book lovers unite

by Megan Goldin

I just finished reading “Stay Awake” by Megan Goldin. Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book about a young woman who has a rare form of amnesia where everytime she wakes up, she has forgotten everything that has happened in the last two years. There is a constant electric energy in the book as the main character is trying to find out what happened to her life while at the same time a police detectice is investigating a homicide that may or may not have included her.

I loved this book. It definately had some “Memento” vibes because in order to remind herself of important information, the main character ,Liv, writes notes to herself on her body. Her body is covered with notes like “Stay Awake” that lead her on a wild chase to find out what is going on. The story goes back and forth between the past where the reader gets an idea on what Liv was like before the amnesia and is introduced to her best friend and her boyfriend. Then there is the point of view of the main detective who is tasked with investigating a homicide. Throughout the book, we meet different characters who may or my not want to hurt Liv, but the ending ties up all the intrigue and action with a conclusion that explains everything.

I liked the pace of the story and the shifts in perspective. I did get a little confused a couple of times about the timeline so i had to go back to the beginning of the chapter, but it wasn’t a big deal.

I like how the author tied all the characters together in the book. There were a few moments which I thought were a little farfetched but overall, the story telling was great.

I liked the main character. She was messed up and scared and smart and brave all at once. I found myself rooting for her and I found her back story fascinating.

I am so glad I read this book. It was a riveting and thrilling ride into the mind of an amnesiac searching for the truth. I am sure everyond will love it.

Happy Reading!

#stayawake, #needtoread #NetGalley #MeganGoldin #thriller #strongfemalecharacters

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By Sarah Clarke

“It’s widely understood that unconditional love is reserved for a child” And so the story begins…
I just finished reading “Every Little Secret”, by Sarah Clarke. Thank You to Net Galley and Harper Collins for a free copy in return for an honest review.
This book is absolutely amazing. What a wonderful adventure, gripping tale of motherly love how secrets and lies keep important truths from becoming revealed.
This is a story about a woman named Grace who is married to Marcus. They have a child named Kaia. When Kaia is Seven, she begins making horrible accusations about her father which leads Grace down a difficult path of trying to protect her daughter and finding out the truth.
What follows is a trip into the past and her relationship with her best friend Coco and her brother Josh. The past and the present collide in spectacular way, and all the lies are uncovered to reveal surprising truths.
In the end, the reader is left feeling like they just got off the best rollercoaster ride of their life.
I was fascinated with the back story of Grace and her friend Coco, as well as the story of Marcus and his freind Josh. Excellent writing and pacing kept this story moving along at a breakneck speed and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Small hints of the truth were enough to keep me reading to the end..and what an ending it was.
This is a great book because it is highly entertaining, with great characters and drama. Your next favourite book for sure.
Happy Reading!

#NetGalley #thriller #unconditionallove #needtoread #EveryLittleSecretbySarahClarke #strongfemalelead



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by Julie Clark

I just finished reading “The Lies I Tell”, by Julie Clarke. Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a story of revenge and how nothing is quite as it seems. The story is told from the perspective of the two female lead characters Meg and Kat. Meg is a conwoman who was conned herself as a child with devastating results. This event has shaped her future. Kat is a reporter who was a victim of a crime and holds Meg responsible and she wants revenge on Meg by exposing her cons.
The two women meet and form a fake frienship each knowing what the other is up to and then…Le’ts just say that thats when things get complicated.
I really liked this book. Well written with interesting characters and plots. While there was no WOW moment or huge cliffhangers, it flowed well and was so intriguing that I read it in one day. I liked all the characters and felt like I knew them well.
I love books that have strong female characters that can also be vulnerable at times. I absolutely loved the ending. The last page was AWESOME. Girl Power!!!!
The only little thing was that sometimes the timeline confused me so I had to go to the beginning of the chapter to see where in the timeline it was.
Overall though, an excellent read. This is my first read by this author, and I will be sure to read more.
Happy Reading!

#theliesitell #NetGalley #revenge #strongfemalecharacters #nothingisasitseems #thriller #JulieClark

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by Samantha M Bailey

I just finished reading “Watch Out For Her” by Samantha Bailey. Thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

There is a line in this book that kind of sums up what this story is about: ” Desperate people do desperate things. Not always on purpose. But sometimes.”

This is a book about imperfect people trying to do the right thing but often for the wrong reasons. It shows how humans can be so imperfect at times: making bad choices for what seem to be good reasons.

The book is about Sarah and her husband Daniel, who hire Holly to babysit their son Jacob. There is alot of mutual admiration and caring on everyone’s behalf but there is also secrets and lies, which ultimately leads to betrayal and loss.

The story is told from the perspective of the two female leads: Sarah and Holly. While both characters have their fine points, they are both guilty of making bad decisions in the book, which ultimately leads to an end to their relationship.

I really like that the setting for the story is Vancouver and Toronto. Nice to see Canadian content. I like the characters of Sarah, Holly and Daniel, but I loathed Holly’s parents and i thought her stepsister was a little weird.

I liked that the story went back and forth between two different perspectives which made it more interesting and engaging. And even though there were no big WOW moments, there was enough action and intrigue to keep me interested until the last page…and the ending was quite satisfying.

All in all, it was a good read…I have read this author’s first book and this is her second book. I am excited to read her next novel. It is sure to please.

Happy Reading!

#watchoutforher #psychologicalthriller #strongfemaleleads #liesandsecrets #SamanthaMBailey


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by Tarryn Fisher

I just finished reading “An Honest Lie”, by Tarryn Fisher. Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a fascinating story which looks at the aftermath of childhood trauma and it’s impact on life as an adult. The main character, Rainy or Summer, is full of contradictions and turmoil and her backstory is the most fascinating part of the book. The novel is written in past and present form, with Rainy taking a trip to Vegas with girlfriends. She goes even though she doesn’t want to and it is there that she is forced to face her past.
The story is well-written and the characters are interesting and relateable. I was never quite sure whether Rainy was accepted in her group or not, and at the end the same questions remained.
My favourite part of the book was the back story to Rainy’s life when her name was Summer. It was fascinating to read and very well-written.
The ‘now’ part was good but not as riveting. I enjoyed this book and ther relationships between the characters. It was a story that was, for the most part, easy to follow along. Even though there were no major plot twists or revelations, it was still an interesting book to read. There were alot of honest lies told in this book, which made it even more relateable, blurring the line between saving someone from hurt and being truthful is always a tough decision to make. Happy to recommend this book.

#anhonest lie #NetGalley #psychologicalthriller #femaleleadcharacter #cult
Happy Reading



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by Carey Baldwin

I just finished reading “The Marriage Secret”, by Carey Baldwin. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.
This book is definately a domestic thriller told at a fast pace that keeps the reader engaged throughout. The story revolves around Holly and her suppossedly wonderful husband Zach. Holly has a secret that she is ashamed of and Zach uses the secret to control her every move. After they have a baby, Zach’s behaviour becomes cruel and untolerable. Reading the story, I was so angry at what he was doing to his wife that I wanted her to come to her senses and get away from him.
Holly confides her struggles to her friend Tamara, and as the story unfolds, there are more secrets revealed.I loved the twists and turns, and how strong Holly became throughout the story. I loved her devotion to her daughter Jolene and the way she battled for her future. There were a few surprises in the story that I wasn’t expecting, and that is what made this book so enjoyable…the element of surprise.
I wanted to give this book five stars, but I figured out the ending, so I can’t, but I can highly recommend this book because it was enjoyable and the main character was extremely likeable. Another question I had was why the inclusion of some of the characters. I felt that there were some parts of the book that didn’t add to it and could have been left out.
In the end. I really liked this book. It was a very entertaining and satisfying read, that left all questions answered in the last few pages.
Happy reading!

#domesticthriller #netgalley #themarriagesecret #greatfemalelead


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by Annie Ward

I just finished reading “The Lying Club” by Annie Ward. The Tag Line was great, but the rest of the book was not what I was hoping it would be.
This book began with great promise…a mystery occuring very early on in the novel that set up the story perfectly. It was a good start introducing the characters and I really thought that I would enjoy it. But what began as great mystery slowly evolved into lie after lie after lie. It was so hard to follow with so many characters…none of which had redeeming qualities. I like Asha…she was my favourite, but overall, I need to be invested in characters in order to enjoy the story and I just wasn’t.
This book was long and sometimes overdrawn. It was good to give detail to all the events, but at times it was too much. When the truth came out, it was satisfying, but by then I just wanted to finish the book.
I did finish it, but again it dragged too much.
I guess my main problem with the story is that it was unecessarily drawn out. I liked the book enough to finish it, but not enough to recommend it.

#mysterythriller #NetGalley #thelyingclub #whodidit



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by Hannah Mary McKinnon

I just finished reading “Never Coming Home” by Hannah Mary McKinnon. Let me tell you…It is a doozy of abook.

I am so happy I read this book. I chose it because I like the author, but I have to say that this is my favourite book by her so far. It was so different from anything I have ever read. Why? Because it is written from the point of view of the bad guy. The reader gets an intimate look inside the main villian in the story and the way it is written, makes the reading riveting and so exciting.

The story centers around a charmer who marries a rich young women with the sole purpose of defrauding her. He thinks he has gotten away with the perfect crime…only to find out that someone knows what he did. Going between the present and the past, we learn why the main character became so villainous, but we also learn of his tender side, which made me very conflicted in my attitude towards the main character.
What follows is a cat-and-mouse chase where nothing is as it seems, and the reader is kept guessing.

There was a consistent pace in the action and there was alway something interesting going on. Most of the questions I had were answered at the end except for one…What happened to the dog? I loved the dog…I was rooting for the dog.

An absolutely wonderful surprise of a novel that I am so glad I read and would recommend as anyone’s next read. Did I mention it was funny too…Like I said, very well written. Congratulations to the author. A must read for anyone who likes domestic thrillers.
Happy Reading!



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By Sydney James

I just finished reading “Rag Doll Girls” by Sydney Jones. I received a free copy of this book from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the story of a little girl (Lisa) who is haunted by a tragic event that happened to her when she was a little girl. She has since moved to New York where she self-medicates with food. When her grandmother dies, she is guilted into returning to Sweden for the funeral and with her sister, Astrid, returning to the cabin where the tragic event occured.

What follows is a journey to self-acceptance and more importantly self-forgiveness. Lisa begins the story as not very likeable, but I love reading about her journey. It is real and tragic and sad and honest.

The author did a great job of setting up the story and weaving together the past and the present. It was well written and easy to read follow.

I enjoyed the sub-plots in the story and especially the way her relationship with her niece and nephew grew.

The ending made my heart smile and gave me the sense that all is right with the world. There is a little bit of everything in this story for lovers of psychological thriller, but especially the complex and confusing relationship between the two sisters, which was honestly, for me anyways, the best part of this book. Congratulations to the author.

Happy Reading Everyone!

#psychologicalthriller, #ragdollgirls, #psychologicalthriller, #sydneyjames #womensfiction #femaleleadcharacters

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by Carter Wilson

I just read “The New Neighbor” by Carter Wilson.

This book is about a widowed man named Marlowe who, after the loss of his wife and winning a lottery, decides to move himself and his seven year old twins to a new town to start over. What follows is a mystery involving threatening letters demanding money and strange goings on in the new mansion he has bought which contains mysteries of its own.
Marlowe is a likeable character but he is full of self-loathing and there were times I really wanted to yell at him. In trying to figure our what is happening to himself and to his family he spirals out of control and seems to spend alot of time self-sabotaging.

There are a few twists along the way and the story proceeds at a good pace which kept me interested thorughout. I liked the relationship he had not just with his children and father but also with his lawyer Maya.

What I didn’t like was that the mystery of the family that lived in the mansion before him never got solved. For spending so much time talking about this family, I was surprised at the way the book ended, without much resolution.

In the end, all the main characters (Marlowe included) receive some closure and seem on the mend.

I felt the need to read each page slowly and pay attention to detail so that I fully understood what was happening.

A good book, with some unresolved plotlines. I feel the book could have been more satisfying had the mystery of the previous family that lived in the mansion been resolved more adequately.

Happy Reading!

#thenewneighbor, #carterwilson, #mysterythriller, #psychologicalthriller


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