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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Goodreads|Amazon

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

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

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.

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.