That Night At The Beach – ARC Book Review

Title:- That Night At The Beach

Author:- Kate Hewitt

Date published:- will be published on 19th January 2023

Publisher:- Bookouture

No. of pages:- 398 pages

Genre:- Women’s Fiction

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5

Writing:- 5/5

Overall rating:- 5/5

As mothers we never dare to delve into our worst-nightmare scenarios. What if… we might murmur to each other, and then shake our heads, telling ourselves it’ll never happen to us if we’re just good enough mothers. Yet here we are. And the steady beep of the heart monitor is the only evidence the child in front of us is alive…

It’s Labor Day weekend, so of course we went to the beach. Like we do every year. For a barbecue picnic with my best friend Rose. It’s the perfect tradition—drinks, games, burgers, music, laughter. Together with our husbands, my two teenage sons and her two daughters, we all arrived as the sun was still shimmering over the water, the whole evening ahead of us.

But nothing goes to plan. Old secrets emerge, tempers flare. And so we parents decide to leave the beach, telling the teenagers to enjoy themselves, reassuring them someone will be back to collect them in an hour or two.

But when I return a little while later, I know something is really wrong. Our teens are slurring their words, stumbling to the car. It’s clear they have been drinking and I’m shocked. I never expected our kids to behave this way. I’m bracing myself to have firm words with them in the morning, but the next day my concerns fade to nothing, when seventeen-year-old Bella claims my son Finn assaulted her.

Finn insists he would never do that. And I so want to believe him. Because I brought my son up right. Because a mother would know, wouldn’t she?

What I don’t know is that the answer to what happened that night on the beach may be a matter of life and death for one of our beloved children…

If you are a fan of Jodi Picoult, then I strongly recommend this book.

The two families, Johnsons and Rosses were spending together at the beach for Labor Weekend. Due to a fight between the two husbands, the parents leave the beach, leaving their four children–Bella, Finn, Elspeth and Henry at the beach with Cara collecting them later. But as soon as Cara collects them, she realizes that something was wrong–Bella and Finn seemed to be drunk and Finn seemed to have brought some beers with fake ID. But soon, things started to get nasty when Rose’s daughter Bella accuses Finn of sexually assaulting her.

The story is told from Cara’s and Rose’s POV. To me, this was very emotional, a little like “Me Too” movement. You can truly understand the wave of feelings and emotions that both these women as mothers going through–Cara believes her son is innocent although as a woman, she knows that Bella may not be lying. Rose is determined to protect her daughter by going to the police to report on the sexual assault. The drama between the two families, the wave of emotions that passed between the families, the social media attack, the attack on both Finn and Bella and how it affected Finn in school, they were all realisting to me and I really liked how the author has managed to capture the emotions and written well. The author brilliantly captured the feelings and emotions and put them to words to make the reader also feel they are also part of the story. Overall, it was a heartbreaking story though the ending was a happily-ever-after ending. Worth a complete five stars!

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

Kate is the USA Today-bsetselling author of many books of both historical and contemporary fiction. Under the name Katharine Swartz, she is the author of the Tales from Goswell books, a series of time-slip novels set in the village of Goswell.

She likes to read women’s fiction, mystery and thrillers, as well as historical novels. She particularly enjoys reading about well-drawn characters and avoids high-concept plots.

Having lived in both New York City and a tiny village on the windswept northwest coast of England, she now resides in a market town in Wales with her husband, five children, and two Golden Retrievers

The Girl in the Pink Shoes (Lucy Kendall series Book 1) – ARC Book Review

Title:-The Girl In the Pink Shoes

Author:- Stacy Green

Date published:- will be published on 30th January 2023

Publisher:- Bookouture

No. of pages:- 355 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

My baby girl. This morning she was so excited for school. I bought her new shoes last night. Pink, sparkly shoes. She loved them so much. She wore them for the first time today. And now she is gone…

It is every mother’s worst nightmare. Eight-year-old Kailey Richardson skips out of the school gates in her brand-new pink shoes and never makes it home. Between the school and the safety of her shiny red front door, someone has taken her.

Private Investigator Lucy Kendall sees the fliers of a smiling gap-toothed Kailey and knows she won’t be able to sleep until the little girl is found. Having lost her own sister to the darkest evil, she is determined to help find Kailey before it is too late.

As Lucy talks to Kailey’s friends, desperate to find out who has taken the happy little girl, she begins to form a worrying picture of the days before Kailey’s disappearance. The blue car idling in the street outside the school. The friendly man across the road. And Kailey’s mother, Jenna, hollow-eyed and jumpy, clutching Kailey’s teddy bear and not telling Lucy everything.

Lucy has promised Jenna she will do everything to find her daughter. But then she discovers Jenna has a connection to the prime suspect in Kailey’s disappearance… and one which brings Lucy’s past rushing back to haunt her. Time is running out to find Kailey, but will Lucy be able to save this innocent little girl before her own demons destroy her?

You won’t want to stop turning the pages of this unputdownable crime thriller. Fans of Lisa Regan, Robert Dugoni and Kendra Elliot will be reading The Girl in the Pink Shoes late into the night.

Previously published as All Good Deeds

This is the first book of Lucy Kendall series. Having read Agent Nikki Hunt series written by the same author, I got interested in reading this series as well.

In this series, Lucy Kendall is a private investigator who used to work for child protection services in Philadelphia but quit after working for ten years when she couldn’t tolerate the amount of child abuse she had faced in her cases. Kailey Richardson is an eight-year-old girl who wore her new pink colored shoes on the day and never entered into the school building–she was abducted. Now Lucy who is tracking the pedophiles living in the area is determined to find Kailey safely before it is too late.

This series is a unique series I like how Lucy and Chris first acquainted with each other and that Lucy discovers a secret about Chris’ family background–the fact that his father was a serial killer who abducted and killed girls and is serving life sentence behind the bars. I also like how she is working with Todd, the detective who is handling the case and how his half-brother Justin was once accused of killing a girl. However, towards the end only we see that there’s a connection between those cases. I like how the author showed that connection. Also, this was fast paceed and unputdownable thriller that will keep you on the edge. and the twist at the end was completely unexpected. Overall, this book worth four stars!

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

Stacy Green is the author of the Lucy Kendall thriller series and the Delta Crossroads mystery trilogy. ALL GOOD DEEDS (Lucy Kendall #1) won a bronze medal for mystery and thriller at the 2015 IPPY Awards. TIN GOD (Delta Crossroads #1) was runner-up for best mystery/thriller at the 2013 Kindle Book Awards.Stacy has a love of thrillers and crime fiction, and she is always looking for the next dark and twisted novel to enjoy. She started her career in journalism before becoming a stay at home mother and rediscovering her love of writing. She lives in Iowa with her husband and daughter and their three spoiled fur babies.She is currently working on a new crime fiction series and is represented by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo, Helin and Fountain Literary Management for literary and dramatic rights.

In The Dark – ARC Book Review

Title:- In The Dark

Author:- Claire Allan

Date published:- will be published on January 19th 2023

No. of pages:- 400 pages

Publisher:- Avon

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating

Plot:- 5/5

Writing:- 4.5/5

Overall rating:- 4.5/5

My name is Nora Logue. You’ve probably heard of me – most people have.

I am the mother of Daisy Logue. Seven years ago, I took her for a walk in the woods. Only I came out.

I have no memory of what happened that day.

I have tried to rebuild my life. Met a man, had another child – Luca. But I can’t let go of Daisy, or give up hope of seeing her again.

And now, I have the chance to find out what happened to her.

But what if pursuing the truth about my daughter risks my son’s life?

A whiplash-inducing, unputdownable crime thriller from the author of The Nurse, perfect for fans of CLARE MACKINTOSH and LISA JEWELL.

Thank you Avon for inviting me to review this book.

Claire Allan has become one of my favorite psychological thriller authors and this book is by far one of the best books she had written.

Seven years ago, Nora Logue and her four-year-old daughter Daisy went for a walk in the woods. But only Nora came out of the woods and to this day, Daisy, her daughter had mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Now Nora has met another man named Brandon and has a son Luca. In order to find out what really happened to Daisy that day, Nora agrees for a documentary with Izzy but soon found out that jeopardizing her son’s life while she is making the documentary about the disappearance of her daughter.

This was a fast paced thriller, that will put you at the edge of the seat. The story is told from Nora’s and Izzy’s POV and from the first chapter till the end, it was completely gripping and quiet a page turner that you didn’t really want to put the book down. The book mainly talks about the trauma the mother experience when losing a child, particularly when everyone is pinpointing the blame on the mother for neglecting her own child and also talks abotu a cult. The twist at the end was completely unexpected but the ending was bit rushed in my opinion, otherwise, I really enjoyed this book–if you are looking for a fast paced unputdownable thriller then this book is one for you–worth five stars!

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

I Must Betray You – Book Review

Title:- I Must Betray You

Author:- Ruta Sepetys

Date published:- 1st February 2022

No. of pages:- 321 pages

Genre:- Historical Fiction

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5

Writing:- 5/5

Overall rating:- 5/5

Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.

Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

A gut-wrenching, startling window into communist Romania and the citizen spy network that devastated a nation, from the number one New York Times best-selling, award-winning author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray

This is one of the touching books I have read. This is one of the first books I have read, based on downfall of communism and brutal rule of Nicole Ceausescu in 1989 when the whole of Eastern Europe is experiencing the downfall of communist rule after nearly forty years of ruling.

The story is about a teenage boy named Cristian who had dreams of studying philosophy and study English. The Romanians are living in dire situations at the time, standing for more than three days under brutal cold weather for cooking fuel and dreaming of getting access to restricted items like Coca-Cola and meat. Cristian’s grandfather is a staunch opposer of the regime and would fix his radio by exchanging Kent cigarettes to listen to Radio Free Channel where it broadcast across Europe talking about what is happening in Eastern Europe. Cristian then suddenly hired as an informer to report on about the American family that his mother is working for in exchange for his grandfather’s medicine.

The chapters are short so it makes it faster to read, which is a good thing. However, the story itself is well written and simple and I was literally immersed into the story. Though I know a thing about communism particularly the Berlin wall breaking in 1989 and Soviet Union collpasing in 1991, The difficult conditions and hardships that many Romanians faced while the leaders are living a life of luxury was something new that I have read. I do like the blossoming relationship between Cristi and Lilliana, the girl who lives on the opposite of Cristi’s apartment. I also like the close relationship between Cristian and his grandfather and also between his sister and him. Reading about the revolution and reading about the brutality of the police were at times difficult to read. The author must have done tremendous research about life in Romania during the communist rule that as a reader, I felt like I was reading a true story even though the characters are fictional. Overall, if you are looking for a good historical fiction, then I highly recommend this book–worth five stars!

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author and Winner of the Carnegie Medal.
Ruta Sepetys was born and raised in Michigan in a family of artists, readers, and music lovers. The daughter of a refugee, Ruta is drawn to underrepresented stories of strength through struggle and hopes to give voice to those who weren’t able to tell their story. Her award-winning historical novels are published in over sixty countries and have received over forty literary prizes.

The Hating Game – Book Review

Title:- The Hating Game

Author:- Sally Thorne

Date published:- August 9th 2016

No. of pages:- 365 pages

Genre:- Chick-Lit/ Romance

Rating:-

Plot:- 3/5

Writing:- 3/5

Overall rating:- 3/5

Nemesis (n.)

1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome;
2) A person’s undoing;
3) Joshua Templeman.

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

For some people, this might be the most unpopular blog post as I have nothing but OK experience with this book.

After reading too many raving reviews about this book, I found myself wanting to read this book. And when I finally got my hands on this book, I was super duper excited that I started to read the book.

But as I was reading, I don’t understand, why there’s so much hype about this book. It’s not because I am not an ardent fan of romance novels but this book unfortunately was not for me.

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeton are sworn enemies working alongside each other at a publishing company. When they were up for promotion, they started working against each other but fate has other ways to make them unite together and…fall in love.

There’s a movie based on this book and I seriously thought I was watching some chick lit movie. I didn’t really like the main protagonist Lucy much but I didn’t fancy the other characters either. There’s one whole chapter of a sex scene which I briefly skimmed but overall, I thought this was just an OK book. The plot in my opinion was good and the ending was great at how Lucy stood up against Josh’s father which helped me to increase the rating of this book. The writing was OK and I supposed in my opinion, this was an OK romance book–worth three stars.

Sally Thorne is the USA Today bestselling author of the office rom-com The Hating Game (2016). It is her debut novel that has sold in over twenty-five countries and is being made into a major motion picture, directed by Peter Hutchings and starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell. Filming wrapped in December 2020. It was named in the top 20 romance novels of 2016 by the Washington Post and was a top ten finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards romance category. The Hating Game has been cited as a book that has reinvigorated the romantic comedy genre.

Sally’s much anticipated second novel, 99 Percent Mine, was released on 29 January 2019 by William Morrow Books and debuted at #37 on the USA Today Bestseller List.

Sally’s third novel Second First Impressions is released AU/NZ 31 March 2021, and US/CAN 13 April 2021.

Sally lives in Canberra, Australia, with her husband- plus a pug called Delia and a horse called Louie.

The Stay At Home Mother – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Staying At Home Mother

Author:- Nicole Trope

Date published:- will be published on 3rd January 2023

No. of pages:- 286 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4.5/5

Her chest tightens, her heart speeding up. The kitchen is chaos. She steps on something hard, and looks down. Toy dinosaurs are scattered everywhere. But her son is nowhere – her baby boy is gone.

The police arrive. She can’t look at her husband. Instead, she studies the network of lines on her shaking hands.

Then her phone beeps with a voice message. ‘Listen to it on speaker,’ says the detective.

A woman’s voice fills the air.

‘I’m assuming this is the Andrea Gately listed as a contact on the Missing Children of the World website. I’m calling to let you know that I’ve given your details to the police. Why are you using a picture of my son on a missing children’s website? Why are you using it and where did you get it?’

Nicole Trope has become one of my favorite psychological thriller authors and this must be the seventh book I have read from this author.

The story starts with a picture of a young boy named Jack posted on the missing children’s website by his mother named Andrea and a woman is demanding to know how Andrea got a picture of her own son. Andrea Gately is pregnant with her second child and is a loving mother to Jack although she is dealing with her gambling husband, Terry. She meets a woman named Gabby, who lives next door to Andrea’s house. Gabby’s husband had recently divorced from her and is now living in US and she has a son named Flynn. The two women become friends until Andrea gives Gabby to babysit Jack. Then Jack goes missing with Gabby.

I feel this was a fast paced thriller with some twists and turns along the way. The story is told in Andrea’s and Gabby’s POV and we do have an unreliable narrator The ending was what actually blew me away and there’s a slight cliff hanger, as to what is going to happen next. Overall, if you are looking for an unputdownable thriller, then this book is worth the hype–worth five stars!

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

Top Ten Books of the year 2022 – Part 2

Hi all! Here’s the Part 2 of the best books I have read this year.

  1. Stay Awake – Megan Goldin

2. In My Dreams, I hold a Knife – Ashley Winstead

3. The Niece – Georgina Cross

4. Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt

5. The Missing Widow – L.G. Davies

6. The Overnight Guest – Heather Gudenkof

7. Black Cake – Charmaine Wilkinson

8. Mad Honey – Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boyle

9. Notes on Execution – Danya Kukafka

10. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches – Sanju Mandana

Stay tuned for the final part!

Only Girl Alive (Detective Eve Benett series Book 1) – ARC Book Review

Title:- Only Girl Alive (Eve Bennett Series Book 1)

Author:- Holly S Roberts

Date published:- will be published on 13th January 2023

Publisher:- Bookouture

No. of pages:- 280 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4.5/5

As day breaks over the Tanner family home, the house is deadly silent and the door is firmly closed. Upstairs, the whole family lie cold and lifeless in their beds. All with the same look of fear in their unblinking eyes…

Detective Eve Bennet takes a steadying breath as she enters the main bedroom of the Tanners’ modest home in the tight-knit town of Hilldale, Utah. Mrs Tanner’s high-collared nightgown and her long plaited blonde hair are soaked in blood. Next to her, Mr Tanner’s hands are clasped together in a final prayer.

Filled with dread, Eve forces herself towards the children’s rooms. But instead of two children, she only finds one. Where is the youngest daughter, Hannah? And why are there long scratches across the walls?

Eve tracks Hannah down to her uncle’s house nearby. But he won’t let her step foot in the house. Eve knows what it’s like to be held captive by a family member, and fears for Hannah’s safety. What is he terrified Hannah might reveal?

Back at the Tanner home, Eve makes a shocking discovery in the dust covered attic. Mr Tanner was hiding a dark secret from the rest of the community—the kind of secret someone would kill for.

Realizing another family could be in danger, Eve runs from the house and stumbles into the path of the one man she spent years trying to forget— and he won’t let her get away this time. Can Eve escape the evil that has haunted her whole life? And will she catch the killer before another innocent family is murdered?

Wow! I have to say, this is one of the best series and unusual detective series I have read in a very long time!

Detective Eve Bennet is called to a crime scene in a fundamentalist Mormon community in Utah, where a family is brutally murdered. Upon investigation, they find that their youngest daughter, Hannah is missing. Eve Bennet, who also used to belong to this fundamentalist group before escaping to live with her mother is haunted by the past memories and the fact that she had to work with her stepbrother Aaron, with whom she doesn’t get along. As the police start investigating the case, they realize that the community is refusing to speak up, and that they are protecting someone. What are the secretes this community is hiding and who are they trying to protect?

Few months ago, I watched a docuseries on Netflix called Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey and talked about the Fundamentalist Mormon Group, polygamy and underage brides. Reading this book actually reminded me of those series and the things that Eve Bennett went through as a child while being in the community was too horrific to read, knowing that these things did happen in real life in that community. The author as mentioned at the back, tells how much research she had done about this community who are isolated from the world. Other than that, the story is fast paced, though not much twists and turns, but still the author manage to make the reader hook into the story and make the reader feel like they are part of the story as well. Overall, I cannot wait to read the next book of the series and worth 4.5 stars!

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

Pieces of Her (Andrea Oliver #1) – Book Review

Title:- Pieces of Her

Author:- Karin Slaughter

Date published:- August 21st 2018

No. of pages:- 476 pages

Genre:- Psychological thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ?

Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. . . .

Have you watched the Netflix series? Well before I dwell into the differences between the Netflix and the book, let me tell you about the book.

I think this would be my fourth or fifth book written by Karin Slaughter. And so, when I read this book, I can guarantee that this book is the least violent book written by Karin Slaughter as most of her books are too gory and disturbing at times to read (but I enjoyed reading her books though)

The story starts with Andy Oliver who is working as a 911 dispatcher meeting for a brunch with Laura Oliver in a diner. While the mother and daughter duo are having brunch, a shooting incident takes place, killing another mother and daughter and Laura tackling the shooter, instantly killing him. This became a widespread news coverage and soon an unknown assailant comes and attacks Laura and Andrea with Laura giving directions to Andy to a garage and where she should go. And soon, Andy finds the car and finds a car, loaded with cash and polaroids of her own mother and state identities. Who is her mother actually?

To be honest, I did like this book but not as much as the other books. This was more like a cat and mouse chase game story dividing between present day set in 2018 and past set in 1987. I do like reading about the past scenes as I found these parts more interesting than the present day ones. I do like how the relationship between Andrea and her mother became better and some of the parts in the book kept me at the edge.

Now there’s a TV series based on this book and if you have watched the series, it is slightly different from the book. I will not tell what the differences are but I found the book better than the TV series in general. Overall this book worth four stars.