It’s the first day of the final month of 2020!! I know that most of us are ready for this very trying year to be over. I am with you on this one while also hoping that things don’t get worse.
As we get closer to the holidays, I am reading less and less. I guess this is to be expected as I get busy with holiday prep. Today, I’m sharing my latest reads.
BLITZED-Alexa Martin-This is book #3 of 4. I read the first two books last month. These books are fun because I am a football fan and they are very soap opera-ish. These books are easy reads, light and fun even when they get a little serious. I like that the female characters while they do end up lusting after one of the players, they are not willing to give up their lives and businesses. In fact, most of the female characters have some depth and strength to them. I will say that I was surprised when one of the characters who was set up to be they typical conniving female ends up being an asset and way different than it initially appeared. This begs the question-will I read book #4-Snapped??? Only time will tell. It’s not on my list yet but it may end up on the waiting list. There are times when you just need a little high drama, ridiculous fluff!
SYNOPSIS-Brynn Larson owes a lot to reality television and professional athletes. Her bar hit new heights of success after becoming a local haunt for the Denver Mustangs players and their WAGs. But although she’s grateful, that doesn’t mean she’s crazy. And that’s exactly what she would be to ever consider dating a professional athlete. Even if it’s Maxwell Lewis, whose shy smile makes her wonder what going on behind those beautiful brown eyes.
Maxwell knew from the moment he met Brynn that she was going to change his life. It was only a matter of time. But when he finally makes a move, fate conspires against him and everything goes wrong. Now he has to show her that their potential is real. Too bad for him, Brynn isn’t fooled by his glamorous NFL life, and when ghosts from both their pasts make a sudden reappearance, she must decide who she can trust. But when the person she’s most afraid of is herself, navigating life’s tackles is harder than anticipated.
THE OTHER GIRL-Erica Spindler-I started listening to this book and realized that I had listened to it a few years ago! I remembered bits and pieces but kept on because I wanted to see if I remembered correctly. In spite of having listened to it before, I enjoyed it a 2nd time. I had listened to The Look Alike by this same author last month and enjoyed it. This is a suspenseful thriller and it definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat.
SYNOPSIS-Officer Miranda Rader of the Harmony, Louisiana PD is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis—but that wasn’t always so. Miranda comes from the town of Jasper, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She’s worked hard to earn the respect of her coworkers and the community.
When Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors, they’re unprepared for the brutality of the scene. This murder is unlike any they’ve ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she’s seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about that terrible night fifteen years ago. The night she’d buried, along with her past and the girl she’d been back then. Until now that grave had stayed sealed…except for those times, in the deepest part of the night, when the nightmares came: of a crime no one believed happened and the screams of the girl they believed didn’t exist.
Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop. Not just any cop—the one who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common—except Miranda.
ALL THE BEAUTIFUL LIES-Peter Swanson-Here is another thriller that does not disappoint. I’ve read this author in the past and enjoy his writing. The book goes back and forth from the past to the present but it’s really easy to keep up. The author does a great job of ending each story at the right place which means that you want to keep reading so that you can find out what happened next! There are some disturbing elements in this story but that’s part of what makes it a thriller. This book is also chockful of surprises that made me gasp!
SYNOPSIS-Harry Ackerson has always considered his stepmother Alice to be sexy and beautiful, in an “otherworldly” way. She has always been kind and attentive, if a little aloof in the last few years.
Days before his college graduation, Alice calls with shocking news. His father is dead and the police think it’s suicide. Devastated, Harry returns to his father’s home in Maine. There, he and Alice will help each other pick up of the pieces of their lives and uncover what happened to his father.
Shortly after he arrives, Harry meets a mysterious young woman named Grace McGowan. Though she claims to be new to the area, Harry begins to suspect that Grace may not be a complete stranger to his family. But she isn’t the only attractive woman taking an interest in Harry. The sensual Alice is also growing closer, coming on to him in an enticing, clearly sexual way.
Mesmerized by these two women, Harry finds himself falling deeper under their spell. Yet the closer he gets to them, the more isolated he feels, disoriented by a growing fear that both women are hiding dangerous—even deadly—secrets . . . and that neither one is telling the truth.
THE LAST FLIGHT-Julie Clark-This is the last thriller for the month. I guess this was what I was in the mood for! This book is definitely a page turner as I got through it in about 2 days. The intrigue never lifts as the author goes back and forth between the two main stories and each is riveting on their own. Each woman has to make a desperate choice and the consequences for both are life changing. And, it is not until the very end that we find out the whole truth.
SYNOPSIS-Two women. Two flights. One last chance to disappear.
Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of 10, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he’s not above using his staff to track Claire’s every move, making sure she’s living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn’t know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.
A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets – Claire taking Eva’s flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it’s no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva’s identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.
That’s the reading list for November. I will have one last reading post next month.
As the year winds down, I plan to focus more on holiday prep and less on projects. My current plan is to take the final 2 weeks of the year off from blogging.
Like many, I have big plans for 2021 and want to get prepared to properly share it all with you.
Have you read anything good lately? Please be sure to share in the comments. I am always looking for good recommendations!
