without the traditional life of being married and a mother.  But is the reality of what is shown on TV the reality or is the show making real life the reality? 

Very interesting premise and there are great messages in here about women being valued for more than their looks, how thin they are, and how well they marry.  But it's also like watching reality TV - lots of behind-the-scenes fighting, staged fighting for the show, until those lines get really blurred.  It's also a mystery - you know from the beginning that one of the women dies and you also know that the story being told is not the real one.

This is a guilty pleasure read - probably more enjoyable if you like the reality TV world, of which I'm not a big fan.  Took me awhile to get into it but the last part of the book flew until you know the "real" story.

5.9.2018 - How to Walk Away

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Katherine Center for the opportunity to read this wonderful book - 5 glowing stars - I loved it!

Margaret's world is full of possibilities - a promising job opportunity, a new condo, a boyfriend who is getting ready to propose.  What could go wrong?  Pretty much everything.  When faced with the prospect of a life that looks totally different, she has to figure out how to move forward.  In doing so, she also has to deal with all the people in her life, including family feuds and secrets and old boyfriends.

This is just a wonderful, heart-warming, hopeful book - fans of Jojo Moyes will love this book.  I couldn't put it down and found myself laughing, crying, and cheering everyone on - highly recommended!

5.7.2018 - The Tin Man

Many thanks to NetGalley, Tinder Press and Sarah Winman for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the story of three friends and lovers - Ellis and Michael were young when they met and forged a strong bond that turned into something more. Annie becomes Ellis' wife. This story is told from both Ellis' and Michael's point of view, in different time periods, so that it takes awhile before we understand all the relationships.

This is a short book but the writing is both beautiful and powerful. The gay relationships in the book may turn some off but this is more a story of friendship, first love, courage, loyalty.

5.6.2018 - The High Tide Club

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Mary Kay Andrews for the opportunity to read and review her latest work - 4.5 stars and highly recommended.

This story takes place of the Georgia coast and is told in two different timelines - 1941 and the present. In 1941, there was a group of 4 friends who started the High Tide Club - skinny dipping under a full moon. But life isn't always so fun and happy for the group. In the present day, one of the 4, Josephine, is 99 and has terminal cancer. She summons a lawyer, Brooke, to come to her 12,000 acre island home. Brooke is a single mom, barely scraping by, and is intrigued by the eccentric woman and her home. Josephine wants to make amends to her friends, only one who is still living.

This is a good mystery that kept me intrigued til the end. Typical of a Mary Kay Andrews book, lots of delightful southern charm and characters but it's a tad more serious than some of her books. Highly recommended!

5.4.2018 - Our Kind of Cruelty

Thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Araminta Hall for the opportunity to read this book - 3.5 stars rounded up!

We are told in the beginning that the subject of the book, Mike, is writing the book for his lawyer as a way to tell his story - so the book is entirely from his perspective.  Mike had a tough childhood though he eventually ended up in a wonderful foster care home with parents that wanted only the best for him.  Despite the demons from his childhood, he went on to university and became a very successful banker.  In university, he met Verity (also known as V) and became totally obsessed with her.  Their relationship included playing a game they called the Crave - basically they would go to a bar, a guy would hit on V, and Mike would swoop in, exciting them both.  As the relationship comes to an end, Mike continues to feel all V's actions are just part of the Crave with terrible consequences.

A good thriller about obsession, danger and women's sexuality in today's world. 

5.2.2018 - Let Me Lie

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkeley Publishing, and Clare Mackintosh for the opportunity to read her latest.  I Let You Go still ranks high on my all-time favorite list and her latest doesn't disappoint.

Anna lost both of her parents within a year to matching suicides.  Now just after the birth of her baby, signs are pointing to the fact that maybe their deaths were murders instead of suicides.  But the only one to give her thoughts any credence is Murray, a semi-retired investigator who really isn't supposed to be looking into the case.

I don't want to give any more away because that would take away from the magic of Mackintosh's books - those plot twists that you will never see coming!  I love her writing and get lost in the worlds she creates.  I really loved the character of Murray and the relationship he had with his wife, Sarah.
I couldn't put this one down - it's available now so don't miss it!

4.30.2018 - Love and Ruin

Thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books and Paula McLain for the opportunity to read her latest novel.
This is the fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gellhorn.  The two meet while Ernest is still married to his second wife and has three boys.  Their affair begins when they are both covering the Spanish Civil War in 1937.  Ahead of her time, Martha is definitely a woman in a man's world and craves her independence.

Wartime is where their relationship seems to be at its best - they are both writing, passionate, and away from reality.  Ernest is an alcoholic and a philanderer and for all of Martha's independence, she still craves a man by her side.  I just never got into this book too much and found myself just wanting to reach the end.