Tag: fiction

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen

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The Lost House is an incredible whodunit with so many missing pieces that when the puzzle is finally put together, well you just have to gasp! You will fall in love with the main character, flaws and all and root for her with your last breath! The second character in this story is its location, Iceland. Through Larsen’s amazing writing, you will see the beauty and feel the frozen temperatures. But most of all, this is a twisty thriller you won’t be able to put down!

Agnes has come to Iceland to find out if her late grandfather really did kill his wife (her grandmother, and his infant daughter, her father’s sister). You see, over forty years ago he was accused of murdering his wife and drowning his daughter in the freezing dead of winter. The accusations at the time so undeniable that he took her father, a young boy at the time, and they left their beloved homeland and moved as far away as possible to California.

Agnes never wanted to believe he was a murderer, although her father made no bones about his thoughts. It was the law in their house to never discuss what happened and when she tried, she was always angrily rebuffed. As for her grandfather, he too would never speak of what happened just pleading with Agnes that she will always love him right?

Now, a criminal podcaster named Nora Carver has invited her to Iceland to see the house her grandfather and father grew up in (which is still a notorious place… for parties) and be interviewed and watch as Nora interviews those who are left who witnessed what had happened all those years ago. Her father, upset that she would even consider going, wants nothing to do with her but Agnes has finally recovered from a horrible accident which almost killed her a year ago and her grandfather’s passing still very new convinces her she needs to put all this to rest, whatever the outcome.

As Agnes tries to adjust to not only the freezing snowy weather conditions but also visiting the house and area where the murder took place, she begins to grapple with her still unresolved anxieties. To add to this, she discovers the weekend prior, a local girl disappeared after a drinking party and has not been seen since.

She begins the interviews with Nora and listens in on other interviews from witnesses from many years ago, Agnes starts to lose hope that her grandfather is innocent. She also takes interest in the missing girl’s story and with Nora begins to look into this terrible case which most people believe was either an accident from drinking too much and wandering away or suicide.

But everybody has secrets, including Agnes herself. She is afraid of digging too deep because of her fears coming true, but something feels off and she can’t explain what. The closer Agnes gets, the more frightened she feels. Is she being played? or is she the next victim or in danger? Is this all worth trying to exonerate a dead man?

The Lost House is a “chilling” thriller with an intense plot as well as an incredibly suspenseful story with an imaginative breathtaking backdrop.

Thank you #NetGalley #MinataurBooks #MelissaLarsen #TheLostHouse for the advanced copy.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

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Hold on to your seatbelts! This incredibly exciting book, The Business Trip had me from the very first to the very last page! It did not disappoint. The story will keep you in suspense and your imagination will fly you to unexpected places! The story is filled with unimaginative mistreatment in so many ways, greed, narcissism and secrets…so many secrets.

Jasmine has decided today is the day she leaves her abusive boyfriend before he ends up killing her. He seems to be getting close. Her plan, a year in the making, she now just has to find her way to the airport.

Stephanie works at a television station and is going on a business trip to a convention. She has an older son and is divorced and partly wishes she could get back out into the dating world. This is a quick trip, and she too heads off to the airport.

Jasmine and Stephanie are supposed to be flying to different places, until suddenly they aren’t… something happens, and neither will make it back home.

Although Stephanie does make it to the convention, and continues texting her cat sitter, something happens which makes everyone fear for her safety. Jasmine too is texting but for her it’s the terror of her boyfriend figuring out what she is doing which makes what she types cryptic. Then the texting of one becomes a passionate plea for help. And then nothing from either of them.

Trent McCarthy who is also in attendance at the convention immediately has his eye on Stephanie. You see, Trent thinks he is a lady’s man. But unfortunately, only he seems to think it. He treats women awfully as he feels they are so far beneath him. And very much disliked. A narcissist bully who is clueless to social norms.

But for Trent, these two women’s disappearances will look as if he had something to with them going missing.

The story which uniquely told by all the characters in chapter form is riveting with the ending revelations brilliantly startling! The Business Trip is very messy, suspenseful adventure you don’t want to miss!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #JessieGarcia #TheBusinessTrip for the advanced copy.

The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose

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Molly the Maid is back! In this delightful, comforting novella by Nita Prose, The Mistletoe Mystery, we once again glimpse what Molly’s life was like with her wonderful late Gran, her recently discovered grandfather and her beloved boyfriend Juan Manuel.

In true Molly fashion, the story is adorable, heartwarming, and funny as Molly learns Christmas and the holiday season can be a bit anxiety ridden and can also come with a few life bumps but in the end surprisingly miraculous!

This is the time of year in which Molly misses her Gran especially. They had many traditions which kept them excited about the holidays no matter how much (or little) money they had.

And now, Molly gets to share this special time with her cherished Juan Manuel who tries to keep all those traditions alive, an advent calendar to be opened daily, picking out a tree, and of course his delicious cooking each night!

But Molly can’t help but feel something is off with her and Juan Manuel. He seems much more tired than usual, perhaps from cooking and baking at the hotel, but he also seems extremely preoccupied when he is at home, always making excuses to go out but being vague as to where he is going. Molly knows there is no fibbing allowed in their relationship. And so does Juan Manuel!

On top of all this, The Regency Grant Hotel has decided to once again do the Secret Santa exchange amongst the employees. But the last time they did this Secret Santa, most everybody laughed at what Molly had given for her gift. Now, she feels this terrible pressure to not have that happen again!

Then one day she witnesses Juan Manuel doing something that she considers bad at work. So does her arch nemesis maid! When she confronts him, he out and out lies! Why is he lying? She thought they loved each other! So, as all this is happening and with the gift exchange drawing closer, well Molly’s fearfulness that something bad is going to happen increases.

How could she have been so wrong about her boyfriend? What would Gran think! Or do?

The Mistletoe Mystery is pure joy wrapped in a beautiful, holiday story which has charm, sensitivity and of course, love.

Thank you #NetGalley #BallentineBooks #NitaProse #TheMistletoeMystery for the advanced copy.

Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer

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In Magical Meet Cute, Jean Meltzer, author of the hysterical The Matzah Ball, proves she can tell a story a bit out of her rom-com comfort zone by creating an amazing, haunting, funny romance/thriller which will tug at your heart but also emphasize what is happening in today’s world.

Faye Kaplan has a broken heart. Once engaged but that went south, she decides to leave her law practice and create a new life in Woodstock, New York doing something she always loved as a child. Create art through pottery.

Faye’s childhood was perfectly imperfect with a horrible mother and what she ended up getting out of that life was she always needed to be perfect in everything she does, which includes if there is one mistake while creating her art, means it gets dumped.

Now, lonely and feeling like she will never find someone, she goes to a mixer and discovers someone is putting anti-semantic flyers everywhere. This on top of her loneliness (and perhaps because she was a bit drunk, she decides to create a “golem” a being from Jewish folklore which is made from bits and pieces of whatever you have around, like clay for example, and once buried you make a wish. She buries it in the backyard. She hopes it will protect her.

But unfortunately, the very next day while riding her bike she accidently knocks down a very handsome man who is rushed to the hospital. He can’t remember anything about himself. Faye, who feels terrible and because no one has claimed him decides he needs to come home with her and recuperate, much against the advice of all her friends who think she will now be murdered!

They come to the decision together that his name should be Greg. Unfortunately for Greg, he remembers nothing not even how to do the simplest things. So, he begins reading books on just about everything. He does become a pretty good cook, and a great listener for Faye. As they begin to spend more and more time together, they both feel the start of something, but for Faye, she starts to believe he is the golem in human form she buried in the backyard and is now waiting for the right moment to make her life miserable.

And then it does. As the antisemitism begins to increase, a brick is thrown through the window of her pottery shop. The community doesn’t understand why this is happening, or maybe they do. Faye decides to take a stand and puts a pro-Jewish display in her window trying to lure whoever the beasts are who hate them so much.

As for Greg, she believes he is a bad golem and tries to do everything in her power to get rid of him. But he won’t go! She is so scared to fall in love, she’s willing to believe the worst of man she thinks she conjured.

But terrible things are brewing in this small town and trying to discover who and what are causing the violence will take the whole community banning together. As for Greg? Well, you’ll just have to read the book…

Magical Meet Cute is a fun book with very serious issues, which is trademark Meltzer, which melds romance with ripped from the headline problems, with a touch of mystery and of course, magic!

Thank you #NetGalley #MiraBooks #MagicalMeetCute #JeanMeltzer for the advanced copy.

https://www.amazon.com/Magical-Meet-Cute-Jean-Meltzer/dp/0778334414/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32BUFEDQ97GW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vihd-XX5iQk2OSqsXNFIKGg3ycn8T9zmWq6JQ_pryFgbOJ9xDc5oZ41oLU0Tm9uGi1L_0-wbEL6P4lkfIZQ65bgiGbPh9TEih17cR9TuuQw.R5Klhs5_AKtTmE014g7At1tPph7aM2JbLukt3LW9-38&dib_tag=se&keywords=magical+meet+cute+jean+meltzer&qid=1736523504&sprefix=%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-1

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

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Emma Lord, author of the adorable book, Tweet Cute, has once again created an imaginative story, with lovable characters who must re-discover not only themselves but also learn to live in the moment and let go of their pasts in order to have any kind of future, not matter how difficult that can be. The story is funny, sensitive and just lovable!

June is struggling to pay the rent on her tea shop which she and her late sister Annie created. On top of that, her boyfriend of years has left her for someone else and she was caught on a video having a complete sobbing meltdown which then went viral and now she is the laughingstock of the internet.

To add to all this, her childhood friend (and crush) Levi, who was also her sister Annie’s best friend has come back to their seaside town after living in New York as a financial manager. When she sees him, she is shocked at the change. The old Levi was an imaginative writer who only wanted to create stories, but it seems something happened to him, and he stopped trying.

She discovers he is going through a bad break-up and after the two are caught unknowingly gazing into each other’s eyes on a video and that too blows up on social media, well, they decide on a plan. Pretend they are falling in love and attempt to make their former partners jealous.

But what they never expected would be all the interest they would generate and the feelings it would bring up in both of them. But June and Levi are still trying to get over what they think are their past mistakes which continue to haunt them today.

So now, they must decide separately and together which direction their lives must go. They must reflect and try and move on both together and separately. One thing is for sure, they know they can’t live in the past anymore and they know they can’t try and fool each other either because when you attempt that, you only fool yourself. How honest are they both willing to be?

The Break-Up Pact is a tender love story which is filled with poignant messages about life, loss, moving forward and of course, love.

Thank you #NetGalley #GriffinBooks #EmmaLord #TheBreak-Up Pact for the advanced copy.

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins

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Cross My Heart is a heart palpitating thriller with surprising twists and turns during the story in Megan Collins style, which will keep you reading until the stunning unexpected ending. Her creative deviousness plays well into the plot about a woman who previously had been jilted by a boyfriend, and she ends up having a heart transplant. But it is so much more. You are going to have the ride of your life!

Rosie Lachlan’s life was changed forever when she discovered she needed a heart transplant. She now must take medications without fail morning and night for the rest of her life, or until she needs another transplant. She works in a bridal salon owned by her parents. Even though she has a new life, she finds herself a bit depressed because prior to the transplant she was dumped by someone she thought she would be spending the rest of her life with (and it became very difficult) and being in the wedding dress industry, she starts to feel like she will never find the one.

Also, Rosie is curious about the person whose heart is keeping her alive. She decides to do a bit of research, and she discovers (or so she thinks) the heart came from Daphne Thorne, wife of the best-selling author and local, Morgan Thorne. According to what she can find, Daphne had an accident in their house and tripped and fell.

She goes against protocol and contacts Morgan through the Donor Connect Service which has been set up. She at first emails Morgan anonymously to find out if she was right. As they begin to correspond, she begins to feel a connection to him. Is this in part because Daphne is inside her? They begin to tell each other more about each other’s lives and Rosie begins to fall for Morgan. She even finds out he lives close to where she lives. Sometimes she even walks by his house.

But as she looks online, she discovers social media does not have the same feelings about Morgan. Many believe he actually killed his wife. Even Rosie’s best friend Nina who works at the hospital in which Daphne died said Morgan had been acting strange the night of her death.

It is then that Rosie begins to research Morgan and Daphne’s relationship. And she begins to wonder…

Until Morgan is found dead in his home and unfortunately for Rosie she suddenly becomes the main suspect in what is now considered a murder! Due to Rosie’s complicated past relationship, well, it does not help with the process of finding her innocent.

Rosie knows it wasn’t her. Which means someone else killed Morgan. But who? Did they know what she was up to by having an online relationship with the author? As Rosie ponders these questions, she discovers her new life is in danger. But what on earth does she know that would make someone want to kill her?

How can Rosie save herself and prove she did not kill Morgan?

Cross My Heart is filled with psychological drama and shocking revelations. Trust me you will never see the ending coming…cross my heart…

Thank you #NetGalley #AtriaBooks #MeganCollins #CrossMyHeart for the advanced copy.

The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir

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The Night Guest is eerie, creepy and delicious! A can’t put down nightmare of a story where nothing makes sense until everything makes sense. The intensity of the book makes for a heart-palpitating quick read which will continue to give you goosebumps for hours after.

Iounn lives in Iceland. She has a great job, good friends (sort of), but unfortunately many horrible health problems which no doctor seems to be able to resolve.

She is tired all the time, her body achy and she has constant unexplained bruising sometimes almost every day. Finally, she sees a female doctor and Iounn feels more comfortable with the results of her blood tests which all come back fine, she feels as if she is now able to relax. Until the next time she wakes up tired, bruised and with what looks like rust under her fingernails.

Her friends believe it is her diet. They tell her to eat more. They tell her to exercise more. They tell her to take sleeping pills to help her sleep. Reluctantly, her doctor does prescribe the sleeping pills and at first they are a miracle! Until one night when she goes to take them and there are none left in the bottle. What happened to the pills?

Her weekly dinner with her parents is another added stress in her life. She’s vegetarian and her mother refuses to change the dinner menu for her. The table talk is always tense and irritating which adds to her anxiety.

Then someone suggests she buy a watch which tracks your daily steps to make sure she’s getting enough exercise to tire herself out. But one morning she discovers she forgot to take the watch off before going to bed and is horrified to see an added 40,000 steps! This can’t be right.

What is happening to her? Now she must try and figure out what is going on at night. She refuses to tell anybody her secret. What could she be doing at night and why?

Well reader, that’s all you are going to get from me. But read The Night Guest you must! It’s a spine-chilling story and the ending? Well, see for yourself!

Thank you #NetGalley #TorNightlife #HildurKnutsdottir #TheNightGuest for the advanced copy.

I Need You To Read This by Jessa Maxwell

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I NEED you to read I Need You To Read This! It’s a flawless example of a perfect thriller! With an outstanding plot, mysterious characters and clues, you will be kept on your toes by this all-consuming story. It truly checkmarks all the ways which make for an amazing read…murder, mystery, secrets, thrill and a gasping ending!

Advice columnist extraordinaire Francis Keen has been murdered. Alex Marks who is a copywriter by day and a hermit by night in New York City is devastated. Alex grew up with Dear Constance and feels like she survived her childhood through reading her column.

Alex tries to stay under the radar. She goes to the same coffee shop every morning, then to her job and then home. Her only friends…the waitress and a customer at the diner and she only sees them for five minutes a day.

But something happens to Alex when she sees the job announcement for a replacement for Keen’s Dear Constance column. She feels something she has never felt before. And so, without thinking she applies for the job. Surprisingly she actually gets it! Ah, but always be careful what you wish for!

After meeting with the editor in chief Howard Dimitri she begins what she considers a new life, with a new purpose…to help those in need. But, unfortunately, someone does not feel the same way as Alex. She begins to get threatening notes. She believes it’s just a reader who is angry that they have replaced Keen and she is now Dear Contance.

As she settles into the office, she discovers the editor in chief has a few secrets and then discovers there are some shady goings on in the office. Her mind starts to wander and she begins to think perhaps someone who worked with Keen could possibly have killer her. But, why?

As Alex tries to discover what exactly is going on in the office, her past which she left behind suddenly begins to collide with her present! Now Alex is frightened! Just as she believes she knows what happened to Dear Constance, well, let’s just say she’s wrong! And now she could be the next dead Dear Constance!

I Need You To Read This is an absolutely enjoyable read with so many layers and hidden secrets it will make your head spin! The twists and turns are impeccable, but scattered within the story are new friendships and trusts and trying to create a new life. But mostly it’s a downright great murder mystery!

Thank you #NetGalley #AtriaBooks #JessaMaxwell #INeedYouToReadThis for the advanced copy.

Till Death Do Us Part by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

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Till Death Do Us Part is an amazingly shocking thriller you never thought you needed and won’t be able to put down. Each chapter draws you deeper into the riveting mystery and every revelation gives you tingles until finally, finally! the crescendo of the jaw dropping ending you do not see coming, slaps you in the face!

June is ready to take the leap and get married again. You see, ten years ago June met and married the love of her life Josh, only to have him taken away a week later when he disappears after going for a swim on their honeymoon. After an intense search he is presumed drowned making June a widow.

Now, after all these years, and with much therapy, she has met someone and is ready to marry again. Owning her own wine bar in New York City now, and having some success at it, June is taking the leap although still to this day she has never fully believed Josh died. Not after reading his final text to her. But she is finally excited for her future.

Until one day when she is in Central Park and turns to see a man who is Josh staring at her. She immediately returns back to the days just after he went missing when she would turn and see him, even though he was not there. But, for some reason this is very different. She absolutely knows what she saw was real!

So, she quietly begins to do a bit of research on where his family ended up, his family owned a winery in Napa Valley, and when she pulls the website up, there before her eyes is a picture of Josh, a woman and two young children. In shock, she decides to lie to her fiancé and go out to the winery to confront Josh.

But what June will discover is that nothing makes sense and the deeper she opens the Pandora’s box, the more confused she becomes. And then, she discovers her fiancé has been hiding a secret from her. Something she is not sure she can forgive him for.

June must begin to wade through Josh, his family and her own past to discover some terrible truths that were hidden from her all those years ago.

The lesson in Till Death Do Us Part is… love can be the death of not only a life, of their love of their trust but open the flood gates to more questions than answers and horrible secrets and perhaps even more unknown tragedy…until it all becomes exposed.

Thank you #NetGalley #Simon&Schuster #LaurieElizabethFlynn #TillDeathDoUsPart for the advanced copy.

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen

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House of Glass is another thriller by Sarah Pekkanen, author of The Golden Couple. It will grab the reader from the very first page and take them on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, and just when you think you know where the story is going, you realize you had absolutely no idea where the story was going! The main plot is about a little girl who witnesses a terrible accident at her family home and the psychologist who is assigned to her case to determine which parent she should live with. You may ask, why can’t the little girl tell her? Well…since the accident she has not spoken. And our psychologist can not only sympathize with our little girl but empathize as she too was mute after her own mother was discovered dead at their home many years ago. The story, complex in nature, is fascinating and the ending extraordinary!

Rose Barclay is a mute nine-year-old child who witnessed her nanny plunging from a bedroom window and falling to her death at their home. Now, the parents are in the middle of a terrible divorce as it was discovered that Rose’s father, Ian was having an affair with the nanny. The Barclays, Ian and Beth live in a beautiful house with Ian’s mother who had surgery and has not been able to live on her own.

Now Stella Hudson is approached to figure out who Rose would be better suited to live with as she cannot speak for herself. Stella understands. When Stella was a young girl, her own mother was found dead in their house and Stella fearful, stayed in her closet until help arrived. She too became mute after the trauma, and it took years of therapy to help her understand what had happened. Or so she thought. Because this case has brought up Stella’s horrible memories of year’s past.

Stella begins to try and win Rose over, but Rose seems to not be able to make any kind of connection, no matter how hard she tries. Then Rose discovers all the glass has been removed from the house and replaced with plastic. Why? And Rose seems to have unhealthy fascinations, which disturb Stella. She begins to believe Rose may have a hidden side to her. Could this tragedy have actually been a murder? It seems Rose is keeping many secrets.

Stella soon begins to believe Rose’s parent and grandmother may be covering up for her. And Rose seems to not be so happy with Stella. As Stella delves deeper into Rose’s psyche, she can’t help but remember her own pain. And she takes an unhealthy walk down her own memory lane. But when strange things begin to happen to Stella, she can’t help but feel something else is going on. Something evil. Stella discovers the nanny had been afraid of Rose and wanted to leave.

She understands she must get to the bottom of what really happened in that house the day the nanny died, and she will use any trick she knows to find out. But unfortunately for Stella, that may be her undoing.

House of Glass has so many layers to it and is so fascinating you won’t be able to put the book down. The story is certainly suspenseful, but it’s also a gripping story of a lost child, and an adult who realizes she is still lost.

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #HouseofGlass #SarahPekkanen for the advanced copy.