Author: baltimorebibliophile

eARC Review – Realm of Knights

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Title: Realm of Knights (Knights of the Realm #1)

Author: Jennifer Anne Davis

Publisher: Reign Publishing

Publication Date: September 10, 2019

270 pages

4.5/5

Goodreads Synopsis

Reid has spent her whole life pretending to be a man so she can inherit her father’s estate, but when a chance encounter threatens to expose her lie, she is forced to risk everything.

In the kingdom of Marsden, women are subservient to men and land can only pass from father to son. So when Reid Ellington is born, the fifth daughter to one of the wealthiest landholders in the kingdom, it’s announced that Reid is a boy.

Eighteen years later, Reid struggles to conceal the fact she’s actually a young woman. Every day, her secret becomes harder to keep. When one of Marsden’s princes sees her sparring with a sword, she is forced to accept his offer and lead her father’s soldiers to the border. Along the way, she discovers a covert organization within the army known as the Knights of the Realm. If Reid wants to save her family from being arrested for treason and robbed of their inheritance, she will have to join the Knights and become a weapon for the crown.

To protect her family, Reid must fight like a man. To do that, she’ll need the courage of a woman.

Review

Special thanks to Netgalley and Reign Publishing for sending me this ebook in exchange for an honest review! I flew through this book in just a few hours (it’s on the shorter side), which just shows how into it I was! (I also feel like I say this about every book I read… I swear I actually have a life and a real job outside of reading!)

Realm of Knights follows Reid Ellington, who is a woman pretending to be a man so her fathers duchy can stay in their family. Under Marsden law, a female can not inherit land – so Reid’s father made the difficult decision to force Reid to be a male in public. Reid’s secret almost gets out when the Princes of the Realm come knocking on their door – blackmailing Reid into riding with them to the capital. Prince Ackley has a special mission that only Reid can accomplish. Reid is quickly swept away into a world she has no experience in, but is uniquely qualified to succeed in.

I adore reading about knights, kings, queens, and epic quests. This sub-genre of book is what first captivated me and made me love reading. Add in a woman pretending to be a man, and I am SOLD. I loved the plot, the twists & turns, and all of the characters. The budding love story is such a slow burn, with an element of being unrequited as they are unable to be together. All told, this is a very well constructed book.

One critique I have is that I wanted more. I felt like the plot could have been expanded upon to explain more. The book is fairly short, not even hitting 300 pages. I would have loved to see more, and I can only hope that she will write longer books as the series continues. I will definitely be coming back to read sequels. After that ending, I need to know who the good/bad guys are!

For fans of Tamora Pierce, Jennifer Anne Davis weaves a tale straight out of Medieval times, with a hint of progression towards modern age thinking. If sword fights, political intrigue, and wily Princes get your bookworm senses tingling, I suggest you give this one a try!

Happy reading, bookish friends 🙂

Book Review – Sorcery of Thorns

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Title: Sorcery of Thorns

Author: Margaret Rogerson

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Publication date: June 4th, 2019

456 pages

5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.

Review

Knowledge always has the potential to be dangerous. It is a more powerful weapon than any sword or spell.

Margaret rogerson, sorcery of thorns

Good evening, friends! I’m here bringing you my thoughts on the June OwlCrate book of the month! Sorcery of Thorns was spectacular, and I was lucky enough to read it during a buddy read with Treat Yo Shelf Book Club on Instagram. I absolutely adored this book and would recommend it to any YA Fantasy lovers out there.

We start off with Elisabeth, an orphan who has grown up in a Great Library, the home of dangerous grimoires. She has learned that sorcerers are evil, but she’s an inquisitive young woman and isn’t afraid to question those in charge. When her favorite warden is killed in a suspicious grimoire attack, she falls under suspicion as the saboteur – so she must work to clear her name. She meets Nathaniel Thorn, a powerful sorcerer who makes her question the library’s teachings. Elisabeth must determine who the real saboteur is, clear her name, and stop a plot that threatens to tear the very fabric of the kingdom apart.

My absolute favorite part of Sorcery of Thorns is any scene where Silas is in attendance. Silas is Nathaniel’s demon, very powerful and old from the Otherworld. Much of the book brings into question the morality of demons, and whether they can experience human emotions and feelings. No spoilers here in my reviews, but Silas is my favorite non human character of the year.

Elisabeth and Nathaniel share a slow burn love connection, but it’s all very tame and fitting for YA readers. This is a standalone novel, but I would love to read more about Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas. Especially after THAT ENDING. Y’ALL. The ending slayed me, and I was not okay. But it was amazing. I need more.

Outside of the fact that I love any book that is literally set in a LIBRARY, this book was amazing and please go check it out. This is my first book by Margaret Rogerson, but I definitely feel the need to pick up her backlist titles after reading Sorcery of Thorns. Her world-building and writing is just beautiful and so elegant.

Happy reading, bookish friends! 🙂

September TBR!

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Greetings, fellow readers! It’s the beginning of another new month of reading! I have a HUGE stack of books that I need to read, plus more on Netgalley! Once you get some reviews done a few more books get approved and the ratio starts to slide again! I do plan on reading more physical books this month, so I’m hoping for a better balance.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

  1. Sorcery of Thorns – Margaret Rogerson
  2. The Kingdom – Jess Rothenberg
  3. The Crowns of Croswald – D. E. Night
  4. Sky in the Deep – Adrienne Young
  5. The Novice – Taran Matharu
  6. Stalking Jack the Ripper – Kerrie Maniscalco
  7. Five Dark Fates – Kendare Blake
  8. Merged – Jim and Stephanie Kroepfl

NETGALLEY EARC’S

  1. The Stone Rainbow – Liane Shaw
  2. Gravemaidens – Kelly Coon
  3. These Wicked Waters – Emily Layne
  4. We Met in December – Rosie Curtis
  5. Michigan vs. The Boys – Carrie S. Allen
  6. The Memory Thief – Lauren Mansy
  7. Ink in the Blood – Kim Smejkal
  8. The Throne of Five Winds – S. C. Emmett
  9. The Sound of Stars – Alechia Dow
  10. A Love Hate Thing – Whitney D. Grandison

18 books is a very lofty goal…. so we’ll see if I can manage it! Any of the same books showing up on your TBR this month? Let’s chat about them 🙂

Happy reading, bookish friends 🙂

eARC Review – The Lady Rogue

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Title: The Lady Rogue

Author: Jenn Bennett

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication date: September 3, 2019

384 pages

3.5/5

Goodreads Synopsis

The Last Magician meets A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue in this thrilling tale filled with magic and set in the mysterious Carpathian Mountains where a girl must hunt down Vlad the Impaler’s cursed ring in order to save her father.

Some legends never die…

Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.

Until Huck arrives from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.

Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.

Review

Good morning, glorious people! Special thanks again go to Netgalley and Simon Pulse for a copy of The Lady Rogue in exchange for an honest review. I am positively ZOOMING through eARC’s these days in order to get that pesky ratio up higher!

Jenn Bennett is one of my favorite contemporary authors. I adored Starry Eyes and I am planning to read Alex, Approximately soon as I checked it out of the library a few weeks ago. When I saw The Lady Rogue available on Netgalley, I knew I wanted to read it. Unfortunately, this just didn’t end up being a good fit for me.

The Lady Rogue is a great historical fiction book, if you like those. That genre is pretty low on my favorites list, which is partially why I wasn’t as drawn to this book. The Lady Rogue follows Theodora Fox, a well off American whose father is an international treasure hunter. He has gone off searching for Vlad the Impaler’s infamous bone ring, after being hired to find it by a certain Mr. Rothwild. Theodora is in a hotel in Istanbul, when it is determined that her father is MIA and likely caught up in a dark and dangerous sequence of events. Theo’s long lost “brother” and former lover (they are not related, they just grew up together), Huck shows up to break the news and then they begin a long and harrowing adventure to find Richard Fox and solve the mystery of The Impaler’s ring.

The Lady Rogue features some a magic system that isn’t very defined, but having that definition wasn’t super important to the plot. Fantasy lovers, there is some witchcraft in this book! Theo and Huck also have a drawn out and intense romance that is as slow a burn as one can find. There is also evidence that the history was well researched and well represented. The historical nature of this book will be very interesting for folks who are drawn to this genre. I have never been very interested in Vlad Dracula and his history, but if you are then this book is for you!

Overall, I found this book hard to get through, simply because it isn’t a genre I can get into easily. It has Stalking Jack The Ripper/Enchantee/Romanov vibes for you fans out there. I highly recommend this book for those folks who enjoy this genre. It is told very well, with a solid plot line and flow. The writing is great and the characters are well told.

Check it out! Happy reading, book friends 🙂

eARC Review – Eclipse the Skies (spoilers!)

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Title: Eclipse the Skies (Ignite the Stars #2)

Author: Maura Milan

Publisher: Albert Whitman and Company

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

400 pages

4/5

Goodreads Synopsis

Ia Cōcha never thought she’d be working for the Olympus Commonwealth. But that was before she found out her trusted brother Einn was trying to tear apart the universe. Now, Ia, the Blood Wolf of the Skies, has agreed to help the Royal Star Force on one condition: when she finds him, she gets to kill Einn herself. 

Brinn Tarver has just come to terms with her Tawny identity when the public lashes out against her people, crushing her family. At her breaking point, she starts to question everything she believes in—including Ia. 

After the death of his mentor, Knives Adams is doing his best to live up to a role he didn’t ask for as Aphelion’s new headmaster. Still, with each new step deeper into war, he feels torn between his duties and the pull of Ia’s radical—sometimes criminal—ideas. 

As they fight to keep darkness from eclipsing the skies, their unpredictable choices launch this breathtaking sequel to explosive new heights.

Review

Hi Friends 🙂 I started reading Eclipse the Skies immediately upon finishing Ignite the Stars. I just had to know how it ends! I love just being able to binge a whole series instead of having to wait for the next book to be released. Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

So we’re back with my babies Ia and Knives, who both find themselves in situations they never expected to be in. Ia is on the Commonwealth’s side (mostly) because her beloved brother is trying to kill her? Plot twist I did NOT see coming! Knives is now headmaster of the Academy and is very not ready for this type of responsibility. Partly because he’s hardcore crushing on Ia who is a known criminal and normally Commonwealth enemy numero uno.

I won’t go too much into the plot of this story so I’m not too spoiler-y but I did enjoy reading this follow up. There was plenty of action and more slowburn romance from our friends Ia and Knives, though if I’m being honest it was too slow of a burn for me. There were definitely aspects of this book that didn’t fully do it for me, so I had to drop the rating. Even though Ignite the Stars was a 5 star read, I had to give Eclipse the Skies a 4/5.

First off, a lot abut the plot feels unfinished. It felt like a lot of ends were not wrapped up and I still had many questions at the end of the book. The romance was lacking, I definitely prefer more romance between the main characters. Lastly, I was not happy with the ending. It felt very stiff and wasn’t a “happy” ending – which I definitely prefer. But, it seems like she left it open so she could return to this world at a later date. For this, I will postpone final judgment.

Happy reading, bookish friends 🙂

eARC Review – Spin

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Title: Spin

Author: Colleen Nelson

Publisher: Dundurn

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

296 pages

3.5/5

Goodreads Synopsis

An aspiring teenage DJ must learn how to navigate life when people find out that she’s the daughter of a famous singer.

Fifteen-year-old Delilah “Dizzy” Doucette lives with her dad and brother above their vintage record store, The Vinyl Trap. She’s learning how to spin records from her brother’s best friend, and she’s getting pretty good. But behind her bohemian life, Dizzy and her family have a secret: her mom is the mega-famous singer Georgia Waters. When this secret is revealed to the world, Dizzy’s life spins out of control. She must decide what is most important to her — the family she has or the family she wants.

Review

Good evening all! I’ve been very behind on reviews, so this is my attempt to catch up! I received Spin as an eARC copy from Netgalley and Dundurn Publishing in exchange for an honest review, so thanks folks!

First off, this is definitely a type of contemporary that I enjoy – but is a new area for me. This book held strong similarities to On The Come Up by Angie Thomas. Musically inclined girl has a famous parent and she is trying to get her start in the music industry, and of course drama ensues. There were definitely enough differences to not feel like a carbon copy book.

Dizzy Doucette knows her mother is famous, but has been forbidden to tell her friends. Her father did not want her growing up with a famous mother, paparazzi following them around all the time. He wanted them to have a normal life, especially because her famous mother left them when she was very young. Dizzy desires to have a relationship with her mother, where her father and brother are resigned to the fact that it isn’t going to happen. Dizzy holds out hope and gives Georgia the benefit of the doubt (whether she deserves it or not). Dizzy begins DJ’ing in her father’s record store and is an instant hit – so she begins to use some old tracks of her mother’s to build up her set. I won’t give super spoilers, but this is a BAD idea.

The book also provides narration from Dizzy’s brother and father. It is helpful to get those perspectives, as they do differ greatly from Dizzy’s. It is an interesting family dynamic that is very endearing.

I did enjoy this book, I just found it underwhelming in the end. Colleen Nelson has excellent writing, the plot moved along nicely, and the characters were well fleshed out. The plot line itself was just lackluster. I wasn’t excited to read it, and I didn’t have problems putting it down at times. For this reason, I gave it a 3.5/5 stars.

For those of you who love Angie Thomas and On The Come Up, I would definitely suggest checking this out!

Happy reading, book friends 🙂

August Wrap Up!

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Happy last day of August! Where oh where did this month go? I feel like I was just typing July’s Wrap Up post yesterday! This month I got a good deal of reading done, including every single book that was on my TBR for August! I don’t think that has happened since I started keeping track, so I’m very impressed and happy with myself!

PHYSICAL BOOKS

So I definitely read a lot fewer physical books because I wanted to really crack down on my Netgalley TBR. I really missed reading physicals books though, so September will at least be more balanced between physical and ebooks, if not more.

  1. Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1) – Laini Taylor – 5/5 stars
  2. A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers #1) – Brigid Kemmerer – 5/5 stars
  3. Ignite the Stars (Ignite the Stars #1) – Maura Milan – 5/5 stars
  4. Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1) – Tessa Bailey – 5/5 stars

EBOOKS

I managed to get my Netgalley ratio up to 50% this month by reading a bunch of the eARC’s! It would have been higher but I was also approved for more during the month 🙂

  1. Midnight Beauties (Grim Lovelies #2) – Megan Shepherd – 4/5 stars
  2. The Murder List – Hank Phillippi Ryan – 5/5 stars
  3. Eclipse the Skies (Ignite the Stars #2) – Maura Milan – 4/5 stars
  4. Realm of Knights (Knights of the Realm #1) – Jennifer Anne Davis – 4/5 stars
  5. The Weight of a Soul – Elizabeth Tammi – 4/5 stars
  6. Crown of Coral and Pearl (Crown of Coral and Pearl #1) – Mara Rutherford – 5/5 stars
  7. Tweet Cute – Emma Lord – 5/5 stars
  8. The Lady Rogue – Jenn Bennett – 3/5 stars

As you can see I managed to get a lot of really good reading done, of which I am super happy for. I’m also looking forward to what the next month will bring!

Come talk with me about your wrap up!

Happy reading, bookish friends 🙂

August Haul!

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Hello, friends! Another month has come and past and I find myself wondering where I found the time and money to buy this many books? I was creating this stack and had to start over multiple times because I kept finding more books I acquired this month! So much for a book buying ban, right??? Seriously, I told myself I was banned this month… So, let’s talk about from where I picked these suckers up!

BARNES & NOBLE

SO B&N had their 50% off Blowout Sale so your girl had to go get some… it’s like a law, right?

  1. Skyward (Skyward #1)- Brandon Sanderson
  2. Sky without Stars (System Divine #1) – Jessica Brody, Joanne Rendell
  3. The Storm Crow (The Storm Crow #1) – Kalyn Josephson
  4. Nocturna (A Forgery of Magic #1) – Maya Motayne
  5. Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe #2) – Neal Shusterman

BOOK BOXES

I did not purchase this month’s FairyLoot, as I was kind of disappointed with the included items. So this month I received my Shelflove Crate and OwlCrate boxes.

  1. House of Salt and Sorrows – Erin A. Craig (OwlCrate)
  2. The Merciful Crow (The Merciful Crow #1) – Margaret Owen (ShelfLove Crate)

LOCAL/USED BOOKSTORES

So we travelled to Lewes, DE this month for our anniversary. I have been seeing others in the bookish world make it a point to go to local or used bookstores to support smaller businesses. I decided I wanted to try that as much as I could, but I may have gone overboard!

  1. A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Housseini
  2. The Unhoneymooners – Christina Lauren
  3. Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1) – Tessa Bailey
  4. Red Rising (Red Rising Saga #1) – Pierce Brown
  5. The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
  6. Moreta, DragonLady of Pern (Pern #12) – Anne McCaffrey
  7. The Dolphins of Pern (Pern #13) – Anne McCaffrey

AMAZON

  1. Sky in the Deep – Adrienne Young

The paperback was on sale for $4.50… how could I pass that up??

PUBLISHER MAIL

I was lucky enough this month to be sent 3 books from different publishers to read and review. Thank you to all for providing these copies, it is much appreciated!

  1. Merged – Jim and Stephanie Kroepfl
  2. The Crowns of Croswald (The Crowns of Croswald #1) – D. E. Night
  3. The World is Ours – Abby Elise (ARC)

Gosh that was a lot to type! I swear September’s haul will NOT be this large, I apparently just lost track of how much I was accumulating this month! Did you pick up any of these? I’ve already read Fix Her Up, but haven’t gotten to any of the other’s yet.

Happy reading, bookish friends! 🙂

eARC Review – Crown of Coral and Pearl

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Title: Crown of Coral and Pearl (Crown of Coral and Pearl #1)

Author: Mara Rutherford

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Publication Date: August 27, 2019

432 pages

4.75/5

Goodreads Synopsis

For generations, the princes of Ilara have married the most beautiful maidens from the ocean village of Varenia. But though every girl longs to be chosen as the next princess, the cost of becoming royalty is higher than any of them could ever imagine…

Nor once dreamed of seeing the wondrous wealth and beauty of Ilara, the kingdom that’s ruled her village for as long as anyone can remember. But when a childhood accident left her with a permanent scar, it became clear that her identical twin sister, Zadie, would likely be chosen to marry the Crown Prince—while Nor remained behind, unable to ever set foot on land.

Then Zadie is gravely injured, and Nor is sent to Ilara in her place. To Nor’s dismay, her future husband, Prince Ceren, is as forbidding and cold as his home—a castle carved into a mountain and devoid of sunlight. And as she grows closer to Ceren’s brother, the charming Prince Talin, Nor uncovers startling truths about a failing royal bloodline, a murdered queen… and a plot to destroy the home she was once so eager to leave.

In order to save her people, Nor must learn to negotiate the treacherous protocols of a court where lies reign and obsession rules. But discovering her own formidable strength may be the one move that costs her everything: the crown, Varenia and Zadie.

Review

Greetings 🙂 Crown of Coral and Pearl was one of my most anticipated approvals that I’ve gotten from Netgalley, and I was crazy stoked to read it.. Shoutout to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

I can never get enough of YA Fantasy, I truly believe that. I was immediately drawn into the world of Varenia and Ilara. I found the idea of a village at sea to be very fascinating, and the world building was very on point. I left with few questions about the world, and information was provided in well timed and paced chunks. Varenians are obsessed with beauty, as the only Varenian ever allowed to leave the village and walk on land is the most beautiful woman in the village – once every generation when a Prince is ready to be married. It is seen as a high honor to be chosen, and families will do just about anything to send their daughters away.

Nor and Zadie are twins (their names mean Coral and Pearl, respectively). They are easily the most beautiful women in Varenia, at least until Nor is injured saving Zadie from drowning. Zadie is now a shoe in to win, and Nor is a cast off in her mother’s eyes. The catch is that Zadie is in love with the Varenian Governor’s son, Sami. She will do anything to be able to stay with him, instead of bringing her family the highest honor. After Zadie makes some ill advised decisions, Nor is sent in Zadie’s place – but she must pretend to be Zadie. Both girls are strong in their own ways. Nor is the main focus, but she handles (most) of what’s thrown at her with grace.

The Princes are great. Ceren is a smol and hurt boy who is a classic villain. Very cruel, but enough sad moments to make you question whether he is actually bad. Talin is gorgeous and kind, but unfortunately the younger brother. They have an obvious, and predictable rivalry with Ceren being jealous of the more liked brother and Talin being jealous that he wasn’t born first.

My single critique of this book is that it was highly predictable. If you read enough YA Fantasy, you begin to see a common framework for most novels. A lot of the plot moved through predictable lines. The ending also seemed very rushed, and not as well thought out. This did not severely impact my enjoyment of the book, so it only bumped the book down from 5 stars slightly.

This book brings light romance, political intrigue, and strong, confident women. Originally intended to be a duology, but sold as a stand alone, Crown of Coral and Pearl has an ending that leaves more to be told while still being wrapped up. A sequel has been ordered by the publisher though, so more Nor and Zadie will be upon us next year (hopefully). I for one, will be purchasing a copy of Crown of Coral and Pearl – along with Kingdom of Sea and Stone when released!

Happy reading, book friends! 🙂

eARC Review – The Murder List

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Title: The Murder List

Author: Hank Phillippi Ryan

Publisher: Forge Books (Macmillian – Tor/Forge)

Publication Date: August 20, 2019

352 pages

5/5

Goodreads Synopsis

Law student Rachel North will tell you, without hesitation, what she knows to be true. She’s smart, she’s a hard worker, she does the right thing, she’s successfully married to a faithful and devoted husband, a lion of Boston’s defense bar, and her internship with the Boston DA’s office is her ticket to a successful future.

Problem is–she’s wrong.

And in this cat and mouse game–the battle for justice becomes a battle for survival.

The Murder List is a new standalone suspense novel in the tradition of Lisa Scottoline and B. A. Paris from award-winning author and reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Review

Hello friends! Back again with an eARC review for you from Netgalley! Special thanks to Netgalley and Forge Books for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

OH. MY. GOD. Ya’ll I stayed up half the night finishing this book. I loved every moment of this book and I had to give it ALL the stars. If I had more than 5 to give I would. The characters, the writing, the plot, the twists and turns – all of it was so suspenseful and gripping.

Rachel North is a law student at Harvard who has been assigned to her summer internship in her husband’s (also a lawyer) arch nemesis’ office. He is a defense attorney, she works for the DA’s office – it’s not the recipe for friendship. Now Rachel is working for the enemy, and Jack is not a happy camper.

This book follows Rachel’s journey in her internship, along with how it affects her marriage. Also, it dives in to the past to set up the events of how she met her husband and first became acquainted with her new supervisor, Martha. Through the deep dive into the past, you have this mystery evolve related to jury duty, murders, trials, etc. The book will keep you guessing up until the very end, where any of the character’s could be the culprit. Ryan gives you just enough information at each interval to keep you coming back for more.

This book is my definition of a good thriller/suspense novel. I related to all the characters, became invested in their story, and was totally shocked at the end how it all played out. It is the perfect murder mystery novel and if you are a fan of Lisa Scottoline, you should definitely pick this one up. Props to Ryan for putting together a book that flows through the past and present SO well. I’ve got no critiques, zero.

This is the best book I’ve read in a long time. Do yourself a favor, and go pick it up.

Happy reading, bookish friends!