The Mistress of Tall Acre

Author: Laura Frantz

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Baker Publishing Group, 2015

Pages: 400

Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: The American Revolution is finally over, and Sophie Menzies is starved for good news. When her nearest neighbor, General Seamus Ogilvy, finally comes home to Tall Acre, she hopes it is a sign of better days to come. But the general is now a widower with a small daughter in desperate need of a mother. Nearly destitute, Sophie agrees to marry Seamus and become the mistress of Tall Acre in what seems a safe, sensible arrangement. But when a woman from the general's past returns without warning, the ties that bind this fledgling family together will be strained to the utmost. When all is said and done, who will be the rightful mistress of Tall Acre?

Triumph and tragedy, loyalty and betrayal--readers find it all in the rich pages of this newest historical novel from the talented pen of Laura Frantz. Her careful historical details immerse the reader in the story world, and her emotional writing and finely tuned characters never cease to enchant fans both old and new.

Review: It's no secret that I love a good psychological thriller, but I will always return to historical fiction/romance. I loved these characters, the plot, and the author's ability to make a time so long ago feel so real. I didn't want to let this family go.

This novel was a bit predictable which is why I don't "Highly Recommend" it, but that's pretty typical of this genre too, I think.

I've already requested more Frantz books from the library.

All the Missing Girls

Author: Megan Miranda
Genre: Triller
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2016
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

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.

Review: Where to begin? Let's start with the title. It's a little misleading because "only" two girls go missing, but "all" definitely makes it sound dramatic. 

The reverse timeline might be a bit gimmicky, but I didn't find this format off putting or even difficult to follow. I'm not sure it's a method of writing other writers need to adopt, but for this, it worked.

The story itself started out strong, but what initially sizzled soon fizzled and the author wasn't able to resurrect the suspenseful "thriller" feel again. I'm still trying to decide if this novel's shortcomings were in writing style or plot. It's worth a read, but I'm a bit surprised enough people thought it was good enough to be a finalist in the Goodreads Thriller category (2016).

Under the Harrow

Author: Flynn Berry

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2016

Pages: 240

Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: When Nora takes the train from London to visit her sister in the countryside, she expects to find her waiting at the station, or at home cooking dinner. But when she walks into Rachel’s familiar house, what she finds is entirely different: her sister has been the victim of a brutal murder.

Stunned and adrift, Nora finds she can’t return to her former life. An unsolved assault in the past has shaken her faith in the police, and she can’t trust them to find her sister’s killer. Haunted by the murder and the secrets that surround it, Nora is under the harrow: distressed and in danger. As Nora’s fear turns to obsession, she becomes as unrecognizable as the sister her investigation uncovers. 

A riveting psychological thriller and a haunting exploration of the fierce love between two sisters, the distortions of grief, and the terrifying power of the past, Under the Harrow marks the debut of an extraordinary new writer.

Review: This isn't a bad read, but it's not a psychological thriller. It was well-written fiction or mystery rather than thriller. I like the author's writing style and the way the story unfolded, but it just never sucked me in or had me on the edge of my seat. I also found the unreliable narrator to be annoying and unlikeable.

Bottom line, I don't recommend this as a psychological thriller, but as a work of fiction, it's good.

The World of Little House

Author: Carolyn Strom Collins, Christina Wyss Ericksson
Genre: Non-Fiction / Pre-Teen
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2015
Pages: 160
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Laura Ingalls Wilder is the original pioneer girl, and her Little House books were inspired by the events of her life. This keepsake volume discusses how her real life was different from her stories, and it also focuses on her adult life and how she came to write the Little House series. In addition, it includes one chapter for each of Laura's nine Little House books, exploring in detail the stories, houses, landscapes, journeys, foods, activities, and crafts. Maps, family trees, photographs, and a timeline trace the history of Laura and her family. Meticulously researched, lovingly written, and beautifully illustrated, The World of Little House is for anyone who has ever read and loved the Little House books.

Review: I'll read anything about The Little House books and Laura Ingallls Wilder, and because of this I've read quite a few books already. This felt like a Cliff's Notes version of Pioneer Girl, which was a far better book for really studying Laura's life, but also more difficult for the recommended ages of 8-11 to read, I'm sure.

Where I found fault with this book was that it took Laura's books at face value and provided a synopsis of each. However, there was no discussion about how The Little House books fictionalized Laura's real life. I don't know, I just didn't love it.

The Lost Ones

Author: Michaela MacColl
Genre: Historical Fiction, Pre-Teen
Publisher: Highlights Press, 2016
Pages: 256
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: Despite her father’s warnings that their tribe is always in danger, Casita, a ten-year-old Lipan Apache girl, has led a relatively peaceful life with her tribe in Mexico, doing her daily chores and practicing for her upcoming Changing Woman ceremony, in which she will officially become a woman of the tribe. But the peace is shattered when the U.S. Cavalry invades and brutally slaughters her people. Casita and her younger brother survive the attack, but are taken captive and sent to the Carlisle Indian School, a Pennsylvania boarding school that specializes in assimilating Native Americans into white American culture. Casita grieves for her lost family as she struggles to find a way to maintain her identity as a Lipan Apache and survive at the school.

Review: This book gets the biggest W.T.H. in writing and publishing that I've ever felt. It just ended. Abruptly. In the middle of the story. So many loose ends. I'm all for authors leaving the ending to the reader's imagination, but this just didn't make sense. It didn't end, it just stopped, mid-thought practically. I am so thoroughly annoyed.

Other books by this author
Rory's Promise
Freedom's Price

The Someday Jar

Author: Allison Morgan

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2015

Pages: 352

Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Fans of Sophie Kinsella and the Shopaholic series will fall in love with Lanie Howard—young, fabulous, and desperate to transform her life—in this funny, quirky, and endearing story about finding perfect happiness in life’s most imperfect moments.

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMON-DROP MARTINIS...
Real-estate broker Lanie Howard figures she has the perfect man, the perfect job, and the perfect life. Then she stumbles across her old Someday Jar, the forgotten glass relic where she stashed all the childhood wishes—no matter how crazy—that her father encouraged her to write down on the backs of Chinese restaurant fortunes. She used to be fun once! What happened to her?

DON'T CHOKE ON THE RIND.
Although Lanie is wary of uncorking her past, when an attractive stranger saves her from a life-or-death encounter with a lemon peel at the bottom of a martini glass, she realizes that life is way too short for regrets. Now, jar in hand, Lanie decides to throw caution to the wind, and carry out everything she had once hoped to do, even if it means leaving her perfectly “perfect” life behind…

Review: I read this because I had enjoyed Can I See You Again so much, and it's by the same author. This was cute. It's pretty obvious where the story is going to end up, but it's a fun, engaging journey from here to there with a couple laugh out loud moments.