The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth

My Rating: 3.4

Three neighbors, Ange, Fran and Essie, all have secrets. When Isabelle, a single woman, moves into this family cul-de-sac, everyone wonders why. As they get to know Isabelle, secrets start to be revealed

I enjoyed the multiple POVs and how it made you feel the absolutely and total exhaustion of motherhood. It also captured many nuances of Australia life. The reason I didn't rate it higher is that none of the characters had depth and all felt a bit of martyrs with their woe is me or hard done by attitudes for things in their life. It felt that no one had passion and they were all quite flat. Still, I would read more by Hepworth.

Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

 My Rating: 4.0

Charlotte/Charlie is 17 years old and has been through many traumatic events. After receiving minimal therapy during a stay at an institution, she is about to be released to embark on life on her own.

This is a raw look at self harm. The writing is done in short snippets which made it hard for me to get in to the book. I did eventually get drawn in but then, I felt that there were SO MANY issues with all of the characters that I got numb. I would have preferred we had just the one main character and followed her journey. 

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Henricks & Sarah Pekkanen

My Rating: 3.0

Jessica signs up for a psychology study but s the questions grow more intense, Jessica feels that the psychiatrist conducting the study may know what she is thinking.

This had a very unique plot line and an ending that I didn't figure out till near the end. So why didn't I love this more? This was another case of a female character without a brain. She did such stupid things. I also felt that the book dragged on and on. This was written in the 2nd person and a very passive voice.  Disappointing when it had such potential.

The Year of Yes by Shomda Rhimes

My Rating: 5.0

This poignant, intimate, and hilarious memoir explores Shonda’s life before her Year of Yes—from her nerdy, book-loving childhood to her devotion to creating television characters who reflected the world she saw around her. The book chronicles her life after her Year of Yes had begun—when Shonda forced herself out of the house and onto the stage; when she learned to explore, empower, applaud, and love her truest self. Yes.

Three things that stand out for me about this book:
1. I have never sat down and devoured a book cover-to-cover before
2. I have never laughed so hard
3. Every memoir/self-help book should be so real, honest & fabulous

What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty

My Rating: 4.6

Alice wakes up on the floor of a gym.  Apparently she has fallen off a treadmill and hit her head. She is worried if her first pregnancy baby is ok. She is whisked off to the hospital only to discover that it is 10 years past what she last remembers - and she has three children! As Alice tries to piece together everything that she has missed in the last 10 years, she also tries to figure out how she got to this point in her life and if this is where she wants to be.

In typical Moriarty fashion, she has come up with a unique plot that makes you wonder "how would I feel if that happened to me!".  I found this very intriguing from the first page and, as it unfolded, I kept wanting to know how it would end. Wonderful easy read. 

The Witch's Elm by Tana French

My Rating: 4.7

Toby considers himself lucky. He just avoided a potential issue with work and is out having a drink at the pub with his lads. He goes home and is woken in the middle of the night to burglars in the other room. He confronts them with nothing except a candlestick and wakes up in really BAD shape in the hospital.

Toby's Uncle Hugo has terminal cancer so, Toby decides to go to the family ancestral home and take care of Uncle Hugo and recuperate from his own injuries. When a skull is found in the old Witch's Elm tree and detectives start asking questions, Toby isn't sure what he remembers and what is real.

Do NOT read too much as the ending is great and I wouldn't want it spoiled for you. As always, Tana's writing and ability to pull you in to the characters and the mystery are without parallel. I think I may love the Dublin Murder series a bit more but this was fabulous. Get the audio version from your library!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

My Rating: 4.9

Alicia is a famous painter with an affluent life and very in love with her husband Gabriel. This makes it so shocking when Alicia shoots Gabriel five times in the face. Not only that she would shoot her husband but, that she chooses to be silent...not one word since the crime. She is now in a criminal asylum.

Theo is a criminal psychotherapist who wants to work on Alicia's case and help her that he goes to the extreme of getting a job at the criminal asylum and getting assigned to her case.

The story unfolds from there.

This gives background on both Theo and Alicia as well as their current day interaction. I have been put off lately by all the thrillers that don't deliver so didn't have high hopes for this one. I am happy to say, it delivered! This may be the best book of this genre that I have read.  Thoroughly enjoyed it!

We'll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss

My Rating: 4.5

Told through letters from death row and third-person narrative, this unravels the string of events that landed a teenager in jail. Luke feels like he’s been looking after Toby his entire life. He patches Toby up when Toby’s father, a drunk and a petty criminal, beats on him, he gives him a place to stay, and he diffuses the situation at school when wise-cracking Toby inevitably gets into fights. Someday, Luke and Toby will leave this small town, riding the tails of Luke’s wrestling scholarship, and never look back.

This was a difficult read but so moving. So many tense moments held together by the dreams of what could be. This was very sad and emotional in the unfolding.