Book Review: The Suspect by Fiona Barton- 4 Stars

Reporter Kate Waters is back in Fiona Barton’s third novel! While this can definitely be read as a stand-alone, I recommend reading The Widow and then The Child beforehand because it will give you a great backstory on Kate’s personal life and work as well as her working relationship with Detective Bob Sparkes that I have enjoyed throughout the series.

Every mother knows her child, doesn’t she?

This is the question running through the minds of three mothers when the unthinkable happens and their children are involved. Two 18 year old’s are traveling in Thailand when they turn up missing. Coincidentally, Thailand is where Kate Waters’ son took off for in Barton’s last book, The Child. As the mothers and police go on a search for their children, they find out things about them they could never have thought were true.

This was a wonderfully crafted mystery that kept me engaged through the last page. There were so many layers to unravel and bigger secrets and shockers were revealed at every twist and turn!

Thank you so much to Berkley Books for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! I also received an ebook via NetGalley.

The Suspect will be published on 1/22!

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Book Review: My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren- 4 Stars

This was such a fun and refreshing change in the romance genre!

Millie is a professor at UC Santa Barbara who has extensive knowledge on female serial killers, doesn’t let her true emotions show, and dislikes letting anyone get too close to her. Her best friends are four guys, also on staff at the university. When she and Reid, the guy she’s closest to in her group, end up spending a sexy half-night together, their friendship and relationship starts to change, especially when the friends all join an online dating site to find dates for a university black tie event.

Millie writes the bios for all of the guys’ dating profile, but her own falls flat since she doesn’t like to share anything too personal, so she ends up creating a fake profile where she can be someone different. Of course lying online can’t end well, and someone is bound to get hurt. When Millie and Reid spend a few more half-nights together, the lines between friends and lovers start to blur and they have to decide what’s going on. But will Millie’s deceit get in the way of any sort of friendship, platonic or otherwise?

I really enjoyed this novel and I hope the authors make a series out of this because I would love to read books about all of the guys as well!

Book Review: Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch-4 Stars

I really enjoyed Love & Gelato so I was excited to finally get around to reading Love & Luck! In this book, we follow Lina’s (from L&G) friend Addie around Ireland when she travels there for her aunt’s wedding. She has had her heart broken and suffered some embarrassment thanks to a boy, so when she finds an eccentric guidebook called Ireland for the Heartbroken, complete with homework she has to complete in various destinations all over Ireland, she decides to read the book and travel along on its journey through the country.

This book is definitely geared towards younger readers but I thought it was still a good read. I liked how readers got to experience various sights of Ireland along with Addie while she tried to mend her broken heart and the relationship with her brother. Love & Luck was quirky and fun to read.

Book Review: A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena- 5 Stars

Karen is a beautiful housewife who is found in a seedy part of town after she wrecks into a pole, leaving her with no memory of what happened prior to her accident. Tom, her husband, is supportive and concerned, but the police think Karen’s amnesia is a convenient lie given the circumstances. Karen’s best friend and next door neighbor, Brigid, wants to get to the bottom of things as well, but she’s got her own agenda.

In the weeks leading up to her accident, Karen was getting worried that someone had been coming in to her house when no one was home. She would notice little things, such as a book moved on the right side as opposed to the left, indents in her bed covers, etc. All of this makes you wonder if Karen is unstable. Does she really not remember what happened that night, or did she do what the cops are accusing her of and she’s just playing the victim?

This fast paced thriller kept me hooked the entire time. It will have you questioning the motives and mental stability of all the characters, and the ending will definitely stick with you! I have read all of Lapena’s books now and look forward to any upcoming releases she will have!

Book Review: Spring at Blueberry Bay (Hope Island #1) by Holly Martin- 5 Stars

This is a super romantic, cozy read! Bella in currently unemployed after the boss at her last job was found embezzling funds. One day she comes home and finds a homeless man begging on her stoop and being the compassionate heart she is, Bella invites him in. This man is not who he says, but it may not necessarily be a bad thing, and soon you will find out why he did what he did.

This was such a sweet book. I loved the setting on Hope Island; it just seems absolutely gorgeous. Bella is great at her job and I love the passion she has not only in her career but towards those she loves. Isaac has a huge heart and is smart, handsome, and caring and the relationship between the two of them seemed so genuine and relatable.

This steamy book will make you laugh, cry, and swoon. It is just adorable, and I look forward to reading the others in this series!

Book Review: Forget Me Not by A.M. Taylor-3 Stars

Ten years ago a seventeen year old girl named Nora goes missing. All that was found was her car, with an empty gas tank, not far from her family’s lake house. Her body was never found and she never returned either. Ten years to the exact day, her younger sister Noelle (Elle) is found murdered not far from where Nora’s car was abandoned. Maddie, one of Nora’s best friends, still deals with the grief over not having closure from Nora’s disappearance and makes it her mission to find out once and for all not only what happened to Nora but who killed Elle as well. The police aren’t necessarily convinced the two cases are connected, but all of Nora’s family and friends vehemently believe this.

This book was off to a great start. The pace and tone was perfect, and I had my suspicions of who the killer was, but I hadn’t quite figured out what became of Nora. I like being surprised in mysteries, I don’t usually enjoy figuring out the answer too early in advance as it kind of kills the book for me, so that aspect was great. What I did not like, and the reason for the 3 stars, is the fact I thought that what happened to Nora was completely absurd and unbelievable. (Spoiler down below!!!!)

 

 

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***SPOILER*** I can NOT believe the police wouldn’t have thought to dredge the lake NEAR HER LAKE HOUSE when they could not find a body!!! That baffles me.

Aside from this, this was an expertly crafted suspense that I really enjoyed for the most part!

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Lying Game by Ruth Ware-3 Stars

Four friends-Isabel, Kate, Fatima, and Thea-haven’t spoken in years after tragedy and scandal struck their boarding school when they were teens. The girls were notorious among the other students and faculty for telling lies. It was a game to them, complete with points for who could come up with the most believable or outlandish lie.

But one lie they told has caught up with them and the truth has to come out somehow. Now in their thirties, the girls are reunited when Kate sends them all a text saying she needs them.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really care for this book. The premise sounds great but this book bored me with the amount of drivel on pages that could have honestly been left out. It just drug on and on. I thought the characters were annoying, except for Fatima, and I found the ending disappointing. Overall this book was a let down. I did enjoy The Woman in Cabin 10 by this same author and will probably give her book In a Dark, Dark Wood a try.

2018 A Year in {Book} Review- My Top 5 Favorite Books of the Year

I thought I would start 2019 off with a review on my favorite books of 2018. I read a total of 32 books this year and picked 5 of my top favorites. As you can tell, psychological thrillers and romances are my favorite genres!

 

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang– This was an unexpected steamy romance about a girl with Aspergers who hires a male escort to teach her how to be in a relationship.

My Lady’s Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris- A fun choose your own adventure where the reader gets to decide how their love life pans out!

A Royal Shade of Blue by Aven Ellis- This novel delves into the world of royals and what happens when one of them falls for a commoner.

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena– When the power goes out at a resort in the Catskills and hotel guests start ending up murdered, it’s up to the remaining survivors to figure out who the killer is before they’re all goners!

The Wife Between Us by by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen– A thriller involving a jilted ex wife, a much younger soon to be wife, secrets, and the husband that ties them together. Or is it?

 

I have reviews for all of these on my blog; just search for the title if you’re interested! Have you read any of these? Let me know what some of your top favorites of 2018 were in the comments!

 

I read a few others this year that I would add to this list but didn’t because they actually aren’t being published until 2019!

Book Review: The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena- 4 Stars

In The Couple Next Door, Marco and Anne leave their sleeping baby in her crib at their house while they attend a dinner party next door. Their sitter had canceled last minute and the hostess demanded no children at the party, so what could they do? They have the baby monitor on, (but the video part is broken, it’s only audio) they check in on Cora every 30 minutes, and they are literally next door. What could go wrong?

There’s so many layers to this novel! Just when you think you’ve been stunned more than you can handle, you’re hit with another shocker! Full of lies, deception, and secrets, The Couple Next Door unravels more panic with every turn of the page. It was fast paced and kept me hooked the whole way through!

This is my second Lapena novel and I can’t wait to read more. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

2018-A Reflection of the Year

2018 was a busy, stressful, fun year. My first child turned one, I found out I was expecting our second, we moved into a beautiful new home, my husband started a new job, and today, we are celebrating 7 years of marriage!

Next year will also be fun, busy, and stressful! I will be turning 30, I’ll be having my second baby, and who knows what else is to come!

I don’t make resolutions but some goals I have for the next year are:

spend less time on my phone/computer

get outside more

read more

try new recipes

worry less

organize my attic

Now, with a newborn coming halfway through the year and having a very adventurous toddler, I am not sure how many new recipes or books I’ll be able to read! But that’s why they are just goals I simply desire to achieve and I won’t beat myself up over missing the mark!

Do you have any goals or resolutions for 2019? Share them with me in the comments!