WWW Wednesday

What I Finish Reading:

I recently finish this book. I thought it was an alright book. Some readers might enjoy it much better than me. This book was not for me.

What I’m Currently Reading:

An YA Carrie theme, sign me up. Plus Tiffany is known for her crazy twists in her books.

What I’m Reading Next:

I was in middle of this fantasy read, so I want to get back in it. If I don’t get sidetracked again… 😒

What I’m Reading Monday

Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline’s radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific circumstances, Mars is propelled to learn all he can about his once-inseparable sister who’d grown tragically distant.

Mars’s genderfluidity means he’s often excluded from the traditions — and expectations — of his politically-connected family. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister poured so much of her time. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place.

What Mars finds is a bucolic fairytale not meant for him. Folksy charm and sun-drenched festivities camouflage old-fashioned gender roles and a toxic preparatory rigor. Mars seeks out his sister’s old friends: a group of girls dubbed the Honeys, named for the beehives they maintain behind their cabin. They are beautiful and terrifying — and Mars is certain they’re connected to Caroline’s death.

But the longer he stays at Aspen, the more the sweet mountain breezes give way to hints of decay. Mars’s memories begin to falter, bleached beneath the relentless summer sun. Something is hunting him in broad daylight, toying with his mind. If Mars can’t find it soon, it will eat him alive.

Welcome to the funnest spot around . . .

Jay is living his best life at Karloff Country, one of the world’s most famous resorts. He’s got his family, his crew, and an incredible after-school job at the property’s main theme park. Life isn’t so great for the rest of the world, but when people come here to vacation, it’s to get away from all that.

As things outside get worse, trouble starts seeping into Karloff. First, Jay’s friend Connie and her family disappear in the middle of the night and no one will talk about it. Then the richest and most powerful families start arriving, only… they aren’t leaving. Unknown to the employees, the resort has been selling shares in an end-of-the-world oasis. The best of the best at the end of days. And in order to deliver the top-notch customer service the wealthy clientele paid for, the employees will be at their total beck and call.

Whether they like it or not.

Yet Karloff Country didn’t count on Jay and his crew–and just how far they’ll go to find out the truth and save themselves. But what’s more dangerous: the monster you know in your home or the unknown nightmare outside the walls?

What I’m Reading Monday

Summary:

Death was everywhere. They all stared at me, bumping into one another and slowly coming forward.

Sixteen-year-old Zharie Young is absolutely certain her mother morphed into a zombie before her untimely death, but she can’t seem to figure out why. Why her mother died, why her aunt doesn’t want her around, why all her dreams seem suddenly, hopelessly out of reach. And why, ever since that day, she’s been seeing zombies everywhere.

Then Bo moves into her apartment building―tall, skateboard in hand, freckles like stars, and an undeniable charm. Z wants nothing to do with him, but when he transforms into a half zombie right before her eyes, something feels different. He contradicts everything she thought she knew about monsters, and she can’t help but wonder if getting to know him might unlock the answers to her mother’s death.

As Zharie sifts through what’s real and what’s magic, she discovers a new truth about the world: Love can literally change you―for good or for dead.

Summary:

Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job in the affluent suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves this new job. She lives in the Maxwell’s pool house, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

As the days pass, Teddy’s artwork becomes more and more sinister, and his stick figures steadily evolve into more detailed, complex, and lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to suspect these are glimpses of an unsolved murder from long ago, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force lingering in the forest behind the Maxwell’s house.

With help from a handsome landscaper and an eccentric neighbor, Mallory sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy—while coming to terms with a tragedy in her own past—before it’s too late.

Those Who Prey by Jennifer Moffett

Summary:

College life isn’t what Emily expected.

She expected to spend freshman year strolling through the ivy-covered campus with new friends, finally feeling like she belonged. Instead, she walks the campus alone, still not having found her place or her people so far away from home.

But then the Kingdom finds her.

The Kingdom, an exclusive on-campus group, offers everything Emily expected of college and more: acceptance, friends, a potential boyfriend, and a chance to spend the summer in Italy on a mission trip. But the trip is not what she thought it would be. Emily and the others are stripped of their passports and money. They’re cut off from their families back home. The Kingdom’s practices become increasingly manipulative and dangerous.

And someone ends up dead.

My Review:

What happens when you unknowingly join a cult?

Those who Prey was such an eye opening read. It shows you not to trust people you just met. Also that anyone can prey on people who are lonely. The storyline was so good and very tense. The characters you will like as well. The first couple pages draws you in good and you can’t seem to put this book down.

I did like Emily in the book. It’s her first time leaving home and doing college life. She tries to do the right thing with her roommate and it backfires. Emily becomes and outcast at school. Then a chance encounter with Josh change things.

She has a new friends to hang with, a new boy crush and get to go away to Italy for a bit. It all seems like a big dream come true, but once she enters Itlay things take a turn for the worse. Will Emily be able to escape the Kingdom?

This book was very suspenseful in the beginning to the end. So I read it in one sitting. Also look how pretty this cover to book. You can see how lonely Emily looks on it and I like the color pink. This book was something new to me. I never read anything about cults before, but this book blew my mind. It very eye opening as I said before. Just be cautious on new people you meet.

The Safe Place by Anna Downes

Summary:

Emily is a mess.

Emily Proudman just lost her acting agent, her job, and her apartment in one miserable day.

Emily is desperate.

Scott Denny, a successful and charismatic CEO, has a problem that neither his business acumen nor vast wealth can fix. Until he meets Emily.

Emily is perfect.

Scott offers Emily a summer job as a housekeeper on his remote, beautiful French estate. Enchanted by his lovely wife Nina, and his eccentric young daughter, Aurelia, Emily falls headlong into this oasis of wine-soaked days by the pool. But soon Emily realizes that Scott and Nina are hiding dangerous secrets, and if she doesn’t play along, the consequences could be deadly.

Superbly tense and oozing with atmosphere, Anna Downs’s debut is the perfect summer suspense, with the modern gothic feel of Ruth Ware and the morally complex family dynamics of Lisa Jewell.

Welcome to paradise…will you ever be able to leave?

My Review:

Welcome to The Safe Place, a place where you can kick off your shoes and relax by the pool.

For Emily that what she desperately needs am escape from her crappy life. One day everything starts to mysteriously go down hill. Her ceo boss takes an special interest her case and hires her as in live in housekeeper. Everything seems way to prefect the job and the family she working for. Ignoring her intuition that something is amist in this perfect home, she enjoy her time by the pool and caring for their daughter. Something that perfect, could be hiding some dark secrets.

The Safe Place was a nice adult mystery read that I liked. To me the storyline got a bit predictable. It was a little tense toward the end of the book. Don’t blame the main character ignoring the signs something is wrong. Emily just enjoying her time buying things and relax at the pool to question much. If I live in a huge mansion like that I would be enjoying the pool everyday, just forget the crazy stuff happening.

Enjoy your stay at The Safe Place, just beware you may not be able to call for help.

Happy Reading!!!

{Arc Review} All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban

Book Summary:

Welcome to dinner, and again, congratulations on being selected. Now you must do the selecting.

What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? They were all invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it’s a trap. Someone has locked them into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill … or else everyone dies.

Amber Prescott is determined to get her classmates and herself out of the room alive, but that might be easier said than done. No one knows how they’re all connected or who would want them dead. As they retrace the events over the past year that might have triggered their captor’s ultimatum, it becomes clear that everyone is hiding something. And with the clock ticking down, confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic as they race to answer the biggest question: Who will they choose to die?

My Review:

What happens when 6 teens trapped in a room with a bomb and have to chose one to kill?

Amber love playing music but things change after her sister death. She withdrew a bit from her friends. When a chance to produce a play with original music, she become friend with the popular girl. Amber so desperate to have the play be preform, she changes a bit. Also blind how much abuse her best friend is having.

When thing blows over with the popular group, a chance for a scholarship opens up. Forcing Amber and some unlikely people fighting for their lives. Who will survive in the end?

This book was pretty much fun. Kinda like mean girls, plus a twisted take on The Breakfast Club. Each character is either you love them or hate them. I enjoy the back story and the secrets spill with them. It nice how each character is all connected with each other. This twist of it was very good and shocking. I had trouble putting this read down and it was a thrill ride.

If your in the mood for a new mystery, then read All Your Twisted Secrets. Recently it came out this week.

Happy Reading!

Stay safe you guys and keep reading books.

Bella’s Top Ten of 2019

Happy New Year my Readers!!

This year I read about 118 books, so it was hard just picking out 10 favorites for 2019.

Here are Bella’s favorite reads of the year and you can look for reviews of each book on my blog.

The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu

Rules for Vanishing by Katie Alice Marshall

Every Stolen Breathe by Kimberly Gabriel

Crown of Oblivion by Julie Eshbaugh

Lock Every Door Riley Sager

Unpregnant by Jenni Hendricks and Ted Caplin

The Deceivers by Kristen Simmons

Crown of Coarl and Pearl by Mara Rutherford

Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan

The Kingdom by Jessie Routhenberg

What was some of your favorite read of 2019??

The Chain by Adrian Mckinty

Book Summary:

You just dropped off your child at the bus stop. A panicked stranger calls your phone. Your child has been kidnapped, and the stranger explains that their child has also been kidnapped, by a completely different stranger. The only way to get your child back is to kidnap another child within 24 hours. Your child will be released only when the next victim’s parents kidnap yet another child, and most importantly, the stranger explains, if you don’t kidnap a child, or if the next parents don’t kidnap a child, your child will be murdered. You are now part of The Chain.

My Review:

The Chain was such a good thriller/mystery read for adults. The storyline was so interesting and very original. I liked the characters within the book also.

Rachel is a survivor in the book. She beaten cancer and is next on the chain. When she head to her doctor appointment, the unthinkable happen. Her daughter is kidnap, she must pay ransom and kidnap another kid to continue the chain. Rachel teams up with Pete and they quickly work together to get Kylie home.

Kylie in the book is very clever girl. She tries hard coming up with way to escape. I like how we see Kylie point of view when she gets kidnap. We get a glimpse on how the little girl hanging in there. Will Kylie be able to make home alive?

This book is full of crazy twists and turns you don’t see coming. The chain is watching your every move, one bad mistake can cost your life. I got so engrossed in the book and it’s a quick read. If your in a mood for a thriller/mystery read then you should try The Chain.

Happy Reading!!!

WWW Wednesday

Thanks to my editor Stay Fetters at Acourtofcoffeeandbooks for this new banner.

The three Ws:

What I’m currently reading?

What I finish reading?

What I plan to read next?

Finish Reading:

I read and finished The Best Lies. It also been review on the blog.

Currently Reading:

I’m really enjoying Heart of Iron so much. Excited for book two Soul of Stars to come out.

Reading Next:

Finally start a fun summer read over weekend.

What you guys reading?

The Best Lies by Sara Lyu

Book Summary:

Remy Tsai used to know how her story would turn out. But now, she doesn’t even know what tomorrow will look like.

She was happy once. Remy had her boyfriend Jack, and Elise, her best friend—her soulmate—who understood her better than anyone else in the world.

But now Jack is dead, shot through the chest—

And it was Elise who pulled the trigger.

Was it self-defense? Or something deeper, darker than anything Remy could have imagined? As the police investigate, Remy does the same, sifting through her own memories, looking for a scrap of truth that could save the friendship that means everything to her.

Told in alternating timelines, Thelma and Louise meets Gone Girl in this twisted psychological thriller about the dark side of obsessive friendship.

My Review:

The Best Lies was such a thrill ride. I really did enjoy the story and love the characters in it.

Remy and Elise are prefect for each other. They been through a lot of tough times together and are hardly ever a part. What happens when one of them just snap?

Right off bat the book starts off with Jack’s death. It is told in flashbacks on Remy and Elise friendship, and up until that night. With Remy still in shock and trying to come into grips what happen. Is she willing to protect Elise, and what really happen to Jack?

This book was a roller coaster ride. I really was hooked onto the story from begining until to end. I’m glad I picked it on sale for 50% at barnes and nobles, and gave it a shot. The cover is so sweet and innocent. Could read this book over and over again. If your in mood for some new mystery/thriller reads, you’ll be in for a treat.

Happy Reading!!!!