MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It

Sunday, January 10, 2021

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

Title: The Last Thing He Told Me

Author: Laura Dave

Publisher: Simon Schuster

Release Date: May 4, 2021

We all have stories we never tell.

Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her.

Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.

Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated.

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A terrible thing has happened to Hannah. Her husband of just over a year, Owen, has run away leaving behind a note that says "Protect Her".

Owen's boss has been accused by the SEC of fraud and he has been taken by the police. Hannah has been left with her stepdaughter, Bailey, who has never warmed up to Hannah despite multiple attempts to engage her.

Hannah can't relate to her new situation. The husband she knows would never leave her or his daughter behind. Something is terribly wrong. Hannah doesn't know much about his past but she knows Owen was married before. His first wife died in an accident and he became a widower with a small baby. Now, Bailey is sixteen and giving her a hard time.

A day after his disappearance, a US Marshal stops by her home and tells her, Owen is not the man she thinks he is. Later on, the FBI comes knocking on her door wanting to know where Owen is and how much he knew about what his boss was doing. This pushes Hannah to begin her own investigation and embark on a journey to learn who her husband really is. What she discovers is a trail of lies and deceit.

The Last Thing He Told Me was well-written and quite addicting. The pages flew by. I liked Hannah almost instantly. She was trying hard to help Bailey and was ready to do everything to protect her and find the answers they needed.

I wasn't happy with the resolution but other than that, I thought the story was a good one.

Cliffhanger: No

3.5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Simon & Schuster via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay

Title: Every Last Fear

Author: Alex Finlay

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Release Date: March 2, 2021

In one of the year’s most anticipated debut psychological thrillers, a family made infamous by a true crime documentary is found dead, leaving their surviving son to uncover the truth about their final days.

“They found the bodies on a Tuesday.” So begins this twisty and breathtaking novel that traces the fate of the Pine family, a thriller that will both leave you on the edge of your seat and move you to tears.

After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family—his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister—have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain—and they won’t tell Matt why.

The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn’t the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt’s older brother, Danny—currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte—was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Though the country has rallied behind Danny, Matt holds a secret about his brother that he’s never told anyone: the night Charlotte was killed Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty of the crime.

When Matt returns to his small hometown to bury his parents and siblings, he’s faced with a hostile community that was villainized by the documentary, a frenzied media, and memories he’d hoped to leave behind forever. Now, as the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny’s case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison—putting his own life in peril—and forcing him to confront his every last fear.

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The book begins with tragedy. The Pine family has been found dead while vacationing in Mexico.

Matt, the son and brother, is informed of their death. But was his family really vacationing?

That’s the big question.

The Pine family had it hard. Their oldest son Danny was convicted of killing his pregnant girlfriend. Then, moving her dead body to the creek using a wheelbarrow.

Yet the father, Ethan Pine knows in his heart, his son is not guilty and he has spent the last few years trying to prove it.

Maggie, Ethan's daughter and Matt's sister, is soon going to MIT. She is a tech whiz and is helping Ethan collect clues to prove Danny's innocence.

After Danny is taken to prison, his mother finds comfort in her new pregnancy and when Tommy is born, she dedicates her time to take care of the baby of the family.

Then all four are gone. Matt becomes the sole contact responsible to reclaim their bodies. Travelling to Mexico and realizing that something is amiss.

I thought it was a very intriguing and interesting way to tell their story. Knowing they were all dead didn’t diminish how important they were. It made my heartache to know they were all gone and Matt was all alone.

It’s hard to say anymore without letting the cat out of the box.

Each chapter captivated me and made me want to continue reading. I did guess the ending but I enjoyed the delivery.

4/5 fangs

Cliffhanger: No

A complimentary copy was provided by Minotour Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

Title: This Time Next Year

Author: Sophie Cousens

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Son

Release Date: December 1, 2020

In this warm-hearted love story for fans of One Day in December, a man and woman who were born at the same hospital on New Year’s Day meet on their thirtieth birthday and discover the many times their paths almost crossed before.

Down-to-earth baker Minnie Cooper knows two things with great certainty: that her New Year’s birthday has always been unlucky, and that it’s all because of Quinn Hamilton, a man she’s never met. Minnie and Quinn were born at the same hospital just after midnight on New Year’s Day thirty years before, and not only did he edge her out by mere minutes to win the cash prize for being the first baby born in London in 1990, but he stole the name she was meant to have, as well. With luck like that, it’s no wonder each of her birthdays has been more of a disaster than the one before.

When Minnie unexpectedly runs into Quinn at a New Year’s party on their mutual thirtieth birthday, she sees only more evidence that fortune has continued to favor him. The handsome, charming business owner truly seems to have it all–including the perfect girlfriend. But if Quinn and Minnie are from different worlds, why do they keep bumping into each other? And why is it that each frustrating interaction somehow seems to leave them both hoping for more?

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The story was a good one. Two souls that were connected since birth and they finally met at the age of thirty, during their birthday, on New Year's Day.

Or do they already know each other?

Minnie Copper (no joke that's her name) believes her birthday is jinxed. She was born a minute too late on New Year's Day to become the first 90's baby. She lost the cash prize as a newborn. She also lost her name. Her mother wanted to name her Quinn but while ready to deliver Minnie, she was placed in a room with another pregnant woman who was ready to have her own baby. Said baby is born first and is named Quinn.

For years, Minnie has believed Quinn Hamilton stole her luck. Awful things happen on her birthday and she tries to have a low-key birthday. This year, her boyfriend Greg has decided to take her to a party. By the time they get there, someone had already vomited on Minnie. She excuses herself to go clean up when she becomes stuck in the bathroom. The next morning, someone opens the door, and it's none other than Quinn Hamilton, the name stealer.

This one chance meeting will change the next twelve months for them. A friendship develops and then a romance but can Minnie overcome her fears and can Quinn stop running away from commitment?

This Time Next Year was a winner for me. I'm one of the few people who didn't enjoy One Day in December so I was a little worried about the comparison. Thankfully, I loved how the story developed and how the romance evolved. The near misses since they were born were all so good! I was desperate for them to realize they knew each other.

It was really a great buddy-read with Susan and Kim. Thank you ladies.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Top Books of 2020

No year have I needed more escapism than 2020. It's a year impossible to forget despite wanting to.

I haven't read as much as I desired but that unfortunately is nothing new. Wish the day had more hours for reading. Sigh.

I thank all those authors who transported me to another time, another place, another world.

These books are the ones who got my highest ratings in no particular order:

Smoke Bitten (Mercy Thompson #12) by Patricia Briggs

Sunday, January 10, 2021

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Tuesday, December 29, 2020