Kiss Her Goodbye
Frankie Elkin is back! In Kiss Her Goodbye, Frankie has traveled to Tucson, Arizona to find Sabera Ahmadi, an Afghan refugee who has gone missing. Her husband does not seem worried but Sabera’s friend knows that Sabera would not go anywhere without taking her three year old daughter with her. After find a unique living situation in which she must care for An Iguana named Petunia and some snakes. Once Frankie is able to dig into her investigation, it becomes abundantly clear that there is more to the Ahmadi family than she could even imagine. This book goes back and forth to the present with Frankie’s investigation and in the past during Sabera’s young life in Kabul. It is a time of upheaval and Sabera experiences so much in such a short period of time. Frankie continues to be a character to root for. She is not without her flaws and has seen hardship and addiction in her life. She is also resilient, determined, brave, and compassionate. Fans of this series will be happy with this latest installment. For those who have not read a book in this series, Kiss Her Goodbye will work very well as a stand alone book for you. Lisa Gardner gives enough background information on Frankie for new readers to becomes acquainted with her and what she does. This book is full of tension, dread, mystery, heartbreak, and twists. I also enjoyed the author’s note at the end of the book where she informs readers of what inspired her to write this book. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Fifty-Fifty
Fifty-Fifty is gripping, shocking, and hard to put down. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor at one point! Whew! Steve Cavanagh has wowed me yet again with his 5th book in his Eddie Flynn series. If you have not read this series, you are seriously missing out! Eddie Flynn is a con man turned attorney who relies on the skills he learned in his younger days to help him in the court room. In Fifty-Fifty, two sisters, Alexandria and Sofia Avellino, are both on trial for the murder of their father. Each sister is claiming that the other one is the killer. A HUGE inheritance and justice are a stake. I enjoyed this aspect of two sisters being pitted against each other. Both seemed believable and I enjoyed not knowing who could be trusted and who was telling the truth. Eddie has always prided himself of being a good judge of character. He is representing Sophia while new attorney, Kate Brooks is representing Alexandria. Both Eddie and Alexandria believe that their client is innocent. There are also sections of the book titled “She” which allows readers to get into the head of the diabolical killer! This makes things even more intriguing and interesting. This book was a hard to put down page turner for me! I loved the courtroom scenes and Eddie’s insight and antics while defending his client. I also enjoyed doing my own super sleuthing while reading and kept changing my mind about whodunit. This book has a nice amount to tension, twist and turns, not to mention the suspense which occurred near the end of the book. This book had a few shocking scenes, and I loved. This proved to be another wonderfully written, well thought out, and thrilling installment in the series. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
All I Ever Wanted
Thought provoking, moving, gripping, and hard to put down! Kate Hewitt put me through a range of emotions while reading All I Ever Wanted! This is a book about life choices, doubt, honesty, being a parent, family, motherhood, marriage, fertility, and responsibility. I felt for all the characters. I wanted to hug them, scold them, and found myself frequently wondering while reading, All I Ever Wanted, what would I do in each character’s situation. Ashley and Mark are a married couple who want to have a child. When Ashley learns that she cannot have a child, she and her husband investigate other options. Dani decides to become a surrogate mother to be able to pay for an operation that her younger sister, whom she is raising, needs. Ashley and Mark decide to use Dani as a traditional surrogate, meaning they will use her egg and Mark’s sperm. Whew! This book brings up a lot of issues about fertility, surrogacy, becoming a parent, motherhood, and all the legalities and emotions that come into play. This book also looks at various forms of relationships, communication, and compromise. Kate Hewitt tells All I Ever Wanted through both Ashley’s and Dani’s POV’s which makes for a moving and riveting reading experience. I felt for both at times and the issues that both women wrestled with. Wonderfully written, well thought out, gripping, evoking emotion, and thought provoking. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
We Won’t All Survive
A survivalist reality program that turns deadly sounded right up my alley! I went into this book with high hopes as I have enjoyed several of the author’s other books. Sadly, this one wasn’t quite as enjoyable for me as the others were. This is geared for the YA audience so keep that in mind when picking up this book. Mercy Gray is part of a group of survivors who have been invited to participate in a reality survival program. She survived a mall shooting a few years ago, and agrees to participate hoping that if she wins, she can pay off her HUGE medical debt. Others will join in her a program dreamed up by a billionaire turned tv host. When they arrive and become acquainted, things take a turn fast! Soon one of them will be dead and others will follow as the game doesn’t appear to be working, and no one knows what or who is behind the deaths! This book was lacking a little bit of the intrigue and gripping mystery of the previous books I have read by this author. I did enjoy the trapped feel in this book, along with some of the tension between the characters. This book quickly becomes a whodunit with characters not knowing who they can trust or how they will escape. Speaking of the characters, some are more fleshed out than others and I had a hard time connecting with them. YA readers looking for a mystery meets survival story; this might be the book for them. There is some tension and suspense. Unfortunately, it was just ok for me. But that will not stop me from reading more of what Kate Alice Marshall writes. I will just stick with her adult books. Others did enjoy this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well. **If you get this book from NetGalley it does have a lot of issues (at least mine did). The version on NetGalley is not a kindle book. It can only be read on the NetGalley App/NetGalley reader. I found it to be very hard to make bookmarks when I needed to put the book down. I also found that it was very touchy and would jump pages in both direction which made reading the ARC very frustrating. I do not like reading books on my phone unless they have a ‘read aloud’ choice. This one did not and made reading this book very frustrating. Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
King of Ashes
S.A. Cosby has delivered another thrilling, gripping, shocking, intense and beautifully written book! He continues to amaze me with his lyrical and emotion evoking writing. I like to call what he writes Southern Grit. It is gritty, raw, brutal, beautiful, and so very human. He shows us the best and the worst in his well-rounded characters. He doesn’t shy away from violent scenes as he doesn’t shy away from showing the vulnerability in his characters. Speaking of characters, that is what it is all about for me with his books. S. A. Cosby writes characters that I grow to care for, become invested in, and enjoy spending time with. He also creates characters that I enjoy booing and hissing at as well. He shows the good, the bad, and the in-between in his books. Make no mistake about it, King of Ashes is bloody fantastic! In fact, it’s so hot that it might just burn its way onto your favorite book list. Who says you can never go home again? Roman Carruthers is called home after his father has been in an accident. His sister, Neveah, and his father have been running Carruthers Crematorium, the family business while his brother, Dante has gotten himself into some hot water with local criminals. When Roman learns that his father’s accident may not have been an ‘accident’ and that his brother, Dante has put them all in danger, he knows he must step in. Roman is a whiz with number and is a fast thinker but will that be enough to save them when danger comes calling?????? Holy Moly! This book becomes intense fast and when S.A. Cosby puts his foot on the pedal, he never let up. The action, drama, tension, dread, and sense of doom never end. There is no down time as the danger mounts and smoke keeps pumping out of the crematorium. If that is not enough, there is also the mystery of what happened to their mother who went missing all those years ago. Family secrets, loyalty, danger, and survival all come into play as Roman does his best to save his family in a town where everything burns! Whew! As I mentioned, this book is beautifully written, raw, gritty, and hard to put down. I was instantly drawn into this book which ferociously grabbed my attention and never let go. I loved the fully fleshed out characters, vivid descriptions, their relationships, and the riveting plot in this book. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Adam Lazarre-White, did an amazing job of bringing this book to life! If S.A. Cosby writes it, I am going to read it! Highly Recommend. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Overgrowth
Creepy and thought provoking, Overgrowth is an unsettling tale about an alien invasion told from the alien’s POV. Anastasia (Stasia) Miller walked off into the woods one day when she was three years old and was enchanted by an interesting flower/plant. She reaches out and touches the plant and, oops…… When she came back from that fateful meeting, she has been telling everyone that will listen that she is an alien. An alien that traveled through space and sprouted on earth. She has always been honest about what she is, but not many believe her. This book is told through Anastasia/Stasia’s POV, and her tale begins when she is small and then jumps to when she is an adult and has a boyfriend. An alien message has been received and now people are beginning to take notice of what Anastasia/Stasia has been saying. Her real family is coming to get her. The days are counting down and things are beginning to get interesting. This is an interesting book that looks at humanity, family, and choices. What happens when an alternative life form is raised and surrounded by humans. Does humanity prevail? What happens when the truth is far-fetched and hard to believe? What happens when contact is made? What happens when something new wants to take over? As I mentioned this book is creepy and has an eerie vibe. I enjoyed the beginning of this book the most but also enjoyed the take on found family, finding those with whom you can relate, what are you willing to do for those you love, colonization, and speaking your truth. The descriptions are vivid, and this book does contain body horror. I can easily see this being made into a movie. The take on invasion, hiding in plain sight, the drama, the dread, the aspect of invasion, and danger. This was a nice mingling of science fiction and horror. Mira Grant writes original books which are thought provoking and creepy. While this was not my favorite book by Grant, I did find it to be enjoyable, thought provoking, and eerie. I loved the unease which flows throughout this book. I also enjoyed some Stasia’s thoughts on looking human but not being human. The I-look-and-talk like you but I am not one of you feel was very nicely done. Other reviewers have mentioned the pacing, and I must agree with them. This book did lag for me in places and found myself wishing things would hurry up. But the book does get there in the end. *I listened to the audiobook and though the narrator did a great job of bringing this book to life. If you are interested in this book, I suggest giving the audiobook a go as it was very well done. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Kiss Her Goodbye
Frankie Elkin is back! In Kiss Her Goodbye, Frankie has traveled to Tucson, Arizona to find Sabera Ahmadi, an Afghan refugee who has gone missing. Her husband does not seem worried but Sabera’s friend knows that Sabera would not go anywhere without taking her three year old daughter with her. After find a unique living situation in which she must care for An Iguana named Petunia and some snakes. Once Frankie is able to dig into her investigation, it becomes abundantly clear that there is more to the Ahmadi family than she could even imagine. This book goes back and forth to the present with Frankie’s investigation and in the past during Sabera’s young life in Kabul. It is a time of upheaval and Sabera experiences so much in such a short period of time. Frankie continues to be a character to root for. She is not without her flaws and has seen hardship and addiction in her life. She is also resilient, determined, brave, and compassionate. Fans of this series will be happy with this latest installment. For those who have not read a book in this series, Kiss Her Goodbye will work very well as a stand alone book for you. Lisa Gardner gives enough background information on Frankie for new readers to becomes acquainted with her and what she does. This book is full of tension, dread, mystery, heartbreak, and twists. I also enjoyed the author’s note at the end of the book where she informs readers of what inspired her to write this book. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Fifty-Fifty
Fifty-Fifty is gripping, shocking, and hard to put down. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor at one point! Whew! Steve Cavanagh has wowed me yet again with his 5th book in his Eddie Flynn series. If you have not read this series, you are seriously missing out! Eddie Flynn is a con man turned attorney who relies on the skills he learned in his younger days to help him in the court room. In Fifty-Fifty, two sisters, Alexandria and Sofia Avellino, are both on trial for the murder of their father. Each sister is claiming that the other one is the killer. A HUGE inheritance and justice are a stake. I enjoyed this aspect of two sisters being pitted against each other. Both seemed believable and I enjoyed not knowing who could be trusted and who was telling the truth. Eddie has always prided himself of being a good judge of character. He is representing Sophia while new attorney, Kate Brooks is representing Alexandria. Both Eddie and Alexandria believe that their client is innocent. There are also sections of the book titled “She” which allows readers to get into the head of the diabolical killer! This makes things even more intriguing and interesting. This book was a hard to put down page turner for me! I loved the courtroom scenes and Eddie’s insight and antics while defending his client. I also enjoyed doing my own super sleuthing while reading and kept changing my mind about whodunit. This book has a nice amount to tension, twist and turns, not to mention the suspense which occurred near the end of the book. This book had a few shocking scenes, and I loved. This proved to be another wonderfully written, well thought out, and thrilling installment in the series. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
All I Ever Wanted
Thought provoking, moving, gripping, and hard to put down! Kate Hewitt put me through a range of emotions while reading All I Ever Wanted! This is a book about life choices, doubt, honesty, being a parent, family, motherhood, marriage, fertility, and responsibility. I felt for all the characters. I wanted to hug them, scold them, and found myself frequently wondering while reading, All I Ever Wanted, what would I do in each character’s situation. Ashley and Mark are a married couple who want to have a child. When Ashley learns that she cannot have a child, she and her husband investigate other options. Dani decides to become a surrogate mother to be able to pay for an operation that her younger sister, whom she is raising, needs. Ashley and Mark decide to use Dani as a traditional surrogate, meaning they will use her egg and Mark’s sperm. Whew! This book brings up a lot of issues about fertility, surrogacy, becoming a parent, motherhood, and all the legalities and emotions that come into play. This book also looks at various forms of relationships, communication, and compromise. Kate Hewitt tells All I Ever Wanted through both Ashley’s and Dani’s POV’s which makes for a moving and riveting reading experience. I felt for both at times and the issues that both women wrestled with. Wonderfully written, well thought out, gripping, evoking emotion, and thought provoking. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
We Won’t All Survive
A survivalist reality program that turns deadly sounded right up my alley! I went into this book with high hopes as I have enjoyed several of the author’s other books. Sadly, this one wasn’t quite as enjoyable for me as the others were. This is geared for the YA audience so keep that in mind when picking up this book. Mercy Gray is part of a group of survivors who have been invited to participate in a reality survival program. She survived a mall shooting a few years ago, and agrees to participate hoping that if she wins, she can pay off her HUGE medical debt. Others will join in her a program dreamed up by a billionaire turned tv host. When they arrive and become acquainted, things take a turn fast! Soon one of them will be dead and others will follow as the game doesn’t appear to be working, and no one knows what or who is behind the deaths! This book was lacking a little bit of the intrigue and gripping mystery of the previous books I have read by this author. I did enjoy the trapped feel in this book, along with some of the tension between the characters. This book quickly becomes a whodunit with characters not knowing who they can trust or how they will escape. Speaking of the characters, some are more fleshed out than others and I had a hard time connecting with them. YA readers looking for a mystery meets survival story; this might be the book for them. There is some tension and suspense. Unfortunately, it was just ok for me. But that will not stop me from reading more of what Kate Alice Marshall writes. I will just stick with her adult books. Others did enjoy this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well. **If you get this book from NetGalley it does have a lot of issues (at least mine did). The version on NetGalley is not a kindle book. It can only be read on the NetGalley App/NetGalley reader. I found it to be very hard to make bookmarks when I needed to put the book down. I also found that it was very touchy and would jump pages in both direction which made reading the ARC very frustrating. I do not like reading books on my phone unless they have a ‘read aloud’ choice. This one did not and made reading this book very frustrating. Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
King of Ashes
S.A. Cosby has delivered another thrilling, gripping, shocking, intense and beautifully written book! He continues to amaze me with his lyrical and emotion evoking writing. I like to call what he writes Southern Grit. It is gritty, raw, brutal, beautiful, and so very human. He shows us the best and the worst in his well-rounded characters. He doesn’t shy away from violent scenes as he doesn’t shy away from showing the vulnerability in his characters. Speaking of characters, that is what it is all about for me with his books. S. A. Cosby writes characters that I grow to care for, become invested in, and enjoy spending time with. He also creates characters that I enjoy booing and hissing at as well. He shows the good, the bad, and the in-between in his books. Make no mistake about it, King of Ashes is bloody fantastic! In fact, it’s so hot that it might just burn its way onto your favorite book list. Who says you can never go home again? Roman Carruthers is called home after his father has been in an accident. His sister, Neveah, and his father have been running Carruthers Crematorium, the family business while his brother, Dante has gotten himself into some hot water with local criminals. When Roman learns that his father’s accident may not have been an ‘accident’ and that his brother, Dante has put them all in danger, he knows he must step in. Roman is a whiz with number and is a fast thinker but will that be enough to save them when danger comes calling?????? Holy Moly! This book becomes intense fast and when S.A. Cosby puts his foot on the pedal, he never let up. The action, drama, tension, dread, and sense of doom never end. There is no down time as the danger mounts and smoke keeps pumping out of the crematorium. If that is not enough, there is also the mystery of what happened to their mother who went missing all those years ago. Family secrets, loyalty, danger, and survival all come into play as Roman does his best to save his family in a town where everything burns! Whew! As I mentioned, this book is beautifully written, raw, gritty, and hard to put down. I was instantly drawn into this book which ferociously grabbed my attention and never let go. I loved the fully fleshed out characters, vivid descriptions, their relationships, and the riveting plot in this book. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Adam Lazarre-White, did an amazing job of bringing this book to life! If S.A. Cosby writes it, I am going to read it! Highly Recommend. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Overgrowth
Creepy and thought provoking, Overgrowth is an unsettling tale about an alien invasion told from the alien’s POV. Anastasia (Stasia) Miller walked off into the woods one day when she was three years old and was enchanted by an interesting flower/plant. She reaches out and touches the plant and, oops…… When she came back from that fateful meeting, she has been telling everyone that will listen that she is an alien. An alien that traveled through space and sprouted on earth. She has always been honest about what she is, but not many believe her. This book is told through Anastasia/Stasia’s POV, and her tale begins when she is small and then jumps to when she is an adult and has a boyfriend. An alien message has been received and now people are beginning to take notice of what Anastasia/Stasia has been saying. Her real family is coming to get her. The days are counting down and things are beginning to get interesting. This is an interesting book that looks at humanity, family, and choices. What happens when an alternative life form is raised and surrounded by humans. Does humanity prevail? What happens when the truth is far-fetched and hard to believe? What happens when contact is made? What happens when something new wants to take over? As I mentioned this book is creepy and has an eerie vibe. I enjoyed the beginning of this book the most but also enjoyed the take on found family, finding those with whom you can relate, what are you willing to do for those you love, colonization, and speaking your truth. The descriptions are vivid, and this book does contain body horror. I can easily see this being made into a movie. The take on invasion, hiding in plain sight, the drama, the dread, the aspect of invasion, and danger. This was a nice mingling of science fiction and horror. Mira Grant writes original books which are thought provoking and creepy. While this was not my favorite book by Grant, I did find it to be enjoyable, thought provoking, and eerie. I loved the unease which flows throughout this book. I also enjoyed some Stasia’s thoughts on looking human but not being human. The I-look-and-talk like you but I am not one of you feel was very nicely done. Other reviewers have mentioned the pacing, and I must agree with them. This book did lag for me in places and found myself wishing things would hurry up. But the book does get there in the end. *I listened to the audiobook and though the narrator did a great job of bringing this book to life. If you are interested in this book, I suggest giving the audiobook a go as it was very well done. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
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