“Middletide”Sarah Crouch

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. ebook. Atria (Simon & Schuster). To be published June 11, 2024.

The day Erin’s body was found hanging from a tree beside a lake on Elijah’s property was the day his life changed forever. After failing as a writer, with no income, Elijah decided to return to the small town where he’d grown up and live in his father’s cabin in the woods. There memories assailed him of Nikita, the only girl he’d ever loved and the promise he’d broken to return to her after he finished college.

Nikita had grown into a beautiful woman and had just lost her husband. Seeing each other was hard, but Elijah wanted more than she could give. When she couldn’t commit, he decided to date someone else. The newly single town doctor was beautiful but, soon after they started dating, Elijah realized she was the wrong woman for him. He would soon find out that the short time they dated would be the biggest regret of his life.

At first the storyline was hard to follow because it was told over multiple points of views through several different timeframes. Once I got used to the author’s style of writing, it was easier to understand Elijah’s timeline. This gripping, mystery thriller about a man falsely accused of murdering the beautiful and beloved doctor of his small town will keep readers on the edges of their seats as they try to figure out whodunit. 

Recommended for Adults.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.

“What happened to Ruthy Ramirez” Claire Jiménez

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. ebook. Grand Central Publishing (Hachette Book Group). To be published March 7, 2023.

Nina was in 4th grade when her thirteen-year-old sister Ruthy never came home from track practice. Years later she’d graduated from college, her older sister Jessica had a baby of her own, and their mother Dolores was teaching classes to young mothers at her church. Their father had died of a possible broken heart five years after Ruthy disappeared. Though they had managed to live a type of life after the loss of Ruthy, all had suffered because of it.

One night, shortly after Nina came home from college, Jessica made a surprising discovery. After watching a reality television show she realized one of the girls in it had to be Ruthy because she had her unique birthmark, hair color, mannerisms, and way of speaking. Fully convinced they’d found their missing sister she and Nina plotted to drive from Staten Island to Boston to bring her home. However, their plan hit a big glitch when their mom insisted on coming along. No one was going to separate her again from her little girl. Their road trip is about to get very interesting.

In alternate chapters Nina, Jessica, Dolores and Ruthy tell their stories. Each voice is filled with memories, dreams and longing for what is and what could have been. Also laced into their narratives are variations of humor, snarkiness and family drama. “What happened to Ruthy Ramirez” dives into the life of a Puerto Rican family in Staten Island trying to survive the loss of a family member, while giving insight into the familial bond and power of motherly and sisterly love. From the very beginning readers will feel as if they were part of the Ramirez family.

Recommended for Adults.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

“Path lit by lightning: The life of Jim Thorpe” David Maraniss

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. ebook. Simon & Schuster. To be published August 9, 2022. (Includes “Notes,” and “Selected bibliography.”)

Jim Thorpe was born during a time when Native Americans struggled to hold onto their culture and land while their children were uprooted and sent to government boarding schools. Thorpe was sent to the Carlisle Indian School, where leadership believed “Kill the Indian, Save the Man” was justification for its evils of assimilation into the White world. Excelling at football and track Jim was chosen to represent the United States at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, where he won gold in the pentathlon and decathlon and set a decathlon world record.

Though he was the greatest athlete in the world, Jim’s awards and trophies were taken and his records erased when it was revealed he played semi professional baseball during breaks from school. As a result he spent his life working menial jobs, playing sports for small change, and hoping for a coaching job that never materialized. “A man has to keep hustling” Thorpe often said, but died a poor man.

Sympathetic to Thorpe’s plight and other Native Americans, Maraniss’ well-researched biography draws on rich primary source materials to supply information on Thorpe as well as important figures and events of the time. One hundred and ten years after Jim Thorpe’s victories plans are still under way to restore his records because, though the IOC finally gave medals to his family in 1983, Thorpe’s results are still not part of the Olympic record.

Highly recommended for Adults.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Invisible fault lines” Kristen-Paige Madonia

Rated 3 stars *** Simon & Schuster. 306 p. 2016.

Callie was a junior in high school when her father never came home from work. The police couldn’t find him, while no one knew where he could have gone. As months passed without any word, the constant loneliness she and her mom felt without him dragged heavily upon their souls. Though she and her friends searched everywhere, and put up missing person posters, he was not found.

At a museum exhibition of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake Callie was sure a person in a photo looked like her father. She decided to research the timeframe for clues, believing her father was caught in a time warp. As time passes, Callie and her mother must learn to create a new normal in the midst of their loss.

I could feel Callie’s pain, but thought the storyline about her father was far fetched. At risk of being a spoiler all I will say is I wasn’t happy with the ending, but gave it an extra star because of the other storylines going on that gave strength to the characters.

I will leave it up to readers, ages 14 and older, to decide if you want to read it or not.

“Girl from nowhere” Tiffany Rosenhan

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. ebook. Bloomsbury Publishing. To be published July 21, 2020.

Sophia was not a regular 16-year-old girl. She had lived all over the world with her diplomat parents, and knew more than 14 different languages. She had been trained in deadly combat, and knew how to accurately shoot a gun on the run. After having to live in so many different places and experiencing so many different things, Sophia was shocked when her parents arrived in the small town of Waterford, Montana and told her they were officially retired. Now that she was given permission to slow down her life and “act like a teenager”, Sophia had no idea what to do.

Her first day at school didn’t go over well, as teachers were less than impressed with her knowledge, but she made a few friends who kept her occupied with normal teenage things. Soon Sophia started to fall into the routine of hanging out and wondering why the very handsome Aksel left her tongue-tied. She and Aksel soon became a couple but, just as Sophia thought the doors of her past were forever closed, something happened that caused them to come blasting open. It will take everything she’s learned from her father and Askel’s love to keep Sophia’s former world from crashing down around her new one.

“Girl from nowhere” is filled with action, love, and adventure. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the cover. With a storyline of a type of female 007 mixed up with a very handsome James Bond type, having a book cover showing a girl with tape over her eyes DOESN’T CUT IT! Come on Bloomsbury! There’s still a month left before publication, so PLEASE come out with a more riveting cover to draw readers in – otherwise they’ll pass up a very good book!

Highly recommended for ages 14 and older.

I received a digital advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“In a dark, dark wood” Ruth Ware

Rated 3 stars *** Scout Press (Simon & Schuster). 2015. 310 p.

Nora got an email that brought forth memories she’d been repressing for 10 years from when she’d been in love with James at the age of 16. Though it had ended badly, she’d never gotten over their relationship. Her ex-best friend Clare was getting married and Flo, her maid of honor, was writing to invite her to Clare’s Hen (bachelorette) party. After debating whether or not to go Nora decided to attend.

Six people showed up to a glass walled house buried deep in the spooky woods, where she finds out Clare is marrying James. With memories overwhelming her, Nora is desperate to leave but stayed to save face though no one has phone reception, the landline goes dead, and Flo is obsessed with pleasing Clare. Getting drunk, playing silly games and passing on snide comments about each other turn to seriousness when a Ouija board spells “murderer”, and the back door opens by itself in the middle of the night.

By this time they are all paranoid so, when someone comes up the stairs and is shot dead, no one remembers who did the actual shooting that killed James. Nora developed amnesia after the shooting but, for James’ sake, is determined to recover her memories and find out what happened that night. Who shot James? Did she do it?

The book started out slow and dragged through a few chapters before it started to pick up steam. I enjoyed the suspense, and whodunit feel. I had my suspicions, but was surprised when the villain was revealed. What I didn’t like were loose ends that weren’t explained, how much Nora reverted to her high school self around Clare, and why she went to the Hen when she wasn’t invited to the wedding.

Though the book had its hiccups I will recommend it to Adult readers who like suspense. It will definitely keep you guessing.

 

“Die for you” Amy Fellner Dominy

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Published November 8, 2016. Delacorte Press (Random House). 292 p. (Includes “Author’s Note” and “Resources.”)

After Emma’s mother leaves her father for another man, Emma moves across town to be with her dad and help pick up the pieces of his life. Starting her senior year at a new school is rough, but meeting Dillon helped erase the darkness of hating her mom and seeing her dad’s pain. With Dillon she is able to love and be loved.

Emma and Dillon are so happy. They’ve promised to always be there for each other, to take care of each other, and to be together forever. However, it doesn’t take long before Emma finds that “forever” is more than just a word to Dillon. He always follows through on his promises. Always.

Dominy’s fast paced novel about what happens when relationships turn bad is sure to be an eye opener for many readers. The Author’s Note and Resources sections hold information that could unlock the cages of many relationships, making “Die for you” a book that needs to be on the shelves of every high school and public library.

Highly recommended for ages 14 and older.

“Not if I see you first” Eric Lindstrom

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Ebook. Published December 1, 2015. Poppy.

Parker’s dad taught her to run and to be independent. She embraced her blindness with funky looking blindfolds, a quick-as-a-whip attitude, a fierce protectiveness of her friends, and a list of rules for how to be treated.

When her forever enemy, Scott Kilpatrick, comes back into her life Parker is livid. She has never forgiven him for what he did to her, and plans to ignore him forever. However as events in her life begin to boil over, Parker will have to find a way to let go of the past and, in so doing, find her true self.

I LOVED this book, and was SO disappointed when it ended. I really, REALLY wanted it to continue. It was THAT good!! Lindstrom has created a believable cast of characters who will live on in our memories, long past the final chapter.

Highly recommended for ages 14 and older.

“Black-eyed Susans” Julia Heaerlin

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Ebook. Ballantine Books (Penguin). Published August 11, 2015.

Sixteen-year-old Tessa was lucky to be alive, as a serial killer had left her in a grave with several other bodies and bones for over 32 hours. Because of the flowers scattered around the area the dead girls were nicknamed “Susans,” with Tessa the only survivor.

Now grown with a teenaged daughter of her own, Tessa is unable to forget the terror and horror she felt in that lonely grave. The Susans haunt her, seeking justice, while she tries to force herself to remember what happened the night she was abducted. The killer was arrested back in 1995, but someone has been planting black-eyed susans everywhere she has lived over the years, leading her to believe the serial killer is still alive and that she helped place an innocent man in jail. Will he succeed in what he had failed to do when she was just 16 years old?

Through flashbacks and the present time, Heaerlin lays down a clever plot of betrayal, terror, and fear as readers pry back the layers of time to find out what really happened to Tessa and the Susans. The truth, when it was finally revealed, made me gasp in surprise and shock. “Black-eyed Susans” is a gut-wrenching story of suspense and horror, highly recommended for Adult readers.

“Luckiest girl alive” Jessica Knoll

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. EBook. Simon & Schuster. Published May 12, 2015.

Ani FaNelli is a successful writer at the very prestigious The Women’s Magazine in New York City. She is engaged to be married to Luke Harrison, a very rich man from a prestigious family, and has perfected the right way to dress, walk, and talk. Ani has the money and the lifestyle she’s always wanted, but she is not happy.

To explain Ani’s present situation you have to understand her past, so readers are taken back in time to when she was fourteen years old and a new transfer student at the very elite Bradley school. TifAni (as she was known then) came from the wrong side of the tracks and was determined to make her mark at Bradley. Her desire to get “in” with the popular crowd led to a series of unfortunate events which would haunt her for the rest of her life. In her own way Ani has tried to deal with what happened when she was 14 years old but she will soon find out that facing up to her past is the only way that she can have a future.

Through flashbacks and the present day Jessica Knoll peels back the layers of Ani’s life, revealing her vulnerability and endearing her to readers. As life at the Bradley school is mixed with Ani’s NYC life, I was glued to the pages to find out what had happened to Ani and to cheer for her to make the right decisions.

Highly recommended for Adult readers.