Review: The Wrong Family by Tarryn Fisher

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The Wrong Family was such a shocking and wild read. After I finished, I was left speechless because I really didn’t know what to say.

It’s hard to describe this book, because I feel like it is best to go into this book knowing as little as possible. So, in a few words, Juno lives with the Crouch family. Prior to moving in she thought Winnie and Nigel Crouch had the perfect life. She quickly learns how wrong she was. Everything was a façade.

It took awhile for me to get hooked into this story. It’s told in third person, and everything in the beginning feels sort of vague. Because you don’t know the entire situation, and it’s very wordy. And a little slow paced.

But as the story progressed and secrets were revealed- I was hooked. This book is wild and full of twists and turns. And oh, so very dark. I hadn’t expected that when I first started. Quite honestly, I wasn’t sure what I had expected. Nevertheless, around 50% I was entertained, and my mouth was wide open. It was hard to tear me away from this story. The complete opposite of what I thought would happen in this story happened. And I appreciated that it was so unpredictable.

This is a story about a family trying to uphold this perfect façade when in fact they are harboring this dark secret. The book really makes you think. Because you have these characters and you spend most of the book, trying to figure out their psyche.

But in the same breath, I will say towards the end, it got too crazy for my liking and I would have liked a stronger and more memorable ending.

Final Thoughts

The Wrong Family is a dark, addicting and twisted story centered on family dynamics. 

Review: Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue

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Grump Jake was an okay read.  

The book centers on Bailey Throne. She is a kindergarten teacher, who “despises” one of her student’s parents- Jake. He doesn’t have the best track record with women, and Bailey is not amused with him. Until one day, they get stuck in an elevator together and everything changes.

I feel like the synopsis is a tad misleading. It sounds like it would be a slight enemy to lovers’ story, but it wasn’t. They aren’t really enemies. And Bailey’s dislike of him stems from rumors that she has heard about him. And there is never a clear picture to why those rumors made her dislike him.

I think there was a missed opportunity to have that anger towards him being connected to something in her past. I think that might have added a tiny bit more depth to her. Both Bailey and Jake are forgettable characters and underdeveloped. I didn’t connect to them or find a strong interest to know about their life.

I think the book tries to add some form of angst to the story. But ultimately, it fails. The stakes are not high enough in this book, and the conflict feels a little lackluster. And speaking of the conflict, it’s resolved off the page. Which is a little frustrating.

I think this story would have benefited if it was a full novel. It is trying to sell to many stories- the romance and the mystery of what happened to Jayden’s mother. Both of those had potential to be a well-constructed story; however, they were undeveloped and rushed.

Final Thoughts

Grumpy Jake is a quick read that fails to meet its potential. 

Review: The Christmas Pact By: Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

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Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

The Christmas Pact had interesting ideas, but ultimately the story is just fine.

The story centers on Riley Kennedy and Kennedy Riley, two people who happen to work at the same company but at different locations. And unfortunately for them, their emails keep getting mixed up due to them having similar names. After finally meeting, Kennedy and Riley decide to help each other during the holiday season. He’ll go home with Riley for a Christmas party and pretend to be her boyfriend and Riley has to be his date to a wedding.

Like mentioned before, the story was fine. But I did find the concept of them having similar names quite interesting. I haven’t read a book where that happened, and I thought the email mishaps were funny enough. It’s just that those things can’t sustain an entire book. And despite this book being quite short, it felt long, and like nothing major happened. Throughout the book, it felt like it was missing a spark.

And only after, I finished did I realize that this book was intended to be listened to on Audible. That might have made my experience better; I’m not quite sure. Because still, it would be the same story and the same characters. I had expected this to be a Hallmark level book, but it isn’t even that. I don’t think the authors drove into it as much as they could.

Final Analysis

The Christmas Pact is fine. It tells a complete story, but it feels incomplete. 

Review: The Moon Always Rising by Alice C. Early

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Summary:

In 1998, fiery Eleanor “Els” Gordon thought the new century would find her married to her childhood soul mate, rejuvenating her family’s Scottish Highlands estate, and finally earning a managing director title at her investment bank. Maybe she’d even have the courage to discover why her estranged mother ran home to Italy thirty years earlier.

But when 2000 dawns, Els is mourning her fiancé and her father, and she’s unemployed, broke, and sharing an antique plantation house on the Caribbean island of Nevis with the ghost—or “jumbie”—of Jack Griggs, the former owner. Jack’s jumbie wangles Els’s help in making amends for wrongs committed during his Casanova life, and in exchange he appoints himself Cupid on behalf of a charter captain who’s as skittish about vulnerability as Els. Meanwhile, Els lures her mother to Nevis in hopes of unraveling the family secrets—but will the shocking truth set her free, or pull her fragile new happiness apart?

A moving and lyrical novel that transports readers from lush tropics to rugged highlands and back again, The Moon Always Rising explores how the power of forgiveness can help even the most damaged person fix whatever is broken.

Review:

I’m going to begin this with, my thoughts after completing this book are indifferent. Let me get the cons out of the way. I feel this way because there were moments that I felt completely lost in why or where the story was heading in a particular direction. In that time, I found myself flipping back for clarification and or if I missed something. There was something missing to sustain my connection with Eleanor after the first few chapters. The book went into another direction that lost its momentum for me to connect with her to a depth that I would’ve loved to.

I’m not sure if the portrayal of Eleanor’s personality in the book is derived from her background. I’m unsure if the way she is portrayed in the book is intentional or not, if so than that would explain so much. Based on what I read, I enjoyed her sense of humor but I wished she could’ve been fleshed out more. I will say about midway through the book, it picked up and actually redeemed itself in terms of consistency in the plot progressing to somewhere interesting.

Overall, this book was ok based on the entire experience. It definitely had the roots to be great. I’m not saying that I didn’t like it, I have to balance the moments that were great with the moments that left me feeling indifferent. I appreciate the love of the island where the book took place because it definitely set a tone of appreciation of the culture and people that really shined through in the book. The supporting characters brought interesting storylines into the mix that made the book interesting.

Review: The Half God of Rainfall by Inua Ellams

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Summary

From the award-winning poet and playwright behind Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half-God of Rainfall is an epic story and a lyrical exploration of pride, power and female revenge.

There is something about Demi. When this boy is angry, rain clouds gather. When he cries, rivers burst their banks and the first time he takes a shot on a basketball court, the deities of the land take note.

His mother, Modupe, looks on with a mixture of pride and worry. From close encounters, she knows Gods often act like men: the same fragile egos, the same unpredictable fury and the same sense of entitlement to the bodies of mortals.

She will sacrifice everything to protect her son, but she knows the Gods will one day tire of sports fans, their fickle allegiances and misdirected prayers. When that moment comes, it won’t matter how special he is. Only the women in Demi’s life, the mothers, daughters and Goddesses, will stand between him and a lightning bolt.

Review

One thing that stands out is the style in which the book was written. I was moved and in awe of the rhythm that flowed through the book. Broken into acts, narrowed by book sections within, the book had a structured flow that really heightened the experience of the story.

I can’t quite put it into words but there is something that transcends through this lyrical tale combining ancient gods and contemporary characters that really commands your attention. At first, I thought the hero of my admiration was going to be about the young boy and his journey but it was his mother’s voice who deserved to be heard. For every woman ever wronged, there’s a redemptive trajectory that led to the reclaiming of her crippled soul from being assaulted and the reclaiming of her voice and being.

In such a small book, this shined so bright. His free verse was thought provoking and had a relevant connection to current events. Blending cultures and traditions, the past and present, contemporary mixed with mythological influences, this really gives the reader something to talk about and absorb. This is my first experience with the author but will definitely check out his other work.

Review: What You Don’t Know by Bianca Sloane

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Summary

It’s Saturday morning. April Fool’s Day to be exact. Malcolm Gilbert is on his way to play golf. His wife, Blair, is headed to the hair salon.

That’s the plan anyway.

Then the doorbell rings.

And their nightmare begins.

For the next forty-eight hours, the Gilberts are at the mercy of sadists who unleash a seemingly unending campaign of terror against them.

But the question isn’t who would attack the Gilberts.

The question is why . . .

The next time your doorbell rings, will you answer it?

Review

This was completely unexpected. I was not prepared for this book at all. I’ve read all of Bianca’s books and never had I experienced what I had reading this one. What You Don’t Know is truly something different from her other work. This page turning suspense thriller made me want to go buy a ring doorbell.

What I found fascinating and different was the alternating point of view of the plot developing with the character witness and statement commentaries. Not only were you placed right in the action as it developed but the cased built along side of you as it went. You were given insight to the characters and their relationships to learn about them and also get an inside view into the investigation. This was so brilliant because right from the beginning, we are thrown into the the heart of the action. From there, you’re putting things together like a puzzle pieces.

This was one that sort of glues you to the chair. I don’t want to share too much about the book because the summary is enough. This is one of those that is better to be read than give you too much details. I think my anxiety level went to another dimension because of the build up of this interwoven moving plot. I wanted to put it down but I couldn’t because I had to keep reading. I had to find out how this was going to play out. There was a momentary cringe moment for me because of the subject matter involving a couple of the characters but overall she really brought her best with this one. I’d recommend checking her out.