The End of Her by Shari Lapena

This is the second Shari Lapena novel I've read, and wow! she can really spin a heck of a domestic thriller. 

The End of Her is about Patrick and Stephanie, a happily married couple and new parents to twin girls. Patrick is a partner in an architectural company, and Stephanie has left her job to stay home with the girls. Both are struggling with having two colicky babies that don't sleep and cry all the time. Stephanie is so sleep deprived she forgets to shut off the stove, and sometimes leaves the front door wide open. She just can't remember doing those things. There's not enough coffee in the world for her to stay functioning normally. Visits to a pediatrician for help don't really go as planned; the girls' doctor simply says they will stop being colicky sometime, and it will end abruptly. Meanwhile, Stephanie, and Patrick, too, are having major sleep deprivation. 

One day, a woman from Patrick's past appears, and threatens to blackmail Patrick if he doesn't pay her off. Erica knows Stephanie has inherited a few million dollars, and she wants money. Who is Erica? She's a woman who had an affair with Patrick years before, in Colorado. She was Patrick's first wife's best friend. And that first wife? Lindsey? She died, along with their unborn child, in a freakish accident. But Erica says she knows Patrick deliberately killed her. WHAT?!

Patrick tells Stephanie about Erica, and Stephanie refuses to give her money. Things are going to get sticky for everyone...and Erica is determined to get her way. She's not afraid to make some noise, and make a whole lot of trouble for Patrick. Erica makes enemies wherever she goes. 

This was such a good thriller! I raced through it. So many twists and turns. Shari writes about seemingly average couples; however they're really hiding a lot of secrets, and capable of doing terrible things. Things they may never have imagined doing just a few short weeks before--it's amazing what people will do to protect themselves. Look a little closer at domestic bliss and you'll find it's usually pretty dark, and not so blissful. 

It's only taken me two novels to become a firm fan of Shari Lapena. Thanks to NetGalley and Viking/Penguin for the advanced ebook. This novel is out in hardcover on Tuesday, July 28th in the U.S. Shari has plenty of novels, and they are all stand alones, so you don't have to read them in order. You'll be hooked in no time!

Rating: 4/6 for a twisty-turny domestic thriller that will keep you guessing who to believe--and an ending that will leave you with just one more surprise!

Available Tuesday, July 28th in the U.S. in hardcover audio, and ebook. 

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The End of Her by Shari Lapena

Freefall by Jessica Barry

A big thanks to Harper Collins for sending me a copy of this novel. I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise. Sometimes being presented with a book is a good thing; it's nice to have someone else say "Here! Read this!" instead of me always deciding what to read next. 

Freefall is a fast paced novel about a plane crash, a woman's struggle to survive the wilderness, and a mother's struggle to understand the reasons her daughter was on a small plane with her fiancé that crashed in the mountains of Colorado. Told in the voices of Allison and her mother Maggie, the novel has short chapters that lend to the increasing urgency of uncovering the mysteries of Allison's life in San Diego. Back in her hometown of Owl's Creek, Maine, Maggie is grieving over the loss of her daughter and having a hard time believing she's dead, since her body has not been found in the plane wreckage. 

You, as the reader, know Allison survived the crash, and although injured, is moving through the Colorado wilderness in search of safety. She knows someone is after her and wants to kill her. 

The plot unfolds over a few weeks, and I have to give a shout out to the author for making Maggie's former career as a librarian an important part of the plot. Feeling restless and needing answers, Maggie returns to her former library to do some investigating online. As she slowly uncovers bits of Allison's life in San Diego, she has more questions than answers, and her feeling that Allison was involved in something dangerous keeps growing stronger. But was Allison involved in something that puts her mother in danger, too?

There's more to the story, of course. Maggie and Allison haven't spoken to each other for over two years, after Maggie's husband and Allison's father died of colon cancer. Maggie has no idea what Allison's been doing with her life, and while we are on Allison's journey with her, we learn what's happened to her, and the downward spiral her life took after her father died. How did Allison go from a bright, ambitious magazine writer to the brittle, controlled finance of a pharmaceutical genius? Her journey is pretty fascinating, and it's also fascinating to see what Maggie uncovers in her quest to understand her daughter's life. 

This is a pretty good thriller, with plenty of moments of high tension. You'll find yourself cheering Allison on as she doesn't give up, but keeps moving forward. Her reflections on her life, her growing terror that her mother is also in danger, and her transformation from a fragile controlled woman to one of independence and strength are all strong elements of the plot. The bad guys in this novel are definitely bad and ruthless. 

Rating: 5/6 for a thriller that grabs you from the first page and keeps you engaged and rooting for both women. As the plot unfolds, danger creeps closer, and you won't be able to put it down. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Freefall by Jessica Barry

The Patchwork Bride by Sandra Dallas

It's a lucky year for me when Sandra Dallas has two novels come out within months of each other. I reviewed Hardscrabble in May, and now it's time to review The Patchwork Bride.

What I love so much about Sandra's novels are the female characters. They are all strong, capable women who face hardships and tragedy straight on. They work hard, love well, and see the joy in the quiet moments of life. They always have stories to tell. 

This novel was no different. Ellen is an elderly  woman living and working on the ranch she shares with her husband, Ben. He's a cowboy through and through, but he's becoming more forgetful, and Ellen's heart isn't as strong as it used to be. They may have to sell the ranch and move into town, and that would be the death of both of them. Ellen's making a wedding quilt for her granddaughter's upcoming wedding, and her granddaughter has come to the ranch because she's having second thoughts about marriage. This all takes place in the early 1950's, but most of the story told by Ellen takes place in the late 1890's. Seeking to counsel her granddaughter, Ellen tells June about a woman named Nell, who ran away from marriage three times.  

Nell, a young woman in the late 1890's moves to New Mexico Territory to work on a ranch with her Aunt. She's seeking a husband, but unlike other women at that time, isn't broadcasting it loudly. She's not at the ranch for long before one of the cowboys catches her eye. Buddy is not like the other cowboys; he's quiet, educated, and doesn't flirt with Nell. Love slowly develops, but anger and misunderstanding break Nell and Buddy apart, and Nell moves back to her grandparent's farm in Kansas to heal her heart. And that begins Nell's search for love with a good man. 

I like the way the novel is a story wrapped in a story. Nell is a young woman at a time when women were beginning to step out of traditional roles and become more independent, yet there were still societal expectations that could work against them. Nell is independent, smart, and has already worked as a teacher. She's so much more, but finds herself limited by being a single woman in a world where a woman's reputation could be ruined by one minor incident. She wants to get married and have a family, but it's proving much more difficult than she imagined. Buddy still lingers in her mind...is there any way they will find each other again?

I have to say Ellen and Ben's relationship, after fifty years of marriage, was so endearing. Simply holding hands, reminiscing, and riding out to special spots on the ranch were, at the end of the day, the heart of their love for each other. Heartbreaking to think about leaving the ranch, and Ben's memory fading away. As Ellen thinks in the beginning of the novel, she will die, and all her memories will go with her, because there's no one to tell, and no one to remember.

You'll guess the obvious in this novel, and that's okay. I don't believe the author meant it to be hard to figure out. Finding your true love, that one person who fits perfectly into your puzzle, is what this sweet tale is all about. Make the memories. Enjoy the ride. Love fiercely. Tell those stories. 

Rating:  4/6 for a sweetly told tale of searching for love, making mistakes, and passing on those stories to the next generation. 

Available in hardcover and ebook.   

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The Patchwork Bride by Sandra Dallas

Hardscrabble by Sandra Dallas

After reading In Cold Blood and The Hazel Wood, I needed something a little lighter! Enter Sandra Dallas' Hardscrabble, a children's novel about homesteading in 1910 Colorado.  Sandra is one of my favorite authors, and her new adult novel, The Patchwork Bride, is due out in early June.  I simply can't wait!

Here's what I love about Sandra Dallas.  She writes about pioneers, homesteaders, and folks who lived hard lives in the settling of the West and Mid-West. Her main characters are always women, and they're women you would love to know. Strong, loyal, hardworking women who just want the best life they can manage--often times, at the end of a long, rough road.  

Hardscrabble is no different, but it's softened for a younger audience. It centers on the Martin family, who travel to Mingo, Colorado after their farm fails in Iowa.  Belle, her mother and six siblings meet her father at the train station, and soon approach their new home: a sod house.  It's a long way from the beautiful farmhouse they left in Iowa, but they're starting over on a homestead. Neighbors include Lizzie, a single woman living on her own claim, determined to prove up and have her own farm. Two characters from Dallas' adult novel The Diary of Mattie Spencer also live nearby, and I was happy to see them all these years later, thriving and enjoying the rewards of their hard work.  

The novel moves through nearly a year on the homestead, and of course life is not easy, and filled with bad weather, threats to crops, and tragedy. It's nothing we haven't read about in other novels set in the homesteading years of the United States, but Dallas writes from Belle's viewpoint, and that makes it all simply told, with a bit of sass and humor thrown in-just as a young girl would be today.  Certainly fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder will eat this one up.  

This was a quick read, but a lovely, quiet one. It helped reset my internal reading clock a bit.  If I read too many dark themed novels in a row, I get bummed out.  While not everything is smooth sailing for the Martin family, the obvious love in the family, the cheerful attitudes, and the strong presence of Beck Martin, their father, help keep things moving along and light even in sad times. Lizzie's presence as a strong woman on her own, fixing wagons, planting crops, baking, and raising chickens is a bright spot, and a glimpse at the changing world in 1910.  She doesn't want to get married and have to give up her homestead before it's proven to be hers, and she can own it free and clear. 

All in all, a delightful, quick read on one of my favorite subjects: pioneering.  

Rating:  4/6 for a sweet story about the Martin family starting all over again in Mingo, Colorado in 1910. Good times and bad make this a novel about sticking together, working through problems, and loving each other. 

Available in hardcover and ebook. 

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Hardscrabble by Sandra Dallas

Second Chance Season: A Grand Valley Novel by Liora Blake

It wouldn't be summer without a scorching hot romance, right?  This novel, the second in a series, caught me off guard, but in a "wow this is such a good story" way.  

First of all, you don't need to read the first Grand Valley novel First Step Forward in order to enjoy the romance between Garrett Strickland and Cara Cavanaugh.  I do, however, want to read the first novel because the second in the series is so darn good.  The third in the series, Ready for Wild, will be out in October, 2017.  I can't wait to read it!  You get hints of its beginnings throughout Second Chance Season, and you get an update on the couple from First Step Forward. I love it when characters in a trilogy pop into each other's story lines.  

So...Garrett meets Cara on the side of the road outside the small Colorado town of Hotchkiss.  She's smoking hot, and lost.  Garrett stops on his way to work after seeing her SUV pulled over on the side of the road, and being a decent man, he wants to make sure the driver is okay.  Cue the instant lust Garrett has when he sees Cara.  And, of course, Garrett's no slouch in the hot department himself, and Cara likes the looks of him, too.  She's traveled to Hotchkiss on a freelance assignment to write a series of articles about farmers who are creating successful businesses and changing the face of rural agriculture in America.  She could use Garrett's help, as she's new to the area and unsure of who to make contact with to get some great stories.  

Cara is also staying for the next 8 weeks in the home that Garrett grew up in, but lost after his father died and their farm went bust.  Garrett's future was radically changed, and now he works at the local co-op, which is way below what he could do, but there's nothing really spurring him on to pursue his dreams.  Until Cara, of course. 

Well.  The lust between these two is pretty intense.  I've got to hand it to Ms. Blake, she does a really good job at creating sexual tension and ramping up the heat.  Plus, she writes a darn good story, with characters that aren't shallow and have real issues.  Cara's wealthy background does become somewhat of an issue, but not because of her attitude about wealth.  After all, she could sit back and enjoy,but wants a career of her own and is willing to work hard to get it.  There's an minor age difference between Cara and Garrett, but it's only mentioned briefly, and is never an issue, which I found refreshing. The path to happiness doesn't run smoothly for these two, but it does eventually conclude in a satisfying way that has a little bit of an unusual twist.  

If you're a romance fan, or may even if you're not, I recommend this book and heck, I'll even encourage you to read the first in the series, and hang on until October to read the third.  I'll be reading them both.  Yes, romance is the main plot point, but there's so much more to this story that I would certainly recommend this to anyone who likes contemporary women's novels with a bit of steam.  Enjoy this one on the beach!

Rating:  4/6 for a novel that caught me off guard with a well written plot, fully shaped characters with real issues, and wowee some steamy sex!

Thank to to Pocket Books (Simon and Schuster) for a review copy.    

Available in paperback and ebook.  

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Second Chance Season: A Grand Valley Novel by Liora Blake

Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden

Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden is about Dorothy's grandmother,  Dorothy Woodruff, and her best friend Rosamond Underwood and their experience as school teachers in the wilds of Colorado in 1916-1917.  Both families had kept all the letters both Dorothy and Ros wrote to them during their adventures out West, and this book is the result.

I loved this book, and was rather sad to finish it.  First of all, these women were such good friends--they met in school, and maintained a life-long friendship through college, Colorado, and their marriages, where they lived far apart.  They were funny, adventurous, clever, and so admiring of the women homesteaders they met living in Colorado.  Both women had said their year in Colorado was the best year of their lives.

What makes their story a bit different is that both women came from wealthy families in Auburn, New York.  They went to Smith college, and then spent a year traveling around Europe.  Marriage or a career as a nurse or a teacher were their only options, but neither was ready for marriage.  The opportunity to teach in a one room school house outside Hayden, Colorado came up, and they jumped at the chance to have one more adventure in their late 20's.

The photos in each chapter help put a face to the characters--and they are characters.  Farrington Carpenter plays a large part in their story--he's a Harvard educated lawyer/rancher who's plan to have a good school for the local kids brings Dorothy and Ros to Colorado.  They don't realize that Farrington has another motive--there are many single men around, looking for wives.  He hopes to make a few matches!

I admire Dorothy and Ros.  With their family's blessings, they set out into the wilds of Colorado, with no teaching experience, and living a live of comfort, to enthusiastically embrace whatever they found.  Both fell in love with Colorado, the people, and the school.  They never complained and cheerfully jumped into their new lives without reservation.

This book has set in motion, once again, my desire to return to Colorado and visit more places!  I am always struck by the courage and determination that so many women showed moving away from home, living in harsh conditions, and making the best with what they had.  So tough--what a gift they left us all.

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Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden