Book Review: Girls Like Us-by Cristina Alger-Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Hello dear Readers,

My book review of Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger.

Title: Girls Like Us

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Author: Cristina Alger

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Publication Date: July 02, 2019

Language: English

Hardcover: 288 pages
Meet the Author: Cristina Alger
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

An Instant New York Times Bestseller 

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Banker's Wife, worlds collide when an FBI agent investigates a string of grisly murders on Long Island that raises the impossible question: What happens when the primary suspect is your father?

FBI Agent Nell Flynn hasn't been home in ten years. Nell and her father, Homicide Detective Martin Flynn, have never had much of a relationship. And Suffolk County will always be awash in memories of her mother, Marisol, who was brutally murdered when Nell was just seven. 

When Martin Flynn dies in a motorcycle accident, Nell returns to the house she grew up in so that she can spread her father's ashes and close his estate. At the behest of her father's partner, Detective Lee Davis, Nell becomes involved in an investigation into the murders of two young women in Suffolk County. The further Nell digs, the more likely it seems to her that her father should be the prime suspect--and that his friends on the police force are covering his tracks. Plagued by doubts about her mother's murder--and her own role in exonerating her father in that case--Nell can't help but ask questions about who killed Ria Ruiz and Adriana Marques and why. But she may not like the answers she finds--not just about those she loves, but about herself.

My Thoughts

Oh God. I loved it. I was hooked from the start. A reminder of why I love thrillers so much.

Fast-paced. A reliable and strong female main character, Nell Flynn. Not predictable at all. Kept me guessing the whole time and that ending, unexpected.

Always love a great thriller, where suspense, surprise and a great story line are key elements. A must read on this genre, definitely.

Wendy

Book Review: Newcomers in an Ancient Land: Adventures, Love, and Seeking Myself in 1960s Israel: A Memoir by Paula Wagner-Memoirs

Hello dear Readers,

Below my book review of Newcomers in an Ancient Land: Adventures, Love, and Seeking Myself in 1960s Israel: A Memoir by Paula Wagner.

Title: Newcomers in an Ancient Land: Adventures, Love, and Seeking Myself in 1960s Israel

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoirs

Author: Paula Wagner

Publisher: She Writes Press
Publication Date: July 30, 2019

Language: English

Paperback: 256 pages
Meet the Author: Paula Wagner
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

At eighteen, Paula is already a seasoned traveler, having begun life in England, crisscrossed the US as a young child, and survived a year in a London boarding school, immersed in her mother’s heritage. 

But when, at eighteen, she leaves home for Israel to explore her father’s Jewish roots and learn Hebrew on a kibbutz ulpan (a work/study program on a collective farm), her quest will change her life forever. Seduced by her love of language, she continues the journey to France for several years before returning at last to settle to Israel. 

As she navigates her odyssey from vision to reality, she will learn much more than two new languages―and realize that if she is ever to forge her own identity, she must also separate from her twin sister and follow her own path.

My Thoughts

At eighteen, Paula is already a seasoned traveler, having begun life in England, crisscrossed the US as a young child, and survived a year in a London boarding school, immersed in her mother’s heritage. But when, at eighteen, she leaves home for Israel to explore her father’s Jewish roots and learn Hebrew on a kibbutz ulpan (a work/study program on a collective farm), her quest will change her life forever. Seduced by her love of language, she continues the journey to France for several years before returning at last to settle to Israel. As she navigates her odyssey from vision to reality, she will learn much more than two new languages―and realize that if she is ever to forge her own identity, she must also separate from her twin sister and follow her own path.

I loved the writing on this book. The way Paula shares her memories, beautifully written. It made me feel I was there. Not so many books make you feel this way and that was the highlight for me. 

All we learn about Israel through her experiences, her journey, the very descriptive and detailed writing. I thought it was fascinating to see how at such young age she felt the desire to go there and learn and understand more about her roots, about the culture and how that trip changed and shaped her life forever. 

Thank you to Books Sparks for the gifted copy and for the opportunity to participate in the Pop-Up Book Tour

Wendy

Book Review: The Perfect Wife: A Novel-by JP Delaney-Mystery/Thriller

Hello dear Readers,

My book review of The Perfect Wife: A Novel by JP Delaney.

Title: The Perfect Wife: A Novel

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Author: JP Delaney

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Publication Date: August 06, 2019

Language: English

Hardcover: 432 pages
Meet the Author: JP Delaney
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

The perfect life. The perfect love. The perfect lie. From the bestselling author of The Girl Before comes a gripping new psychological thriller. . . .

“Dynamic, razor-sharp, and thought-provoking . . . a cutting-edge suspense novel unlike any you’ve read before.”—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl.

Abbie awakens in a daze with no memory of who she is or how she landed in this unsettling condition. The man by her side claims to be her husband. He’s a titan of the tech world, the founder of one of Silicon Valley’s most innovative start-ups. He tells Abbie that she is a gifted artist, an avid surfer, a loving mother to their young son, and the perfect wife. He says she had a terrible accident five years ago and that, through a huge technological breakthrough, she has been brought back from the abyss.

She is a miracle of science. 

But as Abbie pieces together memories of her marriage, she begins questioning her husband’s motives—and his version of events. Can she trust him when he says he wants them to be together forever? And what really happened to Abbie half a decade ago?

Beware the man who calls you . . .

My Thoughts

What a wonderful read. Was a little hesitant but somehow the mix between sci-fi and mystery worked and worked perfectly well. 

Not your typical mystery-thriller for sure, but definitely one worth the read.

JP Delaney delivers another great writing experience being this the one the best from the previous books for me. This was very intense, goes really deep into subjects like relationships and marriage and makes you think the now that is not far from what reality is.

The Perfect Wife, a definitely must read, not only if you liked the author's previous work but if you are looking for a unique read on this genre.

Thank you Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wendy

Book Review: Is There Still Sex in the City?-by Candace Bushnell-General Fiction

Hello dear Readers,

My book review of Is There Still Sex in the City? by Candace Bushnell.

Title: Is There Still Sex in the City? 

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Genre: General Fiction

Author: Candace Bushnell

Publisher: Grove Press

Publication Date: August 06, 2019

Language: English

Hardcover: 272 pages
Meet the Author: Candace Bushnell
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

Twenty years after her sharp, seminal first book Sex and the City reshaped the landscape of pop culture and dating with its fly on the wall look at the mating rituals of the Manhattan elite, the trailblazing Candace Bushnell delivers a new book on the wilds and lows of sex and dating after fifty. 

Set between the Upper East Side of Manhattan and a country enclave known as The Village, Is There Still Sex in the City? follows a cohort of female friends―Sassy, Kitty, Queenie, Tilda Tia, Marilyn, and Candace―as they navigate the ever-modernizing phenomena of midlife dating and relationships. There’s “Cubbing,” in which a sensible older woman suddenly becomes the love interest of a much younger man, the “Mona Lisa” Treatment―a vaginal restorative surgery often recommended to middle aged women, and what it’s really like to go on Tinder dates as a fifty-something divorcee. From the high highs (My New Boyfriend or MNBs) to the low lows (Middle Age Madness, or MAM cycles), Bushnell illustrates with humor and acuity today’s relationship landscape and the types that roam it.

Drawing from her own experience, in Is There Still Sex in the City? Bushnell spins a smart, lively satirical story of love and life from all angles―marriage and children, divorce and bereavement, as well as the very real pressures on women to maintain their youth and have it all. This is an indispensable companion to one of the most revolutionary dating books of the twentieth century from one of our most important social commentators.

My Thoughts

As much as I love Sex and the City, both, the book and the TV Show, but I had a hard time reading this book. Partly because of my expectations as to loving Sex and the City, but mostly what I thought this book was going to be about, in my mind, another Sex and the City first book. 

Not that the topics presented on the book are not relevant to our times or real but in my mind, I kept picturing these four characters I became to love so much but of course, not the same time, not the same book. Also, the writing on this one did not make it for me, finding the story a little depressing and boring at times.

Overall, an ok story but not what I was expecting. 

Thank you Grove Press and Netgalley for the free advanced copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Wendy