3.5 stars rounded up.

The Paris Hours takes place in a 24-hour time period and is set in post-WWII Paris. There are four main characters who all lead very different lives until the ending where all of their lives intertwine. I loved how there were some actual famous people, Ernest Hemingway, Josephine Baker, Gertrude Stein, for example, included throughout the story.

I did find the beginning a little confusing keeping up with which character was which. The book was beautifully written though. I listened to the audiobook, but think I'd prefer reading the actual book.

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher tells the story of Thursday who is married to Seth. The problem is that Seth also has two other wives, Monday and Tuesday. They are named after the day of the week he spends with them. The wives have not met each other, and everything seems fine with their arrangement, until Thursday finds a scrap of paper with Monday's real name on it. Thursday becomes obsessed with meeting her, but when Thursday meets Monday (aka Hannah) and notices bruises, she realizes she's being abused by Seth. Thursday decides to figure out what is going on and to involve Tuesday (aka Regina), but what price will she pay to figure out who her husband really is?

Well this was a crazy ride! Going into a marriage knowing your husband is a polygamist is a bit unconventional, but Thursday is in love so makes it work. I liked her as a character and understand her need to know more about the other wives. She can be a frustrating character at times though and you just want to shake her and shout at her to leave Seth, but that would be a very different story.

There are a lot of twists an turns throughout this book, none of which I saw coming. That to me is what makes a good thriller. Some parts towards the end were a bit over the top though which is why I couldn't give this book 5 stars, but I really enjoyed it. It's one of those books that I didn't want to put down.

Grady Hendrix does it again with his amazing dark humor. The way he turned working in a big box store like IKEA into a horror story was super clever. I didn’t love this as much as The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, but I still enjoyed it none the less.

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.

Lindsey, Kendra, and Dani have been best friends since they were young girls. They live in the same town, and now their teenage sons are best friends too. When tragedy strikes leaving one son dead, one in a coma, and the other so traumatized he can’t speak; this will test the strength of their friendship. How can these ladies remain the best of friends when they don’t even know what happened to their sons?

This was my first book from Lucinda Berry, and it was a heavy read. The chapters alternate between Lindsey, Kendra, and Dani’s perspectives. I liked how the author did this since we see what’s going on and how it affects each one differently. She also included how the tragedy affects their immediate families which makes sense in this sort of book.

There is a bit of a mystery involved in finding out what happened that lead to the awful events that night, but I would not classify this book as a mystery. It’s really about coping with a tragedy and how each person handles if differently. This was a very emotional read, but very worth it.

The author did elude to something that happened to Lindsey, Kendra, and Dani when they were teenagers, something they never spoke of, but didn’t ever reveal what that was. For that reason I had to rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer 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.