The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb (read10/14/20 to 10/17/20) - 3 star

I received this book as an Amazon Prime Early Reads. I was excited to read it because I had read and enjoyed two other Wendy Webb books:  The End of Temerence Dare and The Lady in the Lake, both of which had solid 3 stars from me.  Consistency is important. 

This book I was pleasantly surprised to find takes place in Wharton, the same town on Lake Superior’s shores as The Lady in the Lake.  And we got to revisit with some of the same characters, although if you haven’t read Lady in the Lake, it’s ok you will not be lost this is not a sequel.

Brynn Wilder comes to Wharton to escape an avalanche of loss in her life.  And she stays at boarding house for the summer where she meets the other long term boarders and quickly makes friends.  But there is a mystery afoot, over the winter a mysterious woman died in Room 5, and nobody knows who she was or how she got there.  Then Brynn starts dreaming of her.....

This wasn’t my favorite Wendy Webb book, it was again consistent writing. Her characters are well written and she develops the mystery well.  And the best part in my mind is that she actually resolves it in the final chapter.  However, I did not like the resolution, I felt it was a little too far out there.  If I was basing my rating on just how much I liked the story it would be a 2-star.  But her writing style and solidness of story and character development brought this book up to its 3-star rating.

Where has the year gone?

Wow we are in October already.  My last post was in June...that is craziness!

Of course I have read a ton of books between now and then, 33 to be exact.  That is far too many for a summary post.  So I’m just going to show my goodreads list...most of them in goodreads I didn’t even bother write reviews either..it’s been a tough motivation year.

The ones I did review are as follows:

Confessions on the 7:45

This was an engrossing book, the characters and story kept me guessing and staying up past my bedtime.  It was really well written and a great read.

Dark Tides

I wanted to like this book truly I did. I really liked the first one and I was excited to read this one. However the characters did not have the same resonance with me as in the first book. I hated Livia and I had trouble connecting with Sarah and Johnnie and Alys.  And I really didn’t care for the Ned storyline either.  It was well written and the story flowed, I just did not care for the characters and I read it quickly so I could get through it.

The Book of Two Ways

This was a good book right up until the end.  It was a little slow at the beginning and I felt like the chapters were long. But it worked to keep me reading later than I planned.  I missed many a bed time.  It was a solid 3 moving towards a 4. The ending or I should say lack of ending for ruined it for me. They both abruptly end with no resolution and I hated it, I almost threw my iPad against the wall I was so upset!  But luckily I was fiscally minded enough not to.

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley.  I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

The-Star Crossed Sisters of Tuscany

To be fair when I first got this book, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. I love Italy and the premise was great. But I wasn’t sure the sisters and the mystery was going to do it for me. Boy was I wrong this was amazing!  I was so drawn into the characters but the ones I loved and the ones I hated. I can’t say the ending was a complete surprise but it did leave me guessing up to the end.

I received this book as an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) through NetGalley.  I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

Daughter from the Dark by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko - 2Star (Read 2/10 to 6/6)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

This is a translated work from a Ukrainian husband and wife team.  I will admit up front that I think due to cultural differences, some of the book really was baffling to me.  There are social graces or norms, that are probably normal in the Ukrain, but are odd to a US reader.  For example the interaction with the teenagers in the first chapter had a lot of cultural nuances I felt I was missing.

Aspirin is a DJ and he finds a 10 year old girl, Alyona, on his doorstep. She says someone is looking for her. She won’t talk to him though and he leaves her, then he runs into some teenagers about a block away, who chase him with their dog. He goes back for the girl,  as they flee she tosses her teddy bear back into the alley and it kills the dog. Aspirin takes her home, he really doesn’t know what is happening or what else to do with her.  In the morning she refuses to leave.  Claiming that she is a musical prodigy, Alyona insists she must play a complicated violin piece to find her brother.  And her is where it gets a bit more confusing.  I think she is an Angel, but who she is, is never fully explained.Be aware there is a lot of cursing, like every other word.  Also there are very violent scenes when Alyona’s teddy bear defends her.

This book took me a long time to read. I put it down and came back to finish it almost 4 months after I started it.  I really couldn’t relate to the characters in the story line wasn’t as enthralling as it sounded in the description. I don’t think that it’s because of the authors, I think that it had to do with the translation. I feel like there was some sort of heart missing from the story. It was an OK story plot wise, and I like some of the interesting factors.

March Reads Wrap Up

Well I have been out of commission for a while. I have still been reading, but I just haven’t had tome to write up. So For March/April/May you are getting a summary of the month, and I’m going to try and get back on track in June.

In the Shadow of the Sun by E. M. Castellated - 5 Stars (Read 3/4 to 3/8)
This is the February OUABC selection, it was wonderful as usual. I really enjoyed the writing and the story and the magical twists. I didn't know much about the Louis XIV and his reign, I found myself googling like a mad woman throughout the book. I love it.

The Dragon of Lonely Island by Rebecca Rupp - 3 Star (Read 3/8 to 3/9)
This was a book my son requested me to read.
Fafnyr Goldenwings, a three-headed dragon that sleeps deep inside a cave on Drake's Hill. Because their mother needs a quiet place to finish her novel, the three Davis children find themselves spending the summer on Drake's hill. They meet Fafnyr and each head tells a story.
This was an ok book. it was a quick read and it made my son happy for me to read it.

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan - 3 Star (Read 3/10 to 3/11)
This was the final book from my Quarterly Book Exchange.  This is a follow The Bookshop on the Corner, which wasn't a real problem it was fine as a stand alone book.  A single mother Zoe takes her 4 year old son to Scotland, and is hired to help Nina while she is on maternity leave.
I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either.  It was super predictable, and the characters were flat.  I really hated Jaz though!  This was a light read for me, but I probably won't read the book that came before this. 

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert - 3 Star (Listened to 2/29 to 3/14)
This was an audio book I listened to.  It is the story of a woman finding herself in the 1930's, she was promiscuous and wild.  She found and lost love. I didn't love it, the story was slow for me, I wonder if I would have liked it better if I had read it.

Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry - 3 Star (Read 3/12 to 3/16)
I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
There are four Torres girls, Ana (18), Jessica (16), Iridian (15), and Rosa (12). One summer night they run away from home, the 15 year old teenage boys across the street see them, Hector, Peter, Luis, Jimmy, Calvin and the narrator. However the boys chase after the girls and when they leave their house Hector’s mom figures out what has happened and alerts the Torres sisters dad, Rafe. Rafe comes and gets them and takes them home. The narrator blames himself and his friends for messing up the girls escape. And also because they didn’t escape, for Ana’s death 2 months later. We come back on the Anniversary of Ana’s death, and the story follows how the sisters are surviving in the wake of their tragedy.Lots of sensitive material: death, teenage promiscuity, domestic violence, alcoholism. But all in a pg light, yeah it is there and life is messy but it’s not over the top or rated R. This was an ok book. It had some really slow parts, but the last 3rd really picked up. I’m not sure I cared for the story arc, there are a lot of unanswered questions. But it was ok.

Willa’s Grove by Laura Munson - 5 Star (Read 3/17 to 3/22)
I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
Three women received an invitation to Montana to Willa’s Grove. Willa Silvester lives in Willa, Montana population 32. Willa is a 46 year old widow. She seems to be on the outs with most of the residents of the town, they are angry at Willa for choosing to move away after living there for 20 years. Willa has invited three friends to her cabin before she leaves; Bliss, Harriet, and Jane. Each is going through her own life changing experience, and the women form a community to help each other through.This book is now on my favorites list. It is a heartbreaking but relatable story about 4 women in their late 30’s to early 40’s whose lives have all been turned upside down one way or another. And they have come together to support each other to determine what’s next. I’m not sure how to explain how this book is speaking to me on so many emotional levels. It is putting into words so many things that I felt and felt with during and right after the divorce, of finding out who am I, my supposed to be didn’t turn out the way it was planned to, what does my future look like how? I get it, I get where they are and what that place looks like in retrospect, even if you aren’t in the middle of a life’s crisis the raw beauty and message of this book is absolutely worth the read.Spent the last 10% crying, just wow!

The Mother’s Promise by Sally Hepworth - 5 Star (Read 3/24 to 3/25)
Once again OUABC knocked it out of the park. I had received this last year in the Mother’s Day box, and just hadn’t gotten around to it for some reason. Man I should have. The characters are great and so relatable, the story was heart breaking but in a good way. I’m not going to lie it’s a tear jerker of a book, but that is how you know it is good.

Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
Underliving by Celeste Headlee - 3 Star (Read 3/22 to 3/27)
Not at all what I expected, it was more or of a history of how we became so focused on productivity and multi-tasking than about how to do nothing. I don’t know now that I have read it that it is self-help, I feel like it is more encouraging the reader to self-evaluate, to remember to breathe and take moments to enjoy the life they built. That it isn’t a competition of who is busiest, that family and work can and should be separate spheres.

The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead - 3 Star (Read 3/27 to 3/30)
I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
When Bea was 8, her parents told her they were getting a divorce and notebook to record the things that were not changing. This is the story her Dad’s wedding and what lead up to it. It was good, little convoluted as to what the story was really about.

April Read Wrap Up

Music for Tigers by Michelle Kadarusman - 3 Star (Read 4/5 to 4/8)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
Louisa has been sent to spend the summer with her Uncle Rufus, Ruff for short, at a Tasmanian Bush camp. She doesn’t want to be there, she wants to be practicing her violin to audition for the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra.
I had troubles with this one, it just doesn’t appeal. The story isn’t engaging or making me want to finish. I really struggled. The characters felt flat to me, and the mystery was a good plot line, but somehow it didn’t draw me in.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd - 5 Star (Read 4/1 to 4/5)
I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
This was an amazing book! I am not religious, but I was still drawn into the story, and I found myself crying at Jesu's cruxifixction as if I was a devout christian. Sue Monk Kidd has once again hit it out of the park. I fell in love.
I had troubles with this one, it just doesn’t appeal. The story isn’t engaging or making me want to finish. I really struggled. The characters felt flat to me, and the mystery was a good plot line, but somehow it didn’t draw me in.

The New Husband by D.J. Palmer - 5 Star (Read 4/8 to 4/13)
I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
Nina, her 13 year old daughter Maggie, and 16 year old son Connor are moving in with Nina’s new boyfriend Simon. Maggie is resentful of the move and doesn’t accept Simon in their lives. Also Simon is her social studies teacher. Connor is more accepting. Their father Glen is gone, he has been missing for 16 months, and New Hampshire says someone must be missing for 2 years before they will grant a divorce. Once her divorce is granted, Nina plans to marry Simon. Nina was having some financial troubles and it moved the move in with Simon up and she worries about how Maggie is taking things.
I loved this book, I loved the fast paced storyline and the characters, and I saw part of the twist, but when the truth came out I actually gasped aloud!

The Last Letter from Juliet by Melanie Hudson - 5 Star (Read 4/13 to 4/17)

This was the January OUABC read.  It is the love story of a Juliet, a WWII ATA woman pilot and a man called Edward.  When Juliet is 100 years old, Katherine comes to stay at Juliet's cottage, and finds her memoirs.  This is a poignant and heartbreaking story of love and war and loss.  I couldn't put it down.

Frogkisser! By Garth Nix - 4 Star (Read 4/17 to 4/20)
I read this book for BOTM's February read: YA.  This was a hilarious story from Garth Nix about a princess that goes on a quest to save her kingdom and her sister, and gains the name Frogkisser, and saves much more than she expected.  It was fun and funny, and really an enjoyable read.

Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict - 2 Star (Read 12/18/19 to 4/22/20)
I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
I wanted to like this book, but I didn’t. I didn’t like the portrayal of the Churchill’s, and it may be true but it still made me dislike them as people. This book dragged for me, as you can see it took me almost 5 months to finish, I kept starting and stopping because I didn’t care for it.

The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey - 4 Star (Read 4/22 to 4/29)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
Millicent (Missy) Carmichael is 79 years old and she is a bit unmotivated. She is going to something called a fish-stunning but she really just wants to go back to bed instead. It seems her husband is dead, and she isn’t very close to her children. And she befriends some women in the park and changes her life.
I really love the story though, and I admit I spent the last 10% crying like crazy. Also there wasn't a lot of movement in the story, lots of character growth though, which I know seems odd, but not much happened besides internal growth of the characters, and Missy coming to terms with her life.

May Read Wrap UPS

Remembrance by Rita Woods - 3 Star (Read 4/29 to 5/1)

This was a OUABC book for Feburary.

This was a magical realism book about a place on the Underground Railroad, that no one can find unless you are invited in.  It spans 1791 to present day and follows the lives of three women, and we find in the end how they are all tied together.
I really enjoyed this book, I didn't think I would.  But the writing and the story were beautiful.

Wild land by Rebecca Hodge - 5 Star (Read 5/1 to 5/2)
This was a OUABC book for March.
I almost didn't buy this book, the story sounded so meh to me.  A woman is on vacation and a wildfire happens and she has to save two children and some dogs...meh.  But then I opened it and I started to read it, I absolutely could not put it down, I read it on sitting!  It is beautiful and touching, and the characters are deep and flawed but real. And scenery is so realistic and immersive.  I highly recommend it.  I hope they make this a movie!

Rules for Moving by Nancy Star - 3 Star (Read 5/2 to 5/6)
I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
Lane writes the advise column “Dear Roxie.” It seems she is fairly popular and there are ads up for her “live chat” all over. This makes Lane uncomfortable, but it was her employer’s decision not hers. Aaron is Lane’s husband, and it seems he is an alcoholic. They are getting a divorce, but haven’t told told the world in general yet. Lane and Aaron get in a fight over a work party he wants her to go to, she still refuses to go and calls him a Lyft. Later that night a policeman shows up to tell her Aaron has died in a car accident. In the aftermath, Lane tries to put her life back together.

This was an ok book for me, I only gave it three stars. There was just a lot going on. It felt like the author wanted to include so many issues, and as a result just mishmashes them all together without really exploring any. I wish she had just focused on Aaron's death and it's effects on Lane and Henry. Lane also really bothered me, I get bring introverted but man, she really had her head in the sand and focused on all the wrong details a lot. And then she would make decisions her character would never make and Star would acknowledge it but be like oh well she made a random decision, and we as readers all know it was just needed for plot movement. If the character doesn't fit the plot, maybe adjust the character?

At All Costs (Honor Harrington #1) by David Weber - 4 Star (Read 5/12 to 5/23)
This was my May BOTM club read, for sci-fi.  It was quite the tomb.  We meet Honor again, out gunned and the underdog.  But as always never count her out. There were some great growth moments in her personal life as well.  I'm not sure I really like the direction Weber went, but I feel he stayed true to Honor's personality in the situation.  I admit, a beloved character dies in the final chapters and I was heart broken.

The Herd by Andrea Barr’s - 3 Star (Read 5/23 to 5/28)
This was a OUABC book for April.
I really struggled with this book, and I almost gave up. This is the story of a high-powered woman that goes missing, and her close friends search for her and uncover lots of mysteries. I had a hard time connecting with the characters, which means the story was dragging for me. And the mystery didn't drawing me in. It was very meh for me.

Her by Harriet Lane - 3 Star (Read 5/30 to 6/2)

This book is told from two points of view, Emma and Nina.  When you first meet them, you think they have very little in common, and you are correct.  However they do have one thing in common, a single event from when they were teenagers, and event that was so minor to one she doesn't remember it.  While it was completely life changing to the other.
I found it interesting that the chapters mirrored each other, one chapter would be told from Emma's point of view, and the next would be the exact same events, but from Nina's point of view.   I found it a fun and interesting story telling style.  I found the mystery engaging, and it kept me turning the pages.  HOWEVER, once we got to the mystery it was a complete let down.  And the events of the final pages was heartbreaking and monstrous, and completely out of proprotion to the supposed crime committed.  This is why it got 3 stars, I wanted to give it 2 based on the ending, but the writing was so good up until the final chapter.

What the Other Three Don’t know by Spencer Hyde (Read 3/3/20 to 3/4/20) – 5 Star

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published March 3rd, 2020. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

17 year old Indiana, “Indie”, lives with her grandfather. Her Dad left 10 years ago, and her mom died in a rafting accident 2 years ago. She is very jaded and feels very alone. She lives in a small town in Idaho, and by small I mean population 300. Her grandfather is the mortician in the next biggest town Victor, population 2,000. In order to be in the senior journalism class, each student must do a 5 day trip with a group of 3-4 other students from the class, and then write a human interest story about another person on the trip. Indie is going on a rafting trip with 3 other students. Indie needs to write a good story so she can earn a scholarship and make it out of her small town.

On the trip with her is Skye Ellis, a Star athlete that now has a prosthetic leg. He is on the trip because his parents are making him. Wyatt Isom an artist with an abusive drunk for a father. He is on the trip because he wants to boost his GPA to get out of their small town. And Shelby Trumane a popular girl who post a ton of social media pictures. She is on the trip because her friend said it was an easy class. The river guide is Nash, he was the same guide for the trip her mother died on. Nothing on the trip however goes as expected and nobody is who they seem to be, in the end the challenges they face will change all their lives forever.

This was such a well written novel! I enjoyed it so much. I liked the characters and the setting, and it was fast moving but deep, a really nice blend. Breakfast club, but camping!

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow (Read 2/17/20 to 2/23/20) – 4 Star

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published February 25, 2020. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

Earth is invaded by the Ilori when Janelle Baker was 15. Janelle is now 17 and she lives in an Ilori prison camp, and she is a librarian of sorts. She loans and finds books for fellow prisoners she calls her patrons. Which Janelle has to do super secretly, because if she is caught sharing books she could be executed by the Ilori. Janelle’s Dad works for the Ilori on the half-solutions program, a monthly mood-enhancing vaccine that turns humans into obedient Ilori servants. Jaenelle’s mother has become a drunk. Commander M0Rr1S is a labmade Ilori, he is the head scientist working on a vaccine. The Ilori plan to cleanse Earth of its pollution for their own habitation, for the true Ilori and make their new colony a truly immersive experience, a vacation planet. M0Rr1S loves human music, and is searching the basement for more of it when he finds Janelle’s library. This kicks off an adventure full of mistrust and earned trust, and finding common ground between species that are never meant to live next to each other. I really enjoyed he characters, and yes it was dystopian sort of, it wasn’t the end of the world. I felt like Dow wanted to write about hope, hope that the world could be different if we set aside some of our prejudice and hate. This was a good book, and I hope there is a sequel.

This Won’t End Well by Camille Pagan (Read 2/14/20 to 2/15/20) – 5 Stars

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published February 25, 2020. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
This book is told in the format of letters/emails and journal entries written by Annie. Annie’s fiancé Jon has left for France for a month, and requested no contact so he can “get his head on straight” six months before their wedding. Annie is a chemist who just left her job because a co-worker sexually harassed her and is banned from the sanitation chemistry field for 2 years. Jon is a French teacher. While she is unemployed she is cleaning houses to make ends meet. Annie’s mother suffers from depression and Annie lives with her.
Annie is very pessimistic/realist, and her one-liners are very witty. Reminds me a bit of Fredrik Backman, whom I really like his writing g style. It even reminds me a bit of Holly Banks Full of Angst, where there isn’t really anything but daily life happening, but the characters perception and commentary is very enthralling for the reader and we are definitely engaged in the mundaneness.

A Witch in Time by Constance Sayer (Read 1/30/20 to 2/10/20) - 3 Stars

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published February 11, 2020. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review. 

Helen Lambert has been set up on a blind date with Luke Varner. It’s going so so. Then he asks her if he looks familiar to her and goes on to tell her this isn’t the first time they have met. They they have met in 1895 in France, 1935 in LA, and 1970 in Taos. Now it is 2012 in Washington DC. Then he says she called her and asked him to do something, and he did. And strangely she remembers doing so.  Then we begin to see flashbacks to Helen's previous lives, and Helen needs to figure out how to end the curse that keeps having her reenact her same first mistake of loving the wrong man.
This was a good book, the first 3rd was really slow and I had a hard time getting into the story, but then it really began to pick up and sprinted to the finish. I really liked all the characters, and the premise. There were some hard scenes especially in Nora’s early life. But overall it was a solid read.

The German Heiress by Anika Scott (Read 1/25/2020 to 1/29/20)

For BOTM this year we decided to do prompts and everyone choose their own books rather than everyone reading the same book.  January's prompt was Historical Fiction, and I chose this book.

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published April 7, 2020.
Net Galley's description was that this book was "for readers of The Alice Network and The Lost Girls of Paris, an immersive, heart-pounding debut about a German heiress on the run in post-World War II Germany."  BOOM I was sold!

The book takes place after 2 years after WWII had ended in Germany. Clara Falkenberg has false documents saying she is Margarete Müller, but in reality she is an heiress to a pre-war iron working empire. She is in hiding because she is wanted for war crimes for her and her families support of the Nazi’s. Clara is trying to return to Essen to find her best friend Elisa and Elisa’s son Willy. The path she ends up following is full of twists and intrigue, and an ending that hits all the feels and surprises you too.

The opening of the book paints such a bleak picture of post WWII Germany. That is something we rarely think about. We think about the Yay Nazi’s defeated, but what about the other Germans. The ones that weren’t in the military and weren’t necessarily Nazi’s but had to find a way to survive when the Nazi’s were in power. Did they get saved by Adolf’s defeat or were they punished for crimes they had no choice in? Wow this was just a wow book! I’m not sure I even have words, it was so well written and the story was so compelling. None of the characters turned out to be who you thought they were. The depth and breadth of the character development was fantastic, and as any good book should, made me feel all the feels.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Read 1/17/20 to 1/24/20)

This is the 3rd book I have read for my Quarterly Book Exchange. This has been on my TBR list for a while. It has had so much hype.

"The The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called "Le Cirque des Reves," and it is only open at night."  (Goodreads excerpt)

What patrons don't know is that behind the circus facade is a magical completion between Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood for this competition.  They are not informed of the rules, or the consequences, but both are expected to win by their instructors.  This competition has many unplanned consequences and changes the lives of so many.

I liked it, but the middle parts dragged for me – much like the games, so much time passed for so little movement. I love the imagery in the characters, I just wanted the action closer together. I enjoyed it and I understand why so many others have too.

Perfect Little Children by Sophia Hannah (Read 1/13/20 - 1/17/20)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley.  It will be published February 4, 2020

12 years ago Beth and her husband Dominic had a falling out with their best friends Flora and Lewis Braid.  It seems the women decided the close friendship must end.  While taking her son Ben to a football (I.e soccer) practice Beth drives by the Braid’s home on Wyddial Lane, very stalker style.  There she sees Flora get out of a car and get her two children Thomas and Emily out, BUT all three look exactly as they did 12 years ago.  Thomas and Emily are still 5 and 3!  This leads down a rabbit hole of events that lead to a shocking reason for Beth's sighting or Flora and the children.  

I LOVED this book, I got so caught up in the story and lost track of time.  I wanted to know so badly what happened that  I found myself staying up late I could read a page or two more.  I thought this book was on parr with the Girl on the Train or The woman in the Window, but the main character wasn’t the damaged one.  I absolutely loved it!  This is my first 5 Star read of the year!!!!

Ana Eva Mimi Adam by Marina Antropow Cramer (Read 1/9/20 to 1/12/20)

I received this book as an advanced reader copy from LibraryThing, it will be published February 13,2020.

This was a very short book for me, only 161 pages and yet it felt like it took forever to read.

This is a very dysfunctional family.  The story takes place at the end of Adam’s kindergarteners.  But there are a lot of flashbacks.  Anna’s husband died from cancer when Eva was 16, this event seems to have caused a trickle down effect.  Eva married Joe, and had Mimi.  Eva left Joe before Mimi was one.  There was some sort of incident with Eva and Mimi, where Eva beat Mimi once.  It takes most of the book to find out the detail and the premise is that this incident shaped the relationships of Ana, Eva and Mimi. 

I’m not sure how I feel about this one.  I mean it was good, but I also felt like there was no resolution, Eva and Mimi’s relationship wasn’t repaired.  They just were a little kinder at the end, maybe Cramer wanted to leave the reader to decide if the cracked door opened or not, but I felt unsatisfied at the ending.  This was a small book, and I kept reading because I kept hoping to see the relationship between Eva and Mimi repaired, but it never really happened.  I enjoyed the characters they were flawed, and I think if the book had been longer there could have been some real character growth.

One Day in December by Josie Silver (Read 1/2/20 to 1/8/20)

This was a Hello Sunshine past selection.
Laurie sees a beautiful boy at a bus stop, but as fate would have it they are unable to meet.  She spends the next year looking for him on every corner and in every bar and restaurant.  And when she finally does find him, he is the new boyfriend, Jack, of her best friend Sarah.  This chronicles the way a single missed meeting can shape your life, and the decisions made based on that missed connection.

This was very hallmark meets Bridget Jones.  Fun and lighthearted but with a deep romance at the heart of it.  I enjoyed, it wasn’t unputdownable, but I would recommend to my romance friends.

Regretting You By Colleen Hoover (Read 1/1/20 to 1/2/20)

This was the OUABC New Years Eve box selection.

Morgan Grants husband dies in a horrible car accident and secrets are revealed at this death that threatens to tear apart the relationship Morgan has with her 16 year old daughter Clara.  Clara is at that age where she is not an adult, but she isn't a child anymore.  And her father's death may be final push to bring her into the ugly horrid world of adults.

This was a great book, it started a little slow for me, but man once I got going it was hard  not to keep reading,   I was really angry with the characters at first, just wishing they would talk to each other, but in the end it was so engrossing I had trouble sleeping!