they didn’t know by Pam Eaton

they didn’t know by Pam Eaton 

Book Review by Me.😊

⭐️Trigger warnings: talks about attempted suicide, suicide,  and mental health issues. Please be advised.⭐️

How long can you pretend to be okay? And when do you start fighting for yourself?

Over a year ago the life Victoria (Tori) Adams had vanished. The cheerleader, the happy daughter, the extrovert—they all disappeared the night Tori attempted suicide. In an effort to save her, her parents moved her from the dry deserts of Arizona to a small coastal town in Connecticut. Now she’s standing on a frozen, desolate beach, constantly afraid to say the wrong thing to her mom, hiding the dark thoughts that plague her mind, and fighting to stay. 

When Tori discovers a secret room in her new house and its connection to the slightly-annoying-but-definitely-cute Nick Janus from auto shop class, she’s stuck between a painful past and torturous present. But as time passes and relationships deepen, Tori realizes that even though she’s still alive, she has a lot to learn about living. 

They Didn’t Know is a gripping, coming of age YA novel that deals with life after attempted suicide.

My review on this book without spoilers. 

What can I say? This was a book that I was completely drawn to especially by the cover and the synopsis of the book. The story of Tori Adams, was one that had me reeled in hook line and sinker. You knew that she was fighting some kind of battle. Then to have to move from Arizona to Connecticut to start in some respects a new life at a new school trying to make new friends was definitely a struggle for Tori.  Then entered Nick Janus The boy from auto shop class yes that’s a tiny spoiler alert. 

This definitely paints a picture of mental health and definitely talks about suicide. It definitely was at times very emotional for me to read. I think it has to do with the fact that I have a daughter around the same age as Tori in the book so it’s being a mom reading this about a teenage daughter with today society definitely kind of struck a chord. I definitely recommend us read but definitely look for trigger warnings as I stated above. It is a quick read and one that I definitely recommend. My 16-year-old daughter wants to read it she knows exactly what it’s about without spoilers that I’ve given to her so that’ll be her winter break book. Recommend this book. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫 

 

Project Hail Mary: Andy Weir

 Audio Review From Me

Project Hail Mary: A Novel by Andy Weir. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This took me five weeks to listen to because I listen to it along with my husband as a “buddy read“ when I would be at work. I will not give out any spoilers. I am definitely not a sci-fi reader. My husband and I decided to listen to the audio version instead of physically reading the book. So he gifted me the Audible with his subscription of project Hail Mary. I will definitely say this about the narration, probably one of the best narrators I’ve ever heard of an audible Reader for a book since my husband uses this service more than I do. If I listen to books or listen and read books together, it’s usually via Libby or I get them off Apple/iTunes. My husband loves his audible subscription and keeps that up but this particular narrator for project Hail Mary, definitely kept me interested in the storyline and we looked forward to it on our weekend cleans because I’m a cleaning lady. If you’re really not a sci-fi reader like me, I do recommend this book whether you decide to read it, listen to it via Audible or however you can do your books via Libby or through Apple/iTunes the narrator alone makes this story. It makes you want to root for the characters which I did and yes I did cry. 

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. 

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. 

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. 

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. 

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone. 

Or does he? 

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

The Corpse Flower (A Kaldan and Scháfer Mystery) by Anne Mette Hancock

 🍂🍂Book Tour Stop🍂

The Corpse Flower (A Kaldan and Scháfer Mystery) by Anne Mette Hancock

Here’s a description of the book!🍂

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo meets Sharp Objects in this internationally bestselling psychological thriller, for fans of Jo Nesbø and Henning Mankell, now for the first time in English.
  

Danish journalist Heloise Kaldan is in the middle of a nightmare. One of her sources has been caught lying, and she could lose her job over it. Then she receives the first in a series of cryptic and unsettling letters from a woman named Anna Kiel. 

Wanted in connection with the fatal stabbing of a young lawyer three years earlier, Anna hasn't been seen by anyone since she left the crime scene covered in blood. The police think she's fled the country until homicide detective Erik Scháfer comes up with a lead after the reporter who originally wrote about the case is found murdered in his apartment. Has Anna Kiel struck again, or is there more than one killer at large? And why does every clue point directly to Heloise Kaldan? 

Meanwhile, the letters keep coming, and they hint at a connection between Anna and Heloise. As Heloise starts digging deeper, she realizes that to tell Anna's story she will have to revisit the darkest parts of her own past--confronting someone she swore she'd never see again. 

  

The Corpse Flower is the first in the #1 bestselling Danish crime series, the Kaldan and Scháfer mysteries. 

🍂Non Spoiler Review🍂

This is my very first Nordic Noir book I ever read. I was highly impressed and plan on reading more books like this. Especially the looking forward to this series. It’s a great story so I hope you want to take the time to get to know these characters & see where they go. 

Have you read Nordic Noir books before? If so, what do you love about them? 

You can also check out this review on my personal blog. Always grateful for the opportunity to read & review. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟 Book read for me.🍂🍂 

#thecorpseflower #letstalkbookspromo

#crookedlanebooks 

A Memoir Stolen Elizabeth Gilpin

 At fifteen, Elizabeth Gilpin was an honor student, a state-ranked swimmer and a rising soccer star, but behind closed doors her undiagnosed depression was wreaking havoc on her life. Growing angrier by the day, she began skipping practices and drinking to excess. At a loss, her parents turned to an educational consultant who suggested Elizabeth be enrolled in a behavioral modification program. That recommendation would change her life forever. 

The nightmare began when she was abducted from her bed in the middle of the night by hired professionals and dropped off deep in the woods of Appalachia. Living with no real shelter was only the beginning of her ordeal: she was strip-searched, force-fed, her name was changed to a number and every moment was a test of physical survival.  

After three brutal months, Elizabeth was transferred to a boarding school in Southern Virginia that in reality functioned more like a prison. Its curriculum revolved around a perverse form of group therapy where students were psychologically abused and humiliated. Finally, at seventeen, Elizabeth convinced them she was rehabilitated enough to “graduate” and was released. 

In this eye-opening and unflinching book, Elizabeth recalls the horrors she endured, the friends she lost to suicide and addiction, and—years later—how she was finally able to pick up the pieces of her life and reclaim her identity.

🖤No Spoliers🖤

Wow oh Wow. This Memoir is a Must Read. I cannot say how many times I was in tears with this book. I also listened along to it with Audible. It’s such a compelling story that really resonates and draws in the reader. I could not imagine all what Elizabeth had to go through. I want to Thank her for telling her story. This is a hard read. I’ll say that. It’s a read though that tells her story and draws the reader in. This will stick with me for quite sometime. 🌟🌟🌟🌟.💫 read from me. Add it to your TBR list. 

Catch Us When We Fall: A Novel By Juliette Fay

 🌟🌟Tour Stop 🌟🌟

Catch Us When We Fall by Juliette Fay. 

Publication Day  September 21st, 2021. Thank you to @juliette_fay @williammorrowbooks @getredprbooks & @letstalkbookspromo for the Widget of this book. 

Don’t worry no spoilers from me.😊 

On her own since the age of eighteen, Cass Macklin dated brilliant, troubled Ben McGreavy, convinced he was the smartest person she’d ever known. They partied their way through their twenties, slowly descending into a bleak world of binge-drinking and broken promises, inebriated for most of a decade. Now Ben is dead, and Cass is broke, homeless, scared…and pregnant.

Determined to have a healthy pregnancy and raise Ben’s baby, Cass has to find a way to stop drinking and build a stable life for herself and her child. But with no money, skills, or sober friends or family, the task seems insurmountable. At wit’s end, Cass turns to the only person with the means to help her: Ben’s brother Scott, third basemen for the Boston Red Sox, a man with a temper and problems of his own.

The two make a deal that neither one of them is sure they can live up to. As Cass struggles to take control of her life and to ask for help when she needs it, Scott begins to realize there’s a life for him beyond the baseball diamond.

By turns heartbreaking and humorous, with its message that change is possible, that forgiveness can be freely given, and that life, though imperfect, is worth embracing, Catch Us When We Fall is a story of human connectedness and hope.

🌟My thoughts, this was an emotional read for me. It is a book that hit in places where you just wanted to reach out and hug Cass at least I did. She was such a relatable character in this book. I haven’t had a character in a book that really touched my heart in a long while. If your like me, have the Kleenex handy. 

💫💫💫💫 Read hands down. I highly recommend this to your friends. 

#catchuswhenwefall  #letstalkbookspromo

Blush by Jamie Brenner

 OMG! I cannot put into words how I felt about this book. 💖No Spoilers💖 I loved the whole dynamic of this book. I relished in all the characters of this book. I rooted for them. I haven’t had a book in quite a long time hit me to the point of down right tears & goosebumps as I did with this book. Hands down one of my “Personal” Favorites I read in 2021. The Women of this book I could relate to them all in different ways but if I had to pick one who I felt I connected with was most definitely Leah following Sadie a close second. Oh how I longed for this book not to end. It was perfect in every single way. Towards the middle of the book it picked up speed and I wanted to savor each and every page. I highly recommend “Blush.” It’s a book that will take you in. Take you into the stories of these People and their lives. Like I stated, I cannot recommend this book enough. I give it FIVE stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Easily. Pick this book up. Share it with your girlfriends, Your Mother, Sister, or anyone who would love a great book.  

Synopsis of the book based off Amazon

From acclaimed author Jamie Brenner comes a stunning new novel about three generations of women who discover that the scandalous books of their past may just be the key to saving their family's future.  

For decades, the Hollander Estates winery has been the premier destination for lavish parties and romantic day trips on the North Fork of Long Island. But behind the lush vineyards and majestic estate house, the Hollander family fortunes have suffered and the threat of a sale brings old wounds to the surface. For matriarch Vivian, she fears that this summer season could be their last—and that selling their winery to strangers could expose a dark secret she's harbored for decades. Meanwhile, her daughter, Leah, who was turned away from the business years ago, finds her marriage at a crossroads and returns home for a sorely needed escape. And granddaughter Sadie, grappling with a crisis of her own, runs to the vineyard looking for inspiration.  
  
But when Sadie uncovers journals from Vivian's old book club dedicated to scandalous novels of decades past, she realizes that this might be the distraction they all need. Reviving the "trashy" book club, the Hollander women find that the stories hold the key to their fight not only for the vineyeard, but for the life and love they've wanted all along.  
  
Blush is a bighearted story of love, family, and second chances, and an ode to the blockbuster novels that have shaped generations of women. 

Call Me Elizabeth Lark by Melissa Colasanti

 

Your daughter went missing twenty years ago. Now, she's finally back. You thought she had returned a few times in the past, and your husband tells you she's not the one, but you feel it in your bones. 

Now, what will you do to keep her home? 

Twenty years ago, Myra Barkley's daughter disappeared from the rocky beach across from the family inn, off the Oregon coast. Ever since, Myra has waited at the front desk for her child to come home. One rainy afternoon, the miracle happens--her missing daughter, now twenty-eight years old with a child of her own, walks in the door. 

Elizabeth Lark is on the run with her son. She's just killed her abusive husband and needs a place to hide. Against her better judgment, she heads to her hometown and stops at the Barkley Inn. When the innkeeper insists that Elizabeth is her long lost daughter, the opportunity for a new life, and more importantly, the safety of her child, is too much for Elizabeth to pass up. But she knows that she isn't the Barkleys's daughter, and the more deeply intertwined she becomes with the family, the harder it becomes to confess the truth. 

Except the Barkley girl didn't just disappear on her own. As the news spreads across the small town that the Barkley girl has returned, Elizabeth suddenly comes into the limelight in a dangerous way, and the culprit behind the disappearance those twenty years ago is back to finish the job.

🤩My Review🤩 No Spoilers 

This book was such a great read for me. I will admit it did go slow for a bit in the beginning. Though mid way through the book… boom. I could not put it down. I was hooked. I was along for the ride with Elizabeth and Theo and rooting for them. I was so invested in Myra & Herb & Gwen. What all these folks were going though and the ending I didn’t see coming. One of my favorites I read in 2021. I highly recommend this book. It’s a ride that you won’t forget. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Menopause Manifesto by Dr. Jen Gunter

 The only thing predictable about menopause is its unpredictability. Factor in widespread misinformation, a lack of research, and the culture of shame around women’s bodies, and it’s no wonder women are unsure what to expect during the menopause transition and beyond. 

Menopause is not a disease—it’s a planned change, like puberty. And just like puberty, we should be educated on what’s to come years in advance, rather than the current practice of leaving people on their own with bothersome symptoms and too much conflicting information. Knowing what is happening, why, and what to do about it is both empowering and reassuring. 

Frank and funny, Dr. Jen debunks misogynistic attitudes and challenges the over-mystification of menopause to reveal everything you really need to know about: 
  
*Perimenopause * Hot flashes * Sleep disruption * Sex and libido * Depression and mood changes * Skin and hair issues * Outdated therapies * Breast health * Weight and muscle mass * Health maintenance screening * And much more! 
  
Filled with practical, reassuring information, this essential guide will revolutionize how women experience menopause—including how their lives can be even better for it! 

**No Spoilers**

As someone that is in premenopause I found this book to be very helpful to me. It’s a read that I would recommend for Women and Men if they wish too to look into. Sit down and read it and try to understand what a woman’s body can go through. I’ll say I hate the hot flashes. I’m not a fan of them but know it’s all part of this stage in my life. If you can please check it out. One of the better books I’ve read on Health. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Read from me. 

Chasing Shadows by Lynn Austin

 For fans of bestselling WWII fiction comes a powerful novel from Lynn Austin about three women whose lives are instantly changed when the Nazis invade the neutral Netherlands, forcing each into a complicated dance of choice and consequence. 

Lena is a wife and mother who farms alongside her husband in the tranquil countryside. Her faith has always been her compass, but can she remain steadfast when the questions grow increasingly complex and the answers could mean the difference between life and death? 

Lena’s daughter Ans has recently moved to the bustling city of Leiden, filled with romantic notions of a new job and a young Dutch police officer. But when she is drawn into Resistance work, her idealism collides with the dangerous reality that comes with fighting the enemy. 

Miriam is a young Jewish violinist who immigrated for the safety she thought Holland would offer. She finds love in her new country, but as her family settles in Leiden, the events that follow will test them in ways she could never have imagined. 

The Nazi invasion propels these women onto paths that cross in unexpected, sometimes-heartbreaking ways. Yet the story that unfolds illuminates the surprising endurance of the human spirit and the power of faith and love to carry us through.

No Spoliers. I was gifted to review this ARC by Tyndale House Publishers. 

This book will stick with me. It’s story line has drawn me in and into the lives of the characters of this book. 

I definitely recommend if you are someone who enjoys books written on WWII. This is a fabulous fiction book. 

Lena & Miriam, these are the two ladies who made an impact on me in the book. I highly recommend reading this for your summer reading. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Read

Eliza Starts A Rumor by Jane L. Rosen

 It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. When Eliza Hunt created The Hudson Valley Ladies’ Bulletin Board fifteen years ago she was happily entrenched in her picture-perfect suburban life with her husband and twin preschoolers. Now, with an empty nest and a crippling case of agoraphobia, the once-fun hobby has become her lifeline. So when a rival parenting forum threatens the site’s existence, she doesn’t think twice before fabricating a salacious rumor to spark things up a bit.    

It doesn’t take long before that spark becomes a flame.   

Across town, new mom and site devotee Olivia York is thrown into a tailspin by what she reads on the Bulletin Board. Allison Le is making cyber friends with a woman who isn’t quite who she says she is. And Amanda Cole, Eliza’s childhood friend, may just hold the key to unearthing why Eliza can’t step out of her front door.  

In all this chaos, one thing is for sure…Hudson Valley will never be the same.  

Funny, romantic, raw, and hopeful, this is a story about being a woman and of the healing power of sisterhood.

💟Spolier Free💟

I really enjoyed this book. I loved all the characters and the places the author took us on their journey. I have to say I really thought it picked up mid book as the beginning for me was a bit slow. My favorite character in this book was Alison. I just really connected with her. All the ladies in this book had a story to tell. I definitely recommend this for a summer read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 

little threats by emily schultz

 This is my book review of little threats by emily schultz.  Here’s the summary of the book and I’m will give you my review on it. No spoilers.

In the summer of 1993, twin sisters Kennedy and Carter Wynn are embracing the grunge era and testing every limit in their privileged Richmond suburb. But Kennedy's teenage rebellion goes too far when, after a night of partying in the woods, her best friend, Haley, is murdered, and suspicion quickly falls upon Kennedy. She can't remember anything about the night in question, and this, along with the damning testimony from a college boy who both Kennedy and Haley loved, is enough to force Kennedy to enter a guilty plea. 

In 2008, Kennedy is released into a world that has moved on without her. Carter has grown distant as she questions Kennedy's innocence, and begins a relationship with someone who could drive the sisters apart forever. The twins' father, Gerry, is eager to protect the family's secrets and fragile bonds. But Kennedy's return brings the tragedy back to the surface, along with a whole new wave of media. When a crime show host comes to town asking questions, believing the murder wasn't as simple as it seemed, murky memories of Haley's death come to light. As new suspects emerge and the suburban woods finally give up their secrets, two families may be destroyed again.

I really liked how this book was written. I liked where the characters took you. I knew something didn’t add up with Kennedy and I liked how she navigated through the story. I felt for her and twin sister Carter. I felt for their friend Haley as well. The book overall had a good plot and storyline that kept you interested. I recommend this book for the twists and turns. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Four Star review  

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

 This is my Review. I will not give any type of spoilers so I do not ruin your time reading this Awesomeness Book. 

Grace was a Character that was very relatable at least to me with how she lived her life and the aspirations she wanted out of life though maybe in all Reality, things were not how she really pictured them or were they? This is a story that sucks you in and makes you feel like you are with Grace & Yuki. It’s a story that makes you get all the feels. It’s a story that will stick with you for awhile. The journey of Grace is one that is maybe something we all can relate too in some way. Pick up this book. You will not regret it. 

HONEY GIRL

Author: Morgan Rogers

ISBN: 9780778311027

Publication Date: February 23, 2021

Publisher: Park Row Books

Buy Links: 

Harlequin 

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Books-A-Million

Powell’s

Social Links:

Author Website

Twitter: @garnetmorgue

Instagram: @garnetmorgue

Goodreads

Author Bio: 

Morgan Rogers is a queer black millennial. She writes books for queer girls that are looking for their place in the world. She lives in Maryland and has a Shih Tzu named Nico and a cat named Grace that she would love to write into a story one day. HONEY GIRL is her debut novel. 

Book Summary:

HONEY GIRL (Park Row Books; February 23, 2021; $17.99) by Morgan Rogers is a stunning #ownvoices debut, a charming, lyrical, and introspective romantic coming-of-age story about Grace Porter – millennial, Black woman, astronomy Ph.D. – who wakes up after a wild night in Vegas married to a woman she doesn’t know. 

Strait-laced and structured all her life, Porter now faces life without a plan for the first time ever. Between her disappointed military father, the competitive job market, and a consuming sense of aimlessness, finding and falling in love with her wife across the country seems to be the only right answer. But Porter’s problems are just as big in Brooklyn as they are anywhere else, and she realizes she’s going to have to face adulthood whether she’s ready or not. 

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson

 Born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the estate’s medicine woman and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is set apart from the others on the plantation, belonging to neither world. 

She’d been promised freedom on her eighteenth birthday, but instead of the idyllic life she imagined with her true love, Essex Henry, Pheby is forced to leave the only home she has ever known. She unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the bowels of slavery at the infamous Devil’s Half Acre, a jail in Richmond, Virginia, where the enslaved are broken, tortured, and sold every day. There, Pheby is exposed not just to her Jailer’s cruelty but also to his contradictions. To survive, Pheby will have to outwit him, and she soon faces the ultimate sacrifice.

**All is can say is this Story is going to stay with me. It’s one of those books that takes you in. You can take the journey with Pheby. You feel what she feels. You cry with her. You root for her. You don’t want her story to end. I cried so much reading this book. My heart ached and I did smile though my tears. I highly recommend you reading and going along with Pheby Delores Brown on her Story. I promise you, it will stick with you. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️