Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an eGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I'll admit, the cover drew me in and I'm so glad that I did. What an honest and gut wrenching memoir.

Karen, a daughter of a Brazilian father and an American mother seemed to have it all. She had just gotten married to her American husband Rick after a whirlwind romance. Then, one night everything changes. Karen Keilt shares her story of being victim of abuse and false arrest by the Brazilian Police after they "find" cocaine in the house she shared with her first husband. After Karen is finally released from her captivity, all she wanted to do was talk about what happened, but everyone tells her to let it go. After her husband commits the final straw, Karen and her young son leave for the United States in hope of a better life away from the corrupt Brazilian government.

Karen's memoir is based off her interview with a woman trying to bring justice to those in the Brazilian government that committed the heinous abuses against her, her husband, and many others. I highly recommend it.

Trigger warnings: Police brutality, rape, physical abuse

3 stars.

I was so excited to read this after hearing so many good things from friends and podcasters. However, Long Bright River did not meet the hype for me.

When I would sit down to read it, I couldn't put it down. However...I have issues. Mainly, I WANTED MORE EXPLANATION . Parts of the plot near the end of the book could have been more drawn out, and that is saying something given the fact that it's nearly 500 pages. I wanted more.

The main character made me want to throw the book at the wall. @ Mickey -Hi, how about we not be selfish right now?!? Also, I didn't understand the dynamic of the O'Brien family. Why would they turn against one family member that takes in a child when the parent can't provide for that child?

In the end, I think because I don't have a sibling, I may not have found much value in the rocky sisterly dynamics between Kacey and Mickey as others did.

If you have siblings, kids, or family that doesn't talk to you, you will get more out of this than I did.

Here's how my rating saga went for this. First, it was a solid three stars, and then about 75% it moved up to 4 stars...and then the ending pushed it back down to three stars.

3 ⭐️ review

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the epistolary format of the The Reckoning and learning more about Lina’s life pre and post WWII. It read like a nonfiction memoir instead of a work of historical fiction. Lina was born to parents who lived through and fought in WWI and while her parents hoped there wouldn’t be another Great War. Sadly, Lina and her beau Robert would live through WWII which would set off a chain of events that would change Lina’s life forever.

Who is the Diana that Lina is writing to and what is her reasoning?

I do wish there had been some more plot during her time in Paris, Asia, and Kenya. Although by the end of the book I understood why there wasn’t much plot.

4 stars.


Thank you NegGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I throughly enjoyed this debut Nordic thriller mystery. Just when you think you know who the killer is from about 20% in, more curveballs are thrown. I loved the main character and the relationships between the police men. Also loved the mini plot of the side characters.

I will definitely read her next book.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange of an honest review.

Dennis McInnis shares a story of how a police department united against three teenage boys in San Diego county for the murder of a 12 year old girl. The problem? No evidence and two coerced confessions. Dennis was the defense attorney for the one boys that did not give a confession under duress. Dennis and two other attorneys fight for the boys in court against a prosecutor dead set for trying all three boys as adults. They uncover evidence that the prosecutor said didn’t matter. The twist? It changed everything.

I am so mad at the fact that it’s obvious that the judicial system hasn’t changed much since these three boys were arrested. Thank goodness there are lawyers like Dennis out there fighting for the rights of children. I enjoyed this book and my only complaint is that it was wordy in quite a few spots. It could have been shortened.

Thank you Libro.fm and St. Martin's Press for the ALC in exchange for a review.

2 stars

I was desperately hoping that I would love You Are Not Alone after hearing great things about their other books. However, that is not the case.

It took me 14 LONG and disappointing days to get through this audiobook when usually a book this length would take me a day or two.

I basically had to force myself to listen to it to see what the hype was all about. To me, only the last 15% of the book was worth it. I feel like I wasted my time. I have one of their other books sitting on my shelf and I am not sure if I even want to pick it up now.

Shay was a main character that could easily be manipulated by sisters Cassandra and Jane after witnessing the suicide of their friend Amanda. As Shay gets pulled deeper into their clutches, she doesn’t realize that the women are trying to ruin her life to save theirs.

If you like gullible narrators that are easily manipulated, then give this one a shot.

If you don’t, then pick another book up.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for an eARC and Goodreads giveaway win in exchange for an honest review.

TW: Parental death

Four friends met in the cafeteria while their parents received chemotherapy. Now, after after the last funeral, three band together to try to help the youngest of their group grieve in her own way.

Along the way, dogs are adopted and new romantic relationship is formed with a parent of a new student.

Review:

I really wanted to love this book. It had everything I thought I needed right now: a book set in Anchorage, Alaska, a group of friends coming together to help one another and a cute romance. It was a quick read that I enjoyed sitting down with.

I liked that plot points with the friends helping each other grieve and helping Bridget with her animal shelter dog adoption event.

However, I did not enjoy that the author used Bridget as a plot device to screw up the relationship between Trent and Amy. I also didn't like that the end of the book seemed hastily thrown together.

I would be interested in reading the second book if this becomes a series to see where the characters go.

4.5/5 stars. I couldn’t put this one down!!