It's Monday, What are you Reading?

It was a great lazy weekend full of reading!


A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

The Truth About Melody Browne by Lisa Jewell

The Living and the Lost by Ellen Feldman

Currently Reading:

The Slow March of Light by Heather B Moore

Next on the TBR pile:

Machiavelli For Women by Stacey Vanek Smith

Review: Where I Left Her by Amber Garza

Where I Left Her

by Amber Garza

Publisher: MIRA Books

Pages: 304

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Whitney had some misgivings when she dropped her increasingly moody teenage daughter, Amelia, off at Lauren’s house. She’d never met the parents, and usually she’d go in, but Amelia clearly wasn’t going to let something so humiliating happen, so instead Whitney waved to her daughter before pulling away from the little house with the roses in front.

But when she goes back the next day, an elderly couple answers the door—Amelia and Lauren aren’t there, and this couple swears they never were, that she’s at the wrong house. As Whitney searches for Amelia, she uncovers a trail of lies her daughter has told her—from the Finsta account to rumors of a secret relationship. Does she really even know this girl she’s raised? And Amelia’s not the only one with secrets. Could Whitney’s own demons have something to do with her daughter’s disappearance, and can Whitney find her before it’s too late?

Kritters Thoughts:  A mother in need of a minute away from her moody teenager drops her at a home for a sleep over and doesn't realize that this simple Friday night will take a horrible turn. 

Single mom Whitney has been battling her teenager, Amelia, for months as she is entering that phase where friends take precedence over family.  Whitney agrees to a sleep over at a house that she doesn't know with parents she hasn't met and the next morning things aren't right.  

There were a few storylines going on in this one book.  There is the search for Amelia that is clearly marked with a timeline as to how long she has been missing as Whitney searches for her.  There was a storyline where Whitney goes back in time a few months back and the reader gets the back story to how this mother/daughter relationship went downhill.  And the final storyline takes the reader far back in time to Whitney as a teenager as she is having similar friend experiences that her daughter is going through and the battle as a young woman finds out who she wants to be and who her friends are.

All of these storylines unfolded just right!  It was so interesting to watch Whitney and her story get repeated with her daughter and her realize that as much as she tried to protect Amelia, her daughter still went down a questionable path.  

The ending definitely shocked me and I was left with my mouth hanging open and I still wonder how I feel about the last page, but I an honestly say that I enjoyed reading this mother/daughter duo and how they navigated this hard time where a kid separates from their parent.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 104 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Murderess Must Die by Marlie Parker Wasserman

The Murderess Must Die

by Marlie Parker Wasserman

Publisher: Level Best Books

Pages: 260

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  On a winter day in 1898, hundreds of spectators gather at a Brooklyn courthouse, scrambling for a view of the woman they label a murderess. Martha Place has been charged with throwing acid in her stepdaughter’s face, hitting her with an axe, suffocating her with a pillow, then trying to kill her husband with the same axe. The crowd will not know for another year that the alleged murderess becomes the first woman in the world to be executed in the electric chair. None of her eight lawyers can save her from a guilty verdict and the governor of New York, Theodore Roosevelt, refuses to grant her clemency.

Was Martha Place a wicked stepmother, an abused wife, or an insane killer? Was her stepdaughter a tragic victim? Why would a well-dressed woman, living with an upstanding husband, in a respectable neighborhood, turn violent? Since the crime made the headlines, we have heard only from those who abused and condemned Martha Place.

Kritters Thoughts:  Martha Place had a horrible childhood that did not set her up for success.  She ended up in a loveless marriage that gave her security, but not much else and in my humble opinion she snapped and after reading the abuse she endured, I don't completely blame her!  Her actions are just a part of the story as she becomes a first in history, maybe not a first that you want in the history books!

The thing for me with this book was that the quick switching of perspectives messed with the flow of the story for me.  I love a story where you get multiple points of view so you can see an event through many eyes, but this book felt like two many points of view and they changed as soon as I was getting into their minds.  I wish it had limited the voices to just a few and their portions would have been longer in length.  

Because of the way it was written, that really affected my enjoyment of the story and I now would love to read Martha Place's story written in a different way because I think it would be so interesting to hear about the first women who was sent to the electric chair, but I want to hear it from just a few people.  

While a debut novel that I didn't completely love, I would be intrigued to try another from this author to see if it was just this one and not how this author writes her stories.

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 103 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Partner in Crime Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: When the Summer Was Ours by Roxanne Veletzos

When the Summer Was Ours

by Roxanne Veletzos

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Hungary, 1943: As war encroaches on the country’s borders, willful young Eva César arrives in the idyllic town of Sopron to spend her last summer as a single woman on her aristocratic family’s estate. Longing for freedom from her domineering father, she counts the days to her upcoming nuptials to a kind and dedicated Red Cross doctor whom she greatly admires.

But Eva’s life changes when she meets Aleandro, a charming and passionate Romani fiddler and artist. With time and profound class differences against them, Eva and Aleandro still fall deeply in love—only to be separated by a brutal act of hatred.

As each are swept into the tides of war, they try to forget their romance. Yet, the haunting memory of that summer will reshape their destinies and lead to decisions which are felt through generations.

Kritters Thoughts:  Another World War II book, but set in a country that I haven't read a ton about and really felt war adjacent then full on Nazi Germany war book.  Eva Cesar comes from a great family and while she had last her mother, she wants for little and is waiting for her betrothed to come home, but a chance meeting with an artist will send her life down an unlikely path.  

While this book took place a lot during this time period, there were parts that took it to a post war place and while Hungary had post war occupation and some other things that were interesting to learn while reading this book, it didn't feel like the typical war book only in that separated characters at times for different reasons.  

Eva was a great character to follow.  She was right down the middle - not too innocent where you rolled your eyes at her idealism, but not jaded in that she had hope for the future.  I loved the ups and downs that she went through and while at times I may have disagreed with the decisions she made, I still enjoyed reading her story.  

And while I am caught up with her two novels, I have hopes that she keeps coming out with more and more historical novels with women at the center.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 102 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Bout of Books 32 Wrap Up

I really made an effort to read any quiet moment I got this week and I saw the effect it had on my reading this week and it motived me to do it more often!

I didn't finish all the books I planned, was just one short and just a few pages shy from my goal.  BUT still a success in my book.

Total book count: 5.5 books
Total page count:  1,574

Day 1- Monday, August 16 Total 204 pages
The Woman on the Beach by Julia Roberts (finished 78 pages)

When the Summer Wasn't Ours by Roxanne Veletzos (started, 126 pages)

Day 2- Tuesday, August 17 Total 204 pages

When the Summer Wasn't Ours by Roxanne Veletzos (read, 204 pages)

Day 3- Wednesday, August 18 Total 264 pages

When the Summer Wasn't Ours by Roxanne Veletzos (finished, 54 pages)

The Murderess Must Die by Marlie Parker Wasserman (started, read 210 pages)

Day 4- Thursday, August 19 Total 146 pages

The Murderess Must Die by Marlie Parker Wasserman (finished, read 50 pages)

Where I Left Her by Amber Garza (started, read 96 pages)

Day 5- Friday, August 20 Total 248 pages

Where I Left Her by Amber Garza (finished, read 208 pages)

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell (started, read 40 pages)

Day 6- Saturday, August 21 Total 326 pages

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell (read 326 pages)

Day 7- Sunday, August 22  Total 182 pages

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell (finished, read 50 pages)

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian (started, read 132 pages)

Review: The Woman on the Beach by Julia Roberts

The Woman on the Beach

by Julia Roberts

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 255

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  I was so sure I saw Sophie on the beach that day. But it couldn’t be her. Sophie’s dead…

Ever since we locked fingers and swore to be best friends at school, Sophie was there for me. When she married my brother, I followed her down the aisle as her bridesmaid, thrilled that we were becoming family. We laughed together and cried together. We shared everything. At least I thought we did.

And then she was gone. The terrible accident that took her life devastated me, and though everyone else has moved on, I can’t. She was so quiet, those last few months. I keep thinking there is something I don’t know…

Now I’m standing on the beach we visited when we were younger and there’s a woman with long blond hair a few metres away, playing with a dog in the sunshine. She turns, and I see Sophie. Heart racing, I struggle to my feet, but before I can reach her she’s vanished, leaving only footprints in the sand.

It can’t be Sophie… Can it? And do I want to know what she was running from, if the answer means I can no longer trust the people I love?

Kritters Thoughts:  Three best friends have gone through a lot of life together until two of them are visiting each other and in a tragic accident one is killed.  The other two have never recovered from the loss and it has affected all of the decisions they made since, until one is on a vacation and swears she sees the one that was presumed dead and then things spiral.  

For me this book was good, but there was one small part that took it down a notch for me.  I liked that the author had the main plot point in the synopsis come early and there was so much more book to be had after the discovery.  The part for me that I really didn't love was the resolution and while I will try to talk about it without spoiling, be warned!  When some of the secrets are revealed towards the end, it was the other character's reactions that felt too nice and forgiving - they went from "holy shit" to oh ok its fine too fast for me.  I would have preferred more pages and more conflict, reminded me of a Brady Bunch tv show!

Because my quibble happened near the end, it made me rethink how I felt about the whole story.  BUT Liv as a main character was great to follow.  She reacted more along the way I would and I was along for the ride with her and it was her that made me keep reading even when I wasn't so sure about the Sophie of the story.  

This was my first Julia Roberts read and while I had a small thing that I didn't love, I would absolutely read more both of the backlist and upcoming to decide my thoughts on the author as a whole - never make a decision on an author based on only one book!   

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 101 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Bookseller's Secret by Michelle Gable

The Bookseller's Secret

by Michelle Gable

Publisher: Graydon House

Pages: 400

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In 1942, London, Nancy Mitford is worried about more than air raids and German spies. Still recovering from a devastating loss, the once sparkling Bright Young Thing is estranged from her husband, her allowance has been cut, and she’s given up her writing career. On top of this, her five beautiful but infamous sisters continue making headlines with their controversial politics.

Eager for distraction and desperate for income, Nancy jumps at the chance to manage the Heywood Hill bookshop while the owner is away at war. Between the shop’s brisk business and the literary salons she hosts for her eccentric friends, Nancy’s life seems on the upswing. But when a mysterious French officer insists that she has a story to tell, Nancy must decide if picking up the pen again and revealing all is worth the price she might be forced to pay.

Eighty years later, Heywood Hill is abuzz with the hunt for a lost wartime manuscript written by Nancy Mitford. For one woman desperately in need of a change, the search will reveal not only a new side to Nancy, but an even more surprising link between the past and present…

Kritters Thoughts:  Two storylines in one book, in 1942, Nancy Mitford is an author trying to survive the war and while she has a few books under her belt she still feels as though she hasn't had that success.  In present day, Katie has ended an engagement and after a disastrous holiday with the family she gets the chance to escape across the pond to a friend's house and maybe get that inspiration for her next book.  

For me when I read books with a past and a present storyline, a few things happen and sometimes I love one of the storylines and just skim the other and that happened with this book.  The current storyline had me hooked and I couldn't wait to read more and more of Katie and her adventures learning about Nancy Mitford and trying to figure out what she wanted to do next with her life, but for some reason when it switched to Nancy Mitford herself, I wasn't captivated and I wanted to return to Katie.  

I think I would love a book dedicated to the life and times of Nancy Mitford because I think her story is interesting, but for some reason either the time that was focused on in this book or the way it was written just didn't capture me as much as Katie's storyline.

This wasn't my first Michelle Gable read, but I still have some of her backlist to catch up and I hope to do it soon to see if my feelings would change from this book and how I felt about one plot vs the other and her other books.

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 100 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Paris Wife by Meghan Masterson

The Paris Wife

by Meghan Masterson

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 318

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Paris, August 1856: An ordinary woman far from home. A plot against the crown. Those she loves in terrible danger…

Livia, a humble doctor’s daughter from the Italian countryside, arrives in Paris with her new husband. At first, she feels alone and isolated among the gray, rain-drenched streets. Until Elisabetta, the Emperor’s clever, beautiful mistress, takes her under her wing, and finally Livia has a true ally.

The two women are soon inseparable, strolling arm in arm down Paris’s wide boulevards and dancing the night away at masked balls. At last, Livia feels happy in her new life.

But when Elisabetta is mysteriously poisoned, the tables turn and it is Livia who has the power to shape the destiny of those around her. She must draw on all her knowledge of herbs and medicine to cure her friend. And the stakes soon become higher than she ever imagined, when her husband is falsely accused of treason and conspiring against the crown.

With Elisabetta close to death and the future of France in peril, Livia will need to draw on all her courage to save the lives of those she loves… as well as her own…

Kritters Thoughts:  In 1856 in Paris, France and Emperor Napoleon III is in reign, there is a woman who has married up and is now close to one of his mistresses and in turn ends up close to him and with the skills she acquired by her father's side as a child, she is able to save lives and make an impact on the future of a few countries!  

While I know this was true fiction, it was fun to pull up Napoleon's wikipedia page and read a bit and get to know the truth to help put this story in perspective.  Livia was a woman from humble beginnings who ended up in quite the predicament, but in the end she was in a better place than even she or her family could have imagined - being vague, it is a great plot point that is spoiled in the synopsis!  

But more than her marriage, Livia's relationship with the Emperor's mistress was so interesting and I loved the dynamic these women had as they were women in this moment in time and each trying to find their place in such a volatile world.  While this book did a good job of showing romantic relationships, for me the relationship between these women was the heart of the story and I loved that the author focused on that and how women could come together and support each other no matter where they came from.  

My second Meghan Masterson read and I sure hope she has more up her sleeve! 

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 99 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Family Plot by Megan Collins

The Family Plot

by Megan Collins 

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 320

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  At twenty-six, Dahlia Lighthouse has a lot to learn when it comes to the real world. Raised in a secluded island mansion deep in the woods and kept isolated by her true crime-obsessed parents, she has spent the last several years living on her own, but unable to move beyond her past—especially the disappearance of her twin brother Andy when they were sixteen.

With her father’s death, Dahlia returns to the house she has avoided for years. But as the rest of the Lighthouse family arrives for the memorial, a gruesome discovery is made: buried in the reserved plot is another body—Andy’s, his skull split open with an ax.

Each member of the family handles the revelation in unusual ways. Her brother Charlie pours his energy into creating a family memorial museum, highlighting their research into the lives of famous murder victims; her sister Tate forges ahead with her popular dioramas portraying crime scenes; and their mother affects a cheerfully domestic façade, becoming unrecognizable as the woman who performed murder reenactments for her children. As Dahlia grapples with her own grief and horror, she realizes that her eccentric family, and the mansion itself, may hold the answers to what happened to her twin.

Kritters Thoughts:  Dahlia is the baby of the family and one half of a set of twins raised in a family who has an obsession about true crime, enough that they named each of their kids after someone famous who was murdered.  Conveniently they live on an island where there is a serial killer and whispers have been circulating for long!  While the patriarch of the family has recently passed and as they are about to go bury him, they find the remains of Dahlia's twin who went missing ten years ago, so now there are a few mysteries to solve.  

I am a fan of true crime myself, but definitely not to the level of this family!  While it was fun to read about characters who follow and get invested in true crime like I do, it did remind me there is a place where interest can go into obsession and everything in moderation!  The characters in this family were interesting case studies as the three remaining siblings reacted very differently to their upbringing and the things that were going in their household during their childhoods.  

The book took a hard turn and for me when this turn happened and all the things started unfolding for me it went a little depressing.  I do not want to spoil to allow for readers to experience it for themselves, but I sure wanted to hug these kids and wish I could have prevented a few things, so that maybe their lives could have ended up in different spots.  For me it made me feel awkward feeling these feelings for these characters and it made my reading experience dip a bit.  

I still love Megan Collins and the way she weaves character, plot and the unfolding of it all is great, but the awkward feels during this book may have made me cringe a bit.  

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 98 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Bout of Books 32 TBR

Bout of Books starts on Monday, August 16th and goes through Sunday, August 22nd. 

My goal, as it always is, for the Bout of Books 32 TBR pile is to read 250 pages per day, which amounts to 1,750 pages for the whole week.  
 

August is the end of the summer reading, so I am hoping for a week full of reading and maybe even some of it by a pool or on a boat!

Let's see how this goes!

1. The Woman on the Beach by Julia Roberts (starting with 79 pages left)

2. When the Summer Was Ours by Roxanne Veletzos (384 pages)

3. The Murderess Must Die by Marlie Wasserman (260 pages)

4. Where I Left Her by Amber Garza (304 pages)

5. Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian (400 pages)

6. The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell (416 pages)

This is a total of 1,843 pages!

For those that don't know what Bout of Books is... here you go:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 8th and runs through Sunday, January 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 32 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

With my birthday this week, there was a lot of activity and not a lot of reading!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

The Paris Wife by Meghan Masterson

The Bookseller's Secret by Michelle Gable

Currently Reading:

The Woman on the Beach by Julia Roberts 

Next on the TBR pile:

When the Summer Was Ours by Roxanne Veletzos

Review: When We Were Sisters by Cynthia Ellingsen

When We Were Sisters

by Cynthia Ellingsen

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 281

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Two sisters who haven’t spoken for twenty years. One summer to bring a family back together.

Jayne Winters hasn’t seen her sister Charlotte since that last childhood holiday at their grandmother’s North Carolina beach house. Separated after that summer by their parents in a bitter divorce, Charlotte has never forgiven Jayne for not fighting to stay together.

So when Jayne discovers that they have both inherited the beach house, and that their grandmother’s last wish was for them to renovate it together, it feels like a miracle: one last chance to win her sister back.

At first Charlotte will barely speak to her. But slowly the memories of swimming races and storytelling in their attic bedroom looking over the sea start to break down the wall between them. With the help of photographs and letters left by their grandmother for them to find, the two women begin to restore not just the creaking mahogany staircase and the faded antique wallpaper, but their own relationship.

But then Jayne discovers that Charlotte has kept a heart-stopping secret from their past from her. Can she find it in her heart to forgive her sister and keep their grandmother’s dream of reuniting them alive—or are some wounds too big to heal?

Kritters Thoughts:  A concept that has been used before, but I will read it every time!  An elderly relative lives a home to the kids in their life and has them renovate to hopefully bring them together and repair a house and their relationship at the same time.  Jayne and Charlotte were separated as young girls as their parents relationship dissolved and really raised as single children until their grandmother brought them together one summer, but this summer ended and so did their connection until their grandmother brought them home again.

I loved how this book knew what it was and they referenced Parent Trap because although they aren't twins, their story definitely had the feeling of the separated at birth and raised in two very different lifestyles from California to Ireland.  These girls both blamed the other parent for the upbringing they missed out on and it took both of these girls coming together to both heal from all of the hurt.  

I loved this one like I have loved the others where a family gets restored and there is hope for the future that they will set a different path for future generations.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 97 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Ocean in Winter by Elizabeth de Veer

The Ocean in Winter

by Elizabeth de Veer 

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Pages: 400

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The lives of the three Emery sisters were changed forever when Alex, eleven at the time, found their mother drowned in the bathtub of their home. After their mother’s suicide, the girls’ father shut down emotionally, leaving Alex responsible for caring for Colleen, then eight, and little Riley, just four. Now the girls are grown and navigating different directions. Alex, a nurse, has been traveling in India and grieving her struggle to have a child; Colleen is the devoted mother of preteens in denial that her marriage is ending; and Riley has been leading what her sisters imagine to be the dream life of a successful model in New York City. Decades may have passed, but the unresolved trauma of their mother’s death still looms over them creating distance between the sisters.

Then on a March night, a storm rages near the coast of northeastern Massachusetts. Alex sits alone in an old farmhouse she inherited from a stranger. The lights are out because of the storm; then, an unexpected knock at the door. When Alex opens it, her beautiful younger sister stands before her. Riley has long been estranged from their family, prompting Colleen to hire the private investigator from whom they’d been awaiting news. Comforted by her unexpected presence, Alex holds back her nagging questions: How had Riley found her? Wouldn’t the dirt roads have been impassable in the storm? Why did Riley insist on disappearing back into the night?

After her mysterious visitation, Alex and Colleen are determined to reconcile with Riley and to face their painful past, but the closer they come to finding their missing sister, the more they fear they’ll only be left with Riley’s secrets. 

Kritters Thoughts:  Three sisters lives take a drastic turn when the oldest, Alex finds their mother dead in the bathtub and at the age of eleven, eight and four, these girls all react differently from the loss of their mother and while the book takes place in the current day as they are adult women and they are all dealing with different problems in each of their lives.  

One of my favorite things is when an author allows each character to narrate their own chapters and each get the chance to share the story from their point of view - I love how each women talks about the past, but they each share their own struggles.  And I am always here for a story about family.  I love to read books about siblings and their reactions to their childhood and how they can grow up in the same house and have different experiences.  I also love to read about birth order and how that can impact a person as to where they line up in the family and I was making all sorts of conclusions about these sisters!

I am going to keep it vague here because the synopsis does a great job of describing the story without giving away some of the big and small plot points which are best to experience in the story.  

I really enjoyed how the author built this story and the characters and was even more excited to find out after completing that this was a debut novel and have a lot of hope that there is more to come from this author!

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.