Review: The Community

The Community by N. Jamiyla Chisholm
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Powerful memoir about how a child is affected by being raised in a cult and the author's experience with coming to terms with this. Chisholm does a wonderful job of explaining the strain that her early experiences went onto affect her as an adult, in trust and relationships. She gives an account of what she remembered and how she drew out discussions with her family to heal the wounds from the experiences. I found it a compelling read that was an interesting examination of why people choose the lives that they do and how those choices impact other family members and friends.
I highly recommend this book.

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Review: The Housemaid

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a chance finding at my local library and I read it almost completely in one sitting. What a propulsive story that really grips the reader from the beginning. It begins with Millie, who has lived a difficult life and is at her low point. She has been paroled from prison, was fired from her job, and is living out of her car. She is trying to find something new but with her background, she is becoming desperate. Then a job for a live-in housemaid, with cleaning duties, light cooking, some childcare, and errands, she is amazed by the obvious wealth of the family she would work for and is interviewed for the job. She knows that a background search will reveal many of her secrets so she isn't holding much hope for being hired. Let's just say that the story is just getting started and go into it blind to any further details.
This story was a page-turner and kept me reading way too late, but I loved it. And there is a follow-up book that is coming out soon and a decent backlist for this author. She is new to me but the topics on her backlist are perfectly in line with what I enjoy for a thriller. Her background is perfectly suited to her niche. I can't wait to dive into all of her work.
Highly recommend!

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Review: Us Against You

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a great read for spooky atmospheric vibes. This is the story of a dysfunctional family and friends group that do everything together. They live together, work together, and play together. But, of course, they all have secrets and mistakes that they would like to keep hidden. Mako, the successful Tech guy and brother to Hannah, suggests that he and his wife, and Hannah and her husband take a vacation weekend at a secluded, rural, and well-fitted cabin in Georgia. Hannah will have to leave her child for the first time and is very unsure about this trip but sees how important it feels for her brother so she reluctantly agrees. An additional couple who are close friends (Cricket +1) also are invited. The plans are set months ahead of time and when the time comes, they all head up there. Unfortunately, there is a hurricane bearing down nearby, the cabin will be cut off from civilization for a few days if trees are down or roads washed out. This could be a great way to unplug or it could be a recipe for disaster.
The setting is terrific. It is an upscale home with all that the group could need as the storm hits, but will they survive their dark secrets? The atmosphere is beautifully set and the story is well paced. The timeline jumps between the past and present and also between different POVs. Everyone has something that they want to keep quiet it seems and this leads to a fun ride and page-turning conclusion.
I'm not 100% sure that I loved how neatly wrapped up this story is by the last page. In some ways, it felt like there could have been more ambiguity as to each character's conclusion. All in all this is a great read and would recommend.

#SecludedCabinSleepsSix #NetGalley #HarlequinTradePublishing #ParkRow

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Review: Freak

Freak by Jennifer Hillier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Patient

The Patient by Jasper DeWitt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: The Children on the Hill

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jennifer McMahon knocks it out of the park again. This book is a modern take on the story of Mary Shelley's work Frankenstein. As the author likes to do, there are two timelines, 1978, when the children are growing up in the shadow of The Inn, and 2019, when a podcaster, Lizzy Shelley, hunts monsters.
In the early timeline, Gran is a doctor caring for the mentally ill who are institutionalized at The Inn and she comes home to her grandchildren, Eric, Vi and Iris. Iris is the youngest and new member of the little family. She is selectively mute presumably from trauma or head injury and she is mentored by the older children. They spend their days with homeschool and monster hunting. They are curious children and decide to try to figure out who Iris really is and where she came from. Vi creates elaborate ways to obtain more information about her young mentee.
The later timeline follows a podcaster who travels around the country trying to spot and give evidence supporting sightings of various monsters that people have reported seeing. She then gets a notice about a monster in Vermont, home to The Inn, and decides to follow the lead. She sees the pattern of girls going missing from a certain area over the years and tries to find the monster responsible for the disappearances.
This is a fantastic read. Her books are always a joy and this one lives up to the praise. I found the beginning to drag a little for me, I think it was more me being distracted by other things and when the pacing picks up you know it. The story flies from there as you are quickly turning the pages. I enjoyed both timelines which each add very necessary aspects to the overall story. And even if you think you know where this story is going, you probably don't know. I could see this one being made into an onscreen adaptation as well. It was written in such a way that I had no difficulty choosing the atmosphere and characters and envisioning watching it.
Highly recommend to all thriller/suspense and atmospheric readers.

#TheChildrenOnTheHill #NetGalley #GalleryPressScoutBooks

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Review: Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives

Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC of Mary Laura Philpott’s latest work, Bomb Shelter.
I enjoyed her last book, I Miss You When I Blink, but this one connected with me to perfection. I found a series of stories that told their own individual tales but were also interwoven to create a collection based on themes that we all experience. I completely connected with her stories of anxiety and lessening control in your children’s lives, as well as the medical issues that they have dealt with as a family. An aspect of parenthood that she mentions also struck me on the day of my first child’s birth. I distinctly recall thinking of how beautiful this child was and imagining the next 18 years and instantly coming to the conclusion that someday they will leave me. Intellectually you know as a parent that this is the general idea for shepherding your children into young adulthood, but that doesn’t change the emotional toll attached to these life changes. The other thing that I have been surprised by is that having children leave for university or work is exciting for them but the toll it takes is on the family dynamic as well. It is an odd phenomenon when the makeup of the family changes.
I love how personal these stories were to her family and yet completely relatable to other families. I have so many family things in common with her as a writer, it makes me appreciate the thoughts that she has about the events that she and her family have experienced. She has a strong voice in her work and the stories come across as thoughtful and real as well as humorous at many points. There were times that I genuinely laughed out loud because I have either experienced the same situation or thought the same thing or even simply enjoyed her take on a common situation.
This is a wonderful follow-up collection to her prior book and I can’t recommend it strongly enough! These essays will stick with me and I would say to her, Keep doing you! Highly entertaining and definitely recommend picking this one up!

#BombShelter #NetGalley #AtriaBooks

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Review: The World Cannot Give

The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An engaging dark academia, coming of age story set at an elite prep school in the Northeastern USA. The story centers around an exclusive clique of kids who are part of the school choir that sings in chapel. This is one of the historical aspects of the school and is controlled by a girl who is controlling of others and herself. The leader of the choir is Virginia, and she is untouchable. She holds herself to the highest standards and works ruthlessly to obtain her goals. A new girl, Laura, who is enamored with the founder, Webster, and all that he stood for, becomes entranced by the power of Virginia. She wants to be Virginia and since she cannot, she settles for the next best thing, and that is to become involved in all of the same activities and interests. She essentially becomes the righthand person to Virginia. This works out well in Laura's mind until it doesn't. Virginia is a complicated character and is figuring out what she stands for and who she is as a person, including her sexuality.
This is a story that gives a voice to how teens view their circumstances during those difficult years. As they tend to put an over-emphasis on every event as a life-changing one, it makes navigating this time difficult. The story has interesting relationships and some inevitable consequences.
This is a book for those that enjoy teenage angst and the boarding school setting.
#TheWorldCannotGive #Netgalley #Simon&Schuster

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Review: The Swimmers

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Fell

The Fell by Sarah Moss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The blurb for this book sums it up perfectly. This is a story of Kate, who is on a 2 week quarantine during the pandemic and is feeling cooped up in her home with her son. There is no serious tension between she and her son, but rather an internal tension because Kate loves to be outside and is now confined to the inside. Other characters are representative of this small UK community, where the national park is the main draw for outsiders and Kate is known for long hikes up the hill prior to lockdown.
One afternoon, several days into quarantine, Kate starts off for a hike up into the fell when she runs into some trouble. Her mind has told her to just go and keep going. She breaks all the rules, both of lockdown and quarantine, to her personal rules of how to be prepared for anything when venturing out. Then she has a fall and is in trouble. As darkness sets in, we hear the perspective of Kate, her son, the next door neighbor, and one of the rescue team members.
I appreciated the storyline, that relates both the seriousness of the pandemic to the weight of being isolated and how that affects people differently. This book does a terrific job going between varying opinions as to what level of care and concern is appropriate and reasonable and what has negative effects.
What I didn't care for was the stream of consciousness style of writing. This seemed in place to mirror how these characters would be feeling and thinking to themselves about the events as they happen, but I found this style to be difficult to read. I would lose the plot partly through a long sentence and need to start the sentence over to regain it.
I have mixed feelings about this. I think overall it needs the right reader and it probably isn't for everyone. Therefore, I will recommend it to some but not everyone.
#TheFell #Netgalley #FSG

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Review: Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a fun thriller that kept me up way too late. I enjoyed this story, although sometimes the pacing was not perfect. It felt like it could have been a shorter book and accomplished the same thing.
I love the style of the story, with a timeline based on weeks of pregnancy and flashbacks to events of years ago. You know that these timelines will overlap and I enjoyed that back and forth. I liked the fact that you could guess who was up to no good early on, but the actual twists kept coming until the end. Hard to believe that this is a debut. Well done!
Definitely recommend.
#GreenwichPark ##Netgalley #GalleryBooks

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Review: The Last House on the Street

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again Diane Chamberlain has created a captivating story that is told through dual timelines that are gradually woven together. The setting is a small town in North Carolina, where the current timeline tells a story of a mother who has recently lost her husband and fellow architect as they are building the home of their creation. Kayla is trying to return to work and move into their home where her husband tragically died accidentally. Mysterious things occur related to her move and to the property her home has been built on.
The previous timeline is set in the same town in 1965 North Carolina, where the civil rights movement is in full swing and a group, called SCOPE, is bringing in Northern students and local Blacks to canvass and protest in the teaching of Martin Luther King, Jr. A local, white college girl, Ellie, really wants to be involved. The pastor at the AME church who is directing the local group is hesitant to trust her commitment. He is also worried about her safety from other whites who don’t want change that increased voting right will bring. Ellie is uncertain if she is making the right decision but becomes more and more committed as she lives with local poor Black families and really sees what a life of privilege she has led.
Both timelines were equally compelling and start to interweave with each other in fascinating ways.
I am glad to have completed this book on MLK Day, as this adds an extra significance to the story.
Highly recommend! If you are looking for a thriller/mystery with an historical fiction setting, this book is for you!
#TheLastHouseOnTheStreet #Netgalley #StMartinsPress

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Review: Reckless Girls

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another winner from Rachel Hawkins!
Wow. What a terrific ending to 2021, start of 2022! I was busy so I had limited time while reading the beginning of this book. The first several chapters are setting the stage of Nico and Lux’s relationship and lives. Lux was working at a bar in California after she had to drop out of school when her mother became ill with cancer. She was dreaming of studying English Literature and was set to do this when everything fell apart. She left to go home and care for her dying mother, with no help from her absentee father. Once her mother passed away and she was waitressing, she was introduced to Nico, a young man who was interested in sailing to Hawaii and then sailing the world. He is a rich boy who has walked away from the expected role he was meant to play in the family law firm, instead seeking his dream of sailing. They start a relationship and meet in Hawaii to start a life together. While there, Nico is in need of finances to repair his boat and stock it, when he meets a pair of college-aged girls who ask if he would be willing to consider taking them to a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. At first, Nico and Lux are somewhat hesitant and then the money offered decides for them.
Soon, the four of them are headed out to a deserted island. Then, the story really gets going. Things happen. Then more things happen…all on this remote and deserted island with a spooky history since it was named for a ship that wrecked in its waters.
This story is terrific and keeps you reading, turning the pages as quickly as possible to find out what happens next. A mixture of thriller, suspense, revenge story, closed “room” mystery - there is something for many readers here and it will not disappoint! Great atmosphere as well.
Highly recommend this one!
#RecklessGirls #Netgalley #StMartinsPress

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Review: The Modern Proper: Simple Recipes Meant to Be Shared

The Modern Proper: Simple Recipes Meant to Be Shared by Holly Erickson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have reviewed several cookbooks and this one is unique and gorgeous.
First of all, the recipes are interesting and different from standard cookbooks. This maybe attractive to the more adventurous cook, but even those who are less inclined to go out of their safety zone, these recipes can be adapted using more typical ingredients. I noticed that many of the recipes had at least one ingredient that would be hard to find in a typical, rural grocery store. This could be a barrier for some and it would have been nice for more ideas for substitutions for these ingredients. Despite this, I think many cooks would be able to adapt to change an ingredient or seek out an ingredient if not typically available.
That being said, the lay-out of the cookbook is beautiful and usefully arranged. I enjoyed the recipe lay-out and the photos to accompany them. The photography alone is stunning, even appearing fabulous on a tablet reader. I also appreciated the incorporation of ideas and flavors or styles of cooking in a single recipe. This makes so many of these recipes more inclusive for many different people. I can’t wait to try these recipes for myself and see if they taste as great as they sound and look!
I can’t wait to see the finished edition and highly recommend!

#TheModernProper #Netgalley #SimonElement

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Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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