The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones

 Huge thank you to NetGalley for the free eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

In the vein of The Other Woman, Sandie Jones’s explosive new novel The Guilt Trip will have readers gripped to the very last page.

Six friends.

Rachel and Noah have been friends since they met at university. While they once thought that they might be something more, now, twenty years later, they are each happily married to other people, Jack and Paige respectively. Jack’s brother Will is getting married, to the dazzling, impulsive Ali, and the group of six travel to Portugal for their destination weekend.

Three couples.

As they arrive at a gorgeous villa perched on a cliff-edge, overlooking towering waves that crash on the famous surfing beaches below at Nazaré, they try to settle into a weekend of fun. While Rachel is looking forward to getting to know her future sister-in-law Ali better, Ali can’t help but rub many of the group up the wrong way: Rachel’s best friend Paige thinks Ali is attention-seeking and childish, and while Jack is trying to support his brother Will’s choice of wife, he is also finding plenty to disagree with Noah about.

One fatal misunderstanding . . .

But when Rachel discovers something about Ali that she can hardly believe, everything changes. As the wedding weekend unfolds, the secrets each of them hold begin to spill, and friendships and marriages threaten to unravel. Soon, jumping to conclusions becomes the difference between life and death.

Genre? Thriller

Backlist? No. Published August 3, 2021

New to me Author? No.

What did I think?

This book had me all over the place...but in a good way. It's hard to write a review without including spoilers on this one because honestly, almost every little detail, no matter how insignificant they may seem, eventually ties in to something else. 

I thought this book was unique in the fact that all the characters were essentially stuck with each other. Sandie Jones does an amazing job of describing the characters so you like some and can't stand others. Much like "The Other Woman", you think you have everyone all figured out. 

This novel is filled with drama, drinking, love, sex, and so much more. I really did NOT see the ending coming, though once it happened, it really did make sense. Kind of like a "Big Little Lies" type of novel, so I would recommend, but only for older audiences.

Love At First Hate by A.R. Casella and Denise Grover Swank

 Huge thank you to the authors for the free eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

The first book in a new series by Denise Grover Swank and A.R. Casella, authors of the USA Today bestselling Asheville Brewing series.

She wants his story. He wants his secrecy. Too bad he can’t stay away from her.

Molly

Blogging about bad dates used to be fun, but a girl can only take so much foolishness. So I broke up with my job.

Okay, full disclosure, I was fired. It’s a long, sordid tale, involving my sourdough starter—RIP, Fred!—and my ex-boss’s serious lack of humor.

Newly funemployed and in need of a break, I go to Asheville to dogsit for my sister…and stumble onto a scoop big enough to put my fake-dating days behind me forever.

Augusta Glower, local success story, wrote a bestseller about the self-help group she started. People think her system works, and copycat Bad Luck Clubs have sprung up nationwide. Something feels off, though, and a little poking around by yours truly suggests she stole the idea.

There’s one problem. I have to prove it, and the guy she ripped off—super-hot house flipper Caleb Reynolds—seems to…well, hate me. Which is too bad since his secrets aren’t the only thing I’d like to peel away.

* * *

Cal

Molly O’Shea is my worst nightmare.

Is she sexy as sin? Well…yeah. Does she smell like honeysuckle and trouble? No doubt. Is she determined to dig up my secrets with a backhoe? I’m pretty sure she got a two-week rental. But I’ll never talk. If the reason I started the club gets out, my whole life will implode.

So why is she so damn irresistible?

Genre? Romance

Backlist? No. Publishes tomorrow - August 12, 2021

New to me Author? Nope. Absolute favorites.

What did I think?

You know that feeling you get when you see that your favorite movie franchise is adding yet another sequel or spin-off and you're like "Okay, I get it. I love this. But we can stop now."? Yeah, that's not what happened here AT ALL. Love At First Hate had the potential to be just a weird flop of a spin-off but, as always, A.R. Casella and Denise Grover Swank just full on hit it out of the park.

Cal (co-founder of the Bad Luck Club from the original series - Asheville Brewery) has had credit stolen from him for founding the club and he has no intention of setting the record straight in case anyone found out his secret. Molly is in town dog-sitting for her sister Maisie and out of boredom, starts investigating the Bad Luck Club to try to break into official investigative journaling. As you can probably guess, man-who-doesn't-want-his-secrets-spilled and investigative-journalist-set-on-finding-the-whole-truth don't really mesh. But *spoiler* (only not really, because look at the title and the fact that this is a romance book) this definitely fits the enemies-to-lovers trope in the best way.

Enemies-to-lovers isn't necessarily a trope I go looking for, so I don't have a ton of history with them, but I really did love reading about Cal and Molly. This book, like many of the others, is written through dual-perspective between our two main characters. It was so frustrating reading both of their thoughts when if they would just talk to each other, things would have been solved faster! And when I say frustrating, I mean I was like "Just tell her!" and kept reading to see if he did. I will absolutely read more of this series. I fell in love with all the quirky characters that were only just mentioned in the Asheville Brewery series. Definite 4.5 stars. These two are incredible co-authors.

The Peace Project by Kay Wills Wyma

Huge thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Does life have you feeling unsettled, overlooked, anxious, exhausted? Good news! There's a better way.

Enter The Peace Project with its short, digestible chapters full of practical application. This thirty-day experiment invites you to experience lasting personal peace through the outward practices of thankfulness, kindness, and mercy. In these hopeful pages, Kay Wills Wyma takes us along on a journey to see others--as well as ourselves--not as objects or obstacles but as people of great worth. People who matter.

The result? Transformation--for you and those around you. Experiencing the endless depths of God's peace where you can actually, finally, somehow breathe. Welcome to the less-than-perfect, sometimes hilarious, consistently magical journey of practicing thankfulness, kindness, and mercy with Kay, her kids, and some brave friends.

Genre? Memoir

Backlist? No. Published May 18, 2021.

New to me Author? Yes.

What did I think?

The Peace Project is the memoir of author Kay Wills Wyma, who spent 30 days practicing thankfulness, kindness, and mercy. She goes through the process such as taking time to be quiet and mindful, keeping a gratitude journal, and finding the good in everyone. I really liked the idea behind the book and found myself wanting to try many of the things that are mentioned. I do believe that this could have been a shorter story or article, rather than a full book. I found that many of the concepts were repeated throughout. It was good to hear the stories of how peace showed itself, but there were just too many. It would have also been better as a book that you could work through yourself, with practical applications for our own lives. Overall, it just fell flat for me.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

  Huge thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

The acclaimed and beloved author of Still Missing is back with her most breathtaking thriller yet.

The Cold Creek Highway stretches close to five hundred miles through British Columbia’s rugged wilderness to the west coast. Isolated and vast, it has become a prime hunting ground for predators. For decades, young women traveling the road have gone missing. Motorists and hitchhikers, those passing through or living in one of the small towns scattered along the region, have fallen prey time and again. And no killer or abductor who has stalked the highway has ever been brought to justice.

Hailey McBride calls Cold Creek home. Her father taught her to respect nature, how to live and survive off the land, and to never travel the highway alone. Now he’s gone, leaving her a teenage orphan in the care of her aunt whose police officer husband uses his badge as a means to bully and control Hailey. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to work, socialize, or date, Hailey vanishes into the mountainous terrain, hoping everyone will believe she’s left town. Rumors spread that she was taken by the highway killer—who’s claimed another victim over the summer.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek, where her sister Amber lived—and where she was murdered. Estranged from her parents and seeking closure, Beth takes a waitressing job at the local diner, just as Amber did, desperate to understand what happened to her and why. But Beth’s search for answers puts a target on her back—and threatens to reveal the truth behind Hailey’s disappearance… 

Genre? Mystery/Thriller

Backlist? No. Published August 3, 2021.

New to me Author? No.

What did I think?

A friend of mine introduced me to Chevy Stevens earlier this year with Never Let You Go. I immediately followed up with Still Missing. So when I saw that she was back with Dark Roads, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Dark Roads did NOT disappoint. Main character Hailey lives in Cold Creek with her aunt and uncle, after her parents have died. Her uncle is one of those police officers who REALLY doesn't like teenagers and uses his badge to control every little thing. Hailey tries running away from town, but instead of assuming a runaway, the town assumes that she became another victim of the highway killer. The way Chevy Stevens tied all of this together was great. I definitely thought I had things all figured out, until about 3/4 of the way through when BAM, everything was completely changed. It was such an unexpected change, yet still a realistic one, which is what I look for in my thrillers. Of the three Chevy Stevens books I've read, this would be my least favorite. However, it was still a solid 4 star read and I will still 100% pick up whatever she puts out next..

July Wrap-Up

July is over and it's almost back to school for some of us! Here's a look at books we loved, books we didn't love, and books we DNF'd during the month of July. 

 Jayme's Reads (14):

What I Rated Them:

The Arrangement ☕☕☕

In A Book Club Far Away ☕☕☕☕.5

With the Fire on High ☕☕☕☕.5

Honey Girl ☕☕☕☕.75

Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids ☕☕☕☕.25

Atheists Who Kneel and Pray ☕☕☕☕.5

Act Your Age, Eve Brown ☕☕☕☕

A Court of Silver Flames ☕☕☕.25

Us Against You ☕☕

Life's Too Short ☕☕☕☕☕

Dark Roads ☕☕☕☕

Red, White, and Royal Blue ☕☕☕☕.5

Where is God When I Need Him? ☕☕☕☕

The Peace Project ☕☕.5

Favorite Read: 

Life's Too Short!

Least Favorite Read:
Us Against You - I enjoyed Beartown, but was this sequel really necessary?

DNF?:
None. :)

Rolling over to next month: 

Forget Me Not (currently holding onto this to return to later)

All Girls (currently holding onto this to return to later)

The Bridesmaid (will be finishing in the next couple days)

Love at First Hate (will be finishing in the next couple days)

Unicorn Untamed (will be finishing soon)

Mud Vein

The Push

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle