Review: SAY YOU STILL LOVE ME by K. A. Tucker
Say You Still Love Me by K.A. Tucker 
Published by Atria Books on August 6, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Romance
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley
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FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
SAY YOU STILL LOVE ME Review
I’m always a sucker for a good second chance romance, so when I heard K.A. Tucker’s Say You Still Love Me featured one, I knew I had to read it. And it was everything I love in a second chance romance too. It has two incredibly likeable main characters that I loved, both individually and as a couple, a dual timeline that give us glimpses both of when they first met and fell in love and when they reunited years later, and, finally, a bit of mystery as we gradually learn what happened to end their relationship all those years ago.
Kyle and Piper were both such great characters, equally likeable as adults and as teenagers. I especially enjoyed following Piper, who as an adult, is now a successful businesswoman preparing to take her place as the head of her father’s company as soon as he retires. It’s fun to watch her transform from those awkward teenage years to a competent and confident corporate VP, doing whatever it takes to earn the respect of her father’s longtime employees. I also had a major soft spot for Kyle, whose family clearly comes from the wrong side of the tracks. He’s practically the only member of his family who hasn’t been in jail, and his family’s illustrious history dogs him everywhere he goes.
The use of a dual timeline was one of my favorite parts of Say You Still Love Me. In addition to watching Kyle and Piper interact as adults in the corporate world, I was a huge fan of the flashbacks to summer camp where Kyle and Piper first met as teen counselors. I loved the nostalgic and almost magical vibe that the summer camp atmosphere always seems to provide, as well as the fact that Piper and Kyle were just so sweet together. Even though they come from opposite sides of the tracks, all of their differences just melt away at camp and they’re just a boy and a girl falling in love for the first time.
The biggest draw for me, however, was the wanting to know what exactly happened to break them up after that summer since they had seemed so perfect for each other. The answer to that question is a slow burning one that gradually reveals itself as we move through the story, and it really made what was already a great story even more compelling since Piper hints repeatedly that Kyle broke her heart.
There’s so much more I could say about Say You Still Love Me, but I’m just going to leave it at – if you enjoy second chance romances, the romance between Kyle and Piper is one you’re going to love!
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
Life is a mixed bag for Piper Calloway.
On the one hand, she’s a twenty-nine-year-old VP at her dad’s multibillion-dollar real estate development firm, and living the high single life with her two best friends in a swanky downtown penthouse. On the other hand, she’s considered a pair of sexy legs in a male-dominated world and constantly has to prove her worth. Plus, she’s stuck seeing her narcissistic ex-fiancé—a fellow VP—on the other side of her glass office wall every day.
Things get exponentially more complicated for Piper when she runs into Kyle Miller—the handsome new security guard at Calloway Group Industries, and coincidentally the first love of her life.
The guy she hasn’t seen or heard from since they were summer camp counsellors together. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The guy who apparently doesn’t even remember her name.
Piper may be a high-powered businesswoman now, but she soon realizes that her schoolgirl crush is not only alive but stronger than ever, and crippling her concentration. What’s more, despite Kyle’s distant attitude, she’s convinced their reunion isn’t at all coincidental, and that his feelings for her still run deep. And she’s determined to make him admit to them, no matter the consequences.
About K.A. Tucker
K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.
She is the USA Today bestselling author of 17 books, including the Causal Enchantment, Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, and The Simple Wild.
Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, First for Women, and Publisher’s Weekly. She has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance 2013 for TEN TINY BREATHS and Best Romance 2018 for THE SIMPLE WILD. Her novels have been translated into 16 languages.
K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her family.
Review: THE ESCAPE ROOM by Megan Goldin
The Escape Room by Megan Goldin 
Published by St. Martin's Press on July 30, 2019
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 368
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
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FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
THE ESCAPE ROOM Review
Megan Goldin’s The Escape Room is a suspenseful thriller and just an all around wild ride. It follows four Wall Street investment bankers, Sylvie, Vincent, Sam, and Jules, who are called into the office unexpectedly after hours to participate in what is apparently a mandatory team building activity. Accustomed to working in an environment that is competitive to the point of being cutthroat, everyone is surprised and more than a little annoyed to be forced to take part in this activity. What’s even more surprising, however, is the activity itself, which is one of those Escape Rooms that are so popular now and that it takes place with them locked in an elevator together.
The clues presented in the elevator are intensely personal and appear designed to get the colleagues to turn against one another. No matter what they do and how many clues they work together to solve, the elevator doors remain locked. What do they have to do to escape what is fast becoming a claustrophobic prison and who is Sara Hall and why does her name appear in one of their clues?
Because this is a thriller I don’t want to say too much more about the plot itself except that it obviously becomes so much more than just a simple Escape Room. The characters themselves weren’t especially likeable or easy to relate to, which could have made this a challenging read for me since I do usually prefer to feel some kind of connection to the characters I’m reading about, but the story itself was so riveting that even with unlikeable characters, I still couldn’t stop turning the pages. The writing was crisp, fast-paced, and uses a dual timeline structure to advance the plot and eventually reveal what exactly is going on, who is responsible, and most importantly, why it was done. I did guess correctly on a couple of things early on in the book, so that was a little disappointing, but overall I still found this a very entertaining read.
If you’re looking for a suspenseful read that is a compulsive page turner, look no further than Megan Goldin’s The Escape Room.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are ruthlessly ambitious high-flyers working in the lucrative world of Wall Street finance where deception and intimidation thrive. Getting rich is all that matters, and they’ll do anything to reach the top.
When they are ordered to participate in a corporate team-building exercise that requires them to escape from a locked elevator, dark secrets of their team begin to be laid bare.
The biggest mystery to solve in this lethal game: What happened to Sara Hall? Once a young shining star—”now gone but not forgotten”.
This is no longer a game.
They’re fighting for their lives.
About Megan Goldin
Megan Goldin was a journalist before she became a writer. She reported from the Middle East for the Associated Press, Reuters, the (Australian) ABC and other news outlets. She worked in Asia as a reporter and editor for Reuters and Yahoo!. She is the author of The Escape Room, which will be released in the U.S. and UK in 2019, and The Girl In Kellers Way.
Giveaway: Help ShootingStarsMag Celebrate her 12th Blogoversary & Enter for your Chance to Win a Free Book!
Today I am all about helping one of my favorite bloggers, Lauren from ShootingStarsMag celebrate a major milestone. Lauren has been blogging since August 2007, which means she is celebrating her 12th Blogoversary this year! As someone who has recently celebrated her third year blogging, I am truly in awe of how long Lauren has been running her blog. If you haven’t checked out her blog yet, definitely pay her a visit. She blogs about books, movies, local events in her city, and much more.
To celebrate her 12 years, Lauren has organized 12 giveaways for her fellow bloggers. She has always been very supportive of my blog, so I jumped at the chance to help her celebrate and host a giveaway. My giveaway is for a book of your choice up to $20 in value from The Book Depository. It runs from August 1st – August 16th, and is open internationally as long as TBD ships to you. No giveaway accounts, please.
Congrats on reaching such a major milestone, Lauren! I look forward to reading your blog for many years to come. 🙂