Synopsis

From the award-winning author of The Shelterlings and The Lake House comes a haunting novel about sisterhood and grief, where difficult truths must contend with the corrosive power of unchecked lies. After her mother dies, Hannah doesn’t know how to exist without her. Literally. In fact, Hannah’s not even certain that she does exist. No one seems to see or hear her, and she finds herself utterly alone. Grief-stricken and confused, her sense of self slowly slipping away, Hannah sets out to find new purpose in life―and answers about who (and what) she really is. Hannah’s only remaining family is her older sister, Leah. Yet even Leah doesn’t seem to notice her. And while Hannah can see and hear her sister, she also sees beautiful and terrible things that don’t―or shouldn’t―exist. She learns there’s much more to this world than meets the eye and struggles to make sense of it all. When Hannah sees Leah taking the same dangerous path that consumed their own mother―where lies supplant reality―she’s desperate to get through to her. But facing difficult truths is harder than it looks…

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Review

This is the first book I have read by this author, and it is quite an intriguing tale. It is told from the POV of two sisters, Hannah and Leah, and their perspective on the world. Their perspective is very different because Hannah is not alive. You don’t learn this from page one, but very quickly. But not knowing this makes the intro chapter very odd…why is someone in a casket with their mother, and why doesn’t anyone get her out?

The premise of the book is interesting: is there another world out there made up of our lies? That people, objects, and animals have been created by the stories we tell others?

I enjoyed seeing the world through the two sisters. It gives a perspective that I might not have considered. I don’t know if I prefer one over the other, but both are unique. Leah is real and trying to figure out her life now that she is alone. There are struggles for her based on all of the lies her mother told, and becoming the woman she can be if she only gives herself a chance.

You do have to suspend belief while Hannah is telling her story. But it is intriguing and did have me pondering different possibilities.

This book is probably not for everyone, but if you enjoy magical realism and family, you might enjoy this one.

We give it 3 paws up.

About the Author

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of over twenty-five books for adults, teens, and kids, including The Bone Maker, The Lake House, and Spark. She won an American Library Association Alex Award and a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award and has been a finalist for the Andre Norton Nebula Award three times. Several of her books have been optioned for film/television, including Drink, Slay, Love, which was made into a TV movie and was a question on Jeopardy! Sarah is a graduate of Princeton University and lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her two children, and her ill-mannered cat.

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Synopsis

A literary plant swap. An arrogant library board president. A creepy library attic. Join Molly Green and her friends as they investigate another mysterious incident in the charming small town of Hawthorn Heights, Ohio. Molly and her BFF, Claudia, are managing a Plant Swap at the local library branch when the library board president unexpectedly collapses in the attic. First responders assume it’s a heart attack, but Molly suspects something more sinister and the Succulent Sleuth is on the case again. Will Molly uncover the truth or will the culprit leave the library undetected – free of all fines?

This short story was originally published as part of A Bookworm of a Suspect cozy mystery short story anthology with Aconite Cafe.

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Review

This is a short story that brings back together Molly and the gang to solve another crime. This time, it happens at the library after their plant swap, which is a part of the library book sale. I chuckled at Molly’s husband trying to start a book club that read actual books and not eBooks or audio. However, he did find a kindred spirit, James, and I am curious if he will be a part of future books.

Because this story is short, I felt like there wasn’t enough time to truly develop the story and provide multiple suspects. The would-be killer wouldn’t have been on many people’s radar. The reasoning made sense once it was revealed.

I did appreciate the efforts to create a full story in fewer pages. I can imagine how hard it is to wrap up everything in fewer pages.

This is a fun mystery series, and I look forward to future installments. We give this book 3 paws up.

About the Author

Iris March has a reputation for killing house plants and now she’s killing people off in books? Coincidence? Perhaps not. Iris has spent two decades working in the sustainability field and is usually either reading a book or on a trail. She lives in Ohio with her husband, son, and three cats.

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Synopsis

Can one nurse on a mission of mercy and rebellion turn the tide of WWI?

November 1914

The Great War has come to Brussels, and Edith Cavell, Head Nurse at Berkendael Medical Institute, faces an impossible situation. She has sworn an oath to help any who are wounded, under whatever flag they are found. But Governor von Lüttwitz, the ranking German officer, has ordered her and her nurses to also stand guard over the wounded Allied prisoners of war and prevent them from escaping.

Edith feels that God called her to be a healer, not a jailer. How can she heal these broken boys, only to see them returned to the hands of their oppressors to be beaten again?

So when members of the Belgian resistance, desperate for help, bring two wounded British soldiers to her hospital in secret, she decides she will heal the soldiers, and then help smuggle them out of the hospital to freedom.

With her loyal friend and fellow nurse, Lizzie, by her side, Edith establishes her hospital as a safe house for the resistance, laboring tirelessly to save as many soldiers as she can. Working under the watchful eyes of the German army, Edith faces challenging odds as she fights to bring hope to her small corner of a war-torn world.

Based on a true story, Under the Cover of Mercy is the remarkable account of one woman who defied an entire nation in order to heal those who needed her help the most.

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Review

I enjoy reading books that are based somewhat on reality, even if all the facts are not known. That is the case with this book. We learn about Edith Cavell, a nurse during WWI in Belgium that ended up giving up her life while helping soldiers escape the Germans. My heart broke for Edith when she was convicted of treason, but I admired her pluck in standing up for what was right.

This story is told from two points of view – Edith, and her Assistant Matron, Lizzie. At times it took me a minute to figure out whose POV was being told at that moment. I would have liked a clearer delineation of whose perspective we were seeing at that moment. Both of these women were to be admired for the lengths they went to to ensure that the soldiers were not caught by the Germans.

The story contains a lot of dialogue, whether between characters or internally. I was disappointed that there weren’t more descriptions of the women, men, or the hospital. We did see some descriptive narrative when they were walking about town and the shops they would pass, and towards the end when Edith was imprisoned and at trial, but not much more than that.

These women and the hospital were part of the Red Cross. I have to admit that I don’t know much about how they operate during war or if they are protected from attack, but that was my impression in this book. I would hope that since this is a neutral organization that wants to provide aid to everyone, no matter their heritage, that they are protected by common decency. It did give me the desire to research the Red Cross and its mission.

This is an intriguing tale about Edith Cavell and her mission in life, especially during the war. I appreciated the author’s notes at the end that shared more of Edith’s history so we could understand her better. Overall, we give it 3 paws up.

About the Author

I was born once upon a time, and I started making up stories right away. Eventually, I started writing them down, and never stopped! I have a day job, which gets in the way of my writing, but it pays the bills so I CAN write, so I guess that’s okay! I am a bookworm, which I think is key to being a writer, and I am always looking for inspiration! I live in Indiana, am obsessed with hot chocolate, and I am on track to be the best aunt in the world.

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Synopsis

When her long-lost cousin comes back to town just in time for the holidays, Lila Macapagal knows that big trouble can’t be far behind in this new mystery by Mia P. Manansala, author of Arsenic and Adobo.

It’s Christmastime in Shady Palms, but things are far from jolly for Lila Macapagal. Sure, her new business, the Brew-ha Cafe, is looking to turn a profit in its first year. And yes, she’s taken the first step in a new romance with her good friend Jae Park. But her cousin Ronnie is back in town after ghosting the family fifteen years ago, claiming that his recent purchase of a local winery shows that he’s back on his feet and ready to contribute to the Shady Palms community. Tita Rosie is thrilled with the return of her prodigal son, but Lila knows that wherever Ronnie goes, trouble follows.

She’s soon proven right when Ronnie is suspected of murder, and secrets surrounding her shady cousin and those involved with the winery start piling up. Now Lila has to put away years of resentment and distrust to prove her cousin’s innocence. He may be a jerk, but he’s still family. And there’s no way her flesh and blood could actually be a murderer . . . right?

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Review

This is the third book in the series, which I didn’t realize before I picked it up to read. While you can read it without reading the first two, I think you will understand the characters better starting at the beginning.

The series centers around a Filipino family, and I loved the closeness of the family and how they supported each other but also didn’t let anyone get anyway with anything. And the food! It seems like they were eating 24/7. I have had some of the dishes that were mentioned and have even made the date bar called Food of the Gods…and it is really delicious.

I felt like the story dragged for the first half or so of the book. I think this goes back to not knowing the characters and the family dynamics. There was a lot of talk about food and cookies that Lila was making for her cafe that went a little overboard, in my opinion.

The mystery and murder did keep me guessing, and I couldn’t get a handle on who the guilty party might be. I was quite surprised when all was revealed, but once the reveal unfolded, it made more sense.

There are many likable characters, and the Ninangs were a hoot. They all take respect for family seriously, which was good to see. Of course, Ronnie was usually the brunt of it since he had been gone for some time, and he had some secrets that were revealed at the end of this book.

Overall, this was a good book, and we give it 3 paws up.

About the Author

Mia P. Manansala is a writer from Chicago who loves books, baking, and badass women. She uses humor (and murder) to explore aspects of the Filipino diaspora, queerness, and her millennial love for pop culture.

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Synopsis

When sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovers the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, she teams up with Ashley’s older sister, Nora, to find and bring the killer to justice before he strikes again. But their investigation throws Georgia into a world of unimaginable privilege and wealth, without conscience or consequence, and as Ashley’s killer closes in, Georgia will discover when money, power and beauty rule, it might not be a matter of who is guilty—but who is guiltiest.

A spiritual successor to the 2018 breakout hit, Sadie, I’m the Girl is a masterfully written, bold, and unflinching account of how one young woman feels in her body as she struggles to navigate a deadly and predatory power structure while asking readers one question: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it?

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Review

This is the second book by this author that I have read, and it is definitely a book to make you stop and think about the impact of perceived beauty in our culture.

This wasn’t an easy book to read due to various situations. I say not easy as the topics are deeper such as exploitation of young girls, rape, assault, drugs, and self-worth.

Georgia has had to endure a lot in her life with the death of her mother, being lured into a seamy situation by an older man, death of a friend, and trying to find her place in this world. Sadly, she hinges everything on her perceived beauty. She may be beautiful, but she believes that she can become more based on this one attribute. As we learn in our lives, beauty is fleeting, and there has to be more to a person to make it in this world. I think she is lost and has not had the best role models or guidance from family members to realize that there is more to life than the outside package.

I did feel like the book was disjointed in various spots, and I sometimes wondered why the characters were so obtuse. That said, it is still a story that fits into our world, and I think there might be some that can relate to the character’s situations. It won’t be a comfortable read, so be prepared.

We give it 3 paws up.

About the Author

Courtney Summers is the bestselling author of several novels. Her work has been released to critical acclaim and multiple starred reviews, received numerous awards and honors–including the Edgar Award, the John Spray Mystery Award, the Cybils Award, the Odyssey Award, the Audie Award–and has enjoyed the recognition of many library, state, ‘Best Of’ and Readers’ Choice lists. Courtney has reviewed for The New York Times, is the founder of the 2015 worldwide trending hashtag #ToTheGirls, and in 2016, she was named one of Flare Magazine’s 60 under 30. She lives and writes in Canada.

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Synopsis

Get in the holiday spirit with this sexy rom-com from the author of Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist.

Merry Winters has the holiday blues. She’s spent the last year learning to love herself, and now she’s ready to find the right guy. But the pickings are slim in Mistletoe, Idaho, and it’s just her luck that the man who catches her eye is the stoic new foreman at her family’s Christmas tree farm. Too bad he wants to keep a 39-and-a-half-foot pole between them.

Single dad Clark Griffin isn’t looking for romance, but he wouldn’t mind a friend to snuggle with on a cold winter’s night. When he signs up for online dating, he doesn’t expect to connect with the sassy, crafty Knottygirl25 and get wrapped up in every message she writes.

But when Merry turns out to be his blind internet date, his surprise causes him to miss his chance under the mistletoe. Can a little Christmas magic give these two a second chance at a first impression?

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Review

This is a cute holiday romance with the usual tropes of boy and girl reuniting, miscommunications, reconciliation, and then the HEA.

I thought that the story seemed really long for what it was, and I just realized it was over 400 pages. The story could have been trimmed back at least 75 pages and still be a cute fluffy romance.

I did enjoy the parts where Merry and Clark communicated via a dating app before they knew it was each other. I liked that they got to know one another before meeting in person. Of course, they already knew each other; they just didn’t know it.

Some parts were predictable, but I also appreciated Clark’s vulnerabilities regarding romance and relationships. I loved that he stepped up when Jace’s mother disappeared from the hospital. He made Jace his number one priority and raised him the best way that he could.

I liked that it was told from both Merry and Clark’s voices. We saw how each felt in different situations.

There are some slightly more explicit sex scenes that I wasn’t expecting. I don’t know why, but I thought it would be a bit lighter.

This is the second in a series, but you don’t need to read the first book to enjoy this one.

We give this 3 paws up. It is an enjoyable book with some interesting characters and a couple of dogs.

About the Author

Codi Hall has written for eight years under the pen name Codi Gary. In the spring of 2020, Codi signed with Audible for three original audiobooks about a trio of siblings finding love in their little mountain town during Christmas time. A California native living in Idaho, she fell in love with big skies, amazing people, and brisk winters. When she isn’t writing, you can find her watching movies with her family, making silly Tik Toks, taking gorgeous photos, and snuggling up with a good book and one of her many furbabies!

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Synopsis

A people-pleasing baker tries to find her place as a bridesmaid-for-hire. Will she finally find her happily ever after—and her own voice?

Amy, a semi-closeted queer baker, and bartender in mid-2010s Oklahoma, she has spent a lifetime putting other people’s needs before her own. Until that is, she’s fired from her job at a Christian bakery and turns her a one-off gig subbing in for a bridesmaid into a full-time business—thanks to her baking talents, crafting skills, and years watching rom-coms and Say Yes to the Dress. Between her new gig and meeting Charley, the attractive engineer who’s just moved to Tulsa, suddenly Amy’s found something— and someone—she actually wants.

Her tight-knit group of chosen family is thrilled that Amy is becoming her authentic self. But when her deep desire to please kicks into overdrive, Amy’s precarious balancing act strains her relationships to the breaking point, and she must decide what it looks like to be true to herself—and if she has the courage to try.

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This book releases on May 3rd, pre-order today!

Review

This look into the LGBTQ community reveals that underneath it all we all have the same fears, hopes, dreams, and desires in life.

Set in Oklahoma (part of the famed bible belt) around 2013, this story is a reflection of the lack of support the LGBTQ+ community received before marriage was legalized in 2015. There are many that do not support this community and in some cases, you could lose your job just for being gay. Amy discovers after working for 2 years in a bakery that her hard work and dedication don’t mean squat to the owner and it is all about your lifestyle to her. This throws Amy into a quandary on what to do with her life and she comes up with a great solution, a professional bridesmaid. She stumbles upon this after helping resolve a few crises at a family wedding and meeting her first clients at the same wedding and it snowballs from there.

Amy struggles with her own life outside of a job including finding love. She meets Charley by chance and they seem to start up a relationship but is it what either party wants long term? I didn’t get a good sense of Charley and her likes, dislikes, or much of anything else about her personality. She did feel a little flat. I will say that it did pick up in the last 20% of the book with some great advice from Regi when she asked Amy if she was showing her true self to Charley, or anyone else for that matter. I think we all get caught up in trying to be our best selves that sometimes we forget that who we are deep down is the most important person to reveal to friends and family.

Friendships abound in this community and I did appreciate how they seemed to support one another. Considering the timeframe, it isn’t too surprising and I enjoyed the friendships and the interactions, especially with Joel and Damien. Amy and Joel have been best friends since they were 18 and it is nice to have that strong bonds to fall back on until you don’t. I won’t spoil it but it goes a lot to Amy and her insecurities with herself that cause a rift between these friends.

There is a good baseline story but it is filled with stereotypes. I also found it weird that people were using pronouns to define themselves in 2013 when that really didn’t become a thing for many years later. I felt like the last 20% of the book is the best because it is when Amy starts realizing that she needs to do what is right for her and not what is expected by society.

Don’t miss the cupcake recipe at the end, yum!

Overall we give this 3 paws up.

About the Author

Susie Dumond is a queer writer from Little Rock, Arkansas. She is a Senior Contributor at Book Riot, where she writes a monthly Horoscopes and Book Recommendations column, as well as various quizzes, book lists, and bookish news pieces. Susie received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tulsa and a Master of Arts in Public Policy and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the George Washington University. Currently, she’s probably making cupcakes at her home in Washington, DC, with her partner Mary, her dog Waffles, and her cat Maple.

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Synopsis

Following a long-standing feud and looking to settle the score, a woman decides to dismantle her home—alone and by hand—and move it across a frozen pond during a harsh New England winter in this mesmerizing debut.

Home is certainly not where Del’s heart is. After a local scandal led to her parents’ divorce and the rest of her family turned their backs on her, Del left her small town and cut off contact.

Now, with both of her parents gone, a chance has arrived for Del to retaliate.

Her uncle wants the one thing Del inherited: the family home.

Instead of handing the place over, and with no other resources at her disposal, Del decides she will tear the place apart herself—piece by piece.

But Del will soon discover, the task stirs up more than just old memories as relatives—each in their own state of unraveling—come knocking on her door.

This spare, strange, magical book is a story not only about the powerlessness and hurt that run through a family but also about the moments when brokenness can offer us the rare chance to start again.

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Review

This was quite an interesting tale and while it seems bizarre on the surface, if you dive down and read between the lines, you might find that this book is about so much more.

Del (short of Adela) is 24 and hasn’t done much with her life and doesn’t seem to care too much that she is floundering along. She lives with a friend of her dad’s, Tym, who has given her a safe place to live. Until he doesn’t and decides that he wants to live with his latest beau. So Del is out on the street but what timing because her cousin Greg has shown up in town telling her that they want to buy the house she inherited from her mother so they can develop the area. With nothing better to do, she sets off for this small town to see what the family (that she despises) has got in mind. You can tell by how smarmy her Uncle Chuck appears that it will not be in her favor. A deal is struck and Del has about 4 months to move the home she grew up in to another location that she agreed to with her Uncle.

This is where the book got weird (for me anyway). She decides to take the house apart brick by brick (or board by board in this case) and move it to the land she took as part of the deal. So we see her toiling over this house, removing the walls, ceilings, plumbing fixtures, furniture, and everything else to this small plot of land and laying it on tarps. Perhaps dismantling the house was a way she could deal with the destruction of her life with her mother’s accident and death years before, acceptance of her father’s lifestyle before his death, and struggling to discover herself. Or perhaps she was an odd duck and decided to stick it to her uncle and make her new “home” an eyesore for the people that will eventually own homes surrounding it.

I wondered if Del might have some psychological issues of her own that were never discovered because she seemed to self-sabotage herself with jobs, friends, and more. When she moves back to this town, the house has very few utilities. There is no electricity and heat comes from a coal stove. There is running water from a well but she doesn’t seem to take advantage of it much since she rarely bathes or showers. She is a loner but manages to befriend a few people in the town including the waitress at the local diner where she eats from time to time. But despite her attitude, she manages to have a few people willing to help her in her endeavors with the house.

I enjoyed the last couple of chapters and found that Del might have learned something about herself and those around her. I don’t think it changed her much, but perhaps she found a new self-worth…or maybe not. Only time will tell for her.

We give this book 3 paws up.

About the Author

A native of New England, Colleen Hubbard now lives in the U.K. with her family. She wrote her debut novel, Housebreaking, while on maternity leave from her job with the NHS. She graduated from the University of East Anglia’s MA program in creative writing, where she earned the Head of School Prize with a distinction.

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Synopsis

Ava Flynn is at the end of her rope. Her husband left with just a note after cleaning out their joint savings account. Her high-powered law firm fired her without severance for “insulting” a billionaire. She hasn’t spoken to her beautiful sister, Sarah, for a decade.

But Orchid Island just might be her oasis. It’s on the picturesque New England island that Ava felt her happiest. The night that her life falls apart, she immediately travels to her grandmother’s bed and breakfast for a little R and R. But she’s in for more than she bargained for, as her sisters Sarah and Charlotte are also heading to Orchid. They’re also dealing with their own traumas and, like Ava, they crave the gifts that the beautiful island offers.

And on this island, the girls are given the chance to resolve the event that has haunted all of their lives for 17 years – the disappearance of their beloved father. None of them knew why he took off and broke all of their hearts all those years ago. Now, they might finally get answers. But will it be enough?

Join Ava and her sisters as they navigate life’s heartbreaks, joys, triumphs, and tragedies. They will soon become your best friends!

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Review

This sounded like a story about sisters that are going through a rough patch and come together at their grandmother’s B&B in Newport to regroup and find themselves.

I found the stories about each sister fascinating and there was more to their stories than we are led to believe in the beginning. Each one has something devastating happen to them, hence the journey to the inn, but they had also grown apart from each other and did not ask for help or rely on their siblings as you might expect in most families. However, as their stories came to light and the details involved, it was understandable why they might have been afraid or ashamed to ask for help or share what really happened, especially in Sarah’s situation.

There is a mystery about their father and what happened to him and why he left when they were young. The answer explains it and it reflects on what a dysfunctional family they really had, at least when it came to parents because the mother was no winner either. However, I thought it felt rushed and somewhat unbelievable how quickly they forgave him.

This was a good story overall and I did enjoy it and how each sister came to terms with changes that needed to be made in their lives.

We give this story 3 paws up.

About the Author

Debra Moore writes under two pen names. her sensuous romance and beachy women’s fiction are written under the pen name of Aisling Delaney while her legal thrillers are written under the pen name of Rachel Sinclair. She currently lives in San Diego with her two fur babies, Bella and Toby, and her significant other, Joey. When she’s not writing, she’s busy reading, cycling

all over town, watching cooking shows or classic old movies on TCM (Cary Grant is her favorite), and occasionally watching trashy television shows. Her current favorite show is “This Is Us”(she loves family dramas), “The Queen’s Gambit” and “Downton Abbey,” and her all-time favorite shows are “Six Feet Under” and “Sex and the City.” Her all-time favorite book is “The Thornbirds.”

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Synopsis

From the USA Today bestselling and Edgar-nominated author of Darling Rose Gold comes a dark, thrilling novel about two sisters–one trapped in the clutches of a cult, the other in a web of her own lies.

Welcome to Wisewood. We’ll keep your secrets if you keep ours.

Natalie Collins hasn’t heard from her sister in more than half a year.

The last time they spoke, Kit was slogging from mundane workdays to obligatory happy hours to crying in the shower about their dead mother. She told Natalie she was sure there was something more out there.

And then she found Wisewood.

On a private island off the coast of Maine, Wisewood’s guests commit to six-month stays. During this time, they’re prohibited from contact with the rest of the world–no Internet, no phones, no exceptions. But the rules are for a good reason: to keep guests focused on achieving true fearlessness so they can become their Maximized Selves. Natalie thinks it’s a bad idea, but Kit has had enough of her sister’s cynicism and voluntarily disappears off the grid.

Six months later Natalie receives a menacing e-mail from a Wisewood account threatening to reveal the secret she’s been keeping from Kit. Panicked, Natalie hurries north to come clean to her sister and bring her home. But she’s about to learn that Wisewood won’t let either of them go without a fight.

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Review

This story is told from three points of view – Natalie, Kit, and an unknown third person until later in the book. I have to admit, for some reason, I was confusing the third person with Natalie or Kit and am not sure why, but maybe because they weren’t named?

I will forewarn you that there could be some triggers for parental emotional abuse for the unknown third person. While I don’t have any trigger issues normally, the descriptions of the scene with the third person and her father were hard to read. He basically treated his wife and two daughters as if they weren’t good enough and forced the girls to earn points to be able to sleep. It got harder as they got older and what would “count”. It is no wonder that they both wanted to get away from him, yet his wife wouldn’t leave despite knowing it would have been for the best for everyone. Over time, this unknown person finds her way but many would wonder about her chosen field and the lengths she goes to for “art”. Perhaps it is the extreme that draws people into her and the fear of allowing themselves to be in her shoes. Perhaps that is why she calls herself Madam Fearless.

Natalie and Kit have a strained relationship despite being all that they have left when it comes to family. Their mother has passed away and while they lead separate lives, they try to stay in touch, at least for a time. That is until Kit decided that she needs a change and ends up at a remote retreat location in Maine. I can see the good and the bad about this place, no technology and getting in touch with your inner demons. However, there are some fishy things happening with the owner and the staff that are revealed to us over time. Kit has learned to resolve some of her issues and thinks she knows what she wants from life but Natalie can’t seem to accept this. Natalie may be right, but she may be wrong, and what she learns (or the reader learns) is that everything may not be as it seems.

Despite the synopsis describing what is going on with Natalie and Kit, that doesn’t seem to be the main focus of the book, at least not until about 1/2 way through. There is a lot of back and forth in the chapters with Natalie and the unknown person, which might explain why I thought it was tied together, until much later. We know that Natalie is heading to Wisewood to tell her sister what she did based on an email she received and that if she didn’t, an unknown person will tell her. When the secret is revealed it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal but I can see Kit’s viewpoint on that secret.

The last 25% has some crazy twists that I didn’t expect and the ending does leave you wondering what might happen next.

There is a lot to unpack with this book and while I enjoyed the book, it did feel a little scattered and didn’t really start coming together until about 2/3 – 3/4 of the way through the book.

We give this book 3 paws up.

About the Author

Stephanie Wrobel is the author of Darling Rose Gold, a USA Today and international bestseller that has sold in twenty-one countries and was shortlisted for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Wrobel grew up in Chicago and now lives in London. This Might Hurt is her second novel.

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