Book Review: Not In Love by Ali Hazelwood

 

First published June 11, 2024

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A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science.

Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through - and he's a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can't stop thinking about. The woman who's off-limits to him.

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business - one that plays for keeps.

MY REVIEW:

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book from the very start and it is my first book I have read by this author. But it will not be my last. I liked Rue and she reminded me of Tempence from the tv show Bones. Not many friends, not sure how to do relationships and very smart.
Rue and Eli met in a bar for sex only after they had met on an APP. Right after that she finds out he works for the company who is out to take the company she works for. He also did not know who she was when they met. They decide to go ahead and have sex anyways. She usually only does 1 night stands and never seeing the guy again, But there is something about Eli that she changes her stance.
I found these 2 fun and seeing their relationship grow.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC to review.
#NetGalley #Notinlove

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Ali Hazelwood

Bornin Italy

December 01

Website

http://alihazelwood.com/

Twitter

eversoali

Genre

Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit

https://www.goodreads.com/alihazelwood

I'm Ali, and I write contemporary romcom novels about women in STEM and academia. I love cats, Nutella, and side ponytails. I'm also currently learning to crochet, so as you can tell I'm a super busy gal with an intense and exciting life!

I only use Goodreads as a reader, to review and hype books that I've loved (many of these book are ARCs received from fellow authors)

Book Review: The Love Hack by Sophie Ranald

 

Published June 7, 2024

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She’s a rookie advice columnist. He’s her office crush. It’s about to get complicated.

Landing a new job as online agony uncle “Ask Adam” Lucy dishes out relationship tips to men. But when it comes to her own love life, she’d rather spend Friday nights curled up on her sofa with Netflix and her cat, Astro. That is, until she meets Ross, her new co-worker who makes her snort with laughter at his silly jokes and sets off butterflies in her stomach when his hazel eyes meet hers over his laptop. After her last work boyfriend broke her heart, Lucy swore she’d never fall for someone in the office again. And she’s just about to have two more good reasons not to.

An email has just landed in the “Ask Adam” inbox and Lucy is convinced it’s from Ross. He’s most definitely not single. As her advice column goes viral and her inbox overflows with problems, Lucy turns to her AI assistant for help decoding romantic troubles, including her own. Can her state-of-the-art cupid really help her navigate her feelings for Ross? Or will the truth behind “Ask Adam” turn her non-existent love life into a hot mess?

A totally heart-warming, feel-good, and relatable romantic comedy that will have you laughing and crying as you race through the pages. If you love Sophie Kinsella, Emily Henry and Beth O’Leary, you’ll instantly fall for The Love Hack.

My Review:

The Love Hack by Sophie Ranald
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wish we could rate .5 stars as I would give it 3.5 stars. It wasn't quite a 4 star for me.

Lucy has a an advice column called Ask Adam and so everyone thinks she is a man except her coworkers know and one of them she has a crush on but he is dating someone.
Lucy uses AI to answer some of the questions and even has one who she believes is from Ross, her crush.
Then once comes in that sounds exactly like what is going on with her sister and BIL. She sets out to prove if it is right or wrong.
I liked Lucy and Ross. They were cute and you could tell they liked each other but it took awhile for them. It's a cute romance.
Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the arc to review.

View all my reviews

Sophie Ranald

Website

http://www.sophieranald.com

Twitter

sophieranald

Sophie Ranald is the youngest of five sisters. She was born in Zimbabwe and lived in South Africa until an acute case of itchy feet brought her to London in her mid-20s.

As an editor for a customer publishing agency, Sophie developed her fiction-writing skills describing holidays to places she’d never visited. In 2011, she decided to disregard all the good advice given to aspiring novelists and attempt to write full-time. After one false start, It Would Be Wrong to Steal My Sister’s Boyfriend (Wouldn’t It?) seemed to write itself.

Sophie also writes for magazines and online about food, fashion and running. She lives in south-east London with her amazing partner Hopi and Purrs, their adorable little cat.

Blog Tour: The Woman at my Wedding by L.G. Davis

 

publication June 13, 2024

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I’ve dreamed of this day forever. But will it be my last?

My stomach flutters as I try on my shimmering wedding dress with my two closest friends. In just a few weeks I’m going to marry the man of my dreams. I can’t believe the next time Nathan sees me it’ll be when I walk down the aisle. I’ve never told him my real name, and I hate lying to him. But it’s for his own good, and nobody could love him more than me. I’ve been through so much; don’t I deserve this happiness?

As I’m gazing at my reflection in the mirror, there’s a knock on the door and when I open it my heart leaps into my throat. Right in front of me is someone I hoped I’d never see again: my mother-in-law.

Nathan doesn’t speak to her, and the estrangement has been a huge relief to me. Because Debbie knows my secret. And she could ruin everything…

From the moment she sweeps in, it’s clear that if I don’t let my mother-in-law stay, she won’t stay quiet about my dark past. But she has no idea how far I’ll go to stop her destroying everything I’ve worked for.

But when I realise my friends have been lying to me too, I wonder if my mother-in-law is really the person I need to worry about. Is there another woman in my life who is determined not only to ruin my wedding, but to take my life?

An utterly heart-pounding and nail-biting new novel from bestseller L.G. Davis. This twisty, gasp-out-loud thriller is perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Teresa Driscoll and Freida McFadden.

MY REVIEW:

The Woman at My Wedding by L.G. Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow, I could not believe the gall of Debbie and how she treated Brynn.
Brynn is getting ready to marry Nathan and they are using a wedding planner, who is a friend of theirs. Debbie shows up and Nathan hasn't spoken to his mother in years and does not want her at the wedding. Brynn says she won't tell Nathan as he is busy with a court case. Brynn's maid of honor is also helping out with wedding plans.
We also know there is a woman who is watching Brynn all the time and wants Nathan for herself and is out to ruin the wedding plans.
The ending has some twists that I did not see coming and one twist that I saw coming but with the wrong person.
I read this in one sitting and could not put it down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC to review.
#NetGalley #thewomanatmywedding

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                                                                          L.G. Davis

Author L.G. Davis (Liz) creates fast-paced, unpredictable, twisty-turny, psychological thrillers set in small towns. She strives to create characters that feel so real that her readers would want to meet them in real life. She loves to set her thrillers in small towns that, at first sight, look picturesque, but upon closer inspection, dark secrets, and dangerous minds threaten the residents.

In addition to being an author, Liz is a self-taught digital artist who enjoys transforming a blank canvas into anything she can imagine.

Her greatest joys in life consist of spending time with her family, reading a good book, watching a great movie, or daydreaming about the next story she wants to bring to life in the future.

Liz Grace Davis was born in a refugee camp in Angola, where she spent the first eight years of her life. She grew up in Angola, Namibia, South Africa, and Germany. She now lives with her husband and their two children in Vienna, Austria.



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Blog Tour : Did I Kill My Husband? by A.J. Campbell

 

Expected publication May 29, 2024

Buy from Amazon

The police officer’s voice is steady as he tells me the news. ‘Your husband is in hospital.’ My heart pounds. I think about my children, safely tucked up in bed. What will happen to us if he loses his life? And more importantly… do the police know where I really was tonight?Everybody thinks Michael and I are the perfect couple. But everybody is wrong. Because my dear, lovely husband was at the heart of a scandal at the school where he teaches. He was cleared of any wrongdoing. At first I believed him. Now, I’m sure he’s been hiding something terrible. But I can’t tell the police a thing. Because my husband isn’t the only one with secrets.So, as I stand here knowing I have to tell my children that Michael is fighting for his life, I ask what would be worse? For my husband, the much-loved local teacher, to die? Or for him to live, and for all his lies to come home again?In the end, the choice is easy. I know what I have to do…I’ll tell the police that I would never, ever hurt my husband. But will they believe me?

My Review:

Did I Kill My Husband? by A.J. Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We know from the beginning that Christina hits something and she thought it was an animal. She did get out of the car and looked around. She saw nothing and went on her way home.
When the police come to the house she yells out to Michael that the police are there. He doesn't greet them with her. That's when they tell her is in the hospital.
Christina isn't happy but would never harm Michael. she stood by his side after a scandal at the school , where he teaches. As the story kept going and we get glimpses of Christina's family and Michael, I wasn't sure what to think. Who is really lying and covering things up. Who is really Christina's friends are has her back. The ending though is not what I saw coming.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ebook to review.

View all my reviews

                                                                     A.J. Campbell


Born Enfield, The United Kingdom

Website
https://www.ajcampbellauthor.com/

Twitter
AuthorAJC

Genre
Suspense, Thriller, Fiction


AJ CAMPBELL is an Amazon bestselling author of six psychological suspense novels and promises stories full of twists, turns and torment. Her fourth book The Phone Call was released in July 2022, and it topped the Amazon charts for several months. It was shortlisted for the Adult Prize for Fiction at the Selfie Book Awards 2023. She released her fifth novel The Wrong Key in January 2023, and her sixth one Her Missing Husband in May 2023.

AJ draws inspiration for her stories from seemingly unbelievable situations in which ordinary people find themselves. She creates compelling characters that resonate with her readers. AJ lives in the UK on the Essex / Hertfordshire border with her husband, sons, and cocker spaniel, Max. She is a dog lover, Netflix junkie, and a wine and Asian food enthusiast. And, either reading, watching TV, or writing, AJ enjoys nothing more than getting stuck into a twisty story!

Connect with AJ here:

www.ajcampbellauthor.com
www.facebook.com/AJCampbellauthor
www.instagram.com/ajcampbellauthor/
www.twitter.com/AuthorAJC

Book Review: The Summer We Started Over by Nancy Thayer

 

First published May 7, 2024

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Eddie Grant is happy with her life and her work as a personal assistant to Dinah Lavender, one of the most famous and renowned romance authors in the business. But being a spectator to notoriety and glamour isn’t as fulfilling as she once thought. Thankfully, Eddie has the perfect excuse for a Her hardworking younger sister, Barrett, is opening her gift shop on Memorial Day weekend, and could use all the help she can get.

But going home to the beautiful island of Nantucket means facing the family’s difficult past. Shortly after the death of Eddie and Barrett’s brother, their mother left them and their father made the spontaneous decision to buy a small farm. Eddie stayed there for only a year before her family’s grief threatened to consume her as well, and had been living in Manhattan ever since. Now that she is back, Eddie must face all she left her father’s increased eccentricities, which has led to a house bursting at the seams with books; her sister’s resentment over Eddie’s escape; and a past love connection, one that is still undeniable and complicated, all these years later. But the Grant sisters are nothing if not resilient and capable, opening a used bookstore in their father’s abandoned barn to manage his hoarding, and navigating the discovery of a long-buried family secret that will change all of them forever.

MY REVIEW:

The Summer We Started Over by Nancy Thayer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eddie is a personal assistant to a romance author. Her sister, Barrett is opening a store in their hometown. Their father had become a recluse and book hoarder after their brother died and their mom and dad got divorced. Going back to Nantucket is not something Eddie had planned on but her sister needed her. It was only supposed to be for a short time. Then the man she loved and left came back into her life complicating things. Also the author came to visit as well.
I loved all of these characters, flaws and all. I wanted to be in Nantucket as well. It sounds so beautiful.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ebook to review.

View all my reviews

                                                                        Nancy Thayer


Born in Emporia, The United States

Website
http://nancythayer.com/

Genre
Literature & Fiction, Women & Gender Studies




Nancy Thayer has published 35 novels, including Family Reunion and Secrets in Summer. She has lived on Nantucket Island year-round for 38 years with her husband Charley Walters. They have two children and five grandchildren.

Book Review: Man's Best Friend by Alana B Lytle

 

 First published May 14, 2024

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Ever since her year as a scholarship student among the ultra-wealthy at a Manhattan private school, El knows what it is like to feel rich—to feel chosen. And being not chosen is her current living at age thirty, she has given up her dream of becoming a famous actress, she has no passions, no great love, nothing to look forward to.

Then El meets a mysterious trust-fund Cambridge grad who holds the keys to the world she has long dreamed of. Bryce may not be particularly good-looking, charming, or interesting, but he has chosen her. El allows herself to be lulled by the ease and safety that his wealth provides, becoming Bryce’s little pet, and giving up her job, friends, and apartment in short order. But when a series of disturbing and slightly surreal events reveal that Bryce is not quite what he seems, but something entirely more sinister, El must face the consequences when his darkness—and her own—are unleashed.

MY REVIEW:

Man's Best Friend by Alana B. Lytle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I did not care for this book. The main character, El is a boring person. I never liked her and found her very selfish. Only wanting the rich around her and what they could do for her. The friends she did have she only saw them when she felt like it.
El meets Bryce. He is smitten with her and pretty much will do anything for her. But things don't add up and before we know it she isn't quite the person I thought either but then again maybe she is.
I had a hard time liking the book, the characters and the storyline.
Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the ebook to review,

View all my reviews

Book Review: Twenty Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate

 

First published January 30, 2024

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Phoebe Dean was the most popular girl alive and dead.

For the last ten years, the small, claustrophobic town of West Wilmer has been struggling to understand one thing: Why did it take young Grant Dean twenty-seven minutes to call for help on the fateful night of the car accident that took the life of his beloved sister, Phoebe?

Someone knows what really happened the night Phoebe died. Someone who is ready to tell the truth.

With Phoebe's memorial in just three days, grief, delusion, ambition, and regret tornado together with biting gossip in a town full of people obsessed with a long-gone tragedy with four people at its heart—the caretaker, the secret girlfriend, the missing bad boy, and a former football star. Just kids back then, are forever tied together the fateful rainy night Phoebe died.

Perfect for fans of Jane Harper and Celeste Ng, Tate's literary suspense Twenty-Seven Minutes is a gripping debut about what happens when grief becomes unbearable and dark secrets are unearthed in a hometown that is all too giddy to eat it up.

MY REVIEW:

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

10 years ago there was a car accident. Grant Dean was driving and his sister Phoebe was with him. Another person, was also in the car. Why did it take 27 minutes for Grant to call 911. That is the oe question everyone has asked.
Meanwhile you have a mother who has died and her daughter is dealing with that when her brother shows up after many years of missing.
The twist at the end got me. I did not see that coming.
I liked how the characters developed and going from the past to the present to find out what had gone on. Things are not always as they seem. Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Press for the book to review,

View all my reviews

                                                                            Ashley Tate

Ashley is a Canadian author; Twenty-Seven Minutes is her debut novel.

Book Review: Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews

 

published May 7, 2024

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Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.

Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach read with depth and heart.

MY REVIEW:

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Saint is a country club for the wealthy.
A kid died many years ago when Traci was a lifeguard there. The other lifeguard had been fired but it was no one's fault. Now his half brother is looking into what really happened. Traci is also trying to keep the club going and finding new ideas and remodeling where she can,. Her husband had a died a few years ago and so she inherited his part of the hotel while his brother is trying to make her look bad.
Then someone ends up dead and more things come into light. I really liked Traci and her niece.It was a good book
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

View all my reviews

                                                                      Mary Kay Andrews


Born St. Petersburg, FL, The United States

Website
http://www.marykayandrews.com

Twitter
mkayandrews

Genre
Fiction, Mystery, Chick Lit



URL
https://www.goodreads.com/marykayandrews


https://marykayandrews.com/
https://www.facebook.com/marykayandre...
https://www.instagram.com/marykayandr...

MARY KAY ANDREWS is the New York Times bestselling author of 30 novels (including The Homewreckers, The Santa Suit, The Newcomer; Hello, Summer; Sunset Beach; The High Tide Club; The Weekenders; Beach Town; Save the Date; Ladies’ Night; Christmas Bliss; Spring Fever; Summer Rental; The Fixer Upper; Deep Dish; Blue Christmas; Savannah Breeze; Hissy Fit; Little Bitty Lies; and Savannah Blues), and one cookbook, The Beach House Cookbook.

A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, she earned a B.A. in journalism from The University of Georgia. After a 14-year career working as a reporter at newspapers including The Savannah Morning News, The Marietta Journal, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she spent the final ten years of her career, she left journalism in 1991 to write fiction.

Her first novel, Every Crooked Nanny, was published in 1992 by HarperCollins. She went on to write ten critically acclaimed mysteries under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck. In 2002, she assumed the pen name Mary Kay Andrews with the publication of Savannah Blues. In 2006, Hissy Fit became her first New York Times bestseller, followed by twelve more New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestsellers. To date, her novels have been published in German, Italian, Polish, Slovenian, Hungarian, Dutch, Czech and Japanese.

She and her family divide their time between Atlanta and Tybee Island, GA, where they cook up new recipes in two restored beach homes, The Breeze Inn and Ebbtide—both named after fictional places in Mary Kay’s novels, and both available to rent through Tybee Vacation Rentals. In between cooking, spoiling her grandkids, and plotting her next novel, Mary Kay is an intrepid treasure hunter whose favorite pastime is junking and fixing up old houses.

Book Review: Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

 

Published

April 23, 2024 by St. Martin's Press

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SISTERS, SECRETS, LOVE, AND MURDER... Sally Hepworth’s new novel has it all.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life.

But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?

A thrilling page-turner of sisterhood, secrets, love, and murder

MY REVIEW:

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jessica, Norah and Alicia were foster sisters for a short time. Always told how lucky they were. But there were secrets in that house of abuse, both physical and mental. Now it is years later and they are adults, each with their own baggage.
The house they had lived in was taken down and they found a body buried under the house. Now they have to o n for questioning. Miss Fairchild, the foster mom shows up as well.
I liked getting to know all 3 girls and how they ended up the way they did. We also know someone is taking to a psychiatrist and the things that are said is also very disturbing.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the book to review.

View all my reviews

Sally Hepworth

Born in Australia

Website

http://www.sallyhepworthauthor.com

Twitter

sallyhepworth

Genre

Fiction, Chick Lit, Crime

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/sallyhepworth

Sally Hepworth is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels.

Sally's books have been heralded “enchanting” by The Herald Sun, “smart and engaging” by Publisher’s Weekly, and New York Times bestselling authors Liane Moriarty and Emily Giffin have praised Sally’s novels as “women’s fiction at its finest” and “totally absorbing”.

Sally's novels are available worldwide in English and have been translated into 20 languages.

​

Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia with her three children.

Book Review: The Corpse in the Closet by Lucy Score

 

Published April 16, 2024 by Bloom Books

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Summer is heating up for reluctant psychic Riley Thorn and her handsome private investigator boyfriend, Nick Santiago. First, her disapproving grandmother arrives determined to make Riley take her powers seriously or face the wrath of "the Guild." Then there's the homicide detective who needs her help figuring out who murdered the well-dressed corpse in the walk-in closet. Nick's got his own hands full with a tricky missing person case and his parents who want to know why he didn't tell them about his live-in girlfriend. Then there's the fact that he's still the tiniest bit stressed about Riley almost getting murdered earlier that summer. The last thing he wants is her getting involved in another investigation. Things go from bad to worse when the body count starts stacking up, the meet-the-parents dinner goes horribly wrong, and their elderly roommate is up to no good…dressed like a mime. To top it off, Riley is forced to return to Channel 50 on official police business to question her spray-tanned news anchor ex-husband and his new weather girl fiancée. The trouble comes to a head when Riley receives a warning from the Back off or she's next. Someone has to solve these murders before she becomes the next corpse.

MY REVIEW:

The Corpse In the Closet by Lucy Score
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a fun and quirky series. Riley lives in a apartment/mansion complex with quite a few eccentric neighbors. She has a hot boyfriend who is a PI and hires her to work with him. She is also a psychic and helps the police with cases but also helps people without meaning to. Her parents and sister are quirky but her Grandmother is a horrible bully who I wish everyone at once would stand up to her and not give in to her demands. She is not friendly at all. Everything is her way and her timeline.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom for the arc to read.

View all my reviews

Lucy Score

Website

http://www.lucyscore.com

Twitter

lucyscore1

Genre

Romance

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/lucyscore

Lucy Score is an instant #1 New York Times bestselling author. She grew up in a literary family who insisted that the dinner table was for reading and earned a degree in journalism.

She writes full-time from the Pennsylvania home she and Mr. Lucy share with their obnoxious cat, Cleo. When not spending hours crafting heartbreaker heroes and kick-ass heroines, Lucy can be found on the couch, in the kitchen, or at the gym.

She hopes to someday write from a sailboat, oceanfront condo, or tropical island with reliable Wi-Fi.

Book Review: Escape to the Rome Apartment by Kerry Fisher

 

Published April 11, 2024 by Bookouture

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Sara’s eyes fill with tears as she reads the letter, her last words from her dearest ‘I’m buying you your freedom. You don’t need to ask your husband’s permission and you have to put yourself first for once. Have an incredible adventure before it’s too late for both of us…’Sara has lost her zest for life. Trapped sharing a house with her soon-to-be-ex-husband, with grown-up children who still need her but take her for granted, working in a job where her boss bullies her, the final straw is the heartbreak of losing her beloved best friend Lainey. But Lainey’s death could be the beginning of Sara’s new life… as the last gift Lainey gives to her friend is a sum of money and Sara travels to Italy, the scene of the pair’s youthful adventures, and scatters Lainey’s ashes on the beach at Portofino. For once, Sara decides to be brave. She quits her job, tells her family they can manage without her, and sets off on the trip of a lifetime. Swept up by new friends and relishing the freedom of being away from home in beautiful Florence, Sara finds herself drawn to Carlo. Handsome and charming, he is everything Sara finds it so hard to be carefree, impulsive, living in the moment without worrying about the future. And then Sara sees something she shouldn’t… and discovers a secret about Carlo that makes her question everything she thought she knew. Stuck at a crossroads in her life and her travels, she can’t face returning home yet, but nor is she brave enough to continue the challenge that Lainey set her. And then she meets an English woman who tells her about an apartment in Rome, that could just be the answer to everything…Return to the sunny streets of beautiful Rome with this heart-warming and romantic story about discovering your true path in life

MY REVIEW:

Escape to the Rome Apartment by Kerry Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sara lost her best friend, Lainey to cancer. Lainey left a note for her to go to Rome and scatter her ashes. They had gone there is young adults and always wanted to go back.
Sara's marriage is over and her boys are graduating from high school. She quit her job and so she packs and goes.
I couldn't stand her ex. It was all about him and his needs. Her sons weren't any better. All 3 of the men needed a kick in the butt.
Once Sara gets on the plane she meets a women and this woman tells her about her friend with enough room in his apartment and all the fun they will have.
I enjoyed getting to see Rome through her eyes and the people that she met and maybe even a relationship. I enjoyed this book very much.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc to read.

View all my reviews

Kerry Fisher


Website
http://www.kerryfisherauthor.com

Twitter
kerryfswayne

Member Since
January 2013

Book Review: Nowhere To Hide by Keri Beevis

 

Published April 2, 2024 by Boldwood Books

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Duncan Stone is one of the country's most eligible and handsome bachelors, and he wants to take me, Callie Parker, on a date. At first I am surprised and flattered, the envy of my friends. Then when our whirlwind romance escalates and he asks me to move in with him, it's like a dream come true. But as I get to really know my new boyfriend, my fairytale turns into a nightmare. Duncan is no Prince Charming. He is the Devil. Isolated from my friends and family, watched day and night, a prisoner in my own life, I know if I am going to survive, I need to escape. When a chance encounter with an old friend throws me a lifeline, I realise this is my live or die moment, and I find a hiding place deep in the Norfolk countryside. I'm supposed to feel safe here, so why do I hear footsteps outside my hideaway late at night, and sense that someone is watching me? Is it paranoia, or has Duncan managed to find me?

Or perhaps the danger is closer to home than I realise.

MY REVIEW:

Nowhere to Hide by Keri Beevis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Duncan is charming and handsome but underneath he is a control freak, a nightmare, and a devil all rolled into one.
When he takes a liking to Callie, the relationship moves fast. Then he isolates her. Makes it look like she is not stable to her family and her job. He s abusive both physically and mentally.. She even gets rid of her dog to keep the dog safe.
Then she decides to go to her sister for help but that backfires. But help she does get and tries to start over again by old friends. Even to start a new relationship with a man. Someone I liked from the start.
I could not put this book down and I hope to read more books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc to review.

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Keri Beevis

Born in Norwich, The United Kingdom

Website

https://keribeevis.com/

Twitter

keribeevis

Genre

Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/allaboutbeev

Hi, I'm Keri Beevis, and I'm the author of the bestselling psychological suspense thrillers, Deep Dark Secrets, Dying To Tell, The Sleepover, and The Summer House.

Other titles I've written include Trust No One, Every Little Breath, The People Next Door, and The House in the Woods (previously released as The Boat House).

I am signed with Boldwood Books and my twelfth thriller, Nowhere To Hide is out 2nd April.

You can find out more about me on my website.

https://keribeevis.com/

Book Review: One By One by Freida McFadden

 

Published April 2, 2024 by Poisoned Pen Press

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From New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden comes a dark, twisting thriller about a group of friends lost in the one by one, they each will fall, and only the killer will return home alive... A night spent sleeping on dirt and leaves is not how Claire Matchett expected to spend her vacation. She thought this would be a break from the stresses of work and raising her young children. A chance to repair her damaged marriage. A week of hiking and hot tubs with friends. It sounded like heaven. Then Claire's minivan breaks down on a lonely dirt road. With no cell reception, the group has no choice but to hike the rest of the way to their hotel. But it turns out the woods aren't as easy to navigate as they thought. Hours later, they are lost. Hopelessly lost. And as they navigate deeper into the woods, the members of their party are struck down mysteriously one by one. Has a wild animal been hunting them? Or is the hunter one of them? But as more time passes, one thing becomes Only one of them will return home alive.

MY REVIEW:

One by One by Freida McFadden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Claire and her friend's decide to vacation together along with their spouses/boyfriends. Then Claire's van breaks down and that's when everything starts happening. One by one a person either dies or disappears. Then only 2 are left. It was very intense and I was on the edge of my seat to fin out exactly what was going on.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc to review.


View all my reviews

Freida McFadden

Website

https://www.freidamcfadden.com/

Genre

Thriller

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/freidamcfadden

New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher's Weekly, and Amazon Charts bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple Kindle bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. She lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.

Book review: Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle

 

published April 23, 2024

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A steamy second-chance romance about a magical florist’s unexpected reunion with her high school sweetheart as she fake dates his soon-to-be stepbrother.

A small, magical town tucked away in rural Ohio, Moonville is the perfect place for flora fortunist Romina Tempest to expand her shop, where she uses the language of flowers to help the hopeful manifest their love lives. After giving up on her own big romance eleven years ago, at least she can bask in the promise of others’.

So, when the shop’s potential financier shares news of his wedding, Romina jumps on the opportunity to discuss buying the business. What better place to negotiate a deal than at a wedding, even if she has to fake-date her chaotic colleague Trevor to get an invitation? But all hell breaks loose when she discovers Trevor’s soon-to-be stepbrother is none other than Alex her high school sweetheart. Her greatest love. The boy who, eleven years ago, broke her heart, and who now thinks she and Trevor are dating.

What starts as an innocent misunderstanding becomes a week-long fake dating scheme, as Romina resolves to make Alex pay for breaking her heart. The only issue? She can’t deny their still-burning connection. Caught between proving to Alex what he lost, and coming clean and risking her business, Romina must decide whether giving Alex another chance means going back on herself, or finally releasing her hold on the past.

MY REVIEW:

Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Romina is a florist and uses magic through the flowers and the flower's meanings. She pretends date a guy who ends up being a soon to be step brother of her ex,
Alex was her high school sweetheart and she never got over him. As we read more about him then he never got over her either.
I thought the book was cute.
The one thing I don't like with books meant for adults are the cutesy cartoon covers. It looks like a mid grade fairytale cover.
I received the arc from netGalley for review.

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Sarah Hogle

Website

https://www.sarahhogle.com/

Twitter

witchofthewords

Genre

Contemporary, Romance

Sarah Hogle is a mom of three who enjoys trashy TV and provoking her husband for attention. Her dream is to live in a falling-apart castle in a forest that is probably cursed. Her novels are You Deserve Each Other, Twice Shy, Just Like Magic, and Old Flames and New Fortunes.

Book Review: Riley Thorne and The Dead Guy Next Door - Lucy Score

 

First published August 27, 2020

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A nice, normal life. Is that too much to ask? For Riley Thorn it is.

Divorced. Broke. Living with a pack of elderly roommates. And those hallucinations she's diligently ignoring? Her tarot card-dealing mom is convinced they're clairvoyant visions.

Just when things can't get worse, a so-hot-it-should-be-illegal private investigator shows up on her doorstep looking for a neighbor...who turns up murdered.

Nick Santiago doesn't play well with others. Unless the "others" are of the female persuasion. Wink. He's a rebel, a black sheep, a man who prefers a buffet of options to being stuck with the same entrée every night, if you catch his drift.

When the pretty, possibly psychic Riley lands at the top of the list of suspects, Nick volunteers to find out whodunit. Only because he likes solving mysteries not because he wants to flex his heroic muscles for the damsel in distress.

All they have to do is figure out who pulled the trigger, keep the by-the-book detective with a grudge at bay, and deal with a stranger claiming he was sent to help Riley hone her psychic gifts. All before the killer discovers she's a loose end that requires snipping.

MY REVIEW:

Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Riley s divorced and living alone. She has Psychic powers that she can help people and solves crimes but sometimes I don't get why she can't see what is going to happen to her or Nick. Nick is a PI who has a chemistry with Riley
Riley lives in a mansion with some pretty weird characters but fun. Her family is accentric with abilities as well.
It was a fun reads.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the book to review.

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                                                                    Lucy Score


Born The United States

Website
http://www.lucyscore.com

Twitter
lucyscore1

Genre
Romance



URL
https://www.goodreads.com/lucyscore


Lucy Score is an instant #1 New York Times bestselling author. She grew up in a literary family who insisted that the dinner table was for reading and earned a degree in journalism.

She writes full-time from the Pennsylvania home she and Mr. Lucy share with their obnoxious cat, Cleo. When not spending hours crafting heartbreaker heroes and kick-ass heroines, Lucy can be found on the couch, in the kitchen, or at the gym.

She hopes to someday write from a sailboat, oceanfront condo, or tropical island with reliable Wi-Fi.

Book Review: The Perfect Housemate by Lorna Dounaeva

 

Published March 28, 2024

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You let her in. You shouldn’t have…I was so nervous about someone new joining our house share; after everything that happened with my parents, my friends are like my family. Our imperfect but well-loved house is the only place where I can be myself. But when Poppy knocks on our door, blonde hair, wide eyes and a friendly smile, we all agree she’s a perfect fit. I just wish I could shake the feeling that I’ve seen her before…At first, everything runs smoothly. But one day, Poppy arrives home with my housemates in tow. She says she ‘forgot’ to invite me to the movie. My stomach drops. As she sidles up to my friends, I’m gripped by a familiar panic. If Poppy is from my past, will she turn my friends against me? Will she tell them the secret I’ve so carefully buried?I feel like Poppy’s watching my every move. My home used to be the place where I felt most comfortable. But as she places a delicious home-cooked meal in front of me, I don’t even feel safe eating here.I have to find out who she really is, and what she wants.And when I do, will she realise too late which one of us is truly dangerous?

MY REVIEW:

The Perfect Housemate by Lorna Dounaeva
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

June and her housemates need a new housemate to help with rent . So they now have Poppy. But things start happening with June and it looks like Poppy has it out for her or is June making things up?I liked the friendships between the women until Poppy shows up. I even like June's new boyfriend.
You will find out why Poppy has it out for June but is she the only one?
I loved this book and was giving it a 4 star until the very end. This is supposed to be a standalone but it was ended with a cliffhanger. That should not ever happen in standalones.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc to review.

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                                                                            Lorna Dounaeva


Born in London, The United Kingdom
July 08

Website
http://www.LornaDounaeva.com

Twitter
LornaDounaeva

Genre
Thriller, Suspense, Mystery



URL
https://www.goodreads.com/lornadounaeva


Lorna Dounaeva is a politics graduate who worked for the British Home Office before turning to crime fiction. She writes dark domestic thrillers and is especially fond of female villains. She lives in the Orkney islands with her Ukrainian husband and his parents, three children, a crafty cat and a happy dog.

Book Review : The Mistress by Valerie Keogh

 

published March 25, 2024

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She wants what you have...

Hannah Parker is a woman who always gets what she wants.

When her current husband discovers she has been lying to him – again - she knows it’s time to move on and find someone who can give her the life she desires… The life she knows she deserves…

But who will be the lucky man?

When her eye catches a glimpse of an old flame in a photograph, she’s sure it’s a sign. Mark Shepherd has always been in her thoughts – they’d been happy once, he’d adored her, but she’d made a mistake and let him get away. She won’t make the same mistake again….

Hannah is older now and wiser. She knows what men want and she knows how to keep them happy.

So what if Mark is happily married with a family of his own?

All good things must come to an end…

MY REVIEW:

The Mistress by Valerie Keogh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow, if you aren't happy with what you have then go after what you want no matter what.
Hannah is evil and she could have had a lot with who she was married to but it seems she is never happy. How she goes after an ex boyfriend and the wife suspects something is going on, I just wanted to throttle her.
I received the ebook from NetGalley for review,

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                                                                       Valerie Keogh

Twitter
ValerieKeogh1

Genre
Mystery


Valerie started to write several years ago. She self-published eight crime novels and one psychological thriller before signing a two book contract with Bookouture in March 2018. The first of these, Secrets Between Us, is available now and the second is due in Feb 2019. She is a registered nurse with a degree in English and a Masters in American Literature. Recently she has given up nursing to concentrate on her writing career.