Book Review: Don't Let Him In: A Novel by Lisa Jewell- Suspense Thriller

Hello, dear Readers,

My book review of Don't Let Him In: A Novel by Lisa Jewell.

Title: Don't Let Him In: A Novel

Rating:  4/5 Stars

Genre: Suspense Thriller

Author: Lisa Jewell

Publisher: Atria Books

Publication Date: June 24, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 368 pages
Meet the Author: Lisa Jewell
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A MOST ANTICIPATED SUMMER READ from People, USA TODAY, theSkimm, E! News, Forbes, New York Post, CrimeReads, and many more!

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell, three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

He’s the perfect man. It’s a perfect lie.

Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.

My Thoughts

I love Lisa Jewell and will read everything she writes; however, this book in particular was not as awesome as her other books. 

Mainly, for me, because I felt like a lot of the story was not necessary. It felt never-ending at times. It took me a lot to start getting into the story, but once I did, it got a little better. Slow-paced and different from other stories, the different time lines made it really hard to get through it. Like I said, I love her books and will continue reading, I just didn't love this one that much. 

Thank you, Atria Books and Netgalley, for the Free Advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wendy 

Book Review: A Clean Mess: A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb by Tiffany Jenkins-Memoir

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of A Clean Mess: A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb by Tiffany Jenkins.

Title: A Clean Mess: A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Tiffany Jenkins

Publisher: Rodale Inc./Harmony
Publication Date: June 03, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 304 Pages

Meet the Author: Tiffany Jenkins

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

The bestselling author of High Achiever chronicles life after addiction—the raw, the dark, and the hilarious—from setting out with nothing but a backpack to discovering her marriage was built on a shakier foundation than she’d ever imagined to staying sober when life fell apart.

“Tiffany Jenkins illustrates that recovery is not just about sobriety, but about learning to live and feel again. Her compelling story is a testament to the power of resilience, humor, and hope.”—Sarah Levy, author of Drinking Games

A Clean Mess opens with the moment that changed everything. Tiffany is about to go on stage when she receives an odd message from her husband: “Hey Babe, some of the guys here are making some stupid decisions. Not me. But I just wanted to let you know in case you heard it from some of the other wives.” By the end of the night, Tiffany knew her life would never be the same.

This wasn’t the first time she had to start over. After the opioid addiction and jail sentence that she chronicled in her bestselling memoir, High Achiever, Tiffany was ready for a fresh start. A chance to try life again, this time without drugs coursing through her veins. In A Clean Mess, she takes us back to those early days of recovery, and the whirlwind that she entered the moment she was out of prison. In just two years, she went from inmate to married and sober mom of three.

Told with humor and honesty, A Clean Mess is Tiffany Jenkins’s story of how she learned to live and feel for the first time without numbing herself with drugs—and how she discovered inner reserves of strength she didn’t know she had. From her tentative first days of sobriety, to seeing two pink lines on a pregnancy test weeks later, to navigating anxiety, a new marriage, and motherhood at the same time, to surviving betrayal and divorce, Jenkins shows how she got through it all when her crutches and Band-Aids were taken away from her. An inspiring memoir that reads like fiction, A Clean Mess is a book that will buoy anyone seeking a life raft in hard times.

My Thoughts

I have relatives who have gone through drug/alcohol abuse. I know from experience, by looking at their situations, that it's never a good place to be. Only the people going through all those issues understand what it is like, and also what it is like to go into recovery. 

This is one reason I loved A Clean Mess. How the author shares her story and that of her loved ones in such an honest, raw, and vulnerable way. Understanding from the people who are experiencing those situations gives us a better picture of what they go through and how it affects them and the people around them. Although I can't relate to these problems, I loved the story and how the author wrote the book and shared her life experiences. 

Thank you, Rodale Inc. /Harmony and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: Detained: A Boy's Journal of Survival and Resilience by D. Esperanza and Gerardo Ivan Morales-Memoir

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Detained: A Boy's Journal of Survival and Resilience by D. Esperanza and Gerardo Ivan Morales.

Title: Detained: A Boy's Journal of Survival and Resilience.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: D. Esperanza and Gerardo Ivan Morales.

Publisher: Atria/Primero Sueno Press
Publication Date: May 13, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 256 pages

Meet the Author: D. Esperanza & Gerardo Ivan Morales

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

“A shocking and moving read. A brutally honest account of the impact of family separation at the US border.”—Kirkus Reviews

The first-ever memoir of a child’s experience in detention on the US/Mexico border under President Trump’s infamous family separation policy.

D Esperanza was just thirteen years old when he lost his caregivers, his beloved grandmother and uncle. Since both of his parents were working and living in the United States, D was left on his own in a small town in Honduras. He quickly realized he simply could not make enough money to survive so he made the difficult decision to head north with his cousins and hopefully reunite with his parents in el norte.

Together, the boys struggled to survive a long and treacherous journey through Central America and Mexico. Along the way, D and his cousins formed a deep bond, only for the four to be brutally separated at the border of the United States. When he is captured and processed at a facility, neither D nor his family are given an update on when he will be released or where he’ll go next. Over the next five months, he kept a journal of his experience. The pages tell a story of pain, cruelty, friendship, and resilience, a living testament to the reality of the border. Amidst the senseless inhumanity and violence of US immigration policy, D found hope in the friendship he and his fellow companions forged, and mentorship from one intrepid advocate who fought on his behalf named Gerardo Iván Morales.

Timely, powerful, and unforgettable, Detained brings the border crisis to vivid life.

My Thoughts

When I thought I had read the most heartbreaking memoir, Detained comes.

Oh my God, what a book. What a story. What a journey. I swear, I will never understand why people go through certain things in life, especially children and young people who have not done anything bad except want a better life, and in this case, be with their parents. 

First of all, I love where this book came from. From a composition book, nothing fancy, computer, or fancy writing device, just a boy and his notebook. Not a professional writer, but one with love and passion for writing. This is one of the most beautiful and honest ways to keep track of what you are going through, just the thought of D. Esperanza wanting to write about the most horrific, terrible, horrible time of his life, not just bravery, but vulnerability. Most adults have a hard time being honest with themselves, much less with the rest of the world. 

When we are not living what others are or near the chaos, desperation, and nasty stuff, it is always easy to read a book like Detained and think, "Oh, I can't believe this is happening. Why can't they stop it?. Why are they doing this to children?. It is always easy to distance ourselves from those suffering, as if something were happening in another world. Reality is, it is happening here, in this world, in this country, and make no mistake, it is real, those children are being treated like they are criminals, wild animals that they have to tame, not like human beings whom the only thing they want is what most people want and take from granted, love, respect, and the love and care from their parents. 

Even though D. Esperanza's story is unique in the sense that he was able to document it, unfortunately, is the reality of hundreds of thousands of kids, that after crossing the border in the most dangerous, horrific conditions, they end up in the hands of the US Authorities, put on these detention centers, in the most inhumane conditions, where is either being taken back to the country they came from or if they are lucky enough be reunited with their parents in the United States. 

I could go on about this book, but I truly think it is one of those books that you have to read to experience to fully understand and see the realities of a system that, unfortunately, is not treating these children and immigrants in general as they should be, as human beings. 

A must-read, definitely. 

Thank you, Atria/Primer Sueno Press and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy