Follow Me by Kathleen Barber

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I really enjoy books about social media and its implications, and Follow Me by Kathleen Barber definitely delivered on that premise. In this story, Audrey Miller is an influencer on Instagram. She shares her perfectly curated life with the world, but she just so happens to attract the attention of someone who takes obsession to a whole new level.

This book was told in three perspectives: Audrey, her college friend Cat, and Him: the man obsessed with Audrey. Audrey definitely portrayed the vapid social media influencer well. She was incredibly easy to dislike, and I think that was the point. Honestly none of the characters in this book were likable, but that was okay.  I did love the juxtaposition of the art exhibit Audrey was working on with real life. There was one instance of attempted sexual assault in the story, so I do want to point that out.

The plot itself really led you to believe that the man obsessed with Audrey was one person, but it threw you for a loop at the end! This also seemed to position itself well for a sequel, even though I don't think there has been any talk of one. 

This book truly creeped me out, and even though I was really enjoying it, I hesitated to pick it up because I knew it would make me uneasy. Social media definitely has a dark side, and this read clearly showed the extremes that it can reach. If you are looking for a book to hit the social media prompt for the PopSugar reading challenge, I really recommend this one!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Gallery Books for a finished copy of this read! Follow Me by Kathleen Barber just released last week, so be sure to pick up a copy!

The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler

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I know it's only January, and I might be jinxing myself here, but I'm calling this as one of my favorite books of 2020. The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler was a fantastic thriller that kept me engaged the entire time. 

When Sienna Scott was in college, she stumbled across a dead body during a snow storm. She's shaken, but isn't too worried at first. But soon her mother's delusions start to get to her, and Sienna begins to believe that she was actually supposed to be the one killed that night. 

Fast forward about 10 years later, and Sienna returns home to help take care of her mom. But those old fears start to creep back, and things begin to happen that convince Sienna that she (and her mom) may have been right all those years ago.

I absolutely adored this read! I completely flew through it and couldn't get enough. There is a lot about mental illness in this book, just as a heads up.  I appreciated the inclusion of the flashbacks to when Sienna found the body, and actually enjoyed the smaller side plots (which I'm normally not a fan of). I enjoyed the small town setting of Tranquility Bluffs, Wisconsin as well. Overall I thought this was really well-written and incredibly believable for a thriller.

While I did guess one small element, I was not expecting the final reveal at all! I love when thrillers can still shock me, even after reading so many. I've never read another Erica Spindler book, but now I am definitely going to pick up more of her work.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this read! The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler comes out this coming TUESDAY, January 28th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

29 Seconds by T.M. Logan

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Last year, I read Lies by T.M. Logan and really enjoyed it! I decided to pick up 29 Seconds by the same author as my thriller for Spookathon this year, and while I did enjoy it, it wasn't quite as much of a hit as Lies.

A lot can change in 29 seconds. For Sarah, 29 seconds could upend her entire life. After saving the daughter of a mysterious and wealthy man, Sarah is given a favor of sorts in return. Give him a name, any name, and he will make this person disappear. Could this save Sarah from the terrible situation with her disgusting boss, Alan Hawthorne?

There should definitely be trigger warnings for sexual assault and sexual harassment on this one. Unfortunately I didn't like this one as much as Lies. I honestly couldn't stand the main character. While I did absolutely feel for her and her predicament, she spent a lot of the book complaining about other things in her life, like how her kids didn't get along, and I didn't see how any of this was important to the plot. Some parts of the story were extremely unbelievable as well, specifically in relation to how people got away with some of the things they did. 

It was an okay read overall, and the issues addressed in the book are very important in today's society, but it just didn't grab me like I had hoped, which I feel like a thriller really has to do in order to be successful.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

I received an ARC of this read at the ALA Annual Conference. 29 Seconds by T.M. Logan is out now!

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

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This book was so unique and wonderful and I absolutely loved it! Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia is the perfect adult paranormal mystery thriller for this spooky season and was completely up my alley. Tuesday Mooney has always been a little odd. She wears all black, she's obsessed with all things dark and spooky, and she doesn't have a lot of close friends. But she's completely content with that. When a wealthy man in her city dies (who is named Vincent Pryce, btw!) and leaves behind a whale of a scavenger hunt, Tuesday finds herself teaming up with the few people in her life she has ever let get close to her, and finds out how much they mean to her in the process.

It's so hard to even summarize this book because so many different things happen. You get inside the head of multiple characters, each struggling with their own demons and identities. There's an amazing scavenger hunt that incorporates spooky things, Shakespeare, Poe, and all the other things I love. There are Stevie Nicks references, horror movie references, X-Files references, Salem references...need I go on? This book absolutely spoke to my weird girl heart. I adored Tuesday as a character and loved seeing her work through all the mysteries she was presented with throughout the story. 

It did take a while to read, just because there were so many different things going on that you needed to keep track of and file away. Dex, Dorry, and Archie were all great side characters and I was actually happy to follow their stories in addition to Tuesday's, when normally too many character story lines annoy me. My only real issue with this read was the ending. I thought it felt really rushed compared to how drawn out the scavenger hunt was in the majority of the book, and didn't like that there were some characters added towards the end who weren't necessary.

If you like scavenger hunts or spooky pop culture references, you would definitely enjoy this read.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for an ARC of this read! Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia is out today, October 8th, so be sure to pick up a copy to add to your fall TBR!

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

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I really adored both of Riley Sager's other books, Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied. I knew I was going to love this one as well, and I was right. Riley Sager's books are always BOTM picks, so I'm excited to have added this third one to my collection. Lock Every Door is Riley Sager's newest release, and it follows Jules after she moves into The Bartholomew in NYC as an apartment sitter.

Jules has basically hit rock bottom. She was laid off, she caught her boyfriend cheating, and she only has about $500 to her name. But when she sees an ad for a high-paying apartment sitter position in the posh Bartholomew and gets the job, she thinks fate has blessed her tremendously. 

Then come the rules: No guests. No spending the night away from the building. No engaging with the building's residents. But it's all worth it for that paycheck, right? Then Ingrid, Jules' new friend and fellow apartment sitter goes missing, and Jules realizes that things at the Bartholomew might not be so perfect after all.

Oh man this plot was good! There was absolutely no way to predict how this was all going to turn out! Honestly, this may be one of the most unique thrillers I've ever read. It was so easy to imagine the glamorous Bartholomew with its gargoyle statues and dark past. This story got better and better with every page and I enjoyed every minute of it. The elements using the old apartment dumbwaiter were so clever and added to the authenticity of the old building. The stories of the Bartholomew's sordid past were fascinating, and I loved the story behind Heart of a Dreamer, the fictional novel mentioned frequently in this book.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager was engaging, twisted, and suspenseful. Just read it. If you're interested in Riley Sager's books, and Book of the Month, you can sign up using my link here, and we'll both get a free book!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

The Retreat by Sherri Smith

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It's always so disappointing to me when a book starts off really well and just tanks as it goes. Unfortunately The Retreat by Sherri Smith was one of those books.

Katie Manning is a washed up child actor. Having played the famous Shelby Spade as a girl, her life is now in shambles as an adult. As she blows through her money and drinks herself into oblivion, Katie realizes she needs to make a change. So when her future sister-in-law suggests a wellness retreat, ending with a transformative hallucinogenic tea experience, Katie can't say no. Not wanting to be alone with Ellie, Katie decides to invite her two best friends Ariel and Carmen along as well.

While this book started off engaging enough, I very quickly started to lose interest. I flew through the first 75 pages or so, but after that point had to basically force myself to get through this. This book was told from the points of view of all four main characters: Katie, Ariel, Ellie, and Carmen. To me this made the whole story feel disjointed, almost as if I was reading 4 different books instead of one. There was entirely too much going on. From a missing guest to an inappropriate relationship with the retreat leader to a drug plot and more, I just didn't know which way was up, and as such just wanted to abandon the whole story.

The ending was just chaos. So much didn't make sense, and I found myself more confused than thrilled or excited. This story had so much potential and I hated to see that it was wasted. 

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Forge for a finished copy of this read! The Retreat is out now!

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

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This was another pick of mine for The Reading Rush, and I absolutely adored this read. The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware is an adult thriller that follows Rowan as she undertakes a position as a nanny. Not able to pass up the excellent benefits and salary, Rowan ignores the fact that numerous nannies have vacated the position before her under the pretense of the house being haunted. 

But when Rowan actually arrives at Heatherbrae House and begins work, she realizes that she may have underestimated things. And when one of the children dies and the truth about Rowan comes out, she finds herself accused of a murder she swears she didn't commit.

It's basically told as one long letter from Rowan to a lawyer, but it's very easy to forget that you're reading a letter and not just a story. I loved the inclusion of the smart house, and could easily see myself struggling with the advanced technology the way that Rowan did. Ruth Ware is great with creating an environment and atmosphere that sucks you in, and this book was no different. I could easily picture the massive house up in the Scottish Highlands and its surrounding woods. I was also a huge fan of the history of the property that Ware created, and this really added to the ghost potential of Heatherbrae House. 

I loved seeing the different personalities of the children that Rowan was charged with watching, especially the teenage daughter. At no point did I have any idea what was actually going to happen, when I usually have at least one theory or two. This was definitely a creepy read and it sent goosebumps shivering up my arms on more than one occasion. I liked the added elements at the end of the story as well and thought they gave it a good finish. 

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Scout Press for an ARC of this read! The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware is out TODAY, August 6th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

The Reading Rush Wrap-Up

Whew! The Reading Rush is over! This was the first time I have ever participated in a readathon from beginning to end, and I COMPLETED EVERY READING CHALLENGE! I am so proud of myself, but honestly I'm exhausted. I think I pushed myself a little too hard...this is a lot of reading for someone with a full time job! Every night all I did when I came home was read, so I'm excited that it's over and I can binge some trash TV now!

Here are some mini-reviews of the books I completed, along with the challenge that each one met!

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: I read this one for "Read a book you meant to read last year." So many people love and treasure this book, but I didn't feel the same. It was a solid 3 star for me, and I'm glad I read it, but I wouldn't pick it up again. The illustrations are adorable though!

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson: This fulfilled the challenge of "Read a book with purple on the Cover." I actually did a full review for this one, which you can find here. This was a pretty good read! It was slow at first, but picked up well and was very shocking at the end. I'm definitely going to look into more of this author's books! I gave this read 4 stars.

Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff: This was for the challenge of "Read an author's first book." This one will have a full review eventually, and it got a 4 star rating from me. Think The Walking Dead meets The Road with 99% female characters.

Animal Farm by George Orwell: Ick. I didn't get the point of this one. I know it's supposed to be satire but I just didn't enjoy it. I felt bad for the animals and wasn't entertained. At least this was a short read for the "Read a book with a non-human main character" challenge. I would rate this one 2 stars.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware: I ADORED this read. Absolutely a 5 star. A full review will come for this one soon! This completed the challenge to "Read a book with 5 or more words in the title."

Little Girls by Nicholas Aflleje and Sarah Delaine. I chose this for "Read a book in one location" and this may be the biggest letdown of the entire readathon. I had really high hopes for this one and had heard great things, but it ended up being basically a deranged version of The Lion King. I didn't love the art style either, and this one ended up as a 2 star.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: I panicked a day before the readathon was over and swapped this one in for the "Read and watch a book to movie adaptation" challenge. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books of all time and I love this movie as well. This was the last challenge I completed and I'm glad this is how I ended up wrapping up the readathon. 5 stars again, to both the book and the movie.

Total books finished: 7

Total pages read: 1661

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

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This was the book I chose to fulfill the "read a book with purple on the cover" challenge for The Reading Rush, because come on, all that purple is gorgeous! In Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson, Amy Whey has a seemingly perfect life: a great husband, infant son, and stepdaughter, a wonderful best friend, and a job she loves at a dive shop. But when mysterious Roux comes to town, all of that is put in jeopardy. Amy's past is no longer something she can run from, and when Roux issues an ultimatum, Amy has to decide whether to give in, or to play Roux's own game against her.

At first, I thought this book was only okay. I was enjoying it enough but it hadn't wowed me. Until it did. This book went from fairly tame to pretty dark in an instant, and it's honestly hard to describe because it probably needs a trigger warning, but that warning would give away a major detail at the end. 

I thought the diving element was an excellent add to the story, and is something you don't really see often. The side plots were great as well, and I loved seeing Amy's interactions with her stepdaughter Madison. I did think Amy's husband was a little oblivious, but aren't lots of husbands? It was so easy to imagine Amy's neighborhood, the book club, and her frenemy neighbors. Everyone involved had so much at risk, so much riding on Roux's game, and I was so anxious to see who would escape as the victor.

Overall this was a really solid read. It does start off a little slow, but it is absolutely worth pushing through. Juicy and intriguing, this is a great thriller to pick up this summer.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to William Morrow for a finished copy of this read! Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson is out next Tuesday, July 30, so be sure to pick up a copy!

Your Life is Mine by Nathan Ripley

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I really enjoyed Nathan Ripley's first book, Find You In The Dark, so I jumped at the chance to review this one. Your Life is Mine follows Blanche, the daughter of a cult leader who committed a mass shooting at a shopping mall when she was a child. 

Blanche has tried her whole life to escape the legacy her father left behind. From moving away from home and changing her name, to breaking all ties with her mother and her old life, Blanche seems to be doing a good job ignoring her past. But when her mom suddenly shows up to speak with her, then ends up dead just days later, Blanche can no longer avoid the past she fought so hard to disconnect herself from. Is the cult her father started back? Are people in danger? Is the tragic shooting that happened so long ago going to happen again?

Unfortunately, I didn't feel the same way about this book that I did about Find You In The Dark. It was not scary at all (whereas Find You in the Dark terrified me and left me with a super unsettling feeling). It really dragged and it felt like nothing happened for 98% of the book. It started off well but quickly I realized that it was going nowhere fast. I kept pushing through hoping something exciting would take place but it never did. I was expecting a twist that I never got. When I finally finished it, I was left disappointed and empty. 

Blanche was an annoying and self-centered character and I couldn't like her no matter how hard I tried. She was cold and unforgiving, which makes some sense given her past, but I couldn't care less whether or not she made it out of this story alive.

I'm very fascinated by cults, but I didn't get as much cult content as I was hoping for. And with mass shootings being front and center in our society right now, I feel like an author needs to tread lightly and do them correctly. I don't think he did. 

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Atria Books for an ARC of this read. Your Life is Mine by Nathan Ripley is out now!

A Good Enough Mother by Bev Thomas

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This suspense novel absolutely drew me in with its gorgeous cover. A Good Enough Mother by Bev Thomas is a suspenseful drama that follows trauma psychotherapist Ruth. After her son Tom goes missing, she is assigned a patient, Dan, that reminds her so much of him-appearance and all. Desperate to help Dan as she was unable to help her son, she struggles to keep the rigidness in place that she normally exhibits with her patients as the professional lines start to blur. 

I thought this book was fine, but I was kind of hoping for more. The thriller element didn't really come into play until towards the very end and until that point the plot moved fairly slowly. Much of the story was more emotional, focusing on Ruth's grief, the relationship she has with her family, and how these things impact her work as a therapist. A lot of pieces of the story didn't come together until the very end, so throughout most of the book I was wondering why they were relevant. I'm glad I finished it as the ending was worth it, but there were many times I struggled to keep going.

I was very engaged by her patient Dan, and found it interesting how he referenced so many movies throughout his treatment. I also liked the added dynamics from Ruth's relationship with her daughter, ex-husband, and trusted adviser. 

Being that this book does center around trauma therapy, there are some triggering elements mentioned, such as rape, suicide, self-harm, child disappearances, and sudden death.

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Pamela Dorman Books for a copy of this read! A Good Enough Mother by Bev Thomas is out now!

Verity by Colleen Hoover

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Just like Christina Lauren, Colleen Hoover has been an author I've been avoiding because of the "romance" label. But after really enjoying one of Christina Lauren's books, and hearing that this read was super creepy, I decided to give Verity by Colleen Hoover a try - romance be damned. AND I LOVED IT. Definite trigger warning on this one though for the death of a child(ren).

Writer Lowen Ashleigh is taken aback when she is approached about helping finish a popular book series after the author, Verity Crawford, was in an accident. Lowen reluctantly accepts, desperate for money but shunning any attention she might get from undertaking this project. In the spirit of research, she is invited to the Crawford family home by Verity's handsome and charming husband Jeremy. Here she finds out much more than she bargained for, from the extent of Verity's condition to the desire Lowen is developing for Jeremy, and some sordid information about the family's tragic past that completely changes her perspective entirely. 

This book was incredible! I was legitimately terrified to the point that I couldn't read this book before bed. That so rarely happens to me that I'm completely shocked and impressed when it does, but I hate it because I want to keep reading but mentally have to wait until the day time. This story is told in different points of view, alternating between Lowen's thoughts and Verity's hidden autobiography manuscript. It was such a mind-F, and shocked me time and time again.

I do think Lowen was a pretty naive character, and I thought the ending was a bit hurried, but these things didn't bother me enough to knock off a star. Lowen's back story was very interesting and unique, and I honestly would have loved to know even more about it.

I believe this would make a fantastic movie if the raunchiness was reined in a little. It was a lot heavier on the romance than I tend to like, but somehow the creepy plot cancelled it out. Had it been less creepy, the level of smut probably would have been too much for me. Not sure if I'll read any more of Colleen Hoover's books for that reason, but I'm very glad I gave this one a try. If she does anything else along this thriller vein though, I will definitely pick it up! 

The hype around this book is absolutely real, so if you have debating picking it up I would definitely recommend going for it!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

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I really enjoyed Sally Hepworth's last book, The Family Next Door, so I jumped at the chance to get to review this one. The Mother-In-Law is a mystery that opens with the death of Lucy's mother-in-law, Diana, then continues by alternating between the present and the past, detailing both the investigation and the events that led to Diana's passing. While Diana's death appears to be a suicide on the surface, things just aren't adding up. And if it wasn't a suicide, who is responsible? Why does everyone in the family suddenly have something to hide? I would put a trigger warning on this book for miscarriages/failed pregnancies.

I liked this book fine, although unfortunately not nearly as much as The Family Next Door. The plot was good but didn't grab me, and while the ending wasn't quite predictable per se, it wasn't at all surprising either. I just couldn't get invested in this one as much as I was expecting.

I did enjoy the alternating points of view of both Lucy and Diana, as well as how the book incorporated both present day and flashbacks to the past. This really made it clear that you don't always know a person's intentions, and they aren't always as malicious as you think. The characters were fine, but not really memorable, although Diana and her husband Tom completely reminded me of Emily and Richard, the grandparents from Gilmore Girls. Of course I have to mention how much I love the cover.

Overall it was a solid story and I'm glad I read it, but to me it just wasn't as good as Hepworth's last book. 

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for a finished copy of this read! The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth is out TODAY, April 23rd, so be sure to pick up a copy! 

The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz

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A psychological thriller about people in their early thirties based in NYC? Absolutely count me in! The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz follows Lindsay 10 years after her best friend Edie's suicide. But was it really suicide after all?

Lindsay has always thought she could put all the pieces together from the night that Edie died, but after a dinner with an old friend who was also around that night, now she's not so sure she can. When inconsistencies start to arise, Lindsay begins to believe that Edie might not have killed herself at all. Even worse, with each new discovery, Lindsay is slowly learning that she might have had something to do with it.

I really enjoyed this one! I was excited to pick this up and read it every night and it kept me engaged. And I absolutely did not see that twist coming! I liked Lindsay a lot as a main character, and was getting serious manic pixie dream girl vibes from Edie. I loved all the references to the 2000s, like Flip Cams, and it definitely made me nostalgic. 

I do think that Lindsay's romance subplot(s) were unnecessary to the story line. I also think that it was a little far-fetched as far as how the actual investigation went, but neither of these things took away from the story. This book does touch on miscarriages, so I wanted to make sure I mentioned that.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Crown Publishing for a finished copy of this book! The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz is out now!

The Smiling Man by Joseph Knox

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So I read this book over Christmas break and completely forgot to post a review. I'm usually so good about that so I'm over here kicking myself! But better late than never right? The Smiling Man by Joseph Knox is a detective/crime thriller that follows Detective Aidan Waits. This is actually the second book in the Aidan Waits series. 

Resigned to his lack of any real future and his permanent delegation to the night shift on the force in Manchester, Aidan has lost his zeal for pretty much everything. But when he and his partner come across a body one night, Aidan is suddenly invigorated with a new zeal for his career. You see, the dead man is smiling. But why? With no trace of his identity except for a patch sewn into his pants (his teeth and fingertips had been replaced, offering no help in identification), Aidan throws himself headfirst into trying to figure out who this man is and what happened. Even when colleagues and his supervisor tell him to stay away from the case, he just can't leave it alone.

This book was INCREDIBLY gritty, but I really enjoyed that! While I read a lot of thrillers, I don't read a ton of detective focused crime reads, so this ironically offered a breath of fresh air for me.  This really invoked a lot of film-noir vibes  and I really did envision everything in black and white. I loved the abandoned setting of The Palace hotel, and while I actually hated Aidan's partner Sutty, appreciated what he and all the other characters did for the story. There were some great side stories in this book in addition to the main plot as well.

I actually was not aware at first that this was the second book in the series, but apart from a few conversations where I didn't understand what was being referenced, it was easily to jump into this as a standalone.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Crown Publishing for an advanced copy of this read! The Smiling Man by Joseph Knox is out now!

Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser

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I'm sad, because I haven't had a book let me down this much in a while. Recently I read and reviewed Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser and absolutely adored it, so I couldn't wait to jump into this one. Unfortunately, this domestic drama fell unbelievably flat for me. 

Best friends Molly and Liza are trying to keep their friendship going after Liza moved away to Chicago, so they set up a Skype date to catch up. When Molly steps out during the call to check on her child, Liza sees a masked figure enter the house. After a frantic call to the police, she is reassured it's nothing, and has the door slammed in her face after driving all night to check on her friend. Was Liza imagining the whole thing? Why is Molly giving her the cold shoulder? What is Molly hiding, and will their friendship ever be the same again?

For me, this book dragged from almost the beginning. After the masked figure incident, the plot slowed down to a snail's pace. It had such promise at the beginning, but jumped the shark early on. There were way too many side stories to keep track of, and I didn't find myself invested in the characters at all (except maybe Liza's love life). I actually dreaded picking up this book in the evenings because I didn't want to read it, but I felt like I owed it to both the book and the author to finish it. I literally screamed "ARE YOU KIDDING ME" at the reveal at the end, because I couldn't believe I wasted so much time for that ending. 

I know, I'm rarely this scathing in reviews. I adore more books than not, and I rarely dislike one enough to give it one star (although I have had a few 1 star reviews on this blog). This read seems like a novice attempt at a novel when compared to Not That I Could Tell. Unfortunately, I had no other option here when it came to rating.

Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for an early copy of this read! Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser is out now.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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I picked this for my January Book of the Month, expecting a really intriguing mystery/thriller. Unfortunately it just wasn't quite what I had hoped. 

In The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, famous painter Alicia Berenson is in a psych hospital after apparently killing her husband. I say apparently because Alicia refuses to speak. She has not uttered a word since her husband was killed, in her defense or otherwise. Now, psychotherapist Theo Faber has made Alicia his personal pet project, hoping to finally get her to speak and learn the truth about what really happened that day.

There was a pretty good twist in this book, but unfortunately it wasn't enough for me to completely save the rating. This book was very dry, and I was more interested in Alicia's interspersed journal entries than the actual plot parts. I thought it ended way too abruptly. I didn't like any of the characters, and didn't really care what the outcome was. 

I've seen a ton of people giving this really high ratings, but this was far from a 5 star thriller in my opinion. It just wasn't very special, and didn't live up to the caliber of some of my other favorite mystery thrillers. I would have given it 2 stars, except I did really enjoy the twist and didn't see it coming.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

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Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

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Ok guys, this book hit me, and hit me hard. It took me a while to get around to reading it (to the point that I actually had three copies in my possession at once), but now that I have I am so upset at myself for not making it a priority earlier. 

Huge trigger warning on this book for domestic violence, so keep that in mind.

In Yellow Springs, a few neighborhood women get together one night for some drinks around the fire. The next morning, one of them and her children are missing. What happened to Kristen? Did her soon to be ex-husband have anything to do with it? Are her and her twins even alive?

This was absolutely a slow burn book, which usually bothers me, but with this one I was hooked. I loved the two different points of view of Clara and Izzy, interspersed with a third that we can rightly assume is Kristen's. Izzy's radio show segment "Second Date Update" is so similar to one I listen to on the radio every morning! I could really see myself in Izzy's shoes as well, and she reminded me of myself back when I was in my early twenties-sort of just drifting through life, lonely but not really willing to admit it, and struggling in a job she didn't like.

It was pretty clear from the beginning what was happening, and I think it was supposed to be, but there was still a reveal at the end that actually made me drop the book. 

The importance of this book is not to be overlooked, as it really shines a light on domestic violence and the struggles a woman must go through to escape an abusive husband. The story, the characters, and the message were all powerful, and were the perfect level of entertaining while still tackling an important issue facing many women today.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much for St. Martin's Press for a finished copy of this read! Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser is out in paperback now, so be sure to pick up a copy!

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

When I saw that this duo was putting out another book, I was insanely excited. When it showed up on my doorstep I could barely contain myself. After reading their book The Wife Between Us last year, I knew that I would eagerly gobble up anything these two put out, and An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen was no exception.

Jessica is a makeup artist, who traipses around the city from appointment to appointment trying to make ends meet. During one of these appointments, she catches wind of a psychology study focused on morality, where she could earn some much needed cash. After lying her way into the study, she soon realizes that it is more intrusive than she envisioned, but answering the probing questions asked of her is cathartic. When the study leader Dr. Shields starts to take an interest in her, Jessica feels special, like someone finally understands her. But soon that understanding gets deeper, the study steps get scarier, and Jessica doesn't know where the study ends and real life begins.

I really liked the main character, and definitely could see myself in Jessica's shoes. The manipulation used in this story was just brilliant. I could perfectly envision Dr. Shields in all her terrifying beauty, and can easily imagine getting swept up into the excitement and glamour that came with her, nail polish and all.

It was slightly predictable, however, which disappointed me since the twist in their last book threw me for a loop! I was hoping for a more dramatic twist.

While I didn't enjoy this quite as much as The Wife Between Us, it was still a great read, and I'm eager to see what these ladies come up with next!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for an ARC of An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen! This read is out January 8th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I reviewed Riley Sager's book Final Girls a while back, and absolutely loved it. I knew I had to give this one a shot and really hoped it would deliver as well as Final Girls did. Fortunately, The Last Time I Lied lived up to all my expectations! I do want to place trigger warnings on this book for drowning and mental illness.

This story follows Emma, whose three cabin mates mysteriously disappeared without a trace during her first summer at Camp Nightingale. The camp was shuttered, and the girls were never found. Now, years later, Emma is headed back to Camp Nightingale as an adult, at the request of its wealthy owner. Emma hopes returning will give her closure, and hopefully uncover some answers to what happened to Vivian, Natalie, and Allison all those years ago. But what answers could she possibly find that the police could not? And what are these answers going to cost her?

This had a very similar vibe to Final Girls, with the plot focused heavily on something that happened in the woods, as well as the main character seeking closure after a traumatic incident. It was fast-paced and read extremely quickly. I really enjoyed all the characters, and thought the twists and turns of the plot were all interwoven beautifully. This story was part teen movie, part urban legend, part treasure hunt, and part mystery all wrapped into one.

I loved that it was told through both flashbacks and present day scenes, and I really enjoyed getting to know Emma's cabin mates through those flashbacks. I also appreciated how Emma coped with her trauma, by hiding the missing girls in her now-famous artwork. 

I did think there were a few unnecessary elements, but nothing that distracted from the story in a major way. Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait for Sager's next book, Lock Every Door, which comes out this coming summer!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars