"The Turnout" by Megan Abbott

“Every girl wants to be a ballerina…”

It’s true; I did, too. The beautiful costumes and graceful dancers balancing on the tips of those satiny pointe shoes are enough to sway every little girl’s mind from veterinarians and nurses.

Most often, that dream is short-lived. Any true dancer can tell you that it takes a love few have. It requires a dedication and sacrifice of time, money, food, and even your body. All that beauty sometimes hides a darkness.

You aren’t raised by a Mother who runs a successful dance school, raises twin ballerinas, and pulls off yearly productions of The Nutcracker without learning something. Without understanding exactly what it takes: a sacrificial love most of us cannot fathom. Sometimes love does not bind but tears apart. And sometimes it takes much more. Something darker; something not everyone would even consider.

“The Turning” begins with the twin sisters running their deceased mother’s dance school. With just weeks until the yearly production of The Nutcracker, their perfect routine begins to crumble and secrets threaten everything they know and cherish.

So far, this is my favorite book by Megan Abbott. I loved ballet as the backdrop and how the author wove the dance theme throughout the story. This one definitely kept me reading; I had to find out what was really going on in this twisted family, what happened to the parents so many years ago, and would the sisters be able to make it out of this. 

And if you don’t know what turnout is, google it!

Publication Date: August 3, 2021

Format: Paperback

Genre: Thriller, mystery, suspense, family drama

Cover: Perfect

Rating: 4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Source:  I received this book from the publisher via GoodReads. Thank you for the opportunity to read this fabulous book!

#TheTurning #MeganAbbott #Goodreads #GoodreadsGiveaways

"Becoming Us" by Robin Jones Gunn

Having read several Todd & Christy books, I was super excited when I realized this book was a continuation of their life together.

Becoming Us (Haven Makers Book 1) by Robin Jones Gunn is a tale of friendship and forgiveness. It details not only how Todd & Christy become “us” with a new life away from his family, but also how Christy and her friends become a tribe.

This book made me yearn for my own DOE group. I have a tribe, although just four ladies. We are at that time in our lives, all busy with our own families, where we don’t have much time for each other. However, these are ladies I could call in the middle of the night and they would come. These are shoulders on which I have cried and those that I have supported.

Ladies need shoulders… a tribe for when we are angry with our husbands, our children and even ourselves. We need shoulders not only for life’s disappointments but also to share our triumphs. We need shoulders for dinners, movies, and weekend getaways.

I loved the “Welcome to Womanhood” party. I only wish this book came out a few years ago. The party is so sweet and endearing. Making your girls feel a part of a tribe rather than dirty, alone, ashamed, or ugly.

Most importantly, Robin reminds us to always live for your King of Kings!

Publication Date: May 7, 2019

Genre: Christian Fiction, Religious Fiction, Chick Lit

Cover: Perfect

Rating: 5 stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!

#BecomingUs #NetGalley

"The Long Call" by Ann Cleeves

If you are in the mood for an intriguing mystery/police procedural, British author Ann Cleeves’ “The Long Call” fits that bill! This is the first in a new series, Two Rivers, by the author in some time and it introduces Detective Matthew Venn.

Detective Venn has already had a rough day when he is called to a murder not far from the North Devon beach home he shares with his husband, Johnathan. Earlier, he viewed estranged father’s funeral from distance. He was not welcome because his parents belonged the Bretheren, a religious cult from which he was cast out several years prior.

As the investigation begins, a young lady from the Woodyard Centre goes missing. Everyone in the area wonders if the two events are related as this area has a very low crime rate. As Venn and his colleagues investigate the murder and kidnapping and grow closer to finding the culprit, several suspects emerge. It seems that the murdered man, the Woodyard, the Bretheren, and perhaps even Johnathan are tangled in the scheme.

This is the first book of Ann Cleeves I have had the pleasure to read, but it won’t be the last. Excited to find a new author with so many books from which to choose!

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

Genre: Mystery, thriller, suspense, police procedural, crime, international mystery, detective

Cover: Perfect

Rating: 5 stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!

#TheLongCall #NetGalley

"Everything We Give (Everything #3)" by Kerry Lonsdale

Warning: Spoiler Alert! If you are reading this and have not read the first two books in the series, stop and read those first! If you have read the first two, I don’t give anything away about the third.

“Everything We Left Behind” ended with Lacy walking up to James on the beach, giving him a business card and telling him “I believe you know someone who might need this… He’s been looking for me.” I was quite surprised when "Everything We Give”, which wraps up the Everything series, began with Ian (Aimeee’s husband).

This book is Ian’s story. Chapters about his childhood and youth are interspersed throughout chapters of his current life. We learn why he is the way he is, but most importantly, we learn why he may be looking for Lacy.

This third book is as good as the first two and wraps up the series neatly!

"One Among Us" by Paige Dearth

This book gave me nightmares… my mind knows these cruel, brutal monsters are real in our world, but my heart does not want to believe it. It does not want to believe that anyone could do these things to a child. The book is about a young girl who is kidnapped at eleven years old and held as a sex slave (along with several other children). Later, she is sold to a ruthless pimp.

I’ll be honest. I quit reading the book for a few days. I just could not stomach it. I picked it back up because I wanted to know, no, desperately hoped, that the characters would be OK in the end. Some were, some were not.

Heed the 18 and up warning! I can say that I will not read any more books by this author. She writes about those things of which she is knowledgeable. I just cannot read another.

Publication Date: December 12, 2014

Genre:  Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Murder

Cover: Perfect

Rating: 4 Stars

Source:  I won this book through Goodreads First-Reads. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

"The Good Daughter" by Karin Slaughter

Two bowls of ice cream… I can’t get that out of my mind after reading this book. However, there are lots of other significant “twos”.  Two daughters (Charlotte and Samantha Quinn), two heart attacks, two houses, two pictures, and two very horrific, devastating, life-altering events; connected even though they are years apart.

The reader learns about the first event through each of the girls’ eyes and how it changed their lives and shaped them. I don’t want to offer any more details so that I don’t give anything away.

Start this book on a Friday evening when you can read until you finish. It’s that amazing… with an ending you will never see coming! And when you realize the significance of the two bowls of ice cream… wow! Karin Slaughter wove this story through 28 years in the girls’ lives, never omitting a significant detail or tidbit that enhanced the story and she tied it all up with a satisfying, bloody, ripped ribbon at the end.

Karin Slaughter has moved into the top 10 on my favorite author’s list. Before “The Good Daughter” I had only read three of her books which were decent, but “The Good Daughter” blows all three away. Thought this book was so great that I changed my vote in GoodReads Choice, Best Mystery & Thriller category (from another of my top 10 authors).

Release Publication Date: August 8, 2017

Genre:  Thriller, suspense, mystery,

Cover:  Perfect!

Source: I won this book through Goodreads First-Reads. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!

#slaughtersquad #thegooddaughter