I’ve been reading like a maniac. Seriously. I haven’t turned on the TV in probably a month. Yep, that’s right – Gilmore and Grey’s who?!

Nanny, the sis, and I have been devouring book after book. That’s good news for you guys because we have lots of reviews to share! If you’re trying to read this on your lunch break or at a red light, I apologize in advance… there are a LOT of words. (Also, don’t read in the car!)

Let’s start off with a review Nanny wrote after reading “My Husband’s Wife.”

Nanny’s Review

It’s become perfectly evident that books are better for our brains, especially when compared to games on our phones and television. To that end, I’m reading lots of book recommendations. My favorite book buddy from church/homeschool fellowship brought a bag-o-books last week. Among them was one I’d been looking forward to reading for months. Alice Feeney’s “My Husband’s Wife” shows up on all TBR and Must Read lists. I love a good mystery with twists, especially if you don’t see them coming. “My Husband’s Wife” took twists to the max, so extreme that it actually got to be too much before book’s end. For me to say that, it’s ALOT.

“My Husband’s Wife” is exactly what the title infers. It’s a tale of a wife, Eden Fox, who comes home from a run and her house key doesn’t work. Harrison and Eden live on a peak overlooking the ocean, in a small community. The tiny town has turned into a vacation destination with very few permanent residents. Their house is extremely old, with a history known to all the locals. The couple is new to the area, so townfolk don’t know them well.

An elaborate story unfolds when a stranger answers Eden’s knock on the door of her own home. This unknown person is claiming to be Harrison’s wife, who lives there with him. Eden’s anxiety intensifies as she discovers this strange woman has not only invaded her home, but taken over her life.

If you’re a fan of novels with unexpected twists, this one is worth your time.

My Reviews

Abbey Jimenez, “Part of Your World” is the first book I’m going to share. Funny story: I carried this book on vacation with me this summer. Every single day, I packed her in a gallon-size Ziploc and headed to the beach. Every single day, I planned to read. I might have cracked it open ONCE, because I only completed one chapter by the end of the week. My friends, Adam and Katie, made so much fun of me. “Do you plan on reading that thing or do you just like carrying it around?” they’d ask. Fast forward a few weeks later, Adam was in Mexico and saw the same book lying in a pool chair beside him! We’ve laughed about this book for months. I FINALLY finished it two weeks ago. If you like Jimenez, you’ll (probably) like it. It wasn’t my favorite one of hers, and clearly, I had a hard time locking in. But, it’s a solid read.

Next up is “The Divorce” and “The Witch” by Freida McFadden. The author I love to hate. It annoys me that she puts out so many books in such a short period. For the longest time, I was convinced she used AI to write her stories. I’m not the only one – it was all over the internet for a hot minute. Turns out, she doesn’t. She just publishes both traditionally and independently. Even though she may get on my nerves, I cannot put her books down once I start reading. “The Divorce” was excellent! I did not see the ending coming AT ALL. The way the story unfolded totally took me by surprise. I would rank this one (almost) up there with “The Boyfriend,” to-date one of my favorite suspense novels. “The Witch” is her newest work. It is written from the perspective of two different women from two different time periods – Present Day and 1662. I like how McFadden alternates chapters. They’re short, too, which makes it even easier to read. Nanny liked this one more than I did. To me, it felt different than her other novels. Quirky and historic. While it doesn’t get five stars from me, it’s definitely not a waste of time.

Somehow I missed that Shari Lapena had, not one, but TWO books I hadn’t read! The second I realized this, I was out the door to our local bookstore. I bought and read “She Didn’t See It Coming” in less than 24 hours. Lapena never disappoints. This one isn’t my all-time favorite, but it’s good and worth a read. I wasn’t able to find her newest one, but I will find it, so stay tuned.

I’ll wrap up with Charlie Donlea’s “The Girl Who Was Taken.”

My sis and mom read this one and BOTH liked it. I, on the other hand, didn’t make it all the way through. I was almost three hundred pages in and was bored out of my mind. Bits of my soul were siphoned from my body each time I opened the book. I do not quit books, y’all. I’m the girl who reads a book in less than twenty-four hours. If this were a movie, I’d race you to the theater because the plot was good. Really good, actually. I just could not stand the writing. The chapters were too long and there were four thousand words on each page.

Secret note from Nanny: I’m editing this as Andy is at church choir practice. She didn’t ask me to write anything, but I can’t resist! I guess she reads like she plays cards (or any game with numbers in it). She reads books “in less than 24 hours”, because she likes books with few words! Three hundred pages and she’s done. Nuff said!