Book Review: ACCIDENTALLY PERFECT (HIDEAWAY HARBOR, 1) by Marissa Clarke  @MaryL_MarissaC @TLCBookTours

ACCIDENTALLY PERFECT
(HIDEAWAY HARBOR, 1)
by Marissa Clarke

Publisher: Entangled: Amara (February 22, 2022)

.

.

Amazon  / B&N / GP/ Apple / BB

.

Workaholic Lillian Mahoney has given everything to her job. The hugely popular lifestyle show she helped create monopolizes her time, energy, creativity, and anything remotely resembling a life. But all it takes is the show’s womanizing, egomaniac star throwing a massive hissy on live TV to utterly implode Lillian’s career in a New York minute.

Now Lillian’s hiding out in the gorgeous and completely unknown seaside village of Blink, Maine. Out of gas. A stolen wallet. A broken heel. And worse, she’s somehow managed to completely piss off the town’s resident hunk, Caleb Wright. She’ll show that hot, grumpy single father exactly what she’s made of.

But Blink isn’t quite what Lillian expects–and neither is Caleb…or his feisty teen daughter she can’t help but love. And while her entire life and career are in shreds, Lillian might just discover what happens when she gives her bad first impression a second chance…

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Some people had auras, she’d been told. This guy had a full-on storm cloud surrounding him.

 

She was so outraged, she sputtered sounds like the seagulls at the harbor made.

 

“I want to put poison ivy in their sleeping bags.” There was a snort, then Bethany giggled. “I want to safety pin their tent flap zipper so they can’t get out,” Bethy said.

 

My Review:

 

This was a lively and fresh read, full of keenly honed and snort-worthy small-town characters that kept me highly amused throughout perusal. I don’t know how I missed her but this was my first time reading the prolific Marissa Clarke, shame on me. I adore her sassy humor, colorful descriptions, snarky observations, and crisply written storylines. I have added her to my list of new favorites and hope to pay better attention in the future.

About the Author

.

Marissa Clarke is a multi-award-winning, RITA® nominated author of romance for adults and teens. She lives on an island in the middle of a river. Seriously, she does. When not writing, she wrangles her rowdy pack of three teens, two Cairn Terriers, and one husband.

She also writes young adult novels as Mary Lindsey for Penguin USA. www.marylindsey.com.

 

Book Review:  Leave Me Breathless (Winterville #3) by Carrie Elks   @CarrieElks

Leave Me Breathless
(Winterville #3)
by Carrie Elks   

 

 

Amazon  / BB

She’s his best friend’s little sister. Completely off-limits. And now she’s moving in with him…

When Gabe Winter’s best friend calls with an unusual request – give his broken-hearted little sister a roof over her head for a few months – he readily accepts.But he doesn’t expect Nicole to be quite so enticing. Or for her to bring out all the feelings in him. Feelings he thought he’d buried long ago, beneath his easy-going façade and womanizing reputation.

But now they’re spending late nights watching movies together, snuggled beneath the blankets with popcorn in their hands. And there’s inches between her lips and his.

It’s wrong but it’s also inevitable. He’s falling for the one woman he shouldn’t want.

He’s in over his head, but drowning never felt so good.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Don’t make me call your mama. Because you know I will.” “C’mon now. There’s no need to do that,” Kyle mumbled. The twenty-something, muscled man looked terrified at the thought of his mom being called. “I’m just being friendly.”

 

“Please tell me this won’t hurt,” Dolores said, catching her hand as she walked into the studio. “The last time I exercised Ronald Reagan was in the White House.”

 

Oh no. She wanted to die. Or at least disappear for a very long, Jimmy Hoffa amount of time.

 

My Review:

 

This was an enjoyable and lively read full of amusing humor, insightful and witty observations, and frequent family meddling – which was both good and bad for the main protagonists. The storylines were crisply written, entertaining, engaging, and easy to fall into. The Winterville characters were an enticing, fun, and feisty bunch with plenty of sass and snappy banter. I adored the main characters’ connection and their Netflix binges and discussions of porn, Matt Damon’s abs, and The Notebook. I look forward to more Winterville escapades and am itchy with curiosity about Alaska’s mysterious misadventure as a child, which is hopefully being cleared up in the next installment.

 

Carrie Elks writes contemporary romance with a sizzling edge. Her first book, Fix You, has been translated into eight languages and made a surprise appearance on Big Brother in Brazil. Luckily for her, it wasn’t voted out. Carrie lives with her husband, two lovely children, and a larger-than-life black pug called Plato. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found baking, drinking an occasional (!) glass of wine, or chatting on social media.

.

Book Review: On the Honey Side (Blum’s Bees Book 2) by Staci Hart  @imaquirkybird

 

On the Honey Side
(Blum’s Bees Book 2)
 by Staci Hart

No one can ever have Keaton Meyer.

Least of all me.

The brooding construction manager is a man of myth and legend, rarely seen in the wild. Once upon a time, he was the star quarterback, the smiling homecoming king, royalty in our small town. Until tragedy struck. And then he disappeared completely.

Now he’s resurfaced, and I can’t keep my eyes off him.

He’s an island surrounded by lava, bound by a desert, and guarded by dragons. I don’t stand a sunshine’s chance in a hailstorm.

Our siblings disagree and are out to prove it, nudging us into each other in the hopes we’ll fall. But with our town in tumult and the two of us firmly in the middle, nothing between us is easy. And when he’s faced with an impossible decision, I learn the truth of what I already knew.

No one can have Keaton Meyer.

And I have the broken heart to prove it.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Sighting Keaton in the wild was a rare and unheard of event. But when my gaze did happen to be blessed by his visage, I lost all higher function of my brain and body, leaving me staring like a fool at a man no one might ever have, least of all me.

I’d seen him just a few days ago on Main Street, but for the stretching of time he inspired, you’d think I’d never seen him in my life. He looked like he’d walked out of a Chevrolet commercial for the manliest truck in their inventory. Or like a social media thirst trap on his way to chop wood with no shirt on.

A few of the more judgmental women of our town circled the block and tried to look disdainful. They only managed to look thirsty.

He has the IQ of a koala.” My brows drew together. “Are koalas dumb?” “They have the smallest brains of any mammal, eat food they can’t digest, and they carry chlamydia. They’re dumb as shit,” she answered.

I flung myself at him, knocking both of us to the ground as he caught me. Our lips crashed together with the rest of us, and once the surprise ebbed, the kiss was a pliant possession, a sweet forever, a hundred thousand million yeses with a chorus of angels singing behind us.

My Review:

 

I adored these lovely characters as much as I reveled in their cleverly amusing tale. Staci Hart is such an agile and witty storyteller, I fall right into her delightfully flippant, crisply written, sparkly books and don’t want to resurface. The characters are accessible, knowable, and so well constructed I feel I would recognize them if I met them in person. I am definitely hooked and eager for more of the same.

About the Author

 

Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life — a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can’t forget that. She’s also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She’s been a wife, though she’s certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She’s also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she’s been drinking whiskey. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.

Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Website | Newsletter

 

Book Review: The Best Kept Secret (Smokejumper #3) by Tawna Fenske  @tawnafenske

 

The Best Kept Secret
(Smokejumper #3)
by Tawna Fenske 

 

Amazon / B&N / GP/ Apple / BB

 

Nurse Nyla Franklin knows three things to be true. Taking care of others brings more joy than a basket full of kittens. A triple-fudge sundae can cure just about anything. And no good ever comes from keeping a secret… So when her best friend spills his biggest one ever, Nyla knows she’s not just holding a secret. She’s holding a ticking time bomb.

Mr. Always Does the Right Thing Leo Sayre knows three things to be true. Piloting smokejumpers over burning forests is the best job in the world. His best friend Nyla is the smartest, funniest, and okay, sexiest woman ever. And pain meds are apparently his truth serum. Now his post-surgery confession has everything flipped upside down and turned inside out… including his relationship with Nyla.

Secrets have a way of piling up, and it’s just a matter of time before someone lights a match. Because while the truth can set you free, it can also burn completely out of control…

Each book in the Where There’s Smoke series is STANDALONE:
* The Two-Date Rule
* Just a Little Bet
* The Best Kept Secret

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

You know how he is. Thinks he’s Mr. Fix-It, but he’s really more like Mr. Bean.

 

“Did I really say ‘hiding the hot dog’ to my parents?” “Yep.” He grinned, no longer able to fight it. “You did. Want us all to pretend you didn’t?”

 

Are we going to end up on one of those weird talk shows, throwing furniture?

 

My Review:

 

I smirked, cringed, and laughed aloud as I perused this missive.   I am a devoted Tawna Fenske fan and this series is her best work yet. While reading, I have reveled in and continually admired the agile plotting and well-textured tales of all three highly amusing Smokejumper installments, although this one featured an unusually thorny issue and did so with humanizing and thoughtful sensitivity, perceptive insights, and clever humor. I adored these recognizable, witty, and endearing characters and wanted the best for them. The storylines were enjoyably entertaining and easy to follow with a cast of players all lovably flawed, generally well-meaning, and bumping along as best they can within a complicated family dynamic.

About the Author 

 

Website 
Amazon
Goodreads 

 Facebook
Twitter 

 

When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA-nominated, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, stepkids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com.

Book Review: Murder in First Class (Miss Underhay #8) by Helena Dixon @NellDixon  @Bookouture

Murder in First Class
(Miss Underhay #8)
by Helena Dixon

All aboard a train bound for… murder.

Kitty Underhay is looking forward to a week of long lunches and wedding planning with her husband-to-be, Captain Matthew Bryant. But the plan is derailed when he is called on to collect a former comrade-in-arms, arriving on the 15:50 from Bakerloo. As the train bearing Simon Travers pulls up to the platform, a piercing scream rises over the screech of its brakes. Travers is dead in his seat, a dagger in his heart.

Who gave this defenseless man a one-way ticket to the next life? And why? And could Matt’s close connection put him at risk? Only a few individuals had access to Travers’s compartment, and Kitty must find out which of these seemingly benign passengers is in fact a cross-country killer.

But when Kitty’s prime suspect, the traveling salesman with no merchandise, is found murdered, she is stumped. Until she makes the connection between the two victims and realizes that this murderer has an even more deadly destination in mind. Can she stop them before they strike again? Or will Kitty’s own next stop be the graveyard?

A pitch-perfect and totally gripping Golden Age historical cozy mystery! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, and Lee Strauss.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Her friend was bearing a tray of tea and toast, with a side dish of gossip.

 

My Review:

 

I have vastly enjoyed the installments of this series that I’ve been lucky enough to nab. Helena Dixon’s writing style is a joy to read, easy to follow, and scrolls smoothly with each scene brilliantly described and thoroughly composed in both thought and deed. Her work would make an excellent series for the small screen and better than most currently airing. Even the secondary characters are uniquely compelling and so well detailed I feel I could recognize them in a crowd. Kitty Underhay is a plucky gal ahead of her time yet respectful of convention. The storylines are historically accurate, unpredictable, and pleasantly engaging. I am already looking forward to their next caper.

 

About the Author

 

Nell Dixon was born and continues to live in the Black Country. Married to the same man for over thirty-five years she has three daughters, a cactus called Spike, a crazy cockapoo, and a tank of tropical fish. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel, and housework. Her addictions of choice are coffee and reality TV. She was the winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 with her book Marrying Max, and winner of Love Story of the Year 2010 with her book, Animal Instincts. She also writes historical 1930’s set cozy crime as Helena Dixon.

 

Book Review: Beach Wedding by Michael Ledwidge @_mikeledwidge

 

Beach Wedding
by Michael Ledwidge

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

 

A high-society wedding party stirs up new evidence in an unsolved murder in this thrilling stand-alone from the New York Times bestselling coauthor of James Patterson’s Now You See Her and The Quickie.

Hamptons sand… Hamptons money… Hamptons murder…

When Terry Rourke is invited to the spare-no-expense beach wedding of his hedge fund manager brother, he thinks that his biggest worry will be flubbing the champagne toast. But this isn’t the first time Terry has been to the Hamptons.

As the designer tuxedos are laid out and the flowers arranged along the glittering surf, Terry can’t help but take another look at a decades-old murder trial that rocked the very foundations of the town—and his family. He soon learns that digging up billion-dollar sand can be a very dangerous activity. The kind of danger that can very quickly turn even the most beautiful beach wedding into a wake.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

The running of the bullshitters.

 

My Review:

 

This book tickled my fancy as well as tripped my curiosity and held my rapt attention throughout with unpredictable and entertaining intrigue combined with lashings of amusingly wry and whip-smart wit. I fell right into this well nuanced and engaging tale and was huffing to keep up with the active storylines while my mind was racing with countless theories. Though totally unfamiliar to me, this prolific author has crazy good word voodoo and an impressive backlist. I’ve got some catching up to do.

 

 

About the Author

MICHAEL LEDWIDGE is the writer of seventeen novels, the last dozen being New York Times bestsellers co-written with one of the world’s bestselling authors, James Patterson. With twenty million copies in print, their Michael Bennett series is the highest-selling New York City detective series of all time. One of their novels, Zoo, became a three-season CBS television series. He lives in Connecticut.

 

Book Review: The Wedding Dress by Dani Atkins  @AtkinsDani @Aria_Fiction

The Wedding Dress
by Dani Atkins 

Amazon  

.

From bestselling author Dani Atkins, a new collection of three irresistible love stories, all linked by one very special dress.

Suzanne is engaged to be married to the man of her dreams – except the lead-up to her wedding is beginning to feel more like a nightmare. Can Suzanne uncover the truth about her fiancé ahead of her big day?

Bella’s life was on track until the day of the hen party when everything changed. Now she must find the strength to rebuild her future – and decide who she wants to spend it with.

Mandy’s grandmother has fallen in love but her family doesn’t approve. For her grandmother’s dreams to come true, Mandy has a secret wedding to plan, and a very special dress to find.

These are the three strangers whose stories are about to be woven together by one perfect wedding dress.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Tall and as thin as a crochet hook, she was dressed from head to toe in black. Even her hair was ebony, the kind of shade that nature doesn’t do on Caucasian women. It was pulled back into the sort of topknot that surely had to hurt, and was neat enough to look as though it had been superglued into place. Absolutely no hairpins required.

 

…my mother would have been far easier to win over if I wasn’t forcing her to play happy families with the man she once claimed she never wanted to see again– well, at least not until Hell had begun offering ice-skating sessions.

 

Sasha smelled of sunshine and Tresemmé shampoo, mixed with an indefinable sweet aroma, which I swear exuded from her pores like a pheromone.

 

He believes your gran is delusional. Weirdly, he’d rather accept she has Alzheimer’s than consider she’s fallen in love with someone.’

 

A shiver ran through me. It was the same every time a Sunnymede resident passed away. It felt like death was a predator on the Serengeti, picking off the weakest of the elderly one by one. And every time it happened I felt as though I was one dreadful step closer to losing my grandmother.

 

 My Review:

 

This was a trifecta of tales, each one skillfully crafted while equally heart-squeezing and an amusing delight. The storylines were crisply written with endearing characters, witty exchanges, and sneakily observant and emotive insights with an eye-stinging poignancy.   The main characters were lovely people I’d enjoy knowing and spending time with, who all stumbled upon the perfect bridal gown in a time of need.   The mystical wedding dress was cleverly slipped into each story as if by magic, I suspect it may have contained a bit of fairy dust sewn into the hem. This was my initial exposure to Dani Atkin’s agile word skills and I believe I may have become her most avid acolyte somewhere around page two.

About the Author

Dani Atkins is an award-winning novelist. Her 2013 debut Fractured (published as Then and Always in North America) has been translated into 18 languages and has sold more than half a million copies since its first publication in the UK. Dani is the author of four other bestselling novels, one of which, This Love, won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2018. Dani lives in a small village in Hertfordshire with her husband, one Siamese cat, and a very soppy Border Collie.

 

Book Review: The Paid Bridesmaid by Sariah Wilson @sariahwilson

The Paid Bridesmaid
by Sariah Wilson

Amazon  / B&NBB

From Sariah Wilson, the bestselling author of Roommaid, comes a captivating romantic comedy about what happens when a wedding party mixes business with romance.

Rachel Vinson is a bridesmaid for hire: part confidante, part wedding planner, and one hundred percent pretend BFF. Discretion guaranteed. Her next gig is a destination wedding—live-streamed and sponsored—for an Instagram influencer. That means a paradise of new contacts, which could be a boon to her already booming business. If Rachel can keep the very handsome and slightly too interested best man at bay, that is.

High-tech entrepreneur Camden Lewis must know: Who is this gorgeous, intelligent, and mysterious woman? Too good to be real. Convinced she’s a corporate spy out to tank his company, Camden’s not letting her out of his sight. But the constant surveillance is also opening his eyes to things about Rachel that he likes. If she’s a spy, she’s certainly the cutest one he’s ever seen.

As the week’s worth of wedding events march along, Rachel and Camden are learning almost everything there is to know about each other. Rachel’s made a career out of always a bridesmaid…but perhaps there’s a chance for her own trip down the aisle?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… there had never been such helicopter parenting as I had growing up. They thought every fever meant I had meningitis and every bruise must mean internal organ failure. I was pretty sure they were the reason my pediatrician had been able to buy a second home in Aspen.

 

I’m sure what he lacks in youth and appearance she more than makes up for by not having a personality…

 

I think I liked it better in the olden days when phones were dumb and people were smart.

 

It’s good to see you laughing, though. For a bit there you were looking like the before picture for Prozac.

 

My dating karma hasn’t been great. I figure in a previous life I caused a lot of damage that I’m paying for now. Like I must have been like a CrossFit instructor or Mussolini or something.

 

My Review:

 

This was my first exposure to Sariah Wilson’s clever wordcraft and I feasted on her enticing characters, amusing and evocative descriptions, and immersive writing style. I marveled at her clever humor and crisp wit while she simultaneously dropped perceptive insights and cunning observations. Her snark was well-honed, whip-smart, and top-shelf, as were her characters’ snappy banter and pithy wordplay. The writing brought sharp and colorful visuals to mind that kept me smirking and pleasurably entertained. The rest of her published listing is now calling my name and has gleefully added to my TBR.

 

USA Today bestselling author Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane, never climbed Mt. Everest, and is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soulmate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romance. She grew up in southern California, graduated from Brigham Young University (go Cougars!) with a semi-useless degree in history, and is the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children. She currently lives with the aforementioned soulmate and their four children in Utah, along with her cats, Pixel, Callie, and Belle, who do not get along. (The cats, not the children. Although the children sometimes have their issues, too.)

 

Book Review: Love & Saffron by Kim Fay @kimkfay

Love & Saffron
by Kim Fay

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

.

The #1 Indie Next Pick, in the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road and Meet Me at the Museum, this witty and tender novel follows two women in 1960s America as they discover that food really does connect us all, and that friendship and laughter are the best medicine.

When twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter–as well as a gift of saffron–to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a life-changing friendship begins. Joan lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. Imogen lives on Camano Island outside Seattle, writing a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine, and while she can hunt elk and dig for clams, she’s never tasted fresh garlic–exotic fare in the Northwest of the sixties. As the two women commune through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the unexpected in their own lives.

Food and a good life—they can’t be separated. It is a discovery the women share, not only with each other, but with the men in their lives. Because of her correspondence with Joan, Imogen’s decades-long marriage blossoms into something new and exciting, and in turn, Joan learns that true love does not always come in the form we expect it to. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of Joan and Imogen’s friendship—a test that summons their unconditional trust in each other.

A brief respite from our chaotic world, Love & Saffron is a gem of a novel, a reminder that food and friendship are the antidote to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I have simply always had an interest in people from other countries. I like the way their kitchens smell.

 

I have no idea what to do with Sex and the Single Girl. The girls at the paper are chirping with excitement about it. I find it embarrassing. I do not like the presumption that there is only one way for me to be an unmarried, twenty-seven-year-old female. Apparently, I should aspire to something called a “sexth sense,” and places where I should make an effort to meet eligible men include Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. As if I have any interest in spending my life drinking Chablis alone.

 

 The world is big, small, and gloriously astonishing all at once!

 

That is the first time I have written his name in my own hand. It makes my heart feel as vulnerable as a dandelion in a windstorm.

 

I felt thoroughly uncultured as we walked through the Huntington galleries. She knows so much about art. And I didn’t dare open my mouth when she played her opera records. Don’t tell her, but it sounded to me like a box of howling cats.

 

 My Review:

 

This was a quick, gentle, slow and easy, relaxing, thoughtfully written, delightfully amusing, and engaging read that tapped all the feels in the best way possible. The writing was easy to fall into while poignant, historically accurate, and heart-squeezing. The writing was honest and truly moving while a supportive relationship was developing between two women through their pen and paper correspondence over food that spanned several years and only one face-to-face meeting. The women easily established a bond that allowed them to freely expose their innermost fears and bare themselves on paper as they could to no one else in their lives. Their words plumbed all the feels and put hot rocks in my throat and stung my eyes as well as lifted my spirits. Kim Fay has gifted us with a tasty treat and a delicious tale for all the senses.

 

 

Former indie bookseller (Seattle), teacher and travel writer (Saigon), and jill-of-all-trades (Los Angeles). Author of the novels LOVE & SAFFRON (#1 Indie Next pick) and THE MAP OF LOST MEMORIES (Edgar Award Finalist), and COMMUNION: A CULINARY JOURNEY THROUGH VIETNAM. Also the creator/​editor of the To Asia With Love guidebook series, passionate reader, tea drinker, bread baker, nephew wrangler, puppy Mabel mom, and lifelong writer. #blessed

Book Review: The Night She Went Missing by Kristen Bird @kbirdwrites

The Night She Went Missing
by Kristen Bird 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

An intriguing and twisty domestic suspense about loyalty and deceit in a tight-knit Texas community where parents are known to behave badly and people are not always who they appear to be.Emily, a popular but bookish prep school senior, goes missing after a night out with friends. She was last seen leaving a party with Alex, a football player with a dubious reputation. But no one is talking.Now three mothers, Catherine, Leslie, and Morgan, friends turned frenemies, have their lives turned upside down as they are forced to look to their own children—and each other’s—for answers to questions they don’t want to ask.

Each mother is sure she knows who is responsible, but they all have their own secrets to keep and reputations to protect. And the lies they tell themselves and each other may just have the potential to be lethal in this riveting debut.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… they also looked literally hungry. They all had that fresh scrub of a facial and the sallow cheeks of the carb-less.

 

I think that’s everything, ladies. The truth as we know it. Now, we must decide how much to tell everyone else.

 

My Review:

 

This was cleverly written, maddeningly paced, shrewdly plotted, and brilliantly laced together with an original cast of characters who were fatally flawed and varying degrees of abhorrent, yet also compelling and authentic. I was loath to put my beloved Kindle down as I was itching to discover the culprit and unearth the chain of events. I developed, modified, morphed, and cast off multiple theories but was only partially correct in my conclusions – what guile! Kristen Bird is a sly and devious trickster and I was stunned when I noticed this was her debut publication. She is definitely one to watch and going on my list of favorites.

 

About the Author
Kristen Bird lives outside of Houston, Texas with her husband and three daughters. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music and mass media before completing a master’s in literature. She teaches high school English and writes with a cup of coffee in hand. In her free time, she likes to visit parks with her three daughters, watch quirky films with her husband and attempt to keep pace with her rescue lab-mixes. THE NIGHT SHE WENT MISSING is her debut novel.