The Marriage Lie

 In this blog post, I reviewed Ali Mercer's the Marriage Lie. This riveting domestic suspense novel would leave you at the edge of your seat and hold your breath. What do you do when someone holds something over you? It all started for Stella Castle's 40th birthday when her husband treated her to a special dinner and gifted her to a home for where she lived alone. It caught her off guard when her husband wanted a divorce from her. If she didn't do what he wanted, he would reveal a terrible secret about their daughter's birth. With no where to turn, she went to her mother for advice. But she later learned that Rob was having an affair with someone else and carried his child. Was this some part of his midlife crisis to ditch her in the ditch? To protect this terrible secret, she would have to reach out to her younger sister Molly, who have been estranged from her family for years. When her mother passed away, she reached out to her sister before she left the funeral service. It only made her more determined to reconnect to her and to break free from Rob's dominating hold on her. Then, when her stepfather passed away shortly after her mother's death, she connected to Molly again and didn't show up for the service. In the end, Stella learned the shocking truth about her daughter and promised to protect her to the end, when they've both told Georgie a partial truth to satisfy her daughter's curiosity, and made their bond stronger than ever and better than before.

 This was a jaw-dropping domestic suspense thriller. I instantly cared for Stella, who was put into a difficult situation and tougher than a rock and a hard place. What was she to do to do his evil bidding and to do what he wants? She did what she wanted to do to break free and escape from his dominating ways to protect her daughter. It made me dislike Rob more and more until he'd gotten what he discovered. I loved the Fox Hill and other select locations in England that depicted the scenic settings so well with the ambiance for the story. The theme of the story is that blood is thicker than water and the ties that bind between family and dark secrets.

If you love gripping domestic suspense thrillers that would knock the pants off of you with non-stop action, dramatic suspense, shocking twist and turns, and chills all over, The Marriage Lie is the book for you.

The Serial Killer's Wife

 In this blog post, I'm reviewing Alice Hunter's The Serial Killer's Wife. This twisted psychological thriller will keep you in suspense and asks you how well do you know somebody? It all started for Beth Hardcastle when the Lower Tew police knock on their door. They wanted to bring her husband Tom in for questioning, regarding his former girlfriend's disappearance from eight years ago. That started the investigation into Tom's past and how her once-perfect marriage had crumbled by unraveling secrets and dirty lies. It made her doubt and second-guess her husband and how she could protect her daughter Poppy from him. While Beth works at her own pottery cafe, she wondered about her friends and fellow co-workers and if she could trust them and they should trust her, since the former runner of the book club Camilla Knight had an accidental allergic death the year before. During this time, while the police hones in to Tom's dark past to Katie, Beth befriends Adam Knight, the young widower in her cafe, and develops a friendship with him which turned into something more. While Tom was arrested not for one murder,  Beth became a target in her neighborhood from journalists and informed the police about those incidents and a possible connection to another murder by handing over crucial evidence--another nail in his coffin. Meanwhile, she unearthed another disturbing truth about Tom--he's been having an affair with someone else who could also be another victim in his crime spree. To save herself and her daughter, she  would do all she could to separate herself from him and telling him goodbye right after the trial. But the ending is so shocking that I didn't see it coming.... I can't give it away.

 This psychological thriller is so twisted and dark that it would take you breath away. It was also so riveting that it kept me wondering what would happen next to Tom and Beth Hardcastle. I cared for Beth who wanted to do the right thing, right up until the end. As for Tom, he had what coming to him and was cold nonetheless. Actions have dire consequences, accidentally or not. I loved the Lower Tew location for the novel and for the gripping scenic settings surrounding this dark thriller. The theme of the story is that buried secrets and little white lies have a way of coming out into the open.

If you love dark crime thrillers that would keep you at the edge of your seat and awake at night with non-stop action, heart-pounding suspense, lots of twisted and turns, and plenty of compelling drama, The Serial Killer's Wife is right up your alley. Check it out today!

 

Anchored Hearts

 In this blog post, I reviewed Priscilla Oliveras's Anchored Hearts. This second-chance contemporary romance is so heart-warming and tear-jerking to read and sweep you off your feet. For Anamaria Navarro and Alejandro Miranda, they were once high school sweethearts who grew up in Key West Florida and later split to go their separate ways. Twelve years later, Anamaria is a fire fighter/paramedic who's starting up her own fitness company, AM Fitness. She wants nothing more than to spread her wings and fly, while she had been tied down to Key West for a decade ever since her father had a heart attack. Now might be the chance she might do.. But when she received a call from her neighbor that Alejandro, now a professional photographer for National Geographic who traveled the world, had broken his leg during a photo shoot in the Amazon Rain forest. Her meddling interference required Anamaria's medical services to tend to his needs. And that brought them back together with a bittersweet reunion. 

While their mamis continued to meddle and  to bring these former love birds together, Ale didn't expect to see Anamaria again after all these years. It brought back painstaking memories including the ones from his own father's harsh words. All he wanted was to receive his father's acceptance to his roots since he turned him down on not following the footsteps to work in the family restaurant with his brothers. During this time, they mended their own hearts and made new memories as they worked together to build their dreams their own reality. After one passionate kiss, one thing led to another to their no-strings-attached relationship when they both want something more.... permanence. During Ale's photo gallery exhibit, Anamaria overheard that Ale might be leaving for good... again. The same feeling she had a decade ago. Can Ale win back her heart for them to have a happily ever after and stay with her?

 This was a beautiful and touching second-chance contemporary romance. I instantly cared for Anamaria and Alejandro, as a couple and individually, who wanted to do their own feeling and wanting acceptance from their families. I loved their free spirited nature and tenacity to do the right thing and to be their own person. I loved the Key West location for this novel and learning about their Cuban heritage. It was loveswept and picturesque to be transported there. The theme of the story is absence makes the heart grows fonder in order to have a second chance.

 If you love sweet contemporary romances that would move you to tears with non-stop action, lots of romantic drama, hints of humor, and sparks of intrigue, check out Anchored Hearts and pick up this copy today!