The East End by Jason Allen is set in the Hamptons on Memorial Day Weekend and tells the story of working class Corey who breaks into the mansions for fun, but doesn’t steal anything; Gina, his mother who is a housekeeper at the Sheffield estate; and Leo Sheffield, the rich CEO whose home this story takes place at. Corey witnessed a gruesome death while “breaking in” at the Sheffield estate and the story unfolds from there.

I really wanted to love this story, but just couldn’t get into it. None of the characters are very likable and the story was so slow. There’s no real mystery which makes reading a mystery kind of boring. This story had so much potential, but just didn’t live up to it.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

You can pick your partner, but you can’t choose your mother-in-law...

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth is a domestic thriller, but it isn’t your typical mother-in-law story. This book is told from two perspectives, Lucy, the daughter-in-law and Diana, the mother-in-law.

Lucy falls in love with Ollie and like most women really wants his mother to like her. Diana is not so interested in having a loving relationship with Lucy though. When Diana is found dead that’s when we get to learn more about her past and what made her the woman she was. The real question though is who killed her and why?

I really liked that this book told the story from both perspectives. You usually just get to read the daughter-in-law’s perspective about her evil mother-in-law, but this story gave us insight into why Diana behaved the way she did towards Lucy. It gave us more understanding as to why she seemed so standoffish even if that wasn’t always how she meant to be.

I had an advanced readers copy so I did find some issues with grammatical errors which I assume will be fixed before it’s published. I also wish they would put an actual date/time rather than past/present to understand the timeline better.

I really liked this book and look forward to reading more books by Sally Hepworth. I definitely recommend it for fans of domestic thrillers.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward starts with a frantic call to 911 followed by a bloody crime scene. It totally pulled me into the book and intrigued me enough to want to keep reading!

We then go to ten weeks prior to the night of the murder and meet Maddie, our main character who primarily is telling her story. The book goes back and forth from present day to the early 2000’s where we follow Maddie and her best friend through the time in Eastern Europe. This is where we meet Ian, the love interest of both women who becomes Maddie’s husband. One of these characters was murdered, but we need to read on to find out who...and why.

This book started out great, but there were a lot of parts of the book that just felt really drawn out. I wanted to know more about the murder and less about the past. Yes it was necessary to know about the way the three main characters interacted to understand why Maddie and Jo were estranged, but there was way too much backstory that was not necessary to progress the book forward.

There were a few parts told from Ian’s point of view. It didn’t make sense to me to switch POV only for a handful of chapters.

I didn’t figure out the twist which does say a lot to me about a mystery thriller so I definitely give Ward credit for that. Once the book stays in the present day I thought it was really good. I liked the ending and was glad it kept me guessing.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin-Park Row Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Everly Swan has moved back to her hometown of Charm, NC to run a café that specializes in different kinds of tea. Everly is hosting her friend’s wedding reception when she finds the groom stabbed to death on the beach just after the nuptials. Everly wants to help solve the murder against the wishes of handsome the sheriff. With a colorful cast of characters and a small town setting where everyone knows each other, No Good Tea Goes Unpunished by Bree Baker is a really fun cozy mystery.

This is the second novel in Baker’s A Seaside Café Mystery series. I received an ARC of this book without reading book one. You didn’t need to read the first book to have an understanding of what was going on. The second book reintroduced us to characters from the first book, but kept the second story moving. I look forward to reading book one and for book three to be released.

The story kept me engaged and moved fast which I love! I didn’t figure out who the murdered was until it was revealed so that made this book all the better. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves cozy mysteries or anyone who wants to try them out.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Finding Grace” is a new psychological thriller by K.L. Slater. Grace just turned nine years old, and all she wants is to walk home from her best friend’s house just around the bend. Lucie and Blake, her parents, finally agree, but when Grace doesn’t make it home their lives will change.

A police investigation begins and with it brings out secrets from the past and present, but whose secrets are the reason for Grace’s disappearance? And will they figure it out in time to save their daughter?

This was my first book by Slater, and I really enjoyed it. The story starts in the present day and at times goes back to the past. I liked this style of writing for this story because it helped with the plot. It was a solid thriller that had some surprises along the way. There was one big twist at the end that I really didn’t see coming. That says a lot for me about a thriller. I look forward to reading more of Slater’s books.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for and ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Sorry Not Sorry” by Sophie Ranald is a romantic comedy about Charlotte who, after her roommates move out, feels like her life is stuck in a rut. She decides to listen to a podcast called “Sorry Not Sorry” which challenges its listeners to try new things in the dating scene. Charlotte meets Myles, a vendor at work, and decides that she likes him enough to try the challenges with him. With these challenges Charlotte learns more about herself than she imagined and eventually becomes the woman she wants to be.

This is my first time reading a book by Ranald, and I really liked it. I don’t read a lot of romance novels, but the humor in this one kept me interested. There were some parts that were a little much for example the maid of honor in Charlotte’s best friend’s wedding and the hen do (bachelorette weekend) seemed too similar to the movie “Bridesmaids” in my opinion, but I understand why she went that route in the story. There were some characters I really liked, Xander and Freezer especially, and some that were stereotypical for their roles, Renzo, Piers, and Charlotte’s co-workers in general. Overall this was a fun read that kept me engrossed. I don’t normally read books in two days, but I didn’t want to put this one down. If you like humorous, romance novels I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The past isn’t real. It is simply a story we tell ourselves. And sometimes, we lie.

The Hiding Place by [a:C.J. Tudor|15754327|C.J. Tudor|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1512059556p2/15754327.jpg] tells the story of Joe Thorne and his return to his childhood home of Arnhill. Mysterious things have happened in this town starting with his sister’s disappearance years ago. She returned 48 hours later with no explanation as to where she was or what happened. The same thing has happened 25 years later to another child, Ben, who is missing for 24 hours then returns. He is found murdered by his mother who then kills herself. When the cops discover the body the words “not my son” are written in blood over his bed. Joe receives a mysterious email stating that they “know what happened to his sister” which makes him return even if he knows it’s against his better judgment.

Joe is able to lie his way into a teaching job at his previous high school and it is clear from the beginning that no one is happy to have him return to this town. There are secrets that are better left untold and his old “gang” from growing up will do anything to make sure they are. While Joe deals with various threats throughout the book it is digging into his past that is the real threat. The lies he’s told himself to “forget” the things that happened 25 years ago are resurfacing and that’s not always a good thing.

I love a good thriller, but there was a supernatural aspect to this one that I wasn’t expecting. I’m not big into reading supernatural novels, but Tudor’s writing was very good that I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. I liked the protagonist, Joe, although there were many reasons not to like him. I wanted to make sure that things turned out okay for him. I was actually shocked by the surprise twist in the last chapter. I did not see that coming so Tudor did a really good job throwing that one at us at the end. I definitely look forward to reading more of her books and would recommend this especially if you like thrillers with a supernatural twist.

Thank you NetGalley and Crown Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

“The Promise” by Teresa Driscoll is a psychological thriller about three childhood friends; Beth, Sally and Carol, and their time growing up in boarding school. The book starts off with something bad happening – a room filled with blood and a promise made between the three friends to never tell anyone. Years later, Beth and Sally get notice that the boarding school is closing and hire Matthew, a private investigator, to find Carol who has been estranged for a few years. This leads to secrets coming out and trouble for Beth and her family. Can Beth keep the promise she made as a child?

The book is told from three perspectives, Beth, Matthew, and Carol. I like books told from multiple points of view so enjoyed that, but with finding Carol as such a major plot line I think we should have had more of her perspective throughout.

I’m a big fan of psychological thrillers, and I enjoyed this one. I went back and forth on my rating and finally decided on 3.5 stars. I thought the secret would come out to be something other than what it was so I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t figure it out. There were additional secrets that came out throughout the book as well giving it some plot twists and turns! There were some parts of the book that were slow moving and a little drawn out then the ending felt rushed. Overall though it was a good thriller, and I would recommend it. I look forward to reading other books by Teresa Driscoll.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strasser tells the story of two friends, Liza and Molly, who are trying to reconnect over video chat. When Molly leaves the room to check on her crying child, Liza witnesses a man in a black mask enter Molly's house. Molly's husband, Daniel, is away on business so Liza does everything she can to get the intruder to realize she's on the computer witnessing his break-in. This causes a series of events that can cause their friendship to end or worse, Molly and Daniel's marriage to end.

I thought the description for this book sounded so intriguing, but once I started reading it, it really was not what I was expecting and not in a good way. I figured out who the masked intruder was way too early. There were sub-plots that were too involved and not necessary to the main story. It just felt uneven and forced at times to me. I love a good thriller, but this just wasn't that for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What would you do if you lived your entire life thinking you were someone other than who you were? Would you want to find out the truth.

“The Nowhere Child” is the debut novel by Christian White and tells the story of Kim Leamy, a photography professor in Australia. Kim is approached by a man from the US who shows her a photograph of a two year old girl, Sammy Went. He tells Kim that he thinks she is this girl who was kidnapped 30 years prior. Kim goes to the US to uncover the truth, but is the truth really worth finding out?

Christian White did a great job of creating an interesting take on a kidnapped child storyline by giving it some twists. The setting in Kentucky was interesting, and I learned about the Pentecostal church and some of their beliefs. It gave this story a unique twist. I definitely look forward to reading more of White’s novels once they are released.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Christian White for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.