Review: Two Truths and a Lie by Meg Mitchell Moore

Two Truths and a Lie

by Meg Mitchell Moore

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 400

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Truth: Sherri Griffin and her daughter, Katie, have recently moved to the idyllic beach town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. Rebecca Coleman, widely acknowledged former leader of the Newburyport Mom Squad (having taken a step back since her husband’s shocking and tragic death eighteen months ago), has made a surprising effort to include these newcomers in typically closed-group activities. Rebecca’s teenage daughter Alexa has even been spotted babysitting Katie.

Truth: Alexa has time on her hands because of a recent falling-out with her longtime best friends for reasons no one knows—but everyone suspects have to do with Alexa’s highly popular and increasingly successful YouTube channel. Katie Griffin, who at age 11 probably doesn’t need a babysitter anymore, can’t be left alone because she has terrifying nightmares that don’t seem to jibe with the vague story Sherri has floated about the “bad divorce” she left behind in Ohio. Rebecca Coleman has been spending a lot of time with Sherri, it’s true, but she’s also been spending time with someone else she doesn’t want the Mom Squad to know about just yet.

Lie: Rebecca Coleman doesn’t have a new man in her life, and definitely not someone connected to the Mom Squad. Alexa is not seeing anyone new herself and is planning on shutting down her YouTube channel in advance of attending college in the fall. Sherri Griffin’s real name is Sherri Griffin, and a bad divorce is all she’s running from.

Kritters Thoughts:  Sherri Griffin and her daughter Katie have moved to a small beach town in Massachusetts and hoping to quickly get integrated into this town and grow quick roots.  They have many secrets that they must keep for their safety, but being surrounded by crazy women who both love and love to hate, it will be hard for them to keep everything under wraps.  Rebecca Coleman and her daughter Alexa have lived in this town for a long time, but with the recent death of their husband/father, they are feeling as though they don't fit in well anymore and big changes in this small town are right around the corner.

The characters made this book.  The mother daughter relationship with a magnifying glass on it made for such a great read.  Each mother daughter pair were interesting as each has their own quirks!  There was plot in this book, but the true star were the characters.  

I loved the changing perspective.  From the mothers to the daughters to a group narrating, it was so fun to see the story bounce back and forth.  I especially loved when "the squad" narrated as that felt so different from anything else I had read.  To see group think realized in a book - so good!

I absolutely loved this book.  It was perfect for a summer weekend.  There was a large cast of characters but with a sticky note and pairing up moms and daughters it became easy to remember who was who and what drama they had!  I tore through this book and it reinvigorated my love of good meaty beach reads that are easy to get into and stay in!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  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: Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins

Always the Last to Know

by Kristan Higgins

Publisher: Berkley Books

Pages: 400

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  The Frosts are a typical American family. Barb and John, married almost fifty years, are testy and bored with each other...who could blame them after all this time? At least they have their daughters-- Barb's favorite, the perfect, brilliant Juliet; and John's darling, the free-spirited Sadie. The girls themselves couldn't be more different, but at least they got along, more or less. It was fine. It was enough.

Until the day John had a stroke, and their house of cards came tumbling down.

Now Sadie has to put her career as a teacher and struggling artist in New York on hold to come back and care for her beloved dad--and face the love of her life, whose heart she broke, and who broke hers. Now Juliet has to wonder if people will notice that despite her perfect career as a successful architect, her perfect marriage to a charming Brit, and her two perfect daughters, she's spending an increasing amount of time in the closet having panic attacks.

And now Barb and John will finally have to face what's been going on in their marriage all along.

Kritters Thoughts:  Another Kristan Higgins book that is a stand alone and I typically love her books that are stand alones, but for me this one as was just ok.  The Frost family contains mother, father, and two daughters.  When the story begins, the father has had a heart attack and the daughter that lived far away has come home to help nurse him back to health, but also to rethink what she wants her future to look like.  

With each of the family members taking turns to tell their side of the story, the book started with presenting each member and the drama they were dealing with.  I think for me this is didn't work for me and it was hard to start sort of down in the dumps from the beginning.  The first few chapters and so many odd pages were just filled with drama drama and more drama and I was worried that was how the whole book was going to feel like.  Thankfully once the story started moving forward it got better, but not enough for me to fall in love with it.

Being in a family with two daughters, I related a lot to this book and maybe for me I laughed at things that felt familiar and cringed at things that felt too close!  I love picturing these two daughters and their parents and it was easy to see the reflections in my family.  Kristan Higgins builds great characters.  

Out of her stand alones, this wasn't one of my favorites, but it isn't a book that I despised or didn't even finish.  

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

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 65 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Penguin Random House.  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: Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees

Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook

by Celia Rees

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 512

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  World War II has just ended, and Britain has established the Control Commission for Germany, which oversees their zone of occupation. The Control Commission hires British civilians to work in Germany, rebuild the shattered nation and prosecute war crimes. Somewhat aimless, bored with her job as a provincial schoolteacher, and unwilling to live with her stuffy genteel parents any longer, twentysomething Edith Graham applies for a job with the Commission—but is instead recruited by the OSS. To them, Edith is perfect spy material…single, ordinary-looking, with a college degree in German. And there’s another thing—the OSS knows that Edith’s brother went to Oxford with one of their most hunted war criminals, Count Kurt von Stabenow, who Edith remembers all too well from before the war.

Intrigued by the challenge, Edith heads to Germany armed with a convincing cover story: she’s an unassuming schoolteacher sent to help resurrect German primary schools. To send information back to her OSS handlers in London, Edith has crafted the perfect alter ego, cookbook author Stella Snelling, who writes a popular magazine cookery column that embeds crucial intelligence within the recipes she collects. But occupied Germany is awash with other spies, collaborators, and opportunists, and as she’s pulled into their world, Edith soon discovers that no one is what they seem to be. The closer she gets to uncovering von Stabenow’s whereabouts—and the network of German civilians who still support him—the greater the danger. 

Kritters Thoughts:  World War II is done.  Edith Graham is single and decides to join the Control Commission for Germany where she will help rebuild the education system from buildings to furniture to teachers to books.  This will be a cover as she will be hunting for a doctor who was high in the Nazi regime who she has quite a history with, but what side does she work for and what is the future for this doctor who is accused of doing many horrible things during the war.

For me this book was hard to read.  I had such a difficult time figuring out who worked for who when everyone was about to double cross.  I wish there had been a map and some chart of who was who or at least their titles because this really stunted my reading of the book.    

I wanted more from Edith and Dori and their letters in code.  There were only just a few chapters where Dori interrupted the recipes and gave the information - I wanted so much more than what was in the book.  I felt as though it was the title and the heart of the book, but as the reader we just didn't get enough.  

I would read more historical fiction from this author.  I think her character development was great and I was connected with Edith and Dori and loved following their journey to find their Nazi doctor.

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

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 65 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from William Morrow.  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.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A busy holiday weekend boating cut into some of my reading hours!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees

The Shore House by Heidi Hostetter

A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum

The Wright Sister by Patty Dann

Currently Reading:

Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby

Next on the TBR pile:
Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel

Review: The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards

The Black Swan of Paris

by Karen Robards

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 480

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  A world at war. A beautiful young star. A mission no one expected.

Paris, 1944

Celebrated singer Genevieve Dumont is both a star and a smokescreen. An unwilling darling of the Nazis, the chanteuse’s position of privilege allows her to go undetected as an ally to the resistance.

When her estranged mother, Lillian de Rocheford, is captured by Nazis, Genevieve knows it won’t be long before the Gestapo succeeds in torturing information out of Lillian that will derail the upcoming allied invasion. The resistance movement is tasked with silencing her by any means necessary—including assassination. But Genevieve refuses to let her mother become yet one more victim of the war. Reuniting with her long-lost sister, she must find a way to navigate the perilous cross-currents of Occupied France undetected—and in time to save Lillian’s life.

Kritters Thoughts:  A historical fiction book written during a time period where a lot of historical fiction takes place, but this one has the chance to stand out from the crowd as it is told through the perspective of Genevieve Dumont who has become a star and while she sings in many different venues across Paris, she is also sharing secrets of the Nazis to the Resistance.  Her mother is captured by the Nazis and Genevieve's mission becomes very personal.  

A hefty book at well over 400 pages, this book did linger in a few places where I would have sped up, but once you hit the race to save Lillian this book really is a sprint to the end!  

I have read a few books that hint at the existence of the Resistance, but I loved reading a whole book that focuses on them and shares with the readers all the ways that information was passed to and fro and how much organization was behind it all was just beyond fascinating.  

I always love when a historical fiction book teaches me something and I learned quite a bit of the behind the scenes of a whole group of people who were trying to collapse the Nazi regime in this book.  

This was my very first Karen Robards fan and I was completely unaware of her huge backlist until I finished and am intrigued to read more by her, where should I go next?  

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

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 63 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Harlequin.  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: No One Saw by Beverly Long

No One Saw

by Beverly Long

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 384

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Nobody saw a thing. Or so they say…

Baywood police department detective A.L. McKittridge is no stranger to tough cases, but when five-year-old Emma Whitman disappears from her day care, there isn’t a single shred of evidence to go on. Neither the grandmother who dropped her off, nor the teacher whose care she was supposed to be in, can account for the missing child. There are no witnesses. No trace of where she might have gone. There’s only one thing A.L. and his partner, Rena Morgan, are sure of—somebody is lying.

With the clock ticking, A.L. and Rena are under extreme pressure as they discover their instincts are correct: all is not as it seems. The Whitmans are a family with many secrets, and A.L. and Rena will have to race to untangle a growing web of lies if they’re going to find the thread that leads them to Emma…before it’s too late.

Kritters Thoughts:  This is book two in a series with two detectives, AL McKittridge and Rena Morgan.  As is the case with most mystery series, the mystery to be solved is self contained in each book, but there is definitely some character development from book to book with the characters that are consistent from book to book, so I recommend starting at book one, but you won't be too spoiled by reading out of order.

In this book, the detectives are back and called in because a five-year-old has gone missing from a daycare where her grandmother dropped her off in a hurry to start her day.  Both parents, grandmother and many others in the book have reasons to lie and may not be the most upstanding adults!  There are plenty to not trust in this book and there was one road that the detectives went down that I thought was obviously wrong and may have voiced my opinion to no one!!

As a former employee of a daycare (in my high school years), I read this book with an interesting view from the perspective of the employees.  I am also not a parent, so I couldn't completely get into that headspace, but I could sure understand the terror of losing a child.  

I enjoyed this second book and am hoping for many more to come!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 61 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  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: Ten Days Gone by Beverly Long

Ten Days Gone

by Beverly Long

Publisher: Mira Books

Pages: 377

Format: ebook 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  They know exactly when he’ll strike… They just have to find him first.

In all their years working for the Baywood police department, detectives A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan have never seen anything like it. Four women dead in forty days, each killed ten days apart. With nothing connecting the victims and very little evidence, the clock is already counting down to when the next body drops. A.L. and Rena will have to act fast if they’re going to find the killer’s next victim before he does.

But identifying the killer’s next likely target is only half the battle. With pressure pushing in from all sides, a promising breakthrough leads the detectives to Tess Lyons, a woman whose past trauma has left her too damaged to appreciate the danger she’s in. Unwilling to let another woman die, A.L. and Rena will put everything on the line to keep Tess safe and end the killer’s deadly spree once and for all—before time runs out again.

Kritters Thoughts:  The first in a mystery/thriller series which must do two things, one set the stage for the series in introducing place and characters and two must have a mystery of itself.  I think this book did a good job of both.  

There are two main detectives in this series.  AL McKittridge and Rena Morgan.  These two have worked together for a bit and know each other's quirks and can call each other out.  In this first book the reader gets to know them and their home lives that will at times interrupt the mystery that they are trying to solve.  

In this book, the case is self contained as in it is presented and solved within this one book.  These detectives find a fourth victim killed within forty days and from the beginning it is an obvious pattern and they are hoping to break it and prevent another victim.  

I always judge a mystery on the person who ends up being the guilty party and if the clues were perfectly crafted to finally point to them and I felt like the author did a great job in this one where I didn't find out early, but right on time!

I am excited to continue this series and learn more about these detectives and keep solving cases!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 60 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  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.

June - the start of summer

source

Another month home. A month on the boat and by the pool. A month of reading.

1. Sweet Pea Summer by Alys Murray

2. We Came Here to Shine by Susie Orman Schnall

3. Everything I Needed to Know I Learned From Judy Blume edited by Jennifer O'Connell

4. Dance Lessons by Aine Greaney

5. The Editor by Steven Rowley

6. Summer at Lake Haven by RaeAnne Thayne

7. The Falling Woman by Richard Farrell

8. Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger

9. The Wedding Dress Christmas by Rachael Hauck

10. When You Read This by Mary Adkins

11. Ten Days Gone by Beverly Long

12. No One Saw by Beverly Long

13. Two Truths and a Lie by Meg Mitchell Moore

14. What's Your Enneatype? by Liz Carver and Josh Green

15. The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O'Neal

16. The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards

17. Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins

18. Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees

Total pages read, clicked and flipped: 6,217

Where having I been Reading?:

California

New York City (3)

Ireland

Idaho

Kansas

Tennessee

Wisconsin (2)

Massachusetts

England

Paris

Connecticut

Germany

Review: The Editor by Steven Rowley

The Editor by Steven Rowley

Publisher: GP Putnam

Pages: 320

Format: ARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  After years of trying to make it as a writer in 1990s New York City, James Smale finally sells his novel to an editor at a major publishing house: none other than Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Jackie--or Mrs. Onassis, as she's known in the office--has fallen in love with James's candidly autobiographical novel, one that exposes his own dysfunctional family. But when the book's forthcoming publication threatens to unravel already fragile relationships, both within his family and with his partner, James finds that he can't bring himself to finish the manuscript.

Jackie and James develop an unexpected friendship, and she pushes him to write an authentic ending, encouraging him to head home to confront the truth about his relationship with his mother. Then a long-held family secret is revealed, and he realizes his editor may have had a larger plan that goes beyond the page...

Kritters Thoughts:  A young man just sold his first novel to a small imprint within a publishing house with an interesting head editor - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.  James Smale, this debut author has no clue when he goes to meet his new editor that he is meeting someone that is literally a historical figure and through editing this book his life will change.  

If you are a Jackie Kennedy fan like me, this is a fun book to read to see a new perspective on her in her later years and a look at her passions and a profession.  Known as an avid reader and a book fan, to see her find the profession of book editor is cool and then to read a fictional tale of a debut author working with her is just great.  You can imagine if she had never entered the Kennedy family could this had become her profession earlier?  I would hope so!

This book is great for a book lover because it gives the behind the scenes glimpse of books and the way they come about.  All of the hands that take a book from a concept to printed and on the shelf.  I will always love reading about the ins and outs of the industry that I admire - more please!

There were a few moments in this book where the story went back in time and I just wish that the book had made a note of it.  Just a few times it was confusing that we were sent back in time and stayed there for a bit and it would have helped with the reading if it had been announced or notated ahead of time. 

I cried and laughed while reading this one.  It was the best escape from the news of the world and a great companion for a summer weekend.  

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

 

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Putnam.  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 Falling Woman by Richard Farrell

The Falling Woman

by Richard Farrell

Publisher: Algonquin

Pages: 336

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Tragedy strikes during a cross-country flight when sudden turbulence causes the jet to come apart in midair. The odds of anyone surviving are nearly impossible. Charlie Radford, a young National Transportation Safety Board investigator, is part of the team sent to determine what caused the crash. When he hears a rumor of a survivor, he assumes it is a hoax. As word of this “miracle” reaches the media and Congress, Radford is forced to track down “the falling woman,” said to have been found in a barn still strapped to her seat.

The woman at the center of the mystery, Erin Geraghty, was facing a losing battle with cancer when she embarked on her flight. With diminishing hope of a full recovery, she had considered herself essentially dead to her loved ones. Now, after the plane crash, she is intent on remaining dead to the world and to her family, to live out her final days in peace. And then Agent Radford arrives at her doorstep. Can he convince her to come forward, and does he have any right to?

Kritters Thoughts:  Charlie Radford works for the NTSB and recently it has been quiet with very minimal accidents, until one night when a major commercial flight goes down, but it seems as though there could be one survivor who literally fell from the sky.  At the same time, the reader meets Erin Geraghty who has been fighting cancer for a long time and it doesn't seem like there is an end in sight.  She boards a flight for a retreat and . . . 

I love when a story is told through multiple perspectives, it makes the story more dynamic.  I also love when the reader knows early on how all the storylines connect, so the mystery is about the characters arc, not why they are together in a book.  

Richard Farrell really wrote a great yin and yang with these two characters.  With both second guessing their life decisions, but for very different reasons.  Charlie wonders if he can do fatherhood and Erin wonders if she is doing what is right for her children.  Charlie seems at the beginning of a career and trying to find his footing, where Erin is wanting to button things up as she sees her life ending soon.  I loved the back and forth of these two and I wondered where they would end up.  

There was one part of the plot that I didn't love and as I am not a spoiler, I won't be too specific about it here.  I felt as though it didn't completely fit, but I understood why it had to be included for some parts of the story to work.  It just felt at times a little out of place.  

This was my first encounter with Richard Farrell and it looks as though he has quite the eclectic backlist, where should I go from here?

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

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 58 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Algonquin.  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.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A busy week and a busy weekend, but was able to squeeze in 4 books!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O'Neal

What's Your Enneatype? by Liz Carver and Josh Green

The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards

Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins

Currently Reading:

Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees

 

Next on the TBR pile:

Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby

Review: Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein

Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 336

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads: The past seven years have been hard on Avery Abrams: After training her entire life to make the Olympic gymnastics team, a disastrous performance ended her athletic career for good. Her best friend and teammate, Jasmine, went on to become an Olympic champion, then committed the ultimate betrayal by marrying their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri.

Now, reeling from a breakup with her football star boyfriend, Avery returns to her Massachusetts hometown, where new coach Ryan asks her to help him train a promising young gymnast with Olympic aspirations. Despite her misgivings and worries about the memories it will evoke, Avery agrees. Back in the gym, she’s surprised to find sparks flying with Ryan. But when a shocking scandal in the gymnastics world breaks, it has shattering effects not only for the sport but also for Avery and her old friend Jasmine.

Kritters Thoughts:  This is a good book.  With a focus on the gymnastics community and the recent news that has happened in that community this book felt so honest and real.  

Avery Abrams lived a lot of life in a short time, training for many years with the 
Olympics as the end goal, it was taken from her right on the cusp and for this big of an event to happen at such a young age, Avey has been through a lot.  The book starts seven years later as Avery is returning home and she is at a turning point and has to decide what is next for herself.

The one thing for me that was sad about this book was that the Olympics were cancelled and this book set in the current time, of course, fiction is fictional and I could stretch my imagination, but it did make me chuckle and feel bad for the climate that this book ended up being released into.

I liked the writing, the plot and the characters and would read more from Hannah Orenstein.  

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

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria Books.  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: Summer at Lake Haven by RaeAnne Thayne

Summer at Lake Haven by RaeAnne Thayne

Publisher: HQN

Pages: 384

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Return to Haven Point for one last summer by the lake…

Samantha Fremont may still be grappling with her mother’s death, but this summer she’s determined to build a new life for herself. Starting with making her friend’s dream wedding dress and establishing herself as a boutique fashion designer in the process. What she does not need is a surprise litter of puppies, the voice in the back of her mind saying she can’t do any of this—or her friend’s gorgeous brother who’s visiting from England for the wedding.

Ian Somerhill knows a sabbatical in Haven Point is exactly what his children need to recover from their own mother’s death. And even if he and Sam got off on the wrong foot, she has a way with Miranda and Thomas. As Sam—and her adorable puppies—bond with his children, they fall into a friendship unlike any he’s had in a long time. But Ian has obligations in England her can’t ignore—and a complicated past that might just stop this summer romance from ever blooming into something more.

Kritters Thoughts:  The 11th book in a series where like most romance books each book is self contained, but it is always great to read in order because other's stories build on each other and then you can know everyone's back story as you read along.  I started this series when it first released and with each book loved how they built on each other. 

This book centers around Samantha Fremont who has recently lost her mother and is still processing the life her mom built that she was very much involved in and the dreams she has for herself.  Ian Somerhill is in Haven Point for a short time to celebrate his sister's wedding and to regroup after his own loss.  When these two meet sparks will fly, but not without a few hiccups!

My favorite thing about romance books is finding out how they will meet and then what they will have to overcome to end up in a positive place.  The journey of a romance book is the reason for the story and as they usually end up in the same place, the journey is the basis of the story.

I loved this series and I loved this couple.  They had such a great arc that reminded me why I love to curl up with a romance book and get swept away.

Rating: great beach read!

  Ebook 2020 Challenge: 57 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  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.