Sherri and her daughter Katie move to Newburyport after Sherri's nasty divorce.... Truth or lie?
Alexa can't wait to get out of the town and start over in LA with her successful YouTube channel.... Truth or lie?
Rebecca is a somewhat recent widow that starts to date someone but wants to keep him a secret.... Truth or lie?
The "Mom Squad" are very welcoming to new people in town.... Truth or lie?


I was so glad we didn't get a lot of the Mom Squad in the book. They are just annoying, petty women. I really liked Rebecca and how she befriends and helps Sherri. This was a beachy read with some mystery thrown in.

Thanks to Park Row Books and Book Clubbish for the gifted book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing, a wonderful debut! Very timely for our world right now and all that's in the news.

After Ruby's mother is killed, her friend Layla knows how much danger she will now be in. I'm so glad they they had each other to protect. Layla's father, Jackson, the local pastor at Calvary Hope Christian Church warns her to stay away from Ruby and her father.

Lebanon has a strong hold over Jackson... Something that happened over 30 years ago. No one knows why they have remained "friends".

I love the difference in the friendships of the girls and their dads. The girls friendship was based on protection and self-preservation. The fathers were built on lies.

I love getting the multiple viewpoints. It really shows the nature of each character. I also loved that the church got a say and let us know what it saw inside its walls.

Trigger: abuse

Coben sure knows how to write a compelling thriller!

Paul lost his sister 20 years ago at a summer camp, one of 4 victims of this serial killer. He feels guilty because he was supposed to be guarding the camp and snuck off with his girlfriend, Lucy, instead.
When one of the boys, who was thought to have died in those same woods, ends up dead just recently... Paul has to find out what's going on.

The ending was just so shocking to me. There were so many twists and they just kept coming and coming.

Coben is definitely a must read author for me!

I always find it hard to review short stories. I liked this one because the stories are all very closely linked to each other. The girl, Callie, and her friends are prominent in the stories and we see them grow from kids to adults in very different lives.

Brie is a typical teenager.... Isn't she?
She is a Catholic school eighth grader. She loves watching soaps with her mom. She wants to be an actress and go to an actor's high school next year. She has feelings for a girl in her class (but is confused as to those feelings) so is very confused about her own sexuality.

Brie's mom is a very strict Catholic and Brie finds it hard to interact with her while she's feeling confused. How can she ever come out to her family?

I think Brie is a very normal teenager.... She's sullen, she likes to argue. She's just going through something that she feels like no one would understand. I really liked her progression of finding herself.

My thanks to @stmartinspress and @minotaur for the advanced hardcover copy. I highly enjoyed this first installment into what should be a great series!

Mace has had it tough. He's divorced and has just lost a beloved pet.
He has the luck of getting to take on Vira, a new recruit in his cadaver dog training business. Vira is something really special, taking to the training fast. She's amazing as she saved Mace's life several times. Mace has become the target of a serial killer who will stop at nothing until Mace dies. The serial killer is such a crazy villan.

If you love dogs and police work, I'd highly recommend this book.

4.5 stars

Trigger warnings: molestation, suicide, abortion

This story was emotional on so many levels! Nadia has been lost since her mother killed herself. She makes a couple of mistakes that might prevent her from going to a big University. Luke is part of those mistakes. Her best friend Audrey doesn't know what's happened but sticks by Nadia's side until the secrets come out. They each have pain in their lives from various choices and circumstances in their world.

The most interesting part to me was "the mothers" . A group of church women that we see throughout the novel, giving their observations and judgements and speculations.. But I loved to see that. I wish the ending had been a bit different, I don't know how, but I wasn't completely satisfied.

I read 62 pages one day and flew through the rest in a few hours. So good

Emoni is a 17 year old high school senior who wants to become a chef .... But she also has a 2 year old daughter to consider. Her grandmother brought her up as her dad lives in Puerto Rico with only yearly visits.

I really loved Emoni's drive and spirit. I loved her friend Angelica-who always is a champion for Emoni when she needs it. She makes her grab life by the horns and run with it.

Emoni is a magician with her hands and eclectic taste. She gets the chance to show her skills in an elective class- Culinary Arts,Spain Immersion. She is such a wonder with food.

The writing is beautiful and flowing! This is my first novel read by this author and I'm a fan!

This book first of all deals with suicide, self harm, depression, and anxiety. It talks about these mental health issues in an interesting way. The author puts a note in the beginning for these triggers and also states "you are seen, you are loved, you are not alone"

Coral is a mermaid who lost her older sister to the Disease. She wants to escape her world and with the help of her grandmother, does.
Brooke is a girl living in a group therapy home with her own depression and tries to end it all. She's saved by a boy.
Merrick is a rich boy who wants for nothing... Except to get him and his sister, who's already tried to end her life, away from their seemingly uncaring and uncontrolling father. They also have their mother who abanfons them-thing that was best.

The three lives are intertwined throughout the novel. I admit it took me a long while to get how they were but it became clearer and clearer as the story goes on. It all comes together with all 3 helping each other in ways they never thought possible. Very well done.