Make Up Reading

4 out of 5 stars Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books books for allowing me to read this novel for an honest review. Astrid, a recovering alcoholic has moved home to live with her Mother in her small village.  She is trying desperately to leave her past behind but it won't be that easy. Astrid thinks someone is following her, at first she thinks that maybe she is imaging it. Just maybe it is her imagination but then she swears that she sees her ex boyfriend's shirt in a consignment shop and she starts getting threatening letters. Astrid keeps it to herself at first because she doesn't want to upset her Mother and doesn't want to risk messing up her new relationship. This was a very well written novel with a likable character that you really want to root for.

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...

3.25 stars out of 5 Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for allowing me to read an advanced cop on this novel in exchange for an honest review. Sam,her husband Mo and their toddler Caleb move have recently moved back to her seaside home town after 23 years. She should be overjoyed. After all she has an understanding and kind husband and a child that they went through so much to have. She is also a successful mystery writer. For anyone looking in from the outside she has a wonderful life. The truth is Sam and Mo are falling apart. Having to go through the IVF treatments to have their beautiful baby put a strain on their marriage,,love life and has put them in debt. If all of that isn't bad enough Sam has to finish almost a whole book by late September and we are in late August.  Then there are the letters...... You see, when Sam was a teenager she and her best friends played a game called "Never Have I Ever".  We have all played but Sam and her friends to...

4 out of 5 stars Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer  Alice is happy living in her small town and working at the paper. Life seems to be going pretty well until one Wednesday when she gets a whispered phone call tell her that they will use a cheese wire on her. Of course she is freaked out, I mean who wouldn't be? Her boss, work friend's and boyfriend to her not to worry.  That she is a reporter and there are all kinds of people that harassing reporters with whom they do not agree. Alice does her best to move on and not think of it too often. That is until the next Wednesday when the stalker contacts Alice once again. After this Alice's boyfriend Tom contacts Matthew Hill a private investigator to protect Alice. As the stalker intensifies we begin to find out that Alice herself has been keeping a secret or two from the police and Matthew.  I really enjoy Theresa Driscoll novels. She does something a little bit different than most authors, she has recurr...

A big 5 out of 5 stars! Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am just going to say that I totally loved this book! Samantha Hayes really knows how to create an atmosphere.This book is set in a small little Village in the UK and you really can picture every detail from the cottage that the Libby, Sean and  their 4 year old daughter live in. The book takes place in the Fall and you can actually FEEL the Fall all around you as you read. Okay, enough of me ranting about how much I enjoyed this! Libby believes she has the perfect life. She lives in an adorable little cottage with a renovated barn that has been turned into a kitchen for her growing catering business. She has a wonderful husband who is a Vet, an adorable little girl and a sweet stepson.  On a chilly October morning things change as she finds a note on her windscreen telling her that her husband is having an affair. It chan...

5 out of 5 stars First I want to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The more books I read by Teresa Driscoll the more I enjoy her writing and this was no exception. The first book I read by her was "I am watching you" and I really enjoyed it. I just finished the audio version of "The Friend" and really enjoyed it. "The Promise" was just as good even though it had a different feel. Sally, Beth and Carol, three best friends living in a catholic boarding school made a promise to keep a secret just between them forever. A secret so dark that has haunted them for life.  Now grown woman Carol has completely distanced herself from Sally and Beth to the point that they can't even find her. Sally and Beth however have grown closer So close that they are practically codependent. When news comes that the school is being demolished they are afraid that their secret w...

I would first like to thank Netgalley and Random House for allowing me to read an advanced reader's copy of this novel for an honest review. 4.75 Stars In 1983 smart,thoughtful,quiet and beautiful 14 year old Aurora disappears on a Summer camping trip with her older sister and her sister's friends. It's been thirty years and Aurora's body is finally found. It's up to DCI Jonah Sheens to sift through the secrets that bind the friends after 30 years. Jonah was a casual acquaintance of the group all those years ago. More like an observer really. He always wondered what is was like to be in the popular group, to really know them but now that he is investigating them he is not all that impressed. I love a good detective series and this novel is a perfect introduction to Sheens and his group of detectives. The novel did feel a bit long and it took me longer than it normally does to read this kind of novel. That being said I really enjoyed this ride, this mystery w...

I think this is definitely a book that is made to be listened to. The narrator was really good and as I listened to this it felt like I was listening to someone's secret confessions.   My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:  1. I’m in a coma.  2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.  3. Sometimes I lie.  The story begins as Amber realizes that she is in a coma. She can hear everything going on around her for short periods of time before she fades again.  As Amber tries to gather her memories to figure out just how she ended up here we go from her present to a week prior as well as a trip in the past where we are treated to diary entries from 1991/92.  This is the type of book that I feel an in depth review would end up giving too much away so I just want to say a few things. Amber is not always a likeable character and yet you will find yourself rooting for her anyway. The imagery as Amber struggles wit...

A solid 4.75 star rating from me! Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. Charlotte's longtime friend Harriet has always been overly protective of her 4 year old daughter Alice. So protective she seems to never allow Alice out of her site. So when Harriet approaches Charlotte to ask her to watch after Alice and take her to a school faire so that Harriet attend a bookkeeping course Charlotte is honored to be asked. It seems like an easy task, after all she has been planning to take her three children to the faire anyway. What could go wrong? It turns out a lot actually. As Charlotte waits outside a bouncy run with her littlest daughter for her son,eldest daughter and Alice to finish it ends up only her children come out. Alice is nowhere to be found. As Harriet begins to live through the worse nightmare a parent can live through and things are not much easier for Charlotte. None of Charlotte's fri...