tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16055900387503374112024-03-14T10:00:07.164-07:00Carlene InspiredCarlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.comBlogger1419125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-54142852433903720802024-03-14T09:59:00.000-07:002024-03-14T09:59:15.830-07:00The Fallen One by Brittney Sahin<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYZmPsNCpZ4cKfqqOFHC1l-HGyt1EAy3c_2sWp2V8OaPkxNn4l087bm02JQC90CncVnVfIUNxVQiY0UyOf22yp3LA4XAADrFf4H3yeLWOVURnKuiCCciu0Iug6IvwTNnStcAkU-O5eLN7raOleU4HCuVlxgqeMuDjTj2KrVRY7nzCVlJPrL9BiGPMQXcE/s1500/811TahxyFeL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYZmPsNCpZ4cKfqqOFHC1l-HGyt1EAy3c_2sWp2V8OaPkxNn4l087bm02JQC90CncVnVfIUNxVQiY0UyOf22yp3LA4XAADrFf4H3yeLWOVURnKuiCCciu0Iug6IvwTNnStcAkU-O5eLN7raOleU4HCuVlxgqeMuDjTj2KrVRY7nzCVlJPrL9BiGPMQXcE/s320/811TahxyFeL._SL1500_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>The Fallen One (Falcon Falls Security #6)<br />by Brittney Sahin<br />Published March 14, 2024</h3><p>From Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author Brittney Sahin, comes a sizzling love story between a morally gray hero who doesn’t believe in second chances, and the woman who will make him question everything.</p><p><br /></p><p>Five years ago, a phone call forever changed my life as I listened to my wife being murdered half a world away.</p><p><br /></p><p>Going rogue from the CIA, I became a man feared by everyone as I sought vengeance. Lies she’d told and secrets she’d kept, pushed me over an even darker edge.</p><p><br /></p><p>With nothing to lose, I became unstoppable. A devil among men. Until justice was served, or so I’d thought it’d been . . .</p><p><br /></p><p>Working alongside a team of veterans, trying to find my way back to the man I’d once been, another life-altering call came, drawing me back to the dark world I’d left behind.</p><p><br /></p><p>The assignment should’ve been straightforward. Rescue a brilliant scientist working on a classified government project and save the nation from an attack while I was at it. But nothing in my life was ever simple.</p><p><br /></p><p>When the missing scientist turned out to be the same off-limits woman I’d been obsessing over for months, saving her life was the easy part.</p><p><br /></p><p>Not corrupting her in the process was the challenge. Especially when that gorgeous woman, innocent and untainted by the evils of the world, begged me to do exactly that.</p><p><br /></p><p>Our past was complicated. The chemistry between us, undeniable. The desire to claim her as my own and never let go, unbearable.</p><p><br /></p><p>My team may have been up against our most formidable threat ever, but there I was about to do something I never did. Lose my control.</p><p><br /></p><p>Author’s Note: This is Carter Dominick’s book in the Falcon Falls Security Series. This romantic suspense novel may be read as a standalone.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194954295-the-fallen-one" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3TeaQ6h">Amazon </a>| <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Fallen-One-Falcon-Falls-Security-ebook/dp/B0CCQWLWLD">Amazon CA </a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">5 Stars</div></h4><p>Dom. The Devil. Carter Dominick. Five years ago he listened as his wife was murdered over the phone and as the world turned against him as he sought vengeance for her death. Only one woman held faith in him, giving him reason to believe in forgiveness and good. Partnered with a team of veterans with Falcon Falls Security, Carter thought he'd returned to good, but another phone call drags him back to the depths. He's tasked with rescuing a brilliant, beautiful scientist...the one who always believed in him, the one he absolutely cannot have.</p><p><br /></p><p>Y'all, holy smokes. Holy insane chemistry. HOLY AGE GAP, MORALLY GRAY MC, GRUMPY SUNSHINE, ALL THE THINGS. Brittney Sahin said I can fit everything into this humongous 600+ page romantic suspense and a political mission at the same time. She pulled it off, if my five star rating doesn't give that away already. Carter hasn't been one of the main characters of the security team that I was dying to read, but that actually made The Fallen One all the better for me. Getting to know this grumpy man and the backstory to his jaded personality truly was incredible. As the world turned against him though, one young woman holds onto the belief that he is good, because she saw the real him. In fact, he's always let his walls down for her. I don't want to hide my review for spoilers, so I'll just say that the female main character will be an unexpected surprise for many readers and I hope they love her as much as I did.</p><p><br /></p><p>There's a lot of emotional turmoil to get through for the happily ever after in this one, but it's worth it. I love a morally grey character finding hope, especially if a brilliant woman is the one to guide him to it. The Fallen One is a very classic romantic suspense, with the action taking the front seat and the romance sizzling slowly as the mission goes awry. You won't be able to put this one down, block out your calendar and settle in.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-60112103167074488372024-02-02T10:18:00.000-08:002024-02-02T10:18:37.543-08:00No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmzSYTqZqaBglcqXNw9b1lcLushaWFSD5ZaoW8FeIfcXSVuV16m8K4qBQ8rVfxlvPAN0Yiu3rvlJ_v8v2wAB8fHK77DqpcBzVp7iarBbSsITB2M5M8zXN5RuE3WMR1hVSPVbiVMVtluU6p0A_pXwCl6_eNboZGT0woW95g2rQsB47QEXtptADSw4WJjlC/s1000/81QfrSftifL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="663" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmzSYTqZqaBglcqXNw9b1lcLushaWFSD5ZaoW8FeIfcXSVuV16m8K4qBQ8rVfxlvPAN0Yiu3rvlJ_v8v2wAB8fHK77DqpcBzVp7iarBbSsITB2M5M8zXN5RuE3WMR1hVSPVbiVMVtluU6p0A_pXwCl6_eNboZGT0woW95g2rQsB47QEXtptADSw4WJjlC/s320/81QfrSftifL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>No One Can Know<br />by Kate Alice Marshall<br />Published January 23, 2024 by Flatiron Books</h3><p><b>The author of <i>What Lies in the Woods</i> returns with a novel about three sisters, two murders, and too many secrets to count.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Emma hasn't told her husband much about her past. He knows her parents are dead and she hasn't spoken to her sisters in years. Then they lose their apartment, her husband gets laid off, and Emma discovers she's pregnant―right as the bank account slips into the red.</p><p><br /></p><p>That's when Emma confesses that she has one more asset: her parents' house, which she owns jointly with her estranged sisters. They can't sell it, but they can live in it. But returning home means that Emma is forced to reveal her secrets to her husband: that the house is not a run-down farmhouse but a stately mansion, and that her parents died there.</p><p><br /></p><p>Were murdered.</p><p><br /></p><p>And that some people say Emma did it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Emma and her sisters have never spoken about what really happened that night. Now, her return to the house may lure her sisters back, but it will also crack open family and small-town secrets lots of people don’t want revealed. As Emma struggles to reconnect with her old family and hold together her new one, she begins to realize that the things they have left unspoken all these years have put them in danger again.</p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127305892-no-one-can-know">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3SHT0cz" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/No-One-Can-Know-Novel/dp/1250859913/ref=sr_1_1?crid=21U1CWUJNT0TF&keywords=no+one+can+know+kate+alice+marshall&qid=1706897734&sprefix=no+one+can+know%2Caps%2C412&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon CA </a>| <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-one-can-know-kate-alice-marshall/1143329941">B&N</a> | <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/no-one-can-know-kate-alice-marshall/19995357?ean=9781250859914">Bookshop.org</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">5 Stars</div></h4><p>No One Can Know is a sinister tale of three sisters and the secrets they’ve kept since the night of their parents murder. They’ve been estranged for so long that they no longer know one another anymore, but it’s obvious they all have their own agenda. As they return to their childhood home, it is apparent that neither the town, or each other, have forgotten the events of that night. For the town, that means continuing to blame Emma, the middle sister, for the murders despite the investigation never closing. For the other sisters, it means covering up the parts in it they played, no matter how small. The story they told as children is about to be unraveled. It’s an every-man-for-himself thriller that I could not stop reading, at least once I got out of my reading slump.</p><p><br /></p><p>I loved the changing character POVs and the flashbacks to the past, it gave such a great insight into who the sisters were at the time of the murder and the total impact it had on them and continued to as adults. We’re given the chance, as readers, to form a bond with Emma, to carry sympathy for her, even as the story twists. We see how she gave up her inheritence, how she's the nice quiet one, the way she works hard for her marriage. However, we meet the other siblings through her lense. That tainted perspective was actually super fun for me, because it made it harder for me to figure out truth from fiction. JJ was the perfect one, but she's shed that skin now, and Daphne just freaked me out from start to finish. Even as we get to know their past and their whys, Emma's perception carried on in my mind. Seeing how they work together and attempt to dig one another down was just fascinating.</p><p><br /></p><p>With family drama, police corruption, and even a second murder, the pace of No One Can Know is breakneck. There is so much happening, but Kate Alice Marshall weaves it together so perfectly. It’s a haunting tale that I truly could not figure out, which means instant 5 stars from me!</p><div><br /></div>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-61872298580418460172024-01-30T13:25:00.000-08:002024-01-30T13:25:46.923-08:00Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIFf3JKb5MQ0fSdFe8yPy5P3ZZP-i-TeI5YOAA29TY4qXTmqN6Cpg_STTuGis5nUknT8gYPCisLSOaZ9kr3z3m3CsMnKbIOn9pzKzXaRFwAz-D7_4lIpO6IguxWVhlGAGvPlsX35yDpWozvQQChbA3UpNhwfPiAYp4dsSEh3Q8uCvMQJ6GzPgn5s5YKVq/s1000/81lwDWtHxcL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="658" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIFf3JKb5MQ0fSdFe8yPy5P3ZZP-i-TeI5YOAA29TY4qXTmqN6Cpg_STTuGis5nUknT8gYPCisLSOaZ9kr3z3m3CsMnKbIOn9pzKzXaRFwAz-D7_4lIpO6IguxWVhlGAGvPlsX35yDpWozvQQChbA3UpNhwfPiAYp4dsSEh3Q8uCvMQJ6GzPgn5s5YKVq/s320/81lwDWtHxcL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Only If You're Lucky<br />Stacy Willingham<br />Published January 16, 2024</h3><p></p><div><div>Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can't say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.</div><div><br /></div><div>And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It's a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she's been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered... and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.</div><div><br /></div><div>A tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.</div></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60891867-only-if-you-re-lucky" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3HYRWLz" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Only-If-Youre-Lucky-Novel/dp/1250341361/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PPE6R13JHOKS&keywords=only+if+you%27re+lucky+stacey+willingham&qid=1706649720&sprefix=%2Caps%2C970&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon CA</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/only-if-youre-lucky-stacy-willingham/1143490237;jsessionid=18003B15FFCE28CE35AD270538FEE5AD.prodny_store01-atgap14?ean=9781250887931" target="_blank">B&N</a> | <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/one-of-us-stacy-willingham/19995509?ean=9781250887931&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiebound.org%2Fbook%2F9781250887931&source=IndieBound&title=">Bookshop.org</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">5 Stars</div></h4><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div>I love stories about the toxic relationships girls and women have, because they're realistic in ways many of us do not want to admit. The things we give into, the bullying we allow, the pervasive desire to be like one another or be better. In Only if You're Lucky, Stacy Willingham tells the story of enigmatic Lucy and the desperate to start over Margot. Life seems beautiful, like popularity and all the trappings of it are at Margot's feet. Lucy, however, leaves a dust in her wake that has Margot questioning everything. Is she who she says she is, or are they all pawns in the personal broadway show?</div><div><br /></div><div>This one was as twisted as it comes, with Willingham taking us on a wild, dark academia journey through the perspective of Margot. We see her naivety, her desperate desire to fit in, her broken heart over her best friend she lost prior to beginning college. We also, from her perspective alone, see the beautiful Lucy, the other friends they share a home with, and the partying fraternity brothers next door, including Margot's former friend's ex. It's twisted as it sounds and so perfectly college. What's also twisted? The truths hidden and the lies mixed into every word. Nothing is as it seems and as a thriller fan, I loved that I couldn't figure this one entirely out. There are loose strings, there is horror on these pages, and yet I could not put it down. These are the sort of characters you hate to love and a story that requires only one sitting. This one sucked me in and I need everyone to read it now.</div></div><div><br /></div>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-25140696459502776012023-11-17T10:04:00.000-08:002023-11-17T10:08:40.152-08:00Plot Twist by Erin La Rose<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRq7r6q8H1W_oiMpUxhD0hMwlsxkS5fCdKCKXdnGkKCwsTo5NzwGmFGQvz974GvRLLvI62NIzwUaTDsZKblArjC2IsprEnfUagCAtzjS2vnM7LT0bCdDW2wdgU3zZ5nIp3E5aj0BJaI34F-lFBZnr3muED72E3mQ23fPdabXkfjARTbJIZPzHcZ-Nh1-j0/s2400/Plot%20Twist%20Cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1594" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRq7r6q8H1W_oiMpUxhD0hMwlsxkS5fCdKCKXdnGkKCwsTo5NzwGmFGQvz974GvRLLvI62NIzwUaTDsZKblArjC2IsprEnfUagCAtzjS2vnM7LT0bCdDW2wdgU3zZ5nIp3E5aj0BJaI34F-lFBZnr3muED72E3mQ23fPdabXkfjARTbJIZPzHcZ-Nh1-j0/s320/Plot%20Twist%20Cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>PLOT TWIST<br />Author: Erin La Rosa <br />ISBN: 9781335458117<br />Publication Date: November 14, 2023<br />Publisher: Canary Street Press</h3><div><div>Readers who love books about books will fall for Erin La Rosa's latest rom com—a friends (with benefits)-to-lovers story about a romance author who's never been in love, and needs to find out why before her next manuscript is due! For fans of BY THE BOOK and BOOK LOVERS.</div><div><br /></div><div>Romance author Sophie Lyon’s ironic secret just went viral: she’s never been in love. Though her debut novel made readers swoon, Sophie’s having trouble getting her new characters to happily-ever-after, and she blames it on her own uninspired love life. With a manuscript deadline looming, Sophie makes an ambitious plan to overcome her writer’s block: reunite with her exes to learn why she's never fallen in love—and document it all for her millions of new online followers. Which also means facing her ex-girlfriend Carla, the one person Sophie could have loved.</div><div><br /></div><div>Luckily, Sophie’s reclusive landlord, Dash Montrose—a former teen heartthrob—has social media all figured out and offers to help. But he doesn't mention that he’s an anonymous online crafter, a hobby that helps him maintain his sobriety. No one knows about his complicated relationship with alcohol and he intends to keep it that way. His family is Hollywood royalty, so Dash has to steer clear of scandal.</div><div>As Sophie and Dash grow closer, they discover a heat between them that rivals Dash's pottery kiln. But Sophie needs to figure out who she is outside her relationships, and Dash isn’t sure he’s stable enough for the commitment she deserves. So Sophie suggests what any good romance author would: a friends-with-benefits arrangement. Surely a casual relationship won’t cause any trouble…</div></div><div><br /></div><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-faa88691-7fff-228b-c712-8cadc557807e"><h4 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Buy Links: </span></div><div style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;"><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/plot-twist-erin-la-rosa?variant=41015446011938" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Harlequin </span></a> | <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/exes-and-prose-erin-la-rosa/18808306?ean=9781335458117" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">BookShop.org </span></a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/plot-twist-erin-la-rosa/1142766775?ean=9781335458117&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7310909_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Barnes & Noble </span></a> | <a href="https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335458117?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&AID=10747236&PID=7310909&cjevent=ce31bf13615011ee808000250a82b820" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Books A Million </span></a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3unZunp" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Amazon </span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgsN-La4O9Sh41EKrsfF9G8xs1A7JpEUtZ_Zsqbsg7z4LUTJQ_6k33ZQ9EQ2Ccm9j-TZQJ-mA6D2yDSqrmEOxjEOzEgcZfVvhQBh5DNf4rPRV8CEAtT-Ic-spH9BeGj-pcYriGjCP14yyAx85xKIqsvUzS_x2Rydhk4GYikqBlX2-ZDxrPAUDBCJf2UBC/s970/95787e8a-b899-43c0-a906-b66880de8136.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="970" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgsN-La4O9Sh41EKrsfF9G8xs1A7JpEUtZ_Zsqbsg7z4LUTJQ_6k33ZQ9EQ2Ccm9j-TZQJ-mA6D2yDSqrmEOxjEOzEgcZfVvhQBh5DNf4rPRV8CEAtT-Ic-spH9BeGj-pcYriGjCP14yyAx85xKIqsvUzS_x2Rydhk4GYikqBlX2-ZDxrPAUDBCJf2UBC/s320/95787e8a-b899-43c0-a906-b66880de8136.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">5 Stars</div></h4></span></div><div><span> A romantic journey full of character growth, spice, and laughter, Plot Twist is destined to be a Tik-Tok sensation. With writers block and zero romantic prospects, author Sophie embarks on a foray into the exes of her past, asking them why they think they didn't work out. As she shares her findings with the world, she starts to wonder if she's been the problem all along. For Dash, the reclusive, self-aware, brooding, famous neighbor, Sophie is the problem. She's tempting, sultry, beautiful, makes him laugh, makes him want more. He suggested her social media look into her exes to help clear writers block, but now he just wants her to stop and be with him. Only, he's not ready to be with anyone. As the title predicts, these two are meant to be, but a plot twist has got to happen.</span><br /></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>I really enjoyed this book, loved it in fact. It's cute and sexy, the kind of book that's fun to read, that keeps you smiling, even as you sort of want to throw your Kindle at the wall. La Rosa's Plot Twist is super fun to read, feels authentic to reality, and features the character development I always think romance reads skip over. These two work on themselves first (yay for personal growth), putting their wildly strong chemistry on hold to cheer one another on. Sure, I yelled at them to be together, but it wouldn't have been the Plot Twist journey I loved if they hadn't done the work and denied themselves.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0AGbWzHYoFMB0ke6kw0iNf-r5iYbkd5WQq2_7DzJF8qU_l8WJDAlSCeGiRi_ennjhQyOr7njBG9cdZQtfscwZFttW_bEg5kWqDulMU2iSIMOKVmqw0tMLkPMMgOEEWPrkeapY3bK2h9GMXPtru3eogiW4hCZDQefqvm_dj_dLDrzxIs55_ixN6VABUbC/s3672/Erin%20La%20Rosa-%20photo%20credit%20Cathryn%20Farnsworth.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3672" data-original-width="2400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0AGbWzHYoFMB0ke6kw0iNf-r5iYbkd5WQq2_7DzJF8qU_l8WJDAlSCeGiRi_ennjhQyOr7njBG9cdZQtfscwZFttW_bEg5kWqDulMU2iSIMOKVmqw0tMLkPMMgOEEWPrkeapY3bK2h9GMXPtru3eogiW4hCZDQefqvm_dj_dLDrzxIs55_ixN6VABUbC/w131-h200/Erin%20La%20Rosa-%20photo%20credit%20Cathryn%20Farnsworth.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><h4 style="text-align: center;">Author Bio</h4><div>ERIN LA ROSA is a writer living in Los Angeles. As a writer for BuzzFeed, she frequently writes<br /> about the perils and triumphs of being a redhead. Before BuzzFeed, Erin worked for the comedy websites Funny or Die and MadAtoms, as well as E!s Fashion Police, Wetpaint, and Ecorazzi. Erin has appeared on CNN, Headline News, Jimmy Kimmel, and The Today Show on behalf of BuzzFeed. She is the author of Womanskills and The Big Redhead Book.</div></div><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-eee9b6bd-7fff-9199-f2a0-a6f0d53172c7"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Social Links: </span></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.erinlarosacreative.com/">Website</a> | </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/erinlarosalit/">Instagram</a> | </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/erin.larosa">Facebook</a> | </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://twitter.com/erinlarosalit">Twitter</a> | </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@erinlarosawrites">TikTok</a></span></div></span></div><div><br /></div></span></div>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-22353228703517752552023-08-16T11:24:00.002-07:002023-08-16T11:24:21.332-07:00Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan<h2 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqPHUcqcFAKkgNWuKHyOgTX5WwZjLDvcY1928Bq8fKn5hIAeRr6FLJc1kRZ4lmEQOBbg_Pb849uc38RmV9W81ptlBrHKp1CD27mNqB_vsTmSoekWQ8ooakN4a8kG5xYTcqZ3HeFv6FMSc_yRHvAiMOYi4Dir94-qlCpVO4lWb0D4_0rFDHny7o_LAbn9o/s1200/1728284961.01.S001.JUMBOXXX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqPHUcqcFAKkgNWuKHyOgTX5WwZjLDvcY1928Bq8fKn5hIAeRr6FLJc1kRZ4lmEQOBbg_Pb849uc38RmV9W81ptlBrHKp1CD27mNqB_vsTmSoekWQ8ooakN4a8kG5xYTcqZ3HeFv6FMSc_yRHvAiMOYi4Dir94-qlCpVO4lWb0D4_0rFDHny7o_LAbn9o/s320/1728284961.01.S001.JUMBOXXX.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Long Shot<br />(Hoops #1)<br />by Kennedy Ryan<br />Published August 8, 2023 by Bloom Books<br />First published March 20, 2018</h2><p>From award-winning author Kennedy Ryan comes the soul-gripping, unforgettable first installment of the Hoops trilogy.</p><p><br /></p><p>Iris DuPree meets August West in a sports bar during her last semester of college. It's the conversation of a lifetime and sends sparks flying in every direction. The connection is undeniable…but the timing is all wrong. August is poised for the NBA draft, and Iris belongs to another man―basketball's "golden boy" and August's long-time rival.</p><p><br /></p><p>The two go their separate ways, but they often recall that electric night and what could have been. While August has embarked on his all-star life, studded with wealth and fame, Iris's perfect public relationship has become a nightmare behind closed doors. A tarnished dream of fool's gold.</p><p><br /></p><p>When August re-enters her life, the world seems briefly bright again, but Iris's darkest nights are not over yet. To survive, she must build her own strength and trust that her bond with August can endure after all this time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Even when her fraudulent prince has vowed never to let her go.</p><h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/86176366-long-shot">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3QHUgMy">Amazon </a>| <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Long-Shot-HOOPS-Kennedy-Ryan-ebook/dp/B07BLZ7S7T/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1692210223&sr=8-2">Amazon CA</a> | <a href="https://www.bloombooks.com/long-shot.html">Bloom Books</a></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18.72px;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">"Hope is the gap between what if and what is, but you have to fill that gap with a lot of hard work."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18.72px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">5 Stars</div></h3><p>Iris and August. Star-crossed, the one that got away, never really meant to be. That's what it feels like upon first meeting, when the two connect in a way neither has with another before, only to find there's something, or someone, in the way. Their worlds collide on the night of the Big Dance, but it's at the game that August discovers Iris chose his nemesis, Caleb, long before he'd stood a chance. They never forget the feeling, but each moves forward with the life they selected. August a star rookie for a new team and Iris, the partner to another star rookie. Unbeknownst to August, though, Iris wants to get away, because her basketball prince isn't a nice one, he's a tyrant.</p><p><br /></p><p>August is the basketball star you dream about, with an ego and a heart. He's an alpha without the a-hole, a young man raised well with his dreams secured. Iris is a driven, stubborn women with huge sports dreams as well, but she's tied to a wealthy, controlling boy who only knows how to get his way. Long Shot is a story of basketball, dreams, and a wilting flower who finds a way to bloom in the darkness. It's about lust, love, heartache, and the way you hold onto your hopes with a long shot dream of them coming true. It's passionate and difficult, a story that will break you apart and put you back together. A story that, for some, will resonate in ways that they felt a book might never. For others, it will be an eye opener into the pain that many experience and the overwhelming joy and strength that comes from making it through. It's a lengthy book, but it needs to be to tell you the whole story, the true story for many, and to give you the ending readers, romance lovers, and people in general deserve to have.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you didn't know I am a massive college basketball fan, now you know. Sometime in high school I just decided that was the sport and age group I was going to be a fan of and I went all in. March Madness is my time, I am Iris in front of the TV, so Long Shot, from the first time I read it to now, the second time, is relatable from a sports girl perspective. The extra time Ryan takes to get into the game, the feeling, some of the stats, is so important to paint the full picture and really, it's time well spent for readers like me.</p><p><br /></p><p>Long Shot is the first in the Hoops series and it's an incredibly romantic, angsty read that I cannot recommend enough.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-15185803680904680942023-07-29T10:27:00.002-07:002023-07-29T10:27:51.550-07:00The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon<h2 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9q8vOwjRIpnokUrsKcOvxFjq4wDtK45RoFVrlpLsISCStUAdossv3sX3-yMbmdEUokpATUykCuoSPBmRq_UhwTQaa2nun5_x4RcmS52J9tNu_sCMWZD3cWFzj4ixQtgEIQvIyrQ3gCkRPkkNP03MzFx0lI5Jy0JKAsvQ483ZsNhs0C8DaYu4e0MNLOn6/s400/61897971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9q8vOwjRIpnokUrsKcOvxFjq4wDtK45RoFVrlpLsISCStUAdossv3sX3-yMbmdEUokpATUykCuoSPBmRq_UhwTQaa2nun5_x4RcmS52J9tNu_sCMWZD3cWFzj4ixQtgEIQvIyrQ3gCkRPkkNP03MzFx0lI5Jy0JKAsvQ483ZsNhs0C8DaYu4e0MNLOn6/s320/61897971.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>The Quiet Tenant<br />Clémence Michallon<br />Published June 20, 2023 by Knopf</h2><p>Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate New York town where he lives. He’s the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. But Aidan has a dark secret he’s been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him. He’s a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there’s a ninth he has earmarked for Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed, fearing for her life. </p><p><br /></p><p>When Aidan’s wife dies, he and his thirteen-year-old daughter Cecilia are forced to move. Aidan has no choice but to bring Rachel along, introducing her to Cecilia as a “family friend” who needs a place to stay. Aidan is betting on Rachel, after five years of captivity, being too brainwashed and fearful to attempt to escape. But Rachel is a fighter and survivor, and recognizes Cecilia might just be the lifeline she has waited for all these years. As Rachel tests the boundaries of her new living situation, she begins to form a tenuous connection with Cecilia. And when Emily, a local restaurant owner, develops a crush on the handsome widower, she finds herself drawn into Rachel and Cecilia’s orbit, coming dangerously close to discovering Aidan’s secret.</p><p><br /></p><p>Told through the perspectives of Rachel, Cecilia, and Emily, The Quiet Tenant explores the psychological impact of Aidan’s crimes on the women in his life—and the bonds between those women that give them the strength to fight back. Both a searing thriller and an astute study of trauma, survival, and the dynamics of power, The Quiet Tenant is an electrifying debut thriller by a major talent.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74824568-the-quiet-tenant" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3Y9OuVD">Amazon US</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Quiet-Tenant-novel-Cl%C3%A9mence-Michallon/dp/1524712477/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22UWARN1TH6R9&keywords=the+quiet+tenant&qid=1690651463&sprefix=the+quiet+tenan%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1">Amazon CA</a> | <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-quiet-tenant-a-novel/9781524712471-item.html?ikwid=the+quiet+tenant&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=e801275e4dae6a4a6d77d55260e72a34">Indigo </a>| <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-quiet-tenant-cl-mence-michallon/1142242370?ean=9780593534649">B&N</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">4 Stars</div></h3><p>He comes to you like clockwork, bringing you the necessities, taking what he wants, before he locks you away again. You are Rachel and he saved you. He's a father, a revered member of the community, a handsome new boyfriend, and a kidnapper and serial killer. You have been kept alive, but he is moving and you would do anything to stay alive, to find your way out finally. So, you agree to the rules, you befriend his daughter Cecelia, you plot the method to your escape. You are the quiet tenant.</p><p><br /></p><p>What do you say about a book that kept you on the edge of your seat, reading nonstop for two hours, because you could not possibly stop and leave a woman in captivity? The Quiet Tenant is a psychological thriller that does not hold the fast-paced nature of my usual edge-of-my-seat thrillers. It is a slow, descriptive study of the impacts of Aidan Thomas, a man who is beloved, a man who kills. You cannot know what is to come in The Quiet Tenant, it's written so cleverly, from the perspectives of three women held captive by Aiden in their own unique ways. It is a book that leaves you desperate to act on behalf of the characters, desperate to protect, to save, to force into fleeing. You are, at times, immensely impressed by the characters vigilance and at other times scared, worried that the chance has passed them by. A debut that reads like the author's tenth piece of work, The Quiet Tenant is an incredible work of psychological behavior that will stay with you forever.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-41960851581689570142023-07-24T09:54:00.002-07:002023-07-24T09:54:24.815-07:00None of This is True by Lisa Jewell<h2 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMap1RKM7WdoYk2I5z4QKNb7tEou3o4Yx8mSEg6weH122vhKvqYucrOX55EAl2Q7jnYGc0TXMZpHTrq1Kl_vPBplXwk3HC7Y2FS2pfCyt_3JfdTrGJvpRH52KMCgM3sytid8b2AOAah9Qx35LIU3JwqYr8iPnyiQyNe-kCMb0BVmz-NFqnLgPqqbYKoRtf/s500/1982179007.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SX500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMap1RKM7WdoYk2I5z4QKNb7tEou3o4Yx8mSEg6weH122vhKvqYucrOX55EAl2Q7jnYGc0TXMZpHTrq1Kl_vPBplXwk3HC7Y2FS2pfCyt_3JfdTrGJvpRH52KMCgM3sytid8b2AOAah9Qx35LIU3JwqYr8iPnyiQyNe-kCMb0BVmz-NFqnLgPqqbYKoRtf/s320/1982179007.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SX500_.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>None of This is True<br />by Lisa Jewell<br />Published: August 8, 2023 by Atria Books</h2><p><b>From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.</p><p><br /></p><p>A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.</p><p><br /></p><p>Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.</p><p><br /></p><p>But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.</p><p><br /></p><p>Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?</p><h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62334530-none-of-this-is-true">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/None-This-True-Lisa-Jewell/dp/1982179007">Amazon.ca</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/44V4mxl">Amazon.com</a> | <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/none-of-this-is-true/9781668024287-item.html?ikwid=lisa+jewell&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=0da98f49aaf2c3c318027fcb612684f4">Indigo </a>| <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/untitled-lisa-jewell/18832614?ean=9781982179007">Bookshop </a>| <a href="https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781982179007">Books-a-Million</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/none-of-this-is-true-lisa-jewell/1142483491;jsessionid=D0ADF544E5BA952F968C3CACCEBB7E48.prodny_store01-atgap17?ean=9781982179007&st=AFF&2sid=Simon%20&%20Schuster_7567305_NA&sourceId=AFFSimon%20&%20Schuster">B&N</a></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18.72px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">5 Stars</div></h3><p>Lisa Jewell’s latest novel, None of This is True, is an unputdownable psychological thriller about birthday twins and the envy we sometimes feel when we see someone with something we haven’t. Alix Summers and Josie Fair are both 45, ready for a change, and feeling the mid-life slump. Josie presents a podcast idea to Alix and the rest is history. Or rather, it’ll be in the history books. Josie’s life story, told from her perspective, is terrifying, upsetting, and disturbing. Alix can only sit quietly in the discomfort and try to figure out what her new friend’s angle really is.</p><p><br /></p><p>Told from alternating perspectives and podcast feed, this is a true-crime feeling novel that you should absolutely make time for. It'll leave you with the creepy crawlies, but is ten times more satisfying than watching any documentary you've seen. I felt like I was in it alongside Alix and that's an incredible skill. This book was a one-sitting read for me, because I couldn’t walk away from it if I tried. Unsettling and creepy, None of This is True is a stunning release from Jewell.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-79469710151255179002023-06-07T12:04:00.001-07:002023-06-07T12:04:13.741-07:00The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQEOabooA7PzJzlFnhYxA3jsFrGHOfAeAgLmCYjrtMLLqAaaTKi62jk4ur3af3CPSqFRVa7O2D6SMAJTHivtizPY2Dm88y9sR07oOPfizo553N6SsRlyL52DjlMNmzt6xVYg5fJi6TIx544HMoH4B5uXGpsYrboKS5SuPgehzAJgclrvqwKuUeRLth6Q/s1000/91D-DaZIkPL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="655" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQEOabooA7PzJzlFnhYxA3jsFrGHOfAeAgLmCYjrtMLLqAaaTKi62jk4ur3af3CPSqFRVa7O2D6SMAJTHivtizPY2Dm88y9sR07oOPfizo553N6SsRlyL52DjlMNmzt6xVYg5fJi6TIx544HMoH4B5uXGpsYrboKS5SuPgehzAJgclrvqwKuUeRLth6Q/s320/91D-DaZIkPL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>The Girls of Summer<br />by Katie Bishop<br />First published June 6, 2023 by St. Martin's Press</h3><div><div><i>"That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me."</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Rachel has been in love with Alistair for fifteen years. Even though she’s now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rachel and Alistair’s summer love affair on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island has consumed her since she was seventeen, obliterating everything in its wake. But as Rachel becomes increasingly obsessed with reliving the events of so long ago, she reconnects with the other girls who were similarly drawn to life on the island, where the nights were long, the alcohol was free-flowing and everyone acted in ways they never would at home. And as she does so, dark and deeply suppressed secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, as well as the truth about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man, who controlled so much more than she could have ever realized.</div><div><br /></div><div>Joining a post #MeToo discourse, The Girls of Summer grapples with themes of power, sex, and consent, as it explores the complicated nature of memory and trauma––and what it takes to reframe, and reclaim, your own story.</div></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61214149-the-girls-of-summer">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/43xyiiH">Amazon US</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Girls-Summer-Novel-Katie-Bishop/dp/1250283914/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WUK7HNT2117G&keywords=the+girls+of+summer&qid=1686164437&sprefix=the+girls+of+summ%2Caps%2C498&sr=8-1">Amazon CA</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-girls-of-summer-katie-bishop/1141976646?ean=9781250283917">B&N</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Girls-Summer-Novel-Katie-Bishop/dp/1250283914/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WUK7HNT2117G&keywords=the+girls+of+summer&qid=1686164437&sprefix=the+girls+of+summ%2Caps%2C498&sr=8-1">Apple</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">4 Stars</div></h4><div><div>A little bit cult-like, a little bit coming of age, The Girls of Summer is a thrilling beach read that takes readers on a dual-timeline journey to a secluded Greek island where the escapades of young backpackers feel like both a dream and a nightmare. Rachel was just 17 when she visited the gorgeous escape for a week with her best friend on a summer trip before their final year of school. There she discovers she too can be the main character, as she forms new friends and catches the eye of mature, handsome Alistair, a wealthy man living in a party mansion. The summer ends in tragedy, but sixteen years on and now married, Rachel looks back on that time fondly, like a dream. A visit to the island brings back feelings both good and bad, and it takes her back in time to Alistair, the spark so vividly alive inside her still. At a crossway in life, Rachel chooses nostalgia and as she revisits the past she soon discovers that her rose colored glasses have been lying to her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rachel is like all young teen girls, unsure of herself and not yet comfortable in her womanhood, brimming with confusion as others step into the world with confidence. Even as an adult, parts of that youthful naivety still battles inside her as she looks back at her time on the island. Who would she have been had things gone differently? We all question our choices, the what-ifs, and wonder where our paths would have gone, but Rachel decides to actually find out. We see the island through Rachel's young eyes, the parties, the friends, the feeling of maturity and adulthood as a man sweeps her off her feet. We see the island through her adult eyes, recognizing the lies and secrets that swam beneath the surface, seeing the conductor pulling the strings. Yet, like Rachel, we all want to frame things positively, at least until the truth really comes out. Rachel clings tightly to what she remembers, to the lust and joy she believes she felt, but the island's tide washes it all away.</div><div><br /></div><div>I truly enjoyed The Girls of Summer, it felt like a glimpse into the stories we see on the media regarding Epstein and other party islands. More so, I loved the dual-timeline that offered readers a fresh perspective on the events, those of a fun and in love 17 year old and those of a mature adult. It's a story of innocence and naivety, power and control, and the strength of women when they bond together. It joins several other novels that touch on the #metoo movement, but with a fresh perspective and a story that sweeps you up.</div></div>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-29074344545097942522023-06-06T06:00:00.002-07:002023-06-07T11:53:41.898-07:00My Goodbye Girl by Anna Gomez<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloO0Dr9PBfSlQOmIb59d6-GiB9hpxdzK-Gl7S5yTzF8dZkNMbPzA0LaUdZFUGhz8heXcxHx6JoiyM41lPHy2xAQ4LJgpTVmsEiI070LBDVHMi9rw2ez_CSPfT5luHklzoq_Y5-wa1kwvotBHDzwiqDvJ2Z8vAjRzdMphFIjrT_tDh8nPgnATrgZBgqg/s1000/60813571.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="667" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloO0Dr9PBfSlQOmIb59d6-GiB9hpxdzK-Gl7S5yTzF8dZkNMbPzA0LaUdZFUGhz8heXcxHx6JoiyM41lPHy2xAQ4LJgpTVmsEiI070LBDVHMi9rw2ez_CSPfT5luHklzoq_Y5-wa1kwvotBHDzwiqDvJ2Z8vAjRzdMphFIjrT_tDh8nPgnATrgZBgqg/s320/60813571.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>My Goodbye Girl<br />by Anna Gomez<br />Published June 6, 2023</h3><p>When Tessa Talman first meets Simon Fremont, not only is she attracted to him, she's intrigued by how different their lives are. He's a dedicated scientist, practical, pragmatic, and grounded. She's a head-in-the-clouds romance author. As their relationship grows, they meet in places around the world, while continuing to live in different countries.</p><p><br /></p><p>Though their feelings for each other deepen, their priorities remain the same. Simon is in a hurry to be financially sound and settle down, but Tessa is enjoying her freedom and newfound success. Neither is willing to give in, but as each goodbye gets harder, Tessa begins to wonder whether fame is the path to happiness, or if she has everything she needs in Simon.</p><p><br /></p><p>Just as Tessa finds the courage to go after her own happily ever after, the unthinkable happens, separating them in ways she never imagined.</p><p><br /></p><p>To move forward, she must let go of the past and determine once and for all if love is truly more powerful than the pain of goodbye.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60813571-my-goodbye-girl">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3oS1OR7">Amazon US</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Eight-Goodbyes-Anna-Gomez/dp/1645482081/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=my+goodbye+girl&qid=1686163885&sr=8-1">Amazon CA</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-goodbye-girl-gomez-anna/1143234234;jsessionid=2192757E9C17E76CE43FBA0868AA0FA3.prodny_store01-atgap16?ean=9781645482086">B&N</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPoHfxUXlKoPIH3yYJA4EBu9Pa2B7k-CJe2He49DLxPdb4Brsco32DLbYJICyDO0d2TYi_O8lCztJVyfCyY306cO1EMgn7mbbNgW9bUD7ITkzTtsI5tPAiU5XQVkeoeUCzYzPZlOhP3hXnmRfvOVIQkcOmzZUxqf65Qr0I6ShWPII7_yHuBYB1RP4kyg/s1080/349327177_959209858840129_2296766748220529481_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPoHfxUXlKoPIH3yYJA4EBu9Pa2B7k-CJe2He49DLxPdb4Brsco32DLbYJICyDO0d2TYi_O8lCztJVyfCyY306cO1EMgn7mbbNgW9bUD7ITkzTtsI5tPAiU5XQVkeoeUCzYzPZlOhP3hXnmRfvOVIQkcOmzZUxqf65Qr0I6ShWPII7_yHuBYB1RP4kyg/w400-h400/349327177_959209858840129_2296766748220529481_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">4 Stars</div></h4><p>They say opposites attract and with My Goodbye Girl's Tessa and Simon that is definitely the case. He's a smart, sensitive scientist and businessman, while she's best described as having her heads in the clouds. One is logical, the other is emotional. As an author, Tessa is afforded the ability to travel the world, giving in to the words in her head whenever she wants and keeping everyone at arm's length. She's been through a life of loss though, one that makes her unsure of permanence and plans. Simon is persistent in winning her over and as they meet up in various locations all over the world she begins to find comfort in the consistency. They say goodbye each time, there's no promise of the future, no plan, until one day finally Tessa gives in and offers Simon everything. Life though, like love, is unpredictable..</p><p><br /></p><p>You spend so much of the novel hoping the goodbyes end, that Tessa will open up, hoping the pair would find a way to be together and yet still be their individual selves. I liked both main characters, connecting with Simon's clean way and formula style thinking and envying Tessa's ability to hop around the world embracing every new experience. We only get glimpses of their time together, often a glimpse of a sensual evening or touristy exploring, and we remain relatively unaware of what goes on when they are apart. We see Tessa with her walls built back up each time they meet, unable to shake the loss from her life. Simon continues to embrace his feelings, working Tessa's walls down and learning to embrace her adventurous side. He keeps secrets from her though and I struggled with how much he asked of her while still not giving all of himself. Finally, we see them embrace this unknown, this love, only to watch it shatter.</p><p><br /></p><p>Their love faces an unimaginable trial, Gomez deals with the topic delicately, skimming the actual events, leaving us with the character's emotions and the aftermath. I found it really interesting how the timeline of the book skipped ahead after the event, revealing that the characters are still reeling from the event though their lives have moved forward. I appreciated how Gomez worked through the emotions with the characters, showing each having done something different. It was unpredictable and there were certainly some twists that I loved and some I hated, much like how I feel about real life sometimes. It's difficult, the struggles they continue to face are hard, but it is realistic. Gomez takes you on a journey of loss, love, and rediscovery.</p><p><br /></p><p>My Goodbye Girl is about embracing all that life has to offer, the beautiful and the painful. Gomez has a writing style that leaves you in the character's heads quite often and while it isn't for everyone I think it worked well for this type of story. I loved the various settings and the character growth Tessa and Simon go through as they discover what love is together.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-14327817521751756302023-04-24T14:39:00.004-07:002023-04-24T14:39:58.322-07:00It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-abDefPuzXH0AP5mrzkA8ram7EcH6hf60j3llqAnrUCeEjS3IMkusv5ZqdGNSgZVuQJ15elSTh_9x1DkapFLqCed-p9qGw_WbZCywlokmLZbyHpNL4Jn0aGO7o0kDUA6dg8x9HQV3OhVsCg2lKIIPpDvIqvTdFsQ2hiItHVmVhYGpw9PSCT6x5YGSvg/s400/61062488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="264" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-abDefPuzXH0AP5mrzkA8ram7EcH6hf60j3llqAnrUCeEjS3IMkusv5ZqdGNSgZVuQJ15elSTh_9x1DkapFLqCed-p9qGw_WbZCywlokmLZbyHpNL4Jn0aGO7o0kDUA6dg8x9HQV3OhVsCg2lKIIPpDvIqvTdFsQ2hiItHVmVhYGpw9PSCT6x5YGSvg/s320/61062488.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>It's One of Us<br />by J.T. Ellison<br />Published February 21, 2023 by MIRA</h3><p><b>Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all . . .</b></p><p> </p><p>Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most demanding clients. But her own deepest desire can’t be fulfilled by marble counters or the perfect rug. She desperately wants to be a mother. Fertility treatments and IVF keep failing. And just when she feels she’s at her lowest point, the police deliver shocking news to Olivia and her husband, Park.</p><p> </p><p>DNA results show that the prime suspect in a murder investigation is Park’s son. Olivia is relieved, knowing this is a mistake. Despite their desire, the Benders don’t have any children. Then comes the confession. Many years ago, Park donated sperm to a clinic. He has no idea how many times it was sold—or how many children he has sired.</p><p> </p><p>As the murder investigation goes deeper, more terrible truths come to light. With every revelation, Olivia must face the unthinkable. The man she married has fathered a killer. But can she hold that against him when she keeps such dark secrets of her own?</p><p> </p><p><b>This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together--or break each other apart . . .</b></p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61062488-it-s-one-of-us" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3n8W5W6">Amazon US</a> | <a href="https://a.co/d/cT7uQDq">Amazon CA</a> | <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/its-one-of-us-a/9780778311768-item.html?ref=isbn-search">Indigo </a>| <a href="https://www.powells.com/book/its-one-of-us-9780778311768">Powell's </a>| <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/it-s-one-of-us-a-novel-of-suspense-j-t-ellison/18500249?ean=9780778311768&ref=&source=IndieBound&title=It%27s+One+of+Us%3A+A+Novel+of+Suspense">Bookshop</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/its-one-of-us-j-t-ellison/1141431047;jsessionid=C50CC107B41EC19934A555058D5C4B3C.prodny_store01-atgap01?ean=9780778311768">B&N</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">4 Stars</div></h4><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">TW: Infertility, miscarriage</span></p><p><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">A stunning, original, and twisted tale that follows Olivia as her curated, perfect life is unraveled by the revelation that her husband once donated sperm and one of his donor children is the suspect in a murder case. J.T. Ellison takes readers on a journey that is unpredictable and overwhelmingly realistic with It's One of Us. Olivia has struggled with fertility for years, it's tearing she and her husband apart, but the secrets that her husband holds just might be their undoing.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">With masterful skill, Ellison introduces readers to Olivia and her husband Park, taking us on a sympathetic journey into their love story and their infertility journey. We are compassionate to them, hopeful for them, even as the cops knock at their door, but with every chapter and every new character perspective, Ellison pulls us away. The secrets are insurmountable, each worse than the previous, and their impacts cause shockwaves. It is impossible to read this book and not be shocked, to not feel betrayed in some way. We get glimpses into Park's perspective, his brother's, Park's donor children, their parents, and more. We know more than Olivia will ever know, but she has secrets too. It's dark, sad, and completely impossible to put down. I truly enjoyed this real, I loved not being able to guess what would happen next, and despite the sad topic, I enjoyed the unique story. It's One of Us is a standout thriller.</span></span></p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-69554512898988513552023-02-22T11:03:00.003-08:002023-02-22T11:03:57.545-08:00The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yQV7nTvOPzClqgdQ6MlPH06IF8qS0bCUAiCRdgaKybRRW9njktMmz8McGkxlr3PSkS_SYmjmcPymf7Jlt7UFn1GEvCszmYlfnWN9cso5ow2_TdSkQpyj7Ru3YeY3t1uPY__XLvz9BaKqjXG_6Qf4Ljsn0g0lU3SX8vFez7QbNZGCPvAhWRNMXQuEkg/s2114/61273863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2114" data-original-width="1399" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yQV7nTvOPzClqgdQ6MlPH06IF8qS0bCUAiCRdgaKybRRW9njktMmz8McGkxlr3PSkS_SYmjmcPymf7Jlt7UFn1GEvCszmYlfnWN9cso5ow2_TdSkQpyj7Ru3YeY3t1uPY__XLvz9BaKqjXG_6Qf4Ljsn0g0lU3SX8vFez7QbNZGCPvAhWRNMXQuEkg/s320/61273863.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>The Writing Retreat<br />by Julia Bartz<br />Published February 21, 2023 by Atria</h3><p><b><i>The Plot</i> meets<i> Please Join Us</i> in this psychological suspense debut about a young author at an exclusive writer’s retreat that descends into a nightmare.</b></p><p>Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.</p><p>But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she’s desperate to discover the truth and save herself.</p><p>A claustrophobic and propulsive thriller exploring the dark side of friendships and fame, <i>The Writing Retreat</i> is the unputdownable debut novel from a compelling new talent.</p><h4 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61273863-the-writing-retreat" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3KzpLVM" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3m0WFnT" target="_blank">Amazon CA</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-writing-retreat-julia-bartz/1141652573" target="_blank">B&N</a> |<a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/products/the-writing-retreat?_pos=1&_sid=0f2690a57&_ss=r" target="_blank"> Indigo</a> | </h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">4 Stars</div></h4><p>Alex hasn't so much embraced her new loner life, rather than just given in to the failure she knows everyone smells on her. She and her best friend went through a horrible friend breakup and ever since success just hasn't been in her cards. She can't write, she can't connect with others, and her job is just something she does each day. An incredible, once in a lifetime chance to attend her favorite author's writing retreat brings back her spark and with it her former best friend, Wren, reenters her life. What should be an incredible opportunity to write again, find herself, and forge new bonds soon becomes a nightmare as strange things occur and one woman goes missing.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am a big fan of authors who embrace the wild and obscene in their books, who can make totally unbelievable scenarios come to life. It's a fine line to walk, I know I am a hard reader to convince to suspend reality, but Julia Bartz did so quite well. A writing retreat, a reclusive author, and 5 young women desperate to become authors is entirely believable. A retreat going entirely off the rails? Also believable. The things that ultimately occur at this retreat? Truly unbelievable, except somehow I saw it playing out before my eyes on the pages and I was totally hooked. These women are desperate for success and once presented with author Roza Vallo's writing competition, they divide and it becomes girl eat girl as they vie for compliments and time with their favorite horror writer.</p><p><br /></p><p>I enjoyed the concept, I love a good competition on a "deserted island" type setting, I just wish that the characters had been further fleshed out. Unfortunately, outside of Alex, the characters are fairly two dimensional and they never grow beyond that, with stilted dialogue and Alex's selfish inner monologue guiding our perspective. There's fantastic sociopolitical undertones to the novel, we just don't get enough time with those concepts to really develop any feeling about it. We know the women are different, it's mentioned, then brushed to the side. I would have loved to see this more fleshed out, to have extensive dialogue interaction between the characters, because ultimately we only care about Alex and even that's saying something.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Writing Retreat was an excellent take on the stranded thriller storyline. While I wish it had a bit more fleshing out for the characters, I still enjoyed the read and found myself wanting to get back to my book as soon as possible each time I set it down. I think many readers will love this book and even relate to Alex's inner turmoil over her self worth and a friendship lost.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-60747439295544005522023-02-08T21:51:00.002-08:002023-02-08T21:51:28.292-08:00Voice Text Reviews<p>Well, I managed to fall on ice my very first week back in Canada, so reading and reviewing were not at the top of my priority. My arm was casted for two weeks, but I still have limited movement and some pain. I did a lot of listening in that time, but limited my reviews to voice text and I'll be sharing my brief 5 star reviews for both The Villa and All the Dangerous Things below!</p><p>Life lesson: wear cleats.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuOVesQ7smQSD2cELFHMOJp03l-l5g09lxFSZX7wUJuTA4zVkwi8usMHlwewDc2JqPWzA6zagE1CwIUepKCQqCdmGyCaE_FW50yA3bjdb2Yvq_ei4gThhxITg8H_Cde08X39lRdF_xCX0VhJUFjvJyh76e3sWjp9rPqR6VA_khBi-W0Ja0fUMcXSjjXQ/s625/60784641.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="406" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuOVesQ7smQSD2cELFHMOJp03l-l5g09lxFSZX7wUJuTA4zVkwi8usMHlwewDc2JqPWzA6zagE1CwIUepKCQqCdmGyCaE_FW50yA3bjdb2Yvq_ei4gThhxITg8H_Cde08X39lRdF_xCX0VhJUFjvJyh76e3sWjp9rPqR6VA_khBi-W0Ja0fUMcXSjjXQ/w130-h200/60784641.jpeg" width="130" /></a></div>The Villa by Rachel Hawkins</span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Published January 3, 2023</span></h3><p style="text-align: left;">5 stars</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The Villa is a dual-timeline thriller set in a gorgeous, Italian villa that reads like a game of cat in mouse. Emily wants to reconnect with her best friend and write again, but the house with a history only 70’s artists could imagine has other plans for them. We’re taken back in time to a famous murder, with only the doting eyes of writer, Mari, to tell us the truth of one fateful summer in 1974. Friendships, romances, and secrets tumble together for both women in this intoxicating read.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">It was the perfect thriller read for me, we all know I love a good vacation murder, but my love of old rock really solidified this for me. I know there’s a huge trend in stories about famous artists in the 60’s through 80’s, but you won’t hear me complaining. This is a book I could reread and not get bored of, as well as totally see being a hit for my family, friends, and book clubs.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60784641-the-villa">Add to Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3YG2R2Z">Amazon.com</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3YgSeUr">Amazon.ca</a></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9z6dintQWLJT3FA5SbTvF4qaDrP_o44113xunyc-eWM_fLjqFIzxaIqBuTK-ZVPg8AHph4lDYrJzW2fcCIhVM0e2970YydCdy-TnlclQj1FcKum7IxbI6JHaOJ2wbxaPqw1eC6lRwDN-5-nbXxDHmHfn4jIdpZNErWbc8kbD3yeU0z9VJ7OCGxoqzUw/s500/62103343.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9z6dintQWLJT3FA5SbTvF4qaDrP_o44113xunyc-eWM_fLjqFIzxaIqBuTK-ZVPg8AHph4lDYrJzW2fcCIhVM0e2970YydCdy-TnlclQj1FcKum7IxbI6JHaOJ2wbxaPqw1eC6lRwDN-5-nbXxDHmHfn4jIdpZNErWbc8kbD3yeU0z9VJ7OCGxoqzUw/w200-h200/62103343.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham<br /></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Published January 10, 2023</span></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">5 stars</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Stacy Willingham’s second novel, All the Dangerous Things, was such a phenomenal book. It was atmospheric, relatable, and terrifying all at once. The novel follows Isabelle Drake as she grapples with her past and her present following the kidnapping of her son. While it feels like the rest of the world, including her estranged husband, have moved on Isabelle turns to the true crime podcast hosts and their followers, to help her solve the case. Along the way, she examines her past and her own memories of the night Mason disappeared.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Stacy Willingham uses family secrets and the hard truths of motherhood to weave this haunting, unpredictable story. Twisted and full of suspense, All the Dangerous Things was an instant win for me, made even better by the excellent audio narration of Karissa Vacker.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62103343-all-the-dangerous-things">Add to Goodreads </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/3Ia3dcA">Amazon.com</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3DPWmCM">Amazon.ca</a></span></p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-56777297229076278672022-12-30T12:03:00.004-08:002022-12-30T12:04:36.552-08:00Where will 2023 take me next?<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPI7PRTVzZRAI_VPOuej2SpCpcEgikEy394fg2vL4UEz0mVcf0-nbPnxpGNDclJvZl9-3lZgcn_AdyFbRIgjR4FaZ5MGrmJMoor96gPZyPzMUMjYD2TfPga95TupaXGuwFoyKyDyvJcnKsNTUNRigip2KX6lBLM8stxQeRD9GeG37bdyuC21Bm-PSzKg/s3024/E540D1AB-9B36-45E8-B593-EE984EDA7111.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPI7PRTVzZRAI_VPOuej2SpCpcEgikEy394fg2vL4UEz0mVcf0-nbPnxpGNDclJvZl9-3lZgcn_AdyFbRIgjR4FaZ5MGrmJMoor96gPZyPzMUMjYD2TfPga95TupaXGuwFoyKyDyvJcnKsNTUNRigip2KX6lBLM8stxQeRD9GeG37bdyuC21Bm-PSzKg/s320/E540D1AB-9B36-45E8-B593-EE984EDA7111.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">2022 was a whirlwind of adventure, both in my reading and in my personal life.</h3><p></p><p>I didn’t meet my reading goal, but I sure had a good time trying.</p><p>I survived 45 thrillers, fell in love roughly fifty times, read over 30,000 pages, and DNFed a record 20 books.</p><p>I learned about honey bees, yelled at a whole lot of characters, found myself trapped on several islands, and challenged myself to read a non-fiction a month.</p><p>While the pages of my book took me to Cuba and London and countless city streets, in real life we traveled to Las Vegas, Mexico, Tennessee, and Canada.</p><p>I flew on over 40 planes, had my bags lost three times, found a favorite airport bookstore (Compass in SFO) and relocated to a tiny, rural town in northern British Columbia.</p><p>I read in planes, trains, boats, and taxis, at more than ten hotels, inside too many airport terminals, and sent my girlfriend, CeCe, countless crying selfies admitting to public book-induced tears.</p><p>I spent a lot of this year far away from family, friends, my love, and our dogs, but am learning to embrace and appreciate more the times we get to be together.</p><p>I got to watch as friends who rarely read started picking up books, happily discovering that my Bookstagram page isn’t just for book friends, but for all friends.</p><p>It was a full year, with ups and downs, and I’m taking its lessons with me into 2023.</p><p>📬</p><p>Who knows what 2023 will deliver me, but I’m excited for this next journey. CeCe and I already have our next two trips booked, so don’t worry, there’ll be more airplane reading and tears to come!</p><p>0/100 📚 starts January 1</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-43071855158405874442022-12-15T14:38:00.003-08:002022-12-15T15:04:38.020-08:00The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFf1er-6INet9pSkXcR6CQ2Djh4AO5TwPWP-Dwsr1dM-6FSc5SYD35_ZfSga5CJcTwxfuLE9RaT3M0JjEuBn8deWCLhwPVYLh47s9d3MYSm1hG52Z_KFc13epUFtdyhH4462AcbhxjQza4m6C04G4NFgVDdCQShbNlXj7zUUvYhwJBg25JmLJcQkHDQ/s400/59808186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFf1er-6INet9pSkXcR6CQ2Djh4AO5TwPWP-Dwsr1dM-6FSc5SYD35_ZfSga5CJcTwxfuLE9RaT3M0JjEuBn8deWCLhwPVYLh47s9d3MYSm1hG52Z_KFc13epUFtdyhH4462AcbhxjQza4m6C04G4NFgVDdCQShbNlXj7zUUvYhwJBg25JmLJcQkHDQ/s320/59808186.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>The Widowmaker<br />by Hannah Morrissey<br />Series Black Harbor (#2)<br />Published December 6, 2022 by Minotaur Books</h3><p><b>A wealthy family shrouded in scandal; a detective tasked with solving an impossible cold case; and a woman with a dark past collide in Hannah Morrissey's stunning new Black Harbor mystery, The Widowmaker.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared twenty years ago, the name "Reynolds" has become synonymous with "murder" and "mystery." And now, lured by a cryptic note, down-on-her-luck photographer Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into the web of their family secrets and double lives. The same night she photographs the Reynolds holiday get-together, Morgan becomes witness to a homicide of a cop that triggers the discovery of a long-buried clue.</p><p><br /></p><p>This could finally be the thing to crack open the chilling cold case, and Investigator Ryan Hudson has a chance to prove himself as lead detective. If only he could stop letting his need to solve his partner's recent murder distract him. But as Morgan exposes her own dark demons, could her sordid history be the key to unlocking more than one mystery?</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59808186-the-widowmaker">Goodreads </a>| <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250795977/thewidowmaker">Website </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/3uSJE1d">Amazon </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/3uSZZTl">Amazon CA</a> | <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250795977">IndieBound </a>| <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-widowmaker-hannah-morrissey/1142262943;jsessionid=3D162DF61FEBCB77F2AE60402E0A1F31.prodny_store01-atgap02?ean=9781250795977">B&N</a> | <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-widowmaker-hannah-morrissey/17867631?ean=9781250795977">Bookshop</a> | <a href="https://www.powells.com/book/the-widowmaker-9781250795977">Powell's</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">4 Stars</div></h4><p>The Widowmaker is the second in the Black Harbor series by Hannah Morrissey, but it is a standalone entirely. Beyond the setting, The Widowmaker is entirely unique as it follows photographer Morgan Mori and Detective Ryan Hudson, separately, as their lives intertwine when two investigations Hudson is involved in collide. Morgan has finished photographing the famous Reynold's family Christmas pictures when she witnesses the murder of Officer Garrison at a gas station. As the sole witness there's no one else who knows Garrison's final words to Morgan. Hudson is placed on a cold case involving the Reynolds' to keep him away from the investigation into his former partner's death. Somehow Morgan is the key to both cases and it'll take a skeleton key to open her up.</p><p><br /></p><p>Written like a psychological thriller with police procedural touches, The Widowmaker is an incredibly interesting and unique read. While I didn't love the audio, I was totally enthralled with the story and desperate to know what would come next. It heavily features a past storyline, that of Morgan's youth, and it's as dark as they come. This could feel like a heavy read for some, but it's totally rewarding when you reach closure as well. I never truly connected with the characters, but rather felt like I was watching a movie play out in my head and if I could have finished it in two hours I would have. It's addicting. A solid second go at thriller writing from Morrissey and a new dark read for my shelves and yours.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-14109240733814898852022-11-16T06:00:00.001-08:002022-11-16T06:00:00.198-08:00The Family Game by Catherine Steadman<h2 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypnHJJ47Sf6PVbLR9F6pq7BlDk77ohlnJI43b6XTcvqi-oJhESo13mKi2Ny2L2ioseWvmxqVTI64ut3q-hMe65bAR7o6r9af9HihcQCQ-pRSJQzUJhC63CK92Acool7hqI-8IV7RkBAnrwKcDGSRDabLnKrhnW1kbWOHQlWxY2BM4gTevb0munR95Kg/s500/51HrHao3KbL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypnHJJ47Sf6PVbLR9F6pq7BlDk77ohlnJI43b6XTcvqi-oJhESo13mKi2Ny2L2ioseWvmxqVTI64ut3q-hMe65bAR7o6r9af9HihcQCQ-pRSJQzUJhC63CK92Acool7hqI-8IV7RkBAnrwKcDGSRDabLnKrhnW1kbWOHQlWxY2BM4gTevb0munR95Kg/s320/51HrHao3KbL.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>The Family Game <br />by Catherine Steadman<br />Published October 18, 2022 by Ballantine Books</h2><p><b>A rich, eccentric family. A time-honored tradition. Or a lethal game of survival? One woman finds out what it really takes to join the 1% in this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water, Mr. Nobody, and The Disappearing Act.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Harry is a novelist on the brink of stardom; Edward, her husband-to-be, is seemingly perfect. In love and freshly engaged, their bliss is interrupted by the reemergence of the Holbecks, Edward's eminent family and the embodiment of American old money. For years, they've dominated headlines and pulled society's strings, and Edward left them all behind to forge his own path. But there are eyes and ears everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they were pulled back in . . .</p><p><br /></p><p>After all, even though he's long severed ties with his family, Edward is set to inherit it all. Harriet is drawn to the glamour and sophistication of the Holbecks, who seem to welcome her with open arms, but everything changes when she meets Robert, the inescapably magnetic head of the family. At their first meeting, Robert slips Harry a cassette tape, revealing a shocking confession which sets the inevitable game in motion.</p><p><br /></p><p>What is it about Harry that made him give her that tape? A thing that has the power to destroy everything? As she ramps up her quest for the truth, she must endure the Holbecks' savage Christmas traditions all the while knowing that losing this game could be deadly.</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60417443-the-family-game">Goodreads </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/3g8Bk9D">Amazon </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/3gbR7Vm">AmazonCA </a>| <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-family-game-catherine-steadman/1140985606;jsessionid=BE96000747870B09584DFAC3353A98CB.prodny_store01-atgap16?ean=9780593158067">B&N</a> | <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-family-game-a-novel/9780593158067-item.html?ikwid=the+family+game&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=bfa419a767cfd849aa53492e420a0ccc">Indigo </a>| <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780593158067">IndieBound</a></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>Review<br />4 Stars</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Horrifying, absurd, and an absolute good time. The Family Game is Catherine Steadman's fictional take on rich in-laws and the games they play. We've all heard of the in-laws who don't welcome in new partners very easily and believe in good family names, but the Holbecks take it a step further. They seem to love their son and brother, Edward's, new fiancee, Harry, but lurking behind their closed doors are a series of tests. Presented as games, Harry must use her thriller writing skills and adept survival techniques to survive the Holbeck's games that teeter on the edge of life or death.</p><p><br /></p><p>You've got to suspend your reality a bit, but once you do, The Family Game is a darn good, addictive read. It feels wordy at first, with full descriptions that don't seem to jive with the story at first, but after completing the read I feel like Steadman was giving us time to breathe before the novel took off at lightspeed. With complex characters, a well-developed plot, and twists you cannot possibly see coming, The Family Game is an over-the-top fictional thriller that is impossible to put down. Steadman pulled out all the stops for this novel, capturing all your usual character tropes and plot points that drive a thriller, while blending in a horror storyline that seeps in slowly and then takes over. Unpredictable and as wild as a circus, The Family Game took me by surprise and is totally worth the read.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-61006360318454644282022-10-19T13:34:00.000-07:002022-10-19T13:34:05.558-07:00The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwVHSyNaN12Pa3Z1rjYWMzJjCj1zlQKKVgVCO_Icqha0OQjEtvd7qogY3fV_G-OFc6Kp1dpG_YmFVv42yaCFtvUwZip03v5DU_OBMiOLuHdHEneXb0dtCUyINEnVB-C3wHSxt7juWXoa4ecdtJyN98LgSNZYGeNTDQoVHYvsdTa_fiDOKTYRiEMX4FQ/s346/57836903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="231" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwVHSyNaN12Pa3Z1rjYWMzJjCj1zlQKKVgVCO_Icqha0OQjEtvd7qogY3fV_G-OFc6Kp1dpG_YmFVv42yaCFtvUwZip03v5DU_OBMiOLuHdHEneXb0dtCUyINEnVB-C3wHSxt7juWXoa4ecdtJyN98LgSNZYGeNTDQoVHYvsdTa_fiDOKTYRiEMX4FQ/s320/57836903.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>The Quarry Girls<br />by Jess Lourey<br />Expected publication: November 1st 2022 by Thomas & Mercer</h3><p>Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games.</p><p><br /></p><p>Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears—the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate.</p><p><br /></p><p>Heather is terrified that the missing girls are connected to what she and Brenda stumbled upon that night. Desperately searching for answers on her own, she learns that no one in her community is who they seem to be. Not the police, not the boys she met at the quarry, not even her parents. But she can’t stop digging because she knows those girls are in danger.</p><p><br /></p><p>She also knows she’s next.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Pre-order at <a href="https://amzn.to/3eKeRz3" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3yVP5i5" target="_blank">Amazon CA</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/The+Quarry+Girls" target="_blank">B&N</a> | <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-quarry-girls-a-thriller/9781542034296-item.html?ikwid=The+Quarry+Girls&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=d4f84d099fb08eb66371ec2be1468d13" target="_blank">Indigo </a>| <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=The+Quarry+Girls">IndieBound </a>| <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=The+Quarry+Girls&search=Find+book&a_aid=goodreads" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-quarry-girl/id1573403103">AppleBooks </a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57836903-the-quarry-girls" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></h4><h3 style="text-align: center;">Review<br />5 Stars</h3><p>I stayed up for too late reading one night, unable to stop turning the pages as I sought out a "happy scene" to close the book at. It didn't happen, I read all night and dreamed of tunnels holding terrifying secrets well into the morning. The Quarry Girls isn’t a scary read per se, but it’s a thriller tinged with reality and the creepiness of it seeps into your bones in a different way than a fictional scare. Jess Lourey gives readers a glimpse into the town and the fears she and many others faced growing up. Corrupt police, serial killers on the loose, missing women, and young teens on the cusp of adulthood trying to do anything to seem older.</p><p><br /></p><p>Elizabeth McCain, known as Beth to her friends, has gone missing from the local diner in St. Cloud Minnesota. Has she run away, has she gone missing, or has the serial killer they've tracked to town got her? With the cops keeping things quiet, Heather and her friends continue to live as normal, with her friends embracing the new, older man in town with his offers of fame and attention and the tunnels continued to be seen as a safe space to roam. One night though, things go awry and Heather and her friend Brenda see something they shouldn't have. Heather realizes her friends are growing up and the terrors that wait adult women are coming for all of them. The girls of Pantown should be afraid, but as Heather tries to investigate on her own she finds herself questioning if there is a single man she can even trust.</p><p><br /></p><p>The girls of St. Cloud, Minnesota are being forced to grow up and the Pantown tunnels and quarries are being used by dark men to hide their truths. Heather is sweet resilience, her naivety believes in people, while Beth is hard resilience, forged in stone and desperation. The two perspectives are jarring to switch between, it gives you a sense of foreboding, that there’s just no way the town won’t do the same to Heather. Heather sees the writing on the wall, the what's to come, but she's doing all she can to keep herself, her friends, and her younger sister from becoming the girl who is next. She cannot escape the truth though, not as her mom and her best friend's mom begin to reveal the past that has shaped them into the pliable women they are today. The older men keep secrets, the younger men keep secrets, and the girls are left following string into the dark, wet quarries.</p><p><br /></p><p>Atmospheric, terrifying, and so well written, The Quarry Girls is another stunning release from Jess Lourey.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-79778076697318416582022-10-01T08:00:00.035-07:002022-10-01T08:00:00.218-07:00Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen<h2 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohr7K4NhQ6zWNJYizhdA6bWGKba5Mxf_szJoFlhsGqeGQXPoM5DIJpzqv5K-EVxkN3XC7fA_W4rnT2w_T7fJ47kThlNNugfFd3RqAo6wJClLNRRbJ5LMouH0tsTRr_uj9sZypfy8FjxhRWXv6uBi7iWZARx-mqEX9_YFhqOtp-fEF-N7Lcqwy9f4qZQ/s2850/59807954.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2850" data-original-width="1875" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohr7K4NhQ6zWNJYizhdA6bWGKba5Mxf_szJoFlhsGqeGQXPoM5DIJpzqv5K-EVxkN3XC7fA_W4rnT2w_T7fJ47kThlNNugfFd3RqAo6wJClLNRRbJ5LMouH0tsTRr_uj9sZypfy8FjxhRWXv6uBi7iWZARx-mqEX9_YFhqOtp-fEF-N7Lcqwy9f4qZQ/s320/59807954.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>Other Birds<br />by Sarah Addison Allen<br />Published August 30th 2022 by St. Martin's Press</h2><p><b>An enchanting tale filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won’t let you go.</b></p><p>Between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.</p><p>Right off the coast of South Carolina, on Mallow Island, The Dellawisp sits—a stunning old cobblestone building shaped like a horseshoe, and named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.</p><p>When Zoey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at the Dellawisp she meets her quirky and secretive neighbors, including a young woman with a past, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and a lonely chef, and three ghosts. The sudden death of one of Zoey's new neighbors sets off a search that leads to the island's famous author and to a long-estranged relative of the sisters.</p><p>Each of them has a story, and each story has an ending which hasn't yet been written.</p><h4 style="text-align: center;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59807954-other-birds" target="_blank">Goodreads </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/3E4cHV5">Amazon.com</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3Ecl7Kp">Amazon.ca</a> | <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/other-birds-a-novel/9781250019868-item.html?ref=isbn-search">Indigo </a>| <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/other-birds-sarah-addison-allen/1140777703;jsessionid=8BF7EDD9C65BCAF9DF5964FCF8F1DA52.prodny_store02-atgap06?ean=9781250019868" target="_blank">B&N</a> | <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Other-Birds-Sarah-Addison-Allen/9781250019868">Book Depository</a> | <a href="https://books.apple.com/ca/book/other-birds/id1613174896">Apple Books</a> | <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250019868">IndieBound</a></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFNuTm5g9HO5Z8QICmZkrbB5ky6GjOVxBmC1lYzp7PzmZv80m2WnG5G2QbGPKgllb99zTLp3XLxxNBlMZNMAovvDsvKg0DlP6NsqCmQfhrhNv_fReW4KtZR6MUFH3xktaKkPbMhI5Vzv8RB94uFmaYcR42FBVMznVs7R9JV5zPOulUVtoQVNIk_faNw/s970/fe11fd93-feff-45c5-911b-15f54026487b.__CR0,0,1940,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="970" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFNuTm5g9HO5Z8QICmZkrbB5ky6GjOVxBmC1lYzp7PzmZv80m2WnG5G2QbGPKgllb99zTLp3XLxxNBlMZNMAovvDsvKg0DlP6NsqCmQfhrhNv_fReW4KtZR6MUFH3xktaKkPbMhI5Vzv8RB94uFmaYcR42FBVMznVs7R9JV5zPOulUVtoQVNIk_faNw/w640-h198/fe11fd93-feff-45c5-911b-15f54026487b.__CR0,0,1940,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">5 Stars</div></h3><p>Oh my sentimental little heart was going to love this book no matter what was in the pages, but wow I did not expect this beautiful, unconventional story. I love Sarah Addison Allen, I've been reading her books with my family since I was in high school, with my grandma giving me my first one, and then continuing to facilitate my love of her by sharing her books with my aunt and my cousins. We all love her books, they feel like home, especially with their lush locations and the realistic magic. The peaches that grow, the love that blooms, and in the case of Other Birds, the birds that carry the past in them. I literally tear up thinking about how much this book meant to me, especially with my Grandma now passed and my own unconventional family.</p><p><br /></p><p>Unrelated to my own personal ties, Other Birds is a stunning release from Sarah Addison Allen, one that I have long awaited and one that is distinctly different than her previous releases. While we've read the love stories and the magic of that love, Other Birds follows the outcasts, the left behinds, the runners. It's not so much about the unloved, but rather, those who have yet to learn how to love and be themselves, who don't know how to accept that loneliness is part of life. It's a magical, woven story with unique characters, with equally unique journeys, who are all at the same place at the same time and there's a reason for it. The Dellawisp is unassuming, it's residents even more so, but the birds that live in its trees hold their stories and when Zoey arrives to take over her mother's condo, it's time for the birds to let those stories be told.</p><p><br /></p><p>Other Birds feels like a story about the people who feel like misfits, but who truly fit in just as they are, it's a matter of them discovering those qualities in themselves are the very best parts of them. It's their unique stories, from wilting to blossoming, that make them special and it takes others who know that same experience to appreciate it. It's the small parts of their stories that are all connected, that truly is magical, even more so than the birds that keep causing messes. It's beautifully written, each character's voice is distinct, and it's the kind of story I don't think one can ever forget. It's a book I know I'll return it and I think others will too.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-39251326555782488152022-09-30T13:39:00.004-07:002022-09-30T13:39:50.383-07:00Coffee with Carlene: Hello from Canada!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnu9cgqS3ABPGKoO8OTG7yUrWDPBnr13T_9zUdBjPDyfit6pD2CFmy3qP27uchIDn6M06SYNG41bDIWKt9NjfpvqRmHiejBPhgSdOEuu3wDB2OGwugF43fftrNey3MDrkTs7UI9nD9NqvKXhWOx40MqLy-509EI2ZbE-OA3vIDyY5SYcEpZeLRrUI0Q/s851/coffeewithcarlene.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnu9cgqS3ABPGKoO8OTG7yUrWDPBnr13T_9zUdBjPDyfit6pD2CFmy3qP27uchIDn6M06SYNG41bDIWKt9NjfpvqRmHiejBPhgSdOEuu3wDB2OGwugF43fftrNey3MDrkTs7UI9nD9NqvKXhWOx40MqLy-509EI2ZbE-OA3vIDyY5SYcEpZeLRrUI0Q/w400-h148/coffeewithcarlene.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><b>Well, hello friends!</b> It's been a long time, but I haven't stopped reading or bookstagramming, just had to take a little blogging break. I hope you've all been following along with me over at @carleneinspired, but if you haven't been here's the short of what you've missed: I received an offer to relocate to northwest Canada and after a visit with my partner, CeCe, we accepted. I go home to California once a month, but otherwise I'm making Canada home. I share the entire journey in stories on Instagram, where I admittedly have fallen behind on reading and reviewing!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgjrJjbpJvcbQ4jIuDswWFOAdwxjXNXX7eGEfp1PmUrtqxhu4fmIlZEbI3QhurdA-NXSUijFCPR4j29DUXpE9tAY1oz8sqkpoPVv95JiOvEU1It7nM_QuiSu2_GSBvyHm0SA27HgduKXP4xnSMD7rXw_EQYnaSp27-4KCV8x746CXqLluLLE7shNRTPA/s6000/IMG-0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Giovanni, Carlene, Christine, and Ghost" border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgjrJjbpJvcbQ4jIuDswWFOAdwxjXNXX7eGEfp1PmUrtqxhu4fmIlZEbI3QhurdA-NXSUijFCPR4j29DUXpE9tAY1oz8sqkpoPVv95JiOvEU1It7nM_QuiSu2_GSBvyHm0SA27HgduKXP4xnSMD7rXw_EQYnaSp27-4KCV8x746CXqLluLLE7shNRTPA/w320-h213/IMG-0455.JPG" title="Giovanni, Carlene, Christine, and Ghost" width="320" /></a></div>The move to Canada proved hard on my reading, even harder on my hobbies, and I've had to learn a<br /> new way of being. It's been about 6 months now since I finally relocated and only 5 since I found a semi-furnished house to rent. It's still missing things, I might be the only tenant who wouldn't complain endlessly about not having a dining table, but it works for just me. Luckily, me being here alone is only a just for now arrangement and hopefully this time next year we'll be sorting out Christine's relocation, transferring the dogs up here, and selling our home in California. I'd be lying if I said taking our relationship long distance was easy, but we've learned in the last several months that we are happy when we just stay connected in little ways, sometimes even just listening to one another complete chores at home on the phone is enough. While I used to spend evenings after work reading for an hour, then making dinner and watching shows with Christine for a couple hours before bed (and more reading), now we get on the phone at the end of our workday and talk for a bit, either while watching a show together or playing a video game. We've not given up on that time together, it's just done a bit differently now, and in exchange I try to save reading for times when we aren't on the phone.<p></p><p>Settling in here was hard; I don't have my things or my books, I don't have the amount of friends I used to, and I don't have access to all the things I am used to. Somedays have been depressing, others have been downright sad, but as I get accustomed to small town, remote living and a lot of rain, hello Canadian's Pacific Northwest, I am finding that books have once again become my favorite way to relax and escape. I used to dream about a warm blanket and listening to the rain while I read, now that is truly my everyday. As I get back to my reading I want to get back to my blogging and interacting with all of my book friends, besides, I'm sure there's plenty of voracious readers like me in Canada and what better way to find them?</p><p>While I get back into the swing of things here, I'd love to know if you want me to share more than just books, or if reviews are still what you're interested in seeing. I haven't formed any new Canadian based relationships with Publishers yet, but as long as I can maintain my double residences I will still bring you books from American based Publishers. It'll be a journey, one I'll bring you along for.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV27CFnvPq4S9t6eaxd8egSgYvy0Q9FVvop_S88Vef9LqQUFX3PlQA8nO54weLpUWQ_SiLri4nbDZeBVXc_Q7rJNVxtrMBOWP8FGMrm6x4AAO2QnUZ3dMbnuf30um59LSIJ8qHAyWmCqexx7J2PTlmjf1aVKjXELpQq0v3PDWf3GstO2YQEPxcKPMDUw/s320/blogsignoff.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="320" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV27CFnvPq4S9t6eaxd8egSgYvy0Q9FVvop_S88Vef9LqQUFX3PlQA8nO54weLpUWQ_SiLri4nbDZeBVXc_Q7rJNVxtrMBOWP8FGMrm6x4AAO2QnUZ3dMbnuf30um59LSIJ8qHAyWmCqexx7J2PTlmjf1aVKjXELpQq0v3PDWf3GstO2YQEPxcKPMDUw/w200-h99/blogsignoff.png" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-79036676628641526602022-05-05T10:27:00.001-07:002022-05-05T10:27:36.795-07:00An Honest Lie by Tarryn Fisher<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFPOGV8k8VB7l-ki5GrzsESnyDprgAgi31IWCzg-VNIvJ23yazicoVh9lDq8EDM4WhYpQXMDBhlIh1GE4kksK1tP4afSUqmDdEK7PpSed5CaJ_gydksiIr5iPi3ljSLehG7saTy31u78TUK4QysGaesq4lQ2GJiZIvsGgZ2ipKP-4UbRlSecSZuBnhg/s400/57938981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFPOGV8k8VB7l-ki5GrzsESnyDprgAgi31IWCzg-VNIvJ23yazicoVh9lDq8EDM4WhYpQXMDBhlIh1GE4kksK1tP4afSUqmDdEK7PpSed5CaJ_gydksiIr5iPi3ljSLehG7saTy31u78TUK4QysGaesq4lQ2GJiZIvsGgZ2ipKP-4UbRlSecSZuBnhg/s320/57938981.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>An Honest Lie<br />by Tarryn Fisher<br />Published April 26th 2022 by Graydon House</h3><p><b>“I’m going to kill her. You’d better come if you want to save her.”</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Lorraine—“Rainy”—lives at the top of Tiger Mountain. Remote, moody, cloistered in pine trees and fog, it’s a sanctuary, a new life. She can hide from the disturbing past she wants to forget.</p><p> </p><p>If she’s allowed to.</p><p><br /></p><p>When Rainy reluctantly agrees to a girls’ weekend in Vegas, she’s prepared for an exhausting parade of shots and slot machines. But after a wild night, her friend Braithe doesn’t come back to the hotel room.</p><p><br /></p><p>And then Rainy gets the text message, sent from Braithe’s phone: someone has her. But Rainy is who they really want, and Rainy knows why.</p><p><br /></p><p>What follows is a twisted, shocking journey on the knife-edge of life and death. If she wants to save Braithe—and herself—the only way is to step back into the past.</p><p><br /></p><p>This seething, gut-punch of a thriller can only have sprung from the fiendish brain of Tarryn Fisher, one of the most cunning writers of our time.</p><h4 style="text-align: center;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57938981-an-honest-lie">Goodreads </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/3KScjJ8">Amazon </a>| <a href="http://www.tarrynfisher.com/">Author Website</a></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">5 Stars</div></h4><p>Oh Tarryn, thank you so much for finally giving us the cult read we've been begging for. You know, now I'm just going to want more, because there are not enough cult fiction reads out there for me, especially those that capture the truth about cults. That's right, An Honest Lie follows a woman who was once in a cult, a woman who made a brave escape in her youth, but lives her life in fear of the repercussions of leaving. Of course, that's not what her new life is about, at least it wasn't until a fated trip to Las Vegas.</p><p><br /></p><p>Rainy, an artist by trade, has recently moved to the mountains of Washington for her boyfriend, Grant, exchanging the blur of Manhattan for the quiet life. She wants to give him everything, so she goes along with making friends with the wives' of his friends, even accepting a trip to Las Vegas, a place she never wanted to go back to. The trip, though laced with jealous feelings and the one-upping nature of women, feels almost normal. There's clubs, shots, dancing, and pool time. She feels closer to Braithe, she thinks she might have a break through with Tara, and the other girls begin to show their true personality. There's drunken behavior and bonding moments. There's also a tension there underneath the surface, one that Rainy believes is connected to her past, but it isn't until she receives a text from Braithe's phone that she knows her past has come for her. What follows isn't the Las Vegas trip she planned for, but the terrifying escape from her past that she has spent avoiding.</p><p><br /></p><p>I love a good feminist thriller and this one has all the makings of one. The girls are naturally catty, I love that Tarryn doesn't lie about the nature of women in a time where we form these opinions so young, she lets the women be, it is their strength when the time comes. There's no faking that friendships are perfect, that there isn't always an undertone of competition and fear laced in it. That the insecurity isn't there. It just so happens that Rainy's insecurity is much larger than anyone else's and it has nothing to do with her looks or her personality. Rainy is insecure about her past and when it comes for her, she cannot allow herself to be the young follower she once was, instead she must step up, for herself and for the women she has befriended and unwillingly put in this position. It's a haunted tail of love, loss, and the things we let slide by using religion as a reason.</p><p><br /></p><p>I always love Tarryn Fisher's work, I am a true fangirl who believes she can do no wrong, but I will say this is the best release from her out of the past three novels. This one is unique, standout, and emotionally riveting. I couldn't put it down and I hope you won't be able to either.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-18201051209634325702022-03-23T09:34:00.002-07:002022-03-23T09:34:27.866-07:00Boy Fallen by Chris Gill<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYp8mfnZumIGIR5n2sKEdU1ATbU4WKxAfhCGmoZxytU0pDDdtjBfkN4x_R0WGcbtWDhk-qIBVM5eddmnQsc4ZOSNndlMNwK-dmt83dxhyoQEmalg9XnwGYUbLoACkCD9E0JUo8suh9uBZmhH4PwOT5eRZ82-hlWcn6SPRCTDxuVvJ-g8EuMZi5J_lVQ/s2400/59536712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYp8mfnZumIGIR5n2sKEdU1ATbU4WKxAfhCGmoZxytU0pDDdtjBfkN4x_R0WGcbtWDhk-qIBVM5eddmnQsc4ZOSNndlMNwK-dmt83dxhyoQEmalg9XnwGYUbLoACkCD9E0JUo8suh9uBZmhH4PwOT5eRZ82-hlWcn6SPRCTDxuVvJ-g8EuMZi5J_lVQ/s320/59536712.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Boy Fallen<br />by Chris Gill<br />Published March 22, 2022 by PRNTD Publishing</h3><p>When the body of wealthy teen and aspiring photographer Evan Wiley is found faceup at the base of Taonga Falls, one thing is immediately clear: he didn’t jump.</p><p><br /></p><p>Detective Brooke Palmer races down to the struggling New Zealand town she once called home to comfort her oldest friend – Evan’s mother.</p><p><br /></p><p>But when Brooke learns Evan had been hanging out with a boy who used to bully him, she quickly gets drawn into the case. She fears this dangerous new friendship may have cost Evan his life – or at the very least, his heart.</p><p><br /></p><p>And as Brooke confronts her own past, she is reminded that in Taonga, even those who have it all can hit rock bottom.</p><p><br /></p><p>A gripping whodunnit through a fresh lens, Boy Fallen will keep you guessing until the very end.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59536712-boy-fallen" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3qR8LzV" target="_blank">Amazon </a>| <a href="http://prntdpublishing.com/" target="_blank">PRNTed</a> | <a href="https://chrisgillbooks.com/" target="_blank">Chris Gill</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">4 Stars</div></h4><p>Evan Wiley is found dead and the talk of the town is that it's a copy cat of young Jack's death nearly twenty years ago. Brooke, older sister of Jack and best friend to Lana, Evan's mother, return to town to pay her respects, but is soon swept up in the case. Alongside the assigned inspector, Brooke and Collins take a walk in Evan's shoes in the prior months leading to his death. He was coming to terms with his identity and finding his footing after years of bullying. Brooke sees herself in Evan and uses her previous experiences of bullying and the loss of her brother to fuel her to find Evan's killer.</p><p><br /></p><p>While it's easy to classify Boy Fallen as an LGBTQ+ mystery, it's more of a police procedural with a coming of age story within. Evan Wiley is gone, but the real story is the journey he was on leading up to his death. He had friends and he was discovering his identity, something the small town of Taonga always seemed to want to keep from him. Brooke, both a friend and a detective assisting on the case, fears the worst, that the bullying caught up to him too, but instead she discovers that Evan was coming into his own. Evan was happy, all signs point to it, so what happened? As Brooke dives into solving the homicide readers are gifted with glimpses into the past from Evan's perspective. We see the aftermath of the loss of Evan and the impact it has across family, friends, and the entire town. We also see the grip that adolescent insecurity can have on you, even well into adulthood.</p><p><br /></p><p>Boy Fallen is a stunning sophomore novel from Chris Gill that new fans and prior fans of The Nowhere will love. There's so much heart in this book that I almost forgot I was reading a mystery and seeking out a killer.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-52850951657782409772022-02-28T08:53:00.001-08:002022-02-28T08:53:10.602-08:00The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXiEEYNfhf24PO69mn3aIVFTaDHA58Ns8_bBjJ6jwBxJCHqRxW1AXIniNp5GIAqJ_hi96NU0HLzyIhJczUq85OMVZICWezmf3jmaXzdsoslkmrF35VgemqkKJ6uHKSjrK3RL06_ODKHUwgYOKUWdMuog9zxvhrzPTxYSuhso0WKrr8Zrh7E6FLYgGlqA=s1358" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1358" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXiEEYNfhf24PO69mn3aIVFTaDHA58Ns8_bBjJ6jwBxJCHqRxW1AXIniNp5GIAqJ_hi96NU0HLzyIhJczUq85OMVZICWezmf3jmaXzdsoslkmrF35VgemqkKJ6uHKSjrK3RL06_ODKHUwgYOKUWdMuog9zxvhrzPTxYSuhso0WKrr8Zrh7E6FLYgGlqA=s320" width="212" /></a></div>The Golden Couple<br />by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen<br />Expected publication: March 8, 2022 by St. Martin's Press</h3><p>If Avery Chambers can’t fix you in 10 sessions, she won’t take you on as a client. Her successes are phenomenal--she helps people overcome everything from domineering parents to assault--and almost absorb the emptiness she sometimes feels since her husband’s death.</p><p><br /></p><p>Marissa and Mathew Bishop seem like the golden couple--until Marissa cheats. She wants to repair things, both because she loves her husband and for the sake of their 8-year-old son. After a friend forwards an article about Avery, Marissa takes a chance on this maverick therapist, who lost her license due to controversial methods.</p><p><br /></p><p>When the Bishops glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>The Golden Couple is the next electrifying novel from Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, the #1 New York Times bestselling author duo behind You Are Not Alone, An Anonymous Girl, and The Wife Between Us.</b></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57693416-the-golden-couple" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/35lXGiq" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3K2BBUR" target="_blank">Audible</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">4 Stars</div></h4><p>Avery has the freedom to run her ten-step consulting program now that she's no longer a licensed therapist. With unconventional methods and significant involvement in her patient's lives, Avery can help her therapists through anything. When Marissa brings her husband, Matthew, in for help after infidelity, trust issues, and quality time issues, Avery thinks it might be the easiest work in her life. Only, this golden couple has a lot tarnishing their walls. Avery is presented with one secret, but as she walks the couple down the path of healing more secrets begin to be uncovered and these secrets are a threat to all three of them.</p><p><br /></p><p>I loved Avery, I tolerated Marissa, and I could not put this book down for anything. I had both printed and audio ARCs of The Golden Couple and while I don't usually believe in switching between the two, I had to for this book. I wanted to be reading or listening at all times, unable to focus on anything when in-between the words. While it's a classic suburban drama and thriller, I found myself entertained and intrigued, happy to find twists and reveals that were unexpected amidst the predictable parts. There was a lot to unravel in this book, which made me enjoy it all the more. I like a good mixture of both, it wasn't something totally unfathomable, but I couldn't guess everything. This is another success for Hendricks and Pekkanen, in my opinion, a winner for all suburban thriller fans.</p><p><br /></p><p>The audio is fantastic, as usual for Hendricks and Pekkanen books. It did suffer a bit when sped up to my usual listening speed, taking on a robotic quality, but at 1-1.3x it was perfect. Easy to follow with unique voices for each perspective and the right amount of emotion put into the words.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-77082488124757218882022-02-08T08:31:00.002-08:002022-02-08T08:31:22.147-08:00The Damaged by Tijan<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQxf3_37A7tKMPAPQBSRdoz2QRgoVS4t3eFHqrplswLiOZ9Kd4R1GaJb9Xa3IolHn6M7-Ya4cDi2nExWCnjZ36zeWaC7kDN1rR40Qu5gwhZLga2DO9NZPtSVqSnyDFtY-nn5RYiysdzCQScOqziL_nhKqgCr71uN6bImx7666Kgalo_HMgJy4P8XEezg=s400" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQxf3_37A7tKMPAPQBSRdoz2QRgoVS4t3eFHqrplswLiOZ9Kd4R1GaJb9Xa3IolHn6M7-Ya4cDi2nExWCnjZ36zeWaC7kDN1rR40Qu5gwhZLga2DO9NZPtSVqSnyDFtY-nn5RYiysdzCQScOqziL_nhKqgCr71uN6bImx7666Kgalo_HMgJy4P8XEezg=s320" width="209" /></a></div>The Damaged<br />(The Insiders Trilogy #2)<br />by Tijan<br />Published February 8, 2022 by St. Martin's Griffin</h3><p>No longer an outsider, Bailey has a family and love that she never could’ve imagined.</p><p><br /></p><p>Used to living in the shadows, Kash will now do anything to protect his family and his woman.</p><p><br /></p><p>They will take on the world together…</p><p><br /></p><p>In the meantime, stunning motives, lies, and explosive secrets continue to unfold.</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Quinn is in jail, awaiting trial.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. Friends might actually be enemies.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. And what is Calhoun plotting? More importantly, will Kash discover it before it’s too late?</p><p><br /></p><p>Everything will come to a head as passion and danger ignite in The Damaged.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>"Obsessed from page one! The Insiders is yet another addicting read from Tijan."—Jennifer L. Armentrout, #1 New York Times bestselling author</b></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57693291-the-damaged?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Yl4nsIojSu&rank=4" target="_blank">Goodreads </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/34okq0V" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">4 Stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span>Do I really have to wait for the next book? Can't I have it right now? The Damaged was IMPOSSIBLE to put down, more so than The Insiders even, and I just know the third and final book will be the same. Suspenseful, sexy, and somehow both a new adult and adult read. The Damaged packs a punch, taking readers back into Bailey's world, but this time we also get the occasional glimpse into Kash's mind. We're back in the world of the rich and famous-by-association. The money drips, from their clothes and their cars and the hotels they call home. Doors open for them, clubs open ropes up, and Bailey is finally going to see what money and power can do for her as she begins school at Hawking University.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span>One of my favorite parts of The Insiders was Bailey's brain, she's so dang smart and even when she relaxed into her family role she still responded smartly. In The Damaged it is clear love has taken over some space in her brain, she's a bit less insightful, and she's always dripping in lust for Kash. It would be annoying, if there chemistry wasn't so off the charts and if I didn't love books with all-consuming relationships so much. Her brain shows its stuff when it comes to school though and I really enjoyed her world expanding, to see her gain friendships, to grow her relationship with Matt, and to see a future setting itself up for her.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span>Unfortunately, things go off the rails, as they do when you're Peter Francis' unknown daughter and dating the ninth richest man in the world. Jealousy, greed, anger, lust, and revenge take Bailey and Kash on a wild ride and based on the ending of this book, it's not done yet. It's a rollercoaster, one that Tijan gives you a break from with intense romance scenes and brother-sister bonding. I knew though that the unknown figure from the first novel would show up again, I knew there was something to come, and my word I cannot wait for it! I need book three. I need to know more. Tijan did such a good job foreshadowing what is to come and I am just begging to have it revealed to me this instant.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span>The Damaged is another excellent release from Tijan and a stunning secondary novel in the trilogy. I rarely love the second book in any series, but oh my word, this could end up being my favorite. The writing is new-adult-ish, with quicker dialogue and a lack of complex world building, but I sort of enjoyed that. While The Damaged isn't challenging to read, it is entertaining and what it lacks in depth it makes up for in excitement and intrigue. The Insiders Trilogy is one I am highly recommending to romance-suspense fans like me.</span></p></div></h4>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-32898662491530927242022-01-27T08:40:00.002-08:002022-01-27T08:42:49.768-08:00A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham<h2 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnkd4r-XKb6_-utdjTxgGSyLtzj7MIvdjeVZyypMKTrNc7x5mbnBZNPLjaXT-L7wQbfpd59aO7KLkP3oqzIre4Zd5DONiqgOY57ctLWluvdqVO2tPUk2NwvKuRmSak9mNLqOOQPMQzSSgQ0_HD00u6639gJ8GR3k5Y_gPUDIL0nhshubiVtXagBj30RA=s499" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnkd4r-XKb6_-utdjTxgGSyLtzj7MIvdjeVZyypMKTrNc7x5mbnBZNPLjaXT-L7wQbfpd59aO7KLkP3oqzIre4Zd5DONiqgOY57ctLWluvdqVO2tPUk2NwvKuRmSak9mNLqOOQPMQzSSgQ0_HD00u6639gJ8GR3k5Y_gPUDIL0nhshubiVtXagBj30RA=w211-h320" width="211" /></a></div>A Flicker in the Dark<br />By Stacy Willingham<br />Narrated by Karissa Vacker<br />Published January 11, 2022 by Minotaur Books</h2><p><b>From debut author Stacy Willingham comes a masterfully done, lyrical thriller, certain to be the launch of an amazing career. A Flicker in the Dark is eerily compelling to the very last page.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to get. Sometimes, though, she feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. And then a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, and seeing parallels that aren't really there, or for the second time in her life, is she about to unmask a killer?</p><h3 style="text-align: center;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59826820-a-flicker-in-the-dark" target="_blank">Goodreads </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/3HjSxVO" target="_blank">Amazon</a></h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6DCr4BhuAzb5rH82gbcEVadXbso9aE-2BtKlKtA_lFMxGdjlmTq1_RPtEGRLPV4qIDBfVz38ehF0xwPrfvgPxZR9BjRBdHGHbXRCdHkvBQ76rT59npLliiVAPZ-bwqjdxb-k-K9r5GvRz0NXB6gMXYsKhadWzJWKw41U68vo6bFvUYYJypsnae60oqQ=s970" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="970" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6DCr4BhuAzb5rH82gbcEVadXbso9aE-2BtKlKtA_lFMxGdjlmTq1_RPtEGRLPV4qIDBfVz38ehF0xwPrfvgPxZR9BjRBdHGHbXRCdHkvBQ76rT59npLliiVAPZ-bwqjdxb-k-K9r5GvRz0NXB6gMXYsKhadWzJWKw41U68vo6bFvUYYJypsnae60oqQ=w640-h198" width="640" /></a></div>Review<br />4 Stars</h3><p> Chloe's dad is a serial killer. She spent her youth wrapped up in his story, in his crimes, and while it's made her unable to trust, she's finally figured out her own life, her own story. She's a psychologist, a fiancé, a friend, and a good sister. Sure, sometimes she doesn't feel like she's really happy, but who would be with a background like her? Then a reporter calls, dredging up the past, shaking up her fragile security, and then a girl goes missing. Chloe sees too many similarities, she knows how this works and she won't let the pattern repeat itself.</p><p><br /></p><p>I'm a thriller girl and I love when a book lets readers go along for the ride in figuring out who a serial killer is. A Flicker in the Dark takes it a step further, giving us the serial killer up front and showing us the impact that made on his daughter's life. Sure, she's a psychologist helping youth now, but the past has shaped her and when the present starts to feel similar, well we all know what trauma can do to someone. With a lot of attention to the psychological state of Chloe, Stacy Willingham takes readers on a who-dun-it copy cat murder investigation in Baton Rouge. I was gripped by this story, I loved the premise, and the writing is far better than I usually see in a debut novel. This one is just very good; while the pacing is slow, the story stays interesting, it's a bit hard to guess what's really going on, and when the pacing does pick up, it's full speed ahead with reveals and twists.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here's where I struggled with this book; Chloe is a psychologist with plenty of experience, and personal knowledge of teenage angst and family turmoil, so why is she so good at lying both to herself and to others? Her reliance on medication, her drinking, and her ill-placed trust all while touting her intuitive nature just didn't sit well with me. I knew she was an unreliable narrator, I love unreliable narrators, but Chloe presents herself as reliable and what makes her unreliable doesn't feel right. (I need an alternative word for reliable.) It feels forced, like it was the obvious choice, like it wasn't written into Chloe's history and personality. I still enjoyed it, of course it makes all the events that occur plausible, I just didn't like it.</p><p><br /></p><p>This was, hands down, one of the Top Ten best audiobooks I have ever listened to. I normally love dual narration, I typically choose my audiobooks based on having alternating perspectives, but A Flicker in the Dark just sounded so good and, well, Karissa Vacker is an excellent narrator. She brought the eerie feelings of being watched to life, made Baton Rouge feel somber with the concern of missing girls, and her pacing and breathe made our unreliable narrator feel just the right amount of unhinged. I really enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark, but I loved it because of the audiobook narration. Fellow psychological thriller fans will love this in print or audio. It is an absolutely standout debut novel and I cannot wait to see what stories Stacy Willingham will tell us in the future.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-78273504678619952172021-12-15T09:43:00.003-08:002021-12-15T09:43:55.796-08:00Good as Dead by Susan Walter<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbcnTEGZeNerPBGrABK0eYsbDtCr1BDFEEpQF1A8m70ehOGGzgaKe2jXBsu5tHn2cqayzhzqhlmyqTsiIDsb4diue8KUR_sZeGO4YCtO0C09JBn15h-a4-k7C6br8gH6gKGdRam7geVhLIuVOdXuleCFSrGWbgO_T3IwgtTy1EMdeMaToXkQuyTki67g=s500" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbcnTEGZeNerPBGrABK0eYsbDtCr1BDFEEpQF1A8m70ehOGGzgaKe2jXBsu5tHn2cqayzhzqhlmyqTsiIDsb4diue8KUR_sZeGO4YCtO0C09JBn15h-a4-k7C6br8gH6gKGdRam7geVhLIuVOdXuleCFSrGWbgO_T3IwgtTy1EMdeMaToXkQuyTki67g=s320" width="213" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Good as Dead<br />by Susan Walter<br />Published October 1, 2021 by Lake Union Publishing</h3><p></p><p><b>It all starts with a promise from a stranger: <i>We’ll take care of everything.</i></b></p><p><br /></p><p>Holly Kendrick’s husband is dead. Holly saw it all. In one violent moment, a hit-and-run accident turns Holly’s life upside down. Then a fixer for the high-powered guilty party approaches Holly with an offer she is in no position to refuse. Holly and her daughter, Savannah, will want for nothing, beginning with a luxury dream house—all for the price of their silence. But when their sudden appearance in privileged Calabasas, California, piques the curiosity of neighbors, the price becomes greater than they imagined. Because Holly and Savannah aren’t the only ones in the neighborhood with something to hide.</p><p><br /></p><p>Told from alternating points of view, Good as Dead draws together an unlikely group of people bound to one another by a crime, a cover-up, and compounding deceptions. As carefully constructed lives begin to crumble, how far will everyone be willing to go to bury the truth and protect the people they love?</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57662677-good-as-dead?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=MCtYFfGjbE&rank=2" target="_blank">Goodreads </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/3oXWdpR" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">5 Stars</div></h4><p>What a twisted, twisted thriller Susan Walter has woven with Good as Dead. Written like a suburban drama, Good as Dead follows six people in the months following a terrible, fatal accident. There's Holly, the bereft widow, Savannah, her daughter, Evan, the fixer, Andy, Holly's new screenplay writer neighbor, Libby, his nosy wife, and finally Jack, the millionaire producer. Labeled a hit-and-run, Holly's husband passed before her eyes and the solution provided by Evan is more money than she's ever seen before, a beautiful home, and a safe neighborhood for her daughter. The quiet, snooty Calabasas street is meant to be her escape from the trauma, but with Evan lingering, perceptive neighbors, and a new boyfriend in Savannah's life, it's only a matter of time before someone's secrets start spilling.</p><p><br /></p><p>I absolutely loved Good as Dead; I initially thought the format and multiple narrators would be difficult, but I found myself wading neck deep into this suburban thriller. Walters tells the story by alternating between flashbacks and present day perspectives, with each character taking us to where they were three months ago and the impacts the accident had in their life. It's the kind of story where an invisible thread connects everyone together and that thread is twisted and tangled and raveled up tight. It's an exploration into wealth, privilege, and happiness, or rather, the lack of and the ripple effects of trauma.</p><p><br /></p><p>Impossible to put down, masterfully constructed, and totally clever, Good as Dead is an absolute hit from Susan Walter. It has all the pieces required to form an addictive thriller, weaving suspense, a crime, and secrets to keep you on the edge of your seat.</p>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605590038750337411.post-45024076555717021272021-12-13T14:57:00.003-08:002021-12-13T14:57:23.419-08:00Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1owarArA50Qgo1vczcJZAxVdaDthjxHDwN_5AJkEwRrMPR_m9kvGlWAJc4f0Acy5GKM8khSZSKEuyShNAj-UZ_2A6ov-BH3jvR1BiIg86-2RNsFYel5yr2O6PVUniT3wqG-D_gCn_sWmrEO9Hg25TDOYPb0v370BtQNj38mlcHVuYr_mzFNr_MDQ4FQ=s400" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1owarArA50Qgo1vczcJZAxVdaDthjxHDwN_5AJkEwRrMPR_m9kvGlWAJc4f0Acy5GKM8khSZSKEuyShNAj-UZ_2A6ov-BH3jvR1BiIg86-2RNsFYel5yr2O6PVUniT3wqG-D_gCn_sWmrEO9Hg25TDOYPb0v370BtQNj38mlcHVuYr_mzFNr_MDQ4FQ=s320" width="210" /></a></div>Wish You Were Here<br />Jodi Picoult<br />Published November 30, 2021 by Ballantine Books</h3><div><br /></div><div><div>From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a deeply moving novel about the resilience of the human spirit in a moment of crisis.</div><div><br /></div><div>Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She’s not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galápagos—days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.</div><div><br /></div><div>But then a virus that felt worlds away has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news: It’s all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Almost immediately, Diana’s dream vacation goes awry. The whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders reopen. Completely isolated, she must venture beyond her comfort zone. Slowly, she carves out a connection with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to Diana, despite her father’s suspicion of outsiders.</div><div><br /></div><div>Diana finds herself examining her relationships, her choices, and herself—and wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into someone completely different.</div></div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Add to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57701764-wish-you-were-here" target="_blank">Goodreads </a>| <a href="https://amzn.to/3EULCBk" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRzPauyjVqARplsnZ6rNE9EGM5-UJHMNVPHhHPDZmJ8swleuVDZe1FKBUjB3xDPlb_CRLf_ikHMi-aj-PxOmpE7sEXL9otaPENB076b6r0MVsttBeLsWv0rL43GPm0ydtj4X4jsrMxwlkOevACIt-dcMljUDZsINLVc__klf1Gan1P5QJb8YUMJRwNAQ=s970" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="970" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRzPauyjVqARplsnZ6rNE9EGM5-UJHMNVPHhHPDZmJ8swleuVDZe1FKBUjB3xDPlb_CRLf_ikHMi-aj-PxOmpE7sEXL9otaPENB076b6r0MVsttBeLsWv0rL43GPm0ydtj4X4jsrMxwlkOevACIt-dcMljUDZsINLVc__klf1Gan1P5QJb8YUMJRwNAQ=w640-h198" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review</div><div style="text-align: center;">5 Stars</div></h4><div><br /></div><div><div>I never intended to read a novel set during the pandemic or with plot points related to the pandemic, but something about Wish You Were Here called to me. I just had to read it. The cover is gorgeous, the blurb captures the story's main plot perfectly, and well, it's Jodi Picoult, we all know she knows how to write. What really grabbed my attention though, was the idea of examining where life is at and how Picoult just felt she had to write this. Diana felt like someone I needed to know, her journey felt like something I needed to go on, so off I went and boy am I grateful I picked this up.</div><div><br /></div><div>The pandemic marks a shift in everyone's life, whether it's an emotional shift, a career shift, or one of just general life examination. Diana thought she'd been through the worst, but the pandemic and her adventure to the Galapagos Islands makes her realize that the worst is yet to come and that only she owns her fate. I related to Diana so much; it's so easy to think that life is mapped out and that we're on the path to whatever we deem is the best thing for us, but it's not always really right. What we planned at twenty or felt pre-destined for may be due to outside influence or just are no longer right for you as you and your world change. Her examinations into her relationships, her family, her past, and her future felt just like the times I have gone through those same self examinations and I loved the reality of this novel. It may be a fiction, but Diana felt real and her journey to discover her true life path is just beautiful and epic.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wish You Were Here is a gorgeous tale, one filled with sparkling water, a handsome tour guide, and a young girl that allows Diana to see just what really matters in her life. Of course, it isn't all beautiful and fun, the pandemic is jarring; Picoult captured those first few weeks of uncertainty so perfectly that I felt that same anxiety again as I realized doors really were closing around us. The pain of loss and of the unknown are explored so well in this novel, I could feel the isolation that Diana felt and my eyes dripped with tears when hers did. Even with the most difficult topics being covered, Wish You Were Here is the book that I'm so thankful I read to revisit the turmoil of 2020.</div></div>Carlene Inspiredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14165365545471598854noreply@blogger.com0