Review: The Proposal by Adriana Locke

The Proposal by Adriana Locke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author and Valentine PR, all opinions are my own.

This is a new standalone by Adriana so you can read it without having read any of her other series.  It does however mention other characters from other series but only one plays a major role.  If you have been keeping up with the Carmichael Family series, we finally get some information about the eldest and most elusive brother Foxx and what he does for a living.  Foxx's book comes out this fall which I'm super excited for, but you don't have to be caught up with that series to dive into this.  This has the potential to be another family series, which is what Adriana is best known for, and I hope a Brewer Family series is in the works!

On to the actual book...this follows Blakely on the even of her 30th birthday.  She and her bestie Ella are relaxing by the pool planning a night of debauchery in Las Vegas when her older brother and his best friend Renn crash their girls weekend.  Renn and Blakely have always been drawn to each other, but out of respect for her brother nothing more than flirting ever occurred.  No one is more surprised and Renn and Blakely when they wake up to news that they drunkenly got married the night before when they were left alone unsupervised.  Blakely wanted to do something big for her birthday, but that was not what she envisioned.

Blakely has been drug through the mud in the media from a past relationship, and Renn is rugby's bad boy.  While they have been friends for years and they are attracted to each other, marriage is not something either of them wanted out of this weekend let alone to each other.  When Renn proposes a honeymoon of sorts to get them out of the eyes of the media frenzy and to talk out their next steps, Blakely and Renn come up with a plan neither of them expected.  He proposes that they stay married to protect both of their images and pretend as if they are in love for atleast 90 days.  

This is one of Addy's spicier books.  Renn lives up to his bad boy reputation in everyway, and Blakely is there for it.  At the same time, he is respectful of her needs and feelings.  He doesn't pressure her into doing things she doesn't want to do, and he does his best to protect her from the vultures that are trying to exploit them and their new relationship.  I enjoyed getting to see the interaction of the Brewer family.  There are some tense moments between them and the family dynamics are unlike any that I've seen the author write before.  I also loved the relationship between Ella and Blakely and Blakely and her brother Brock.   There are some angsty moments, but they are quickly resolved.

As I mentioned, I do hope this is the beginning of a new series focused on the Brewer family.  If not I always look forward to anything Adriana writes.  

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Review: The Education of Kendrick Perkins: A Memoir

The Education of Kendrick Perkins: A Memoir by Kendrick Perkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, however I opted to listen to the final publication version of the audiobook.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Let me preface this by saying I don't know Kendrick Perkins, nor have I followed his career.  I watch a lot of college basketball, but my son and husband who follow sports a lot more closely know who he is.  That being said I don't really have much of an opinion on him as a player or TV/social media personality.  I've never seen him play or watched him on TV.  

This is not typically the type of book that I read, but I did gain some insight into Kendrick Perkins as a person and his journey through the NBA.  I thought it was really interesting to see his perspective of what it is like on the inside and who some of his best friends and mentors/mentees where.  We get to see many of the people he mentioned on TV and what the media tells us about them through their game play, paparazzi stories, and brand sponsorships but we never get to know them personally.  Perkins gives us some insight into what these players are both on and off the court on a more personal level.  At the end of the day they are all working hard to  play the game they love, and many of them are good friends despite what the media will have you believe.

This is more than a book about basketball and Kendrick Perkins and his journey.  It goes much deeper into racial issues in the United States.  As with any non-fiction book that I read especially those that delve into social commentary that mentions historical or current issues, I would have liked a list of references so that I can continue to educate myself on the issues at hand and learn.  

The narrator did a good job conveying the information that Perkins and Rogoff wanted you to know.  I'm not a big memoir/biography person in general and I gained some information about a person I knew nothing about previously.  I think fans of Perkins will really enjoy this.  

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Review: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Do you like scientifically accurate horror?  If so this is a wonderful mashup of sci-fi and horror rolled into one emotionally charged novel.  This is so much more than a book about a boy who gets swallowed by a whale.  

This follows Jay, a 17 year old diver in search of the remains of his father.  Jay's family is still grieving the loss of his father a year after he took his last dive, and Jay hopes that if he gives them something to bury it will give them all a bit of closure.  Jay didn't have the best relationship with his dad, but he quickly learns that everything his dad taught him about diving and the ocean is going to be very helpful on this dive.  Jay's dive begins smoothly but quickly turns terrifying as he encounters a giant squid and the sperm whale looking for lunch.  Using all of the knowledge he gained under his father, Jay must fight his way out of the belly of the beast with only about an hour of air left in his tank and only the resources he has within reach.

This book was suspenseful and atmospheric.  Kraus really captured the whales anatomy in amazing detail.  You really felt like you were trapped in the whale with Jay.  If you don't like gory detail and don't want to know what the inside of a whale potentially looks like, stay away from this book.  He goes into exquisite detail and there is plenty of blood and guts, he is inside a whale after all.  I don't know much about diving or the biology of whales, but it is clear that the author did his homework and there is nothing that I appreciate more than a well researched book!  I also really liked how he captured the father son dynamic.  Jay didn't always appreciate what his dad, Mitt was trying to teach him but it sure came in handy when he needed it.    It also made for a good backdrop for Jay's slow descent into madness.  There were times I wasn't sure if he was actually inside the whale or if he was having a mental breakdown from his dive and dreamt it all.  I really enjoyed getting to know Mitt and Jay and how their relationship developed into what it was and how this event tackles allows Jay to tackle the grief and anger he feels now that his father is gone.

This is my first Daniel Kraus book, but it certainly won't be my last.  I really loved this and highly recommend it!

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Review: Dark Corners by Megan Goldin

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received both print and audio ARCs of this book via Netgalley. I mainly listened to the audiobook because I listened to The Night Swim prior to diving into this book and loved the narration. This follows a similar narrative but adds a male narrator in addition to the 2 female narrators. Rachel does a special report in this book versus a podcast.

You do not have to read Night Swim prior to reading this book. They are unrelated in content, but the style of the storytelling is similar. If you didn't like the way Night Swim was told, you probably won't like this as it has the same style with the special report mixed in with development of the plot. This does not feature a court room trial, so if you enjoyed that aspect it is missing here. I however really enjoyed the way the story was told, and looked forward to the special report segments. They delivered information that you didn't get from the regular chapters while summarizing information we already knew about the crime.

This installment follows Rachel as she is called in by the FBI to speak with an inmate who is about to be released from prison. Terrence Bailey is long suspected of murdering 6 women, but police were never able to prove it. They were able to get him on breaking and entering. As his release from prison looms, he receives a surprise visit from a popular influencer who then suspiciously diappears. People who know her don't think much about it as she is known to go off the grid periodically. Rachel's name popped up in their conversation, and the FBI want her to find out how she is connected to Terrence and the missing girl. Rachel's conversation with Terrence doesn't go well, prompting the FBI to think she may be in danger when he leaves prison in a few days.

Ever the investigative journalist, Rachel finds herself in the middle of the investigation for the missing girl, Maddison. In an attempt to find out more information about the missing girl, Rachel attends BuzzCon, a post influence conference that Maddison was supposed to attend. Rachel doesn't find Maddison at the conference, but she does uncover information that lead her and FBI Agent Joe to clues that they missed early on in the investigation. I don't want to spoil things, but I really enjoyed how the story unfolded. As with the previous book, I thought Goldin did a good job capturing the life of an influencer accurately in the "Instagram vs reality" conversations as well as the conversations about how cut throat and callous some influencers can be. The personas you see on the internet aren't always the real person.

This was just as entertaining as the first book, though not quite as suspenseful. I never really felt that Rachel was in real danger. I did think that the police and FBI made it way to easy for Rachel to gain access to case information. The plot is a bit predictable at times and I had some things figured out early on. Despite that, I still enjoyed the experience.
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Review: The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a tough book to get through. If you have triggers for SA, I'd steer clear of this one. This follow Rachel Krall, a popular true crime podcaster who has successfully solved a cold case and uncovered evidence to set an innocent man free. Her skills as a journalist come in handy when she is investigating and researching new information for her podcast.

In her latest season she finds herself in a small town as a divisive court case is about to kick off. The local golden boy has been accused of assaulting's a local girl after a party. In addition to investigating the trial for the podcast, Rachel keeps getting mysterious letters about another girl who was assaulted and murdered 25 years ago. The letter writer is the younger sister who wants justice and closure for her sister Jenny. Jenny was slandered and painted as troubled, but her sister knows that there is more to the story and she hopes that Rachel can help uncover the truth.

I listened to the audiobook of this and it was so well done. We get chapters of Rachel's podcast as the trial unfolds and she does a good job staying objective, presenting the facts for both sides as she uncovers them. We also get chapters about Rachel's time investigating the trial and what happened to Jenny as she receives more letters and becomes invested in what truly happened all those years ago.

As I mentioned this is a tough read. The author does a wonderful job brining the emotion of a trial like this to the front while also hitting hard on the truth of assault cases like this. She brings forth facts about women who are assaulted and why they don't report. She goes into detail about the shame the victim feels about being attacked, reporting the attack, being examined, and going to trail. In the end it is he said she said, and at the hands of 12 people that may or may not believe her despite the evidence and the laws of the state she lives in. The defense will do everything it can to undermine her. Unfortunately this is factually accurate, I was an assault advocate and the things these women have to go through is awful and traumatizing. They are traumatized multiple times in their quest for justice and Goldin captured that. I also really liked how the two timelines finally came together as Rachel investigated both cases.

I picked this up because I have an ARC of Dark Corners and I wanted to read this in the event that there is any related content. I'm glad I did because despite the tough content, the execution was spot on. I'm looking forward to reading Dark Corners and seeing what Rachel gets up to next. As I sit down to write this review, I've just finished Dark Corners and you can read them in either order. Rachel investigates a completely unrelated case but the storytelling style is similar.

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Review: Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided both the audio and print  ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This was an interesting domestic thriller.  It follows mother and daughter Ruth and Catherine through their daily lives.  As we get to know them it quickly becomes clear that Ruth is hiding something.  Ruth has always been closed off about her past, and as Catherine is ready to spread her wings as a new college graduate and start her career as a nurse she is more curious than ever about her mom's past.  What she doesn't know is that Ruth has carefully cultivated a life to protect herself and Catherine from the past that she is so desperately hiding from.  She will do anything to keep Catherine close until she is 100% sure she will be safe from people and events that happened in her past.  As the book unfolds we find out the lengths that Ruth is willing to go to to protect her daughter, and how far her daughter is willing to go to find the truth about her mother.

There were some situations that were a bit "unbelievable".  I thought it was pretty unrealistic that Catherine wasn't able to figure out her mother's ruse a little more quickly, but overall the storyline was interesting.  There were some good twists and turns, but I didn't find this to have high level of suspense.  This may have some triggering content for some readers.  This is an interesting story of the mother daughter relationship as well as nature vs nature.  

As for the audio narration, I thought the narrator did a good job.   I would have liked a bit more differentiation between Ruth's voice and Catherine's voice as the book is told from both of their perspectives.  It was a bit difficult to tell which woman was at the center of the chapter with only one voice telling the story.   I feel the audiobook would have benefitted from a 2nd narrator or if Mara would have been able to voice once of the characters a bit differently.

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Review: Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin

Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for letting me read all of Rachel Griffin's books early, I have loved them all!

If you have enjoyed Griffin's previous YA books featuring witchy romances, you are going to enjoy this as well.  This is a standalone, so you don't have to read her previous books, but if you have you will see similar themes of nature, magic and romance woven into the story.  It by no means is a duplicate of the author's previous works.

This follows Tana, daughter of the leader of the local witch coven who's fate and future have been decided for her.  Her parents arranged her marriage when she was a child in order to protect the coven's way of life and the island they inhabit.  Witches and magic were once feared, and some of the mainlanders (non magic users) still fear them.  Tana has always put her duty to her coven before anything else.  When she meets a boy who isn't supposed to exist, who can practice magic that isn't allowed she begins to question everything she knows.  For once in her life she learns what it feels like to make decisions for herself and be a little bit selfish.  She also learns that this may upset the balance that her family and coven have worked so hard to create to provide a safe place for the coven and the people she loves.  

I really enjoyed Tana's journey of self discovery.  She was always a little wild and reckless and didn't really fit in, but she was loyal and obedient out of respect and duty to her parents and community.  When she finally found a place that fit, she went for it even though her actions had consequences, but she weighed the options and made a decision.  Despite the pressure put on her and the lies and betrayal surrounding her situation, Tana never lost sight of wanting to protect the island and the people on it.

This is geared toward the young adult reader, so there is some foul language and mentions of physical intimacy but nothing beyond kissing is described in much detail.  Everything is fade to black and behind closed doors so this would be acceptable for a mature young reader and teenagers.

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