Make Up Reading

  4.5 out of 5 stars Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is my first Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novel and I really enjoyed it. I think that my first introduction to this character being an audio book really worked out well for me. The narration by Robert Bathurst was perfect and as I got to know the character I realized he was the best choice. He really brought me into the story more. All the Devils Are Here (love the title by the way) felt like a good old fashioned mystery but with a hard edge that I really enjoyed. I loved the way Paris was captured here and I enjoyed the thriller aspects added to up the excitement a bit more. I love a good cozy mystery but really enjoy a good thriller as well.  I plan to read all of the previous novels now that I have been introduced to Armand Gamache . He is a very interesting character. I am so glad that I have been introduced to h...

 I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 3.25 out of 5 stars Ellie is turning 40 and the best thing to do is to have the most fabulous birthday party that a woman can have.  Told with alternating timelines, the past which takes place 24 years ago and the present.  In the past we meet best friends Leo and Mish who are ready to celebrate Leo's sweet 16.  Let's just say that things just didn't  go as planned. The present timeline is about Ellie, her fabulous party. Ellie feels like she needs to have THE party, the kind of party that makes all of her friends green with envy. While I did enjoy this novel and Melissa de la Cruz has a wonderful writing style but I didn't feel like this is much of a thriller. It felt more like an adult contemporary with some mystery thrown in for good measure. If you are looking for a good adult contemporary then pick this up!

5 out  of 5 stars Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of The Night Swim in exchange for an honest review. Am I the only one who loves listening to audio books as a way to relax? For me there is nothing more calming then listening to a good audio book and doing other things like crocheting to feel myself completely relax. What makes that even better? When the book is great and the narrators are super awesome!  Bailey Carr; January LaVoy; Samantha Desz are great narrators that really captured the feel of the novel and the mood of the characters.  The actual story was really awesome as well. I read a really good book by Megan Goldin  (The Escape Room) last year and was blown away by it. I have to say I enjoyed The Night Swim a bit more which surprised  me! I think one of the things I liked so much about this is we followed a true crime podcaster as she decided to dedicate her latest season to a rape trial. ...

4.5 out of 5 stars I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing  to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I believe this is my first  Michele Campbell novel and I didn't know what to expect but it turned out to be a really good, fun and twisty thriller. I will admit that at first I did not like Tabitha but that was before we really got to know her. She ended up being a very interesting character. I always enjoy watching characters navigate the wealthy and powerful world after living in the "outside" their whole lives. Each character tends to have their own way of trying to fit in. The mystery was well written and I really cared about Nina and felt for her in a lot of ways. The setting was pretty awesome and this held my interest very well. I won't say much more because the  twists are fun and I don't want to risk spoiling this you all! Would I recommend this to a friend? Well, duh! Of course I would! Pick this up t...

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this in exchange for an honest review. Audio has become my favorite medium and I listen to tons of audio books and I have heard a lot of narrators, some bad some god but these narrators were fantastic! Richard Armitage and Stephanie Racine did a really good job of introducing you to the characters and of making you care about them. I also want to say the this audio book was packaged really well. You hear the POV of Anna, Jack and the killer and the killer's voice is masked the whole time. Super awesome! After losing her job as a news reader and getting pushed back into the correspondence field again  she returns to the home town she escaped from at 16 to cover the murder of an old school friend/enemy.  Jack left London a few years ago and is now the head of police in the town of Blackdown only to find that the murder victim is someone whom he has been having a secret relationship. This is a taut, wel...

3.75 out of 5 stars I would like to thank Netgalley and St.Martin's press for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.  I love finding authors that are new to me and Netgalley has introduced me to many of my favorite authors, Anna Downes will be added to that list. Emily's life is a disaster. She makes terrible life choices, is estranged from her parents and just lost her job. When Emily's former boss offers her a new job that seems way too good to be true she accepts it. I mean who wouldn't want to jump at that chance? Okay, you wouldn't? I wouldn't either but Emily is extremely naive so she takes it. I liked the feel of this novel. It had a kind of Gothic feel to it and it really held my interest. It was a bit predictable but was still a good mystery. I like Anna Downes voice and look forward to reading more by her.

5 out of 5 stars Megan Miranda never lets me down. there are certain authors that you just wait excitedly for each release and that is the case with Miranda.  Her novels pull me in right away and I absolutely love each of her main characters. This book was just as good as I hoped/expected! Arden survived something terrible, at six years old she was sleepwalking and she disappeared.  She was found three days later in a storm drain by Sean Coleman, a quiet volunteer. Arden's disappearance made the small town  of Widow Hills famous  as well as Arden and her Mother. Life was never the same and not in a good way. Every time an anniversary of the incident she gets bothered by reporters and harassed by some of the people in her town. With the twenty year anniversary coming up   Arden finally feels safe from the prying eyes of the public. In her small town . She is now named Olivia and no one knows who she is, at least she thinks so but it seems her past is c...

4.5 out of 5 stars The last thing June wants to do is spend a weekend at her college nemesis Sadie's gorgeous home in the San Juan Islands she doesn't have much of a choice after her boyfriend dumps her in a text her best friend talks her into going. After all Em points out that getting away from home too see all of your best college friends should be a good way to heal. Things do not go well  when they all wake up not being able to remember anything and even worse there is blood splattered on the wall and Sadie is missing. I really enjoyed this and would really like to read more books featuring June. I really believe a series featuring June would be so fun! If you want a modern day Agatha Christie then this is a book for you! 

5 out of 5 stars Thank you to Netgalley and  Mysterious Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review. This one will be a bit hard for me to go into a more in depth review as I don't want to give away spoilers. Let me just start by saying that this is the best novel I have ever read about Dissociative Identity Disorder. The depiction felt far more real than other novels I have read. I have to say that I found myself caring for each of the personalities living inside of Carolyn Grand. I really had a soft spot for homemaker/Mom Martha and artistic Serena. Yes, there is a mystery involved but in reality this book was much more about a day in the life of these personalities.  If you are looking for something that will may make you cry, will hold your interest and even give you some hope then I would pick this up.

5 out of 5 stars Thank you to  Harper Paperbacks and Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review. When Ally arrives at work without her purse and wet from the rain her boss is shocked to see her. Why? She hasn't worked there in ages. After Ally goes to the hospital she is told that she is experiencing a dissociative fugue state. Now she must work to figure out what is causing this and what her triggers are. As she begins to search for her missing she finds out that she has been missing for two days and when she asks her husband why he didn't tell the doctors when he went to pick her up his excuse seems a bit odd to her. Will Ally be able to solve the mystery behind what is going on with her before it is too late?  Pick up this fun thriller! It is a great way to spend a day or two!

4 out of 5 stars Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital ARC I received in exchange for an honest review. Madeleine  d'Leon  is a successful cozy mystery writer. Her Veronica Killwilly series is sch a hit she is in talks about turning it into a television series.  She is bored with it though so she sets out to start a ew mystery. The more she writes about Edward McGinnity the more real he becomes to her, in fact he begins to take on a life of his own. I really enjoyed this novel and thought it would be a five star novel until the end. Now, just because I found the ending to be lacking the amount of satisfaction I was looking for I do believe that many will enjoy the whole book  and will love the ending. It just wasn't my cup of tea, This is sooooooo worth a read! This is not just a mystery but a bit of love story as well.

4.5 out of 5 stars I want to thank Netgalley and St.Martins Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. When I requested this book I didn't realize it was part of a series but it didn't affect the story for me at all.  It was easy to get to know the characters and before I was done I felt like I had known them forever!  In 1952 the first victim was found in a dress she didn't own, in full make up but without shoes and her purse. The second victim appeared in 1972 and now the latest has been found. When Russ Van Alstyne is called to the body of a woman with the same MO in modern day he knows he must work fast as he was accused of the murder of the young woman back in 1972 when he was a young Vietnam vet. With the help of Clare Fergusson and his police department he sets out to solve a crime that may be his most personal to date. I will be picking up the first books in the series because the writing is cinematic, I co...

4 out of 5 stars I would like to thank Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. During Christmas break three girls disappear from one of their homes with no trace. There were no signs of struggle and their phones and purses are left behind. Kelly Falls may seem like the perfect small town but something is wrong.  It has been three months and no new news on where the girls could be. Twenty three year old patrol officer Shea O'connor is still trying to recover from the last time she went undercover at the local high school to catch a serial killer. She is not sure that she wants to go undercover at Kelly Falls community college to get to know some of the missing girl's friends in hope that she can find out what was going on in their lives before they disappeared.  I really enjoyed this novel but I find it kind of hard to describe. It is an adult mystery but because Shea was with teenagers t...

4 1/2 out of 5 stars When Shayna Darby gets an e-mail from her twin sister Angela's  boyfriend Seb in Paris that she was missing she ignores it at first. She and Angela have not spoken in three years since their parents died in a car accident.  Then she gets another e-mail  from Seb and this one tells her that the police believe Angela is dead after a shooting at the Sorbonne. It seems that Angela was abducted during the chaos of the shooting and that she was killed shortly after so Shayna hops on a plane in order to find out what happened to her sister. Paris was most definitely a main character in this novel and that was one if my favorite parts. I have always had an interest in the catacombs  so I really loved that, It was also kind of cool to see the not so romantic side of Paris.  In some ways Shayna's journey to find her sister felt like Alice in Wonderland.  I  would like to add that it was nice to have a mixed race main character. It will b...

5 out of 5 stars  Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. When Youtube influencer Violet is Blue shuts down all of her social media accounts and her successful channel many of her followers are confused and lost by her sudden disappearance. What could have happened to her? Is she okay?  Her husband Henry has posted a few times but barely at all. For Lily and Yvonne the disappearance of Violet has become a bit of an obsession.  Each woman begins to start her own investigation into what happened to Violet. Funny, twisted and fresh! This book was so much fun to read even though there were some really messed up characters. I will admit that I like to Youtube videos and I have totally seen some fans that have become a bit obsessive so that made this book even more interesting.  Both Yvonne and Lily are interesting characters and you may find your allegiance changing as the ...

5 out of 5 stars Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martins Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Where to start? How can I describe How much this book moved me? It is hard to put down in words. This was such a special book told in such and unique and personal way. The story is told from the other various neighbor's POV. Two young lovers meet when  Juniper's family moves into the house that her step Father had built right behind Xavier and his mother's house. From the moment they set eyes on one another it is love. The issue? Juniper is white and Xavier is bi-racial. What's the big deal? You may ask yourself that, after all the year is 2020. The problem is that there are still ugly people that judge people by the color of their skin. There is also the problem with Juniper's step Father Brad and Xavier's Mother Valerie. Valerie didn't care for Brad from the start. It could have been that he immediately ...

Thank you,thank you to Netgalley and St.Martins Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 5 out of 5 stars I must say in advance that this was my most anticipated book of the year from the moment that I saw that it would be coming out in 2020. I am a huge fan of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen as a writing team! I was thrilled to be able to read this early! Shay Miller lives a lonely life and she feels as if she is at a crossroads. She shares an apartment with her friend who she has a  secret crush on but he has a girlfriend. She lost her job and has a job as a temp and she barely see her best friend because she has a busy life with her new baby. One hot August morning as she is waiting for the subway she noticed a pretty young woman in a dress with polka dots moving closer and closer to the edge of the platform. Before she knows the woman has jumped in front of the train. Of course Shay is shocked but there is more to it...

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. 4 out of 5 stars  Paige Northwood  grew up as the only hearing person in her family. After her parents died and she left college to  take care of things it just made sense for her to become a British  Sign Language Interpreter. After all she served as an interpreter for her family most of her life anyway. Shortly after she became self employed she is called very early in the morning by the police who need her services because a murder has taken place in a deaf house. When Paige arrives however she realizes that she has a closer connection to the family than she expected. Her sister Anna's best friend Laura's 18 month old daughter was murdered while she and her brother were staying with their Father. At first Paige doesn't inform them of her connection because she wants the job but more importantly she feels like she needs to stay on the...

5 out of 5 stars Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review Chicago native Dr.Sadie Foust moves to a small Main island with her husband and two sons after his sister commits suicide and leaves him her house and her 16 year old daughter Imogene. Sadie is not thrilled with leaving Chicago but what can they do? Her son has been expelled from his school, she has had issues with work and her husband has recently had an affair. So they pack up and move. The problem is that the Main island is small and everyone seems to know everyone. It also doesn't help that Imogene seems very hostile towards Sadie no matter what she does.  Things that go from bad to worse when the woman down the street is murdered and the police keep stopping by and asking Sadie questions. Determined to solve the murder herself before someone in the family gets blamed for out Sadie puts herself in danger. I think this the best Mary Kubica book that I h...

5 out of 5 stars Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I have been reading Tracy Crosswhite novels since the first one came out. I immediately fell in love with Tracy, Dan, Faz and the rest of the great cast of characters and have never missed a single entry in the series. In this one Tracy, her husband Dan and their baby daughter Daniella are staying in their home town of Cedar Grove while they are waiting for their home in Seattle to be remodeled.  When the former chief of police asks Tracy to help him clear the name of the current chief. Though Tracy loves spending time with her baby part of her is missing work. There is also the fact that part of the case involves the murder of her dead sister Sarah's friend who was found dead just months before Sarah disappeared.  Once again Tracy uncovers the dark side of Cedar Cove.