Donna's Reading Chair

Book Review: One By One by Ruth Ware

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review! Yes, this is another 4 year overdue post…but at least I’m staying committed to the cause and writing my review!

This story is one of my Roman empires…I think about this book more often than I should. It made a lasting impact on myself. The story starts off innocently as eight co-workers enjoy a mountainside chalet…and then they get snowed in thanks to an avalanche.

Someone ends up missing…then someone ends up dead. No one else is around so that means one of them has committed the crime. Even with 8 characters running about, I found it easy to keep track of who was who as each character has a distinct personality.

I enjoyed the pace of the book and the vivid descriptions. I felt like I was there in the cabin next to the fire at times. There is another twist in the mix with everything…the co-workers went there to vote on selling the company. Is this what causes people to go missing and then someone to be killed? Only time will tell…

I have such a vivid recollection of the end…and I won’t spoil it for you, but just know I think about it often. Why? I’m not 100% too sure. But I truly find myself coming to the end of this one all the time. It’s rare for me to remember such detail about a book, so take that for what it is worth!

4 stars. The book does slow a bit on the pacing at times, but I feel this is a Ruth Ware writing trait. The book does NOT disappoint and leaves us turning the pages quickly to find out who did it. Our own suspicions build, but will you choose the correct whodunit? Find out and pick this one up!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Details.jpg

Title: One By One

Author: Ruth Ware

Genre(s): Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

Publisher: Gallery Books

Release Date: September 8, 2020

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: A California Christmas by Brenda Novak

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin for my advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review! This was originally released in 2020 and I promise you I read this a few years ago…I PROMISE…I just never wrote the review, YIKES!

Emery Bliss is a promising TV anchor, until she breaks up with her boyfriend (who also happens to be a colleague…which also happens to not be allowed) and then he leaks a sex tape. Don’t get me started on how angry this made me because she ends up taking all the heat and he essentially escapes scot free! UGH!

Looking to be out of the public eye in LA and where she isn’t known, she flees to Silver Springs, her hometown. She finds solace with Aiyana Turner, who ends up being like her mother figure (oh yeah, Emery’s parents are going through a crazy divorce) and helps her with her ranch and prepare for her upcoming wedding.

One by one Aiyana’s family comes to town and in walks Dallas Turner. A bachelor. A man who travels all around the world and doesn’t have time for anyone. A man who also had a crush on Emery back when they were in high school. A man who will help Emery stand up to her ex-boyfriend.

The subject of revenge porn I felt was portrayed in a realistic manner. Dallas helps Emery, even with a lot going on in Dallas’ own life. There are so many side stories to the main story in this tale, it is JAM PACKED. Novak does such a delightful job at stringing everything together and giving us all the answers we need. You’ll be cursing Dallas one moment, cursing Emery the next, then back to Dallas, and eventually you find yourself falling in love with the flawed characters and want the best for them.

5 stars. This was more than just a romance book. This has grief, pain, heartbreak, and love. While Emery is our star, Dallas is a fantastic co-star and his story is just as intriguing as Emery’s in. This is the perfect book to set up a great Christmas in July if I do say so myself! It is part of a series, but it’s a standalone! Enjoy!

Title: A California Christmas

Author: Brenda Novak

Genre(s): Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Holiday

Publisher: Harlequin, MIRA

Release Date: October 13, 2020

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review! This book is released TOMORROW, so hear about it today and then pick it up then!

Meet Charley, a house keeper at the Precipice Hotel in Maine. She lives and works at the hotel, which grants her the opportunity to keep her grandmother, her only family member alive, in an assisted living home. When her boss dies and the home raises her grandmother’s rent, Charley finds herself between a rock and a hard place.

The Bishop sisters, daughters of the man who owned the hotel, arrive to read his will and decide what to do with the property. Before they arrive, Bree stumbles in, trying to escape her abusive ex-boyfriend. Charley sees a money making opportunity and agrees to let Bree stay, hidden and out of sight, in exchange for cash (that Bree promises she’ll get her as soon as she can). Mind you, everyone is arriving as Hurricane Larry makes landfall and batters the area.

The story is told from mostly Charley’s point of view and in four parts. We do get glimpses of the sisters’ lives, which is important for the storyline. The book starts off slow, but the burn is there. By the time you hit the final part of the book you cannot put it down, so much is happening.

The will is read and the sisters are upset. Somehow, the son-in-law receives the hotel, with the lawyer also having some control. Will family stick together or will they be torn apart? Death & murder is surrounding the hotel and people start to drop like flies. This is written almost in a one room manner, but they have an entire hotel at their disposal. Poems are scattered around, threatening more bad will happen unless secrets get exposed…and boy do the Bishop sisters have a LOT!

3.5 stars. I thought this was alright. Nothing stood out to make this spectacular, even though it is a solid thriller with twists I did not see coming, especially at the end. I think the pacing at the beginning took away from the book for me, but I can see this easily being the favorite tale of MANY people, so don’t let my rating deter you! The writing is solid and again, the twists are TWISTY! Plus, we have a very happy ending at the end. Overall, go for it, I’m not mad I read it and when you round 3.5 up, you get 4! Happy Reading!

Title: One Big Happy Family

Author: Jamie Day

Genre(s): Fiction, Thriller, Suspense

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: July 16, 2024

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advance copy of this one in exchange for my honest review (and apologies for the almost 5 year delay, oof).

This story is all about Dan and his life. He is obsessed with lists and thus his tale is told through them. Dan has quit his job teaching, opened a bookstore, has a baby on the way, is irritated at times that his wife is a widow, and the money he’s making isn’t adding up to what he tells his wife.

Oh yeah, his father left him at a young age and he hasn’t really gotten over that. He isn’t dead, he just walked out of his life when his parents got divorced. One of the more common sentences he writes down is, “Mom divorced you, I didn’t divorce you,” which is absolutely heartbreaking.

So, this story is told in the form of lists…which is weird and I never quite got used to it. I did get a little attached to Dan and all his quirks. Personally, this man needs some intensive personal therapy, as well as couples therapy because I’m not even too sure how he’s married. Hopefully his lists are different from how he is with his wife…

3 stars. I thought this was ok. The list format was different and honestly, he drove me nuts. It felt like complaint after complaint after complaint. He makes references how people comment it’s weird that he’s writing while engaged in conversations with them, and, it is. This whole book was just odd…so be warned if you pick it up!

Title: Twenty-one Truths About Love

Author: Matthew Dicks

Genre(s): Fiction, Contemporary, Humor, Adult Fiction

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: November 19, 2019

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

One of my co-workers lent me this book so I have to her to thank for this thrilling read!

The story revolves around Ellie, a 15 year old girl who goes missing. Her mother Laurel has never given up hope, even as she loses her family (and can’t understand why). Her husband leaves her and her other 2 children grow up, leave home, and rarely interact with her. I guess when you lose your “golden child” and shut down, people move on around you.

Ten years go by and Laurel meets a new man who has a young daughter, Poppy. Laurel starts to see herself with this man and adores his little girl. She is still trying to find ways to get her children to talk to her, but nothing works. I really don’t think Laurel truly understands what her actions do.

The story is told in alternating time lines and points of view. I don’t want to get into too much detail because it will give away a little more of the story. But I will say this…I usually can never figure out books and I had this book figured out from the very beginning.

I know a lot of people rave and rave about this book, but I felt it was entirely too predictable and the family drama was dull. Laurel became a crap mother (who truly wished it was her other daughter that went missing) and there you have it. But the way the story is laid out, it’s like, could it be any more obvious (said in my best Joey from Friends voice).

3 stars. I thought this was just ok. It didn’t do anything for me and the fact that as I kept reading I knew exactly what was happening concerned me. I promise you I had never read this book before, this was just a rare instance in where I felt the writing didn’t lead me anywhere but to exactly what was coming next. Maybe I’m just becoming that good…nah. Haha. If I had not figured out this book, it would have easily been a 5 star read, but the reading just fed right into the next step and I didn’t get enjoyment out of that. Oh well, on to the next one!

Title: Then She Was Gone

Author: Lisa Jewell

Genre(s): Fiction, Thriller, Mystery

Publisher: Atria Books

Release Date: July 27, 2017

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: He Started It

After reading My Lovely Wife I knew I had to get my hands on He Started It…

This is a story of 3 siblings, Beth, Portia, and Eddie, who go on a road trip after their grandfather passes away in order to be eligible for their inheritance from him. This cross country trip takes us on a thrilling ride! The siblings are not close and I can only imagine the grandfather knew what was he was doing as the will states that, “anyone who ends up in jail, who does not complete the trip, or who deviates from the original trip in any way, will get nothing.”

This is a dual timeline book as well with the present time and then 1999 when the siblings took the road trip. The amount of lying and manipulation the siblings do is wild and makes each page turn faster and faster as you need to find out the end results.

With families and then a body in trunks (wait, what did I just say), will these siblings be able to complete the cross-country road trip? Is someone following them? Were they just set up by their grandfather and it’s all a rouse?

4 stars. Great, fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. The family drama is constant and all of the characters with their flaws add such a fantastic touch. Beth, our narrator, also keeps us on our toes because can we trust her? Overall, great read, you won’t regret picking this one up!

Title: He Started It

Author: Samantha Downing

Genre(s): Fiction, Mystery, Suspense

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: July 21, 2020

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: Creation’s Captive

Are you ready to hear about the Broken Souls Trilogy? Buckle up…my Kindle Unlimited subscription loves to spoil me with reads and this was one I read with that subscription!

The dedication got me. When you start with dedicating a book to dark romance readers and welcoming them home, I am in. So imagine my disappointment when at 50% in to the book…nothing has happened.

The book takes us through realms and paranormal activity. Vivian has been put through some traumatic events which include essentially being stoned and left for dead by her so called friends. This is after an encounter with a ghost changes her fate, but she can’t help her friend’s fate. Now she’s in college, making TRUE friends, until she gets pulled into a new world…

Enter Leon. Her bonded mate. He’s a destroyer and now they have to stop Morgana and her destroyer from destroying Earth. For what it’s worth, I cannot stand Leon. He is a jerk and I think something is up with him and I just don’t like him. He’s full of himself and just a jerk.

The book ends on a cliffhanger…of course…and now we’re left hanging. Despite the fact that I’m only just meh into this one, I will read the next one because I really hope Leon just gets what should be coming to him. Maybe I’m the only one who cannot stand any time Leon opens his mouth, but I’m hoping to be vindicated in my feelings. It’s a quick read and I read fast, so no sweat.

3 stars. If you’re on the fence, I would skip it. Maybe the next books will make me change my mind for you, but right now, no. Don’t let the dedication suck you in like it did me, you’ll end up disappointed!

Title: Creation’s Captive

Author: Melody Joanne

Genre(s): Fiction, Dark Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy

Publisher: Independently Published

Release Date: April 11, 2024

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: The Golden Couple

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advance copy of The Golden Couple in exchange for my honest review! (Yup, this is one is so delayed I actually bought a copy of the book because I forgot I had an ARC, whoops.)

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen have done it once again. These two have given me another thriller I could not put down. What was the one all about? Well, I’ll tell you!

Meet the golden couple, Matthew and Marissa Bishop. Their marriage is falling apart, there’s no intimacy, but Marissa wants to save the marriage for the sake of their young son. She seeks out the work of Avery, a therapist.

There’s just one thing about Avery…she lost her license. Why? She’s very unconventional and the board frowns upon that. She has a 10-step method that works, even if that means she spies on her clients. It’s apparent throughout this book how Avery lost her license, but it gives us some good suspense!

Matthew and Marissa are no angels, both hiding things from each other and Avery…except Avery starts to sniff the lies out. Can she save the marriage?

This book is told from Avery’s point of view, as well as Marissa’s, as well as intertwining the past ad present and that gives this book such a unique twist. Phenomenal writing once again from one of my favorite duos!

5 stars. A suspenseful thriller that will have you glued to the pages, unable to put it down. The tension builds and the pace quickens and you just have to know what is really going on. This one will not disappoint!

Title: The Golden Couple

Author: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Genre(s): Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: March 8, 2022

Find it here on Goodreads

Where I’ve Been!

I have been absent from here for awhile guys and I apologize. My children, husband, work…life got in the way. I slowed down on reading and always left this on the back burner, but I am going to start dedicating time, once a week, to give updates on what I’m reading.

So far this year I have read 50 books…wow. My goal was 52 so uh…can I double that? We’re going to find out! I have also discovered this year that I enjoy dark romance…oh man…

I’ve also started a dedicated Instagram page for my reading (yeah, you’re right…I’ve been horrible at updating that too, ha, but times are changing).

I just wanted to take a moment, say hello, and let you know the reviews and fun are coming!

Book Review: The Last Resort

Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin, and Graydon House for my advance copy of The Last Resort in exchange for my honest review! (Yeah, yeah, yeah…I’m delayed…AGAIN…I’ve been saying this for years now…but like Eminem, I’M BACK!)

The Last Resort paints us a gorgeous picture of an amazing luxury retreat in the Mayan Rivera. The retreat is for couples and is put on by the most amazing power couple, or so we think, with doctors Miles and Grace Markell. When Miles goes missing, everyone becomes a suspect…

All of the couples at the retreat are full of problems. Couples that don’t truly know each other, couples that fight constantly, and the mystery behind the big power couple that sets crazy rules in place that they themselves don’t follow. So what exactly is going on…

Things just seem out of place and slowly those at the retreat start to see through some things. Can the couples all survive the retreat? It’s a slow build of characters, but let me tell you, you will enjoy the ending. A raging category 4 hurricane comes and ravishes the island and well…karma. Karma!!!

4 stars. This is one worth picking up. It’s a slow build, but very dramatic. I didn’t have a hard time keeping the couples straight and sometimes when there’s numerous characters that happens, but Stapley does such a great job with her pen that it flows very well. Let me know if you have read this or decide to check it out!

Title: The Last Resort

Author: Marissa Stapley

Genre(s): Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Publisher: Graydon House

Release Date: June 18, 2019

Find it here on Goodreads