11.13.2021 - The New Wife

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital copy of the latest thriller by Sue Watson - 4.5 stars rounded up for a story filled with characters you won't completely trust!

Sam and Lauren have been tight since their first day of nursery school and their parents have been family ever since.  Sam's single mom, Georgie, has loved a male role model for him in Tim, Lauren's dad. and Helen is her best friend.  When Sam and Lauren get married, both families are thrilled.  The couple buys a remote cottage which fits in well with Sam's job as an environmentalist but less so for Lauren, who has to make a long commute to her job as a doctor.  When Lauren is found dead only weeks after the wedding, everyone is shocked and soon fractions are evident and sides are taken.

This was just a roller coaster of emotions that will leave you not trusting anyone.  I kept changing who I thought the guilty party was and enjoyed all the unreliable characters.  This book certainly is a reflection of the old adage that you never know what goes on behind closed doors.  Another great read by Sue Watson!

11.11.2021 - The Secret Next Door

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a digital copy of the domestic thriller by Rebecca Taylor - 4.5 stars!

Alyson, her husband, Justin, and their 5-year-old son, Andrew, have just moved into the Enclave - an exclusive development in Boulder CO.  Their home is more of a starter home and doesn't compete with the multi-million dollar homes a street away.  Alyson is desperate to give her son the childhood she didn't have and to have a good group of girlfriends she can rely on.  Bonnie Sloan is the queen of the neighborhood in addition to running for Senate, with the nicest house, successful husband, the son headed to Yale.  But things aren't always as they seem to outsiders.  Progress is threatening to encroach on the wonderful neighbor views and tensions are escalating.  When a teenager is found dead, gossip and rumors erupt.

This was just a fun book to get lost in - easy reading, with relatable characters even when they made questionable decisions.  Alyson is so insecure and desperate to fit into her new world that she ignores what's going on inside her own home.  Meanwhile, Bonnie is desperate to hold onto her own crumbling world.  A good reminder not to judge others on outside appearances.  Definitely pick this one up! 

11.9.2021 - Everything We Didn't Say

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for gifting me the latest thriller by Nicole Baart - 4.5 stars!

When Juniper was a teenager, her next-door neighbors were brutally murdered and her brother, Jonathan, considered the prime suspect in their small town.  Juniper was destroyed by all the events that summer and started a new life elsewhere.  But she has come home to Iowa to help an old friend battling breast cancer with the hopes of improving the relationship with the daughter she left behind to be raised by her mother.  Juniper wants to solve the mystery of the murders and clear her brother's name but she's not the only one still investigating.  Someone has started a podcast bent on proving Jonathan's guilt and the local police are investigating.  Is the past coming back to once again ruin her family's lives?

Told in alternating chapters of when Juniper was a teenager that fateful summer and the present day, Nicole Baart has woven a wonderful tale of mystery and family drama.  Everyone is carrying secrets they've held close for years - is the truth buried in those lies?  The author really put you in the scene and you could empathize with  these characters.  Tense and suspenseful - don't miss this one!

11.9.2021 - The Cookie Bible

Many thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the gorgeous new cookbook by Rose Levy Beranbaum - 5 stars!  If you don't have a copy of The Cake Bible, you need to get one and this is the perfect companion book.

Filled with gorgeous pictures of cookies that sound to die for, along with lots of hints and suggestions, this is a book that will have you drooling.  With recipes like Chocolate Studded Truffle Cookies and My Dream Chocolate Chip Cookie, how can you go wrong?  I also love that both weights and measures were included in each ingredient list for those who like to be especially accurate and weigh their ingredients.

Highly recommended!

11.7.2021 - Doctors and Friends

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest novel by one of my favorite authors, Kimberly Martin - 5 stars!

A group of doctors met during medical school and have remained a tight group, including meeting once a year for a girls getaway.  This year, all but 2 of the group headed to Spain.  The main characters - Kira is an infectious disease doctor, working at the CDC; Compton an emergency room doctor; Hannah an OB-GYN.  Kira's two children joined them on the trip and they met up with her ex-boyfriend as well.  Little did they know, they were at Ground Zero with the start of a worldwide pandemic (not COVID).  All of the friends experience complete upheaval in their worlds as they try and battle their professional and personal worlds in a new time.

Written before COVID (be sure and read the Author's Note at the end!), this book still mirrors our current pandemic fight.  Kimmery Martin is a former emergency room doctor and really shows us what heroes first responders are (in case we didn't already know).  This also shows the personal and ethical battles that go along with new vaccines and treatments.  If you've read the author's other books (and you must!), you'll recognize a few of these friends' names, which was fun to see and left me anxiously awaiting more books.  I couldn't put this one down - don't miss it!

11.3.2021 - The Hidden

Many thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the follow-up book to Little Darlings, the debut novel of Melanie Golding.  4.5 stars rounded up!

Leonie, not quite 2 year old, is found abandoned at a seaside storefront.  When Ruby (Mamma B) shows up after authorities are called, they chalk it up to a one-time accident and don't investigate further.  Meanwhile, Gregor Franks, is found bludgeoned and barely alive in his apartment.  As we get glimpses into the past, Ruby gazes from her apartment window into Gregor's apartment, watching him do yoga in the early morning hours.  She soon meets him and his family, Constance and Leonie, and becomes entangled in their lives.  Constance believes she is a Selkie, a mythological seal creature, who needs to get back to the sea.  This book also features Detective Joanna Harper, featured in Little Darlings, who has a complicated history with Ruby.  

I really enjoyed this book and loved the mythical elements involved, including the quotes at the beginnings of the chapters.  Add that to the wonderful writing of Melanie Golding and you have another winner!  There are multiple points of view as well as the different timelines, so that the reader learns the backstories of the characters.  The theme of motherhood interlaced with the mythology is really intriguing - what is a mother and what lengths will mothers go to for their children?  This is a book that will keep you glued to the pages to find out how it will all end.  I hope there are more stories featuring Detective Harper and Ruby in our future!  

11.2.2021 - The Selfless Act of Breathing

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this novel by JJ Bola - 3.5 stars rounded up.

Michael is living in London, working as a teacher, but becoming increasingly depressed and hopeless about his future.  He makes a decision to quit his life, withdraw all his savings, fly to America and end his life when his money runs out.  Along his travels in the US, he meets a variety of people - but does it give him a reason to keep living?

I had mixed feelings about this book.  It was gorgeously written - you can tell the author is a poet yet none of the prose is too lyrical.  I liked the premise of the book as well - that Michael needed a new view on life to carry him forward.  However, it was a confusingly-written book for me - the chapters alternated with Michael in the UK before and Michael in the US now.  That would be fine except that the chapter titles only included place and time, not date, so you had to pay strict attention to timelines.  As someone who has lost a loved one to suicide, depression and suicide weren't portrayed correctly, in my mind.  Even the title, though beautiful, seems to say that suicide is selfish and living selfless.  I still felt the writing beautiful and was intrigued to see how it would all end.