REVIEW: Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Title: Pretty Girls
Author: Karin Slaughter
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: September 2015
Genre: Thriller / Suspense
Buy the Book: Amazon BN Audible

Description: Twenty years ago, Claire Scott's eldest sister, Julia, went missing. No one knew where she went - no note, no body. It was a mystery that was never solved, and it tore her family apart.

Now another girl has disappeared, with chilling echoes of the past. And it seems that she might not be the only one.

Claire is convinced Julia's disappearance is linked.

But when she begins to learn the truth about her sister, she is confronted with a shocking discovery, and nothing will ever be the same...

My Thoughts: This story was riveting and very intense, but also hard to read due to the subject matter. Those who are faint of heart may not be able to stomach the events that transpire in this story. The best word to describe what Claire Scott and her family have endured is horrific. After witnessing it all, I’m shocked that Claire, Lydia and their mother can form coherent thoughts much less rise above the evil they have endured and fight back.

Claire and her sister Lydia lead very different lives despite what they have gone through and their relationship is practically non-existent. After their older sister vanishes without a trace, Lydia’s life spirals into addiction and bad choices and Claire becomes a trophy wife of Paul, living a life of luxury. I had a hard time relating to Claire at first. She comes across as very spoiled, but I began to admire and respect her more after her husband is murdered. This is not a spoiler as this happens early in the story and segues into the rest of the story. Claire begins to undercover a lot of things she probably wishes she hadn’t, but it leads her on a discovery of what a sham her marriage and life are and reconnects her with her sister and reconciliation.

This story was very graphic and violent, but as horrified and disgusted as I felt at what was happening, I couldn’t look away. I had to know what was going to happen next and I had a lot of admiration at the courage both Claire and Lydia demonstrate to stop this evil from destroying more lives.

My Final Verdict: The road to justice and vindication is paved with the horror done to the victims and their families and in the end, I found the story satisfying and thrilling and heartbreaking.

REVIEW: Sweet Girl by Rachel Hollis

Title: Sweet Girl (The Girls #2)
Author: Rachel Hollis
Publisher: Lake Union Press
Publication Date: May 2015
Genre: Chick-Lit
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Max Jennings is in a bad mood. It’s not anything you did; it’s just that secrets from her past make it her natural state of being. But she’s not going to talk about it or share her feelings, so don’t bother asking.

Max’s bad mood means that very few people actually truly understand her or know that her secret dream is to be a pastry chef. When a rare opportunity to work for world-famous Avis Phillips presents itself, Max jumps at the chance. Avis and her staff aren’t stingy with the tough love, so Max spends every spare minute practicing her craft. As she bakes brownies and custards, cookies and galettes, she builds an unlikely friendship with a man she once loathed and finds herself falling into something she’s spent the last six years avoiding. Will she let her painful past stand in the way, or will she muster the strength to forgive herself and realize her full potential?

My Thoughts: I first met Max Jennings in Party Girls, the first book in this series. Her bad mood and snarky attitude in this book came as no surprise to me as she was very snarky and cranky in the first book. However, instead of disliking her, I found her intriguing, independent and sassy. I was very curious why she kept most people at arm’s length with her biting sarcastic commentary or icy stare. She only allows a very small group of people into her inner circle, but if they piss her off, she would probably give them the boot to the curb too.

Max is still working in the same bar she worked at in the first book and life seems to be going pretty much as it always has. She plays her cards close to her chest so she doesn’t share her dream of being a pastry chef with anyone. When the opportunity unexpectedly presents herself, Max confides in the one person she never thought she would ever have a conversation with much less a friendship. Bennett Taylor is an extremely likable character and never lets Max’s bad mood or insults throw him off. Their banter is fun and illuminates the attraction they feel for one another but are trying so hard to hide not only from everyone around them, but from themselves. I thoroughly enjoyed watching their adversarial (on Max’s part) relationship shift into friendship and then something much more meaningful.

As with the first book, this author does another excellent job of bringing these characters to life. I felt great empathy for Max when it’s revealed what happened to her to make her wrap her heart in chains. I found her behavior and reactions logical and I loved how she changes when she realizes the people she loves aren’t going to abandon her. There is a scene where Max is wallowing in self-pity and her best friends show up with snacks and decide it’s time for a Sandra Bullock marathon. Max isn’t very welcoming or receptive to them, but she has a hard time staying in a shell and allows herself to enjoy the moment, which allows the ice to begin to crack.

My Final Verdict: I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was tickled to get to know Max and Taylor better. This story played on my emotions a little bit, so keep a box of tissues at the ready.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Sweet Girl from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Silent Scream by Karen Rose

Title: Silent Scream (Romantic Suspense #11)
Author: Karen Rose
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: June 2010
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Buy the Book: Amazon | Audible

Description: When a teenage girl dies in a suspicious fire, Detective Olivia Sutherland is assigned to track down the arsonist. Then she discovers something more sinister: a vicious blackmailer who preys on young people and murders without hesitation. Making her work even harder is sexy firefighter David Hunter. He's not only sharing the case but sparking memories of their long-ago night of passion, when feelings were left unspoken and hearts were broken.

David has his own ghosts, and a million regrets. But while he and Olivia try to face the wall of pain between them, a diabolical puppet master is pulling strings to make a group of twentysomethings do his bidding. Soon Olivia and David are scouring the city for a calculating criminal who seems tantalizingly close--and is moving in for the kill.

My Thoughts: I really like a series where the characters have deep connections with another, but I must admit it does begin to get difficult to keep it all straight. I remember reading about David in Eve’s story, but he has been a part of this series going all the way back to the first book. I just don’t remember him or Olivia for that matter. Happily, this did not prevent me from thoroughly enjoying the story and getting to know David and Olivia better, especially with their history.

David has decided to stay on in Minneapolis after coming out to help Eve. He’s starting a new life and is hoping he and Olivia can figure out where they went wrong all those years ago. Olivia doesn’t seem as eager to open that can of worms. She is very good at keeping people at arm’s length and her go-to reaction when people get too close is to run. It seems funny to me that a police detective can be so tough on the outside but so fragile and vulnerable on the inside. There is no other way to describe Olivia, however. She’s great at her job and it’s obvious to anyone who knows her how much of herself she puts in to her work, but you definitely get the sense that she’s holding back a bit of herself keeping it tucked away where no one can see.

The author does a fantastic job of not only creating characters that are so complex and interesting, but the plots of each story hold my attention, anticipation rising with the turn of each page. That is a major undertaking all on its own as a series can quickly get stale and boring after several books, but Karen Rose makes each story fresh, stimulating and riveting.

My Final Verdict: With eleven books in this series and so far, a total of twenty-four, there is so much more this author has to offer. Fans of romantic suspense will enjoy the element of romance blended within the suspenseful background. Fans of thrillers and mysteries will enjoy the often dark and disturbing story lines and subject matter. Fans of these genres will be entertained regardless of what motivated them to read it. This series should be read in order to give the reader a greater understanding of each character without giving anything away.

REVIEW: Stirred With Love by Marcie Steele

Title: Stirred With Love
Author: Marcie Steele
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: September 2015
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN

Description: Sometimes the best friends can be found where you least expect them…

Still grieving after the loss of her beloved husband, Lily Mortimer is determined to do something with the time she has left.

After the end of her fairytale marriage, thirty-something Kate is trying hard to mend her broken heart.

Chloe, a young woman with the world at her feet, is struggling to know what to do with her life.

When Lily embarks on a new venture in the picturesque town of Somerley, the three women come together to open The Coffee Stop, the most charming café for miles around.

But opening a coffee shop is never as simple as it seems, especially when you add neighboring competition, local heart throbs and heartbreak to the mix.

When tragedy strikes, can the three women pull together to make the new business fly, or will Lily’s last chance disappear down the drain along with yesterday’s coffee grinds?

My Thoughts: In Stirred With Love, readers are introduced to three wonderful characters that are as different as night and day but come together by chance and become closer than family. Grieving the loss of her husband, Lily decides to re-open the café she and her husband ran and turn it into a stylish coffee shop. She advertises and Kate and Chloe apply. Kate is going through a divorce and nursing a broken heart. Chloe is at a cross-road in her life deciding what path she wants to take so she decides to take the summer working in a coffee shop to help her figure it out.

I loved this story. All three characters are so different in their life experiences and the journey they have taken but they all have one common goal of making the coffee shop a success. These women bond over their life experiences and become fast friends as they work together to bring the coffee shop to life.

The author does an amazing job of taking the reader into each character’s life, giving the reader a front-row seat into what each character has gone through and is currently dealing with. I had a lot of empathy for each character and felt great compassion for each of them. They were easy to relate to and were very likable. This story brought many moments of laughter and tears while reading. I had a hard time putting the book down and hated to see it end.

One thing I especially liked was the coffee shop felt like a living character. I was completely entranced and mesmerized as the place begins to take shape and become a place of warmth, comfort and cheer to the customers. Lily, Kate and Chloe make this into a place they can call home. I wanted to spend my days there, bringing joy to the people sitting at the tables by the windows.

I highly recommend this book to all readers who look for a connection to the characters in the books they are reading.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Stirred With Love from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.