Waiting on Wednesday/Can't-Wait Wednesday: Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I've also decided to start linking up to Can't-Wait Wednesday hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings. 

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell 

Release Date: April 14, 2018

Ten years after her teenage daughter disappears, a woman crosses paths with a charming single father whose young child feels eerily familiar, in this evocative, suspenseful drama from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell—perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Liane Moriarty.

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her.

And then she was gone.

Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?

Then She Was Gone's synopsis has the line that reels me in every single time - "perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty."Plus is Poppy really Ellie? I want to know! Good thing I won't have to wait too long to find out. 

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Review: Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Synopsis/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson weaves a delicate tale of murder and mystery in the first book of a striking new series, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and E. Lockhart.

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.”

Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.

Review: 

Maureen Johnson is one of my favorite YA authors. Not only have I devoured and loved the majority of her YA contemporary books (The Key to Everything, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, The Last Little Blue Envelope, and Girl At Sea), but they've always toped my "best of" lists. Therefore, when I caught wind that she was releasing a new series - one focusing on a teenage sleuth, a decades old murder mystery, and a boarding school setting - I was jumping-up-and-down-can't-contain-my-happiness excited. I had high hopes; however, I had faith that Maureen would deliver.

As it turns out I was one 100% right. Truly Devious just may be Maureen's best work yet! Suspenseful, swoony, and incredibly well written, Truly Devious is a wild ride from start to finish. 

Truly Devious beautifully blends together two murder mysteries - one from the past as well as one from the present. At first I didn't know how Maureen was possibly going to stretch the murder mysteries over three books; however, now that I've finished the book it's crystal clear. There's A LOT at play and I can't wait to see how it unravels. 

Both mysteries are nail-bitting/edge-of-my-seat suspenseful. There's so many twists, so many turns, and so many more connections than I could have ever possibly imagined. Out of the two, however, I think the one from the past hooked me in the most. For one, I enjoyed the flashbacks Maureen offered. It gave insight to the key players from that fateful day - Albert Ellingham, the butler, the FBI detail assigned to Albert, etc -  and each "confessional" introduced an exciting new clue. I also liked that details surrounding the case where slowly revealed. It offered up an extra dose of suspense, especially when Stevie took it upon herself to "re-open" the case. 

The setting also added a layer of chill to the novel. Ellingham Academy is by no means your typical boarding school. It's located in the middle of nowhere, cut-off from civilization in many facets. It also contains crazy artwork, secret hideaways/passages, and a mega mansion. Maureen did such a fantastic job of setting the scene. 

Stevie is great lead!  She's smart, funny, and utterly charming. When the story begins, Stevie is beyond ready to have a fresh start. She never fit in well at home - her conservative parents never understand her, she always does or says the wrong thing, and the majority of her friends are online rather than in person. At Ellingham Acadmey Stevie slowly starts to get comfortable, finding an unexpected home. She makes friends, pursues a boy, and learns how to speak up for herself. I clicked with her from the start, and I loved seeing her embark on this journey.  In addition to Stevie, I enjoyed the wide variety of other characters introduced in the past as well as the present. There were unique as well as complex. My favorite of the bunch, though, is Stevie's love interest. I could never quite figure him out but I loved how he made Stevie more adventurous, more willing to go with the flow.

Overall, Truly Devious is yet another stellar book by Maureen, and given the crazy, I-can't-believe-this-is-happening ending I can't wait to see where it goes next.

Truly, Devious is now out! 

5 stars!! 

Source: eARC provided by HarperCollins - thank you! 

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Buy Links: 

Amazon | BN | Kobo | Book Depository | Indiebound 

Author Links: 

Website | Twitter 

Blog Tour: Bayside Passions by Melissa Foster (Review & Giveaway!!)

Title: BAYSIDE PASSION

Author: Melissa Foster

Genre: Contemporary Romance

About BAYSIDE PASSIONS:

Fall in love at Bayside, where sandy beaches, good friends, and true love come together in the sweet small towns of Cape Cod.

BAYSIDE SUMMERS is a series of standalone steamy romance novels featuring alpha male heroes and sexy, empowered women. They're fun, flirty, flawed, deeply emotional, always passionate, and easy to relate to. And of course, you'll see cameos from the Seaside Summers characters!

In BAYSIDE PASSIONS...

When Emery Andrews's best friend, Desiree, moves away, falls in love, and opens a an inn all in one summer, she feels her absence like a missing limb. Until she visits over the holidays and meets sinfully hot Dean Masters, who's as easy on the eyes as he is to talk to. After returning home, what starts as a flurry of late-night flirtations quickly turns into a deep connection and unexpected friendship. Now, months later, Desiree offers Emery a job teaching yoga at the inn. Adventurous Emery jumps at the chance and heads for Wellfleet, Massachusetts, to reunite with her BFF and her new close friend, Dean.

After months of sharing their lives, and their secrets, over video chats and phone calls, Dean's ready to move things to the next level. The fact that Emery seems oblivious to the sparks between them and has recently put her foot down about dating friends just means he'll have to bide his time.

When Emery finds a naked man in her kitchen the first morning she's there, Dean doesn't hesitate to move her into his guest room. Maybe now Emery will see what's right before her eyes--although that guy she's got a date with might be a problem.

Review: 

Several months ago I read Melissa Foster's ONLY FOR YOU (Sugar Lake, #2) so when the chance came up to be part of the blog tour for Melissa's BAYSIDE PASSIONS (Bayside Summers, #2) I jumped at the chance. I couldn't wait to dive into another one of her series. Plus BAYSIDE PASSIONS is a romance that takes place at the beach, and truly, what's better than that? 

The result? Super sweet as well as super sexy, BAYSIDE PASSIONS is fun & fast-paced friends-to-lover romance. 

BAYSIDE PASSIONS introduces Desiree and Dean. 

Desiree is work savvy, flirty, and a wild child. BUT she has has two problems. The small one? She's HORRIBLE at relationships. The bigger one? She's falling head over heels for her best friend Dean and given her romantic history she's terrified. Can she risk potentially losing her best friend? From the moment Desiree is introduced I thought she was hilarious. The first scene where she "helps" Dean with weeding his garden had me in stitches! It was definitely something I could see myself doing as well. I could relate to Desiree's struggles with Dean. It is hard deciding whether a romance is worth the risk of losing a friend. I also enjoyed that her work was included. It was awesome to see how much positivity she brought to her patient's lives through yoga. 

Dean is an alpha hero: strong, protective, and charm-your-pants-off sexy. He's in the same thought-process as Desiree: is giving into their chemistry worth the potential fallout? Dean is starting to think so. I loved how protective Dean was with Desiree, especially at the beginning. For example, when he took charge of her living situation I was laughing out loud. What a guy! Additionally, I liked how he approached pursing a relationship with Desiree. He was always willing to take his time to make her comfortable (a big win!), but he also wasn't afraid to call her out if she was being ridiculous (another win!). 

As mentioned above, the romance in BAYSIDE PASSIONS is sweet as well as sexy. While it wasn't my top favorite friends-to-lovers romance, I still enjoyed seeing it develop. I especially loved the banter between Desiree and Dean as well as how they both would push each others buttons to the extreme. They were an adorable couple for sure! 

There is one thing, though, that brought BAYSIDE PASSIONS down a little in my eyes. It lacked a certain "spark." Yes, I enjoyed reading it, but I was never glued to the pages, dying to know what would happen next. Probably more of a me problem than anything, but I just wanted to throw that out there. 

Overall, BAYSIDE PASSIONS is a the perfect quick read for a lazy Saturday. 

3 stars!!

Bayside Passions is now out! 

Source: eBook provided by publicist for blog tour 

Add on Goodreads! 

All BAYSIDE SUMMERS books can be read as standalone novels or as part of the series:

Bayside Desires

Bayside Passions

Bayside Heat

Bayside Escape

Bayside Summers is part of the Love in Bloom romance collection by New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Melissa Foster. While each book may be read as a standalone, you might enjoy reading the entire Love in Bloom series.

Buy Links: 

Kindle | NOOK | KOBO | GPLAY | iBOOKS | Paperback

Check out the rest of the series:

Bayside Desires | Bayside Heat

About Melissa Foster:

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance, new adult romance and women's fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Readers adore Melissa's fun, flirty, and sinfully sexy, award-winning big family romance collection, LOVE IN BLOOM featuring the Snow Sisters, Bradens, Remingtons, Ryders, Seaside Summer, Harborside Nights, and the Wild Boys After Dark. Melissa's emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented.

Melissa also writes sweet and clean romance under the pen name Addison Cole.

Melissa has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Her interests include her family, reading, writing, painting, friends, helping others see the positive side of life, and visiting Cape Cod.

Melissa is available to chat with book clubs and welcomes comments and emails from her readers. Visit Melissa on social media or her personal website.

Never miss a brand new release, special promotions or inside gossip again by simply signing up to receive your newsletter from Melissa.

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Waiting on Wednesday (164)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Airports, Exes, and Other Things I'm Over by Shani Petroff  

(May 15th, 2018!) 

A bad storm, two canceled flights, stuck in an airport with a hot stranger and the guy who broke her heart... what could go wrong?

After Sari caught her boyfriend Zev cheating on her, their romantic Florida vacation was ruined. She can't get back to NYC soon enough. Unfortunately, mother nature may have different plans. A huge storm is brewing in the Northeast, and flights all over the country are getting canceled—including Sari's. She winds up stuck at the airport for hours. With Zev!

When another stranded passenger (a hot NYU guy) suggests a connecting flight to Boston, Sari jumps at the chance. But when her mom freaks out about her traveling alone, she has no choice—she has to include Zev, and somehow survive being trapped with the guy who broke her heart! 

Can we just take a second or two to appreciate how fantastic the title is?! It's such a statement, and it makes me want to read the book without even reading the synopsis. Anyhow, after devouring Jessica Brody's The Chaos of Standing Still this past fall I've been dying for another YA book set at an airport so fingers crossed this one is good. 

Add on Goodreads!

Find out More about the Author:

Website

Invisible Ghosts by Robyn Schneider 

(Coming June 5, 2018)

Robyn Schneider, author of Extraordinary Means and The Beginning of Everything, delivers a sharply funny, romantic girl-meets-boy novel with a twist: boy-also-meets-girl’s-ghost-brother.

When one girl’s best friend is her dead brother’s ghost, romance can be tricky. Perfect for fans of John Green and Nicola Yoon. 

Rose Asher believes in ghosts. She should, since she has one for a best friend: Logan, her annoying, Netflix-addicted brother, who is forever stuck at fifteen. But Rose is growing up, and when an old friend moves back to Laguna Canyon and appears in her drama class, things get complicated. 

Jamie Aldridge is charming, confident, and a painful reminder of the life Rose has been missing out on since her brother’s death. She watches as Jamie easily rejoins their former friends—a group of magnificently silly theater nerds—while avoiding her so intensely that it must be deliberate.

Yet when the two of them unexpectedly cross paths, Rose learns that Jamie has a secret of his own, one that changes everything. Rose finds herself drawn back into her old life—and to Jamie. But she quickly starts to suspect that he isn’t telling her the whole truth.

All Rose knows is that it’s becoming harder to choose between the boy who makes her feel alive and the brother she isn’t ready to lose.

I've been wanting to read a book by Robyn for ages, and this seems like the perfect place to start! I love books involving ghosts, and given the cover it seems like the perfect summer read. 

Add on Goodreads!

Find out More about the Authors: 

Website | Twitter 

Top 10 of 2017: Top 10 Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2018

Top 10 of 2017 is hosted by Nancy & Christy from Tales of the Ravenous Reader, Rachel from Fiktshun, Bridget from Dark Faerie Tales, Jaime from Two Chicks On Books, Fallon from Seeing Double in Neverland, and Take Me Away To A Great Read! 

From Monday until Friday I'll be sharing five top ten lists, ranging from best book covers of 2017 to books I'm looking forward to in 2018. To find out more about the event and see others posts, click here. 

Today's topic is...

Top 10 Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2018

1) Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno
June 5, 2018 
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After reading Katrina's Everything All at Once I'm on a mission to read everything by her! This one sounds wonderful - magic, an island setting, twins, and a life changing summer. 

2) Nothing Left to Burn by Heather Ezell 
March 13, 2018 
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Not only is this a YA contemporary but it's a 2018 debut! I feel like every time I go on Twitter anymore there's someone raving about this so it MUST be good, right?! I certainly hope so! 

3) Your One and Only by Adrianne Finlay 
February 6, 2018
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First off, I LOVE the cover! This one is about a world dominated by clones. Meanwhile, Jack is one of the only remaining humans, and ends up falling in love with a clone. Sounds good, right?!  

4) All of This is True by Lygia Day Penaflor 
May 15, 2018 
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This is one of my most anticipated books of 2018! It's about four teens who befriend a bestselling author, but they quickly find out that this friendship isn't everything its cracked up to be. 

5) Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake 
April 10, 2018 
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Another case of cover love here! This book sound amazing - princesses, kingdoms, defeating evil. I. AM. SO. READY. 

6) Down with Love (Love Wars, #1) by Kate Meader 

August 7, 2018

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This one involves a wedding planner and a divorce lawyer falling in love, and I can't wait! I love anything wedding related, and I feel like bring those two professions together will bring out some funny, dramatic moments. 

7) Bound to You by Alyssa Brandon 

April 10, 2018

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After seeing Alyssa's (at The Eater of Books!) review for this, I knew I had to have it! It involves werewolves and romance, and even though I've sworn off werewolf books in the past, I'm ready to take a chance on this one! Plus, isn't the cover gorgeous?!

8) The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw 

March 6, 2018

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"Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic meets the Salem Witch trials" I can't wait! I've been dying for more witch centered books lately so my wish has been answered. And yet another gorgeous cover! 

9) Save the Date by Morgan Matson 

June 5th, 2018 

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Lets list the reasons why I want need this! 

1) The cover! It's funny and cute at the same time. 

2) It contains a wedding!

3) It's by Morgan Matson...enough said! 

10) See All the Stars by Kit Frick 

August 14, 2018

Add on Goodreads! 

This sounds like the kind of YA Contemp I always end up loving! Plus, it's gotten amazing praise from Rachel Lynn Solomon and Karen McManus, and since I loved their books, I'm *hopefully* bound to like this one. 

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It was SO HARD to limit myself to 10 books for today's list! There's so many 2018 books I can't wait to read, and if I listed all of them we'd be here forever. If you're curious in other ones I'm looking forward to check out my 2018 shelf here and 2018 Debuts shelf here. 

Now tell me: what 2018 books are you looking forward to?