Book Review // Maybe You Should Talk To Someone

Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis:
"One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose of­fice she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.

As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients' lives -- a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can't stop hooking up with the wrong guys -- she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.

With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change." Amazon.com

Review:

Not 5 stars?? I’m just as surprised as you are. 

Not only was this book 100 pages too long, it was a drawn out sad whiny story about Lori getting dumped by her boyfriend who told her he didn’t want to date someone with kids, after 2 years of dating her, and her 8 yr old son. Don’t get me wrong, that’s super upsetting and getting dumped is the worst. But it went on and on of her complaining to her own therapist. 

This book read very fictional and I think that’s why my heart wasn’t completely invested in the characters. The stories weren’t real. She said she changed names and circumstances to protect her patients, and I get that, but why write a nonfiction book with zero parts true? And Lori seemed to lack any vulnerability in her therapy sessions with her own therapist, Wendell (I died a slow death with that name choice). If anything, I wish Lori made herself have the depth and realness, but it just came of complaining and annoying after awhile.

I thought she had a lot of wisdom when helping guide her patients. And I think she’s a wonderful therapist! All of the quotes I tagged were enlightened moments they shared. She just came of a train wreck in her own journey (which I guess is the point maybe? That maybe we’re all train wrecks at some point in our lives?). I don’t know. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. And I’m bummed that I bought it.

Book Review // The Fountains of Silence

**Thank you to Penguin Teen for this gifted copy!

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:
"Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into the country under the welcoming guise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of a Texas oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother's birth through the lens of his camera. Photography--and fate--introduce him to Ana, whose family's interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War--as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel's photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city." Amazon.com

Review:

The Fountain of Silence was just released today and I cannot recommend this book enough. What I can’t get over is that is a YA novel! And probably the best YA I’ve ever read. 

The Fountains of Silence takes us back to the 1950’s in Spain where the citizens were still under the dictatorship of Franco. This part of Spain’s history was dark and destitute. The people were starving and desperate, but the Spanish leaders tried to paint a different picture to the public. The hospitality workers were under strict order to never let the “outsiders” know the reality Spain was experiencing. 

There were secrets exposed in The Fountains of Silence of Spain’s history that I had never heard of. It is shocking to me what a dictatorship can do to its citizens and for the length of time he was ruling the country. 

I loved the real and raw nature Ruta created in her characters. As I was reading, I felt like I was there, like a fly on the wall. The families. The struggles. Their heartbreaking reality. And the sweet love story of Ana and Daniel.

I cannot recommend this one enough. Another fantastic book club choice! Limited language and minimal steam. 

Book Review // The Unbreakables

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

"The worst birthday ever might just be the gift of a lifetime…

It’s Sophie Bloom’s forty-second birthday, and she’s ready for a night of celebration with Gabe, her longtime, devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip, including which North Grove residents were caught with their pants down on Ashley Madison after the secret on-line dating site for married and committed couples was hacked. Thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed…including Sophie’s “perfect” husband. To add insult to injury, she learns Gabe is the top cheater in their town. 

Humiliated and directionless, Sophie jumps into the unknown and flees to France to meet up with her teenage daughter who is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. After a brief visit to Paris, Sophie heads out to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. There, for the first time in a long time, Sophie acknowledges her own desires—not her husband’s, not her daughter’s—and rediscovers her essence with painful honesty and humor, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor. 

As she sheds her past and travels the obstacle-filled off beaten path, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. Allowing her true self to emerge in the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie must decide what is broken forever...and what it means to be truly unbreakable." Amazon.com

Review:

I’ll be honest, my review for The Unbreakables is all over the place. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this book, which definitely says a lot about its deep writing and complex themes introduced throughout. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣

👉🏻Sophie Bloom discovers that her husband, on her 42nd birthday, is found on Ashley Madison (the cheater website) as one of the top cheaters in their suburb. Her entire life crumbles to the ground as the lies and deceit from over the years unfold. She escapes to France where her daughter is studying abroad, with the goal in mind to discover and ultimately reinvent herself without her husband. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣

Ok. Lets unpack this👇🏻⁣⁣

⁣⁣

What I loved:⁣⁣

-Sophie’s story. I really love it. She was faced with so many difficult realities but never questioned her morals when faced with difficult dilemmas. Seeing Sophie’s character develop from start to finish was pretty incredible. ⁣⁣

-the art! I love art history so much. I don’t want to say too much, but I could have been happy having 100 more chapters of Sophie and her sculpting.⁣⁣

-I appreciated the devotion Sophie had for her husband and also the devotion Luc had for Nathalie. Fidelity in marriage is very important to me, and especially in the books that I read.⁣⁣

⁣⁣

What I didn’t love:⁣⁣

-Her short stint in Paris was a bit much for me, and could be for some of you, just a warning (pg 147 & pg 243). ⁣⁣

-The sidebar stories because of the quickness they came in and out of the story. I think more detail or less tangents would have helped? ⁣⁣

-I didn’t love how it ended with Sophie and Lauren. That story felt forced. ⁣⁣

-Hated the bad language used.⁣

Book Review // That's What Frenemies Are For

**Thank you to Ballantine Books for this gifted copy!

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

"Julia Summers seems to have it all: a sprawling Upper East Side apartment, a successful husband, and two adorable children attending the best private school in the city. She relishes wielding influence over her well-heeled girlfriends . . . but her star appears to be fading. That’s why, when stranded in Manhattan for the summer as her entire crowd flees to the Hamptons, Julia is on the hunt for the next big thing that will make her the envy of her friends and put her back on top.

Enter Flame, the new boutique gym in her neighborhood. Seductive and transformative, Flame’s spin classes are exactly what Julia needs—and demure, naïve instructor Tatum is her ticket in. But rebranding Tatum as a trendy guru proves hard work, and Julia’s triumphant comeback at summer’s end doesn’t quite go as planned. Tatum begins to grasp just how much power her newfound stardom holds, and when things suddenly get ugly, Julia realizes she’s in way over her head.

Julia’s life is already spiraling out of control when her husband is arrested for fraud and bribery. As her so-called friends turn their backs on her, and Tatum pursues her own agenda, Julia is forced to rethink everything she knew about her world to reclaim her perfect life. But does she even want it back? Witty and incisive, Sophie Littlefield and Lauren Gershell’s That’s What Frenemies Are For provides an engrossing glimpse into the cutthroat moms’ club of the Upper East Side." Amazon.com

Review:

If you loved When Life Gives You Lululemons, you’ll love this book! They have similar vibes with the same type of rich and privileged women in NYC who are always one-upping each other and living the “frenemies” game big time. 

Frenemies tells the story of Julia Summers, living the life of the rich and famous in NYC, who befriends Tatum, a gym spin instructor, only to boost her own reputation and “I know it all” with her friends. Tatum turns the tables on Julia, and man does it get crazy. Julia is desperate to rebuild her reputation but is faced with many challenges within her in family.

I realized halfway through that the storyline that I connected with the most was her family situation. I was wanting more dialogue with her husband and was growing tired of the fake women in Julia’s life. She so desperately wanted to be accepted and put on a pedestal by her fake friends, that she wasn’t aware of the breakdown happening around her. 

The ending was superb and I applaud Julia’s transformation. And I love Janet so much. And Belinda. 

Add this one to your cart asap because your pool days are coming to a close and this one is a perfect companion!! 

*Thank you to Ballantine Books (Random House) for this free advanced copy!

Book Review // The Most Fun We Ever Had

**Thank you to Double Day Books for this gifted copy!

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis:
"When Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, they are blithely ignorant of all that's to come. By 2016, their four radically different daughters are each in a state of unrest: Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator-turned-stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt when the darkest part of her past resurfaces; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects. Above it all, the daughters share the lingering fear that they will never find a love quite like their parents'. 

As the novel moves through the tumultuous year following the arrival of Jonah Bendt--given up by one of the daughters in a closed adoption fifteen years before--we are shown the rich and varied tapestry of the Sorensons' past: years marred by adolescence, infidelity, and resentment, but also the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile." Amazon.com

Review:

You know when you read a book, and you feel like you’re just a fly on the wall, watching everything happen around you and you’re observing it all and making judgments about everything and everyone? And you’re on the verge of blowing up because you just wanna say something and tell someone that they’re the absolute worst and most hated character in the book? Ahem, Violet. That was kind of how I felt about reading TMFWEH (get used to that acronym because I’m obsessed).

There are so many layers to this book, and I really hope you decide to pick it up! It’s hefty (over 500 pages), but reads very quickly. Claire Lombardo is smart and clever. She has developed these characters with so much personality and realness that you KNOW them by the end and are absolutely heartbroken to finish that last page. Everyone in the Sorenson family has faced difficult decisions that have impacted not only their own life, but trickled down to every member of the family. 

I appreciated the devotion Marilyn and David had for each other. Marriage is hard, and I loved how real their marriage played out in this book. 

Wendy was the most cringe-worthy, but most vulnerable character. Some of her actions made me bat crazy, but I also welcomed her willingness to speak up to certain family members. 

Violet was absolute poison the entire book. Every chapter made me so angry! I could not sympathize with her one bit. She never got better for me. 

Liza kind of dug her own grave at times, but showed promise to rebuild the relationships around her. I loved how David came to her rescue at the end. 

Grace, the forgotten daughter. Not only did Grace feel that she was the left-out child, Lombardo wrote Grace with as little presence in the book so you really did feel that absence.

Last but definitely not least, Jonah. Sweet, sweet, Jonah. The boy who truly made this novel. I wasn’t expecting to love Jonah this much when I first started TMFWEH, but my heart was bursting by the end.

If family drama makes you prone to break out in hives and reaching for your bottle of anti-anxiety meds, THIS IS NOT YOUR BOOK. 

*I had to dock 1/2 star because of language and sex. But the language bothered me more than the sex. It felt unnecessary.

Book Review // Maybe In Another Life

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

"At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him." Amazon.com

Review:

This was only my second TJR book (Evelyn Hugo was my first) and I was completely caught up in the story of Hannah Martin. It was a Sliding Doors-How To Walk Away hybrid, so if you’re familiar with both, you’ll probably guess the story outline. 

Hannah comes to a cross roads when she returns to LA after living in several places and never really know where her “home.” Her first real night back, her and best friend Gabby go to a club where Hannah meets up with her ex-boyfriend, Ethan. And from there, the story splits off, if she stayed with Ethan and if she goes home with Gabby. 

If you’ve read it, which story did you like more? I was obsessed with Henry and Hannah ❤️ Not a surprise since I loved How To Walk Away! 

I breezed eight through this one and loved every single page. It was clean! Only a few spots of language, but no sex scenes. It was light and romantic and beautiful. 

Book Review // Miracle Creek

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:

"How far will you go to protect your family? Will you keep their secrets? Ignore their lies?

In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But then the chamber explodes, two people die, and it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident. 

A powerful showdown unfolds as the story moves across characters who are all maybe keeping secrets, hiding betrayals. Chapter by chapter, we shift alliances and gather evidence: Was it the careless mother of a patient? Was it the owners, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? Could it have been a protester, trying to prove the treatment isn’t safe?" Amazon.com

Review:

“That was both the best and worst part, that all that happened was the unintended consequence of a good person’s mistake.”

I have been stewing over this novel for the entire week and I have found it so hard to write down my thoughts. I know they won’t adequately convey how powerful and meaningful this book was to me. However, let me just give some scattered thoughts and see if they make any sense.

First off, I love reading a courtroom drama. It reminded me a lot of how I felt while reading Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult (which you know is one of my all time favorite books). With each chapter, you learn more and more from every character involved in the explosion. Everyone had their own chapter and point of view. And with every story, we also learned the secrets they were keeping from each other (and the attorney’s). 

The beginning was definitely dense and took a minute to figure out each characters role in the story (who was the one going in for the oxygen dives, who were the parents of the children, and who was in charge). It didn’t take long after that first hump to get momentum going. I couldn’t put this book down. I read partial pages whenever I could find a few seconds (and I rarely do that!). 

As the story moved forward, Kitt, Young, and Elizabeth’s stories resonated most with me most mainly because of our commonality of motherhood. It is a hard job being a mother. The pressures we constantly feel, the responsibilities that are never ending, and the heartbreak of seeing our children suffer. But also the sisterhood we feel together when we share parts of ourselves, our dark secrets, our deep feelings, and our scariest vulnerabilities. We’ve all felt them and it connects us deeply when we share them and feel heard and understood.

My heart broke when everything started to unravel, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t guess “who set the fire.” I made several accusations before the pieces started falling into place. 

This was Angie Kim’s debut novel, what!? A freaking Harvard Law grad and best-seller author. You are the queen, Angie!

Book Review // The Things We Keep

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

"Anna Forster is only thirty-eight years old, but her mind is slowly slipping away from her. Armed only with her keen wit and sharp-eyed determination, she knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. But Anna has a secret: she does not plan on staying. She also knows there's just one another resident who is her age, Luke. What she does not expect is the love that blossoms between her and Luke even as she resists her new life. As her disease steals more and more of her memory, Anna fights to hold on to what she knows, including her relationship with Luke.

Eve Bennett, suddenly thrust into the role of single mother to her bright and vivacious seven-year-old daugher, finds herself putting her culinary training to use at Rosalind house. When she meets Anna and Luke, she is moved by the bond the pair has forged. But when a tragic incident leads Anna's and Luke's families to separate them, Eve finds herself questioning what she is willing to risk to help them. Eve has her own secrets, and her own desperate circumstances that raise the stakes even higher." Amazon.com

Review:

You guys weren’t joking about The Things We Keep. My heart hurts after finishing this one. I have never read a book that so clearly paints the picture of what it might be like with someone diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It was very eye opening. And heartbreaking. And I hate Alzheimer’s so freaking much. But Hepworth was able to delicately write with humor, love, and hope.

The story backtracks 15 months from present day when Anna admits herself to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. All the old folks try and set Anna up with Luke, the only other young person in Rosalind House. Their love story is heartbreaking, but beautiful. My only objection here is I felt like the love story was a bit long winded (and maybe not realistic?), but it was still sweet. 

The storyline I enjoyed the most was Eve. The development of her character from start to finish was incredible. She was the real phoenix rising from the ashes. I loved her story. 

This was my first of Sally Hepworth, and definitely won’t be the last. Have you read this one? Have you read her latest, The Mother-In-Law? 

Book Review // How To Walk Away

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:

"Margaret Jacobsen is just about to step into the bright future she’s worked for so hard and so long: a new dream job, a fiancé she adores, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in a brief, tumultuous moment. 

In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Maggie must confront the unthinkable. First there is her fiancé, Chip, who wallows in self-pity while simultaneously expecting to be forgiven. Then, there's her sister Kit, who shows up after pulling a three-year vanishing act. Finally, there's Ian, her physical therapist, the one the nurses said was too tough for her. Ian, who won't let her give in to her pity, and who sees her like no one has seen her before. Sometimes the last thing you want is the one thing you need. Sometimes we all need someone to catch us when we fall. And sometimes love can find us in the least likely place we would ever expect." Amazon.com

Review:

This was exactly the type of book I needed this month! Heartbreak, humor, triumph, love, and self discovery. So many wonderful things to talk about in this book, but seriously, I’m already on the wait list for several of Katherine Center’s previous novels and I’m itching to get my hands on her latest, Things You Save In A Fire. 

I was instantly swept away. I adored it from page one. Margaret’s ups and downs and finding the will to persevere. That is one theme that I absolutely love reading about, especially in women characters. We Can Do Hard Things. We can overcome! The relationship between her and Ian was tumultuous but respectful. Of course I was rooting for them the moment they met, but I did not see the ending coming! Katherine Center writes beautifully. So much wittiness and charm. This book is a keeper. 

GET THIS BOOK NOW. (forgive me for yelling, but what are you waiting for??). You won’t be disappointed. 

Book Review // All The Missing Girls

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis:

"Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive, Megan Miranda’s novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women—a decade apart—told in reverse.

It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.

The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.

Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.

Like nothing you’ve ever read before, All the Missing Girls delivers in all the right ways. With twists and turns that lead down dark alleys and dead ends, you may think you’re walking a familiar path, but then Megan Miranda turns it all upside down and inside out and leaves us wondering just how far we would be willing to go to protect those we love." Amazon.com

Review:

I struggled with this one. First, the book is written backwards. Yes, backwards! It was making me work overtime and I just didn’t have the energy for it. I’ll give her props for it being a new concept, however, it turned out to just be really confusing. 

Is it possible for a book to only to have protagonists?? Every single character had weird sketchy behavior. Nicolette, Daniel, her brother, and Tyler, her ex-boyfriend, and Corinne, her best friend who went missing. They all drove me crazy. I guess what held suspense was that I thought every single one of them could be the killer. The only innocent one in all this was Nicolette’s finance Everett, but he was sketchy too! I held onto the suspicion that he was in on the disappearances for awhile. 

A LOT of people have read and loved this book. I’m not sure why it didn’t settle well with me. And I think I will still track down a copy of Miranda’s latest novel, The Last Guest House. 

Book Review // Limelight

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis:
"Allison Brinkley—wife, mother, and former unflappable optimist—discovers that her decision to pack up and move her family from suburban Dallas to the glittery chaos of Manhattan may have been more complicated than she and her husband initially thought. New York is more unruly and bewildering than she expected, defying the notions she developed from romantic movies and a memorable childhood visit. After a humiliating call from the principal’s office and the loss of the job she was counting on, Allison begins to accept that New York may not suit her after all.

When she has a fender-bender, witnessed by a flock of mothers at her son’s new school, she is led to the penthouse apartment of a luxurious Central Park West building and encounters a spoiled, hungover, unsupervised teenager who looks familiar. It doesn’t take long to recognize him as Carter Reid—a famous pop star who has been cast in a new Broadway musical. Through this brush with stardom, Allison embraces a unique and unexpected opportunity that helps her find her way in the heart of Manhattan." Amazon.com

Review:
When 98% of you said you hadn’t read Limelight, I knew I had to read it and let you know how it was!

So here we are! I am happy to report that I absolutely loved LOVED Limelight. Allison and her husband Michael move their 3 children from Dallas to NYC. They all have a brutal adjustment period, not surprised! One day, Allison hits a BMW and one thing leads to another, she’s now the personal assistant to a pop star Carter who is now employed to perform on Broadway. Carter is a potty mouth 18-year old who has no family looking out for him. Basically, he’s Justin Bieber. He’s the Bieber if the Biebs ever did broadway. 

I loved Allison so much. I want to be Allison when my children are teenagers 😆 She was such a strong woman who took charge, rose to the challenge, never stopped caring for her family. She would take any crap from Carter and basically “mothered” him to get him ready for his Broadway debut.

I think the sweetest part for me was how Allison and her oldest daughter Charlotte reconnected. Those teenage years are so difficult and for some reason the mother-daughter relationship is often strained. But Carter brought them together, and it just made me smile so big when Charlotte started hugging her mom spontaneously throughout the day. Don’t we all wish for that as mothers of teens?? 

I am absolutely blown away by Amy Poeppel! This was only her second novel! Add this one to your summer list. It is a keeper! 

*bad language because of said angsty pop star

Book Review // The Queen of Hearts

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis:
"Zadie Anson and Emma Colley have been best friends since their early twenties, when they first began navigating serious romantic relationships amid the intensity of medical school. Now they're happily married wives and mothers with successful careers--Zadie as a pediatric cardiologist and Emma as a trauma surgeon. Their lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, are chaotic but fulfilling, until the return of a former colleague unearths a secret one of them has been harboring for years. 

As chief resident, Nick Xenokostas was the center of Zadie's life--both professionally and personally--throughout a tragic chain of events during her third year of medical school that she has long since put behind her. Nick's unexpected reappearance at a time of new professional crisis shocks both women into a deeper look at the difficult choices they made at the beginning of their careers. As it becomes evident that Emma must have known more than she revealed about circumstances that nearly derailed both their lives, Zadie starts to question everything she thought she knew about her closest friend." -Amazon.com

Review:
Medical dramas are my tv show of choice (next to The Bachelor, of course), so my expectations were probably too high. The medical jargon was distracting! I needed more romance and more drama and more scandal!! ⁣⁣One of my biggest pet peeves while reading are when characters start popping up towards the end and I’m like, “wait, do we get invested in you?? Who are you??” I guessed the “scandal” —if we want to call it that, and so the ending was a little flat. ⁣⁣

I loved that it was set in Charlotte, NC. I could picture the entire setting in my mind. Did you know Charlotte is called the Queen City? And we call the downtown “Uptown” because the city is perched on a hill? Cool facts, huh?

⁣⁣I couldn’t really identify with either Zadie or Emma, but Emma was such an annoyance for me. She was the worst (THE WORST) friend and I can’t believe Zadie didn’t just sucker punch her in the face when she found out. And why did Emma think she Zadie would just forgive and forget??! ⁣