After She Left by Claire Amarti had a lot of potential, but overall I felt the writing was a bit too simple. It was a nice, easy, quick read, but there was just something lacking for me. There were choices that the characters made that just confused me at times and I don’t know exactly what it was, but there was just something missing for me.

Gillian’s sister, Abigail, is gone. On December 26th, Abigail walks out of her house, located in the suburbs of Westchester, New York. Only leaving behind a strange note on the kitchen table. She is also leaving behind her ten year old son, Sam. Abigail has always been a little bit unreliable, but she has not done anything like this since Sam was born ten years ago. Now Gillian has to take care of Sam, while also trying to figure out where her sister went and when she will be back. At this time though, Gillian is also dealing with issues at home with her husband. His behavior has been odd and he has been out late into the night. Gillian has to now face all of these issues head on and when she discovers why her sister left, the truth will upend her whole world.

I had a lot of hope with this novel. I really was into in the beginning and I was eager to find out the ending, but when the truth came out about where Abigail was, it honestly fell really flat for me. I felt like there was a lot of build up for nothing really. In some regards I understand it, but overall I was pretty disappointed with this book. I think it was an easy read that for the most part kept me entertained though. I just wish there had been more to the story.

Overall I gave this book 2.5/5 stars. It definitely was not my favorite, but by no means did I hate the book. Like I mentioned earlier, it just kind of fell flat for me and left me longing for something else, and not in the satisfying way. I would definitely read another book by Claire Amarti because I did enjoy the real life feel to it, it just was not my favorite book or something I would ever long to read again.

I absolutely loved the novel All The Forgivenesses by Elizabeth Hardinger. It told the story of hardships, and trauma, and family, and addiction, and sacrifice, in such a beautiful way. All of the experiences of the main character were real and raw and the reader could feel the pain she was feeling.

On a farm in rural Kentcuky, 15 year old Albertina, also known as Bertie, Winslow has learned a lot from her mom, Polly. She knows how to take care of the house, cook, and most of the chores, but what she does not really know, is how to take care of children, how a mother should. When Polly is overtaken by an illness and dies, Bertie takes on the care of her four younger siblings. No matter how hard she tries though it is all just too much. Her father is also an alcoholic who is unreliable. Bertie makes the difficult decision to break up the family, in order for them all to survive and thrive. She sends the younger boys to live with one of her older brothers and she takes the girls. Bertie marries young and is grateful she found a husband willing to take on the care of her younger sisters. But Bertie quickly realizes marriage can’t fix everything, and it seems the grief and heartache from her past will always catch up with her.

Bertie was a very well written character. She was strong, but also vulnerable. The pain she experienced throughout the novel was palpable. Throughout a majority of the novel Bertie was only 15 and at times I would forget that because she had to take on so much. Lately I have been really loving historical fiction and coming of age novels, and this one did not disappoint. It was exactly what I needed.

I gave this book 4/5 stars. I would not hesitate to recommend it, especially if you like historical fiction and coming of age novels. This book was included with my kindle unlimited and I just randomly picked it one day and I am so glad that I did. The cover is what initially drew me in and from the beginning I could not stop reading it. I highly recommend this novel if you have not read it.

I cannot stop thinking about The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. This novel was so good. It was beautifully written and left a lasting impact on me. It jumped between time periods which I loved, and all of the characters were strong and sympathetic.

Louisiana 1875, Hannie, Juneau Jane, and Lavinia are on a journey together heading for Texas. For Juneau Jane and Lavinia this journey is for an inheritance from their father, for Hannie, this journey is to find her family who she was separated from before the end of slavery. All Hannie wants to know, is if her family is still out there somewhere. Louisiana 1987, first year teacher, Benedetta Silva is working in a poor rural school. The town is not very welcoming of newcomers and Benny feels as if this is all too much. She doesn’t know how to reach her students, nor can she begin to comprehend their poverty-stricken lives. But amidst all of this, lies the history of three young women on a long ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything and help Benny finally be able to reach her students.

I found this novel to be so interesting and different. I loved that it jumped back and forth between time periods and that the characters mentioned in 1875 were being connected to the characters from 1987. I found that with it jumping back and forth between time periods, it made the book go faster because it almost felt like two different novels. This book also contained real letters from newspapers in 1875. These letters and articles were known as The Lost Friends where people would write letters looking for their family, whom they were separated from during slavery.

I gave this book 4.5/5 stars. I would highly recommend this novel. I have been on a bit of a historical fiction kick lately and this novel made me just want to keep reading historical fiction. I honestly kind of randomly bought this book and I am so glad that I did. It was a super fast read for me, but I was able to take away so much from it. If you are looking for a good historical fiction novel, I would not hesitate to recommend this book.

I feel like I am kind of late to the game with Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, but I am so glad I finally read it. I can’t believe it took me so long to read this book. This book is a story of survival, but that is not all. It is also a story of resiliency, heartbreak, trauma, and ultimately love.

For years, Kya Clark, has been dubbed as “The Marsh Girl” by the residents of Barkley Cove. Kya has lived her life in the marsh by herself, as her family has one by one abandoned her. When Chase Andrews, who is a popular town resident, is found dead, the community of Barkley Cove immediately turn to Kya as the culprit. Kya though, is not what everyone believes, she is smart, and gentle, and kind. She has the skills to live in solitude forever, but she discovers that she does not really want to be alone forever. Kya opens herself up to two young men from town who are both intrigued by her, but then the unthinkable happens.

This book holds a lot. It is a historical fiction, coming of age novel, while also being a murder mystery novel. On top of that, romance is also thrown in and plays a big part in this novel. This book beautifully written and Kya Clark is such a strong character. Her growth throughout the novel was just so well written. And I felt the ending of the novel was perfect. It didn’t leave me longing for more. I found I got everything I could have wanted out of this book.

I gave this book 4.5/5 stars. Like I mentioned earlier, I absolutely loved this novel and I am so glad I finally read it. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone. I think everyone could get something out of it and enjoy it.

At this point I have read quite a few books by Eliza Maxwell and I have to say The Grave Tender may be one of my favorites by her. It was super dark and chilling, but also incredibly interesting, and I all of the characters were well written and different.

Hadley Dixon feels haunted by her childhood in East Texas. People say that Hadley’s mother, Winnie, was never quite right, but one night irreparable act by her mother, shatters Hadley’s life forever. The aftershock after that night will haunt Hadley throughout her life, but she also knows the secrets and lies had all started long before that night. Now it is years later and widowed and pregnant Hadley is returning to her childhood home. Things don’t feel the same as before with a local boy’s disappearance hanging in the air with no answers. The townspeople are still whispering about Hadley’s reclusive Uncle Eli, and Hadley’s grandmother and her father, who are everything to her, avoid all of her questions. Hadley needs to figure out if this is a safe space to raise her children, but all of these questions begin shining light on all of the lies that have been surrounding Hadley her whole life.

As mentioned earlier, this book was really dark, but it was so interesting and I could not stop reading it. I would add a trigger warning because this book does deal with sexual assault. Throughout the whole novel I didn’t know who to trust. From the first page I was hooked in and I think I read the book in about a day. Hadley was a really strong character and all of the characters were well written. Reading this novel made me want to just keep reading books by Eliza Maxwell.

I gave this book 4.5/5 stars. I could not put this book down and when it was over I wished that there was more. I wanted to keep reading about Hadley and her life. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book or any of Eliza Maxwell’s novels.

Somebody’s Daughter is a beautiful memoir by Ashley C. Ford. It was a quick read, but very powerful, and exquisitely written. I would not hesitate to read this book again, nor would I hesitate to recommend it.

Ashley’s father has been incarcerated for most of her life and for as long as she can remember she has put him on a pedestal. She only has vague memories of seeing him in person, but she feels like he is the only person who really truly understands her. She believes she understands him as well. She believes one day they will be reunited and she will finally feel complete. The problem with this though is that he is in prison, she has no idea when he will get out, and she also does not know what he did to end up in prison. Through her difficulties at home with her mother, dealing with the aftermath of being raped, and through puberty and poverty, Ashley kind of leans on the image of her father as a comfort and as encouragement. When Ashley finally finds out why her father is really in prison that is kind of where the story really begins for her.

For being a relatively short book there was a still a whole lot to unpack in this memoir. I honestly cannot stop thinking about it because there were things in it that I related to, other things I was able to learn from. One of the things I personally love about reading memoirs is I feel that you can learn a lot from them, but you also can find yourself in them as well and learn from that and also know that you are not alone. Even though your experience is unique to you it is also comforting to know someone else has gone through something similar and you are not alone even if it feels as if you are.

I gave this book 5/5 stars and like I mentioned earlier, I would not hesitate to recommend it. I honestly will probably read this book multiple times. I am so glad I picked this book in my Book of the Month box a couple of months ago.

Bloodline by Jess Lourey was a very intriguing and different read. The whole time I was reading it I felt as if I was watching an episode of The Twilight Zone. I could not put this book down. Honestly, it was a little bit creepier than most books I read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This story is inspired by real events. Joan Harken is a pregnant journalist, who is excited, but also cautious, about moving back to her Fiance’s Minnesota hometown, Lilydale. Lilydale’s motto is: “Come Home Forever” and Joan feels it couldn’t be more inviting. Except, something about it all feels off. She feels the friendliness is almost intrusive. Joan feels like everything she is doing is being watched and tracked. An archaic organization holds the town in thrall and so does the mystery of a little boy who vanished decades ago. Her fiance just keeps telling her she is paranoid, but Joan feels like she may have moved to the deadliest small town on earth.

This book was very different from a lot of the books I read. It was almost was too creepy for me, but at the same time I could not put it down. I just needed to know what was going on and what was going to happen. This novel almost made me feel like I was being paranoid about things.

I gave this book 5/5 stars. I would highly recommend it. Also, if you are a fan of The Twilight Zone I think you would like this book. The characters were interesting and unreliable, it was creepy, mysterious, it made me think throughout the whole novel because I had no idea what was coming. I can’t recommend this book enough. I also read Unspeakable Things by this author and I highly recommend that book as well. I hope in the future Jess Lourey writes more novels because I would 100% read them.