The East End by Jason Allen @EathanJason @HarlequinBooks @HarperAudio #bookreview #theeastend

Happy Wednesday afternoon!

Excited to share with you today my review for this dark, obsessive, chaotic book! Thank you so much to Justine at harlequin for my invitation to the tour.🖤

My Thoughts

scandalous. Compulsive. Chaotic.

Jason Allen has written an addictive, frantic, fast-paced thriller that will completely suck you in. This book takes you to the Hamptons and shows you the dark side. The book is completely disturbing, highly absorbing, and left me feeling a bit dirty. All the characters in this book are pretty much a HOT mess! It was one of those books that completely consumed me, then when I was done I started thinking, what the **** did I just read? Screwed up people, doing messed up things, and it was oh SO entertaining!

This book really highlighted the Socio economic disparities in the Hamptons between full-time residence and vacationers. The story was told from multiple perspectives and I found this extremely impactful. Cory is a full-time resident who gets his kicks from breaking into the big fancy mansions. Not to steal things, just to mess with the occupants, and for a bit of an escape. Gina his mother works as a housekeeper. She is a recovering alcoholic on the verge of falling off the wagon. Leo is a owner of one of the ritzy mansions a billionaire CEO. He arrives in the Hamptons with his elicit male lover. After a night of drugs and drinking a terrible accident occurs. BUT Leo is not the only witness, Cory had been carrying on his late night activity and saw everything happen, along with Leo’s daughters BFF. What transpires is disturbing, diabolical, and extremely absorbing. This was not the book I was expecting when I pick this up, but I have to admit I enjoyed every single page! 7/10

🎧🎧🎧 I was fortunate enough to have an audio copy of this to review and can I just say BRAVO Angelo DI Loreto! He really added so much to the story. His voice has a bit of an ominous quality to it that just really emphasized the disturbing nature of this book. He is really one of those narrators I could listen to all day!

*** thank you so much to Park Row and Harper audio for my copy of this book ***

About the Book

THE EAST END opens with Corey Halpern, a Hamptons local from a broken home who breaks into mansions at night for kicks. He likes the rush and admittedly, the escapism. One night just before Memorial Day weekend, he breaks into the wrong home at the wrong time: the Sheffield estate where he and his mother work. Under the cover of darkness, their boss Leo Sheffield — billionaire CEO, patriarch, and owner of the vast lakeside manor — arrives unexpectedly with his lover, Henry. After a shocking poolside accident leaves Henry dead, everything depends on Leo burying the truth. But unfortunately for him, Corey saw what happened and there are other eyes in the shadows.

Hordes of family and guests are coming to the estate the next morning, including Leo’s surly wife, all expecting a lavish vacation weekend of poolside drinks, evening parties, and fireworks filling the sky. No one can know there’s a dead man in the woods, and there is no one Leo can turn to. With his very life on the line, everything will come down to a split-second decision. For all of the main players—Leo, Gina, and Corey alike—time is ticking down, and the world they’ve known is set to explode.

Told through multiple points of view, THE EAST END highlights the socio-economic divide in the Hamptons, but also how the basic human need for connection and trust can transcend class differences. Secrecy, obsession, and desperation dictate each character’s path. In a race against time, each critical moment holds life in the balance as Corey, Gina, and Leo approach a common breaking point. THE EAST END is a propulsive read, rich with character and atmosphere, and marks the emergence of a talented new voice in fiction.

About the Author

Author Bio: Jason Allen grew up in a working-class home in the Hamptons, where he worked a variety of blue-collar jobs for wealthy estate owners. He writes fiction, poetry, and memoir, and is the author of the poetry collection A MEDITATION ON FIRE. He has an MFA from Pacific University and a PhD in literature and creative writing from Binghamton University, and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he teaches writing. THE EAST END is his first novel.

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Berit☀️✨

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang @HHoangWrites @BerkleyPub #bookreview #thebridetest

Happy Hump Day!!!

So excited to share with you today my review for this delightful book that published yesterday! If you like sweet romances with fantastic characters and lots of heat this one is perfect for you!💕

My Thoughts

Sweet. Steamy. Diverse.

So over this past weekend I read both The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test. Helen Hoang completely stole my heart with her delightful characters and enchanting storylines.The Bride Test was so charming it read like a fairytale, a more diverse much steamier fairytale. I like my romances with strong males and sassy females and this book checked both those boxes off. I also like my romances to be more than just a romance (if you know what I mean) and this one definitely was that! Miss Hoang has a new fan in me, I will absolutely read anything she writes.

Once upon a time… Khai, Who is on the autism spectrum was convinced he could not love. His mom was convinced he could, so she traveled to Vietnam to find her son a wife. Esme was a hard-working single mom. When Khai’s mother runs across Esme working as a maid in a hotel she knows that she is the ONE. So Esme boards a plane to America to seduce the prince, oh I mean Khai. BUT will Khai learn to love? And what will happen when Esme’s secrets come out? Will these two be able to conquer the cultural differences, the language barriers, Khai’s fears and live happily ever after? You’re going to need to read this to find out!

Both Khai and Esme were delightful characters that I completely adored.Esme was so spunky and sassy and I found her strength admirable. Khai, I really had a soft spot for him he was so vulnerable, it was tough to watch him struggle with certain things so much. The chemistry between these two was off the charts, they were definitely physically attracted to one another. This book has a lot of sizzle, steam,. and heat. If that’s not your thing I’d skim those parts, because this is a book not to be missed. I’d also suggest you read the authors note at the end it was so interesting how so much of this book related to her own life, a definite tribute to her mother. I like the trend toward more diverse books, but sometimes it seems a bit forced. This was a perfect example of a diverse book done extremely well. I cannot wait to see what Miss Hoang has in store for us next, might I suggest Quan’s story.😉

*** huge thanks to Berkley for my copy of this book ***

About the Book

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny‚ but not important emotions, like love. His family knows better – that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride. 
As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

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Berit☀️✨

Degrees of Guilt by HS Chandler @HSCinkpen @orion_crime @orionbooks @TrapezeBooks #BookReview #ComingSoon #DegreesOfGuilt

Well what a ride this book was, I sat and read the whole thing in one afternoon, I was gripped from beginning to end!

Why did you pick it up Vicci? – I saw the book available on Netgalley and loved the sound of the Synopsis, so I clicked request, and crossed my fingers.

This fabulous little courtroom thriller jumps straight into the action with Maria Bloxham standing over her Husband’s dead body, murder weapon in hand, after calmly washing her tea-cup she dials 999 and tells them she has just killed her husband.

She waits for them to arrive, and gets into the back of the police car after they arrest her.

We are then shot forward to her court case and the 12 people that are going to decide her fate.

We meet each one of jury, but the story focuses only on a few of them. one of them being Lottie.

Lottie is married, and a mother to a young child, she loves her husband, but the relationship has started to go a little stale, and she is feeling a little unappreciated, he doesn’t look at her like the young sexy Cameron does when she is sitting next to him in the courtroom……..and while the cat’s away!!

I loved the characters, especially the Tabithas, and how the “pack mentality”

I loved the way that the author describes just how bloody boring it is being on jury service, I remember doing it years ago, and I think I spent more time reading my book in the special room than I did actually sitting on the jury!

All in all I really enjoyed this book and i would definitely add it to your TBR if you like a twisty courtroom drama.

**Many thanks to The author, Trapeze Books, and Netgalley for my copy of the book**

 About the Book