About Sunburn

Hardcover:304 pages
Publisher:William Morrow (February 20, 2018)

A Bustle, Entertainment Weekly and PopSugar Most Anticipated Book of 2018.

“Every time Laura Lippman comes out with a new book, I get chills because I know I am back in the hands of the master. She is simply a brilliant novelist, an unflinching chronicler of life in America right now, and Sunburn is her dark, gleaming noir gem. Read it.” -Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl

New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman returns with a superb novel of psychological suspense about a pair of lovers with the best intentions and the worst luck: two people locked in a passionate yet uncompromising game of cat and mouse. But instead of rules, this game has dark secrets, forbidden desires, inevitable betrayals and cold-blooded murder.

One is playing a long game. But which one?

They meet at a local tavern in the small town of Belleville, Delaware. Polly is set on heading west. Adam says he’s also passing through. Yet she stays and he stays drawn to this mysterious redhead whose quiet stillness both unnerves and excites him. Over the course of a punishing summer, Polly and Adam abandon themselves to a steamy, inexorable affair. Still, each holds something back from the other dangerous, even lethal, secrets.

Then someone dies. Was it an accident, or part of a plan? By now, Adam and Polly are so ensnared in each others lives and lies that neither one knows how to get away or even if they want to. Is their love strong enough to withstand the truth, or will it ultimately destroy them?

Something or someone has to give.

Which one will it be?

Inspired by James M. Cain’s masterpieces The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, and Mildred Pierce, Sunburn is a tantalizing modern noir from the incomparable Laura Lippman.

Purchase Links

HarperCollinsAmazon�| Barnes & Noble

Review:

Review:

Most of you know I’m an avid crime fiction reader, it’s my go to genre so I’m slightly ashamed to say this was my first Laura Lippman book! Looking through her back catalogue I can see she writes exactly the kind of books I love so I have NO idea how she’s been off my radar thus far. I’ve seen many others say that Sunburn is not typical for her, but I loved it and her writing is so nuanced, so dang good that I won’t be missing out on her books in the future.

Polly is a mysterious woman with a plethora of secrets in her past, you know little about her for a long time, Lippman methodically peels back the layers of her character until you get to the core. Adam also has a mysterious past and the same goes for him, you slowly but surely gain information about his history and you’re just never totally comfortable trusting either of them. Unreliability at it’s best! There are quite a few points of view, but not too many in my opinion, each served a particular purpose and were there for a specific reason, not just as filler. The characters were complex, interesting and so shady, right up my alley.

Many will say this is a slow burn and I totally agree, but it’s also a slow unraveling of a tangled tale that I was never quite sure of. Not sure of who to trust, not sure what their true motivations were and definitely not sure of what would happen next. I never did figure things out ahead of time, the ending totally surprised me, completely unexpected and wholly satisfying.

Sunburn in three words: Subtle, Hypnotic and Unpredictable.

Overall rating: 4.5/5

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

About Laura Lippman

Since LAURA LIPPMAN’s debut, she has won multiple awards and critical acclaim for provocative, timely crime novels set in her beloved hometown of Baltimore. Laura has been nominated for more than fifty awards for crime fiction and won almost twenty, including the Edgar. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages. Now a perennial New York Times bestselling author, she lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her family.

Connect with Laura on her website, Facebook, or Twitter.

Goodreads|Amazon US|Amazon UK

Release date: March 8, 2018

Publisher: Mantle

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Blurb:

We went to school that Tuesday like normal.

Not all of us came home . . .

Huddled in a cloakroom with his classmates and teacher, six-year-old Zach can hear shots ringing through the corridors of his school. A gunman has entered the building and, in a matter of minutes, will have taken nineteen lives.

In the aftermath of the shooting, the close knit community and its families are devastated. Everyone deals with the tragedy differently. Zach’s father absents himself; his mother pursues a quest for justice — while Zach retreats into his super-secret hideout and loses himself in a world of books and drawing.

Ultimately though, it is Zach who will show the adults in his life the way forward — as, sometimes, only a child can.

I’m honored to be the stop on the blog tour for Only Child today!

Review:

The whole story is told through the eyes of Zach, a seven year old little guy and it begins on the day a gunman opens fire at his elementary school. I have three small kids, 9, 6 and 3 and my two oldest have participated in multiple lockdown drills. I remember when my oldest daughter came home from kindergarten talking about what to do if “a bad guy comes to my school mommy, we have to hide in the bathroom and stay super quiet.” That chilled me to my core but unfortunately that’s the world we live in. The world I’m raising my gorgeous kids in. It’s terrifying. I was a senior in high school back in 1999 when Columbine happened and I remember how scared and confused I was, how I couldn’t comprehend such a tragic event. All of that to say, I knew this would be a difficult book to read, I knew I would be emotional but I also knew it would be important and I’m extremely glad that I did read this because the author handled everything with grace and compassion.

Zach, what a special little boy he is, he has a piece of my heart. Seeing the entire story through a child’s eyes really brought a simplicity to things, kids are so pure and innocent. Children can often be pushed to the side when adults are dealing with grown up problems and that is what broke my heart the most. I wanted to scoop this little man up and take all of his worries away, that’s how realistic he seemed and his voice? Unbelievably accurate, I felt like I was listening to my daughter talk to me.

I could honestly discuss this book for hours, but I’ll finish up and say that I really feel like this is a vital read for everyone. It’s ripped from the current headlines, and it’s every single parents worst fear. Navin did an amazing job at handling the issues in a sensitive and realistic way, this is truly a special book.

Only Child in three words: Compelling, Moving and Timely.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: February 13, 2018

Publisher: MIRA

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

They called themselves “the lucky ones”

They were seven children either orphaned or abandoned by their parents and chosen by legendary philanthropist and brain surgeon Dr. Vincent Capello to live in The Dragon, his almost magical beach house on the Oregon Coast. Allison was the youngest of the lucky ones living an idyllic life with her newfound family…until the night she almost died, and was then whisked away from the house and her adopted family forever.

Now, thirteen years later, Allison receives a letter from Roland, Dr. Capello’s oldest son, warning her that their father is ill and in his final days. Allison determines she must go home again and confront the ghosts of her past. She’s determined to find out what really happened that fateful night — was it an accident or, as she’s always suspected, did one of her beloved family members try to kill her?

But digging into the past can reveal horrific truths, and when Allison pieces together the story of her life, she’ll learns the terrible secret at the heart of the family she once loved but never really knew.

Review:

I want to start by mentioning that this isn’t a traditional mystery/thriller, yes there’s definitely a mystery to be solved but if you’re looking for a book that is intense with lots of heart pounding moments it’s not this one. However, it’s extremely well written and makes for a compelling read but I think future readers should be aware that it fits better under a romantic suspense genre.

There was something dark about this, a gothic feeling both in the mystery of Allison’s past, the romantic elements and the setting. The bulk of it takes place at her childhood foster home in a house on the edge of the sea in Oregon called The Dragon. There was a sinister vibe that the author created with her creepy imagery that I really liked. The romance also had a dangerous edge, it’s borderline taboo one of those that you almost feel naughty just reading about. And of course the mystery itself was intriguing and dark, there was definitely a hint of menace once all was revealed.

There was quite a bit of moral ambiguity surrounding all the pieces of this one, should you make the choices that you know are right or should you go after what feels right? It deals with the gray area, there is no black or white here and gave me much to ponder which is always the sign of a well written book. Recommended for mystery fans that don’t mind romance and borderline creepy relationships.

The Lucky Ones in three words: Wicked, Dark and Gloomy.

Overall rating: 3.5/5

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

About the Author:

Tiffany Reisz lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, author Andrew Shaffer.

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Connect with Tiffany

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Release date: January 30, 2018

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Genre: YA

Blurb:

Doesn’t matter who did it. Not anymore. I did the time. It’s over.”

When Drix was convicted of a crime—one he didn’t commit—he thought his life was over. But opportunity came with the Second Chance Program, the governor’s newest pet project to get delinquents off the streets, rehabilitated and back into society. Drix knows this is his chance to get his life back on track, even if it means being paraded in front of reporters for a while.

Elle knows she lives a life of privilege. As the governor’s daughter, she can open doors with her name alone. But the expectations and pressure to be someone she isn’t may be too much to handle. She wants to follow her own path, whatever that means.

When Drix and Elle meet, their connection is immediate, but so are their problems. Drix is not the type of boy Elle’s parents have in mind for her, and Elle is not the kind of girl who can understand Drix’s messy life.

But sometimes love can breach all barriers.

Fighting against a society that can’t imagine them together, Drix and Elle must push themselves—Drix to confront the truth of the robbery, and Elle to assert her independence—and each other to finally get what they deserve.

I’m so excited to be one of the stops on the blog tour for Say You’ll Remember Me today! Check out TLC Book Tours for the full schedule.

Review:

Can we talk about that cover?! It’s gorgeous, I may have spent an inordinate amount of time staring at it, there’s something about those shades of purple 😍 Now that I got that fawning out of the way…

I don’t read all that much YA anymore, I have absolutely nothing against it, there was a time when I almost strictly stuck to the genre, but I’m at a point in my life where I can’t always relate to the trials and tribulations of teenagers. But sometimes I hear good things about an author or a particular book so I make an exception and I am SO glad that I did because not only did McGarry make me relate to her beautifully crafted characters, she made me fall a little in love with them.

This is told via alternate perspectives that flip back and forth each chapter, one is from Ellison, the daughter of a politician who lives a privileged life and then Drix, a kid who had the odds stacked against him from day one. They couldn’t be more different from each but I adored both and was impressed by how the author gave them both separate voices that rang true to that of a teenaged kid from their particular background.

This was a topical book that dealt with many issues that are relevant to youth today that managed to convey some fantastic messages in a nonjudgmental way. Parts of this broke my heart a little and then there were some surprises in the end with some intensity that I wasn’t expecting, I loved the highs and lows!

Say You’ll Remember Me in three words: Sweet, romantic and emotional.

Overall rating: 4/5

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

About the Author:

Katie was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

She is the author of the Pushing the Limits and Thunder Road series. Say You’ll Remember Me will be released in 2018.

Katie loves to hear from her readers.

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Connect with Katie

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About Girl Unknown

Hardcover:304 pages
Publisher:Henry Holt and Co. (February 6, 2018)

Explores emotional danger with relentless, surgical accuracy.
Tana French,New York Timesbestselling author of The TrespasserandInto the Woods.

David and Caroline Connolly are swimming successfully through their marriages middle years raising two children; overseeing care for David’s ailing mother; leaning into their careers, both at David’s university teaching job, where he’s up for an important promotion, and at the ad agency where Caroline has recently returned to work after years away while the children were little. The recent stresses of home renovation and of a brief romantic betrayal (Caroline’s) are behind them. The Connollys know and care for each other deeply.Then one early fall afternoon, a student of sublime, waiflike beauty appears in David’s university office and says, I think you might be my father. And the fact of a youthful passion that David had tried to forget comes rushing back. In the person of this intriguing young woman, the Connollys may have a chance to expand who they are and how much they can love, or they may be making themselves vulnerable to menace. They face either an opportunity or a threat but which is which? What happens when their hard-won family happiness meets a hard-luck beautiful girl?

Praise

Full of intrigue and incident keeps us guessing until the very last tragic page. Liz Nugent, bestselling author ofUnraveling Oliverand ofLying in Wait.

Compulsively readable, with surprises until the very last page. . . . A chilling tale about a family under threat from one of its own. Jessica Treadway, author ofLacy and I Will I Know You?

“[Girl Unknown] is must-read literary suspense, with dueling character perspectives and sly twists forming a gut-wrenching exploration of trust, manipulation, and obsession. Booklist (starred review)

Purchase Links

Amazon |Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Review:

Imagine you’re already going through a difficult time in your marriage, a trying time that is putting your relationship to the test and then a teenaged girl shows up and announces that she’s your husbands daughter. That’s exactly what happens to Caroline and Zoe’s arrival is just the beginning of a series of events that no one saw coming, I sure didn’t!

While this was most definitely a mystery, it had a strong literary feel to it, the prose used by the authors had a sophisticated subtlety to it that gave it strong edge. I’m always fascinated by writing duos, I wonder how they actually wrote the book. This is told from dual perspectives, that of David and Caroline and I pondered whether each author wrote each distinct voice, but whatever method they used it worked excellently. You would never know it’s co authored, there is nothing disjointed, it’s actually incredibly smooth and the writing style is top notch.

The plot takes several unexpected turns but the twists weren’t the big, shocking gasp worthy type but rather the kind that unnerve you and get under your skin. They are still surprising, but there’s an air of refinement to how they’re executed that worked really well for me. I’m definitely a fan of the style and will be reading more from the author(s) in the future.

Girl Unknown in three words: Unsettling, Polished and Penetrating.

Overall rating: 4/5

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

Photo by Edmund Ross Photography

About Karen Perry

Karen Perryis the pen name of Dublin-based authors Paul Perry and Karen Gillece. Together they wrote Girl Unkown.

Paul Perryis the author of a number of critically acclaimed books. A recipient of the Hennessy Award for New Irish Writing, he teaches creative writing at University College, Dublin.

Karen Gilleceis the author of several critically acclaimed novels. In 2009 she won the European Union Prize for Literature (Ireland).

Connect with them on Facebook.

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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.

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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

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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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