Mini Review: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Published: September 10, 2019

Publisher: Nan A. Talese

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis

When the van door slammed on Offred's future at the end of The Handmaid's Tale, readers had no way of telling what lay ahead for her--freedom, prison or death.

With The Testaments, the wait is over.

Margaret Atwood's sequel picks up the story more than fifteen years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.

My Thoughts

When I heard there was going to be a follow up to The Handmaid’s Tale I was split down the middle on how I felt about this. One I was excited and the other I didn’t want this book if bad to diminish my thoughts and praise on the first novel. I’m glad to say I was really pleased with The Testaments.

In the sequel, we hear from three characters, Aunt Lydia, Agnes who grew up in Gilead and Daisy who grew up in Canada. Through these characters, we see how everyone has had to deal with Gilead.  To be honest I feel like you have to go into this novel with a real open mind. The Handmaid’s Tale is a beloved book so to mess with that is a touchy subject so you have to be open with this read. There are some characters from the first novel but this in a sense is a novel of its own and should be treated as such, with that I found this novel well written and I connect with it. I liked seeing the story told through new eyes and seeing how they see things. This was a good read based on a book which I love so much, I’m just sad to see this chapter end.

Review: My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

Published: March 26, 2019

Publisher: Berkley Books

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis

Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with. We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive. Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

My Thoughts

My Lovely Wife is the captivating tale of a couple who from the outside look to be living a normal life but behind closed doors, they have one odd and scary hobby...they like to kill. The story is told in the POV of the husband who we only know as “Tobias” and he tells the story of how he and his wife met and how she likes to kill people. According to him he doesn’t actually kill these women his job is to lure them in and his wife does the rest. He doesn’t know what she does or how she does it, he simply rather not know.

During the story we get to know “Tobias” and how he seems to want to stop doing these things for his wife, he knows its wrong and he starts to feel guilty for leading these women on and wants to stop but his wife convinces him to do this one more time. We soon start to see how crazy and sick his wife really is and how if she doesn’t get her way he will pay for it.

This story has so many twists and turns, just when you think you figured something out something else comes out of left field. To see the lengths one will do to get revenge is mind-blowing! Not to mention just when the story ends you think that’s it, then you are thrown another twist that left me with my jaw on the floor. This is one great thriller that just gets better as the story goes along, peeling back the layers until you are blown away at the end. This is one book that I highly recommend.

Review: A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

Published: July 23, 2019

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis

There is a stranger outside Caroline's house.

Her spectacular new beach house, built for hosting expensive parties and vacationing with the family she thought she'd have. But her husband is lying to her and everything in her life is upside down, so when the stranger, Aiden, shows up as a bartender at the same party where Caroline and her husband have a very public fight, it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.

As her marriage collapses around her and the lavish lifestyle she's built for herself starts to crumble, Caroline turns to Aiden for comfort...and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aiden's obsession with Caroline, her family, and her house grows more and more disturbing. And when Caroline's husband goes missing, her life descends into a nightmare that leaves her accused of her own husband's murder.

My Thoughts

Caroline has the perfect life, husband, child or at least she thought she did. It was all perfect until her husband shows up to her party with other women. She thinks her marriage is over and one night she goes out and drinks too much and ends up sleeping with a stranger. However, when she thinks back she realizes she has seen this guy before, in fact, he is the guy who has been standing outside on the beach in front of her house for a couple of days.

Aiden has been working at the local bar and when he sees Caroline he is smitten, to say the least. They end up sleeping together one night and ever since he has become obsessed with her. He becomes controlling and will do anything to protect and have Caroline in the end. Caroline wants to try and save her marriage but when she tries to break things off with Aiden things don't go so smoothly. Aiden doesn't take no for an answer and begins to stalk her, her ex and even her daughter because he thinks something isn't right. But when his past comes to light things don't look good for Aiden and he starts to look like he is the one causing trouble.

Is Aiden the bad guy or is a victim in all this? Who’s the real mastermind behind all the crazy things going on? Does Caroline have a real reason to fear Aiden or is there something more? There are so many questions to ask and each one gives us clues to what is really going on.

This is one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a long time. This story has mystery, some sexual tension and best of all you don't know where it’s going. In addition to the twist and turns, there is the game of who’s playing who. Just when you think you have things figured out you are thrown for a loop. This is one read that will have you by the seat of your pants until the last page is turned. A Stranger on the Beach is one read that is well worth the read.

Review: The Chain by Adrian McKinty

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

Expected Publication: July 9, 2019

Publisher: Mulholland Books

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis

You just dropped off your child at the bus stop. A panicked stranger calls your phone. Your child has been kidnapped, and the stranger explains that their child has also been kidnapped, by a completely different stranger. The only way to get your child back is to kidnap another child within 24 hours. Your child will be released only when the next victim's parents kidnap yet another child, and most importantly, the stranger explains, if you don't kidnap a child, or if the next parents don't kidnap a child, your child will be murdered. You are now part of The Chain.

My Thoughts

The Chain starts off with the simple concept of a kidnapping at a bus stop but that is just the tip of the iceberg with this out of this world story by Adrian McKinty. It starts off like any other day, Rachel has just dropped off her daughter Kylie and is on her way to the doctor when she receives a call that will change her life forever. Someone claims to have kidnapped Kylie and she is to send ransom money and the biggest twist to this is that Rachel has to kidnap another child to take Kylie’s place. You see they claim that this is The Chain and it cant be broken or else people will die. They also tell her she can't go to the media or police or Kylie will die. Rachel, of course, thinks this is ridiculous but all she can think about is getting her daughter back so she decides to do the unthinkable and do as they say. She enlists the help of her ex-brother in law, who has tons of issues of his own, but he being ex-military is the only one who could possibly help her with this outrageous plan.

What is The Chain exactly? They claim it has been happening for decades but has it really? And who exactly is running this whole show? Is it mob-related or cartel? How have they managed to be doing this the whole time and not get caught? And what exactly is happening with all this money that is being collected? Towards the end we finally get some answers and when it revealed it isn't what I expected.

The Chain has its twists and turns and I find the whole idea of a chain interesting. You think why do these people continue to do what is being asked of them and not call the police, what it boils down to is simple...fear. Fear is the one thing that can make you do crazy things. While it comes to a loved one you will do anything for them, even the unthinkable. So these people play on that emotional and ride it for all its worth. And this is what makes this novel so good! Seeing these people wanting to save their loved ones at any cost is heart wretching but would you do anything differently? It's easy to say you would but when your loved one is in harm who knows how you would react. This is one novel that has you by the seat of your pants from the very start and doesn't let go until the last page is turned. The Chain is one novel that should be at the top of your list this Summer.

Blog Tour + Review: The Friends We Keep by Jane Green

The Friends We Keep by Jane Green

Publisher: Berkley Books

Published: June 4, 2019

Format: via publisher

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis

Evvie, Maggie, and Topher have known each other since university. Their friendship was something they swore would last forever. Now years have passed, the friends have drifted apart, and none of them ever found the lives they wanted – the lives they dreamed of when they were young and everything seemed possible.

Evvie starved herself to become a supermodel but derailed her career by sleeping with a married man. Maggie married Ben, the boy she fell in love with at university, never imagining the heartbreak his drinking would cause.

Topher became a successful actor but the shame of a childhood secret shut him off from real intimacy. By their thirtieth reunion, these old friends have lost touch with each other and with the people they dreamed of becoming. Together again, they have a second chance at happiness… until a dark secret is revealed that changes everything.

My Thoughts

Oh, how I loved Jane Green’s newest book! We meet three teens as they start university and become fast friends. Evvie and Maggie who become roommates after they hated theirs and Topher who they meet soon after. We go through the years with these three as they experience life and love and how they vowed they will remain friends no matter what life throws at them.

Evvie and Maggie are the closest of friends, they were always together and helped each other through hardships and heartbreaks but as time went on they lost touch but knew if they needed each other they would be there. Evvie went on to be a supermodel while Maggie married her longtime love, Ben. We see them as time passes and Evvie who has always had body issues doesn't think highly of herself and gets into relationships that aren't healthy. Though she does meet one guy who takes her by surprise but to only reject him because although she loves him and he loves her they union would only hurt someone she loves. So when something happens she decides to keep the one thing that made her life complete a secret, hoping that no one finds out. Maggie and Ben seem to have the perfect marriage but behind closed doors, things aren't so. Maggie can't have the one thing she longs for and Ben has issues he just can't overcome.

Topher was the fun-loving guy who had Evvie and Maggie on their toes. He was fun and a great friend his dream was to become an actor so he moves to NYC and becomes famous as a soap star. Never really dating he soon falls in love with a man but tragedy strikes and he loses the love of his life. We see him raise as a soap star but always has his best friends in his heart.

As their university reunion comes along they all decide to come together and go. While they haven't seen each other in years as soon as they are together it's like no time has passed. Maggie is recovering from a huge loss, Evvie is getting over a horrible marriage and Topher is enjoying his life right now. They all decide they need each other and want to live together and as soon as this happens the past catches up with them and this could break up their friendships forever. The one thing that brought joy to one could possibly bring heartache to another.

I really enjoyed this book, I loved the storyline and the characters and I was completed satisfied with the book overall. However, while I loved all the characters my favorites were Evvie and Maggie. Their storylines were the backbone of this novel and I couldn't get enough of it. I loved how we saw these characters evolved over time and how they grew and the mistakes they made. This is now my favorite Jane Green book hands down! This is an epic story of friendship, love and deep kept secrets that will test just how strong forgiveness is. This is one read that makes for the perfect Summer book it has everything you could want with characters that will stay with you long after the last page.

Review: The Southern Side of Paradise by Kristy Woodson Harvey

The Southern Side of Paradise by Kristy Woodson Harvey

[Peachtree Bluff #3]

Expected Publication: May 7, 2019

Publisher: Galley Books

Format: arc via publisher

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

With the man of her dreams back in her life and all three of her daughters happy, Ansley Murphy should be content. But she can’t help but feel like it’s all a little too good to be true.

Meanwhile, youngest daughter and actress Emerson, who is recently engaged and has just landed the role of a lifetime, seemingly has the world by the tail. Only, something she can’t quite put her finger on is worrying her—and it has nothing to do with her recent health scare.

When two new women arrive in Peachtree Bluff—one who has the potential to wreck Ansley’s happiness and one who could tear Emerson’s world apart—everything is put in perspective. And after secrets that were never meant to be told come to light, the powerful bond between the Murphy sisters and their mother comes crumbling down, testing their devotion to each other and forcing them to evaluate the meaning of family.

My Thoughts

In Kristy Woodson Harvey’s final installment in her Peachtree Bluff series, we once again visit the Murphy family. In each of the previous books, we get the story of each sister and this one focuses on the youngest sister Emerson. Emerson is an up and coming actress who since she has been back home has had a health scare and has reunited with an old love. She is trying to deal with all of this and is also trying to find her way in life. She loves her sisters and mother but she has doubts about her upcoming marriage, especially when her and her fiance can't decide on where to live, she has to go back for work and he doesn’t want to leave Peachtree, and it doesn't help that a man from her past in L.A. has found his way to Peachtree and her feelings are getting the best of her. I felt that Emerson had so much thrown at her in this novel between her health scare and relationship problems to her career plus finding out the truth about her family but I felt she was the most well-rounded character. She was the one who I felt grew the most in the series. Just as in life, she didn't see any of the things that happened to her coming but they suited her well and made her complete they were her blessings in disguise.

While this story mainly focuses on Emerson we also get a glimpse of her mother’s story and her life with Jack. She is finally at a place where she can feel free to love him like she wants to without worrying how this will affect her daughters but still THAT secret looms over her and she knows that this final secret has to be told in order to be free. She has always put her family first but now she needs to live her own life and that means a future with Jack, however, someone from his past is determined to get him back and Ansley doesn't know if she has it in her to fight this fight. The story of Ansley and Jack was a long time coming and their story was one I was pleased with, it truly showed how true love can endure the test of time.

I fell in love with the Murphy women from book one and this last book is the perfect send-off. I felt that everyone’s stories wrapped up nicely and everyone got their happily ever after. I loved how Kristy Woodson Harvey gave us complex yet strong women who fought for what they wanted and stopped at nothing to get it. What I loved most about this series was that the overall message and theme is family. While they might have fought and disagreed with each other when it came down to it they had each other's backs. Nothing was too hard that together they couldn't conquer. I will miss these women and their stories so much but I am so glad I got to know them and thank you, Kristy Woodson Harvey, for giving us a group of women who showed us that family dynamics can be both entertaining and emotional yet heartwarming all at the same time.

Review: Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson

Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson

Expected Publication: March 5, 2019

Publisher: William Morrow

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 4.5/5    

Synopsis

Hen and her husband Lloyd have settled into a quiet life in a new house outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Hen (short for Henrietta) is an illustrator and works out of a studio nearby, and has found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. Finally, she’s found some stability and peace.

But when they meet the neighbors next door, that calm begins to erode as she spots a familiar object displayed on the husband’s office shelf. The sports trophy looks exactly like one that went missing from the home of a young man who was killed two years ago. Hen knows because she’s long had a fascination with this unsolved murder—an obsession she doesn’t talk about anymore, but can’t fully shake either.

Could her neighbor, Matthew, be a killer? Or is this the beginning of another psychotic episode like the one she suffered back in college when she became so consumed with proving a fellow student guilty that she ended up hurting a classmate?

The more Hen observes Matthew, the more she suspects he’s planning something truly terrifying. Yet no one will believe her. Then one night, when she comes face to face with Matthew in a dark parking lot, she realizes that he knows she’s been watching him, that she’s really on to him. And that this is the beginning of a horrifying nightmare she may not live to escape.

My Thoughts

I’ve become a huge Peter Swanson fan recently and I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on so when I heard he had a new book coming out I couldn't wait to read it. It seems like his books just get better and when I finished his latest read… WOW is all I could say… this one blew my mind!

In Before She Knew Him we met Hen and Lloyd who recently have moved out to the suburbs and decide one night to join the neighborhood block party to be nice and be neighborly but soon they become friends with the only other couple who don't have kids, Matthew and Mira and realize they are actually next door neighbors. They soon have dinner together and while having a tour of the house something in Matthews office soon catches Hen's eye a simple trophy that makes something click in her head. She soon becomes obsessed with this trophy and remembers it from the newspapers a few years back connected to a murder. She then becomes convinced that Matthew is a murderer and makes it her mission to prove it. She starts to follow and spies on him trying to get any evidence to prove that she is right and not having another manic episode like she has in the past.

Years ago Hen began having manic episodes and it got so bad she was asked to leave school after an altercation with a fellow student. She soon became consumed with all things murder related and when a few murders happen nearby she studied them as if it was her job. However, with the help of family and Lloyd she balanced her meds and got her issues under controlled but after meeting Matthew and connecting things about him she now thinks he is the one behind everything.

Matthew sees himself as a savior of sorts. He had a horrible childhood, to say the least, and we learn in time his past has a huge play in everything that has happened. He survived his upbringing and now is a loving husband to Mira but he has some dark secrets that he has kept to himself...that is until Hen came around. Ironically he isn't scared of Hen because he thinks they are kindred spirits of sorts, after seeing her dark and disturbing art and learning of her obsession with crime and murder. They soon strike up a sort of understanding of and he begins to tell her things he has never told anyone before. We learn why he does what he does, he tries to make excuses for his actions and no matter how he wants to validate these things they are criminal, disturbing and simply horrifying. To get into the mind of this man who can do such unbearable things and then lay in bed with his wife and teach kids the next day is so bizarre, how he can compartmentalize his actions is beyond words.

This book had me from the very beginning. We get to two souls who seem so different but in time we see how they connect in a way we never saw coming. I found it dark, creepy and at some points horrifying but all in a great way. The story was fascinating and with its twist and turns especially the plot twist towards the end there are some amazing jaw-dropping moments. I would call this my favorite Peter Swanson by far and I highly recommend this sinister of a novel.

Review: The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

Expected Publication: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Gallery Books

Format: via publisher

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis

In the vein of Big Little Lies and Reconstructing Amelia comes an emotionally charged domestic suspense novel about a mother unraveling the truth behind how her daughter became brain dead. And pregnant.

A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.

In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.

When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?

Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heartwrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?

My Thoughts

The NIght Olivia Fell is told in dual voices and chapters, that of her mother and of Olivia herself. We get the story of Olivia and how she got to the point she is and of that of her mother and her loved ones and how they are dealing with the aftermath of her ordeal.

Olivia is your average teen who is getting ready to go to college and one day on a school trip she sees someone who looks just like her so much so that she now questions her whole existence. Her whole life her mother told her that her dad is dead, that he died before she was born and she has always had this part that was missing in her life. That one meeting sets off something her in that will change her life forever.

Olivia is now on a mission to find out who this girl is and if they are related and if so how. Do they share a father and if they do why did her mother lie to her. What is her mother hiding? By Olivia wanting to know who she is cost her, her life. We know from the start that Olivia is dead and pregnant but the questions are by who and who is the father. Her mother wants answers especially after she finds out that the police haven't even been notified. So what is she to do but take action into her own hands. She sets out to bring justice for Olivia and her baby she knows Olivia won't come back but her grandbaby deserves a chance.

This book is part mystery as it unfolds Olivia’s last days and we see the people she encounters and things she has to deal with. However, I didn’t expect how emotional this one would be. The ending is so heartwrenching I was a cry baby. When we find out what all happened and Olivia’s last days you can’t help but be touched. This book grabs you from the very beginning and doesn’t let you go until the last page but believe me it stays with you way after that. If you are looking for a great read with an emotional twist this one definitely fits the bill.

Review: And Every Morning... by Fredrik Backman

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman               

Published: November 1, 2016

Publisher: Atria Books

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis

An exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man’s struggle to hold on to his most precious memories, and his family’s efforts to care for him even as they must find a way to let go. An unrivaled understanding of human nature and deep compassion for people in difficult circumstances. This is a tiny gem with a message you’ll treasure for a lifetime.

My Thoughts

This novella packed a punch in just under 100 pages. The story of Noah and his grandfather had me crying like a baby not only because it was so good but also because the subject matter is very near and dear to my heart. In Every Morning Noah and his grandfather go on walks and Noah knows his grandfather is starting to forget things but he is determined to help his grandfather remember the things he holds dear. This read hit me personally since I’m going through this with my grandmother right now, she has been diagnosed with dementia, it's been hard to see her slowly forget things but I have to be strong for her and I’m grateful for every day I have with her. I can't rave enough about this beautifully writing story of love that transcends all things.

Review: The Secret to Southern Charm by Kristy Woodson Harvey

The Secret to Southern Charm [Peachtree Bluff #2] by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Published: April 3, 2018

Publisher: Gallery Books

Format: via author

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis

After finding out her military husband is missing in action, middle sister Sloane’s world crumbles as her worst nightmare comes true. She can barely climb out of bed, much less summon the strength to be the parent her children deserve.

Her mother, Ansley, provides a much-needed respite as she puts her personal life on hold to help Sloane and her grandchildren wade through their new grief-stricken lives. But between caring for her own aging mother, her daughters, and her grandchildren, Ansley’s private worry is that secrets from her past will come to light.

But when Sloane’s sisters, Caroline and Emerson, remind Sloane that no matter what, she promised her husband she would carry on for their young sons, Sloane finds the support and courage she needs to chase her biggest dreams—and face her deepest fears. Taking a cue from her middle daughter, Ansley takes her own leap of faith and realizes that, after all this time, she might finally be able to have it all.

My Thoughts

This is the second book in the Peachtree Bluff series and once again Kristy Woodson Harvey gives us a story of family and ties so strong nothing can break them apart. In this book, while we get glimpses of all three sisters and their mother Ansley this one does focus on Sloane and the aftermath she must face when her husband is MIA in the military. We see how the family comes together and try to make Sloane not just wallow and sink into depression but to keep on living for the sake of her children.

Her mother Ansley still hasn’t decided what to do since her first true love has moved into the house next door yet she finds herself jealous when she thinks he has moved on to someone new. She must decide what she wants and do whats best for her and make herself happy for a change and not just worry about others.

As someone who has read all of Kristy’s books the one common thread that I love throughout them all is family. I love how she makes arguments, lies and everyday family things that could be overlooked standout. She writes so flawlessly that you cannot help but be drawn in and mesmerized by her words. With so many characters and storylines other authors might not be up to the job but Kristy never confuses you and every character has their own distinct voice. She gives us another winner with The Secret to Southern Charm so do yourself a favor and devour this one just like I did.