I'll Be You A Novel by Janelle Brown

 Book Excerpt:

"Two identical twin sisters and former child actors have grown apart—until one disappears, and the other is forced to confront the secrets they've kept from each other in this twisty suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Things.

"You won't be able to put this novel down, and you won't want to."—Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me.

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022—PopSugar, CrimeReads

"You be me, and I'll be you," I whispered. 

As children, Sam and Elli were two halves of a perfect whole: gorgeous identical twins whose parents sometimes couldn't even tell them apart. They fell asleep to the sound of each other's breath at night, holding hands in the dark. And once Hollywood discovered them, they became B-list child TV stars, often inhabiting the same role. 

But as adults, their lives have splintered. After leaving acting, Elli reinvented herself as the perfect homemaker: married a real estate lawyer, living in a house just blocks from the beach. Meanwhile, Sam has never recovered from her failed Hollywood career or her addiction to the pills and booze that have propped her up for the last fifteen years. 

Sam hasn't spoken to her sister since her destructive behavior finally drove a wedge between them. So when her father calls out of the blue, Sam is shocked to learn that Elli's life has been in turmoil: her husband moved out, and Elli just adopted a two-year-old girl. Now she's stopped answering her phone and checked in to a mysterious spa in Ojai. Is her sister just decompressing, or is she in trouble? Could she have possibly joined a cult? As Sam works to connect the dots left by Elli's baffling disappearance, she realizes that the bond between her and her sister is more complicated than she ever knew. 

I'll Be You shows Janelle Brown at the top of her game: a story packed with surprising revelations and sharp insights about the choices that define our families and our lives—and could just as quickly destroy them."

Title: I'll Be You
Author: Janelle Brown
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"I'll Be You" by Janelle Brown

My Assessment:

'I'll Be You' was a long read, but a good one in how these identical twins Elli and Sam were former childhood TVstars who now are adults. However, even though they were identical twins, they were pretty different. We find Sam is recovering from drugs and alcohol, and Elli has divorced her husband and supposedly adopted a daughter. However, it seems like Elli is going through something but seeking help in the wrong place...a cult. Sam has been called home to help her mother, who is now taking care of Elli's child...Charlotte. What was weird about this? Sam had no dealing with children. Even though Sam has had her problems with alcohol is being asked to come home and help with this child. The big question is, where is Elli, and why is she not there taking care of her child. It wasn't like Ellie to abandon this child for a never-ending spa retreat. There will be a lot going on with these two sisters, so the reader will have to keep up with the problems the mom added to this story. Both of these sisters had issues, but it seems like just one was trying to work on theirs while the other just kept making all kinds of wrong decisions.

As the story continues, there will be a lot of twists and turns as Sam makes it her goal to find her sister as it seems like her parents are not concerned about this issue. The story starts as they are young kids who started as stars, and what an intense and intriguing read the reader will be given as we see what they go through going back and forth in time, explaining the lives of the children to the present day now that they are adults.

Be ready for a little bit of it all from 'alcoholism, kidnapping, family drama, cults, control abuse, manipulation, the twins switching places, and unfailing love of these twin sisters' will show its hand in this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

The Wild Girls A Novel by Phoebe Morgan

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 Book Excerpt:

"In the vein of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware, a deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller about a group of old friends who plan to reconnect on an African safari vacation but soon learn that their wild pasts have finally caught up with them.

"A wonderfully atmospheric thriller of secrets, lies, and betrayals . . . a heart-stopping rollercoaster of a read." —B.A. Paris, author of Behind Closed Doors

FOUR FRIENDS. A LUXURY RETREAT. IT'S GOING TO BE MURDER.

It's been years since Grace, Felicity, Alice, and Hannah were together. The "Wild Girls," as they were once called, are no longer so wild. Alice is a teacher. Hannah has a new baby. Grace is a homebody. Only Felicity seems to have retained her former spark.

Then Felicity invites them all on the weekend of a lifetime—a birthday bash in Botswana. It will be a chance to have fun and rekindle their once bomb-proof friendship… and finally put that one horrible night, all those years ago, behind them for good.

But soon after arriving at the luxury safari lodge, a feeling of unease settles over them. There's no sign of the party that was promised. There's no phone signal. They are on their own… and things start to go very, very wrong. 

A fresh approach to the classic locked-room mystery, The Wild Girls, is sure to appeal to fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley."

Title: The Wild Girls
Author: Phebe Morgan
Publisher: William Morrow and Custom House
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"The Wild Girls" by Phoebe Morgan
My Assessment:

Wow! What will happen when Hannah, Alice, Felicity, and Grace, who had been school friends, but this friendship had stopped in the last several years due to what had happened during a night of partying some two years ago. However, it seems like Felicity's 30th birthday is coming up, and she invites all three of the ladies to a luxury lodge in Botswana. Will they accept this invitation?... It seems they do; however, arriving, they find the luxury place deserted. What is up with that? This author gives the reader a lot to chew on because there will be POVs from all of these ladies. And what comes out will have one shaking their head and saying, Wow! Be ready, yes there will be ...der!

From the events at the lodge, one will get a clear picture of each of these so-called friends. It seems to be lots of secrets that will come out that help completes the whole story. One will be left thinking about what Grace had told her friend Felicity about a specific person... did it lead to this? Well, I will stop here and say you will have to pick up this read!

Also, there is a fellow in this read that causes a lot of grief, especially for one of the ladies...due to...stopping here and saying the reader must pick up this read to get it all from how well this author presents it to us. When you think the story is going one way, it takes quite a turn! It will be quite an ending where one could be left saying, Grace, you may want to watch your back with who is left from this situation.

The ending brings it all to the point of going through many twists and turns until this violent ending where lies are still being told. What a read!

Thank you, Net Galley, William Morrow, and Custom House, for my ARC and a giving an honest opinion of the read.

The Younger Wife A Novel by Sally Hepworth

 Book Excerpt:

"THE HUSBAND

A heart surgeon at the top of his field, Stephen Aston, is getting married again. But first, he must divorce his current wife, even though she can no longer speak for herself.

THE DAUGHTERS
Tully and Rachel Aston look upon their father's fiancée, Heather, as nothing but an interloper. Heather is younger than both of them. Clearly, she's after their father's money.

THE FORMER WIFE
With their mother in a precarious position, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the
the truth about their family's secrets, the new wife, closing in, and who their father really is.

THE YOUNGER WIFE
Heather has secrets of her own. Will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses
in all of them?"

Title: The Younger Wife
Author: Sally Hepworth
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"The Younger Wife" by Sally Hepworth

My Assessment:

'The Younger Wife' was quite interesting in how this author lays it all out for the reader. As a result, one will not be bored because every page is an engaging read from start to finish...definitely a page-turner!

Imagine...having two daughters [Rachel & Tully] who are adults...in their thirties. Along with that having a wife [Pamela] who is being divorced by her husband Stephen, but wait...she has advanced dementia and is living in a care facility. And there is more to this concoction...that is going on...the husband [Stephen], who is 60 years old, a doctor, is now engaged to a younger lady [Heather] that is even younger than his two daughters!!! So we are given the POVs of all of the women.

OK, you know this story is going to be good? Or what can one expect of this kind of read? Well, it will be a lot going on...so you will have to keep up all of the secrets and surprises that have been well hidden that start coming out. For example, what was really going on with Stephen? Were their mind games being played between these women?

Stephen invites his daughters to a luncheon to meet Heather, his fiance, and the story starts. However, the novel does open at the wedding, and the story will continue around it.

We find each of the ladies has their own personal issues...Rachel...food accession, Tully...shoplifting, Heather...alcohol...Pamela...ill from Alzheimer's... and Stephen...well, that's another issue all by itself. Oh, was there another wife? How will this all come out for them to learn about this engagement? Will, there be a wedding/marriage, and what is going on in the story? The memory of it all, trauma, and the drama will be significant in the story that will profoundly affect one's perceptions and beliefs of it all.

One will be captivated by this story because there are so many twists and turns that by the end, one will probably be shaking their head and left saying, WHAT??? Yes, what is true and what is not! So, if I have caught your interest at all...you must pick up this novel and see for yourself how this author unfolds this story for the reader. One will definitely feel 'who was the victim or the culprit?


Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin's Press, for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Tough Justice by Tee O'Fallon

 Book Excerpt:

"It should have been a routine investigation. But, instead, DEA K-9 agent Adam "Deck" Decker watches in horror as one Denver hospital seems to be Ground Zero for overdoses of a new drug. Now Deck can only hope a certain icy, green-eyed ER doctor will help him and his canine partner track down the deadly source.

Dr. Tori Sampson has reasons for not trusting federal agents, especially those working for the DEA. But the rash of overdoses—including a tragic case involving a teen—is alarmingly high. And the new opioid is not only extremely dangerous, but it also defies all the usual medical treatments. So Tori has a choice: work with the big, brawny, and annoyingly hot DEA agent…or watch more innocent people die.

Tori's the only person who can help Deck break the case, and they'll need to trust each other, no matter how high the tension and attraction sizzling between their runs. But with every question answered, they realize there's something more behind these typical teen overdoses. There's a pattern here, and a pattern can only suggest one thing. There's a killer on the loose."

Title: Tough Justice
Author: Tee O'Fallon
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC, Entangled: Amara
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Tough Justice" by Tee O'Fallon

My Assessment:

'Tough Justice' was quite a suspenseful romantic story of what happens when a physician, DEA agent, and K-9 DEA agent came together in Colorado. It's even more interesting when a romance comes in between the two that didn't start out trusting one another. Will these two [Tori & Deck] be able to get to the bottom of who the supplier is that produced this 'gray death substance?' The author will give the reader a lot to think about, keeping one guessing about different suspects to the end of the read. By the end of the story, the reader will have been given well-developed characters, especially Deck's partner, the K-9[Thor], filled with action-packed, and a good plot that will keep one's attention as you keep turning the pages till the end. Would I recommend 'Tough Justice?' Yes!

Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of my opinion.

Do You Follow? A Thriller by J.C. Bidonde

 Book Excerpt:

"Alexa lives a sheltered life with her widowed father, feeling stifled by his helicopter parenting. So when she secures a marketing job and apartment in New York City—much to her father's and therapist's concern—Alexa has high hopes of finally sneaking her way into adulthood. But her newfound freedom is cut short when her estranged twin sister Beth, after a long stint in a psychiatric setting, unexpectedly shows up at the doorstep of her tiny apartment.

​Alexa, too, has spent time at the Weinstein Center. But she's determined to lead a normal life now and soon begins to date a YouTuber client. According to Beth, something isn't quite right with Curt, but Alexa shrugs her clingy sister's warnings off. It's Beth who's crazy, after all . . . As the sister bond grows strained over Alexa's relationship and career success, questions mount, and secrets unfold, revealing the wickedly dark shared history of the twin siblings. What exactly happened when the twins were only nine that set this vile trajectory in motion?

Things get more complicated, and one treacherous act threatens everything Alexa has been working toward. It will be on her—and Beth—to claw their way out of this situation."

Title: Do You Follow?
Author: J.C. Bidonde
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Do You Follow?" by J.C.Bidode

My Assessment:

'Do You Follow?' was quite a fast-past thriller that will keep you intrigued, turning the pages to see what is coming next for these twins [Alexa & Beth]. The author worked with the readers giving them one interesting twisted read. Be prepared to be led in different directions of thought in this read because if one follows well, one will know many clues to what is going on. When one thinks they are on the right track of what is going on in this story...there it is... the reader may have or may not have missed the final twist of the story. It
After all, is said and done, it is worth reading to find out what this story is all about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Fierce Little Thing A Novel by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

 

Book Excerpt:

“It’s time to come home. All five of you. Or else.”

"Saskia was a damaged, lonely teenager when she arrived at the lakeside commune called Home. She was entranced by the tang of sourdough starter, the midnight call of the loons, the triumph of foraging wild mushrooms from the forest floor. But most of all, she was taken with Abraham, Home's charismatic leader, the North Star to Saskia, and the four other teens who lived there, her best and only friends.

Two decades later, Saskia is shuttered in her Connecticut estate, estranged from the others. Her carefully walled life is torn open by threatening letters. Unless she and her former friends return to the land in rural Maine, the terrible thing they did as teenagers—their last-ditch attempt to save Home—will be revealed.

From vastly different lives, the five return to confront their blackmailer and reckon with the horror that split them apart. How far will they go to bury their secret forever?"

     

Title: Fierce Little Thing
Author: Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Fierce Little Thing" by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

My Opinion:

"Fierce Little Thing" was quite a read that brought in willpower and survival. But, what will happen when Saskia finally gets friends and starts a new life that will be broken due to a traumatic event? As the story goes on through mysterious letters, they will have to come back 'Home,' due to a secret that is threatening to be revealed.

For the most part, the characters were well-developed, but some were not to my liking. For example, some of the scientific names of plants and animals were somewhat overdone; however, after reading the whole story, there was some understanding of why it was done that way. Be ready for an account with lots of suspense and past secrets, as it will all come together with Saskia and her friends.

"Fierce Little Thing" was a long read [141 chapters], but if you can keep up with all that is happening as it will rely upon it all from the past to the present, presenting the reader with a suspense-told read and a satisfying ending.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review Fierce Little Thing before its release date.