Publisher: Boldwood Books
Genre: Thriller
Source: Boldwood Books ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: She’s on trial for murder… Now it’s her turn to tell her story…

The truth is that I loved James with my whole heart. We were soulmates: meant to be together forever. On the morning of our wedding, I had just found out I was carrying his child.

But it’s time to tell my side of the story. It’s time everyone knew what happened on that wedding day, on our honeymoon, and on that fateful last drive together. It’s time everyone found out about the secrets and about the threat that loomed over our marriage. It’s time everyone found out who really killed James.

And I need everyone to believe me. To believe I’m not a killer. Because if they don’t, then my baby won’t just have no father… she’ll have no mother.

A totally gripping psychological thriller full of jaw-dropping twists, that will keep you reading late into the night. If you loved Gone Girl, The Mother-in-Law and The Housemaid, you’ll be hooked on The Bride.

Ope’s Opinion: This book was just not for me. I do not like an unreliable narrator. This narrator was the only perspective in the whole book. The details slowed the story down. I started skimming so I could see where it ended.

I don’t really care for weak female characters or characters who make obvious bad decisions and Daisy did both of those.

The ending was frustrating. I don’t feel like any questions were answered, which was the whole reason I kept reading.

Publisher: Forever
Genre: Romance
Source: Forever ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: In this perfect beach read, a recent divorcee and a woman independent to a fault form a spectacular bond as they move forward and help each other through love, loss, and big life changes—perfect for fans of Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery.

Dr. Becca Weiland had the perfect life—or so she thought, until she learned her husband cheated on her after a decade of marriage. With divorce papers signed, Becca throws her trademark caution to the wind and agrees to an impromptu monthlong vacation at a beach house with Sadie, a woman she’s known all her life but really doesn’t know at all.

Free-spirit Sadie Bloom is Becca’s opposite in every way, living in the moment and wasting zero energy on what comes next. But the pastry chef’s nothing-bothers-me exterior hides a fear she’s not ready to face—one that may jeopardize a future she never realized she wanted.

At first, Sadie’s go-big-or-go-home style bumps up against Becca’s perfectionism, but soon they’re bonding over too much Schnapps, a leaky roof, a bikini wax gone awry, and awkward meet-cutes with two of the hottest men in town. Best of all, in getting to know each other, they’ve gotten to know themselves, and together they find the courage to discover what it really means to live.

Ope’s Opinion: I really do enjoy female friendships, especially among strong women. These were unlikely friends, so that was interesting to watch them realize they had more in common, then they thought.

If you took out the foul language ( way too much of it ) and the sexual content ( thoughts about sex, lust, etc. ) you would have had an interesting book on friendship. I got so tired of both the language and the sex scenes.

There was a lot of repetition of information.

The ending was exactly what you would expect. No surprises here.

Publisher: Hyperion Avenue
Genre: Thriller
Source: Hyperion Avenue ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: In a quiet Chicago suburb, a star wrestler goes missing weeks before his high school graduation, shattering his mother’s carefully curated image of domestic bliss.

Meg Hart has taken great pains to create her perfect All-American family. It looks effortless, but that’s because she’s been smart about it.

However, on a brisk spring morning weeks before his graduation, her son McClane goes missing. And as the investigation deepens, the police zero in on her as their perfect suspect. Tragedy has struck this family before, and all signs suggest that she is the source. Add in her elusive husband’s strange behavior and inconsistencies in her story, it becomes clear that she has plenty to hide.

Before he disappears, it turns out McClane has secrets of his own: a pregnant girlfriend, a shocking truth about his wrestling career, and a chilling discovery—the person he trusts most has betrayed him in the worst way.

Alternating between Meg’s perspective in the initial days of the investigation and McClane’s in the hours leading up to his disappearance, Upstanding Young Man is packed with relentless tension and short, fast-paced chapters that will keep readers up all night.

Ope’s Opinion: This story is told in two points of view, which actually was confusing for me. The language was awful, consistent, and doesn’t add to the story. I had a hard reading this book. I almost did not finish it.

The ending was too quick and everything ending seemed to perfect.

Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Romance
Source: Thomas Nelson ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: In this enemies-to-lovers romance, school nurse Josie and her brother’s best friend–hockey player Wyatt Jacobs–are tricked into spending a summer together that’s anything but smooth sailing.

When Josie’s brother sends her to a random address for their (sometimes) annual Super Summer Sibling Extravaganza, she finds neither siblings nor extravaganzas. Instead, ends up at a run-down cottage on the Northern Neck of Virginia occupied by a hockey player she knows and loathes.

A hockey player who isn’t just one of her sports agent brother’s clients. He’s also his best friend. And Josie’s sworn enemy.

Oh–and her brother wants Josie to help Wyatt recover from his injury.

Dragging grumpy hockey players to physical therapy is a far cry from bandaging skinned knees, but for the price her brother offers to pay, Josie is willing to try.

Even if it means sharing what she dubs the quaint little murder cottage with Wyatt.

Begrudgingly, Josie starts to see a little more of the man behind the grumpy exterior. And when she finds out he was supposed to sail the Intracoastal Waterway south to Savannah scattering his uncle’s ashes, Josie surprises even herself by offering to be Wyatt’s first mate.

Smooth sailing is nowhere to be found, and Josie begins to wonder if they’ll be able to make it home without killing–or kissing?–each other.

And yet, the longer they share cramped quarters and canned food, the more of Wyatt’s layers she peels back until Josie realizes she misunderstood him, their shared history, and perhaps herself as well.

Ope’s Opinion: This story started out a 3 chair and ended up a 4 four chair. In the beginning Wyatt was whiney and just overall not likable. Maybe that is the way the author meant him to be, but I almost quit reading because I couldn’t stand him.

The sailing trip ( although not realistic ) was a fun way for Wyatt and Josie to really get to know each other. They could not leave each other – they had to work out their differences. I thought each of their truths came out naturally.

I really liked the slow pace of the two of them getting to know each other. I enjoy a clean romance, it brings out the personalities, not just the physical attributes. I will go back and see what books I have not read of Emma St. Clair.