Posted in Books, Reviews

Book Review – The Housewife (Natalie Barell)

Hey Dearies!

I actually found this one on my own! I recommended it to my friend, who is the one who has been recommending all these thrillers. I was completely shocked by how this one ended because it wasn’t who you expected at all!

The book is in Jodie’s POV. She is married to Dr. Roy Davies, who is a rich best seller and psycholoist, not to mention, he was also married to her sister Deb. Jodie’s sister Deb apparently killed herself, but Jodie doesn’t believe it and thinks that Roy had something to do with it, which is why she changed her name and was only planning on trying to get the job of being his maid.

However, Roy ended up falling for her instead, which I think he did just because she seemed familar to Deb, and they ended up getting married. Which Jodie’s plan was to just be able to get into the house in general. She then realizes that she is going to have another person to deal with, Roy’s live-in maid, Marie.

Marie, for some reason, has this attitude towards Jodie when Roy’s not around. I honestly thought it was because of the fact that Jodie likes doing the cooking & cleaning around the house, when that is Marie’s job or the fact that Roy married way too quickly after Deb’s death. Most of their interactions, when Roy’s not there, Marie isn’t as friendly around her.

In the begining, Jodie isn’t shy about asking questions about Deb in front of Roy, Marie, or Roy’s friends. The reason being, she doesn’t think that Deb killed herself because she wasn’t depressed and seemed very happy being with Roy up until about a month before she died.

Jodie was also in jail the entire time Deb was with Roy, Deb would call her whenever she could, but then the calls stopped and she didn’t find out until after she got out of jail that Deb had supposedly taken her life. Also, Roy never new Deb and Jodie are related because he never met Jodie and Deb told him she was living in another country, but she really was in jail.

I know you were probably thinking the same thing I was, how did he not know that Jodie was Deb’s sister? Although, a few of Roy and Deb’s friends make note how similar Deb and Jodie look of each other.

Anyway, Jodie thinks that Roy killed her sister and made it seem like she killed herself and starts trying to look for evidience that he did. One of the big things was that doesn’t seem to add up is how Deb supposedly killed herself with Roy’s shotgun. Most of the stuff she is looking for is locked away in Roy’s office.

The funny thing is, Jodie questions that to pretty much everyone about how Deb could’ve killed herself with the shotgun, and most of them think that she’s cruel that she’s even is talking about it, which makes her seem like there is more to uncover.

The more she digs into finding out what happens, the more you really think you know who framed her death, but it’s not who you think it is. I really thought that it was Roy the entire time reading it because Jodie finds a video of how cruel he was to Deb. Not to mention, he was also seeing someone else while married to Deb.

Jodie ends up befriending her husband’s ex mistress, Vee, or as Jodie known her as Erin. Roy is also still has feelings for Vee too, but ends up breaking it off because he met Jodie. Jodie ends up befriending “Erin” telling her all about her past and mentioning that Deb was her sister. She thought she finally had made a friend she could trust, until she finds out her real name is Vee.

Without going too much into details, thats when the book started to get interesting. Each chapter that I read, something new came into view and threw me off the trial of who Jodie was, but who actually framed her sister’s death as a suicide.

I will say it did take me a few chapters to get into the book at first, but then it starts getting good and I zoned in like I do with Freida McFadden’s books. You get stucked in because you want to know if it’s Roy who killed her sister or not. The twist at the end, was the cherry on top of the sundae for sure!

I was honestly surprised how much I liked this one, but it zoned me in for sure! I might have to check out the author’s book list to see if she has any other thrillers I might like enough to give it a go!

Have you read this one before? Or is this something that you would be interested it reading? Let me know in the comments below!

Posted in Books, Reviews

Book Review – Beneath Your Lies (Nicole J. Owens)

Hey Dearies!

I have another one that I simply couldn’t put down! I swear, my co-worker recommends the best books for me, especially ones that keep me on the edge of my seat! This is a mix of an affair, revenge, mystery, murder, and a few spicy scenes all in one!

This book had me completely zoned in that I just didn’t want to put it down at all! I’m going to try my best not to spoil it, but the ending was not what I expected to make it all worth it, and it does end on a cliffhanger, so if the author wanted to make another one, I’m hoping she does!

So, the story begins with Veronica, who finds out her husband, Richard, has been having an affair with his 19-year-old receptionist, Olivia. Richard then wants Veronica to sleep with someone else, whom he picks out, to forget that the affair had ever happened. Pretty much, he wanted to square it out so they are “even”.

Which is crazy to me that he would even offer that to her. I have been cheated on before in past relationships, and as soon as it happened, I left. Once the trust is broken, it’s very difficult to regain it without a lot of effort. Like, he wanted her to sleep with someone else once, but he was having an affair for months, that really doesn’t cancel it out in my mind.

Richard is also a politician and is running for office again, so I can see why he wanted to pick someone for her to have an affair with that would make sure it didn’t get spread to the media to ruin his chances. Any type of drama like that would definitely blow up their career in politics.

Oh, and get this, Veronica is 25, and Richard is in his 50’s. A huge age gap between the two. She married him when she was 20, by the way. I just wanted to throw that out there because it blew my mind! Nothing against couples that do have a huge age gap, it’s just creepy to think that with his age, he could be like her father.

Anyway, Richard sends Veronica to her favorite hotel to process the information and to think about the offer she was given, and tries to give it a shot. She meets this guy, whom Richard set up the date with, down at the hotel bar where she’s staying. While she’s waiting, she sees Ronan, and they both have a moment, but don’t officially meet, yet.

Ronan is pretty much a hitman, and ironically, is in the hotel bar because one of his clients had Richard’s name on his list to end and wanted to see how to handle him. Ends up seeing Veronica and wanted her as soon as he laid eyes on her. It’s one of those “touch her, and you’ll die” type of relationships.

Their relationship does seem rushed, but given each of their pasts and the chemistry they have together, they seem like a perfect fit, for sure. Although there are a few scenes that make Ronan seem like he’s stalking her, or watching from afar. However, there were several times when he came to her rescue. There are a few spicy scenes with them that are very enjoyable, in my opinion.

I don’t want to get too much into it and end up spoiling the best parts of the book. It is from the POV of both Veronica, Ronan, and Taylor. Trust me, I know what you are thinking, “Who is Taylor?” If you keep reading, you’ll find out closer to the end.

Overall, I loved the book! It is something I would definitely buy a hard copy and put on my shelf or reread on my Kindle in general. Yes, there are some spicy scenes, but it’s not overwhelming; it’s a well-blended mix. Personally, seeing what Veronica was going to do about Richard and about Ronan’s mystery background is what kept me glued in for sure.

If you do end up reading it, the ending is the best plot twist! I really held back because I don’t want to give it away for those who truly want to read it. Let me know if this is something you’d want to read or if you have already read it and are slowly waiting for the author to release a sequel, like I am!