Book review: Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald

I had read Christina McDonald's book - The Night Olivia Fell, and it was very good, so when I was invited via NetGalley to read her newest book, I did, of course! I wasn't disappointed.  Eva wakes after being struck by lightning, to find out her mother is dead, and she is a suspect. She flees to London to dig deeper into her mother's past, unearthing her mother's hidden secrets, and having the distinct feeling she is being watched.  The story is told alternating between her and her mother's perspectives, and is very easy to follow.  Definitely a page turner! Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for the advanced copy. I can't wait to read more of Christina's work in the future. 

A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo

I know, not much stitching lately but I have been on a roll reading books!  I was recently given the opportunity to read this awesome novel, which will be published July 10.

I have read the first and second book in this series, and really enjoyed them.  I also like that you can read them out of order and not be lost. Linda Castillo never disappoints. 

    An Amish teen commits suicide. A few months later, another Amish teen is dead.  Chief Kate Burkholder knows someone knows something, and no one is talking. This was a great read, full of twists and turns.  This one kept me guessing and I was totally surprised at the end.  Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this page-turner!

Two more great books!

No new stitching progress as these two books have had me wrapped up- two more that I did not want to put down!

Received this from NetGalley and the publisher as an advanced reader copy in return for an honest review!  It's hard to let you know what this is about, without giving any spoilers.  Erin and Mark are newlyweds on their honeymoon.  While snorkeling, they find something in the water that will change their lives and their relationship forever.  I will be honest, when I first started reading this book, I was not sure I was going to like Erin.  When you read the book you will understand.  As I kept reading though, I slowly started to understand where things may be going.  She did very frustrating things at times, but due to those things, the book kept me on the edge of my seat.  Although in my head I said I would never do those things, or my husband wouldn't, if you really put yourself in their place you start to wonder..

I would hope that I would do the right thing.  Highly recommend this book for fast-paced suspense! And for those that like their books without bad language and detailed sex scenes, this is also a book for you.  I missed neither.   I can't guarantee no bad language but I don't recall any.

On to the second.. 

Another ARC from NetGalley! I had read B.A. Paris's Behind Closed Doors, and loved it, so I was excited to read this book.  It did not disappoint.  Finn and Layla had a whirlwind romance.  One night, on the way hope from a trip to France, the couple stops at a rest area. Finn goes to use the restroom and when he returns, Layla has disappeared.  After an exhaustive search, she is presumed dead.  Finn meets Layla's sister, Ellen, and during their mourning of Layla, the eventually fall in love and get engaged. Suddenly, after the engagement is announced, people say they have seen Layla, and Finn and Ellen start receiving memoirs from Layla and Ellen's childhood that only a select few know about. Is Layla back? Where has she been for 12 years?  This book kept me intrigued throughout, and there was a twist at the end that I did not see coming.  Although I was a bit disappointed in the ending, I would still highly advise reading this book, especially if you are a lover of suspense!

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

All I can say is "Woah." I have never read a book quite like this before.  Amber is in a coma.  She can't open her eyes, move, or speak, but she can hear everything around her.  This book was a journey of twists, turns, and surprises.  Told through present tense, flashbacks, and diary entries, you will wonder with Amber- did her husband cheat on her with her sister? How did she end up in the hospital? Is she ever going to wake up?  This book kept me on the edge of my seat, and I totally did not see the end coming.  It was a dark book, to be honest, I probably wouldn't read it again, but it was an excellent story.  I highly recommend giving it a chance! 

Til next time-
Tracey

The Foxglove Killings by Tara Kelly

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in turn for an honest review.  Unfortunately I thought I downloaded it and I didn't, so it expired! So I bought it. Anyway, that aside, this was a very good book! I don't usually read young adult novels but this one sounded interesting.  It was very interesting! I read it in just a couple of days; I did not want to put it down.  It kept me guessing and assuming, and then proved me wrong. There were some surprises for sure. A very good and fairly quick read!

Alex and Nova have been best friends since grade school.  Both from financially strapped families, they have little in common with the spoiled "cakes"- rich kids, that come to visit with their families every summer.  Then one of the cakes goes missing, and later turns up dead, found with a foxglove in her mouth.  And another cake goes missing..

Playing With Fire by Tess Gerritsen

I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher, in turn for an honest review.  Many of you may have heard of Tess Gerritsen  because of her "Rizzoli and Isles" series.  This book was not from that series but just as good; in fact I have never read a book with a plot similar to this one. 

Violinist Julia Ansdell is traveling in Italy when she happens upon a handwritten piece of street music in a music book she bought.  It is like nothing she has ever seen or played before; when she plays it she is entranced.   She finds though that when she plays it her daughter acts strangely, seeming to do almost evil things.  She researches the origins of the music, as well as taking her daughter to doctor after doctor, but everyone seems to think Julia is the crazy one.  Her research takes her back to Italy.  Shortly after she arrives there she finds people seem to want her dead.  But why?

Cluttered Attic Secrets by Jan Christensen

I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.  It was a fun story and I was surprised by how the story panned out, which is a good thing. It is about a woman named Tina, grown but still living with her mother and uncle.  She is a professional organizer but evidently used to be a psychiatrist or psychologist. This comes out later in the story; I'm sure if I had read the series from the beginning it would have been spelled out. One night she is called by her best friend Leslie.  Leslie lives in an old Victorian house that has been left to her by her aunt.  It has been in the family for many, many years and has generations of stuff in the attic.  Although her aunt was a neat and organized person by nature, the attic is a disorganized mess.  Leslie decides to start going through it and hears unusual sounds, and thinks she sees an apparition of some sort. Leslie calls Tina to ask her to come help her and also help investigate as she is a bit afraid.  Then a man turns up murdered in the side yard of her house. The story goes from there, Tina and Lisa doing some investigating on their own, and eventually calling in the police.

This book is a part of a series and was the first one I read. I'm still on the fence if I will read another. I understand I read an advanced copy of the book, but there were many typos and at times the characters changed names, as well as other mistakes. I am curious if the other books are the same.  The main character, Tina, also kind of got on my nerves, though I can't put my finger on why.  Would I recommend it to someone? I'm not sure.  I see others have given it four and five star reviews, so others obviously liked it more than I did.  Overall not a bad book; I think if I liked "Tina" better I would maybe read another in the series.

Little Girl Gone by Alexandra Burt

Imagine waking up from a nap and your baby, and every trace of her, is gone. There are no signs of forced entry. In addition to that, you do not remember this until after waking up in a hospital where you find you have been in a car accident where you may or may not have tried to harm yourself.  But you remember nothing. Not the accident, not why you were in the town your accident occurred in, not the events leading up to your accident, only that your baby is missing.  This is what has happened to Estelle Paradise.  The book follows her as she tries to find her baby, while dealing with postpartum depression and some very dark thoughts.  A bit dark at times, the book was still very good and kept me guessing as to what happened to baby Mia.  I was provided a free copy of this e-book by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

She's Not There by P.J. Parrish

I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley.  This book grabbed me from the first page and did not let me go! Now I had never read a book about an amnesiac but I don't think it would have mattered if I had.  Amelia wakes up in the hospital battered and bruised and cannot remember how she got there, or much of anything else.  Then a man comes that tells the nurse he's her husband, and she has a feeling she needs to get away from him though she doesn't know why. From there the story is fast-paced and suspenseful all the way to the end.  Make sure you have a lot of time open when you start reading this book because you will not want to put it down.

Candy Corn Murder by Leslie Meier

I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.  This was a fun "cozy" mystery with the central character being Lucy Stone, a grandma who lives in a quaint small town in Maine. During the town's fall pumpkin festival a man is found murdered, and Lucy's husband Bill was the last one to see him alive.  The police seem convinced that Bill did it, so it is up to Lucy to do some sleuthing and prove his innocence.  I enjoyed the fall theme of the book and it was light reading.  It also had no bad language or sex scenes which was a nice change.  It was an enjoyable book and I will probably be reading more in the series.

The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White

I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!  It was a sweet story with enough suspense to keep you turning the pages. I liked the Christian element of the story, and also appreciated the fact that there were no sex scenes or bad language. It was very refreshing!

A brief summary-Brook has been brought up in the palace of Monaco, rescued as a baby by an opera singer from a carriage accident that killed her mother.  She is British by birth, and as she comes of age her friend Justin helps her find her true family.  What she finds is a wonderful surprise that also has its difficulties.  It is a lovely story that has romance, mystery, and suspense!

(I know I promised a stitchy post- will have one soon!)

Sloughing The Skin by Dr. Sonja Strode

I was provided and advanced reader copy of this from netgalley.com and the publisher for an honest review.  This book was very well written; almost too well written.  It contained a lot of details that didn't feel especially relevant to the story.  When reading you feel you are in the main character's mind, for most of the book.  That is all well and good but then you are privy to every random thought and every minute detail of the remodeling/rehabilitation of their cottage. Some of the details were relevant to the story and others were not.   There was also no real excitement to the revelation of the secrets that were being kept by the neighbors.  I would have like to see the main character a little more involved and a little more suspense.  I did,  however, enjoy the descriptions of the countryside and so forth that the author gave.


(Stitchy updates coming soon!)

Gone But Knot Forgotten by Mary Marks

I was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book via Netgalley. This was a sweet but serious cozy mystery, not too fluffy but not too graphic either.  Martha Rose is saddened and shocked when she finds out an old(very rich) friend of hers has passed away, and made her the executor of her estate.  Martha finds the manner of her friend's death suspicious, and many questions start arising as she goes through the estate, questions that may even put her in danger.  This was a fun but page-turning read, with a cast of quirky but real characters that kept me entertained throughout.  This is a book in a series and I plan to read the others now!

I ♥ Michael's grab bags!

David decided today he wanted me to buy him some addition/subtraction flash cards(Lightning McQueen of course) at Michael's- I could hardly turn that down! So off we went.. and of course I had to look around.. they had a few grab bags for 2.00 and after trying to see what was inside, I picked one.. look at the great goodies I got!

I have been wanting some flowers like those, to put in a pretty vase or hanging thing of some sort..I don't have a Cricut of any sort so if anyone wants the Cricut cake tools- post a comment with your email address- I will email you and get your address and mail them to you. I only have one so first post first serve!  I also got this pretty bird-

I have been eyeing these for a while but couldn't justify spending even a few dollars on a knick knack(and one I really don't have room for.. lol) but they were 60% off, so how could I resist?

I checked on my garden today when I got home and look what I found-

My phlox have started to open! I was so excited- I love these flowers..I'm seeing many buds on my others too, so hopefully with the warmer weather we've been having they will open soon.

I just finished watching "The Lord of the Rings-Return of the King." I have been re-watching these movies the past week or two; I just love them.  Even though I know what is going to happen, there is still a sigh of relief when the one ring goes under the fiery lava. lol I am always stunned by the beautiful scenery and the special effects in the movies as well.. they are just amazing and so lifelike!

As you see from my previous post, I finished The Secret Garden today-I had seen the movie but never read the book. I am so glad I read it! While the movie is quite good, it doesn't do the book justice. If you like the movie and have never read the book, I highly recommend it, especially now in the spring. :)

Well, that's about it for now- going to go work on Jane some more before bed. :)

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I LOVED this book! I had already seen the movie but the book was so much better(which is how it usually is.) It made me want to get out in my garden and stay outside all day..it made me smile, it made me cry. Definitely a good book to read in the spring!




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A quick blog before bed..

Here are some photos I've been meaning to post.. one or two of them may also be seen on my photo blog. First, this past week's progress on Brooke's Books Summer House-

Finally moving past the ground floor to the front yard- yea!

Last weekend we had some beautiful weather- Hanna had a friend over so I took David to the park for some quality mom and son time(and to keep him out of the girls' hair.) Some of the trees are starting to bloom in the park-

and of course David got some play time in as well-

The next night was the night of the 'super moon!' Try as I might I cannot get a good night time shot with my Canon- if I set it to night shot it uses flash and doesn't look too great and if I do an 'auto' shot it doesn't look much better.  But here is the moon anyway- if compared to my prior moon shots you can tell it was quite a bit brighter!

I finished a fairly good book the other day- The Death List by Paul Johnston.  I had gotten this book free from a book service and it was pretty good.  Some of it was quite graphic, and the beginning was a little slow going.. it picked up in the middle and then I didn't want to put it down.  From what I've read on goodreads though, the sequel is just as graphic and I didn't care for that much, so I think I will not be reading it.  Now I'm reading Hurricane by Karen Harper, which I thought maybe I had read, but now that I am reading it, realize I haven't.  So far it's very good.  I've always liked Karen Harper's suspense novels.

Well, I must get to bed..thanks for hanging in with me when my posts are few and far between!

The 5th Horseman by James Patterson


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another great intallment in the Women's Murder Club series. As usual I couldn't put it down. There was only one tiny detail that bugged me- there was a patient in the hospital who was 5 years old and his parents left him there alone overnight. Really? I have a 5-year-old and he would be so scared if I left him alone in a hospital overnight- and who would do that really? I know it's trivial but it just bothered me.




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A book review and Jane Austen progress

Where The Road Ends by Tara Taylor Quinn


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A good page-turner- but seems like the plot was semi-stolen from a movie that shall remain nameless.. read it and you will see what I mean.




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Here is my lastest progress on "At Home with Jane Austen"-

and a tree I took a picture of the other day- I love seeing all the buds and blooms as the trees get ready for spring!

Timeline by Michael Crichton


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If there was a 4 1/2 stars, that's what I would give this book.. the only reason I don't give it a five is I was anxious for the story to get going at the beginning- but I guess that's because I'm not a "science person", and the beginning was a lot about physics and quantam this and that. As I read, the pace picked up and up until I didn't want to put it down. Would definitely recommend to anyone who likes a good thriller.




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Stitchy update coming soon!

Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow. I was a bit skeptical about this book-whether I would like it or not- as it deals with abused children and depending on how graphic it was, wasn't sure I could handle it. Well thankfully it wasn't too graphic, and let's just say I could've read it in one day if I hadn't had to go to bed. I didn't want to put it down; I had to know what happened next.  While it was a very sad story, it was riveting.. and there was a twist at the end I did NOT see coming. I would've given this book 5 stars but I was a little disappointed in the ending, though it was realistic.


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Will be back later tonight with stitching etc!