Cul-de-sac, By Joy Fielding ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Domestic Abuse, Gun Violence, Mystery, PTSD, Sexual Abuse, Substance Abuse, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 10th, 2021

384 Pages

Synopsis: A shooting lays bare the secrets harbored by five families in a sleepy suburban cul-de-sac in this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of All the Wrong Places.

Someone on this quiet, unassuming cul-de-sac will be shot dead in the middle of a sultry July night.

Will it be Maggie, the perfectionist wife, or Craig, the husband who can’t quite live up to her expectations? They’ve packed up their two children and fled their life in California, hoping for a fresh start in Florida, only to find the demons of the past hovering on their doorstep.

Maybe it will be Nick, a highly respected oncologist, or his wife, Dani, a successful dentist, both with well-kept secrets of their own.

Or Julia, an elderly widow, whose troubled grandson has recently moved in with her, introducing unsavory habits and even more unsavory acquaintances into her formerly quiet existence.

Then there’s Olivia and her husband, Sean. Having lost his job at a prestigious advertising agency, Sean is depressed, resentful of his working wife, and drinking heavily. He is also prone to increasingly violent fantasies.

And what of the newlyweds, Aiden and Heidi, whose marriage is already on the rocks, due to Aiden’s reluctance to stand up to his intrusive mother? Matters aren’t helped when Heidi befriends Julia’s grandson, setting the stage for a major blowup.

A diverse group of neighbors, to be sure. Yet all harbor secrets. All bear scars. And all have access to guns.

Not all will survive the night. (Goodreads)

It’s normally such a quiet street. Small, unassuming, solidly middle class. Not the sort of place one usually associates with the shocking events of that hot July night. Ask any of the residents and they will agree that none of their neighbors seemed capable of committing such a cold-blooded heinous act.

I’ve been reading Joy Fielding’s books since the mid-1980s, and for the most part Cul-de-sac is further proof that despite her being seventy-six, she hasn’t lost any of her mojo. 

There are five houses on this small Palm Beach cul-de-sac, and while at first glance the inhabitants seem fairly ordinary, it soon becomes clear that they’re all keeping secrets and for most of the book it’s anyone’s guess who will turn out to be the shooter and the victim. There are multiple POVs but Maggie’s is the one that takes center stage. Her backstory doesn’t resemble what’s said in the premise. She actually witnessed a brutal crime, and after trying to do the right thing, she and her family are threatened and move to Florida in an attempt to start over. I really liked and emphasized with her, although there’s one incredibly stupid thing that she does near the end that puts not only her life in danger, but also her young son’s as well. The other households of this seemingly serene little neighborhood for the most part fit squarely into various tropes with a few tweaks to each one. My favorite was Julia and her grandson Mark, who is a bit of a troublemaker, yet shows promise. They have a sweet relationship and are surprisingly good for each other. As I reached the final chapters I surmised who this ultimate violent act was going to involve, but it was still interesting to see it play out. I also appreciated the epilogue as it wraps everyone’s stories up leaving no loose ends.

Cul-de-sac, is what I would call a popcorn book. Although it deals with some heavy topics: domestic abuse, sexual assault, PTSD, gun violence, and substance abuse, it doesn’t require any deep thinking and it’s an entertaining and quick read. I unhesitatingly recommend it especially for fans of the late Mary Higgins Clark.

 

Girl 11, By Amy Suiter Clarke ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Mystery, PTSD, Serial Killers, Suspense, True Crime Podcasts

Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

April 20th, 2021

352 Pages

Synopsis: Once a social worker, specializing in kids who were the victims of violent crime, Elle Castillo is now the host of a popular true crime podcast that tackles cold cases of missing children in her hometown of the Twin Cities. After two seasons of successfully solving cases, Elle decides to tackle her white whale—The Countdown Killer. Twenty years ago TCK abruptly stopped after establishing a pattern of taking and ritualistically murdering three girls over seven days, each a year younger than the last. No one’s ever known why, why he stopped with his eleventh victim, a girl of eleven years old, or why he followed the ritual at all.

When a listener phones in with a tip, Elle sets out to interview him, only to discover his dead boy. And within days, a child is abducted following the original TCK MO. Unlike the experts in the media and law enforcement who have always spun theories of a guilty suicide,  Elle never believed TCK had died, and her investigation was meant to lay that suspicion to rest. But instead, her podcast seems to be kicking up new victims. (Goodreads)

I need to begin by saying if you choose to pick up Girl, 11, be prepared to leave some expectations of rationality at the door. I also need to tell you that there are some scenes of child abuse which could be difficult for some readers. With those warnings out of the way, you guys—THIS. WAS. PHENOMENONAL! You know, in the way that you’re supposed to be doing laundry, and other real life stuff, but nothing gets done because you can’t put down the book you’re reading! Well, in my defense I did finally get the laundry done albeit much later than I had planned on. Seriously though, Girl, 11 had me from the very first page and it dug its hooks into me even more as I got deeper into the story.

Elle is a flawed and emotionally complicated character who never makes you question her motives, but does make you doubt her methods. She’s stubborn, obsessive and impulsive, which starts out as annoying, but as Amy Suiter Clarke drops little hints to an unknown childhood trauma, it’s obvious why Elle is so determined to do what she thinks is right, even when those around her have doubts. Unfortunately, in her quest for the truth she puts not only herself, but others in danger. But then, in the final chapters, comes the bombshell to end all bombshells regarding Elle’s past, and everything she’s done up until this point makes much more sense.The secondary characters are equally well written, but the standout for me is Martin, Elle’s dishy Mexican husband, whose skills as an ME are quite useful. Their relationship is really sweet, and I loved the dialogue between them.

The story is told mainly from Elle’s perspective and alternate with her podcast transcripts, but there are a few chapters scattered throughout where you hear from someone else which add some interesting layers to the story. The ones from the killer are chilling and made my flesh crawl. Another compelling aspect of this ripped-from-the-headlines plot is the question that’s raised about the positive vs the negative of focusing so much attention on the monsters who commit such evil atrocities. I can honestly say I was kept guessing right up until the end, and I’m glad I finished in the afternoon, because if I had done so right before bed, I never would have gone to sleep.

To sum things up, Girl, 11, is one of the most impressive debuts I’ve had the pleasure of coming across in recent memory. If you’re a fan of true crime podcasts, complex characters, twisty mysteries, and heart-pounding suspense, I highly recommend this. Without being a psychic I can almost guarantee that this will become a series, and if it doesn’t, I’ll be extremely disappointed.

Lost In the Never Woods, By Aiden Thomas ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Alcoholism, Anxiety, Death of a child, Dysfunctional Families, Fantasy, Gun Violence, Mystery, PTSD, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/Swoon Reads for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 23rd, 2021

384 Pages

Synopsis: When children go missing, people want answers. When children go missing in the small coastal town is Astoria, people look to Wendy for answers.

It’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town.

Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, claims that if they don’t do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. In order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy must confront what’s waiting for her in the woods. (Goodreads)

For someone who didn’t particularly care for the original Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie, I’ve read my fair share of retellings, some good, others not so much. Lost In the Never Woods gives the oft-told fantasy an entirely imaginative albeit extremely dark spin, that completely captured my attention from beginning to end. As always, I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I have to warn you that there are themes here that some readers may find difficult, including: PTSD, anxiety, death of children, and gun violence.

This is one of the very few times I actually liked the character of Peter Pan. He has that cavalier nonchalance at times, that I’ve found in previous stories, but I wasn’t annoyed by it like I usually am, because underneath that facade is a much deeper and complex personality. Indeed, this is a Peter who really does take his responsibilities to both Neverland and the Lost Children, seriously. And, once he realizes what has put everything in danger, he’s willing to sacrifice himself. I also loved Wendy, who’s written much differently here then how she’s been depicted in other retellings. While she struggles with memory loss and PTSD from her ordeal, she’s a fierce fighter, yet also retains that maternal side the classic Wendy displayed. When Peter drops back into Wendy’s life, he appears to be a few years younger than Wendy, which gave me a moment’s pause, as their relationship obviously is heading for romance. Thankfully, for readers’ sensibilities, the darkness that is behind the children’s disappearance, is also in part, responsible for the draining of Peter’s magic, and results in him aging, so by the time his and Wendy’s relationship reaches the kissing stage, he’s about eighteen-years-old as she is. Their relationship is the driving force behind everything that happens, so it was important that the author made Peter and Wendy believable and relatable, and I’m happy to say Aiden Thomas delivered in spades. As for the story itself, it’s different than any other retelling I’ve read. You don’t see much of Neverland, except through Wendy’s memories. There’s no Tinkerbell, and no Captain Hook. In fact, the villain is someone who innocuously appears in the original classic, but here, takes on epic evil proportions. Thomas also skillfully blends in other original characters and elements from the original, such as the Darling’s Saint Bernard Nana, and Wendy’s talent with sewing. If you’re familiar with Peter Pan, you won’t find it surprising that this doesn’t have a perfect happily-ever-after, yet the bittersweet finale is really the only way the story could end, and leaves the characters as well as the reader with a satisfying sense of peace and closure.

I absolutely loved Thomas’s debut, Cemetery Boys so Lost In the Never Woods has been one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, and I was not disappointed. I will even go so far as to predict  this will most likely be one of my favorite reads of this year. I highly and enthusiastically recommend this for older teens and adults who love imaginative fantasy retellings!

Unbroken ~ Jon Bon Jovi

Tags

”To Be of Service”, ”Unbroken”, Jon Bon Jovi, PTSD, Service Dogs, Veterans

Jon Bon Jovi honors veterans with his new song Unbroken, which is also the single for Josh Aronson’s, To Be of Service, which looks at the lives of veterans living with PTSD and the service animals who aid them in healing. For the next twelve months, all proceeds from the downloads will go to The Patriotic Service Dog Foundation—an organization that matches trained service dogs with veterans at no cost. Down below is the Unbroken video, the lyric video and the trailer for To Be of Service which is now available on Netflix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zenith (The Androma Saga #1), by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings ~ 1.0 Stars

Tags

PTSD, Rape, Science Fiction, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

534 Pages

Synopsis: Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her glass starship, Marauder, however, she’s just Andi, their friend and fearless leader.

But when a routine mission goes awry, the Marauder’s all-girl crew is tested as they find themselves in a treacherous situation and at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter from Andi’s past.

Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a ruthless ruler waits in the shadows of the planet Xen Ptera, biding her time to exact revenge for the destruction of her people. The pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two.

Andi and her crew embark on a dangerous, soul-testing journey that could restore order to their ship or just as easily start a war that will devour worlds. As the Marauder hurtles toward the unknown, and Mirabel hangs in the balance, the only certainty is that in a galaxy run on lies and illusion, no one can be trusted.

From it’s gorgeous cover to the science fiction premise starring an all girl crew, I really thought I was going to love Zenith, but for me it turned out to be a bloody mess. 

First, a trigger warning and a spoiler. There’s a female character who for some reason that’s never fully explained, has the power to compel people. And in one scene, she compels a male character into having sex with her. It’s technically not aggressive, nor is it explicitly described, but to me that’s rape, pure and simple and I feel like it would have been remiss of me not to bring it up. There’s also a lot of violence, so this is definitely meant for older teens.

As for the rest of the story it has way too many characters and POVs (six) that sound too much alike leaving me utterly frustrated. The worst one of all is Andi who simultaneously looks forward to killing people because of the sense of power it gives her, yet wrings her hands and bemoans her actions, until the next time that is. The other characters are for the most part no better, and many of their actions made no sense and bordered on being ludicrous.

As far as the plot goes, nothing, absolutely nothing happens until the last 40 pages or so. This made it tortuous to read and to be honest I would have given up before the halfway mark, except that I was sent this by the publisher and felt obligated to try to finish it. Adding to all this is lazy, derivative, uninspired world building in which I could easily pick out scenes that were eerily reminiscent of ones like for instance, the Mos Eisley cantina in Star Wars.

I could keep going, but I’m stopping now because I’m getting steamed up again just thinking about it. I think you all know by now that I hate slamming a book like this. These two authors no doubt spent a lot of time creating this. In my humble opinion though, Zenith had no business being published in its current form. The only reason I can think of that could explain why it was pushed through, is because Sasha Alsberg is a celebrity Booktuber. The co-author, Lindsay Cummings is a fairly well established YA author and I’ve read a few of her books and enjoyed them, so I’m not sure what happened here. I’m absolutely floored that the editor gave their stamp of approval to this. I’m giving Zenith 1 star for the admittedly cool concept and pretty cover. Otherwise, I’m sorry. I simply cannot bring myself to recommend this to anyone. Needless to say I won’t be picking up the sequel.

Follow Me Back (Follow Me Back #1) by, A.V. Geiger ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Agoraphobia, Fandom, Mystery, PTSD, Stalkers, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

370 Pages

Synopsis: Tessa Hart’s world feels very small. Confined to her bedroom with agoraphobia, her one escape is the online fandom for pop sensation Eric Thorn. When he tweets to his fans, it’s like he’s speaking directly to her…

Eric Thorne is frightened by his obsessive fans. They take their devotion way too far. It doesn’t help that his PR team keeps posting to encourage their fantasies. 

When a fellow pop star is murdered at the hands of a fan, Eric knows he has to do something to shatter his online image fast–like take down one of his top Twitter followers. But Eric’s plan to troll @TessaHeartsEric unexpectedly evolves into an online relationship deeper than either of them could have imagined. And when the two arrange to meet IRL, what should have made for the world’s best episode of Catfish takes a deadly turn.

Told through tweets, direct messages and police transcripts, this thriller for the online generation will keep you guessing right up to the shocking end.

Follow Me Back has so much going for it. A main character with agoraphobia, a story that’s told partly through tweets, and a murder mystery featuring an unknown obsessive fan. I have to admit though I was a little disappointed.

The only character I connected with was Tessa. She was very likeable and sympathetic and my heart ached for her because of the indifferent and callous treatment she received from her boyfriend and mother. She also has a completely ineffectual therapist who left me wondering where the heck she got her degree. Because of her agoraphobia and PTSD which resulted from a previous incident, it was perfectly understandable that she would become part of the online fandom worshipping Eric Thorne. As far as Eric goes, I tried to to sympathize with his travails with being a star and all of the problems that go with fame, but I just couldn’t. I had the sense that he pretty much looked down on his fans and couldn’t care less about the people who made him a celebrity. Thanks to his communication with Tess, I do think he showed some growth through the story. I’ve got to say also that fandom itself isn’t portrayed in a positive light in this book. Yes, there are some bad apples out there, but from what I’ve seen, most fans are pretty respectful of the celebrities they admire. 

Despite my issues with Eric, I did think the developing romance between him and Tess was very sweet. Given that for the majority of the book they converse through direct messages via Twitter, and occasionally over the phone, their relationship progressed in a believable manner and kept me engaged. But what truly saved the story for me, was the murder mystery involving the sinister stalker. It kept me turning the pages, and the ending was a huge surprise that I didn’t see coming.

Overall I found Follow Me Back, to be a quick read with many enjoyable aspects. I guarantee that it will hold wide appeal to teen readers. The cliffhanger ending has guaranteed that I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out. 

 

 

 

 

The Fall Of Lisa Bellow ~ By Susan Perabo – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Bullying, Child Abduction, Family Relationships, Literary Fiction, PTSD

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 14th, 2017

352 Pages

Synopsis: What happens to the girl left behind?

A masked man with a gun enters a sandwich shop in broad daylight, and Meredith Oliver suddenly finds herself ordered to the filthy floor, where she cowers face to face with her nemesis, Lisa Bellow, the most popular girl in her eighth grade class. The minutes tick inexorably by, and Meredith lurches between comforting the sobbing Lisa and imagining her own impending death. Then the man orders Lisa Bellow to stand and come with him, leaving Meredith the girl he left behind, 

After Lisa’s abduction, Meredith spends most days in her room. As the community stages vigils and searches, Claire, Meredith’s mother, is torn between relief that her daughter is alive, and helplessness over her inability to protect or even comfort her child. Her daughter is here, but not.

The Fall Of Lisa Bellow is the first book I’ve read by Susan Perabo. While I had a few issues, I thought she did a fantastic job getting into her characters’ psyches, which made this a very interesting read. The story is told for the most part from the first person POVs of Meredith, and her mother Claire. Thirteen-year-old Meredith is what really holds this book together. Seeing the trauma she goes through during and after the robbery and abduction of her classmate, who is your classic mean girl is heartbreaking. Perabo has a very descriptive style of writing which made me feel as though I was in the sandwich shop with the two girls as they laid on the sticky linoleum floor, terrified beyond belief, and trying to comfort one another. Meredith is extremely sympathetic as a young teen dealing with the aftermath, others expectations of her, and her PTSD. The way she deals with all this has her mind wandering at times into the fantasy realm. One scenario has her observing what Lisa is going through with her abductor. The other has her fantasizing that she and Lisa were both abducted. Both scenarios come across realistically, but the author meanders a little too much with them. The chapters that are told from Claire’s perspective are the ones I had the most trouble with because I disliked her immensely. Without going into spoiler territory, some of Claire’s thoughts and actions are pretty horrifying even before the abduction of Lisa. She loves her children, but she’s selfish and displays an appallingly skewed moral compass. Making things worse is that she and her husband are completely clueless when it comes to helping Meredith and her brother Evan who is still recovering from a trauma of his own. The loving relationship and dialogue between Meredith and Evan were my favorite parts of the book. I think they do a far better job at helping each other than any of the adults in the story. I wasn’t thrilled by the ending which left me with questions I really wanted answered, but I understand why the author chose to go this route. Overall, The Fall Of Lisa Bellow is less a thriller, and more a psychological drama that takes a thought-provoking look at the people affected by a child’s abduction. Susan Perabo has an interesting style of writing and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for any future books by her.

 

Lost Girls ~ By Merrie Destefano – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Amnesia, Contemporary Fiction, Drug Abuse, Friendships, PTSD, Slavery, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: January 3rd, 2017

360 Pages

Synopsis: Yesterday, Rachel went to sleep listening to Taylor Swift, curled up in her grammy’s quilt, worrying about geometry. Today, she woke up in a ditch, bloodied, bruised, and missing a year of her life. 

She doesn’t recognize the person she’s become: she’s popular. She wears nothing but black.

Black to cover the blood.

And she can fight.

Tell no one.

She’s not the only girl to go missing within the last year…but she’s the only girl to come back. She desperately wants to unravel what happened to her, to try and recover the rest of the Lost Girls.

But the more she discovers, the more her memories return. And as much as her new life scares her, it calls to her. Seductively. The good girl gone bad, sex, drugs, and raves, and something darker…something she still craves–the rush of the fight, the thrill of the win–something she can’t resist, that might still get her killed…

The only rule is: There are no rules.

Lost Girls is being hyped as a cross between Black Swan and Fight Club, and while such comparisons often irk me, in this case it’s entirely on the mark. Even more, the story is actually better than what the intriguing premise suggests. I started reading this around 7:00 last night and couldn’t put it down until I had reached the end in the wee hours of the morning! The story begins with a dirty, bloody, and battered Rachel pulling herself out of a roadside ditch and basically throwing herself in front of passing motorists to get them to stop. It’s the type of opening that immediately grabs you, and from there the pace never slows down. Rachel is one of the most intriguing characters I’ve read this year. She has a powerhouse of a personality and I became completely invested in finding out what happened to her. The romance between her and Dylan is not your typical one which made me like it even more. I also loved her interactions with her close knit family, especially her younger brother and her Navy Seal father. Which brings me to my only slight criticism. Rachel’s mom is a nurse, and her father a war hero who’s seen plenty of combat, yet once the mystery of what Rachel’s been doing the past year is fully revealed, I found it a little hard to accept that her loving parents didn’t know or at least suspect what was happening. But this is a very small complaint in what is otherwise an outstanding novel. The imagery is incredibly detailed from that first scene to the very last. More than once I felt as though I was in the story experiencing everything the characters were. There’s a lot of themes at play here: amnesia, PTSD, slavery, drug abuse, etc. but it’s all combined into the mesmerizing storyline in a completely believable way. Technically Lost Girls is a YA book, but honestly, it could easily pass as one for adults and it’s one I highly recommend!

Fool Me Once ~ By Harlan Coben – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, PTSD, Relationships, Suspense, Thrillers

Thank you Edelweiss and Penguin Group Dutton for providing an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 22nd, 2016

Synopsis: Former special ops pilot Maya, home from the war, sees unthinkable image captured by her nanny cam while she is at work: her two-year-old daughter playing with Maya’s husband Joe–who had been brutally murdered two weeks earlier. The provocative question at the heart of the mystery: Can you believe everything you see with your own eyes, even when you definitely want to? To find the answer, Maya must finally come to terms with deep secrets and deceit in her own past before she can face the unbelievable truth about her husband–and herself.

Harlan Coben can always be counted on to provide more twists and turns in his standalone novels than the scariest roller coaster and Fool Me Once is no different. Captain Maya Stern Burkett is a strong yet complicated character. In addition to having her husband gunned down right before her eyes, she’s still coping with the loss of her sister Claire who was murdered just four months previously. She also has PTSD leading her and the reader at times to doubt her sanity throughout the book. As she begins to investigate the deaths of Joe and Claire, events in Iraq concerning decisions she made come into play, further complicating matters. I’m going to be honest and tell you Maya is a little hard to warm up to. She’s smart, absolutely fearless and determined, but at times she comes across a little remote and cold and some of her parenting decisions are a little questionable.  But you see, Coben also exels at creating complicated characters that despite their shortcomings make you care about them anyway. There are no end to suspects in this thriller but I guarantee when you get to the big reveal it won’t be anything you expected. Fool Me Once is a twisty tale that you don’t simply get lost in. From the very first page you will be hanging on to every word and by the time the story reaches its breathless conclusion you’ll feel as though you were on an actual roller coaster. If you’re a fan of mysteries, thrillers and psychological suspense, this is definitely the book for you!

 

 

Persuasion (The Heirs of Watson Island Bk. 2) ~ by Martina Boone – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Dysfunctional Families, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, PTSD, Romance, South Carolina, YA Fiction

 I received this ebook from Edelweiss and Simon Pulse in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Grieving the death of her godfather and haunted by her cousin Cassie’s betrayal, Barrie returns from a trip to San Francisco to find the Watson plantation under siege. Ghost-hunters hope to glimpse the ancient spirit who sets the river on fire each night, and reporters chase rumors of a stolen shipment of Civil War gold that may be hidden at Colesworth Place. The chaos turns dangerous as Cassie hires a team of archeologists to excavate beneath the mansion ruins. Because more is buried there than treasure.

A stranger filled with magic arrives at Watson’s Landing claiming that the key to the Watson and Beaufort gifts–and the Colesworth Curse– also lies beneath the mansion. With a mix of threats and promises, the man convinces Barrie and Cassie to cast a spell there at midnight. But what he conjures may have deadly results. 

While Barrie struggles to make sense of the escalating peril and her growing and forbidden feelings for Eight Beaufort, it’s impossible to know whom to trust and what to fight for–Eight or herself. Millions of dollars and the fate of the founding families is at stake. Now Barrie must choose between what she feels deep in her heart and what will keep Watson’s Landing safe.

I fell in love with Compulsion which is the first book in this series, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the sequel. While I wasn’t quite as enchanted this time around, Persuasion is still an enjoyable read.

First let me say that this isn’t a book you can jump into without reading the first. While there is some reflection upon past events, it will not be enough to keep you from getting confused. Both books will grab your attention immediately with their southern gothic setting, dark magic, curses, voodoo, and quirky characters.

The story picks up shortly after the events of the first. Barrie, and Eight have returned to Watson Island, South Carolina after attending her godfather’s funeral. Happy to be home, Barrie soon discovers that things have changed, and that the people she’s trusted most have been keeping things from her. Anxious to bring back the safety and security she once felt, and to help her aunt to reopen the Tearoom, Barrie has to learn to trust again if she’s to protect herself and the people she cares for.

Barrie is an extremely complicated character. While I emphasize with her struggles and the losses she’s endured, she also drove me crazy at times. She comes across as being sanctimonious and hypocritical. She’s angry and bitter over the secrets that have been kept hidden from her, yet she repeatedly lies herself, especially in regards to Eight, the boy she loves. She does so, even while admitting that she knows it’s wrong. Meanwhile, Eight is trying to be as supportive and understanding as he can, but things are so one-sided that their relationship is anything but romantic. Between Barrie’s lying, and their constant bickering, I was ready to throw up my hands and call it quits a few times.

But, Martina Boone has this beautiful style of writing and that’s what kept me turning the pages. The way she describes people and places is simply exquisite, and when she blends that with historical events, well, it makes for a mesmerizing read. She also introduces some interesting concepts such as PTSD, forgiveness of someone who may not deserve it, and free will as opposed to fate. 

Barrie and Eight’s rocky romance aside, Persuasion is a compelling read filled with mystery, magic, and danger. While it answers some questions, there are plenty of new ones that arise, which leaves me looking forward to the third book, Illusion due out next year.