Review: Everything You Want Me to Be by Mindy Meija

Everything You Want Me to Be

by Mindy Meija

Publisher: Atria

Pages: 352

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  High school senior Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good citizen. When she’s found brutally stabbed to death on the opening night of her high school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of her small town community. Local sheriff Del Goodman, a family friend of the Hoffmans, vows to find her killer, but trying to solve her murder yields more questions than answers. It seems that Hattie’s acting talents ran far beyond the stage. Told from three points of view—Del, Hattie, and the new English teacher whose marriage is crumbling—Everything You Want Me to Be weaves the story of Hattie’s last school year and the events that drew her ever closer to her death.


Kritters Thoughts:  Hattie Hoffman was a good girl and not the girl her family would have predicted would be found stabbed to death, so when the investigation starts into her murder they are blindsided by the truth left and right.  

With twists and turns that I predicted and came out of nowhere, I don't want to say too much about this one.  It is in the middle of the pack in the who dun it genre, it didn't stand out of the pack, but I would definitely read another from this author.  

The one thing that stood out to me that I absolutely loved was that you heard some chapters from Hattie's point of view before her death.  I loved seeing the before through her eyes and it was interesting hearing from the victim before she was a victim.  

I definitely enjoyed this one, it read quick and it was actually nice to read during the holidays when life is crazy - to have a book suck you in and keep your attention is saying something!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 37 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel

Small Admissions

by Amy Poeppel

Publisher: Atria

Pages: 368

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Despite her innate ambition and Summa Cum Laude smarts, Kate Pearson has turned into a major slacker. After being unceremoniously dumped by her handsome, French “almost fiancé,” she abandons her grad school plans and instead spends her days lolling on the couch, watching reruns of Sex and the City, and leaving her apartment only when a dog-walking gig demands it. Her friends don’t know what to do other than pass tissues and hope for a comeback, while her practical sister, Angela, pushes every remedy she can think of, from trapeze class to therapy to job interviews.

Miraculously, and for reasons no one (least of all Kate) understands, she manages to land a job in the admissions department at the prestigious Hudson Day School. In her new position, Kate learns there’s no time for self-pity or nonsense during the height of the admissions season, or what her colleagues refer to as “the dark time.” As the process revs up, Kate meets smart kids who are unlikable, likeable kids who aren’t very smart, and Park Avenue parents who refuse to take no for an answer.

Meanwhile, Kate’s sister and her closest friends find themselves keeping secrets, hiding boyfriends, dropping bombshells, and fighting each other on how to keep Kate on her feet. On top of it all, her cranky, oddly charming, and irritatingly handsome downstairs neighbor is more than he seems. Through every dishy, page-turning twist, it seems that one person’s happiness leads to another’s misfortune, and suddenly everyone, including Kate, is looking for a way to turn rejection on its head, using any means necessary—including the truly unexpected. 

Kritters Thoughts:  Kate graduated top of her class and was headed to graduate school when something happens and sends her in a tail spin - this something is spoilerie so lets keep it vague!  With the help of her sister, she finds a job that just may get her out of the funk.  At the same time, her sister is pregnant with baby #2 and their parents have been galavanting around the world.  And there are two other best friends who's love lives take center stage.  

I love the job that took Kate out of the funk!  She became the head of admissions at a private high school and she is out of her league!  With her job, she interviews possible students and their parents and makes suggestions on whether to admit them or not.  Not only does this book have typical chapters, within the chapters are fun emails, notes and interview logs - I love a book that seems like it has extras to add to the story. 

What I thought would completely center around Kate and her climb from grace, really centered around the group of friends and their post college years and how friends have to morph from college friends to post college friends.  I liked that it was a lot about Kate but more than just her.  I would love another book, a companion perhaps that centers around another in this group of gals.  


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 37 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Days Like These by Sue Margolis

Days Like These

by Sue Margolis

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Recently widowed, Judy Schofield jumps at the chance to look after her two grandchildren for six weeks, while their parents are out of the country. After all, she’s already raised one set of children—and quite successfully, if she may say so herself. But all it takes is a few days of private school functions, helicopter parents, video games, and never-ending Frozen sing-a-longs for Judy to feel she’s in over her head.
 
As weeks become months, Judy feels more and more like an outsider among all the young mothers with their parenting theories du jour, especially when she gets on the wrong side of the school’s snooty alpha mom. But finding a friend in another grandmother—and a man who takes her mind off all the stress—almost make it worthwhile. She just needs to take it one food allergy, one incomprehensible homework assignment, and one major meltdown at a time...


Kritters Thoughts:  Judy has recently lost her husband and her daughter has come to her needing to go away for her job and needs childcare for a bit.  Judy is up to the task to fill her home with some noise and her life with some new things.

I am not a mom and don't always love the crazy mommy books, but this one seemed different seeing it through the eyes of a grandparent.  I loved hearing how disciplining as a grandparent is completely different than a parent.  

I also loved reading about how much not only did Judy give to her grandchildren but at the end of their time together how much they added to her life.  I would almost say that it was a good distraction that also allowed Judy to start moving forward after a hard loss in her life.

I really enjoyed this one.  I would definitely pass this book onto mothers and grandmothers, maybe to read together!  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 35 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz

When All the Girls Have Gone

by Jayne Anne Krentz

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 304

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  When Charlotte Sawyer is unable to contact her step-sister, Jocelyn, to tell her that one her closest friends was found dead, she discovers that Jocelyn has vanished.

Beautiful, brilliant—and reckless—Jocelyn has gone off the grid before, but never like this. In a desperate effort to find her, Charlotte joins forces with Max Cutler, a struggling PI who recently moved to Seattle after his previous career as a criminal profiler went down in flames—literally. Burned out, divorced and almost broke, Max needs the job.

After surviving a near-fatal attack, Charlotte and Max turn to Jocelyn’s closest friends, women in a Seattle-based online investment club, for answers. But what they find is chilling…

When her uneasy alliance with Max turns into a full-blown affair, Charlotte has no choice but to trust him with her life. For the shadows of Jocelyn’s past are threatening to consume her—and anyone else who gets in their way...

Kritters Thoughts:  What a mystery!  I loved the mix of elements from the past and things happening in current day and the two things coming together to create this major mystery.  Charlotte and Jocelyn are step sisters and they are all each other have after their parents died, but secrets come out that make them realize that maybe they weren't leaning on each other as much as they should have.  

I loved the ins and outs and ups and downs of this book.  Just as I thought that I knew where it was headed the book took a 180 turn and each time I loved it!  Sometimes I don't love books that take a lot of turns, but I enjoyed the windy curvy road of this one!  

This was a perfect book to read in the middle of the crazy holidays because it was so hard to put it down!  I loved that each time the book took a turn I couldn't put it down because I wanted to try to predict the next turn.  

This is only my second Jayne Ann Krentz book, have you read any of hers?  Where should I go next?


Rating:  absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 36 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: A Shoe Addict's Christmas by Beth Harbison

A Shoe Addict's Christmas

by Beth Harbison

Publisher: St Martin's Press

Pages: 160

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Noelle is not a fan of the holidays and to make matters worse, she is at a crossroads in her life when it seems that love and adventure are no longer possible. When she stays late at her job in a department store on a snowy Christmas Eve she accidentally gets locked in after closing. She isn’t too concerned about the prospect of spending the night in the store…until a woman appears out of nowhere and tells Noelle that she’s her guardian angel. Soon Noelle finds herself camped out in the shoe department facing several “ghosts” of Christmases past, present, and future...Will visiting the holidays of yesterday and tomorrow help Noelle see the true spirit of Christmas? And will the love she has longed for all her life be the best surprise gift of all?


Kritters Thoughts:  I admit when I signed up to review this book, I was clueless that it was a part of a series, but after doing some research, I found that I could read it on its own before I read the previous two books in the series.  But I will say that after reading it, I am definitely excited to read the first two in the series!

Now to review.  After I read this book, I saw someone say that it was a take on A Christmas Carol by visiting the character's past to learn a lesson and I agree, but I would say it was the best lady edition of A Christmas Carol!  I loved how they stayed in her past and visited many moments where if she had made a different turn, her life could have gone in a different direction.  

I have to admit I also loved that this book was set in a neighborhood not to far from where I live.  I loved reading a book where I knew where she was and could picture it all in my head.  

At just 160 pages this book was perfect for a day that was full of holiday shopping and gift wrapping.  I loved ending my day with this fun holiday read.  


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel (and to read the two books before it!)

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 34 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from St Martin's Press.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Find Her by Lisa Gardner

Find Her

by Lisa Gardner

Publisher: Dutton

Pages: 402

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Flora Dane is a victim. 

Seven years ago, carefree college student Flora was kidnapped while on spring break. For 472 days, Flora learned just how much one person can endure.

Flora Dane is a survivor.

Miraculously alive after her ordeal, Flora has spent the past five years reacquainting herself with the rhythms of normal life, working with her FBI victim advocate, Samuel Keynes. She has a mother who’s never stopped loving her, a brother who is scared of the person she’s become, and a bedroom wall covered with photos of other girls who’ve never made it home.

Flora Dane is reckless. 

. . . or is she? When Boston detective D. D. Warren is called to the scene of a crime—a dead man and the bound, naked woman who killed him—she learns that Flora has tangled with three other suspects since her return to society. Is Flora a victim or a vigilante? And with her firsthand knowledge of criminal behavior, could she hold the key to rescuing a missing college student whose abduction has rocked Boston? When Flora herself disappears, D.D. realizes a far more sinister predator is out there. One who’s determined that this time, Flora Dane will never escape. And now it is all up to D. D. Warren to find her.

Kritters Thoughts:  Told in three different parts - a. Flora's experience years prior being held captive, b. Boston detective DD is investigating a dead man and now a missing girl c.  current Flora and her adventures.

The eighth book in a series and only the second the series that I have read.  This is one of those series where the case is self contained, but the detective characters have stories that build from one book to the next.  I don't love reading out of order and not having read the first in this series, but it isn't necessary.  

I loved the case in this book.  I loved how there was a case that took place before the book and the after effects of the victim really impacted this book.  I liked the interjection of chapters from the previous case and learning about how Flora became who she was and how that influenced what was happening in the current storyline. 

I don't want to ruin this book as there are some fantastic twists and turns, but I will say that I loved it.  I read a lot of mystery/thrillers and this one definitely surprised me a few times.  

I hope to go back and read the previous books because I really like Detective DD Warren and I love how she investigates!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 33 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Dutton.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Little Boy Blue by MJ Arlidge

Little Boy Blue

by MJ Arlidge

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 432

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Detective Inspector Helen Grace is no stranger to tragedy. But when a body is found in a Southampton nightclub, the death cuts too close to the bone. Hiding her personal connection to the victim - and a double-life which must remain secret at all costs - Helen becomes a woman possessed, working her team around the clock to chase down every lead. As the killer strikes again, the investigation takes its toll not only on Helen but also her senior officers. Tempers flare, friendships fray and Helen faces an impossible choice. Confess her sins and lose control of the case? Or keep living a lie, protecting her darkest secrets, and risk getting trapped in this tangled web? But whatever she does, this killer will not stop until the truth is revealed: there are some fates worse than death.


Kritters Thoughts:  MJ Arlidge can write a mystery and can always surprise me out of left field with the culprit and every time I am completely satisfied!  

This installment in the series not only has a gruesome murderer, but takes place kind of in the underworld - in a community that likes to be under the radar, the BDSM community.  I have no opinions on this group, but even after reading this book I get the feeling that they are ok that they are known to be unknown.  I loved combining this underground community with a murder it made the book a little extra creepy and mysterious.  

I realized in this book that MJ Arlidge has a fantastic group of kick butt ladies taking center stage.  Basically the top three investigators are serious ladies who want to work hard to get to the bottom of the case and I am glad that it took me 5 books to see the lady power!  

I am excited to know that there are already two more books in this series and as they are perfect quick, creepy reads I can't wait to get my hands on them!  


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 32 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley NAL.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Lost Diaries of Elizabeth Cady Stanton by Sarah Bates

The Lost of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

by Sarah Bates

Publisher: Booklocker.com

Pages: 420

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Johnstown, New York, 1823: It is a time when a wife’s dowry, even children, automatically becomes her husband’s property. Slavery is an economic advantage entrenched in America but rumblings of abolition abound. 

For Elizabeth Cady to confront this culture is unheard of, yet that is exactly what she does. Before she can become a leader of the women's rights movement and prominent abolitionist, she faces challenges fraught with disappointment. Her father admires her intellect but says a woman cannot aspire to the goals of men. Her sister’s husband becomes her champion–but secretly wants more. Religious fervor threatens to consume her. As she faces depression and despair, she records these struggles and other dark confidences in diaries. When she learns the journals might fall into the wrong hands and discredit her, she panics and rips out pages of entries that might destroy her hard-fought reputation. Relieved, she believes they are lost to history forever.

But are they? Travel with Elizabeth into American history and discover a young woman truly ahead of her time.


Kritters Thoughts:  Elizabeth Cady Stanton is a name that you would know if you have read a few books about the relationship between getting women the right to vote and freeing slaves.  I hadn't known that these movements actually came together until I read about it a few times.  

I enjoyed this one.  It definitely was a good historical fiction read.  I loved seeing how one woman just kept pushing the envelope over and over again until someone got it and helped her move forward.  I loved how headstrong she was and I felt that the author portrayed that well in the book.

If I hadn't read those books before this one would have been a good introduction, but having already knowing a lot of what was the foundation of this book, there were moments where it didn't feel original.  There were also a few things that the characters repeated almost exhaustingly and I just wanted to say ok, I got it!  

I would say if you read this book and it made you want to read more on this topic or time period, I would recommend:
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
My Notorious Life by Kate Manning



Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 31 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Virtual Author Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Hungry Heart by Jennifer Weiner

Hungry Heart

by Jennifer Weiner

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 432

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Jennifer Weiner is many things: a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Twitter phenomenon, and “an unlikely feminist enforcer” (The New Yorker). She’s also a mom, a daughter, and a sister; a former rower and current cyclist; a best friend and a reality TV junkie. In her first foray into nonfiction, she takes the raw stuff of her personal life and spins into a collection of essays on modern womanhood as uproariously funny and moving as the best of Tina Fey, Fran Lebowitz, and Nora Ephron.

Jennifer grew up as an outsider in her picturesque Connecticut hometown (“a Lane Bryant outtake in an Abercrombie & Fitch photo shoot”) and at her Ivy League college, but finally found her people in newsrooms in central Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, and her voice as a novelist, activist, and New York Times columnist.

No subject is off-limits in this intimate and honest essay collection: sex, weight, envy, money, her mom’s newfound lesbianism, and her estranged father’s death. From lonely adolescence to modern childbirth to hearing her six-year-old daughter’s use of the f-word—fat­­—for the first time, Jennifer Weiner goes there, with the wit and candor that have endeared her to readers all over the world.

By turns hilarious and deeply touching, this collection shows that the woman behind treasured novels like Good in Bed and Best Friends Forever is every bit as winning, smart, and honest in real life as she is in her fiction.

Kritters Thoughts:  If you have gone to a signing by Jennifer Weiner then you know that she can talk before her reading or signing and she always has the BEST stories.  This book is a compilation of some of those stories with other tid bits and Dos and Don'ts added in.

I follow Jennifer Weiner on all the social medias and am a fan of how she presents herself - smart, snarky and all about the girl power!  If you enjoy who she is, you will love this book.  I loved hearing about her personal life and maybe a story that she may not be completely comfortable telling a crowd in front of them, but may be easier to share in the written word.  

I hope she does more of these!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook Challenge 2016: 24 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Edelweiss.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Flower Arrangement by Ella Griffin

The Flower Arrangement

by Ella Griffin

Publisher: Berkley NAL

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Every bouquet tells a story. And every story begins at Blossom & Grow, a tiny flower shop in the heart of Dublin...
 
Among the buckets of fragrant blooms, beneath the flickering candles and lanterns, Lara works her magic, translating feelings into flower arrangements that change hearts and lives. 
 
She is no stranger to the power of flowers herself. They gave her hope when she was a child who lost a mother, and, again when she was a mother who lost a child. 
 
But old wounds take time to heal, and life has more heartbreak in store. What will it take for the woman who can unlock everybody else’s emotions to open up her own heart?

Kritters Thoughts:  Lara has a personal tragedy and decides to open a flower shop.  Some of her family and friends completely back the idea and some think she may be a little crazy.  This book is not only Lara's story but the story of her family and friends.

What I didn't love about this book is it had less to do with Lara working in the flower shop and more to do with the friends, family and customers that entered and were affected by her flower shop.  Each chapter felt like a short story in and of itself and it didn't feel like a complete narrative.  If I had known going into this story that it was almost a collection of short stories, I may have enjoyed it more, but I still wish more of the story revolved around Lara and her shop.

I didn't dislike the writing or the location, so I would read Ella Griffin again, so I don't want to dissuade you from reading it if you know that this book isn't a completely linear storyline.  

Have you read Ella Griffin?  Which one would you recommend I try next?


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 30 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley NAL.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Brain Storm by Elaine Viets

Brain Storm

by Elaine Viets

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Pages: 322

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The ultrawealthy families of Chouteau Forest may look down on a woman like death investigator Angela Richman, but they also rely on her. When a horrific car crash kills a Forest teenager, Angela is among the first on the scene. Her investigation is hardly underway, however, when she suffers a series of crippling strokes. Misdiagnosed by the resident neurologist, Dr. Gravois, and mended by gauche yet brilliant neurosurgeon Dr. Jeb Travis Tritt, Angela faces a harrowing recovery.

It’s a drug-addled, hallucinating Angela who learns that Dr. Gravois has been murdered…and the chief suspect is the surgeon who saved her life. Angela doesn’t believe it, but can she trust her instincts? Her brain trauma brings doubts that she’ll ever recover her investigative skills. But she’s determined to save Dr. Tritt from a death-row sentence—even if her progress is thwarted at every turn by a powerful and insular community poised to protect its own.

Kritters Thoughts:  A medical mystery that was just entertaining.  What started as I thought as just a mystery with the main character being a death investigator who shows up on scene to evaluate the person who died and gives an opinion on how they died.  She heads to the hospital with extreme headaches and the book takes an interesting turn about the drama that can happen in a hospital.

I was surprised by the book, but it ended up being a happy surprise.  I know there is drama in every workplace and what fun to read about extreme politics in the ranks of a hospital.  When it comes to hospitals I always think about the patients not those who work and now I may just think about the infighting and crazy that goes behind saving peoples lives!

I didn't predict the suspect, they came a little of no where and in this instance I was a little frustrated.  Sometimes I LOVE it when they come out of nowhere, but sometimes the surprise is frustrating because I like to think I am picking up on the clues.

Has anyone read Elaine Viets?  This was my first experience and I am intrigued if this is typical of her back list.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2016 Challenge: 29 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Wunderkind PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.