The Square by Rosie Millard

From Amazon UK

Jane has the ideal life: loving husband, beautiful house and delightful son. Her fashionable dinner parties are perfect – and so are her secret assignations with her neighbour’s husband, Jay. From Tracey and her ‘New Money’ lottery winnings to eccentric artist Philip and his pornographic portraits, the residents of North London’s most privileged enclave The Square are a very satisfied bunch. To raise money for communal fencing, the Residents’ Association decides to hold a Talent Show, produced by Jane and hosted by TV celebrity Alan Makin. But when the show lurches into public disarray, reputations are shattered and everyone has to learn to live with a far less glossy reality than before.

My Take:

This was a kicky little book about neighbors in an upper class London square. It was a bit Melrose Place except with married, wealthy families instead of gorgeous single people. It was written from multiple perspectives, with the viewpoint of the Square’s bitchiest occupant, Jane to the children who live in the households, including George, Jane’s son. I was never quite able to figure out how old he was; at times he sounded and acted much older than he would at other moments throughout the book. Strange. You also hear from other neighbors like the lucky lottery winners and the eccentric artist and his bizarre companion. Each of them is flawed in their own special way, which makes for an entertaining read.

The premise of the book was fun, being a fly on the wall in the households where things may look great on the outside but underneath all the fluff there was some seriously dissatisfied people, cheating on one another here, there, and everywhere. I found the characters to be only somewhat developed, I never really cared to know any of them further though. Again, it was fluff, but that was what I knew it was so it delivered perfectly.

It wrapped itself up fairly well, although I would have liked a bit more closure on some of the happenings. Overall, it was a fun, punchy read that I would definitely bring along to a beach and read while soaking up some Vitamin D.

**Full disclosure: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis

From Amazon:

The perfect family. The perfect house. The perfect life. All gone now.

What could cause a man, when all the stars of fortune are shining upon him, to suddenly snap and destroy everything he has built? This is the question that haunts Sergeant Ryan DeMarco after the wife and children of beloved college professor and bestselling author Thomas Huston are found slaughtered in their home. Huston himself has disappeared and so is immediately cast as the prime suspect.

DeMarco knows―or thinks he knows―that Huston couldn’t have been capable of murdering his family. But if Huston is innocent, why is he on the run? And does the half-finished manuscript he left behind contain clues to the mystery of his family’s killer?

A masterful new thriller by acclaimed author Randall Silvis, Two Days Gone is a taut, suspenseful story that will will break your heart as much as it will haunt your dreams.

My Take:

Hey all, hope everyone had a great holiday!! Sorry for being all non-posty and stuff but this book took me forever to finish and it wasn’t necessarily that it wasn’t good, because I did look forward to when I could sit down and read it but as most of you can probably relate, this time of year is so full-on packed with things to do, Christmas concerts, holiday parties, shopping for presents, getting tangled in wrapping paper and tape, etc., etc.

So back to the book, the first thing I should say is that it was a hard read based on the format on my Kindle, as it was all over the place format wise. But I’m hopeful that it is only because it was a pre-copy and I assume it won’t be like that regularly. As for the story itself, it was ok. I can’t say great because it just didn’t engage me as much as previous books I’ve reviewed but perhaps I’m not being fair due to all the other stuff that kept my mind occupied. It was a pretty dark storyline though, which is right up my alley (weird, because I’m like, the most peaceful person in real life unless you count road rage!) so it called to me for that reason. I must admit, as a parent, some of this was really hard to think about but it wasn’t so intense as to keep me from reading. I generally shy away from any book where something happens to kids, and animals if I’m being truthful, lol.

I didn’t really understand why Sergeant DeMarco was so captivated by Huston, the man accused of killing his own family. He seemed to think he knew him far better than someone who only hung out with him a few times should. It was little things like that which bugged me a bit but overall, I thought the storyline was ok, and subplots like DeMarco’s wife and his history were included but didn’t do much to enhance the story. But did it keep me wondering who actually did it? For sure! Did I enjoy reading it? Not really. Did I look forward to finishing it to move on to another story? Yes. So from that, you can reach your own conclusion!

**Full disclosure: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Because She Loves Me by Mark Edwards

From Amazon:

A gripping tale of jealousy, obsession and murder, from the No.1 Bestselling author of The Magpies.

When Andrew Sumner meets beautiful, edgy Charlie, he is certain his run of bad luck has finally come to an end.

But as the two of them embark on an intense affair, Andrew wonders if his grasp on reality is slipping. Items go missing in his apartment. Somebody appears to be following him. And as misfortune and tragedy strike his friends and loved ones, Andrew is forced to confront the frightening truth…

Is Charlie really the girl of his dreams – or the woman of his nightmares?

My Take:

I just finished this as, weirdly, I fell asleep last night with like, two pages left. But don’t let that fool you, this book was anything but boring!! In fact, it was a super read, full of drama, suspense, and a twist at the end that I honestly didn’t see coming.  There were times in the book that I would roll my eyes at the absurdity of Andrew’s thought processes (case in point: “She had, I believed, committed murder. But, in a way, my crime against her was even worse. I’d betrayed her behind her back.” Whaaaat?? Please!) but for entertainment value, you know why the author made him that way. He was the perfect candidate for a psycho stalker and to be honest, it was a bit maddening that he didn’t catch on sooner but who am I to say when I wasn’t expecting it to end the way it did?

I’d like to give away more but don’t want to spoil it so if you’ve read it I’d love to hear your take!

**Full disclosure: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

The Sister by Louise Jensen

From Amazon:

Grace hasn’t been the same since the death of her best friend Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie’s last words, and in a bid for answers, opens an old memory box of Charlie’s. It soon becomes clear there was a lot she didn’t know about her best friend.

When Grace starts a campaign to find Charlie’s father, Anna, a girl claiming to be Charlie’s sister steps forward. For Grace, finding Anna is like finding a new family, and soon Anna has made herself very comfortable in Grace and boyfriend Dan’s home.

But something isn’t right. Things disappear, Dan’s acting strangely and Grace is sure that someone is following her. Is it all in Grace’s mind? Or as she gets closer to discovering the truth about both Charlie and Anna, is Grace in terrible danger?

There was nothing she could have done to save Charlie …or was there?

My take:

So yeah, I’m on a roll with books that are reaaaaalllly good…Characters were nicely developed, although I did think Grace was a bit on the annoying side, I mean, who let’s some girl you just met go out with their boyfriend to some fancy shindig, is there not even a hint of something askew?!  Anyway, Dan was the obligingly nice boyfriend, or was he? The ghost of Charlie is ever-present which helps the reader to understand and almost feel the grief that Grace feels. And Anna, well, c’mon.

The storyline is something right off a Lifetime Movie but if you know me, I’m not above a good Lifetime flick! In fact, I quite enjoy a good revenge story and this one is certainly that! I love fast-paced prose where I can’t wait to turn the page and I’ve seriously been hitting the jackpot with this lately. The writing was nicely done too, very detailed and descriptive without droning on with non-essentials. Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book to friends, it was a fun read!

**Full disclosure: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

From Amazon:

East Sussex, 1914. It is the end of England’s brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who lives with her husband in the small, idyllic coastal town of Rye. Agatha’s husband works in the Foreign Office, and she is certain he will ensure that the recent saber rattling over the Balkans won’t come to anything. And Agatha has more immediate concerns; she has just risked her carefully built reputation by pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master.

When Beatrice Nash arrives with one trunk and several large crates of books, it is clear she is significantly more freethinking—and attractive—than anyone believes a Latin teacher should be. For her part, mourning the death of her beloved father, who has left her penniless, Beatrice simply wants to be left alone to pursue her teaching and writing.

But just as Beatrice comes alive to the beauty of the Sussex landscape and the colorful characters who populate Rye, the perfect summer is about to end. For despite Agatha’s reassurances, the unimaginable is coming. Soon the limits of progress, and the old ways, will be tested as this small Sussex town and its inhabitants go to war.

My Take:

I read this book lightning fast, which for me can be difficult at times due to scheduling and overall attention span.  I love a good historical fiction book though and this one didn’t let me down.

It takes place in England, Rye in East Sussex to be exact and the time period is 1914. A young woman named Beatrice Nash is left on her own after her father dies and must seek a position teaching Latin in the Seaside town. Traveling to a new home, knowing not a soul, she is lucky enough to be welcomed by ‘Aunt Agatha’, ‘Hugh Grange’, and his cousin ‘Daniel.  Turns out though, they are all lucky to have each other.

While they pass the summer by, enjoying beautiful weather, adventures, and soirees, a war is brewing. It all comes to a halt when the men are sent off to war, refugees come to stay in their quaint village and the men and women get to see first hand the brutality of war.

This book was able to be light enough when it needed to be, in order to keep it from being a total downer even when there were some serious, sad bits to it. The characters were rich and likable (except the one’s that weren’t, ahem, Mrs. Fothergill!) and you truly felt the emotion coming from the characters, the good and the bad.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, and for being a big book, I was pleased to blow right through it. To me, that’s always the best review I can give. When you don’t plod through a book, it was a good one!

**Full disclosure: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.