How I’ll Kill You – Book Review

Title:- How I’ll Kill You

Author:- Ren DeStefano

Date published:- March 21st 2023

No. of pages:- 352 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Setting:- Arizona

Rating:-

Plot:- 3/5

Writing:- 3/5

Overall rating:- 3/5

Your next stay-up-all-night thriller, about identical triplets who have a nasty habit of killing their boyfriends, and what happens when the youngest commits their worst crime yet: falling in love with her mark.

Make him want you.
Make him love you.
Make him dead.

Sissy has an…interesting family. Always the careful one, always the cautious one, she has handled the cleanup while her serial killer sisters have carved a path of carnage across the U.S. Now, as they arrive in the Arizona heat, Sissy must step up and embrace the family pastime of making a man fall in love and then murdering him. Her first target? A young widower named Edison–and their mutual attraction is instant. While their relationship progresses, and most couples would be thinking about picking out china patterns and moving in together, Sissy’s family is reminding her to think about picking out burial sites and moving on.

But then something happens that Sissy never anticipated: She begins to feel protective of Edison, and then, before she can help it, she’s fallen in love. But the clock is ticking, and her sisters are growing restless. It becomes clear that the gravesite she chooses will hide a body no matter what happens; but if she betrays her family, will it be hers?

The plot and the background of this story fascinated me and so I have always wanted to read this book.

Three identical triplets are killing men around the country. When they reach Arizona, it is Sissy’s turn to kill someone. Normally, Sissy have to clean up the mess after her sisters kill someone so this will be the first time that she would have to kill someone. Sissy then meets a young widower named Edison and she decides that he will be her victim. However, soon, Sissy starts to fall in love with Edison and the number one rule among the sisters is to never fall in love.

The writing was really great and was slightly poetic. Though it is coined as a psychological thriller, I found this more romantic with a thriller background. Sissy also befriends her neighbor Dara and by reading through Sissy’s POV you would know that Sissy does not really share with her sisters’ ideologies. The ending was what made the whole story interesting and the twist at the end was slightly unexpected. This was this author’s debut book and I must say, as a debut book, she actually did a good job writing such a unique thriller. Overall I give this book a three star read.

Ren DeStefano lives in Connecticut, where she was born and raised. When she’s not writing thrillers, she’s listening to true crime podcasts and crocheting way too many blankets.

The Wife’s Mistake – Blog Tour Book Review

Title:- The Wife’s Mistake

Author:- Lorna Dounaeva

Date published:- 19th February 2024

Publisher:- Bookouture

No. of pages:- 364 pages

Setting:- London, England

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 5/5

Overall rating:- 4.5/5

The hand-delivered note trembles between my fingers and my blood runs cold at the words staring back – you don’t deserve this life. Everything I’ve always dreamed of is finally within reach. How long do I have until my past catches up with me?

From inside our new perfect house, I watch the pool water ripple under the raindrops. Despite how calm it is outside, my heart pounds as I think about that terrible message and what it means for my marriage.

I never expected that one day I’d be sipping coffee in our handcrafted marble kitchen but, despite our good fortune, my husband is more distant than ever. With Hayden absent once again, I’m left to ask: what exactly is my husband hiding and is the note related?

I spend all night tossing and turning, with my heart racing in my chest. Looking out into the darkness, I swear I see movement beyond the garden hedges. I try to shake my fears away; I must be imagining things. That’s what Hayden would say.

I can’t ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach – what if the person outside isn’t looking for Hayden, and instead, they’re looking for me? I’m paralysed by fear. It’s only a matter of time until I’ll have to confront my past. Hayden may have secrets, but so do I – my husband has no idea what I did all those years ago.

I know what I need to do to protect my perfect new life, and those around me don’t know how far I’m willing to go…

A gripping page-turner filled with edge-of-your-seat suspense, fans of Sally Hepworth, Lisa Jewell and Liane Moriarty will be completely hooked by The Wife’s Mistake!

The Wife’s Mistake talks about a couple named Natalie and Hayden who ended up winning a lottery and how their past comes back to haunt them as they now lead a new life as millionaires.

This is the author’s debut. The premise was interesting, the story is mainly told from Natalie’s and Hayden’s POV mostly. The first 25% part of the story was slightly boring and was slow burn but after Natalie and Hayden wins the lottery then things start to get interested towards the middle. We discover that both Natalie and Hayden are hiding secrets from each other . Natalie’s child whom she had given up for adoption might have returned back to her life and someone was trying to blackmail Hayden after hearing the news that Hayden had won the lottery/ Both Natalie and Hayden are unreliable characters which did make the whole story sound interesting. The writing overall was great but however, not much twists and turns are present which you would normally expect in a psychological thriller. However, the ending at the story was great which actually made me give this book a higher rating.

If you are looking for an unputdownable thriller, then I suggest you check out this book–worth 4.5 stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. Many thanks for Bookouture for making me a part of the blog tour. The review is based on my honest opnion only.

Lorna Dounaeva is a politics graduate who worked for the British Home Office before turning to crime fiction. She writes dark domestic thrillers and is especially fond of female villains. She lives in the Orkney islands with her Ukrainian husband and his parents, three children, a crafty cat and a happy dog.

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Postcards from the Cove – Blog Tour – Review

Title:- Postcards from the Cove

Author:- Jennifer Bardsley

Date published:- February 15th 2024

Publisher:- Bookouture

No. of pages:- 384 pages

Setting:- Pacific–Washington State?

Genre:- Romance/Women’s Fiction

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5

Writing:- 5/5

Overall rating:- 5/5

The little cottage sits atop the cove’s rugged cliffs, with its whitewashed walls and views of the deep blue sea. When Hannah discovers a jar of timeworn postcards hidden inside, will they lead to the fresh start she’s longing for?

Hannah Turner has always lived in the historic and beautiful seaside resort of Sand Dollar Cove. Now grieving the loss of her father, Hannah finds comfort in the places that remind her of him, including one of the resort’s oldest cottages. Heartbroken that it’s due to be knocked down—taking her memories with it—Hannah’s heart leaps when she finds the old postcards concealed within.

Reading “I still believe in our happily ever after” on one of the cards, Hannah feels a pang for the happy ending her father never had. She can’t bear someone else’s precious memories being destroyed, so she traces the postcards’ owner to New York and sends them off—inspired by her discovery to finally seize the day.

After watching Guy—the resort’s handsome new trainer—charming their older guests, Hannah’s new attitude pushes her to give dating a chance for once. Hannah can’t resist gazing into Guy’s blue eyes as she shows him the delights of the cove. But just as she’s about to let him into her heart, she is stunned to find one of the postcards in Guy’s bag. Is Guy somehow connected to them? Is this why he came to town in the first place?

Hannah is devastated that Guy is hiding something, but can she keep her heart open to love? And when the postcards reveal a surprising link between Hannah and Guy’s pasts, will the truth bind them together or tear them apart for good?

Let yourself be swept away to the beautiful coastal town of Sand Dollar Cove in this uplifting story of long-buried family secrets, the struggle to prove your worth, and learning to be vulnerable in love. Fans of Susanne O’Leary, Mary Alice Monroe and Kristin Harper will fall head over heels for this gripping novel.

This book is the first book of the Sand Dollar Cove series.

The story begins with Hannah Turner who discovers a jar of timeworn postcards. Hannah Turner loves Sand Dollar Cove and while working at the resort, she meets a newcomer from New York named Guy. Hannah is instantly drawn to his good looks and his blue colored eyes. However, Hannah soon finds that Guy has been holding secrets of his own. Meanwhile Hannah, who keeps fond memories of the cottage is sad to have the cottage torn down and she discovers a set of postcards that had memories about the cottage.

To me, this was well written and the author does a good job of making the reader feel like they are connected to the character. You are instantly drawn to the main character, Hannah and as a reader, Hannah is a likable character and not only that, she is also hardworking and loyal as well. I like the whole descriptions of Sand Dollar Cove that actually makes the reader feel like they are at the scene. There were emotional and heartbreaking parts in the book as well. As this is a series and as I enjoyed the first book, I cannot wait to reader the next book of the series. This book worth 4.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC and involving me in the part of the blog tour. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Jennifer Bardsley believes in friendship, true love, and the everlasting power of books. A graduate of Stanford University, she lives in Edmonds, Washington, with her husband and two children. Jennifer’s column, ‘I Brake for Moms’, has appeared in the Everett Herald every week since 2012. When Jennifer is not writing books or experimenting with her latest kitchen appliance, you can find her walking from her house to the beach every chance she gets. 

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Black Sheep – Book Review

Title:- Black Sheep

Author:- Rachel Harrison

Date published:- September 19th 2023

No. of pages:- 289 pages

Genre:- Horror

Setting:- New Jersey

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

A cynical twentysomething must confront her unconventional family’s dark secrets in this fiery, irreverent horror novel from the author of Such Sharp Teeth and Cackle.

Nobody has a “normal” family, but Vesper Wright’s is truly…something else. Vesper left home at eighteen and never looked back—mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she couldn’t return. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep.

Inside is an invitation to the wedding of Vesper’s beloved cousin Rosie. It’s to be hosted at the family farm. Have they made an exception to the rule? It wouldn’t be the first time Vesper’s been given special treatment. Is the invite a sweet gesture? An olive branch? A trap? Doesn’t matter. Something inside her insists she go to the wedding. Even if it means returning to the toxic environment she escaped. Even if it means reuniting with her mother, Constance, a former horror film star and forever ice queen.

When Vesper’s homecoming exhumes a terrifying secret, she’s forced to reckon with her family’s beliefs and her own crisis of faith in this deliciously sinister novel that explores the way family ties can bind us as we struggle to find our place in the world.

This book was nominated for Goodreads’ one of the best horror genre novels and so I was curious to read the book.

While the book was interesting, I feel this book does not deserve to be in horror genre. However, it is one of the creepiest and weirdest books that I have ever read.

Twenty something year old Vesper Wright never looked back home when she left her home town when she eighteen years old. Vesper gets fired from her job as a waitress at a restaurant and when she returns back to her apartment, she finds a wedding invitation–between her cousin Rosemary and her ex-boyfriend Brody. Vesper decided to return back to the town she vowed to never return back to but soon the secrets about her family starts to unfold.

If I tell you the reason why this book is creepiest books I have read, then I might have to give you spoilers. Let’s just say, the book touches about satanic cult and people involved in the satanic cult. The writing was great in my opinion and the descriptions of farmlands, houses and creepy items found in Vesper’s childhood home is imaginative and I can actually vividly picture them in my head. Vesper is a likable character even though she came from a dysfunctional family. She is also cynical which actually makes the readers fall in love with Vesper. The strained relationship between Vesper and her mother is described well, the reader wondering why the mother-daughter having a strained relationship.

The book briefly mentions the horror movie The Omen (1976) and all I could tell you is this book is slightly similar to the movie The Omen if you have watched the movie.

Overall, I actually enjoyed this book. This book is best read during the spooky Halloween season and overall, I would give this book four star rating!

Rachel Harrison is the author of The Return, nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica and Electric Lit. She lives in New York with her husband and their cat/overlord.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

None of This is True – Book Review

Title:- None of this is True

Author:- Lisa Jewell

Date published;- August 8th 2023

No. of pages:- 380 pages

Setting:- Britain

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

I have always been a fan of Lisa Jewell books and I always make a point to read all her books. So I am glad when I got my hands on her latest novel, None of this is true. I am having mixed feelings about the book in general.

Alix and Josie are two strangers when they meet at the restaurant to celebrate their forty-fifth birthday. They were both born on the same day and at the same hospital and so they call themselves as birthday twins. Josie then finds out that Alix is actually a famous podcaster and so she meets Alix again and asks her to do a podcast about her life. Josie married Walter when Josie was eighteen and Walter was forty two years old. As Alix further investigates about Josie’s family, Josie meanwhile stalks Alix…

Initially, I was actually hooked into the book and I was like…Lisa Jewell did it again! Josie’s character is such a very creepy character and the way she is stalking and stealing Alix’s stuff while doing the podcast was very creepy and disturbing. Josie’s family itself is creepy. I also like the Netflix parts that ends each chapter thus making the story more interesting and compelling. However, the ending actually lowered my rating for this book. I don’t want to put too much details which will spoil the book, but let’s just say, I am not very satisfied with the ending.

However, I have to say, I actually enjoyed reading this thriller and rate four stars.

LISA JEWELL was born in London in 1968.

Her first novel, Ralph’s Party, was the best- selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs and The Night She Disappeared.

Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over twenty-five languages. She lives in north London with her husband, two teenage daughters and the best dog in the world.

Lisa’s Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/LisaJewelloff…

The Guest – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Guest

Author:- B.A. Paris

Date published:- will be published on 20th February 2024

Publisher:- Hodder and Stoughton

No. of pages:- 320 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Setting:- Britain, France

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

New York Times bestselling author B. A. Paris captivated psychological thriller readers everywhere with Behind Closed Doors. Now she invites you into another heart-pounding home full of secrets, in The Guest.

Some secrets never leave.

Iris and Gabriel seem to have it all: a beautiful home in the British countryside, a daughter happily working in Greece, and good friends Laure and Pierre from Paris, who they often vacation with. But when a young man has a tragic accident in a nearby quarry, Gabriel is the one to find him and hear his final words, leaving Gabriel with a guilty burden.

As Iris tries to help ease her husband’s trauma, they acquire an unexpected house guest. Laure has seemingly moved in after her husband’s revelation that he has had a child with another woman. Iris and Gabriel insist Laure stay as long as she needs. But Laure keeps wearing Iris’s clothes, following her every move, and asking her about the recent death of the young man.

Their only respite from the increasingly tense atmosphere in their own home comes from a couple new to town and expecting their first child. But with them comes their gardener, who has a checkered past.

With fractured relationships and secrets piling up around them, can Iris and Gabriel’s marriage survive?

This is the fourth book I have read from B.A. Paris and I was so excited when I got the ARC of her latest book, The Guest!

Iris and Gabriel are living in the countryside in Britain when their friend Laure unexpectedly comes and stays with them. Laure tells Iris that Pierre her husband has cheated on her and that he is fathering a child, a daughter. Laure stays with Iris and Gabriel till she resolves her issue with Pierre. Meanwhile, Gabriel is dealing with his own demons when a young boy named Charlie Ingram dies in front of Gabriel and he was wondering if he should talk with Charlie’s mother or not about the day Charlie died. And Joseph, a gardener comes to work at Iris and Gabriel’s garden. Gabriel tried to contact Pierre but Pierre wasn’t answering the phone and receives the news that Pierre was found murdered in his workplace.

This was a fast paced thriller. There were some twists and turns and the story is mainly told in Iris and Gabriel’ POVs. Initially, I wasn’t sure if there was a connection between Charlie Ingram and Laure although the connection and everything was explained later on in the book. There were some repetitions in the book which made me give a lower rating for the book. The epilogue and the twist at the end was the unexpected of all in the whole book. The book is mainly about the family drama and dynamics. I actually couldn’t put the book down as I wanted to know what was going to happen in the end. Overall, this is a good thriller and so this book worth four stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

B.A. Paris is the New York Times and Sunday Times Number 1 bestselling author of seven novels including the word-of-mouth hit, Behind Closed Doors and her upcoming thriller, The Guest.

Over 7 million editions of her work have been sold worldwide and her books have been translated into 41 languages. Her novels have been optioned for major screen adaptations with a film of The Breakdown, titled Blackwater Lane, in post production.

Before becoming an author, B.A. Paris worked as a bank trader and teacher in France. Today, she writes from her cottage in Hampshire, England, where she lives with her husband with visits from her five grown-up daughters. She has a newsletter and is on social media @baparisauthor

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Book Review

Title:- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Author:- Taylor Jenkins Reid

Date published:- June 13th 2017

No. of pages:- 389 pages

Genre:- Historical Fiction/Women’s Fiction

Setting:- New York, Los Angeles,

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

This book has been in my TBR list for a long time and I finally decided to read this book. This is the fourth book I have read by the same author, Taylor Jenkins Reid and let’s say, Reid has become one of my favorite authors and I always made sure to read all her books.

And this book is no execption.

Evelyn Hugo is a yesteryear star, a sex symbol in the Hollywood industry during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and she was known to have married seven times. Now on present day, Monique is a struggling journalist who is working for Vivant, a leading magazine in New York. When Hugo specifically asks for Monique to interview her, Monique was shocked and surprised. Hugo then tells her own life story to Monique–starting from the fact when she left New York to pursue a career as an actress Hollywood and talks about deceit, betrayal and love…

This book was actually well written. The book touched about domestic abuse, the time when homosexuality was considered shameful and of course being a sex icon in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I like how Evelyn Hugo and Monique slowly build a closeness between the two, how Hugo met her husbands, her reasons for failure of her marriages and of course her only true love. The book is also realistic in someways and you feel like you are drawn into the glamor of Hollywood and competition. Reid always knows how to captivate the readers and feel like they are part of the story.

I also like the fact that some of her stories are connected to her other stories–Hugo’s second husband is Mick Riva, who is one of the main characters in Malibu Rising.

Overall is it worth the hype? I believe it is! Worth 4 stars!

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the New York Times bestselling author of Carrie Soto Is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as four other novels. She lives in Los Angeles. You can follow her on Instagram @tjenkinsreid.

The Patient’s Secret – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Patient’s Secret

Author:- S.A. Falk

Date published:- will be published on 5th February 2024

Publisher:- Storm Publishing

No. of pages:- 323 pages

Setting:- Wyoming

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

Sharon Stevenson is a forensic psychiatrist. Her job is to decide whether a patient is of sound enough mind to stand trial, not whether they did or didn’t commit a crime.

But Sharon is also a mother grieving the disappearance of her seventeen-year-old daughter, Maddie, who has never been found.

And what if the man sitting before her, who has been charged with the murders of several women, also claimed the life of her sweet girl?

It’s time to find out the truth.

An unputdownable psychological thriller about a dangerous cat-and-mouse game between a mother desperate for the truth and the killer she believes has the answers. A gripping read for fans of The Silent Patient, Mike Omer and Freida McFadden.

Being a debut thriller, I feel, this book was actually a great thriller that will keep you on the edge till the end.

Dr. Sharon Stevenson is a forensic psychiatrist. Her main job is to interview the prisoner and determine if he or she is of sound mind to stand in the trial. So when she was assigned to the infamous Blue River Strangler case in Wyoming, she meets Kevin Blackford, who is the convicted killer. While being with Kevin, Sharon realized that Kevin might be suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder and to prove her theory right, she enlists the help of another psychiatrist and ended up working with Arlo, the defense lawyer, as the prosecution is determined to put Blackford behind the bars.

This book is really fast paced and page turning. The first part of the book was what really made me get invested into the book–I simply couldn’t put the book down and I was wondering–is Kevin pretending to be suffering from DID or he genuinely suffers from DID? The writing was clear and spot on and I like how the writer has highlighted her relationship with her own daughter Maddie in the book. The ending was not really great but regardless, this book was really great. It also talks about justice, mental illness and tragedy and I was saddened that how sometimes, this could be realistic in real life as well–the prosecutor was determined to put Blackford behind the bars so she can get the promotion and didn’t really care if he does suffer from mental illness or not. I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to read more books from this author. The book worth 4 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Storm for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

I Have to Save Them – Blog Tour

Title:- I have to Save Them

Author:- Ellie Midwood

Date published:- 31st January 2024

Publisher:- Bookouture

No. of pages:- 296 pages

Genre:- Historical Fiction/ Holocaust

Setting:- Germany/Auschwitz

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5

Writing:- 5/5

Overall rating:- 5/5

Auschwitz, 1942: Her entire body trembles as she stands in the infirmary and realises the horrifying truth. She’s a nurse, but instead of saving her fellow inmates, she’s about to be ordered to kill them…

Surrounded by thick fog from the nearby forest, Orli stumbles from the cattle truck onto the frostbitten grounds of Auschwitz. Betrayed by her own husband for being a German resistance fighter, she has no one left in the world, and this is now her home.

Orli breathes a sign of relief when her nursing skills mean she’s assigned to work in the infirmary. Even in this hell on earth, she can still try to save some lives. But when she’s instructed to assist Dr Josef Mengele, she soon learns that he is known as The Angel of Death, and is the most feared man in Auschwitz. At his evil hands, thousands of inmates are cruelly killed and experimented on. And if Orli is to survive, she will have to help him. But how can she live with herself if she sentences her fellow inmates to death?

As she stares into his eyes, she soon realises her resistance work is not over. She has to stay and find a way to stop this monster—even if that means she will pay the ultimate price.

Inspired by the incredible true story of Orli Reichert, this unforgettable World War Two novel brings to life the powerful tale of a woman who risked everything to fight against evil. Fans of The Choice and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will be utterly gripped by this unputdownable page-turner.

This is a heartwarming and emotional historical fiction that is based on Orli Reichart, a brave and courageous woman who worked at the Auschwitz clinic with the infamous Josef Mengele and how this woman saved inmates from going into a cruel death orchestrated by Mengele.

Being a history fanatic particularly Holocaust, I was particularly interested and intrigued with both fictional and non-fictional stories of brave and courageous people who fought against the Nazis and SS. Orli Reichart was one such woman. Ellie Midwood is a very talented writer and I always made sure to read all her historical novels. She writes stories based on real-life women and Orli Reichart is actually based on a real-life person. Her writing is engaging and intriguing and she had done tremendous research on Holocaust that while you are reading this book, you feel all those anger and hatred towards the Nazis, at the way they were treating the Jews, the emotional and heartbreaking moments when they were merciless killed by the Nazis…they were all too real and emotional to read. Although I did history in school, I learned a lot more about the Holocaust, the conditions at the infirmary, how the Jews and Aryans were treated at the camps, how the Jews were starved to death…it was too disturbing at the same time, one must never forget that these things did happen in real life. The writing as I mentioned was beautifully written and I liked how Midwood tackled with the history of the whole story.

I have to Save Them is one of the heartbreaking and emotional tale of a brave and courages nurse who would risk her own life to save the lives of the innocent–truly recommend this book and worth a whopping five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, the Bookouture for making me a part of this blog tour. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author, whose works have been translated into 14 languages. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, “The Girl from Berlin.” Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.

In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their two dogs.

Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2016) – “The Girl from Berlin: Standartenführer’s Wife” (first place)

Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2016) – “The Austrian” (honorable mention)

New Apple – 2016 Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing – “The Austrian” (official selection)

Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2017) – “Emilia”

Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2018) – “A Motherland’s Daughter, A Fatherland’s Son”

 

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Twenty Seven Minutes – Book Review

Title:- Twenty Seven Minutes

Author:- Ashley Tate

Date published:- 30th January 2024

No. of pages:- 377 pages

Setting:- West Wilmer

Genre;- Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 2/5

Writing:- 3/5

Overall rating:- 2.5/5

“The rare gift that delivers it all: elevated prose, characters with depth, unpredictable twists, and a pitch-perfect mood.”—Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

Phoebe Dean was the most popular girl alive and dead.

For the last ten years, the small, claustrophobic town of West Wilmer has been struggling to understand one thing: Why did it take young Grant Dean twenty-seven minutes to call for help on the fateful night of the car accident that took the life of his beloved sister, Phoebe?

Someone knows what really happened the night Phoebe died. Someone who is ready to tell the truth.

With Phoebe’s memorial in just three days, grief, delusion, ambition, and regret tornado together with biting gossip in a town full of people obsessed with a long-gone tragedy with four people at its heart—the caretaker, the secret girlfriend, the missing bad boy, and a former football star. Just kids back then, are forever tied together the fateful rainy night Phoebe died.

Perfect for fans of Jane Harper and Celeste Ng, Tate’s literary suspense Twenty-Seven Minutes is a gripping debut about what happens when grief becomes unbearable and dark secrets are unearthed in a hometown that is all too giddy to eat it up.

This book was actually a slow burn thriller

Phoebe Dean was one of the popular girls in the town and she was found dead. Within twenty-seven minutes, she could have been still alive yet she died on the spot.

Now nearly a decade later, the town in holding a memorial in Phoebe Dean. There are so many questions arising, why did her brother Grant took twenty seven minutes to call for help? There is someone in the town, who knows what really happened to Phoebe Dean on the night of the accident.

To me, this was a slow burn thriller. Not much twists and turns, and not only that, it was outright a little boring to me in my opinion. The story is told in multiple POVs–Grant, Becky, and June. It was slightly a bit difficult to distinguish between past and present but other than that, I found the book less appealing. The twist at the end was OK but overall, in the end, to me, the book was OK in my opinion. Would have been better if unnecessary parts were eliminated and made the story more intriguing and interesting. Overall this book worth 2.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Ashley is a Canadian author; Twenty-Seven Minutes is her debut novel.