TLC Book Review: THE CHALK MAN by C. J. Tudor

Pub. Date: January 9th, 2018

Publisher: Crown

Pages: 288

Genres: Fiction / Contemporary Fiction / Crime / Thriller / Mystery / Suspense

Synopsis

The must-read thriller of 2018, this riveting and relentlessly compelling psychological suspense debut weaves a mystery about a childhood game gone dangerously awry that will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking ending

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy little English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code; little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same.

In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he’s put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank . . . until one of them turns up dead.

That’s when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago.


Expertly alternating between flashbacks and the present day, The Chalk Man is the very best kind of suspense novel, one where every character is wonderfully fleshed out and compelling, where every mystery has a satisfying payoff, and where the twists will shock even the savviest reader.

What Did I Think About the Story?

Like so many readers I'm often skeptical when I read a book is "the next big thriller' or "the most anticipated book of the year". I get so excited yet also nervous that my expectations will be set too high and I'll end up disappointed. So, while I have to admit I was drawn to The Chalk Man based on its hype-inducing synopsis, I went into it with an open mind and tamed expectations.  I'm glad to say that the book turned out to be quite mysterious and page-turning, with an ending that completely surprised me.

The story travels back and forth between 1986, when Eddie and his friends have a topsy-turvy year full of heartache and horror, and 2016, when the past seems to be bringing up long buried secrets and truths that no one really wants to deal with. What I enjoyed most about this back and forth style of storytelling in this instance was how C.J. Tudor used it to unweave the tangled lies and half-truths that everyone in this small village seemed to be harboring, including Eddie. We also get to witness the loss of innocence these characters go through as kids and how that comes to affect the adults they become. So much of what is revealed during the story turns out to be more about these seemingly small actions - whether as revenge or a joke or something else - that end up having much bigger and far-reaching consequences than any of the characters anticipated. And as soon as we get to see the unraveling of one mystery - bam! - you're switching back to the other storyline and you have to wait to go back and see how the actual truth will affect the remaining mysteries. It's a delicious bait-and-switch situation!

The other aspect of the story I enjoyed immensely was how Tudor lolls the reader into a sense of security with something ordinary and simplistic and then throws in shocks that you can't see coming. I don't want to give anything away so I won't go into specifics, but every time I felt like I was reading some passage of the story meant to fill in information - a trip to the fair, kids meeting up at the park, a birthday party - something unexpected and, often, devastating ended up happening and I found myself having to catch my breath. All I'll say is this small village has some unbelievably screwed up secrets in its past and I loved learning about each one.

Finally, let me just tell you that the ending actually stopped me in my tracks and made me go back and read to make sure I was really reading what I thought I was reading. It was such a gut-punch shock that I literally had to put it down, wait a minute, and pick it back up again. My boss was reading it at the same time and, when I asked her if she finished, she had the same reaction as I did..."oh my god can you believe the ending!". It might be one of the best thriller endings I've read in a while and just the best surprise I could have never expected.

The Chalk Man is, in fact, a must-read thriller. While some of the narrative is understated and leads you into a false sense of a "coming of age" sweetness underlying the bad things that have happened, the horrors that are revealed in this town are much darker and lead you to the real moral of this story: do not assume anything because, if you do, you are in for an awakening. I can't wait to read what C.J. Tudor writes next!

What Did I Think About the Cover?

At first I thought it was just okay. The Chalk slashes obviously fit in with the story, but it's the fair ride in the background - which I didn't see at first - that really represents the start of all the chaos within the story. Now, knowing this, I really like the cover and think the cover artists did a great job with it.

 

My Rating: 4.5/5.0 

I received a copy of The Chalk Man from TLC Book Tours and Crown Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! Continue below for more information about the book, the author, and the tour.

Praise for The Chalk Man

“Readers will undoubtedly be reminded of the kids of Stand by Me and even IT…[the] first-person narration alternates between past and present, taking full advantage of chapter-ending cliffhangers. A swift, cleverly plotted debut novel that ably captures the insular, slightly sinister feel of a small village. Children of the 1980s will enjoy the nostalgia.”—Kirkus


“I haven’t had a sleepless night due to a book for a long time. The Chalk Man changed that.” —Fiona Barton, New York Times bestselling author of The Widow

Buy the Book

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

About the Author

C. J. TUDOR lives in Nottingham, England, with her partner and three-year-old daughter. Over the years she has worked as a copywriter, television presenter, voice-over, and dog walker. She is now thrilled to be able to write full-time, and doesn’t miss chasing wet dogs through muddy fields all that much. The Chalk Man is her first novel.

Connect with C.J. on Facebook and Twitter.

TLC Book Tours Schedule

Monday, January 8th: Katy’s Library blog and @katyslibrary
Monday, January 8th: Jenn’s Bookshelves
Tuesday, January 9th: Bookworm Everlasting blog and @everlasting.charm
Tuesday, January 9th: Clues and Reviews and @cluesandreviews
Tuesday, January 9th: 5 Minutes for Books
Wednesday, January 10th: She Treads Softly
Wednesday, January 10th: Moonlight Rendezvous
Wednesday, January 10th: Tome Tender
Thursday, January 11th: Books a la Mode – author guest post
Thursday, January 11th: Rockin’ & Reviewing
Friday, January 12th: Snowdrop Dreams
Friday, January 12th: Jathan and Heather
Monday, January 15th: BookBub Blog – author guest post “Eight Thrillers with Scary Children/Teenagers”
Tuesday, January 16th: Bewitched Bookworms
Tuesday, January 16th: Booksie’s Blog
Wednesday, January 17th: Suzy Approved
Wednesday, January 17th: A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, January 18th: Lit Wit Wine Dine
Thursday, January 18th: Bibliotica
Friday, January 19th: Write Read Life
Monday, January 22nd: What is That Book About
Monday, January 22nd: Ms. Nose in a Book
Tuesday, January 23rd: A Bookworm’s World
Tuesday, January 23rd: The Book Diva’s Reads
Wednesday, January 24th: Girl Who Reads
Thursday, January 25th: Black ‘n Gold Girl’s Reviews
Friday, January 26th: Lovely Bookshelf
Monday, January 29th: Novel Gossip blog and @novelgossip
Monday, January 29th: A Literary Vacation
Monday, January 29th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Tuesday, January 30th: From the TBR Pile
Wednesday, January 31st: Staircase Wit
Thursday, February 1st: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Release Day Review: Little Broken Things by Nicole Baart

Publisher: Atria Books
Pub. Date: November 21st, 2017
Pages: 368

Genre: Fiction / Literary Fiction / Mystery

Synopsis

An engrossing and suspenseful novel for fans of Liane Moriarty and Amy Hatvany about an affluent suburban family whose carefully constructed facade starts to come apart with the unexpected arrival of an endangered young girl.


I have something for you. When Quinn Cruz receives that cryptic text message from her older sister Nora, she doesn’t think much of it. They haven’t seen each other in nearly a year and thanks to Nora’s fierce aloofness, their relationship consists mostly of infrequent phone calls and an occasional email or text. But when a haunted Nora shows up at the lake near Quinn's house just hours later, a chain reaction is set into motion that will change both of their lives forever.

Nora’s “something” is more shocking than Quinn could have ever imagined: a little girl, cowering, wide-eyed, and tight-lipped. Nora hands her over to Quinn with instructions to keep her safe, and not to utter a word about the child to anyone, especially not their buttoned-up mother who seems determined to pretend everything is perfect. But before Quinn can ask even one of the million questions swirling around her head, Nora disappears, and Quinn finds herself the unlikely caretaker of a girl introduced simply as Lucy.

While Quinn struggles to honor her sister’s desperate request and care for the lost, scared Lucy, she fears that Nora may have gotten involved in something way over her head—something that will threaten them all. But Quinn’s worries are nothing compared to the firestorm that Nora is facing. It’s a matter of life and death, of family and freedom, and ultimately, about the lengths a woman will go to protect the ones she loves.

What Did I Think About the Story?

I fell in love with the cover of Little Broken Things when I saw it earlier this year and so already had it on my radar when author Nicole Baart posted that she was looking for reviewers to join her street team. I've participated in a few of these teams before and have had really good luck finding some excellent reads this way. I'm so glad I joined this team as Little Broken Things is such a heartfelt, touching story of piecing life back together after immense pain and finding a support system in places you didn't necessarily think you'd find it.

The story is mainly told through three women's perspectives: Nora, a woman looking to protect a young girl - Lucy/Everlee - at all costs and willing to sacrifice anything to do it; Quinn, Nora's sister, who finds herself the unlikely protector of Lucy at the same time as she's struggling somewhat with creating her own family; and Liz, Nora and Quinn's tightly-buttoned mother, who seems to have lost hold of her family and wants desperately to bring them back together again somehow. Sporadically sprinkled in between these perspectives is that of Nora's best friend, Tiffany, a woman who is also connected closely to little Lucy and who struggles between protecting this little girl and giving in to the love of a conniving and possessive man. As the story unfolds so many questions are asked - who are Lucy's parents? Why did Nora leave this little girl without giving anyone any information about her? Where did Tiffany go? Why is Nora convinced that Lucy is in so much danger? - and the answers to all of these questions and more are slowly dropped within the narrative, leaving the reader to pick up the various pieces and put them back together to reveal all right before the end. While I will admit that I had an idea where some of the story was headed and what would be revealed, I had the best time seeing just how all would be laid into place and how those revelations would effect all of the various characters.

I think what I enjoyed more than anything else, even the mysteries surrounding the greater story, was the way that these women all came together to try and protect this young girl. Even while they all seemed to want to shake or slap each other at times, they had this sweet, scarred girl to protect and love, which in turn ended up bringing them closer together again. It also made them put their own personal issues and selfishness aside and to realize what was important in the here and now.

There is a lot of pain and abuse suffered by most of our characters, something that, within the hands of a less skilled writer, could have been really hard to read about. While it was still incredibly heartbreaking to know what some of these characters experienced (or, in some cases, had to learn that their loved ones inflicted on other people), Nicole Baart delicately dropped this information throughout the story with such tenderness and heart without having to go into lurid details. While I don't typically have a problem with more graphic writing, those that due will be quite happy to know that Baart approaches the subjects with care.

Little Broken Things is a beautifully written, inspiring story about resilience and recovery after the worst possible things happen, and about taking all of those broken pieces of a person left over after tragedy strikes and reshaping them into a new life, often with the help and support of people you might not have expected to be there to help you pick up the pieces. It's also about the many shapes of a family and just what that word means. While the mystery aspect might not have been overly hard to figure out, the story as a whole is quite beautiful and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys a character-driven narrative.

What Did I Think About the Cover?

Well I picked this cover for one of my weekly Cover Crushes earlier this year, so it probably goes without saying that I adore the cover! I love the soft focus over the young girl, making her seem both mysterious and somewhat unidentifiable. It really is gorgeous and I could stare at the cover for days.


My Rating: 4.5/5.0

Thank you to author Nicole Baart and Atria Books for providing me with a free copy of Little Broken Things in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine alone. For more information about the book, including other reviews, author information, and links to where you can purchase a copy, see Goodreads HERE.

 

 



Review: Girl Last Seen by Nina Laurin

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pub. Date: June 20th, 2017
Pages: 352

Genre: Fiction / Psychological Suspense / Thriller / Mystery

Synopsis

Two missing girls. Thirteen years apart.


Olivia Shaw has been missing since last Tuesday. She was last seen outside the entrance of her elementary school in Hunts Point wearing a white spring jacket, blue jeans, and pink boots.

I force myself to look at the face in the photo, into her slightly smudged features, and I can't bring myself to move. Olivia Shaw could be my mirror image, rewound to thirteen years ago.

If you have any knowledge of Olivia Shaw's whereabouts or any relevant information, please contact...

I've spent a long time peering into the faces of girls on missing posters, wondering which one replaced me in that basement. But they were never quite the right age, the right look, the right circumstances. Until Olivia Shaw, missing for one week tomorrow.

Whoever stole me was never found. But since I was taken, there hasn't been another girl.

And now there is.

What Did I Think About the Story?

Girl Last Seen is such a unique thriller. The story opens up with Laine Moreno (born Ella Santos but having changed her name after the horrible experiences she had under that name) sort of floating through life, trying not to make connections or long-term commitments but being satisfied with menial work that requires very little from her. She's been covering up  her obvious PTSD with drugs and alcohol, always keeping one eye on the door and the other on the missing children's posters, waiting for her abductor - who was never caught - to strike again. Then he does and Laine's life is irrevocably changed forever. While most of this is highlighted in the synopsis above what isn't made clear is just how twisty and tormented Laine's story is and just how painful a journey it will be before the reader turns that last page.

Laine is such a wonderfully complicated character and unlike any other narrator I've come across before. So often with these sorts of thrillers it seems the victim/main character is a middle-class (or higher) white woman who has an adequate amount of resources and support as she navigates whatever dangers her story presents. Not Laine. She's a young Hispanic woman who grew up poor and unloved by her mother, who's disappearance when she was kidnapped as a ten-year-old went unknown for some time because her mother had been arrested and no one was looking after her. Years later, when we meet Laine on the day she discovers Olivia Shaw has been kidnapped, she's living in a squalid apartment and making herself numb to all the buried hurt and horror she has inside with drugs, working two jobs just to pay for this sad little life. She's treated like dirt and, even worse, like some sort of criminal when the police come looking for her help in trying to find Olivia. Given the life she's had it's not surprising that Laine has issues with authority and lashes out at others, more often than not hurting herself in the process. She's a fighter and a survivor but also a very vulnerable person who needs understand and care as much as anything else. I absolutely loved her even when I sometimes wished I could shake her into not doing something stupid.

I also loved how twisty the plot was and how so many of these twists are sort of casually dropped within normal narration or dialogue to be picked up by the reader. I can't really go into any of the twists as it would ruin so much enjoyment, but I will say that, while I had an inkling for some of what was eventually revealed, the ending had me completely stumped. I absolutely love when that happens!

I should warn those thinking about reading Girl Last Seen that it can get quite gritty and dark. There are a lot of horrible things happening to some of these characters, some of which involves children, and there is heavy profanity throughout as well. This in no way bothered me during reading - to be honest I think it brought the story home and made it feel quite realistic given the story I was reading - but I do like to warn others as I know this bothers some reader a lot.

Girl Last Seen is a quick-paced psychological suspense/thriller with plenty of turns to keep even the most discerning fan of the genre entertained and guessing. It's not an easy story to envelop yourself in by any means, but it's a poignant one and one I think needs to be told. There are more women than I would care to venture a guess at who have experienced the kinds of horrors than Laine has but, given their poverty and background, haven't gotten the help or even understanding they deserved. I'm very interested to see what Nina Laurin writes next.  

What Did I Think About the Cover?

I think it's perfect for this story! It's stark and bleak, with little adornment or flashy colors. The woman on the front is barely even there, which is perfect as Laine expresses numerous times that no one really sees her and most people would rather not even acknowledge her. She's also figuratively twisted up inside given her experiences, so it's pretty accurate to show her physically twisted up with the branches. All in all a great cover to represent the story!


My Rating: 4.0/5.0

Thank you to Tiffany Sanchez and Grand Central Publishing for a free copy of Girl Last Seen in exchange for an honest review! Continue below for more information about the book, the author, and where you can purchase a copy.

 

 

Praise for Girl Last Seen

 

Debut novelist Nina Laurin has created a memorable character in complicated, flawed and endearing Laine Moreno. From the very first page, GIRL LAST SEEN jettisons the reader into the life of a crime victim trying to outrun her past. Fast-paced and hard-edged, it is a heart-stopping thriller that had me guessing to the very end.” —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and Not a Sound

"GIRL LAST SEEN hooked me so quickly I might have whiplash. This is a sharp, twisting, intense thriller, the heartbreaking and fast-paced story of a woman who bears the scars of a trip to hell and back but who refuses to be defeated. Don't miss this smashing debut! —David Bell, bestselling author of Bring Her Home

"Girl Last Seen gripped me from start to finish. Lainey Moreno is a riveting heroine, a kidnapping survivor who will only escape her demons if she faces her greatest fears, and Nina Laurin brings her vividly to life. Psychological suspense doesn't come much grittier or more packed with satisfying twists and turns.” —Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award-winning author of Unsub

"Laurin creates a compelling, vulnerable central character.” —Publisher’s Weekly

 

 

Buy the Book

 

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indigo | IndieBound

 

 

About the Author 

 

Nina Laurin is a bilingual (English/French) author of suspenseful stories for both adults and young adults. She got her BA in Creative Writing at Concordia University, in her hometown of Montreal, Canada.

 

Learn more about Nina on her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 



My Best Books of the Year List

Ah, the ubiquitous "Top Ten" list of the year. It might seem silly, but being my first year of blogging I can't tell you how excited I've been anticipating what my list will be. And, of course, I couldn't keep within the ten allotted, so I'm giving you my "Top Eleven" instead! Click on the title of each book to read my review, and let me know if you've read any of these and if you enjoyed them as much as I did, or if you have other books within your top ten. I'd love to add some more books to my wish list for 2016!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Secrets of a Charmed Life
Publisher: NAL
Publication Date: February 3rd, 2015
Pages: 416


She stood at a crossroads, half-aware that her choice would send her down a path from which there could be no turning back. But instead of two choices, she saw only one—because it was all she really wanted to see… 

Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden--one that will test her convictions and her heart.

1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London’s civilian population, one million children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy’s burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia’s profound need for her sister’s presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed…




Rodin's Lover
Publisher: Plume
Publication Date: January 27th, 2015
Pages: 320


A mesmerizing tale of art and passion in Belle Époque France.

As a woman, aspiring sculptor Camille Claudel has plenty of critics, especially her ultra-traditional mother. But when Auguste Rodin makes Camille his apprentice—and his muse—their passion inspires groundbreaking works. Yet, Camille’s success is overshadowed by her lover’s rising star, and her obsessions cross the line into madness.

Rodin’s Lover brings to life the volatile love affair between one of the era’s greatest artists and a woman entwined in a tragic dilemma she cannot escape.





The Magician's Lie
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: January 13th, 2015
Pages: 320


Water for Elephants meets The Night Circus in The Magician's Lie, a debut novel in which the country's most notorious female illusionist stands accused of her husband's murder - and she has only one night to convince a small-town policeman of her innocence.

The Amazing Arden is the most famous female illusionist of her day, renowned for her notorious trick of sawing a man in half on stage. One night in Waterloo, Iowa, with young policeman Virgil Holt watching from the audience, she swaps her trademark saw for a fire ax. Is it a new version of the illusion, or an all-too-real murder? When Arden's husband is found lifeless beneath the stage later that night, the answer seems clear.

But when Virgil happens upon the fleeing magician and takes her into custody, she has a very different story to tell. Even handcuffed and alone, Arden is far from powerless-and what she reveals is as unbelievable as it is spellbinding. Over the course of one eerie night, Virgil must decide whether to turn Arden in or set her free... and it will take all he has to see through the smoke and mirrors.




Sisters of Shiloh

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: March 3rd, 2015
Pages: 256


 A best-selling novelist enlists her own sister to bring us the story of two Southern sisters, disguised as men, who join the Confederate Army—one seeking vengeance on the battlefield, the other finding love.

In a war that pitted brother against brother, two sisters choose their own battle. Joseph and Thomas are fresh recruits for the Confederate Army, daring to join the wild fray that has become the seemingly endless Civil War, sharing everything with their fellow soldiers—except the secret that would mean their undoing: they are sisters.

Before the war, Joseph and Thomas were Josephine and Libby. But that bloodiest battle, Antietam, leaves Libby to find her husband, Arden, dead. She vows vengeance, dons Arden’s clothes, and sneaks off to enlist with the Stonewall Brigade, swearing to kill one Yankee for every year of his too-short life. Desperate to protect her grief-crazed sister, Josephine insists on joining her. Surrounded by flying bullets, deprivation, and illness, the sisters are found by other dangers: Libby is hurtling toward madness, haunted and urged on by her husband’s ghost; Josephine is falling in love with a fellow soldier. She lives in fear both of revealing their disguise and of losing her first love before she can make her heart known to him.

The Seven Sisters
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: May 5th, 2015
Pages: 480


Internationally bestselling author Lucinda Riley returns with THE SEVEN SISTERS, the first novel in a spellbinding new series (seven books in all) inspired by the ancient myth of the Seven Sisters of Pleiades. THE SEVEN SISTERS takes readers from the shores of Lake Geneva to modern day Rio de Janeiro to bohemian Paris of the 1920s in a sweeping saga of passion, sacrifice, and the enduring power of art.

Upon the death of their wealthy, enigmatic father, Maia D’Apliese and her sisters convene at their family home, a secluded estate on the shores of Lake Geneva. Each of the sisters had been adopted at birth from a different part of the globe. Maia, the eldest, is the first to learn of their adoptive father’s death. Confusion is added to her grief when the sisters — Maia, the beauty; Ally, the leader; Star, the peacemaker; CeCe, the pragmatist; Tiggy, the nurturer; and Electra, the fireball – gather to hear the reading of the will. Their father has left each of his daughters a simple clue about her birthplace.

Until now, Maia has constructed her life so that she does not have to leave the safety of the family nest. But spurred by her father’s final bequest, Maia embarks on a journey to Rio de Janeiro to discover the truth of her origins. In Rio, Maia is accompanied by Floriano Quintelas, a novelist and amateur historian, who is intrigued to discover that Maia is apparently descended from the Aires Cabrals, an aristocratic Portuguese family who have been prominent in the country for the past two centuries. Together, they delve into her complex family history, a quest that is helped by their discovery of the crumbling mansion where an elderly woman – Maia’s biological grandmother — is on the verge of death. When the old woman’s caretaker secretly slips Maia a stack of old letters, an astonishing family history unfolds.




The House We Grew Up In
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: August 12th, 2014 (reprint)
Pages: 416/13 hours, 25 minutes



Meet the Bird family. They live in a honey-colored house in a picture-perfect Cotswolds village, with rambling, unkempt gardens stretching beyond. Pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and tow-headed twins Rory and Rhys all attend the village school and eat home-cooked meals together every night. Their father is a sweet gangly man named Colin, who still looks like a teenager with floppy hair and owlish, round-framed glasses. Their mother is a beautiful hippy named Lorelei, who exists entirely in the moment. And she makes every moment sparkle in her children's lives.

Then one Easter weekend, tragedy comes to call. The event is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass as the children become adults, find new relationships, and develop their own separate lives. Soon it seems as though they've never been a family at all. But then something happens that calls them back to the house they grew up in -- and to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago.

Told in gorgeous, insightful prose that delves deeply into the hearts and minds of its characters, The House We Grew Up In is the captivating story of one family's desire to restore long-forgotten peace and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.




Maybe In Another Life
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Publication Date: July 7th, 2015
Pages: 352


From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.




Come Away With Me
Publisher: Mira
Publication Date: August 25th, 2015
Pages: 368


A heartbreaking and emotional story of love and loss, COME AWAY WITH ME is one woman’s discovery that life is still worth living, even if it’s not the life you planned.

One minute, Tegan Lawson has everything she could hope for: an adoring husband, Gabe, and a baby on the way. The next, a patch of black ice causes a devastating accident that will change her life in ways she never could have imagined.

Tegan is consumed by grief—not to mention anger toward Gabe, who was driving on the night of the crash. But just when she thinks she’s hit rock bottom, Gabe reminds her of their Jar of Spontaneity, a collection of their dream destinations and experiences, and so begins an adventure of a lifetime.

From the bustling markets of Thailand to the flavors of Italy to the ocean waves in Hawaii, Tegan and Gabe embark on a journey to escape the tragedy and search for forgiveness. But they soon learn that grief follows you no matter how far away you run, and that acceptance comes when you least expect it. Heartbreaking, hopeful and utterly transporting, COME AWAY WITH ME is an unforgettable debut and a luminous celebration of the strength of the human spirit.




Sisters of Treason
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Penguin Books Limited
Publication Date: July 8th, 2014/July 24th, 2015
Pages: 449/15 hours, 28 minutes



From the author People called “a must-read for Philippa Gregory fans,” a “terrifically entertaining” (The Sunday Times, London) novel about two sisters who must survive life in the Tudor court after the execution of their sister Lady Jane Grey who was queen for just nine days.

Early in Mary Tudor’s turbulent reign, Lady Catherine and Lady Mary Grey are reeling after the brutal death of their elder seventeen-year-old sister, and the succession is by no means stable. In Sisters of Treason, Elizabeth Fremantle brings these young women and their perilous times to vivid life.

Neither sister is well suited to a dangerous career at court. Flirtatious Lady Catherine, thought to be the true heir, cannot control her compulsion to love and be loved. Her sister, clever Lady Mary, has a crooked spine and a tiny stature in an age when physical perfection equates to goodness—and both girls have inherited the Tudor blood that is more curse than blessing. For either girl to marry without royal permission would be a potentially fatal political act. It is the royal portrait painter, Levina Teerlinc, who helps the girls survive these troubled times. She becomes their mentor and confidante, but when the Queen’s sister, the hot-headed Elizabeth Tudor, inherits the crown, life at court becomes increasingly treacherous for the surviving Grey sisters. Ultimately each young woman must decide how far she will go to defy her Queen, risk her life, and find the safety and love she longs for.




The Conqueror's Wife
Publisher: NAL/Penguin Group, LLC
Publication Date: December 1st, 2015
Pages: 496


We are the women who loved Alexander the Great. We were lovers and murderers, innocents and soldiers.
 
And without us, Alexander would have been only a man.
 
Instead he was a god.


330s, B.C.E., Greece: Alexander, a handsome young warrior of Macedon, begins his quest to conquer the ancient world. But he cannot ascend to power, and keep it, without the women who help to shape his destiny.

His spirited younger half-sister, Thessalonike, yearns to join her brother and see the world. Instead, it is Alexander’s boyhood companion who rides with him into war while Thessalonike remains behind. Far away, crafty princess Drypetis will not stand idly by as Alexander topples her father from Persia’s throne. And after Alexander conquers her tiny kingdom, Roxana, the beautiful and cunning daughter of a minor noble, wins Alexander’s heart…and will commit any crime to secure her place at his side.

Within a few short years, Alexander controls an empire more vast than the civilized world has ever known. But his victories are tarnished by losses on the battlefield and treachery among his inner circle. And long after Alexander is gone, the women who are his champions, wives, and enemies will fight to claim his legacy…




Stars Over Sunset Boulevard
Publisher: NAL
Publication Date: January 5th, 2016
Pages: 400

In this new novel from the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life, two women working in Hollywood during its Golden Age discover the joy and heartbreak of true friendship.

Los Angeles, Present Day. When an iconic hat worn by Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind  ends up in Christine McAllister’s vintage clothing boutique by mistake, her efforts to return it to its owner take her on a journey more enchanting than any classic movie…

Los Angeles, 1938.  Violet Mayfield sets out to reinvent herself in Hollywood after her  dream of becoming a wife and mother falls apart, and lands a job on the film-set of Gone With the Wind. There, she meets enigmatic Audrey Duvall, a once-rising film star who is now a fellow secretary. Audrey’s zest for life and their adventures together among Hollywood’s glitterati enthrall Violet…until each woman’s deepest desires collide.  What Audrey and Violet are willing to risk, for themselves and for each other, to ensure their own happy endings will shape their friendship, and their lives, far into the future.

Luxury Reading Reviews

Some of you might know already that I have been a reviewer over at the wonderful blog Luxury Reading for a few years now. The experience of reviewing on Vera's blog was one of the catalysts for me starting this blog....it helped give me the confidence to know I could do this! Well, while I won't be reviewing over there as much as I did before, I will still be reviewing for Luxury Reading. In the future I plan to lists those reviews under the "Reviews" tab at the top of the screen, with a link over to the original post. However, to begin with let me share some of the reviews that have gone live since January. Click on the name of the book to head over and read the full review:

 

Juliet's Nurse (4.5/5.0 stars)

 

 

 

Long Live the King (3.5/5.0 stars)

 

 

 

The Winter Witch (3.5/5.0 stars)

 

 

 

 

The Magician's Lie (5.0/5.0 stars)

 

 

 

Have you read any of these? What did you think?