The Good Girls

 

Author: Claire Eliza Bartlett

Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s

Year: 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️

“One of Us is Lying meets Sadie in this twisty, feminist thriller for the Me Too era.”

The goody-goody cheerleader, the nerd, the bad girl and the dead girl. All defined by their parents, peers, society. All bound by a terrible secret. 

Gwen and Emma are locked in an academic battle to win a full ride college scholarship that will get one of them out of their dead end town. Avery is the cheerleader and the pressure, especially from her parents, to be perfect is stifling her. Claude is the school’s bad girl- the sexually aggressive party girl who really isn’t as tough as she seems. 

I really liked the main characters, but it just felt like it took a long time for their story to unfold. Two of the girls are victims of a sexual predator. The other two girls are victims of the fallout of the predator. The girls feel powerless and believe no one will believe them if they go public with their stories. So they hatch a plan to stop him themselves. As far as this being a thriller, it’s pretty slow and not very thrilling. There was a lot of potential with the story. It just needed to pick up the pace. 

I would definitely recommend it to fans of who love One of Us Is Lying, but it lacks the intensity and punch in the gut of Sadie. 

The Good Girls publishes on 12/1/20. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s for the review copy. 

Shed No Tears

 

Author: Caz Frear

Publisher: Harper Collins

Year: 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When the remains of young woman who has been missing for six years are found in a field hours from London, Detective Constable Cat Kinsella and her partner Luigi Parnell begin an investigation that will hit a little to close to home. 

Holly Kemp was believed to be the last victim of serial killer Christoper Masters. But Holly was shot in the head and her body left hours from where his other victims were buried. The case is reopened and all the old witnesses are questioned again. Cat has her doubts about the main witness who ties Holly to the serial killer. The more Cat digs, the more inconsistencies she and her partner find. The evidence starts to point to a powerful gangster and the spotlight turns on an officer who is a rising star of the Metropolitan Police. 

Even though this is is the third book in the series, it could be read as a stand alone. There are references to the first two books but not knowing the full backstory doesn’t take away from this solid police procedural. The pacing is quick and the investigation flows along at a good clip. Cat is a witty and determined detective,  but she’s not perfect and has family secrets. 

This one publishes December 1. Thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins for the review copy. 

Anna K

 

Author: Jenny Lee

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Year: 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m a bad librarian! I never read Loe Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. I am vaguely familiar with the bare bones story of this tragic love affair. Anna K is based on Tolstoy’s classic. In this version, super rich teens party hard and fall in and out of love just as hard. 

I was really impressed with the character development in this book- especially with Anna, Steven, Lolly, and Kimmie. The characters could have just been one dimensional cliches, but author Jenny Lee crafts her characters with depth, humor, and compassion. 

I loved the relationship between Anna and her brother Steven. At first I thought Steven was going to be a total cliche of a rich, snotty, and careless boy. And he was a little bit, but he had a close relationship with his sister and was very supportive of her. He learned from his mistake of cheating on his girlfriend Lolly and he was generous to his friends. Lolly’s character also surprised me. She could have been written as an air head party girl just into material things. Instead she is very forgiving of Steven but also shows she’s not a pushover. She shows great compassion and friendship during Anna’s scandal. Kimmie, a sheltered Olympic hopeful, thinks she’s in love with the Count, a love ‘em and leave ‘em teenage playboy. Kimmie goes through the most changes after an injury ends her Olympic dream. She arrives back in NYC and must learn to navigate school, a new social circle and dating. She eventually realizes she’s depressed over the end of her ice dancing career and seeks help. Anna herself starts off as too good to be true- perfect daughter, perfect girlfriend. She seems more like an adult then a teenager. But she is driven and wants to live up to expectations. She does realize that she wants to do normal teenage stuff and not just be a reflection of her of so perfect (but boring) Greenwich boyfriend. 

Jenna Ushkowitz does wonderful job narrating the audiobook. Her voice easily conveys a range of emotions from teenage snark to the sadness of Anna’s heartbreak. I really enjoyed this updated version of Tolstoy’s classic love story. 

Do you like to read the classics or do you stick with contemporary stories?

American Royals

 

Author: Kathrine McGee

Publisher: Random House

Year: 2019

Instead of becoming President of the United States when America won the Revolutionary War, George Washington became the king. And his family still rules America. 

This is a clever and sweet young adult alternative history romance. It centers around Princess Beatrice, first in line for the throne, and her younger siblings, twins Samantha and Jefferson. 

Beatrice’s parents urge her to start looking for a suitable husband. This is a delicate matter because Beatrice I’ll be the first woman to wear the crown and she’s in love with Connor, her body guard. Complicating matters even more, Samantha has feelings for the guy Beatrice chose to marry and Jefferson is falling for his twins BFF. 

This is fun romance read and I really enjoyed the American monarchy twist! If you’re looking for a break from heavy reality and want a dose of light romance and royalty, this is for you! The sequel recently published and I’m looking forward to picking that up sometime. 

What your favorite escapist read? 

#bookstagram #librarybook #bookworm #booknerd #youngadultbooks #alternativehistory #romancebooks #americanroyals #katherinemcgee #randomhouse 

The Wife Stalker

 

Author: Liv Constantine 

Publisher: HarperCollins

Year: 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: Breezing into the upscale seaside paradise of Westport, Connecticut, gorgeous thirtysomething Piper sets down roots, opening a rehab and wellness space & joining a local yacht club. When she meets Leo, a handsome, successful lawyer, the wedding ring on his finger is the only thing she doesn’t like about him. Yet as Piper well knows, no marriage is permanent.

Meanwhile, Joanna has been waiting patiently for Leo, the charismatic man she fell in love with all those years ago, to re-emerge from the severe depression that has engulfed him. Though she’s thankful when Leo returns to his charming, energetic self, paying attention again to Evie and Stelli, the children they both love beyond measure, Joanna is shocked to discover that it’s not her loving support that’s sparked his renewed happiness—it’s something else.

Leo’s fallen head over heels for the Piper, and unrepentant and resolute, he’s more than willing to leave Joanna behind, along with everything they’ve built. Of course, he assures her, she can still see the children. Joanna is devastated—and determined to find anything, to use against this woman who has stolen her life and her true love. As she digs deeper into Piper’s past, Joanna begins to unearth disturbing secrets . . . Can she find the proof she needs in time to save them?

The characters are well developed but often not very likable. I liked the alternating POVs and watching how the plot unfolded from both Joanna’s and Piper’s perspectives. 

I liked the beginning and kept waiting for something more to happen. The middle just dragged for me. The ending was a big twist and satisfying, but it just took too long to get there. 

This one was just meh for me, but fans of domestic thrillers will enjoy it. 

The Lady Upstairs

 

Author: Halley Sutton 

Publisher: Putnum’s

Year: 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Never love anyone more than yourself.”

Author Halley Sutton’s debut is slow burning modern day noir. 

Protagonist Jo works for the Lady Upstairs, a mysterious woman who makes it her business to bring down powerful, abusive, cheating men in LA. 

Jo has never met the Lady. Doesn’t know her name or what she looks like. The Lady’s instructions are passed on to Lou. Then it’s Jo’s job is to set up the scheme to take down the mark. And the scheme is always the same- photograph and record each man in a compromising position and demand lots of money to keep the pics under wraps. Jo and Lou think of their work as striking a blow to the patriarchy and teaching bad men a lesson. But they are really just grifters conning rich men. 

Jo has recruited Ellen to help bring a sleazy movie producer down. The pressure is on Jo to finish the job and collect the money because she has to pay off a debt to the Lady. The job goes horribly wrong and the producer ends up dead. Jo’s debt to the Lady grows and as time runs short, she becomes more desperate, setting off a chain of events that exposes secrets and lies. 

The flawed characters, setting and quick pacing make a compelling thriller. You’ll definitely want this on your TBR list. The Lady Upstairs publishes November 17th and it’s getting a lot of buzz already. 

Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnum’s for the review copy. 

The Guest List

 

Author: Lucy Foley

Publisher: William Morrow

Year: 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A posh wedding on a desolate island off the coast of Ireland turns deadly. 

It seems as though everyone connected to this wedding had a secret- the bride, the groom, the sad and sulky bridesmaid, the best man, the wedding coordinator. 

What I liked: 

✨ the setting off the coast of Ireland 

✨ the setting makes it kind of a locked room mystery 

✨ multiple points of view 

✨ numerous red herrings

There’s a lot to like about this book and I did enjoy it. I found it entertaining but felt it dragged on a little bit at times. It was entertaining but not a must read.