Love You More by Emily Giffin
Goodreads blurb: A woman is newly engaged to a man she adores when she receives a call from her first love—with news that shatters her carefully ordered world—in this emotional, powerful novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Pact.
Billie has built the perfect life. Her practice as a doctor in New York City is thriving, and she’s finally found the right partner in Dean after years spent trying to move on from her high-school sweetheart, Mick. Their young love had been intense and true, but distance and ambition pulled them apart when she left Wisconsin for medical school.
Then one morning, just after accepting Dean’s romantic marriage proposal, Billie’s phone rings. It’s Mick—calling for the first time in nearly a decade. His news is urgent, and in a moment, everything changes.
As Billie boards a plane back to Wisconsin, the past comes rushing in—her friendships from home, the love she shared with Mick, and the choices that shaped them. What awaits her is a reckoning with what she’s lost, what she’s built, and what she still wants.
Gripping and deeply moving, Love You More is a story about the plot twists life throws at us—and how love, in all its forms, has the power to change everything.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take : 3.25 out of 5 –This is a great story of dealing with the curve balls that life throws at you. I however, was not ok with half the decisions on this book and was annoyed at the characters throughout so it naturally brought down my enjoyment of the book. It’s beautifully written as always with Emily Giffin but I was just annoyed a lot. I do have to give it to her, she chose a perfect subject for you to get invested in. You might like or not like the decisions the characters make in the book, but you will definitely be very invested. Also a breeze to read, I finished it in a day.
It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica
Goodreads blurb: A scream shatters the silence…
Courtney Gray’s peaceful vacation turns into a nightmare when she discovers her brother and sister-in-law dead in their lakeside cottage. Her niece Reese is missing. Her nephew Wyatt is asleep upstairs—unharmed.
A town full of secrets…
As police swarm the quiet resort, dark truths about Courtney’s family—and the town itself—begin to surface. Is Reese a victim… or the killer?
A truth no one saw coming…
With everyone hiding something, Courtney races to uncover the terrible mystery. But the closer she gets, the harder it is to know who—or what—to trust.
my take: 3 out of 5. This book seemed like it would be totally up my alley, but I just never connected. Its a good who did it, but not a memorable one. Writing this review a few days out of reading it I cant even remember half of the story, which is its main problem, its definetly not one that will stick out with you. Its a good episode of a procedural but not the twisty movie you will remember. It is a fast read and the audiobook is very well done.
The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh
Goodreads blurb: From the New York Times -bestselling author of Ghosted and The Love of My Life comes another love story wrapped in a an up-all-night thriller with a dark secret at its core
2010. Carrie and Johan, madly in love, marry on the beach in Thailand, five months into their whirlwind romance. Carrie, a British surgical intern, knows she’s being uncharacteristically impulsive but is too happy to care. But as the wedding festivities stretch into the night, armed men swarm the beach and arrest Johan for crimes unknown. In police custody, Johan refuses to see or speak to Carrie. She never sees him again.
2022. Carrie is settled in the English countryside with her husband, Robin, and their six-year-old twins. After a difficult entry into motherhood, Carrie has given up her career as a physician and has convinced herself that life as a mother and wife is enough. Until she stumbles across an online post that makes her realize Johan is out of prison—has been out for years. As the memories of their intense, passionate relationship return to her, she becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about what happened on that beach all those years ago—even if that means putting her marriage and family in jeopardy.
And just when Carrie thinks she knows what she must do, a shocking twist confirms the truth found in every Rosie Walsh Everyone has something to hide. The One Day You Were My Husband asks listeners what—and whom—they would give up to return to a first love, and to the people they once were.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
my take: 4.25 out of 5. I was really invested in this book. I actually didn’t even know if i was liking it reading it, I only knew that I really needed to know what happened. The dual timeline narration is very well done and I was absolutely floored by the ending, I definitely did not see that coming. The tensions are beautifully set and you are absolutely in for the wave of emotions in this ride. I really like the description because it is definitely a Thriller and a Love Story all in one, Its a Romantic Thrill Ride? I kind of like that. No one has good instincts in this book, but I forgive them for the great story they brought. The less you know when you go into it the better, but for sure go into it, its a ride you don’t want to miss. Given how much I enjoyed Love of my Life, Rosie Walsh is becoming an automatic buy author for me
Wait for Me by Amy Jo Burns
Goodreads blurb: From the author of Mercury and Shiner comes a novel about the bond between two female folk singers, the love stories that haunt them, and the music that brings them together to burn bright.
Young folk singer Elle Harlow reaches the height of her prowess in 1973, with two wildly beloved albums to her name and a hidden history of impossible heartbreak. When she sets foot on the famed Grand Ole Opry stage, a far cry from the mountain that raised her, Elle gives the biggest performance of her life. Then, to the dismay of shocked fans, her producer, and the man who still loves her, she vanishes.
Almost two decades later, eighteen-year-old Marijohn Shaw is spending her summer pumping gas, writing songs on her broken mandolin, and longing for a mother. Her father, Abe, has always sworn he was the last person to see Elle Harlow alive, but when a meteor strikes the woods of their sleepy Pennsylvania town and a piece of Elle’s past emerges from the wreckage, the truth of her disappearance sets fire to everything Marijohn believes about herself, her music, and her ability to love with abandon.
Wait for Me exalts the lush hills of Appalachia and the bright lights of Nashville as it reveals the legacy of Elle Harlow, the bold voice that defined her, the intimate betrayal that undid her, and the unexpected faith of another young woman determined to resurrect her.
my take: 4 out 5. I love a book about music and musicians and this one delivers. Especially highly recommend the audiobook, as you even get some of the songs being sung. It seems like this would be a predictable story when it starts out but it is anything but. There is a lot of heartwarming character growth, and beautiful connections being explored. I do feel that the relationship with Mary was very weird and Josie is an idiot, but those were just my aside 2 cents.
An Infinite Love Story by Chanel Cleeton
Goodreads blurb: When an astronaut is lost in space, his wife relives their epic love as she attempts to unravel what truly happened to him, in this sweeping love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s Space Race, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes.
When Joe Mitchell launches into space, the world is watching. It’s 1968, and the country waits with anticipation and excitement for another successful mission, another celebration as America sets its sights on the Moon. And then comes the knock at the door.
Joe Mitchell’s spacecraft has lost contact. He and his fellow astronauts onboard are feared to be dead. It’s his wife Vivian’s worst nightmare come to life, her grief suddenly taking center stage as the nation waits and mourns. In her quiet moments, Vivian relives their memorable story, unable to accept that this is the end to a love that felt as though it was written in the stars.
As the investigation surrounding Joe’s lost spacecraft intensifies and the mishap is written off as an operator error, Vivian is determined to clear her husband’s name and uncover the mystery of what happened in space. When someone starts sending Vivian messages—messages she believes only Joe could send—she begins to wonder if their love is stronger than space and time, and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring her husband back to her.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
my take: 3.75 out of 5. I wanted to love this story, because I love Chanel Cleeton and after Athmosphere last year I was all in for another space romance. This however I strongly liked, but didn’t love. I absolutely loved the ride, and the dual storylines which were very well done. The meet cute is epic and I love how their romance evolved. I just was confused with the ending and that let it fall to the not obsessed just really liking a lot category. I really like all the characters and want to live in this world longer can we get some sequels?
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