The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

ARC provided by the publisher though Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Like many of you I fell in love with the authors debut, The KISS Quotient last year and was really looking forward to her sophomore novel. I didn’t love this installment as much as I did The Kiss Quotient, but I still think that this book is a gem.I just need ya’ll to know the Helen Hoang is my new romance queen.

“Girl loves boy loves girl.”

Just like The Kiss Quotient, this is an ownvoices novel, Helen is Vietnamese and is Autistic. One of my favourite things about this book is seeing the difference between Stella from TKQ and Khai who is the main character of this book. I love how Helen brings enlightenment to the Autism spectrum and how each person has an individual experience and feelings. As I said in my review for TKQ my brother has Aspergers, and people seem to group everyone with autism in the same category. And this book does an amazing job at showing the differences each person experiences.

The Bride Test is written in dual perspective following Esme and Khai. The premise of this book is that Khai’s mother wants him to get married. Khai does not want to get married but his mom believes if she just finds him the perfect woman he will change his mind.

Khai – Vietnamese, Autistic, he is Michaels cousin from TKQ. He believes he can never fall in love, because he feels differently than other people he doesn’t recognize some emotions he experiences. He is a successful accountant at a large company. I really loved him as a character and thought his ba k story was really well written.

Esme – Biracial (Vietnamese and white), living in Vietnam with as a single mother with her daughter, mother and grandmother.She has never met her birth father. She works as a housekeeper in a hotel, where she meets a woman offering g her a chance to fly to California and marry her son, Khai. As the story goes on she developed real feelings for Khai. I really liked Esme as a character, she’s ambitious and hardworking, while being sweet and funny.

“My heart works in a different way, but it’s yours.”

I adore both Khai and Esme! Their chemistry was amazing and I loved how there relationship organic grew. They’re vastly different, but also worked so well together.I LOVED the relationship between Khai and his brother Quan. I really hope the next book will be his story!

My few complaints: As a parent I really didn’t like how Esme hid the fact that she had a daughter. Her child is a huge part of her life and ordinarily the main reason she agreed to come to California. She wants to give her a better life but yet she doesn’t tell anyone about her. I also wasn’t to thrilled about the Epilogue but I can’t talk about that because I don’t want to spoil anything.

Overall, The Bride Test wasn’t on the same level as The Kiss Quotient but it was still incredibly enjoyable.

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads|Facebook

Advertisements

Waiting For Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

An ARC was provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Waiting For Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey THIS WAS SO ADORABLE AND CUTE!!! I’ve seen a couple of my friends give it a low rating and I can see why some people wouldn’t enjoy it. That wasn’t the case for me. This book is basically a long homage to romantic comedies, which made me realize I have not watched a lot of the movies mentioned, and I quickly wrote them all down to add to my Netflix queue.

This story follows Annie, a screenwriter who is obsessed with rom- coms and finding true love. She especially loves Nora Ephron/Tom Hanks movies, and therefore has very high standards when it comes to men. She wants to meet a kind, loving man with some cut quirks and helps make her life complete. A movie director she admires in coming to town to film his latest movie, luckily for Annie, her uncle knows him. Landing her a job as his assistant. One downside to this job is it puts her in close proximity to Drew Danforth. A heart throb movie star, which she very much dislikes.

Of course following the Rom-Com formula this book has all the fun classic cliches, from an awkward hilarious meet-cute, the denying or the feelings, misunderstanding, and finally the grand gesture. Annie and Drew were so easy to root for, and there relationship developed was paced quite nicely.

This book also has an amazing cats of side characters, Annie’s Uncle is a huge comic fan who plays weekly games of D&D. Then we have Annie’s best friend Chloe, she is fun and spunky. I really liked their friendship, Chloe would call out Annie on her expectations of love. Telling her nothing happens like they do in the movies that she should try and live her life,go on some dates. And Nick, he  reminded so much of Luke from Gilmore Girls, which instantly made him one of my favorite side characters. As some of you know Gilmore Girls is my all time favorite show and I love Luke. Nick is the owner of a local coffee shop, where everyone is town seems to gather on a daily basis. Oh, and Chloe works at the coffee shop as well, and I really hope that Chloe and Nick will have a companion novel!

The ending felt a little rushed and there were a few moments where I was really annoyed with Annie. Which is why it only got a four star rating and not a five.This book had me smiling throughout the whole story. Waiting For Tom Hanks is the perfect fun summer beach read!

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads|Facebook

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Trigger warnings: talks of suicide, mental illness, depression, stalking, cheating, loss of a parent, abuse from a parent.

This book is Alex Michaelides debut novel and it is one twist after another. this novel had me captivated from start to finish. Daaaamn. I did not see that ending coming! I went in pretty much blind, I didn’t know anything about it other than the main character didn’t speak.The Silent Patient is not a long novel but don’t let that fool you into thinking there isn’t that much going on. I really recommend this book.

“There’s so much pain everywhere, and we just close our eyes to it.
The truth is we’re all scared. We’re terrified of each other.”

Alicia and her husband Gabriel look like they are the perfect couple. Alicia is an aspiring painter and Gabriel is a fashion photographer. There young, beautiful,there careers are kicking off and there crazy about each other. But this book isn’t a love story it’s a thriller, soon we find Alicia standing over her dead husbands body and covered in both of their blood. As everyone struggles to understand why she would do this, their met with a dead end. Alicia is refusing to utter a word, she sits by as she is sentenced guilty to killing the man she loved, she continues to sit silently. She is saved from the death penalty and instead put in a psychiatric hospital, where she still is not speaking.

Theo Farber is a criminal psychotherapist, who is interested in Alicia’s case and is determined to find out what happened that night her husband was murdered. He accepts a new job at The Grove the mental hospital where Alicia was assigned. He is determined to get her speaking again, through therapy and building a trusting rapport.The book is told almost entirely from Theo’s perspective with some flashbacks from Alicia’s journal.

“You become increasingly comfortable with madness – and not just the madness of others, but your own. We’re all crazy, I believe, just in different ways.”

I really enjoyed this book. It has definitely lived up to its reputation as a page turner. I listened to this on audiobook and it was fantastic, the voice actors were so good and pulled you right into the story.

Buddy read with Amy and Amber!

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads|Facebook

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

I received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

I have been unimpressed with thrillers lately both oh boy did this one deliver. If you’re a fan of Dexter, than you are going to love this book. Power couple, serial killers, that’s all I needed to know to pick up this book.This is a brilliant debut novel by Samantha Downing. I simply couldn’t get enough of this book, and I loved every minute of it.

“Officially, the Oaks is one of the safest communities in the state. That’s because all the violence is behind closed doors.”

I’m not going to go to much into the plot because the the best way to read thrillers, but here is a brief description. This book is told from the perspective of the unnamed husband, and centers around seeing the whole story from the perspective of the killers. Millicent and her husband have two children Rory and Jenna and they live in the suburbs. They look like everyone else in the neighborhood, a normal family. Millicent works in real estate and the husband is a tennis instructor at the country club. But they are hiding some very dark secrets, instead of role playing to spice things up, they indulge in murder.

The husband gives the reader a play by play of how the event unfold, while giving us a look at his inner dialogue and twisted thoughts. This book is so twisted, I was unable to put it down. Just when you think you have everything figured out Downing throws us upside down. I loved the tone of the story, it includes so dark humor that I often found myself smiling at the most inappropriate times.

If your looking for a book you cant put down, I would pick up My Lovely Wife and be prepared for a wild ride! I can’t wait to see what Samantha Downing comes up with next, this was an incredible debut.

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads|Facebook

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Adult, Contemporary,Romance
Pages: 400
Rating: 4 Stars

---

Synopsis

Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job,
no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her
biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to
leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition,
an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the
present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

---

I have seen so many people gush about how much they loved this book,so when I had an audiobook credit I snatched it up. I went into this book knowing nothing about it,
except for what the title implies. This book was beyond my expectations. I could rave about this forever!! I found myself lost in this story, wanting to know more about Evelyn and her life.Oh my God, this was an amazing book!

This book is about Evelyn Hugo an aging movie star who is ready to tell her story to the world. Her story starts when Evelyn is a young girl wanting to be an actress, she marries a man so she can escape her current life and start chasing her dream. Evelyn is unapologetic is her actions,she is strong willed and willing to do anything to get the roles she wants. With every new man she meets, she quickly learns what she can gain from him. With each marriage I found myself becoming more and more invested in the story.

The story is told in two alternating timelines, present time is told by Monique is a journalist at a magazine that Evelyn requested. Monique is a biracial woman going
through a divorce, trying to make it in the journalism field. The other timelines are different periods of Evelyn’s life as she tells Monique the events of her life that landed her having seven different husbands.Her love life and career takes so many twists and turns, the true romance of this book was heartbreaking but so sweet.

Overall, this is an incredibly well written story,and this book was beyond my expectations. I could rave about this forever. I highly recommend picking up this book.

---

Instagram:_stephgillespie_
Twitter:SteffieReads
Goodreads: Stephanie Gillespie

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn // Review

Title: The Woman in the Window
Author: A.J. Finn
Genre: Adult,Thriller
Pages: 427
Rating: 4 Stars

---

Synopsis

Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies,
recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.

Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one
night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.

What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.

---

Trigger warnings: murder, alcohol abuse, prescription drug abuse, mental health

The Woman in the Window is a fantastic psychological thriller. It’s fast-paced, and a very intriguing story.Just when you think you have it all figured out, you
get thrown a curve ball.

The story is about Anna Fox, an ex-child psychologist,who went through a traumatic experience and is now an agoraphobic.She is separated from her husband Ed and daughter. She lives alone in a big house except for her tenant who lives in the basement.She spends a lot of her time watching her neighbors from the window.
One day a new family moves in across the street from Anna’s house.

I really enjoyed Anna as the protagonist. My only problem with her is she drinks too much and is non-compliant with her medication. I know this is her coping mechanism
but it is used to often in the book to describe a situation.

I read a lot of thrillers, and I can honestly say this one played out differently than I expected.The ending OMG !! I never saw it coming. It is a pretty quick read, even though the book is over 400 pages.A.J. Finn is excellent at writing characters, I can’t wait to read more from him. I highly recommend this book.

---

Instagram:_stephgillespie_
Twitter:SteffieReads
Goodreads: Stephanie Gillespie

Final Girls by Riley Sager Review

Title: Final Girls
Author: Riley Sager
Genre: Adult,Thriller,Horror
Pages: 342
Rating: 5 Stars

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Synopsis

Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

I was drawn to this book when I first saw it being mentioned on social media, and I Eagerly awaited for the publication date to arrive. I loved this entertaining and gripping psychological thriller. This book certainly lives up to the hype. Written almost like a slasher film, this novel was tense and addicting. The story has an original plot that really draws the reader into the story.

This story takes place 10 years after the horrific Pine Cottage massacre which left Quincy to be the only survivor of her five friends. This incident leaves her with repressed memories. The story is told in present time along with flashbacks to Pine Cottage 10 years earlier.

What I do really love, though, is when horror tropes. Final Girls – named by the horror industry as the only girl left alive after a massacre. Just like the survivors of movies such as Sydney from scream or Laurie from Halloween. The perfect slasher thriller, with the right mix of blood and suspense. Horror movies are my favourite and this novel played right into it. I loved the creepy campy feeling to this novel. Just when you think you have the mystery all figured out it takes a turn in another direction. That ending though!!

I would recommend this to any fan of the mystery/thriller genre.

Instagram:_stephgillespie_
Twitter:SteffieReads
Goodreads: Stephanie Gillespie

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Book: Big Little Lies
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Mystery
Pages: 460
Rating: 4.5

I seen this book floating around for a few years now and never have the desire to pick it up. I watched the first two episode’s of the show and I was dying to know what happened. So I rushed out get myself a copy of the book. I took off half a star because I found the beginning to be slow-paced.

The character development in this book is crazy, they were all flawed yet smart and funny.I have to admit my favorite was Madeline. Oh man, she is funny. She stands up for her friends and goes after what she believes in. Her relationships felt real and not forced. Strong female friendships! Madeline and Celeste, then enters Jane and they embrace her. Jane is a single mother entering a community of rich beautiful women, instead of letting her be left out Madeline tugs her into her life.

The book on the surface seems to be about a group of kindergarten mom’s and there children. It’s so much more. It’s told from different perspectives, which I love. I love knowing what everyone is thinking and how an event can been seen in so many different ways. The book keeps the identity of the victim and the murderer hidden right until the end.

Quotes

“Everyone wanted to be rich and beautiful, but the truly rich and beautiful had to pretend they were just the same as everyone else.”

“All conflict can be traced back to someone’s feelings getting hurt, don’t you think?”

 

Instagram: _stephgillespie_
Twitter: SteffieReads
Goodreads: Stephanie Gillespie

 

July Reading Wrap up

Oh My God ! I can’t believe July is already over. Were past the half way mark through the year. This month was a great reading month for me. My son went to cam for a week,so I got a few book’s finished in that time.Hope I can read this many in August, I’m going back to college in September for the first time in 6 years 🙂

1.Zenith By Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings, Book Review Here

2.Welcome to Camp Nightmare by R.L. Stine
Listened to this on audio book with my son. The story is pretty great. It’s a typical scary camp story. I remember I owned this one as a kid, but couldn’t remember how it ended. Of course, there’s a insane twist ending. I just love these books. I gave this 3.5 stars.

3.Goosebumps: Haunted Mask II:  by R.L. Stine
This was one of my favorite goosebumps growing up. Listened to this on audio book with Noah too. Also gave this a 3.5 Stars.

4.The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste, Book Review Here

5.November Rain by Shannon A. Thompson, Book Review Here

6.November Snow by Shannon A. Thompson
First of all a huge thanks to the author for providing me with the copy of the book. November Snow takes off from where the first part – November Rain – has ended. T he second book has a lot more action, twists and turns making it an amazing finale. My heart broke in the end but I loved every minute of this book. I warn you, you will need an abundance of tissues at your disposal. I strongly recommend this book to anyone. I gave this 5 Stars.

7.A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin, Full Review Here

8.Shiver By Maggie Steifvater
So as a big fan of Stiefvater’s ‘Raven Cycle’ series, I was really expecting to love this book,I liked it, but it wasn’t amazing. I am just so torn on rating this book. Maggie Steifvater’s writing is so vivid and poetic. It’s why I love her writing style.I really liked the werewolf concept in this book. Werewolves are no supernatural creatures with inhuman strength; they are simply normal wolves. Similar to a sort of illness that comes with the lowering of temperatures and being unable to remember your human life. I also have to mention the romance. It was a little too insta-love for me. I gave this a 3.5 Stars.

9.The Uninvited by Cat Winters

Haunting, beautiful.. I could go on;-) This was my first Cat Winters book but it wont be my last. While the romance is a major factor in the story, it also touches on the more serious aspects of the time. The racism, the hatred, the narrow-mindedness, the deaths and the rise of jazz. I absolutely loved this book. Major plot twist, I thought I had guessed at it but I was only partly right and the rest of it blew me away.

10.The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is Claire Legrand’s debut novel. I LOVED IT! Ohmygod! so much creepy, I love it! All you Coraline fans out there, I found the next level. And has a protagonist with OCD and anxiety who manages to use her OCD as a tool to help fight evil compulsion spells. The art in this book., its beautiful. All the little designs, the bugs on the pages the illustrations fit the story perfectly.

11. Horimiya Vol 4 by HERO
This couple is killing me with cuteness overdose!!My heart is totally melting, Izumi is really sweet.It’s getting better and better. Hori dad is hilarious, this manga makes me smile and giggle the whole way through I just love it so much. Hurry up and release volume 5 already 🙂

Book Haul #1

Went to Reads Bookstore tonight with Noah, it’s a tiny used bookstore where you can trade in book’s for 25% off the sale price written on the book and then you get that money back in store credit. Sometimes they have a lot of stuff and other times its slim pickings. They have a small YA section and a large adult section and a very small comic section. So I don’t go very often but was bored tonight so took a walk up.

1.The Fireman by Joe Hill

This is Joe Hill’s newest book. I’m not really sure what it’s about. I read Horns in 2014 and I really enjoyed it. So finding a fairly new book at the small used book store, was worth the price to pick it up.

2.Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

I’ve seen this book around a lot,again I don’t really know what it’s about. I know its chick lit and I don’t usually pick that up but there’s also a mystery.

3.Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

A psychological thriller,about a woman called Christine who wakes up every morning with no memory of who she is. It sounds awesome.

4.On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

I saw this at the shop, and picked it up. I’ve heard good things and that he has good tips. As I tend to get stuck putting my ideas to paper I thought it might be helpful to check out.

5.Coraline by P Craig Russell (Adaptor/Illustrator),Neil Gaiman

Noah picked this one up, lucky for me I will read it also 🙂

To get the the bookstore, we have to walk past a park and there was a band playing music. There was a fair amount of people, so we stopped for a little while and got some pictures 🙂