PLBR Book Reviews 2018 - ELLES BOOK BLOG

ELLES BOOK BLOG

CLASS REUNIONS ARE MURDER BY LIBBY KLEIN

1/30/2018

This is the first FANTASTIC book in a brand new cozy mystery series and I couldn't recommend it enough! It's got humor and an amazing set of characters. OH! And the mystery? I couldn't figure out "who-dun-it". What a winner!

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: January 30, 2018
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Poppy McAllister mystery series #1
Pages: 350ish pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

For fortysomething Poppy McAllister, taking a stroll down memory lane in Cape May, New Jersey, isn’t just awkward—it’s deadly.

Newly widowed and stuck in a middle-aged funk, Poppy has been running on cookies, infomercials, and one-sided chats with her cat for months. There’s no way on earth she’s attending her twenty-five-year class reunion—especially after receiving a very bizarre letter from Barbie, the popular cheerleader who taunted her all through high school. At least, not until Poppy’s best friend practically drags her to the event . . .

Using the dreaded homecoming as an excuse to visit her eccentric Aunt Ginny, Poppy vows to leave Cape May with pride and Spanx intact. Too bad Barbie is still the queen of

XO, ZACH BY KENDALL RYAN

1/27/2018

I loved this book to pieces. And, while I wished it was a little bit longer and had a bit more character depth, I couldn't help but fall hopelessly in love with the story.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: January 23, 2018
Genre: New Adult. Forbidden Romance.
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 334
Format: eBook. Purchased.

The first time we met was at a party.

Your ex arrived to show off the person he'd left you for last month, and you asked me to pretend to be your date.

I was more than happy to help. You were attractive, smart and witty--and that kiss we shared? It left me wanting you for days.

The second time we met was in my office on campus where we were both surprised to discover you were the new master’s degree student in poetry that I would be working with. You promised to be professional. I did no such thing.

The late nights and intense study sessions spent alongside you majorly throw me off my game. I want you, and I fight with myself daily over this fact.

THE CHALK MAN BY CJ TUDOR

1/25/2018

Although this book didn't deliver on it's promises of an unsettling read, I did find myself drawn to it. Even more, I enjoyed it despite what I felt was missing.

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: January 9, 2018
Genre: Thriller and Suspense.
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 288
Format: Purchased. Hardcover.

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code: little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same.

In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he's put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank . . . until one of them turns up dead.

MATCH MADE IN MANHATTAN BY AMANDA STAUFFER

1/23/2018

Match made in Manhattan is a fun and clever novel about finding love in the digital age. Readers will be delighted with this one! Make sure to add it to your TBR.

Rating:★★★★
Release Date: January 23, 2018
Genre: Chick Lit
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback. ARC.

After two intense, dead-end relationships, serial monogamist Alison finds herself confused, lonely, and drastically out of touch with the world of modern dating. Refusing to wallow, she signs up for a popular dating app and resolves to remain open-minded and optimistic as she explores the New York City singles' scene. With the click of a button, her adventures begin: On one date, she's dumped before the first kiss; on another, she dons full HAZMAT gear; she meets a tattooed folk singer turned investment banker, an undercover agent who tracks illegal exotic animals, and dozens of other colorful, captivating personalities.

Giving them each her signature "pants speech"—her pants aren't coming off unless she has a real connection with

MEET CLARA ANDREWS BY LACEY LONDON

1/20/2018

I'm not convinced that this is going to be a favorite series of mine, but I did enjoy this one and plan to read the next on in the series in the near future.

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: November 8, 2014
Genre: Chick Lit
Series: Clara Andrews #1
Pages: 338
Format: Borrowed. Kindle Unlimited.

Meet Clara Andrews... Your new best friend.

With a love of cocktails and wine, a fantastic job in the fashion industry and the world’s greatest best friends, Clara Andrews thought she had it all.

That is until a chance meeting introduces her to Oliver, a devastatingly handsome American designer. Trying to keep the focus on her work, Clara finds her heart stolen by lavish restaurants and luxury hotels.

As things get flirty, Clara reminds herself that inter-office relationships are against the rules, so when a sudden recollection of a work’s night out leads her to a gorgeous barman, she decides to see where it goes.

BEAUTIFULLY CRUEL BY M. WILLIAM PHELPS

1/18/2018

M. William Phelps writes some of the best true crime novels that I have ever read. If you are new to the genre, I highly recommend his books- especially this one.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: November 28, 2017
Genre: True Crime
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

“Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers.” —Allison Brennan

Iowa housewife Tracey Pittman Roberts seemed to have it all: natural beauty, three loving children, and a fairy tale second marriage to a wealthy businessman. But beneath the happy façade was a woman who used lies, manipulation, sex, ugly allegations, blackmail—and even murder—to serve her own selfish ends.

On December 13, 2001, police rushed to Tracey’s home after a shooting left her vulnerable young neighbor dead. Tracey claimed it was an act of self-defense. Nine gunshot wounds—and a decades-long trail of extortion, fabrication, fraud, and intimidation—said otherwise. Ten years after the crime,

THE BITTERROOT INN BY DEVNEY PERRY

1/16/2018

Devney Perry has done a wonderful job with this debut series and I couldn't be more pleased with how it made me feel as a reader. I recommend this one, for sure.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: January 16, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The Jamison Valley series #5
Pages: 400
Format: eBook. ARC.

Her past. His secrets. They have more in common than she knows.

Maisy is happily content with the life she’s built for herself and her young son in small-town Prescott, Montana. Her child is thriving, her business is growing, and her family is as close as they’ve ever been. But when a handsome stranger walks into the lobby of her motel, her simple life is swept up in a wave of affection for his gentle heart. None of those feelings can be trusted, though. She made that mistake before with another man. The man she murdered.

Hunter was a different man when he first saw Maisy Holt from afar. He took one look at her and ran in the opposite

THE HANDYMAN BY BENTLEY LITTLE

1/14/2018

Bentley Little can turn the most mundane concepts into tales of absolute terror. If you are a fan of the horror genre, then I would recommend any book by Little.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: October 31, 2017
Genre: Horror
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 334
Format: eBook. Purchased.

About the Book:

Daniel Martin has never forgotten his childhood encounters with Frank Watkins, the man who built his family a summer home out of cardboard and plywood. Frank's gaze was oddly confusing, as if he was attempting to discern the proper way to behave because he didn't know how to respond in a human manner. Since Frank obviously wasn't an alien, young Daniel thought maybe the man was crazy. In the end, Daniel would learn the terrifying truth about Frank Watkins. And as an adult, Daniel is about to discover there are more of THEM out there...

THE DARKEST CORNERS BY KARA THOMAS

1/12/2018

While I don't think this was a bad book I did find it to be very slow with too much going on. I would certainly read another book by the author as this is her debut but am hoping it won't be as weirdly complex as this one.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: April 11, 2016
Genre: Young Adult Mystery and Thriller
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 338
Format: Purchased. Paperback.

For fans of Gillian Flynn and Pretty Little Liars, The Darkest Corners is a psychological thriller about the lies little girls tell, and the deadly truths those lies become.

There are secrets around every corner in Fayette, Pennsylvania. Tessa left when she was nine and has been trying ever since not to think about what happened there that last summer.

She and her childhood best friend Callie never talked about what they saw. Not before the trial. And certainly not after.

But ever since she left, Tessa has had questions. Things have never quite added up. And now she has to go back to

THE WIFE BETWEEN US BY GREER HENDRICKS & SARAH PEKKANEN

1/9/2018

The Wife Between Us is the must have domestic thriller of the new year! It's complex, twisty-turney, and an absolutely engrossing read. I highly recommend it.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: January 9, 2018
Genre: Domestic Thriller
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 352
Format: eBook. ARC.

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.

You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.
You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love.

You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.

Assume nothing.

Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage - and the dangerous

JUST BETWEEN US BY REBECCA DRAKE

1/7/2018

This book BLEW me away! It's fast paced, deliciously twisted, and deeply thrilling. I highly recommend Drake's latest novel. I can't wait for more! This is a must have on your TBR.

Rating:★★★★ (4.5 stars)
Release Date: January 9, 2018
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 353
Format: eBook. ARC.

Four suburban mothers conspire to cover up a deadly crime in Just Between Us, a heart-stopping novel of suspense by Rebecca Drake.

Alison, Julie, Sarah, Heather. Four friends living the suburban ideal. Their jobs are steady, their kids are healthy. They’re as beautiful as their houses. But each of them has a dirty little secret, and hidden behind the veneer of their perfect lives is a crime and a mystery that will consume them all.

Everything starts to unravel when Alison spots a nasty bruise on Heather’s wrist. She shares her suspicions with Julie and Sarah, compelling all three to investigate what

THREE BLIND DATES BY MEGHAN QUINN

1/4/2018

I loved this book. Every single thing about it had me captivated! It's lighthearted, funny, and features some of the best characters I've come across. It's a must read!

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: January 4, 2018
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Series: Dating by the Numbers #1
Pages: 3846 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

A modern day take on You've Got Mail with a twist. This laugh out loud and heartwarming romantic comedy from bestselling author Meghan Quinn will keep you on the edge of your feet as you fall in love with each and every blind date.

"Good Morning Malibu, it’s another beautiful day on the west coast! I'm Noely Clark, your host: and I'm in the market for love…”

When the publicity team of the new local restaurant, Going in Blind, began their search for a hot, local celebrity to promote the wildly popular eatery, they couldn’t have found a better person than me.

Outgoing? Check.
Single? Check.

PRETTY DEAD GIRLS BY MONICA MURPHY

1/1/2018

Pretty Dead Girls is a fantastic and highly enjoyable teen slasher novel. Think movies like Scream! I loved reading every minute of it. Very much recommended.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: January 2, 2018
Genre: Teen and Young Adult. Slasher.
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 336
Format: eBook. ARC.

Beautiful. Perfect. Dead.

In the peaceful seaside town of Cape Bonita, wicked secrets and lies are hidden just beneath the surface. But all it takes is one tragedy for them to be exposed.

The most popular girls in school are turning up dead, and Penelope Malone is terrified she's next. All the victims so far have been linked to Penelope—and to a boy from her physics class. The one she's never really noticed before, with the rumored dark past and a brooding stare that cuts right through her.

There's something he isn't telling her. But there's something she's not telling him, either.

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