Review: I Love It When You Lie by Kristen Bird

Less a suspense-thriller and more a character study of three women in a small town in Alabama, Kristen Bird’s I Love It When You Lie can’t quite seem to decide exactly what it wants to be. Which is a shame because there are glimmers of an intriguing story and character-study in each section of the novel.

The women of the Williams family have always been on the wrong side of the authorities in their small town. But now as they prepare for family to assemble for their grandmother’s burial, each of them holds a secret that could unravel their world. There’s Tara, the pastor’s wife, who doesn’t see why she can’t skim a little off the top of the offering plate to “pay” for her services at bookkeeper for her husband’s congregation. There’s June, who thinks that taking a newborn baby whose biological mother has passed away from the hospital where she serves as a nurse, will only jump-start the adoption process. Then, there’s Clem, who’s in a relationship with her professor/mentor who has a history of romancing his students and then moving easily from one relationship to the next.

Their stories are all wrapped by flash-forwards to another member of the family, sitting in an interrogation room and being interviewed about a potential crime.

As a character study of the Williams family and how each character makes less-than-ideal choices based on the circumstances life has presented to them, the novel works. As a suspense thriller about the sheriff of a small town holding a grudge and possibly finally finding a way to bring the hammer down on the family, the novel falls a bit short. As the story advanced, I found myself more invested in each of the Williams sisters and what led them to their grandmother’s funeral than most of the flash-forwards. The long-teased secret feels a bit too teased and drawn out, with this reader becoming tempted to skim these passages to get back to the stories of each sister.

All in all, there’s enough here for me not to look for future work by Bird, though.

I received a digital ARC of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: On the Subject of Unmentionable Things by Julia Walton

Phoebe Walton knows a lot about sex. As the researcher and writer for a fact-based blog on sexuality known as Pom, Phoebe’s site has come under fire from a local politician who finds the frank discussion too controversial for young minds.

As Phoebe tries to stay one step ahead of the aggressive campaign to reveal her online identity, she also struggles with discovering who she is as her senior year in high school unfolds. Julia Whalton’s On the Subject of Unmentionable Things starts out with a terrific hook and first-person narration by Phoebe as she navigates difficult waters — some she’s created for herself and others she encounters through the living of her life. As her small town and friends become increasingly polarized over reaction to her blog, Phoebe debates whether or not she should confess to Pom and the consequences it could bring to her life — both intended and unintended.

Walton doesn’t pull a lot of punches in the story and it’s nice to see a story that addresses human sexuality (teen or otherwise) in a mature, level-headed fashion. There is no shaming of anyone here and Phoebe’s open-mindedness is refreshing. And while the novel steers into a couple of YA tropes like the love triangle (thankfully, quickly resolved though there are implications and ramifications over the course of the novel), it eventually unravels in the final act. Much of this stems from the YA trope of having teens who seemingly know more than adults and act wiser than their years would have you believe.

And yet, the novel is one that manages to touch on taboo subjects without necessarily getting heavy-handed about them.

In the end, like Phoebe, I felt a bit unsatisfied about how some of the events in the story played out. I still think this is a worthwhile read and one that could open some doors to interesting conversations for teens and the adults in their lives.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: It’s One of Us by J.T. Ellison

Fellow Nashvillian J.T. Ellison publishes her latest stand-alone thriller, It’s One of Us today. I was pleased to receive an ARC of Ellison’s latest novel so I could participate in her blog tour for the book.  Details on the book and how to purchase it are included after my review.

After years of struggling with infertility, Olivia and Park Bender’s marriage is showing signs of strain. On the morning that Olivia experiences a miscarriage, the police arrive at their Nashville home with shocking news – Park’s DNA has been linked to a series of crimes. The implication is that either Park is a suspect or one of his children is.

So begins J.T. Ellison’s latest thriller, It’s One of Us.

Park has things in his past he’s not exactly been forthcoming with Olivia about, including his donation to a sperm bank that used his sample far more than the documentation said they should or would. Turns out Park has multiple children by different mothers and these children have all connected on a Discord server. There are also questions about Park’s past related to the disappearance of his college girlfriend.

Ellison piles on twist after twist to the story, shifting through multiple points of view during the story. Whether it’s one of the women who used Park’s sample, Park’s daughter, the suspect, Olivia, Park, or Park’s twin brother Perry, each narrator provides an interesting piece of the puzzle as the story of what happened starts to unfold. Ellison even puts in an interesting twist or two to a love triangle that developed between Olivia, Park, and his twin brother Perry back in their college days and one that threatens to resurface again now.

Seeing Ellison reference various areas of Nashville and our local television station is an added bonus for this reader as a resident of middle Tennessee. Thankfully, she doesn’t pull a 24 and has every destination in the area be only five minutes from each other as the plot or latest twist needs various players in various places at a certain time.

The premise of a marriage already under strain due to infertility and then tested by the wildest of external forces is an intriguing one. Ellison’s exploration of Olivia’s struggle and emotions with infertility hits home with raw power and emotion. Be warned that if this is something you or someone you love struggles with, this book may hit you in all the right and wrong ways. The afterward reveals Ellison’s own struggles and how they led to Olivia’s creation.

But as twist after twist arrives, the story begins to lose a bit of its focus and intensity in the second half. As I said earlier, there is a love triangle that emerges between Olivia and the Bender twins – one that gets exacerbated as secrets come to light and Park’s twin brother Perry arrives back in town at precisely the wrong moment. White the story works hard to establish the long-simmering tension, but the payoff isn’t as solid as it could or should have been.

It ends up taking the story down a peg or two in the final pages and left me feeling a bit unsatisfied with It’s One Of Us in the final pages.

About the Book:

From the New York Times bestselling author comes this twisting, emotionally layered thriller about a marriage torn apart when the police arrive at an infertile couple’s door and reveal the husband’s son is the prime suspect in a murder. The perfect blend of exhilarating suspense and issue-driven book club fiction.

Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all . . .

Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most demanding clients. But her own deepest desire can’t be fulfilled by marble counters or the perfect rug. She desperately wants to be a mother. Fertility treatments and IVF keep failing. And just when she feels she’s at her lowest point, the police deliver shocking news to Olivia and her husband, Park.

DNA results show that the prime suspect in a murder investigation is Park’s son. Olivia is relieved, knowing this is a mistake. Despite their desire, the Benders don’t have any children. Then comes the confession. Many years ago, Park donated sperm to a clinic. He has no idea how many times it was sold—or how many children he has sired.

As the murder investigation goes deeper, more terrible truths come to light. With every revelation, Olivia must face the unthinkable. The man she married has fathered a killer. But can she hold that against him when she keeps such dark secrets of her own?

This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together–or break each other apart . . .

About the Author:

J.T. Ellison is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 novels, and the EMMY-award winning co-host of A WORD ON WORDS, Nashville’s premier literary show. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 26 countries. Ellison lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.

Social Links:

Author website: https://www.jtellison.com/ 

Facebook: http://facebook.com/jtellison14  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thrillerchick 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrillerchick 

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Its-One-Us-Novel-Suspense-ebook/dp/B09ZLGLKH9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=222QCNJW8SCPI&keywords=it%27s+one+of+us&qid=1673560699&sprefix=it%27s+one+of+us%2Caps%2C74&sr=8-1  

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/its-one-of-us-j-t-ellison/1141813790?ean=9780778311768  

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/book/9780778311768 

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/buy-local/9780778311768 

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Its-One-Us/J-T-Ellison/9780778311768?id=8292090795540 

Audiobook Review: A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan

Sophie Sullivan’s A Guide to Being Just Friends feels like a page out of a Hallmark Channel holiday movie — well, minus the snow and season’s greetings.

Following a bad breakup, Hailey has put out her shingle in the business world under the banner of a new, made-to-order salad restaurant. Wes has gone into business with his brothers, trying to escape their domineering father and memories of a bitter divorce between his parents.

When the two cross paths in a meet-cute moment (he assumes she’s the woman he’s been chatting with online at the coffee shop next to Hailey’s salad shop), Wes realizes he owes Hailey an apology. And then, the dance begins as the two decide their lives are just too hectic to date, but they can be just friends.

Except there are things simmering here that could come to a full boil.

Sullivan crafts two protagonists you can easily root for in this romantic comedy. Along the way, there are speed bumps and, given the alternating viewpoints of both our potential romantic partners, this does lead to some frustration in later chapters when the (inevitable) conflict arises.

However, that’s not to say there isn’t a lot here to enjoy. There is, but there were moments I grew frustrated with the story and characters.

The audio version of this works well, though Timothy Andrés Pabon’s narration as Wes tends to come across a bit faster than Stephanie Willing’s does as Hailey. This makes the transitions from one narrator to the other a bit jarring a first, but you will easily settle into the rhythms and voice of each person telling his or her side of the story.

In all, this is a fairly fun diversion and one that I’d recommend if you want a Hallmark Channel-style rom-com.

I received an arc of the audiobook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Audiobook Review: The Enemy by Sarah Adams

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June and Ryan have been rivals since high school, each trying to one-up the other in a never-ending series of pranks and gotchas. But twelve years have passed since that almost-kiss at graduation and both parties are looking forward to seeing each other as part of the wedding party for their best friend’s wedding.

June wants to rub it in Ryan’s face that she’s part-owner of a successful donut shop in Charleston while Ryan wants to see if the embers that have simmered for June all these years might just combust into something more.

And so begins Sarah Adams’ The Enemy.

What unfolds over the next several hours of this audiobook is alternating passages from June and Ryan’s points of view about driving each other crazy and maybe trying to admit there is more to this relationship than just being rivals. Early on, June comes across as a bit harsh and rough around the edges, but Adams wisely fills in the backstory of what’s led June to this point and her “one date” rule for all men. Ryan, it turns out, is almost too good to be true and if there’s one flaw in this story it’s that we never get any major or minor negative points for Ryan.

Adams knows how to simmer the ever-growing romance between these two, all while keeping the story pretty PG-13 along the way. There’s lots of kissing, pining, and description of Ryan’s abs and arms, but that’s where it ends. Adams wisely leaves some things up to the reader’s imagination. She also doesn’t have these two rush into things, allowing the embers to smolder over the course of the novel. She also manages to put in a few realistic speed bumps to the relationship that are completely grounded in her characters.

All in all, this one is a fun, diverting story that is probably different from my usual reading choices. But it was a nice break from murder, mayhem, spaceships, etc. and it kept my interest for the entire run time.

The audiobook features Connie Shabshab bringing June’s chapters to life and Lee Samuels bringing Ryan’s chapters to life. Both readers give an added layer to their characters, as well as create unique voices for the various other players in June and Ryan’s lives.

If you’re looking for a fun, slow-burn romantic read, The Enemy could be exactly what you’re looking for.

I received a digital audio ARC of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Gideon Green in Black and White by Katie Henry

Before the lockdown for Covid-19 hit a couple of years ago, I went to the library and checked out a bunch of books that I thought might be interesting. Included in that pile was Katie Henry’s Heretics Anonymous. I was completely hooked on the story and quickly reserved her next novel, only to be equally enthralled by it.

And so it was that Katie Henry went onto the list of authors who I will read anything they publish.

With her fourth novel, Gideon Green in Black and White, Henry has hit a new high. Sixteen-year-old Gideon Green is a retired private detective, content to stay in his room watching noir films on his TV and occasionally coming out to go to school and interact with his dad. When his old friend, Lily, shows up at this door asking him to come out of retirement, Gideon is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that is bigger than either he or Lily imagined and that just might be a pivotal point for him.

Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Redshirts was John Scalzi’s homage and love-letter to all the tropes and cliches of the original (and still the best) Star Trek.

With his latest novel, The Kaiju Preservation Society, Scalzi brings the same level of love, homage, and poking fun to monster movies involving large creatures destroying large swaths of our world.

I’ll admit I’m not as steeped in the world of kaiju as I was Star Trek, so I probably missed a lot of the deeper nudges and easter eggs that Scalzi includes in this book. However, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy another great offering by one of my favorite writers.

As 2020 begins, Jamie Gray’s professional career is set. Heading into his performance review, Jamie sees great things ahead at his tech company that offers an alternative to UberEats or DoorDash. Jamie is blindsided when his boss not only demotes him but takes away his opportunity at a huge financial windfall that could see Jamie up for the foreseeable future. Instead, he’s offered the chance to be part of the team delivering meals to people.

At first, Jamie is dead-set against it. Then a real-world pandemic sets in and Jamie finds himself unable to find other work and so he begins delivering meals. While delivering one, he meets an old friend from college who needs a guy to “lift heavy stuff.” The pay is great and Jamie jumps at the chance — only to find himself on a plane to Greenland and a whole other universe that includes real-life kaiju creatures like the kind we’ve all seen in movies.

What follows is a fascinating, fun story that, like all good science fiction, brings up more than its fair share of big ideas and world-building. You can be forgiven if you don’t notice that as Scalzi is tickling your funny bone that he’s also engaging your thought processes along the way. In his afterword, Scalzi compares this book to a pop song–an entirely accurate description since a lot of the books will get stuck in your head and pop up when you’re least expecting it.

Overall, this is yet another winner by an author who’s been on a heck of a streak since Old Man’s War debuted all those years ago.

I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: A Spindle Splintered by Alex E. Harrow

New takes on classic fairy-tales are nothing new.

So for Alex E. Harrow’s new spin on Sleeping Beauty in A Spindle Splintered to feel like it’s exploring an entirely unique take on the classic fairy-tale makes it something special.

Zinnia is approaching her twenty-first birthday and the end of her life. A rare condition that causes protein build-up in her body and rarely sees people live past twenty-one has loomed large over her life for as long as she can recall. So, when her best friend throws her the best birthday party ever for someone whose time is rapidly closing, Zinnia finds herself transported inside her favorite fairy-tale.

Harrow sells this one as Sleeping Beauty meets Into the Spider-Verse and she’s not wrong. But that elevator pitch doesn’t really indicate just how subversive and entertaining this take on the classic story of Sleeping Beauty really is. A great deal of the enjoyment stems from Zinnia’s first-person narration, which is equal parts jaded, cynical, and optimistic. This is a refreshingly new take on the material and one that was a pleasure to read.

In the interest of full disclose, I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Stowaway by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth

Two years ago, Maria Fontana served on the jury of the suspected serial killer, Wyatt Butler. Ending in a mistrial that set Butler free, Maria’s life has been a whirlwind ever since that time as the world won’t stop hounding the jury, demanding to know who the dissenting vote was. When Maria outs herself as the lone juror who voted not guilty, things only intensify.

After a tell-all book by a possibly unscrupulous writer and being put on sabbatical due to her increasing instability, Maria is ready to get her life back on track with her fiancee and her two children. So, she books a cruise and looks forward to a week away and then entering the real world again. Alas, the two-year nightmare isn’t about to end for Maria. Instead, it’s about to get much, much worse.

A series of mysterious deaths on the ship, all connected to Maria and the trial take place. Could Wyatt Butler be on board and is his final target, Maria?

I’ve read and enjoyed the first couple of offerings from Impratical Joker James S. Murray and Darren Warmouth. Those novels weren’t exactly great literature, but they were still entertaining rides into horror. The Stowaway moves away from the horror genre and into the suspense area — and the result is a book that I couldn’t quite become as invested in. The characters are paper-thin and it feels like the suspense strung out a bit too long for my liking. We spend a long time wondering if Wyatt is on the ship, and, if so, where can he be hiding in plain sight. There are some pretty gruesome deaths in here as well — if you’re triggered by young victims in peril, this one might not be for you.

By the time we get to the final revelations and the twists, I’d pretty much guessed a good share of all of them.

This isn’t necessarily a terrible book. It’s just one that disappointed me.

It’s the literary equivalent of a bag of potato chips.

I received a digital ARC of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Much Ado About Barbecue by Sally Kilpatrick

Sally Kilpatrick’s latest novel, Much Ado About Barbecue should come with a warning label that you’re going to crave some good barbecue. This isn’t necessarily a terrible thing — unless you don’t have access to good barbecue, that is.

Emma Sutton and Ben Cates have been rivals all their lives. It started in kindergarten when Ben pulled the chair out from under Emma and continued throughout their educational history, including Emma’s underpants winding up on the school flag pole. So, when Emma returns to town after a series of disappointments in her life, she quickly finds the rivalry resuming thanks to Ellery’s barbecue competition. Both families own barbecue joints in town, each praised and respected for differing ways of cooking the meat. Ben has reluctantly embraced using a smoker, while Emma’s family still does whole-hog pit barbecue.

There is a bit more to the rivalry between Ben and Emma than the competition for who has the best barbecue and juvenile pranks. Emma has repressed large portions of junior high school due and she holds a deep secret about possibly raining on Ben’s dream of playing baseball at the next level. Needless to say, these two are probably the last two people you’d imagine ending up together.

And like the main dish of the book’s title, the potential romantic entanglement is one that roasts slowly, marinating in its own rub of family secrets, long-held resentments, and misunderstandings. Along the way, we meet a colorful cast of characters from Jeremiah, the long-time pitmaster as Emma’s family barbecue joint (and a character I’d love to see get his own novel) to Ben’s sister, Shero.

Between family secrets, the slow-simmering enemies-to-lovers story, and a colorful cast of characters (including several familiar faces from previous Ellery novels), Much Ado About Barbecue proves to be another winner from Kilpatrick. Filled with the types of characters you’d expect to me in a quirky small town, Much Ado works much like the barbecue does — as a satisfying, enjoayble meal that left me fully satisfied and yet somehow wishing I had just a bit more room for another bite or two.

Taking a page from Shakespeare (maybe you’ve heard of him), Kilpatrick gives us her spin on Much Ado About Nothing in her quirky creation of Ellery. As with her other novels, Much Ado About Barbecue is a delightful gem and most likely destined to end up on my list of favorite books I read this year.

Add this one to your to-be-read pile, folks. Just don’t do it on an empty stomach.

Highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. No bribing of barbecue was done or needed….