THE TURN OF THE KEY by Ruth Ware

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have yet to read a Ruth Ware book that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy and The Turn of the Key is no exception!

Rowan Caine gets the job she desperately desires — to be a nanny to four children at a remote mansion in the countryside.  What makes the position even more attractive is that it pays extremely well, which brings to mind the old cliche that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

The warning signs are all there. At the end of the job interview, one of the children pleads with Rowan that she shouldn’t live there because it’s not safe and the ghosts won’t like it.  Four nannies have left in the past fourteen months. What drove them away? There are rumors and tales that the house (named Heatherbrae) is haunted. Could it be true? In the end, the salary overrides any hesitation or doubts.

The house is a character in the book as it plays a major role. Heatherbrae is a “smart” house, filled with surveillance equipment and the ability to turn on and off anything electrical by command, using an app named “Happy.”  There are  a few incidents where it seems to malfunction but such things do happen, right? The Turn of the Key serves as a warning to advancing the capabilities of a smart house because it shows the reader how things can go very wrong.

If the house isn’t trouble enough, Rowan has her hands full with a baby and two children that constantly challenge her. (The fourth one does as well but doesn’t show up until later). During a respite from the two children, Rowan refers to them and their behavior in the most unappealing way — “..Ellie’s uncomfortable misery, and Maddie’s bitter campaign of vengeance.”

The book starts off slow and I found myself expecting a twist or turn on every page. In fact, I felt as if I was waiting in anticipation for much of the book, which added to the suspense and intrigue. Trust me, your patience will pay off with all sorts of twists that will surprise and astonish you!

THE LAST HOUSE GUEST by Megan Miranda

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was disappointed in The Last House Guest because of the lack of character development.  I did not feel that I knew anyone and more importantly, I didn’t care what happened to any of them.  As such, it was difficult to become invested in the story. I continued reading The Last House Guest because I thought maybe further along or the ending would blow my mind (or come close).  But sadly, I did not find the payoff sufficient to make the whole read worthwhile. While I was surprised, I didn’t feel like the revelations were “twists” that were A-ha moments or ones that put me on the edge of my seat. 

ALL THE FLOWERS IN PARIS by Sarah Jio

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow - what a ride! I just loved All the Flowers in Paris.  The story and characters will be front and center in my mind and in my heart for some time to come. 

There are two alternating timelines in this book. One takes place in Nazi-occupied Paris in the early 1940s. It centers on Céline who is of Jewish descent and her young daughter Cosi.  It is a story of survival and the lengths a mother will go to for her daughter.  

The second timeline is the present day Paris and tells the story of Caroline who is in an accident and as a result, has amnesia. 

“‘Hello?’ I call out, both to anyone who can hear me and, I suppose, to myself. I am deeply and sorely lost. I am a strange soul trapped in an even stranger body. The only thing I know is that I am alive, and that I am, in, well, Paris.”

“...I am currently a person without a story. But I feel more like a person without a soul.”

Caroline feels lost though people tell her how much happier and friendlier she is since losing her memory. She wants to remember her life yet does not want to return to being sad and miserable.

“What if my memory comes back and I hate my life, or worse, hate myself? From all I can tell, I was miserable before. I don’t want to be that woman.”

While these two timelines tell two disparate stories, Jio eventually and effortlessly joins them together, which makes for a very satisfying outcome for the reader. 

These stories touched me on several levels - the horrors of the Nazis and their occupation of Pairs, a fight for survival, coping with loss, second chances, and a mother’s determination to protect her daughter.

For most of the book, the present day story seemed somewhat mundane compared to story taking place in  the 1940s.  As such, they felt mis-matched - a life and death thriller juxtaposed with a humdrum romance. I found my emotional response varied between disgust and almost indifference depending on which timeline I was reading. Ultimately they do fit and in fact, join together nicely.

“To think that all around me—the letters in my apartment, Monsieur de Goff—are remnants of such an ugly time in history. It makes my amnesia pale in comparison. In fact, for those who suffered trauma, as Monsieur de Goff reportedly had, amnesia could even be a gift.”

I was unable to put this book down.  It was extremely well-written with highly developed characters that will live in your heart. 

“I’ve always loved the city in winter, particularly the way the rooftops look as if they’ve been dusted with a heavy layer of confectioner’s sugar, turning the formerly anemic balcony gardens of winter into scenes straight out of a fairy tale.”

“.... sweeping a few stray rose petals off the cobblestones in front of the shop. I always feel bad for fallen petals, as silly as that sounds. They’re like little lost ducklings separated from their mama.”

All the Flowers in Paris was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

..the truth is, these days we’re all in trouble.” He’s right, of course. We’re all sailing in a ship that’s taking on water. Life rafts are sparse.

We will see her again. That’s what love does. It binds people together with ties that are stronger than time, stronger than war and destruction, evil, or pain.

Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

SECRETS OF THE CHOCOLATE HOUSE by Paula Brackston

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved The Little Shop of Found Things and was very excited to read the second book in the Found Things series. Paula Brackston does not disappoint! Secrets of the Chocolate House is an extremely enjoyable read that I don’t think requires reading the first book. Brackston seems to provide the necessary information to new readers while also reminding the “old” readers. It was delightful to meet up with Xanthe again and to accompany her as she travels through time. It was also fun to see the Appleby clan, especially Samuel. 

Xanthe has a gift. Certain objects “sing” to her, prompting her to travel to a certain time where her help is needed. She feels compelled to heed the call because otherwise the outcome could be regrettable and the future thrown off its proper path.

Secrets of the Chocolate House begins with the discovery of an old chocolate pot that “sings” to Xanthe and produces quite an adventure that challenges her resourcefulness and perseverance. Xanthe must deal with danger, intrigue and questions of who to trust and who to fear. She learns she is not the only time traveler or spinner. However, this other spinner is evil and wants to hurt her beloved Samuel. What can she do to save him?

I really appreciate that Brackston developed the time travel element. We learn more about spinning, for example that objects cannot travel forward in time because they will degrade or deteriorate. Xanthe learns to have a little more control over how to travel to specific times. Also, it was interesting for her to “compare notes” with another spinner and have a mentor to further her abilities. 

The story is well structured and the characters are well developed. I particularly like Brackston’s writing style and her use of imagery. I cannot wait for the next book in the series to see what object sings to Xanthe and where it takes her. 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE by Lori Gottlieb

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is a fascinating look into the world of a therapist and how therapy works.  Sprinkled throughout the book are snippets of psychology, including explanations of defense mechanisms, stages of change, tasks of mourning, and brief glimpses of the contributions of Freud, Erikson, Rogers, Franklin, and others to the field of psychology. It’s almost like getting a psychology education. Profound insights about human nature abound:

...people who are demanding, critical, and angry tend to suffer from intense loneliness. I know that a person who acts this way both wants to be seen and is terrified of being seen.

We marry our unfinished business.

It’s not that people want to get hurt again. It’s that they want to master a situation in which they felt helpless as children.

Sometimes “drama,” no matter how unpleasant, can be a form of self-medication, a way to calm ourselves down by avoiding the crises brewing inside.

...pain can be protective; staying in a depressed place can be a form of avoidance. Safe inside her shell of pain, she doesn’t have to face anything, nor does she have to emerge into the world, where she might get hurt again.

Lori Gottlieb takes us on a journey of self-discovery with herself and her patients. We learn about the world of therapy — how it works, what’s it like from the therapist’s point of view, how change happens, when therapy ends, what’s it like when a therapist goes to a therapist, and much more. 

...therapy is about understanding the self that you are. But part of getting to know yourself is to unknow yourself—to let go of the limiting stories you’ve told yourself about who you are so that you aren’t trapped by them, so you can live your life and not the story you’ve been telling yourself about your life.

...change and loss travel together. We can’t have change without loss, which is why so often people say they want change but nonetheless stay exactly the same.

The things we protest against the most are often the very things we need to look at.

Included throughout Maybe You Should Talk to Someone are conversations between therapist and client.  Over the course of the book, we get to know several of Lori’s patients and their stories. These patients are fascinating and the authenticity of their sessions rings through.

Gottlieb writes well, in a friendly style with much insight, depth and meaning included in every paragraph. I appreciated her discussing her own problems — people often forget that therapists are human and have problems just like the rest of us.  Gottlieb is not shy about revealing her issues and her thoughts as well as the process of therapy she undergoes for herself.

I just need a little crisis management, a few weeks to “process” an unexpected breakup, and then I’ll be good to go. I’ve done therapy before, I say, so I come “preshrunk.”

MRS. EVERYTHING by Jennifer Weiner

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mrs. Everything follows the lives of two sisters from childhood and throughout their lives, from the1950s until present day.  The older one, Jo is a rebel who is convinced her mother dislikes her and that she is inferior in some way.

...the worst was true. Something was wrong with her. She was broken, she was twisted, she was unnatural, like her mother had said. She would never be fixed or made right.

In contrast, Bethie is the perfect daughter who is more traditional yet also suffers from feelings of inferiority.

...and sometimes—a lot of the time—it felt like her skin no longer fit her, and her body was only a collection of flaws to be fixed or at least disguised, an endless source of despair.

When the two sisters grow up, they switch roles — Jo lives a traditional life whereas Bethie is a free spirit who gets swept up in the counterculture. The story is essentially about each of the two sisters coming of age and then seeking their place in the world and their purpose. They both want to live fulfilled lives and find happiness. There is also a third main character that I would describe as their relationship, which would include the role they play in each other’s life. 

Jo and Bethie are both likable and relatable - there are aspects of each that will certainly resonate with you. We witness their trials and tribulations as well as the key pivotal moments in their lives that ultimately define them. Weiner explores the different choices that women have as times change — a career, a stay-at-home mom, trying to have it all (working and being a mother), etc. We also witness mother-daughter relationships as well as relationships between sisters over the generations.

Besides highly relatable characters, Mrs. Everything includes many topical issues such as sexual abuse by a man in position of authority, LGBTQ, rape, racism, eating disorders, drug abuse as well as historical topics like woman’s lib, civil rights and the counterculture in the 1960s-‘70s.

What was the point of watching her weight now? Once, she’d thought beauty was power, but now she could see that it was just trouble. A pretty face, a cute figure, a smile, all of those were weak spots. They were ways in, and Bethie wanted to be armored, defended, unbreakable.

...she wondered whether they would ever not try to have it all and do it all and do all of it flawlessly. Would the day ever come when simply doing your best would be enough? Her generation hadn’t managed it, and neither had her daughters.

This is the first book I’ve read by Jennifer Weiner and I really enjoyed her writing style. I loved her metaphors/similes and found them particularly clever. I will definitely read more of her work.

She hates me, Jo would think, but even that didn’t hurt so much, because her father loved her, and she could carry his love, like a glowing coal in the center of her chest, feeling its warmth even in the face of her mother’s fury.

            

Her mom reminded her of a rubber band that had been snapped so many times until all of its resilience was used up, and it just hung there, stretched out and useless and limp.

My problem is that a lot of things taste as good as thin feels.

It was as if Jo had bought a ticket for a trip Bethie couldn’t take; like she was already on her way to a country where Bethie would never become a citizen, where she would always speak the language with an accent. Bethie would possibly be able to visit, but she’d always have to leave, to go back to her own place, to stand at the border and wave and mouth I love you across the divide.

VERITY by Colleen Hoover

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Verity is such a fun and entertaining book! Yes it’s creepy and disturbing but it’s also a book you won’t be able to put down.  The twists and turns are endless and the ending was a big surprise. You cannot help wondering what exactly is the truth. Even after finishing this book, you may still not know what to believe.

This book is about flawed people who are Chronics:

... she said we were Chronics. Prone to chronic tragedy. One terrible thing after another.

Some families are lucky enough to never experience a single tragedy. But then there are those families that seem to have tragedies waiting on the back burner. What can go wrong, goes wrong. And then gets worse.

How can you not be pulled in, like I was, by the first sentence?

I hear the crack of his skull before the spattering of blood reaches me.

Hoover teases you along the way, spilling a detail here or there without telling you how or why it happened. But you find out later in the course of the storytelling. She sets up so many juicy plot lines which all become somewhat intertwined.  At times, you cannot help but feel totally disgusted and shocked. You will say, as I did,  “How can a mother behave that way towards her children?” You won’t want to believe it but you will. Then you will become even more disgusted after reading the next chapter! Verity is a helluva ride! This was my first book by Colleen Hoover and it won’t be my last.