book lovers unite

JUST ANOTHER MISSING PERSON

BY GILLIAN MCALLISTER

I just finished reading “Just Another Missing Person”, by Gillian McAllistair. A myster thriller that begins slowly but then picks up speed and keeps up an intense pace until the very end.

This is a story about a Police Officer named Julia who is a detective investigating a missing person. She finds her self testing her integrity to get to the truth and is met with many perplexing questions and mysteries. The story is also told from the narrative of Lewis, a grieving father whose own daughter disappeared over a year ago and Emma a devoted mother who wants t believe in her mysterious young son, but seems to think that he may be connected to the missing person.

The novel begins slowly introducing Julia’s family as well as the the other narrators and their families and giving an interesting back story to all of them. You know one of the characters is the bad guy but you are never quite sure because the story keeps shifting slightly, until about two-thirds of the way through when all is revealed in a exciting, somewhat shocking, and crazy way.

In the end, the truth about everything (well almost everything) is revealed. It is believable, and glorious and extremely well written, leaving nothing out. It was quite clever how the author told us just enough to keep us reading and magnificently tied everything up at the very end. CLever…very clever. And the bad guy….awesome.

I think lovers of this genre will enjoy this book. It is a little long for my taste…but well worth the read.

Happy Reading Everyone!

#JUSTANOTHERMISSINGPERSON #GILLIANMCALLISTER #WOMENSFICTION #MYSTERYTHRILLER #STRONGFEMALELEAD #FOURSTARBOOK #GOODREADS

View all my reviews

GOOD HALF GONE

BY TARRYN FISHER

I just finished reading “Good Half Gone” by Tarryn Fisher. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest reviow. I chose this book because I have enjoyed previous books written by this author. Stories revolve around mystery, suspense, and strong female lead characters.

In this story two twin girls who come from a very rought background, go out to the moves with some supect boys and one twin sister, Piper, gets kidnapped. The other sister, Iris, tries to convince the police to take the matter seriously by they don’t. With the help of her grandmother they both move forward but Iris longs to figure out the truth about what happened to her sister, Fast forward some years later, and Iris who is now a mother, gets a job working at a creepy psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane because whe believes there is someone there who can give her the answers she needs.

The story develops as it winds from past to present to past etc… While the story of the truth comes out eventually, the ending is somewhat unsatisfactory. It feels too rushed and unbelievable. It could have had such a better ending I feel.

What I liked about this book was the tragic backstory of the girls. It was very well told and created alot of sympathy for the girls. There were some interesting stories and some twists and turns.

The part I didn’t like was that there were alot of characters and I didn’t really understand their significance. Also, some of the characters their reason for existing wasn’t really apparent until the end. There were also alot of unanswered questions that that I had at the end. The biggest dissapointment was the ending. For a story that unraveled so slowly, the ending felt rushed and it was really “out there”. It was like a soap opera ending where at the end of the story the main bad guy rips of his mask to reveal he is really someone else.

I feel like this story had alot of potential but somewhere, around the last 4 chapters, things started to fall apart, and what made this story so good was abandoned for a super weird ending.

Happy Reading.

#NETGALLEY #GOODHALFGONE #TARRYNFISHER #HARLEQUINPUBLISHING #WOMENSFICTION #MYSTERYTHRILLER #FEMALELEAD #TWINLOVE #FICTION

View all my reviews

SHE’S NOT SORRY

BY MARY KUBICA

I just finished reading “She’s Not Sorry” by Mary Kubica. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for an advanced copy in return for a honesy review. I have read many books by this author and I am a fan of her work. Her are my thoughts on her latest.

This book is a mystery thriller and there are ALOT of things happening in the story. It centers around Meghan a nurse who works in a hospital and is put in charge of a mystery patient who it is revealed, was pushed off a bridge with the intent to kill her. It is also about a mystery woman named Nat who Meghan befriends and invites to live with ther because she believes Nat is a victim of domestic abuse.

At one point in the book there is a MAJOR twist..which confuses but at the same time makes perfect sense. The twist is a good one and leads to a surprise conclusion. I am not sure who is “not sorry” in the story which is the point, maybe none of the main characters are sorry. I am not sure.

What I liked about this story was that the author created interesting characters which were surprising and flawed. Some were too flawed though. I liked the impact of all the twists and turns. ANd I liked that the story showed the difficulty of being a nurse.

What I didn’t like was that there were alot of unanswered questions. Not important ones but what was the point of some of the characters if their stories were resolved or explained. Was it to create intrigue and suspense? I would have liked to know more about them.

All in all, this was a quick read and had some great twists and turns. I like this author, and although not her best work, definately worth the read.

Happy Reading Everyone

#SHESNOTSORRY #MARYKUBICA #NETGALLEY #MYSTERYTHRILLER #FEMALEFICTION #FEMALELEAD #WOMENSFICTION #FICTION #

View all my reviews

THE GUEST

BY B.A. PARIS

I just finished reading “The Guest” by B.A. Paris. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Matin’s Press for the advanced copyin exchange for an honest review.

This story is about a married couple Iris and Gabriel who are trying to get over a traumatic event when their friend Laure arrives at their home and asks to stay because her husband Pierre announced he has a daugher and is tryiing to sort himself out. Gabriel is dealing with his own personal crisis and as it turns out so is Iris..we just don’t know until we are well into the book. There are many mysteries in this book and we don’t quite know who the bad guy is or what the big secret is…until we know…and then the story gets really interesting. It is all revealed at the end in a fairly spectacular way and the reader is left quite satisfied.

What I liked about this book is that it provided a lovely backstory for the two couples and the reason why they are so invested in each other. There are definately some secrets involved which, when they are revealed, explain much of what happened throughout the book.

What I didn’t like about this book was the implausibilty of some of the events that occured. Without giving anything away I ask myself how they were able to get away with what they did. There was a bit of suspension of disbelief, kind of like when you are watching a Soap Opera and the character returns from the dead and everyone accepts it. Okay…

Overall, a good read, entertaining and easy to follow. Good for lovers of this genre or lovers of this author.

Happy Reading everyone.

#netgalley #baparis #theguest #mysterythriller #femalelead #murdermystery #womensfiction

View all my reviews

THE HEIRESS

BY RACHEL HAWKINS

I just reading “The Heiress” by Rachel Hawkins. Thank to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This a book with an interesting in intriguing plot damaged characters and exposed secrets…and they all come together to create a wonderfully written story with a bang up ending.

The story centers around wealth status narcicism and of course love. Jules and her husband Cambden return to his childhood home to deal with his inheritance which he doesn’t want because it is tainted with lies an deceit. He was adopted into the wealthy world of the McTavish family and his mother Ruby who had a storied past.
Camden has secrets that he is keeping from Jules and…Jules has. bigger secrets that she is keeping from Camden. When they return to the “Ashby House” slowly the secrets start to unravel and reveal themselves in a delicious and twisted way. Let’s just say that no-one is innocent in this story.

What I liked about this book was the way the author crafted this mystery. She told the story through different narrators: Jules, Camden and a series of letters from Ruby McTavish which are written to who we don’t know until the very end. I loved the character of Ruby McTavish and her story was fascinating: POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL! I liked how she tried to make ammends at the end of the novel

What I didn’t like about the story was some of the characters were a bit cartoonish and some of the sub-plots were unecessary. But the story revealed perfectly the impact of money, wealth and power and how the rich can get away with way too much.

I read this book quickly and it was hard to put down, A great pace and a great mystery that was perfectly ended with a final perfect reveal.

Happy Reading

#MYSTERYTHRILLER #RACHELHAWKINS #THEHEIRESS #BOOKLOVERREVIEWS #NETGALLEY #NEEDTOREAD #WOMANSFICTION #FAMILYDYSFUNCTION

View all my reviews

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

BY DELIA OWENS

I just read “Where The Crawdads Sing”, by Delia Owens. Here are my thoughts. If I am looking at this book as a story of resiliency of the human spirit and the connections between human and nature, then this book is a noteworthy accomplishment.

It is a story of a girl named Kya who battles early odds of being in a family controlled by an abusive and alcoholic father who drives all of Kya’s family away; brothers, sisters and her own mother. With her father Kya learns to fish and manouever herself around the swamp. Then still youg, she is abandoned by her father. She learns to survive by selling mussels to the friendly dock owner (JUMpin) and befriending a young boy named Tate. Tate teachers Kya to read and write but then he moves away to and she meets Chase who becomes obsessed with her. They have a relationship but she finds out he is engaged and then…he ends up dead… Murder mystery, love story, tale of survival. There is alot of stuff happening.
What I liked about this book was the character of Kya and how it showed her humanity and longing for love in nature and in the human world. Her resiliency and survival against all odds was inspiring. I loved that she was able to turn her love for the swamp into respectable career, having written so many bookks ( although a little far fetched). I also loved her relationship with Jumpin and Mabel…and how she considered them her parents

What I didn’t like about the book…it was a little far fetched. Are we to believe that her whole tamily left and no one (except her brother) came back for her. I am not sure about that. I felt like this book tried to be too many things to too many people.

In the end, it is a great read…well written…pulls at your hearstrings and even has some great poetry….and I loved the ending of Kya’s story…finally she finds what she has always longed for…love and acceptance.

Happy Reading!

#FICTION #BOOKREVIEW #DELIAOWENS #WHERE THE CRAWDADSSING #RESILIENCYAND SURVIVAL #STRENGTHOFSPIRIT

View all my reviews

THE TRUTH ABOUT MELODY BROWN

BY LISA JEWELL

I just finished reading “The Truth about Melody Brown” by Lisa Jewell. Here are my thoughts. This book was such a treat. It’s not a new book and I knew nothing about it but I am so glad I read it because it was a masterpiece. I don’t know how she does it, but anything Lisa Jewell is just awesome.

This book is about a young woman who goes on a personal journey to discover her past. A past that is filled with pain, dissapointment and love. Melody Brown doesn’t remember anything from before she was nine years old. One day she goes to see a magic show and somehow her memory is unlocked and she starts to see snippets of her childhood which prompt her on a journey of discovery. Along the way we meet wonderful parts of her past including sisters and step parents and her actual parents.

This book is written in an interesting way as the reader is told of her past in one part and in the other is told of how Melody Brown discovers what happened to her.

What I liked about this book was the quality of the writing first of all. Lisa Jewell is a master writer and she has a way of creating these characters that I completely fall in love with. All I wanted was for Melody to be happy because I liked her sooo much. All the supporting characters were also interesting and flawed and very very human.

There is nothing I didn’t like. This book was easy to read and virtually un putdownable. I recomment this boor very much as it was entertaining and left me with a joyful soul at the end. Well done Lisa Jewell…Well DOne.

Happy Reading everyone

#WOMENS FICTION #MUSTREAD #LISAJEWELL #THETRUTHABOUTMELODYBROWN #FICTION #NEEDTOREAD #FEELGOODSTORY

View all my reviews

The Secret

by K.L. Slater

I just finished reading the book “The Mistake” by K.L. Slater. Here are my thoughts. First of all these books that K.L Slater write are well crafted with a central mystery than unravels slowly with some red herrings thrown throughout to put the reader off track. n
This story involves a young woman who lost her brother to murder and she finds a piece of evidence that might prove that the man convicted of the murder might be innocent. She is torn because the man convicted of her brothers murder did some horrible things to her and to one of her friends.
I felt great sympathy for the main character. She was root-worthy and I just wanted her to be happy. The bad guy was bad…really bad and very well written. The hatred I felt towards him was palpable and I wanted him to suffer.
What I liked about this book were the main characters. They were root worthy and very well written. The ending was perfect. I will just say that everyone got what they deserved. The writing was consistent and well paced.
What I didn’t like about this book was that there were a few unanswered questions..not overyly important ones, but ones that I would’ve enjoyed having (like did the Library end up closing?)

All in all, a great read by an author I will definately rad again.

Happy Reading everyone!

View all my reviews

Only if You’re Lucky

by Stacy Willingham

I just finished reading “Only If You’re Lucky”, by Stacy Willingham. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This book took me a long time to read. It started well and I was introduced to the character of Margot who is involved in a mystery involving her best friend who died. She goes off to college and meets some girls including Lucy who also has many secrets and seems overly interested in Margot. There is a lot of mystery and suspense in this book which slowly unravels and exposes all the truths in a succint way.

The part I liked about this book was the way all the characters were connected to each other in a way that makes sense. I also liked how each part of the mysteries unraveled slowly because the author took time to carefully construct each part of the novel. I liked how the book ended and that all the loose ends were tied up.

What did I not like? I didn’t like the main character Margot. She seemed a bit narcisistic and self-absorbed. I didn’t really feel an important connected to her and I didn’t feel any sympathy for her. I felt less sympathy for Lucy. She was an awful person and her story didnt resonate any sympathy from me. I didn’t like what happened to her at the end but I didnt care about her enough to feel anything more than “meh” at he end about her.

That is why the book took so long to read. It was good but not great. It was okay. But I am not sure I can recommend it.

View all my reviews

BETRAYAL

BY PHILLIP MARGOLIN

I just finished reading “Betrayal” by Philip Margolin. Here are my thoughts. First of all, many thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This book started of with a bang. A neighbour notices movement across the street of her home and then sees police cars. A family that lives across from her has been murdered. Then we find out about the murdered family-the Finches. They are not very nice, a mother who is a lawyer for the Russian mob, a father with a gambling addiction who makes drugs on the side, a son who is a loser and sells drugs for his father, and a daughter who is very young and is a bully in her highschool.

We also learn about a young lawyer who used to be a MMA fighter, and lost a fight many years ago to a superior oponent who is now accused of killing the entire Finch family.

There are many possible suspects and the lawyer (Robin) desperately tries to save her client. In court she has to face a smart District Attorney (who she is incidentally dating and must keep secret) and she thinks she has lost the case until…SURPRISE!

This book certainly. had a lot of promise, but it became bogged down with too many characters and uneccessary detail and information. I don’t care what she had for dinner (things like that). There were so many characters that they were almost cardboardish (is that a word). And what exactly was the betrayal? The description of the novel says that Robin has to defend her old nemesis, but she literally fought her once. I don’t think that qualifies her as a nemesis.

The ending was satisfying…but again, everything was wrapped up too quickly. I feel like this book started well but got caught up in unecessary detail and then ended abruptly and a little too perfectly.

All in all, I did finish it because I wanted to find out who the killer was…but I can’t recommend it.

#betrayal #netgalley #stmartinspress #mysterythiller #phillipmargolin #femalelead #courtroomdrama #robinlockwood

Happy Reading

View all my reviews