Monday Reading Report

This was a busy week, I worked a SAT grading job, my MOPS group met, and we had Family Weekend at my daughter’s college campus. So not a huge amount of time for reading. I did manage to complete three books and I’m almost finished with my Dean Koontz audio book. Below I’ve listed the books I completed this week, what I’m currently reading, and what I have recently added to my TBR (I’m an enabler, what can I say?) You can check out other reading reports at The Book Date each week.

This post contains affiliate links, see disclosure for more detail. I voluntarily received complimentary review copies of many of these books. All opinions are my own.

What I Completed:

All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover, I rated this book 3 stars

About the Book:

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

My Thoughts:

This book deals with the difficult subject of infertility and its effects on a marriage. I found those parts to be so raw and real, everything that happens in the course of the book I can totally see occurring in actual life. I loved the ending with the letters, the analogy between marriage and withstanding a hurricane is spot on and stunning. I even read that part out loud to my husband.

What I didn’t care for was the back and forth between “Then” and “Now”. It worked in the beginning, but as the storyline progresses I didn’t care as much about the past and really wanted most of the focus on the present. I know Colleen Hoover’s book have a lot of sex scenes in them, but in this book it felt kind of sleazy because of the subject matter. Also, I just kept wondering why NO ONE suggested that these two get some counseling. Neither one of them did, and none of their supposedly caring family members did. If any couple was in dire need of counseling, this was one.

Overall, this is a decent read, although a bit difficult and gut wrenching at times. Very real.

Under My Skin by Lisa Unger, I gave this book 2.5 stars

 About the Book:

It’s been a year since Poppy’s husband, Jack, was brutally murdered during his morning run through Manhattan’s Riverside Park. In the immediate aftermath, Poppy spiraled into an oblivion of grief, disappearing for several days only to turn up ragged and confused wearing a tight red dress she didn’t recognize. What happened to Poppy during those lost days? And more importantly, what happened to Jack?

The case was never solved, and Poppy has finally begun to move on. But those lost days have never stopped haunting her. Poppy starts having nightmares and blackouts—there are periods of time she can’t remember, and she’s unable to tell the difference between what is real and what she’s imagining. When she begins to sense that someone is following her, Poppy is plunged into a game of cat and mouse, determined to unravel the mystery around her husband’s death. But can she handle the truth about what really happened?

My Thoughts:

The ending of this book was SO much better than the first 3/4. I honestly almost gave up. It was so incredibly convoluted, with Poppy’s “is she or isn’t she awake/dreaming” over and over again. Once she got her head clear, the story moved forward much better and resolved well. It’s not a particularly compelling mystery, Unger has most definitely written better stories, but things tied up satisfactorily in the end. I tried to listen to this on audio but it was so slow and confusing I had to switch to the written book so I could keep straight what was going on, this is a book that needs to be read rather than listened to unless you are able to concentrate fully.

Swimming in the Deep End by Christina Suzann Nelson, I gave this book 4 stars

 About the Book:

Olympic dreams on the line.

A beloved son’s lost future.

Long-buried secrets uncovered.

A broken heart and empty arms.
In this moving, masterful saga from best-selling novelist Christina Suzann Nelson, four women’s lives collide. Their tangled courses and attempts to find grace in the midst of crisis combine in one heartfelt story showing the many faces of motherly love.

My Thoughts:

This is a moving story that covers many issues involving teen pregnancy, grief, keeping secrets, estranged family members, and many other things that go along with each of those.
The tale is told from four different points of view: Jillian, who struggles with choices from her past that continue to affect her life, marriage, and parenting. Izzy, who is Jillian’s high school aged daughter and has a future in competitive swimming, yet discovers she is pregnant. Margaret is the mother of Travis, Izzy’s boyfriend. She’s a single mom trying to be the best parent she can, but she barely makes ends meet and isn’t present much for her boys. Stacey and her husband have just moved to town, they desire to be parents but have experienced the loss of a child and are starting to think about moving forward with another adoption.

I found the tale to be fascinating, I was definitely drawn to certain characters more than others. The plot didn’t take the direction I thought it would, which was surprising and made the book more interesting. I didn’t think the choices that Izzy ultimately made were very realistic, they didn’t ring true with the way she felt throughout the book and with her age and maturity level. Overall, the novel is captivating and has a gamut of emotions that I could relate to in one way or another. The themes of forgiveness of yourself and others resonate throughout.

What I Am Currently Reading/Listening To:

The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz

“I very much need to be dead.”

These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for—but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what.

People of talent and accomplishment, people admired and happy and sound of mind, have been committing suicide in surprising numbers. When Jane seeks to learn why, she becomes the most-wanted fugitive in America. Her powerful enemies are protecting a secret so important—so terrifying—that they will exterminate anyone in their way.

But all their power and viciousness may not be enough to stop a woman as clever as they are cold-blooded, as relentless as they are ruthless—and who is driven by a righteous rage they can never comprehend. Because it is born of love.

Summer at the Garden Cafe by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

The second in Felicity Hayes-McCoy’s Finfarran Peninsula series, and sequel to The Library at the Edge of the World—a heartwarming story about secrets between four generations of Irish women, and the healing powers of books, love, and friendship.

The Garden Café, next to Lissbeg library, is a place where plans are formed and secrets shared, and where, even in high tourist season, people are never too busy to stop for a sandwich and a cup of tea.

But twenty-one-year-old Jazz—daughter of the town’s librarian Hanna Casey—has a secret she can’t share. Still recovering from a car accident, and reeling from her father’s disclosures about his long-time affair, she’s taken a job at The Old Forge guesthouse, and begun to develop feelings for a man who’s strictly off-limits.

Meanwhile, involved in her own new affair with architect Brian Morton, Hanna is unaware of the turmoil in Jazz’s life—until her manipulative ex-husband, Malcom, reappears trying to mend his relationship with their daughter. Rebuffed at every turn, Malcolm must return to London, but his mother, Louisa, is on the case. Unbeknown to the rest of the family, she hatches a plan, finding an unlikely ally in Hanna’s mother, the opinionated Mary Casey.

Watching Jazz unravel, Hanna begins to wonder if secrets which Malcolm has forced her to keep may have harmed their beloved daughter more than she’d realized. But then, the Casey women are no strangers to secrets, something Hanna realizes when she discovers a journal, long buried in land she inherited from her great-aunt Maggie. Ultimately, it’s the painful lessons of the past that offer a way to the future, but it will take the shared experiences of four generations of women to find a way forward for Hanna and her family.

Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough

Lisa lives for her daughter Ava, her job and her best friend Marilyn.

But when a handsome client shows an interest in her, Lisa starts daydreaming about sharing her life with him, too. Maybe she’s ready now. Maybe she can trust again. Maybe it’s time to let her terrifying secret past go.

But when her daughter rescues a boy from drowning and their pictures are all over the news for everyone to see, Lisa’s world explodes.

As she finds everything she has built threatened, and not knowing who she can trust, it’s up to Lisa to face her past in order to save what she holds dear.

But someone has been pulling all their strings. And that someone is determined that both Lisa and Ava must suffer.

Because long ago Lisa broke a promise. And some promises aren’t meant to be broken.

What’s Up Next:

Things Left Unsaid by Courtney Walsh

Lyndie St. James is thrilled that her best friend, Elle, is getting married but unprepared for the emotional storm of the wedding week and returning to her childhood summer home of Sweethaven. The idyllic cottage community harbors some of her best—and worst—memories. It’s not only the tragic death of her childhood friend Cassie that has haunted her for ten years, it’s the other secrets she’s buried that have kept her from moving on.

But Lyndie isn’t the only one with secrets.

Cassie’s mother, father and brother, still struggling with the loss, have been drifting further and further apart. And Elle herself, the last to see Cassie alive, carries an impossible burden of guilt. Now reunited, each of them has a choice: to reveal the truths of that night or continue to live in its shadow. That means embarking on a personal journey of the heart—to escape the darkness and all its regrets and to finally come to terms with the past and, especially, with each other.

Wait for Me by Susan May Warren

Pete Brooks can’t believe he’s waited an entire year for Jess Tagg to return to Montana, only to have her break his heart by getting engaged to her ex-fiancé. Worse, a series of mistakes on the job have cost lives, and Pete isn’t sure he wants to continue to work in Search and Rescue. Maybe if he can just get over Jess, he can figure out how to move forward.

EMT Jess Tagg has returned to Montana to finally give her heart to Pete, but it seems he’s no longer interested. When a terrible fight between them sparks an impulsive decision, she finds herself crashed on the side of a highway along with Esme Shaw. And just when she thinks things couldn’t get any worse, she and Esme are taken captive and into the untamed Montana wilderness–with murderous intent.

Now Pete and the other PEAK Rescue Team members are in a race against time, the elements, and the actions of a vengeful man. Pete will have to use everything he’s learned to find Jess and Esme–and pray that his past mistakes don’t cost him the life of the woman he can’t stop loving.

Silent Victim by Caroline Mitchell

Emma is a loving wife, a devoted mother…and an involuntary killer. For years she’s been hiding the dead body of the teacher who seduced her as a teen.

It’s a secret that might have stayed buried if only her life had been less perfect. A promotion for Emma’s husband, Alex, means they can finally move to a bigger home with their young son. But with a buyer lined up for their old house, Emma can’t leave without destroying every last trace of her final revenge…

Returning to the shallow grave in the garden, she finds it empty. The body is gone.

Panicked, Emma confesses to her husband. But this is only the beginning. Soon, Alex will discover things about her he’ll wish he’d learned sooner. And others he’ll long to forget.

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal.

By Monday morning, one of them is gone.

Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. Kristin was a sociable twin mom, college administrator, and doctor’s wife who didn’t seem all that bothered by her impending divorce—and the investigation turns up more questions than answers, with her husband, Paul, at the center. For her closest neighbor, Clara, the incident triggers memories she thought she’d put behind her—and when she’s unable to extract herself from the widening circle of scrutiny, her own suspicions quickly grow. But the neighborhood’s newest addition, Izzy, is determined not to jump to any conclusions—especially since she’s dealing with a crisis of her own.

As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what’s going on behind their own closed doors—and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else.

What I Recently Added to the TBR:

The White Christmas Inn by Colleen White 

A New England inn seems like the picture-perfect place to spend the holidays. But when a snowstorm shuts the roads and keeps them all inside, the guests find themselves worrying that this Christmas may not be exactly what they dreamed of.

Molly just needs to keep her head down and finish her latest book, but her writer’s block is crippling. The arrival of Marcus, a handsome widower with two young girls, is exactly the distraction she doesn’t need.

Hannah was hoping for a picturesque winter wedding, but her plans come crashing down when her fiancé calls everything off. She reconnects with her childhood friend, Luke, when he comes to check on his grandmother before the storm.

Jeanne and Tim don’t know how they’re going to keep the inn open another year—or how to bridge the distance between them in their marriage. With a flurry of unexpected guests, they’ll have to work together to fix all the problems that crop up. But will it be enough to rekindle their relationship?

As the characters’ stories intertwine, they start to find hope where they thought it had been lost. With faith, and a little bit of Christmas magic, the inn—and its inhabitants—might just make it through the holidays after all.

One Fatal Mistake by Tom Hunt, releases January 2019

Her son accidentally kills a man.
They cover it up.
Then everything goes wrong.
 
When eighteen-year-old Joshua Mayo takes a man’s life in a horrible accident, he leaves the scene without reporting the crime to the police. He hopes to put the awful night behind him and move on with his life. But, of course, he ends up telling his mother, Karen, what happened.

Karen has raised Joshua on her own in Cedar Rapids, Iowa–and she’d thought they’d finally made it. He was doing well in school and was only months from starting college. After hearing his dark confession, she is forced to make a choice no parent should have to make, one that draws them both into a web of deceit that will change their lives forever–if they make it out alive….

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic…and then her bus drives away.

Certain they’re fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn’t find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they “reunite” at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It’s Jack, the man from the bus. It would be.

What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.

Call me Evie by J.P. Pomare, releases March 2019

For the past two weeks, seventeen-year-old Kate Bennet has lived against her will in an isolated cabin in a remote beach town–brought there by a mysterious man named Bill. Part captor, part benefactor, Bill calls her Evie and tells her he’s hiding her to protect her. That she did something terrible one night back home in Melbourne–something so unspeakable that he had no choice but to take her away. The trouble is, Kate can’t remember the night in question.

The fragments of Kate’s shattered memories of her old life seem happy: good friends, a big house in the suburbs, a devoted boyfriend. Bill says he’ll help her fill in the blanks–but his story isn’t adding up. And as she tries to reconcile the girl she thought she’d been with the devastating consequences Bill claims she’s responsible for, Kate will unearth secrets about herself and those closest to her that could change everything.

What did you read this past week? Any upcoming or new books that have caught your eye?