Reviews: THE WEDDING SEASON & I KISSED SHARA WHEELER

April 29, 2022/9 Comments/by Suzanne

TGIF! I’m so happy the weekend is here. I don’t really have any big plans to speak of, but I’m hoping for nice enough weather to actually be able to read outside for a bit. Today I’m sharing reviews on two pretty great reads I had this week, one from a favorite author, Casey McQuiston, and one from a new-to-me author, Katy Birchall.

Reviews: THE WEDDING SEASON & I KISSED SHARA WHEELER

The Wedding Season Goodreads

Author: Katy Birchall

Publication Date: May 3, 2022

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I’ve been wanting to try Katy Birchall’s novels for a while now and when I saw her latest novel, The Wedding Season, described as Four Weddings and a Funeral meets The Wedding Party, I knew I had to read it.

The story opens with the protagonist, Freya Scott, happily preparing to marry her longtime boyfriend, Matthew. That is, until Matthew pulls her into a broom closet the day before the wedding and breaks up with her. Feeling utterly humiliated, Freya wonders how in the world she will survive the seven weddings she has to attend in the upcoming months, what she and her friends have dubbed “The Wedding Season.” She has no idea how she’ll be able to cope with the awkward pitying looks, the gossip, and even worse, the fact that Matthew will probably also be attending most of them since they have so many mutual friends. Freya’s best friends Ruby and Leo, who as an aside, are very much friendship goals, come to the rescue. They devise a list of outrageous challenges, one per wedding, that will serve to distract Freya and keep her from dwelling on her own misfortune. The tasks range from being the last person standing on the dancefloor, to kissing a stranger, to running naked down a hotel corridor. Armed with this survival guide and endless moral support from Ruby and Leo, Freya sets out to tackle “The Wedding Season.” She has no idea how truly life changing her challenges will turn out to be!

You guys, this book was such a delight! I think what Freya was going through is an experience that many will find either relatable or else one of their own worst nightmares. I loved how even though she was devastated, Freya does start to embrace the idea of moving on without Matthew and that she just goes for it when it comes to completing the tasks on her list. That list provides so many laugh out loud moments and they made for a fantastic balance with the more serious elements of the story, just as they made Freya an even more endearing character than she already was.

Watching Freya find her way forward without Matthew was such a wonderful experience. It’s an awkward journey for her at times as she navigates through some confrontational moments with Matthew, but it’s also very healing and freeing for her as she comes to realize she doesn’t need him in her life and that she may actually be better off without him. She also starts to open her eyes and heart to the possibility of a new romance, but that aspect of the story takes a bit of a backseat to Freya’s personal journey. I would have loved a little more romance, but I was all in for Freya so the story was still fantastic as is.

The Wedding Season is a heartwarming and hilarious story about love and friendship. It left me feeling so hopeful about Freya’s future and also wanting sequels that feature all of Freya’s fabulous friends. Just an all around delightful read! 4.5 STARS

I Kissed Shara Wheeler Goodreads

Author: Casey McQuiston

Publication Date: May 3, 2022

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I was a big fan of Casey McQuiston’s first two novels, Red White and Royal Blue and One Last Stop, so I was excited to hear she has a new one coming out and that it’s her YA debut.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler follows Chloe Green, a high school senior who moved from California to Alabama her freshman year. Enrolled in a conservative Christian school, Chloe has felt like the black sheep of the school the entire time she has been there. When the story opens, she is just months away from graduation and has her eyes on the prize, class Valedictorian. She has been competing neck and neck for the coveted title and all its glory with the school darling, Shara Wheeler. Shara is the Principal’s daughter, a good Christian girl, and everyone just adores her. Well, everyone except Chloe. Chloe can’t stand her and would love nothing more than to beat her out for the top spot.

A month before graduation everything changes though – out of nowhere, Shara kisses Chloe and then by the next morning, has disappeared. Chloe starts desperately hunting for clues as to Shara’s whereabouts, because let’s face it, winning Valedictorian because your main rival stopped coming to school isn’t very satisfying. During her search, she learns that she isn’t the only one Shara kissed. She also kissed Rory Heron, the bad boy who lives next door to her, and she kissed her longtime boyfriend, Smith Parker. What kind of game is Shara playing? Because it clearly is a game, considering that before she vanished, she left each of them a letter, followed by a series of clues that promise to lead to her whereabouts. It becomes clear that if they want to solve the mystery of where Shara is, why she chose to disappear, and why she chose them to play the game, they’re going to have to work together to piece together this odd scavenger hunt.

McQuiston has a gift for writing lovable characters so it’s no surprise that I really liked Chloe, Rory, and Smith. I enjoyed them all individually, and as a group, as they begin to bond while they work to solve each of Shara’s clues. Chloe is scrappy and determined, Rory has a reputation for being a bad boy but is actually pretty sweet, and Smith is also just a cinnamon roll. While I was just as clueless as these three as to why Shara has them jumping through so many hoops for her, I loved what the quest actually does for them. It leads them to interact with each other as well as other students in the school they’ve never really interacted with before because the school is full of cliques. Chloe, in particular, shows a lot of growth in this area because as she interacts with more and more different people, she realizes that she isn’t as different from some of her fellow students as she had led herself to believe and it leads her to examine some of her own prejudices and realize how unfair she was being. As fascinating as the journey was to find Shara and learn her reasons for doing what she did, I found this journey of Chloe’s to be my favorite part of the story. Speaking of the mystery surrounding Shara, I don’t want to spoil anything there so I’ll leave it for you to discover on your own. It’s one heck of a ride though, I’ll say that much, and eye opening for all of the characters involved.

The only real downside for me was that we only get chapters from Chloe’s perspective. I think some chapters from Rory or Smith as they are on Shara’s trail, or even from Shara herself to give us some hints into her motivations, would have made the story even better. Still a fabulous read though so it’s only a minor quibble.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a story about relentlessly pursuing what you think you want in life, only to stumble into what it is you really need. It’s a mystery, a romance, a story about second chances, and so much more. There’s definitely a little something for everyone, so be sure to check it out! 4 STARS.

Reviews: THE HOMEWRECKERS & EVERYTHING MUST GO

April 25, 2022/10 Comments/by Suzanne

Happy Monday all! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We had absolutely fantastic weather here so I spent a lot of time outside starting to get our yard and flower beds ready for planting. I’ve also been helping my son prepare for his AP Science test so lots of nights spent quizzing on vocabulary words. I did manage to squeeze some reading time in as well though, so I’m back today with a couple of new reviews for you.

Reviews: THE HOMEWRECKERS & EVERYTHING MUST GO

The Homewreckers Goodreads

Author: Mary Kay Andrews

Publication Date: May 3, 2022

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews is a story about love, loss, and how to find your path forward after losing the love of your life. Set in beautiful Savannah, Georgia, the story follows Hattie Kavanaugh, a young woman who tragically lost her husband in a motorcycle accident seven years ago. Since his death, Hattie has basically thrown herself completely into her work, while leaving the rest of her life on hold. Hattie’s work is restoring old historic homes to their former glory, a passion she shared with her husband and which she still shares with her father-in-law. Hattie’s head still isn’t completely in the game though and so when she makes a bad investment on a house she was hoping to restore and flip, she finds herself in desperate need of cash and reluctantly agrees to star in a reality TV show about flipping houses. Little does she realize that not wanting to be on TV will soon be the least of her worries.

Hattie is a fantastic protagonist. She’s feisty and fierce, takes no crap from anyone, probably a byproduct of working in a field that is filled predominantly with men and therefore constantly underestimated. Beneath that tough exterior, however, there’s also the vulnerable, heartbroken side of Hattie. I found her such an easy character to love and I was fully invested in her story. I also loved that she has maintained such a close relationship with her father-in-law. It was sweet watching the two of them interact. Even though her husband is gone, it’s clear that Hattie is still very much part of the Kavanaugh family.

Aside from my love for Hattie, what really took this story to the next level for me was all the drama that ensued from the moment production starts on Hattie’s show. First, there’s the aggressively determined producer who is convinced Hattie and this TV show are going to be huge hits. Then there’s the handsome and all-too-charming cohost whose interest in Hattie may or may not be genuine. Lastly, there’s the renovation project itself, which seems to be downright cursed. One bad thing after another keeps happening – fires, threats, code violations, and when they open up one of the walls in the old house to repair some damage, they even find the wallet of a beloved high school teacher who has been missing for 17 years and presumed dead. In short, there’s drama, intrigue, and suspense in spades, making for one heck of a wild ride!

I don’t want to give away anything about the developments in that missing person case, but wow, talk about twists and turns. Andrews kept me guessing every step of the way and glued to this book until I had all the answers. There is a bit of romance as well, but I’d say it definitely takes a backseat to Hattie’s overall journey, to what is going on with the house renovations (the actual filming, the butting of heads between cast members, showrunners, network executives, etc.), and of course with finding out what happened to the teacher and how her wallet ended up inside the wall of a random old beach house.

If the way I devoured this story in less than a day is any indication, I think The Homewreckers is going to land in a lot of beach bags this summer. It’s the perfect beach read! 4 STARS

Everything Must Go Goodreads

Author: Camille Pagán

Publication Date: April 26, 2022

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Everything Must Go by Camille Pagan is a wonderful, heartfelt story about love, family, and second chances. It also explores the strength of the bond between mother-daughter, as well as that of the bond between sisters.

Laine Francis’ life is in turmoil. More than anything, she wants to be a mother, but her husband has been putting her off for years, saying he’s not ready. Laine’s biological clock is ticking so loudly that it’s all she can hear and so she tells her husband she wants a divorce since they clearly don’t want the same things. On top of that, she has received a frantic call from one of her sisters, begging her to come to New York to help with their mom, who hasn’t been herself lately. Even though Laine has no desire to come back to New York, she knows she is the only sibling who doesn’t have small children to care for so she’s the logical choice. When Laine arrives in New York, she runs into Ben, her former best friend. She hasn’t seen Ben since they had a huge falling out years ago, so seeing him again after all this time brings back a lot of memories. She hopes seeing him again will provide the opportunity to mend their relationships, but she soon realizes that her sisters were right about their mom. Something is definitely wrong and it’s not just the occasional forgetfulness.

I think this is a story that many readers, especially those with aging parents, are going to find so relatable. As the sisters try to determine the full extent of their mom’s memory loss, they have to have tough heart-to-heart conversations about what to do, how best to care for her, while maintaining as much of her independence and dignity as possible, etc. I loved how realistically these relationships were portrayed and how the sisters all came together to help their mom. I also loved that in addition to Laine’s perspective, which we got since she was the one taking the lead when it came to their mom, we also got the perspective of Sally, so we could see what was going on in her head, both as she realized what was happening to her and as she realized that her girls knew as well. Not only that, but we also get an inside look at some pretty major secrets Sally has been keeping from her family. I found Laine’s journey to figure out what she really wants from her life, especially regarding motherhood, just as compelling as Sally’s story. There were so many different layers that kept me turning the pages and fully invested in seeing how things would turn out for both Laine and Sally.

While Everything Must Go touches on some pretty weighty topics like divorce and dementia, it’s ultimately a feel good story that left me shedding a few happy tears by the time I got to the last page. 4 STARS

Reviews: THIS MAY END BADLY & GO HEX YOURSELF

April 18, 2022/24 Comments/by Suzanne

I hope everyone who was celebrating this weekend had a wonderful holiday weekend. Huge apologies from me for not blog hopping most of last week. I think busy season at work finally caught up to me and I pretty much crashed and burned every evening after I signed off from work and even though I planned to play catch up with blogging on Saturday, I ended up napping most of that day as well. Today is deadline day though so hopefully I’ll be back to my normal blogging habits this week. I will try my best to play catch up but may end up having to just start fresh this week since I’ve just missed so many posts. Anyway, I’m back today with a couple of reads I managed to fit in last week in spite of the crazy busy schedule. These were mostly read while sitting in the parking lot at my son’s soccer practices, lol.

Reviews: THIS MAY END BADLY & GO HEX YOURSELF

This May End Badly Goodreads

Author: Samantha Markum

Publication Date: April 12, 2022

Publisher: Wednesday Books

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I love a good boarding school story so I couldn’t resist requesting Samantha Markum’s debut YA contemporary novel, This May End Badly, which is set at Weston, a prestigious all girls boarding school. I was especially intrigued by the premise that there is an equally prestigious all boys boarding school, Winfield Academy right across the street and that the two schools have a century-long rivalry that is ongoing. I was hooked on the story from the opening pages, which centers on epic beginning-of-the-school year pranks the students from each school play on each other.

As entertaining as I found the pranks, however, I will admit that I got off to a very rough start with the protagonist, Doe. She’s the prank mastermind at Weston and she is also obsessed with Three, a boy at Winfield that she considers to be her arch nemesis. Even though she’s a senior and should be applying to colleges and preparing for her future, she is completely obsessed with escalating the prank wars between the schools and even more obsessed with getting under Three’s skin in any way she can, especially once it’s announced that the two schools will be merging into one next year and Doe suspects that Three’s family had something to do with it. I could understand her frustration that Weston, which has been her safe haven since her parents divorced, would basically cease to exist after the merger, but in the early chapters of the book, she just came off as immature and obnoxious. I read a couple of reviews on Goodreads that advised being patient with Doe, that she would eventually grow and learn from her mistakes, and I was glad I stuck it out because there really is tremendous character growth with Doe.

Even though I struggled a bit with Doe in the beginning, the same cannot be said of her friend group. I adored these young women. They were so much fun when it came to helping Doe with the pranks, but it wasn’t all fun and games for them either. They truly cared about Doe and were not afraid to step in and give her tough love when she needed it, when it was clear she had lost her way and was crossing lines she shouldn’t be crossing. These girls are friendship goals!

I’m also a big fan of the fake dating trope so I was really into the plot line where Doe fake-dates Three’s cousin and fellow Winfield Academy student, Wells. I did think it was a bit odd that Doe chose to fake date Wells just to annoy Three, but the reason aside, Wells and Doe were so cute and sweet together. I loved their banter and loved it even more when their feelings for one another started to change so that it became more about them and less about annoying Three.

The ending of the novel is also fabulous, particularly in the way it brings those rival schools and their pranking super powers together for a very worthy cause. I found myself very proud of all of these kids by the time I finished reading. If you’re interested in reading a book about friendship, falling in love, and standing up for what you believe in, you should give This May End Badly a try. 3.5 STARS

Go Hex Yourself Goodreads

Author: Jessica Clare

Publication Date: April 19, 2022

Publisher: Berkley Books

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I’ve been enjoying all of the witchy rom-coms that have come out recently and Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare is the latest addition to this fun trend. It features two of my favorite romance tropes, enemies to lovers and grumpy/sunshine so I hoped it would be a perfect fit for me. I’m thrilled to report I was not disappointed!

The story follows Reggie Johnson, a young woman who answers a newspaper ad and thinks she’s going to be working as a design assistant for Spellcraft: The Magicking, her favorite card game. When she is led into a lab instead of an office and her new employer, an elderly woman named Dru, starts talking about casting spells and creating potions, Reggie begins to suspect that her new job might not be exactly what she thought it was. Reggie is skeptical that magic is real, that is until someone curses Dru with a sleeping spell. Reggie is forced to work with Dru’s nephew, Ben, a sexy but surly warlock who has been nothing but rude to her ever since she first arrived on the job.

I really adored Reggie right from the start. She’s very much an underdog character and those always have my heart. She’s in debt up to her ears, thanks to her awful parents, who do shady things like sign up for endless credit cards in Reggie’s name and then not paying the bills, ruining Reggie’s credit in the process. Reggie has a big heart and loves them anyway, but at the same time, is disheartened that they keep taking advantage of her. Overall, Reggie is a spunky and resilient character but I did like seeing this more vulnerable side of her when it came to her parents.

I also really enjoyed both Dru and Ben. Dru comes across as a bit silly and possibly senile when Reggie first meets her, but it soon becomes clear that she’s quite a character and that there’s way more than meets the eye when it comes to her. Every time Reggie and Dru interacted, I could practically picture Dru with a little twinkle of mischief in her eyes. She’s a pretty lovable character. Ben, while not quite as lovable early on in the book, grew on me quickly as we started to get more chapters from his perspective. It becomes clear that he is not nearly as surly and grumpy as he first seems and that he is mostly misunderstood. Like Reggie, he has also been shaped by heartbreaking experiences with his parents.

While I found the witchy aspect of the book entertaining and intriguing, especially the curses and the fact the witches in the book were inspired by Roman times, and then of course, the hilarious magical cast of secondary characters, what really kept me thoroughly invested in the story was watching Reggie and Ben finally start to bond and open up to one another while they’re working to uncurse Dru. What develops between them is special and it was just lovely to watch. Fans who like a bit of steam in their romance reads will also not be disappointed.

If you’re enjoying the witchy rom-com trend as much as I am, you’ll definitely want to check out Go Hex Yourself. 4 STARS.

Review: THE NO-SHOW by Beth O’Leary

April 8, 2022/20 Comments/by Suzanne

The No-Show by Beth O'Leary
Also by this author: The Switch

Published by BERKLEY on April 12, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Don’t let the rom-com vibes of its cover fool you, Beth O’Leary’s new novel The No-Show is no rom-com. While the story did make me smile at times, it also made me shed a tear or two because it’s such an emotional journey for some of the characters. The story also took a huge unexpected turn that I don’t want to spoil so I’m going to be a bit vague with what I enjoyed about this book.

The No-Show follows three women who only have one thing in common – they were all stood up by the same man, Joseph Carter, on Valentine’s Day. Siobhan is a life coach whose life is so over-booked that she doesn’t have time or the desire for a relationship. Since her past relationships haven’t been great, she has decided that booty calls are the way to go, with Joseph Carter being her go-to when she’s in the mood. Then there’s Miranda, a tree surgeon, the only woman on an all-male crew. She’s okay with being treated like one of the guys but she gets defensive when her crew makes fun of her boyfriend, Joseph Carter, because he’s so different from her that they don’t seem like they should be compatible. Lastly, there’s Jane, a young woman who volunteers at a charity job and who has decided, after a disastrous romance at her former workplace, that she will no longer date. To keep everyone she knows off her case about finding herself a man, she has a friend that she fake-dates whenever she has a function to attend. That is, until she realizes she actually has feelings for him. That man is, you guessed it, Joseph Carter.

Aside from the mystery of how this guy manages to keep up relationships with all three of these women but somehow manages to stand them all up on the most romantic day of the year, what really fascinated me were these women’s reactions to being stood up and the fact that all three of them actually forgive him and let him back into their lives. In that sense, the story focuses much more on the emotional and personal journeys of Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane than it focuses on Carter. I loved how well-developed and fleshed out all three of the women were. Their voices and experiences were each unique, as was their path forward after being stood up. I loved watching the other relationships they cultivated that in many ways were more important than their relationships with Carter. I loved the friends Jane made through the charity shop and how they supported her and boosted her confidence, and I loved Miranda’s teammates who, although they razzed her at times, ended up being a pretty great support system for her as well.

Solving the enigma of Joseph Carter and wondering if one of these women was going to end up kicking his butt also had me very invested in the story. I was so ready to hate this guy, and that’s when the entire story gets turned on its end and takes a direction I was not even remotely expecting. I’m used to this kind of huge twist in thrillers, so it really caught me off guard here. Beth O’Leary is sneaky here and I mean that in the best possible way.

I don’t want to say anything else because you really need to meet Joseph Carter and follow the women in his life yourself to get the full experience. If you’re in the mood for a beautifully crafted story of love, friendship, and how to move forward when life doesn’t turn out the way you thought it would, you’ll want to check out Beth O’Leary’s new novel, The No-Show. 4 STARS

About Beth O’Leary

Beth studied English at university before going into children’s publishing. She lives as close to the countryside as she can get while still being within reach of London, and wrote her first novel, The Flatshare, on her train journey to and from work.
You’ll usually find her curled up with a book, a cup of tea, and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Overnight Guest & Her Last Goodbye

April 7, 2022/14 Comments/by Sharon

Hi everyone! Welcome to another installment of Sharon’s Thriller Thursday 🙂 I hope you all are doing well. No complaints on my end, I have been reading a lot of great books lately. Today I would like to share my thoughts on two great mysteries I have read. The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf and Her Last Goodbye by Rick Mofina. If you like mysteries, then I definitely recommend these books.

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Overnight Guest & Her Last Goodbye

The Overnight Guest Goodreads

Author: Heather Gudenkauf

Publication Date: January 25, 2022

Publisher: Park Row

The Overnight Guest is my first read by Heather Gudenkauf. The eerie cover and the synopsis drew me in and I am so glad it did because I was hooked from beginning to end.

Wylie Lark is a true crime writer who is staying in an isolated farmhouse in a small town in Iowa to finish her latest book. Her book is about the people that were murdered twenty years ago in that very same farmhouse and the young girl that disappeared without a trace. With a snow and ice storm hammering down, Wylie finds herself trapped in the house haunted by its secrets as well as her own. When Wylie finds a child lying in the snow in the yard, she brings him into the house for warmth and safety, but Wylie soon learns that with this child comes danger.

This book is told in a dual timeline. The timeline in the present centers around Wylie. I loved the eeriness this timeline brought to the book. Gudenkauf’s writing of the snow and ice storm actually made me cold and I could just visualize everything I was reading. We get a little back story on Wylie in this timeline, she is divorced and is estranged from her teenage son. She comes across as a bit cold to start but I did grow to like her by the end of the book. When she first brings the child into the house, she gets very agitated when he shied away from her and wouldn’t talk. But when push came to shove, Wylie stepped up and did what ever she had to do to keep herself and the child safe from the evil that was after him.

The second timeline takes place in the summer of 2000 and is told from the POV of 12-year-old Josie. Josie’s parents were murdered in the farmhouse and her best friend Becky went missing. Again, Gudenkauf does an excellent job of describing the farms in this setting. This timeline starts the morning of the murders, and as we see the day playing out, we get a few murder suspects. Right from the start I was suspecting everyone. Josie was such a well written character and my heart just broke for her.

In addition to these two timelines, we also get short chapters from the POV of a little girl. This girl and her mother are living in the basement of their home, well I should say they are locked in the basement by the girl’s father. We do not know who this girl and her mother are, but they both pulled at my heart strings. These chapters also gave me an Emma Donoghue “Room” vibe.

I love how these seemly unconnected timelines eventually come together in an ending that had a few twists and left a few tears in my eyes.

Heather Gudenkauf’s The Overnight Guest, is a suspenseful mystery that kept me guessing for the most part. I thought all of the characters and each timeline setting was very well written. I also loved how Gudenkauf slowly increased the tension in the present day timeline until I was on the edge of my seat at the end. I definitely want to check out more of Heather Gudenkauf’s books. 4 stars

Her Last Goodbye Goodreads

Author: Rick Mofina

Publication Date: January 25, 2022

Publisher: Mira Books

Rick Mofina’s Her Last Goodbye is an addictive mystery that kept me guessing until the very end. It is full of twists and turns that kept my sleuth mind going until the final twist. It is also a book that deals with loss and how different we cope with grief, which made me shed a few tears.

Jennifer (Jenn) and Greg Griffin have a normal life. Greg owns a construction company, Jenn works part time in a doctor’s office and is involved in a lot of charities as well as school activities for their eight-year-old son, Jake. The night Jenn went to her book club was an ordinary night so Greg did not think anything of it when he went to bed and Jenn was not home, sometimes the club went late. But when he woke up in the middle of the night and Jenn was still not home, Greg started to worry and called her friends from the book club. When they said she had left hours ago, Greg went out looking for her and when he could not find her he called the police to report her missing. As the police begin their investigation, they discover that Greg and Jenn both have secrets they have been keeping from each other. With their son at a sleep over, Greg has no alibi for that night, and he also has scrapes on his hands. Did Greg do something to Jenn? Did Jenn just take off on her own? Or did someone else take Jenn? And if so, why? All of these questions made for a very engrossing mystery.

My favorite part of this book was how the investigation played out. Each chapter gave us information on leads the police were following as well as what seemed to be random events that were happening. And while they may have seemed random at the time, everything was somehow connected. I really liked having the chapters this way as it had the sleuth part of me trying to piece together how they were connected and how it was all going to unearth the mystery of what happened to Jenn and who was responsible. I really cannot say much about the investigation or the different events that were happening throughout the book because that would spoil the mystery.

While I did like all the characters in this book, to me they were more like secondary characters as the mystery and investigation took center stage. That’s not to say that I didn’t sympathize with them because I did. Both Jenn and Greg had suffered tragedy when they were younger. Jenn lost both of her parents in a house fire when she was a child and Greg lost his mother when he was a teenager. They both were also keeping secrets from each other that added to the mystery.

If you are looking for a mystery that will keep you guessing and have your inner detective working, then Rick Mofina’s Her Last Goodbye is the book for you. 3 ½ stars

Reviews: FOUR AUNTIES AND A WEDDING & LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY

April 4, 2022/22 Comments/by Suzanne

Hey everyone, hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I’ve been a coach potato for the past two weekends, first binging season 2 of Bridgerton, followed by Emily in Paris, and finally Cruella on Disney Plus. I’m blaming it on the cold/allergy funk I’ve been in almost ever since I got back from New York. Whatever it is, it’s not Covid but has kept me ridiculously congested for two weeks now. I’ve gone through so many tissues I feel like I should buy stock in Puffs, haha. Anyway, not a lot of blogging happened but I have gotten a fair amount of reading done, including the two novels I’m reviewing today. Both were exactly what I needed to take my mind off my illness, so I’m thrilled to share my thoughts on them with you today. 🙂

Reviews: FOUR AUNTIES AND A WEDDING & LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY

Four Aunties and a Wedding (Aunties, #2) Goodreads

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Publication Date: March 29, 2022

Publisher: Berkley Books

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I read Dial A for Aunties, the first book in Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Aunties series back when much of the world was on lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That book with its crazy and lovable Aunties delivered so many laughs and left me with a huge smile on my face at a time when I didn’t think there was much of anything that could cheer me up. I therefore couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of the second book, Four Aunties and a Wedding. I’m thrilled to report that the Aunties are back and are just as much of a hilarious delight as they were in the first book!

The wedding in question is of course Meddy Chan’s and her college sweetheart, Nathan, and the Aunties are going to do everything in their power to make sure their niece’s big day is picture perfect. If you read the first book, you’ll remember Meddy. She’s a bit more traditional and conservative than her Aunties and sometimes wishes they would tone it down a bit, but no matter how over-the-top they are, Meddy ultimately knows that everything they do, they do out of love for her. Whether it’s wearing hats with gigantic kimono dragons perched on them or taking secret lessons in British slang and speaking in fake British accents so that they’ll “fit in” better at the ceremony, which is taking place in Oxford, England, the Aunties’ goal is to make a good impression on Nathan and his parents. I lost track of how many times I laughed out loud, but the Aunties saying “bugger off” and calling people “tossers” was definitely a highlight, haha!

Even though humor is the main order of the day with this book, there are also a few lovely and more serious moments, both between Meddy and Nathan, and between Meddy and her Aunties. There’s a lot of love and loyalty in this book and it really comes shining through.

The key to the Auntie books is that you really have to love over-the-top antics. It’s non-stop craziness and hilarity, especially once Meddy and her Aunties uncover an assassination plot that is going to ruin Meddy’s wedding and the Aunties make it their mission to foil the plot and save the day. If you’re expecting anything less than a zany good time, you might end up a bit disappointed. But if you want to straight up laugh yourself silly, you’ll definitely want to check out Four Aunties and a Wedding. 4 STARS.

Lessons in Chemistry Goodreads

Author: Bonnie Garmus

Publication Date: April 5, 2022

Publisher: Doubleday Books

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I wasn’t at all sure what to expect going into Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, but I was too intrigued by the unusual premise of a female scientist becoming the beloved star of a popular cooking show to pass up a chance to read and review this book.

The story is set in the 1960s and Elizabeth Zott is a woman ahead of her time. She’s a brilliant scientist, by far smarter than every man she studied with or worked for, but the scientific community at that time was dominated by males and misogyny. No one wants to give her the time of day and even worse, many of her colleagues seem to go out of their way to try to discredit and degrade her every step of the way. I adored Elizabeth. Not only is she brilliant, but she’s also stubborn, resilient, and downright inspiring in the way she refuses to let these men hold her back. I loved her strength and her belief that if she just worked hard enough and smart enough, that somehow she would get the recognition she deserves.

The one man who believes in Elizabeth’s brilliance is Calvin Edwards, a fellow scientist who Elizabeth falls in love with. Their relationship is a bit nontraditional in the sense that Elizabeth doesn’t believe in marriage, but married or not, it’s clear the pair are soulmates, which makes it all the more devastating when Elizabeth ends up a single parent raising Calvin’s child by herself. Again she finds herself belittled and demeaned by the men in her profession, and again Elizabeth is determined to succeed in spite of them, which is where the cooking show comes into play.

A TV producer, who happens to be a fellow parent at the school Elizabeth’s daughter attends, is fascinated by Elizabeth’s unique and quirky, no-nonsense personality. He convinces her to host an afternoon cooking show geared towards housewives, and has no idea what he gets himself into because in true Elizabeth Zott fashion, she turns the show on its end. I really loved what she did with this show and found myself rooting for her every step of the way because what she creates is an environment that educates, celebrates and empowers women, reminding them of their self-worth in what is often a thankless job, that of being a homemaker and raising children.

Lesson in Chemistry covers a wild variety of topics and while Elizabeth’s delightfully quirky personality makes for some hilarious moments, overall the story is a pretty serious one, tackling weighty issues such as misogyny and sexual abuse. I found myself very passionate as I was reading about Elizabeth’s experiences, cheering her on but also just so angry on her behalf because of the way she is mistreated so badly by those who want to keep her in her place.

With its many layers and the unforgettable Elizabeth Zott, Lessons in Chemistry is an absolute gem of a book. 4.5 STARS

Review: THE WEDDING VEIL by Kristy Woodson Harvey

March 28, 2022/10 Comments/by Suzanne

The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Also by this author: Feels Like Falling, Under the Southern Sky

Published by Gallery Books on March 29, 2022
Genres: Fiction, Women's Fiction, Historical Fiction
Pages: 416
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Those who have followed my blog for a while know that I’m a big fan of Kristy Woodson Harvey’s novels. I love how she writes her characters with warmth and depth, as well as how vibrantly she brings to life the settings for each of her books. I was thrilled to learn that The Wedding Veil is actually a historical fiction novel since that’s one of my favorite genres and I couldn’t wait to see how Harvey reimagines the lives of one of the most famous families of the Gilded Age, the Vanderbilts.

In short, I loved everything about The Wedding Veil! I thought the premise of having the lives of four generations of women bound together by something as seemingly as simple as a wedding veil was just so creative and I loved watching their stories unfold and learning how it was possible that the treasured Vanderbilt heirloom veil ends up in the hands of another unrelated family altogether.

Harvey traces the journey of the veil from one family to the other through the use of dual timelines. We follow Edith Vanderbilt and her daughter Cornelia in the early 20^th century, and the struggles they encountered while trying to keep their famous home, The Biltmore Estate, up and running after Mr. Vanderbilt unexpectedly passes away. I admired their strength and determination in the face of such difficult odds, including, particularly in Cornelia’s case, being forced into roles that they didn’t necessarily want and how the symbol of the wedding veil tied into all of that. I thought that Harvey did a wonderful job of telling the Vanderbilt women’s stories with great respect and compassion.

As much as I enjoyed learning more about the Vanderbilt women and the Biltmore estate, the contemporary timeline was actually the one that captivated me the most, especially since it starts out with a runaway bride who is encouraged to run away, by all people, her grandmother! I loved Julia and Grandma Babs from that opening scene and just couldn’t get enough of them. Julia does a runner because she learns her soon-to-be-husband has been cheating on her and feels like she would be tainting the treasured family wedding veil if she were to go through with the wedding. The veil and all it stands for leads Julia to go on a soul searching journey to figure out what she wants out of life, everyone else’s expectations be damned. I really liked Julia – she’s smart, spunky, and resilient, and the more we get to see Grandma Babs in action, it’s easy to see where Julia gets her spark from.

I don’t want to say anything else because I think it’s best to experience the journeys of these four extraordinary women yourself, but I will say that with all of its intricate threads woven together between past and present, The Wedding Veil is a beautifully written story that spotlights the inner strength of these four unforgettable women and that celebrates love, family, and a woman’s right to choose her own path. 4.5 STARS

About Kristy Woodson Harvey

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the bestselling author of DEAR CAROLINA, LIES AND OTHER ACTS OF LOVE, SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF SIMPLE, THE SECRET TO SOUTHERN CHARM and THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF PARADISE. Kristy is the winner of the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing, a finalist for the Southern Book Prize, her work has been optioned for film and her books have received numerous accolades including:

Southern Living’s Most Anticipated Beach Reads
Southern Living’s Best Spring Break Reads
Southern Independent Bookseller Association’s Okra Pick
Parade’s Big Fiction Reads Every Book Club Will Love
Entertainment Weekly’s Spring Reading Picks
Us Weekly’s Sweet Reads for Right Now
Woman’s WorldBest Books
PopSugar’s Ultimate Summer Reading
USA Today Happy Ever After’s Best Women’s Fiction
New York Live’s “Ashley’s A-List”
Deep South Magazine’s Summer Reading List
Raleigh News & Observer‘s “The Best Reads of Summer”
Charlotte Observer’s “Summer’s Best Books”
Bustle’s Books to Read and Discuss With Your Mom and Grandma
Huffington Post’s Summer Reading: Women’s Fiction Style

She blogs with her mom Beth Woodson on Design Chic about how creating a beautiful home can be the catalyst for creating a beautiful life. Design Chic is the inaugural member of the design blogger hall of fame, sponsored by Traditional Home, and winner of Amara’s Best Luxury Blog, as chosen by Roberto Cavalli. She also loves connecting with readers on kristywoodsonharvey.com.

Harvey is a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s school of journalism and holds a master’s in English from East Carolina University, with a concentration in multicultural and transnational literature. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications and websites, including Southern Living, Traditional Home, Parade, USA Today, Domino, Our State and O. Henry. She has been seen in Today.com, Women’s Health,The Washington Post, US News and World Report, The Huffington Post,Marie Claire’s The Fix, Woman’s World, Readers’ Digest, Bustle, New York Live and North Carolina Bookwatch, among others.

She is a proud member of the Tall Poppy Writers, serves on the board of Beaufort Historical Association, and is a member of the University of North Carolina’s Women’s Leadership Council. She is a frequent speaker at fundraisers, book conferences and private events. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and son where she is working on her next novel.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Nanny Dearest & The Night She Disappeared

March 24, 2022/11 Comments/by Sharon

Sharon is taking Thriller Thursday back! LOL! This week I am happy to share my thoughts on Flora Collins’ debut novel, Nanny Dearest and Kevin O’Brien’s new book, The Night She Disappeared (not to be confused with Lisa Jewell’s novel by the same name) 🙂

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Nanny Dearest & The Night She Disappeared

Nanny Dearest Goodreads

Author: Flora Collins

Publication Date: November 30, 2021

Publisher: MIRA

When I read the synopsis for Flora Collins’ debut novel Nanny Dearest, I was immediately intrigued. I am always in the mood for a good psychological thriller with flawed yet sympathetic characters and Nanny Dearest did not disappoint.

For the last year Sue Keller has been pretty much a recluse. Her father died in an accident a year before and it just broke her. He was all she had in her life, as her mother died when she was four years old. While on a rare day out, Sue runs into Anneliese (Annie), who was her nanny twenty years ago. Still grieving for her father and craving a motherly connection, Sue is happy to have Annie back in her life and the two become inseparable. But as Annie’s behavior starts to become smothering and as Sue starts to uncover the truth from the time Annie was her nanny, Sue realizes there is something very wrong with Annie.

This story alternates between Sue’s POV in the present and Annie’s POV in 1996 when she was Sue’s nanny. I loved having the book unfold this way. Seeing Annie’s behavior towards Sue in the present and then getting a look at her behavior when she was Sue’s nanny just added a lot of suspense to the book. It is clear from both timelines that Annie has some mental health issues. And while Annie came across as a whack-a-doodle in both timelines, the more we got on her backstory, the more I could understand why she had such a fascination with Sue and the more sympathy I had for her. Annie’s POV/timeline was my favorite part of the book. I loved getting all of the backstory and what life was like for them all back then.

I had a lot of sympathy for Sue as well. She doesn’t remember her mother very much and was devastated when her father died. When she meets up again with Annie, she so much wants to hear stories from when she was a child and about her mother. My favorite part of Sue though was when we got to see her as a child during Annie’s timeline. Sue was such a cute child, and it just broke my heart when her mother died, and she didn’t understand what was going on.

Nanny Dearest is a slow burn psychological thriller. I had no idea where this book was going to go and the not knowing added the suspense, tension, and creepiness to the read. By the end of this book I was flying through the pages to see how it was going to end. And what an ending it was! When I finished the last page, I literally sat there trying to comprehend what I just read. I am still not sure how I feel about the ending. LOL! 3 1/2 stars

Warning: There is a part in the book that has abuse to a cat. I will say I skimmed/jumped over that part of the book.

The Night She Disappeared Goodreads

Author: Kevin O’Brien

Publication Date: July 21, 2021

Publisher: Pinnacle Books

I have had Kevin O’Brien’s The Night She Disappeared on my to read shelf for almost a year. I am trying to tackle some of my older books, rather than leave them sitting there in favor of new releases (lol) and finally picked this one up to read. And I am glad I finally did. This was a twisty mystery that kept me guessing until the end.

Anna Malone is a TV reporter for a local station in Seattle. She is dating Russ Knoll, a married pediatrician. Russ’ wife Courtney is a best-selling author who Anna has just done a story on to promote her newest book. When the book opens, Anna has woken up with a terrible hangover. All she can remember from the night before is meeting Russ and Courtney at an elegant restaurant to celebrate the story that Anna has done on Courtney. She does not remember how she got into her bed at home. When she gets a call from Russ saying that Courtney is missing, Anna cannot shake the feeling that something terrible happened the night before. As the days go by and Courtney has not been found, Russ becomes the prime suspect in the police investigation. Anna is also thrust into the spotlight and the investigation when it is revealed by her TV rival, Sally Justice who has a show called “The Sally Justice Show”, that Anna and Russ were having an affair. Anna has also been getting phone calls from an unknown number and the caller says that they know what happened that night and that Anna murdered Courtney. What happened to Courtney? Can Anna piece together the events of that night and prove she is not a murderer?

I liked Anna. She is a flawed character (Hello! She is having an affair with a married man. LOL), but she was also a sympathetic character. Her older brother Stu ran away when Anna was a teenager, the following year her father was arrested for insider-trading and killed himself in jail, and when Anna was a junior in college, her mother died in a car accident. She is all alone trying to figure out what actually happened the night Courtney went missing. With the help of Sally Justice’s daughter, Taylor, Anna has sessions with a psychotherapist, who through hypnosis is helping Anna remember. I don’t want to say what came from these sessions, but I will say right from the get-go I did not trust the therapist or even Taylor.

Anna lived on a floating house on Lake Union, and I love how having the majority of the book take place there really gave this book a creepier atmosphere, especially at night when Anna is in her house and outside is just black and anyone could have been out there on the water watching her.

There is so much I cannot say about this book because I don’t want to give anything away. I loved all the twists and turns as the story unfolded. Near the end I did figure a few things out and while I am not 100% on board with the who-dun-it and why, I really enjoyed the journey to finding all the answers. 3 ½ stars

Romance Reviews – SADIE ON A PLATE and IN A NEW YORK MINUTE

March 21, 2022/23 Comments/by Suzanne

Hey everyone! I’m back from my trip to New York and ready to get back to blogging. I had a wonderful trip and loved being able to share my love of the city with my son since it was his first time there. We had great weather most days, although it did rain a bit and was pretty foggy on Thursday. We took him on a boat ride so he could see the Statue of Liberty, the Freedom Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge, and other iconic sites around the island, and we also did a carriage ride in Central Park and took him shopping in SoHo, among other activities. The bright lights and chaos of Times Square was his favorite part of the trip, with New York style pizza a close second, haha. I also introduced him to Broadway with Hamilton and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I was not the biggest fan of the printed script version of Cursed Child or of she who shall not be named but I have to admit that seeing it on stage was pretty great. The special effects are amazing. My son gave two thumbs up to New York overall, but we are all definitely glad to be back to the comfort and quiet of home now.

Today I’m sharing reviews of two books I read while traveling to and from New York. Both are quick and wonderful reads, perfect for my trip.

Romance Reviews – SADIE ON A PLATE and IN A NEW YORK MINUTE

Sadie on a Plate Goodreads

Author: Amanda Elliot

Publication Date: March 15, 2022

Publisher: Berkley Books

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Sadie on a Plate is Amanda Elliot’s debut adult romance novel and it is an absolute delight. It follows Sadie who is making a name for herself as a rising star in Seattle’s culinary world. That is, until a very public breakup with her famous chef boyfriend gets her blacklisted from pretty much every restaurant in the area. When we meet Sadie, she is sure her career is over and is reeling from the loss until a stroke of good fortune lands in her lap – she has been chosen for a coveted spot on the next season of the popular reality TV show, Chef Supreme. If Sadie can perform well in this competition, she can get her career back on track.

I love a good underdog story so I was rooting for Sadie to kick butt in this competition. Sadie is smart, sweet, talented, and resilient and I just really wanted her to prove everyone wrong since there have been some folks in her life who don’t think she has what it takes to succeed. I was also rooting for her to hit it off with Luke, the sexy seatmate she meets on her cross-country flight, because she deserves someone better in her life than her ex. Even though Sadie and Luke have major chemistry, however, there’s one major obstacle to any possibility of a happily ever after for them. When Sadie arrives at the Chef Supreme studios, she learns that Luke is actually one of the judges so he is off limits unless she wants to be disqualified.

While I really enjoyed the forbidden love element of their relationship because it added drama and suspense, not to mention longing looks from afar, the romance does not take center stage in this story. Instead, it bookends the main focus of the story, which is actually the competition itself. If you enjoy reality TV cooking shows like Top Chef, you are sure to enjoy the competition scenes in this book. Between the delectable descriptions of each dish Sadie and her fellow competitors created, to the tense competitive atmosphere, it truly felt like I was watching a cooking competition. The entire cast of secondary characters was great, but I most enjoyed following Sadie as she came up with so many creative ways to show that Jewish cuisine is so much more than just latkes and pastrami. By the end, she had me wishing she really did have a restaurant where I could partake of her delicious sounding creations.

I would have liked a little more focus on the romance, but honestly, watching Sadie come into her own and grow both on a personal level and as a chef was more than enough for me. I would highly recommend Sadie on a Plate to anyone who enjoys a good underdog story with a side of romance and to fans of reality TV cooking shows. 4 STARS

In a New York Minute Goodreads

Author: Kate Spencer

Publication Date: March 15, 2022

Publisher: Forever

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Kate Spencer’s new novel In a New York Minute is a hilarious yet tender romantic comedy that perfectly illustrates how you just never know what (or who) life is going to throw your way. It follows Franny Doyle, a young woman, who in the opening scene of the book, has just been laid off from her job. It wasn’t a great job, by far, but it at least paid the bills. Feeling sad and defeated, Franny lugs her box of belongings onto the crowded subway. Just when she thinks her day can’t possibly get any worse, she feels the back of her dress get caught in the subway doors and rip wide open. A dashing stranger offers her his suit jacket so that she doesn’t moon all of Manhattan, and their embarrassingly awkward meet cute is captured on video. They go their separate ways without even exchanging names, but the incident goes viral on social media and soon, half of New York is rooting for the “Subway QTs” to get together. True to form, the local media outlets know a good story when they see it and so they set out to find and reunite Franny and her mystery hero.

I was hooked on this book from this laugh out loud funny opening scene and was immediately rooting for Franny to find happiness and to follow her dream of owning her own design business. I was also hardcore rooting for the Subway QTs. Even though their meeting on the subway was brief, there were definitely sparks, although you wouldn’t know it when they are finally reunited on the local news for an even more awkward encounter than their first one. The hero, Hayes Montgomery III, handsome and chivalrous as he is, is truly as socially awkward as they come. Pretty much everything he says comes out wrong and he is way more self-conscious than you would expect. As much as I liked Franny, it’s Hayes who really stole my heart. His awkwardness is just so endearing, especially since you can also tell what a great guy he is. I loved watching he and Franny get to know each other.

In addition to the delightful slow burn romance between Franny and Hayes, there is also a fabulous cast of secondary characters. I especially loved Franny’s best friends, Cleo and Lola. They were so much fun to watch in action and I just loved how loyal and supportive they were of each other. They were total squad goals!

I was also a huge fan of the New York setting and thought the author did a brilliant job capturing the vibrant atmosphere of the city. I was actually reading this novel while riding the train up to New York and it had me even more excited to experience the city than I already was.

In a New York Minute is a gem of a book. It’s filled with heart, humor, and heat and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a slow burn romance as well as an engaging story that is laugh out loud funny. 4.5 STARS

Reviews: THE GOLDEN COUPLE & THE BOOK OF COLD CASES

March 11, 2022/7 Comments/by Suzanne

I know Sharon usually posts the majority of our thriller reviews on Thriller Thursday, but today I actually have two thriller reviews of my own to share. I think I’m finally starting to come out of my pandemic funk with respect to darker reads because these two books were great and have me craving even more thrillers to read. If you have any thriller recs to share, hit me up in the comments.

Reviews: THE GOLDEN COUPLE & THE BOOK OF COLD CASES

The Golden Couple Goodreads

Author: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Publication Date: March 8, 2022

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, my favorite thriller writing duo, are back with a brand new domestic psychological thriller that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. The Golden Couple follows a married couple who turn to an unconventional therapist for help when they realize their marriage is in big trouble. They get more than they bargained for when the therapist decides to play detective and uncovers a treasure trove of secrets and lies, beneath the surface of what, to outsiders, seemed like the perfect marriage.

Avery Chambers, the therapist, is such an intriguing character. She’s actually not even a licensed therapist, well not anymore anyway. She had her license revoked due to some ethically questionable actions on her part and now she works as a consultant, picking and choosing her clients based on her unconventional 10 step therapy program. She’s a bit infamous, often referred to as a rogue therapist, but she gets results, which is why Marissa and Matthew Bishop turn to her for help. I really enjoyed following Avery throughout this story – she’s shrewd, resourceful, and definitely has a knack for seeing through people and getting to the truth of the matter. In addition to the work she does for the Bishops, Avery also has a personal crisis of her own that she is dealing with. She’s being stalked by a pharmaceutical corporation because she helped one of their employees blow the whistle on their unsavory business practices. They want a name and she refuses to give them one, so they are aggressively pursuing her. I loved the extra layer of suspense, drama, and the surprisingly creepy factor this pursuit added to the story.

Avery’s work with the Bishops is what takes center stage and I loved watching Avery peel back the layers of this couple’s relationship. As soon as she meets with them the first time, she manages to coax the confession out of Marissa that she has cheated on Matthew. But even as that explosive secret comes to light, it’s clear to Avery that not only are Matthew and Marissa keeping secrets from each other; they’re also not being forthright with her. The authors do a fabulous job of creating tension and suspense in each of these therapy sessions. I found myself eager for each appointment to see what tricks Avery would have up her sleeve as she pursued her unconventional route to saving the Bishop’s marriage.

There were also several very intriguing threads running through the story that kept me thoroughly engaged because I couldn’t wait to see how they fed into the main plot. One, the whole time Avery is working to reconcile Matthew and Marissa, there is someone out there sending Marissa flowers and leaving her notes, as if trying to derail their therapy. And two, there’s Marissa’s assistant, Polly, who is acting stranger and stranger by the day – dressing like Marissa, wearing the same perfume, and even mimicking some of her gestures. And why is she suddenly trying to make contact with Matthew, whom she barely knows?

The Golden Couple is a riveting psychological thriller that is about so much more than a marriage in trouble, as becomes clear when all of the pieces finally come together in an explosive and unpredictable conclusion. If you enjoy gripping reads filled with multi-layered characters, plenty of suspenseful twists and turns to keep you guessing, and a reveal that will shock you, this is the book for you. 4 STARS

The Book of Cold Cases Goodreads

Author: Simone St. James

Publication Date: March 15, 2022

Publisher: Berkley

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James is a creepy, atmospheric thriller that delivers not only a riveting murder mystery but also endless thrills and chills. If you enjoyed St. James’ last novel, The Sun Down Motel, I think her latest novel will be right up your alley because it has a similar haunting vibe.

The story follows Shea Collins, a young woman who is obsessed with true-crime and who runs a successful blog called The Book of Cold Cases where she dishes about cold cases with fellow true crime fans. By day, however, Shea works as receptionist in a medical office, and is shocked when Beth Greer casually walks into her office one day. Forty years ago, Beth Greer was the prime suspect in the brutal Lady Killer Murders, a string of brutal murders where men were shot in the face at close range, the only evidence left behind being notes written in what appears to be a woman’s handwriting. Beth ended up being acquitted when she went to trial, but the murders have never been solved so a cloud of suspicion still hangs over her head. Shea follows Beth when she leaves and manages to secure an interview with the infamous woman. The rest of the story unfolds from both Shea’s and Beth’s perspectives as we finally learn the truth about the murders.

Both Shea and Beth are fascinating characters with many layers to them. We learn that Shea is obsessed with true crime in part because she was the victim of a crime herself when she was a child and was nearly abducted by a man who coaxed her into his car. Shea managed to escape, but the man went on to abduct, rape and murder another little girl. This incident haunts Shea and has colored many aspects of her life – she has an absolute phobia when it comes to getting into cars, she doesn’t trust people very easily, etc. Even with her trust issues, however, Shea finds herself irresistibly drawn to Beth and her story, even though she has no idea if she’s meeting an innocent woman or an elusive serial killer. And I could easily understand why. There’s just something almost intoxicating about Beth and the whole “Is she or isn’t she a cold-blooded killer?” vibe she has going on. I desperately wanted to know the truth as much as Shea did and I’m not even a true crime fan!

I loved how St. James kept me guessing the entire book. I didn’t know which characters I could trust and which ones I couldn’t, but each interview between Shea and Beth was that much more engrossing, especially when it became clear that it would not be Beth who revealed all, but instead it was the Greer House itself that had a jaw-dropping story to tell. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but if you enjoy a bit of supernatural creepiness in your thrillers, you’re going to love the scenes that unfold in that house. Let’s just say it had me giving my own house the side eye the entire time I was reading, haha.

It’s hard to say more without giving away the reveal, so I’m going to stop here but if the idea of a determined blogger trying to solve two forty-year old murders, while at the same time, coming to terms with her own childhood trauma, appeals to you, you’ll definitely want to pick up a copy of The Book of Cold Cases. It’s atmospheric, haunting, and unputdownable. 4 STARS