Invisible Girl

Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I could not--and didn't want to--put it down. We know a girl is missing. We don't know what happened to her, or who all was involved. There are several potential "suspects," and it is very intriguing to read along and try to unravel the clues. Saffyre is a great character, and as the book moved to its conclusion I was really rooting for her, and I was worried about what had happened to her. Owen was really interesting as well. The character development for everyone was great. Even the ending seemed perfect. Some of the content, especially the "intel" stuff, might not be for everyone, but I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense, mysteries, and thrillers.


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The Second Wife

The Second Wife by Rebecca Fleet
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
This was an interesting book. After reading the first bit, the book quickly changed and became something I wasn't quite expecting, but it was still engrossing to read. The mystery of what really happened the night a family home burned down was twisty, unexpected, and hard to put down. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries, suspense, thrillers, or just a fun read.


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The Lost Apothecary

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was not for me. For some reason I just had a hard time connecting with the characters. I felt like I could see bad things were going to happen to them way in advance, and they were all just not making smart decisions. Others may really enjoy this book, but I did not.


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Hush (Hush: #1)

Hush by Dylan Farrow
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
I tried to like this book, but I could not figure out this book. In the beginning I felt I had a handle on what was going on, the world the author was trying to create, and the challenges Shae was facing. But once Shae left her home to try to find answers and her place in the world, the book seemed to become a completely different story. Everything took a sharp turn and I felt completely confused. Things began to happen that didn't make much sense, and the world the author was creating felt very different from the world in the beginning of the book. Character development really took a back-seat, and I didn't have much of a connection to the characters. When I put the book down I did not want to pick it back up. I did not enjoy this book and would not recommend it.


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Before the Ruins

Before the Ruins by Victoria Gosling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
This was a very interesting book, full of lies, intrigue, secrets, resentments, and mistrust among a group of friends. Watching them go from children to adults, and how the decisions they made as teenagers affected who they would become, was engrossing. I enjoyed this book.


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To Tell You the Truth

To Tell You the Truth by Gilly Macmillan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
I enjoyed this book. There was a creepy atmosphere that, combined with the feeling that the narrator was unreliable, created a very unsettling feeling. I wasn't sure who would turn out to be the "villain/villains," which kept me reading late into the night. The ending was fitting for the book, even if it left some questions and issues open for interpretation.


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Magic Lessons (Practical Magic: #0)

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
This was an interesting book. I am not sure what exactly I think about it. I enjoyed the first half. It was engrossing to watch Maria grow from a young girl in England, learning about healing and helping those in need, to a teenager in Curacao trying to find her way in the world while being true to herself. When I got to the middle of the book, however, Maria made MULTIPLE decisions that were just plain stupid. I really wanted to yell at her and shake her by the shoulders. After about the sixth awful decision I just stared rolling my eyes and really began to dislike Maria. I started to feel like she was incredibly selfish, short-sighted, and not very smart. I kept reading though, and towards the end of the book I began to change my feelings. It also helped when I reminded myself that Maria was still a teenager when she was making all of her terrible decisions.
I have not read the other two books in this series, and only saw the movie version of "Practical Magic" many years ago. Reading this book definitely made me want to go back and see how Maria's actions in this book went on to affect her descendants centuries later.


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A Golden Fury

A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
I got about 1/3 through this book and was not impressed. So I came to Goodreads to see what other readers thought. And when many of them said the last half of the book was no where near as good as the first half, I thought to myself, "Wow--I don't even like the first half!"
This book was not for me. I felt like too much attention was paid to the alchemy aspect and not enough to the characters. There were numerous long descriptions of ancient alchemical texts and old philosophers and chemical processes, which was good as it showed an attention to detail on the author's part. Despite all this, I did not feel as though I had a handle on the bigger "world" that the author was trying to build. It felt as though it was being taken for granted that the reader knew how alchemy would fit into 18th century Europe. The characters also felt flat to me and didn't have much rooting value. I didn't feel like I knew them. I don't think I would recommend this book.


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The Bitterwine Oath

The Bitterwine Oath by Hannah  West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
I am rounding up from a 2.5 stars... This book was just not for me. I really tried to like it. I loved the setting and the "mystery" seemed very intriguing. But as I read I felt like I was being told things instead of shown. A lot of the characters felt mechanical and the situations felt contrived. The kids in the book did not act like any teenagers I know. I also needed the author to kind of pick a tone--sometimes the book was spine-tinglingly creepy, and sometimes everyone was just acting like ridiculously air-headed high schoolers. I just could not get into this book.


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The Wife Upstairs

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
I would give this 4.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I wasn't quite sure what to expect, other than knowing it was based on "Jane Eyre," and reading the title. What I found was a modern soapy psychological Southern thriller about the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy self-made life-style brand maven and the young girl with a shadowy past who (perhaps?) inadvertently seems to take her place. While one of the mysteries in the book is pretty obvious--just read the title--there are other things going on that the reader can't be sure about until the very end; new tidbits are revealed throughout the book. Is there someone upstairs? How did she get there? Why is she there? Who put her there? Who is in danger? Who is the villain? I had a very hard time putting this down. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries, thrillers, domestic suspense, or books about the South. I loved it!


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Into the Heartless Wood

Into the Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
This book had a fairy tale quality that should have been great, but to me, just didn't quite work out. The tone and writing style attempted to convey the feeling of something like a bedtime story being related much after the events occurred. I think this was to reinforce the magical otherworldly aspects of the story, but it just came across as lacking depth. The characters didn't feel "real," and their emotions didn't feel complex. I had a hard time feeling a connection with them. It was just like I was watching players on a stage, instead of going on a journey with them. I do understand what the author was trying to accomplish, but it was just not successful in my opinion. The world-building was interesting, but I needed more detail to really understand the background of what was going on. And the ending was nice, but I didn't really "get it." I am not sure that I would recommend this book.


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