Reading Recap

So I haven't read as much I'd like to lately BUT I've read/listened to a few winners and am excited to share these recommendations!

 The Golden Couple 

"If Avery Chambers can’t fix you in 10 sessions, she won’t take you on as a client. Her successes are phenomenal—she helps people overcome everything from domineering parents to assault—and almost absorbs the emptiness she sometimes feels since her husband’s death.

Marissa and Mathew Bishop seem like the golden couple—until Marissa cheats. She wants to repair things, both because she loves her husband and for the sake of their eight-year-old son. After a friend forwards an article about Avery, Marissa takes a chance on this maverick therapist, who lost her license due to controversial methods.

When the Bishops glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger."

I REALLY enjoyed The Golden Couple.  Lots of twists and turns and red herrings and I found myself guessing and then second guessing several of the plot points.  It was pretty fast-paced which I LOVE and didn't seem typical if that makes sense.  Highly recommend if you're into thrillers and looking for something a little different.

The Body Guard

She’s got his back.

Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka "bodyguard"), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.

He’s got her heart.
Jack Stapleton’s a household name—captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid.

They’ve got a secret.
When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah—against her will and her better judgment—finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, like a jerk, says no one will believe it.

What could possibly go wrong???

Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.

I LOOOOOOVED The Bodyguard.  Was it predictable? Yes.  Was it cheesy? Also yes. Was it DARLING?  FOR SURE!!!

I heard it described as "irresistibly charming, predictably satisfying and cheerfully entertaining" and couldn't agree more.  If you're looking for something light and fun and rom-comish give it a go!

  

Pretty Girls 

"Twenty years ago Claire Scott's eldest sister, Julia, went missing. No one knew where she went - no note, no body. It was a mystery that was never solved and it tore her family apart.

Now another girl has disappeared, with chilling echoes of the past. And it seems that she might not be the only one.

Claire is convinced Julia's disappearance is linked.

But when she begins to learn the truth about her sister, she is confronted with a shocking discovery, and nothing will ever be the same..."

This book was one of the most "graphic" things I've ever read.  After reading the description I wasn't prepared for the level of violence so be warned!  The descriptions were vivid and grotesque and hard to read so just know that before you get started.  IT WAS A LOT!  That said - I didn't feel like it was gratuitous... it was part of the story but I can still picture some of the scenes in my head.  It was dark and twisty and a page-turner and everyone was a suspect at one point or another and overall I enjoyed it.  I really enjoyed the sister characters and I finished this one super quick since I wanted to know how it was going to end.  If you can handle some graphic content and love a thriller I recommend.

Run Time 

"Adele Rafferty, a shunned Irish actress, gets a phone call from assistant director, Donal. He is hoping she might be interested in playing the lead (she’d be filling in for another actress who canceled) in the new horror fil, Final Draft, which he’s directing. She quickly says yes despite the quick start date (immediately), thrilled to finally be returning to the screen undeterred by everything that occurred at her last production. This was the phone call she’d been waiting for, after all.

Arriving in Ireland the next day tired and slightly overwhelmed, Adele is driven out to the remote, very isolated house in West Cork where it’s going to be filmed. Surrounded by woods miles from any neighbors, it feels perfectly suited for a horror movie.

However, she quickly begins to realize that things aren’t quite what they seem on the film set. When events in the script begin to happen to her as well, she begins to wonder if perhaps she doesn’t have the full picture. Is she in danger? And who is behind the rising terror?"

This book took a little "getting used to" for me... essentially, you're reading a book within a screenplay within a book - which took me a minute to get used to AND it felt like it drug along a bit but it was unique and entertaining and I listened to it on audible and the narration was great.  

I'd love to know what you've been reading lately and what books you'd recommend!  HAPPY Thursday, friends!!!