Book Review: "The Twilight Wife" By: A.J. Banner

Title: The Twilight Wife   By: A.J. Banner

Publication Date: 12/27/2016

Summary:

Thirty-four-year-old marine biologist Kyra Winthrop remembers nothing about the diving accident that left her with a complex form of memory loss. With only brief flashes of the last few years of her life, her world has narrowed to a few close friendships on the island where she lives with her devoted husband, Jacob.

But all is not what it seems. Kyra begins to have visions—or are they memories?—of a rocky marriage, broken promises, and cryptic relationships with the island residents, whom she believes to be her friends.

As Kyra races to uncover her past, the truth becomes a terrifying nightmare. A twisty, immersive thriller, The Twilight Wife will keep readers enthralled through the final, shocking twist. From www.amazon.com

Review:

I read a lot of amnesia-based psychological thrillers. If you read my blog, about half of the books I read seem to fit this category. I love the genre. I love putting myself in the mind of the main character and thinking how I would piece together the puzzle of their current life to figure out my past.

One thing I have learned is to not try to figure it all out, and just enjoy the journey. I’ve learned that it’s more fun to NOT try to read into every single cue that the author may drop as to hint to what's really going on.

This book was great. (I enjoyed “The Good Neighbor” as well (by the same author) and recommend that book if you have the time.) I read it in a few days; it kept my interest the whole time, and had a great twist that wasn’t completely obvious. This book really didn’t have a dull moment. I suppose it had moments that weren’t going-going-going, but I was never bored. (just like “The Good Neighbor”) The characters were well developed, I felt like I knew them and could predict them (or could I?). Highly recommended!

Read Date: 10/24/2016

Acquired From: NetGalley

Book Review: "Murder in Missoula" By: Laurence Giliotti

Title: Murder in Missoula   By: Laurence Giliotti

Publication Date: 09/19/2015

Summary:

Retired federal agent Joe Nicoletti is ready for a change. He dreams of a simple life, far away from Washington, D.C., where every street corner reminds him of his dead wife.

When he is offered a faculty position at the University of Montana, he sees it as a dream come true. A chance to start over.

He never dreamed he would have a second chance at love. He never dreamed he would become the prime suspect in a high profile murder case. He never dreamed he would be forced to undertake the most important investigation of his life. But dreams can turn into nightmares when there is Murder In Missoula.

A novel of love and attraction, both normal and perverse, friendship, sacrifice, ambition, innocence, dreams as harbingers of events to come, telepathy, clairvoyance, fate and destiny. All wrapped in a fast paced novel of murder and suspense.From www.amazon.com

Review:

The characters in this book were intriguing. Although I will admit at times I felt a little confused on who was the detective, who lived in Missoula, and who was visiting. Not sure if maybe there were too many characters? Maybe they weren’t all necessary for the plot? As the book went on I figured out who is who. Regardless, the story flowed, was fast-paced, and definitely kept me interested.

The main pitfall I found about the book was that I didn't understand the depth of the relationship between the two main characters, which was essentially the plot of the story. I just didn’t fell the breadth of their relationship.

One character was especially creepy, and I feel like I could have just read his fictional biography and been satisfied.

Overall, I liked this book. It was not as mainstream as many books I read. I have recommended it to friends and hope that if you are reading this review you will read it as well.

Read Date: 10/01/2016

Acquired From: NetGalley

Book Review: "The Girl from the Sea" By: Shalini Boland

Title: The Girl from the Sea   By: Shalini Boland

Publication Date: 6/9/2016

Summary:

Washed up on the beach, she can't remember who she is. She can't even remember her name. Turns out, she has an idyllic life - friends and family eager to fill in the blanks. But why are they lying to her? What don't they want her to remember?

When you don't even know who you are, how do you know who to trust? From www.amazon.com

Review:

I really really liked this book. I am a huge fan of "amnesia-based" books. Though it may seem that this theme has been done again and again, this storyline was pretty original.

You knew everyone in Mia's life was not to be trusted in some sort of way. Piers was sketchy. I thought the whole time that he had something to do with her accident because he was trying to steal her money.

But then you had the odd neighbors, the random friend Jack, and you really didn't know anymore that she does. I felt just as lost in life as she did.

I also liked how her feelings about the people in her life after the accident, specifically Piers and Jack, were basically the same feelings she had prior too. So like even though she lost her memory, she still had intuition, if that makes sense?

The ending tied it all together but in a way that wasn't completely expected. I could kind of figure out the premise of why she had "the accident" but the details weren't so obvious that I lost interest.

Lastly, the ending chapter was perfect. Just sealed the deal on her psychosis.

I'm really looking forward to reading other books by this author and will definitely be recommending to my friends and family.

Read Date: 8/24/2016

Acquired From: NetGalley

Book Review: "The Couple Next Door" By: Shari Lapena

Title: The Couple Next Door   By: Shari Lapena

Publication Date: 8/23/2016

Summary:

How well do you know the couple next door? Or your husband? Or even—yourself? 

People are capable of almost anything. . .

A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors—a twisty, rollercoaster ride of lies, betrayal, and the secrets between husbands and wives. . .

Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all—a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.

Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years.

What follows is the nerve-racking unraveling of a family—a chilling tale of deception, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist. -From www.amazon.com

Review:

Do yourself a favor and don’t make plans for the day if you are going to pick up this book.

There are problems with books this good:

-          I get nothing done that day.

-          It’s over in a couple hours.

-          All I can talk about for the whole week is the awesome book I just read.

I don’t even know where to begin. I couldn’t put it down. It was non-stop from the first page. Everyone in the story is screwed up, and as you peel back the layers, it just becomes more twisted. Absolutely loved it. If you like mystery/thrillers, just read it. I promise you will like it. Then call me so we can talk about it. J

Read Date: 7/25/2016

Acquired From: NetGalley

Book Review: "Baby Doll" By: Hollie Overton

Title: Baby Doll   By: Hollie Overton

Publication Date: 7/12/2016

Summary:

Escape was just the beginning.

Held captive for eight years, Lily has grown from a teenager to an adult in a small basement prison. Her daughter Sky has been a captive her whole life. But one day their captor leaves the deadbolt unlocked.

This is what happens next... to Lily, to her twin sister, to her mother, to her daughter -- and to her captor. - From www.amazon.com

Review:

I liked this book. I read it in a couple of days and it kept my interest. But, I have to add that I don't particularly feel like this book should have been categorized as a psychological thriller. It was more of a family drama. A few thoughts:

• Perhaps I didn't read the description clearly, but I thought I was going to be reading about a girl tortured in a dungeon and how she persevered. What it ended up being was the story of a girl captured within the first chapter. I figured we would go back after a couple chapters and relive her horror (is that effed up?) but that didn't happen. That being said, the book was still good, just not what I thought I was going to read.

• There are a lot of books written about being held captive, so even though I was expecting to read this, it was a nice change of theme to read about what happens AFTER she gets out.

•   Lily didn't seem "broken" or damaged enough to me, considering she had just spent 8 years in confinement. I almost wanted her to be a total psycho, but she was way too normal. I see a spider in my house and I have worse PTSD than she did.

• The relationships within her family are interesting, particularly the one she has with her sister. The author did a good job showing that. You could feel the love/devotion they had for one another.

Overall it was a good read and I would recommend it. Just read it knowing that you aren’t living through her experience with her. This really isn’t a problem because there are plenty of books like that.

Read Date: 7/24/2016

Acquired From: NetGalley

Book Review: "14 Days to Die" By: A.B. Whelan

Title: 14 Days to Die   By: A.B. Whelan

Publication Date: 1/13/2016

Summary:

To what extent would you go to avenge your husband's infidelity?

Stay-at-home mom Sarah Johnson has the perfect family—a handsome, hardworking husband and two healthy and beautiful children. At least, that’s what she’s been telling herself for years.

But Sarah’s world is about to crumble around her when she receives a phone call from a man with a heavy foreign accent telling her that her perfect husband has put a price on her head. She is offered two weeks to come up with a counteroffer or die.

So the game of life or death begins. Secrets are unveiled. Emotions are unleashed. Actions are taken.

Will there be a winner in this dangerous game when no one can escape the twist of fate?

From www.amazon.com

Review:

This was a good read. The main character was definitely crazy and you felt crazy with her. Some of the relationships she had with people (her friend and her mom) were slightly underdeveloped, but that didn’t take away from the plot. Every day of the 14 days was an adventure and you slowly felt as if you were spiraling out of control with her.

Read Date: 5/31/2016

Acquired From: Purchased from Amazon.com

Book Review: "Between You and Me: A psychological thriller with a twist you won't see coming" By: Lisa Hall

Title: "Between You and Me: A psychological thriller with a twist you won't see coming" By: Lisa Hall

Publication Date: 3/17/2016

Summary:

They say every marriage has its secrets.

But no one sees what happens behind closed doors.

And sometimes those doors should never be opened…

Sal and Charlie are married. They love each other. But they aren’t happy. Sal cannot leave, no matter what Charlie does – no matter how much it hurts.  From www.amazon.com

Review:

Let me preface this review by saying that I agree with other reviewers (particularly on amazon.com) that this is not really a “psychological thriller.” It’s suspenseful, and it’s psychological, but not really a thriller. That being said, why is everyone so angry about the ending? Yeah, it was a little weird. Definitely caught me off guard, but I don’t feel like it threw away the purpose of the book. I almost feel like I need to read it again. I kind-of/sort-of knew what the twist was going to be, there were minor hints towards it, but I still was thinking “NO WAY!”

And if the author fooled you, she did her job. After all, the title says “with a twist.”

Read Date: 5/27/2016

Acquired From: Purchased from Amazon.com

Book Review: "Into the Light (The Light Series Book 1)" By: Aleatha Romig

Title: Into the Light (The Light Series Book 1)  By: Aleatha Romig

Publication Date: 6/14/2016

Summary:

Sara Adams awakes blind, unable to remember the most basic details of her life, but her darkness seems a blessing when she discovers the terrors of The Light.

Stella Montgomery investigates the news from the mean streets of Detroit, where she’s noticed a disturbing trend: young women are vanishing. When her best friend disappears, Stella digs for answers—despite warnings from her police detective boyfriend—following a twisted trail that leads her through the city’s most dangerous and forsaken precincts. There she uncovers something more sinister than she could have imagined: a shadowy organization known as The Light, led by the enigmatic Father Gabriel.

As Sara struggles to understand her place in the strange world she’s awakened to—an oppressive cult demanding unquestioning obedience—and her feelings for Jacob, the husband she can’t recall and whose harsh and tender attentions confuse and beguile her, Stella risks all to discover the truth. But enlightenment always comes with a price… From www.amazon.com

Review:

This book took me FOREVERRRRR to read. I had back-to-back hectic trips scheduled and when my quiet reading time rolled around I was exhausted and would read 5 minutes and fall asleep. Alas, that has NOTHING to do with how much I enjoyed this book. 

I like books where people have amnesia. Not sure why? This book was full of amnesia-suspense. I think that could be a new genre. I also like cults. Anyway…

This book definitely had twists I didn’t see coming. Actually, one of the twists I thought was a plot hole and noted it to mention to the publisher in my review. I did not find this book overly predictable, but it was fun to guess and try to figure out who was involved and in which ways, if any. It made me emotional too, in some sick, cult-like-amnesia-romance sort of way.   

I can’t wait until the next book comes out. I hope it is as creepy, unpredictable, and oddly-romantic as this one was.

Read Date: 7/15/2016

Acquired From: NetGalley

Book Review: Throw Away Girls: The Jaycee Wilder Series Book 1 By: Jennifer Vaughn

Title: Throw Away Girls: The Jaycee Wilder Series, Book 1   By: Jennifer Vaughn

Publication Date: 7/15/2016

Summary:

The killer lives a normal life during the day, while hunting the Throw Away Girls at night, punishing them for their dark urges. He leaves messages behind in his victims' blood, his explanation for enacting such brutal, twisted justice upon the unworthy. He watches the media coverage. He knows the wily reporter is chasing him. As Jaycee follows her gut, and the evidence, she forces him to act. But when a killer is clever and cunning, he can infiltrate anywhere. Jaycee must utilize all her skills to expose him before he gets to her first. From www.amazon.com

Review:

I give this book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I am going to review this book with Pros and Cons to sort my thoughts out.

Pros:

1.       I really liked Jaycee. Her character was not an “over-confident-assertive-female-detective” that we read in every other novel of the sort. I felt like I knew her and we could be friends. She didn’t annoy me, and I get easily annoyed with the female characters in a lot of mystery novels. That was definitely a plus.

2.       The storyline was good. Gruesome at times, but again, just enough that you are like “UGH,” but not too much that you are thoroughly disgusted. And it was different, maybe because it was set in L.A.?

3.       There wasn’t much for dull moments. The book kept my attention and there wasn’t any chapter that wasn’t in-line where it needed to be.

Con:

1.       Though the book kept my attention, I feel like the pace picked up a little too quickly 70-75% through. This would not deter me from recommending; it was still a good book, but I never felt scared for her which I think was the goal. I didn’t ever feel she was in any grave danger. Another aspect is that the boyfriend was such a big part of the ending, and there was a lot of emotion between the two of them at the ending, but I didn’t feel that love throughout the book.

Putting the "con" aside, I am really looking forward to reading the other books in the series. I do feel a little kept on the edge to see how the other characters develop throughout.

Read Date: 6/24/2016

Acquired From: NetGalley

Book Review: "Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch

Title: Dark Matter   By: Blake Crouch

Publication Date: 7/26/2016

Summary:

“Are you happy with your life?”

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.” 

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.   -  From www.amazon.com

Review:

“Dark Matter” is my third Blake Crouch book. I don’t know if I like Sci-Fi, or I just like Crouch? I’ve never been one to read it, but I REALLY enjoyed this book. It was part love story, part sci-fi, part thriller. Like his other books, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The whole 4 days while I was reading it, I was questioning my own life. What if this could really happen?

Unfortunately, like other reviewers, I don’t know how to give any further review without spoilers. JUST READ IT! You won’t be disappointed! If you liked Wayward Pines, you will likely also enjoy this one.

Read Date: 6/16/2016

Acquired From: NetGalley

Book Review: "When Strangers Meet" by Kio Stark

Title: When Strangers Meet   By: Kio Stark

Publication Date: 9/13/2016

Summary: When Strangers Meet reveals the transformative possibility of talking to people you don’t know—how these beautiful interruptions in daily life can change you and the world we share.

When Strangers Meet argues for the pleasures and transformative possibility of talking to people you don’t know. Our lives are increasingly insular. We are in a hurry, our heads are down, minds elsewhere, we hear only the voices we already recognize and rarely take the effort to experience something or someone new. Talking to a stranger pulls you into a shared humanity, it’s a source of creative energy, it opens your world, it cements your relationship to the places you live and work and play, it’s a beautiful interruption in the steady routines of our lives. Talking to strangers wakes you up. From www.amazon.com

Review: This book read like a good lecture. It was too the point and didn’t veer, which was nice. It included enough research to keep you interested, and not too much to get off the main topic.

I’m curious to know who the expected audience? I feel like this book would have wonderfully complimented the coursework in my Sociology classes when I was in school.

I have a Master’s degree in Sociology, so I think I have a deeper interest in the topic than then general public may have. I often analyze ALL social interaction, including some I don’t participate in (I’m an active people-watcher). This book makes me want to branch out and start talking to strangers!

Opinions of talking with strangers will greatly vary depending on the audience. I feel like as I’ve gotten older, I tend to interact less with people. I don’t know if it is because of where I live, my own perceptions of whether or not people want to talk to me, or because of my generation and our tendency to hide behind a screen. Regardless, I suppose this book has got me thinking which means for me, it was a success!

I would be interested in reading other books/lectures/research by this author.

Read Date: 6/11/2016

Acquired From: NetGalley

Book Review: "All the Missing Girls" by Megan Miranda

Title: All the Missing Girls   By: Megan Miranda

Publication Date: 6/28/2016

Summary: It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.

The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.

Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.- From www.amazon.com

Review:

Imagine a dark cloud looming over you, intense, mysterious… This is how I felt during the whole book. I couldn’t figure it out. Who was lying? Was everyone lying?

This book was perfectly written, in reverse. It’s difficult to write a book (not that I would know), but to write it day-by-day in reverse and to also have it make sense? It was very unique and worked perfectly. Each day peeled back another layer. You almost want to read it all over again, and by knowing how it ended, would make it even that much more brilliant. 

To top it off, I felt like I could relate to Nic in regards to her leaving a small town, where it appears when coming back that nothing (and everything) has changed.

I’m excited to see the success of this book when it’s released. I can’t imagine it won’t be a hit.

Read Date: 6/11/2016

Acquired From: NetGalley

Book Review: "A Head Full of Ghosts" by Paul Tremblay

Review: A Head Full of Ghosts 

By: Paul Tremblay

Summary: The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.

To her parents’ despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie’s descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts’ plight. With John, Marjorie’s father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.

Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface—and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil. - From www.amazon.com

Review: I decided to start with this book because of the aftershock I experienced after reading it. I read a fair amount of books, but there are a select few that leave me with deep questions of why? who?… that I will never have answered. The second reason is because I wrote to the author on Good Reads after I read it and he wrote back his appreciation! (I’m kind of a nerd.)

The story goes back and forth between past and present, and does so seamlessly. There is not much confusion, which can sometimes be the case in books written this way.

I really felt like I knew the characters throughout the book. By the middle of the book, I felt I had “figured it out.” By the end of the book, I had so many questions. But not so many questions in that there were plot holes… no, not at all…. so many questions about humanity, right/wrong, why did this person do that, who did what? Emotional. Roller coaster.

Since I typically read a lot of mystery and thrillers, one thing that I find annoying is a story that is far-fetched, or could never happen in real life. This could totally happen in real life.

“A Head Full of Ghosts” was by far the best book I’ve read this year.

Read Date: March 18, 2016
Acquired From: Purchased from Amazon.com