Special Feature: A Good Enough Mother by Bev Thomas

I always love reading debut authors, especially when the story sounds personal and cleaver. This title caught my eye mostly because I am a mother, so I was drawn to at least reading the summary.

The summary sounds crazy, and in a good way. I will let you judge for yourself if it sounds interesting or not, but for me, it was definitely an intriguing summary and plot. I am going to try and fit it in later this summer because it sounds like a crazy plot that will keep me reading late into the night.

But until then, I want this book to be on your radar! I will also be hosting a giveaway for this book over on my Instagram page this week so be watching for that!

Summary

A riveting page-turner that lets us inside the secret world of therapist and patient, where boundaries get crossed, and events spiral out of control. . .

Ruth Hartland is a psychotherapist with years of experience. But professional skill is no guard against private grief. The mother of grown twins, she is haunted by the fact that her beautiful, difficult, fragile son Tom, a boy who never “fit in,” disappeared a year and a half earlier. She cannot give up hope of finding him, but feels she is living a kind of half-life, waiting for him to return.

Enter a new patient, Dan–unstable and traumatized–who looks exactly like her missing son. She is determined to help him, but soon, her own complicated feelings, about how she has failed her own boy, cloud her professional judgement. And before long, the unthinkable becomes a shattering reality….

An utterly compelling drama with a timebomb at its core, A Good Enough Mother is a brilliant, beautiful story of mothering, and how to let go of the ones we love when we must (summary from Goodreads)

About the Author

Bev Thomas was a clinical psychologist in the NHS for many years. She currently works as an organizational consultant in mental health and other services. She lives in London with her family.

WHERE TO BUY (AFFILIATE LINKS)

Special Feature: THE MISSING YEARS by Lexie Elliott

It’s release day for THE MISSING YEARS by Lexie Elliott! I am reading this one later this spring but I am so excited to share the one with all of my readers!

Since it’s out today for purchase, be sure to pick up a copy and check out all the advanced praise it’s getting.

I can’t wait to read this one, the eerie Scottish manor house description appeals to my inner Gothic fiction fan, so needless to say I am eager to start it but until there here is a little bit of info about this new thrilling release!

An eerie, old Scottish manor in the middle of nowhere that’s now hers.

Ailsa Calder has inherited half of a house. The other half belongs to a man who disappeared without a trace twenty-seven years ago—her father.

Leaving London behind to settle the inheritance from her mother’s estate, Ailsa returns to her childhood home, nestled amongst the craggy peaks of the Scottish Highlands, joined by the half-sister who’s almost a stranger to her.

Ailsa can’t escape the claustrophobic feeling that the house itself is watching her—as if her past hungers to consume her. She also can’t ignore how the neighbourhood animals refuse to set one foot within the gates of the garden.

When the first nighttime intruder shows up, Ailsa fears that the manor’s careless rugged beauty could cost her everything (summary from Goodreads).  Continue reading “Special Feature: THE MISSING YEARS by Lexie Elliott”

Review: Who Slays the Wicked (Sebastian St. Cyr #14) by C.S. Harris

This is another series that I came into way late in the game. I read the first book in the series and then skipped a head to books 12 and 13. And of course now, here we are at book 14.

I love Sebastian, AKA Viscount Devlin, though so I couldn’t pass up this book when it came up for review. I will get into how jumping around in the series effected my reading experience later on in my review, but for now I want to talk a little bit about why this series appealed to me.

When I was pitched the 12th book, I hadn’t heard of this series before so I figured I better go back and read the first book before I even start the 12th book. I immediately fell in love with the Viscount Devlin and felt that this series was a little gritty compared to some of the other amateur detective novels I had read up until that point.

I will say though, that I don’t know what happened with the cover art here. The last few books have moved away from the more colorful style and changed to more black and white. I am not sure that I care for the black and white covers as much as the more colorful options. The colorful ones stand out to me! Continue reading “Review: Who Slays the Wicked (Sebastian St. Cyr #14) by C.S. Harris”

Excerpt: Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf

A gripping thriller about three young girlfriends, a dark obsession and a chilling crime that shakes up a quiet Iowa town

For twelve-year-old Cora Landry and her friends Violet and Jordyn, it was supposed to be an ordinary sleepover—movies and Ouija and talking about boys. But when they decide to sneak out to go to the abandoned rail yard on the outskirts of town, little do they know that their innocent games will have dangerous consequences.

Later that night, Cora Landry is discovered on the tracks, bloody and clinging to life, her friends nowhere to be found. Soon their small rural town is thrust into a maelstrom. Who would want to hurt a young girl like Cora—and why? In an investigation that leaves no stone unturned, everyone is a suspect and no one can be trusted—not even those closest to Cora.

Before She Was Found is a timely and gripping thriller about friendship and betrayal, about the power of social pressure and the price of needing to fit in. It is about the great lengths a parent will go to protect their child and keep them safe—even if that means burying the truth, no matter the cost. Continue reading “Excerpt: Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf”

Review: My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

This book summary intrigued me to the core. Husband and wife turned serial killers? Um yes please!

How could I not be intrigued by the whole suburban couple meets Dexter and Mr and Mrs Smith situation described in the summary? I love shows like Weeds (suburban housewife turned drug dealer), and movies like Mr and Mrs Smith (suburban couple meets assassin spies) so this book was simply begging me to read it.

As a stay at home mom, there are days when I wonder what my neighbor are up to when they come home at 3 am. Were they just out for a night on the town or were they out having an affair or hiding a body in the wilderness?

I have an over active imagination and I am nosy AF, and this book totally appealed to someone like me who could relate to suburban life but also  listens to way too many true crime/murder podcasts. Continue reading “Review: My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing”