A Mother's Confession

'He’s dead and I’m safe, but I’m still scared. Sometimes I actually miss him, but then in the very next breath I find that I hate him so much that I hope there is a hell, just so that he can be suffering like he left me here to suffer.'

Olivia and David were the perfect couple with their whole lives in front of them. When beautiful baby daughter Zoe came along, their world seemed complete.

But now David is dead and Olivia’s world is in pieces. While she is consumed with grief, her mother-in-law Ivy is also mourning the loss of her son. Both women are hiding secrets about the man they loved. Secrets that have put the family in danger.

Something was very wrong in Olivia and David’s marriage. Can Olivia and Ivy break their silence and speak the truth? A mother should protect her child, whatever the cost…shouldn’t she?

I feel that whatever I write in this review cannot possibly do this book justice.  I am blown away, seriously.  I am on a desperate search to get anything Kelly Rimmer has ever wrote into my hands as soon as possible.  After this one novel, she will be an auto-read author for me every time!  I think I have to be vague in my review so as to not taint another reader's experience with this title.  I can say that I do fear mothers and fathers like David's. We are quickly becoming a society that feels entitled to everything and parents are constantly fighting battles for their children, even when their children are in the wrong.  After reading this story, I realize how dangerous that can truly become when these children become adults.  I will also be more careful and on the lookout for people around me like Olivia.  This book opened my eyes to a truly taboo subject that is very rarely addressed.  Wow, I am genuinely just in awe of this story! 

* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

Fractured

Julie Prentice and her family move across the country to the idyllic Mount Adams district of Cincinnati, hoping to evade the stalker who’s been terrorizing them ever since the publication of her bestselling novel, The Murder Game. Since Julie doesn’t know anyone in her new town, when she meets her neighbor John Dunbar, their instant connection brings measured hope for a new beginning. But she never imagines that a simple, benign conversation with him could set her life spinning so far off course.

After a series of misunderstandings, Julie and her family become the target of increasingly unsettling harassment. Has Julie’s stalker found her, or are her neighbors out to get her, too? As tension in the neighborhood rises, new friends turn into enemies, and the results are deadly.

This is one of those books, that when I finished the last page, I felt unsatisfied.  While I loved the story that was built originally, I think it got lost about the halfway point.  The story felt "fractured" in many ways and it was just hard to connect.  I appreciated the flawed characters the author created but just wanted more.  I realize this review may seem hard to understand, but I don't want to say too much for fear of giving anything away.  I guess I can sum it up by saying that the mystery and way the book ended was what I didn't care about and what was left completely unaddressed was what I did care about, so I felt underwhelmed.  I am giving this book 3 out of 5 stars, because it did keep my interest most of the time, I just wanted the author to finish what I thought was started.    

* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

With Love from the Inside

Grace Bradshaw knows the exact minute she will die. On death row for murdering her infant son, her last breath will be taken on February 15 at 12:01 a.m. Eleven years, five months, and twenty-seven days separate her from the last time she heard her precious daughter’s voice and the final moment she’d heard anyone call her Mom. Out of appeals, she can focus on only one thing—reconnecting with her daughter and making sure she knows the truth.

Secrets lurk behind Sophie Logan’s big house and even bigger bank account. Every day when she kisses her husband good-bye, she worries her fabricated life is about to come crumbling down. No one knows the unforgivable things her mother did to tear her family apart—not her husband, who is a prominent plastic surgeon, or her “synthetic” friends who live in her upscale neighborhood. 

Grace’s looming execution date forces Sophie to revisit the traumatic events that haunted her childhood. When she returns to her hometown, she discovers new evidence about her baby brother William’s death seventeen years ago—proof that might set her mother free but shatter her marriage forever.

Sophie must quickly decide if her mother is the monster the prosecutor made her out to be or the loving mother she remembers—the one who painted her toenails glittery pink and plastered Post-it notes with inspiring quotes (“100 percent failure rate if you don't try”) all over Sophie’s bathroom mirror—before their time runs out.

Wow - this is my kind of book!  It gave me all the feels and a perfect balance of character development and plot movement.  I'm definitely going to be looking out for Angela Pisel's next novel based on everything this book had to offer.  This book explored the relationship between mother and daughter in a unique way that show just how deep that connection is.  I don't often highlight quotes or ideas from fiction, but I found myself as a mother inspired by ideas that I learned.  Grace talks about how her family used to setup their family nativity and I want to start that as a tradition in my own family.  She also made me realize that life is determined by the small things, not the big events.  A quote that specifically impacted me was "...as I go over the "good mom" checklist in my mind, I realize only a few things really matter.  Are you loved, and do you love others well?"  And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there were many tears involved in the reading of this novel as well.  This is definitely one of my favorite reads of all 2016! 

* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

Broken Grace

On an icy winter’s day in southwest Michigan, Grace Abbot wakes up as the survivor of a car crash. But she’s left with a traumatic brain injury and a terrifying reality: she can’t remember anything.

Left in the care of her sister, Grace returns to the family’s secluded old farmhouse to recover—but within an hour of her return, the police arrive. Grace’s boyfriend has been murdered. Without any memory, Grace has no alibi.

With suspicion weighing heavily on her and flashes of memory returning, Grace searches for clues to her past. But with every glimpse, her anxiety grows. There is something about the house, her family, her childhood…perhaps the accident isn’t the only reason she can’t remember. Are the dark recesses of her mind hiding something even more sinister and terrifying than she could ever imagine?

                                                         And someone is watching. Someone willing to kill again to 

                                                         protect a secret.

I loved every second that I spent with this book!  The writing was well done, but not over done.  It kept the pages turning.  I'm a sucker for an unreliable main character and that's exactly what this book delivered on many levels.  While I don't think it was impossible to figure things out, I enjoyed how the book took you on a journey to get there.  It was also very believable, which sometimes doesn't happen in books like this one.  I would recommend this title to anyone who likes a realistic thriller that has multiple levels to it's mystery.  I hope to pick up other books by this author in the future. 

 

 * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

  

Behold the Dreamers

Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion, and loyalty—and Jende is eager to please. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses’ summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future.

However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers’ façades.

When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende’s job—even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice.

I am so conflicted about this selection, even as I write this review.  The first two-thirds I was all in and didn't want it to end.  However, there was a shift that ended up leaving me disappointed.  Characters that we had invested in, were just gone.  Jende became a totally different person that I just didn't think accurately portrayed who the author built him to be.  I was suddenly supposed to be invested in something completely different than when I started out and I just felt disappointed.  I wanted more of what I started with and just didn't get that.  On the positive side, the writing read quick and I loved the style.  While the story line was not what I hoped for, the issues this book dealt with are very real and I appreciated how it was handled.    

        

 * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

  

 

You Will Know Me

Katie and Eric Knox have dedicated their lives to their fifteen-year-old daughter Devon, a gymnastics prodigy and Olympic hopeful. But when a violent death rocks their close-knit gymnastics community just weeks before an all-important competition, everything the Knoxes have worked so hard for feels suddenly at risk. As rumors swirl among the other parents, revealing hidden plots and allegiances, Katie tries frantically to hold her family together while also finding herself drawn, irresistibly, to the crime itself, and the dark corners it threatens to illuminate.

 I really enjoyed what this novel delivered.  A thriller, in a gymnastics setting, was the perfect set up.  These girls dedicate their entire lives, and the lives of their families, to this grueling sport.  So it comes down to, what are you willing to do for yourself, or your daughter to make all the sacrifices worth it.  The writing was well done and I felt that it portrayed the teenage gymnasts perfectly.  While I wouldn't label this a "whodunit" thriller, I was very interested to see where it would go and how it got there.  I think this book really created a great scenario and took it all the way to the end in a believable way.  I will be checking out other titles by this author soon!  

   * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

The Sugar Men

Sixty-four years ago, Susannah Morgan managed to flee the horrors of the Holocaust. But the memories of that childhood ordeal have proven impossible to sweep away.

For most of her new life spent settled in sleepy North Carolina, the flashbacks have been a lonely obsession—one she has hidden from her family, and about which her heart is torn. Because for all the pain and the cruelty of those terrible years, she harbours sweet memories too, of unexpected friends who risked their own lives in order to save hers. As Susannah’s time on earth draws to a close, her innermost thoughts of those long-gone days become questions—ones that demand answers.

Against the wishes of her children, Susannah returns to Germany and the scene of unspeakable crimes. There she will come face to face with the Holocaust’s terrible, wretched legacy, and will finally make peace with the ghosts of her past.

I will be the first to admit, I passed judgment on this book before I even opened it and it proved me so wrong!  I was immediately connected to the characters and felt so invested in their lives and stories.  I had to remind myself several times that while the events in history did happen, that the story was fictional.  I think anytime a story feels that real, it's accomplishing its task of being a wonderful, engaging read.  I have read countless WWII novels as well as novels set in holocaust camps, but this one was one of my favorites.  So many of those novels tend to be long and drawn out, but this author was able to pack the same punch in a much simpler way and I really appreciated it.  I requested another Ray Kingfisher novel and I will be picking it up very soon!  

 * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *