Blog Tour & Review: The Eighth Girl by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung

Title: The Eighth Girl Author: Maxine Mei-Fung Chung Published: March 2020, William Morrow Format: ARC Paperback, 480 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary:  Optioned by Netflix and a most anticipated book of 2020 from Bustle, The Rumpus, Electric Literature, and LitHub. “The Eighth Girl is an exquisite exploration of childhood trauma and its impact on the psyche. Part thriller, part character study, I devoured this novel in one sitting, reflecting…

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Review: Summer of ’79: A Summer of ’69 Story

Title: Summer of ’79: A Summer of ’69 Story Author: Elin Hilderbrand Published: February 2020, Little, Brown & Company Format: E-book, 61 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! Elin Hilderbrand’s brief, irresistible postscript to her #1 New York Times bestselling novel Summer of ’69.   Catch up with Blair, Jessie, and Kirby ten years after the summer everything changed. This “Summer of ’69 story” by…

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Review: The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

Title: The Familiar Dark Author: Amy Engel Published: March 2020, Dutton Books Format: ARC Paperback, 256 pages Source: Publisher   Summary:  A spellbinding story of a mother with nothing left to lose who sets out on an all-consuming quest for justice after her daughter is murdered on the town playground. Sometimes the answers are worse than the questions. Sometimes it’s better not to know. Set in the poorest part of…

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Review: Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

Title: Darling Rose Gold Author: Stephanie Wrobel Published: March 2020, Berkley Format: ARC E-copy, 320 pages Source: Netgalley Summary:  Sharp Objects meets My Lovely Wife in this tightly drawn debut that peels back the layers of the most complicated of mother-daughter relationships… For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair and practically lived at…

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Review: Miss Austen by Gill Hornby

Title: Miss Austen Author: Gill Hornby Published: April 2020, Flatiron Books Format: ARC E-copy, 288 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  Whoever looked at an elderly lady and saw the young heroine she once was? England, 1840. For the two decades following the death of her beloved sister, Jane, Cassandra Austen has lived alone, spending her days visiting friends and relations and quietly, purposefully working to preserve her sister’s reputation.…

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Book Spotlight: Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan — with link to #BookGiveaway

Yesterday, Patti Callahan’s latest book, Becoming Mrs. Lewis, was released in paperback. I am really looking forward to read this – it sounds like the perfect book to get lost in right now.  I am also thrilled to be able to share this book with one lucky reader!  This expanded paperback edition is the perfect book to read while quarantined with your family and friends. It includes: A map of…

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Review: Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen

Title: Please See Us Author: Caitlin Mullen Published: March 2020, Gallery Books Format: ARC E-copy, 352 pages Source: Netgalley Summary:  In this sophisticated, suspenseful debut reminiscent of Laura Lippman and Chloe Benjamin, two young women become unlikely friends during one fateful summer in Atlantic City as mysterious disappearances hit dangerously close to home. Summer has come to Atlantic City but the boardwalk is empty of tourists, the casino lights have…

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Review: The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy by Jean Kennedy Smith

Title: The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy Author: Jean Kennedy Smith Published: December 2018, Harper Perennial Format: Paperback, 272 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  In this evocative and affectionate memoir, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, the last surviving child of Joe and Rose Kennedy, offers an intimate and illuminating look at a time long ago when she and her siblings, guided by their parents, laughed and learned a great deal…

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Review: Problem Child by Victoria Helen Stone

Title: Problem Child Author: Victoria Helen Stone Series: Jane Doe, #2 Published: March 2020, Lake Union Publishing Format: ARC Paperback, 266 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  She’s cold, calculating, and can deceive with a smile. Jane Doe is back in the Amazon Charts bestselling series—and this time she’s met her match. After a brutal childhood, Jane Doe has been permanently wired to look after herself and only herself. Now, looking next…

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Blog Tour & Review: Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

Title: Eight Perfect Murders Author: Peter Swanson Published: March 2020, William Morrow Format: Hardcover, 270 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary:  From the hugely talented author of Before She Knew Him comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has…

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Review: Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

Title: Lying in Wait Author: Liz Nugent Published: February 2019, Gallery/Scout Press Format: Paperback, 336 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  From the author of the international bestseller Unraveling Oliver comes a “truly outstanding” (Crime by the Book), brilliantly plotted, utterly immersive novel lauded by A.J. Finn—#1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window—as “extraordinary…crackles and snaps like a bonfire on a winter’s night.” My husband did…

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Review: No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez

Title: No Bad Deed Author: Heather Chavez Published: February 2020, William Morrow Format: ARC Paperback, 312 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Packed with the electrifying pacing and pulse-pounding suspense of Harlan Coben and Lisa Gardner, a thrilling debut about a mother desperate to find the connections between her missing husband and a deadly stalker who knows too much about her own dark family history. Driving home one rainy night, Cassie Larkin…

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Review: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle (audio)

Title: In Five Years Author: Rebecca Serle Narrator: Megan Hilty Published: March 2020, Simon & Schuster Audio / Atria Books Length: 6 hours 44 minutes / 272 pages Source: Audio – ALC via Libro.fm / Print – ARC E-copy via Netgalley   Summary: Where do you see yourself in five years?  When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Cohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she…

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Review: The Operator by Gretchen Berg

Title: The Operator Author: Gretchen Berg Published: March 2020, William Morrow Format: Hardcover, 352 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary:  A clever, surprising, and ultimately moving debut novel, set in a small Midwestern town in the early 1950s, about a nosy switchboard operator who overhears gossip involving her own family, and the unraveling that discovery sets into motion. In a small town, everyone knows everyone else’s business . .…

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Author Q&A: Emily Bleeker

Emily Bleeker is quickly becoming a favorite author for me  – I’ve read some of her more recent books and really enjoyed them.  Her latest book, What It Seems, will be published next week. Earlier today I shared my review of the book – you can read that here. Today I have a conversation that Emily has prepared that I found to be quite interesting.  Do let me know if…

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Review: What It Seems by Emily Bleeker

Title: What It Seems Author: Emily Bleeker Published: March 2020, Lake Union Publishing Format: ARC Paperback, 284 pages Source: Publisher via BooksForward PR Summary:  A page-turning novel of suspense about the perfect family, and the perfect lies, by the bestselling author of When I’m Gone and The Waiting Room.   Adopted by her controlling foster mother at the age of eight, twenty-year-old Tara has seen little of the outside world.…

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Review: The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant by Kayte Nunn

Title: The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant Author: Kayte Nunn Published: March 2020, William Morrow Paperbacks Format: ARC Paperback, 400 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary:  A cache of unsent love letters from the 1950s is found in a suitcase on a remote island in this mysterious love story in the tradition of the novels by Kate Morton and Elizabeth Gilbert . 1951. Esther Durrant, a young mother, is committed…

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Book Spotlight: The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth — with link to #Giveaway!!!

Yesterday, Sally Hepworth’s latest book, The Mother-in-Law, was released in paperback. Since I already have a copy of this book,  I am going to give it away to one lucky reader!!! I read this book last year and loved it…I loved that I went into the book expecting one story and got a totally different one! But just take note…the Giveaway it happening on my Instagram page!!! You can find…

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Review: Girl Can’t Help It by Max Allan Collins (audio)

Title: Girl Can’t Help It Author: Max Allan Collins Series: Krista Larson, #2 Narrator: Dan John Miller Published: March 2020, Brilliance Audio Length: 7 hours 21 minutes Source: Author/Publisher Summary: A rock band’s reunion is looking more like a farewell tour in a captivating mystery by New York Times bestselling and award-winning crime master Max Allan Collins. No sooner do Hot Rod and the Pistons reunite for their induction into…

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Blog Tour & Review: The Sea of Lost Girls by Carol Goodman

Title: The Sea of Lost Girls Author: Carol Goodman Published: March 2020, William Morrow Paperbacks Format: Paperback, 320 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary: In the tradition of Daphne du Maurier, Shari Lapena, and Michelle Richmond comes a new thriller from the bestselling author of The Lake of Dead Languages—a twisty, harrowing story set at a prestigious prep school in which one woman’s carefully hidden past might destroy her future.…

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Review: Hide Away by Jason Pinter (audio)

Title: Hide Away Author: Jason Pinter Series: Rachel Marin Thriller, #1 Narrator: Angela Dawe Published: March 2020, Brilliance Audio / Thomas & Mercer Length: 11 hours 7 minutes / 368 pages Source: Audio – Brilliance Audio / Print – ARC Paperback via Thomas & Mercer Summary: From the bestselling author of the Henry Parker series comes a page-turning thriller about a vigilante who’s desperate to protect her secrets—and bring a…

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Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Hide Away by Jason Pinter

Last week, March 1st, Jason Pinter’s latest novel, Hide Away, came out, and because I ended up with an extra copy, I’m going to give that copy away! I’ve just finished this book – it’s so good!!! – and will be posting my review later on today. It’s the first in a new series and you all know how much I love my series! You can see what others have…

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Review: Grace is Gone by Emily Elgar

Title: Grace is Gone Author: Emily Elgar Published: January 2020, Harper Paperbacks Format: ARC Paperback, 336 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  From the bestselling author of If You Knew Her comes this harrowing tale of suspense—a story ripped from today’s headlines—of a tight-knit English community, who’s rocked by the murder of a mother and the mysterious disappearance of her daughter, and the secrets that lie concealed beneath a carefully constructed facade.…

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Review: Black Out by Ragnar Jonasson

Title: Black Out Author: Ragnar Jonasson Series: Dark Iceland, #3 Published: July 2016, Orenda Books Format: Paperback, 247 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  On the shores of a tranquil fjord in Northern Iceland, a man is brutally beaten to death on a bright summer’s night. As the 24-hour light of the arctic summer is transformed into darkness by an ash cloud from a recent volcanic eruption, a young reporter leaves…

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Book Spotlight: Woman on the Edge by Samantha Bailey

Today, Samantha Bailey’s debut novel, Woman on the Edge, is being released in the U.S. I read this book back in November and loved it. And I am thrilled to be able to offer two readers a copy of this book…But – the giveaway is over on my Instagram page.  You can find my review of Woman on the Edgehere. Read on to see what others have to say and…

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Short & Sweet Review: The People vs. Alex Cross by James Patterson

Title: The People vs. Alex Cross Author: James Patterson Series: Alex Cross, 25 Published: November 2017, Little, Brown & Company Format: Hardcover, 413 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  This time it’s Alex Cross on trial.  Alex Cross is on the wrong side of the law. Serving a suspension from the force while he awaits trial for murder, Cross has been branded as a trigger-happy cop, another bad apple walking the…

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Review: You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (audio)

Title: You Are Not Alone Author: Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen Narrator: Barrie Kreinik, Dylan Moore Published: March 2020, Macmillan Audio / St. Martin’s Press Length: 11 hours 1 minute / ARC Paperback, 352 pages Source: Audio – ALC via Libro.fm / Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher Summary: You probably know someone like Shay Miller.  She wants to find love, but it eludes her. She wants to be fulfilled, but…

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Review: In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn (audio)

Title: In An Instant Author: Suzanne Redfearn Narrator: Jesse Vilinsky Published: March 2020, Brilliance Audio / Lake Union Publishing Length: 10 hours 43 minutes / 332 pages Source: Audio via Publisher / Print – Paperback via Author Summary: A deeply moving story of carrying on even when it seems impossible.  Life is over in an instant for sixteen-year-old Finn Miller when a devastating car accident tumbles her and ten others…

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Month in Review: February 2020

Somehow, even though this is the shortest month, I managed to read more books than last month…and I am not one bit mad about it. I read some great books and I hope this trend continues throughout the year. I also attended some fantastic author events and this is another thing I hope continues throughout the year. I am so lucky that I live close to NYC – my favorite…

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