I Love It When You Lie by Kristen Bird

The Williams women don’t just keep secrets…

They bury them.

Just days before her eightieth birthday, Pearl Williams has the gall to up and die on everyone. Now her granddaughters must make plans for a proper send-off…all while their own lives unravel a little more each day.

Tara, the pastor’s wife, makes a series of decisions that could scatter his flock. Then there’s June, who would do anything to have a baby of her own, even if her husband won’t. Clementine, the youngest, is entangled in an affair with her professor, desperate to ignore who he really is. Finally, there’s Stephanie, the sister-in-law—an outsider who knows all the family dirt.

But Gran won’t be the only one they’ll put in a grave this weekend…because now someone has gone missing in the dark Appalachian woods.

And if Gran has taught them anything, it’s how to get rid of a good-for-nothin’ man…

π π π π

Available Today – March 14, 2023!

Secrets, secrets, secrets! Oh boy, the Williams women and their secrets.

I was hooked at the very beginning as we are introduced to the different women in the Williams family (3 sisters and a sister in law). Each one has their own drama that will be unveiled during the funeral of their grandmother.

As the novel went on, I did get a bit bored. I was hoping for more action instead of the women just going about their days. It was more of a domestic drama as opposed to a thriller.

3 calculators out of a potential 5. I wished there was more of a thriller aspect with more likeable characters.

Thank you to Netgallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Let’s be friends! Goodreads & Instagram

Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica

Two couples, two close friends, one missing husband…

Jake Hayes is missing. This much is certain. At first, his wife, Nina, thinks he is blowing off steam at a friend’s house after their heated fight the night before. But then a day goes by. Two days. Five. And Jake is still nowhere to be found.

Lily Scott, Nina’s friend and coworker, thinks she may have been the last to see Jake before he went missing. After Lily confesses everything to her husband, Christian, the two decide that nobody can find out what happened leading up to Jake’s disappearance, especially not Nina. But Nina is out there looking for her husband, and she won’t stop until the truth is discovered.

π π π π

Available Today – January 10, 2023!

Ahhh I was on such a great streak with Mary Kubica’s novels, but Just the Nicest Couple was a big miss for me! The plot and the characters just weren’t doing it for me and sadly that counts for a large majority of the novel.

We get the thoughts of just Nina (wife of missing surgeon) and Christian (Nina’s friend Lily’s husband). Nina was ok. I didn’t mind her, but I feel like we don’t get anything more from her, other than the role of wife of missing spouse. She was your typical wife and was distressed about the situation (obviously), but I couldn’t feel a connection with her. I HATED Christian. He bothered me so much and I could only read so much about his pregnant wife. Maybe if Christian went missing, it would of been a better book…

I’m glad that some other reviewers mentioned that the writing felt off. I wasn’t interested in the plot at all and the story never ended grabbing me in. I was surprised by the ending, but by that point, I was just happy that I was done.

2 calculators out of a potential 5. Hoping for a better read next time!

Thank you to Netgallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Let’s be friends! Goodreads & Instagram

Good Husbands by Hannah Mary McKinnon

Three wives, one letter, and an explosive secret that will change everything.

He said, she said. Who do you believe?

Jessica, Stephanie and Priyanka are complete strangers, but they have one thing in common: they’ve each received a letter accusing their husbands of committing a sexual assault more than two decades prior. Is the accusation true or is there more to the story? It was a secret that remained buried for years.

With their worlds suddenly turned upside down, they don’t know who to trust—a complete stranger or the men they love and built their lives with. The three women come together to embark on a hunt for the truth, but they are hardly prepared for what they will discover. Who is the victim, and will justice ultimately be served?

π π π π

Available Today – June 7, 2022!

This was not the book I was expecting to read at all. It’s important to note that this isn’t a thriller and the novel goes much deeper than a thriller based on the content. I think it’s important that the reader knows what they are going to be reading so they won’t be caught off guard or disappointed.

I was really intrigued by the blurb and was curious to read about what the women would do. I enjoyed that the author had each woman go through their own experience even though they were very different. I also liked that even though they had different opinions of the letter and what to do about it, they still respected one another and waited until they were all of agreement.

As I mentioned earlier, this is not a thriller. There was a lot of back and forth between the women and lots of narration about their days while navigating through a major shake up. At times, I did get bored and was hoping that the plot would move along quicker.

3 calculators out of a potential 5. A interesting read that has you questioning what you would do if you were put into this scenario. I was hoping for a bit more as this was marketed as a thriller.

Thank you to Netgallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Let’s be friends! Goodreads & Instagram

Never Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon

First comes love. Then comes murder.

Lucas Forester didn’t hate his wife. Michelle was brilliant, sophisticated and beautiful. Sure, she had extravagant spending habits and that petty attitude, a total disregard for anyone below her status. But she also had a lot to offer. Most notably, wealth that only the one percent could comprehend.

For years, Lucas had been honing a flawless plan to inherit Michelle’s fortune. Unfortunately, it involved taking a hit out on her.

Every track was covered, no trace left behind, and now Lucas plays the grieving husband so well he deserves an award. But when a shocking photo and cryptic note show up on his doorstep, Lucas goes from hunter to prey.

Someone is onto him. And they’re closing in.

Told with dark wit and a sharply feminist sensibility, Never Coming Home is a terrifying tale of duplicity that will have you side-eyeing your spouse as you dash to the breathtaking end.

π π π π

Available Today – May 24, 2022!

I love getting the villain’s perspective. It’s so interesting to read about what is going through their minds and the reasons for their actions.

I really liked Lucas and you could somewhat justify his previous actions (to a point!). I was intrigued on all of the planning he did and the steps that he took to make sure that the police didn’t dig too deep into him (but isn’t it always the husband?!).

Just over halfway is where the novel starting to lose me. Even though I did enjoy seeing Lucas fall apart when his well laid out plans turned out not to be foolproof, I wasn’t a fan of Lucas’s past coming back to haunt him. It seemed out of place and I was more interested in the current day saga. Sadly, the twist ending was one that I saw coming from the very beginning.

3 calculators out of a potential 5. An enjoyable read from the villain’s eyes.

Thank you to Netgallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Let’s be friends! Goodreads & Instagram

On A Quiet Street by Seraphina Nova Glass

The perfect neighborhood can be the perfect place to hide…

Who wouldn’t want to live in Brighton Hills? This exclusive community on the Oregon coast is the perfect mix of luxury and natural beauty. Stunning houses nestle beneath mighty Douglas firs, and lush backyards roll down to the lakefront. It’s the kind of place where neighbors look out for one another. Sometimes a little too closely…

Cora thinks her husband, Finn, is cheating—she just needs to catch him in the act. That’s where Paige comes in. Paige lost her son to a hit-and-run last year, and she’s drowning in the kind of grief that makes people do reckless things. Like spying on the locals, searching for proof that her son’s death was no accident. And agreeing to Cora’s plan to reveal what kind of man Finn really is. All the while, their reclusive new neighbor, Georgia, is acting more strangely every day. But what could such a lovely young mother possibly be hiding?

When you really start to look beyond the airy open floor plans and marble counters, Brighton Hills is filled with secrets. Some big, some little, some deadly. And one by one, they’re about to be revealed…

π π π π

Available Today – May 17, 2022!

I’ve been struggling with domestic thrillers recently. There’s normally lots of secrets, but nothing that goes beneath the surface. I’m always left with wanting more and I haven’t been picking up the genre as much. I’m so glad I took a chance on On A Quiet Street. It was exactly what I have been looking for in a domestic drama!

The 3 lead characters are so different, but work well together. Paige’s son was killed and she hasn’t been the same since. Her husband has moved out and she is obsessed with finding out who killed her son. She believes it was one of her neighbours and spends all of her time watching them. Cora is the typical stay at home wife and mother upon first glance. But there’s so much more to her, especially when she is determined once and for all if her husband is cheating. And then there is Georgia. A new mother to a baby girl who seemingly wants nothing to do with her neighbours.

I liked all 3 women and enjoyed how they weren’t how they first appeared. I felt for each of them as they navigated through their grief and challenges. I was hooked on what was going to happen with them. The book also comes with its twists and turns and I was surprised by so much that happened! Loved it!

4 calculators out of a potential 5. If you are like me and have been ignoring the domestic genre for a bit, check out On a Quiet Street to get you out of your slump!

Thank you to Netgallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Let’s be friends! Goodreads & Instagram