“You Are Not Alone” by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

New this week!

Folks, Hendricks and Pekkanen have done it again. I loved The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl, so I knew You Are Not Alone would be a hit.

Hendricks and Pekkanen have a knack for writing compelling thrillers that aren’t boring in the build-up. (That’s one of my recent beefs with thrillers. I get sick of reading 80% of the book confused, then finding out all the answers at the very end.) With these authors, they give you the whodunit thriller that you want, but throw in interesting pieces to keep you guessing and not completely in the dark. I will read anything these two put out without hesitation.

You Are Not Alone bounces between several characters’ points of view. Shay Miller is a young woman living in New York, just stumbling through life, trying to figure out where she belongs. On the way to an interview one day, she witnesses the suicide of another young woman on the subway platform. From that day forward, Shay’s life will never be the same.

Cassandra and Jane Moore are two sisters that get what they want in life. They have a tight-knit group of friends that are like family to them, and they’ll protect each other no matter the cost. So when a mysterious girl (Shay) shows up at their friend Amanda’s memorial service after her suicide, they aren’t sure what her motives are. Did Amanda tell Shay something about the group’s secret? Does she know too much?

The sisters take Shay under their protective wing to find out more — they need to see if Shay should be taken care of (in a good way or a bad way). But no one is who they seem in this book, so you’ll keep guessing until the very end.

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Buy the book here.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“The Night Before” by Wendy Walker

The Night Before is a keep-you-guessing mystery told in the always classic chronologically mixed format — alternating between “Present Day,” “Months Ago,” and of course, “The Night Before”.

Laura Heart has a shady past and a knack for overthinking her romantic relationships. When she goes through her most recent breakup with “Asshole,” she packs her bags and moves from NYC back to her childhood home to live with her sister, Rosie. Rosie, her husband Joe, and their neighbor Gabe, all are connected by proximity, but also by the fact that they were best friends growing up in that same neighborhood. They know each others’ childhood secrets, which for some, are more sinister than is typical.

To ease Laura’s heartache, Rosie helps Laura craft a dating profile and get a date with a respectable, mature, older man — one who would seemingly have a stable life to help Laura keep her head straight. When Laura doesn’t return from her date, her family fears the worst.

This book is a master class in the unreliable narrator, the alternating-time chapters, in leading you down the road only for you to find it wasn’t taking you where you thought.

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Pre-order the book here (releases May 14, 2019)

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“The Night Before” by Wendy Walker: An Official 2019 Pre-order Recommendation

This year, I’m going to be highlighting some 2019 titles available for pre-order that I’m completely nerding out over. Today’s post covers the first of these!

Wendy Walker slammed onto the thriller scene with All is Not Forgotten, and followed it up with the incredible Emma in the Night.

Now she’s gearing up for the release of her third, The Night Before. Here’s the description for the book:

A shocking, twisty novel that has the biggest names in the thriller community buzzing…

Rosie Ferro and Laura Heart are sisters, but as different as it is possible to be. One is lucky in love and has a conventional family: a husband, and a small son. The other has a troubled past she is still struggling to break free from.

When Laura disappears after going on a date with a stranger she met online, Rosie, her protector since they were young, springs into action to look for her. But as she slowely uncovers more about the situation, Rosie begins to fear that her sister might have been more of a danger than the man she went out with.

Told in duel timelines – the night of and the night before, Wendy Walker’s new novel is a riveting examination of family loyalty, obsession, and how just how far we will go for love.

I was provided an early copy of the book to provide my honest feedback, and boy oh boy. This book is just too easy to devour.

This baby bookling is so newborn that it doesn’t even have a cover yet! You’ll have to wait on the edge of your seat for my full review and the book itself, but here’s a little nibble of my thoughts!

“This book is a master class in the unreliable narrator, the alternating-time chapters, in leading you down the road only for you to find it wasn’t taking you where you thought.”

I gave The Night Before an unreserved four stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The book comes out in May 2019, but lucky you! You can pre-order the book on Amazon here!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“Not Her Daughter” by Rea Frey

New release Tuesday!

Not Her Daughter is an interesting mystery/thriller that explores the interesting moral question of When is kidnapping okay? Is it okay if the daughter doesn’t get enough fun and mental stimulation? Is it okay if the younger brother gets more love and attention? Is it okay if the mother is abusive?

Sarah is the CEO of a new educational tool called TACK, and spends much of her time in schools, presenting the product and researching new innovations. When a massive coincidence puts Sarah near little Emma twice, both times when she seems to have a horrible family, she decides she must take action. She must take Emma away from her sad, painful life, and give her a happy, fulfilled, and fun life.

Amy, Emma’s mother, is just so tired. Tired of the fights, of her lack of self-confidence, of her lack of caring anymore. One evening, Emma just won’t listen. She just wants Emma to behave and not make messes or do anything to disturb the family. When Amy snaps and slaps Emma’s face, Emma runs into the woods in the backyard that she frequents as a hiding spot. Mentally exhausted and angry, Amy locks the back door to punish Emma, then accidentally falls asleep in the bedroom from pure tiredness.

Sarah, who was in the woods during Amy and Emma’s fight, decides that her chance is now or never. She takes Emma, gets her new clothes and toys, and begins the most dangerous adventure of her life: Keeping Emma safe, and keeping herself out of jail when the family finally realizes their daughter is missing.

Told from the Amy and Sarah’s perspectives, plus mixed between “Before,” “Now,” and “After,” this book has many threads and twists that will keep you glued to the page. It’ll have you asking the same questions Sarah has — When is kidnapping okay? Would I do the same thing in her situation? Would I turn her in? — and you’ll keep wondering long after turning the last page.

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Order Not Her Daughter here.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

I HAD to have it…but why haven’t I read it yet?

If you’re anything like me, you have a lot of books you are anticipating the release date of, all the time. I am always excited for something big coming out, and most times I’ll have them pre-ordered to guarantee release date delivery and to take advantage of any pre-order incentives!

Yet, I find myself looking at my shelf, wondering why all of these highly-anticipated books remain unread! I have a feeling that it may be something of a worry that the book won’t live up to my hype-levels. Plus, there’s just so many AMAZING books coming out all of the time. LIKE SLOW DOWN Y’ALL, there are only so many hours in the day!

So here are the books that have been sitting neglected on my TBR pile, waiting to be read. If you’ve read any of them and liked them, please YELL at me in the comments to get on it!

1. Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff
2. Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
3. City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
4. Look Alive Out There by Sloane Crosley
5. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
6. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
7. Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas
8. This Savage Song *and* Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab
9. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
10. Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu
11. A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess
12. Sourdough by Robin Sloan
13. Armada by Ernest Cline
14. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
15. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
16. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
17. Saga Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan

Now having looked at these…many of them are sequels or in a series! I hate having to try to remember a year ago and what happened in a book to read the newest installation! Sometimes I’ll even wait for more than one to come out so I don’t have to do that!

So what do you think? Are you shunning me yet? Which of these do I NEED to read, and which should I just skip?

“Ace of Shades” by Amanda Foody

New release Tuesday! Take a card and stake your soul with Ace of Shades, book 1 in The Shadow Game series.

Enne (pronounced like the letter “N”) has no choice when her mom, Lourdes Alfero, doesn’t come back from her trip. She has to go to New Reynes to find her. With her handy tourist guidebook, she sets off to find Levi Glaisyer, the only name her mother left behind.

New Reynes is called the City of Sin for a reason. The South Side of the city is considered “safer” — this is where rich tourists go to vacation. The North Side, where Levi is the Lord of the gang called the Irons, is dangerous. There’s other gangs (the Scarhands and the Doves), plus notorious mafia casino families. Enne’s guidebook strongly advises not going to the North Side. But she must.

Ace of Shades switches from Enne’s and Levi’s perspectives. While Enne needs Levi to help her find Lourdes, Levi needs Enne to pay him for his help in order to pay off a large debt that if left unpaid, will cost him his life.

Told over the 10 days Levi has to pay back his debtor, we follow him and Enne through this magical, dangerous, Vegas-meets-carnival adventure. If you liked Caraval, and want more of the same, you have to pick this one up.

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Buy Ace of Shades here.

I also highly recommend Foody’s debut, Daughter of the Burning City – click this link to buy!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“I Stop Somewhere” by T.E. Carter

(Content Warning: murder, rape, sexual assault)

New Release Tuesday! I Stop Somewhere is a very emotional, sad, and gripping book. In the vein of novels like The Lovely Bones, we follow Ellie as she watches her murderer from the afterlife as a ghost of sorts. Where it differs, is that this book alternates between the past leading up to Ellie’s murder, and the present as she watches girl after girl be assaulted just like her, unable to do anything to help.

Finally, one of the victims speaks up. It isn’t easy, as the two assailants are the sons of the most powerful man in town, the one buying up all the foreclosed houses and remodeling them to keep the town from shriveling up and dying. Ellie watches as the girls struggle with the repercussions of their attacks, the boys scramble to save themselves from prison, and the police struggle to solve Ellie’s now long-cold case.

This book is very graphic, but it is also very addictive. I flew through it, pausing to reflect on how sad the story was, getting pissed at the bad guys, and wishing I didn’t have to do real life things instead of reading.

Here is an excerpt of the Walt Whitman poem “Song of Myself” that the title was taken from:

I depart as air—I shake my white locks at the runaway sun;
I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.

I bequeathe myself to the dirt, to grow from the grass I love;
If you want me again, look for me under your boot-soles.

You will hardly know who I am, or what I mean;
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.

Failing to fetch me at first, keep encouraged;
Missing me one place, search another;
I stop somewhere, waiting for you.

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I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“The Stranger Beside Me” by Ann Rule

The Stranger Beside Me was originally published in 1980, and it had a 20th anniversary edition that came out in 2000. It’s been on my to-read shelf for…… longer than I care to admit.

Ann Rule, as you may know, is an acclaimed true crime author known for many of her works. Back in the 80’s, there was a suspected serial killer sexually assaulting and bludgeoning young women to death. The case was in full swing when Rule’s publisher asked her to follow the story and write a book about it.

A short time before this, Ann had done some work for a suicide hotline to honor her brother’s memory (he had committed suicide many years before). She became close to another volunteer there named Ted Bundy. Bundy was kind of a charmer, and Rule felt almost sisterly love for him, giving him rides and attending events together.

As Ann followed the serial killer case, she began to hear things that brought Ted to mind. But no, nice Ted that she worked with would never do something that horrible! Eventually, Ted was caught and sentenced to death by electrocution. Rule continued to communicate with Ted, even with him knowing she was writing this book, up until when he was executed.

Doesn’t that sound like an amazing, unbelievable story? In case you didn’t catch it, this is a T R U E  S T O R Y. You could not make this stuff up.

This is a very solid read, even with its age. If you like serial killers and well-researched procedural and mystery books, you should definitely put this on your list.

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Buy the book here.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (Arc of a Scythe, Book 2)

I read an ARC of Scythe by Neal Shusterman last year, and it absolutely blew my mind. It is on my list of top favorites of all time. Check out my gushy ramblings about book 1 here. Obviously if you haven’t read Scythe, you will not understand all the spoilers for book 1 below. Come back after you’ve read Scythe and you’ll thank me!

Just as a refresher, when we left off last time, Citra had just been named the newest Scythe in Mid-Merica. Her first task was to glean Rowan, but due to her brilliance, he got away.

Enter Thunderhead, the second book in the trilogy. The Thunderhead is the all-knowing being that controls and regulates everything on earth, with one exception—anything dealing with the Scythedom. The main theme through the entirety of the book is whether it’s right or wrong for the Thunderhead to police the Scythedom, especially with the rise of the New Order Scythes. They love to cause pain, fear, and revel in their celebrity and immortality.

Citra has continued her fellowship with Scythe Curie, now as her new identity: the Honorable Scythe Anastasia. They continue to glean as they are required, and always ensure they perform the grim duty with dignity and humility. When there’s a shake-up at the Mid-Merican conference, they are both thrown into deep political drama.

Rowan, meanwhile, is cavorting around as Scythe Lucifer, all dressed in black like the grim reaper. He has taken on the task of hunting down, gleaning, and burning the bodies of the Scythes who have gone bad. He makes one mistake, and definitely suffers the consequences.

The rest of the plot will just absolutely blow your mind. It is literally unreal and haunting. I sat catatonic for quite an embarrassing amount of time when I finished reading.

So anyway, this series is incredible and you are missing out so hard if you haven’t picked it up yet. It has amazing characters, enchanting world building, puzzling moral questions, and twist after twist after twist.

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Buy the book here.
Buy Scythe (Book 1) here.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“Bonfire” by Krysten Ritter

We all know the actress, Krysten Ritter, from a myriad of things: The B in Apartment 23, Gilmore Girls, Breaking Bad, Jessica Jones, etc. But in her debut novel, Bonfire, we get to know another side of her. And it is full of thrilling, scheming, curious characters.

Abby heads back to her small hometown in Indiana to work a case for her environmental law firm against the big corporation in town, Optimal Plastics. She has bad memories of the town, it being where she was teased and harassed incessantly in her high school. She runs into many of her old classmates, and notices the absence of her old friend, Kaycee. When they were in high school, Kaycee and many other girls came down with a mysterious illness that caused them to seize, vomit blood, and pass out. The illness eventually passed, and Kaycee left town. But no one knows where she went.

Abby is working the case against Optimal, but she also falls back into town gossip and rumor, and tries to figure out what happened to Kaycee.

This book is like Erin Brockovich meets Gillian Flynn, with the big corporation  (think Sweetums in Parks and Rec) with their hands in everything. And I do mean everything.

★★★★

Buy the book here.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.