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JadedBubbles (1 KP) rated The King in Books

Jan 3, 2018  
The King
The King
J.R. Ward | 2014 | Paranormal, Romance
9
8.4 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Drama, Politics, Band of Bastards (0 more)
Wraith and Beth finally return!
This is the 13th installment to the Black Dagger Brotherhood novels by J.R. Ward. This story goes back to Wraith and Beth, who haven;t had their own novel since the first book of the series. We also see the history of Wraith's parents, who we have only heard of, but do not really know much about until now.

The book has some really good plot points finally coming about after a few books of build up from the Band of Bastards and the Glymeria, as well as Trez and iAm getting a spot light, hinting at the contents of the next novel, since it will be revolving around them.


In this novel Wraith and Beth are coming to an impasse regarding their future; Beth, who has yet to go into her Needing, would like nothing more than to have a child of her own. She knows her life has meaning as the Queen of the race, but she feels a hole in her life that only a young can fill. Wraith, who was orphaned at a young age when his parents were killed in a raid, does not want to subject his future offspring to his same fate, ruling the race from behind a massive wooden desk hating life. Not to mention the risk to Beth.


I found that I could relate to Beth very easily, and even though I really hated the way that Wraith reacted when he found out Beth wanted a child, I could see his point too. No one wants to lose the one they love more than life itself. the dialogue between characters was fun and witty, and events followed a logical progression and conclusion (trying to not give away details is so hard) that were satisfying.


Overall, if you are a fan of this series and you have not read this book yet, it is a must read! Especially if you love Beth and Wraith as much as I do.
  
The Lies We Told
The Lies We Told
Camilla Way | 2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
9
8.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is two very interesting stories that seemingly have nothing to do with one another. Beth has always wanted a child but has had a lot of trouble conceiving. When Hannah comes along, she and her husband are completely in love. As Hannah grows, though, Beth notices that things are off with her, but tries not to think about it. Until she has to.
Clara’s life is turned upside down when her boyfriend, Luke, goes missing. As she frantically searches for clues of his whereabouts, she discovers threatening emails, pictures, notes, and a break in at her home that make her think that Luke was not only being stalked but that he was maybe not who she thought.
I could not put this book down. I kept wanting to know what would happen, kept guessing along the way, and was constantly surprised at how wrong I was!
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The List in Books

Jun 20, 2020  
The List
The List
Carys Jones | 2020 | Crime, Thriller
7
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a dark, psychological thriller about paranoia and disturbing secrets all told within an original plot and from 3 perspectives; Beth, the writer of The List and Ruby.

Beth is a loner with no friends or family to speak of apart from a seemingly ideal boyfriend. She seems to have the perfect life, aside from recurring horrific nightmares, but it soon becomes clear that she has a dark and disturbing past that she is keen to forget and put behind her.

The writer of The List is just that ... but why and what does she have to do with Beth and what are her intentions given that the first two people on The List are dead?

Ruby is a teenager in an institution placed there following her part in a totally heinous and horrific attack on a vulnerable child ... what does she have to do with Beth and the writer of the list?

This is a story that although is a work of fiction, is not beyond the realms of reality unfortunately which makes it a hard and emotional read in places. It's also a slow burner which builds in tension as the whole story emerges and Beth's life unravels and this is the only complaint I have, it wasn't as fast paced as I would have liked with a bit too much description which affected the flow for me but, having said that, I would still recommend to dark, thriller lovers who enjoy reading something a bit different for the norm.

Many thanks to Orion Publishing Group via NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an honest review.
  
The Girl in the Red Coat
The Girl in the Red Coat
Kate Hamer | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is every parent/guardians worst nightmare! This book made me feel anxious and sick at how realistic this is. For my daughter to be the same age as Carmel is just terrifying to me. This story line will definitely bring out your emotions even if you are not a parent. The premise was what drew me towards reading this book, child abduction is something that we will see on the news occasionally and something that could happen to anyone.

Carmel Wakeford is 8 years old and intelligent for her age, recently Carmel has been “Away with the Fairies” and occasionally wanders off. Beth (Carmel’s mother) is on constant edge when they visit a children’s festival, so much so they Carmel becomes agitated by her mothers clingyness that she decides to remove herself from her mothers grasp just for a while. When Carmel returns to the spot her mother is no where to be seen, a grey haired man appears and introduces himself as Carmel’s grandfather. With never actually meeting her grandfather before and him knowing her parents, she believes him when he tells her that her mother has been in an accident and he is there to look after her. Beth is frantically searching for her daughter realising her worst fear is becoming a reality.

The book is told from two alternating point of views, Beth and Carmel’s. Though this is a crime book, it is not told from the investigation perspective as we are used to, it’s more of the mother/father/family/child’s suffering. Hamer has captured the emotions of the mother really well with feeling guilty and the grieving process and I could feel her despair and knew if I was in the same position I would be feeling exactly the same way. I enjoyed reading from Carmel’s perspective, it’s interesting when the author writes as a child it needs to come across realistically which Hamer managed to pull off.

I found this story to be quite slow even with the alternating POV’s and some parts I was bored but I continued reading as I needed to know what happened to Carmel. The ending all seemed to be a bit rushed and left things unexplained. The writing was really good and packed full of emotion.

This is a great debut novel from Kate Hamer and would be interested in reading her future work.

Overall I rated this 3.5 out of stars
  
What She Saw
What She Saw
Wendy Clarke | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Slow burn, debut novel
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

In What She Saw by Wendy Clarke, you meet Leona, a loving and extremely protective mother of teenaged Beth. They do everything together, absolutely everything. They seem to be perfect and have the perfect life. Of course, things are not always what they seem. Leona and Beth both have secrets which they keep from each other and from everyone else. The question asked is, "how far will a mother go to keep her child safe?"

What She Saw is a slow burn which I had difficulty getting into. However, since I did, I could not put it down. I was a Psychology major and am a sucker for when a character meeting with a psychologist partly reveals the story.

The story uses flashbacks and the present. It starts slow but is suspenseful and well-written.

According to Goodreads, Clarke has published over three hundred short stories published in national women's magazines, and this is her debut novel. As of 6/13/19, it has a rating of 4.25 out of 5. Most of the ratings are 5 stars, and none are 1 star. For a debut novel, that is quite impressive.

I am looking forward to reading more by Wendy Clarke.

This review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 6/15/19.
  
Lead Me Home
Lead Me Home
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lead Me Home by C.S. Savage instantly reminded me of The Blind by A.F. Brady, The Binding Song by Elodie Harper, and The Foster Child by Jenny Blackhurst all of which also feature an overworked NHS psychiatrist struggling to cope with their demanding roles, who end up going beyond the call of duty in order to protect the most vulnerable.

In this book, Dr Clancy Mclean has her suspicions about a couple of her psychotic patients. One of which, Beth, is convinced she is being stalked and her health is declining rapidly. Feeling forced to take it upon herself to protect Beth, Clancy irresponsibly brings Beth home to stay with her and her daughter, Rowan. Er, not allowed!

But teenager Rowan is having troubles of her own, in the form of an abusive ex-boyfriend who will not leave her alone. When she meets her new boyfriend, an older and more mature man, she is so smitten she decides to keep him a secret to prevent her mother interfering ~ at least until she gets to know him better. After all, she met him online. Her mother would never approve.

Would you?

The story is narrated by four characters. Clancy, her daughter Rowan, Beth who is one of Clancy’s patients and an unknown, deranged psycho, who shares his murderous plans in great (and very gruesome) detail.

Reading ‘Lead Me Home’ was like watching an episode of ‘The Wire in the Blood’, based on Val McDermid’s book of the same name ~ tense, gripping and oh, so horrific I could hardly breathe as I raced through to the end.

In fact, this is such a fast-paced, well-written, creepy read, it’s without a doubt one of my favourite psychological thriller’s this year. The psycho’s scenes totally freaked me out and I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite as fast as this one!

When one person fell victim of the psycho, I felt absolutely, and emotionally, sucker-punched! Really, how could the author do that to me? Is this really C.S Savage’s debut novel, because I have to say I can hardly believe that is the case! I loved every minute of reading this. I’ll certainly be looking out for more by this author, and so should you!

Needless to say, I heartily recommend ‘Lead Me Home’, to other lovers of well-written crime fiction! Love creepy, psychological thrillers heavily steeped in horror? Then grab a copy of this book and prepare for a scare!
  
A Small Case of Murder (Joshua Thornton Mystery #1)
A Small Case of Murder (Joshua Thornton Mystery #1)
Lauren Carr | 2011 | Crime, Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
We are introduced to Joshua Thornton and his five children in chapter 1. The prologue brings Lulu Jefferson's view and a little bit about his parents. We are also introduced to Tad. There is a catch as Joshua moves his family to his former hometown.

He seems to get caught helping someone who tried to kill his cousin Tad in a church, and it seems to bring more to be involved. All when he goes to the state attorney general. It is more as his murderer with his arrangement and ends up murdered along with Beth Davis.

There is a twist when things get more complicated, and the state attorney general decides to ask or request Joshua to become a Special Prosecutor for the case of Vicki Rawlings and Beth Davis. They think he got the trust of the citizens of his hometown. Will he take the offer, or will he not?

Joshua is working with a police officer and a local reporter. What appears to be one thing is that his children are so like him that they want to join in and protect him. Does Joshua wish to be a dad and raise them, or will he hide from them and not send this child to live with their extended family? How will he decide to deal with the life he was chosen for?

Lauren Carr's Mysteries and stories are good. However, this one is less dense when it starts at the story's beginning. However, the action is improving, with this one being when Joshua and his five children are introduced. They are about school age. This book gets better as it goes along.

This is probably when she was starting to write these kinds of stories. This is their second series, so it has improved dramatically since. I love this one. I only wish I knew more about what happened to Valerie and what caused her to pass away. Then Joshua moved and settled in his hometown with his lovely five children. But other than that, it is a good starter book or series to get into her books, Along with Mac Faraday Mysteries.
  
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ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Switch in Books

Jul 18, 2020  
The Switch
The Switch
Beth O'Leary | 2020 | Contemporary
10
9.1 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Switch by Beth O’Leary was a book that I was very much looking forward to reading. I had read, loved and gifted The Flatshare, her debut book. Then I read the synopsis for this book, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little trepidatious (is that a real word?). I had visions of Tom Hanks in Big, or of Jodie Foster in Freaky Friday, if I’m honest. I needn’t have worried, because this isn’t Big or Freaky Friday (sorry, if that’s what you’re expecting 🤷🏼‍♀️).

Instead, this is the story of two Eileens: 79 year old Eileen and her granddaughter Leena who is 29. They are both at times of great change in their lives. They’ve both just experienced the death of Leena’s sister, and Eileen’s husband has left her for a younger woman.

When Leena comes home for a visit, she realises that Eileen has been casing the men in the village with a mind to dating one. There isn’t a great choice. After a look on a dating website, she realises that the choice of men in their 70’s is far greater in London, so Leena creates an account on the dating website for her Grandma, and they swap lives for 8 weeks - the length of time that Leena’s boss has given her as a holiday, to try and recover from the loss of her sister.

I adored this book. Need I say more? OK, I suppose I should.
I loved how Eileen was treated as an adult with real feelings and sexual urges. She may be 79, but she isn’t some sexless old biddy, treated like a child. As much as we don’t necessarily like to think of our mothers/ grandmothers having sex , it’s highly likely that they do, and why not?

I loved how the death of Leena’s sister was treated. The long, slow process of grieving, and how it doesn’t just switch off, that there are no rules.

Leena’s love life is very entertaining too, and I was rooting for one particular character throughout.

So in conclusion, just do yourself a favour and go and buy this book. It’s ace. Beth O’Leary writes wonderful stories it would seem, about wonderful, quirky, normal people. I’ll be waiting and ready to read whatever she puts out there next, of that I’m sure!
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) Aug 3, 2020

I'm so looking forward to reading this - glad to hear how much you enjoyed this!

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Lindsay (1717 KP) rated An Amish Cradle in Books

Feb 15, 2018 (Updated Apr 9, 2019)  
AA
An Amish Cradle
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
In His Father’s Arms by Beth Wiseman: This is a story about a couple that struggles with a baby with Down syndrome. What they do not know if how to deal with it. Ruth Anne finds out the truth about her best friend first pregnancy. Ruth Anne can not understand why her best friend is acting really strange around her and her baby boy.

Levi is also struggling to deal with his little boy illness. He knows his little cousin died from this illness. He afraid that is son will be taken from him. Do learn to deal with their little boy medical issues and learn to trust God?

A Son for Always by Amy Clipston: Carolyn is happy to know that she is a pregnant with her and Joshua first child together. She worried that she will have to keep her job and financially secure Ben's future.

Joshua seems to want to let Carolyn that she can stop working at the hotel. Carolyn is still having doubts that Joshua will help her with Ben future. Even though, Joshua has adopted Ben and wanted Ben to have his last name.

Carolyn needs a sign that Joshua will treat her son Ben as his own. She gets that sign, but I do not want to tell you when or how. That would be giving the ending away.

A Heart Full of Love by Kathleen Fuller: Ellie is expecting her first child with her husband. Though when she gives birth to twins. Her mother decides that will take care of the twins and keep them safe. In doing so, she will not let Ellie bond with her daughters.

What is Ellie's mother dealing with that she won't let Ellie take care of her own daughters. Ellie knows she will need help with her daughters. Ellie wants time with her daughters and takes care of them.

Ellie starts to have questions about what happen with a girl named Rachel. She goes over to her parents house and to find the answers. What a sweet ending his story has.

An Unexpected Blessing by Vannetta Chapman: Etta finds out that she is expecting once again. She as a frighting labor. She seems happy with her new little one. She is worried about her overgrown son, David and wants her to return.

Her other children are overjoyed for her and their dad. They help to give her the crib that was made be their dad. They get a surprise when their one son returns. He gets a surprise as well.
  
An Amish Reunion
An Amish Reunion
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wonderful collection of stories about different seasons of change !
  In the first story Amy Clipston gives us a story about Marlene and Rudy, a young couple learning change through working together. Marlene navigates the change of moving home after years spent away and she deals with memories of loss associated home. I thought this was a great story on how to push yourself to overcome past sadness and turn it to something new.
  In the second story Beth Wiseman tells a story about Ruth and Gideon and how they deal with the loss of a child and the impact on their marriage. They don't handle the loss well at first, but after five years the Lord leads them home to each other. A great story about grief and the growing that can come out of that time in life.
  The third story is by Kathleen Fuller. She tells a story about a wonderful, sarcastic, and straight speaking Grandma type lady who is used to matchmaking for other people. But this time God had something special in mind for her. A very sweet story.
  Last but not least we get a story by Kelly Irvin. She tells us a story about a young couple who didn't wait and it was made worse by some decisions that were made. But through their trials came forgiveness and growing into the people that God wanted for them to be. A particularly good story as it is not always a subject people will face head on. I loved it and I think it was a great representation of the true circumstances that people go through when they have a baby out of wedlock, especially in an Amish community,
  This is a great collection of stories that I would definitely recommend reading, it is great encouragement when going through different seasons of change.
  I volunteered to read this book from Zondervan Fiction in return for my honest feedback. The opinions expressed within are my own.