Verity by Colleen Hoover @colleenhoover #bestof2018 #Dark #Romance #Thriller #Mystery #BookReview #aktbmbookblog

4.5 Crazy WTF Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐·5

Another late addition to my best of 2018 reads.

Well, Colleen Hoover released another book

If you don’t already know it by now CoHo is the queen of romance, her books (if you haven’t read them) always have a romance element to them, even if the story line deals with some heavy (and important) topics, and is one of my absolutely favourite authors.

But then she decides to just move away from the genre that everyone knows and loves, and self publish a psychological thriller, I mean WHO DOES THAT??

COLLEEN FREAKING HOOVER THAT’S WHO!!

This book shouldn’t work, looking at her back catalogue, you would expect to find Love, Despair and happiness, all wrapped with a kind of awkwardly placed bow.

But this book WORKS PEOPLE!!!

I’m not sure whether she popped to Tarryn Fisher’s house and they somehow managed to have some weird Seance-Ouija board party, where their minds were mixed together, but CoHo went to the dark side people!!

I was really worried about reading this book, I love a Psychological Thriller, and have read some great…and not so great ones, so for CoHo to even attempt to do this deserves a high five.

The Blurb

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.

Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.

My Thoughts

4.5 Crazy WTF Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐·5

Verity follows the story of Lowen Ashleigh, an author who is hired by Jeremy Crawford, to complete the remaining books in a hugely successful series by his wife, the bestselling author Verity Crawford, who, after an accident, is unable to finish them on time.

Although Lowen is struggling financially, she doesn’t feel like she should be the one taking on this monumental task, however when the dollar signs are waved in front of her face, the idea of being able to pay off her debts is too large, and she takes the job.

She is advised to stay at Verity’s house for a few days to sort through the outlines and notes for the new books, considering she has never read any of the books by the author, it is a huge task to take on.

Finding years worth of notes and boxes of files in Verity’s office, Lowen realises what a massive task this will be…..and then she finds the autobiography!

“What you read will taste so bad at times, you’ll want to spit it out, but you’ll swallow these words and they will become part of you, part of your gut, and you will hurt because of them.”

And that my friends is all I am going to tell you about this book, yes you could have gotten all of this from the blurb, but this is one that you need to go in blind!

I haven’t read a book that had me hating every character for a long time, I mean I LOVED them, but Gahh do they have any redeeming qualities…Nope!

You know when you are watching a thriller / horror film, and you start shouting at the TV? The music is taking a turn, and you know something is about to happen, and the BAM, your popcorn goes flying, and your heart starts racing?

THIS is the book that did that to me!

Prepare yourself for a dark, brilliant read.

Vicci

Available on Kindle Unlimited:

Grab your copy here:

Kindle U.S – https://amzn.to/2RsGC1p

Kindle UK – https://amzn.to/2TkJiM0

The Diviners by Libba Bray @libbabray @justjanuary @audible_com #AudiobookReview #YoungAdult #Mystery #Historical #Fantasy #bestof2018

5 Naughty John Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Well colour me surprised, one of my final reads for 2018, and a new favourite added to my shelf!

I have seen a few people recently mention this audio book, and saying that the narration is great. I had a spare credit, so I thought ‘what the hell’ and clicked the purchase button, hoping that I wasn’t going to be disappointed.

Judging by my 5 ⭐ rating, you can see that it was a credit well spent!

The Blurb

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.

 

My Thoughts

5 Naughty John Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Naughty John, Naughty John, does his work with his apron on. Cuts your throat and takes your bones, sells ’em off for a coupla stones.”

Set in the 1920’s, New York City the time of Flapper girls and prohibition, Evie O’Neill is desperate to visit there.
She is a bit of a misfit, and manages to get herself into trouble wherever she goes.

After a drunken mistake at a party one evening, she manages to rat out the local Lothario by showing everyone her ‘party trick’
Unfortunately this doesn’t go down too well with her father, who is sick and tired of her antics, so his punishment is to send her to New York to stay with her weird Uncle Will.

Pretending to be oh so sorry, Evie can’t wait to get to NYC, in fact she thinks it is Pos-i-tute-ly the Cat’s Pajamas!

After arriving in New York, she is promptly pick-pocketed, and arrives at her Uncles house, which also doubles up as The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, or as the locals call it, ‘The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies’.

Then the murders start happening, horrible, gruesome murders! But who is doing it?

Memphis is a ‘runner’, he gets everyone’s numbers to put on the draw (like a lottery)
He also looks out for his little brother Isaiah, who seems to have a strange ‘gift’ that he doesn’t want anyone else knowing about.

“The time is now. They are coming… Diviners

You see, there are rumours around that there are people with ‘powers’ they call them Diviners, and they are not wanted around there.

This book was so character driven, there are so many brilliant characters that I fell in love with, from Evie’s good friend Mabel, to Theta Knight, a glamorous Ziegfeld girl, to the the smooth talking Sam.

If you are thinking about reading this book, I would highly recommend the Audio Version, if you’ve never listened to one before, this one would be a great starter, simply because of the fantastic narration.

🎧🎧 – Narrated by January LaVoy, a new narrator for me, but certainly is going to be added to my favourites.

Her narration was Pos-i-tute-ly AMAZING! All of the characters has their own voices, I was not confused at any point, we also had a little bit of singing, and her Naughty John voice was just downright terrifying!

This was not a scary book, it is Young Adult after all, but it was I suppose a little creepy, but all in all it was a fantastic read, and I have book 2 lined up when my next credit drops in!

I hope you find this book the elephant’s eyebrows!

Vicci

Grab your copy here:

Audible US – https://amzn.to/2RsJlIi

Audible UK – https://amzn.to/2BQN3BD

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren @ChristinaLauren @GalleryBooks #bookreview #bestof2018

Happy happy New Year’s Eve!🥂🎉🎉🎉

Last post of the year! I’d have to say that Christina Lauren wins my outstanding author of the year! they wrote three amazing books that I would encourage anyone and everyone to read!💕💕

this book was so much more than a romance it was a book filled with heart, all the feels, and amazing characters… my full review is below….. if you love books and words then you will love Macy and Elliot… and you will adore this book!😍

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Synopsis

The story of the heart can never be unwritten.

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother…only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

Review

5 absolutely Beautiful Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved loved loved every single word of this book…. Christina Lauren absolutely hit a homerun with this book…. A book I couldn’t put down filled with characters I absolutely adored and was rooting for….

This is a second chance love story….Elliot and Macy were one another’s first love…. The story is told in alternating time periods between their teenage years and 11 years later when they are reunited…. Macy and Elliot started out as friends bonding over a love of books and words…. Their friends to lovers story develops so sweetly and slowly and perfectly…. I just could not possibly figure out what could have torn these two apart….

11 years later and Macy and Elliot run into each other at a coffee shop…. The connection is still there, but are Macy’s walls too high and too thick to be broken down? What happened to break these two up in the first place? What tragedy and secret has been haunting Macey for all these years? Well you’re going to need to read this book to find out! And I strongly encourage you to do so….. this book has all the feels and leaves you with a huge smile on your face….

Trust me my non romance loving friends even you will be entranced by this book…. and your eyes will not roll I promise…. it is almost impossible not to fall in love with Elliot and Macy and this remarkable love story….

Favoriteword…. YOU💕

*** thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book ***

Hope you read it and love it! Berit 💛

White Lies by Lucy Dawson @lucydawsonbooks @bookouture #bookreview #bestof2018

Happy New Year’s Eve! 🥂

Today I am sharing with you another one of my favorite reads of 2018! I read three of Lucy Dawson’s books this year and they were all five star reads for me! Cannot wait to see what she has in store for us in 2019!🎉🎉🎉

There are three sides to every story… his side… her side… and the truth….

White Lies by Lucy Dawson

Alexandra Inglis is a respected family doctor, trusted by her patients to keep their most intimate secrets. And if sometimes the boundaries between duty and desire blur… well, she’s only human.

But when Alex oversteps a line with Jonathan, one of her patients, she knows she’s gone too far. Jonathan is obsessive, and to get what he wants he will tear Alex’s world apart – threatening not only her career but her marriage and family too.

Soon Alex finds she’s capable of doing almost anything to keep hold of her perfect life, as it begins to spin dangerously out of her control…

A darkly gripping domestic drama of secrets and lies, from the bestselling author of The Daughter. Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies, Louise Jensen and The Couple Next Door.

Review

5 Big Brilliant Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Lucy Dawson did it again! She took me on another crazy emotional rollercoaster ride that I wanted to stay on until the very end…. this book kept me up until 2:00 in the morning and left my head spinning…. and truth be told I still don’t know what really happened, but I think that is the beauty of it…. there are three sides to the story… his side… her side… and the truth….

This is a definite he said she said story…. and the way it was told was simply brilliant…. first we get Alex‘s point of view… Alex really isn’t the most likable of characters…. she was on a girls trip to Ibiza… had a lot too much to drink and woke up in bed with a guy and really no memory of the night…. now the kicker is he is a patient of hers and he is 17…… so even if hubby is OK with this there is going to be fall out…. yes Alex is married and a doctor and the mother of two young daughters…. so in the beginning of this book I’m thinking wow what bad luck, not that I condone cheating, but…..

Then we get Jonathan‘s point of view the 17-year-old…. now I have a 15-year-old and a 21-year-old son so this probably influences how I look at this….ick…. so is Jonathan a crazy stalker or the victim? Things start coming out and I was lead in one direction and then in a different direction and it was quite the journey…. along with Alex and Jonathan‘s point of view we got the points of view of several other characters just to add to the craziness…. i’m not sure if anybody was a very reliable narrator….

Along with all the twists and turns this book touched on a few very relevant issues… of course there is the obvious one… Sexual harassment and people in power abusing it…. but I really thought more interestingly the book really touched on social media and the power of the like…. I have to admit it was a bit disconcerting to see someone achieve fame for being a victim, maybe? For me it made Jonathan story less believable… it’s just quite amazing how much social media has altered and dictates our lives….

Absolutely without a doubt recommend to all fans of psychological thrillers with brilliant twists….

*** thank you so much too Bookouture and Net Galley for a copy of this brilliant book ***

 

About me by Lucy Dawson: 

 

I’ve been writing psychological suspense novels since 2008, when my first bestseller – His Other Lover – was published. I write full time (mostly on the playroom sofa) from my home in Devon, where I live with my husband and children. Before that, I used to interview the likes of Steps and SClub7 for a living, making absolutely no use whatsoever of my psychology degree from Warwick University, but it was a lot of fun.

I’m addicted to writing about the extraordinary things that can happen to ordinary people – I like stories that jump in at the deep end, with a gasp. When readers take the time out to let me know they’ve stayed up all night because they couldn’t put the book down, it makes my day.

I really enjoy catching up with readers and always reply to emails. You can reach me at lucy@lucydawsonbooks.com. I’m also on Twitter @lucydawsonbooks and have a Facebook page at lucydawsonbooks. Alternatively you can download a free short story of mine at www.lucydawsonbooks.com or if you want to look at a lot of pictures of the beach and books that I’m reading, find me on Instagram at lucydawsonbooks.

Lies lies lies yeah they’re going to get you! They won’t forget you! Berit 💛

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center @katherinecenter @StMartinsPress #bookreview #bestof2018

TGIF! Although I must admit it does not feel like a Friday!

Today I am sharing with you one of my absolute favorite books of 2018, if you have not read this yet I strongly encourage you to do so!I was lucky enough to get a copy of Katherine Center’s next book coming out in August 2019, and I will be starting that in a couple days!😍😍😍

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

5 Big Beautiful Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis

Margaret Jacobsen has a bright future ahead of her: a fiancé she adores, her dream job, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in one tumultuous moment.

In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Margaret must figure out how to move forward on her own terms while facing long-held family secrets, devastating heartbreak, and the idea that love might find her in the last place she would ever expect.

Review

5 Big Brilliant Beautiful Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

BEST BOOK of 2018 so far…. WOW! This book had all the feels…. I was absolutely captivated from first page to last… my emotions went on an amazing rollercoaster…. sorrow, anger, hope, elation, frustration, happiness, sadness, love, Hate, and so much more….

Margaret was a remarkable and inspiring character… she had a bright future and then tragedy struck and it was all taken away from her…. this book was about Margaret’s struggle and journey to the other side of tragedy… along the way she found out who the true people in her life were….

Margaret didn’t always do things how I would have liked, but who am I to judge? I’ve never fortunately been in this situation…. there were also some people in her life that frustrated me quite a bit, and some of the things said were mind blowing…. there were also some people in Margaret’s life that exceeded both her and my expectations…. I realize I’ve been pretty vague…. but I want you to go on this journey without too much information and enjoy it as much as I did…. something beautiful that was touched on in this book is the deeper the sorrow you have felt, the greater the joy you will feel….#Truth

Strongly encourage you to read this beautiful book filled with hope and resilience and love.💕

*** thank you so much to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this brilliant book ***

Much love! Berit 💛