10.31.2024 - Rolling Toward Clear Skies

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing/Amazon Publishing, and Brilliance Publishing for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest book by a favorite, Catherine Ryan Hyde, with the audio wonderfully narrated by Kate Rudd.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Maggie is a physician, divorced single mother to two teenage girls, and the founder of Doctors on Wheels with Alex, a nurse and her romantic partner as well.  When disaster strikes, they go wherever they are needed to help out free of charge.  When they get to rural Louisiana after a Category 5 hurricane, she forms a bond with two teenage girls who have lost everything and Maggie refuses to leave them behind when she returns home.  But the two girls are polar opposites to Maggie's own daughters, who are entitled, used to getting whatever they want, and not happy about these new strangers in their lives.

I can never resist the pull of a novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde because, while you know you're getting a good story, there are always so many life lessons intertwined.  Here, we see how the best of intentions in parenting may cause unwanted consequences for everyone.  It's definitely a story of the difference between the have's and the have not's, and in the wake of so many natural disasters recently, will make you grateful and hopefully more aware.  It's also a cautionary tale about teenagers and social media, which always makes me feel relieved that I didn't have to navigate that when my kids were growing up.  Always a treat so don't miss it!

10.30.2024 - Holiday Hideaway

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing/Amazon Original Stories for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful holiday short story by the queen, Mary Kay Andrews.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Tilly is down on her luck.  Recently divorced and broke, she's living in one of her rental agency's properties until she can move into her new apartment.  Then the owner shows up and Tilly is forced to hide in the attic.  George is back in town to get the house ready for sale after his granduncle died.  

As you would expect from Mary Kay Andrews, this is just a sweet holiday romance that will have you rooting for the characters and laughing along with them.  You can easily read it in a sitting - don't miss it as we head into the holiday season!

10.29.2024 - Like Mother, Like Mother

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Dial Press for gifting me a digital ARC of this novel by Susan Rieger.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

In 1960, Lila Pereira is just 2 years old, with an older brother and sister, when their abusive father has her mother committed to an asylum in 1960.  Lila never sees her mother again; years later, he tells the children that she died there.  Decades later, she is at the peak of her career as executive editor of The Washington Post.  She prioritized her career, leaving childcare to her husband, Joe.  Grace, their youngest, feels abandoned and wishes for a different type of mother.  Grace becomes a reporter and writes a book about her childhood and becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Zelda, Lila's mother.

This is a wonderful character study and domestic drama wrapped into one highly-readable book.  It would be a good book club pick, with so much to discuss - motherhood, parenthood, marriage, ambition, and past trauma.  This book explores how their upbringing affected three women of different generations.  It's an exploration of how things have changed between men and women, yet how many things have remained the same.  When Lila works nonstop and leaves childrearing to her husband, it's scandalous, yet it's the norm when reversed.  Grace feels compelled to find out what happened to her grandmother, thinking that she can't know who she is unless she knows where she came from.  But will that knowledge bring her peace or closure?  Great book!

10.29.2024 - This Girl's a Killer

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Dreamscape Media for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the debut book by Emma C. Wells, with the audio perfectly narrated by Stefanie Kay.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 5 stars!

Meet Cordelia Black.  By day she's a successful pharmaceutical rep with a pristine reputation and a designer wardrobe.  But there are the nights where she rids the world of monsters – those men who have escaped justice.  She has rules – she must see the smoke in their eyes to know they are truly evil.  She has everything meticulously planned out and has evaded capture herself.  However, the news has caught on that there are missing men in the area and some have thrown around the words “serial killer.”  Things become worse when her best friend, Diane, starts dating a man that Cordelia is convinced is bad.  And he might just be the end of her too.

This book was amazing!  And a debut?  Sign me up for anything that this author writes in the future, please.  It was that perfect blend of dark, snarky humor that I just love with a suspenseful story line.  Cordelia was an amazing character – always trying to stay one step ahead in both her professional life and her personal passion.  She’s the best friend and godmother yet has a secret life no one would ever guess.  When everything starts falling apart, you just can’t look away.  There were twists and turns and lots of crazy, over-the-top adventures which made this one of the most fun books I’ve read in a while.  And the narration was top notch as well!

10.27.2024 - The Lake of Lost Girls

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Dreamscape Media for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the second thriller by the best friends writing duo known as Katherine Greene, with the audio fabulously narrated by the cast of Helen Laser, Frankie Corzo, Sara Young, Haley Taylor, and David Bendena.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

It's 1998 and female students are going missing at Southern State University in North Carolina.  Jessica Fadley, a promising student who began struggling, is the latest to disappear.  Twenty-four years later, Jessica's sister, Lindsey, uses the interest in a new true crime podcast focusing on the case, Ten Seconds to Vanish, to help her own investigations into what happened to her sister.  Then bodies of the long-missing women start turning up at a local lake.

Wow - this book was fantastic!  I both read the digital version and listened to the wonderful audio, which is my favorite way to get totally immersed into a story.  Having a whole cast made the audio production top notch and I couldn't put it down.  The story alternates between both timelines as we follow Jessica on the lead up to her disappearance, and in the present as Lindsey tries to put all the pieces together of her sister's life.  In between, we get snippets of the podcast to amp up the tension and suspense.  There were plenty of suspects and creepy behavior that will keep you guessing, and the ending just totally blew my mind in the best possible way!  If you like thrillers, this is an absolute must read!

10.25.2024 - When We Chased the Light

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing/Amazon Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of the new historical fiction book by Emily Bleeker.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

In the present, Christie's Auction House is preparing to sell the belongings of Hollywood star Vivian Snow.  Her great-granddaughter is there, wanting a collection of postcards sent to Vivian over 60 years by her best friend, Antonio Trombello, an Italian solder, POW,  and Catholic priest.  Vivian met Antonio when singing at the local USO club and met her first husband, Tom Highward, there as well.  When Tom goes missing, and Vivian is pregnant, she has to support her family by traveling and entertaining the troops.  Her life gets complicated through a series of romances and personal issues.

The book before this one, When We Were Enemies, goes in depth to Vivian's backstory of meeting Tom and Antonio, and this book explores all that happens next.  While it could be read as a standalone, since enough backstory is provided, it's such an interesting book that I would recommend reading it first.  This book explores a lot of themes - abuse, addiction, mental illness, motherhood, guilt, the price of fame - but it's told in a way that never becomes depressing.  We see the toll life has taken on Vivian and the results of her decisions passed on to the next generations.  I liked the auction notes in between the chapters to see the progression of Vivian and Antonio's friendship through the years, and the epilogue tied everything up perfectly.

10.23.2024 - Run

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Ballantine for gifting me a digital ARC of this thriller by a favorite, Blake Crouch.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

The world has gone crazy and Jack and his family are running for their lives.  It started with widespread rage, then murders, and then it took over.  But what is happening?  Jack's only chance is to run.

This is republished from the author's first self-published book, which is hard to believe considering where he is today.  Maybe 10+ years ago, this story was too far out, too gory, too everything?  But to me, while this is certainly an apocalyptic one, it's very easy to extrapolate similar events to what our country is going through in current times?  Unchecked rage and hate?  Check.  One side vs another?  Check.  Way too many guns in the wrong hands?  Check.  Not knowing who you can trust?  Check.  Even though it was very violent, I read this book with my heart in my throat wondering how Jack and his family would survive.  I thought it was fascinating that the phenomena of the aurora borealis caused people who viewed it to change.  A smart, but gory, sci-fi thriller that will keep you glued to the pages.