Thanks to @netgalley for the #gifted book.

Wow! Full of family secrets and drama, it's hard to put down. I love that Sandie can make me think that I know what's going on but actually have no idea. When you find out the truth, it's just so out there from your thoughts.

I love being suspicious of everyone and everything! I'm so glad that some of my assumptions turned out not to be true.

I have never finished a book so fast! Just a few short hours and I was done.
This is a book about sisters. How far will you go and lie for your loved one? Korede is turns it will go very far. She knows her sister, Ayoola, is a serial killer, yet she helps her cover them up instead of turning her sister in. When Korede's crush sets his sights on Ayoola-i thought she for sure would find a way to let him know what he's getting into. And she tries.. But it comes at a very high cost.
I just couldn't believe the way the sisters always found a way to blame outcomes on each other! Especially Ayoola could be particularly vicious and mean.
I believe their father and his ways of living his life played a part in the way they turned out.

Thanks to libro.fm for the advanced listening copy.

Alice Feeney has done it again. I'm such a fan of her ability to totally shock me. This was very suspenseful.

There are two sides to every story. This one has his (Jack) and hers (Anna). Also, a murder that connects them.

His- Detective, was with the victim the night she was killed and knew her in the past.

Her- reporter, ex of Jack, used to be best friends with the victim.

We also get to read (hear) from the killer. The who shocked me so much as they were never a thought of being the one. I love a good twist like that!

The past of Anna and her group of friends is so horrible and we get to see it play out little by little.

Ahn Nhi "Annie" is a Vietnamese born girl raised by white parents. She's always felt out of place. When her ex fiance announces, a few short weeks after their breakup, that he's marrying another and pretty much throwing the same wedding.... Annie needs a change. She gets a hospital job in Rome(!)........... Rhode Island.
But it's something different and she'll take it.

Emmitt is an investigative photojournalist. He has a daughter Paisley, a teen being raised by two other men. He gets hurt in an assignment and has to come home. He finds a tenant (Annie) in his house and it's the last thing he needs. He wants to become more involved in his daughter's life and this is ruining his plans.

I love these two. Starting the moment they meet, it's hilarious. Such great banter between them. You just know that they are going to get together. Annie is such a caring nurse. Emmitt really tries but he just needs to learn to trust. I love the little post-it notes throughout the book.

This book also was sweet and endearing. It also goes to show that you CANNOT judge a person by the way they look. You need to get to know them.

Alex Six is a wild ride!
Alex is such a great, creepy character. The lengths she goes to to get what she wants. She tries stealing to the next level. She wants a baby, but her husband dies before that can happen. She runs into Vick who is the spitting image of her late husband. She reaches out, promising a lot of money just for what she needs... His sperm.
But is it as innocent at it seems?

Vick tries so hard to be faithful to his wife, Kraya, but doesn't include her in this. But the allure of money is too strong. It doesn't help that Kraya is changing- sleeping a lot and taking many prescriptions.
I felt so bad for Kraya!

The ending was a total shocker! My mouth was hanging open. I'm glad Vick finally wisened up to Alex and just thought the ending was devious!

Emily is a down on her luck girl trying to be an actress. When she is dumped from her temp job and her agency, she has no clue what she's going to do. Cue Scott, her former boss who she's actually never met, with a job offer to help his wife Nina and their daughter Aurelia at a vast estate they have in France.

Emily was easily swayed by this offer. She was so naive at what seemed the perfect bliss. You know Nina has something to hide. She was way over protective of her daughter.

I knew this family has a huge secret to hide, I just didn't find out until Emily does along the way why. I was a bit unsatisfied with the ending.

So super cute!
Luke- punk rock father, twin brother, wants to write music but not perform it
Vada- great name (in my opinion), music blog writer, works at her mom's boyfriend's bar, got into Berkley and wants to write for Rolling Stone one day
Both have long had a crush on the other but they never talk. Until one day they are "put together" on a school assignment and are forced to talk.
I loved them getting to know each other. I love the texts throughout the book and the music they send to each other to say things that they can't say themselves. I have to go back and make a playlist of these songs.... Some I know very well and some not at all. What he did for her at the end, that he never wanted to do....swoon!

I loved getting back to Matchmaker Bay! Great strangers to friends to friends-with-benefits.
Jake lost a child (there is a lot of talk of his son Jude) and is known as the very silent type. I chalk it down to his loss.
Nora needs a break after a hard break up and Matchmaker Bay needs a new doctor.
She goes with the intention of staying only two years.
I love this little town! The residents are quirky but are gossipy. Once Nora and Jake get together.... They manage to keep from being the talk of the town. Jake had the most awesome sounding little cottage in his own private cove.
Nora brings out the fun side in Jake but it's only for her to see. I love the interaction with Jake's ex Kerrie in the end part of the book. They never really talked after their marriage dissolved, but the way they finally connected was a great help to Jake.

Beautiful story of love and loss.
Nuri is a Beekeeper and his wife, Afra is an artist. They have a son who is a joy and light in their lives but we only get to hear about him.... He dies in an explosion. This also blinds Afra. Their beloved country of Syria is at war. (I didn't know that this is so recent - 2011 the war started and it's still ongoing)
Afra doesn't want to leave as this war gets worse. Nuri finally is able to convince her and they became refugees-trying to flee to England to meet up with his friend.
They encounter so much together as they travel.

At times, the writing was a bit hard to follow and it would take me a long time to figure out if it was present or past. I did like at times that there was one word that would connect parts of the story. It showed us that even those with sight can see things as we want them to be and not as they are.

3.5
I'm going to start out by saying I liked it well which but not in love with it.
I really liked the idea in it that January and Gus, seeming rivals in school and as authors, each try and write about what the other does. I really liked that they helped each other "research" in order to write something they aren't used to.
I like January's friend Shadi and wished we got to see more of her.
I wanted even more from the romance between Gus and January... It just felt sort of my expectations I had been hearing about. I actually wish we had got to see the books being handed off to their agents and see the reaction from that.