Julie's Review: This Won't End Well

Author: Camille Pagan
Series: None
Publication Date: February 25, 2020
Publisher: Lake Union
Pages: 295
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Clever, witty and engaging
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Summary: No new people: that’s Annie Mercer’s vow. It’s bad enough that her boss sabotaged her chemistry career and her best friend tried to cure her with crystals. But after her fiancé, Jon, asks for space while he’s gallivanting around Paris, Annie decides she needs space too—from everyone. Yet when Harper moves in next door, Annie can’t help but train a watchful eye on the glamorous but fragile young woman. And if keeping Harper safe requires teaming up with Mo, a maddeningly optimistic amateur detective, who is she to mind her own business? Soon Annie has let not one but two new people into her life. Then Jon reappears—and he wants her to join him in France. She’s pretty sure letting anyone get close won’t end well. So she must decide: Is another shot at happiness worth the risk? ~amazon.com 

Review: This Won't End Well is a wonderful novel about putting yourself out there when it seems that everyone is letting you down. Annie is a delight in the way she handles whatever life throws at her but she's almost too calm. She's methodical , logical and controlled; everything in her life is measured.  But when her fiance ups and leaves to go to Paris to "find himself" before they get married, she starts to unravel a tiny bit. She swears off all new people but even starts to alienate herself from old friends as well. 

What Annie finds out is that you can't really close yourself off because life has a way of forcing you to do the opposite of what you planned. So as someone new moves in next door, she finds herself slightly intrigued about the woman who seems so opposite of her. Of course, Annie sees something that makes her even more curious so she starts to spy. Except we all know that nothing is ever as it seems.

The cast of characters that Ms. Pagan has written to help Annie on her way to self-discovery are truly wonderful. They each make Annie think in a way that she hasn't before. From Harper to Mo to Leesa she begins to understand that not everything is logical, especially love. What Ms. Pagan does so well is show how people can evolve even when they think they can’t. It doesn’t have to be major changing but sometime little changes make huge differences.

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Sunday Skim

Week 2/16/2020:

Finished:

Currently Reading:

Looking Forward To:

Julie's Review: The Dark Corners of the Night

Author: Meg Gardiner
Series: UNSUB #3
Publication Date: February 18, 2020
Publisher: Blackstone
Pages: 352
Obtained: Library
Genre:  Psychological Thriller
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Scary stuff but no one writes it like Meg
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Summary: I am the legion of the night …He appears in the darkness like a ghost, made of shadows and fear—the Midnight Man. He comes for the parents but leaves the children alive, tiny witnesses to unspeakable horror. The bedroom communities of Los Angeles are gripped with dread, and the attacks are escalating. Still reeling from her best friend’s close call in a bombing six months ago, FBI behavioral analyst Caitlin Hendrix has come to Los Angeles to assist in the Midnight Man investigation and do what she does best—hunt a serial killer. Her work is what keeps her going, but something about this UNSUB—unknown subject—doesn’t sit right. She soon realizes that this case will test not only her skills but also her dedication, for within the heart of a killer lives a secret that mirrors Caitlin’s own past. Hesitancy is not an option, but will she be able to do what must be done if the time comes? ~amazon.com

Review: Honestly, Meg Gardiner has never let me down in her writing. She writes strong, brave, fierce female characters that stick with you long after you have closed that back cover. Caitlin Hendrix is no different. She's a badass FBI Profiler and allows herself to get into the minds of the evil that she encounters to understand how to stop them. That isn't to say that Caitlin doesn't have her vulnerabilities or issues because she does but that makes her even more real.

The FBI unit is called in from DC to assist the LAPD with the Midnight Man's seemingly serial killings. The  Midnight Man is terrorizing families and making them feel unsafe in their homes and neighborhoods. As he continues to strike, the public wants to know what the police are doing to catch him. This is where Caitlin and the rest of her teams' skills come into play. They have the technology to help hone into the Midnight Man's area, which will assist them in the profile build.

As Caitlin starts to build the profile she doesn't necessarily like where her hunches and skills lead her. It will change the game in how they hunt and capture him.


What I love about Ms. Gardiner's writing is that she scares the crap out of me by using psychology. It's not horror or blood and guts. It's using how our minds work and how they can fail us that is truly scary. What a human can do to another human, is disturbing and fascinating. It is fascinating to figure out why they do what they do, in hopes of stopping others or in figuring out how to treat mental illness.

This is the 3rd in her fantastic UNSUB series and I highly recommend you start with the first one. You don't need to but it will help you understand the references throughout the novel. Plus you'll get more Sean Rawlins and trust me that's a good thing.

Extra shout out to the art department for this freaky cover! It really captures the terror you feel reading the novel!

Julie's Review: Oona Out of Order

Author: Margarita Montimore
Series: None
Publication Date: February 25, 2020
Publisher: Flatiron
Pages: 352
Obtained: publisher
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Rating: 3.5/5
Bottom Line:Great concept but just fell flat for me

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Summary: It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn nineteen, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? As the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints and awakens thirty-two years in the future in her fifty-one-year-old body. Greeted by a friendly stranger in a beautiful house she’s told is her own, Oona learns that with each passing year she will leap to another age at random. And so begins Oona Out of Order...Hopping through decades, pop culture fads, and much-needed stock tips, Oona is still a young woman on the inside but ever changing on the outside. Who will she be next year? Philanthropist? Club Kid? World traveler? Wife to a man she’s never met?
Surprising, magical, and heart-wrenching, Margarita Montimore has crafted an unforgettable story about the burdens of time, the endurance of love, and the power of family. ~amazon.com

Review: Oona time travels to different parts of her life every year on New Year's Day. She never knows what order/age she'll end up at but the premise is that she will get to every age. She leaves herself a letter just giving herself a heads-up but never many details. The idea is that she really should experience all the ups and downs herself; no matter how heartbreaking. What Oona doesn't know is just how heartbreaking some years will truly be but not only for her but for those around her.

Some of the relationships she makes are fleeting and won't be around for more than one leap but others stay the course. Few people know about her leaps because honestly who would believe her? Her mom is her truest confidant plus her personal assistant Kenzie but at times it feels a bit lonely for Oona. Who can blame her? No matter how much she tries she just doesn't even know who will be in her life. What decisions can she make? Will it alter her future? Is that always so bad? How will she know if it changes the outcome?

What made me sad is that she never really gets to know herself in the same way we do. She doesn't get to grow emotionally the same way. Does she ever really get to experience full and meaningful love if her life it out of order?

I really liked Oona and felt for her plight. I will say though for me though for me was the supporting characters of Madeleine and Kenzie. They were the heart and soul of the novel and of Oona's life. I did feel like something was missing because I felt that it didn't elicit a lot of emotion from me and I really expected it to do something for me.

I would be curious to see what the author does next because I did enjoy the way she told the story and her unique point of view.


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Sunday Skim

Week 2/9/2020:

Finished:

I loved the concept of this one but overall it fell flat for me. I do know a lot of other people really loved this book. Sometimes books don't work for some but work for others.

Currently Reading:

Looking Forward To:

I am so close to finishing Natchez Burning on audio but then it expired and I had to wait for it. So I got Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts and obviously I'm going to finishing that first before going back to Natchez Burning. I really don't listen to audio books on the weekend unless I'm grocery shopping. Meg Gardiner is an absolute go to author, so I'm savoring her latest The Dark Corners of the Night.

Sunday Skim

Week 2/2/2020:

Finished:

I've been sick since last weekend and haven't been able to focus on much especially reading. Add that to a very busy and birthday filled next couple weeks makes it hard. I've heard great things about my current read and hoping it lives up to the hype.

Currently Reading:

Looking Forward To:

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Julie's Review: Dead to Her

Author: Sarah Pinborough
Series: None
Publication Date: February 11, 2020
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 400
Obtained: publisher
Genre:  Psychological Thriller
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Ms. Pinborough has mastered the shoe dropping ending Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab

Summary: Marriage can be murder… SOMETHING OLD: Marcie’s affair with Jason Maddox catapulted her into the world of the elite. Old money, old ties, old secrets. Marcie may have married into this world—but she’ll never be part of it. SOMETHING NEW: Then Jason’s boss brings back a new wife from his trip to London. Young, attractive, reckless—nobody can take their eyes off Keisha.Including Marcie’s husband. SOMETHING YOU CAN NEVER, EVER UNDO: Some people would kill for the life Marcie has—what will she do to keep it?~amazon.com

Review: Old Southern Money with their secrets and lies are a society of bloodsuckers and leaches. The older the money the more deadly their secrets become. Therefore when both Marcie and Keisha marry into it they really have no clue what they are getting into. Of course Marcie and Keisha have their own secrets that they try to hide. The thing about secrets is they always come to light.

Marcie is blissfully married to Jason Maddox and happy with their lives until a new, shiny bride arrives in town. Keisha is married to Jason's mentor, William. Marcie feels threatened by Keisha youth and freshness she brings to their little group. She also sees the way her husband gawks at her every time they are together. Keisha also feeds into it by flirting with Jason.

What Ms. Pinborough does so well is steer you in one direction that has you so focused on that path that you really don't entertain that anything else could be going on. She's the queen of the red herring. You'd think that I'd try and read between the lines in her novels but now but nope, I just like the ride.

Her female characters are always multi-faceted and just a bit questionable on their tactics to get what they want. You don't have to like them but you should respect their resilience. The men in this story are just the conduit to tell the female story. None of the men in this story are redeemable and you are almost happy when they get their comeuppance.

If you are looking for a great psychological thriller, then go ahead and pick up Dead To Her. You'll enjoy the ride!

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Sunday Skim

Week 1/26/2020:

Finished:

Sarah Pinborough always knows how to drop the shoe in the last few pages of her novels, so that they really don't leave your mind as you still try to puzzle it all together. 5 days later and I'm still thinking about the twists and turns. Been There, Married That is a humorous story about divorce in LaLaLand but does use the stereotypes we all know.

Currently Reading:

Looking Forward To:

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