Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu

Afterward: A Novel by [Mathieu, Jennifer]

Publisher: Roaring Book Press

Date of publication: September 20th, 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Realistic Fiction

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | Alibris | Powells | Indiebound | Indigo

Goodreads synopsis:

When Caroline’s little brother is kidnapped, his subsequent rescue leads to the discovery of Ethan, a teenager who has been living with the kidnapper since he was a young child himself. In the aftermath, Caroline can’t help but wonder what Ethan knows about everything that happened to her brother, who is not readjusting well to life at home. And although Ethan is desperate for a friend, he can’t see Caroline without experiencing a resurgence of traumatic memories. But after the media circus surrounding the kidnappings departs from their small Texas town, both Caroline and Ethan find that they need a friend–and their best option just might be each other.

3 Things I Liked About Afterward

The characters: Ethan, Caroline, and Dylan.
I loved all three of them, and my heart broke for each in different ways. They all respond to the trauma of the kidnapping differently, which felt incredibly real. We especially see Dylan’s experience through Caroline’s eyes, and that perspective made it hit even harder.

The storyline itself.
Be prepared for tears—starting on page one. This is not an easy book to read, but it pulls you in anyway. The author did an incredible job handling the story with care while still making it emotionally powerful.

The ending.
I won’t give anything away, but the ending couldn’t have been better. It was powerful and hopeful in a quiet, realistic way. It really shows how much healing can happen in the year following a traumatic event.

3 Things I Disliked About Afterward

Caroline’s parents.
Oh my lord. I couldn’t stand them. They blame Caroline for Dylan’s disappearance, completely miss the fact that she’s spiraling, and fail to get Dylan the help he needs after he’s found. I understand that the author intentionally wrote them as a contrast to Ethan’s parents, but they got under my skin in a big way.

Ethan’s flashbacks and anxiety attacks.
These were incredibly hard to read—not because they were poorly written, but because they were so accurate. I cried during his first flashback and ended up sobbing through several others. As someone with moderate anxiety, his panic attacks felt painfully honest. I actually had to pause and do breathing exercises because they started triggering my own anxiety.

When Ethan remembers his abuse.
This is never something you want to read about, but the author handled it with great care. It was alluded to rather than described graphically, which made it no less devastating—but very thoughtfully done.

The author also includes several vital resources in the author’s note, which I really appreciated, including organizations that support missing and exploited children, survivors of sexual assault, and families affected by trauma.

I would recommend Afterward to readers over 18 who are prepared for a deeply emotional, heavy—but ultimately meaningful—story.

Deception Island (The Legionnaires: Book 1) by Brynn Kelly

Publisher: HQN Books

Date of publication: May 31st, 2016

Genre: Romance, Suspense, Thriller, Mystery

Series: The Legionnaires

Deception Island—Book 1

Edge of Truth—Book 2

Forbidden River—Book 2.5

A Risk Worth Taking—Book 3

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | AbeBooks | Alibris | Powells | IndieBound | Indigo | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

A stolen boy 

A haunted soldier 

A cornered con woman… 

Rafe Angelito thought he was done with the demons from his past—until his son is kidnapped. Blackmailed into abducting an American heiress, the legionnaire soon finds himself trapped in paradise with a fiery, daring beauty who’s nothing he expects…and everything he desires. But when he uncovers her own dark secret, Rafe realizes he’s made a critical mistake—one that could cost him everything. 

Playing body double for a spoiled socialite was supposed to be Holly Ryan’s ticket to freedom. But when she’s snatched off her yacht by a tall, dark and dangerous stranger, the not-quite-reformed con artist will make a desperate play to turn her captor from enemy to ally, by any means necessary. 

Yet as scorching days melt into sultry nights, Holly is drawn to the mysterious capitaine, with his unexpected sense of honor and his searing touch. When they’re double-crossed, they’ll have to risk trusting each other in ways they never imagined…because in this deadly game of deception, it’s their lives—and hearts—on the line.

Oh my lord, this book was good. Everything about it felt like gold. From Rafe’s background as a child soldier, to Holly’s time in prison, to the circumstances that led to Rafe kidnapping her—I was completely hooked. I finished this book in one sitting because I genuinely could not stop reading.

Going into a Harlequin novel, I usually expect a pretty specific formula: an overconfident hero, a heroine who can’t see past her own issues, lukewarm sex scenes, and a plot that doesn’t dig too deep. That was not the case here. The twists and turns kept me guessing, the story never settled into something predictable, and the sex scenes were HOT, HOT, HOT—without ever taking away from the plot.

At its core, this story pulls you in emotionally. If you’re a parent, you already know—you’d do anything to get your child back. That’s exactly what Rafe does after discovering his son has been kidnapped by someone from his past. As more of his history is revealed, it’s impossible not to feel for him. His story is heartbreaking.

Holly’s story is just as tragic, though it unfolds more slowly. At first, all we know is that she’s an ex-con who’s been approached by a U.S. senator to impersonate his daughter on a sailing trip around the world. What the author reveals along the way explains so much about who Holly is and why—and it’s devastating in the best, most emotionally effective way.

I also appreciated the inclusion of child soldiers and human sex trafficking as subplots. Both are deeply disturbing realities, and the author handles them in a way that adds weight to the story without feeling exploitative. There are links at the end of the book for readers who want to learn more or help make a difference.

And then there’s the twist. A huge one. The kind that makes you put the book down and just say, “Whoa.” There wasn’t even a hint—it completely blindsided me, in the best way.

The ending was perfect. Honestly, if it had ended any other way, I would’ve been disappointed.

In The Clearing (Tracy Crosswhite: Book 3) by Robert Dugoni

In the Clearing (Tracy Crosswhite Book 3) by [Dugoni, Robert]

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Date of publication: May 17th, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Contemporary, Detective, Adult

Series: Tracy Crosswhite Series

The Academy—Book 0.25

Third Watch—Book 0.5

My Sister’s Grave—Book 1

Her Final Breath—Book 2

In the Clearing—Book 3

The Trapped Girl—Book 4

Close to Home—Book 5

A Steep Price—Book 6

A Cold Trail—Book 7

In Her Tracks—Book 8

The Last Line—Book 8.5

What She Found—Book 9

Purchase Links: Amazon |Audible

Goodreads synopsis:

Detective Tracy Crosswhite has a skill, and a soft spot, for tackling unsolved crimes. Having lost her own sister to murder at a young age, Tracy has dedicated her career to bringing justice and closure to the families and friends of victims of crime.

So when Jenny, a former police academy classmate, and protégé, asks Tracy to help solve a cold case that involves the suspicious suicide of a Native American high school girl forty years earlier, Tracy agrees. Following up on evidence Jenny’s detective father collected when he was the investigating deputy, Tracy probes one small town’s memory and finds dark, well-concealed secrets hidden within the community’s fabric. Can Tracy uphold the promise she’s made to the dead girl’s family and deliver the truth of what happened to their daughter? Or will she become the next victim?

Want a book you can devour in one sitting? Then read In the Clearing. I was completely glued to this one and couldn’t put it down.

The main storyline and the subplot were both fantastic. The author does a great job of alternating between the cold case and the one Tracy is currently working on, seamlessly moving between past and present—and even between different perspectives. That’s something I usually struggle with in books like this, but here it absolutely worked. The way both cases come together in the end is chilling. I actually got goosebumps.

I did figure out who killed Kimi about halfway through the book—but not because it was obvious in a bad way. There were plenty of red herrings and apparent dead ends, so when everything was revealed, I was still shocked. And there’s a major twist I did not see coming.

What surprised me most is that even though this is part of a series, it works perfectly as a standalone. I usually avoid reading books out of order because characters and plots tend to bleed together. Not here. What happens in previous books stays in previous books.

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

Faithful: A Novel by [Hoffman, Alice]

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date of publication: February 9th, 2017

Genre: Contemporary, Magical Realism, Coming of Age, New York

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible |Apple Books |WorldCat

Goodreads synopsis:

Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.

What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night.

Here is a character you will fall in love with, so believable and real and endearing, that she captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding yourself at last. For anyone who’s ever been a hurt teenager, for every mother of a daughter who has lost her way, Faithful is a roadmap.

I cried while reading this book. I—about as unemotional as a rock—cried. The heartbreak on the page is honestly mind-numbing. But what rises from those ashes? That part was something special.

The writing is fantastic. I love a story that pulls you in and makes you feel alongside the characters, and this one absolutely does. I felt deeply for Shelby. She’s broken, yes—but she finds a way to piece herself back together. Not perfectly, but perfectly for where she is in that moment.

The ending wasn’t what I expected, but it fit the story in a way that felt right.