Tropical Girl Reads

She trusted a stranger with her secrets. Now she’s paying the price.

Emily loves her four-year-old twin daughters. Like any frazzled mum, she spends her time wiping up spills, cooking their favourite meals and putting plasters on scraped knees, trying her best to be the perfect mum as well as keep her sanity.

Internet forum MumsOnline proves to be a lifeline in her darkest days, an anonymous place where she can voice the problems that she never would say in real life.

She finds a connection with fellow mum-of-twins, TwoIsTrouble, and soon, the internet friends are chatting daily. But when Emily tries to pull back, realising she has shared too much about the darkness in her past, she finds herself being stalked.

As Emily’s past is exposed, it’s clear that someone is using her secrets to destroy her perfect life…and they will threaten everything Emily loves to take her down.

This was actually a really good psychological thriller I have read!

Emily has recently given birth to twin girls, Ella and Lara. Just like any typical Moms, she is dealing with all the things that Moms are doing and soon she joins an online forum, for the Moms. There she meets a stranger with a user name Two Is Trouble and soon she gets involved in the forum. Soon, she realizes that after she shared a dark secret, someone was stalking her…

The story is told mainly from Emily’s perspective, which in my opinion is an unreliable character–which is normally a good thing in nowadays psychological thrillers. As reader, do you trust Emily, do you believe her or do you think Emily is insane? So I like how the author created that scenario as well. We also see that someone is really out to ruin Emily’s life and as a reader, we wonder, what that dark secret. The ending was what actually blew me away when the secret is finally unraveled and the ending itself was totally unexpected which completely blew my mind away.

If you like a psychological thriller that will put on the edge of the seat, then this book is one for you–worth five stars!

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

The second book in a delicious culinary cozy series—the muensters have arrived in Balsam Dell in this Halloween cozy mystery featuring a grilled cheese shop owner turned amateur sleuth

After a long hot summer in Balsam Dell, Carly Hale is ready for crisp Vermont weather and gourmet grilled cheeses at her Grilled Cheese Eatery. And the upcoming Halloween food competition is the perfect way to impress the locals.

But Ferris Menard, the owner of Sub-a-Dub-Sub, is nursing a serious grudge against Carly. Two days before the competition, one of Carly’s employees quit his part-time gig at Menard’s sub shop, sending Menard into a serious snit. In a confrontation at the Eatery, Menard accused Carly of sabotage and vowed to bring her down.

That’s when Menard’s body is found in his kitchen the morning after the competition, a steak knife sticking out of his heart. But Menard had a slew of enemies, and if Carly doesn’t figure out which one is the culprit, she might find herself—or someone she cares about—serving grilled cheese sandwiches under lock and brie!

This is the second book of the Grilled Cheese Mystery.

I have read the first book of the series and so I was excited when I got the ARC for the second book. Carly, who owns the grilled cheese restaurant. Now the Halloween season is close by and Carly is looking forward to the Halloween Food Competition. But Ferris Mernard holds a grudge against Carly as one of his employees had quit his restaurant and is working at Carly’s. On the day after the competition, Ferris was found dead in his kitchen. The police think it is murder and all points to Carly’s boyfriend Ari. Carly must find the real murderer before it is too late.

This just like the first book was an enjoyable one! I actually devoured this book within two days. Cozy mysteries are like easy to read and this book was one of that. I like all the characters in the book which made me like this book more and enjoyable to read. Too many suspects makes the reader wonder who the real suspect can be which gives suspense to the reader which is what I like about the mysteries. The ending was unexpected. Last but not least, I like the receipes at the back which I might try out soon! Looking forward to read the third book soon!

Worth five stars!

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

She’s your oldest friend and you tell each other everything. So you’d know if she’d done something terrible, wouldn’t you?

Maddie and Kiara have been best friends since they met on their first day at university. They have always shared everything with each other, everything except one big secret, which Kiara knows would tear them apart…

When the police knock on Maddie’s front door as she and husband Nick are getting ready for the morning school run, she’s not expecting to hear what they have to tell her.

Kiara is dead.

And when Kiara’s death is ruled as suicide, Maddie can’t believe it. She knew everything about her best friend, didn’t she?

Walking into the plush apartment Kiara only recently moved into, Maddie soon discovers that her best friend’s life wasn’t as happy as she thought. Is that blood on the kitchen floor? And why didn’t Kiara tell her about secret meetings with a man Maddie knows well?

What Maddie learns next has her questioning who her best friend really was. And now she’s discovered Kiara’s web of lies, could her own life be in danger?

This was really an intense psychological thriller that will actually keep you up all night!

Maddie and Kiara had been best friends since the first day they met at the university and have always shared secrets with each other. But one day, while Maddie and her husband Nathan were getting ready, the police knock on the door to inform that Kiara had committed suicide. Maddie couldnt believe that Kiara would commit suicide and realize that Kiara may have been hiding something that Maddie was unaware of.

I actually enjoyed reading this book. I felt many of the characters, even Maddie was unreliable and that I liked how the author made Kiara’s sudden death a mystery. The story was fast paced and there were some twists and turns as well and I kind of expected that the ending will be but this did not ruin the rating I had in this book. This book also talks about the importance of friendships and relationships between your spouses and of course the trust issues that many couples have between each other. This is the fourth book I have read of Sheryl Browne and I am always looking forward to read more books from her.

If you are looking for a fast paced thriller and an unputdownable thriller, then this book will be the one for you. Worth 4.5 stars.

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

A birthday to remember. But would they rather forget…?

Ralph is turning 45, and the only gift he wants is his ex-wife.
Gemma, his trophy girlfriend, won’t let anything ruin her plans for an engagement.
Sarah, the ex-wife, has agreed to attend Ralph’s party, with her new man in tow.
And Jack, her partner, will stop at nothing to keep Sarah out of her ex-husband’s clutches.

It’s a celebration like no other. The whole extended family in a villa on the beautiful Amalfi coast.
But by the end of the trip, two people will be dead.
At this birthday party to remember, will anybody unwrap the truth…?

Two weeks. Four guests. One party to die for.

This is the second book I have read of Amanda Robson and after reading My Darling, I got excited when I got the ARC from the publisher.

Ralph is celebrating this forty fifth birth and he invited his ex- wife Sarah whom he still have feelings towards to. But Sarah is already moving on and is in love with a man named Jack. Both Jack and Sarah attend Ralph’s birthday party. Ralph’s children, Patrick and Janice also attend the party along with Ralph’s girlfriend Gemma and Patrick’s girlfriend Anna. But there seemed to be tensions between the people at the party and soon one of the guests end up dead.

The chapters were told through the character’s perspectives–Ralph, Sarah, Jack, Janice, Patrick, Gemma and Anna and they were all short so it was a bit quick to read. It was also fast paced and unputdownable. There were however too much sex telling in this book but then it was a page turner and I think the author has done a good job drawing the reader into the story. The ending was however unexpected and I actually did not see that twist coming. Overall, if you like a thriller based in Italy with a summer vacation setting then this book is one for you–worth four stars in my opinion!

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

HOW WELL DO YOU REALLY KNOW THE PERSON YOU LOVE MOST?

Their life was just like yours. Nice house, great kids, the perfect life.

But they have a very dark secret.

You might think you’ve read stories like this before.

You’re wrong.

This is the second book I have read of Samantha Downing, the first book For Your Own Good. However, My Lovely Wife is her debut book and this had been in my TBR list for a very long time.

I actually enjoyed reading this book and could see why this book became so popular!

The story is told from the perspective of a man that the reader has no clue what his name. All we know is he calls himself Tobias and that he is deaf but in reality, he is not deaf. He is a tennis coach at a prestigious tennis club. He is married to Millicent and they have two children Rory and Jenna. Millicent is an estate agent. He and Millicent hunt girls and Millicent kills them. He is not really involved in the murders.

This is one of those unusual thrillers I have ever read. This was fast paced with the twists that you wouldnt expect as you read and this felt more like a cat and mouse game between the husband, wife and the police. I do like the writing and how the author has managed to turn this novel into an unputdownable novel that will make you stay up all night, reading and trying to see what will be the ending like. That’s what I did. The ending…wow it completely blew my mind away. I just like the fact that the husband’s name (the real name) remains a mystery. Besides all the thrill, the book also talks about how the publicity and media can affect people’s lives including the family’s life and this was seen in the case of Jenna who through reading the news started changing drastically which involved bringing knife to school. This book in my opinion is way better than For Your Own Good but nonetheless I enjoyed reading Samantha Downing’s books!

If you like Dexter type, murderous couple stories, then this book is one for you–worth five stars!