Willa & Hesper. This book! So much to think about!
Willa and Hesper are studying creative writing when they become fast friends. Ultimately, a romance Willa & Hesper. This book! So much to think about!
Willa and Hesper are studying creative writing when they become fast friends. Ultimately, a romance develops between them, but the romance is only a small part of the book. It’s about much, much more and is comprised mostly of their lives after their break-up. Willa becomes too much for Hesper. She’s too close, and Hesper needs space, so she runs to her family’s ancestral home in the the country of Georgia. There she visits her grandfather.
Shortly after, Willa runs in her own way, joining a tour of Holocaust sites in Germany and Poland.
The story is told from each of their perspectives, and they quickly find no solace or comfort in their search for their respective pasts. The book then lands back in the United States with the Trump presidency as its backdrop.
I would say close to eighty-percent of this story is about Willa and Hesper’s journeys to find themselves. Their trips were full of insight for me, as they visited places some of which I was previously unfamiliar. Their emotions also offered me perspective. The family dynamics were fascinating to behold, and I can’t forget to mention the glorious writing. It matches the stunning cover.
Overall, Willa & Hesper is a quick-paced, lyrical, absorbing read, and I’m still mulling over the exceptional experience I had reading it.
Thanks to the publisher for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
4 intriguing stars to Long Road to Mercy! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
It’s a shiny new series from David Baldacci with a fierce female main character!
Meet Atlee Pine4 intriguing stars to Long Road to Mercy! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
It’s a shiny new series from David Baldacci with a fierce female main character!
Meet Atlee Pine. She’s a tall, muscular, no nonsense FBI special agent, and she’s assigned to the most remote areas of the west.
What inspired her to join the FBI? Her twin sister was abducted by a serial killer, but not before assaulting Atlee, and her life mission has become putting offenders behind bars. Atlee is a top profiler with the agency, and she keeps to herself working on lone missions in her vast assigned territory.
Her current mission: investigating a missing person from the Grand Canyon. This is not the only person missing from the area, so one could could lead to another for Atlee as she profiles the crime. Startlingly, she is told not to investigate further by her superiors, but she does not not heed their orders.
Atlee as a character is well-drawn. I have a sense of her as if she is a real person. I admired her morals and assertiveness. There’s also something soft and vulnerable about her balanced with a hard, strong exterior. She’s going to do what’s right regardless of what anyone else thinks.
I found Long Road to Mercy to be gripping and intense. It stars strong and never lets go of the pull. The pacing is on point, and I was entertained from start to finish. I’m really excited for the next installment because I have to see what Atlee is up to. I think she has quite a story to share with us.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
This is a witty collection of essays by Abbi Jacobson. I loved the included drawings and recommend this one in physical form if possible because of thThis is a witty collection of essays by Abbi Jacobson. I loved the included drawings and recommend this one in physical form if possible because of those. Abbi’s honesty is refreshing.
4 tense and original stars to The Three Beths! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Why hasn’t Jeff Abbott been on my reading radar before? I am his newest fan.
I don’t know h4 tense and original stars to The Three Beths! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Why hasn’t Jeff Abbott been on my reading radar before? I am his newest fan.
I don’t know how you could read the synopsis and not be intrigued. The premise is completely original, and the way this is written is exceptionally engaging.
Mariah Dunning’s mother disappeared without a trace, which is completely out of character for her. Mariah’s father shoulders the blame, though he proclaims his innocence. Their lives are abruptly altered because the community is distrustful and wants nothing to do with Mariah and her father.
There is an opening scene where Mariah spots someone looking like her mother in the mall. What a thrill ride, which lands Mariah at the police station.
Mariah is friends with a crime blogger, and he has pieced together that two other women in the area are missing- both named Beth; making that three women named Beth who are missing. Mariah feels strongly that it is not a coincidence and sets her sights on pinpointing the connection between the women.
The Three Beths is a compelling, twisty, turny adventurous thriller. The pacing is on point, and the writing is so easy to read that once the plots gets moving, it is incredibly difficult to put the book down! The police are focused on Mariah’s dad, and Mariah is focusing hard on the possible connection between the women. Where does the truth lie?
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the invitation to read this book. All opinions are my own.
I was a huge fan of Robert Bryndza’s first installment in the Erika Foster series, The Girl in the Ice! It5 big stars to The Night Stalker! 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
I was a huge fan of Robert Bryndza’s first installment in the Erika Foster series, The Girl in the Ice! It kept me on the edge of my seat, and the writing was flawless!
I think Bryndza topped himself with installment number two, The Night Stalker!
Everyone’s new favorite heroine, Erika Foster, is called to a murder scene in the heat of a summer night. A doctor is found deceased in his bed, and the method appears to be suffocation. Not long thereafter, someone else is found dead in the same manner. You may sense where this is going…Erika has a serial killer on her hands.
The heat of summer builds in London, as does the mystery surrounding these murders. What is the link between these single male victims?
If you know Erika, she’ll stop at nothing to solve these crimes, but will she become a victim in the process?
Bryndza is a talented writer. The tension starts at page one and never lets go. More about Erika and her past marriage comes to light, and we also connect with Moss and Peterson. Isaac is a charmer and wonderful friend to Erika. I loved watching his character grow. The Night Stalker has all the character development I could have asked for and more. I am now fully invested in Erika’s team and am hooked in for the next installment! If you follow my reviews, you know it’s challenging to get me to follow a series, but I will definitely be following Erika!
How far will Erika and her team delve into darkness in order to solve the crimes of The Night Stalker?
Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the invitation to read and review The Night Stalker, as well as for sponsoring the giveaways. I have one on my instagram page www.instagram.com/tarheelreader and one on my blog www.jennifertarheelreader.com. All opinions are my own. ...more
5 stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ This was unexpected. I thought I “knew” Sally Field from her movies, but it turns out she has a far-reaching, honest story to 5 stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ This was unexpected. I thought I “knew” Sally Field from her movies, but it turns out she has a far-reaching, honest story to tell, and I took my time with it- some parts difficult, but all of it memorable.
Sally Field…My first introduction being either Steel Magnolias or Forrest Gump? I had heard of Gidget, the happy-go-lucky, girl-next-door, cute, charming, all smiles.
Sally Field has a story to tell. It took her seven years to write it and a lifetime to live and process it. She could have kept this all to herself; we certainly never would have known. Her family hardly knew.
Some have asked me if In Pieces is a “star book,” and I would say no. It is not salacious or gossipy, most definitely not braggy or boastful. It just is. She just is. And there most definitely are chronicles of the tv shows and movies as she is launched into stardom because those are part of her story, too. But with that, there’s always a humbleness, a demureness, where she never feels quite settled in her own skin, which you will come to understand as you learn her story; or at least, I did.
I first caught hold of Sally’s story when she wrote of her great grandmother and grandmother. The time periods, their stoicism and other personality traits, their inordinate strength; it all connected with me strongly because of the women in my own family. It had me revisiting my thoughts on another book I read and inter-generational experiences, good and bad, and how we pass them down to our daughters.
Sally Field writes with tenderness and complexity of most everyone she loved in her life, and that’s another aspect that connected to me deeply. It would be easy to write off the exboyfriend who was controlling, but a charmer, and make him out to be the monster that was most of the time, but instead she describes why she stayed, his strengths and what connected her to him (not naming any names here; that’s part of the fun of the book!). The same with her childhood love who became her first husband and the father of two of her children. Everyone would love Steve by the way she first describes him, but he is not without flaws, and neither is she.
That ultimately leads me to another aspect I loved. Sally’s honesty and ownership over her life. She doesn’t blame others or feel sorry for herself at any time. She recognizes where she may have played a role, and even when I didn’t agree and felt she was too hard on herself (definitely much too hard on herself!), that modesty she possesses only adds to her authenticity.
I also enjoyed reading about her relationship with her mother- her devotion and the complications in their dynamics. It brought me to tears several times and made me grateful for the ease of my relationship with my mother. Her children are described with the most tenderness, three beautiful boys, that she loves with a ferocity and, yes, she has regrets, but it’s all honest, genuine, authentic.
In Pieces is hands-down one of the best memoirs I’ve read, and this is one of my preferred genres, so I’ve read a few. I loved that my mind was changed about Sally in a way; well, maybe not changed…opened-up, and it was all about something I harp on- complexity of character. None of us are all good, or all bad, and Sally chose to let us see all the parts, all her pieces, her whole self. She most definitely didn’t have to, it was her story to tell, but she bravely and boldly did.
Thank you to the lovely folks at Grand Central for the invitation to read In Pieces. All opinions are my own.
4 sordid, family secrets stars to We All Love the Beautiful Girls! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
We All Love the Beautiful Girls is an elegantly-told story of the darke4 sordid, family secrets stars to We All Love the Beautiful Girls! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
We All Love the Beautiful Girls is an elegantly-told story of the darker side of family.
Mia and Michael Slate are married and appear to have it all: an accomplished teenage son, Finn, and a happy married life heads and shoulders above their friends. They are that couple everyone envies. But as the stunning facade of their family starts to chip and peel, they are left in shambles as their finances are in jeopardy, and Finn is involved in a serious accident.
Michael retaliates for something that has happened to him and his family, and in doing so, sets in motion a chain of events that will upturn their entire community.
I was struck by how realistic and authentic the characters and emotions felt. The storytelling is rich without being overdone as the author explores the effects of the tragedy on each family member individually and the unit as a whole.
We Love All the Beautiful Girls has a slow start firmly setting in place all the key players. It requires patience at first, but the pay-off is grand. As the tension builds, Proulx presents the Slates as if they could be any fallible family; the losses, utter betrayal and upheaval, as well as discontent and discord, in sharp contrast to all the love at its heart.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the complimentary physical copy. All opinions are my own.
Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader
>
Books:
grand-central
(7)
Loading...
