reecaspieces

Overview

From the New York Times best-selling author of Reconstructing Amelia: A daughter races to uncover her mother’s secret life in the wake of her disappearance in this “breathless, shocking thriller.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times best-selling author

“I think you’ll be into it. I love a summer mystery.” —Jenna Bush Hager, the TODAY Show

“Deeply satisfying”—Angie Kim • “Gripping and bingeable.”—Ana Reyes • “As suspenseful as it is thought-provoking.”—Greer Hendricks

When Cleo, a student at NYU, arrives late for dinner at her childhood home in Brooklyn, she finds food burning in the oven and no sign of her mother, Kat. Then Cleo discovers her mom’s bloody shoe under the sofa. Something terrible has happened.

But what? The polar opposite of Cleo, whose “out of control” emotions and “unsafe” behavior have created a seemingly unbridgeable rift between mother and daughter, Kat is the essence of Park Slope perfection: a happily married, successful corporate lawyer. Or so Cleo thinks.

Kat has been lying. She’s not just a lawyer; she’s her firm’s fixer. She’s damn good at it, too. Growing up in a dangerous group home taught her how to think fast, stay calm under pressure, and recognize a real threat when she sees one. And in the days leading up her disappearance, Kat has become aware of multiple threats: demands for money from her unfaithful soon-to-be ex-husband; evidence that Cleo has slipped back into a relationship that’s far riskier than she understands; and menacing anonymous messages from her past—all of which she’s kept hidden from Cleo . . . 

Like Mother, Like Daughter is a thrilling novel of emotional suspense that questions the damaging fictions we cling to and the hard truths we avoid. Above all, it’s a love story between a mother and a daughter, each determined to save the other before it’s too late.

Review

Kat is a fixer at her law firm. She fixes everyone’s problems when they make terrible decisions. And she is a bit controlling with her college aged daughter. Their relationship is barely existent. Plus she and her husband are getting divorced. She has finally reached her daughter, Cleo, to come to the house so they can have a conversation. When Cleo arrives her mom is not there. There are signs of a struggle. These leads Cleo to investigate and she discovers a lot about her mom that she didn’t know.

Kat and Chloe are so different and so, of course, they have issues in their relationship. But, I really was not a fan of either of them. And lord, don’t get me started about Kat’s husband. He was just bad!

There are a lot of moving parts in this tale and a lot of characters. But this leads to a lot of suspects. I enjoyed all the mystery surrounding Kat’s disappearance. The way this author kept all the suspects straight with their own story and their own reasons to hurt Kat is terrific.

There is not a lot of intensity in this tale but there is a lot of guessing!

Need a good “who done it!” This is it! GRAB YOUR COPY TODAY!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Overview

Maria von Trapp. You know the name and the iconic songs, but do you know her real story? This dramatic novel, based on the woman glamorized in The Sound of Music,brings Maria to life as never before.

“As immersive, heartbreaking, and ultimately redemptive as the musical . . . This one is not to be missed.”—Allison Pataki, author of Finding Margaret Fuller

In the 1950s, Oscar Hammerstein is asked to write the lyrics to a musical based on the life of a woman named Maria von Trapp. He’s intrigued to learn that she was once a novice who hoped to live quietly as an Austrian nun before her abbey sent her away to teach a widowed baron’s sickly child. What should have been a ten-month assignment, however, unexpectedly turned into a marriage proposal. And when the family was forced to flee their home to escape the Nazis, it was Maria who instructed them on how to survive using nothing but the power of their voices.

It’s an inspirational story, to be sure, and as half of the famous Rodgers & Hammerstein duo, Hammerstein knows it has big Broadway potential. Yet much of Maria’s life will have to be reinvented for the stage, and with the horrors of war still fresh in people’s minds, Hammerstein can’t let audiences see just how close the von Trapps came to losing their lives.

But when Maria sees the script that is supposedly based on her life, she becomes so incensed that she sets off to confront Hammerstein in person. Told that he’s busy, she is asked to express her concerns to his secretary, Fran, instead. The pair strike up an unlikely friendship as Maria tells Fran about her life, contradicting much of what will eventually appear in The Sound of Music.

A tale of love, loss, and the difficult choices that we are often forced to make, Maria is a powerful reminder that the truth is usually more complicated—and certainly more compelling—than the stories immortalized by Hollywood.

Review

We all know Maria. But do we really? Maria von Trapp has shown up to NYC to confront Oscar Hammerstein. She is very upset with his latest musical about her life. She ends up creating a friendship with his secretary, Fran. And Fran soon discovers almost everything she knew about Maria is false.

This is a well researched and awesome tale about a real life person we all know and love! Hollywood really fooled us! But, I still love Maria. She was raised in a horrible situation, escaped the Nazi’s, (barely) and just did the best she could. No, she was not perfect (like the movie portrays). She was human! And this book brings all that to life. She pushed her step kids into performing after they arrived in America, to the point that most of them disliked and hated singing.

While I was reading this book, I was steadily looking up the history surrounding Maria. How did I just assume Hollywood got it right???!! She was a strong, fascinating woman who loved fiercely and was determined to be the best.

Need a fantastic tale about a unique lady…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Overview

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

Review

Oh! Y’all! This book is soooo good! I almost skipped it. I am not a big fan of Narnia-GASP! But, this book captured me in a unique world and I do not want to forget it!

This story follows Jeremy and Rafe. As young boys, they were lost in a West Virginia forest for 6 months. But, were they really lost?

Now, it is 15 years later. Jeremy is an expert in finding lost people. He has been contacted by Emilie. Her sister has been missing for years. Jeremy knows where she is and now he needs Rafe to help him return to the enchanted world they discovered in their youth.

This tale is full of wonderful characters, magic, mystery, abuse, love, terror, friendship and just plain creativity. It also had me laughing out loud in places.

Need a magical read that is present in both worlds…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Overview

Brimming with heart and heat, Rules for Second Chancesexplores the hardest relationship question of all: can true love happen twice…with the same person?

Liz Lewis has tried everything to be what people want. But she’s always been labeled different from everyone else in the boisterous world of wilderness expeditions—that is, if anyone notices her at all. Her marriage to popular adventure guide Tobin Renner-Lewis is a sinkhole of toxic positivity where she’s the only one saying no. In a mountain resort town built around excitement, introverted Liz gets…spreadsheets.

When she gets mistaken for a server at her own thirtieth birthday party and her last line of communication with Tobin finally snaps, Liz vows to stop playing a minor character in her own life. The (incredibly well-researched and scientific) plan? A crash course in confidence…via improv comedy class.

The catch? She’s terrible at it, and the only person willing to practice with her is a certain extroverted wilderness guide who seems dead set on saving their marriage one bonkers improv scenario at a time. But as Liz and Tobin get closer (…again), she’s forced to confront all the reasons they didn’t work the first time, along with her growing suspicion that there might be more to her social awkwardness than anyone realized. Liz has just eight weeks to learn improv’s most important lesson—”yes, and”—or she’ll have to choose between the love she always wanted and the dreams that got away.

Review

Liz is tired of playing a back seat to everyone, especially her husband, Tobin. Tobin is outgoing and the social butterfly of the relationship. So, she takes an improv class to help with her social awkwardness and, hopefully, to get a promotion. She is tired of spread sheets. She wants to do more!

This is a pretty good read. I just did not like the main character, Liz. Yes, I get her situation is different but I just did not connect with her well. Her actions do not fit the way I thought she would act. Just read it and see what you think!

I did enjoy the improv idea. How unique to use it to draw someone out of their shell. And Liz uses this to help her try, key word, try to get a promotion.

This is a cute story, with lots of character. I just did not connect very well with some of them. And the story itself can be a bit confusing in places.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Overview

In her most imaginative novel yet, number one New York Times best-selling author Lisa Jewell (None of This Is True) launches the Marvel Crime series of thriller books for adults with an original story starring the private detective Jessica Jones.

Meet Jessica Jones: retired superhero, private investigator, loner. She tried her best to be a shiny spandex crimefighter, but that life only led to unspeakable trauma. Now she avoids that world altogether and works on surviving day-to-day in Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

The morning a distraught mother comes into her office, Jessica would prefer to nurse her hangover and try to forget last night’s poor choices. But something about Amber Randall’s story strikes a chord with her. Amber is adamant that something happened to her teenage twins while they were visiting their father in the UK. The twins don’t act like themselves, and they now have flawless skin, have lost their distinctive tics and habits, and keep talking about a girl named Belle. Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something “perfect”.

Traveling to a small village in the British countryside, Jessica meets the mysterious Belle, who lives a curiously isolated life in an old farmhouse with a strange woman who claims to be her guardian. Can this unworldly teenager really be responsible for the Randall twins’ new personas? Why does the strange little village of Barton Wallop seem to harbor dark energies and mysteries in its tight-knit community?

A mother’s intuition is never wrong. And Jessica knows that nothing in life is perfect—not these kids, not her on-again, off-again relationship with Luke Cage, and certainly not Jessica herself. But even as she tries to buy into the idea that better days are ahead, Jessica Jones has seen all too clearly that behind every promise of perfection trails a dark, dangerous shadow.

Breaking the Dark, the first book in the brand-new Marvel Crime series, introduces fans to a grittier, street-level side of the Marvel Universe, and will continue with original novels featuring fan-favorite characters like Luke Cage, written by S.A. Cosby, and Daredevil, written by Alex Segura.

Review

Ok, I did not realize this story is a bit on the Sci-fi side of the book world. Not really my genre at all. But, I did read it. So, take my review with a grain of salt!

Amber Randall is seeking help from private investigator, Jessica Jones. Jessica does not really believe Amber when she says her twins are not right. The twins have just returned back to the states after a long stay with their father in the UK. The twins don’t act like themselves, and they now have flawless skin, have lost their distinctive tics and habits, and keep talking about a girl named Belle. Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something “perfect”.

This is not your usual Lisa Jewell. She is one of my favorite go to suspense authors. As usual, she has wonderful characters. This is what kept me reading. I love Jessica. She is a hot mess but she is also intelligent and a bit snarky!

I also enjoyed the hunt to find out what happened to the twins! What kind of brain washing or experience did they actually have? This is where the story deviated from the normal. It involves human blood and not the vampire kind.

If this is what you like, you will enjoy this one. It is just a bit far fetched and “out there”. But, it is not going to stop me from reading this author, I will just skip this series.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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