2.28.2019 - Beautiful Bad

Thanks to NetGalley, Park Row, and Annie Ward for the opportunity to read and review this book - 3.5 stars rounded up.

The story starts with a frantic 911 call and a policewoman investigating a bloody scene.  Armed with that information, the book takes us mostly through Maddie's point of view in various timeframes.  Maddie was always adventurous and as a Fulbright scholar, found herself working as a travel writer oversees where she meets Jo, a humanitarian aid worker, and Ian, a bodyguard.  The three have a tumultuous relationship and go in and out of each other's lives.  But for Maddy, Ian was it from the beginning.

Before the killing, Maddie and Ian are married with a young son, Charlie.  We also know that Maddie had a bad fall on a camping trip with Ian and she can't remember the details.  She ends up in talk therapy where she talks about how afraid she is of Ian and is PTSD and drinking.

The ending was surprising and upped my opinion of the book.  For some reason, I could never relate to these characters and the jumping of timelines where mostly the same thing happened slowed down the read for me.

2.24.2019 - When All is Said

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas Dunne Books, and Anne Griffin for the opportunity to read this amazing debut book - 5 glowing stars for a book I won't soon forget.

Maurice Hannigan is alone at a hotel bar.  There he drinks a special toast to the 5 most important people in his life:  his brother, his wife, his daughter and son, and his sister-in-law.  As he drinks to these people, he looks back on his life and we learn his story.  And what a story.  Maurice now more clearly sees his life in perspective as he reflects and sees how his actions trickled down into others' lives; how others viewed and treated him and how he thought of himself, changed who he was and how he behaved.

I couldn't put this book down - the writing and the way this story is told is so special.  I cried even though I knew the ending.  The characters were wonderful and there was enough lightness in the story so as not to become too sad.

Highly recommended - a fabulous book club pick because there is so much to talk about here.  I can't wait to read more from this author.

2.24.2019 - Between the Lies

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martins Griffin, and Michelle Adams for the opportunity to read this great psychological thriller - 4.5 stars!

Chloe awakes from a coma in a hospital room with no memory of the family gathered around her bedside nor of what led her to be there.  As she begins her recovery at home, her psychiatrist father works with her in therapy to try and recover her memories as well as heal from them.  But as Chloe begins having dreams that she thinks might be memories, she's wondering if her family is lying to her and, if so, why?

This quick synopsis is all you need so that nothing is given away, because this is a story that's tough to put down.  You'll question who to believe and who's to blame and your thoughts will change as you go along in the story.

Great read!

2.21.2019 - After She's Gone

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballentine Books, and Camilla Grebe for the opportunity to read this Scandinavian crime thriller.  As this book ramped up towards the end, I literally could not put it down - I even did an extra mile on the treadmill to finish it which is saying something!

Malin is called to work a cold case in her hometown involving the murder of a young girl years ago - a case that Malin actually set in motion when she was a teenager.  She has a love/hate relationship with her hometown - all the businesses have shut down, there are few people left (her mom, aunt and nephew still live there), and the government moved refugees into an abandoned building.  The townspeople are none too happy to see that these refugees are receiving more help from the government than they are as citizens.

As Malin's team investigates, one of the investigators is missing and another has been injured and is discovered to have dementia.  Another hometown teenager, Jake, finds the diary of the investigator with dementia - Hanna had obsessively written in it so as not to forget anything.  But Jake has his own secrets that prevent him from disclosing the diary.  Written in alternating voices, this story has a twist ending that I certainly never saw coming.

A great read!

2.19.2019 - The Secret of Clouds

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Berkley, and Alyson Richman for the opportunity to read this book - a very touching, emotional read that will especially pull at the hearts of teachers.

Katya and Sasha are a young couple in Kiev where Sasha is a scientist and Katya a ballerina.  They are forced to flee the country after a disaster and they immigrate to the US.  They have a son, Yuri, who was born with a heart condition.  Maggie is a middle school English teacher, enthusiastic and engaged with her students.  When she is asked to tutor Yuri at home, she at first has doubts stemming from a childhood experience with a disabled child.  But Maggie and Yuri soon bond when Maggie finds the passion that ignites Yuri.

Told in these opposite story lines, you cannot fail to feel all the emotion from every character.  I loved the meaning of the title as well.  Even though some things are predictable, this was a great read.  4.5 stars.

2.17.2019 - The Care & Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley, and Anissa Gray for the opportunity to read this wonderful debut novel.

We learn from the start that Althea and her husband, Proctor, are in jail for embezzlement from their business and the townspeople.  But the real story begins both before and after the trial.  Before - Althea is the oldest of 4 siblings, raised by a mostly-absent, mean father after their mother died.  Althea had to step in to raise her siblings and carried much resentment towards her father.  Lillian, the baby, ends up back living with the dad when he is somewhat of a changed man and therefore has a different relationship with Lillian.  The other two siblings, Viola and Joe, have their own struggles and demons.  After the trial, all of Althea's siblings and her two twin daughters are left to face the wrath of the townspeople as well as trying to cope with their new situation of caring for the girls while the parents are in jail.

This is definitely a book about all the things that make us human - family, loyalty, forgiveness, and hopefully moving towards healing and a new normal.  Beautiful debut!

2.15.2019 - Who Killed the Fonz?

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon Schuster, and James Boice for the opportunity to read and review this book.  4 stars for a fun, nostalgic read!

I grew up watching Happy Days - this is a book that examines the lives of the characters 20 years after the show ended - which puts the setting squarely in the 1980s.  So double nostalgia!

Richard Cunningham is now a writer in Hollywood but it's the days of Terminator, Ghostbusters - not the story he envisions writing and directing.  His agent wants him to do a low budget Star Wars take off and if he doesn't, the agent will no longer represent him.  Money is tight and Richard is torn.  Then  a phone call comes telling him that Arthur Fonzarelli (The Fonz) has died in a motorcycle accident.  He goes back to his home town where he discovers he no longer fits in, until he decides to look into the Fonz's death.

Just a fun read that will leave you feeling the way the show did - It's Happy Days when you put family and friends first!

2.13.2019 - Big Book of Slow Cooker Dinners

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harvard Common Press, and the Crock-Pot Ladies for the opportunity to read and review this cookbook.

I love my Crock-pot but this book has really opened up what it could do.  Besides the recipes for soup and stews that we're all familiar with, there are a ton of unusual recipes in here for appetizers and desserts.  I even learned how to get that annoying white line out of my crock!  Best of all, these recipes are developed using things you already have at home - no weird ingredients to hunt down (well, maybe except for the venison and bison section!).  I wish more cookbooks included nutritional information - I received an ARC of this book so maybe the final version will.  This is a book that belongs on everyone's cookbook shelf!

2.13.2019 - Finding Grace

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and K.L. Slater for the opportunity to read her latest psychological thriller - 5 stars for a great read that I couldn't put down!

A parent's worst nightmare - you finally give your child a bit of freedom to walk home by herself form a friend's house just a couple minutes away.  You even have a plan to have adults watch her between homes.  What could go wrong?  Everything.  When Grace fails to come home, her parents, Lucie and Blake, are horrified and contact the police immediately.  Then Lucie makes a surprising discovery that Blake is keeping secrets from her.  However, she has been keeping an even bigger secret from Blake - one that may be rearing its ugly head and involving Grace.

Told in present day time as well as in Lucie's past, there are lots of twists in this book to keep you glued to the pages!

2.12.2019 - The Liar's Room

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley, and Simon Lelic for the opportunity to read his latest thriller - tough to put this one down!  4.5 stars!

The book opens with someone being held captive - but who?  That's not the only secret here - Susannah has reinvented herself, moved away from her past life, changed her name, and is now a counselor and single mom to Emily, who knows none of Susannah's secrets.  Emily, 14 years old, is keeping secrets of her own, including a budding romance with an older boy, Adam.  All these secret worlds come together when Adam appears in Susannah's office with a picture of Emily and a story to tell.

Most of this book is set in Susannah's counseling office, with background from Emily intermixed.  This is a brilliant way to tell this story - you will be glued to your seat to find out all the answers!

2.10.2019 - I Owe You One

Many thanks to NetGalley, Dial Press, and Sophie Kinsella for the opportunity to read and review her latest book.  As always, a great read from this author!

Fixie is so named because from a young age she had the need to try and fix things.  After her dad died, Fixie was the one who stepped In to help her mom run Farrs, a household store in London.  Her dad always stressed family first, and that was something that Fixie always did.  So no matter that her two siblings didn't help out at Farrs, no matter that they put her down and she couldn't speak her mind.  Family first.

When she is in the local coffee shop one day, she ends up saving a stranger's laptop when the roof collapsed.  He was so grateful to her and wrote an IOU on the coffee sleeve.  This turns into a back-and-forth of pay backs.  Meanwhile, that backbone that Fixie so needed to form was becoming stronger - but how does that fit in with family first?

A fun, entertaining story with a good message - and I wish there was a Farrs close by!

2.8.2019 - Good Riddance

Thanks to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Elinor Lipman for the opportunity to read her latest book - as you would expect from this author - a fun read!

Daphne is trying to figure out her life - newly divorced and jobless, she is doing the requisite "tidying up" concept in her apartment.  She finds the high school yearbook her mother left to her in her will after her death the previous year.  Daphne's mother was the yearbook advisor at the high school in New Hampshire where they lived while her dad was the principal.  Her mom seemed especially obsessed with the Class of 1968 (the yearbook left to Daphne) and went to all their reunions.  Daphne decides that the yearbook doesn't bring her joy, so she discards it in the recycling box at her apartment, where it is promptly discovered by her neighbor.  This neighbor, a quasi-documentary producer, decides that the yearbook is the perfect basis for a show/podcast.  Thus the secrets of the yearbook start rearing their head.

An enjoyable, light read that in the end is about family, loyalty and love.

2.6.2019 - More Than Words

Many thanks to NetGalley, GP Putnam's Sons, & Jill Santopolo for the opportunity to read her latest book.  I thought her previous book, The Light We Lost, was absolutely wonderful so I couldn't wait to read this one.

Nina Gregory was raised by her father after her mother's death and was taught her place in her family's dynasty - The Gregory Hotels.  She was raised with expectations for how she acted, what she would do for a living, and who she dated.  Her lifelong friend and son of her father's business partner, Tim, is steadfast and true when their friendship turns to love.  However, her father's death from cancer turns her world around.  Nina is no longer sure who she is, what she wants, and if her father was holding secrets that could have changed everything.

While I didn't find myself as invested in this story as I did in The Light We Lost, this is a beautifully-written story of family expectations and learning to be true to yourself at all costs.

2.3.2019 - The Girls at 17 Swann Street

So many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Yara Zgheib for this amazing 5 star debut novel - this one comes out on Tuesday - do not miss it!  A must-read look into the world of anorexia.

Since we live in a country where a vast majority of the people are overweight, it stands to reason that food issues are a big thing.  We are confronted daily with social media, tv and movies telling us that we aren't thin enough.  Even though body shaming is now a thing. if others don't do it, we do it to ourselves.  Unlike other addictions where you can at least avoid bars or friends that could lead you astray, how do you avoid food forever?

This is the amazing story of Anna, who grew up in Paris, was a ballet dancer, married the man of her dreams.  She followed him to St Louis for his job and found herself lonely and depressed.  At first, it's easy to ignore but when Anna is a mere 88 pounds and fainting, her last best hope is an in-patient residential treatment center.  There she must learn to live and eat again.

The story of these girls, the way they looked after each other, and the way they are trying to deal with their demons will stay with me.  An amazing work that took bravery and courage to write - bravo to all involved!

2.1.2019 - The Winter Sister

Many thanks to NetGalley, Touchstone, and Megan Collins for the opportunity to read and review her debut novel - a great read - 4.5 stars!  I can't wait to read more from this author.

Secrets - this book is all about those secrets we keep from each other, even in the closest of families and relationships.  Persephone was secretly seeing a boy her mother refused her to see and her sister, Sylvie, helped keep that secret.  Then one night, Persephone didn't come home.  After her murdered body was found, nothing was ever the same - her mother was shattered and turned to drink, leaving Sylvie mostly in the care of her Aunt Jill.  Worse, Sylvie blamed Persephone's boyfriend, Ben, son of the wealthy mayor, for her sister's murder but no one was ever charged.

Sixteen years later, the murder still not solved, Sylvie is estranged from her mother but is forced to go home and help care for her after her cancer diagnosis.  In the hospital where her mother is receiving treatment, she discovers that Ben is now a nurse.  Soon she is embroiled back into investigating her sister's murder.

This book was hard to put down - while it explores the mystery of who killed Persephone, it also delves into all those secrets we keep as well as family relationships.