book reviews

Everything I Read – August 2024

1. The Arrangement

Sometimes I love a book that isn’t a literary masterpiece but it’s easy to follow along, keeps me engaged and entertained. This is that kind of book and I really enjoyed it! It’s a mystery with lots of twists and turns that will keep you guessing throughout. Natalie is a struggling art student in NYC and trying to stay afloat with a low paying job and awful roommates. When Natalie meets a new friend in one of her art classes, she is introduced to the world of sugar daddies and sugar babies. Natalie’s friend is able to focus on her studies while various rich men help fund her lifestyle.

Natalie is desperate and decides to give it a shot for just a short time. Immediately she meets Gabe who is 30 years her senior and a very successful lawyer. Gabe says he’s divorced but is really stuck in a failing marriage that he doesn’t want to leave. Natalie figures she will go on a few dates and receive some money that she can use to find a new apartment. But after a series of events, Gabe decides to end things with Natalie but she isn’t ready for things to be over. Things quickly dissolve into anger and resentment ending with Gabe being murdered. But did Natalie actually kill him? She can’t remember that night but worries she could have. Rating: 8.5

2. Sometimes I Lie

I have two books from Alice Feeney in this list. One I really enjoyed and one I did not. Sadly this was the one I did not. I found it hard to follow and I kept losing interest. Amber wakes up in a hospital and can’t move or speak. She has no idea why she is here and what happened to her. People visit her every day and she can hear them talking but can’t respond or ask them any questions. She is trying desperately to remember the events leading up to her supposed accident but things are too hazy. Could her husband be involved? Or maybe her sister? Could events from her past have led her to this? There are definitely some major twists and turns in here that I did NOT see coming but the overall story was a bit hard to follow. Rating: 7

3. All the Colors of the Dark

I almost stopped reading this multiple times because I found the story SO tedious! It has amazing reviews but sadly I could not get into it at all. Patch is only a small boy when he is kidnapped and held in a basement for a long time. He is in complete darkness and can’t see anything but there is another girl down there with him. Her name is Grace and they become each others lifelines.

Eventually Patch is rescued but his rescuers said there is no girl down in the basement with him and don’t believe him when he says there was. Patch then spends the next few decades of his life searching for Grace and trying to reconnect with her. It consumes his life and his family and friends struggle with watching him search for something that no one believes is there. As I said, this book has amazing reviews and many people love it so I don’t want to discourage you from possibly reading it. It just wasn’t for me. Rating: 5

4. One of Our Own

I love Lucinda Berry books though some are better than others. This one was short and very predictable but I still enjoyed it. Felicia is a single mom and lawyer who volunteers at a local crisis center in her free time. Late one night she receives a distressed call from a young woman who says she was the victim of a sexual assault at a high school party. The young woman is distraught and feeling hopeless, so Felicia tries to talk her through it and suggests resources to help.

At one point during their conversation, the young woman mentions the high school she goes to which is the same one that Felicia’s son attends. Felicia gets a pit in her stomach hoping that her son was not at that party. But if he was, could he have been involved? Could he have hurt this young woman? Felicia is determined to find out. Rating: 8

5. Daisy Darker

This was the second book from Alice Feeney I read this month and I LOVED it! Honestly, the twist in this book left me speechless which rarely happens. I never saw it coming! Daisy was born with a heart condition and has struggled with her health her entire life. Because of this, her relationship with her family has been strained much of her life so she is hoping to reconnect with everyone at her grandma’s 80th birthday celebration. The entire family has gathered at her grandmother’s remote home on a tiny island to celebrate this milestone. But before the festivities can begin, the grandmother is found dead in the middle of the night. The entire family is shocked and worries the killer could be among them. Just when you think you may have this figured out, trust me you probably don’t. LOL Rating: 9

6. The Perfect Marriage

Another book that had a major jaw dropping twist at the end! Sarah is a high powered attorney in D.C. and her husband is a struggling writer but they found comfort in each other and have been happily married many years. Often when Sarah is working long hours, her husband Adam goes to their lake house to write. He has been doing this for years but Sarah doesn’t know that for the past year, Adam has been having an affair and meeting with her at the lake house. After a night together at the lake house, Adam leaves in the early morning to return to Sarah at their city home.

Later that day, Adam is approached by police officers because Kelly was found stabbed to death in the lake house. Sarah is devastated but agrees to take Adam on as a client and be his defense attorney. Can she defend her husband after such a betrayal? Rating: 9

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Everything I Read In July 2024

1. Swan Song

I am not a fanatic about Elin Hildebrand books but I always enjoy reading them. They always have a feel good aspect to them that I adore. And this one is her last book about Nantucket that she will be writing. A new wealthy family, the Richardsons, move on to Nantucket and the town is instantly abuzz with gossip about them. They bought an insanely expensive home but nobody knows much about them. So to introduce themselves to the community they throw a lavish party to get to know everyone. But the police chief Ed, who has been a resident of Nantucket his entire life, is a bit skeptical about their intentions and lifestyle.

Soon the Richardsons are part of Nantucket society though most still don’t know much about their history and why they are here. When one of their employees goes missing, Ed and his officers must try to determine if they are hiding anything about this disappearance. It’s an easy read that makes you want to move to Nantucket immediately. LOL Rating: 8

2. Darling Girls

Jessica, Norah and Alicia all had difficult childhoods and found themselves all in foster care at the same place. They all came for different reasons, but soon formed an unbreakable bond from this shared experience. Their time at this foster home and relationship they had with their foster mother, Ms. Fairchild, is something they want to forget now that they are adults. But when human remains are found on the property of their foster home decades later, the authorities want information. All three ladies are now grown with their own lives but must return to a place that has haunted them for decades. And they must face their former foster mother and deal with her lies about them. This book was just a like for me but not a love. Rating: 7

3. A Death at the Party

I like that there was a secret kept throughout this entire book as it kept me engaged and guessing up until the end. The entire story takes place in one day which is not always a great timeline but really works with this story. The story does reference the past continuously so you know the details of what leads up to the current day situation. Nadine and her family are getting ready to host a birthday party for Nadine’s mother, who is a famous writer. All the preparations are underway for the birthday but there are secrets from Nadine’s past that are still haunting her. In addition to it being her mother’s birthday, it is also the anniversary of a tragic event that occurred decades ago but still remains unsolved. Will the truth be revealed tonight? And will the person responsible finally be brought to justice? Rating: 8.5

4. This Summer Will Be Different

I like a cozy light beach read especially in the summer but this sadly was so tedious and boring to get through. I almost contemplated not finishing it but finally did. Lucy and Bridget are best friends and have spent many summers vacationing on Bridget’s home of Price Edward Island. Bridget is getting married and Lucy is helping plan all the details. When Bridget calls frantic that she wants to see Lucy and spend the weekend at her childhood home on PEI, Lucy drops everything to go to Bridget. But the only problem is that Lucy will have to see Bridget’s brother, Felix, again. They have tried to hide their feelings for one another for years out of respect for Bridget but it’s getting harder and harder. Will this finally be the summer that they try to make it work and tell everyone how they feel? Rating: 7

5. Every Single Secret

I can’t review this book because I could NOT finish it. I found it so drawn out and boring so I didn’t even get past the first third of it. Rating: Did not finish

6. The Paradise Problem

Now THIS was a beach read that I absolutely LOVED and couldn’t put down! Anna is a struggling artist who married her friend’s brother, Liam, in order to get access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She didn’t know much about him but was grateful for the housing. Fast forward a few years and Liam is back because he has to attend his sister’s wedding and Anna must go as his wife even though Anna thought they had signed divorce papers already. Little did she know that the papers were not signed so they are in fact still married. And now she has to be his “plus one” at this wedding even though they both hardly know each other.

But there is one other catch that Liam isn’t telling Anna – he is heir to a billion dollar grocery store fortune and must be married in order for him and his siblings to inherit their trust. Liam agrees to pay Anna $100k to attend this wedding with him and to make his family believe they are a happily married couple. Seems easy enough until Anna meets the family. They are dysfunctional and downright toxic to be around. She must decide if she can continue this facade for the money or should she just bail to save her own sanity. Obviously, I knew how the story would end but I still loved watching it unfold – it was so good! Rating: 9

7. Keep It In the Family

Wow, wow, wow! This book just kept going and going with twists and turns that never seemed to stop. There was one point where I thought the entire story had been revealed and the book was going to end soon only to look and see that I had 3.5 more hours left to listen. Every time I thought it would be over, it kept going somewhere new. Mia and Finn just moved into their new fixer upper home and want to begin renovations on building their dream home. That is until Mia finds a message carved into a skirting board that says “I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC”.

What they discover in the attic turns their dream home into a full blown nightmare. Authorities are called and the investigation begins around what exactly occurred in this house decades ago. The details are horrifying enough but could this be connected to their own family members? Are there secrets that Finn’s family is holding which could unravel this entire case? Rating: 9

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