Mooncake Festival

 

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

A woman who has recently lost her husband spends some time in the house by the lake where he drowned. That's obviously not a good idea but she tries to survive the day by drinking as much as possible and looking at the house across the lake. The new neighbours seem to be an attractive couple but strange things start happening and she decides to investigate.
This is not my first book by Riley Sager but it's my favourite one so far despite the paranormal twist which almost made me DNF it because I was too scared to continue reading.

I recommend this novel to fans of mystery books and to those who are not spooked easily.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

Wouldn't you like to be able to travel back in time? Perhaps to make better choices or change your life's course completely. Jen witnesses her son commit murder and for reasons she cannot comprehend starts travelling back in time. Why on earth would her nerdy son kill a person? Isn't her family a perfect one?

To tell the truth, the book sometimes seems a bit long, and some chapters make very little sense at the beginning. However, keep on reading because all the chapters hide a clue. There are lots of surprises in this book that I didn't see coming and it all made sense in the end.

The idea of being able to go back in time has always appealed to me and I have read numerous books on this topic. This novel by Gillian McAllister didn't disappoint me. I recommend it to fans of domestic mysteries who don't mind a little bit of science fiction.

I really wanted to like this saga but I guess it wasn't meant for me. I found the story too slow. There were too many unnecessary descriptions, conversations, and situations. Unfortunately, the characters didn't appeal to me either. I found them shallow and very immature (even for teenagers). To make matters worse the idea of (view spoiler)[people turning into dragons. (hide spoiler)] was too much for me. At first, the headings of the chapters made me laugh a little bit but as I was finishing the book they started to seem absurd to me.
If you are curious, read a few chapters, you may like it more than I did.

The Perfect Neighbourhood by Liz Alterman

There is no such thing as a perfect neighbourhood because people are not perfect. People may like some of their neighbours and even befriend them but jealousy and envy are more often than not part of human nature.
Gossiping is what people in Oak Hill like doing more than anything. Gossiping about perfect couples, broken marriages, and bad babysitters who happen to lose two children. The residents of Oak Hill are not ready for this tragedy nor are the families of those missing ones.
Liz Alterman turns an apparently idyllic life in suburbia into a nightmare that will keep the reader turning pages non-stop.
If you are a fan of suburbian mysteries this one is definitely for you. Tale into account, though, that you may not look at your neighbours the same way after reading this. Nobody really knows what happens behind closed doors.

Forget Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn

I was on a very prolonged reading slump before finding this book. I hadn't read a whole novel in more than two months, so I felt incredibly happy when I started reading and didn't DNF it, I felt incredibly happy. That's why my review may be a bit biased.
The dystopian society described in the book seemed possible in my opinion. We don't get memories of what might happen in the future like the characters in the novel, but in our society, there are people who are considered more valid than others depending on what they achieve.
I liked the love relationship very much. From the very beginning, I thought that they were going to have a long-lasting relationship.

The way it ended, however, was a shock for me. I didn't see it coming at all!. But (view spoiler)[where there is love, there is life (hide spoiler)]

I strongly recommend this saga to fans of dystopian novels and romance.

I love summer!

 

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

This book was on my to-read shelf for a long time before I finally decided to start it. You see, I'm a bit reluctant to read what I thought was a medical drama because they seldom end well. In this case, the husband was already gone so there was nothing that could be done to improve that situation.
To put it in a nutshell I had nothing else to read so I began reading it and my interest was piqued in no time.

The plot was very intriguing and although I didn't like the characters very much, I was willing to know the truth. Halfway through the book, when I was losing interest there was a twist that changed it all and I love it when books surprise me.

All in all, I found the book entertaining but very sad and disheartening. Not the right book to read during a pandemic. It may appeal, though, to strong readers who don't mind darker novels.

When she disappeared by Steph Mullin.

Margo, a recently separated woman, comes back home to take care of her father and finds out that her past is back to haunt her.

 
The characters are both unreliable and unpleasant but the plot will keep you guessing until a final twist that I didn't see coming at all.

This novel is for fans of books that are a bit creepy. I must confess that there were pages I just couldn't read because they really scared me.
If spooky books are your cup of tea this may be a good read for you.

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

This is my second book by Greer Hendricks. I loved An Anonimous Girl but I DNF-ed The Wife Between Us and I don't even remember why. So I had mixed feeling about reading another book by this author. However, despite my initial misgivings, I found the book really interesting and the more I read the more hooked I was.

What a roller coaster of emotions. On the one hand, we have Marissa who made a serious mistake that could ruin her marriage. On the other hand, we have Mathiew who may not be the perfect husband he seems to be. We also have Natalie and Skip who seem to want someone who doesn't belong to them. There's also Polly, a very strange shop assistant. But the most intriguing character is in my opinion Avery, the unconventional therapist who tries to fix other people's lives while dealing with a decision she made in the past.

The plot has twists and turns that will keep you reading until late. The characters are complex and unpredictable. All in all this novel is a must for fans of domestic suspense and mystery in general.

My favourite song from Encanto: We don't talk about Bruno.

 

 

Happy Women's Day!

 Wordle in Spanish honoured women today. I was gladly surprised!

 

 

La vida secreta de Úrsula Bas de Arantza Portabales

Santi Abad y Ana Barroso vuelven de nuevo y esta vez mejor que nunca. Contradiciendo el dicho de que segundas partes nunca fueron buenas, esta novela, en mi opinión, supera a la primera de la serie.

Creo que esta segunda entrega se podría leer sin haber leído la primera pero recomiendo leer ambas para tener una visión más clara de la relación entre los policías ya que es parte importante de la trama y del desarrollo de los personajes. A lo largo de la novela Santi y Ana tienen una relación personal complicada que ninguno de ellos hace mucho por mejorar. Sin duda dedican toda su inteligencia y habilidad al trabajo policial en el que siguen siendo excelentes.

La trama se desarrolla en Galicia, en varios tiempos y relata la desafortunada aventura amorosa con un hombre misterios de dos mujeres aparentemente aburridas de sus matrimonios . El hombre se llama a si mismo Nico y se mete en sus vidas de lleno, ocupando cada segundo y controlando todos sus movimientos. Ellas por su parte , no se si debido a la complejidad de sus personalidades o a cierto grado de estupidez, caen en la trampa de Nico hasta el fondo. Las consecuencias para ambas serán terribles y los lectores aunque sabemos el cómo y el dónde nos devanamos los sesos para averiguar el quien y el motivo.

El final es simplemente sorprendente e inesperado. No lo vi venir en absoluto, lo cual me encantó.

Espero que Arantza Portabales escriba una tercera entrega . Recomiendo sin duda sus libros a los amantes del misterio y también a gallegos con morriña.

 

An Outstanding Feat

A Flicker in the dark by Stacy Willingham

Imagine being the daughter of a serial killer. The overwhelming feelings of fear, shame, and guilt. Chloe's father was accused of murdering six teenage girls and even twenty years later she finds it difficult to move on. Fortunately, she's found a wonderful fiancé and has her own practice as a psychologist. Everything seems to be improving until a teenage girl disappears and Chloe's life is turned upside down again.

Stacy Willingham has developed Chloe's character really well. The reader feels her suffering and anxiety, which makes this book utterly undownputable. I just couldn't stop reading although I had the feeling I knew what was going on from almost the beginning.

If you like mysteries and stories about complex characters, this book won't disappoint you. Read it when you have enough time because you won't be able to stop until you know the truth.

The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan

I thought that I'd read enough books about murder podcasts but I guess I hadn't. This book surprised me and kept me reading with a deeper plot and better-developed characters than I had expected.
I recommend it to fans of mystery books and to all the readers who are looking for a good story.

Snake Plant : Sansevieria trifasciata

 This is another attempt to have a plant at home. I've read that this Snake Plant is supposed to purify the air and last long. I hope it survives my brown thumb!