5 Students walk into detention. A few minutes later 1 of them is dead. Who killed Simon?

I've been wanting to read One of Us is Lying for awhile now. I am a hug fan of tv shows like Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars and teen movies like Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Mean Girls, Can't Buy Me Love, Scream, etc. I could go on & on. It's pretty bad - I can't flip through the channels and see any of those on without watching. Therefore, it's no surprise that this book seemed like a perfect fit for me. I'm not even sure why it took me this long to read it.

One of Us is Lying isn't a very complex mystery. I had it figured out from the beginning. Well, admittedly I can't say I had all the angles completely figured out but the main twist - I called it right from Ch.1. Usually, that would ruin things for me but this time I didn't even mind it. I knew what I was getting into with this YA mystery and I was definitely along for the entire ride. ;)

This book was better than a daytime soap opera! Seriously, EVERYONE was lying or hiding something from everyone else. Yet, I genuinely cared about these kids. These 4 SUSPECTS - they captured my heart. I loved how they grew throughout the story. Addy - who I found spineless and whiny in the beginning completely won me over by the end. I was literally cheering her on - OUT LOUD! Nate - who doesn't love the misunderstood, brooding bad boy rebel! What's not to love about sweet as Pie Cooper? Finally, Bronwyn a.k.a Miss Goody-two-shoes reminded me of me. Obviously she was my fave! I enjoyed watching these 4 form an unlikely alliance and band together to figure out what really happened.

Here's the thing - even though I had the whodunnit mostly figured out, there was a twist that I hadn't seen coming. That made reading the book even better than I initially expected. Is the book a bit cliche? Yes, but that's what makes it fun & a bit nostalgic. Does it depend on stereotypical characters? Yes, but don't they often do that? I felt like these characters showed growth from beginning to end which you don't often get to see in YA mysteries. What some might see as negatives I saw as positives for this book. It was fun, nostalgic, engaging and extremely readable. It held my interest from beginning to end.

👩🏻 Her Pretty Face is a suspenseful domestic thriller! 👭

The story is told via 3 multiple, ambiguous story lines - Frances, Daisy & DJ. Frances Metcalfe is an outsider in the private school world of "perfect" moms. Enter Kate Randolph who is beautiful, funny, chic and the kind of woman all the moms want to be friends with. Surprisingly, Kate snubs the elite moms and befriends Frances. The women forge an immediate friendship. Too good to be true, right? Of course it is! Both women are hiding secrets about their past and one of them is a murdering sociopath.

"She's a master manipulator. A psychopath. She enjoyed playing with people, she gets off on it."

I'll be honest - there was no big reveal for me. I pretty much had the story figured out early on and I knew who "Amber" was. I found the story entertaining and it was a quick read but I was expecting more twists & turns. I enjoyed the premise and the 3 separate storylines. I felt for Frances and was touched by her backstory. Yet for me, the story was missing something. I actually wish we had more from "Amber's" point of view. It would have been interesting to get a peek into her sinister mind. I know not having her perspective made things ambiguous which was the goal. We are left to ponder if people can really change. If they should be forgiven for the wrongs they have committed and paid for. Yet, for me it was pretty clear that "Amber" was a sociopath.

Thanks to NetGalley, Robyn Harding and Gallery/Scout Press for my early copy. All opinions are my own.

WOW! I was riveted as I read this book. My mind was racing and suspicions were at an all time high. This book is definitely a slow burn. It simply simmers as you read. You are seeped into anxiety right alongside the main character, Jessie.

The story is told from two main viewpoints and alternating timelines. We experience Jessie's story firsthand, in the present. While also uncovering her mother, Eden's story, told from the past. Their's is a relationship built on a secret. Secrets always have a way of finding their way into light, don't they? It's the journey to the revelation that Kubica so expertly pens. She opens us up to so many questions, so many possibilities.

Then, we get to the big reveal. I'm almost sorry to admit what a letdown it was for me. After all those enticing possibilities - it was the lamest of them all! I truly enjoyed the book - right up until the ending! Personally, it didn't work for me but I will say it was unexpected and different. I just felt there was so much more potential for the ending. Given all the twists the book took, I was simply expecting a much juicer culmination to it all.

Thank you to Mary Kubica, Harlequin - Hanover Square Press & NetGalley for the advance copy.

A thrilling cat & mouse chase between good & evil!

DI Amy Winter is a strong, resilient and respected police officer. She wants nothing more than to make her recently deceased police officer father proud. Then she receives a letter from Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious and prolific serial murder duo, claiming she is her birth mother.

This book had some serious good versus evil vibes between Amy & Lillian. I enjoyed their back and forth push and pull. Lillian is pure evil. She is a master manipulator, excelling at mind games. Amy never backs down, despite the turmoil she endures as her childhood memories begin to resurface. Amy must face her past in order to uncover the location of long hidden bodies and possibly save a young girl's life.

The story took some well crafted twists & turns and left us with a very enticing cliffhanger. Mitchell certainly has an excellent start to a series here. I look forward to seeing what book 2 has in store for Amy.

🏢3.5 Stars for #murdertrending🔪

This was a fast paced, fun read that definitely kept me turning the pages. It has a certain edge of your seat factor to it as you ultimately never know when someone will be killed.

In a nutshell the plot centers around Alcatraz 2.0. America has green lighted a prison reality show where being on death row means you are sent to a prison "island" run by the mysterious Postman where his appointed executioners/psychotic killers hunt you down for America's viewing pleasure. On the beloved app you can bet, comment and create fanfare for your favorite killers!

Dee Guerrera awakens on Alcatraz 2.0 and immediately must fight for her life. She knows that she was wrongfully convicted of a heinous crime and wants to prove her innocence before she becomes the apps next victim. On the island she meets a group young, attractive inmates - who else would be starring on this reality show? The group unexpectedly begins looking out for each other despite the fact that they could all be killers. America aptly names them the #DeathRowBreakfastClub and can't stop watching their feed. Ratings are at an all time high but that means that time is running out for them because the more popular a criminal is on the feed, the more the Postman wants them dead.

This is not the type of book to go into expecting lots of character development or a well crafted and deeply probed backstory but it was definitely a lot of fun to read. It has a cheesy 80s horror film vibe & I'm not ashamed to admit that I loved that about it!

🏆 A Definite Winner! 🏆
👮‍♀️ If you aren't reading Robert Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite series - you should be. 🚓

In book 6 of the series, A Steep Price , Tracy Crosswhite is pregnant (but hasn't announced it at the precinct) and becomes involved in the missing persons case of a young Indian woman who is estranged from her family. Kavita Mukherjee resisted her family’s pressures to submit to an arranged marriage. I’ll be honest and say that storyline was rather predictable for me, based on the emphasis placed on tradition and familial responsibilities.

There was a second, concurrent storyline involving Faz and Del investigating the murder of a local activist. This one was definitely my favorite case of the book. Dugoni once again manages to expertly inject his character’s lives into the framework of the story. I am so invested in these characters. Faz & his wife Vera’s emphasis in this story was touching. I adore their relationship and was touched by their storyline.

As always, there was A LOT going on in the book - gang violence, arranged marriages, escorts, online dating, technology being used for tracking, pregnant working moms, cancer. I might not even have listed it all. There always are multiple issues in these books. Yet, Dugoni always finds a way to weave it all together. It never feels overwhelming. This series might be a crime procedural but honestly, for me the crimes are secondary (although Dugoni definitely does his homework in that regard & there are always unforeseen twists & turns). What keeps me coming back are the characters! I feel like I know them. Reading these books feels like settling in for a visit with old friends who I can’t wait to catch up with. 4 satisfyingly, content stars for A Steep Price 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Robert Dugoni for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

🚗 3.5 Stars for Forget Me Not an emotional, whodunnit thriller 🙎🏼‍

What happened to Nora Altman?

17 year old Nora Altman's car was found abandoned by the side of the road on January 7, 2008, out of gas but nothing else seemingly out of the ordinary. No one knew where Nora had been headed or what she had been doing at the time but she was never seen or heard from again after that night.

Nora's disappearance wreaked havoc on her family and close friends. The not knowing, the waiting, the hoping - rendering those that loved her most in a sort of limbo, unable to move on.

10 years later to the day, on the memorial of Nora's disappearance her younger sister Noelle, now also 17, suddenly goes missing. Unfortunately, this time there are immediate answers for the family - Noelle's body is recovered on the same stretch of road where her sister had gone missing ten years before. Who murdered Noelle?

Can the same person be striking again?

This is a slow burn whodunnit focusing mainly on Nora's best friend Maddie, who's life has been adversely affected by her friends disappearance. Maddie is obsessed with uncovering the truth about what happened to Nora and Noelle. She begins sleuthing, uncovering secrets and lies that have lain dormant for 10 years.

Overall, I enjoyed this emotionally fraught mystery/thriller but I simply didn't love it. There were parts that seemed too long and moments where the book dragged for me. Still, I definitely saw promise from this debut novel and I look forward to seeing what Taylor comes up with next.

Thank you to NetGalley, A.M. Taylor and Harper Impulse and Killer Reads for an advance copy of this book.

4 Suspense Filled, Trust No One Stars for After Nightfall

Lauren and Marissa were childhood friends who have been estranged since a falling out in college. They are tenuously trying to rekindle their friendship, years later, when circumstances bring Lauren and her husband back into Marissa's life as her fiancé Nathan's neighbors. On the night of Marissa and Nathan's engagement party Lauren winds up dead. Did she jump? Did she slip? Was she pushed?

This was a suspenseful psychological thriller packed full of secrets. Banner did an amazing job of layering the clues, building on the tension between characters and just messing with my head. I literally doubted everyone and trusted no one while reading this book! I changed my mind about "whodunnit" so many times. There were numerous plausible suspects, all with their own secrets. The story was undeniably engrossing and kept me swiftly turning the pages. I simply had to know who did it!

As for the actual mystery - it was a twist that left me blinking at the page, trying to gather my thoughts for a moment. Not because it was an "out of left field" twist. It was more of an "Ah, yes! Why didn't I see that coming?" twist.

This was an entertaining summer read that kept me guessing right to the end!

Thank you to A.J. Banner, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy for an honest review.

🌼 Sasha Cade is a heartwarming story of friendship, love, loss and life! 🌸

This book was absolutely heartbreaking. The premise was sad but it was so infused with hope and love that it actually made me happy through my heartbreak and tears - as illogical as that might sound.

Sasha Cade is larger than life! She is 17, in high school and dying of cancer. Upon her death a letter arrives for her best friend, Raquel. The letter sends her on an adventure - one of many that arrive spontaneously and with perfect timing. These adventures help Raquel mourn, heal and find love. Sasha's personality, heart and essence shone through her letters and video clips. We got to know her through this amazing act of selfless love she concocted as she was slowly dying. She may have been deceased for 99% of the book but she was such an amazing character. Young did an amazing job bringing her to life in this unique way throughout the book.

I don't want to give too much away but this book was simply adorable. The extraordinary bond of friendship, the heartwarming family aspect and the feel good love story - all blended and worked perfectly together to create a story that will both break your heart and fill it up again. Then there was the ending! I'll simply say that it left me smiling, in a content and satisfied way as I turned the last page. This is a heartfelt novel not to be missed.

Thank you to Cheyanne Young, Kids Can Press and NetGalley for an advance copy to read and review.

This book was so many things - heartbreaking, intense, disturbing & emotional to name but a few. It's definitely NOT for EVERYONE. At times I thought I wouldn't be able to continue but I had to see it through to the end - I was invested in Wavy's character. Her "love" story definitely got under my skin at times. It was shocking & controversial but also powerful.

When a book can make you feel so many things - revulsion, compassion, heartache, dismay, anger - it's a good book in my opinion. It's not an easy read and more sensitive readers or those with certain triggers such as pedophilia, child neglect & abandonment, drugs & inappropriate sexuality may not be able to read it but I'm glad I did. These characters, this story - they will stay with me for a long time to come. Greenwood took what many would be repulsed by and turned it into a powerful tale of love and acceptance. That speaks volumes about her ability to weave an enthralling story.