Mini Review: Stolen Things by R.H. Herron

Stolen Things by R.H. Herron

Published: August 20, 2019

Publisher: Dutton

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

“Mama? Help me.”

Laurie Ahmadi has worked as a 911 police dispatcher in her quiet Northern California town for nearly two decades. She considers the department her family; her husband, Omid, is its first Arab American chief, and their teenaged daughter, Jojo, has grown up with the force. So when Laurie catches a 911 call and, to her horror, it’s Jojo, the whole department springs into action.

Jojo, drugged, disoriented, and in pain, doesn’t remember how she ended up at the home of Kevin Leeds, a pro football player famous for his on-the-field activism and his work with the CapB—“Citizens Against Police Brutality”—movement. She doesn’t know what happened to Kevin’s friend and trainer, whose beaten corpse is also discovered in the house. And she has no idea where her best friend Harper, who was with her earlier in the evening, could be.

But when Jojo begins to dive into Harper’s social media to look for clues to her whereabouts, Jojo uncovers a shocking secret that turns everything she knew about Harper—and the police department—on its head. With everything they thought they could rely on in question, Laurie and Jojo begin to realize that they can’t trust anyone to find Harper except themselves . . . and time is running out.

My Thoughts

Stolen Things seemed like a read I would’ve read in one sitting and by the premise, I wanted to but once I started reading it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I thought this was a thriller about a mother trying to get her daughter back and while it was it took different turns that I couldn’t get invested in. 

Laurie thought she knew her daughter but when she calls 911 and Laurie who is a dispatcher answers she finds out her daughter has been hanging with some shady people. Jojo’s best friend has been involved with some older men who are police officers and seeing how Jojo’s father is one this isn’t good. Plus when someone is found dead and Jojo doesn’t know how she ended up drugged and maybe even raped her mother doesn’t know where to start to find out the truth.

While all of this sounds good and parts are really good overall I found that too much stuff was happening. There were a lot of characters and there were so many issues being thrown at you I couldn’t keep track of them at times. This was an okay read but honestly, me going into this thinking it was about something else might have not made me fully get into it.

Mini Review: Go Ask Fannie by Elisabeth Hyde

Go Ask Fannie by Elisabeth Hyde

Published: April 10, 2018

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

Everyone has baggage. The Blaire siblings are just taking theirs home for the long weekend.

When Murray Blaire invites his three grown children to his New Hampshire farm for a few days, he makes it clear he expects them to keep things pleasant. The rest of his agenda–using Ruth and George to convince their younger sister, Lizzie, to break up with her much older boyfriend–that he chooses to keep private. But Ruth and George arrive bickering, with old scores to settle. And, in a classic Blaire move, Lizzie derails everything when she turns up late, cradling a damaged family cookbook, and talking about possible criminal charges against her.

This is not the first time the Blaire family has been thrown into chaos. In fact, that cookbook, an old edition of Fannie Farmer, is the last remaining artifact from a time when they were a family of six, not four, with a father running for Congress and a mother building a private life of her own. The now-obscured notes written in its pages provide tantalizing clues to their mother’s ambitions and the mysterious choices she once made, choices her children have always sought without success to understand. Until this weekend.

As the Blaire siblings piece together their mother’s story, they come to realize not just what they’ve lost, but how they can find their way back to each other. In this way, celebrated author Elisabeth Hyde reminds readers that family survival isn’t about simply setting aside old rivalries, but preserving the love that’s written between the lines. 

My Thoughts

In Go Ask Fannie we have the Blaire siblings who all come home to help deal with their father. This is well written family drama that showcases the dynamics between each sibling and how no matter how long you can be apart when family comes together it can be a beautiful but also hectic thing. I enjoyed the family dynamics between the characters and how each while flawed in the end do love and care for one another. There is nothing I love more than a good family novel and this one was pretty good.

Mini Review: 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

Published: October 1, 2019

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Sophie wants one thing for Christmas-a little freedom from her overprotective parents. So when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie is looking forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except it turns out that Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship. Cue devastation.

Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents' house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That's when her nonna devises a (not so) brilliant plan: Over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. Like her sweet cousin Sara, who sets her up with a hot guy at an exclusive underground party. Or her crazy aunt Patrice, who signs Sophie up for a lead role in a living nativity. With a boy who barely reaches her shoulder. And a screaming baby.

When Griffin turns up unexpectedly and begs for a second chance, Sophie feels more confused than ever. Because maybe, just maybe, she's started to have feelings for someone else . . . Someone who is definitely not available.

This is going to be the worst Christmas break ever... or is it?

My Thoughts

10 Blind Dates is a fun and cute holiday read that will definitely make you smile and give you the feels! We met Sophie who is ready to enjoy the Christmas holidays with her boyfriend but her boyfriend has other plans. He decides to break up with her and so she spends the holidays with her huge family who has other plans for her. They all decide to fix her up on 10 blind dates and they make a contest out of it. Sophie plays along and while some dates are better than others she likes spending time with her family and old friends including her grandparents’ neighbor. While she still has feelings for her ex she knows stepping back that he wasn’t the right one for her, she feels like there is someone better for her out there.

This was definitely a fun read, her family is something I can relate to. This read had me thinking of my own crazy family, in the sense how when we are together its so much fun and how we have each other backs in the time of need. The relationship she has with her grandmother is so sweet and enduring that it hit me in the heart. This is one read I highly recommend! If you want something funny and sweet this will get you out of any reading slump.

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.

Mini Review: Christmas in Winter Hill by Melody Carlson

Christmas at Winter Hill by Melody Carlson

Published: September 3, 2019

Publisher: Revell

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

Krista Galloway is not a fan of Christmas. After her rough childhood in multiple foster homes, the holiday season just brings too many bad memories to the surface. But when she accepts a job as a city manager in the mountain town of Winter Hill, Washington, Christmas is part of the deal. The small town is famous for its Christmasville celebration, something that the city manager . . . well, manages.

As she tries to make her tiny new apartment feel like home for her and her eight-year-old daughter, Emily, Krista begins to wonder if this move was a mistake. She doesn't always feel welcomed in the close-knit town, and Emily continually wonders, "Where's the snow?" Can a friendly stranger and his family help restore Krista's Christmas spirit before the big day?

My Thoughts

Krista and her daughter recently moved to Winter Hill in hopes of a better future. It’s Christmas time and no one loves it more than Krista’s daughter but Krista isn't one for it since she grew up in the foster care system and the holidays bring no cheer at all. So when she moves to a town that loves the holidays Krista is a little put-off, to say the least, but her daughter and the town hope to change her mind.

So will this town change her mind about Christmas and make her see there is some good in this world? Not to mention maybe even a new romance is her future. I really enjoyed this book it was cute and a quick read but one with lots of cheer and holiday magic. I like a good read that shows us that hope is a possibility and shows us that the good still has good people in it. This is one read that will bring you some great holiday feels.

Mini Review: 25 Days Til Christmas by Poppy Alexander

25 Days Til Christmas by Poppy Alexander

Published: October 8, 2019

Publisher: William Morrow

Format: via audiobook

Rating:3.5/5

Synopsis

Kate Potter used to love Christmas. A few years ago, she would have been wrapping her presents in September and baking mince pies on Halloween, counting down the days and hours to Christmas. But that was before Kate’s husband left for the army and never came home. Now she can hardly stand December at all.

Kate can’t deny she’s lonely, yet she doesn’t think she’s ready for romance. She knows that her son, Jack, needs a Christmas to remember—just like Kate needs a miracle to help her finally move forward with her life. So she’s decided if there isn’t a miracle on its way, she’ll just have to make her own.

As Kate’s advent countdown to the best Christmas ever begins, she soon realizes that even with the best-laid plans, you can’t plan for the unexpected. For when the path of the loneliest woman in town crosses with that of the loneliest man, these two destined hearts might find a way to save the holiday for both of them.

My Thoughts

When I think of Christmas I think of it as magical, inspiring and the season when all things are possible. In 25 Days Til Christmas, Kate is a single mother who just wants her child to have a great holiday season, but she knows that it will be tough seeing how she is just trying to deal and make ends meet after the death of her husband. So she is just trying to make it the best Christmas for her son while both of them miss her husband so much.

Daniel is a lonely man who has recently lost his only family, his sister she was his everything and now he is in this world alone simply going through the motions. While he and Kate haven’t actually met they have seen each other in passing but one faithful day they actually met and soon they become friends and if fate has its way maybe something even more.

I loved this story of two souls who you know need each other. They both have been through tragedies recently and both need someone who knows what they experiencing and together I feel like they can help heal each other. This story is so pure and you can’t help falling in love with these characters and rooting for them to come together and be that spark of happiness they both need in their lives. This is one magical read that will have you believing in the magic that is the holiday season.

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: Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi

Published: 1974

Publisher: W.W. Norton Company

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

The prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial, Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the twentieth century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders? Here is the gripping story of this famous and haunting crime. 50 pages of b/w photographs.

My Thoughts

I’ve always been fascinated by true crime stories and the one that has had me for as long as I can remember is The Manson Murders. From their evil mastermind of a leader, Charles Manson to his royal and true followers their whole story is haunting yet their story is one that decades later still has people wanting to know more.

In Helter Skelter, we get detail by detail of the Manson murders and their victims. We get how Manson and his followers decided to pick their victims and how they came together to become part of Manson’s evil cult. While we have grown to know this wickedly gruesome story but to read this book I still found out some things I didn’t know before. This is a really good book from someone close to the original case and if you're a true crime junkie like myself I’m sure you will find this book as interesting as I did.

Review: A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson

A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson

Published: June 25, 2019

Publisher: Celadon Books

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Eighteen-year-old Stella Sandell stands accused of the brutal murder of a man almost fifteen years her senior. She is an ordinary teenager from an upstanding local family. What reason could she have to know a shady businessman, let alone kill him?

Stella’s father, a pastor, and mother, a criminal defense attorney, find their moral compasses tested as they defend their daughter while struggling to understand why she is a suspect. Told in an unusual three-part structure, A Nearly Normal Family asks the questions: How well do you know your own children? How far would you go to protect them?

My Thoughts

In A Nearly Normal Family, Stella is accused of killing an older man. In alternating POVs and timelines, we see pieces of the puzzle and it keeps you thinking could Stella have killed this man, or was it someone else. The next question is if she did why did she? What could have happened to make her do this unspeakable crime? In the process, we met her father who is a pastor and her mother who is a lawyer. I like how we dive deeper into her family and we see how they all interact with one another. We start to see how these relationships play a part in things that have happened. They think they know their daughter but honestly how well do we really know each other? I liked the twist and turns of this book so much and the way things played out I never saw them coming. This is one book that is weird in a good way and with characters that are definitely interesting plus with a storyline that pays off in the very end.

Review: Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi

Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi

Published: September 3, 2019

Publisher: Simon & Schuster BYR

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

After a year of college, Pablo is working at his local twenty-four-hour deli, selling overpriced snacks to brownstone yuppies. He’s dodging calls from the student loan office and he has no idea what his next move is.

Leanna Smart’s life so far has been nothing but success. Age eight: Disney Mouseketeer; Age fifteen: first #1 single on the US pop chart; Age seventeen, *tenth* #1 single; and now, at Age nineteen…life is a queasy blur of private planes, weird hotel rooms, and strangers asking for selfies on the street.

When Leanna and Pab randomly meet at 4:00 a.m. in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn, they both know they can’t be together forever. So, they keep things on the down-low and off Instagram for as long as they can. But it takes about three seconds before the world finds out.

My Thoughts

Pablo is just a guy working at a local deli when Leanna enters his world and turns everything upside down. One night Leanna walks into the deli and sparks fly and they hit it off and things take off from there. If they want to have fun and see where this goes they can’t let anyone know, meaning they must stay offline.

Each of them are having their own problems so they know this whatever it is won't last forever. Pablo is dealing with family issues and his college career is up in the air. Leanna has been in the spotlight all her life and all she wants is to have some time off and just be herself. I felt that they both entered each other’s lives just when they needed someone. They used each other as a means to escape what they were going through.

While I didn’t love this read I thought it was okay. I liked the characters but some of the storylines just went on longer than I thought they needed to. This was a middle of the road read for me but I would give the author another chance in the future.

Review: All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

Published: August 9, 2016

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis

As the daughter of a meth dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. Struggling to raise her little brother, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible "adult" around. She finds peace in the starry Midwestern night sky above the fields behind her house. One night everything changes when she witnesses one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold, wreck his motorcycle. What follows is a powerful and shocking love story between two unlikely people that asks tough questions, reminding us of all the ugly and wonderful things that life has to offer.

My Thoughts

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is the heartbreaking tale of Wavy who for all her life has had it rough. Her mother has mental issues and her father sells drugs, so when one of her father's associates takes an interest in her who would've thought it would have taken the turn that it did.

Kellen is an ex-con who isn't at all what he looks like. He is a big guy but he is nice and kind when he wants and he feels bad for Wavy, so he takes it upon himself to care for her and be there for her since no one else does. He makes sure she goes to school and that she has what she needs but slowly over the years he falls in love with her and this is where things get...uncomfortable. Especially since he’s known Wavy since she was young and he is older than her. Kellen’s intentions were never to fall in love with Wavy like that but over time his feelings for her become real. 

This is where things get iffy in this book. I see how people can be uncomfortable with this book since they met when Wavy is a child, but in my mind, I never got the feeling that Kellen went into this situation having any ill intentions with Wavy. I honestly felt he felt sorry for her and felt like someone had to look out for this kid and someone had to be there for her since no one was there for him. He saw her life and how it could end up and he didn't want that for her. While I know some see their relationship later seemed icky I didn't see it as him being a pervert from the start.

This novel can be controversial without a doubt but I really did enjoy this storyline. I see two lost people who are brought together for a reason. While this relationship is the main focus of the book I also enjoyed the storyline with Wavy’s aunt and cousin and how they all have issues in the family that they dealing with. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is a great novel with a storyline that might make you uncomfortable but one that will have you thinking about this novel way after the last page is turned.

Review: Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood

Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood

Published: August 6, 2019

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Dover, Massachusetts, 1969. Ginny Richardson's heart was torn open when her baby girl, Lucy, born with Down Syndrome, was taken from her. Under pressure from his powerful family, her husband, Ab, sent Lucy away to Willowridge, a special school for the “feeble-minded." Ab tried to convince Ginny it was for the best. That they should grieve for their daughter as though she were dead. That they should try to move on. 

But two years later, when Ginny's best friend, Marsha, shows her a series of articles exposing Willowridge as a hell-on-earth--its squalid hallways filled with neglected children--she knows she can't leave her daughter there. With Ginny's six-year-old son in tow, Ginny and Marsha drive to the school to see Lucy for themselves. What they find sets their course on a heart-racing journey across state lines—turning Ginny into a fugitive.

For the first time, Ginny must test her own strength and face the world head-on as she fights Ab and his domineering father for the right to keep Lucy. Racing from Massachusetts to the beaches of Atlantic City, through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to a roadside mermaid show in Florida, Keeping Lucy is a searing portrait of just how far a mother’s love can take her.

My Thoughts

Keeping Lucy is the touching tale of Ginny who goes to lengths to try to get her daughter Lucy back. It’s the late 60’s and Ginny is giving birth when she wakes up she finds out her daughter Lucy has been taken away from her. She later finds out that Lucy has Down Syndrome and given the time there was no other option but to put children who they consider “different” away in orphanages. Ginny was also told Lucy had other problems health wise and this was the best for everyone involved.

A couple of years pass and Ginny finds out that Lucy isn't in the type of place she thought she was. The place isn't fit for anyone and Ginny and her best friend decide to visit Lucy and take her for the weekend but once she is there and sees things for herself she decides Lucy will never go back and from there on it's Ginny and Lucy against the world.

They go on a road trip and Lucy soon begins to open up but only after Ginny sees how Lucy has suffered in that place. She begs her husband and his family, who are very powerful back home, to help but Ginny soon sees she might have to do this alone. Since she didn't have a choice, in the beginning, she takes a stand now and chooses the love for her child over everything and everyone.

Keeping Lucy made me an emotional wreck. The storyline is amazing and touching about a mother whose child was literally taken from her without her permission. She worries if Lucy will even know who she is. However, once they lock eyes Ginny’s heart is complete and Lucy knows this is her mama. This shows us the lengths a mother will go for her child and no matter what others think about Lucy, Ginny cares and will fight for her. If you want a heartwarming read look no further than Keeping Lucy.

Review: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Published: August 6, 2019

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.

Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unraveling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant.

It was everything.

She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is. 

My Thoughts

I’ve always had an iffy relationship with Ruth Ware, I’m always excited by her new reads but sadly they don't live up to the hype. Now maybe it's just me who hypes them up so high but her books just never “get” there for me. Well, all that has changed with her newest book The Turn of the Key, this book is just...spectular!

The Turn of the Key is told through letters from the main character Rowen to a lawyer she hopes can help her. All we know is that she is accused of murder. We met Rowen who comes across an ad as a nanny so she goes for an interview to this massive home which is all decked out tech-wise. When she meets the kids things don't go well but somehow she gets the job and strange and scary things begin to happen.

She is soon left with the children while their parents go away and Rowen tries her best to get along with the kids but they are a handful and one of them continues to tell Rowen that she should leave or bad things will happen. The fact that Rowen begins to hear things and suspect somethings aren't right doesn’t help matters.

While Rowen does have reason to fear, she’s isn't so innocent we start to learn more and more about Rowen as the book goes on and soon her secrets are relieved and the real reason she came to this house. As things unravel Rowen’s real story doesn't help her case and she is left to defend herself. 

This book was just amazing to me, you get this story that straight up opens with a murder and a suspect already in jail. If that wasn't enough we get this huge mansion with a ghost or something and nannies that keep disappearing. Then we find out Rowen’s secrets which was a huge plot twist and lastly, we get a second plot twist at the end! Ruth Ware doesn't disappoint with this thriller it is one that pays off dividends! If you want a great page-turner of a book look no further than this one….it’s the ultimate read!