The Woman Outside my Door by Rachel Ryan ~ Book Review

Book Description: 

All children have imaginary friends, Georgina tells herself. It’s perfectly normal, and they all grow out of it in the end. But when her seven-year-old son, Cody, tells her about New Granny, the new friend he’s met in the park, Georgina is instantly suspicious. Something—call it maternal instinct—tells her he isn’t making it up.

But maybe Georgina is losing her mind. It wouldn’t be the first time, after all. And with her own mother’s recent death leaving her bereft and trying to cope with life as a busy working mom, it’s no wonder she’s feeling paranoid that Cody has invented a “New Granny” to replace his beloved grandmother.

Her husband, Bren, becomes the voice of reason, assuring Georgina that it’s just a game, the product of their son’s overactive imagination. But what if Cody’s imaginary friend is not so imaginary after all?

Purchase a copy on Amazon. 

About the Author: 

Rachel Ryan was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. She can usually be found writing in coffee shops, hanging around libraries, or walking the streets of Dublin, making up stories. The Woman Outside My Door is her first novel.

Author's Website.

Review: 

I was pretty excited to read this book as it was recommended if you enjoy Lisa Jewell novels. I found it didn't totally live up to that. I did like this book but I found some parts slow and predictable.  I was having a hard time with liking the characters especially Bren. I felt like he was gaslighting Georgina, where I was hoping for him to be a bit more supportive after what trouble he has caused in their marriage. Their relationship or lack of bothered me, especially their lack of communication. 

The author does set up the plot so you are wondering who is this "New Granny", is it someone Georgina knows, a complete stranger or is she losing her mind after dealing with the grief of losing her mother and other stresses in her life. I did end up feeling bad for Georgina as she didn't have anyone else to turn to. It was a quick read and I do look forward to reading more from this debut author. 

I give this book a 3 stars out of 5. 

~*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own. *~

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Anxious People A Novel by Fredrik Backman ~ Book Review

Book Description: 

A poignant, charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined

Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can't fix up their own marriage. There's a wealthy banker who has been too busy making money to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can't seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment's only bathroom, and you've got the worst group of hostages in the world.

Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in a motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

Humorous, compassionate, and wise, Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope—the things that save us, even in the most anxious of times.

Purchase a copy on Amazon. 

About the Author: 

Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, as well as two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime. Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, his first work of non-fiction, will be released in the US in May 2019. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children.

Author's Website.

Review: 

I just LOVED this book! I was hooked right from the beginning. Beckman's humor is dry, entertaining, making me laugh out loud. The characters all have their own anxieties, unique, mind baffling but they all make so much sense as the story unfolds. I just loved it. This isn't a story about a man on a bridge but is it? It is a story of a botched bank robbery that turned into a hostage taking? Why did the robbery turn into a hostage taking? because people are idiots that's why.

This isn't a book for everyone. It's for anyone who doesn't mind 10 different characters all going this way and that but crossing the paths of one another along the way. There is so much going on that at first I was wondering what is the author doing?!? where is he going with this story? My mind was trying to follow everything and everyone while trying to piece it all together. I honestly was on the wrong path at one point which I am sure is exactly what the author intended. I love the characters and everyone was so well developed that I felt like I was there in the apartment during this not so common hostage situation. I was sad to have the story end as I felt like I was really getting to know some of the characters especially Zara and wanted to have more time with them.

I give this book a 5 stars! It is in my Top 5 books for 2020! A must read for anyone that wants to laugh out loud. A fun humorous mystery that I could definitely read again and again. I can't wait to read more of Fredrick Backman's novels. This is the first one I have read and now I have a new favourite author!

~*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own. *~

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People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield ~ Book Review

Book Description: 

Marry in haste . . . Murder at leisure?

London, 1888: Susannah rushes into marriage to a young and wealthy surgeon. After a passionate honeymoon, she returns home with her new husband wrapped around her little finger. But then everything changes.

Thomas's behavior becomes increasingly volatile and violent. He stays out all night, returning home bloodied and full of secrets. The gentle caresses she enjoyed on her wedding night are now just a honeyed memory.

When the first woman is murdered in Whitechapel, Susannah's interest is piqued. But as she follows the reports of the ongoing hunt for the killer, her mind takes her down the darkest path imaginable. Every time Thomas stays out late, another victim is found dead.

Is it coincidence? Or is her husband the man they call Jack the Ripper?

Purchase a copy on Amazon. 

About the Author: 

Clare Whitfield is a UK based writer living in a suburb where the main cultural landmark is a home store/Starbucks combo.

She is the wife of a tattoo artist, mother of a small benign dictator and relies on a black Labrador for emotional stability. She has been a dancer, copywriter, amateur fire breather, buyer and mediocre weight lifter.

Clare nurtures an obsession with female characters that are as much villain as hero, and enjoys lurking in the blurry landscape between perception and reality.

Author's Twitter. 

Review: 

This novel has a definite dark feeling throughout and had me hooked right from the start. Susannah was caring for her ailing grandmother. Once she passes, Susannah becomes a Nurse at the London Hospital. She is a plain girl and older than a lot of the new nurses at age 27. When Susannah meets wealthy Surgeon Thomas Lancaster it is a quick romance that leads to marriage. After a passionate honeymoon they go back to Chelsea, where things turn sour and fast. Thomas is not who Susannah thought he was when he was romancing her in the beginning of the relationship.

Young women begin to be brutally murder, the same nights Thomas comes home late with blood on his close etc. Could Thomas be Jack the Ripper?

I had a hard time pulling myself away from this story. For a debut novel, I will say that this did not read as such. I love how the author develops the characters that they feel so real, like they are jumping of the page. I could feel and see the story as it was happening. Some descriptions were so gruesome that I actually cringed while reading it. I can't wait to read more from Clare Whitfield. I am not normally a historical fiction fan but after reading this book I will be checking out some other historical novels.

I give this book a 4 stars! A great book to get comfortable in front of the fire.

~*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own. *~

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The Twelve Dogs of Christmas (Pine Hollow #1) by Lizzie Shane ~ Book Review

Book Description: 

A delightful holiday romance about a small-town single dad and an animal rescue owner as they try to find forever homes for a dozen lovable pups before Christmas.

Pine Hollow has everything Ally Gilmore could wish for in a holiday break: gently falling snow in a charming small town and time with her family. Then she learns some Grinch has pulled the funding for her family's rescue shelter, and now she has only four weeks to find new homes for a dozen dogs! But when she confronts her Scroogey councilman nemesis, Ally finds he's far more reasonable — and handsome — than she ever expected.

As the guardian of his dog-obsessed ten-year-old niece, Ben West doesn't have time to build a cuddly reputation. But he does feel guilty about the shelter closing. So he proposes a truce with Ally, agreeing to help her adopt out the pups. As the two spend more time together, the town's gossip is spreading faster than Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. And soon Ben is hoping he can convince Ally that Pine Hollow is her home for the holidays... and the whole year through. 

Purchase a copy on Amazon. 

About the Author: 

Contemporary romance author Lizzie Shane was born in Alaska and still calls the frozen north home, though she can frequently be found indulging her travel addiction. Thankfully, her laptop travels with her and she has written her way through all fifty states and over fifty countries.

Lizzie has been honored to win the Golden Heart Award and HOLT Medallion, and has been named a finalist three times for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA Award®, but her main claim to fame is that she lost on Jeopardy!

Author's Website.

Review: 

I love a good sweet holiday romance and this hit the spot. Add in a dog rescue with lots of cute puppies and I just couldn't put this book down. Pine Hollow is a small village where everyone knows each other. When Ally comes from the big city to help her Grandparents run the dog shelter she never thought it would lose its town funding and have to close by the end of the year. Ally also didn't expect to fall in love. The characters are very well developed and I just love them all. I felt like I was actually along for the ride with Ally as she navigates through Pine Hollow to help save the dog shelter. This is an amazing little town that I would just love to live in. I can't wait to read book two! I have three rescue dogs and understand the hard work that goes into finding the right furever home for each puppy. This was a truly great little Holiday read that I definitely could find myself reading over and over again.

If you are a dog lover, want a little Holiday romance then this is the book for you! I give a 5 star!

~*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own. *~

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Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewel ~ Book Review

Book Description: 

Owen Pick’s life is falling apart.

In his thirties, a virgin, and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a geography teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct, which he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel—involuntary celibate—forums, where he meets the charismatic, mysterious, and sinister Bryn.

Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbor Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night.

Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre Maddox disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.

With evocative, vivid, and unputdownable prose and plenty of disturbing twists and turns, Jewell’s latest thriller is another “haunting, atmospheric, stay-up-way-too-late read” (Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author).

Purchase a copy on Amazon. 

About the Author: 

Lisa was born in London in 1968. Her mother was a secretary and her father was a textile agent and she was brought up in the northernmost reaches of London with her two younger sisters. She was educated at a Catholic girls’ Grammar school in Finchley. After leaving school at sixteen she spent two years at Barnet College doing an arts foundation course and then two years at Epsom School of Art & Design studying Fashion Illustration and Communication.

She worked for the fashion chain Warehouse for three years as a PR assistant and then for Thomas Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt company for four years as a receptionist and PA. She started her first novel, Ralph’s Party, for a bet in 1996. She finished it in 1997 and it was published by Penguin books in May 1998. It went on to become the best-selling debut novel of that year.

She has since written a further nine novels, as is currently at work on her eleventh.

She now lives in an innermost part of north London with her husband Jascha, an IT consultant, her daughters, Amelie and Evie and her silver tabbies, Jack and Milly.

Author's Website.

Review: 

I was so excited to see a new Lisa Jewel book! I have read her last five books and couldn't wait for the next one. Invisible Girl does not disappoint! Suspense that'll keep you guessing.

This book was hard to put down. Meet Saffyre Maddox, ex patient of Roan Fours. Why is she sneaking around following Roan? Who is Own Pick? Is he just some creepy loner in the neighborhood or could he be the one out assaulting women? Is the Fours marriage a happy one?

Jewel had me feeling terrible for Owen Pick. Nerdy, virgin loner living with his aunt that doesn't want him in her living space. He is confined to his cold bedroom alone. Now he's being accused of sexual harassment from two of his female students, and put on suspension while the school investigates.

Saffyre Maddox seems to be up to no good following her ex psychiatrist around. Hiding out in an abandoned lot by the Fours house. With these characters you would think you would know right away who is behind the assaults happening in the area to young women. Jewel will take you on a ride you were not expecting. Saffyre definitely has some secrets that I was waiting for throughout the story. What's her deal?

I always find myself trying to figure out things before they happen in Jewel's books but usually I am off. I loved all the thrilling suspense that kept me wanting to read more. I just wanted to know who was behind what and if certain characters would be caught. So many secrets. The characters are so well developed and easy to like.

I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars and I can't wait for Jewel's next novel!

~*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own. *~

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