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#BookReview The Wife App by Carolyn Mackler @simonschuster @SimonSchusterCA #TheWifeApp #CarolynMackler #SimonSchuster #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview The Wife App by Carolyn Mackler @simonschuster @SimonSchusterCA #TheWifeApp #CarolynMackler #SimonSchuster #SimonSchusterCA Title: The Wife App

Author: Carolyn Mackler

Published by: Simon & Schuster on Jun. 27, 2023

Genres: Women's Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster

Book Rating: 8/10

Because every wife deserves a happy ending.

Three best friends decide they’re finally done with their ex-husbands taking their work as wives and moms for granted. They’re ready to monetize the mental load, stick it to their exes, and have a wild ride in the process.

Lauren, mother of twins, wakes up one morning to her Wife Alarm Bells sounding. She sleuths on her husband’s phone and stumbles on a dirty secret that explodes her marriage. Madeline has it all—a penthouse apartment, a perfect daughter, and no-strings-attached romps with handsome men. When she learns that she might lose her child to her ex in England, it stirs up a decades-old personal tragedy. Sophie, with too much FOMO and never enough money, obsesses over her ex-husband’s Family 2.0—all while keeping her true desires hidden, even from herself.

It starts as a joke during a tipsy night out, as Lauren, Madeline, and Sophie rail against everything wives do for free. Let’s build an app that monetizes the mental load. And maybe get revenge on our exes in the process? Soon, the Wife App is born, and before long, it’s the fastest growing start-up in New York City. But then life intervenes. Love intervenes. Ex-husbands intervene. And the consequences are bigger than anything Lauren, Madeline, or Sophie could have expected. Carolyn Mackler marks her debut into adult fiction with a hilarious rollercoaster ride of revenge and redemption that is at once a send-up of modern marriage and a celebration of female friendship and love in all forms.

Review:

Fresh, spirited, and fun!

The Wife App is a lighthearted, engaging tale that sweeps you away to NYC and into the lives of three divorced friends, Madeline, Lauren, and Sophie who, after spending a night grumbling over all the selfless tasks mothers and wives are bombarded with on a daily basis, decide to join together to create an app which would monetize and give value to all those unappreciated, time-consuming, dreaded domestic chores nobody likes to do.

The writing style is witty and sharp. The characters are independent, layered, and supportive. And the plot is a humorous tale about life, love, family, friendship, child-rearing, introspection, marital inequality, interfering exes, tender moments, taking chances, and new beginnings.

Overall, The Wife App is an easy, uplifting, entertaining tale by Mackler that is bursting with female friendships, self-discovery, romance, and the ups and downs of single parenthood.

 

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 for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Carolyn Mackler

Carolyn Mackler is the acclaimed author of the YA novels The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (A Michael L. Printz Honor Book); The Universe Is Expanding and So Am I; Infinite in Between; and Love and Other Four-Letter Words; and the middle grade novel, Best Friend Next Door. Carolyn’s award-winning books have appeared on bestseller lists and been translated into more than twenty-five languages. Carolyn lives in New York City with her husband and two sons. The Wife App is her first adult novel.

Photo by Sarah Klock.

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#BookReview Before She Finds Me by Heather Chavez @iamHRChavez @mulhollandbooks @HBGCanada #BeforeSheFindsMe #HeatherChavez #MulhollandBooks #HBGCanada

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#BookReview Before She Finds Me by Heather Chavez @iamHRChavez @mulhollandbooks @HBGCanada #BeforeSheFindsMe #HeatherChavez #MulhollandBooks #HBGCanada Title: Before She Finds Me

Author: Heather Chavez

Published by: Mulholland Books on Jun. 27, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

In this shocking thriller, two unlikely mothers race to uncover the truth behind a horrific attack—even after it becomes clear that the truth will destroy one of their families.

Julia Bennett has worked hard to create a stable life for her daughter, Cora, in Southern California. So when Cora leaves for college, the worst thing Julia expects on move-in day is an argument with her ex-husband and his new wife. But a sudden attack leaves the campus stunned—and only Julia’s quick actions save Cora’s life. Shaken in the aftermath, and haunted by a dark secret, Julia starts to wonder: What if the attack wasn’t as random as everyone believes?

Newly pregnant Ren Petrovic has an unusual career—she’s a trained assassin, operating under a strict moral code. Ren wasn’t on campus that day, but she knows who was: her husband, Nolan. What she doesn’t know is why Nolan has broken their rules by not telling her about the job in advance. The more Ren looks into the attack, the more she begins to question: Who really hired Nolan? And why did one woman in the crowd respond so differently from all the rest?

Julia and Ren each want answers, but their searches quickly pit them against each other. One woman is a hired killer, but the other is a determined survivor. And both mothers will defend their families to the bitter end.

Review:

Captivating, twisty, and clever!

Before She Finds Me is an elaborately plotted, ominous tale that takes you into the lives of two main characters whose paths are inexplicably linked after a gunman opens fire on the grounds of Anderson Hughes College on move-in day. Julia Bennett, a mother and botany professor with a troubled past who is sure the recent mass shooting that left her daughter injured and her ex-husband’s new wife dead was not as random as it first appeared, and Ren Petrovic, a hired assassin determined to do whatever it takes to protect her unborn child while also discovering why her husband took a side job she knew nothing about.

The writing is tight and tense. The characters are persistent, resourceful, and multilayered. And the plot, including all the subplots, seamlessly intertwine and unravel into a gripping tale full of twists, turns, secrets, surprises, revelations, manipulation, coercion, mischief, mayhem, violence, and murder.

Overall, Before She Finds Me is an exceptionally menacing, intricately woven, highly entertaining mystery that has a nice amount of suspense, good character development, and great pace. It’s surprisingly the first novel I’ve had a chance to read by Chavez, but it certainly won’t be my last.

 

This book is available now.

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

        

 

 

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

 

About Heather Chavez

Heather Chavez is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley’s English literature program and has worked as a newspaper reporter, editor, and contributor to mystery and television blogs. She lives with her family in Santa Rosa, California. She’s the author of the thrillers No Bad Deed and Blood Will Tell.

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#BookReview How to Be Remembered by Michael Thompson @mcwthompson @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #HowtoBeRemembered #MichaelThomas #bookmarkedbylandmark

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#BookReview How to Be Remembered by Michael Thompson @mcwthompson @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #HowtoBeRemembered #MichaelThomas #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: How To Be Remembered

Author: Michael Thompson

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Jun. 27, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Fantasy

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 9/10

On an ordinary night in an ordinary year, Tommy Llewellyn’s doting parents wake in a home without toys and diapers, without photos of their baby scattered about, and without any idea that the small child asleep in his cot is theirs.

That’s because Tommy is a boy destined to never be remembered.

On the same day every year, everyone around him forgets he exists, and he grows up enduring his own universal Reset. That is until something extraordinary happens: Tommy Llewellyn falls in love.

Determined to finally carve out a life for himself and land the girl of his dreams, Tommy sets out on a mission to trick the Reset and be remembered. But legacies aren’t so easily won, and Tommy must figure out what’s more important – the things we leave behind or the people we bring along with us.

Review:

Charming, thought-provoking, and optimistic!

How to Be Remembered is a charged, moving tale that takes you into the life of Tommy Llewellyn, a young boy whose life is irrevocably changed every year on January 5th when after he falls asleep, anything that’s not touching or physically on him is lost forever when the universe resets and anyone who ever knew, cared or loved him forgets he ever existed.

The prose is smooth and sweet. The characters are complex, troubled, and resilient. And the plot is a compelling tale of life, loss, love, family, friendship, secrets, survival, loneliness, and the importance of having someone to love.

Overall, How to Be Remembered made me think, made me teary, and resonated with me long after the final page. It’s a poignant, immersive, beautiful tale by Thompson that combines exceptional character development with the magic of the supernatural to weave a heart-tugging, bittersweet tale steeped in an abundance of heartbreak, tenderness, and hope!

 

This book is available now.

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

        

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Michael Thompson

Michael Thompson has been a journalist, producer and media executive for the last fifteen years. He now co-owns a podcast production company called Fear and Greed – home of Australia’s most popular business podcast. He lives in Sydney with his wife, two young children, two cats and his beloved lawn. How to Be Remembered is Michael’s first novel.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie @SimonSchusterCA #HaveYouSeenHer #CatherineMcKenzie #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie @SimonSchusterCA #HaveYouSeenHer #CatherineMcKenzie #SimonSchusterCA Title: Have You Seen Her

Author: Catherine McKenzie

Published by: Atria Books on Jun. 27, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A thrilling and timely novel about three women with dark secrets whose lives intersect in the picturesque and perilous Yosemite National Park from the USA TODAY bestselling author of Please Join Us.

Equipped with a burner phone and a new job, Cassie Peters has left her hectic and secretive life in New York City for the refuge of her hometown of Mammoth Lakes, California. There, she begins working again with Yosemite Search and Rescue, where a case she worked a decade ago continues to haunt her.

She quickly falls into old patterns, joining a group of fellow seasonal workers and young adventurers who have made Yosemite their home during the summer. There, she meets Petal, a young woman living in a trailer with her much older wife, keeping a detailed diary of the goings on of the park, and Jada, a recent college graduate on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, documenting their journey on Instagram.

When these three women cross paths, Cassie’s past catches up with her, and the shocking consequences ripple out far beyond what any could have imagined in this unputdownable thriller.

Review:

Intense, unpredictable, and gripping!

Have You Seen Her is a tortuous, cunning mystery that takes you into the life of Cassie Peters, a young woman who, after fleeing a controlling marriage, finds herself back in Mammoth Lakes, California, working once again for the Yosemite Search and Rescue until the actions and behaviours of two random women trigger the past to collide with the present, long-buried secrets to finally be revealed, and the truth of what really happened on those fateful, tragic days ten years ago to finally come to light.

The prose is taut and gritty. The characters are vulnerable, ruthless, and impulsive. And the plot builds and unravels nicely into an intricate tale full of lies, deception, abuse, desperation, manipulation, coercion, troubled pasts, unusual friendships, scheming behaviours, violence, and murder.

Overall, Have You Seen Her had everything I’ve come to expect in a Catherine McKenzie novel and more. It’s a sophisticated, crafty, enthralling tale that, in my opinion, is a must-read for anyone who enjoys an exceptionally eerie, edgy thrill ride written by a great Canadian writer.

 

This novel is available in paperback now.

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

         

 

 

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

 

About Catherine McKenzie

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill University in history and law, Catherine practiced law for twenty years before leaving to write full time. An avid runner, skier, and tennis player, she’s the author of numerous bestsellers including I’ll Never Tell and The Good Liar. Her works have been translated into multiple languages and I’ll Never Tell and Please Join Ushave been optioned for development into television series.

Photograph by Fany Ducharme.

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#BookReview Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur @adriennebrodeur @SimonSchusterCA @AvidReaderPress #LittleMonsters #AdrienneBrodeur #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur @adriennebrodeur @SimonSchusterCA @AvidReaderPress #LittleMonsters #AdrienneBrodeur #SimonSchusterCA Title: Little Monsters

Author: Adrienne Brodeur

Published by: Avid Reader Press on Jun. 27, 2023

Genres: General Fiction

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

From the author of the bestselling memoir Wild Game comes a riveting novel about Cape Cod, complicated families, and long-buried secrets—for fans of the New York Times bestsellers The Paper Palace and Ask Again, Yes .

Ken and Abby Gardner lost their mother when they were small and they have been haunted by her absence ever since. Their father, Adam, a brilliant oceanographer, raised them mostly on his own in his remote home on Cape Cod, where the attachment between Ken and Abby deepened into something complicated—and as adults their relationship is strained. Now, years later, the siblings’ lives are still deeply entwined. Ken is a successful businessman with political ambitions and a picture-perfect family and Abby is a talented visual artist who depends on her brother’s goodwill, in part because he owns the studio where she lives and works.

As the novel opens, Adam is approaching his seventieth birthday, staring down his mortality and fading relevance. He has always managed his bipolar disorder with medication, but he’s determined to make one last scientific breakthrough and so he has secretly stopped taking his pills, which he knows will infuriate his children. Meanwhile, Abby and Ken are both harboring secrets of their own, and there is a new person on the periphery of the family—Steph, who doesn’t make her connection known. As Adam grows more attuned to the frequencies of the deep sea and less so to the people around him, Ken and Abby each plan the elaborate gifts they will present to their father on his birthday, jostling for primacy in this small family unit.

Set in the fraught summer of 2016, and drawing on the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, Little Monsters is an absorbing, sharply observed family story by a writer who knows Cape Cod inside and out—its Edenic lushness and its snakes.

Review:

Dramatic, simmering, and sincere!

Little Monsters is a tender, engaging tale that sweeps you away to the idyllic Cape Cod during 2016 and into the lives of the Gardner family, especially siblings Ken and Abby, as the preparations for their father’s upcoming seventieth birthday party will have them finally confronting all the jealousy, resentment, pain, scars, long-buried secrets, and despicable behaviours that have tied them together since childhood.

The prose is fluid and smooth. The characters are bitter, troubled, and flawed. And the plot is a captivating tale about life, loss, heartache, guilt, love, secrets, revelations, acceptance, familial drama, friendship, hope, mental illness, forgiveness, and introspection.

Overall, Little Monsters is a heartfelt, intricate, nuanced tale by Brodeur that reminds us that families are complicated and messy, the choices we make often have far-reaching consequences, and skeletons often find their way to the surface no matter how well they’re buried.

 

This novel is available June 27, 2023.

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

        

 

 

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

 

About Adrienne Brodeur

Adrienne Brodeur is the author of the memoir Wild Game, which was selected as a Best Book of the Year by NPR and The Washington Post and is in development as a Netflix film. She founded the literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story with Francis Ford Coppola, and currently serves as executive director of Aspen Words, a literary nonprofit and program of the Aspen Institute. She splits her time between Cambridge and Cape Cod, where she lives with her husband and children.

Photograph by Tony Luong.

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#BookReview Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison @robbiegmorrison @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #CastaColdEye #RobbieMorrison #PGCBooks

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#BookReview Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison @robbiegmorrison @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #CastaColdEye #RobbieMorrison #PGCBooks Title: Cast a Cold Eye

Author: Robbie Morrison

Series: Jimmy Dreghorn #2

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jun. 20, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 449

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Glasgow, 1933

Murder is nothing new in the Depression-era city, especially to war veterans Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and his partner ‘Bonnie’ Archie McDaid. But the dead man found in a narrowboat on the Forth and Clyde Canal, executed with a single shot to the back of the head, is no ordinary killing.

Violence usually erupts in the heat of the moment – the razor-gangs that stalk the streets settle scores with knives and fists. Firearms suggest something more sinister, especially when the killer strikes again. Meanwhile, other forces are stirring within the city. A suspected IRA cell is at large, embedded within the criminal gangs and attracting the ruthless attention of Special Branch agents from London.

With political and sectarian tensions rising, and the body count mounting, Dreghorn and McDaid pursue an investigation into the dark heart of humanity – where one person’s freedom fighter is another’s terrorist, and noble ideals are swept away by bloody vengeance.

Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison is a dark historical crime novel and the sequel to Edge of the Grave , winner of Bloody Scotland’s Scottish Crime Debut of the Year.

Review:

Gritty, raw, and thrilling!

In this second instalment in the Jimmy Dreghorn series, Cast a Cold Eye, we head back to 1933 Glasgow, where Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and his burly sidekick Sergeant Archie McDaid now find themselves immersed in a tricky investigation involving an execution-style killing of a man on a boat that may or may not have connections to the simmering political tensions, escalating gang violence, and increasing IRA presence that seems to be plaguing the city.

The writing is meticulous and tight. The characters are intuitive, relentless, and committed. And the plot unravels briskly into a sinister tale full of mischief, mayhem, deception, corruption, coercion, politics, criminal behaviour, dangerous situations, suspicious motivations, red herrings, deduction, vengeance, violence, and murder.

Overall, Cast a Cold Eye is another atmospheric, gripping, highly entertaining thriller by Morrison that is a fabulous addition to a series, with its unique historical setting, action-packed storyline, and gritty, complex characters, that’s quickly becoming one of my favourites.

 

This novel is available now.

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

      

 

 

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

 

About Robbie Morrison

Robbie Morrison was born in Helensburgh, Scotland, and grew up in the Renton, Coatbridge, Linwood and Houston. On both sides, his family connection to shipbuilding in Glasgow and the surrounding areas stretches back four generations and is a source of inspiration for the Jimmy Dreghorn series. He sold his first script to publishers DC Thomson in Dundee at the age of twenty-three. One of the most respected writers in the UK comics industry, Edge of the Grave is his first novel.

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#BookReview Welcome to Beach Town by Susan Wiggs @susanwiggs @uplitreads @WmMorrowBooks #welcometobeachtown #authorsusanwiggs #uplitreadscampaign

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#BookReview Welcome to Beach Town by Susan Wiggs @susanwiggs @uplitreads @WmMorrowBooks #welcometobeachtown #authorsusanwiggs #uplitreadscampaign Title: Welcome to Beach Town

Author: Susan Wiggs

Published by: William Morrow on Jun. 20, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Every town has its secrets… In idyllic Alara Cove, a California beach town known for its sunny charm and chill surfer vibe, it’s graduation day at the elite Thornton Academy.

At Thornton, the students are the worldly and overindulged children who live in gated enclaves with spectacular views. But the class valedictorian is Nikki Graziola, a surfer’s daughter who is there on scholarship. To the shock of everyone in the audience, Nikki veers off script while giving her commencement address and reveals a secret that breaks open the whole community. As her truth explodes into the light, Alara Cove will face a reckoning. Nikki Graziola’s accusation shakes the foundation of Alara Cove, pitting her against the wealthy family whose money runs the town. Her new notoriety sends Nikki into exile for years, where she finds fame—but not fortune—overseas as a competition surfer…until a personal tragedy compels her to return to Alara Cove.  

As Nikki struggles to rebuild her future, she finds that the people of the town have not forgotten her. But time has changed Alara Cove, and old friendships, rivalries, and an unexpected romance draw her back into the life of the beach town she’s never quite forgotten, and where joy and redemption may be possible after all.

Review:

Sincere, heart-tugging, and rewarding!

Welcome to Beach Town is an emotional, immersive, heartwarming tale that takes us into the life of the sweet, vulnerable Nikki Graziola as she struggles to juggle returning to her hometown that’s laced with tragic memories and a place she hoped she’d never have to live again, the overwhelming grief caused by the sudden loss of the love of her life, a strained relationship with a father she hardly knows, a determination to finally uncover all the secrets hidden by those in power, and a newly budding attraction to a friend she was pretty close with in the past.

The writing is sentimental and engaging. The characters are layered, supportive, and generous. And the plot is a touching tale of family, friendship, self-discovery, happiness, heartbreak, taking chances, growth, healing, revelations, tender moments, light drama, greed, corruption, selflessness, romance, and new beginnings.

Overall, Welcome to Beach Town is another heartwarming, uplifting, nostalgic tale that reminds us that the true meaning of family is unconditionally respecting, loving, supporting, and accepting each other through all the highs and lows. It’s the perfect read for summer that proves once again that when it comes to writing heartfelt, moving stories with characters you can’t help but root for, Wiggs is one of the best.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

 

Thank you to Uplit Reads for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Susan Wiggs

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends…and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and in good weather, she commutes to her writers' group in a 21-foot motorboat. She’s been featured in the national media, including NPR, PRI, and USA Today, has given programs for the US Embassies in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, and is a popular speaker locally, nationally, internationally, and on the high seas.

From the very start, her writings have illuminated the everyday dramas of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances. Her books celebrate the power of love, the timeless bonds of family and the fascinating nuances of human nature. Today, she is an international best-selling, award-winning author, with millions of copies of her books in print in numerous countries and languages. According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable."

Her novels have appeared in the #1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List, and have captured readers’ hearts around the globe with translations into more than 20 languages and 30 countries. She is a three-time winner of the RITA Award,. Her recent novel, The Apple Orchard, is currently being made into a film, and The Lakeshore Chronicles has been optioned for adaptation into a series.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. She lives on an island in Puget Sound, where she divides her time between sleeping and waking.

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#BookReview Zero Days by Ruth Ware @RuthWareWriter @ScoutPressBooks @SimonSchusterCA #ZeroDays #RuthWare #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview Zero Days by Ruth Ware @RuthWareWriter @ScoutPressBooks @SimonSchusterCA #ZeroDays #RuthWare #SimonSchusterCA Title: Zero Days

Author: Ruth Ware

Published by: Scout Press on Jun. 20, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

An adrenaline-fueled thriller that combines Mr. and Mrs. Smith with The Fugitive about a woman in a race against time to clear her name and find her husband’s murderer.

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.

Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery.

Review:

Addictive, propulsive, and suspenseful!

Zero Days is a fast-paced, sinister page-turner that takes you into the life of Jacintha “Jack” Cross, a security penetration specialist who, after returning home from a job one night to find her husband murdered and his hard drive gone, suddenly finds herself on the run and determined to do whatever it takes to hunt down and discover the who and why that lead to her husband’s senseless death when it quickly becomes apparent that as far as the police are concerned she’s suspect number one.

The writing is sharp and crisp. The characters are impulsive, driven, and resourceful. And the plot is an intricate, captivating tall full of twists, turns, secrets, deception, manipulation, greed, red herrings, corruption, malicious intentions, and murder.

Overall, Zero Days is an exhilarating, twisty, action-packed thrill ride by Ware that is one of my favourite novels I’ve read by her in the past few years. It not only did a great job of keeping me on the edge of my seat from start to finish but was an eerie reminder of just how vulnerable and susceptible our dependence on technology and social media truly makes us.

 

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 gifting me 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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#BookReview Identity by Nora Roberts @smpromance @StMartinsPress #IdentityNovel #NoraRoberts #SMPRomance #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview Identity by Nora Roberts @smpromance @StMartinsPress #IdentityNovel #NoraRoberts #SMPRomance #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Identity

Author: Nora Roberts

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 23, 2023

Genres: Romantic Suspense

Pages: 437

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

A new thriller about one man’s ice-cold malice, and one woman’s fight to reclaim her life.

Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. Her friend and roommate Nina helps her make the mortgage payments, as does Morgan’s job as a bartender. But after she and Nina host their first dinner party—attended by Luke, the flirtatious IT guy who’d been chatting her up at the bar—her carefully built world is shattered. The back door glass is broken, cash and jewelry are missing, her car is gone, and Nina lies dead on the floor.

Soon, a horrific truth emerges: It was Morgan who let the monster in. “Luke” is actually a cold-hearted con artist named Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits his ultimate goal: murder.

What the FBI tells Morgan is beyond chilling. Nina wasn’t his type. Morgan is. Nina was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Morgan’s nightmare is just beginning. Soon she has no choice but to flee to her mother’s home in Vermont. While she struggles to build something new, she meets another man, Miles Jameson. He isn’t flashy or flirtatious, and his family business has deep roots in town. But Gavin is still out there hunting new victims, and he hasn’t forgotten the one who got away.

Review:

Tense, twisty, and suspenseful!

Identity is a well-executed, sinister tale that takes you into the life of Morgan Albright, a hardworking, driven young woman who, after her roommate is murdered, her life is in tatters, and her money is all gone, moves home to Vermont to start over once again only to discover that the cold, calculating con artist and serial killer with a penchant for young, slender blondes with androgynous names is still on her trail and determined more than ever to finally capture the only one that’s ever gotten away.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are vulnerable, secretive, cunning, and tenacious. And the plot is a cat-and-mouse game full of twists, turns, friendship, deception, desire, temptation, attraction, danger, romance, violence, and murder.

Overall, Identity is another adrenaline-pumping, unnerving, highly satisfying page-turner by Roberts that has the perfect amount of suspense and romance to keep you guessing, engaged, invested, and entertained from start to finish while also doing an eerily brilliant job of highlighting just how utterly devastating identity theft can truly be.

 

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 gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Come Sundown, The Obsession, The Liar, and coming in December 2017, Year One -- the first book in The Chronicles of The One. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

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#BookReview The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand @elinhilderbrand @littlebrown @HBGCanada #TheFiveStarWeekend #ElinHilderbrand #HBGCanada

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#BookReview The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand @elinhilderbrand @littlebrown @HBGCanada #TheFiveStarWeekend #ElinHilderbrand #HBGCanada Title: The Five-Star Weekend

Author: Elin Hilderbrand

Published by: Little Brown and Company on Jun. 13, 2023

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket: After tragedy strikes, food blogger Hollis Shaw gathers four friends from different stages in her life to spend an unforgettable weekend on Nantucket.

Hollis Shaw’s life seems picture-perfect. She’s the creator of the popular food blog Hungry with Hollis and is married to Matthew, a dreamy heart surgeon. But after she and Matthew get into a heated argument one snowy morning, he leaves for the airport and is killed in a car accident. The cracks in Hollis’s perfect life—her strained marriage and her complicated relationship with her daughter, Caroline—grow deeper.

So when Hollis hears about something called a “Five-Star Weekend”—one woman organizes a trip for her best friend from each phase of her life: her teenage years, her twenties, her thirties, and midlife—she decides to host her own Five-Star Weekend on Nantucket. But the weekend doesn’t turn out to be a joyful Hallmark movie.

The husband of Hollis’s childhood friend Tatum arranges for Hollis’s first love, Jack Finigan, to spend time with them, stirring up old feelings. Meanwhile, Tatum is forced to play nice with abrasive and elitist Dru-Ann, Hollis’s best friend from UNC Chapel Hill. Dru-Ann’s career as a prominent Chicago sports agent is on the line after her comments about a client’s mental health issues are misconstrued online. Brooke, Hollis’s friend from their thirties, has just discovered that her husband is having an inappropriate relationship with a woman at work. Again! And then there’s Gigi, a stranger to everyone (including Hollis) who reached out to Hollis through her blog. Gigi embodies an unusual grace and, as it happens, has many secrets.

The Five-Star Weekend is a surprising and captivating story about friendship, love, and self-discovery set on Nantucket. It will be a weekend like no other.

Review:

Heartwarming, comforting, and nostalgic!

The Five-Star Weekend is a lighthearted, engaging tale that takes you into the life of Hollis Shaw, a middle-aged successful food blogger who, after returning to her hometown of Nantucket, invites four friends, one from each stage of her life, to spend a weekend at her home on the island to help her come to grips with the recent loss of her husband and the strained relationship with her daughter she’s struggling to repair.

The prose is sentimental and tender. The characters are independent, supportive, and layered. And the plot is a compelling, touching tale of life, love, family, honesty, kindness, communication, acceptance, self-discovery, grief, loss, understanding, forgiveness, romance, taking chances, and new beginnings.

Overall, The Five-Star Weekend is another emotive, thoughtful, cosy read by Hilderbrand that does a beautiful job of reminding us just how important, powerful, and meaningful female friendships can truly be.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Elin Hilderbrand

Elin Hilderbrand is a mother of three, an avid runner, reader, and traveler, and the author of twenty-three novels. She grew up outside Philadelphia, and has lived on Nantucket for more than twenty years.

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