This Is Not Over: A Novel by Holly Brown

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

You’ll have your deposit within seven business days, just like it says on Getaway.com. I’ve put through a refund to your credit card for the full amount, minus $200 to replace the stained sheets…

Miranda

When 30-year-old Dawn reads Miranda’s email, she sees red. People have always told Dawn she’s beautiful, and she just hopes they don’t see beneath—to how she grew up, to what she’s always tried to outrun. She revels in her getaways with her perfect (maybe too perfect) husband, the occasional long weekend in luxurious homes, temporarily inhabiting other people’s privileged lives. Miranda’s email strikes a nerve, with its lying intimation that Dawn is so dirty you need to throw out her sheets.

Beware of your “host”

I wouldn’t have left a review at all, if I didn’t feel it was my civic duty to warn others…

57-year-old Miranda thought she’d seen it all, but she can’t believe her eyes when she reads Dawn’s review. She’s a doctor’s wife but she needs that rental money, desperately. People might think her life is privileged, but they don’t know what’s really going on. They don’t know about her son. She won’t take this threat to her livelihood—to her very life—lying down.

Two very different women with this in common: Each harbors her own secret, her own reason why she can’t just let this go. Neither can yield, not before they’ve dredged up all that’s hidden, even if it has the power to shatter all they’ve built.

This is not over.

This is so not over.

my thoughts:

To my first DNF in 2017.

Yep, Holly Brown's book, This Is Not Over, was just not for me.  I could barely get through the first few pages.  The little I read was overly dramatic (and not in a good way) and didn't make much sense.  The character's rage felt unfounded and beyond over the top.  I found myself wondering what I was reading.  I kept thinking that this could not possibly be the story.  Two women arguing over a $200 dollar security deposit?  Seriously?!

I'll be honest, I've read mixed reviews on this one. Some enjoyed it and found the idea of exploring a mundane topic (such as a security deposit) to be thrilling.  Others found the whole thing to be filled with cliches and overly wrought.  I agree with the latter.

This Is Not Over was not my cup of tea.

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: This Is Not Over

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!

A Necessary End: A Novel by Holly Brown

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

How far would you go to get what you wanted? The author of Don’t Try to Find Me returns with a taut, riveting novel of psychological suspense—a domestic drama full of secrets and twists—about a woman determined to have a child, her ambivalent husband, and a pregnant teenager with a secret agenda of her own.

“I know now that there was no other way things could have turned out. Tragedies are inevitable, just like the great love stories, like us.”

Thirty-nine-year-old Adrienne is desperate to be a mother. And this time, nothing is going to get in her way.

Sure, her husband, Gabe, is ambivalent about fatherhood. But she knows that once he holds their baby, he’ll come around. He’s just feeling a little threatened, that’s all. Because once upon a time, it was Gabe that Adrienne wanted more than anything; she was willing to do anything. . . . But that was half a lifetime ago. She’s a different person now, and so is Gabe. There are lines she wouldn’t cross, not without extreme provocation.

And sure, she was bitten once before by another birth mother—clear to the bone—and for most people, it’s once bitten, twice shy. But Adrienne isn’t exactly the retiring type.

At nineteen, Leah bears a remarkable resemblance to the young woman Adrienne once was. Which is why Adrienne knows the baby Leah is carrying is meant to be hers. But Leah’s got ideas of her own: Her baby’s going to get a life in California; why shouldn’t she? All she wants is to live in Adrienne’s house for a year after the baby’s born, and get a fresh start.

It seems like a small price for Adrienne to pay to get their baby. And with Gabe suddenly on board, what could possibly go wrong?

my thoughts:

A dark and suspense-filled psychological thriller that will have you staying up til the wee hours of the morning just to get to the end of the story.  I absolutely LOVED Holly Brown's novel, A Necessary End.  And, I would happily recommend it to fans of psychological thrillers and suspense novels - you will most definitely enjoy this book!

Told via alternating chapters, we get the story of married couple Adrienne and Gabe.  Adrienne is obsessed with having a baby - to the point that Gabe is no longer sure he wants a kid.  And then they meet Leah.  She's young and pregnant.  She tells the couple that she wants to start a new life after having her baby.  If they help her get set up, she will give them her kid.  Eager for the baby, Adrienne and Gabe sign papers that stipulate Leah's wishes.  Talk about baby fever blinding a couple!  Why would you agree to someone's wishes and not your own?  How can you even trust them?  Well, Adrienne doesn't trust Leah.  She's convinced that Leah will do a runner once the baby is born - so she will just have to make sure that doesn't happen.  As for Gabe, he likes Leah and wants to make Adrienne happy, so he goes along with everything.  Of course, everyone has hidden agendas and as the story unfolds, little bombshells get revealed.  The kind that make you go, "WTF!" and "OMFG!".  Yep, its that kind of drama - which I LOVE!! The story is terrific with all of twists and turns - made for quite a great read.  As for the characters, as much as I disliked them (they are the epitome of unlikeable), I still wanted to find out what would happen to them.  Brown's writing just make you want to keep reading.  And, that is all I will say.  Just know that you are in for quite a ride with A Necessary End.

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: A Necessary End

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!

Don't Try To Find Me: A Novel by Holly Brown

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

Don’t try to find me.

Though the message on the kitchen whiteboard is in fourteen-year-old Marley’s handwriting, her mother, Rachel, knows there has to be some other explanation. Marley would never run away.

I’ll be okay.

Marley’s quiet. Innocent. Sheltered. Growing up in Northern California with all the privilege Rachel never had, what does Marley know about taking care of herself? About being okay?

Rachel might not know her daughter at all. But she does know that she needs to find Marley before someone else does. Someone dangerous.

I’ll be better.

The police have limited resources devoted to runaways. If Rachel and her husband, Paul, want their daughter back, they’ll have to find her themselves. Paul turns to Facebook and Twitter and launches FindMarley.com.  But Marley isn’t the only one with something to hide. Paul’s social media campaign generates national attention, and the public scrutiny could expose Rachel’s darkest secrets. When she blows a television interview, the dirty speculation begins.

I love you.

The blogosphere is convinced Rachel is hiding something. It’s not what they think; Rachel would never hurt Marley. Not intentionally, anyway. But when it’s discovered that Rachel lied to the police, the devoted mother becomes the prime suspect in Marley’s disappearance.

Is Marley out there, somewhere, watching it all happen . . . or is the truth something far worse?

my thoughts:

A chilling thriller that makes for an intense and entertaining read.  Sounds pretty good, right?  Well, it wasn't.  Or, at least I didn't think so.  Don't Try To Find Me by Holly Brown was just not what I expected.  I thought I would start reading this book and never stop - I imagined an unputdownable read that would have me biting my nails in suspense.  Instead I got a story that just disappointed.  I found the characters to be unlikeable to the point that I honestly didn't care what happened to them or what secrets they were hiding.  I just could not get into the writing of the book (and it has nothing to do with the alternating chapters - I love that in books) and found myself skimming pages early on, which is a sign that I am not going to finish the book.  And, I didn't finish it.  I just found myself mystified by the characters' behaviors and actions within the story and couldn't engage with them at all.  This book was just not for me.

Of course, I've read plenty of positively glowing reviews about this story - heck, they even compare it to Gone Girl (of course, I hated that book, so that should have been a sign that this story wasn't for me).  So, who knows, maybe this book will be your favorite summer read.  Check out what other bloggers thought about Holly Brown's, Don't Try To Find Me.  Here's the TLC Book Tours schedule for: Don't Try To Find Me

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!