The Half Sister by Sandie Jones

 

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘
Genre - Psychological Thriller, Domestic Thriller
Format - Hardcover
Length - 336 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

THE TRUTH 

Sisters Kate and Lauren meet for Sunday lunch every week without fail, especially after the loss of their father. 

THE LIE 

But a knock at the door is about to change everything. A young woman by the name of Jess holds a note with the results of a DNA test, claiming to be their half sister. 

THE UNTHINKABLE 

As the fallout starts, it's clear that they are all hiding secrets, and perhaps this family isn't as perfect as it appears. .

*My Review* 

 

I didn't care for this book at all...so much that I really can't even remember the whole thing, even though I just read it recently.

I know that as I was reading it I didn't care for the characters at all. The plot was really all that thrilling to me and overall I felt disappointed since The Other Woman and The First Mistake were amazing in my opinion.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Psychological Thriller, Ghost Thriller, Horror
Format - Hardcover
Length - 384 pages


*Amazon Blurb*

What was it like? Living in that house.
Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.
Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father's book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father's death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.
Alternating between Maggie’s uneasy homecoming and chapters from her father’s book, Home Before Dark is the story of a house with long-buried secrets and a woman’s quest to uncover them—even if the truth is far more terrifying than any haunting.

*My Review* 

 

If you've been keeping up with my blog then you'll know that suspense/thriller/horror are my favorite types of books. When someone asks what my favorite book is, I'll ask them what genre because it's different for each. This book.... OMG .....seriously! This is my favorite horror/thriller book of all time right now. I couldn't read it fast enough.

I enjoyed how it went back and forth from what Maggie's dad wrote in his book to her current situation. I couldn't tell if the house was really haunted, who the ghosts were or what. It seemed like every chapter held a surprise that I hadn't been expecting. There were a few times that I thought I knew what someone was up to or who "did what", only to be thrown off by the next chapter. I was reading so fast that sometimes I didn't have time to make a guess, nor did I want to. I just wanted to get to the end to have it all make sense. And WOW did it ever. It's not until the very end and I was totally shocked.

The Return by Rachel Harrison

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘1/2
Genre - Friendship Fiction, Horror Fiction Classic, Vampire Horror, Occult Fiction
Format - Hardcover
Length - 304 pages


*Amazon Blurb*

Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return—except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and feels it in her bones that her best friend is out there and that one day Julie will come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.
Along with Molly and Mae, their two close friends from college, the women decide to reunite at a remote inn. But the second Elise sees Julie, she knows something is wrong—she’s emaciated, with sallow skin and odd appetites. And as the weekend unfurls, it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who came back. But then who—or what—is she?
She may have to.

*My Review* 

I won this book on Instagram from iwanttoreadallthebooks (thank you)!

When I started reading the book I thought it was just another suspense. I had my suspicions right away about what happened to Julie. I really didn't think it was all that hard to figure out. Even so, I thought the story was kind of a fun read.

It wasn't until I got to the end that I started to get a bit bored. Everything seemed to predictable and I was able to pretty much guess the ending, instead of being surprised like I am always hoping for.

Foster Children Fundraiser

I don't make a point to advertise my business on my blog because I try to keep it strictly book reviews, but I want to take a moment to let you know about a fundraiser that I am going to be offering starting August 7 thru the end of Sept.

I am going to be donating books, hygiene products and more to the children in foster care with Northern Rivers. So many children come into foster care with nothing but the clothes on their back. Can you imagine being a child and someone you don't know coming into your home and taking you without giving you chance to pack clothes, favorite books, favorite toys or anything. Unfortunately that is the situation that many face.

There are 2 ways that you can help give these kids a little something to brighten their day a little bit -

1 - Shopping for yourself.

2 - Shopping for the kids.

First, let's talk about shopping for yourself. Everyone likes to do that. I have 2 companies that you can shop from. Thirty-One Gifts and Usborne Books & More. Click on either of those links and shop away. I will use my commission to purchase books thru Usborne Books & More as well as hygiene and other needed items.

The second way you can help is by purchasing an item to be donated. As I stated, many children don't have anything which means nothing to carry any possessions that may acquire while in care. Some carry their belongings in garbage bags. That means that there is always a need for items like backpacks, totes, etc. With Thirty-One Gifts you can purchase one of these and choose the "Ship to Host" for the shipping and everything will be sent to me when the party ends and packed up along with all the other items being donated.

With Usborne Books & More you can choose to buy books from the wishlist (wishlist will be updated during the fundraiser). These are books I've added that are either top sellers or suggestions from my 6 year old.

If you have any questions about the fundraiser, please feel free to email me.

* Northern Rivers is not affiliated with this fundraiser in any way except to have been the agency I chose to receive the donations.

** Any marketing Material was created by Tina Sanders, an Independent Consultant with Thirty-One Gifts and Usborne Books & More, who is solely responsible for for it's content. Thirty-One Gifts and Usborne Books & More do not endorse and are not responsible for the content of this marketing material.

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘
Genre - Domestic Thriller, Vigilante Justice Thriller
Format - Hardcover
Length - 352 pages


*Amazon Blurb*

Shay Miller wants to find love, but it eludes her. She wants to be fulfilled, but her job is a dead end. She wants to belong, but her life is increasingly lonely. Until Shay meets the Moore sisters. Cassandra and Jane live a life of glamorous perfection, and always get what they desire. When they invite Shay into their circle, everything seems to get better. Shay would die for them to like her. She may have to.

*My Review* 

This was definitely not one of my favorite books by the amazing Hendrick & Pekkanen team. It was still a great suspense like others they've teamed up, but the main character Shay made me a little annoyed. The events that play out between Shay and the other girls are clear enough so that you know what is going on and you are able to follow along without issues. I just couldn't stand the main character which is an issue in any book. I found myself constantly asking "really" and "are you serious" during my reading. I know that Shay's personality is why she did the things like she did, but I kept wishing she'd just grow up and get a backbone. Ouch, was that too harsh?

Airabella by Addalynn Sanders

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘
Genre - Children's Dragon, Unicorn & Mythical Stories, Children's Animals Books
Format - Paperback
Length - 26 pages


*Amazon Blurb*

Airabella is a beautiful and sparkly unicorn...... until she fell into a pud puddle and got dirty. Join Airabella as she learns a valuable lesson about the importance of listening to her mother.

*My Review* 

I'll admit that I am a little biased to this book since my daughter is the author. That's right, your beloved bloggers daughter wrote her very own book at just 5 years old. She came up with this adorable story and kept telling it to me. I typed it up in a word document because I thought it'd be something to look back on when she was all grown up. The only part I had was asking some simple questions like "what happened next " and "why did that happen". I ended up sending it to a dear high school friend of mine who thought it was adorable. I asked my daughter how she felt about being an author and she was overjoyed!

We had no grand visions of her becoming famous or anything like that Honestly, we thought she'd have her very own copy and maybe sell a few to friends and family. To date, she's had over 50 copies sold. I couldn't be any prouder of her hard work and her dreams to continue writing even more Airabella books.

Now for my review.....it's an adorable book that shows how things can go from bad to worse if you ignore your mom. It also shows how wonderful your day can be if you do listen.

If you have read this book, we'd love to hear your thoughts. You can also find Airabella on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.