I don't know why I always think I'm going to get so much reading done during the summer - I probably have more going on than during the school year! I brought a book and my iPad on our vacation this month, thinking I'd read the book, then get a few kindle books in. Jokes on me - I didn't even finish the book until our last night in Seattle! Ah well, at least my lack of reading is because I'm enjoying life; I suppose I can't be upset about that!
Book 64 of 2024 🎧 Do You Remember? by Freida McFadden (4/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Thriller
🗓PUBLISHED: 10 January 2022
Tess Strebel can’t recognize her own face.
She can’t recognize her home. Her bedroom is unfamiliar. And she can’t remember the handsome stranger lying next to her in bed. A stranger who claims he’s her husband.
Tess reads a letter in her own handwriting, composed during a rare lucid day, explaining her life as it now exists: She was in a terrible car accident one year ago. Every morning, she wakes up unable to remember most of the last decade. Including her own wedding.
Tess has no choice but to accept her new life and hope her memory will return. After all, why should she doubt the letter she wrote to herself? Or the kind man from the wedding photos on her dresser who seems to genuinely care about her well-being?
And then Tess receives a text message on her phone. One that changes everything:
"Don’t trust the man who calls himself your husband."
Another hit by McFadden! So many twists in this story, and I was constantly suspicious of everyone. I was a little let down by the final twist, but I did like how the story eventually ended!
FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Book 65 of 2024 🎧 The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson (4/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Thriller
🗓PUBLISHED: 3 February 2015
A devious tale of psychological suspense so irresistible that it prompts Entertainment Weekly to ask, “Is The Kind Worth Killing the next Gone Girl?” From one of the hottest new thriller writers, Peter Swanson, a name you may not know yet (but soon will), this is his breakout novel in the bestselling tradition of Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train—and is soon to be a major movie directed by Agnieszka Holland.
In a tantalizing set-up reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith’s classic Strangers on a Train… On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing very intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. Ted and his wife were a mismatch from the start—he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit—a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché.
I don’t know how I came across Peter Swanson, but whenever a book of his shows up on my radar I immediately add it to my TBR. I enjoyed all the interactions and relationships between the characters in this story.
FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Book 66 of 2024 🎧 Murder Road by Simone St. James (4/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Paranormal
🗓PUBLISHED: 5 March 2023
July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.
When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all.
Another awesome ghost-y story by Simone St. James! The suspense in this story wasn’t overly intense, but the storyline was captivating. I liked how the different parts of the story tied together and there was plenty that was unexpected that happened!
Book 67 of 2024 📖 The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (5/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Literary Fiction
🗓PUBLISHED: 6 February 2018
Alaska, 1974. Ernt Allbright came home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes the impulsive decision to move his wife and daughter north where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Cora will do anything for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown. Thirteen-year-old Leni, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, has little choice but to go along, daring to hope this new land promises her family a better future.
In a wild, remote corner of Alaska, the Allbrights find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the newcomers’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own.
Oh, I loved this! It’s not a book I would have normally picked up, but I saw it recommended as an Alaskan read since that’s where it was set, and since I’ve seen Kristin Hannah’s books recommended many times, I figured I’d give it a go. I’m so glad I did! For one, it was so cool to physically see a place so close to the setting of this story while I was reading it. I could picture so vividly Leni’s life in Alaska. The story really pulls at your heartstrings. I almost wish I could re-read it for the first time again!
Book 68 of 2024 🎧 The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson (3.5/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Thriller
🗓PUBLISHED: 7 March 2023
There was always something slightly dangerous about Joan. So, when she turns up at private investigator Henry Kimball’s office asking him to investigate her husband, he can’t help feeling ill at ease. Just the sight of her stirs up a chilling memory: He knew Joan in his previous life as a high school English teacher, when he was at the center of a tragedy.
Now Joan needs his help proving that her husband is cheating. But what should be a simple case of infidelity becomes much more complicated when Kimball finds two bodies in an uninhabited suburban home with a FOR SALE sign out front. Suddenly it feels like the past is repeating itself, and Henry must go back to one of the worst days of his life to uncover the truth.
Is it possible that Joan knows something about that day, something she’s hidden all these years? Could there still be a killer out there, someone who believes they have gotten away with murder? Henry is determined to find out, enlisting help from his old nemesis Lily Kintner—but as he steps closer to the truth, a murderer is getting closer to him, and in this hair-raising game of cat and mouse only one of them will survive.
This was the second in a series, and though it’s not necessary to read the first book before this one, this book does spoil what happens in the first book, so it would be pointless to read it second. I enjoyed the chaos in this book, and even though I didn’t find the main character particularly likeable in the first book, I did root for him in this one.
FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Book 69 of 2024 📖 No Child of Mine by Nichelle Giraldes (3.5/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Paranormal Mystery
🗓PUBLISHED: 12 September 2023
There's something in the dark. And it's starting to whisper...
Essie Singh has defined herself by her ambitions, a fiercely independent woman whose only soft spot is her husband, Sanjay. She never imagined herself as a mother. It was never a part of the plan. But then she finds out she's pregnant. As her difficult pregnancy transforms her body and life into something she barely recognizes, her husband spends the nights pacing in the attic, slowly becoming a stranger, and the house begins to whisper.
As Essie's pregnancy progresses, both her and Sanjay's lives are warped by a curse that has haunted her family for generations, leaving a string of fatherless daughters in its wake. When she's put on bedrest, Essie trades the last aspects of her carefully planned life for isolation in what should be a welcoming home, but she isn't alone. There's something here that means to take everything from her…
This story felt really unique. I received an ARC of this book, but it didn’t arrive until after publishing date, so it wasn’t a top priority to read. Honestly the premise didn’t even sound that interesting to me, but I found I really enjoyed it! The perspective switches between past and present, as well as between characters. I like how you know the two stories are connected, but don’t find out how until the end.
Book 70 of 2024 📱 Tears of the Silenced by Misty Griffin (4/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Memoir
🗓PUBLISHED: 15 September 2018
When Misty Griffin was six years old, her family started to live and dress like the Amish. Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch and subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and extreme physical violence. Their stepfather kept a loaded rifle by the door to make sure the young girls were too terrified to try to escape. No rescue would ever come since the few people who knew they existed did not care.
When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community. Devastated to again find herself in a world of fear, cruelty, and abuse, Misty was sexually assaulted by the bishop. After she escaped and reported the bishop, she found herself alone in a modern world with only a second-grade education and no ID or social security card.
This was a heart breaking story, despite the happy ending. It’s terrifying to see what the author went through in childhood and early adulthood, and equally terrifying to know this stuff still happens and PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT AND DO NOTHING. Gross.
You could definitely tell she didn’t have a formal education growing up, as the writing style lacked maturity and was a bit distracting at times. But I applaud her for writing this story despite that; I can’t imagine how difficult it was.
FREE with Amazon Prime!
Book 71 of 2024 🎧 The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson (4/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Thriller
🗓PUBLISHED: 2 April 2024
Lights. Camera. Lies.
Eighteen-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.
But the case is dredged up from the past when the Price family agrees to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.
Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And—could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .
From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.
This was a random borrow from Libby because I was out of audiobooks on the app and I’d enjoyed what I’d read from this author before. This book kept me guessing all the way to the end. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was so very wrong.
Book 72 of 2024 📖 Calico Joe by John Grisham (4/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Sports Fiction
🗓PUBLISHED: 10 April 2012
It’s the summer of 1973, and Joe Castle is the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone has ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas, dazzles Chicago Cubs fans as he hits home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shatters all rookie records. Calico Joe quickly becomes the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing New York Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faces Calico Joe, Paul is in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his dad. Then Warren throws a fastball that will change their lives forever.
Not sure if I’d read this one before, but I think it was a new one! I really loved Grisham’s legal stories, so when we veers into non-lawyer territory I never know what to expect. Their never misses for me, I just don’t love them as much. I did enjoy this one though! It was a wholesome story, and a pretty quick read.
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(Summaries are from Amazon, but all thoughts about them are my own!)
Reading Challenge: 72/120 books read in 2024
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