EXCERPT: Given how the evening was progressing, Grace was starting to think he was taking advantage of the situation. He hadn’t even asked what medications “Miss Jacquelyn” was on when she requested a teensy refill and he splashed more wine into her glass. It was a fraction of what he and Grace had consumed – she had a cheap shiraz on hand that they dived into after finishing Miguel’s much better merlot – but, his conversational efforts were revealing a mischievous undertone: she got the feeling he was plying her mom with alcohol. His questions played into Jackie’s worst social tendency to spin a funny tale – often at someone else’s expense to make herself look witty. Miguel made it almost too easy, focusing on Grace’s awkward elementary school years; he asked what sorts of hobbies she’d had, if she’d sung in the choir or played any sports. The less drunk part of her thought that he was probably hoping to hear Jackie boast about Grace’s early talents, and maybe he was ready with supportive retorts, “She always loved a good karaoke night!”, or “So that’s how she learned to crush her opponents!” (Miguel believed she was too competitive when it came to board games.) He might also have been digging for more details about Hope. ‘Can we do something else now?’ Grace asked, lifeless. The school assembly memory was all the more bitter for being one of the few times her mother had been in attendance. Grace had been so excited, so nervous. Miguel blew her a kiss and she read in his expression This will be over soon, which made her feel a smidge better. Maybe this was good, give Miguel a hearty dose of Brassy Mommy – which was a better match to Grace’s descriptions than the Jolly Chef or Carefree Hostess he’d witnessed for most of the evening. Maybe Jackie hadn’t really changed as much as it sometimes seemed. Her stresses were different now and her culinary skills improved, but perhaps underneath she was still the poisonous viper from Grace’s youth, waiting to lash out.
ABOUT ‘MOTHERED’: Grace isnât exactly thrilled when her newly widowed mother, Jackie, asks to move in with her. Theyâve never had a great relationship, and Grace likes her spaceâespecially now that sheâs stuck at home during a pandemic. Then again, she needs help with the mortgage after losing her job. And maybe itâll be a chance for them to bondâor at least give each other a hand.
But living with Mother isnât for everyone. Good intentions turn bad soon after Jackie moves in. Old wounds fester; new ones open. Grace starts having nightmares about her disabled twin sister, who died when they were kids. And Jackie discovers that Grace secretly catfishes people onlineâa hobby Jackie thinks is unforgivable.
When Jackie makes an earth-shattering accusation against her, Grace sees it as an act of revenge, and it sends her spiraling into a sleep-deprived madness. As the walls close in, the ghosts of Graceâs past collide with a new but familiar threat: Mom.
MY THOUGHTS: Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there. He wasn’t there again today ; When I came home last night at three. The man was waiting there for me. – William Hughes Mearns
Reading Mothered by Zoje Stage is a similar experience.
The author herself described Mothered as ‘batshit crazy’. I have to agree. I have no idea how to describe what I have just read.
I loved parts of it. I hated parts of it. Overall I fall somewhere in the middle.
THE AUTHOR: Zoje Stage lives in Pittsburgh with her cats.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Mothered by Zoje Stage for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com
EXCERPT: ‘As I’m sure you all know, my name is Isabelle Drake, and my son, Mason, was kidnapped one year ago,’ I say. ‘His case is still unsolved.’ Chairs squeak; throats are cleared. A mousy woman in the front row is shaking her head gently, tears in her eyes. She is loving this right now, I know she is. It’s like she is watching her favourite movie, mindlessly snacking on popcorn as her lips move gently, reciting every word. She’s heard my speech already; she knows what happened. She knows, but she still can’t get enough. None of them can. The murderers on the t-shirts are the villains; the uniformed men in back, the heroes. Mason is the victim . . . and I’m not really sure where that leaves me. The lone survivor, maybe. The one with a story to tell.
ABOUT ‘ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS’: One year ago, Isabelle Drake’s life changed forever: her toddler son, Mason, was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold. However, Isabelle cannot rest until Mason is returned to herâliterally.
Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasnât slept in a year.
Isabelle’s entire existence now revolves around finding him, but she knows she canât go on this way forever. In hopes of jarring loose a new witness or buried clue, she agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcasterâbut his interest in Isabelle’s past makes her nervous. His incessant questioning paired with her severe insomnia has brought up uncomfortable memories from her own childhood, making Isabelle start to doubt her recollection of the night of Masonâs disappearance, as well as second-guess who she can trust… including herself. But she is determined to figure out the truth no matter where it leads.
MY THOUGHTS: First off, I don’t class this as a thriller. Go into All the Dangerous Things expecting a thriller, and you will be disappointed. A more honest classification, in my opinion, is psychological drama. A slow-burning psychological drama.
The story is told entirely from Isabelle’s pov, over two timelines – the present and the past, encompassing her own childhood and her early years with Ben – so we are privy to her innermost thoughts, her doubts and fears. She has a lot of both.
Obsessed with finding her son, her marriage to Ben has broken down and she is sleep deprived. Isabelle has always had sleep issues. She was a sleepwalker as a child and is now an insomniac. Flickers of the memory of something that happened when she was a child, and a death she has always blamed herself for continue to haunt her. Is it possible that she has harmed her own son?
For most of this read I was thinking 3-stars, but the final twenty percent totally blew me away.
THE AUTHOR: Prior to writing fiction full time, Stacy worked as a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies. She earned her BA in Magazine Journalism from the University of Georgia and MFA in Writing from the Savannah College of Art & Design.
She currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, Britt, and her Labradoodle, Mako.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage
EXCERPT: …..she did what she always did in this situation: drank more coffee, stared at the Grecian-blue horizon, and wished she wasn’t so damn lonely. Maybe Sophie Cosworth was right: it was easier to make friends if you could join a mummy-club, but if everyone in that club was as fixated with their kids as Jasmine and her crew were, Nora knew she wouldn’t fit in anyway. Besides, how did that work? Choosing friends based on the fact that you’d all managed to reproduce? It really was as ludicrous as it sounded. She had friends from university whom she rarely saw but knew that if ever she were in Colorado or Milton Keynes, she could look up her old roommates and be assured of a friendly welcome and a bed for the night. But the kind of mate she could call up for a chat, meet for coffee, turn to for advice? They were a bit thin on the ground. She saw the fact that she was not quite one of the gang as further proof of her oddness, and it hurt.
ABOUT ‘PICKING UP THE PIECES’: As Nora and her British Army officer husband, Gordy, pack up yet another home and leave the sun of Cyprus for the drizzle of England, she canât shake a feeling of regretâat her failure to follow her own dreams, but also, if sheâs honest, at having ended up an officerâs wife at all, drifting through a life of temporary homes and temporary relationships.
Since losing her parents at a young age, Noraâs life has been lacking an anchor: someone or something to make her feel secure. Her marriage has been her only permanent relationship, and just as even that appears to be fizzling out, a tragedy forces Nora into the role of legal guardian to her seven-year-old nephew, Ted. Faced suddenly with a responsibility she never dreamed of, how can Nora possibly offer the boy the kind of unconditional love he deserves, when sheâs never experienced it for herself?
But as she navigates the precarious and unfamiliar world of parenthood, Nora begins to see herself through Tedâs eyes, as someone worthy of love and even joy. When sheâs welcomed into the previously intimidating huddle of mums at the school gate, she has to wonder: is it too late to smash down the other barriers sheâs builtâand to have a second chance at a happy marriage with Gordy?
MY THOUGHTS: I can always rely on finishing an Amanda Prowse book with a big smile on my face and my tear ducts in overdrive. Picking Up The Pieces was no exception. I felt all the emotions as I was reading – more than once.
I loved Nora’s character; she is initially prickly and standoffish, unsure of both her place in the world and her future. She is not close to and is resentful of her only and much younger sister, Kiki.
But when Kiki is rushed to hospital, Nora finds herself suddenly responsible for her beguiling young nephew Ted. Never having been, nor ever having wanted to be a parent, Nora is out of her depth. How does she relate to this child who has only an occasional and tenuous relationship with his father, who is not to be relied on, and who is now also without his mother? And what does she say to the question, ‘When’s mummy coming home?’, a question she cannot begin to answer.
Gordy, Nora’s almost estranged husband is a wonderful character, as are all Kiki’s friends, who surround Nora with support and friendship despite her best efforts to push them away.
This unplanned parenting experience, with all that it brings, will either make or break Nora. Which will it be?
Amanda Prowse has written a beautiful and touching book that has something in it for all of us. It deals with mental health problems, the isolating effects of depression, and the value of friendship.
ââââ.4
#PickingupthePieces #NetGalley
I: @mrsamandaprowse @amazonpublishing
T: @MrsAmandaProwse @AmazonPub
#contemporaryfiction #familydrama #romance
THE AUTHOR: Amanda Prowse was a management consultant for ten years before realising that she was born to write. Amanda lives in the West Country with her husband and their two teenage sons.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing, via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Picking up the Pieces by Amanda Prowse for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com
EXCERPT: I am staring at the TV where I’ve frozen the screen on a shot of Hanna and Jack in happier times. They are a very glamorous couple and look so happy, sophisticated, on top of the world. Hanna’s laughing. She has such a beautiful, infectious smile; her eyes shine with humour and kindness; her skin is lightly freckled and smooth.
I look at Jack and my heart swells with Hanna’s grief. He might not be a classically handsome man, but there is a magnetism to him. I feel a confidence that is arresting. I can imagine wanting to be a part of his world.
I wonder if Hanna knows his big secret yet, the one that Cait told Riona. Yes, Riona does confide in me from time to time, and she was so upset about this that it all came tumbling out.
How could he have betrayed his beautiful wife like that?
He was, at heart, a despicable man and yet I have little difficulty imagining how terrible his loss must be for Hanna. I wish I could comfort her, but there is nothing I can do.
Maybe it won’t be so bad once she learns the truth.
ABOUT ‘NO ONE SAW IT COMING’: Secrets lie at the heart of every familyâŚ
When the unthinkable happensâŚ
Hannaâs world is crumbling.
An unimaginable crime has been committed, and everyoneâs looking for someone to blame. Her loved ones are under suspicion.
Now Hanna must work out who is threatening her family â before itâs too late.
No one could have seen this comingâŚ
MY THOUGHTS: I am conflicted by my feelings about No One Saw It Coming. There’s a thread in the first half that I really didn’t enjoy and I believe that a different vehicle could have been used to facilitate the storyline. But it does serve as a cautionary tale . . .
I really didn’t get involved in the storyline until the second half, and then I really did become involved. It took me three days to read the first half, but I read the second half in one sitting.
Despite the shaky start, I grew to love Hanna’s character. Ditto Kate and Leo. Jack I liked from the start – with reservations – and I never had any doubts about Seb, Andee or Graeme. There is one character who is absolutely despicable.
The family is wealthy, but philanthropic. They are also complicated. A few of the complications I could have done without.
The majority of the story revolves around Hanna, with occasional interspersions from an unknown character who seems to know an awful lot about Hanna and her family.
The plot focuses on family relationships, which we know Susan Lewis is a master of. It also includes the issues of infidelity, teenage pregnancy, mental health, assault and murder.
THE AUTHOR: Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction, via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of No One Saw It Coming by Susan Lewis for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com
EXCERPT: (Megan) thinks I’m the perfect husband and that she still exercises her own free will in our relationship. How cute. She has no idea. That is the way that I will keep it. But the unexpected development this morning means I have some thinking to do as I speed on towards the train station, going much faster than I should on these roads. Megan would hate it if she knew I was going this fast. Then again, she would hate a lot of things about me if she knew them. But she doesn’t. I intend to keep it that way.
ABOUT ‘TIL DEATH DO US PART’: Megan thinks that she has the perfect husband and the perfect life. Craig works so that she doesn’t have to, leaving her free to relax all day in their beautiful and secluded country home.
But when she starts to long for friends and purpose again, Megan applies for a job in London, much to her husband’s disappointment. She thinks that he is upset because she is unhappy. But she has no idea.
After Megan goes against his wishes and attends the interview, Craig decides that it is time to act. Locking her away in their home, Megan realises that her husband never had her best interests at heart, nor did they meet by accident.
Craig has been planning this from the start.
As Megan is kept shut away from the world with only somebody else’s diary for company, she starts to uncover the lies, the secrets and the fact that she isn’t actually Craig’s first wife after all…
MY THOUGHTS: Daniel Hurst does the domestic suspense/psychological thriller trope so very well.
I started this soon thinking that I knew where it was good. It turns out that I didn’t – in reality, I had absolutely no idea!
Narrated alternately by husband and wife Craig and Megan, with diary entries from Anna in the latter part of the book, we witness the disintegration of ‘the perfect marriage’.
Daniel Hurst surprised me, more than once. He uses the very slow bit-by-bit reveal to great advantage keeping the level of suspense high.
Til Death Do Us Part is a quick but extremely satisfying read. I did have to, from time to time, suspend my logical questioning mind, but it was worth it.
The audiobook of Til Death Do Us Part is superbly narrated by Francesca Waite and Gareth Bennett-Ryan.
ââââ.4
#TilDeathDoUsPart #WaitomoDistrictLibrary
I: @danielhurstbooks @wfhowes
T: @dhurstbooks @WFHowes
THE AUTHOR: Writer/wanderer.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Waitomo District Library for providing an audiobook of Til Death Do Us Part, written by Daniel Hurst and narrated by Francesca Waite and Gareth Bennett-Ryan, for review. All opinions expressed in the review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my profile page on Goodreads.com or the about page on Sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also posted on Twitter, Instagram, Amazon and Goodreads.com
EXCERPT: Gabe is standing much closer to the woman than he usually would. Closer to the edge, too. This is against the rules – his own, and the police’s. The cliff is precarious enough for one person. Chunks of it fall into the ocean all the time. And on a night like this, the wind alone could force an unsuspecting person over the edge. Gabe has always been diligent about following the rules, despite his run towards the burning building mentality. I wonder if this is a sign of how it’s going. If so, it’s unlikely to be a good sign. I glance briefly towards the street to see if the police are near. They won’t have sirens or lights on. Like Gabe, they prefer a more subtle approach, not wanting to surprise or crowd anyone. ‘Mummy,’ Freya says, ‘Asha is looking at me.’ ‘Asha, stop looking at your sister,’ I say, my eyes still on the window. Gabe takes a step towards the woman, which is also against the rules. ‘Don’t advance on them,’ he always says. ‘Persuade them to come towards you, towards safety.’ When Freya screams, I think I might faint. ‘For heaven’s sake,’ I say quietly, as I see the prongs of the fork pressing into Freya’s thigh and Asha’s huge brown unworried eyes. I grab the fork. ‘Asha!’ ‘Come on girls,’ Kat says. ‘I’ll read you a book. Let’s go pick one out.’ I turn back to the window. In the dark it takes me a moment to locate them. When I do, I don’t understand what I’m seeing. The space where the woman had been standing is now vacant. Gabe is alone at the cliff’s edge. His arms are outstretched, palms facing the empty air.
ABOUT ‘THE SOULMATE’: Before the woman went over the cliff, Pippa and Gabe were happy. They have the kind of marriage that everyone envies, as well as two sweet young daughters, a supportive family, and a picturesque cliff-side home – which would have been idyllic had the tall beachside cliffs not become so popular among those wishing to end their lives.
Gabe has become somewhat of a local hero since they moved to the cliff house, talking seven people down from stepping off the edge. But when Gabe fails to save the eighth, Amanda, a sordid web of secrets begins to unravel, pushing bonds of loyalty and love to the brink.
What wouldn’t you do for your soulmate?
MY THOUGHTS: Delicious. Absolutely delicious.
Full of secrets, lies and suspicion, The Soulmate is told from the points of view of Pippa, Gabe’s wife, and Amanda, the woman who dies falling from the cliff.
Initially Gabe and Pippa’s family seem like a normal family. Gabe is a loving husband, a caring stay-at-home dad. Pippa is a lawyer – wills and beneficiaries. They are very close to Pippa’s family. Both her parents and her sister Kat live close by. It seems that there is always one of them in Pippa and Gabe’s house. But you know that, with this being a book by Sally Hepworth, things are not always what they seem.
There are some amazing twists in this novel, and none that I saw coming! I lost count of the number of times I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. But there’s nothing OTT, it’s all perfectly believable and rational.
The Soulmate is a book best gone into cold. Know no more than what is written in the blurb. Be prepared to be surprised in the very best way.
THE AUTHOR: Drawing on the good, the bad and the downright odd of human behaviour, Sally writes incisively about family, relationships and identity. Her domestic thriller novels are laced with quirky humour, sass and a darkly charming tone.
Sally’s novels are available worldwide in English and have been translated into 20 languages.â
Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three children and excels at burning toast.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Waitomo District Library for the copy of The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Instagram and Goodreads.com
EXCERPT: The baby was asleep when she was discovered. She was just short of six weeks old, a good weight for her age, healthy and well, other than being completely alone. She would have been warm enough deep inside her bassinet pram. She was swaddled carefully in a clean wrap purchased from the state’s leading baby-wares retailer, and tucked in with an artisan wool blanket, thick enough to have the effect of flattening out the bundle of her shape if placed in the right way. A casual glance towards the pram would inevitably first see the blanket rather than the baby.
It was a spring night and the South Australian sky was clear and starry with no rain forecast, but the weatherproof hood had been pulled over to full stretch. A linen square normally used as a sunshield was draped over the opening between the hood and the pram. A casual glance would not now see the sleeping girl at all.
The pram was parked alongside a few dozen others in the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival’s designated pram bay, fighting for space in the shadow of the ferris wheel with a tangle of bikes and scooters and a lone tricycle. It had been left in the far corner, the foot brake firmly on.
The contents of the bay were collected one by one over the next couple of hours, as families who’d been mixing wine, cheese and carnival rides decided they’d celebrated local produce enough for one night. By a little after 10.30 pm, only the pram and the assistant electrical technician’s bike were left.
ABOUT ‘EXILES’: At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother vanishing into the crowds.
A year on, Kim Gillespieâs absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.
Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems.
Between Falkâs closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman heâs drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge.
MY THOUGHTS: Marralee is a small town in the heart of the South Australian wine country. A small, pretty town, where everyone knows everyone else and nothing bad ever happens. Only something bad has happened. And no one saw.
Exiles is an intricately plotted mystery, the third in the Aaron Falk series. This was planned as a trilogy, but please Jane Harper, give us more! I’m not yet ready to say goodbye to Falk.
This is very much a character driven mystery, my very favourite kind, and I relished the seemingly slow pace, the introduction of another, older, unsolved crime, and a welcome diversion in Falk’s private life.
I loved the sense of family that surrounds Raco and Rita, whom we first encountered in The Dry. Falk is welcomed, even embraced, in this family and it stirs the feeling that maybe work isn’t everything, that maybe there could be more if he would just open himself to the possibility.
The mysteries are engaging and compelling. My suspicions were all over the place. The clues were there, but caught up in the atmosphere of Harper’s writing and seeing the situation from the perspective of her friends, I missed them. Well, not exactly missed them, but didn’t attach to them the importance they deserved. The answer to Kim’s disappearance is chilling; to who caused the death of Dean Tozer, sad.
As always, Jane Harper kept me glued to the page, totally immersed in the world of Marralee. I hope we have the chance to return.
Exiles is able to be read as a stand-alone.
âââââ
#Exiles
I:
T: @janeharperautho @MacmillanAus
THE AUTHOR: Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK, and now lives in Melbourne.
DISCLOSURE: I borrowed my copy of Exiles, by Jane Harper and published by Pan Macmillan Australia, from Waitomo District Library. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.com
Happy Friday and welcome to First Lines Friday hosted by Reading is my SuperPower.
Think back. The signs were there. What were they?
They all asked themselves the same question afterwards. ‘How did it come to this? Could we have stopped it?
Like what you’ve just read?
Want to keep reading?
Pick up a copy of Exiles by Jane Harper.
At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother vanishing into the crowds.
A year on, Kim Gillespieâs absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.
Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems.
Between Falkâs closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman heâs drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge.
EXCERPT: As she neared the double doors of the bus station, she slowed. Help wanted ads, business cards, and what seemed like a hundred missing kid flyers covered a bulletin board next to the door – row after row of innocent smiling faces lined up like faded yearbook photos. She’d always hated those photos: the word MISSING all in caps knocking you between the eyes, the grainy photos taken on happier days before the kids were abducted, when everyone was still blissfully unaware that they’d be stolen from their families some day. The flyers were plastered all over Staten Island, inside the grocery stores and post offices, outside the bowling alleys and movie theaters, on the mailboxes and telephone poles. Something cold and hard tightened in her chest. Would her twin sister’s face be on one of those damn flyers too? And where were all those poor innocent kids? What horrible things had they endured? Were they dead? Still suffering? Crying and terrified, wondering why their parents, the people who had promised to love and protect them forever, hadn’t saved them yet? She couldn’t imagine a worse fate.
ABOUT ‘THE LOST GIRLS OF WILLOWBROOK’: Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemaryâawake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tearsâseemed to need more protection from the world.
Six years after Rosemaryâs death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sageâs stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didnât die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.
Sage knows little about Willowbrook. Itâs always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined…
MY THOUGHTS: I am torn by this book and may revise my rating once I have thought on it some more.
I honestly think a better title may have been ‘The Lost Souls of Willowbrook’.
I worked in a government mental institution in New Zealand in the 1970s and I am happy to report that it was mostly nothing like Willowbrook. There was the occasional ‘old school’ attendant or nurse who could be cruel and uncaring, but mostly we were bright young men and women who had learned respect and were intent on improving the lot of the residents by providing the best care possible. The only ‘locked wards’ were the ones that housed the criminally insane or the extremely violent. Our wards, even the old ones, were bright and clean, the residents well fed and, where possible, their independence nurtured. It wasn’t perfect, but it was ‘home’ to many long term residents, and a welcome refuge for acute admissions.
So Willowbrook came as a bit of a shock to me. After I finished listening to the audiobook I read some of the archived articles and examined the photos. I couldn’t get over the sheer size of Willowbrook, and the design of the building made it eminently unsuitable for housing the disabled, the ‘feeble-minded’. Mr Dewey, what were you thinking? There was obviously a demand, a need for accommodation and care; but just as obviously Willowbrook was not the answer.
Now, onto the book that I am reviewing. While I admire what the author set out to do, it just didn’t resonate for me. I didn’t like the plot and failed to feel anything at all for the characters. I think that I may have enjoyed this more had Sage been a more likeable character.
The language used to describe the conditions Sage encounters in Willowbrook is repetitious. I felt like the author was trying too hard to shock me, and it all felt ‘over-exposed’. And y’all that know me know that I prefer not to be belted about the ears with a piece of 4 x 2 when you’re trying to get your point across. Less is more.
THE AUTHOR: A first-generation German American, Ellen Marie Wiseman discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in NYS. Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband and two spoiled Shih-tzus, Izzy and Bella. When sheâs not busy writing, she loves spending time with her children and grandchildren.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Kensington Books for supplying a digital ARC and to RB Media for supplying an audio ARC of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook written by Ellen Marie Wiseman and narrated by Morgan Hallett for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com
What a lovely almost summery day we’ve had. I’ve had all the doors windows wide open until late this afternoon. The washing all dried on line, and after I’d caught up with my cousin for coffee this morning, I spent the remainder of the day in the garden. Not that you can actually see where I’ve been. We’ve apparently got another four days of this, but as I have a big week at work this week, I’m unlikely to be able to take advantage of the lovely weather.
We took a drive to the beach yesterday and had a lovely lunch at the Awakino Hotel before going for a walk on the beach. We were stunned by the amount of damage this winter’s storms have wreaked. The locals were out in force clearing trees and driftwood from the beach. There’s going to be one massive Guy Fawkes bonfire! Quite what they are going to be able to do about the erosion, I don’t know.
Currently I am reading The Ex by S.E. Lynes. Deliciously evil!
What She Found (Tracy Crosswhite #9) by Robert Dugoni
And I am doing a read/listen of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman which is one of the six reads for review (what was I thinking?) that I have to read for review this coming week.
Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemaryâawake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tearsâseemed to need more protection from the world.
Six years after Rosemaryâs death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sageâs stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didnât die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.
Sage knows little about Willowbrook. Itâs always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined.
The other five reads for review I need to complete by the end of the week are: And Then There’s Margaret by Carolyn Clarke
When Allison Montgomery’s beloved father-in-law and long-time confidant passes away, her mother- in-law, Margaret, ‘temporarily’ moves in. From rearranging the furniture and taking over the kitchen, to undermining and embarrassing Allie at every turn, including funding her daughter’s escape, throwing a hissy fit at the mall, and publicly equating Allie’s glass of Chardonnay to full blown alcoholism, Margaret turns Allie’s life upside down causing her to bounce between a sincere desire to support her grieving mother-in-law and an intense urge to simply push her out of the nearest window. Feeling annoyed, trapped and even a little childish, Allie struggles to avoid a complete meltdown with help from her fearless and audacious best friend, a plan for reinventing herself and enjoying a second act, and, yes, a few glasses of Chardonnay. Along the way, Allie discovers the reasons behind Margaret’s attitude toward her all these years. Does it help? Maybe…
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father, Javier, as her coach. A former champion himself, Javier has trained her since the age of two.
But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning player named Nicki Chan.
At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked âthe Battle-Axeâ anyway. Even if her body doesnât move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.
The first book in the Escape to France series, Light Through the Vines by Fiona Valpy. This was previously published as The French for Love and includes editorial revisions.
Ginaâs London life lies in tatters: she has lost her father, her steady job as a wine buyer and her suave but unfaithful boyfriend. When she also suffers the loss of her beloved aunt, a silver lining dawns in the shape of an unexpected legacy: Aunt Liz has left Gina her beautiful, if slightly ramshackle, house in the heart of Bordeaux wine country. With nothing left to lose, Gina takes a chance on a fresh start.
Throwing herself into her new life in the beautiful French countryside, Gina discovers the warmth of a close-knitâsometimes too close-knitârural community and the exhausting exhilaration of the grape harvest under the late-summer sun. But just as she is beginning to feel like she belongs in her crumbling but charming home, she uncovers a long-hidden secret that makes her question the one person she used to trust the most. While sheâs worrying that this is a sign to pack her bags and run, a storm blows a hole in the roof, and Gina finds herself with nowhere else to turn except her neighbourâs capable son for help.
Before long Gina finds herself admiring handsome CĂŠdric for more than just his stonemasonry skillsâŚBut everyone sheâs ever held dear has left her or betrayed her. And as the grapes ripen on the vine, can Gina find her way to forgiveness, and could it finally be time for her to open her heart to love again?
Another in the Escape to France series, The Season of Dreams by Fiona Valpy.
Once upon a time, in an ancient château nestled above a golden river among the vineyards of Bordeaux, Sara and Gavin opened a wedding venue where fairy tales come trueâŚBut when Sara discovers Gavin in the arms of a wedding guest, their own happiness crumbles to dust. Faced with five beaming couples yet to say âI doâ, she realises itâs up to her to host the rest of their first make-or-break season alone.
For the summer to go off without a hitch, Sara must bury her broken heart and her fear that sheâll soon be packing her bags for London, and lean on her local team of helpers. So when handsome Thomas Cortini, wine salesman and amateur DJ, crosses her path, Saraâs thrilled to draft in further reinforcementsâand finally dares to hope the summer might not be a total disasterâŚ
But with her life savings at stake, can Sara pull off a successful season, save her budding business andâjust maybeâfind her own happy-ever-after before the summer ends?
And, because I thought that if I was virtually travelling to France, I may as well stay for as long as possible, I also have The Recipe for Hope by Fiona Valpy to read, which is both another book in the Escape to France series and a Christmas read.
Evieâs running away: from her soon-to-be ex-husbandâs shiny new life, from the devastating loss of her baby last year, from a memory-filled London and, most particularly, from Christmas. A remote cottage in the South of France seems like the perfect peaceful place to soothe her sorrows.
But the countryside soon proves anything but quiet, from the rooster crowing at dawn to the barn owl hooting through the nightânot to mention Evieâs handsome neighbour, doctor Didier, who works away in his garage at all hours.
Unexpectedly, the sights and sounds of life amid the sparkling beauty of the Dordogne give Evie a renewed sense of inspiration, and with her French grandmotherâs recipe book for company, she begins to rediscover her love of cooking. Soon, the tight-knit community begins to enfold her, reminding Evie what really matters in life.
But are Didierâs gorgeous blue eyes on more than Evieâs delicious dinners? And can a cancelled Christmasâcomplete with a Not-Christmas feast for twoâheal her heart?
After my deluge of ARCs last week I am pleased to be able to report that I have only received two this week. They are: The Next Best Day by Sharon Sala
And Outback by Patricia Wolf
Now I need to get dinner. Homemade chicken burgers tonight. Pete has just been told he has a 4am start in the morning, which means that he’ll be up before 3am. So he needs to eat and get some sleep.
Sandy's Book a Day Blog 