REVIEW: The One That Got Away by Bethany Chase

Title: The One That Got Away
Author: Bethany Chase
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: March 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy / Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner, this bright, funny debut from a fresh voice in fiction offers a delicious take on love, family, and what it means to build a home of one’s own.

Sarina Mahler thinks she has her life all nailed down: a growing architecture practice in Austin, Texas, and an any-day-now proposal from her loving boyfriend, Noah. She’s well on her way to having the family she’s hoped for since her mother’s death ten years ago. But with Noah on a temporary assignment abroad and retired Olympic swimmer — and former flame — Eamon Roy back in town asking her to renovate his new fixer-upper, Sarina’s life takes an unexpected turn.

Eamon proves to be Sarina’s dream client, someone who instinctively trusts every one of her choices — and Sarina is reminded of all the reasons she was first drawn to him back in the day. Suddenly her carefully planned future with Noah seems a little less than perfect. And when tragedy strikes, Sarina is left reeling. With her world completely upended, she is forced to question what she truly wants in life — and in love.

Full of both humor and heartbreak, The One That Got Away is the story of one woman’s discovery that, sometimes, life is what happens when you leave the blueprints behind.

My Thoughts: Thoroughly enjoyed this delightful story about a woman who gets the answer to that “what if” question when a former flame reappears in her life years after he abruptly departed from her life.

I was prepared to dislike Eamon but I just couldn’t. He has a great vibe about him and though he broke Sarina’s heart, I knew he wasn’t a creep. Sarina comes off very wishy-washy regarding her feelings for Eamon and I struggled a little bit with the fact she is in a relationship of four years with Noah and needed to address that long before she does. I didn’t think Noah was a bad guy either, but just not right for Sarina. I also resented his parents interfering with life plans and goals for Sarina. I would not have been as polite or patient as Sarina, however, especially when Noah does not defend her choice to work after marriage and childbirth. So, yes, I was not a fan of the Noah / Sarina relationship and felt it had run its course long before this story begins.

The author’s voice, style and humor drew me into the story so completely, I felt like I knew these characters personally and would love spending time with them at Danny’s bar or hanging out on Sarina’s couch with her cat, Newman. I will be looking for more of this author’s work and would love to revisit these characters in a sequel.

My Final Verdict: Readers who are suckers for romance and fun will enjoy this feel-good story that will leave them with plenty of smiles.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of The One That Got Away from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Therapist by B.A. Paris

Title: The Therapist
Author: B.A. Paris
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: July 2021
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: The multimillion-copy New York Times bestselling author B.A. Paris returns to her heartland of gripping psychological suspense in The Therapist--a powerful tale of a house that holds a shocking secret.

When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive…

As Alice is getting to know her neighbors, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.

Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbors are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem…

My Thoughts: Can you imagine taking that big leap of faith, move into a new home with your boyfriend / girlfriend only to discover that a brutal murder had been committed there and your loved one not only knew about it but kept it from you? Worse yet, the apparent murderer was possibly innocent, which means the real murderer is still out there.

Welcome to Alice’s world. After moving into an exclusive gated community with her boyfriend, Leo, things appear to be as they should. To get to know her neighbors, she hosts a cocktail reception and notices a stranger there that nobody else recalls seeing. When the stranger appears on her doorstep with the shocking news that a brutal unsolved murder occurred in her home, Alice is devastated and when she further discovers that Leo not only knew about it, but kept it from her, she doesn’t feel like she can stay. The stranger tells her he is a private investigator hired by the family of the victim’s husband to investigate the matter and clear his name. When Alice decides to assist the P.I. with his inquiry, she is shocked at the sense of secrecy amongst her neighbors. What are they hiding?

I was quickly and easily pulled into this story and eager to discover what people were hiding. Alice appears to be consumed and obsessed with the former resident, Nina and upon learning Nina is also the name of Alice’s sister who died tragically, I completely understood and could empathize with her situation.

My Spidey-sense kept tingling and I had a major distrust of practically every character in the story, including Leo and Thomas, the private investigator. I trusted nobody. I also struggled with understanding why Alice continued to stay, especially after she noticed things out of place inside the house. She suspects someone is coming into the house. In her place, I would like to think that I would beat feet out of there.

My Final Verdict: The story is a little slow in the build-up, but quickly escalates and provides a heart pounding conclusion that I didn’t see coming. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and recommend it to fans of domestic thrillers and mysteries who like the suspense and aren’t afraid to go into a room without turning on the lights.

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

REVIEW: Mutts and Mistletoe by Natalie Cox

Title: Mutts and Mistletoe
Author: Natalie Cox
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: October 2018
Genre: Christmas Holiday / Contemporary Romance / Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Thirty-one-year-old Charlie isn't in the mood for Christmas cheer...

Her boyfriend has left her for his personal trainer, her mother has absconded with her latest husband for the holidays, and--adding insult to (literal) injury--her London apartment has just been destroyed by a gas leak. Single, mildly concussed and temporarily homeless, Charlie realizes there's only one place to go: Cozy Canine Cottages, where she'll spend the season looking after her cousin Jez's doggy day care center. And if she's not exactly a dog person, well, no one has to know...

But her plans for a quiet Christmas in a quaint country village are quickly dashed. Peggy the pregnant beagle and Malcolm the anxious Great Dane seem determined to keep her up all night. A strange man has been casing her cousin's house. And where is Cal, the unbearably patronizing but disturbingly handsome local vet, when she needs him?

As the days tick down to Christmas, Charlie's life has never felt so out of control--but with some help from her new four-legged friends, she just might learn a thing or two about living in the moment, embracing the unexpected and opening herself up to love...

My Thoughts: Mutts and Mistletoe by new to me author Natalie Cox is an enjoyable story about a woman who finds herself running her cousin’s doggie day care and boarding facility after her apartment is destroyed by a gas leak and her cousin goes on holiday to the North Pole. She isn’t a dog person so this proves to be quite an interesting and entertaining prospect and it appears she is in way over her head throughout most of the book. Add to that the enigmatic vet, Cal who may or may not be a romantic interest but has great forearms, when he isn’t being an insufferable boor, however.

I enjoyed these characters and found them easy to relate to and thought Charlie to be quite a brave young woman, whether she’s trying to rein in two sled dog Huskies or serving as midwife to a very pregnant Beagle.

The romance doesn’t become part of the story until nearly the end, though there is a quasi-romance building between Malcolm, a lovesick Great Dane and Peggy, a pregnant Beagle. Instead, the most entertaining moments are Charlie’s daily routine of trying to manage six dogs, two alpacas, a dog napper and a partridge in a pear tree.

My Final Verdict: I recommend this book to readers who are looking for a sweet story to curl up with on a winter’s night.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Mutts and Mistletoe from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Title: The Maidens
Author: Alex Michaelides
Publisher: Celadon Books
Publication Date: June 2021
Genre: General Fiction / Mystery / Thriller
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens.

Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge.

Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld?

When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life.

My Thoughts: The Maidens is the second book from this talented author, though it should be a prequel to his first novel as references to the first novel are made, but the timeline occurs prior to the events of the first novel. This is very much a stand-alone story but hopefully will incite an interest to the reader for the first book. Once again, the author crafts a very twisty novel that takes the reader into some very dark places that, once illuminated, reveal some surprises that I was not expecting.

Mariana is the main protagonist of this story. Grieving the death of her husband the year before, she tries to stay busy as a group therapist. I found it interesting that her vocation was a therapist, helping others deal with their issues, but not dealing with her own. When Mariana is contacted by her niece, Zoe, about a murder at the university she attends, Mariana heads to Cambridge and finds herself right in the middle of the investigation when Zoe advises that the victim related to her that one of their professors threatened to kill her.

Frankly, I was surprised at how quickly Mariana accepted that Edward Fosca was the murderer when there were several viable suspects to my way of thinking. I thought Edward Fosca was a complex character and not hero material, but I figured he was a red herring and having him turn out to be the killer would be too obvious. I thought Mariana’s therapist training would prompt her to look deeper below the surface, but she spends most of the book adamantly, almost rabidly, trying to prove to the investigators that he’s the culprit. I was more suspicious of the other girls in Fosca’s student group, The Maidens. It had a cult-like feeling about the way they appeared to idolize and worship him.

I was also very suspicious of Fred, a young man that Mariana meets and who appears to be everywhere she is. At first glance, he comes across as an admirer of Mariana’s who is determined to start a relationship, but then I started wondering if he might be the mysterious man whose dark thoughts about his upbringing and complicated relationship with his parents are provided to the reader in short increments. Who is this man? Fred? Edward Fosca? The anticipation the author creates as the book progresses is palpable.

My Final Verdict: I really enjoyed this story but not as much as the first book by this author. I think it’s perhaps due to Mariana’s relentless pursuit of Edward Fosca’s guilt. Her perception was clouded through most of the story, which made her an unreliable character. I think readers will enjoy this story for the suspense and when all was revealed, I wanted more.

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