Someone Knows
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Published: April 9, 2019
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: April 30- May 7, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
Twenty years ago, in an upscale suburb of Philadelphia, four teenagers spent a summer as closest friends: drinking, sharing secrets, testing boundaries. When a new boy looked to join them, they decided to pull a prank on him, convincing him to play Russian roulette as an initiation into their group. They secretly planned to leave the gun unloaded—but what happened next would change each of them forever.
Now three of the four reunite for the first time since that horrible summer. The guilt—and the lingering question about who loaded the gun—drove them apart. But after one of the group apparently commits suicide with a gun, their old secrets come roaring back. One of them is going to figure out if the new suicide is what it seems, and if it connects to the events of that long-ago summer. Someone knows exactly what happened—but who? And how far will they go to keep their secrets buried?
Jessica’s Review:
I adore Lisa Scottoline and she is one of my ‘go to’ authors. I will want to read her upcoming book without even knowing what it is about. That being said, Someone Knows had an intriguing description that failed miserably for me. It was like she went solely for the ‘shock factor’ with this one, with a lot being unnecessary. For me all of the characters except for Allie are 100% unlikeable. They all are dysfunctional in some way, some worse than others. With their issues combined you also see their immaturity.
Scottoline doesn’t usually write teen characters, and this novel shows she may need to stay away from teens and stick with adults. The backstory to all the characters was not needed for me as I was not invested in these characters. I wanted to get to the night in question and back to present day.
The last quarter of the book involved the climax, but I just wanted to get to the end. When I got to the final twist it was so unbelievable I just rolled my eyes. Everything was ‘to the extreme’ on this one, especially with one particular character, and I am still not sure why this character did what they did. The story also comes around full circle and tied in a bow for the ending, but that bow was not pretty.
I hate to say this, but stay away from Someone Knows and read Scottoline’s other novels.
Monsters by Sharon Dogar
Author: Sharon Dogar
Published: February 7, 2019
464 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
1814: Mary Godwin, the sixteen-year-old daughter of radical socialist and feminist writers, runs away with a dangerously charming young poet – Percy Bysshe Shelley. From there, the two young lovers travel a Europe in the throes of revolutionary change, through high and low society, tragedy and passion, where they will be drawn into the orbit of the mad and bad Lord Byron.
But Mary and Percy are not alone: they bring Jane, Mary’s young step-sister. And she knows the biggest secrets of them all . .
Kim’s Review:
Gosh, I absolutely hate idealists. I’m allowed to say that because I used to be one. Then I entered the real world and it kicked my ass and I realized that I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was. My biggest problem with this book is the ridiculous, immature, obnoxious idealism of Mary, Percy, and Jane. And they are the worst kind! The kind that expects the world to coddle them, and accept their ideas without question or consequence. And then, they dare to act shocked when everyone calls them out on their ridiculousness! It’s the whole damn book!
I was hoping for a book about monsters and spooky castles and weird experimentations, all that inspired Frankenstein . . . Nope, just page after page of “why is everyone so mean to us??” If they were actually fighting for something worthwhile, then I wouldn’t have minded it nearly so much! But it was literally Mary wanting to live with a married man, Percy wanting to have sex with any woman he wants, and Jane wanting to be Mary. The hypocrisy was astounding! Of course people should accept how I live, no matter how outrageous, but if anyone else tries it, CONDEMNATION! I wanted to kill all three of them, because they’re idiots!! The tiny bit of explanation for Frankenstein was the only good thing in this book, that’s it. I honestly wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
I Owe You One
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Published: February 5, 2019
448 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: February 22- March 5, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” But since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will? It’s simply not in her nature to say no to people.
So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. Turns out the computer’s owner is an investment manager. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, Sebastian scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. But Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she?
Then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie’s buttons. She wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. And Seb agrees, until the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favors to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?
Jessica’s Review:
I adore Sophie Kinsella. In fact, it was her book, Can You Keep a Secret? That got me reading again. Unfortunately the last couple of her books have not been for me.
The premise of I Owe You One had me intrigued, but the delivery failed. For a start, I did not connect with the characters at all. Fixie’s name did not work for me and she constantly let everyone walk all over her. Her siblings were very annoying and I did not like Ryan at all. I suspected him of ill will. All of the characters had issues of some kind, and the combination just did not work.
Yes, the scene where the ‘certain disaster’ where Fixie saves the laptop is hilarious and left a lot of promise for the novel. This scene is classic Kinsella. Despite I Owe You One not being for me, I will continue to read Kinsella novels, I just may need to stick to her older novels. I think I might need to give Can You Keep a Secret a re-read this year.
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy to read and review. I wish I could have given it a favorable review.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK