X

Maryse's Book Blog

Following my heart, one book at a time...

You are here: Home / Home

Reader Question – Is book 2 available to download for Boys of Brayshaw High?

By Leave a Comment

Misty is yet another that has gone CRAZY for book #1 in this series! So if you’re wondering too, I thought I’d post her question:

Misty: Is book 2 available to download for Boys of Brayshaw High?  I think it’s Trouble at Brayshaw High but I can’t find it on Amazon.  Thanks!

Maryse: Hi Misty!! It’s going live on May 28th. I hope that helps!! 🙂 I’ll stalk it and post it as soon as it does!! 😀

Tasha: On the upside, Meagan Brandy FINALLY announced the release date for Trouble at Brayshaw High- May 28!! 😀

Lisa M: Omg I just finished Boys of Brayshaw High!! So good total Fallen Crest & Elite series feel. Such a cliffy can wait for the next one!!! I want it now!!!

➔➔➔  Browse more reader questions (solved & unsolved) here. 😀 Maybe you’ll find a solved one to read or have a guess for us for one that’s still unsolved.

Have a reader question for us to solve? Send it to me here.

Reader Question… Solved! The book about the mafia leader’s son that protects her and keeps her away from his life…

By 4 Comments

Johanna needs our book help! Sounds angsty and like there’ll be lots of pining. My kind of book!

She asks:

Hi Maryse, I’m looking for a book. I read the first one a few years ago. It popped up in my head again a few weeks ago now I can’t remember the name.

It’s goes something like this… he’s young, had a father who works for a mafia/leader. I think in Cuba.

*spoiler*

*spoiler*

*spoiler*

*spoiler*

*spoiler*

*spoiler*

They go to a f as families home and kill all of them expect 1. The young kid goes back, finds her and takes her to an older women who was like a mother to him. He provides for her. He visits her sometimes and keeps her away from his life.

*spoiler*

*spoiler*

*spoiler*

*spoiler*

*spoiler*

*spoiler*

She falls for him and him for her. They can’t be together.

She dates a boy who he ends up beating up. He then sends her away to protect her.

I don’t know of this rings any bells.

Thanks

Oooooh I love the sound of it! Anyone have a guess?

Anne18: El Diablo by M. Robinson

Johanna: I think this might be it. 😆

Maryse: *fingers crossed*!! Let us know when you know for sure. 😀

Nikki: Could it be “Plausibility” by Jettie Woodruff? It’s been a long time since I read it, but it has some of those same elements…

Anna: El Santo by M Robinson

➔➔➔  Browse more reader questions (solved & unsolved) here. 😀 Maybe you’ll find a solved one to read or have a guess for us for one that’s still unsolved.

Have a reader question for us to solve? Send it to me here.

Reader Confession – My strange book listening vs. reading realization…

By 3 Comments

So you know how I always say I can’t listen to audiobooks (or I’ve tried and can’t quite get them)? Well, I just realized (yet again) that… that’s not true at all! I just remembered… I listen to audiobooks all the time. BUT!! There’s a caveat:

Maryse: Strange book realization… I have a hard time listening to fiction audiobooks. I need to READ them. Yet, I struggle to read self-help & financial books. I need to LISTEN to them. *hrmph* 😑😒😏 So. Weird.

Corinne: Lol I’m the complete opposite! Haha!

Bethany: Yes! I can’t. I’ve tried. I can only do nonfiction. Fiction messes with me because I need to picture everything in my head.

A.D. YES!!! I fall asleep listening to fiction audiobooks and can’t concentrate on non-fiction books. LOL

Aidee: I need to read everything, otherwise it just becomes background noise 😬

N.E. I can’t read non-fiction. I can only do audio books. But fiction, I prefer to read rather than listen.

Caroline: Long or complicated books I have to listen to. I can’t focus and follow when I’m reading them myself…

Candace: I need those written words to pour over. I guess this means I’m a lousy listener!

Magan: Same! Non-fiction or humor has been my jam in audio lately, though. Bad Blood the story of Theranos was AMAZING and before that it was Amy Poehler’s ‘Yes Please’ also amazing in audio. I think if I tried to read them I wouldn’t be able to actually focus.

Mo: This is me!!!!!

Stacey: I can only listen to non-fiction audio. Then I take notes and pay attention like I’m some college student. It’s the only way i remember anything. But for fiction it just becomes background noise. I’ve been known to read a book, while listening to a different one. lol.

Yep. I think it’s from my old school days (and how I would learn). I can really lose myself in a story and not even realize I’m reading by using my eyes (and my brain starts playing it for me like a movie in my mind). For me feel it, I need to read it and hold it… but listening to it does become background noise on and I miss important parts of a story that I didn’t get to act out in my mind as I read.

Yet being “taught” and lectured (via these self-help or non-fiction audiobooks) is like listening to a teacher. Reading it would seem boring to me (like a textbook) but listening to a teacher speak, with passion and proper focus on certain important aspects reigns me (and my attention span) in.

P.S. I just finished an awesome “teaching” audiobook on finances (and investing)!! *snore* right? NOPE!! It was AWESOME. I’ll be reviewing it next. 😉 You’ll see!

How about you? Any unusual needs or patterns when it comes to your reading and/or listening?

bev: Yes, I like non fiction audio books. But more the memoir type. Though Aristotle and Dante is a masterpiece in audio. Same. I loved a good lecturer. Like a good history teacher? Awesome. Also, if I need to memorize something I read it aloud to myself.

JulieO: Only time I listen to books is in the car. Got started a few years ago when I had to drive an hour each way to work. It was a great drive because wasn’t in the city and not a lot of traffic and was an interstate so I wasn’t stressed about driving. I really enjoyed that year and listened to many great books. Many Stephen kings, Outlander series and some classics like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Jane Eyre. But if I had the choice would always read.

Ashley: I love both! A lot of times I’ll read a book and then I’ll listen to it later since I listen to them while I work. If I already know the storyline and do get distracted by something it’s easier to pick it back up or follow along. If I’m listening to a book while I’m working it has to be while I’m doing routine work though because I still picture everything in my head and that takes a certain level of concentration. I love the different mediums and with audiobooks sometimes the persons performing them can elevate a book to a new level. That being said I feel weird if I haven’t read a book in a while, like I’ve been deprived….. I think I’m addicted to reading.

I do agree with it being easier to listen to nonfiction books when I (rarely) read those they lose me really quickly. But I do find them more interesting while listening.

➔➔➔  Love learning more about our fellow readers? Browse more reader confessions on my blog. 😀

➔➔➔  Love audiobooks? Browse more audiobook recommendations on my blog. 😀

Latest Romance Book Releases – May 14th 2019

By 82 Comments

WEDNESDAY BREAKING NEWS UPDATE!! Four more books JUST WENT LIVE!!

  • A Five-Minute Life by Emma Scott <— EMMA SCOTT’S LATEST!!! AN ACCIDENT HAS LEFT HER WITH ONLY 5 minutes of memory!!! GASP!!! And he’s her orderly... “…Working as an orderly in the Blue Ridge Sanitarium, deep in Virginia countryside, Jim looked up…and found Thea. When Thea has the chance to break free of her five-minute prison with a risky, experimental surgery, it could lead them both to an epic love they never thought possible… or one that could require the ultimate sacrifice…” 😀 !!! I’m starting it RIGHT. NOW!!! SQUEEEEEE!!
  • Tell Me to Stay by Willow Winters <— SECOND CHANCE ROMACE!! “…it all fell apart and I ran as far away from Madox as I could. After all, the two of us were never meant to be together. I never thought I’d see him again, years later. Let alone be under him in the way I’ve craved since we said goodbye…”
  • The Trouble With Love by Claire Contreras <— CLAIRE CONTRERAS ALERT!! DATING APP MATCHED HER with her brother’s best friend!!! GASP!! “…They say when it rains, it pours, but this is some serious BS. It doesn’t help that Bennett was the man I had my last one night stand with. It definitely doesn’t help that he seems to want me just as much as I want him. The issue is, he won’t do anything about it, but then we’re forced to attend a tech conference in Vegas and I think it may just be what I need to turn this thing around...”
  • BIG SKY by Dani Wyatt <— QUIET ALPHA COWBOY ALERT!… “… I’m here to write a travel article, but in one instant my interest in saddles, horses, and the Montana sky evaporate. All I see are blue eyes, chiseled cheekbones, and a black cowboy hat. What I find out, is the quiet cowboy who owns this land is the measure of alpha...”

HAPPY NEW RELEASE TUESDAY!!! Lookit what just went live (Christina Lauren’s right there to the left) and I love the premise!! Plus there’s a new release coming out in just a week or so, and everyone here went crazy for book #1 (which is bargain priced today). 😀 SQUEEEEE!!!

Blurb jolts? I got ’em! Trayis (Laurann Dohner’s latest!! She’s not his type, but when he overhears her being ridiculed, he chooses her for himself… temporarily, anyway), Boys of Brayshaw High by Meagan Brandy (Okay not a new one but the super-bargain prize of the day!! So many here went crazy for it, and book #2 is going live this month 😀 ), The Unhoneymooners (Christina Lauren alert!! he’s the best man, and her nemesis, but they end up taking the honeymoon together when everyone else gets sick...), F-Bomb (Lani Lynn Vale’s latest!!! He always saw her in prison, and now that he just got out, he wants her… but she’s married!!), A Really Bad Idea (this doctor wants to have a baby with her)… Covering Ollie (her new neighbor is a sexy older cop… ) and quite a few more that I highlighted below!!

And we have feedback from Grey!!

Grey: I really enjoyed The Unhoneymooners…it was a good one for me. 4.5 stars… Jeannine Colette’s new one A Really Bad Idea drops today too…and ooh, so good!❤️

While you’re here, don’t forget to check out these:
  1. Kindle Unlimited Membership super-bargain deal!!!! eek <— Hey guess what??!! I dunno if I read when it was “ending” wrong or if Amazon just extended it, but the Kindle Unlimited Membership deal is still on!!!
  2. Monday Earlybird Book Releases
  3. Book Review – Her by Britney King <— My latest review is up!! Another stalkerish crazy psych-thriller that drove me mad. Surprised me with a twist, though. 
AUDIOBOOK L:DVERS!

For those going on a road trip soon, or maybe you’ve got some projects that require both hands this weekend but still allows you to “listen”… check out the free audible trial + 2 free audiobooks deal

  • AND! Here’s the fun-tool again! —> Find out which of YOUR Kindle books are available as audiobooks at a BARGAIN-PRICE! <— This thing is so cool (Amazon calls it “Matchmaker“)! It’s an Amazon feature, that scans all of your Kindle books and will list all of the ones you have that are also available as an audiobook at a discounted price (not normal audiobook prices). This way, you can switch back and forth, seamlessly between your ebooks and your audiobooks. VERY COOL!
  1. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
  2. Let Me Please You: A McClain Family Novella: McClain Brothers, Book 3.5, by Alexandria House
  3. The Road Home: The Broken Road Series by Paul Evans
  4. The Omega Objection: The San Andreas Shifters by G.L. Carriger
  5. Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel by Casey McQuiston
  6. A Single Kiss: Irresistible Attraction, Book 2 by W. Winters
  7. Shadow Warrior by Christine Feehan
  8. Slashes in the Snow: A Baum Squad Novel by M. Never
  9. Second Chances by Vi Keeland
  10. The Bluestocking by Christi Caldwell
  11. Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
  12. Most Irresistible Guy by Lauren Blakely

READER RECOMMENDATIONS & BARGAIN FINDS:
➔➔ Kindle Unlimited Membership super-bargain deal!!!! eek <— Hey guess what??!! I dunno if I read when it was “ending” wrong or if Amazon just extended it, but the Kindle Unlimited Membership deal is still on!!!
  • Unseen (with bonus novella “Busted”): A Novel (Will Trent Series Book 7) by Karin Slaughter <— KAREN SLAUGHTER SUPER-SALE ALERT!! Two investigations collide! “…Sara herself has come to Macon because of a cop shooting: Her stepson, Jared, has been gunned down in his own home. Sara holds Lena, Jared’s wife, responsible: Lena, a detective, has been a magnet for trouble all her life, and Jared’s shooting is not the first time someone Sara loved got caught in the crossfire. Furious, Sara finds herself involved in the same case that Will is working without even knowing it, and soon danger is swirling around both of them…”
  • Tempting: The Macintyre Brothers Collection Volume One (The Macintyre Brothers Collections) by S.E. Lund <— BOOK BUNDLE SUPER-BARGAIN ALERT!!
  • Cherry Pie by Madison Faye <— FORBIDDENY DAD’S BEST FRIEND SUPER-BARGAIN ALERT!! She needs money so she sells herself in an auction... “…Totally beautiful, totally forbidden, totally more than twice my age, totally-has-had-me-twisted-up-tangled-up-and-aching-for-him for years Marshall Bane. This is forbidden. It’s inappropriate. It’s damn-near breaking the law…”
  • The Elsker Saga Box Set (Books 1-3 + Novella) by <— SERIESB071LJNF7F BUNDLE SUPER-BARGAIN!! NORSE GODS ALERT!! “…Includes all three books in S.T. Bende’s internationally bestselling ELSKER SAGA, plus the bonus novella, TUR…”
  • Clover Springs Mail Order Brides Box Set: Books 1 – 5 by Rachel Wesson <— BOOK BUNDLE SUPER-BARGAIN!!
  • Boys of Brayshaw High by Meagan Brandy <— SO MANY WENT CRAZY for this one and it’s SUPER-BARGAIN PRICED!! Plus book #2 is going live in just a week or so!! 😀

Tessa: Alright, Boys of Brayshaw was AWESOME! I have to wait for spring for the next book, but OMG. It’s everything i love in a NA. Bullies, great secondary characters, and the familial feelings. (so right about the Fallen Crest type) SQUEEEE!

Lisa M: Omg I just finished Boys of Brayshaw High!! So good total Fallen Crest & Elite series feel. Such a cliffy can wait for the next one!!! I want it now!!!

Jenn: Tessa-Just wanted you to know as I believe you are the one that went crazy for it on here…I am reading “Boys of Brayshaw High” I was hooked just in the first few chapters.

Stacey: Boys of Brayshaw High by Meagan Brandy was AWESOME!!! If you like Fallen Crest this is a must read……absolutely cannot wait for next book in series!

PARANORMAL/FANTASY/SCI-FI/DYSTOPIAN NEW RELEASES:
  1. Trayis (VLG Series Book 11) by Lauren Dohner <— LAURANN DOHNER ALERT!! SHE’S NOT HIS TYPE… “…Growing up mostly human in a Lycan pack has been hard for Shay. Shunned and distrusted by most, she wouldn’t have survived without the support of her foster family and alpha. She’s had a longtime secret crush on Trayis, her alpha’s VampLycan half-brother. Shay thinks he’s hot and finds the courage to approach Trayis during one of his infrequent visits…”
  2. Warlord’s Bounty (Chamele Barbarian Warlords Book 2) by Cynthia Sax
  3. The Silver Mist (Wild Hunt Book 6) by Yasmine Galenorn <— YASMINE GALENORN ALERT!! “…The Wild Hunt is on the trail of the Tuathan Brotherhood—a hate group terrorizing humans and shifters alike. Their investigation takes them over to the Olympic Peninsula, where they plunge into the heart of the haunted old-growth forest in a desperate attempt to stop the group before they strike again…”
  4. Shadowspell Academy: The Culling Trials (Book 2) by Shannon Mayer and K F Breene <— ROBYN FOUND US THIS ONE!!

Robyn: Shadowspell Academy: The Culling Trials book 2 by Shannon Mayer and K F Breene came out today. I read book one and it was good. Book 3 is up for pre-order.

CONTEMPORARY NEW RELEASES:
  1. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren <— CHRISTINA LAUREN ALERT!!! GOING ON A FAKE HONEYMOON WITH HER NEMESIS… “…Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas. Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo. Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is . . . Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend...”
  2. Daredevil by Fiona Davenport <— HOLLYWOOD SHORT STORY!!
  3. When He Stays: A Student Teacher Romance <— STUDENT-TEACHER FORBIDDEN LOVE ALERT!! Andrea found us this one!! 😀 Wow this one sounds like it will be intense!! “...The day my Mom dies is the day my life falls apart. I’m uprooted, sent to go live with an Aunt I barely know in a completely different state. I feel lost, and broken. Until he comes. Alec. Or better known as… Mr. Cooper. My history teacher. He makes me feel whole, complete. For the first time, my life is perfect. Until it’s not. And then, I break.”
  4. Rocket (Hell’s Handlers MC Book 5) by Lilly Atlas <— BIKER BOOK ALERT!! HE RESCUES HER FROM A SADISTIC GANG... “…he’s never had trouble moving on until the night he rescues the redheaded Chloe from a sadistic gang. Kidnapped, beaten, and abused by criminals, Chloe has a difficult time assimilating back into the world after the most traumatic experience of her life. With each passing day, her anxiety builds until she’s forced to find an outlet. Finally, Chloe discovers her own way to make sense of the world and steal a few moments of peace. There’s just one problem: she can’t tell a soul what she’s doing...”
  5. Beauty in the Broken: A Diamond Magnate Novel by Charmaine Pauls
  6. The Night Window (Jane Hawk) by Dean Koontz
  7. Unbroken: A Novella (Loveless, Texas) by Jay Crownover
  8. Concerto by Skye Warren <— SKYE WARREN ALERT!! “…The spotlight lands on Samantha Brooks. Years of practice build to the opening night of a global tour. She plays her heart out, but there are darker forces underneath the stage. There are eyes watching from the wings…”
  9. Sloth (The Elite Seven Book 6) by Giana Darling <— GIANA DARLING ALERT!! “…He wants me to enroll at St. Augustine. Join The Elite. Court the virginal daughter of Archbishop Savoie. Prove that I’m worth the family name? I’ll do it all. And I’ll do it so well, no one will know what’s coming. People are so quick to underestimate the wicked and lazy. They forget idle hands are the best tools for the devil’s work…”
  10. F-Bomb (The Bear Bottom Guardians MC Book 9) by Lani Lynn Vale <— LANI LYNN VALE UNREQUITED LOVE ALERT!!  HE JUST GOT OUT OF PRISON & HE WANTS HER… BUT SHE’S MARRIED...”…He knows he’s done wrong, but out of all of his sins, only one really bothers him—coveting thy neighbor’s wife. Harleigh Belle—the cute little lady that never gives him a second glance. After seeing her for the first time while he was in prison, she’s stayed on his mind for three long years. Each time she comes in to visit with her friend on family day, he can’t help but stare. Then the day comes that he’s set free, and he’s almost disappointed that he’ll never see her again. Except fate has different plans…”
  11. My Ex-Best Friend’s Wedding by Wendy Wax
  12. Choosing You: The Pierced Hearts Duet: Book Two by M. Robinson <— THE DUET IS COMPLETE!! “…a contemporary romance duet filled with all the feels of a epic love story. The duet is COMPLETE! Both books are available now!..”
  13. Sunken Shadows: Shadows Landing #2 by Kathleen Brooks
  14. Till The Sun Dies (Checkmate Series Book 2) by Emilia Finn
  15. Blind Luck (The Technicians Series Book 3) by Olivia Gaines
  16. Royal Hottie (The Rourkes, Book 2) by Kylie Gilmore
  17. The Karma Book Club (Book 2 of the Club Series) by Kayley Wood
  18. Blurring the Line (The Line Series Book 2) by Nikki Rose
  19. A Really Bad Idea by Jeannine Collette <— JEANNINE COLLETTE ALERT!! HOT DOCTOR…  “…Everyone has a best friend. Mine just happens to be Dr. Christian Gallagher— the gorgeous, green-eyed heart surgeon who wants to have a baby with me. Yes, you read that correctly…” P.S. Check out this exclusive excerpt!!
  20. Plan Bee (Bee Stings Book 3) by RosaLinda Diaz
  21. Why We Fight (At First Sight Book 4) by TJ Klune <— TJ KLUNE M/M ROMANCE ALERT!!
  22. Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel by by Casey McQuiston <— M/M ROMANCE ALERT!!
  23. Covering Ollie (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) (On Call Book 2) by Freya Barker <— SINGLE MOM & THE SILVER-HAIRED NEIGHBOR COP… “...She’s used to going it alone. However, their new silver-haired neighbor might present a problem—not only is he handsome—he’s also Durango’s new chief of police; a complication she can’t afford…”
  24. A Perfect Lie by Lisa Renee Jones <— LISA RENEE JONES ALERT!! “…I’m twenty-eight years old. An artist, who found her muse on the canvas because I wasn’t allowed to have friends or even keep a journal. And yes, if you haven’t guessed by now, I’m that Hailey Anne Monroe, daughter to Thomas Frank Monroe, the man who was a half-percentage point from becoming President of the United States. If you were able to ask him, he’d probably tell you that I was the half point. But you can’t ask him, and he can’t tell you. He’s dead. They’re all dead and now I can speak...”
  25. Zero Regret: Z and Lilly, Part Two (Lost Kings MC Book 13) by Autumn Jones Lake
  26. A SEAL’s Devotion (SEALs of Chance Creek Book 7) by Cora Seton
  27. The Lover (Doctor Book 3) by E.L. Todd <— LISA M IS EXCITED!! “… just finished The Doctor and book 2 The Man by EL Todd omg hot hot hot!!! Phew book 3 The Lover out on May 14!!!..”
  28. The Fighter (Doctor Book 4) by E.L. Todd <— AND #4!!!!
  29. One Night of Passion (Wicked Dukes Club Book 3) by Erica Ridley <— HISTORICAL ROMANCE
  30. Slow Ride (Powertools: Hot Rides Book 2) by Jayne Ryon
  31. When Love Strikes (Love On The North Shore Book 6) by Christina Tetreault
  32. Beauty in the Broken: A Diamond Magnate Novel by Charmaine Pauls
  33. Mad Gold (Providence Gold Series Book 2) by Mary B. Moore
  34. His Secret Sin by Sam Crescent <— MAFIA ROMANCE ALERT!! HE’S ALREADY ENGAGED…”…Diego Leoni is used to getting what he wants. He’s one of the best capos the outfit has to offer. Anyone who betrays the outfit, he kills. His first wife knows about that. Belle Johnson is alone in the city, trying to prove her independence. Blinded in an accident as a child, she can’t rely on anyone. Now, abandoned in a nightclub by her friends, she has to call for help. And Diego answers, being the sweet, kind man, who helps her home…”
  35. Royal Catch (The Rourkes, Book 1) by Kylie Gilmore
  36. Forever Yours (Stonehill Series Book 6) by Marci Bolden
  37. A Lady of True Distinction (True Gentlemen Book 7) by Grace Burrowes <— HISTORICAL ROMANCE & JAN FOUND US THIS ONE!! “...Margaret Summerfield has put aside her passion for scent-making to tend to the serious business of raising her little nieces. She’s no longer the girl who wandered the countryside by the hour, lost in the pleasures of nature, nor does she want to be. Hawthorne needs her help, but what does he have that could possibly tempt to Margaret to entangle herself with his dreams?…”
  38. Conner (Special Forces: Operation Alpha): A Choice Series Novella by Dee Stewart
  39. Cardinal (Outlaw MC Book 2) by Ethan Egorov
  40. XV: (Fifteen) (War of Roses Book 1) by Lana Sky <— MAFIA ROMANCE ALERT!! HE MISTAKES HER FOR HER TWIN AND TAKES HER… “...Mistaken for her beautiful half-sister, Ellen Winthorp is taken captive by a madman who declares that she will be his “fifteen”: the fifteenth victim of a vicious mafia blood feud. Armed with only her instincts, Ellen must resist her captor for as long as she can—which is easier said than done the more she’s exposed to the complex man beneath the beast...”

  

PREORDERS (going live soon!!! 😀 )

          

➔➔➔  Get Maryse’s Book Blog updates delivered by email (you’ll get one daily email that will have each post from that day consolidated on it).

Book Review – Her by Britney King

By 4 Comments

Her: A Psychological Thriller

<—- Oooooh boy what did I just READ???!! That was just MESSED UP!!!!! I don’t even know how to review this. My thoughts are all over the place.

Honestly? I can’t even tell if I like it, or not. I couldn’t put it down, but it drove me crazy (yes… the entire time I was devouring it, I was mad at it). It’ll take me a few days to let this one sink in. Was it over-the-top crazy ridiculous? Was it genius? Was it both?

It’s like one of those movies that you enjoyed and think you liked but kind of hated, and aren’t even sure who you could recommend it to. Your recommendation would come with lots of warnings. Mine will be, this will drive you crazy, make you mad, and you’ll need to suspend disbelief. A LOT. And yet, if you like psych-thrillers like I do, you’ll still be tearing through it to find out what the heck is going on.

I dunno. One thing for sure, the characters annoyed me big time. I think I’m still annoyed. CRAZINESS.

We were so much in their heads, and they were just a mess… I couldn’t ever really be sure who was actually controlling the show, ya know? Who is the psycho-ist of the main characters? <– Haha yes i invented that but my brain is mush, and that says exactly what I was thinking.

What was I reading? It seemed so obvious, but… did I need to read between the lines? What was I missing?

It was a new experience for me, and I felt dizzy for a while. Like most things, dizziness fades. And then, it dawns on you, the relationship you have in your mind is profoundly different from the one you actually have.

Of course, it takes precious time before you figure this out. Only by then, it’s too late.

I was being thrown from moments of warm and wise introspection and support, to utter obnoxiousness. This one was all… jealousy and jealous obsessiveness, egotistic insolence, spineless idolization, devious manipulation… and down right abusive and dangerous. On so many levels.

Up my alley? Yes. Creepy obsessive, stalker-ish type of friendship that only gets darker as it goes.

Ann Banks isn’t the kind of woman who is familiar with rejection. She’s said so herself. That’s why she’s so successful.

Convoluted? Yes. SO MUCH so (my mind was going one way, and this one was going another), and I thought I was understanding what I was reading, until something became SO MUCH clearer (and TOTALLY clever) and it made so much more sense. Eventually.

Surprised me? YES. For that reveal (not so much the first one – which was a big whammy in itself – but the second reveal) is the one that wowed me. I was impressed by how the story was relayed to us, once I started backtracking on what I had been reading.

So what’s it about?

Sadie has just been left by her husband (and she so desperately wants him to come back).

He didn’t know, not until after we were married, how tight a lid I kept on the real me and how life might look if I let it slip. Still, the weight and my appearance are not what made me lose my husband. But they certainly didn’t help.

That said, she doesn’t know how to go about it, since she’s just… “average”. She’s down on herself, insecure, and suffering from social anxieties.

My heartbeat cranks up a level. In a crisis, I’m amazing. It’s the little things I can’t manage. My husband used to tell me this all the time.

She prefers standing back and watching life go by. Everyone else’s life, especially. P.S. The reason he left is slowly revealed bit-by-bit, and so I’ll leave it at that.

I want him to see that despite whatever has happened, I can be the woman he fell in love with again. She’s still me. I’m still her.

Ann (and her doctor-husband and her perfect teens and her beautiful life) has just moved into the neighborhood. She’s a famous “positive thinking” guru with best selling books and she’s just moved into the neighborhood. She’s beautiful, has her life together, is the life of the party, and EVERYONE wants to be near her.

And for some reason, she wholeheartedly befriends Sadie. Takes her under her wing… and it’s not long that Sadie is seeing Ann in a whole new light.

“I hope I’ll see you again,” she says.

I nod. You will. My future happiness depends on it.

So yep. It’s crazy, creepy, and gets monstrously evil… and and I couldn’t believe the decisions (and allowances) being made, and some of the shocking reveals that I was reading.

It’s fascinating the kind of damage people can do to themselves. It sort of just sneaks up on you. You think you know how low you can go, but really, there’s always another level, another rock bottom.

Amazing life lessons. Total truths that I wholeheartedly believe in my own life – so introspective and I LOVED that. WOW. But that… mixed in with absolutely psychotic actions and thought processes, and I was – er… I mean – the “heroine” was an unfortunate bug caught in the web. Or was she? *shrug* I’ll let you uncover the rest, if you’re up to it, that is. 😉

She thinks she can migrate, start a new life elsewhere, someplace where she can be whatever she wants to be. But she’s forgetting two things: wherever you go, there you are. Also, there are people like me.

But that ending. It will haunt me. That very last line (don’t read it!!!! Not until you get there). It won’t make much sense until you get through the whole thing anyway.

3.5 stars to 4 stars <— I want to give it 4.5 stars for keeping me hooked, but 3 stars for how obnoxious and over-the-top the whole thing was. That’s the only word I can come up with right now. It was so “out there”, so crazy and unbelievable and sometimes… I hated everybody. 😉

But then again that ending… oh yes. That ending. I’m a little haunted right now.

Contact Me | About Maryse | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Cookie Policy | © 2025 Maryse.net – Maryse’s Book Blog |
I am part of the Amazon affiliate program, which is designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Other than potential affiliate link commissions, I receive no compensation for reviews. All opinions I have expressed are my own.