Category: Book Reviews

What Unbreakable Looks Like

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Synopsis

Lex was taken–trafficked–and now she’s Poppy. Kept in a hotel with other girls, her old life is a distant memory. But when the girls are rescued, she doesn’t quite know how to be Lex again.

After she moves in with her aunt and uncle, for the first time in a long time, she knows what it is to feel truly safe. Except, she doesn’t trust it. Doesn’t trust her new home. Doesn’t trust her new friend. Doesn’t trust her new life. Instead she trusts what she shouldn’t because that’s what feels right. She doesn’t deserve good things.

But when she is sexually assaulted by her so-called boyfriend and his friends, Lex is forced to reckon with what happened to her and that just because she is used to it, doesn’t mean it is okay. She’s thrust into the limelight and realizes she has the power to help others. But first she’ll have to confront the monsters of her past with the help of her family, friends, and a new love.

Kate McLaughlin’s What Unbreakable Looks Like is a gritty, ultimately hopeful novel about human trafficking through the lens of a girl who has escaped the life and learned to trust, not only others, but in herself.

Review

What Unbreakable Looks Like was a heart wrenching punch to the gut. The topic of this novel is human trafficking. McLaughlin shows how young girls are sometimes seduced into bondage. “Mitch was there for me when no one else was. He took care of me. He sold me. Beat me. Told me I was beautiful and said I was an ugly bitch. He said he loved me . . . ” I cried when I read these words. I cried knowing that there are girls out there living in dysfunctional homes who are willing to accept this kind of “love” any kind of love. That they do not know their worth and have been neglected to the point that any attention is good attention. But McLaughlin also shows here that anybody can be trafficked and that this is happening right in our backyards in small town America. These men are predators; highly manipulative and skilled at grooming the young and impressionable. They have long arms and a lot of money backing these enterprises. In the book McLaughlin uses the website Stall313 to shine light on the real life fight to end online human trafficking. I have not been able to watch the documentary I am Jane Doe that inspired this book but I have viewed an interview with its director Mary Mazzio. I was utterly shocked by how deep this went and the responses of some politicians and judges. I found it frustrating that Backpage.com and other websites like it are able to use Section 230 as a legislative loophole to get around their complicity in human trafficking.

Meet the Author

KATE McLAUGHLIN likes people, so much so that she spends her days making up her own. She likes writing about characters who are bent, but not broken – people who find their internal strength through friends, strife and sometimes humor. When she’s not writing, she likes studying people, both real and fictional. She also likes playing board games with friends, talking and discovering new music. A proud Nova Scotian, she’ll gladly tell you all about the highest tides in the world, the magical creation known as a donair, and people who have sofas in their kitchens. Currently, she lives in Connecticut with her husband and four cats. She’s the author of What Unbreakable Looks Like.

Blog Tour: This is How I Lied

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First of all I would like to thank Lia Ferrone at Harlequin Trade Publishing for inviting me on to this blog tour. This is How I Lied was a thrilling page turner that kept me up all night.

Synopsis

With the eccentricity of Fargo and the intensity of Sadie, THIS IS HOW I LIED by Heather Gudenkauf (Park Row Books; May 12, 2020; $17.99) is a timely and gripping thriller about careless violence we can inflict on those we love, and the lengths we will go to make it right, even 25 years later.

Tough as nails and seven months pregnant, Detective Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe of Grotto PD, is dreading going on desk duty before having the baby her and her husband so badly want. But when new evidence is found in the 25-year-old cold case of her best friend’s murder that requires the work of a desk jockey, Maggie jumps at the opportunity to be the one who finally puts Eve Knox’s case to rest.

Maggie has her work cut out for her. Everyone close to Eve is a suspect. There’s Nola, Eve’s little sister who’s always been a little… off; Nick, Eve’s ex-boyfriend with a vicious temper; a Schwinn riding drifter who blew in and out of Grotto; even Maggie’s husband Sean, who may have known more about Eve’s last day than he’s letting on. As Maggie continues to investigate, the case comes closer and closer to home, forcing her to confront her own demons before she can find justice for Eve. 

Review

I’ve been having trouble concentrating lately. How to entertain my children while stay at home orders are in place. The uncertainty of our household finances as our jobs take on different dimensions. The fear of what will be waiting for us on the other side of this pandemic – what world we will be stepping out into. I say this to say that as a bibliophile reading is usually my therapy, my escape from the travails of life. Recently I find that most books haven’t been able to clear the clouds that are in my head. But Heather Gudenkauf’s This is How I Lied was able to transport me to another place. For a moment (or a fast-paced thrilling day), I had a reprieve. My mind was in small town Grotto with pregnant deputy Maggie Kennedy- O’Keefe.

New evidence has popped up in the murder case of her best friend Eve Knox. Maggie’s emotions surrounding the case are further compounded by the fact that it was she who discovered the body 25 years ago. This was a bit of a sticking point for me. I had some trouble suspending disbelief here because we all know in real life this wouldn’t happen. Maggie was too involved with the victim and too involved with the case to be considered for the assignment. But let’s face it the real world sucks right now so I’m down for making exceptions. If you think that Maggie is intriguing, wait until you meet Eve’s baby sister Nora. She is a nut I’m sure you would like to crack. Her character adds many suspenseful moments and plenty of twists and turns. I wonder if she will pop up in any of Gudenkauf’s future work. I certainly would read anything with her in it.

Meet the Author

Heather Gudenkauf is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many books, including The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden. Heather graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages. She lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Lolo. In her free time, Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running. 

Where to Find Heather

Where to Find This is How I Lied (ISBN: 9780778309703)

Blog Tour: The Darkness We Hide

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Synopsis:

For months, Doctor Rowan Dupont has been staring death in the face. It followed her back to her hometown of Winchester, Tennessee, ten months ago, cloaking the walls of her family’s Victorian funeral home like a shroud. In investigating the mysterious deaths of her loved ones, Rowan has unearthed enough family secrets to bury everything she’d previously thought true. But each shocking discovery has only led to more bodies and more questions; the rabbit hole is deeper than she ever imagined.

Despite settling in to a comfortable life with Police Chief Billy Brannigan, Rowan knows dangerous serial killer Julian Addington is still out there. She can’t let her guard down now. Not when she’s this close to ending it once and for all. But with a storm brewing on the horizon, she’ll get only one shot before the impending darkness takes hold, threatening to wipe away every truth she’s uncovered—and everything she holds dear.

Review:

The Darkness We Hide is the rousing conclusion to The Undertaker’s Daughter series. Believe it or not my first foray into Rowan Dupont’s sinister world of serial killers was The Lies We Tell last summer. Although it is the third book in the series I felt drawn to Rowan’s character. I found the mystery of her past to be as intriguing as her current dilemma. So much so that I jumped on the chance to get this book and have spent my time in quarantine curled up with this series. Yes I read them all within the last week. I did not want to miss a beat when it came to uncovering Norah’s darkest secrets or discovering what made a psychopath like Julian Addington tick.

I must admit that I usually shy away from romance. However, Webb draws a connection between Rowan and Billy that is deep and abiding. It is a believable love story. One that is selfless and formed out of friendship. Although this is the last installment of this series, readers can look forward to more adventures set in Winchester with Webb’s forthcoming novel Before He Vanished.

Special thanks to Lia Ferrone at Harlequin- MIRA Books for sending this galley my way.

Meet the Author:

Debra Webb is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of more than 130 novels, including reader favorites the Faces of Evil, the Colby Agency, and the Shades of Death series. With more than four million books sold in numerous languages and countries, Debra’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood on a farm in Alabama.

Where You Can Find Debra Webb

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Blog Tour: Foul is Fair

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Synopsis

Hannah Capin’s Foul is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes.

Jade and her friends Jenny, Mads, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Jade’s sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Jade as their next target.

They picked the wrong girl.

Sworn to vengeance, Jade transfers to St. Andrew’s Prep. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She’ll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school’s hierarchy. And she and her coven have the perfect way in: a boy named Mack, whose ambition could turn deadly.

“Vicious and beautifully brutal, Foul is Fair gives a sword to every girl who has ever been a victim and makes them a warrior. This book is pulls no punches and will make anyone think twice before uttering the phrase ‘just a girl’. An unapologetic feminist battle-cry that leaves you breathless and thirsting for vengeance.” – Sonia Hartl, author of Have a Little Faith in Me

Review

Foul is Fair is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s MacBeth.  The title derives from a quote in the play where the three witches chant “Foul is fair and fair is foul.” to indicate what is bad for others works quite well for them.  For the most part Capin capitalizes on the saying’s other meaning  that appearances may be deceiving – where golden boys are tarnished and revenge may just be the equivalent of justice. 

While reading this book I couldn’t help thinking of this English class I took in college called The Revenge Theory.   We read books like Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and Hamlet.  We watched The War of the Roses and both versions of Fatal Attraction with Glenn Close.  What stuck with me most was the idea that the avenger must be careful to not let their emotions rule them lest they themselves be destroyed.  Swimming in my head as I read this book were Confucious’ warning – “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, first dig two graves.” and the adage “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”   I kept waiting for the axe to fall; part of me expecting Jade to suffer for her vengefulness, the other part of me hoping that the boys got their just desserts. 

I recognize that revenge and justice are typically polar opposites.  Revenge is driven by anger.  Justice is meted out with considerable thought.  Revenge is often a cycle where violence begets more violence.  Justice brings closure.  But Foul is Fair had me asking or perhaps wanting for them to be the same thing.  I was hoping that Jade could keep her stuff together long enough to think rationally and execute her plan.   When Elle was raped her attackers did not even own their guilt.  To them she was not a person but only a means to their gratification.  In their eyes they were not responsible for her pain.   They were assured and confident because they were used to wielding the power and dominating the landscape.  Their wealth had always granted them a shield of invincibility.  They thought they were untouchable. 

Throughout the novel Capin plays on the “foul is fair” motif asking the reader to dig deeper to derive from the symbolism in the text.  In numerology the number 7 stands for perfection and realization.  In Foul is Fair there are seven perpetrators, seven intended victims of Jade’s wrath.  People whose life path number is seven are said to not take things at face value.  Instead they search for understanding to get at the truth.

Metaphors with animals are used to describe the characters and reveal their true natures.  The boys are likened to wolves as they rove and hunt in packs and to denote their cruelty.  The second string girls are called birds.  They flock and flitter and fly off at the flick of a wrist.  This is to emphasize their social stature within the school.  Birds are also used as a bad omen as they perch in Oleander trees. 

Although many of the characters names have direct counterparts in Shakespeare’s MacBeth a few of the names serve as banners for their personalities.  Lilia for the flower Lily as she comes off as pretty, fragile and delicate.  Connor is the conman that nobody really trusts.  Piper is a common bird.  The female sandpiper is polyandrous – she mates with several males during breeding season.  I’m not sure whether this is a hint to Piper’s commonality, an allusion to the fact that she will never be Queen or a nod to her unfaithfulness to Lilia, that she cannot be trusted.  Another interesting factoid about female spotted sandpipers is that it is the female that lays claim to and defends nesting grounds.  Within her couple Piper certainly had the stronger backbone and had no problem marking her territory.  Jade, the color, represents envy.  Her green eyes serve as mirror to reflect the jealousy in the hearts of the boys as they each covet Duncan’s position.  Jade, the gem, symbolizes balance or in this case the scales of justice.

I really enjoyed reading Foul is Fair.  The symbolism gave me a lot to think about.  Even though this is a retelling you do not have to read MacBeth to appreciate this book.  The book may be purchased from Wednesday Books or your local bookstore. 

Meet the Author

Hannah Capin is the author of Foul is Fair and The Dead Queens Club, a feminist retelling of the wives of Henry VIII. When she isn’t writing, she can be found singing, sailing, or pulling marathon gossip sessions with her girl squad. She lives in Tidewater, Virginia.

Author Website: Hannahcapin.com

Author’s Twitter/Instagram: @tldaaollf