Tag: secrets

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#BookReview: This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs

Less Destination-y, Less Thrill-y, Still Solid Sophomore Submittal. Ochs’ debut last year, The Resort, was a book where the exotic tropical setting played nearly as much into the plot as any of the characters themselves, and where the cat and mouse game kept you guessing nearly through the last words (at least per my review I wrote back then – nearly a year and over 200 books between reading this one and that one… I remembered it as solid, but yeah, I don’t retain most details that long. :D).

This one still takes you to the destination, and you absolutely still see the beauty in the various areas of Australia that she brings us to… it just isn’t *as* critical to the overall plot as the destination itself felt in The Resort. The thrills and suspense are still absolutely here, but in a more dual timeline nature where we see stuff happening in each that we know won’t end well in either, rather than the more cat and mouse active timeline investigation of the first book. Not to say that element is completely gone, as there is in fact an investigation here, and there are absolutely several twists even through the last words yet again. It just felt somehow… slightly “less” again. More solid standard than spectacular standout.

This could well be from the sheer fact that an author has a lifetime to craft their debut… and then just weeks, months if they are lucky, to craft their sophomore and subsequent efforts. So this isn’t really a knock on Ochs at all, just the nature of the beast, really. I’m not disparaging this book in any way whatsoever – it really was quite good, and actively better than some. This bodes well indeed for future efforts, as if *this* is *all* the dropoff we get from that phenomenal first foray, Ochs will certainly be an author to watch for the rest of her writing career, however long that may be.

Truly an excellent work that shows off several different regions of Australia well enough for someone who has only ever seen those regions on a screen and has never once so much as seen the Pacific Ocean – or even been within 300 miles (roughly 500 km, for those who refuse to use freedom units) of it. I’m sure my friends and colleagues who have actually been to – or even in some cases live in – the areas depicted might have a different take there, but it absolutely worked well enough for this Southern US man.

Very much recommended.

This review of This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs was originally written on July 23, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Lake Escape by Jamie Day

Complex Web Of Secrets. You’re in your 30’s/ 40’s or so – old enough to have mid teen kids yourself – and you’ve been going to the same lake houses for literally decades at this point with the same neighbor families, so you’ve effectively grown up with these people. Considered them close friends. Perhaps even family. You know you know them.

But do you? Do they know you? Do you as a collective know all the secrets the lake – or even the houses you’ve come to all these years – may hold?

You have your secrets. They have theirs. The lake has its.

All is about to be revealed…

(Yeah, yeah. I don’t normally do a version of a description for a review, but seriously, *for this book*, I think the above is largely the best way to do the review. There are elements here that some will love and some will hate – there are a lot of characters and at least a few different narrators here, and the book takes over 350 pages to tell a somewhat simple (at a high level at least) tale. Breakneck action, this is not. But it *was* a *really* good tale of relatable friends and family… even when some of them are pretty open scumbags. The tale is rather dark, and there are no white knights to be had here. Just a group of people doing the best they can in rather interesting and stressful situations. So give this book a chance, read it, and write your own review and let us know what *you* thought about it.)

Very much recommended.

This review of The Lake Escape by Jamie Day was originally written on July 16, 2025.

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#BlogTour: Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf

For this blog tour, we’re looking at another strong Southern Gothic tale that serves as an emerging author’s sophomore effort for adult readers. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookBub.com / BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / PageBound.co / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Strong Southern Gothic Tale. Perfect for those who love to start “spooky season” on July 5th (with no other major (decorative, at least) holidays in the US before Halloween), yet also has a strong small town mystery and even a touch of romance, this is one book that checks a lot of boxes – yet manages to do them all quite well.

Even as a native of the South, specifically the borderlands between southern Appalachia and exurban Atlanta, I had never heard of the concept of a “grave bird”, yet Elemndorf both (quickly) explains it well… and then uses it particularly well throughout the novel whose title notes that it is all about these creatures. 😉

But seriously, the titular grave birds give this tale a magical realism/ fantasy tone that is exactly what one would expect in a Southern Gothic tale, but really the core of this book is one woman’s dreams and the depths she will go through to achieve them – even if it means unravelling a decades old town mystery so well hidden that virtually no one even actually knows there is a mystery to solve!

Truly a strong and stirring sophomore effort (for adult audiences, at least), this really is a strong tale told particularly well, and one that is both familiar enough to be understood and even relatable, yet innovative enough so that the reader will still be caught quite breathless at times.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf”

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#BookReview: Don’t Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine

I Thought I Was The Only One. It is no secret that my book reviews are in part confessionals, that is my entire schtick as a reviewer and literally the basis of my brand name. So here’s one I don’t talk about often, but which those who have known me since I was a kid are aware of – it actually caused a bit of drama a couple of times back then: The dream sequences that happen in this book? The ones that our lead character feels are so vivid and real, that they really could be glimpses into the future?

I’ve lived with those same types of dreams off and on for over forty years now. And no, it isn’t deja vu. It is pretty well exactly as Constantine describes here – so real and visceral that you *know* you’ve lived those very events before.

Except unlike our lead character – or in some ways perhaps exactly like her – I learned early on, from a couple of blunders that caused the drama I referenced above, to not (obviously) act on the dreams, but instead to prepare myself for the outcomes they warned me of so that I could at least be prepared if or when they happened.

So for me in particular, that part of this book was *phenomenal*. It was easily relatable to one of those aspects of my life that I virtually *never* talk about anymore, because as our lead character in the book learns, people – even those closest to you – rapidly begin to think you’re crazy when you so openly talk about it. (Which is one reason I’m not going into any real details about my own experiences, and indeed I can actively state that these types of dreams don’t happen nearly as often anymore as they did when I was younger. My overall life is also *dramatically* different than it was, and I suspect this plays a role.)

But that aspect is only roughly half this tale, the setup. And while a phenomenal setup, it *is* a rather slow one. It takes time for those less accustomed to these types of dreams to wrap your head around what is going on with this character, and Constantine gives you that kind of time. She needs to, because the later stages, where the action picks up and indeed becomes rather breathtaking, *need* you to understand that part of this character and believe it as much as she does.

Thus, when the action picks up, the dreams become less a part of the active story and more a part of what is informing the action sequences as they play out. At this point, it becomes a far more typical thriller, one of the exact type Constantine is known for and excels at, and it shows brilliantly here.

Overall truly a great thriller that shows a side of life that most likely aren’t as familiar with, and does so in a way that rings true to at least my own experiences with similar experiences in real life.

Very much recommended.

This review of Don’t Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine was originally written on June 30, 2025. (With apologies for the tardiness on this Advance Review Copy. Some major life events happened just before the release of this book that unfortunately delayed me reading it.)

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#BlogTour: Beach Reads And Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a book that represents a refreshing change of pace for its author. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Beach Reads And Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookBub.com / BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / PageBound.co / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Brennan Expands Her Storytelling In A New And Refreshing Direction. Long time fans of Brennan, and even those who have only started reading her this decade like me, know she is most well known for very *dark* murder tales and the teams investigating them.

This book is not that. At all. While it retains *some* elements of that – bodies are piling up rather rapidly at a small private island resort – this is much more a pure romantic suspense with strong island vibes. Thus, we get a lot more tropical/ island feel here than is typical of Brennan’s writing to date… and that is an *amazing* thing to see, as she executes it so well. About the only thing Brennan could have done to be even more different than her usual style would be to go pure bubblegum pop romcom, and while this is nowhere near that… there are certainly both comedic and spicy moments, making the reader literally laugh out loud at times while offering perhaps around a jalapeno level spice – more than a warm glass of milk, but also far less than the ghost peppers of books I read earlier in the week before reading this book.

Truly well done, and a very welcome and refreshing departure from where Brennan has been these last several years at minimum, this reader at least is hoping both sides of her storytelling will continue.

Very much recommend.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Beach Reads And Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan”

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#BookReview: Jill Is Not Happy by Kaira Rouda

Orwellian. 1984 was originally published in 1949 – 76 yrs and 2 days before the publication of this book – and its final line in particular is echoed in this book. (Not revealing it here so as to avoid spoilers, though yes, *some* people – me, I am “some people” – will remember it exactly.)

Here, we get a very similar effect in the end, if not a retelling of the overall story of someone rebelling against a thing they are tied to in so many ways before being abused back into loving the thing they originally rebelled against. Obviously without the political commentary, as (as another reviewer noted), Rouda is clearly making a name for herself in the trainwreck popcorn thriller market. Why insert any overt politics and piss off whatever segment of potential readers, after all? 🙂

Thus, fans of Rouda will love this new entry. Those new to Rouda’s writing will find a pretty spot on example of it here, at least in my reading of her last few books (though not all of them, yet). And yes, her style doesn’t leave anyone looking particularly great or give the reader really anyone to “root for” 100%. Nobody is a truly “good” character, but all of the characters work reasonably well for their role in the story being told. And the story being told will have you on the edge of your seat much of the time, with little time for any “potty break” sections.

If you’re looking for a darkly entertaining thriller with minimal blood or sex or even really cursing… you’ve found exactly that. If you’re looking for something that is not pretty well exactly that… this ain’t what you’re looking for. It really is as simple as that, as is the case with pretty well every Rouda book. (Some may have more sex than others, some may have more cursing than others, but largely if you’re ok with reading about people doing horrible things to each other, up to and including murder both onscreen and off… you’re going to be ok here.)

Overall a darkly fun book that will be perfect summer reading for some, and that may be either too dark or even not dark enough for others.

Very much recommended.

This review of Jill Is Not Happy by Kaira Rouda was originally written on June 17, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak

Strong Small Town Tale. This is one of those tales that has a bit of a lot. Rich boy falls in love with trailer park trash girl over the course of one fateful teenage summer. Events happen in their small seasonal town, and small seasonal townspeople – including police – respond as small seasonable townspeople all too often do, even in real life.

But what if… what if damn near *everyone* was wrong?

What if the truth of that summer all those years ago was so much more complex? What if virtually *no one* had anywhere near a complete picture of what was happening, due to *everyone* having far too many prejudices and preconceptions?

Can wrongs done that summer all those years ago be corrected all this time later – at least to some degree or another? Can relationships destroyed then – family, community, romantically, and others – be repaired after so much time has passed and so much bitterness has been so deeply internalized?

Novak here provides a stunning tale perfect for summer reading that delves into all of the above in a tale that ultimately leaves the reader a bit breathless and a lot of emotions to deal with. It isn’t a comedy, though it has a touch of that. It isn’t a romance per se, though it does in fact meet all known qualifications there and may be marketed as such. This is far more a family/ small town drama, and one that plays out quite remarkably well.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak was originally written on June 15, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Complex Story of Generational Trauma. This is one of those tales that reads a touch slow – so be prepared for that – but which ultimately succeeds in having quite an emotional impact due to just how much force it lands with. When, to bring a bit of physics into the equation here, Force is mass multiplied by acceleration, a slow acceleration of a sufficiently sized mass can hit with the same impact as a much faster, yet smaller, object. This book’s ultimate mass, all that has happened to each of these characters and all they have gone through as a result of these events, is truly rather substantial. In the end, you’re going to see clearly just how these characters became all that they did… even as you may not quite get all the answers you may want as a reader, or perhaps things ultimately play out a touch differently here than you may want in “real life”. Regardless, this book stays true to its story as Clark chooses to craft it, and she truly did a particularly great job yet again.

Yes, there is praise for both AOC and Kamala Harris within this text, so there will be some who love it for that alone and others who wish to defenestrate it for that alone, but I can also state that other than one character actively praising an event that is current for that character, the AOC/ Kamala lines in particular are one-offs and not truly central to the story.

Of at least slightly more concern, perhaps still not enough to deduct a star, yet enough to note in the review, is that this *is* yet another book where most straight males are written as antagonists and vile and evil – and yes, combined with the AOC/ Kamala line… again, could be divisive. But while annoying, it also works within the context of this tale as told, and is actually at least used well to enhance the impact of the overall story. Along these lines, there *is* also a gay married couple present, so do with that as you will. Again, I know some will love this and others will want to defenestrate the book over it, so you do you. I for one thought these characters were, again, worked into the story quite well and didn’t seem as forced as I’ve seen these types of characters be in other tales by other authors, so it was neither here nor there for me.

Ultimately there is enough in this tale that various people won’t like it for various side reasons. Read the book anyway for the actual main storyline… and maybe be prepared for the room to get quite dusty at a couple of points in particular.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark was originally written on June 2, 2025.

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#BlogTour: The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman

For this blog tour, we’re looking at . For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / PageBound.co / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Superb Tale Of Survival And Love Offers Hope For Modern Era. This is one of those dual timeline WWII historical fiction tales that manages to create a solid amount of survival tension without ever actually going into the concentration camps… and is rare in that it offers a fair amount of modern day hope as well.

The timelines here are each done particularly well, with tension ratcheting up throughout the book in each as hints are placed and ultimately secrets are revealed, and the timelines manage to play into each other in more than the usual ways – very nearly to what I hold as the ultimate visual in the dual-timeline approach, that of the final fight in the movie Frequency and in particular *that* sequence. Kelman never goes anywhere near there really, yet also manages to very nearly create the same effect in the reader’s mind at one point.

Overall simply a superbly crafted, multi layered story that offers pointers for the modern era without ever being preachy about them at all – simply using its own story to show some things that we may consider more broadly, should we so choose. And yes, we very much should take these things to heart in reality, if we truly seek to avoid the horrors shown (and not shown so directly) here.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman”

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#BookReview: Lie In The Tide by Holly Danvers

You Think You Know Me. I fully cop to being one of those people that avoids my hometown in my adult life (other than visiting family members who continue to live there) specifically because high school was hell and I don’t care to catch up with pretty well anyone from that era of my life. (To be fair, the feeling is largely mutual. :D)

So for me, a group of former HS friends deciding to catch up by spending a weekend together to celebrate the upcoming 40th birthday of one of them is… weird.

And yet… Danvers absolutely makes the idea work. The first part of the tale is largely “establishing shots”, with each of our four friends introducing themselves and where they currently are in life as they begin to travel to the meeting point on Cape Cod. This section is admittedly slow… but then, so is this section in many of the best thriller/ horror/ disaster movies or stories.

Once everyone begins catching up, the action begins to pick up – including a scene that reminded me of a long ago college Service Spring Break incident, but to reveal that tale here would get into spoiler territory for the book. Hell, I didn’t even connect it until I began writing that last sentence. 😉 From here, the tale goes less introspective and, eventually, more into “what the hell is going on” / “who can we trust” territory, with a fair amount of exploration of the common theme of “who we are on social media isn’t always who we are in real life” that has been explored so much over the last decade. While Danvers doesn’t really add much to that particular discourse with this tale, she does use it to add a touch of depth to her own story.

I will note that the mystery, once it arrives, was perhaps given away a touch too early with one particular detail that one of the characters revealed in her opening monologue. So for those that just cannot stand solving the mystery before the author reveals it… well… “you think you know me”. In other words… there may yet be more to this tale…

The epilogue in particular offers a stinger that takes this seeming one-off tale and offers the possibility that it could in fact become a series, which those of you who pick this book up with the “Book 1” on its title would already know. (I had received an Advance Review Copy of the text months before publication, though I only read the book about 2 weeks before due to other ARC commitments.)

Ultimately, this actually has a blend of the approaches used in say the “Widows” series by Kimberly Belle, Cate Holahan, Layne Fargo, and Vanessa Lillie – where each author seemingly takes one of four widows and they combine to craft an intriguing and rompy series – and the meta-publishing discussions of say Romantic Friction by Lori Gold – among others – and yet still manages to be fairly uniquely its own thing even with those similarities. It will be interesting to see where Danvers takes this budding series and how long she intends to have it run.

Very much recommended.

This review of Lie In The Tide by Holly Danvers was originally written on May 20, 2025.