3.5 stars

Rachel Krall hosts a true crime podcast, and is heading to the small town of Neapolis, NC to cover a rape trial on her show. She keeps her face out of the public eye though and is only recognized by her voice. When she finds a note on her car windshield addressed to her asking for help, she wonders how this person knows who she is. These letters keep showing up until Rachel gets involved in solving this mystery from 25 years ago which seems to have connections to the rape trial she’s covering.

I had a hard time with my rating. I went between 3 and 4 stars so ended up giving it 3.5 stars. I received the audiobook ARC to review, and I think that had something to do with my rating. I probably would have preferred to read it myself. The narrator who voiced Rachel spoke very slowly, and I didn’t get a lot of emotion from her. With a book about two different rape cases, you would think the main character would be more emotional, but she was very flat.

The book goes back and forth between Rachel’s narrative, snippets of Rachel’s podcast, and another narrator, Hannah Stills. Hannah’s sister drown 25 years before, but she believes it was murder. I did prefer her storyline and narration. Most of her chapters were a flashback leading up to what happened to her sister. I found her more invested and these chapters more intriguing.

There is a very strong storyline of sexual assault and violence against women. If this is a trigger for you, I would avoid this book. I do think this is an important topic to focus on, and I thought the author did a good job of showing us a rape trial and how the victim can be unfairly judged by the lawyers and public.

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

This is a very hard book to read, but the author did such a good job with it.

They say true love is blind, and it really was for Nina Garrity. After her husband, Glen, disappears, she meets a teacher, Simon, at her daughter Maggie's school. They have a whirlwind relationship and end up moving in together. Simon seems to be the perfect boyfriend and after finding out Glen cheated on her, that's what Nina needed. However, Simon may be too good to be true, and if Maggie has her way, she'll prove her father didn't leave them and is still alive.

I love a good thriller, and this book had the potential, but I felt it was slow moving especially in the beginning. There weren't really any big twists that I couldn't see coming which is what I love in a thriller. I did not like Nina as a character. She believed Simon too often over her children and let him control her. She works as a social worker so should have been able to see that was what he was doing. Maggie was a good character though. She was strong for a 13 year old which I thought was great.

I won a copy of this book from Macmillan Audio so listened to the audiobook. I did think the narrator for Maggie sounded older than 13 so made me think she was older throughout the book.

Mae and her family spend every Christmas at a cabin in Utah with their family friends, but this Christmas will be their last one. That is, until Mae makes a wish, and she is stuck in a sort of Groundhog's Day time warp. Mae is in love with her childhood friend, Andrew, so maybe this is her one chance to finally get that unrequited love returned.

This was my first book by Christina Lauren. I own some of their other books, but have not read them yet. I will definitely be moving them up to the top of my TBR now. The story was sweet and funny and even heartbreaking sometimes which makes for a great contemporary romance in my opinion. While reading, I felt transported to Park City and the family cabin. I could picture the beautiful scenery and the tourist town as well as the cabin itself. I thought they picked the perfect place for this story.

I think that the Groundhog's Day type storyline was fun for this book. It brought some humor to it, and I loved Benny's character. Mae dealing with time travel was funny as well. I enjoyed her relationship with Andrew, but felt a little more storyline with Theo was needed.

Overall, this is a great holiday read! I was surprised to enjoy a Christmas story in the fall, but maybe that is what we all need right now!

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

Saffyre Maddox is a trouble girl due to something that happened in her past. Cate Fours is the wife of the therapist who tried to help Saffyre. Owen Pick lives across the street from the Fours and seems to be a little off. When Saffyre goes missing, all of their lives connect.

I was very excited to read Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell. I enjoyed her other books that I’ve read, and I think she has an interesting writing style. The first few chapters of this book had me hooked, but then I started to struggle with it. Most of the characters are unlikeable in this book. I don’t mind that normally, but when all of the characters are unlikeable it makes it hard for the reader to relate to any of them. The only character I truly liked was Aaron, Saffyre’s uncle. The story had so many different plots and so much going on that at times it was easy to get confused.

The story definitely was a slow burn, but I expect that of Jewell. Sadly, I found this one anticlimactic. The ending didn’t have that big twist that I hope to see from the author. There were a couple of twists, but they weren’t enough to give me the wow factor that I want in a thriller. With that said, it still held my interest, and the author made me want to know what happened and how it would end.

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

25 years ago, Charlie Crabtree brutally murdered one of his classmates and then vanished. Paul Adams has not returned home since his friend was murdered, but now that his mother is in hospice, it’s time for him to come home to Gritten Wood (aka The Shadows) and face the past he left behind.

Alex North does it again with a spooky setting and creepy storyline. I loved The Whisper Man so was excited to read The Shadows. Although some parts moved slowly to me, I enjoyed the story overall. I liked the dual timelines with Paul flashing back from present day to 25 years earlier. Charlie was such an unlikeable character and the scenes with him kept me on edge. I love a spooky setting in a book, and The Shadows were definitely that for me.

If you’ve read The Whisper Man, you’ll be happy to see Detective Amanda Beck return in this story. I liked how North connected the towns to have her be in this book as well.

One thing I will mention is that this book isn’t really horror so if that’s what you’re looking for I wouldn’t recommend this. However, if you’re looking for a mystery/thriller this one is for you. The author throws in a couple of big twists that I didn’t see coming at all. To me that’s what makes a thrilling read!

Unfortunately not a lot happened and when it did, it was just weird. I was looking for more of a scare.