.

This one was a slow read. It really didn't interest me until well after the halfway point, but I have to say I was impressed with that shocking ending.

The best thriller I have read in a very long time - if you're a fan of suspense you won't want to miss this one!

When Tessie was in high school, she went for a run one night and ended up missing. She was eventually found, the only surviving victim of the Black-Eyed Susans killer. Years later, she's attempting to live a normal life with her own teenage daughter, and the man accused of being the killer is on death row about to be executed. Then someone starts planting Black-Eyed Susans outside her house, making her doubt what she thought she knew, whether an innocent man is about to be executed, and if her killer is still out there taunting her.

CREEPY. That is the perfect word to describe this book.I LOVED the suspense. I didn't want to put it down, but I found myself reading it slowly because I was enjoying it too much for it to be over. The book is written in Tessie's past and present POV's. So many key players are introduced, you don't really know who to trust, and it made me suspicious of everyone. The author had me guessing all the way to the end, and in my opinion, that makes for a perfect suspense novel.

After reading this book, I immediately bought the first two novels by the author and can't wait to read them. Intelligent and very intriguing - this author's writing pulled me in immediately. Definitely one of my favorite books this year, I loved it from beginning to end!

On a side note: it bothers me that books like this one are being marketed as the next 'Gone Girl' or 'The Girl on the Train'. This book is in a class of it's own and is NO comparison to either of those books. I didn't like Gone Girl, and TGotT was just okay for me. This book should be read simply because it's an amazing thriller and can stand on it's own. I think it outshines both of those books by a long shot.

Another book I loved by this author!

It has been several years since I've read a Jennifer Weiner book, and I would normally categorize her books as fluffy chick lit. Well, Weiner has upped her game and blew me away with her new novel. This is not a fluffy, beach read to me. This was a heartfelt, emotional story about the great love of two individuals who find out that love isn't always enough, and sometimes life takes you down a different path than you ever imagined.

They meet in a hospital when they are kids. Rachel has a heart condition that meant she spent a lot of time in the hospital growing up, and Andy happens to be in the ER one night because of an arm injury. In that very short period of time together, they leave a lasting impression on each other. The book follows both of their paths into adulthood, where they cross into each others lives several times. And although they have a very deep love for each other, they are very different personalities, proving that love isn't easy, and things don't always work out how you envision them.

There were a lot of times throughout this book where I was angry or frustrated at things both Andy and Rachel did. Sometimes Rachel seemed a little selfish to me, but as I watched her grow up and go through things we all do as adults, I understood her better and felt sympathy towards her situations. Andy grew up with a single mother who worked all the time, and my heart broke for him as a child. I was almost in tears at the beginning of this book just reading his story and the things he went through. Later, as an adult, he makes some bad decisions that made me want to throw my Kindle across the room. But it was the growth of both characters over time that made this book so wonderful.

The book is a slower read, spanning 30 years of their lives. But it was incredibly engaging and beautiful - I highly recommend it!

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this one, although I figured out the end by about the halfway point. It was creepy and suspenseful enough to keep me reading.

Highly recommended to me by several fellow bloggers, I'm so glad I decided to give it a chance. I've read several YA books over the years, but this one is exceptional and should be on everyone's reading list.

This book deals with some heavy topics, including mental illness and anxiety. Sam's story is truly moving and beautiful, and the author does an outstanding job with her portrayal of OCD and how it affected Sam's every day life. It's hard enough being a teenager, but even harder when you're hiding a debilitating disorder, just to fit in with the crowd. I loved watching Sam's growth throughout the book, how she learned to deal with her disorder, and what makes her truly happy and anxiety-free.

Although there is a wonderful love story incorporated in this book, it's not the focus, and that's what made this book so exceptional. I wanted to see Sam's acceptance of herself, her learning how to be herself and be truly happy.

This is the type of story that will consume you. You will fall in love with so many of the characters, and won't want to see the book end. Beautiful and moving, I finished with happy tears and can not recommend it enough as a must read to all YA contemporary fans.

Completely twisted. Very suspenseful read, and I really enjoyed it!

Wow. That was one of the best YA books I've ever read.

A lot was drawn out, could've been much shorter and still got the point across. But I enjoyed the story. 3.5 stars.

"You have to grow, mold, squish about eight hundred grapes to get just one bottle of wine. If that isn't an argument to finish the bottle, I don't know what is."

You had me at WINE.

Once in awhile, the perfect book at the perfect moment comes along and it's a beautiful thing. When I saw that Laura Dave had a new book releasing soon, and that it was available on Netgalley, and that it was ABOUT WINE, I jumped at the chance to read it. Her previous novel, [b:The First Husband|9977379|The First Husband|Laura Dave|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1332107580s/9977379.jpg|14871824], is one of my favorite books, so my expectations were high on this one.

I'm thrilled to say that I loved every single minute of this book. Dave's writing is beautiful and once I started reading, I didn't want the book to end.

Right before her wedding is to take place, Georgia finds out her future husband is keeping a big secret from her. In order to get her mind straight, she goes back home, to her family's vineyard, only to find her normally stable family is falling apart and going through their own problems. More secrets start to unravel, and Georgia, who is normally the 'fixer' of the family, is finding out that she can't control any of it, no matter how hard she tries.

"You don't give up on a family. Not without trying to put it back together."

I loved the family dynamics and watching all of the stories unfold between her parents and her brothers. I found that her family was really interesting and likable, and I was hoping for a good outcome for everyone in the end. I even loved the flashbacks to the earlier days of her parents courtship, and how the vineyard came to be. Mostly, it was my investment in Georgia and the decision she had to make in the end that had me anxiously flying through the pages.

And because I love wine, I really enjoyed learning the ins and outs of how a vineyard/winery is run. It was fascinating to me, and added so much more to the story that made it even more enjoyable. Not to mention, their signature wine is a Pinot Noir, and that is my absolute favorite. Yeah, I was definitely hooked from that moment on.

I found myself highlighting a lot of passages in this book, which I don't do very often. Most of them are just common sense reminders, but I love seeing them built into a story I adore.

"Most of the time a person wants something more than anything else. You can tell because at the end of the day that's what they're willing to fight for."

"You should be careful not to take the person you love for granted."

"You couldn't always work so hard to fix it. Even if things didn't always go the way they should, sometimes they went exactly where they needed to."


Realistic with the perfect amount of family drama and a touch of romance that makes for a great summer read!

Max Stella still remains my favorite man in this series, but his brother, Niall comes in a very close second. Niall Stella is quite opposite of the typical confident, experienced male protagonist you normally read about. Although he is gorgeous, brilliant, wealthy, and let's not forget British, he's dealing with his failed marriage to a woman he has spent most of his life with, but lacked any real love and intimacy.

I couldn't wait for Niall's story after getting a little tease of him in [b:Beautiful Beloved|22431058|Beautiful Beloved (Beautiful Bastard, #3.6)|Christina Lauren|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418935462s/22431058.jpg|41852445]. This book was hilarious, sweet, romantic, steamy, and absolutely perfect!

Ruby is working as an intern at Niall's company, and has been harboring a serious crush on him from day one. She lives for the moments she will get the chance to be in the same room as him, and then one day the unexpected happens and she's told she'll be going on a month long business trip to New York City with Niall - just the two of them.

"I’d been wrestling with my Niall Stella crush for six months, and I was pretty sure he still didn’t know that I was an employee at the firm rather than a regular takeout delivery girl."

"For some reason I was unable to call him by only his given name. Niall Stella was a two-name honor, like Prince Harry or Jesus Christ."

Ruby is awesome. She's witty, confident, driven, and badass. I ADORED her. She was perfect for Niall, helping him see that he was capable of letting down his guard and getting close to someone, while getting past the pain and disappointment of his failed marriage.

“Do you think I’m weird?”
“Yes, weird in the sense that you are unexpected and I am rarely surprised by people. I think you rather exquisite.”

"Are you going to kiss me?"
He pulled away just enough to meet my eyes. "I fear I wouldn't be able to stop," he whispered. Life Alert? This is not a drill.

Of course there will be misunderstandings and bumps along the way, but I loved every minute of their growing relationship, even Niall's reservations and constant need to put on the brakes. It's rare that you read a book where the guy wants to take things slow, and there's something so sweet and endearing about that. Niall Stella will steal your heart!

"We'll talk later, yeah?"
"Okay."
His teeth scraped my neck. "Good, because I know we need to talk. But right now I want to put my mouth on you and sing 'God Save the Queen.'"

"His was the face I saw when I closed my eyes, when I needed to feel comfort or thrill, grounding or lust. Niall Stella's face felt like home to me."

There were so many lines I loved in this book, as evidenced in my review. Such a perfect end to this fantastic series.

Baby, I'm crazy.

[a:Tarryn Fisher|5410816|Tarryn Fisher|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1336086252p2/5410816.jpg] deserves a genre all on her own. I knew her stories were twisted and crazy after reading [b:Mud Vein|18246727|Mud Vein|Tarryn Fisher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379536072s/18246727.jpg|25697736], which I will admit I wasn't a big fan of. Maybe it was timing, or my incessant need for a HEA in all of my books that turned me off from it. With Marrow, I wanted to keep an open mind and really understand the madness coming from Fisher's mind. And I finally got it.

We all see horrible things happening to undeserving people every day in the news. I purposefully try to ignore the news most days to avoid having to see the ugliness that has taken over this world. But it was just a few months ago where a different author I followed on Facebook had posted a horrific video of a mother punishing her child for something in the most horrible way, and it made me physically ill. I was traumatized by what I saw all day, and remember thinking that I couldn't wait to pick up my daughter after work and hug the crap out of her. Then a few weeks later, Tarryn posts about her reason for writing this book, and that she had watched something similar online that inspired her to write it. A book about revenge. Revenge on those who hurt innocent people. Fighting a battle for the innocent who aren't capable of fighting for themselves.

Margo lives in the Bone, a place full of despair and crime. A place with no hope. She has suffered so much loneliness and anguish in her own life, living with a mentally ill mother who never showed her an ounce of love.

After witnessing the heinousness of others in her neighborhood, Margo decides to take matters into her own hands. As a society, we tend to ignore the bad in the world, pretend it doesn't happen around us. But Margo is done ignoring it.

I hate that nothing can be done about the suffering of children, and that most of the world blocks out their suffering to cope with their own inability to help.

I don't want to hurt people, I don't have an innate need to, but they must be punished. That's what I do, or what I tell myself I do. I punish. I feel responsible for it. An eye for an eye. A beating for a beating. A burn for a burn. I have a conscience. It's different from the average person, but at least it's still there.

Despite what Margo is doing, it's hard not to empathize with her. You have seen how she grew up and what she lived through. And you see the horrors that have been committed in which she's seeking revenge. It's sick, and it's twisted, but you can't help but understand her.

And then there's Jonah, a light in her darkness. His friendship gives her the only feeling of love and hope she has ever had. But there is still a darkness deep inside Margo that is fighting to get out.

Marrow is emotional and twisted, and utterly mind blowing. When I finished the book, I felt overcome with emotion and so many questions. She pushes limits and forces you to think. YOU get to choose if you think Margo is truly crazy and how you think her story ends.

I have never thought so much after finishing a book than I did when I finished Marrow. Normally, that's not what I want out of a book because I read strictly for entertainment and as an escape. Marrow was different than anything I would normally read but I'm so glad I read it.

There is a connection to [b:Mud Vein|18246727|Mud Vein|Tarryn Fisher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379536072s/18246727.jpg|25697736] in the book, but you don't have to have read MV to read it. After finishing Marrow, I am considering giving MV another try.

Kudos, Fisher. I don't know if liking Marrow makes me crazy, but thank you for putting into writing the things people aren't willing to talk about and think about. Thank you for making ME think.

Sadly this wasn't my favorite Coben book. Took me until almost 60% to get into it and then it just didn't hold the suspense factor I'm used to from Coben. Wasn't thrilled with the story or the ending and bummed that this one was a bit of a disappointment.

I loved this book! Kendall Ryan's books always put me in a great mood.

There's something about Taylor Jenkins Reid's writing that is so brilliant and REAL that I'm left questioning life after finishing one of her books. She became one of my favorite authors after I read [b:After I Do|18775359|After I Do|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412544649s/18775359.jpg|26680492], which was such a fantastic novel that has stayed with me months later. I couldn't wait to read her newest release, and it was fantastic.

In Maybe in Another Life, we meet Hannah, a 29 year old who has no clue what she wants out of life, and decides to move back to her hometown of LA. She moves in with her best friend, and one night they decide to go out to the bar where Hannah meets up with her ex boyfriend.

On this night, Hannah is faced with a decision - go home with her best friend or go home with the ex. Many people would admit they've wondered how their lives would have played out had they made difference choices along the way. The author offers both perspectives in alternating chapters, showing us how Hannah's life would have gone if she had picked one scenario over the other. And by the end of the book, I was on edge praying that Hannah chose the scenario that I loved most.

Such a unique and brilliant story line - it almost felt like I was reading a Choose Your Own Adventure book. I didn't want to put the book down because I had to know how things really worked out for Hannah - which decision did she ultimately choose, and was it the one I was hoping for.

TJR's characters are flawed and real and I always connect to them immediately when reading her books. I loved every minute of reading this one and look forward to more by this author!

This story started out very promising for me. The writing is really fantastic, immediately pulling me in. I was captivated by Dean and Olivia's relationship and, even though my stomach was in knots from all of the anxiety, I was truly enjoying their story.

Then Olivia did something that just ruined the book for me. I became so pissed off that I skim read the rest of the book. Will I finish the series? I don't know, yet. Maybe just to see what happens, because I really really loved Dean and this author's writing style. But for now I'm taking a breather.

My favorite part from the book:

“Liv,” he said, his voice rough with tenderness, “you don’t have to be afraid.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ll slay monsters for you.”