THE CABIN by Natasha Preston

Published September 6th 2016 by Sourcebooks Fire 
Read: December 2016
How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 352 pages) from NetGalley 

What should have been an unsupervised, drunken, fun-filled weekend away, ends in tragedy when two teens are brutally murdered. Police find no signs of break in or forced entry to the cabin though, so that means one of the remaining five friends is the killer. Mackenzie Keaton trusts her friends though, so she launches her own investigation. Was there a break-in, was it one of her friends she'd known her whole life, or her new crush who is a relative stranger to the group? This story of deceit and suspense will keep readers guessing until the end.

While the plot is far from original, the strong characterization will keep readers interested. Readers of Preston's other professionally published works will not be disappointed as this is yet another terrifying story. This is a quick read that will leave readers feeling just a little off kilter for days after turning the very last page.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. 

THE TRESPASSER by Tana French

Published: October 4th 2016 by Viking
Read: November 2016
How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 464 pages) from NetGalley 
Series: Dublin Murder Squad- Book 6

Antoinette Conway and Stephen Moran are back in Tana French's most recent Dublin Murder Squad novel. In this novel, readers get the perspective of Conway as she and Moran try to solve a case that seemingly starts out as domestic violence. They'll soon find out that those closest to victim are keeping secrets, and even some of the other detectives are acting strange. Can Conway get to the bottom of this case, even with the squad (of all men) are doing things to try to push her out? 

Tana French (The Secret Place; Broken Harbour; Faithful Place; The Likeness; In the Woods) has created another beautifully written suspense novel. The dialogue is gripping, and readers will obsessively (not unlike some of this novel's characters) tear through the pages of this one. French offers diversions, and she keeps her readers guessing (about multiple plot lines) until the very end. Tana French's devoted fans will view this as a worthy installment to the series, and those new to the Dublin Murder Squad will appreciate this as an introduction. 

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. 

LEAVE ME by Gayle Forman

 

Published: September 6th 2016 by Algonquin Books

Read: November 2016

How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 352 pages) from NetGalley 

Maribeth Klein has it all: a job as editor, a husband, a set of twins, and lots of responsibilities. That’s why, when she has a heart attack, she dismisses the pain. She doesn’t believe that her condition is serious, until it becomes so, and her life is turned upside down. Soon the people she cared for were left to care for her, and not doing a very good job of it. Maribeth decides then to leave; leave her cell phone, her computer, her work, and her family. She starts a new life in a new city, and she tries to figure out who she is in the midst of this big crazy world.

Gayle Forman is an extraordinary writer, so extraordinary in fact that she can make readers fall in love with highly unlikable characters. Maribeth is a character who has done a very taboo thing by leaving her family with nothing but a note as a goodbye, and she makes some bad decisions along her journey as well. However, she is not a bad person, and Forman does a great job of showing all sides to this character. Forman is well known for her YA novels, If I Stay, Where She Went, Just One Day, Just One Year, Where She Went, and Sisters in Sanity, but this adult debut will appeal to both adults and her avid YA readers. 

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. 

ELIZABETH BISHOP AT WORK by Eleanor Cook

Published: August 15th 2016 by Harvard University Press
Read: August 2016
How I Got It:  Hardback (320 pages) from Library Journal

Review published in Library Journal Xpress Reviews September 29, 2016.

http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2016/09/books/nonfic/nonfiction-sports-writing-china-elizabeth-bishop-obesity-russia-space-travel-xpress-reviews/

GRACE NOT PERFECTION by Emily Ley

Published: October 11th 2016 by Thomas Nelson
Read: October 2016
How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 224 pages) from NetGalley. Purchased Hardcover from Premiere Collectibles. 

I’m going to break my own rules and write this review in first person. If Emily Ley taught me anything in the last 224 pages, it’s that perfection doesn’t exist. So who cares if this review looks different from all the rest?

I should start out by thanking NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for allowing me to receive an advanced copy of this book, an advanced copy that I requested only AFTER purchasing two signed copies and watching Emily Ley’s live signing on Premiere Collectibles. I saw this on NetGalley and realized I couldn’t wait for my purchased copy to be shipped, I needed to read it now. Thankfully, NetGalley obliged.

I follow Emily on Instagram, and although I don’t know her and I only found her through a six degrees of separation from other people and companies that I follow that I don’t know, I really liked her story and how open she is about her life. So when she wrote a book, I had to read it. Grace Not Perfection is not only the title of this book, but a way of life. Through the pages, Emily describes ways that women can allow themselves grace. She details through personal anecdotes that perfection doesn’t exist, social media feeds are only highlight reels of life, and “no” is a complete sentence. She explains that being busy for the sake of being busy is a mistake, and that women should slow down and find the joy in life. There are chapters on career, relationships, and motherhood, but there is something in this book for all women to relate to. Emily also speaks about faith and God often as she wonders why God won’t listen to her plans but instead guides her through other avenues.  There are also tips and lists throughout the book of how to find joy and simplify life as well as pictures of Emily and her family. This a book that I will be sharing with friends and family and reading over and again. The message is wonderful, and the pictures of cute children throughout don’t hurt.

My one and only qualm with this book is the ARC formatting which I’m sure is fixed in the finished copy. There were many paragraphs out of place. Adding trying to find where the paragraphs left off and continued to the so many feelings this book made me feel was a struggle. But I know that that is my own fault. If I had only waited for my purchased copy and not let my impatience overwhelm me, I wouldn’t have had that problem. But, I’m glad I got this advanced copy, I pushed through it so fast, and it got me out of a reading slump. Also, Emily mentions that she loves to read. So, be like Emily, read this book.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

ENTER TITLE HERE by Rahul Kanakia

Publication August 2nd 2016 by Disney-Hyperion

Read: October 2016

How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 352 pages) from NetGalley 

Enter Title Here is a novel within a novel. The novel is being written by a high school senior, Reshma, who is contacted by a literary agent after writing a column for a local publication. Reshma decides that writing a novel and having an agent will help her get into Stanford. Reshma is a selfish cutthroat character that will do anything (something she says often) to get what she wants. When she cannot earn her grades, she results to finding loopholes and suing the school so that she can get the valedictorian spot and in turn attend Stanford.

The meta element of this novel will draw readers in, but putting up with the main character’s annoying personality may take some work. There are some supporting characters that make following through worth it though. Reshma’s friendships and her familial relationships are mentioned, but in going along with Reshma’s point of view as the author and narrator, her selfishness does not allow the reader time to truly enjoy those other characters. Ultimately, readers looking for a diary format YA novel might be better off with the darker subject matter of Anonymous Go Ask Alice or the humorous angst that Louise Rennison presents with Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. 

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. 

ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN by Wendy Walker

Published: July 12th 2016 by St. Martin's Press

Read: September 2016

How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 320 pages) from NetGalley 

When Jenny Kramer is raped at a party, she is given a treatment that makes her forget the traumatic experience. But she hasn’t really forgotten. If the Kramer family wants justice, they need for Jenny to remember her rapist. She is sent to a therapist interested in memory recovery, and that is where the suspense unfolds.

All is Not Forgotten is narrated by the therapist who is treating the Kramer family individually. Some other patients are mentioned as well, and the storylines tie together and often jump around in time. While the narrator is omniscient, he keeps things from the reader to reveal at the proper time. He also and often provides first person excerpts from his patients. There are many things throughout that seem misogynistic and unethical, but ultimately, the narrative keeps the reader guessing. Readers of amnesia fiction and psychological thrillers will likely devour this book whether they like the narrator or not. 

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.