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.