Review: You Were Always Mine by Nicole Baart

I tried. Really I did. But I just couldn’t do it. No matter how badly I wanted to stay awake into the wee hours of the morning to finish this thriller, my eyes just wouldn’t cooperate. So I did what any self-respecting book worm would do. I reached for it as soon as I woke up the next morning and didn’t get out of bed until it was finished.

In the blink of an eye, Jessica Chamberlain finds her world turned upside down. With one phone call, life as she knows it is forever changed. Even though she and Evan were separated, in her heart she always believed that eventually they’d find their way back to each other. But his unexpected death put those hopes to rest.

So she tries to move on, if nothing else then for the sake of her two young sons. Something was going on with Evan, though. Something that involved their youngest son, Gabe, and his birth mother. Jessica is determined to find out what Evan was working on and how it led to his death.

This book has been described as a “race to the finish” drama and that’s no lie. I honest to goodness didn’t know what was going to happen until almost the very end. Trust me, you want to read this one!

~Thalia

Buy It Now: You Were Always Mine

Review: Gracie’s Secret by Jill Childs

Confession: At about the halfway point in the book, my brain was already writing the review and giving it three stars. For me, that’s a decent story. Good enough to finish, not particularly memorable, and probably not blog-worthy. But luckily I rarely review books at the midpoint because this is one that definitely moved up in the ranks by the end.

The story starts out in dramatic fashion. Little Gracie’s been seriously injured in a car accident. As Jen takes her place by her daughter’s bedside, she finds herself hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Gracie is her entire world, especially after her separation from Gracie’s dad. But Gracie does recover. And she has quite a story to tell. Thankful to have her daughter back, Jen loses herself in caring for her. When Matt comes into her life, she thinks her luck in life just may be changing. Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a story if things were wrapped up all nice and neat and tidy.

I was a bit thrown off by the tone of this story. For most of it, Jen’s talking to Gracie, narrating what happened right before and after the accident. It works in some places but is annoying in others. So maybe that’s why my initial impressions weren’t as favorable. But it redeems itself as the story hits a few twists and turns and then ends with a bang. Definitely worth reading!

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Gracie’s Secret

Review: I Found You by Lisa Jewell

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I admit, mysteries and thrillers are probably my genre du jour.  And the more twisty and turny, the better.  This one was definitely that!

When Alice comes across a strange man on the beach, she immediately senses he needs help.  He has no memory, nothing to indicate where he came from.  So of course she takes him in until he can figure out just who he is.  And predictably, she falls for him along the way.

Meanwhile, young newlywed Lily is in a panic because her husband has disappeared without a trace.  He just went to work one day and never came home.  While trying to find him, she discovers he wasn’t who she thought he was.   In fact, the man she married doesn’t even exist.

Step back in time, now, to a tragic event that happened on the very same beach where Alice came across her handsome stranger.  Could these events possibly related?  And could Lily’s missing husband be connected?  But of course!   It wouldn’t be a thriller otherwise.

I love Lisa Jewell’s stories.  They rely heavily on characters and family connections while at the same time portraying them authentically.  Her latest is no different.  Grab it!

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  I Found You