After the loss of her husband, Freya Miller needs a new start for her and her daughter. While browsing ads for apartments in a coffee shop, Freya meets Dr. Marsden who offers her an opportunity that is too good to be true. An apartment called Added House in a fashionable neighborhood in London. Freya can't believe her luck especially because Dr. Marsden is asking for way below what the apartment is worth, but after her and Skye move in, strange things start happening. Freya thinks maybe she's going crazy especially when furniture starts moving and she starts hearing weird noises and seeing strange things. Is it all in her head due to the stress of starting over or is there more to what goes on behind closed doors at Adder House?

I really enjoyed this book. It moved at a quick pace and held my interest the entire way through. One thing I find with a lot of mysteries is that I can figure them out early on, but I could not figure out what was going on at all in this book. The whole cast of characters was mysterious and I couldn't tell who was behind the strange things happening in Freya's apartment. I liked Freya as the protagonist because she had her issues, but cared very much for her daughter and wanted to give her a better life. Although there were times she made me want to scream, I just wanted her and Skye to be okay.

There were some chapters of this book which flashback to a psychologist doing experiments on a young child. Throughout the book I could not figure out what they had to do with Freya and Skye. It does come together at the end, but in my opinion they made the book feel a little disjointed. Also, the ending of the book moved very quickly so make sure you pay extra careful attention or you could get confused. I wish the Epilogue had been longer, but overall I would recommend this book to mystery readers.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wilder Girls

Raxter is an all girls school on an island off the coast of Maine. Hetty, Byatt, and Reese have been roommates since their first year there, but things are very different from when they started. They now have the Tox, and Raxter has been under quarantine for 18 months. The school is given food and supplies from the Navy, but otherwise they are completed isolated. The girls don’t dare leave the school grounds because it’s not safe with the wild animals also having the Tox. When Byatt disappears, Hetty and Reese will risk leaving the grounds to save their friend, but is it worth it?

Reading this book while we’re quarantined due to a pandemic is a little strange! However, I actually liked it. The first half moved by so quickly, and I didn’t want to put the book down. I was intrigued to find out what caused the Tox and to see what was happening outside of Raxter. The problem is the ending didn’t really explain it. The book could have used a few more chapters to explain things better.

I love the cover art for this book. It’s beautifully done and is what made me drawn to this book in the first place.

January is a romance author who is dealing with writers block after the death of her father and finding out he was having an affair. She moves into his vacation home for the summer in hopes of getting her belief in love and happy endings back while taking the time to write her next book. Augustus Everett is a literary fiction writer who happens to be January’s nemesis, and her next door neighbor for the summer. Will they butt heads or fall in love?

I went into this book with high expectations because I’ve heard such good things about it. That didn’t sway my rating though. I loved January and Gus’s relationship, and I love a rom-com with the enemies become lovers trope, but Beach Read is not your typical rom-com. The storyline was totally original. I enjoyed the bet and them swapping genres. It created such an interesting plot.

The scenes with Gus and January were my favorites. There were some fun secondary characters, for example, Shadi and Pete, but in my opinion, they weren’t necessary to move the story along. January and Gus had such humorous banter, and I loved how they played off each other. I enjoyed learning about their pasts and what made them write the genres they were each known for.

This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry. I’m not sure it’s a typical “beach read”, but it’s definitely worth reading!

Thank you Goodreads and Berkley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

One thing I love about Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's books is that they develop the characters so well. I didn't feel they were able to do that with The Getaway which is an 2 hour and 24 minute audiobook. When this came up as an Audible Original, I was really excited, but it was not as good as their other books.

Darling Rose Gold starts off with Patty Watts being released after five years in prison. She was sent there because she poisoned her daughter and made her believe she was sick for the first 18 years of her life. It was Rose Gold's testimony that put Patty away so why is Rose Gold the one picking her up from prison? When Rose Gold lets Patty move in with her the neighbors are shocked. They can't believe Rose Gold would allow Patty back into her life, but just like every mother/daughter relationship, this one is complicated.

The book is told from alternating points of view which I generally like. Patty tells us her story after getting out of prison, and Rose Gold tells us about her time from when Patty was sent to jail until after her release. I have read in other reviews that people expected more from Rose Gold's childhood, but I actually liked how this was written. I don't think there needed to be more in depth writing about the abuse Rose Gold suffered through.

This book was interesting because both of the narrators were unreliable. Both characters were abused as children which lead to their behavior as adults. If you cannot handle books with child abuse, than this is not the book for you. I thought the author did a great job of keeping me guessing what was going to happen. I thought it would go one way, but in the end it went a totally different way. The book moved at a fast pace, and it was hard to put it down. Darling Rose Gold was one of my most anticipated books of 2020, and I thought it was done really well. I will definitely read more books by Stephanie Wrobel as I really enjoyed her writing style.

Daphne and Drue were frenemies growing up, but haven’t spoken in years after a falling out. Daphne is now a plus-size Influencer and living her best life. When Drue asks her to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, can Daphne forgive her and believe Drue has grown out of being the mean girl she always was?

This was my first book by Jennifer Weiner, and I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t just contemporary chick-lit, but that it was a mystery too. I was totally looking forward to this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is definitely a fun, summer read that I highly recommend.

The only reason I can’t give it 5-stars is because I found it odd that Nick, who didn’t use social media or have a job that needed the internet could so easily find someone’s Facebook profile from years ago. There were some other things he did that I question as well, and although I liked his character, I’m still a bit suspicious of him!

After her husband, Isaac, gets a new, better-paying job, Janey Markham moves to Buckingham Crescent, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in their new town. She quickly learns which are the moms to become friends with when dropping her son off a school. Edie, Tanya, and Kyoko are the moms everyone envies and wants to be included with. Janey gets invited into their group, but is being friends with them as good as it seemed it would be or will it get her into trouble?

Little Whispers is about moms who gossip, but there’s a lot more to it. It had all the makings of a great thriller, but it just fell flat for me. It was a slow build, but it never picked up or had me on the edge of my seat. I honestly found it quite predictable. I didn’t see everything coming, but figured out who the bad guy was early on.

There was a secondary mystery throughout the book set in the past which I did actually enjoy. I can’t say more without giving anything away, but I would have liked the past story to be connected to the main story somehow.

I’ve read two other books by K.L. Slater and really enjoyed them. This one just wasn’t for me though.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Lizzie, a prosecutor turned defense attorney, received a collect call from Rikers. Zach, an old friend from law school, has been arrested for assault of a police officer, but there’s more to it. His wife, Amanda, was found murdered in his home, and Zach wants Lizzie to get him out of Rikers before he’s arraigned for the murder. Lizzie is hesitant since she has not handled a murder before, but her boss talks her into taking Zach’s case.

A Good Marriage is told from Lizzie’s perspective after the murder, and Amanda’s perspective before. It alternates between the two points of view plus there are memos and court testimonies spaced out in between. I liked the way it was written from both perspectives. The author did a good job of keeping us in suspense as to what was happening and who murdered Amanda.

There were a few different types of marriages in this story, and I’m not sure any of them were good! I like how these different marriages helped with the story and how they were all intertwined a little. The characters were well built up which kept adding more suspense and made it harder to figure out who done it! There were definitely twists throughout, and the author was great at keeping us on our toes. This book had a very slow start for me, but the ending was definitely not what I expected and moved at a much faster pace.

Thank you Kimberly McCreight and Harper for an advanced reader’s edition in exchange for my honest review.

I listened to the audiobook of “One for the Money” by Janet Evanovich which is narrated by C.J. Critt. One for the Money tells the story of Stephanie Plum who starts working as a bounty hunter for her cousin after losing her job and basically having no other option for income. She is given a FTA (failure to appear) to find, Joe Morelli. Morelli is a cop that is involved in a murder and also the person Stephanie lost her virginity to when they were in high school. With the help of fellow Bounty Hunter, Ranger, and a childhood friend who is now a cop, she sets off to find Morelli and get the $10,000 payout which will help her get back on her feet.

This series was recommended to me by some friends who said it was great for listening to on my commute to/from work. I’m glad I decided to try the first book and plan on reading the others in the series. It’s easy to pay attention to while driving, and Stephanie is a very funny character. I was routing for her the entire time I was listening and look forward to seeing where her relationship with Morelli goes in future books. The narrator, C.J. Critt, was very good as well so I plan to continue reading the audiobooks during my commute.