Sneak Peek Sunday

Happy Sunday peeps! It is time for Sneak Peek Sunday. This is a meme where my Traveling Sisters and I give you a sneak peek into a upcoming book that we are really excited about. Please pop over to see what Norma & Brenda at Two Sisters Lost in a Coulee are excited about this week! Usually we partner up with Christina at Recipe and a Read  but she is taking a little time off and should be back soon!

The book that I am really excited about is The Second Wife by Sheryl Browne! I may have had this reaction when I saw it go up on Netgalley....yep I lost it........so excited!

Ever since I read The Affair earlier this year, I have been waiting patiently for her next book to come out! The Second Wife sounds so good, I can't wait to dig into it. Listen to this line from the Goodreads summary " She made her bed. You'll will lie in it." What?!!! Yes, apparently Rebecca and Nicole are BFF's and Nicole dies leaving Rebecca with a feeling that her friend was keeping some secrets....

I know!! I was shocked too! This sounds like one hell of a page turner for sure! Well I can tell you I am counting down the days for publication day for this one! Just 4 more weeks! January 29th...

Yep! Guilty as charged! Check out this amazing cover! Have you ever seen such a gorgeous cover?? Please leave me a comment if you have read this one yet. I can't wait to get to reading this one!

Goodreads Summary

She made her bed. You’ll lie in it.

Rebecca and Nicole swore to be best friends forever. But three years after they last met up, Rebecca receives a phone call from Nicole’s devoted husband, Richard. Nicole is dead, a tragic suicide. Drowned in a river close to her family home, Richard was the one who pulled her body from the water. Now he can’t even speak about what happened.

While Rebecca reels from the news, she reads her friend’s last letters to her and begins to wonder if she knew Nicole at all. What secrets was she keeping from all the people who knew and loved her?

As Rebecca gets closer and closer to Richard, things go too far and she begins to slip into Nicole’s old life – staying in her home, sleeping in her bed… But if she’s going to become the wife Nicole never was, can she keep herself safe? 

My top 8 books for 2018

Hi everyone! I decided to jump on the bandwagon and put together my top list of books that I read in 2018. I loved this because it gave me the opportunity to look back and recall what books really stood out for me. I only have 8 instead of 10 or 20 because, even though I read a good number of books that I loved, these are the over the top, knock  my socks off ones that I will remember for a long time to come. So out of the 90 books I have read, this is my top 8.

The funny thing is most of these books I had not planned on reading until my fellow Traveling Sisters talked me into them. That was the case with 4 of the 8!! I am glad I am easily swayed into reading a group read! I would have missed out on some great ones!

I do have one book on this list that actually was published in 2017 but I read it this year so it is new for me and it was one of my absolute favorites so it made the list too! So here it goes!

Thanks for all the support this wonderful book community has offered me this first six months of my blog!  From my wonderful group of Traveling Sisters that have taken me under their wing, to the fantastic Bookouture that gave me the opportunity for my first blog tour. Such a warm, welcoming community that I did not even know existed until about six short months ago!


#8 Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

Hillier spun such a wicked, twisted story! I was shocked by the ending. You always worry that the book will not live up to your expectations when you put it that high on a pedestal. Not to worry, this one was what I had anticipated and it even exceeded how good I thought it would be.







#7  The Craftsman by Sharon Bolton- 

Imagine waking up to a dark, cramped space. Feeling around in panic to discover you are in a casket. How could it get any worse? Then you realize you are not alone in the casket. Holy flipping crap! Like nothing I have ever read. Bring on the nightmares! A chilling, creepy, fantastic 5 star read!






#6 The Proposal by S.E. Lynes- 

Definition of psychological thriller: The Proposal by S.E. Lynes

Holy book hangover! I stayed up until 5 am reading this book, telling myself just one more chapter. It was so worth it. This book was one crazy ride and I loved it!





#5

Lying In Wait by Liz Nugent-

Do you ever finish a book and have so much to say, but you are so mind f*@*%# that you don't even know what to say about it? Well that is how I feel after this book. I am speechless. The dysfunction, the ending, pretty much everything about it. I LOVED this book. Keep scrolling as Liz Nugent appears again in my top 5!!







#4 One Day in December by Josie Silver- 

This very well might be my biggest surprise read of the year. This little hidden gem was nowhere on my radar to read until my Traveling Sisters suggested it.WOW! I can't even express how much I loved this book. It is such a feel good book, you just genuinely feel good after reading it. This book had me from page one. Okay so you get the idea that I loved it.


 



#3

For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt-  

Wow! This book blew my mind! There are a handful of books this year that I was completely blown away with and this is one of them. The plot, the writing style, the suspense of seeing if they get caught, checked all of my boxes for a perfect thriller.





#2

The Lies We Told by Camilla Way-

OMG! I flipping loved this book! I don't know if I can even convey just how much I loved it!  Every so often you start a book and you just know it is going to be one of the few that stand out from the rest. That is how this was for me. 
  
 




#1
Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent-

Yes, I have two Liz Nugent books in my top 5! I love her writing style. There may have been 3 if I had gotten my hands on Skin Deep. Unfortunately it is not out in the United States yet, so something to look forward to!

Wow! Where to begin?! I loved this book! Holy flipping crap! ALL the stars for Oliver! I went into this thinking of course I would like it, since it is Liz Nugent and she did blow me away with Lying in Wait. Dare I say I liked Unraveling Oliver even better than Lying in Wait?! I did!!

The Liar's Wife by Samantha Hayes

This book is creepy! It will send chills down your spine. We get a glimpse into Ella's life before the accident. She lives a simple life work, sleep, eat, repeat. Then she awakens in a hospital bed and is told that her husband is anxious for her to recover. The problem is Ella does not recall that she has a husband.

Then the ride from hell begins. Ella opens her eyes from her coma and sees someone from her past. Someone that she never expected to see again, that is claiming he is her husband. Ella is rendered powerless and must go along with the facade.

This is my second Samantha Hayes book and it did not disappoint. It was a page turner that kept me guessing the whole way. Ella's life after awakening from the coma was an anxiety riddled roller coaster. Every page I flipped I felt myself cringe hoping that she was going to make it to see another day. Throw in a twist that I did not see coming and it was a suspenseful page turner! 

Thank you to Bookouture and Samantha Hayes for this ARC.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

This book started out perfect...with a dead body at a bloody crime scene! Nothing quite grabs your attention like that in the first chapter. This was my first Lisa Jewell book, I know it is crazy isn't it? I read this one with my Traveling Sisters as a group read. Please pop on over to Two Sisters Lost in a Coulee and Christina at Recipe and a Read and see what their thoughts were! I loved how this author tells a story. She hooked me the very first chapter and had my mind spinning the entire time. It is a mystery as to who is the victim and the killer for much of the book. Everyone was a suspect in my mind, because there was quite a bit of bizarre behavior going on in this little neighborhood.

So many well developed characters that lived on this same street. The title for this book is spot on. All these nosy neighbors are watching each other. They are taking it to a whole new level. Quite frankly many of them were down right creepy. I began to question many of their relationships and their true intentions.

Jewell wrapped this story up nicely with an ending I did not expect. I had some suspicions but she kept me guessing until the end. I read this book as a group with the Traveling Sisters and it appears to be a hit. I can't wait to read more from Lisa Jewell!

Thank you so much to Lisa Jewell, Atria Books and Netgalley for this ARC. 

For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt

Wow! This book blew my mind! There are a handful of books this year that I was completely blown away with and this is one of them. The plot, the writing style, the suspense of seeing if they get caught, checked all of my boxes for a perfect thriller.

This book was not on my radar to read until my fellow Traveling Sisters organized a group read. I am so glad I joined in with this one because I would have missed out on one of my top 10 books for the year. To say I loved it is an understatement. Okay so you get that I loved it!

Natalie and Will have been married for 17 years and know everything about each other, or do they? Is there a side to each other they don't know? While at Tulane in law school, they had joked they knew their way around the law so well they could commit a murder and get away with it. Wait, could they really get away with it? Why would they want to kill someone? I think it will all become really clear once you start reading. A parent's worst nightmare begins to unravel right in their own home. I think we can all relate to their desperation and rage but the actions they took were shocking. I literally gasped in shock as they set their plan into motion. Just as shocking was that one of them found it quite easy, almost in a sociopath type of way.

This book had me thinking about it every second I set it down. I flew through it in less than 24 hours. I had to know how it ended. Wow, what an ending it was. This was my first book by Margot Hunt and it will not be my last! I have a copy of Best Friends Forever on my kindle and you can bet I can't wait to read that!

Can't Wait Wednesday

Hi everyone! The holidays are almost upon us. I need to take a break from my Christmas shopping for a little Can't Wait Wednesday. This is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings where myself and my Traveling Sisters share what upcoming reads we are really excited about. Please pop over to see what Norma and Brenda  at Two Sisters Lost in a Coulee have to say about this one! I imagine this is what I look like at this point as my last minute shopping habits catch up with me.

So when Brenda over at Two Sisters Lost in a Coulee told me she wanted to do a Sister read with The Stranger Inside by Laura Benedict my reaction was... see below....I was so excited! This book sounds like a nail biter!

The summary states that Kimber comes home from a trip to find a stranger living in her house. WHAT???? OMG this book is going to have me checking the locks.......super creepy sounding! I can't wait.

I may have looked like this when I got a copy of The Stranger Inside from NetGalley.....

Can you tell I am excited for this one?!

Goodreads Summary

Kimber Hannon's belief that she has complete control over her life is shattered the night that she comes home from a trip to find her key no longer opens her front door. There is a stranger living in her house. A stranger who claims he has every right to be there, with the paperwork to prove it. When she confronts the man, he lets her get close enough to whisper, "I was there. I saw what you did."

She doesn't know how he knows her, but with those words Kimber knows this stranger isn't after anything as simple as her money or artwork or charming Craftsman bungalow. She has to find out exactly what he wants and get him out of her carefully orchestrated life before he ruins it.

There are plenty of people in her life who might help, but should Kimber trust any of them? Her lawyer, Gabriel, is also her ex-lover; Diana, her best friend, doesn't know Kimber slept with her husband; her ex-husband has a new, happier life since leaving her; and her co-workers know she'll do anything to get her next sale. And no one can know the real reason this man is in her house. Without trust, everyone's a stranger...

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

I was so excited when I saw that Liane Moriarty had a new book out. I have read all her other books and I can say I have not met a Liane Moriarty book that I did not like! Nine Perfect Strangers is no exception. I read this with my group of Traveling Sisters and it was a great book to do as a group read. This book was a long one so we did two check in points on the way and then a final thoughts. There was so much to talk about! Please pop over and see what Brenda and Norma at Two Sisters Lost in a Coulee have to say about our group read!

Nine strangers, hence the title, check into a wellness retreat with a reputation for it's life changing results. Tranquillum  House just sounds relaxing doesn't it? Or is it? As you can imagine nine strangers spending ten days together  has quite a mixture of personalities going on. Every person has a reason that they have sought out this specific retreat.

I must admit I was a bit concerned when I saw there was going to be so many characters involved in the story. Normally this would have me grabbing a piece of paper and a pen to jot down notes because I can never keep track of that many different people. The thing is Moriarty somehow developed each character so profoundly that I did not need to worry! It is so easy to keep track of everyone and their stories. Each person is so well developed that you feel like you know them. I personally loved Frances and felt like I could relate to her on so many levels. She was funny as hell! She was also a very well known author, so I enjoyed seeing things through the eyes of an author, such as her take on bad reviews. She literally had me laughing out loud.

Highly entertaining book, that touched on some very serious and sensitive subjects. Moriarty pulled it off in her normal fashion and had me flipping through the pages! I can't wait to see what she comes out with next. Thanks so much to my Traveling Sisters for this fantastic group read!

The Lies We Told by Camilla Way

OMG! I flipping loved this book! I don't know if I can even convey just how much I loved it! I had purposely not requested this as an ARC because I was trying to cut down on the TBR pile. Except then my Traveling Sisters decided to read this as a group read. I said okay why not and ordered a copy. Hands down one of the best books I have read this year.

Every so often you start a book and you just know it is going to be one of the few that stand out from the rest. That is how this was for me. There were two really suspense filled stories going on with alternating chapters. Clara and her boyfriend Luke had recently moved into together and suddenly Luke goes missing. Little by little Clara finds out some disturbing information regarding Luke. Did Luke leave on his own accord or has he met a deadly fate?

Doug and Beth are raising their daughter Hannah. They are terrified of Hannah who is exhibiting sociopath behaviors. They are terrified of what she might do next or if she will reveal their secret that they thought was buried in the past.

Hannah is down right terrifying! If she was my kid, trust me I would be locking my bedroom door at night for fear that she would do something crazy to me in my sleep. She really was that disturbing.

At this time of year I start to compile my top 10 list of books I have read, as many of you do. This defiantly is in my top 5!! I flew through this book and simply could not put it down. This was my first Camilla Way book, now excuse as I go order my copy of Watching Edie! I can't recommend this book enough!

Can't Wait Wednesday

Happy Wednesday everyone! It is time for a little Can't Wait Wednesday! This is where myself and my Traveling Sisters share with you an upcoming read we are really excited about. This is a meme hosted by Wishful Ending. Usually we have Christina from Recipe and a Read with us, but she will be taking a little time off. We are thinking of you Christina!  Please pop over and see what Brenda & Norma at Two Sisters Lost in a Coulee have to say about what they are looking forward to! As for me I can't wait for us to read this week........

The Au Pair by Emma Rous! This has been on my TBR list for quite some time and I am really excited to say we are finally reading it as a group. It is next up on my list. My reaction when the Traveling Sisters said it was going to be a read this month...see below.........

 

 Okay sisters, buckle up!!! I am ready for this one! Has anyone read this one yet? What are your thoughts? Publication date is right around the corner! January 8, 2019 will be here before you know it!

Goodreads Summary

 

 

 A grand estate, terrible secrets, and a young woman who bears witness to it all. If V. C. Andrews and Kate Morton had a literary love child, Emma Rous’ The Au Pair would be it.

Seraphine Mayes and her twin brother Danny were born in the middle of summer at their family’s estate on the Norfolk coast. Within hours of their birth, their mother threw herself from the cliffs, the au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of dark cloaks, changelings, and the aloof couple who drew a young nanny into their inner circle.

Now an adult, Seraphine mourns the recent death of her father. While going through his belongings, she uncovers a family photograph that raises dangerous questions. It was taken on the day the twins were born, and in the photo, their mother, surrounded by her husband and her young son, is beautifully dressed, smiling serenely, and holding just one baby.

Who is the child and what really happened that day?

One person knows the truth, if only Seraphine can find her.

About the author

Emma Rous grew up in England, Indonesia, Kuwait, Portugal and Fiji, and from a young age she had two ambitions: to write stories, and to look after animals. She studied veterinary medicine and zoology at the University of Cambridge, and worked as a veterinary surgeon for eighteen years before starting to write fiction. Emma lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her husband and three sons.

The Au Pair is her first novel. It will be published in ten countries, in nine languages. She is currently writing her second book.

She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EmmaRousAuthor/
and on instagram as emmarousauthor.

Last Lullaby by Carol Wyer

Wow! Carol Wyer does it again! I love the Natalie Ward series! I had great expectations because, well it is Carol Wyer and  I loved the first book in the series, The Birthday. Dare I say I loved this one even more!

This book had me gripped from page one with a grisly fantastic opening. I was shocked at the story unfolding before me. Detective Natalie Ward is searching for a killer that is leaving behind a gruesome trail. He is targeting young mothers with sons. He brutally murders the mother, writing cryptic messages on the wall of their home in their own blood. Did that get your attention? Meanwhile the child is left untouched in the home at the same time.

I flew through this book in a day as I could not put it down. I am loving this Natalie Ward series! The exciting news is that there is a third book in the series coming out next year. I am on team Natalie all the way. Go Natalie! I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next year.

The Christmas Spirit by Susan Buchanan

The Christmas Spirit

Christmas is coming, but not everyone is looking forward to it.

Rebecca has just been dumped and the prospect of spending the holiday period with her parents is less than appealing.

Eighty- two year old Stanley lost his beloved wife, Edie, to cancer. How will he cope with his first Christmas without her?

Jacob’s university degree hasn’t helped him get a job, and it looks like he’ll still be signing on come New Year.

Workaholic Meredith would rather spend December 25th at home alone with a ready meal and a DVD box set. Can anything make her embrace the spirit of the season?

The enigmatic Natalie Hope takes over the reins at the Sugar and Spice bakery and café in an attempt to spread some festive cheer and restore Christmas spirit, but will she succeed?

Purchase Links

http://amzn.to/1gcpTrc (UK) & http://amzn.to/KUArMU (US)

 
My Thoughts


What a fantastic book to read especially if you want to get yourself into the Christmas spirit. I loved this! This book has such a warm inviting feeling, you feel transformed into the very town itself.

Our story takes place around a group of people that all have a reason  not to be looking forward to the holidays. Each person has a specific reason that they are feeling rather down and not in the Christmas spirit. One thing they all have in common is they frequently visit the Sugar and Spice bakery. Natalie who is new in town steps in to run the bakery while the owner is out with medical issues. Natalie makes it clear that Sugar and Spice is a place where you can leave your problems at the door and bask in the Christmas Spirit. Slowly the town starts to be drawn into the bakery and we watch how their lives evolve.

This is such a fun December read! I highly recommend it. I literally felt myself step into the little Sugar and Spice bakery. I was able to envision the environment perfectly, good smells and all! The characters were so well developed that I felt like I knew them and I found myself cheering them along.  A fantastic feel good read that you will not want to end. With a magical Christmas twist at the end that will have you saying, yes I do believe in the miracle of the Christmas Spirit!

Thank you so much to Rachel for having me on this fun book blitz!!

 

Author Bio – Susan Buchanan lives in Scotland with her husband and their two children. She is the author of four novels: Return of the Christmas Spirit, The Christmas Spirit, The Dating Game, and Sign of the Times. She is currently working on books five and six: The Proposal and Just One Day.

Susan is also a proofreader, editor and translator, and when not working, writing, or caring for her two delightful cherubs, loves reading, the theatre, quiz shows and eating out – not necessarily in that order!

Social Media Links

Facebook – www.facebook.com/susan.buchanan.author

Twitter – susan_buchanan

Blog – Sooz’s journal – www.susancbuchanan.blogspot.co.uk

 

Giveaway – Win e-copies of Sign of the Times and The Dating Game (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.

 Enter by clicking link below!!!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494170/?