Thank you, thank you to Justine Sha with Harlequin Books for the opportunity to be a part of this book tour! I was graced with an advanced copy of This Is How I Lied, OUT NOW, in exchange for my honest review!
This was a book I read where I kept saying to myself, “What the heck, who is lying?!?!” At first I thought the title was misleading…and then it all unraveled! Let’s dig in!
This story is told in 2 parts, 1995 and 2020. Eve Knox was murdered and discovered by her best friend, Maggie. Maggie’s dad is the police chief and is investigating the murder…except no suspects have even been apprehended. Fast forward to 2020 when a piece of evidence is discovered and Maggie, now a detective on the police force, is tasked with reopening the cold case to resubmit evidence.
Things take a turn when Nola, Eve’s sister, gets involved. I don’t want to say much because it will ruin the book, but she is a crazy, deranged person. How she has managed to stay out of any trouble, I don’t know.
What did I love about this? I had no idea where the book was going. We do find out who killed Eve, but the journey to it was a twisty one. We’re talking blackmail, cover up, scandal…oh yes. I was quite pleased with how this one all turned out. It held my attention and the back and forth from the 90s to the present day helped set the stage for what happened.
4 stars. This book added to the suspense with every turn of the page. Toward the end it had my heart racing and my eyes moving at lightening speed because I was on the edge of my seat dying to know what was happening! This is definitely a tale where secrets come to light. Highly recommend for those of you who love thrillers…complete with a hard to predict ending! Happy reading!
I discovered this meme thanks to Jill’s Book Blog. This meme is all about what book you are reading today!! So let’s all talk about what book we currently have in our hands! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
Physical Book: My Dark Vanessa (Costco find another I saw everyone raving about it)
As always First Line Friday comes courtesy of Hoarding Books Blog. I discovered this magic thanks to Crystal at Must Love Reviews. This week I’m featuring a book that I will be reviewing later this month, Sister Dear!
The police didn’t believe me. A jury wouldn’t have, either, if I’d gone on trial, and most definitely not the judge.
Blurb
Beauty. Wealth. Success.
She’s got it all.
And it all should’ve been mine.
When Eleanor Hardwicke’s beloved father dies, her world is further shattered by a gut-wrenching secret: the man she’s grieving isn’t really her dad. Eleanor was the product of an affair and her biological father is still out there, living blissfully with the family he chose. With her personal life spiraling, a desperate Eleanor seeks him out, leading her to uncover another branch on her family tree—an infuriatingly enviable half sister.
Perfectly perfect Victoria has everything Eleanor could ever dream of. Loving childhood, luxury home, devoted husband. All of it stolen from Eleanor, who plans to take it back. After all, good sisters are supposed to share. And quiet little Eleanor has been waiting far too long for her turn to play.
I stumbled across this new Thursday book blog meme that (un)Conventional Bookworms has started. What exactly is it?
“The idea of Thirsty Thursday and Hungry Hearts is to share a quote with food or drinks that showed up in a recent read, as well as if it’s something you think you’d like or not. Please share the title of the book it happened in, as well as the character who ate or drank the special little something you discovered between the pages of a good read.”
Let’s get started! I’d like to start by saying how much I LOVE trying new places…so when this came up in a book I just started reading, I immediately started dreaming of all the places I want to eat once we’re done with quarantining!
The book
Servers with long black aprons walked past, carrying plates piled high with thick-cut fries and pan-seared fish smelling of tarragon.
Calgon, take me away to where I can smell all the food inside a restaurant!! This just made my mouth water! Have you been reading anything where food or drink just jumped out at you lately?
As always First Line Friday comes courtesy of Hoarding Books Blog. I discovered this magic thanks to Crystal at Must Love Reviews. This week I’m featuring a book I grabbed at Costco not that long ago, My Dark Vanessa!
I get ready for work and the post has been up for eight hours. While curling my hair, I refresh the page. So far, 224 shares and 875 likes.
Blurb
Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.
2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.
2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?
Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.
I have reached a turning point! This is my last back logged review from a book I read in 2019!!! I waited for this one FOREVER at my local library! Was it worth my painstaking wait? Let’s see…
I want to start this review and say, I have a bias. I LOVE the show Vanderpump Rules. I’ve gone back and forth on my feelings for Stassi, but as of lately I am loving her. I loved this book. If you’ve watched the show you will know that this book is written completely in her voice.
We get a little backstory on Stassi and her upbringing. What I loved most about this book is that she isn’t afraid to say what she is feeling. She lets her opinion be known and if you don’t like it, tough. The moral I got from reading this was to be yourself, who cares what others think. It ended up being an empowering read!
I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit from her antics. It was a light, enjoyable read. It was good AF. Yes, she uses that a LOT in the book. If you have ever watched the show, it wouldn’t surprise you.
4 stars. I wouldn’t recommend this to someone who isn’t in to Bravo reality shows. I have a lot more respect for Stassi after reading this. This certainly would be an enjoyable book to a #PumpRules fan. For others, meeeeeeeh maybe pass it up. I enjoyed it…and guess what, I don’t care if you don’t!
Title: Next Level Basic: The Definitive Basic Bitch Handbook
It’s Tuesday which means it’s time for another TTT courtesy of That Artsy Reader Girl! This week’s topic is…
Ten Things I’d Have At A Bookish Party
What an interesting topic! Here goes…
Bookmarks
Hummus & Pita Chips
Chips & Dips (oh yes, I am a dip queen)
Book Raffle Door Prize
Book Exchange (bring a book for an exchange)
Wine (I feel like bookworms enjoy wine)
Bag Of Bookworms (gummy worms in ziploc bag with a tag on them)
Guess That Popular Book game
Blind Date With A Book (pick a book based on description)
Soft music in the background
I got myself excited…I don’t have very many bookish friends, so this party will never happen, but I could see myself scouring thrift stores and the used book store near me for some goodies!!!
I picked this one up at the local library (yes, back in 2019…I have been sloooooooow on catching up on my reviews, almost there!!) after being on the waiting list for awhile. I heard great things about Ask Again, Yes and it did not disappoint!
I would simply describe this tale as a modern day Romeo & Juliet. The story starts with two rookie cops in NYPD living next door to each other. The Gleeson’s have daughters and the Stanhope’s have one son. Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope become fast friends as they are only 6 months apart and are pretty much inseparable…until there is some family drama.
Kate and Peter end up falling in love, much to their families protests. Eventually Peter moves away due to the instability of his mother and they lose contact. Over time they reconnect and we get to see their story play out. Keep in mind, their families NEVER approve of their relationship, will it work out?
Not only do we get the story of Kate and Peter, but we also see the marriage of the Gleeson’s and Stanhope’s. The story takes us over the course of 40 years and really tells the tale of true relationships and what goes on behind closed doors.
I really enjoyed watching the progression of relationships. Sometimes I felt heartbreak and was yelling at the characters, but in the era they were in, all was accepted and the norm. I had tears and I had smiles. What I loved most was the integrity of the characters and the ability to forgive.
5 stars. This was such a beautifully penned book, I loved every page of it. It had the right balance of heartache and love. It makes you wonder what life is like for your neighbor across the street that you think lives in this perfect bubble, things aren’t always what they seem on the outside and Ask Again, Yes is the perfect example of that. This is a must read!
As always First Line Friday comes courtesy of Hoarding Books Blog. I discovered this magic thanks to Crystal at Must Love Reviews. This week I’m featuring an upcoming book I received through Netgalley…here’s the line…
Eve wasn’t even supposed to be in these caves.
Now to reveal the book!
Blurb
Everyone has a secret they’ll do anything to hide…
Twenty-five years ago, the body of sixteen-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her home in small-town Grotto, Iowa—discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and her sister, Nola. There were a handful of suspects, including her boyfriend, Nick, but without sufficient evidence the case ultimately went cold.
For decades Maggie was haunted by Eve’s death and that horrible night. Now a detective in Grotto, and seven months pregnant, she is thrust back into the past when a new piece of evidence surfaces and the case is reopened. As Maggie investigates and reexamines the clues, secrets about what really happened begin to emerge. But someone in town knows more than they’re letting on, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried deep.
Donna's Reading Chair 