The Watcher is a quick and captivating read!

The Watcher by Caroline Eriksson is a quick and captivating read!

Unreliable narrator alert! Love them! Elena is an author that is newly separated from her husband and is now living on her own in a new neighborhood. She finds herself intrigued by her neighbors across the street, the Storm family. As she watches them she becomes more and more curious as to what is going on behind closed doors. Adding to her already suspicious thoughts is the Storm's son, Leo, who wants to be a writer and has befriended Elena. Leo has some stories to tell about his family and Elena's need for inspiration drives her to listen to them intently and fill in the blank spaces on her own. As she begins to write her novel, the lines between reality and fiction become blurred and soon she can't be sure if her paranoia is justified or if she is slipping into a state of insanity.

I loved Elena. I loved her introspection, nurturing traits and her intelligence. I found her to be a very well developed and relatable protagonist. I enjoyed the friendship with Leo and found her relationship with her sister to be so heartwarming! I would love to see more of her, what happens next in her life!

The Watcher is an intense book than will keep the pages open and flipping! I didn't have my 'AHA moment' until right when the twist was revealed which is the way every good book should be. I thoroughly enjoyed every word!

Special thanks to Netgalley and AmazonCrossing for an opportunity to read and review The Watcher.

The Proposal is a fresh take on psychological thrillers!

"The first thing you should know, dear reader, is that I am dead…..."

That line from The Proposal grabbed hold of me immediately and wouldn't let go!

Pippa is a reluctant teacher by day and struggling author by night. All she wants is to fulfill her dream of becoming a best selling author. If she could just find some inspiration......
Then, a knock at the door. In steps inspiration, Ryan.

While put off by Ryan, his disheveled appearance and questionable background at first, Pippa soon starts wondering what his story is. He intrigues her enough to want to know more.  She is used to taking risks so she can talk herself into feeling fairly comfortable allowing this stranger into her life. Will she live to regret this decision?

The Proposal is told through blog posts and journal entries by Pippa. I found at first they were a bit hard to piece together but the devil is in the details and in paying attention they completely worked together.  The 'business/friendship' that ensues between Pippa and Ryan is, without a doubt, dysfunctional at best. It was, personally, a weird experience for me as a reader as I was surprised by the way *I* wanted things to turn out. I was really very clueless throughout most of the book and wondering where it was headed. It was INTENSE for sure! I finished it in a day because I could not put it down! There is a HUGE creep-factor to this book and while at times it made me a little squirmy, the creepiness was essential.

The Proposal was definitely an out-0f-the-box refreshing new plot read! I haven't read anything like it before and that was a very nice surprise!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review The Proposal.

Make Yourself Cozy: A Guide For Self Care .... a necessary book for your self care tool kit!

This is the book we need, ya'll! I mean EVERYONE!

Living with depression and anxiety, I speak loudly about the importance of self care and self love. IT IS VITAL. You would think it would come easily, taking care of yourself. Especially being a parent, partner, or have a position in your career where others rely on you. I mean, if you can take care of other people then how hard can it be to take care of yourself, right?? WRONG. It is so easy to forget and even easier to feel guilty about.

I love, let me say this loudly, LOVE this book, Make Yourself Cozy by Katie Vaz! I have read numerous self help books and more than a couple on self care and this is the one I will carry with me! It is a book of adorable and highly relatable illustrations and interactive pages showing all of the different ways we can practices self care. And it DOES take practice! This is an excellent tool to keep handy when you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, depressed or even just fine but you have a few minutes to show yourself some care. This book doesn't just tell you to take care of yourself or even that you should. IT IS A TOOL. Some pages give examples, some ask questions for you to answer so that you can practice your own unique coping skills and self care practices. There are pages for you to fill in the blank that will get you thinking about how to become a better you FOR you.

Make Yourself Cozy would be a wonderful tool for everyone to have with them tucked away in a purse or car or downloaded on your phone. I highly recommend this book to everyone as we all need extra help when it comes to taking care of ourselves! I plan on purchasing a copy once it releases and recommending it to my own therapist as a possible tool for her other patients.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an opportunity to read and review this book.

Book release date: 10/2/18

The Confession by Jo Spain is a must read 'why dun it?' !

As soon as I saw the cover, I had to read the blurb. As soon as I read the blurb, I had to have the book. And wow! I am so glad I got the book!

The Confession is a mind racing thriller that will not be easy to put down! Late in the night a stranger walks into the McNamara home where Harry, a corrupt banker and his wife Julie are taken completely by surprise. as the man beats Harry to death in a horrific way. Julie can do nothing but stand in fear and shock. Later that night, the man turns himself in. JP Carney claims the attack was not planned and he knew nothing of Harry or Julie.

As the detectives dig deep into this case, nothing is adding up. What was the motivation? Where is the link between the murdered, the murderer and the observer? Is he truly a stranger to them? What is the reason that JP Carney was so quick to confess and turn himself in? Who is the guilty party really?

The Confession took me on a crazy journey and I was not prepared for the twists that came! This was my first read by Jo Spain and I am definitely looking forward to more!

Guess Who by Chris McGeorge will keep you guessing until the very end!

"The rules are simple......

But the game is not."

Wow. Wild ride does not do this justice! Guess Who is reminiscent of the famed Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None with an intensity of a thriller on steroids! And trust me, you will be trying to guess who all the way to the end!

Morgan Sheppard, a TV detective, wakes up handcuffed to a pole, in a locked hotel room with 5 strangers and 1 dead body. If that isn't bad enough, up pops the TV screen with an unknown, masked messenger informing Sheppard he has 3 short hours to solve this mystery or there will be horrific consequences to be paid.

 If that doesn't grab you, I don't know what will!

Guess Who is told from the point of view of Morgan Sheppard in present time with bits of memories of his past poking through to give us a better picture of who he is and why he is. He isn't the most cuddly, lovable protagonist but that is what molds him into the perfect one!

Guess Who has all of the intriguing, creepy ingredients that makes it an outstanding psychological thriller!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Publishing for an advanced reader copy of Guess Who.

Losing sleep with When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica!

Who am I? Where do I come from? Is my whole life a lie? These are questions that Jessie Sloane is now forced to ask herself in the slow burn psychological thriller, When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica.This journey is one of twists and turns and 'OMG' moments you won't want to miss!

Jessie's dying mother tells her to 'go find yourself'. Jessie, assuming her mother meant for her to make something of herself, do what she enjoys, make her life what she has dreamed of enrolls in college but after red flags are raised as to her identity, Jessie has to wonder if that is what her mother actually meant by those words.

Now: Plagued with insomnia Jessie takes us with her on her quest to 'find herself'. Not just questioning her identity but also the things around. her. Is she seeing what she thinks she is, hearing what is being whispered to her or is the insomnia making her endeavor that much harder? Each passing day brings her closer to solving the mystery of her life but with each passing day brings more exhaustion and the fear that lack of sleep will eventually end her life.

Then: We follow Eden back 20 years and relive her emotional and heart wrenching struggles with her. Her story is one born of love and what society tells us are worth is to be. The triggers and stumbling blocks taking Eden to places that she never thought she would be. Eden may hold the answers to Jessie's questions.

When The Lights Go Out is told with a then and now narration volleying between Eden (then) and Jessie (now). I adored both of them. I found Eden and Jessie incredibly relatable and likable. I cried for Eden and bit my nails for Jessie and loved every moment of the book. Prior to reading this book, I read the mixed reviews and I knew the end was a love or hate conclusion and I can say that I loved it. I thought it was perfect and flowed really well with the rest of the story! Given an alternate ending, I wouldn't have chosen any other. I very much enjoyed When the Lights Go Out!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin books for the opportunity to read and review When the Lights Go Out.