#BookReview Chaos by Iris Johansen @Iris_Johansen @GrandCentralPub #Chaos #IrisJohansen #GrandCentralPub

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview Chaos by Iris Johansen @Iris_Johansen @GrandCentralPub #Chaos #IrisJohansen #GrandCentralPub Title: Chaos

Author: Iris Johansen

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Sep. 1, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 624

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 9/10

The #1 New York Times bestselling author introduces CIA agent Alisa Flynn, who is willing to go rogue if it means catching the most heartless band of criminals she’s ever encountered.

When CIA agent Alisa Flynn flaunts the rules by breaking into a mansion in the middle of the night, she skillfully circumvents alarms and outwits guards only to find herself standing in billionaire Gabe Korgan’s study . . . busted by Korgan himself. This could cost her her job unless, in a split second, she can turn the tables and try to convince him to join her on the most important mission of her life.

In a ripped-from-the-headlines plot, schoolgirls in Africa have been kidnapped, and Alisa knows that Korgan has the courage, financial means, and high-tech weaponry to help rescue them. With so many innocent lives hanging in the balance, what she doesn’t reveal is that one of those schoolgirls is like a little sister to her. But when the truth gets out, the stakes grow even higher.

Calling in additional assistance from renowned horse whisperer Margaret Douglas, Alisa and Gabe lay their plans, only to see them descend into chaos as the line between right and wrong wavers before them like a mirage. Every path is strewn with pitfalls, each likely to get them — or the hostages — killed. But with the help of a brave team and a horse with the heart of a warrior, they might just get out of this alive.

Review:

Adrenaline-pumping, fast-paced, and suspenseful!

In this first instalment in the Alisa Flynn series, Chaos, Johansen has written an action-packed thrill ride that introduces the highly intelligent CIA Special Operative Flynn who with the help of her friend, the animal whisperer, Margaret Douglas, and the billionaire inventor, Gabe Korgan, is on the hunt for a group of mercenaries who have kidnapped a group of rich, young girls, a stable full of thoroughbred horses, and Alisa’s ward, Sasha Lawrence from the St. Eldon’s Academy with disturbingly nefarious purposes in mind.

The writing is edgy and crisp. The characters are persistent, ruthless, and unique. And the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish as it submerges you in a menacing, chilling tale full of violence, deception, corruption, mayhem, danger, control, power, murder, and a sliver of the supernatural.

Overall, Chaos is a tortuous, pacey, exciting mystery that’s sure to be a new fan favourite with its creative, well-drawn characterization, heightened sense of urgency, and thrilling conclusion.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

           

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Iris Johansen

Iris Johansen is a New York Times bestselling author. She began her writing after her children left home for college. She first achieved success in the early 1980s writing category romances. In 1991, Johansen began writing suspense historical romance novels, starting with the publication of The Wind Dancer. In 1996 Johansen switched genres, turning to crime fiction, with which she has had great success.

She lives in Georgia and is married. Her son, Roy Johansen, is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Her daughter, Tamara, serves as her research assistant.

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#BookReview If I Can’t Have You by Charlotte Levin @tinycharlotte72 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #IfICantHaveYou #CharlotteLevin

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview If I Can’t Have You by Charlotte Levin @tinycharlotte72 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #IfICantHaveYou #CharlotteLevin Title: If I Can't Have You

Author: Charlotte Levin

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Aug. 25, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

If I Can’t Have You by Charlotte Levin is an all-consuming novel about loneliness, obsession and how far we go for the ones we love.

What if the problem with your love life is you?

Samuel, the day we met I knew I’d finally found what I’ve been waiting for. You.Happiness, at last.

Then you left me.

And now I am alone.

Everyone I love leaves in the end.

But not this time.

I’m not giving up on us.

I’m not giving up on you.

When you love someone, you never let them go. That’s why for me, this is just beginning.

Review:

Cunning, compulsive, and unsettling!

If I Can’t Have You is an addictive, sinister, character-driven tale that takes you into the life of Constance Little, a lonely, fragile, young woman whose life quickly spins out of control after the tragic loss of her mother causes her to seek attention, affection and love from all the wrong places.

The prose is tight and tense. The characters are impulsive, vulnerable, and troubled. And the plot told through retrospective first-person narration is a slow-burning, creepy yet heartbreaking tale of life, loss, love, desperation, deception, jealousy, manipulation, anger, hatred, obsession, and emotional volatility.

Overall, If I Can’t Have You is a gripping, nuanced, fantastic debut by Levin that does a remarkable job of reminding us that love is not just lightness and joy but also sometimes extremely dark and dangerous.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Charlotte Levin

Charlotte Levin has been shortlisted for the Andrea Badenoch Award, part of the New Writers North Awards, and for the Mslexia Short Story Competition. Charlotte lives in Manchester and If I Can't Have You is her first novel.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

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#BookReview Don’t Look for Me by Wendy Walker @Wendy_Walker @StMartinsPress #DontLookForMe #WendyWalker

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview Don’t Look for Me by Wendy Walker @Wendy_Walker @StMartinsPress #DontLookForMe #WendyWalker Title: Don't Look for Me

Author: Wendy Walker

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Sep. 15, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: St. Martin's Press, NetGalley

Book Rating: 10/10

“In Wendy Walker’s thrilling novel Don’t Look for Me, the greatest risk isn’t running away. It’s running out of time.

One night, Molly Clarke walked away from her life.

She doesn’t want to be found.

Or at least, that’s the story.

The car abandoned miles from home.

The note found at a nearby hotel.

The shattered family that couldn’t be put back together.

They called it a “walk away.”

It happens all the time.

Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over.

But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?

Review:

Chilling, menacing, and incredibly riveting!

Don’t Look for Me is a character-driven, thrill ride that takes you to Hastings, Connecticut and into the lives of Molly Clarke, a mother consumed with grief who ran out of gas two weeks ago and has yet to be been seen from again, and her twenty-one-year-old daughter Nicole, who after receiving what seems to be a viable tip decides to investigate and search for her missing mother herself.

The writing is complex and taut. The characterization is spot on with a cast of characters that are raw, distressed, and consumed. And the plot told from dual perspectives and using a back-and-forth style ratchets up the tension and suspense as it quickly unravels into an eerie tale of familial drama, obsession, kidnapping, desperation, guilt, tragedy, violence, murder, and the messy, complex bonds that exist between family members.

Overall, Don’t Look for Me is a without a doubt a masterfully plotted, clever, twisty page-turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat from the very first page and ultimately leaves you surprised, shocked, and thoroughly entertained.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Wendy Walker

Wendy Walker is the author of psychological suspense. Her novels have been translated into 23 foreign languages and have topped bestseller lists both nationally and abroad. They have been featured on The Today Show, The Reese Witherspoon Book Club, and The Book of the Month Club and have been optioned for television and film.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester @Natasha_Lester @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #Forever20 #NatashaLester #TheParisSecret

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Noteworthy Book Releases
#BookReview The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester @Natasha_Lester @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #Forever20 #NatashaLester #TheParisSecret Title: The Paris Secret

Author: Natasha Lester

Published by: Forever on Sep. 15, 2020

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 496

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 10/10

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Orphan comes an unforgettable historical novel about a secret collection of Dior gowns that ties back to the first female pilots of WWII and a heartbreaking story of love and sacrifice.

England, 1939: The Penrose sisters couldn’t be more different. Skye is a daring and brash pilot, and Liberty the one to defy her at every turn. Even if women aren’t allowed in the Royal Air Force, Skye is determined to help the war effort. She’s thrilled when it reunites her with her childhood soulmate, Nicholas. She’s less thrilled to learn Nicholas is now engaged to an enigmatic Frenchwoman named Margaux Jourdan.

Paris, 1947: Designer Christian Dior unveils his glamorous first collection to a world weary of war and grief. He names his debut fragrance Miss Dior in tribute to his beloved sister Catherine, who forged a friendship with Skye and Margaux through her work with the French Resistance.

Present Day: Fashion conservator Kat Jourdan discovers a priceless collection of Dior gowns in her grandmother’s vacant cottage. As she delves into the mystery of their origin, Kat begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about her beloved grandmother.

Review:

Evocative, rich, and absorbing!

The Paris Secret is an alluring, highly affecting tale predominantly set in England during WWII, as well as 2012, that takes you into the lives of two main characters; Skye Penrose, a young flier who through grit and determination becomes one of the first woman pilots for the Air Transport Auxillary during the war; and Kat Jourdan, a young fashion conservator who unwittingly unravels a family history littered with secrets, heartbreak, and heroism when she stumbles across a closet full of vintage Dior dresses in her mother’s Cornwall cottage.

The prose is charged and emotive. The characters are courageous, multilayered, and strong. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine seamlessly into a sublime saga of life, loss, family, tragedy, expectations, sacrifice, secrets, self-discovery, friendship, enduring love, fashion, and an insightful look at the important roles and contributions that women had and made during the war.

Overall, The Paris Secret is an exceptionally atmospheric, beautifully written, impactful novel that sweeps you away to another time and place and immerses you into the lives of such enticing characters you can’t help but be thoroughly moved and engrossed. It is no surprise that Natasha Lester has quickly become one of my all-time favourite authors with The Paris Orphan being one of my must-read novels for 2019 and now The Paris Secret being on the top of that list for 2020.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Forever & Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Natasha Lester

Natasha Lester is a USA Today, internationally best-selling author. Prior to writing, she worked as a marketing executive for L’Oreal, managing the Maybelline brand, before returning to university to study creative writing.

Her first historical novel, the bestselling A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald, was published in 2016. This was followed by Her Mother’s Secret in 2017 and The Paris Seamstress in 2018. The French Photographer is her latest book (note: this will be published as The Paris Orphan in North America in September 2019).

Natasha's books have been published in the US, the UK, Australia and throughout Europe. She lives in Perth, Western Australia with her 3 children and loves travelling, Paris, vintage fashion and, of course, books.

Photograph courtesy of Goodreads Author Page.

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#BookReview The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @PGCBooks #TheDarkestEvening #VeraStanhope #AnnCleeves

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @PGCBooks #TheDarkestEvening #VeraStanhope #AnnCleeves Title: The Darkest Evening

Author: Ann Cleeves

Series: Vera Stanhope #9

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Sep. 8, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

From Ann Cleeves—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—comes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel.

On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat.

Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It’s also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there’s a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow.

As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family’s complicated past.

Review:

Intricate, clever and engrossing!

In this splendid ninth installment in the Vera Stanhope series, The Darkest Evening, Cleeves has written an unpredictable, pacey, police procedural that sees quirky Det. Insp. Vera Stanhope immersed in a new murder investigation close to her estranged family home, Brockburn, when during a cold blustery evening she unexpectedly happens upon an abandoned car on the side of the road with a door left wide open and a toddler crying inside.

The writing is polished and precise. The characters are eccentric, secretive, and methodical. And the plot is a compelling tale full of twists, turns, red herrings, secrets, obsession, deduction, duplicity, manipulation, familial drama, and murder. 

Overall, The Darkest Evening has an intriguing, well-developed storyline with exceptional character development, and is another fantastic addition to this shrewd, compulsive, well-loved series.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

           

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves is the author behind PBS’s Vera and BBC One’s Shetland. She has written over twenty-five novels, and is the creator of detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez – characters loved both on screen and in print. Her books have now sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before becoming a crime writer. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for Best Crime Novel, for Raven Black, the first book in her Shetland series, and in 2012 she was inducted into the CWA Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame. Ann lives in North Tyneside, England.

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#BookReview One by One by Ruth Ware @RuthWareWriter @ScoutPressBooks @SimonSchusterCA #OnebyOne #RuthWare

categories: 7.5/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview One by One by Ruth Ware @RuthWareWriter @ScoutPressBooks @SimonSchusterCA #OnebyOne #RuthWare Title: One by One

Author: Ruth Ware

Published by: Scout Press on Sep. 8, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 7.5/10

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.

Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?

Review:

Intense, pacey, and suspenseful!

One by One is a menacing, locked-door thriller that sweeps you away to a secluded chalet in the French Alps and into the lives of nine people employed or formerly employed by the social media company, Swoop, and two chalet employees as they grapple to survive an avalanche that leaves them stranded without power or cell service and a killer amongst them who seems determined to wreak revenge at any cost.

The prose is precise and clear. The characters are multilayered, self-absorbed, and secretive. The setting is a character in itself with its claustrophobic environment and isolation. And the plot told from dual perspectives unfolds and unravels quickly into an ominous tale full of jealousy, hatred, deception, greed, manipulation, desperation, obsession, violence, and murder.

Overall, One by One is a taut, atmospheric, action-packed whodunit that could have had a few more twists and a little less predictability but was nevertheless intriguing from start to finish.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware grew up in Sussex, on the south coast of England. After graduating from Manchester University she moved to Paris, before settling in North London. She has worked as a waitress, a bookseller, a teacher of English as a foreign language and a press officer, and is The New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Lying Game. Her latest book, The Death of Mrs. Westaway, will be available in May 2018. She is married with two small children.

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#CoverReveal My Brother’s Roommate by Kendall Ryan @KendallRyan1 #MyBrothersRoommate #KendallRyan

categories: Contemporary Romance, Cover Reveal, Noteworthy Book Releases

 

 

Today I’m excited to bring you the 🔥 Cover for the new novel

 from New York Times bestselling author Kendall Ryan!

 

My Brother’s Roommate

Releasing on December 1st!

 

 

There are a few things you should know about my brother’s roommate.

Wolfie Cox is . . . complicated. Terminally sexy, and more importantly, he has an impressive stick lodged so far up his ass, he’s about as emotionally available as a chinchilla. Actually, that might be an insult to the chinchilla community.

So, naturally, I want to ride him like a bicycle.

He thinks I hate him. Mostly because I’ve led him to believe this. It’s easier than admitting the alternative.

And while Wolfie is about as soft and cuddly as a fork, I’m the opposite. A good girl. Reliable. Conscientious. Oh, and completely panicked about an upcoming work conference.

Wolfie’s usually allergic to altruism, so when my brother volun-tells him to help me out by escorting me to said conference where everyone else will have a plus-one . . . I say thanks, but no thanks. Surprisingly, Wolfie is unflinching about this. And that’s the story about how I got stuck in a hotel with my brother’s hot (grouchy) roommate.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

In all seriousness, this isn’t a game to me, and hormones aside, I need to impress my boss this week so the promotion I’ve worked hard for doesn’t get handed to his spineless nephew. But with Wolfie and me sharing a hotel bed, things get confusing quickly.

 

 

PRE-ORDER NOW

         

 

 

 

About Kendall Ryan

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

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#BookReview The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #TheLyingLifeofAdults #ElenaFerrante

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, General Fiction, Women's Fiction
#BookReview The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #TheLyingLifeofAdults #ElenaFerrante Title: The Lying Life of Adults

Author: Elena Ferrante

Published by: Europa Editions on Sep. 1, 2020

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Giovanna’s pretty face is changing, turning ugly, at least so her father thinks. Giovanna, he says, looks more like her Aunt Vittoria every day. But can it be true? Is she really changing? Is she turning into her Aunt Vittoria, a woman she hardly knows but whom her mother and father clearly despise? Surely there is a mirror somewhere in which she can see herself as she truly is.

Giovanna is searching for her reflection in two kindred cities that fear and detest one another: Naples of the heights, which assumes a mask of refinement, and Naples of the depths, a place of excess and vulgarity. She moves from one to the other in search of the truth, but neither city seems to offer answers or escape.

Named one of 2016’s most influential people by TIME Magazine and frequently touted as a future Nobel Prize-winner, Elena Ferrante has become one of the world’s most read and beloved writers. With this new novel about the transition from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, Ferrante proves once again that she deserves her many accolades. In The Lying Life of Adults, readers will discover another gripping, highly addictive, and totally unforgettable Neapolitan story.

Review:

Astute, honest, and sophisticated!

In this latest novel by Ferrante, The Lying Life of Adults, she transports us to the streets of Naples, Italy and into the life of Giovanna, a young girl who after overhearing a harsh comment made by her father embarks on a journey to discover the extended family she has previously been sheltered and protected from resulting in unexpectedly enlightening consequences.

The prose is emotive and precise. The characters are complex, guileless, and impulsive. And the plot is a compelling, coming-of-age tale of life, love, deception, friendship, familial drama, manipulation, jealousy, emerging sexuality, abuse, and self-reflection.

Overall, The Lying Life of Adults is a raw, perceptive, heartfelt, domestic drama that does an exceptional job of reminding us that reality is often a disillusioned version of the life we conjure with the fantasies and lies we choose to believe, especially in young adulthood.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

             

 

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Elena Ferrante

Elena Ferrante is the author of The Days of Abandonment (Europa, 2005), which was made into a film directed by Roberto Faenza, Troubling Love (Europa, 2006), adapted by Mario Martone, and The Lost Daughter (Europa, 2008), soon to be a major motion picture directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Oscar Award-winner Olivia Colman. She is also the author of Incidental Inventions (Europa, 2019), illustrated by Andrea Ucini, Frantumaglia: A Writer’s Journey (Europa, 2016) and The Beach at Night (Europa, 2016), illustrated by Mara Cerri. The four volumes known as the “Neapolitan quartet” (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child) were published by Europa Editions in English between 2012 and 2015. My Brilliant Friend, the HBO series directed by Saverio Costanzo, premiered in 2018. Her most recent novel is The Lying Life of Adults (Europa, 2020).

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#BookReview Anxious People by Fredrik Backman @Backmanland @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #AnxiousPeople #FredrikBackman

categories: 10/10, Book Review, General Fiction
#BookReview Anxious People by Fredrik Backman @Backmanland @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #AnxiousPeople #FredrikBackman Title: Anxious People

Author: Fredrik Backman

Published by: Atria Books on Sep. 28, 2020

Genres: General Fiction

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

This is a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.

Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers slowly begin opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.

As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.

Review:

Thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and exceptionally witty!

Anxious People is a complex, insightful, funny story set on the day before New Year’s Eve that takes you on a journey into the lives of an amateur bank robber, eight unintended hostages, and two police officers with a history of their own.

The prose is amusing and poignant. The characterization is well-drawn with a whole slew of characters that are quirky, sympathetic, and endearing. And the plot is a delightfully clever blend of moral dilemmas, drama, tragedy, skewed perception, oddball shenanigans, relationship dynamics, unlikely friendships, and the importance of compassion.

Overall, Anxious People is an impactful, touching, darkly comedic tale by Backman that once again highlights his innate ability to delve into and expose both society’s weaknesses and ridiculous presumptions and humanities flaws and vulnerabilities in an enlightening, meaningful, and entertaining way.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Fredrik Backman

Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, as well as two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children.

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#BookReview The River Home by Hannah Richell @hannahrichell @HarperPerennial #The RiverHome #HarperPerennial #HannahRichell #OliveInfluencer

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Women's Fiction
#BookReview The River Home by Hannah Richell @hannahrichell @HarperPerennial #The RiverHome #HarperPerennial #HannahRichell #OliveInfluencer Title: The River Home

Author: Hannah Richell

Published by: Harper Paperbacks on Aug. 4, 2020

Genres: Women's Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Harper Perennial

Book Rating: 9/10

From beloved international bestselling author Hannah Richell comes a spellbinding novel about the secrets brought to the surface when a large family gathers for a wedding.

Can the damage of the past ever be healed?

In their ramshackle Somerset home, with its lush gardens running down to the river, the Sorrells have gathered for a last-minute wedding—an occasion that is met with trepidation by each member of the family.

Lucy, the bride, has begged her loved ones to attend—not telling them that she has some important news to share once they’ve gathered. Her prodigal baby sister, Margot, who left home after a devastating argument with their mother, reluctantly agrees, though their family home is the site of so much pain for her. Meanwhile, their eldest sister, Eve, has thrown herself into a tailspin planning the details of the wedding—anything to distract herself from how her own life is unraveling—and their long-separated artist parents are forced to play the roles of cheerful hosts through gritted teeth.

As the Sorrells come together for a week of celebration and confrontation, their painful memories are revisited and their relationships stretched to the breaking point.

Moving, poignant, and unforgettable, The River Home showcases once again Hannah Richell’s talent for creating characters readers can relate to—and telling stories that linger in the mind long after the final page.

Review:

Moving, mysterious, and absorbing!

The River Home is a pensive, compelling tale that sweeps you away to the Somerset fields and immerses you into the lives of the Sorrell family, especially three strong, young women, as they gather to celebrate, support, confront, communicate, repair relationships, and finally reveal secrets that could potentially change their lives forever.

The prose is smooth and expressive. The characters are genuine, troubled, and sympathetic. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel effortlessly into a heartfelt tale of life, love, loss, resilience, determination, acceptance, self-reflection, and all the intricate dynamics that exist between family members.

Overall, The River Home is an honest, sentimental, hopeful tale by Richell that does a beautiful job of reminding us that life is complicated and messy and even the smallest choices we make can often have far-reaching consequences.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Harper Perennial for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Hannah Richell

Before I became a writer, I worked in the publishing and film industries marketing books and movies. I began to write in 2007 while pregnant with my first child. The result was Secrets of the Tides, which was picked for the 2012 Richard & Judy Book Club, the Waterstones Book Club and was shortlisted for the Australian Independent Bookseller Best Debut Fiction Award, ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year (2013) and ABIA Newcomer of the Year (2013).

Since then I have written The Shadow Year (2013), The Peacock Summer (2018) and my latest novel, The River Home, which will be published in 2020. My work is available in twenty-two territories and has been translated into seventeen languages.

I have also written for a number of media outlets including Harper’s Bazaar, The Independent, Fairfax Media and Australian Women’s Weekly.

I am a dual citizen of the UK and Australia, though I currently live in the South West of England with my family.

Photograph by Claire Newman-Williams.

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