Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: February 6, 2018

Publisher: Graydon House

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Blurb:

They think nothing can tear their bond apart, until a long-buried secret threatens to destroy everything.

Every year they have met up for a vacation, but their time away is much more than just a bit of fun. Over time, it has become a lifesaver, as each of them struggles with life’s triumphs and tragedies.

Sophie, Emily, Amy and Melissa have been best friends since they were girls. They have seen each other through everything—from Sophie’s private fear that she doesn’t actually want to be a mother despite having two kids, to Amy’s perfect-on-the-outside marriage that starts to reveal troubling warning signs, to Melissa’s spiraling alcoholism, to questions that are suddenly bubbling up around the paternity of Emily’s son. But could a lie that spans just as long as their friendship be the thing that tears them apart?

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Story of Our Lives! If you want to follow the tour check out TLC Book Tours for the full schedule.

Review:

I’m sure many of us have read stories about a group of female friends before, but the way this was structured was unique and set it apart from other books based on friendship. Four friends, Sophie, Melissa, Amy and Emily meet up every year for a girls weekend and these trips mean the world to them. This is divided into sections by year and follows the ladies on their weekends away. At the beginning of each part there is a political or pop culture reference relevant to whatever year it is and I loved this mini revisit to the past that stirred up my own memories of memorable events.

The characterization is fantastic and with four main characters there is someone for everyone to like or relate to. I enjoyed all of them, they all had interesting and sometimes sad stories, but they were very realistic, full of ups and downs, highs and lows and very true to real life. Nothing seemed contrived or convenient, there were painful moments and also happy ones, it truly was the story of these women’s lives, the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Story of Our Lives in three words: Emotional, Heartfelt and Stirring.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for my review copy.

About the Author:

Helen Warner is head of daytime for Channel 4, where she is responsible for shows such as Come Dine With Me and Deal Or No Deal. Previously she worked for ITV where she launched the daytime talk show Loose Women and was editor of This Morning. She lives in East Anglia with her husband and their two children.

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Connect with Helen

Website | Goodreads

About Look for Her

Paperback:304 pages
Publisher:William Morrow Paperbacks (February 13, 2018)

Everyone loves a beautiful missing girl

“Look For Her ratchets up the tension while also offering moments of sheer grace.”-Riley Sager, bestselling author of Final Girls

“Beautifully written with an expertly twisty, surprising story, this is a must-read!Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of Never Let You Go

Lilling might seem like an idyllic English village, but it’s home to a dark history. In 1976, a teenage girl named Annalise Wood disappeared, and though her body was later discovered, the culprit was never found. Decades later, Annalise maintains a perverse kind of celebrity, and is still the focus of grief, speculation, and for one young woman, a disturbing, escalating jealousy.

When DNA linked to the Annalise murder unexpectedly surfaces, cold case detective Morris Keene and his former partner, Chloe Frohmann, hope to finally bring closure to this traumatized community. But the new evidence instead undoes the case’s only certainty: the buried body that had long ago been confidently identified as Annalise may be someone else entirely, and instead of answers, the investigators face only new puzzles.

Whose body was unearthed all those years ago, and what happened to the real Annalise? Is someone interfering with the investigation? And is there a link to a present-day drowning with eerie connections? With piercing insight and shocking twists, Emily Winslow explores the dark side of sensationalized crime in this haunting psychological thriller.

Search the book’s hashtag: #lookforher.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Review:

One of my favorite types of premise in a mystery is a cold case, I love the idea that a criminal thinks they’ve managed to stay off the polices radar only for new evidence to be uncovered years later and put their freedom in jeopardy. The case of Annalise is the type that had instant fame that lasted years, even after her body was found AND especially since her killer was never caught. A pretty young teenager that vanished only to be found years later is legendary in Lilling and the links between past and present turned out to be chilling and intriguing.

Apparently this is the fourth book in a series but since I didn’t even realize until after I had finished this, it clearly wasn’t an issue for me. There is definitely a tricky history between Chloe and Morris but there was enough information provided that I felt caught up. You hear from Chloe and Morris but also from Annalise Williams, a young woman with an odd fascination with Annalise Wood and Laurie a therapist who treats Annalise. Most of the story is told in a straightforward, linear timeline but there were a few chapters with transcripts from Annalise’s therapy sessions that I really enjoyed.

This was fast paced, it’s under 300 pages and I flew through it at a rapid pace. There’s a heavy emphasis on the psychology of the characters and I’m not sure if that’s just because there’s a therapist as one of the characters or if it’s the norm for Winslow, but either way I liked the depth that it added. Recommended for those who enjoy character driven mysteries with smart twists and strong writing.

Look For Her in three words: Intelligent, Insightful and Puzzling.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for my review copy.

Photo by Jonathan Player

About Emily Winslow

Emily Winslow is an American living in Cambridge, England. She is the author of the novels The Whole World, The Start Of Everything, and The Red House.

Find out more about Emily at her website, and connect with her on Facebook.

Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: February

Publisher: Bookouture

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Blurb:

They were all there the day your sister went missing.

Who is lying? Who is next?

THEN – In charge of her little sister at the beach, Claire allowed Eleanor to walk to the shop alone to buy an ice cream. Placing a coin into her hand, Claire told her to be quick, knowing how much she wanted the freedom.

Eleanor never came back.

NOW – The time has finally come to sell the family farm and Claire is organising a reunion of her dearest friends, the same friends who were present the day her sister went missing.

When another girl disappears, long-buried secrets begin to surface. One of the group hides the darkest secret of them all…

If you loved Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, this gripping psychological thriller packed full of twists and turns will be impossible to put down.

I’m thrilled to be one of the stops on the blog tour for The Reunion today!

Review:

Oohh what a tangled web Hayes weaves in The Reunion! This was one of those books full of simmering tension and you just know things will boil over at some point, but waiting for that to happen is part torture and part delicious anticipation and all around addictive.

There is quite a bit going on here, plenty of characters and all with some sort of mystery hanging in the shadows. It’s mainly focused on Claire, who’s sister Lenni vanished two decades ago while she was watching her. You also have friends and family who were connected in some way to Claire’s family back when Lenni went missing making it tricky to decide who to focus on. At various points I had my suspicions about every single character, I love that as it keeps me on my toes and the guessing and back and forth is always so fun.

When all is revealed I had one of those moments where I realized just how clever Hayes is and how beautifully she had laid things out. The breadcrumbs were all carefully left but I never fully followed them, it really was put together in such a sharp way. The jaw dropping twist mentioned on the cover? It’s true, I actually gasped. If you love psychological thrillers and haven’t read a Hayes book what are you waiting for?! Snap this one up ASAP!

The Reunion in three words: Intricate, Smart and Addictive.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

About the Author:

Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.

When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.

www.samanthahayes.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaHayesAuthor/

https://twitter.com/samhayes

Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: January 23, 2018

Publisher: Harlequin/MIRA

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Blurb:

Kat Grant and Alice Campbell have a friendship forged in shared confidences and long lunches lubricated by expensive wine. Though they’re very different women—the artsy socialite and the struggling suburbanite—they’re each other’s rocks. But even rocks crumble under pressure. Like when Kat’s financier husband, Howard, plunges to his death from the second-floor balcony of their South Florida mansion.

Howard was a jerk, a drunk, a bully and, police say, a murder victim. The questions begin piling up. Like why Kat has suddenly gone dark: no calls, no texts and no chance her wealthy family will let Alice see her. Why investigators are looking so hard in Alice’s direction. Who stands to get hurt next. And who is the cool liar—the masterful manipulator behind it all.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Best Friends Forever! If you want to follow along with the tour check out TLC Book Tours for the full schedule.

Review:

If you’re looking for a super fun, engaging thriller that’s on the lighter side with no graphic descriptions and gruesome murders, Best Friends Forever is the book for you! It was a fast read that kept me totally interested and while I predicted a few things, there were enough surprises that I was left satisfied.

This is told solely from Alice’s point of view and it goes back and forth between the present day and three years prior when she first meets her BFF, Kat. The two have an unlikely friendship, Kat is wealthy and glamorous while Alice is an average stay at Mom and wife, but they both need a friend and bond over typical marriages woes. I liked Alice, I had the most in common with her and felt like she would be the type of woman I would befriend.

This had an easy, Chick Lit vibe with an edge, it’s still very much a thriller but Hunt’s writing style was just so effortless that reading it was a breeze. I said earlier that I had sussed out parts of the resolution but not every last detail and the stuff I didn’t see coming? Fantastic and really chilling, it definitely gave the book an edge for me. This would be the perfect book to take on vacation, ideal for a weekend read!

Best Friends Forever in three words: Entertaining, Fluid and Sly.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for my review copy.

About the Author:

Margot Hunt is the pseudonym of a bestselling writer of twelve previous novels. Her work has been praised by Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist and Kirkus Reviews. BEST FRIENDS FOREVER is her first psychological thriller.

Connect with Margot

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: January 16, 2018

Publisher: Lake Union

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Blurb:

Metal artist Katie Mack is living a lie. Nine years ago she ran away from her family in Raleigh, North Carolina, consumed by the irrational fear that she would harm Maisie, her newborn daughter. Over time she’s come to grips with the mental illness that nearly destroyed her, and now funnels her pain into her art. Despite longing for Maisie, Katie honors an agreement with the husband she left behind—to change her name and never return.

But when she and Maisie accidentally reunite, Katie can’t ignore the familiarity of her child’s compulsive behavior. Worse, Maisie worries obsessively about bad things happening to her pregnant stepmom. Katie has the power to help, but can she reconnect with the family she abandoned?

To protect Maisie, Katie must face the fears that drove her from home, accept the possibility of love, and risk exposing her heart-wrenching secret.

Review:

This is told from five different perspectives, you have Katie, Cal, Lilah, Jake and Maisie who’s life are all entangled in some way. I love books told by an ensemble cast, especially if they’re executed well and this one was flawless. The character development was incredibly strong and each and every one of them is vividly drawn, the type of characters that you forget are fictional. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised to glance up from the book and see Katie standing in my living room, they’re just that realistic.

I knew that OCD is something that the author lives with every single day as her her son and husband both have it, but even if I hadn’t known that I think it’s evident that this is a deeply personal topic for her and one that she is well informed of. She writes about living with OCD both as one who has it AND as a family member in an unflinchingly honest manner that gets you right in the heart. This was such an emotional read and such an eye opening one for me, at times it was hard to read but only because the author writes in such a fearless manner. Motherhood is hard enough for an average woman and reading about Katie’s struggles trying to navigate parenthood and OCD was both heartbreaking and beautiful.

This is one of those books I could discuss for hours, I totally recommend it as a book club pick. The discussion topics are endless and I really can’t imagine anyone not feeling something for these amazing characters.

The Promise Between Us in three words: Brave, Raw and Poignant.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

About the Author:

Bestselling author Barbara Claypole White creates hopeful family drama with a healthy dose of mental illness. Originally from England, she writes and gardens in the forests of North Carolina where she lives with her beloved OCD family. Her novels include The Unfinished Garden, The In-Between Hour, The Perfect Son, andEchoes of Family. The Promise Between Us, a story of redemption, sacrifice, and OCD, has a publication date of January 16th, 2018. She is also an OCD Advocate for the A2A Alliance, a nonprofit group that promotes advocacy over adversity. To connect with Barbara, please visit www.barbaraclaypolewhite.com, or follow her on Facebook. She’s always on Facebook.

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