very discreet job indeed….

Nanny Needed – Georgina Cross

Thriller, mystery, psychological, fiction. 

Rating 9/10

Sarah comes across a new job that seemed odd at first. Someone needs a nanny and it has to be discreet. Her fiancee, Jonathan, tells her that she should go for it. This nanny job could help them financially get more stable. She calls the number and sets up an interview. At the interview with the prospective family, she sees nothing but a rich family needing someone to take care of their child. Then there are some rather suspicious behaviors going on with the woman who wanted the nanny. There is something off about the child and her mother but there is no child. Sarah comes to realize that there is a darker plot going on and she got caught up in it. 

This novel took me on a rollercoaster of varying emotions and thoughts. I hadn’t suspected some of the twists and turns. I hadn’t expected the plot twist to happen in such a way that caused me to have to set the book down. Cross just grabbed the reader and kidnapped them with her plot. Yes, there was a slow build-up going on but that plot twist she executed was done so perfectly. I enjoyed reading this novel overall. It kept me on my toes for sure. 

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I think I found a new author :D this was good

The Wife Upstairs – Frieda McFadden 

Thriller, mystery, psychological thriller, fiction

Sylvie is struggling to find a new job and in comes an opportunity. A nicely dressed man by the name of Adam offers her a job. To be a live in friend to his incapactiated wife, Victoria, and to help his wife not feel so lonely. Her ex wants her back and she doesn’t want anything to do with him but she needs to get away. Sylvie decides to take the job and moves in for the time being. She finds herself wondering what truly happened to Victoria. Adam tells her all the information she needs. However, Victoria wants Sylvie to read her diary. As Sylvie reads the diary she learns more about Adam and Victoria’s relationship and how utterly toxic it became. Victoria says a few names and Sylvie investigates the mysterious disappearances of two people that were visiting the house. Suddenly as she’s reading more of the diary she realizes the danger she is truly in and she needs to escape. 2

I had gotten this book on Kindle Unlimited (not sponsored) and I deeply was questioning whether or not this was going to be a good psychological thriller. Usually I DNF a lot of Kindle Unlimited books because they are either copy and paste of the same tropes but different characters. This was something I hadn’t come across and absolutely loved this novel. There were a lot of elements to this that were really thrilling. I loved how the main character was reading the diary and the diary was explaining more about the couple and how they met but through the wife’s eyes. After the fourth or fifth diary entry I was convinced that Adam was gas lighting Victoria and was playing the victim card. Something was suspicious with Adam from the start. Just watching the plot unfold was thrilling. I don’t blame what Victoria tried to escape. I just didn’t expect the ending of the novel at all. Sometimes endings really surprise readers like me.  Definitely recommend giving Kindle Unlimited a try and get this book to read. I simply loved this and want to own a physical copy of this novel.

nope didn’t like this new book. Not sorry~

Girl A – Abigail Dean

Thriller, psychological, cults, fiction.

Rating 5/10

Girl A, otherwise known as Lexie, finds out that her mother died in prison. She and her other siblings who suffered the carnage of the abuse find themselves wrapped into the past once again. Their story of how they escaped the cult and abuse tells more secrets of their family. Each of their traumas and the media glare, each struggle with facing what comes to them. All have to agree on the final act and Lexie approaches them all. 

I saw this and was wondering about the hype. I always am wondering about the hype with a lot of these books. I didn’t like this novel as much as others. I don’t know. I think the whole cult thing was overdone. It was also very sad with glimmers of hope. I did like the storytelling and writing. I honestly don’t think this book was for a reader like me. I’m sure another reader would have loved this book but this wasn’t for me personally.

less offensive than HP

The Magicians – Lev Grossman

College students, college graduates, magic, psychological, science fiction, fiction.

Rating 5/10

Quentin should be happy for living a good normal life but he isn’t happy that nothing exciting ever happens to him. Inside his beloved favorite novel series, there is always adventure and Quentin craves adventure. When he and his friends go to this man’s house for an interview with him, they find the resident dead. The ambulance woman hands Quentin something and he leaves in a rush to see the contents. After he sees the contents inside he manages to find a door that opens up to this other place. He soons to find himself at a Magical Academy. He never expected that magic was real and the hard work to learn to wield it isn’t as easy as the fiction books had outlined. During this time, he makes both friends and enemies. An incident occurs where it changes his life forever. 

I was curious about the book because the premise was interesting. The novel is a bit fast paced for my personal standards. Maybe others not so much. I felt that the plot was rushed. The character developments were alright. Not my cup of tea honestly. This was way less offensive and more mature than Harry Potter. Time transitions are not easy to spot.

sometimes I YAWN

Sometimes I Lie – Alice Feeney

Coma patients, married women, psychological, fiction.

Rating 4/10

Amber wakes up from a coma. She tries to remember what happened to her before she landed in the hospital bed. She slowly puts the pieces together that led her to being in a coma. She slowly realizes the truth of the lies. That sometimes reality is more dangerous than fantasy.

I didn’t really care for this novel. I thought it was going to be great but unfortunately it was not.

copy and paste onto new wife format

The Wife Between Us – Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Interpersonal relationships, love triangles, suspense, marriage, psychological, fiction.

Rating 8/10

Emma is getting married to Richard, someone she fell deeply in love with and he fell for her too. She is taking all the necessary steps to become his wife. Vanessa is recovering from a divorce and trying to get over Richard. Vanessa finds out that Richard has a new wife on the way, and this makes her curious about the new bride of his. Emma gets ready to leave to get married but before doing so she is confronted by Vanessa who tries to warn her about Richard. Emma dismisses until she decides to investigate the incident that Vanessa refers to. After some digging, Emma has an epiphany that his ex-wife isn’t as crazy as she seems. Both meetup to discuss plans of how to confront Richard, but some truths are scarier than a psychotic fiancée, their connection to each other.

I was intrigued by the synopsis and the title of the novel, so I had to buy this book. The plot was very interesting, and the character’s connection is quite fascinating. I wasn’t expecting the novel’s plot to have a darker side in which this does. The character’s intertwined fate and interactions make the novel very thrilling and suspenseful. The chapters are sometimes alternating between perspectives, but the reader has to put the pieces together of whose perspective it is, was it either Emma’s or Vanessa’s perspective. There were enough breadcrumbs to follow along and to see how the story would play out. Overall, I did find this novel very enjoyable.

this was scary good

The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides

Psychological thriller, violence, passion, obsession, mystery, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Alicia killed her husband and entered into a vow of silence. Theo has heard of Alicia’s story and is curious about seeing or understanding why she will not talk. He has a goal to get her to talk but there are some roadblocks such as her medication and making her feel comfortable to speak to him. The head of the psych ward warden gives Theo six weeks only to get Alicia to talk. Theo does some investigating to see into Alicia’s past to understand her further and somehow put the pieces together. He unravels her mystery of silence and proceeds forward to gaining the truth from her. Even if it takes so many risks, Theo is ready and prepared for the outcome. Her diary journal entries leading up to the murder of her husband reveals all.

I was anticipating reading this novel for the longest of time and had a hard time obtaining a copy. I am glad to have purchased this novel because it was worth reading. There was a lot of thrill and mystery with the whole concept of silenced wife who killed her husband then finding out the incident that truly happened was a shock twist ending. I had not expected the ending and I really enjoyed this novel. I wished it were longer, but this was just as perfect amount. Beautifully written and excellently paced.

that was dark…

Friend Request – Laura Marshall

Psychological thriller, social media, friends, stalkers, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Louise gets a Facebook request from Maria Weston, a supposed dead high school teenager that they went to school with long ago. Louise wonders if she is actually alive or if this was just a prank or a hoax. Louise reminisces their time together as well as what she had done to Maria. The action she did haunted her entire life and this friend request sends her off the rails. When messages start appearing, things take a dark turn. Louise finds out the truth behind Maria Weston and is scared for her life.

This novel was intriguing for sure and did have a plot twist I didn’t expect to read. Well, actually a few plot twists I didn’t see coming. I was predicting one outcome but got another that was better than what I had originally expected. When reading this, do not have any expectations other than to have chills sent down one’s spine and expect the unexpected for sure. This author really done a good job with this specific genre and cliché. Changed it and morphed it into a thriller page turner.

Dark Truths

The Turn of the Key – Ruth Ware

Thriller, mystery, psychological, domestic, Suspense, fiction.

Rating 8.9/10

Rowan got caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. She was put in prison for a murder she didn’t commit. The story told through letters to Mr. Wexham, she asks for help in clearing her name. She tells him how she got to the present circumstance. Rowan saw an advertisement for a live-in nanny that came with good pay and benefits. She decides to send her resume and plan to meet Sandra and the kids she would be taking care of. The kids and other people warned her of the haunted stories of the house. In these letters, she provides details of what occurred during her time at the Heatherbrae House. The truth comes out and unnerving.

This novel was intriguing and fast paced. Nothing that Ruth Ware had written before and I love the style of letters rather than just traditional forms of storytelling. This was fresh and enjoyable. However, the idea of a woman being in the wrong place at the wrong time was a bit of an overused cliché. Overall, I enjoyed the novel and hoping to read more Ruth Ware novels.

Beyond Horrible

Grotesque – Natsuo Kirino

Horror, psychological, thriller, fiction.

Rating -1/10

This novel tells about how a woman tries to find a killer. There are some prostitution and murder. The woman becomes a murderer in revenge attempts to get back at society.

I really did not enjoy this novel at all and didn’t understand what was occurring. This seemed very cliché and boring. I regret picking up this book honestly. Maybe in the original language, not the translation, the novel would be tolerable, and I would understand the author’s intent.