It’s OCTOBER BOOK REVIEW time! Woohoo! I am thrilled about today’s review because I think I found the winner of my favorite suspenseful book of 2019. Maybe!

This month, I read four books from different genres. I LOVED two (obsessively loved one of those) and really liked the other two. No stinkers this month! Here we go!

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

Shari Lapena’s books are always SO FUN! I have loved some, and just liked another. Her last book literally reminded me of the movie Clue. Super campy, but definitely entertaining.

Someone We Know is her newest novel, and I really enjoyed it. Like all of her books, this one is a quick and fun read. It won’t be a book that you will remember for days afterward, but you will enjoy it while reading!

The story takes place in an affluent town two hours outside of Manhattan. Everyone knows everyone in this safe community, and families live out the “perfect life” in this quaint town.

That is until someone is murdered and her body is found at the bottom of a local fishing hole. This happens around the same time as a local teenager starts breaking into neighbors’ homes to snoop through their computers. Lots of sketchiness going around.

This book is a very quick read. Super entertaining. Definitely a story about never knowing what is happening to the people in your own life. Just because they seem perfect, doesn’t mean they are.

If you are in need of a quick and fun read, click here to check out this book for yourself.

The Last Post by Renee Carlino

If you have been reading my book reviews for awhile, then you may remember my love for Renee Carlino’s book Swear On This Life. You can click here to read my review of this book back in February. I said then, and I will say again now, that Swear On This Life may be one of my favorites of the entire year. SO, SO good.

SO, you can understand my excitement when I saw that there was another Renee Carlino book out to be read. Hmmmm . .. let me say this. I really loved the story. It is a heartbreaking and beautiful story of finding yourself after a horrible tragedy. Chick lit plus, if you will. However, Renee’s writing style has dramatically changed since Swear On This Life. Maybe it was just me, but the feel of her writing was night and day for me on this book. I loved the actual story, but felt that it could have been written in a much better way. If Kristin Hannah had written a book with this story, I would have been obsessed and cried my eyes out. Great story, poorly written. I am so sorry to say that because I really do love this author.

Lana’s husband, Cameron, is a daredevil for corporations that will sponsor his craziness. Think Evel Knievel . During a particularly dangerous stunt, Cameron dies tragically and she sees the entire thing. Newly widowed at thirty, she quits her medical residency and slips into a deep, dark battle with depression.

Micah is a talented architect that works for Lana’s dad’s firm in New York City. Micah is going trough a bit of his own depression and trying to find himself as he maneuvers through life.

While both characters are dealing with hard issues, there are several background characters that are so funny and add comic relief. I definitely found myself smiling a ton throughout this book.

Through a series of events, Lana and Micah grow close. Such a story of grief, loss, redemption, and happiness. I really thought this was such a sweet story. If I didn’t compare it to Swear On This Life, I think I would have loved it so much more. Definitely glad I read it though. Very sweet!

Click here to take a chance and read this for yourself. I would love to hear your thoughts!

The Banker’s Wife by Cristina Alger

My Dad gave me my love of reading, and I grew up reading Tom Clancy, David Balducci, and James Patterson right along with him. I learned to love reading through those suspenseful, espionage-type books. So, I think that is why I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

First, thanks to my sweet friend, Lori, who always knows what books to recommend to me. This book is SOOOOOO GOOOOOD! Trust me. If you like a good thriller you will LOVE this! Such a quick read, and so very interesting. I read this book on our trip to Vail, and Reid was so into hearing all about it!

Matthew and Annabel have moved to Geneva to give him the opportunity to make more money in the offshore private banking field. When Matthew’s plane goes down over the Alps, everything that Annabel thought she knew gets turned upside down. Was it an accident? Did someone kill him? Was he involved in something shady?

Meanwhile, Marina and Grant are living the high life as a newly engaged power couple in New York City. Grant’s father is running for president and Marina is a well respected journalist. A definite conflict of interest when the offshore banking world is about to implode.

This story was so wild that it seemed TRUE! Maybe not all of it, but I totally think some of this stuff goes down that we don’t know about. I loved, loved, loved this book! Quick and fun read!

Click here to grab a copy for yourself. Trust me! You will LOVE IT! And, if you are in Dallas and want to borrow, let me know. I have let so many people borrow The Last Mrs. Parrish (my favorite suspenseful book from 2018) that I have lost track of it! Ha! I think that this may be my new favorite suspenseful book! Woohoo!

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

I am fully aware that I have a minor obsession with Kristin Hannah books! This is the fourth one this year. I can’t help myself!

When I saw Kristin Hannah speak back in September, she mentioned that FireFly Lane was going to be coming out as a Netflix special Spring of 2020. I Amazon’d this bad boy immediately and couldn’t wait to get started.

Firefly Lane follows Tully and Kate from their first meeting at fourteen years old, all the way through decades of marriage, kids, heartbreaks, celebrations . . . life. This is truly a story about best friends. I think any woman can find herself in one of these amazing characters at some point throughout the book.

Have you ever seen the movie Beaches? The one with Barbara Hershey and Bette Midler? It is such an amazing movie, but I end up sobbing uncontrollably for the last thirty minutes and wondering why I even allowed myself to watch this sadness. That is this book. Not the same story line, but just the same love and hardships that life throws at you.

If you have a personal experience with cancer, I would stay away from this book. It is written so beautifully, but is heartbreaking. Please just know this.

I prefer Kristin Hannah’s other books over Firefly Lane, but I am glad that I read this honest and raw portrayal of friendship. I look forward to tuning into Netflix in the spring! With a economy size box of tissues.

Click here to grab a copy for yourself.

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That’s it for this month! As always, send me your recommendations! And, if you have read any of the books above, I would love to hear your thoughts! XO