Saturday, February 23, 2019

The Woman Inside by E.G. Scott

 
Wow just wow!  This book was so flipping wrong but right up my alley. I loved this book! My favorite kind of book is a dark, twisted, crazy thriller and this sure was one. I am mad at myself for not reading this sooner.

Most of the focus is on Paul and Rebecca's 20 year marriage and how it started to unravel. Rebecca is quite the interesting character. She is a pharmaceutical representative that likes to sample her products. Paul is a former home builder that is now a real estate agent. These two are quite the couple, actually a match made in heaven. They had secrets from each other, secrets with other people and secrets with each other. I probably gasped a million times at the shocking things these two did. The character development was amazing and they were the couple I loved to hate!

This is such a twisted read that I can't say much more without giving things away. I never saw these twists coming and they were not just thrown in there to throw you off, they were well executed and shocking.

 Everyone involved in the book is not really likable but who cares, it made them all the more interesting. I found myself holding my breath during the last chapter because it was just that crazy.

All I can say is if you have not read this, you need to! I am hoping E.G. Scott has something in the works because I can't wait to read another by this great duo. As a nurse I am praying that Euphellis is purely fictional. Fingers crossed.

Thank you so much to E.G. Scott, Penguin Group and Netgalley for this fantastic book!

Friday, February 22, 2019

They Hunting Party by Lucy Foley



Let's say you are invited along on an outing with a bunch of friends you have known for a good portion of your life. It's for a stay in an secluded, exclusive lodge that only accepts a very limited guest list throughout the year. The problem is it is so secluded that you could get stuck there if the weather deems it so. OMG no. Hell no! NO!

The Hunting Party is more party then hunting, thank goodness. As an animal lover I was a little concerned with the title. Rest assured, there is only a very small portion of the book regarding that. This group of rowdy friends are more interested in partying and socializing which was fine by me.

The weather took a turn for the worst and this group was stranded at the lodge. This would have sent me into panic mode, no way in and no way out. So when a dead body turns up, who did it? It forces you as the reader to look into all the dynamics and relationships of the group of friends. We are allowed a look into their past and this builds to the mystery of whom may have turned to violence in the group. There is also only three workers at the lodge so that narrows it down as they are also suspects. There is also the small detail of the serial killer that has been loose in the area. Seriously? These people went and stayed there? Oh and there was no lock on the door on at least one of the bedrooms.

Very early on we learn that there is a dead body and the book revolves around touching on all the characters pasts and personalities. It is a very who dunnit type of murder mystery that will leave you searching for answers until the end. This book was very atmospheric and a slow burn that kept building up until the truth was revealed. I read this with a group of my Traveling Sisters as a group read. Please check out what their thoughts were at Two Sisters Lost in a Coulee.

Thank you so much to Edelweiss, William Morrow and Lucy Foley for this ARC.

One Last Greek Summer by Mandy Baggot - Cover Reveal

 I am so excited to share with you this stunning cover of One Last Greek Summer! I can't wait to be swept off to Corfu!  




Bestselling author Mandy Baggot returns with another sundrenched Greek adventure!

Beth Martin is 31, newly divorced and wondering just what life holds for her…

Best-friend, Heidi, is adamant that all the answers lie in Corfu – the island where the girls’ partied away their youth. So cue a trip to a sun-drenched Greek island, ouzo cocktails, a trip down memory lane…and Alex Hallas, the man Beth has never quite forgotten.

As they dance under the stars, the sand beneath their toes, old feelings begin to resurface and Beth might just have a chance to take back her life. If they can learn to love the people they’ve become…


Will Jess be able to find the right life/work balance? Or will she wish she'd never turned to a world online?


 Grab your copy now! Publication date is June 6th


Pre-order links:

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2GRfq6O 




About the author


Mandy Baggot is an international bestselling and award-winning romance writer. The winner of the Innovation in Romantic Fiction award at the UK's Festival of Romance, her romantic comedy novel, One Wish in Manhattan, was also shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year award in 2016. Mandy's books have so far been translated into German, Italian, Czech and Hungarian. Mandy loves the Greek island of Corfu, white wine, country music and handbags. Also a singer, she has taken part in ITV1's Who Dares Sings and The X-Factor. Mandy is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and the Society of Authors and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband and two daughters.



Follow Mandy:   
Facebook: @mandybaggotauthor
Twitter: @mandybaggot



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Twitter: @aria_fiction
Facebook: @ariafiction
Instagram: @ariafiction



Thursday, February 21, 2019

The Perfect Marriage by Debbie Viggiano



Earlier today as I was sitting here completely miserable from a cold I was trying to decide what to read. I wanted something fun, comforting and just something to make me feel better. I reached for The Perfect Marriage and it was in fact the perfect choice (no pun intended, well maybe). I devoured this book in one day as I could not put it down.

I loved this book! I know I am quite behind with reading this as it was published several years ago, but wow I am glad I read it.

Rosie Perfect lives a life that is far from perfect. She struggles to pull herself up and create a better life for herself and her son Luke but others around her are making this difficult. I adored Rosie right from the start. I loved her determined, spunky can do attitude.

I expected this is be a funny light read, which it was, yet it was so much more. The characters were well developed and there is even a bit of a thriller/suspense plot thrown in. This book had me biting my nails one minute and laughing my butt off the next!

I have been wanting to read a Debbie Viggiano book for quite awhile now, I just had not gotten to it. I have heard such good things about her books and I was not surprised that I absolutely loved it! The only shocking thing is that I actually read this one before What Holly's Husband Did. It has been driving me crazy wondering what the heck that dude did!

 I couldn't resist this  gorgeous cover and great blurb. I see many more Debbie Viggiano books in my future. Does Ms. Perfect end up with a perfect life? I guess you will have to read it to find out! This book was just what the doctor ordered today to cheer me up. 


Monday, February 18, 2019

An Impossible Thing Called Love by Belinda Missen




An Impossible Thing Called Love
Don’t miss the new delightfully uplifting book from the author of A Recipe for Disaster!
A second chance at love…
When globe-trotting Emmy first fell for first-aider William on a freezing New Year’s Eve, she really believed that their love would go the distance.
But when she returns to Australia, her letters start to go unanswered and her emails bounce back unread, Emmy decides it’s time to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and start afresh in London.
So she’s shocked when William walks in on her very first day at her new job! Even worse, he’s hotter than ever. But why did he disappear for so long? What has he been hiding? And could this really be their second chance at falling in love…?
Perfect for fans of Carole Mathews, Mhairi McFarlane and Carrie Hope Fletcher.


My Thoughts

Do you believe in serendipity? I just might after reading this book. I simply can't express what a joy this book was to read! I absolutely loved it!

While on vacation Emmy and William have a chance encounter and sparks fly. Forced to part ways as the vacation comes to an end, they vow to keep in touch and seal it with a kiss. Month after month of letters are exchanged and it seems like they are going to be an adorable couple. Then just as Emmy is planning to come for a visit, William seemingly falls off the face of the earth! All communication on his part comes to a grinding halt.

My heart sunk, I was riddled with questions of what has become of William. Had he had some terrible accident? Was he even alive? Or maybe he had a wife and children that Emmy didn't know about? I found myself initially mad at William, thinking he must be up to no good. Then my anger turned to worry and dread as I feared something terrible may have happened.

Are Emmy and William destined to meet again, perhaps by chance as they once did? I loved reading the banter back and forth between these two! Emmy is such a likeable girl and I found myself rooting for her to find true love despite all the hurdles she had to endure. I loved living vicariously through Emmy as she moved to London and went on her adventures checking off her London (bucket, death) list! You will know what I mean when you read this delightful book!

Thank you so much to Rachel Gilbey and Belinda Missen for having me along on this fantastic blog tour! I can't wait to see what this author has for us next!


Purchase Links:
BookDepository: http://bit.ly/2wCYmKS

Author Bio –
Belinda Missen is an award-winning and best-selling author, screenwriter, and freelance writer from Geelong, Australia. She lives with her car-obsessed, but wonderful husband, two loopy cats, and more books than she cares to count.
In late 2017, Belinda signed a six-book contract with HQDigitalUK (HarperCollins). A Recipe for Disaster was released in August 2018. An Impossible Thing Called Love appeared by magic in November 2018.
Social Media Links –
Instagram @belinda_missen







Friday, February 15, 2019

Finding Grace by K.L. Slater


 
This morning, my daughter sat right here, munching her breakfast, too excited to finish it. Now, she is missing.

The day after her ninth birthday, Lucie and Blake Sullivan agree, for the very first time, to let their daughter, Grace, make the four-minute walk back home alone from a friend’s house just down the street.

They joke with friends about hiding behind bushes to ensure she is safe. But the joke turns sour when Grace does not appear.

Despite the best efforts of the police and local community, Grace seems to have vanished into thin air. With hope fading fast, Lucie knows she can rely on her husband to support her through such dark times. That is until the day she makes a shocking discovery, hidden in Blake’s desk, and suddenly she begins to doubt everything she knew about the man she married. 

But Lucie harbours a terrible secret of her own. One that she has never shared with anyone, even Blake …

And as the search for Grace reaches fever pitch, Lucie receives a terrifying message. If she is ever to see Grace again, Lucie has no choice but to face the past she tried hard to bury forever. And she must do it alone.

The most gripping psychological thriller you’ll read this year from the bestselling author K.L. Slater. If you love The Wife Between Us or Gone Girl, you’ll be totally hooked on Finding Grace.



My Thoughts
This right here people is a perfect example of a psychological thriller. K.L. Slater had me wrapped around her finger with this one. I could do nothing else until I found out what happened to Grace.

It was only a five minute walk from the neighbor's house to Grace's home. How did she go missing? Better yet, how did nobody see her? A tight knit community like Violet Rd where everyone knows each other and not one person saw her?

My anxiety continued to rise and I literally felt my stomach knot up as facts about all the neighbors came to light. My suspicions were running awry as the character development grew. Everyone seemed to have something in their past or present that made them a suspect in my mind.

Then the bombshell of Lucie's past is revealed. Is she being made to pay for her prior mistakes? Is karma at work or is someone out to make her pay?

K.L. Slater is actually able to capture the psychological pain that Lucie is feeling and she transferred that to me. I felt like I was right alongside them searching for Grace. Every time I thought I had it figured out, she dropped another detail that blew my mind. If you want a book that you absolutely are not able to put down, that has shocking twists and one hell of an ending, this is it!!! 

Finding Grace by KL Slater
Buy Links: 
  
About the author: 

Kim is the million-copy bestselling author of seven psychological crime thrillers. FINDING GRACE published 14th February 2019 is her eighth thriller.

Kim's titles are also published in paperback by Sphere in the UK and Grand Central in the USA.

For many years, Kim sent her work out to literary agents and collected an impressive stack of rejection slips. At the age of 40 she went back to Nottingham Trent University and now has an MA in Creative Writing.

Before graduating in 2012, she gained literary agent representation and a book deal. As Kim says, ‘it was a fairytale … at the end of a very long road!’

Kim is a full-time writer. She has one daughter, two stepsons and lives with her husband in Nottingham and Yorkshire.

Publishers: Bookouture, Sphere, Grand Central, Audible
Agent: Camilla Bolton at Darley Anderson 

Author website: www.KLSlaterAuthor.com
Twitter: @KimLSlater
Facebook: KL Slater Author
Instagram: KLSlaterAuthor




Thursday, February 14, 2019

Marrying Mr. Valentine by Laura Barnard


Synopsis
Nadine Roberts smiles for everyone, but beneath it she hides a heartbreaking past that only a few know about. Throwing herself into her new career; wedding planner at The Duck & Goose, a property recently purchased by newlyweds Florence and Hugh, has helped distract her from her loneliness.

When a teary bride suddenly cancels her upcoming wedding Nadine looks to the two year waiting list. Clara Blumenkrantz and Hartley Valentine. It’ll have to be a quick turnaround, but what’s the worst that can happen, right?

This should be like every other wedding she plans, but the magnetism she feels towards Mr Valentine disrupts the orderly life she’s worked hard to carve out. 

Can she ignore her intense desires and be a professional? Or will she open up her heart to the one person that has the power to break it? And in doing so endanger not just her job, but her venue’s reputation?

My Thoughts


I can't tell you how much I loved this book!!! What a perfect book to read just before Valentine's Day. I literally could not put this down until I devoured the whole thing. This is such a fun, feel good read I got completely swept away with it.

Nadine is a wedding planner at The Duck and Goose and she is damn good at her job. So good in fact that there is two year wait to get married there. Nadine is the star of the book for sure. She reminds me a bit of a Bridgett Jones type of girl. She is sweet, a great person but OMG one crazy girl! She gets herself in the most hilarious situations but always comes out smelling like a rose. Well she didn't smell like a rose much when she got drunk and pooped her pants at a bar....This book had me laughing so hard, I couldn't believe the things Nadine said and did. She is one cheeky girl.

I wanted so badly for Nadine to find love, as she is rather unlucky in that department. Unfortunately the person I wanted her to be with was already taken. Is there any chance of Nadine finding happiness in the love department?

I went into this book expecting to like it because it looked adorable and had great reviews. I instead LOVED it and I can't recommend it enough! If you want a happy, upbeat fun as hell book to read, this is it!! Talk about cover love,this cover is gorgeous.

Thank you so much to Laura Barnard for this copy to read and review. I can't wait to read whatever she has coming out next!






Friday, February 8, 2019

The Couple by Sarah Mitchell





Description:

Whatever you think you know… you’re wrong.

Following a whirlwind four-month romance, lawyer Claire and hotel entrepreneur Angus are engaged to be married. Happy and successful, and ready to start their new life together, Claire and Angus find what they believe to be the perfect home.

But when Claire meets Mark, the man selling them the house, he looks eerily familiar. He looks exactly like the man she loved five years ago, the man she couldn’t bear to lose.

As Claire finds herself irresistibly drawn to Mark and crosses lines she never thought she’d cross, Angus’ behaviour becomes increasingly suspicious. Soon Claire doesn’t know whether she can trust Mark, Angus… or even herself.

The Couple is a psychological thriller with a stunning twist, perfect for fans of The Girl Before, The Wife Between Us, and The Woman in the Window.


My Thoughts

 
We all know at least one of them. That perfect couple. The couple that seems to have it all going for them. The envy of all their friends. Claire and Angus are that golden couple. They both have successful careers, newly engaged and just purchased an amazing home in a much sought after neighborhood. They really do have it all, or do they?

I had no idea where this book was leading me. It grasped me right from the start and did not let go until the end. The characters were so well developed that I found myself completely drawn into Claire's life. I was excited that she had moved on from her ex Daniel after five long years. We got a look into their past life together and let's just say they were not the perfect couple.

So I was glad that she got her dream guy Angus,but then Mark entered her life. Is she going to risk everything? Her career, her home, her relationship and even her life? OMG I screamed about a million times, what are you doing Claire? How can you think that is okay to do?! For a smart girl with a law degree from Cambridge you are one bad decision maker!

I initially thought Claire was a bit of a bore, she works as a lawyer with immigration services. I was very, very wrong!  This girl likes to walk on the wild side. She did things that would make most people very uncomfortable, but it made for a heck of a read though! I was completely shocked at her decisions she was making. This book flipped directions and went a way that I never even dreamed it would! The author gave us some very clever, unique twists that kept me guessing right up until the end! I loved how it had some serious issues intertwined in the book. I am looking forward to reading more from Sarah Mitchell!

Publication Day: Feb 5th 2019

BUY LINKS




Author Bio:

After graduating from Cambridge University, Sarah Mitchell practised as a barrister in London for 20 years, working in the field of human rights and European Law. She was tempted to write fiction for a long while and finally signed up for an introductory creative writing course with the Open University. Two years later she took a sabbatical from the bar to do an MA in Creative Writing at the UEA and has never looked back. THE LOST LETTERS is her first novel, inspired by a walk on the beach at Wells-next-the-Sea to calm her nerves before starting the MA, and the decision her grandparents almost made to evacuate her mother to Canada at the start of the Second World War. Sarah now lives back in Norfolk - where she grew up - with her husband and three almost-grown-up children, and combines writing with some legal work.

You can follow Sarah Mitchell on Twitter at @SarahM_writer


Author Social Media Links:






Monday, February 4, 2019

The Stranger Inside by Laura Benedict




Ohhh this was creepy! You come home from a long weekend and put your key in the door. Wait, why is it not working? Maybe I have the wrong key, nope that is not it. What the hell is going on? As your panic builds you think okay well I have an extra key. Then you look up at your window and see a figure in the window. Who is in your house and why?!

Holy crap! As Kimber is calling the police and reporting a stranger in her home I am thinking surely this will be taken care of. Unfortunately for Kimber, it is not that simple. For people that think no way this could never happen, it can. I actually knew of someone this happened to. I know of someone that moved overseas and they planned on renting their home out. Except a scam artist beat them to it. He changed the locks, drew up a lease and rented it out to an innocent couple. So this can happen and does. Except this story is so much more! Is Lance just an innocent victim? Or is he in fact the scam artist?

Someone seems to know some details of Kimber's past that she has been trying to keep hidden. Could her life be turned upside yet again? Why is this all happening at once? On top of that she is dealing with thinking of someone in her home using her personal items, sleeping in her bed. This sent creepy chills down my spine.

As this sinister plot evolves we learn more about Kimber and her past. Oh Kimber how could you? I found myself detesting Kimber as she revealed more and more of herself. Her ex Gabriel tries to help her through this hard time and I wanted them to get back together so badly! Do they or is that not in the cards? My lips are sealed, you will have to find out how Kimber fares in this whole nightmare for yourself!

I read this as a group read with my Traveling Sisters, please pop over and check out what they had to say!

Thank you to Laura Benedict, Mulholland Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

The Dead Ex by Jane Corry

 
I have yet to meet a Jane Corry book I did not like. This was no exception. This was released last year in the UK and it has been driving me mad trying to figure out how to get my hands on a copy. So you can imagine how excited I was when Viking Books offered me a copy before the release here in the U.S. I was over the top excited. I may have jumped up and down a bit. To further add to the excitement my fellow Traveling Sisters decided to read this as a group. Score!! I was so excited! Please pop over to
Two Sisters Lost in a Coulee to hear their thoughts!

The Dead Ex is a story that drew me in right from the start. Vicki is divorced and has not seen her ex husband David for five years, or so this is what she tells the detectives. Vicki receives a knock on the door when her ex David goes missing. His new wife Tanya has reported him missing and Vicki is on the list of people to question. You might ask why Vicki is on the list? Well while Vicki claims her and David were over and she has not seen him...there is proof that Vicki saw him right before he went missing! Ekkk Vicki what are you hiding?!

Instantly I am wondering if Vicki and David are in on something together and devised a plot for him to disappear but Vicki hates him right? Or is that what really happened, did Vicki get rid of her cheating ex husband once and for all? I had all kinds of theories but alas as usual they weren't correct. Where the heck is David? Why is Vicki lying? Or has she had some lapse in memory due to health conditions? I had so many questions......my head was spinning. I couldn't even decide if David was dead or alive!

Then in alternating chapters we have yet another story unfolding. A disturbing story of a mother and daughter. The mother Zelda is a drug dealer and has chosen to bring her young daughter into the world of drugs and other crimes by having her tag along and assist her. I kept wondering how these two very different stories were going to tie in but they did! I must admit I gasped at the ending as it really took a turn I did not expect.

Thank you so much to Jane Corry and Viking Books for this ARC.