XOXO – Book Review

Title:- XOXO

Author:- Axie Oh

Date published:- July 13th 2021

Publisher:- Harper Collins

No. of pages:- 352 pages

Genre:- YA/ Romance

Rating:-

Jenny’s never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk. A modern forbidden romance wrapped in the glamorous and exclusive world of K-pop, XOXO is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Maurene Goo.

Jenny didn’t get to be an award-winning, classically trained cellist without choosing practice over fun. That is, until the night she meets Jaewoo. Mysterious, handsome, and just a little bit tormented, Jaewoo is exactly the kind of distraction Jenny would normally avoid. And yet, she finds herself pulled into spending an unforgettable evening wandering Los Angeles with him on the night before his flight home to South Korea.

With Jaewoo an ocean away, there’s no use in dreaming of what could have been. But when Jenny and her mother move to Seoul to take care of her ailing grandmother, who does she meet at the elite arts academy she’s just been accepted to? Jaewoo.

Finding the dreamy stranger who swept you off your feet in your homeroom is one thing, but Jaewoo isn’t just any student. Turns out, Jaewoo is a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world. And like most K-pop idols, Jaewoo is strictly forbidden from dating anyone.

When a relationship means not only jeopardizing her place at her dream music school but also endangering everything Jaewoo’s worked for, Jenny has to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love. XOXO is a new romance that proves chasing your dreams doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your heart, from acclaimed author Axie Oh. 

OK if you love a story of a normal ordinary girl falling in love with one of the popular K pop band members then this book is definitely one for you! Oh, and if you love watching K dramas (which I do) with sugar coated love stories, then this book will be perfect one for you.

Jenny is a cellist and her only ambition is to enter into one of the elite music schools in the country, the Manhattan Music School. She works part time at her uncle’s karaoke bar and meets a boy name Jaewoo. That night she and Jaewoo hang out and become friends and exchange numbers. Jenny tries contacting Jaewoo but he never replied to any of her messages.

Then Jenny’s grandmother who lives in South Korea becomes sick and she and her mother move to South Korea temporarily. She enrolls into an art academy in Seoul and then meets…Jaewoo. But she soon realizes that Jaewoo is a popula K pop idol and belongs to a popular band called XOXO. Then begins the love story of a forbidden relationship.

OK, as a fan of Korean dramas, this actually did remind me of Boys Over Flowers a little bit and You’re Beautiful, if you have watched those two Korean dramas. I was listening to the audio book so the narrator did a great job with the book. Nearly all the characters in the story are likable–I do like how Jenny made friends at the academy and even became best friends with her roommate Sol Hee who also had a romantic relationship with one of the members of the band Nathaniel. The story itself is engaging and I found the love story between Jenny and Jaewoo really cute and adorable! Though I felt like I was watching a cheesy romantic Korean drama, I actually enjoyed reading this book. The author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story and getting to experience what the life of a student is really like in Korea.

For ones who love a good YA romance with a Korean drama setting, then this book is one for you–worth five stars!

Axie Oh is a first-generation Korean American, born in New York City and raised in New Jersey. She studied Korean history and creative writing as an undergrad at the University of California San Diego and holds an MFA in Writing for Young People from Lesley University. Her passions include K-pop, anime, stationery supplies, and milk tea, and she currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her dog, Toro (named after Totoro). Axie is the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, XOXO, and the Rebel Seoul series.

Nanny Needed- ARC Book Review

Title:- Nanny Needed

Author:- Georgina Cross

Date published:- will be published on April 28th 2022

Publisher:- Avon

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

When Sarah Larsen answers the Bird family’s advertisement, her life changes overnight.

The job seems like a dream come true: nannying in a glamorous penthouse apartment with a salary that adds several zeroes to her current income.

Sarah signs the contract binding her to complete secrecy without a second thought. These are important people, after all – they can’t be too careful about who they let into their home.

All is well until events in Sarah’s life begin to take a sinister turn and the trail leads back to the Birds. She soon realises there’s something very strange about the family.

But by then, is it too late for her?

A completely gripping psychological thriller from the author of the number one bestseller The Stepdaughter. Perfect for fans of The Nanny, The Couple Next Door and The Family Upstairs.

I have read two books from this author and I actually enjoyed reading her books. So I was super excited when I got my hands on this book. And yes, Georgina Cross did not disappoint.

Sarah Larsen is in heaps of debts. So when she sees an ad about a nanny wanted for an elite family in Upper West Side, it was too good to be true and was hoping to solve the financial issues that she and her fiance Jonathan are facing. The family is none other than Birds family and Collette gets acquanited with Sarah. But soon, Sarah find a disturbing secret about the Birds family that might threaten her new career and…her life.

I have to say wow! I was literally hooked into the story from start to finish! The story is intense, told mainly from Sarah’s perspectives. This was actually a fast paced thriller, quite unputdownable with twists and thrills along the way. Though I expected that type of ending to happen, nonetheless, the story kept me hooked and I was literally thrown to the edge of the seat! The writing was really great as the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story.

This is such a roller coaster ride–a fast paced thriller with twists and turns and quite unputdownable–worth five stars!

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

Georgina Cross is the author of NANNY NEEDED with Bantam, Penguin Random House, and THE STEPDAUGHTER and THE MISSING WOMAN with Bookouture, Hachette Publishing. Three more books will publish in 2022 and 2023. All works are psychological suspense/thriller.

She is represented by Rachel Beck with Liza Dawson Associates with her books appealing to readers of The Good Girl by Mary Kubica, The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle, The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth, and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.

Georgina has been writing since she was a child. Notebooks & printed pages filled with stories: adventures growing up in New Orleans and tales from Malaysia & England where her family lives. After graduating from Louisiana State University, she enjoyed a career in marketing & communications and founded Susie’s Wish non-profit which sends patients with life threatening illnesses to the beach. She spends time with her husband and their combined family of four sons watching scary movies and basketball tournaments and is thrilled to be a full-time author.

The Breakdown – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Breakdown

Author:- Arianne Richmonde

Date published:- will be published on 11th April 2022

No. of pages:- 327 pages

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 4/5 stars

My family keep telling me I’m safe. But why don’t I believe them?

I stand at the very edge of the cliff face, looking at the roaring ocean below my feet. I’m in no danger, in fact my husband and his sister talk just feet away from me, watching my every move. They’re worried I’m losing my mind, and I sense their nerves as they watch me looking down on the jagged rocks below.

Behind them sits our summer house. Apparently it’s my favourite place in the world, not that I can remember. Since the car accident, I’ve struggled to recall a lot of important things in my life, like giving birth to my daughter, Violet, just days after the crash. Or my supposedly perfect marriage…

As I stare at the huge expanse of blue below, I have a flashback to the day of the crash—an argument, my husband’s face red with anger. Why is it so different to what everyone else is telling me about my life? Beads of sweat gather on my neck.

If my memory is true, my life and my children’s lives are in danger. What really happened the day of the accident? And is there anyone I can trust?

An absolutely gripping psychological thriller for fans of Gone Girl, The Wife Between Us and Mark Edwards’s Here to Stay. The Breakdown will have you hooked!

This was actually a good psychological thriller book!

Celeste has lost part of her memory due to a car accident. She lost her infant child Violet. Meanwhile, Celeste’s husband Maz hires a British au pair, Jayne Smith. Then one day, Celester’s four year old daughter Lizzie goes missing.

The first part of the chapter was slightly boring to me in my opinion. The story is told from Celeste’s. Jayne’s and Stephen who is Celeste’s doctor’s perspectives. But when Lizzie goes missing, then things start getting interesting as the police gets involved. From the middle part of the book onewards, the story gets intense and fast paced with thrills and twists along the way. The ending is what actually blew me off and I did not expect that kind of ending at all.

The author’s writing style was great and the author did a good job of at least drawing the reader into the story by the middle of the book. The characters in the story are nearly unlikable yet that did not deter me from reading the story. Overall, if you like an unputdownable thriller, then this book will be the one for you. Worth four stars!

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

Arianne Richmonde is s the USA TODAY bestselling author of the psychological thrillers, THE WIFE’S HOUSE and THE NEWLYWEDS (published by Bookouture, Hachette UK). Her Pearl series has sold more than half a million copies worldwide. Her stories are always character-driven and full of unexpected twists and turns.

When not writing about the passions and fragilities of human nature, she loves to spend time with her husband and their animals, including a femme fatale Husky with one blue eye and one golden eye. Arianne’s a chocaholic and sometimes sneaks off to sunny, exotic locations, all in the name of research.

For updates on new releases, sales and giveaways please sign up for her Newsletter by going to: https://bit.ly/2ZoRQVx (copy and paste to your browser). Or join her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorArianneRichmonde/ or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arianne_richmonde/or send her an email ariannerichmonde@gmail.com – she loves hearing from readers and will always reply.

The Cafe at Marigold Marina – ARC Book review

Title:- The Cafe at Marigold Marina

Author:- Tilly Tennant

No. of pages:- 371 pages

Date published:- will be published on 8th April 2022

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Romance

Rating:- 4/5 stars

Welcome to the café on Marigold Marina, where the smell of freshly baked cakes fills the air and the boats bob merrily in the mellow evening sun. But will an unexpected meeting mean the chance to love again or a broken heart?

When Rosie inherits the café on Marigold Marina after her husband’s tragic death, she is determined to pour her heart into his dream. Nine months later, as she serves coffee and cakes to customers, she is all smiles and laughter. But when the sunshine-yellow doors of the café are closed, she allows her heart to break all over again.

Rosie doesn’t have much room in her life for anything but the café. But when Kit, the mysterious owner of a bookshop barge, starts to come by regularly for lunch, she finds it difficult to ignore his dark eyes, dishevelled curls and the fact that he has his own sorrows. Rosie finds it easy to talk to Kit and as they swim together in the sparkling marina waters she hopes she can help Kit the way he has helped her.

But just as she is letting herself open her heart, she learns the shocking secret that the husband she loved for so many years kept hidden from her. And when she discovers that Kit is hiding things too, she fears she has been foolish to trust again. Should she close her café and move away from the marina? Or take a risk and give love another chance?

An absolutely gorgeous and heartwarming read about what can happen when you leave your comfort zone and listen to your heart. Fans of Shari Low, Heidi Swain and Nicola May will fall in love with The Café at Marigold Marina.

Most of Tilly Tennant’s books have a backdrop of romance setting with a cute cover and title. The Cafe at Marigold Marina is one such book.

Rosie inherits the cafe in Marigold Marina after her husband Fergus dies. Across the cafe is Kit who owned a bookshop and another shop owned by her friend Nicole. Rosie makes friends in the neighborhood and the whole neighborhood would go bar hopping to learning swimming. But then Rosie discovers some secret about her husband.

This is a cheesy romance novel and compared to her last book which I reviewed, this was a good romance book. Quite engaging and I do like this whole camaraderie setting mentioned in the book and the slow-developing romance between Kit and Rosie. Nevertheless the ending was predictable but other than that, the writing was engaging that the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story.

Overall this is an all too good romance that will make you laugh and cry. Worth four stars.

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

The Love Hypothesis – Book Review

Title:- The Love Hypothesis

Author:- Ali Hazelwood

No. of pages:- 383 pages

Date published:- September 14th 2021

Publisher:- Berkley

Genre:- Romance

Rating:- 3.5/5 stars

When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman’s carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor–and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive’s career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding…six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Last year, this book, The Love Hypothesis is the most talked and hyped books. I just wondered why there is so much hype about this book that I bought this book on Amazon.

OK, I know I am not really a romance novel fan though I have read good romance novels before. But honestly, I didn’t find much hype on this book (PS for those who have read and enjoyed this book–don’t hate me)

Olive Smith is a graduate student at Stanford University. By chance, in order to prove her friend that she can date, she kisses a man. That man was no other than Dr. Adam Carlsen who was one of the “well known” ass, who criticize his students’ works. Soon, the two embark on a fake dating scene.

Let’s start with the good things about this book

  • I do like the whole science setting in this book–this reminded me of my undergraduate days as a biomedical student (a bit similar to Olive and Adam) and it was very rare I have read a book in such a setting–which made it more unique. The fact that Olive is in STEM program also made me reminice my days as a biomedical student.
  • There were some funny parts in the story that will make you laugh out loud particularly the scenes between Olive and Adam and between Olive and her friends, Malcolm and Ahn.
  • The writing was in my opinion good. The plot was OK.
  • The fact about Olive’s mother dying from cancer and that she wanted to research about pancreatic cancer was touching and sensitive issue

Now before I begin the bad points, let’s be warned

Trigger warning:- sexual assault, death from cancer.

Now the bad points

  • Overall as a story this was lame. I felt like I was watching an unrealistic cheesy rom com on the TV which I didn’t enjoy much.
  • In my opinion, covering the sex scene in whole one chapter was cringe worthy. I mean, i skipped the whole chapter of the sex scene because I felt it was so explicit. That lowered my rating as a whole. Honestly, if the sex scene wasn’t there, this book would have been great.
  • The fact that this was based on a fan fiction of Star Trek made my rating a little lower.
  • The sunscreen situation, sitting on Adam’s lap during the conference…all seemed too unrealistic to me in my opinion.
  • The only description of Adam was “tall”, “big” and “dark hair” and Olive was “skinny” and “short”. The personalities of both the main characters are bland in my opinion particularly Adam. I know Adam is supposed to be broody and all but his personality was not described properly in the book.
  • Olive accidentally kissing the professor in the first part of the book–that scene was so unexpected and unrealistic.
  • The story as a whole was predictable.

Nonetheless, I don’t mind reading Ali Hazelwood’s book but in my opinion, The Love Hypothesis is just an OK romance book. Maybe it was just me, but it was OK in my opinion. But for ones who love fake dating theme in books with unrealistic settings that is more like Hallmark movie, this book is one for you. Worth 3.5 stars!

Ali Hazelwood is a multi-published author—alas, of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, crocheting, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).

Gone To Her Grave (Detective Madison Harper series Part 4) – ARC Book Review

Title:- Gone To Her Grave

Author:- Wendy Dranfield

Date published:- will be published on 13th April 2022

Publisher:- Bookouture

No. of pages:- 364 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:-

In the golden morning light, a beautiful young woman lies diagonally across the bed, dressed for a night out, her long lashes pressed against her cheeks as if she’s sleeping. But the crimson that creeps across the sheets tells the story of an innocent woman who has drawn her last breath…

Detective Madison Harper is pulled away from Thanksgiving preparations when a local care worker, Terri Summers, is found dead in her home on the outskirts of Lost Creek, Colorado. Terri’s inconsolable mother can’t understand who would hurt such a kind soul who had dedicated her life to helping others. But analysis of the blood spatter at the scene indicates Terri knew her attacker, that she looked them right in the eye before her life was taken.

The awkward way Terri’s body is positioned catches Madison’s attention. Carefully moving her, she finds a bracelet—possibly a child’s—with a single red bead clenched in the woman’s fist, as if she was hiding it. It’s the lead Madison so desperately needs, but the sudden death of one of her own team sends the investigation into a tailspin.

With her coworkers crumbling around her, Madison must work day and night to trace the bracelet and crack the case. But when she’s dragged back into the disappearance of a woman and child from years ago, and finds a link to someone in her own family, can Madison stop this twisted killer before another precious life is taken? And at what cost?

Detective Madison Harper is back with another case!! This is the fourth book of the Detective Madison Harper series.

Terri Summers was found dead with a single gun shot wound on her head. The initial suspect was her boyfriend, Troy but Detective Madison Harper soon finds out that Troy may not be responsible for the murder. Then she finds out that her colleague, Detective Douglas had committed suicide but eventually, when doing further autopsies, there was no gun powder residue on his fingers, which implied that he may have been murdered as well. Meanwhile, Nate was given to solve the cold missing case of Vince’s wife, Ruby and the grandson Oliver who disappeared few years ago. But when Nate was rundown my a vehicle, Madison realize that Ruby’s disappearance is connected to the murders of Terri and Douglas. Madison must find the killer before it’s too late.

I have so much good points about this book. Wendy Dranfield is a talented psychological thriller author–I read her standalone novel The Birthday Party which had me hooked into the story from the beginning to the end. Same goes to this as well. A page turner, unexpected twists and thrills along followed by an unexpected twisted end! I was literally kept at the edge of my seat as I was reading this book and almost stayed up all night reading the book!

If you haven’t read Madison Harper series yet, I suggest you read from the first book as some past revealations are mentioned in the book, so as a reader you would not be completely lost.

Overall, a page turner that will keep you up all night–worth five stars!

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

Lakeview House – ARC Book Review

Title:- Lakeview House

Author:- Helen Phifer

No. of pages:- 483 pages

Date published:- will be published on 8th April 2022

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 2.5/5

Icy water laps against the wooden jetty. But the girl doesn’t notice the cold as she slips slowly under the freezing surface…

Running from a devastating relationship that almost cost her everything, Maddy Hart impulsively accepts a job as a live-in caretaker at imposing Lakeview House. She has no memories of having visited the crumbling mansion on the banks of Lake Thirlmere before, but when she arrives, something about the house feels familiar…

The more time Maddy spends in the house, the more unsettled she feels. Why does the local story about the last woman who lived here, who drowned on her wedding day, chill Maddy to the bone? By day, she clears out the dusty rooms, but in the dead of night it’s hard to explain away the eerie noises or crackly radio she hears hours after she turned it off. Slowly, Maddy begins to fear that her worst nightmare is coming true, has her past caught up with her…?

When a soaking wet wedding dress is left on Maddy’s doorstep she feels completely trapped. It is her exact measurements. Is her ex trying to send her a message? Or has Maddy’s digging uncovered an even deadlier secret? Will this perfect escape become the perfect trap?

Ever since I got fascinated with Detective Morgan Brooks, Helen Phifer has become one of my favorite authors. So I requested Lakeview House written by Helen Phifer and Lakeview House is actually a standalone novel.

Maddy moves to a dilapidated-looking house overlooking the lake, leaving behind bustling London and her abusive boyfriend,. She then meets Seth who lives around the area. While Maddy gets used to living inside the lakeview house, there is a serial killer out there, who has hidded a body close to the house. Meanwhile, Maddy’s ex- boyfriend Connor is determined to get back at Maddy…

There are good points and bad points in the books. Let’s start with good points

  • The writing was really great–Phifer’s writing is engaging.
  • The plot of the story is really great that was the main reason why I was drawn into the book.

Now the bad points.

  • OK, the characters in the story are messed up–I mean Stella, who is Maddy’s friend literally end up flirting with Maddy’s ex-boyfriend Connor. Characters are all bland.
    *If this is a thriller, this wasn’t a fast paced thriller like I would have expected normally from her books. The story was direct, not much of twists and turns that you would expect in a thriller, I was bored in the first part of the book.
    *The ending was predictable and I felt like I was watching some sort of lame crime show on the TV.
    *Dreams that Maddy is seeing seemed to be unnecessary in my opinion but maybe that was just me.

Overall, this is a slow burner, not really a page turner in my opinion. I hate to say, this wasn’t really her best book.

Worth 2.5 stars

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

Helen Phifer is the #1 Bestselling crime and horror novelist of the Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin and Beth Adams series. Helen lives in a small town in Cumbria. Surrounded by miles of coastline and only a short drive from the beautiful Lake District. She has always loved writing and reading since the days she learnt how to in infant school. She loves reading books that make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and make her afraid to go to the toilet, alone in the middle of the night. She is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. Unable to find enough of the scary stories she loves to read, she decided to write her own.

Her debut novel The Ghost House was released October 2013 and introduced readers to police officer Annie Graham. It went on to be an Amazon #1 bestseller in Canada. It reached #1 on the Amazon Contemporary Horror Charts in both the UK and the US, pushing her idol Stephen King off his #1 spot many times. She was thrilled when the second book in the series The Secrets of the Shadows managed to push The Ghost House off its #1 spot even if it was a little surreal. This was followed by The Forgotten Cottage, The Lake House, The Girls in the Woods and The Face Behind the Mask.

The Good Sisters is a standalone old, fashioned horror story which Helen admits scared her so much when she was writing it that she couldn’t write once it got dark. Set in an abandoned convent it will definitely give you the chills.

March 2017 saw the publication of Dark House, a gripping psychological thriller which introduced readers to the dangerous world of Detective Inspector Lucy Harwin. This was followed by Dying Breath and Last Light.

The Haunting on West Tenth Street is a supernatural thriller set on the streets of New York and features Homicide Detective Maria Miller.

Her brand new series featuring Forensic Pathologist Beth Adams is published July 16th 2019

214 Palmer Street – ARC Book Review

Title:- 214 Palmer Street

Author:- Karen McQuestion

No. of pages:- 277 pages

Date published:- will be published on 6th April 2022

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 2.5/5 stars

A house with a secret. A woman with nothing to lose.

When Maggie sees the beautiful Venetian blinds moving in the Caldwells’ front window, she freezes. Her favorite neighbours Cady and Josh are away, so who is in their house?

The pretty young woman who answers the door tells a convincing story. She’s Sarah. The house-sitter. Just here for a month. An old friend of Cady’s who needed a place to stay. She’s pleasant and warm, and Maggie wanders back to her house thinking she might have made a new friend. Yet she can’t help but wonder why Cady never mentioned Sarah.

What Maggie doesn’t know is that on the other side of the door, Sarah is starting to panic. No one was meant to see her at 214 Palmer Street…

An unputdownable psychological thriller from number one bestseller Karen McQuestion, which will make you question what secrets your own neighbors are hiding… For fans of The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window and Gone Girl.

The plot line sounded interesting…but the story as a whole was not really appealing to me.

Maggie is a neighbor living across from one of her favorite neighbor’s house. But when she sees someone in the house, she couldn’t believe it as the neighbors had gone for a vacation. When she approaches towards her, the woman is introduced as Sarah and told Maggie that she was housesitting for the family. Maggie believes her…but Sarah panics as no one was supposed to see her…

Initially, this started as a slow burn to me. It was boring and not very fast paced like you would normally expect in a thriller. In the middle of the book however it got a little interesting. The ending was predictable and not much of twists and turns you normally would expect in a thriller. Overall, in my opinion it wasn’t really a good thriller that will keep you on the edge. Worth two and a half stars.

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

Click on the Follow link to be notified of Karen’s new releases!

Karen McQuestion is an Amazon Charts bestselling author who’s written more than twenty novels and has sold over two million books worldwide. She’s also the co-host, (along with USA Today bestselling author Tess Thompson), of the popular podcast, BEHIND THE BOOK.

Her publishing story has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, and NPR and she has appeared on ABC’s World News Now and America This Morning. McQuestion’s books share common themes of connection and kindness. She lives in Hartland, Wisconsin.

From Karen: To be notified of giveaways and book news, please sign up for my email newsletter at http://www.karenmcquestion.com

The Younger Wife – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Younger Wife

Author:- Sally Hepworth

Date published:- will be published on 7th April 2022

Publisher:- Hodder and Stoughton

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

No. of pages:- 353 pages

Rating:- 4.5 /5 stars

The moment she laid eyes on Heather Wisher, Tully knew this woman was going to destroy their lives.

Tully and Rachel Aston are murderous when they discover their father has a new girlfriend. The fact that Heather is half his age isn’t even the most shocking part. Stephen is still married to their mother, who is in a care facility with end-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Announcing his plan to divorce and then remarry, the news of Stephen and Heather’s engagement sets a chain a family implosion. With their mother unable to speak for herself, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family’s secrets and what this new woman really wants.

Heather knows she has an uphill battle to win over Tully and Rachel, all the while carrying the burden of the secrets of her past. But, as it turns out, they are all hiding something.

A garage full of stolen goods. An old hot-water bottle stuffed with cash. A blood-soaked wedding. And that’s only the beginning . . .

I was super excited when I got approved for the ARC of Sally Hepworth’s book–The Younger Wife!

Honestly, I haven’t read any of her books yet but I have heard so many raving reviews about her books that I was curious about it.

Tully and her sister Rachel gets a surprise when their father introduces Heather, who was a therapist for their mother Pam who had dementia. It was a whirlwind of divorce followed by the unexpected announcement of wedding plans and engagement. Both Tully and Rachel decides to find the family’s secret when Rachel comes across a bottle filled with money and the name of a woman named Fiona Arthur. And they want to find more about their new younger stepmother, Heather.

The story is told from Tully, Rachel and Heather’s points of views. Each character has a unique characteristic and is going through some trouble–Tully’s husband Sonny became bankrupt and Tully suffers from being a kleptomaniac, Rachel loves baking and Heather had come from an abusive family. The story starts with a scene of the wedding, narrated by a mysterious person who is the uninvited guest and who noted down the expressions of Tully, Rachel and Heather. After the ceremony, a scream is heard and then the story shifts to one year earlier. The scene changes back and forth to the past and present, past told by the perspectives of Tully, Heather and Rachel until to the day of the wedding. All three of them are complex characters and the two daughters seemed to have a complex relationship with their father. This was also fast paced thriller as we have no idea who got hurt at the wedding and who screamed and the author did a good job of putting the reader to the edge of the seat as the reader would want to know what was going to happen next. There were twists with secrets revealed and the ending…boy the ending was completely unexpected! Totally blew me away!

If you like a really good psychological thriller that will put you at the edge of the seat, then this one is for you–worth 4.5 stars!

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

Sally Hepworth is the bestselling author of The Secrets of Midwives (2015), The Things We Keep (2016) The Mother’s Promise (2017), The Family Next Door (2018) and The Mother In Law (April 2019). Sally’s books have been labelled “enchanting” by The Herald Sun, “smart and engaging” by Publisher’s Weekly, and New York Times bestselling authors Liane Moriarty and Emily Giffin have praised Sally’s novels as “women’s fiction at its finest” and “totally absorbing”.

Sally’s novels are available worldwide in English and have been translated into 10+ languages.

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Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three children.

The Maid – Book Review

Title:- The Maid

Author:- Nita Prose

No. of pages:- 346 pages

Date published:- January 20th 2022

Publisher:- Harper Collins

Genre:- Dark Humor

Rating:- 4.5/5 stars

I am your maid.
I know about your secrets. Your dirty laundry.
But what do you know about me?

Molly the maid is all alone in the world. A nobody. She’s used to being invisible in her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows and wiping away the grime, dust and secrets of the guests passing through. She’s just a maid – why should anyone take notice?
 
But Molly is thrown into the spotlight when she discovers an infamous guest, Mr Black, very dead in his bed. This isn’t a mess that can be easily cleaned up. And as Molly becomes embroiled in the hunt for the truth, following the clues whispering in the hallways of the Regency Grand, she discovers a power she never knew was there. She’s just a maid – but what can she see that others overlook?

Escapist, charming and introducing a truly original heroine, The Maid is a story about how the truth isn’t always black and white – it’s found in the dirtier, grey areas in between . . .

This is one of the most hyped debut books and I was super excited when the audiobook version was on the Scribid.

Here’s the thing–I strongly suggest for those of you who haven’t read this book yet to use audiobook rather than buying the actual book. The narrator did a good job telling this story and I feel because of the audio book only I was able to get into the story.

Molly Gray is a maid working in the fictional Regency Grand Hotel. She cleans the room to perfection with no specks of dirt or dust lingering around. She is lonely after her grandmother died, she is according to her colleagues “weird” and “creepy”.

She is just a nobody…until one day, she was thrown into the spotlight when an esteemed guest, Mr. Black was found dead in his suite. Then comes the story.

Molly is just a maid…but now one knows that she knows deep and well about secrets that is going on in the Regency Grand Hotel.

I have to say, Molly has become one of my favorite characters in the story and she was the reason why I became engaged into the story. Molly’s character reminded me a little of Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory (if you have watched Big Bang Theory) and how Molly seemed to be the type of person that people don’t really understand or have difficulty to understand. The whole story is told by Molly’s perspective and I do like the author’s way of writing–how she used different adjectives to describe the places and cleanliness “pristine clean”. There were favorite lines in the books or maybe quotes like “I’ll never understand it — why people find the truth more shocking than lies” and “People are a mystery that can never be solved”. I like Molly’s relationship with her own grandmother, where she would tell it in flashbacks and Giselle, the widow of Mr. Black.

There are some funny parts in the book that will make you laugh–Molly is really a funny character. The ending was a bit unexpected but honestly, I was sad when I had to say good bye to Molly when I finished the book–Molly really grew into me.

If you like a funny book that will make you laugh with a crime in the background, then this book is one for you–worth four and a half stars!

Nita Prose is a longtime editor, serving many bestselling authors and their books. She lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is only moderately clean. Visit her at nitaprose.com or on Twitter: @NitaProse.