Tag: MIRA

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It’s One of Us-Ellison-Thriller-Available Now

One of the things I like to do with a book – especially a thriller – is figure out where the title fits into the story, and I love when I realize that it could apply in multiple ways. It’s One of Us by J.T. Ellison is an exemplary case of that.

I’ll admit right off the bat I had a little bit of trouble with the first part. I understand that Olivia is devastated by the personal event. But her introspection and internal narration are extensive.

Glad I did stick with it, though, because after the first few chapters, the plot really takes off, and I found myself completely drawn into the story.

There are several questions posed in this book (think, can you return to who you once were, and how long should a couple hang on to false hope), but I think the main one is nature vs. nurture.

Fitting when IVF is the main driver of the plot. And no, that’s not a spoiler. The author has a personal investment in this aspect, which lends credence and a level of seriousness to the arc.

Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure that Olivia probably has a lot of the author’s emotions and thoughts. That’s understandable.

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At any rate, the other parts of the story are what I personally found more compelling. Park is a narcissistic jerk. Scarlett is too precocious for her own good. Darby seems to be at a loss a lot of the time. But that last one is understandable too.

There are some plot points that I think are either weak. Darby’s support group is more of an afterthought, as is Scarlett’s “Halves” group. Neither one of those gets a satisfying conclusion.

And I reread the passages involving Annie Cottrell three times – still not sure exactly what happened to her. I mean, I know from the end how the person was involved – but not what caused it initially. And yeah, that’s a little cagey, so there’s no spoiler.

I also think that Lauren and Perry got the shaft. They were an afterthought in the bigger scheme of things. In fact, at one point, I thought Lauren might have had a bigger role in the thriller aspect of Annie’s situation. That would have been a cool twist and an additional facet of nature or nurture.

For the record, given my family history and experience with adoption, I find nurture to be more prevalent, but nature does have its role as well.

At any rate, It’s One of Us is a solid thriller. J.T. Ellison remains one of my one-click authors. Don’t miss this one.

J.T. Ellison thriller author
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The Warsaw Orphan (Rimmer)-Blog Tour-Historical Fiction-Available Now

As I have mentioned in prior reviews, this genre is not always for the faint of heart. Most of the novels I have read focus on WWII in some aspect. That’s obviously because it is a gold mine of stories, experiences, and there is no end to the characters that can be fashioned from real life people.

Of those novels, many are also set in the concentration camps, or capture the Nazi regime in some other fashion. Although the brutality and depravity of the party is well-known, it is still often difficult to fathom the depths of hatred and callousness exhibited by human beings.

That is what makes books like this hard to read at times. It’s not because the story or writing is bad, but more that the relentless reminder of the horrors perpetrated on innocent people is often stomach churning.

That is what I found to be the case with this book.

Buy Links can be found beneath Author Info

Set in the Polish ghettos, the story largely belongs to Emilia and Roman, two people on either side of the walls erected by the Nazis, but with the common goal of saving children from being shipped to the “work camps” (yes, we know what those really are).

There are a lot of people to keep track of in the story, which made for slow reading at times. I don’t know if I wasn’t concentrating enough, but I found myself forgetting who people were and needing to go back in the story to clarify.

The author obviously felt a passion for the subject matter, because it was incredibly detailed and seemingly impeccably researched. I think it was that level of detail that gave it the authenticity that made it difficult at times (if that makes sense).

Another thing that many of these books often have in common, though, are the dual messages of hope in the face of terror and how the bravery of an ordinary person can make an enormous impact on people.

Both of those are on full display in this story.

I know I have been general in this review, but it would be impossible to recount the plot points and good and bad details of everything. I will just repeat that it is very-well written, with lots of gut-wrenching detail, and more than a glimpse at the extraordinary people who fought a tide of hatred.

Not light beach reading, to be sure. But it shouldn’t be missed.  

Facebook: @Kellymrimmer
Twitter: @KelRimmerWrites
Instagram: @kelrimmerwrites

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kelly Rimmer is the worldwide, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Before I Let You Go, The Things We Cannot Say, and Truths I Never Told You. She lives in rural Australia with her husband, two children and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages. Please visit her at https://www.kellyrimmer.com/

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Just My Luck-Blog Tour (Review)-Thriller-Available Now

I have to say that this was an odd read for me. I felt like it wanted to be a psych thriller but also a thriller…but also a family drama. It definitely kept me hooked, but I’m not sure it was for the right reasons.

To begin with, I really didn’t like any of the characters, except for Lexi (more on her in a minute). After finishing the book, I totally understand why the author wrote them all the way she did (especially Jake) but in the midst of reading, they all pretty much came across as unlikeable.

I suppose that could be chalked up to the overall theme that “money corrupts.” It certainly seemed as if Emily and Jake got more carried away than Logan and Lexi did. That could absolutely be because teenage boys need a lot less to be happy than teenage girls? I don’t know.

But the frimily (as Lexi called them) also didn’t seem to be likeable, almost to the point where I kept wondering how they had all remained friends for so long even before they fell out.

The story is primarily Lexi’s although we do get a few chapters here and there from Emily’s point of view. As such, we are supposed to (I think) feel sorry for Lexi as she stands to be the voice of reason when the rest of the family goes a little off the rails.

I have to agree with one of the other characters, though, that there were times where she came across as sanctimonious. Maybe that was (again) because the others lost their marbles a bit.

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About half-way through, the action began to pick up, with the planning of an event and lots of fall out from it. I started to feel like there was too much going on. It might have just been my frame of mind when I was reading, which was entirely possible.

It seemed that everything started to go a little gonzo and not all of the choices seemed rational to me. Again, could just be illustrative of money giving people bad judgment. There was definitely a lot of that.

Characters like Colleen and Toma had interesting roles in the bigger picture, but they kind of faded and came back into focus. There were some moments near the end where I thought one of them was going to have a much bigger part in the whole story…but they didn’t.

There were also a few things that seemed to come out of nowhere as issues were revealed and resolved. And the last couple of chapters felt hurried to me, especially with the information that they contained.

The last chapter actually raised more questions for me than answering anything. It did make me re-evaluate what I thought I understood from earlier in the story, and I even went back to read a few sections to see if I could have caught what the author was plotting.

I would recommend this book, but hold on to your hat because it really goes a bunch of different directions leading to the climax.

Author Bio: 

Adele Parks is the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of twenty novels, including Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck, as well as I Invited Her In. Just My Luck is currently in development to be made into a movie. Her novels have sold 4 million copies in the UK alone, and her work has also been translated into thirty-one languages. 

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Tell No Lies-Blog Tour (Review)-Thriller-Available Now

This book starts with a heartbreaking event and takes an interesting turn almost immediately. Pretty soon, things are happening at a rapid pace and the reader is hit from all sides. It’s a well-plotted and intricate story that frankly left me a little tired after reading it.

Not that that’s a bad thing.

The author does a good job of dealing with timely references. It’s not a spoiler to say that child trafficking, widespread environmental pollution, and corporate greed are all bound together within the plot.

Honestly, it’s in the blurb as well.

While I read this, I got the feeling that there was a bit of background that I was missing. Shame on me for not realizing that it was the second in a series.

Buy links can be found underneath the Author Information section

That didn’t dim my enthusiasm for reading, but as there are only two books, I would recommend reading in order, if only to get the full scope of the two main characters, Quinn and Costa.

Apparently, they had a bit of history, and their roles in this book complicate what is an obvious chemistry between the two of them. Again, I think reading the first book might be helpful, because it kind of felt like the author was reluctant to explore their personal relationship any further.

That could also be because there were so many layers to the events in the book. Undercovers in various places, investigations that produce side-investigations, lies upon lies…it’s a lot to keep up with. And nobody really heeds the title of the book (oh, the irony).

But it does make for a page-turning read. Just start at the first one so this one is more enjoyable, and you have a firm basis going forward.

Facebook: @AllisonBrennan
Twitter: @Allison_Brennan
Instagram: @abwrites

About the author:

ALLISON BRENNAN is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over thirty novels. She has been nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers and the Daphne du Maurier Award. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, Allison lives in Arizona with her husband, five kids and assorted pets.

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The Last to See Her-Blog Tour (Review)-Domestic Suspense-Available Now

Honesty off the top: this is 100% the tale of two books. I’m glad I stuck with it, because even though it started slowly it picked up quite a bit in the middle and there was a mostly satisfying ending.

Right from the start I could tell that Genevieve was a character on edge. In the first chapter, she has received divorce papers. The story proceeds from there in current time…to a point.

After a major event (you can find out what that is from other reviews and blurbs), the author begins to jump around between both time and characters. For as many different perspectives there are the character’s voices were never confusing.

The timeframes caught me a couple of times, but nothing too major that distracted me.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I thought that the beginning of the book was much slower. There wasn’t a lot of action and what there was seemed formulaic and contrived in some parts.

But then at halfway through, things picked up, and the author deftly turned what I thought I knew (via the characters) on its ear. Turns out that nothing was really as it seemed – for the most part.

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I thought from about 50% to 80%, pretty much the middle third of the book, was excellent. Secrets were revealed, motivations were explained…and yet there were still misunderstandings.

The one thing that didn’t work for me (entirely) was Gen’s personality. I mean, I get it and it does make sense in the bigger story and it actually gives more meaning to the certain events that occur.

But I didn’t feel like there was enough preliminary attention given to it. It’s a weird conundrum. It totally makes sense and is very logical for Gen’s behavior, but it came out of nowhere. Even as things are explained toward the end, it still felt too much it was just sprung on the reader.

I also thought that the end kind of limped together – I didn’t care for the resolution between Meg and Hawk. That seemed trite. And it all tied up a little too neatly.

That being said, that 30% toward the middle though made the rest of it all worthwhile. Definitely give this one a try!

Twitter: @Court_Writes
Instagram: @CourtneyColeWrites
Facebook: @CourtneyColeWrites
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Author Bio: 

Courtney Evan Tate is the nom de plume (and darker side) of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Courtney Cole. As Courtney Evan Tate, she is the author of Such Dark Things and I’ll Be Watching You. Courtney grew up in rural Kansas and now lives with her husband and kids in Florida, where spends her days dreaming of new characters and storylines and surprising plot twists and writing them beneath rustling palm trees. Visit her on Facebook or at courtneycolewriters.com

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