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That can't be the ending....

This was my stunned reaction to The Handmaid's Tale back in my senior year of high school. I was devastated that I would never get to see how June's story would end. Was she betrayed? Did she find a better life? The questions have haunted me for years, just like the chilling world Atwood created.

So when The Testaments released last week, I was thrilled to be able to get some answers and see more of Gilead. There is always a fear going into a sequel that it won't hold up to the first novel, but Atwood has had so many decades to think about her sequel. I should have known, too, that the amazingly talented writer wouldn't disappoint.

She didn't.

I flew through The Testaments as fast as possible, once again enveloped by the chilling, haunting world of female depravity that is Gilead. However, The Testaments goes deeper into Gilead and gives new perspectives of the world. The book focuses on the Aunts instead of the Handmaids, which gives a new view of power, lies, and deception in the corrupt, failing world. 

I'm amazed by Atwood's attention to detail in her world building. Every question is truly answered, and every intricacy is handled with expert prose. This book gives a deeper look into the inner workings of the society and also at how it began.

Told from three different perspectives in testimony/diary format, the book weaves together three influential women in Gilead. I won't tell you who they are because I don't want to spoil anything. Just know that they have strong voices, intriguing stories, and plenty of secrets to divulge. 

This book isn't filled with crazy twists or even a lot of action. It is told instead of shown, but I found that fitting for this eerie world. The distant feel of the narrator's added to the creepy quality of the world and underscored how Gilead is falling in this book. 

I know many readers are wondering: Will we see June in this sequel? I won't give anything away, but I will say two things:
1. She is not a focus in this story. This is the story of other women.
2. You will see references to her....

I will say I was very disappointed in the final chapter. It did not leave me on a cliffhanger, which I appreciated (I can't wait another 10+ years to get more answers like last time...). However, the last chapter was stiff and dull, at least in my opinion. I understand Atwood's point in the final chapter. I just would have liked to have seen a more poignant end to this heartbreaking, powerful, and haunting story.

Overall, The Testaments is definitely worth the read for anyone who is a fan of The Handmaid's Tale. It didn't ruin the future seasons of the show on Hulu, either. If anything, I'm even more excited to see them.

Have you read the book? Drop me a comment below or head over to my Facebook and connect with me. I'd love to hear from you!

"A lot of people think I have a dream job, but nightmares are dreams too."

Wow, wow, wow! 'Sometimes I lie' is an intense, dark thriller that just takes you down a rabbit hole of confusion, despair, secrets, and amazing twists! Just when you think you figured this book out, it hits again.

The book is told from the perspective of Amber who is in a coma and cannot respond. She is trying to figure out what happened to her and the secrets her loved ones are keeping, especially her husband and sister. The book then flashes back to the week before Amber was in a coma as well as Diary entries from childhood.

The book is packed with all sorts of amazing, jaw-dropping twists and turns. The one took me a while to wrap my head around....because it fooled me entirely! I love that this book is good, but just keeps getting better and better as you learn that nothing is what you thought it was. 

This book, overall, is about family loyalty, the bond of sisters, and how secrets can tear us apart. I thought the first person perspective from someone in a coma was eerie in its own right. The book definitely gets darker as you read, so be prepared. I also thought that the main character had a strong, clear voice and development.

This book really blew my mind. I will be looking for more books from Alice Feeney, for sure.

 What if you found out your father was a serial killer?

This is the question at the heart of the book "A Serial Killer's Daughter" by Kerri Rawson, the daughter of the infamous BTK killer.

There are so many documentaries, movies, and books on the horrific crimes of Dennis Rader, The BTK Killer who bound, tortured, and killed ten victims, including two children. However, he got away with his crime spree for over thirty years and had a wife, a son, and a daughter who had no idea that their father was another man entirely.

This book is told from Kerri Rawson's perspective, and it is a raw, genuine, honest look at the man who was her father... and how her world crashed down when the news broke. This book, however, doesn't focus on the man the media focused on. It focused on the man who was her father. It gives insight into how Dennis Rader was able to compartmentalize the two sides of his personality.

Kerri goes into great detail about her life with her father and family. She doesn't seem to sugarcoat anything and really takes the reader on her journey through growing up, through betrayal, through guilt, and through recovery. She gives you a very different vantage point of true crime, one that few really stop to think about.

It's impossible not to put yourself in Kerri's shoes as you read. She takes something almost none of us could ever understand and helps us understand just a little bit more. You feel for her as she struggles with reconciling the man who did evil things with the man she knew her whole life.

I admire her bravery for telling her tale and for showing the other side of her father, the one few of us recognize. It is easy to make serial killers out to be purely evil monsters, but she reminds us that the lines between good and evil are sometimes murky. 

I clearly cannot speak from experience and do not claim to speak for the victims' families, but I did feel that Kerri did a good job at handling the delicate subject matter with raw honesty and with sensitivity. I could see how some might argue it glorified her father and mitigated what he did. However, I didn't get that sense at all. I felt like she admitted his faults and recognized the pain he caused while also expressing the truth--the man she knew was different from the man known as BTK. 

In an unexpected way, the book also instills a sense of hope. Kerri reveals how she was able to find her way to light from the darkness. She is a true survivor and has a story that could instill hope in others dealing with betrayal, lies, secrets, and difficult times.

The writing is excellent and emotional. I recommend this book for anyone interested in true crime because you get to see a different side to the story and understand that a criminal's family, in many ways, falls under the victim category as well. 

5 stars for this raw, powerful memoir.

Blurb:
For Rose Enright, enrolling in a prestigious New England boarding school is the opportunity of a lifetime. But for Rose’s vulnerable twin sister Bel, Odell Academy is a place of temptation and danger. When Bel falls in with a crowd of wild rich kids who pressure her into hazing Rose, the sisters’ relationship is shattered. Rose turns to her dorm mother, Sarah Donovan, for advice. But Bel turns to Sarah’s husband Heath, a charismatic and ambitious teacher. Is Heath trying to help Bel or take advantage of her? In a world of privilege, seduction, and manipulation, only one sister will live to tell the truth.

In an audiobook full of twists, turns, and dark secrets, Michele Campbell once again proves her skill at crafting intricately spun and completely compelling plots. 


My review:

Michele Campbell's "She Was the Quiet One" features a haunting, rich setting perfect for a twisted thriller.

When twins Rose and Bel are sent to live with their wealthy grandmother after being orphaned, their lives take a turn down a twisted journey of secrets, betrayal, and deceit. Sent to a private school, their lives will take two different paths that will lead to all sorts of questions and horrifying events.

The book also follows Sarah and Heath, the new heads of the dorm at Odell Academy. The couple seems perfect from the outside--responsible, smart, kind--but they just may have secrets of their own.

I loved the setting of this story and how it really played up the events. I also really enjoyed reading from the different perspectives and trying to piece the story together. This story wasn't super shocking with tons of twists. However, the suspense and thrill of it comes from knowing that doom is lurking and wondering if family loyalty will overpower lust, secrets, and the need for power. I really liked Rose's character and felt for her throughout the story. 

I felt that the ending was well-planned out and didn't feel rushed like in some thrillers. As a side note, I also really like the newer cover because it captures the eerie feel of the book perfectly. This book is heavy on developed characters and relationships while having an exciting, believable plot working against a complex setting.

I really enjoyed this book and will be reading more from the author.

"Maybe the saying means you can go home, you just shouldn't."

My Sister is Missing is a tense thriller filled with realism, emotion, and twists. I found that I flew through this read because I had to know what happened.

The book follows Emily, who has recently returned to her hometown to visit her sister. Her sister has a secret, but before she can tell Emily what it is, she goes missing. Emily is left caring for her niece and nephew while trying to sort through what happened to her sister.

I loved the focus on the sisterly bond in this book, which I feel was woven expertly throughout the tale. I also loved the overall idea of returning home and dealing with issues from the past. Emily is not a perfect character, and it is because of her flaws that I found her very easy to relate to and like. 

I found the plot to be exciting. It was perfectly paced and had a balance between focusing on emotional introspection in the first-person voice and action. I was extremely curious about how it would all play out, and the ending didn't disappoint. I loved the twists and turns and was very satisfied with the ending.

The book definitely had the feel of Sharp Objects meets Ruth Ware's In a Dark, Dark Wood, two of my favorite books. Lynch expertly weaves together a character, setting, and problem in a way that pulls the reader in and makes them root for the protagonist. Overall, this book was packed with emotion and realism, making it a standout in its genre.

I will definitely be reading more works from this talented author.

5 stars

Check out more about this book on Goodreads.

If you are looking for a horror read with twists, turns, secrets, and nightmarish scenes, Turn the Other Way by Stuart James it the perfect book for you to grab this summer.

The book focuses on two story lines, past and present, in which readers follow a doctor who has just been accused of a botched surgery and many other characters who are undergoing horrors in a town. The two story lines come together impeccably well to create a story that is simply horrifying.

I loved that the author was able to incorporate so many viewpoints of the tale. There were tons of characters and also different timelines happening. In some books, this gets overwhelming. However, James did an amazing job at developing all of the characters in a way that you could keep them all straight. The multiple viewpoints enhanced the eeriness of the tale and also led to a satisfying conclusion in which the characters' lives come full-circle and intertwine. I loved that there were tons of twists in the narrative as well. I had plenty of jaw-dropping realizations during my reading.

The main setting and conflict is very frightening and suspenseful. I would liken it to a Texas Chainsaw Massacre feel or a pay it forward concept with a very dark, sinister twist. Some of the characters made choices that you just knew were going to play out poorly. However, I found myself rooting for them and being on the edge of my seat wondering how it would all work out. The farmhouse setting was painted in a dark, menacing fashion that truly came through in the writing.

Overall, I flew through this book and was very happy with the way it ended. The author is gritty, raw, and dark in his writing. He is also extremely talented. I found his writing voice to be skilled and appealing. I would highly recommend this read if you love a dark thriller in the same vein as Stephen King. 

Everyone wants a perfect marriage... or do they?

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris follows the story of Jack and Grace, a married couple who has it all. Jack's a well-known and respected attorney, and Grace lives a life of luxury in their gorgeous mansion of a home. They attend beautiful, upscale dinner parties, and life just seems perfect. Jack is even super supportive of Grace's care of her sister, Millie, who has a disability. 

Life is exactly what Grace dreamed of... or is it?

From early on in the book, it becomes clear that appearances are deceiving, and the couple has some dark secrets. As you read on, you realize that their life is actually the thing of nightmares instead of dreams.

I loved how the story was told from Grace's perspective both in the past and the present. The timelines carefully weave together, and the pacing was on point. It kept me reading on, and I often found I couldn't put my book down. I needed to get to the resolution and see how the author would wrap everything up.

The author did a great job at carefully plotting every detail so that the tale was scarily plausible. I felt great sympathy for the characters and, even at times, rage, which is a sign that I was highly invested in the story.

This book was subtly eerie in a way few thrillers can master. Although the plot was somewhat simplistic, the details really drove the story forward and the premise made the entire book bone-chilling in a unique way.

I absolutely loved B.A. Paris's writing voice and will be looking for more books from her.

​5/5 stars.