#darwent

It’s always nice to get a book from an author you already know and love:  Similar to sticking to your favorite thing on a restaurant menu, you know what it will look like, taste, and how much you’ll enjoy it (at least that’s the expectation).  So when I’m reading all of the new releases by my favorite authors, it’s fairly normal for me to have expectations.  This clearly can’t be the case for authors who are new to me.  Have I judged books by their cover?  Absolutely.  Was I wrong?  Yeah, sometimes.  But now I try to pay attention to which authors have endorsed new books, and what kind of reader reviews it’s already getting.  Doing this has not only allowed me to find some new authors----it’s allowed me to find new authors that I’ve genuinely enjoyed!  These next three books were all from new authors for me---and all were definitely worth the read!

Jackal by Erin E. Adams

Liz is coming home to her small, country town for her best friend’s wedding.  Her plan is to get in for the wedding and turnaround and get right back out.  But when her best friend’s daughter, Caroline, goes missing during the reception while Liz is supposed to be watching her, she decides to stay and do whatever she has to do in order to get Caroline back.  And when Liz starts digging and realizes that little black girls have been going missing in this town for years---all around the same day of the year---she realizes this is not just a random kidnapping and the threat goes much deeper than she could’ve ever imagined.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but the description and the reviews were all good enough for me to request it through NetGalley, and I’m so glad I did!  I was glued to this book, flipping through pages as fast as I could read them!  I thought the author did a really good job of weaving racial issues throughout the story,  making a strong case for how assumptions with race and class are relevant, no matter where you’re from.  I wasn’t as crazy about the final explanation for how Caroline was taken and who was ultimately responsible, but I’ll leave that alone so as not to spoil it for other readers.  This was definitely a great read, and I’ll be watching for more from this author in the years to come.

5 Stars 

Special Note:  Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

Emily has had a really tough couple of years.  Not only has she been struggling with undiagnosable health issues for at least a year, but during this time, her husband decided to divorce her---and to take as much money from her as he could while he was at it.  Now Emily’s best friend and self-help guru, Chess, is going to Italy for the summer where she’ll be working on her latest book and getting some R&R while staying at a very famous (or, in this case, infamous) villa and she’s invited Emily to come along.  It’s during this “trip of a lifetime” that Emily starts to dig into the history of the villa, finding some explanations to what happened all those years ago while she also unravels what has happened in her own life.  Another book where I couldn’t wait to dive into it at the end of the day, ignoring favorite tv shows and social media in exchange for getting through a few more chapters.  I couldn’t put this book down, and the ending did not disappoint---I’m happily adding this author to my list to watch!

5 Stars

Special Note:  Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The Things We Do To Our Friends by Heather Darwent

Clare is new to Edinburgh and eager to fit in with new people at university.  When Tabitha and her friends open their arms out to Clare, it’s all almost too good to be true.  And once Clare realizes what Tabitha has planned, not only is it dangerous for her future, but Clare is also in danger of having her past leak out into the new life she’s tried so hard to create for herself.  I wasn’t so sure about this book, and the start of it did move a little slower than some of the others, but after about the first 15-20%, I was fully hooked.  Since there are a few “spoiler” situations in the book, I’ll stop and just say that I very much enjoyed it and will be very happy to read more by this author in the future.  Another keeper for sure!

5 Stars