Stacey Wright
I just finished The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri and here are my thoughts.
Allinas life has been turned upside down. Her whole family was killed and the SS takes her. Allina has a secret, she's part Jew. Something she has to be quiet about and now she is being forced into service as a nurse at a state run baby factory.. what she sees there makes her skin crawl. The eugenics program is in full swing but something is wrong but lucky for her there's someone on the inside who wants to help.
This book broke my soul.
The lebensborn program was something I didn't know much about and the book seems to have stayed pretty true to reality and I went down the rabbit hole. It was even worse than I imagined. This book brought it home, the horrors. It really hit me hard.
Allina has to be careful but working in the home has opened her eyes to something much worse than she realized and hiding isn't an option. Her life isn't more important than those kids. I loved it. I loved her for the danger she put herself in and Karl... ugh my heart bloody broke.
The writing was amazing. I was drawn right in and out through the emotional washing machine but it was an excellent book and I cannot recommend it more!
5 stars.
This book captured something I don't have the words for but I felt it deep inside. Out today!
#thesunflowerhouse #adrianaallegri #historicalfiction #ww2 #bookreview #ebook #kindle #netgalley #bookishreview #bookblogger #readerblog #booktalk #readersofig #readertok #readergram #bookishcontent #booktube #bookalorian #thewrightkindofbooktalk
Oh, it was good. It was sooooo good! I didn't guess the epic twist at the end... Did you?
There is a serial killer on the loose... You don't know who the suspect is and there are many all as plausible as the last....
I like Freida's writing. She weaves an uncomplicated thriller with twists. I'm rarely disappointed but I also don't go in expecting Shakespeare!
I loved it. I listened to the whole thing in one sitting.
4 stars!
You better Watch out by James S. Murray; Darren Wearmouth
A bunch of strangers wake up together in an abandoned town... Each of them were abducted.. Each of them have shady pasts and each one of them is dying in the most heinous ways... Who put them there and why do they want these people dead?
OMFGGGGG This book scared me half to death. I was absolutely terrified!! You think you know what is going on and why then BOOM the ending FLOORED ME!!!! The narration was on point on this one. I can't believe this book wasn't a horror. If you are into thrillers you need to add this book to your list. The characters were all well written and the storyline was magnificent.
The writing was amazing and I literally have nothing bad to say about this book. So glad I read it for the spooky season. Damn thing almost sent me into cardiac arrest! I was basically clutching my pearls!!
5 solid gold stars!!
This book just was not for me. The names of the characters annoyed me, The narrators annoy me.
The story taking too long to get going.... annoyed me.
It felt like a snail had written the book.
The last half was better but I was already anooyed by this point that it didn't pack the kind of punch it should have.
It was well written dont get me wrong it just felt off to me and I can't get unannoyed.
3 stars
Splendid Little Schemes by Robin Strong
This book was an unexpected delight.... Puremetics is a mlm pyramid scheme and Victoria is the queen in her neighborhood. When she tries to recruit a new person to the group, she doesn't expect what happens and it changes everything for them all.
Firstly Victoria is mormon. I have never read a book where this was part of the story and I kinda liked it. It added a new dimension to the story. It's out of control, wild and funny! It was a riot and I enjoyed every second of it.
The OWLs are a group of older ladies and they use their collective powers to right wrongs. It was so good! I enjoyed the plot and I loved all the characters. Anna, a single mother, gets pulled into a scheme to bring the CEO of the company down and it was so clever!
I just finished How to help a Hungry Werewolf by Charlotte Stein and here are my thoughts.
Cassandra returns to her hometown after the death of her grandmother. The last person she expects to see is her old best friend Seth.
Seth needs her help. He is a werewolf and he needs the potion her grandmother was making for him and she just discovered she is a witch.. They come to a truce to get what they both need but the mating bond that is heating up between them and it really is a case of life or death.
Cassie is my kind of MC. She was funny and sweet. I wasn't a massive fan of Seths. I think he did a poor job of apologizing to Cassie for how he treated her.
The pace was a bit insane. One minute the story was going a million miles per min then it didn't seem to go anywhere but I kinda liked it. It felt like it was giving me time to catch up with my heart.
The smut was perfect. Even if you don't enjoy the story, the steam will do it for you. I think it was a good start to a series, the paranormal storyline was highly entertaining. I enjoyed the humor and I laughed out loud a few times.
The world building was done really well but the writing got a bit juvenile in places but I could overlook that.
4 stars
Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy.
It started out strong then the pacing went to wherever manuscripts go to die.
The characters were great, the plot was great, the pacing was so badly off I struggled to stay engaged.
It just didn't come together for me and honestly, Im a little heartbroken
I did enjoy the end so it got 3.5 stars from me
I was really excited to start this one. The plot sounded phenomenal.
It was a really emotional novel but there are too many stories going on and its all surface and no depth. I needed more but it basically only scrached the surface of all the over complex stories and it was done really slowly.
It was such a busy book and considering how slow the pace was, the ending was so rushed! It was exasperating.
The ending was beautiful though so its a real shame that this book didn't do it for me.
3 stars
I just finished Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn and here are my thoughts.
Maren has had a run of bad luck. Her boyfriend proposes in front of her whole family to soften the blow of taking a job promotion right out from under her and her brother still treats her like a little kid instead of the 33 year old woman she is.
When a man she thought of as a second father passes away and he leaves her his bait shop, she returns home to deal with her inheritance. Her brother's friend, divorced and a single father of two, can't help finding themselves looking forward to being in each other's orbits... Even though they are not off limits to each other.
This is a really cute small town romance with:
friends to loversOlder brothers best friend
single dad dual POV
**slowwww burnnnnn
I wasn't a big fan of the fish talk. I get that she was big into fishing but it didn't interest me but the romance and banter was enough to overlook the fish tales.
I really loved the autism rep. As a mother with 2 asd kids I like when books get it right.
The writing is good and I really enjoyed the way it all worked out.
4.5 stars
Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy through @netgalley
Happy book birthday to Playmaker by Deanna Faison @deannafaisonbooks you can get this spicy sports romance today!!
I am going to be honest, I don't read a lot of sports romance books but there was something about the synopsis of this book that piqued my interest!!
Maddie is pre-med and Cameron is on his way to the NFL and happens to be Maddie's brother's best friend... He is the epitome of off limits but the sizzle between them can't be tamed and they spend their vacation time hooking up in secret, things get right off course for both of them.
I like Maddie. I don't normally like characters that have the kind of personality she does but you can tell she is really sweet under the facade. She has always had feelings for Cam and he hurt her once so you can see why she comes across so standoffish in the beginning. Don't even get me started on Cam. I felt my palms start to sweat right from the get go. He is a total F*$k boy but you know you wouldn't say no and those men.... Walking red flags but you know you gonna dip your toe in. I feel like you weren't supposed to like him because he is a total dog but you can tell he was doing it to fill a void.
The spice was CHEFS KISS perfect for me. Plus the book is loaded with all your favorite tropes.
Friends to lovers CHECK
Forbidden Love CHECK
Sport romance DOUBLE CHECK
Brother's best friend CHECKKKKKKK
This book is pretty much Cam and Maddie fighting and F-ing with some cutesy moments in between. I could have used more of their childhood, I felt like it missed an opportunity to really round the story out. There is a TW in this book for me. A photo of a teen passed around... It bothered me so it might bother you.
I enjoyed the dual POV and all in all I quite enjoyed the book. It is exactly what it states to be, there isn't a massive amount of depth so don't go looking for the meaning of like in the pages. If you want a sexy novel with some good banter, grab this one today.
4 stars
Thank you @wattpad for my gifted copy
Don't Believe her by Nicola Sanders
Ella's best friend left home and hasn't contacted her since and she cannot get over that fact. She has kept searching for years... When she runs into her brother years later, sparks fly and she moves in with him with her daughter... All of sudden Carla returns but she remembers her friendship with Ella very differently...
OMG this book had me whipping around like a damn kitchenaid mixer!!! Ella has memories of her and Carla being the best of best friends. Carla upon returning says that she actually wanted nothing to do with Ella and she only let her hang around because she had lost her mother. Ella doesn't believe it's Carla but Carla's mother and brother don't agree. You never know who to trust!
One minute I don't trust Ella, then I don't trust Carla and then I don't trust the brother... I was like FRACKKKK I don't know what's what! My hands were shaking and my heart was pounding....
The ending had me literally shrieking!!!
Those with heart conditions might want to give this a miss!!
5 stars
The Murderess by Laurie Notaro
When Ruth shows up at the train station with a suitcase so heavy and leaking blood... She has to run away as fast as she can. What they find inside the cases leaves them all stunned. The dead bodies of 2 women, one hacked to pieces and a woman now on the run.
This book was a tad slow for my liking. I do understand it is based on a real life crime so that kept me intrigued. We get the current day timeline and the past. Ruth was friends with both of the girls and the past is the lead up to the fateful night in question.
Ruth and her friends were basically trafficked by a man and they all ended up fighting over him. I never liked any of the characters and I didn't like Ruth but you can see how it all ended up the way it did and that made me sad for the women. The plot was great, getting a fictionalized story of Ruth before she went to prison based on the things the author did know and took creative license with the rest.
It was a decent audio but I wish the pace had been better.
4 stars
The Foster Daughter by Laura Wolfe
What do you do when you are in trouble? Return to the one home that you remember was safe... The foster parents you ran away from... They open the door to a woman they vaguely recognize holding the hand of a little boy but within a week of allowing her to stay with them... Someone she knew has ended up dead...
I loved it. It's one of those books that has you so twisted up you don't know if up is down or left is right. It chilled me to my bone not knowing what was going on or who was telling the truth. The audio was smashing too. The narrator was bang on and I listened to the whole thing in one sitting.
No one seems to be who you think they are and this book will give you whiplash, in the best way, with all the twists and turns. I literally gasped at the end. Did not see any of it coming.
One of the best books I've listened to lately.
5 stars
I just finished The Christmas Inn by Pamela Kelley and here are my thoughts.
Riley cannot believe she lost her job right before christmas but on returning home for the holidays, she never expected to find a second chance at love or the wonders of christmas on Cape Cod.
I love Christmas and it is never too early for me so settling in with this wonderfully heartwarming novel was just the festive kick in the pants I needed. Pamela Kelley basically writes hallmark movie novels and that is my absolute fav!!
I am not normally a fan of second chance romance but this one was perfection!! Riley has come home to help her mother at the Inn and she really finds herself while she is there. Coming up with new ideas to bring new customers in. Riley is so easy to connect to and I love that in an MC.
This is the perfect book to start your holiday season. It has all the cutesy love and the multigenerational family ties... SIGHHH I love it. It's well written, charming and the road isn't paved perfectly which I really appreciated from this book because as we all know, life isn't smooth sailing!
4 stars
Get yourself a copy today. Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy.
I just finished A Song of Drown Rivers by Ann Liang and here are my musings.
What do you say when your face, your incredibly beautiful face, could be used to win a dangerous war but you will be in more danger than you can ever know..
Xishi has the chance to become the concubine to a powerful king, the same King who is responsible for the murder of her sister. She must learn the ways of seduction and how to spy without detection while trying to keep her heart safe from a man she cannot have...
I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book but I am pleased to report I was wrong. It was a beautifully written masterpiece. Xishi isn't just some girl with a face that can launch 1000 ships; she has the wit and charm of a siren without knowing the weapons she wields. It was good, it was damn good.
I loved that no matter what she felt, the hatred for a King who kills without thought, she couldn't help but get to know the young man behind the crown and you can see she starts to waver ever so slightly with the humanizing of a monster.
The book was so tragic. So much loss in the pretty words and I listened to the audio as well as the kindle version and both hit their mark. It was truly a stunning piece of literature and if you haven't grabbed a copy yet... You should do that today!
There wasn't anything I didn't love. Do I wish it had a HEA? Yes but I understand the need to end things the way the author did even if it did break my heart.
5 stars
Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy
The last one at the wedding by Jason Rekulak
Frank can't believe his daughter has reached out to him after 3 years and she is getting married. Something feels off when he meets her husband-to-be and even more things don't add up on the run up to the wedding. Why was his face all smashed up? What's hidden in the toilet tank and what really happened to his ex-girlfriend....
It wasn't what I was expecting at all and I lurved every dang second of it. The story was so far out of left field I didn't see any of it coming. Not one lick! I tell ya this author has a talent for running your whole world in circles and hitting you with the most insane ending you will never see coming. The characters were well written and the plot was out of control! The audiobook had me just a buzzing! Best thriller I've read in ages.
5 stars
The Nightmare before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
The Christmas Prince is being forced by his father to marry the princess of Easter... But Halloween isn't happy about the arrangement and sends in the prince of halloween to vie for her hand. Trouble is, both princes have met before and shared a steamy kiss. Can they keep their growing attraction at bay to keep the peace in the lands?
This book was funny! I loved all the banter. I loved every loaded second. The group chats were my very favorite parts!!!
I loved all the holiday politics. It was awesome. It was a lot of fun and watching the book blend two of my favorite holidays in this cute read made my day! Could have done with some more backstory though on the brothers and Cole's engagement to Iris.
-Holiday Romance CHECK
-Forbidden Love CHECK
-Mixing genres CHECKKKKK
4 stars and the audiobook was phenomenal!!
Killer House Party by Lily Anderson
Arden finds out her parents spent her college fund on a house that no one has lived in for years... something bad happened there but no one knows exactly what. To raise money for her college fund, Arden hosts a party at the house and things start out great until the house decides that no one will be leaving alive.
This one was actually quite brilliant. I loved the idea of the house having this reputation but no one knows exactly what happened there. The things that happen in the house.... OMG it was horrifying. Arden was annoying as an MC. She wasn't my kind of character but everyone else was great. It's graphic.... LOVED THAT!! The story was terrifyingly delicious and I loved every second of the book.
Highly recommend 4.5 stars
Every moment since by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
This book is basically about a family who has to move forward after a cold goes missing. The parents split and the eldest son feels like he is to blame. Thaddeus the older brother writes a memoir about it and when new evidence comes to life, Thaddeus must return home and wonder if they will ever discover what happened to his little brother.
It was a bit chilling. The characters weren't great. I am not going to lie. It took me ages to warm up to them but the story was super sonic interesting and I was really invested in what happened to Davy and whether he was kidnapped, murdered, or something equally as heinous or whether he got into an accident and no one found him.
The ending was great and I did have a bit of a cry so grab the kleenex.
4 stars
Rachel Weiss's group chat by Lauren Appelbaum
Coming up to the dreaded 30, Rachel finds herself dissatisfied with her life. Boring job, disappointing men, overbearing mother... she finds herself strangely drawn to a man she doesn't Mike like but he seems to see her right to her core.
This was funny as all heck and cute AF.
Rachel is the party girl who works to pay bills but she needs more. She wants more. She finds herself doing things she wouldn't normally do and liking it. Christopher is the rich uptight son of her neighbors she bumps into him at the worst times. They are so different but their friendship is sweet and loaded with misunderstandings.
Loved it 4 stars
Wished by Sarah Ready
Anna is a cleaner in a house that feels unlived and the man who lives there... doesn't see her but her heart has loved him for years. While cleaning his office she sees a necklace on his desk... upon which she makes a wish. The whole world now believes she is married to Max.. only Anna and Max remember the real world...
It's so good. I'm already a fan of this series but this one is the best so far. Max was annoying until the last part of the book but I adored Anna. I love the idea of magic intervening to bring people together. I am a hopeless romantic.
The writing style is perfect for me and the audio is really well done. You have to be open to the beauty of love and not be looking for realism. This book will take you places if you allow yourself to be swept away in the charm.
4 stars
This book was a bit of a slog. Don't get me wrong, the story was decent but I felt the characters were a bit underwhelming.
I almost gave up on it twice. I'm glad I didn't because it was graphic and I was disturbed in all the right ways. It was well written but the characters.. UGHHHHHHHHHHH.
I think there is a good chance it was because of the narrator. This has happened to me before and reading the book improved the characters so I am waiting on my library hold and if there is an update, you will get one too.
3.5 stars
The Lake House Children by Gregg Dunnett
What do you do when your young son tells you he used to be someone else... Someone who was drowned... Just like his cousin before he was born?
This was the more exciting part of the book for me. The past life part. It was really well researched, I should know, I love stuff like that. I'm always going down rabbit holes.
I wasn't a massive fan of the police interview parts and I'm not 100% sure why she didn't just say who started the fire. It seemed unnecessary not to talk. Other than that I really enjoyed the tone and pace of the book and I was well and truly hooked.
4.5 stars