Dark Mother Earth Review | Kristian Novak

Any book that has a writer as the protagonist always catches my attention. I love the way lines can be blurred and learning more about how others see the process. While that initially drew my attention to Dark Mother Earth, my review explores how this book is much darker than I expected.

Publisher: AmazonCrossing | Date: 2020 | Genre: General Fiction

Plot: As a novelist, Matija makes things up for a living. Not yet thirty, he’s written two well-received books. It’s his third that is as big a failure as his private life. Unable to confine his fabrications to fiction, he’s been abandoned by his girlfriend over his lies. But all Matija has is invention. Especially when it comes to his childhood and the death of his father. Whatever happened to Matija as a young boy, he can’t remember. He feels frightened, angry, and responsible…

Now, after years of burying and reinventing his past, Matija must confront it. Longing for connection, he might even win back the love of his life. But discovering the profound fears he has suppressed has its risks. Finally seeing the real world he emerged from could upend it all over again. 

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes Review | Ruth Hogan

When you spend most of your time reading heavy fantasy books (which I love, don’t get me wrong), it can make a refreshing change going for something a little different. Today’s review is on The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, an emotive yet charming read that leaves you smiling.

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books | Date: 2019 | Genre: General Fiction

Plot: Masha is drowning. Once a spirited, independent woman with a rebellious streak, her life has been forever changed by a tragic event twelve years ago. Unable to let go of her grief, she finds solace in the silent company of the souls of her local Victorian cemetery and at the town’s lido, where she seeks refuge underwater – safe from the noise and the pain. 

But a chance encounter with two extraordinary women – the fabulous and wise Kitty Muriel, a convent girl-turned-magician’s wife-turned-seventy-something-roller-disco-fanatic, and the mysterious Sally Red Shoes, a bag lady with a prodigious voice – opens up a new world of possibilities, and the chance to start living again.

Until the fateful day when the past comes roaring back…

Book Review: The Last Time I Saw You by Liv Constantine

Author: Liv Constantine

Title: The Last Time I Saw You

Publisher: Harper Collins

Date: 2019

Plot: The internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish follows that success with an addictive novel filled with shocking twists about the aftermath of a brutal high-society murder.

Dr. Kate English has it all. Not only is she the heiress to a large fortune; she has a gorgeous husband and daughter, a high-flying career, and a beautiful home anyone would envy.

But all that changes the night Kate’s mother, Lily, is found dead, brutally murdered in her own home. Heartbroken and distraught, Kate reaches out to her estranged best friend, Blaire Barrington, who rushes to her side for the funeral, where the years of distance between them are forgotten in a moment.

That evening, Kate’s grief turns to horror when she receives an anonymous text: You think you’re sad now, just wait. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll wish you had been buried today. More than ever, Kate needs her old friend’s help.

Once Blaire decides to take the investigation into her own hands, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems in Baltimore high society. As infidelity, lies, and betrayals come to light, and tensions rise to a boiling point, she begins to alienate Kate’s friends and relatives with her relentless, accusatory questions, as she tries to find Lily’s killer. The murderer could be anyone—friend, neighbor, loved one. But whoever it is, it’s clear that Kate is next on their list…

Her Husband’s Mistake Review | Sheila O’Flanagan

I spend a lot of my time reading some intense books but I thought it was time for a bit of a feel-good book. I thoroughly enjoyed this one – more than I was expecting to in all honesty. It’s a feel-good, light-hearted read with characters you root for. Here is my Her Husband’s Mistake review.

Publisher: Headline | Date: 2019 | Genre: General fiction

Plot:Roxy’s marriage has always been rock solid.

After twenty years, and with two carefree kids, she and Dave are still the perfect couple.

Until the day she comes home unexpectedly, and finds Dave in bed with their attractive, single neighbour.

Suddenly Roxy isn’t sure about anything – her past, the business she’s taken over from her dad, or what her family’s future might be. She’s spent so long caring about everyone else that she’s forgotten what she actually wants. But something has changed. And Roxy has a decision to make.

Whether it’s with Dave, or without him, it’s time for Roxy to start living for herself . . .

Book Review: Suicide Club by Rachel Heng

Author: Rachel Heng

Title: Suicide Club

Publisher: Sceptre

Date: 2019

Plot: Lea Kirino is a “Lifer,” which means that a roll of the genetic dice has given her the potential to live forever—if she does everything right. And Lea is an overachiever. She’s a successful trader on the New York exchange—where instead of stocks, human organs are now bought and sold—she has a beautiful apartment, and a fiancé who rivals her in genetic perfection. And with the right balance of HealthTech™, rigorous juicing, and low-impact exercise, she might never die. 

But Lea’s perfect life is turned upside down when she spots her estranged father on a crowded sidewalk. His return marks the beginning of her downfall as she is drawn into his mysterious world of the Suicide Club, a network of powerful individuals and rebels who reject society’s pursuit of immortality, and instead chose to live—and die—on their own terms. In this future world, death is not only taboo; it’s also highly illegal. Soon Lea is forced to choose between a sanitized immortal existence and a short, bittersweet time with a man she has never really known, but who is the only family she has left in the world.

Book Review: Looker by Laura Sims

Author: Laura Sims

Title: Looker

Publisher: Tinder Press

Date: 2019

Synopsis: I’ve never crossed their little fenced-in garden, of course. I stand on the sidewalk in front of the fern-and-ivy-filled planter that hangs from the fence—placed there as a sort of screen, I’m sure—and have a direct line of view into the kitchen at night. I’m grateful they’ve never thought to install blinds. That’s how confident they are. No one would dare stand in front of our house and watch us, they think. And they’re probably right: except for me. 

Book Review: Danger Rising by E.D. Richards

Author: E.D Richards

Title: Danger Rising

Publisher: AuthorBuzz

Date: 2018

Synopsis: All things are not as they seem as Dr. Abbey Bertrand races againsttime, while glaciers threaten and others are after her.

Book Review: Social Media Central by Kevin Klehr

Author: Kevin Klehr

Title: Social Media Central

Publisher: NineStar Press

Date: 2018

Synopsis:  In an age where everyone lives their lives through a screen, no one has more celebrity status than fashion blogger, Madeline Q. In a chance meeting, Tayler, loner and geek, is introduced to her world of parties, fan worship, and seduction.

But as his own star rises, Madeline Q is arrested for murder. There’s just one problem—there is no corpse. Tayler soon learns that fiction blurs reality on Social Media Central. 

Mini Reviews: The Letter and It Started with a Tweet

With so many books to get through at the moment, I could schedule myself throughout next year and still probably not have enough time/slots to review everything that I want to.

These next two didn’t make the full review list because I had a suspicion I wouldn’t necessarily have enough to say about them. They are light-hearted reads that diverge from the more intense books I tend to review. Still, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on them, hence deciding to do another couple of mini-reviews.

Have you read either of these books? Do you plan to? Let me know!

What Happened That Night Review | Sheila O’Flanagan

Despite normally being the one whisking off into outer-space or confronting dragons, I like a gentle book as much as the next gal. This was the first book I’d read by Sheila O’Flanagan, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Keep reading for my full review on What Happened That Night.

Publisher: Headline Review | Date: 2018 | Genre: General Fiction

Plot: Then: When Lola Fitzpatrick catches the eye of Philip Warren, she’s new to Dublin and loving it. He’s used to getting what he wants…and she can’t resist him. Until one night he forces her to make an impossible choice.

If she’d known then what she knows now, everything might have been different.

Now

Lola’s daughter Bey has inherited her mother’s impulsive streak and it takes her down dangerous paths.

Then one night she too finds herself in front of a man she loves, with impossible choices of her own to make.

For both women, what happened that night changes everything. For better. For worse. For ever.