New Year, New Books

2018 is right around the corner and with it comes new books!

2017 has been a productive year for me as far as reading goes. I discovered new authors like Barbara Claypole White, author of Echoes of Family which touches on mental illness. 

Kimberly Belle and The Marriage Lie, a great thriller! 

I discovered a refreshing voice in CathyLamb with Henry’s Sisters and The Last Time I was Me (among others).  

I still read my usual authors including JD Robb with Echoes in Death and Secretes in Death. This series remains my number one. 

I traveled up the California coast with Catherine Ryan Hyde’s Allie and Bea and read her newest release, The Wake Up. 

Diane Chamberlain’s The Stolen Marriage is in my top three this year. Not only is it an outstanding read but look at this stunning cover! 

I was late to the party (by a couple years) but Kristin Hanna’s The Nighingale finally made its way to the top of my TBR list. It broke me into a million pieces but it made it to my top three. 

Alice Hoffman’s The Rules of Magic stole my heart . It was a wonderful story about accepting who you are. This one completed my top three.

2018 looks promising with a few books that I am definitely looking forward to. This of course includes JD Robb’s Dark inDeath and Leverage in Death, number 46 and 47 in the series. 

Krisntin Hanna’s The Great Alone is one of the most anticipated books this year and one I am looking forward to. I do believe The Nighingale has set quite a bar for Hanna’s work moving forward. 

We will get acquainted with Louisa Clark in Jojo Moyes’ StillMe. I want to know what Louisa is up to when she moves to New York.

The Wife Between us by  Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is one of the best thrillers coming out next year. 

Of my newly discovered authors, I am looking forward to The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White. 

I have a good feeling about The Runaway Children by Sandy Taylor. I believe it has the potential to be a number one along with Susan Meissner’s As Bright as Heaven.

I usually focus on the first half of the year that way I can attempt to keep up with my TBR list. What about you? Which books made your top three this year and which ones are you most excited about in 2018? I’d love to see your recommendations in the comments. Happy new year and of course, Happy Reading!

Review - The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen

5 ✩✩✩✩✩

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions. Assume nothing.

The vague synopsis is what caught my attention. I felt like it was challenging me to think, to wonder and make assumptions even though it clearly says not to. The unique description isn’t much to go on except it compels you to want to read the book.

The story is told in two different points of views. One by Vanessa Thompson, a broken ex-wife with not much will to live. The other by Nellie, a young Pre-School teacher who is making wedding plans.

For a while –as I read– I thought I had it all figured out. I am usually pretty good at figuring things out fairly quickly. I know where the story is and which way it might go. I am usually right. In this one, for example, I knew who the ex-wife was, who the new wife was going to be and why the book is titled The Wife Between Us. I thought I knew who the protagonist was and who the antagonist might be but I was wrong. There I was reading this predictable story when WHAM! A turn I was not at all prepared for. It was so sudden and unexpected I got whiplash! I was so wrong about this and happy to have been put back in my place.

The story captured me from the very first line and continued to grip me throughout. I was not sure who I was feeling sorry for and who was the character I wanted to hate. Slowly the story develops in a way that gives you hints and has you thinking how it all might end but you have no clue! Though the story moves slow, the book reads fairly quickly –if that makes sense.

Character development is fantastic and the theory I had at the beginning was completely erased. Toward the end, when you think you have it all figured out, another twist changes the way you read the entire story. There is no doubt this one will keep you guessing till the very end.