Shelley's Book Nook

☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 240 pages Expected publication: February 5th 2021 by Ecco About the Book: Teenage Eulabee and her magnetic best friend, Maria Fabiola, own the streets of Sea Cliff, their foggy oceanside San Francisco neighborhood. They know Sea Cliff’s homes and beaches, its hidden corners and eccentric characters—as well as the upscale all-girls’ school they attend. One day, walking to school with friends, they witness a horrible act—or do they? Eulabee and Maria Fabiola vehemently disagree on what happened, and their rupture is followed by Maria Fabiola’s sudden disappearance—a potential kidnapping that shakes the quiet community and threatens to expose unspoken truths. My Review: We Run the Tides is a fantastic novel that you won’t want to put down. The author paints pictures with her words allowing you to feel you are part of the story. It awakened memories, it brings to life ordinary lives and portrays how the bonds of true friendship help three young girls weather the storms and und

☆☆1/2 .ePUB, 245 pages Expected publication: February 9th 2021 by Ecco About the Book: Six of us are going to the island. Only one of us will make it back. That one of us will be me. For friends Riley, Sam, Mia and Scarlett, their trip to Whisper Island was meant to be a once in a lifetime adventure – just four young women, with everything to live for...But as soon as they arrive things start to go wrong. First there is the unexpected arrival of Sammy’s drug addict brother and his girlfriend Opal – why are they here? And then the deaths begin. As the dream trip quickly turns into a nightmare, suspicion is high. Are they really alone on the island? Or is there a killer hiding in the shadows? And as each of the girls reveals a dark secret of their own, perhaps the truth is the killer is closer than they think…just a whisper away. My Review: With vibes of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Whisper Island had a wonderful setting for a creepy mystery...a run down house on a desolat

☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 329 pages Expected publication: February 4th 2021 by Avon Books UK About the Book: He collects his victims. But he doesn’t keep them safe. Elspeth, Meggie and Xavier are locked in a flat. They don’t know where they are, and they don’t know why they’re there. They only know that the shadow man has taken them, and he won’t let them go. Desperate to escape, the three of them must find a way out of their living hell, even if it means uncovering a very dark truth. Because the shadow man isn’t a nightmare. He’s all too real. And he’s watching. My Review: Helen Fields is a new author to me and I really enjoyed this book, on the strength of this one I will check out more of her work. I liked the way all the characters were portrayed , especially the female characters who were realistic , with no simpering and complete change of character whenever a male character is involved. I also liked the way the darker character was portrayed , chillingly normal in everyday situations but dea

☆☆☆☆1/2 .ePUB, 368 pages Expected publication: January 5th 2021 by Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons About the Book: Isaiah was Samuel's and Samuel was Isaiah's. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man--a fellow slave--seeks to gain favor by preaching the master's gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel's love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation's harmony. My Review: If you’re looking for a fast paced, plot-centered novel this book is not for you. The Prophets reads more like an in-depth character study than anything else. This novel is about Isaiah and Samuel their life, their experiences and their feelings

  ☆☆☆ ☆ ☆ .ePUB, 280 pages Expected publication: February 2nd 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Mariner Books About the Book: Claire "Mac" Woods--a professor enjoying her newfound hotshot status at an academic conference--finally has the acceptance and admiration she has long craved. But at the conference's hotel bar, Mac is surprised to run into a face from a past she'd rather forget: the moneyed, effortlessly perfect Gwendolyn Whitney, Mac's foil, rival, and former best friend. When Gwen moved to town in high school, Claire--then known as Mac, a poor kid from a troubled family who had too much on her plate--saw what it meantto have. Money, sophistication, culture, the very blueprints to success. Mac had almost nothing, except the will to change. Change she did, habitually grinding herself to work as hard as straight-A Gwen, even eventually getting admitted into the same elite graduate program as Gwen. But then Mac and Gwen become entangled with the department’s

☆☆☆ ☆ ☆ .ePUB, 345 pages Expected publication: February 2nd 2021 by St. Martin's Press About the Book: Gibby's older brothers have already been to war. One died there. The other came back misunderstood and hard, a decorated killer now freshly released from a three-year stint in prison. Jason won't speak of the war or of his time behind bars, but he wants a relationship with the younger brother he hasn't known for years. Determined to make that connection, he coaxes Gibby into a day at the lake: long hours of sunshine and whisky and older women. But the day turns ugly when the four encounter a prison transfer bus on a stretch of empty road. Beautiful but drunk, one of the women taunts the prisoners, leading to a riot on the bus. The woman finds it funny in the moment, but is savagely murdered soon after. Given his violent history, suspicion turns first to Jason; but when the second woman is kidnapped, the police suspect Gibby, too. Determined to prove Jason innocent, Gi

☆☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 333 pages Expected publication: January 19th 2021 by Forever (Grand Central Publishing) About the Book: Based on the true story behind a landmark U.S. Supreme Court Decision, K.D. Alden's debut is a rich and moving story of one woman's courage and determination to get her child back when all odds are stacked against her. Virginia, 1927: All Ruth Ann Riley wants is a chance to have a family. But because she was poor and unwed when she became pregnant, she was sent to an institution and her child was given to another woman. Ruth Ann can't stand the thought of never seeing little Annabel's face again, never snuggling up to her warmth or watching her blue eyes crinkle with laughter. And now they want to take away her right to have any other babies? She is not going to let that happen. All the rich and fancy folks may call her feeble-minded, but Ruth Ann is smarter than any of them have bargained for. Because no matter how high the odds are stacked against her,

☆☆☆ ☆ ☆ .ePUB, 249 pages Expected publication: February 2nd 2021 by Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press About the Book: Felix Pink is retired. Widowed for more than a decade, a painfully literal thinker, he has led a life of routine and is, not unhappily, waiting to die a hopefully boring death. He occupies himself volunteering as an Exiteer—someone who sits with terminally ill people as they die by suicide, assisting with logistics and lending moral support, then removing the evidence so that family and friends are not implicated in the death. When Felix lets himself in to Number 3 Black Lane, he’s there to perform an act of kindness and charity: to keep a dying man company as he takes his final breath. But just fifteen minutes later Felix is on the run from the police—after making the biggest mistake of his life. Now his routine world is turned upside down as he tries to discover whether what went wrong was a simple mistake—or deliberate. Murder. My Review: Question: What do you g

☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 323 pages Expected publication: January 14th 2021  ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op About the Book: Fran finds her standing by the swings. A little girl, Esther, no older than seven years old, by herself in the dead of night, her pretty but old-fashioned yellow dress covered in grass stains and her hair dishevelled. She says she's waiting for Father, and that strikes Fran as particularly odd. After Esther is reunited with her family, Fran can't stop thinking about this pious child whose imaginary friend is God. Fran's instincts tell her something is very wrong. Why does Esther keep running away from home, and how did she get that bruise on her leg? Fran's husband warns her not to get too close, but one morning, Esther and her family disappear. Where did they go? Why did they leave their furniture behind? Fran knows in her gut that something terrible is going to happen to that child, and she can't stand by while it happens. No matter the c

☆☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 246 pages Expected publication: January 5th 2021 by Penguin Random House Canada/Viking About the Book: Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, supportive mother she never had to her new baby Violet. But in the thick of motherhood's exhausting early days, Blythe doesn't find the connection with her daughter she expected. She's convinced that something is wrong with Violet--the little girl is distant, rejects affection, and becomes increasingly disruptive at preschool. Or is it all in Blythe's head? Her husband, Fox, says she is imagining things. Fox doesn't see what Blythe sees; he sees a wife who is struggling to cope with the day-to-day challenges of being a mother. And the more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity...Then their son Sam is born--and with him, Blythe has the natural maternal connection she'd always dreamed of. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know

☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 364 pages Expected publication: January 19th 2021 by St. Martin's Press About the Book: The thrilling and definitive account of the Abdication Crisis of 1936. On December 10, 1936, King Edward VIII brought a great international drama to a close when he abdicated, renouncing the throne of the United Kingdom for himself and his heirs. The reason he gave when addressing his subjects was that he could not fulfill his duties without the woman he loved—the notorious American divorcee Wallis Simpson—by his side. His actions scandalized the establishment, who were desperate to avoid an international embarrassment at a time when war seemed imminent. That the King was rumored to have Nazi sympathies only strengthened their determination that he should be forced off the throne, by any means necessary. Alexander Larman’s The Crown in Crisis will treat readers to a new, thrilling view of this legendary story. Informed by revelatory archival material never-before-seen, as well as by

☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 248 pages Expected publication: December 13th 2020 by Inkubator Books About the Book: Hannah’s life is almost perfect. She’s a full-time mother to two young children and married to successful cardiologist Daniel. The only thing missing is a project of her own. So she has poured heart and soul into converting their stone barn into a beautiful holiday rental. Things take a dark turn when visitors Mike and Nadia come to stay. They are noisy, dirty and disrespectful. Hannah is incensed by their behaviour, worried they may wreck her lovingly restored barn. But she gradually realises that property damage is the least of her worries. Nadia and Mike aren’t here just for a holiday - they have a deeper, darker purpose, one that threatens to destroy Hannah’s entire life. Spiraling into a nightmare that grows worse with each passing day, Hannah has to find the courage to fight back. But Mike and Nadia are clever and ruthless and they know something that Hannah doesn’t - a shocking sec

☆☆ .ePUB, 238 pages Expected publication: December 1st 2020 by Little A About the Book: A decade ago in upstate New York, art student Emma McCullough walked into the woods and was never seen again. It’s a mystery that still haunts her bucolic university town and her broken family, especially her sister Haley, whose need for closure has become an obsession. But now, finally, the first piece of evidence in the vanishing has been found: Emma’s bracelet, lodged in a frozen piece of earth at the bottom of a gorge. For Emma’s three best college friends, for a beloved former teacher, and for Haley, the chilling trinket is more than a clue in a resurrected cold case. It’s a trigger. Then a woman is attacked during an open house, and the connections between the two crimes, ten winters apart, begin to surface. So do the secrets that run as deep and dark as the currents in this quiet river town. My Review: This book was not for me. What stared as a promising plot turned into a hot mess. It wasn

☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 272 pages Expected publication: December 1st 2020 by Thomas & Mercer About the Book: Cat Winthorpe has worked hard to get what she has: a gorgeous home; social standing; and William, her successful, handsome husband. Then a friendly new couple moves into the estate next door. While cautious, a good neighbor like Cat greets them with open arms and warm hospitality. Neena Ryder isn’t a fellow lady of leisure. A life coach with off-the-rack dresses, personal issues, and a husband who hasn’t delivered, she’s anxious to move up in the world. This beautiful new town is a step in the right direction. It’s also making Neena aware of what she doesn’t have. Namely, William. When Neena’s infatuation escalates into obsession, it’s just a matter of eliminating a few obstacles to get the life she wants. The life next door. As Neena’s secret fixation grows, so does her friendship with Cat. But beneath their cordial interactions is a wealth of temptations, secrets, and toxic jealousy

☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 267 pages Expected publication: February 1st 2021 by Lake Union Publishing About the Book: Needing to escape her abusive marriage, Hadley flees with her two kids, knowing it might be her only chance. A woman who can’t even kill a spider, Hadley soon finds herself pushed to the limits as she fights to protect her family. Grace, new mother of baby Miles, desperately wants to put her rough past behind her for good, but she finds it impossible when her path crosses with Hadley’s, and her quest for a new start quickly spirals out of control and turns into a terrifying flight for survival. Stronger together than apart, the two find their fates inextricably entwined, and as the danger closes in, each must decide how much she is willing to risk for the other. A powerful story of self-discovery, Hadley and Grace is the heart-racing tale of two women facing insurmountable odds, racing to stay one step ahead of the trouble that is chasing them, and discovering new kinds of love and fa

☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 217 pages Expected publication: January 26th 2021 by Montlake About the Book: A teenage movie crush set her standards high. Now a real man needs to meet them. Fast. Chicago obstetrician Mackenzie “Mac” Huntress set her standards for men very high early on. It’s been over twenty years since she fell for a fictional movie heartthrob, and Mac’s content to wait for the real version to come along; it’s her nagging mother who’s not happy with the timeline. So Mac falls back on her lifelong Mom-surviving skill—lying. The latest fabrication: a handsome neurologist named Michael. Pity he’s too busy to meet her friends and family. Problem solved. But when Mac’s little sister announces her engagement, Mac is expected to introduce her elusive “plus-one” at the wedding, leaving her with only forty days to find a flesh-and-blood stand-in for the imaginary Michael. And the only potential Mr. Right comes with a big hitch. However, it turns out Mac’s not the only one bringing secrets to the

☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 260 pages Expected publication: January 21st 2021 by Avon Books UK About the Book: Not all secrets are meant to come out…Twenty-five years ago, on Halloween night, eight-year-old Kelly Doherty went missing while out trick or treating with friends. Her body was found three days later, floating face down, on the banks of the Creggan Reservoir by two of her young classmates. It was a crime that rocked Derry to the core. Journalist Ingrid Devlin is investigating – but someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. As she digs further, Ingrid starts to realise that the Doherty family are not as they seem. But will she expose what really happened that night before it’s too late? My Review: Having been a big fan of Claire Allan's Forget Me Not, I was really looking forward to her new book and I wasn’t disappointed. Whilst the story line is much grittier and more shocking than her previous novels, her writing style is every bit as engaging. How she describes the different areas of

☆☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 318 pages Expected publication: January 12th 2021 by Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books About the Book: Cadie Kessler has spent decades trying to cover up one truth. One moment. But deep down, didn’t she always know her secret would surface? An urgent message from her long-estranged best friend Daniela Garcia brings Cadie, now a forestry researcher, back to her childhood home. There, Cadie and Daniela are forced to face a dark secret that ended both their idyllic childhood bond and the magical summer that takes up more space in Cadie’s memory then all her other years combined. Now grown up, bound by long-held oaths, and faced with truths she does not wish to see, Cadie must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to protect the people and the forest she loves, as drought, foreclosures, and wildfire spark tensions between displaced migrant farm workers and locals. My Review: I really enjoyed this book and the main characters Cadie and Daniela. The author does a great job writing d

☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 248 pages Expected publication: January 21st 2021 by Amazon Publishing UK About the Book: She made a big promise. Did she also make a big mistake? Ten years ago, Grace made her dying sister a promise—that she would look after Hope’s baby son as her own. Now, the man whose son she is raising has turned up on Grace’s operating table, fighting for his life. When an accusation of negligence follows, Grace is forced to confront not just the man who abandoned her sister, but also his mother, Norma—who blames Grace for taking everything she loves. Based on what her sister told her, Grace is sure she did the right thing to keep that promise. But what if Hope didn’t tell her everything? Norma’s vicious attacks push Grace to investigate further and what she finds makes her question everything she thinks she knows, pointing to a very different past – and a devastating betrayal. As Grace uncovers the truth, can she protect her family from the consequences of what her sister did? My Rev

☆☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 342 pages Expected publication: January 12th 2021 by HarperCollins Publishers - William Morrow About the Book: Present day: Emma Lovett, who has dedicated her career to breathing new life into long-neglected gardens, has just been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to restore the gardens of the famed Highbury House estate, designed in 1907 by her hero Venetia Smith. But as Emma dives deeper into the gardens’ past, she begins to uncover secrets that have long lain hidden. 1907: A talented artist with a growing reputation for her ambitious work, Venetia Smith has carved out a niche for herself as a garden designer to industrialists, solicitors, and bankers looking to show off their wealth with sumptuous country houses. When she is hired to design the gardens of Highbury House, she is determined to make them a triumph, but the gardens—and the people she meets—promise to change her life forever. 1944: When land girl Beth Pedley arrives at a farm on the outskirts of the vil

☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 256 pages Expected publication: December 6th 2020 by Inkubator Books About the Book: They planned a dream vacation. They got a trip to hell. Maggie and Brad are on vacation at Lake Tahoe when they meet another couple, Skye and Joe. The four hit it off so well that Maggie invites their new friends to share her beautiful lakeside rental. What she doesn’t realize is Skye and Joe aren’t just some random couple. They have been watching Maggie and Brad, have chosen them carefully….And now, when they discover that Maggie has a secret which could destroy her marriage, they start turning the screws, pushing their own sinister agenda. But have they selected their victim wisely? Or does Maggie also have a dark side? As the pressure builds, what should have been a dream vacation begins to look more like the inner circle of hell. Before it’s over, all four will be changed forever – and at least one of them will be dead. My Review:  “All happy families are like one another;  each unhapp

☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 267 pages Expected publication: December 8th 2020 by Amazon Publishing UK and Lake Union Publishing About the Book: Meet Ellie Cooke. When it comes to all things environmental she’s, well, a bit ‘green’. It’s not that she doesn’t care about things like climate change and plastic pollution, it’s just that life has always got in the way of that sort of thing. But when the PR firm Ellie works for is taken over by keen environmentalist Nolan Reece, it’s clear that if she wants to save her job, she’s going to have to get serious about being green—or face being recycled. Going green is no walk in the park, though. It involves a lot of big changes, tough choices…and at least one case of accidentally showing your knickers off to your boss. Can Ellie do enough to save her job, and maybe do her bit to help save the planet while she’s at it? And what will Nolan think of her, now that she can’t stop thinking about him…? My Review: I am a massive Nick Spalding fan so requesting this on

☆☆1/2 .ePUB, 306 pages Expected publication: November 17th 2020 by Relay Publishing About the Book: The perfect life becomes the perfect lie. Molly Burke has it all. With the help of medication to control her borderline personality disorder, she’s become a successful real estate agent with a loving husband who treats her four-year-old son as if he were his own. The emotional highs and lows from a difficult childhood have smoothed out but are still best concealed with little white lies to protect loved ones from her troubled history. Until Molly’s past returns to shatter her idyllic life. Molly’s son, Colin, is discovered injured and covered in his grandfather’s blood—and her father-in-law is nowhere to be found. The police suspect foul play. Longstanding bitterness erupts between Molly and her mother-in-law, exacerbating Molly’s feelings of inadequacy and triggering fierce reactions that can no longer be contained. A hallucination of her missing father-in-law only increases Molly’s pa

☆☆ .ePUB, 244 pages Expected publication: January 12th 2021 by Berkley Publishing Group About the Book: 1988. Beth Soames is fourteen years old when her aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall, a rambling manor in the isolated East Anglian fens. The Averells, the family who lives there, are warm and welcoming, and Beth becomes fast friends with their daughter, Nina. At times, Beth even feels like she's truly part of the family...until they ask her to help them with a harmless game—and nothing is ever the same. 2019. Sadie Langton is an actress struggling to make ends meet when she lands a well-paying gig to pretend to be a guest at a weekend party. She is sent a suitcase of clothing, a dossier outlining the role she is to play, and instructions. It's strange, but she needs the money, and when she sees the stunning manor she'll be staying at, she figures she’s got nothing to lose. In person, Raven Hall is even grander than she'd imagined—even with damage from a fire deca

☆☆ .PDF, 241 pages Expected publication: January 7th 2021 by HQ Digital About the Book: Attorney Olivia Sinclair is shocked when she receives an anonymous video showing her husband Richard sleeping with someone else. After years of handling other people’s divorces, she thought she could recognise a marriage in trouble. She angrily throws Richard out of the home they share. But days later she’s arrested—for the murder of his mistress. Olivia knows she’s innocent but, with all the evidence pointing at her and an obvious motive, she must find the real killer to clear her name. She may be used to dealing with messy divorces, but this one will be her most difficult case yet. Olivia’s husband has already betrayed her—but would he set her up for murder? My Review: This book sounded right up my alley. Murder mystery, police procedural, cold case and a cheating husband to boot. The sad thing is it didn't live up to its potential. I figured out the murderer on page 52...that bummed me out.

☆☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 299 pages Expected publication: January 7th 2021 by Avon Books UK About the Book: Chloe and Jack are soulmates. But life has other plans…Chloe is deliriously in love for the very first time. But when Jack, her boyfriend of five months, is killed in a tragic accident, she is left reeling. Their relationship was amazing – but it never really had the chance to get started. Grieving but determined, Chloe decides to live life for the both of them and makes her way through the list of things they’d planned to do together – this time on her own. My Review: I must be a sadist or something, reading this sad "made me cry" book during these trying times. Maybe it was because I loved the simple yet colourful cover too, I can't get enough of this cartoonish pieces of art and I am always attracted to books with these types of covers. Love, Almost is heartbreaking, following Chloe's journey through loss and grief, and her inability to move on from her boyfriend, Jack...

☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 236 pages Expected publication: January 5th 2021 by Text Publishing About the Book: Meg lives alone: a little place in the bush outside town. A perfect place to hide. That’s one of the reasons she offers to shelter Nerine, who’s escaping a violent ex. The other is that Meg knows what it’s like to live with an abusive partner. Nerine is jumpy and her two little girls are frightened. It tells Meg all she needs to know where they’ve come from, and she’s not all that surprised when Nerine asks her to get hold of a gun. But she knows it’s unnecessary. They’re safe now. Then she starts to wonder about some little things. A disturbed flyscreen. A tune playing on her wind-chimes. Has Nerine’s ex tracked them down? Has Meg’s husband turned up to torment her some more? By the time she finds out, it’ll be too late to do anything but run for her life. My Review: Shelter by Catherine Jinks is a dark and gritty story, set in rural Australia, and is a riveting thriller that is stark yet q

☆☆1/2 .ePUB, 232 pages Expected publication: January 5th 2021 by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Delacorte Press About the Book: Meredith White was one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces. But a personal tragedy cut her acting career short and alienated her from her family. For the last fifteen years, Meredith has been living alone in San Francisco with two trusted caretakers. Then, on a muggy late summer day, a massive earthquake strikes Northern California, plunging the Bay Area into chaos. Without a moment’s hesitation, Meredith invites her stunned and shaken neighbors into her mostly undamaged home as the recovery begins. These people did not even realize that movie star Meredith White was living on their street. Now, they are sharing her mansion, as well as their most closely kept secrets. Without the walls and privacy of their own homes, one by one, new relationships are forged. For every neighbor there is a story, from the doctor whose wife and children fear h

☆☆ .PDF, 209 pages Expected publication: January 5th 2021 by Amazon Publishing UK About the Book: She thought she was the perfect mother—until the new neighbours moved in. Emma and Dele’s dreams came true nine years ago when they adopted their daughter, Isla. It felt like fate, like they were meant to find each other, and now they’re living the life they always wanted. But then one day a new family moves into Forest Grove—and Emma can’t shake the chilling feeling that the wife looks just like Isla’s birth mother. Emma tells herself that this sophisticated stranger can’t possibly be the troubled woman she remembers from the adoption. But as they get to know each other and it becomes clear that Tatjana has a special interest in Isla, her suspicions grow. When small things start to go wrong and her parenting abilities are brought into question, Emma feels undermined, turning to her sister Harriet for support. But things only spiral further when secrets from her past suddenly resurface. W

☆ .ePUB, 358 pages Expected publication: January 26th 2021 by Harper 360 - The Borough Press About the Book: On the surface, Anna Witherall has the perfect life. Married to her university boyfriend David, she has an enviable job, beautiful home, and gorgeous three-year-old twin daughters, Stella and Rose. Their competent and capable nanny, Maria, is practically part of the family. But beneath the veneer of success and happiness, Anna is hiding a dark secret, one that threatens to unravel everything she has worked so hard to create. Only one thing is certain: to protect her children, she must betray them. My Review: O-M-Gosh, this book confused me and I am not one to confuse easily. I can take dual timelines, unreliable narrators and non-linear time-lines but this was a hot mess. And the ending was such a dud...nothing felt resolved and I was left completely unsatisfied. If this means there may be a part two, count me out. This was a long book to slog through too...Grrrrr. I was kindly

☆ .PDF, 319 pages Expected publication: December 17th 2020 by Amazon Publishing UK About the Book: She came to the island to escape what she did. But the island won’t let her forget. It was a terrible, terrible accident. Jasmin Hansen knows she hit something. It must have been a deer—that’s what her husband keeps telling her. But Jasmin saw a man’s face, and the nightmares won’t stop. Some time out at their holiday home on the remote island of Minsøy seems the ideal solution for Jasmin and her five-year-old son, Paul. But you can’t hide from your memories, and Jasmin is haunted at every turn. When mysterious messages begin to arrive at her isolated cottage, it becomes clear that she isn’t the only one who knows what happened that night. Somebody wants her to pay. And when Jasmin uncovers the island’s shocking long-held secret, she realises there isn’t a single person she and Paul can trust. As the island closes in on her and the threats against her escalate, can Jasmin discover who kn

☆☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 419 pages Expected publication: December 29th 2020 by HarperCollins Publishers - William Morrow About the Book: Lila Ridgefield lives in an idyllic college town, but not everything is what it seems. Lila isn’t what she seems. A student vanished months ago. Now, Lila’s husband, Aaron, is also missing. At first these cases are treated as horrible coincidences until it’s discovered the student is really the third of three unexplained disappearances over the last few years. The police are desperate to find the connection, if there even is one. Little do they know they might be stumbling over only part of the truth….With the small town in an uproar, everyone is worried about the whereabouts of their beloved high school teacher. Everyone except Lila, his wife. She’s definitely confused about her missing husband but only because she was the last person to see his body, and now it’s gone. My Review: I had to force myself to slow down and really savour this. The story grows with a

☆☆ .PDF, 289 pages Expected publication: December 10th 2020 by Avon Books UK About the Book: Everyone’s welcome. But not everyone leaves…Nick and Amber Miller are splitting up and selling their Devon family home. But despite the desirable location, the house isn’t moving. Not a single viewing so far. When their estate agent suggests an open house event, Amber agrees, even as she worries about their gossiping neighbours attending and snooping around their home. But Amber has more to worry about than nosy neighbours. Because thirteen people enter her house that afternoon, and only twelve leave. Someone doesn't want the house to sell, and is willing to do anything to stop it… My Review: Meh. I got bored pretty quick with this one. It was very repetitive...only 12 came out...I must get the key...I have to move...I don't trust them...but it was just there. I was really disappointed because the blurb and the plot seemed right up my alley.  There wasn't much suspense for my likin

☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 291 pages Expected publication: April 13th 2021 by Harper 360 - Avon About the Book: Orla and Kate have been best friends forever. Together they’ve faced it all – be it Orla’s struggles as a new mother or Kate’s messy divorce. And whatever else happens in their lives, they can always look forward to their annual weekend away. This year, they’re off to Lisbon: the perfect flat, the perfect view, the perfect itinerary. And what better way to kick things off in style than with the perfect night out? But when Orla wakes up the next morning, Kate is gone. Brushed off by the police and with only a fuzzy memory of the night’s events, Orla is her friend’s only hope. As she frantically retraces their steps, Orla makes a series of shattering discoveries that threaten everything she holds dear. Because while Lisbon holds the secret of what happened that night, the truth may lie closer to home… I really liked this book and didn’t see the end coming, it was definitely a shocker. I

☆☆☆☆ ☆ .ePUB, 262 pages Expected publication: January 12th 2021 by Simon & Schuster About the Book: Born on a plantation in Charles City Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a privileged life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the plantation’s medicine woman, and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is set apart from the others on the plantation, belonging to neither world. Freedom on her eighteenth birthday has been promised to her, but instead of the idyllic life she imagined with her true love, Essex Henry, Pheby is forced to leave the only home she has ever known and unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the bowels of slavery at the infamous “Devil’s Half-Acre,” a jail where the enslaved are broken, tortured, and sold every day in Richmond, Virginia. There Pheby is exposed not just to her Jailor’s cruelty but also to his contradictions. To survive Pheby will have to outwit him but soon faces the ultimate sacrifice. My Review: I love Southern Historical Fiction. And thi

☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 244 pages Expected publication: December 8th 2020 by Montlake About the Book: When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences. Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice,

☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 231 pages Expected publication: December 4th 2020 by HQ Digital About the Book: I know everything about you. I know your name, your birthday, your kids’ names, where you live, where you work. I know when you get that big promotion, or when you argue with your spouse. You tell me all this because I’m your bartender. But someone knows everything about me too. Someone knows all my secrets and they’re using them against me. They’re setting me up. The police think I murdered Emily Parker. To prove my innocence I need to find the real killer. I need to beat him at his own game. My Review: No plan survives first contact with the enemy. I have read two other novels by Steve Frech. I found both Nightingale House and Dark Hollows to be very atmospheric and creepy and I love the covers of all three books. Deadly Games continues in Mr. Frech's usual vein of an absorbing, suspenseful writing. This particular story reminded me of The Fugitive and many times I caught myself holding m

☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 208 pages Expected publication: January 5th 2021 by Gallery Books About the Book: All children have imaginary friends, Georgina tells herself. It’s perfectly normal, and they all grow out of it in the end. But when her seven-year-old son, Cody, tells her about New Granny, the new friend he’s met in the park, Georgina is instantly suspicious. Something—call it maternal instinct—tells her he isn’t making it up. But maybe Georgina is losing her mind. It wouldn’t be the first time, after all. And with her own mother’s recent death leaving her bereft and trying to cope with life as a busy working mom, it’s no wonder she’s feeling paranoid that Cody has invented a “New Granny” to replace his beloved grandmother. Her husband, Bren, becomes the voice of reason, assuring Georgina that it’s just a game, the product of their son’s overactive imagination. But what if Cody’s imaginary friend is not so imaginary after all? My Review: First of all I LOVE the cover, it is spooktacular and

☆☆☆☆ .ePUB, 193 pages Expected publication: April 20th 2021 by ABRAMS - The Overlook Press About the Book: A mother moves to Geneva with her husband and their two young children. In their beautiful new rented apartment, surrounded by their rented furniture, and several Swiss instructions to maintain quiet, she finds herself totally isolated. Her husband’s job means he is almost never present, and her entire world is caring for her children—making sure they are happy and fed and comfortable, and that they can be seen as the happy, well-fed, comfortable family they should be. Everything is perfect. But, of course, it’s not. The isolation, the sleeplessness, the demands of two people under two are getting to Erika. She has never been so alone, and once the children are asleep, there are just too many hours to fill until morning . . .Kyra Wilder’s Little Bandaged Days is a beautifully written, painfully claustrophobic story about a woman’s descent into madness. Unpredictable, frighteningly

☆☆☆☆ .PDF, 230 pages Expected publication:April 27th 2021 by Lake Union Publishing About the Book: At the age of thirty-nine, Alice Chang suddenly finds herself living in the last place she expected: her mother’s house. But in the face of divorce, eviction, and the recent death of her father, she doesn’t have a choice. Watching as her mother thrives in a new job and meets younger men at the local gym, Alice struggles, reflecting on her parents’ marriage, her relationship with each of them, as she adjusts to being single again for the first time in twenty years. Then she finds her father’s old journal…and uncovers a shocking family secret that forces her to question everything she thought she knew about love, regret, family, and her own path forward. As Alice comes to terms with the man her father really was, she must finally decide who she wants to be and what it will take to get there. My Review: When I read the blurb for this story I knew I had to read it. A beautiful, beautiful book