Review: The Dilemma

The Dilemma by B.A. Paris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book! Aaagghhh! The story is told hour by hour on Livia’s 40th birthday, as she is anticipating her party that she has dreamed about for years. The party is over the top because she had a shotgun wedding that her parents did not approve of and one of her biggest wishes for the party is that her estranged parents come and they reconcile with her and her family. In the meantime, as each chapter alternates from a different character’s perspective, time is ticking away and Adam, Livia’s husband, realizes some possible awful news that he knows, if true, will break his wife’s heart.
The questions become what do you know, when did you know it and when do you share it? These are a few of the heart wrenching questions that this family must face in the days and months. This makes for a page turning premise for a book.
I really loved most of this book, the story for sure and the writing were good. The only thing that I disliked, and this may have been only me, was the constant repetition of pieces of the story or the characters’ inner thoughts and imaginings. At first, this was a tolerable method for the story to go but eventually it became tedious. I don’t think it distracted so much that I disliked it, I just wanted to get on with it.
Definitely recommend. 4/5
Thanks for the early copy for review. #TheDilemma #Netgalley #StMartinsPress

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Review: The Second Home

The Second Home by Christina Clancy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a beautifully written book about siblings who return home together after many years. They discover the challenges and changes that occur when people return to their roots. What a great story of the messiness of life and family drama. This is the type of book that draws you in and embraces the difficult relationships people have as they grow up and apart, told in a lovely way.
Thank you #Netgalley #StMartinsPress and #TheSecondHome for the early copy to review.
Definitely recommend.

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Review: Home Before Dark

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed Sagar’s previous book, Lock Every Door, so I had high expectations for this one. I was definitely not disappointed! I thought I had figured out “the twist” about 2/3 of the way through the book but the twists kept coming to make this a roller-coaster of a story.
This is a story within a story with dual timelines and one of those timelines told from the perspective of the Book, a nonfiction account written by the father of the protagonist’s time living in this expansive house when she was five. The family knows that the house has a creepy history and when Maggie inherits the house as an adult, she is determined to uncover the truth about the past and what is written in the Book, which she has always questioned as truth.
The pacing of this was his best yet. It really kept the pages turning. I also loved the Gothic haunted house setting and not knowing who was a reliable character. This really left the story wide open and a great read.
Highly, highly recommend this!
#botm #HomeBeforeDark #Dutton #RileySagar

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Review: Trump Revealed: The Definitive Biography of the 45th President

Trump Revealed: The Definitive Biography of the 45th President by Michael Kranish
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Book of Rosy: A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border

The Book of Rosy: A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border by Rosayra Pablo Cruz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to #Netgalley #HarperCollinsPublishers #HarperOne for the early review copy of this book.
I have read American Dirt and given all the controversy surrounding that book's release, I felt as though reading an #ownvoices story of immigration from Mexico or in this case, Central America, would be a good counter-balance. A sort of check to my response to AD and the issues raised.
Personally, although there are some similarities in the topics, this is a more personal story in my opinion than AD. I appreciated the chapters told from Rosayra"s perspective. These detailed the reasons for needing to flee Guatemala and the experiences she and her children faced in this process. She emphasizes the fact that no one chooses to flee their home country lightly. This is a difficult and courageous choice for those in need of protection for themselves and their children. Then to be met at the border, first by compassionate men and women doing the job of Border Patrol and then the second time, by the opposite response. Her faith is inspiring and I hope continues to grow.
Julie's contribution of telling the story from an activist side of the picture and how she and others were able to quickly put this community of helpers in place is also an interesting and inspiring part of this book. The vast network that Julie was able to put together is impressive. There are also websites and other information at the end of the book that tells readers how they can help if they are interested.
Thank you to both of these women for the powerful voices and this truly incredible story.

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Review: The House Guest

The House Guest by Mark Edwards
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This story! A real page-turner, that just builds steam as it races to the conclusion.
First off, the pacing of this thriller was terrific. The author’s ability to bring in characters and ideas, while continually building towards the conclusion was spot on. Well done.
The story itself begins with two couples who meet during a cruise. One couple is living in NYC and the other is from the UK. The English couple, Adam and Ruth are young, dating and each trying to improve their career standing. Ruth is an actress who is set to star in her first Broadway show and Adam is a struggling writer/playwright. The NYC couple, Jack and Mona, are married and planning a summer visit to a retreat that requires them to need house sitters. They offer their home to their new friends. All is going well until a young woman claiming to be friends with Jack and Mona comes to the door claiming that she was planning to stay with them. As Adam and Ruth befriend Eden, they offer to let her stay with them. Everything seems great but imagine how you would handle this sort of situation. It’s rather easy to think you would never allow a stranger into your home to stay. But most of us are fairly naive in this kind of social situation and may very well make similar decisions. This is a key ingredient for a great story.
There are twists and turns throughout. Who do you really know? Who can be trusted?
This is an entertaining and highly readable book. I highly recommend it.
Thank you for the early copy for review.
#TheHouseGuest #Netgalley #AmazonPublishingUK #MarkEdwards

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Review: Catherine House

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a gothic, atmospheric, suspenseful debut about a group of students at an elite university. I adore books about universities or boarding schools, so this was right up my alley. The protagonist is a troubled, isolated and poor girl who is encouraged by a teacher at her high school who was a graduate of “Catherine House”, an intense and challenging school that isolates the students to the school for a three-year degree equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. Depending on their gifts, they are separated into fields of study. The most secretive and intense, that Catherine House is most known for, is the study of “plasm”. This is a unique concept that some students are extremely competitive about studying.
The protagonist is not the sort of student who wants to be absorbed by her studies and she struggles at times. But she perceptive and attentive to those around her. She is also skeptical of this selective program and the work being done in it.
This book was somewhat slow at the beginning but about halfway through it I was captivated by the story and zipping through the pages.
Well done story in the end that I really enjoyed.
Thank you to #Netgalley and #HarperCollinsPublishers and #CustomHouse for the eARC.
4/5

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Review: Sister Dear

Sister Dear by Hannah Mary McKinnon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was really about the relationship between sisters when life doesn’t hand them gifts equally. I found this to have some thriller components but as a whole did not read like a typical thriller. I liked the ending more than the rest of the book. This pacing or plot setup wasn’t my favorite. I would say that it was an okay read. I would try other books by this author.
Thank you to #Netgalley and #HarlequinTradePublishing and #MIRA for the eARC for review.
3/5

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