Posts Tagged 'mother daughter relationship'

Such Charming Liars by Karen M McManus

Published November 12, 2024 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Mystery

Kat and her mom, Jamie, have lived with Gem since Kat was four and they fled her abusive father. Gem runs a jewelry forgery business and Jamie has realized that this is not the life she wants for her daughter and has asked to leave the business. Gem says if she does one more job she can leave it all behind her. Jamie is supposed to switch out a valuable necklace at a wealthy man’s birthday party while dressed as wait staff. On their way to the party, though, they run into Luke, whom Jamie was married to for 48 hours years ago, and his son, Liam. Undeterred, Jamie vows to get in and do the job so they can have a fresh start. Unfortunately, it becomes clear that Jamie will not be able to perform the switch due to circumstances beyond their control, and Kat is forced to step in for her. As she approaches the wealthy guests, she sees Luke is now dating the daughter of the wealthy billionaire having the birthday party and knows it is part of a grift, but as long as no one gets in her way she does not care what Luke and Liam are up to. Then, a terrible tragedy happens that completely upends the party and locks down the estate. What will happen is Kat can’t switch the necklace? Will she and Jamie get embroiled in the latest scandal to befall this family? Is there any way for Liam and Kat to work together and possibly reconnect their sibling relationship lost long ago?

Fans of McManus’s One of Us is Lying will enjoy this title from beginning to end. There are many twists and turns in the story as it slowly becomes clear who is working against each other and how the plans for each character get altered along the way. Kat and Liam have both had unconventional childhoods, but both are resourceful and resilient with every new challenge that comes their way. The supporting characters are all interesting with ulterior motives, but there is a lot going on so the final resolution may take some readers by surprise. The setting has a fun, throwback feel like the Clue Mansion and there are lots of places for the characters to explore while they are stuck on this property. Recommended for readers looking for light, well developed mysteries.

Poison in their Hearts by Laura Sebastian

Published October 22, 2024 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Fantasy

In this final installment of the Castles in their Bones series, Daphne and Beatriz work together to try and overcome the horrendous plans set out by their mother to take over all of the kingdoms at any cost. However, it will not be easy as their mother always seems to be a step ahead and has spies everywhere. In fact, before Beatriz can get to Daphne, she is betrayed, drugged, and sent back to the kingdom she desperately wants to flee. Meanwhile, Violie is trying to maintain the ruse that she is in fact Princess Sophronia (with Daphne’s help). Can they find a way, with their allies, to outsmart their mother and somehow keep the prophecy of their deaths from coming to fruition? Will they be able to find a way to get the support of the people against their mother, who appears from the outside to be a kind leader? Do they have what it takes to really stand up to the one who raised them for this very purpose?

This final installment is every bit as engaging as the first two and will make readers wish the series continued on. The sisters, continue to become more complex and endearing characters, but the supporting characters also become more developed as each impacts the ultimate resolution. This story does not shy away from violence as a means to an end, but it is never too graphic or overwhelming. The ending contains many twists and turns, which is impressive considering how far this story has already taken readers, but at no point does anything seem outlandish or exaggerated. This book finishes out the trilogy in such a satisfying way that the previous two books seem even better now that the resolution is clear. Recommended for fantasy and romance readers.

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

Published April 15, 2015 Mystery , RAC Leave a Comment
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nearly gone

Genre:  Mystery/Suspense

# of Pages:  386

RAC:  Yes

Nearly lives in a crappy trailer with her mother who works as an exotic dancer.  She is trying desperately to keep her head down, work hard, and hopefully earn a special science scholarship.  She reads the missed connections ads every Friday in the hopes of finding a message from her father who abandoned her years ago.  Nearly has an unusual talent where she can feel what people are feeling simply by touching them, so she tries not to touch anyone ever.  One day she sees a mysterious ad in the missed connections section and doesn’t think much of it until a cheerleader, whom Nearly tutored,  from her school is taken and attacked at an away basketball game.  After the attack, the clues in the ad suddenly make sense.  She goes to the police, but they do not believe her story and instead decide to follow her and see if she had anything to do with the attack.  Each week a new ad with clues come out and each week there is a new attack of someone that Nearly tutors.  Can she find who is doing this before it is too late?  Who could be capable of such crimes and what do the numbers written on the bodies mean?

This mystery combines several elements to make a fairly complicated story.  There are many characters and sometimes they can be a bit confusing, but in the end they are all fairly memorable.  Nearly has many things going on besides the attacks in her life which makes it unclear which part of her life is actually behind trying to frame her for these terrible crimes.  Most readers will not put together the final resolution, but the pieces do indeed fit together.   Mystery fans will be satisfied.

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

Published October 21, 2008 RAC , Realistic Fiction , Romance 8 Comments
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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Level: 14 and up

# of Pages: 281 p.

RAC Book: Yes

In one of Sarah Dessen’s early books, Halley struggles through her junior year of high school. Things do not turn out as planned when her best friend, Scarlet, finds out she is pregnant with her boyfriend’s baby. The boyfriend died unexpectedly in a motorcycle accident over the previous summer. At the same time, Halley begins dating a boy her mother disapproves of and they begin fighting constantly. Finally, her grandmother whom she is named after is dying.

Dessen’s work has come a long way in the last ten years. While there is nothing bad about this book, the characters fail to compel readers to continue turning pages like some of her more recent books like The Truth About Forever. Teen readers will still enjoy this one, but the lack of resolution at the end will bother some of them.

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