The Hangman’s Secret (Victorian Mystery: Book 3) by Laura Joh Rowland

The Hangman's Secret (Victorian Mystery, #3)

3 Stars

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Date of publication: January 8th, 2019

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Series: Victorian Mystery

The Ripper’s Shadow—Book 1

A Mortal Likeness—Book 2

The Hangman’s Secret—Book 3

Where you can find The Hangman’s Secret: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Goodreads synopsis:

From award-winning author Laura Joh Rowland, a story about the darkness that lurks within and the deadly secrets that beg to be revealed.

Intrepid photographer Sarah Bain and her motley crew of friends are back to hunt criminals in the dark, seedy underbelly of Victorian London, but little do they know, the darkness may lurk closer than they first divined.

Photographer Sarah Bain and her friends Lord Hugh Staunton and sometimes street urchin Mick O’Reilly are private detectives with a new gig—photographing crime scenes for London’s Daily World newspaper. The Daily World is the latest business venture of their sole client, Sir Gerald Mariner, a fabulously wealthy and powerful banker.

One cold, snowy January morning, Sarah, Hugh, and Mick are summoned to the goriest crime scene they’ve ever encountered. A pub owner named Harry Warbrick has been found hanged and decapitated amid evidence of foul play. His murder becomes a sensation because he was England’s top hangman and he’s met the same fate that he inflicted on hundreds of criminals.

Sir Gerald announces that the Daily World—meaning Sarah and her friends—will investigate and solve Harry Warbrick’s murder before the police do. The contest pits Sarah against the man she loves, Police Constable Barrett. She and her friends discover a connection between Harry Warbrick’s murder and the most notorious criminal he ever executed—Amelia Carlisle, the “Baby-Butcher,” who murdered hundreds of infants placed in her care.

Something happened at Amelia’s execution. The Official Secrets Act forbids the seven witnesses present to divulge any information about it. But Harry had a bad habit of leaking tips to the press. Sarah and her friends suspect that one of the other witnesses killed Harry to prevent him from revealing a secret related to the execution. What is the secret, and who hanged the hangman?

My review:

When I first read the blurb for The Hangman’s Secret, I was undecided if I wanted to read this book or not. While I like mysteries, I have to be in the right mood to read them. But, seeing that the book was set in one of my favorite time periods (The Victorian Era), I decided to take a chance on reading it. While I am glad I took the chance on reading it, I was unimpressed with the book. It didn’t surprise me or astonish me. I was a little disappointed in it.

The plot for The Hangman’s Secret was a good one. Sarah and her friends are dispatched to a crime scene by the paper’s owner, Sir Gerald Mariner. There has been a gruesome murder. Sarah, a crime scene photographer, arrives on the scene to find out that the victim was a hangman. Pushed into solving this murder before the police, Sarah finds out that the victim was the hangman for a notorious baby murderer. She also finds out that something happened at that hanging. Whatever that was, someone was willing to kill the people who were at the hanging to keep them quiet. Can she solve it? Or will her reputation, her relationship, and friendships be ruined? Also, will she be able to finally track down her father? Or will she discover something about her past?

While I enjoyed reading The Hangman’s Secret, I felt that it dragged in spots. Mainly in the middle. I was mentally urging the characters to do something to bring the plot out of its lag. Which happened but I almost DNF’d the book before it happened. Also, the beginning was slow. There was too much time discussing the characters backgrounds and storylines from the earlier books. I am here to read this book, not to read about Sarah, Mick and Hugh’s adventures with Jack the Ripper and kidnappers. If that could be cut back a bit, the beginning wouldn’t be so slow.

Sarah bothered me. Because this is Victorian England, I get that she should have been a little reserved. But she wasn’t. She was determined to be an independent woman. Which was unheard of in those days. She was the one that Sir Gerald talked to when he wanted something done. She was the one that took on the job of finding her father. She called the shots in her relationship. It was unheard of in those days for a woman to have as much power as she did. I hate to say this (because I am all about girl power) but I wished she was more like women of that era. Because it was not realistic the way she was.

I liked the mystery angle of the book. The author did a great job at keeping the identity of the killer hidden until the end of the book. I did think it was going to be one person and I was surprised at who it was. I did feel that all the red herrings and false leads weren’t needed. The whole Cross angle of the mystery didn’t do it for me. It actually made me aggravated that one person could be so nasty. As for the mystery of Sarah’s father, it was well done. But there were more questions than answers.

The romance between Bennett and Sarah screamed of dysfunction and took away from the story. While I appreciated that Sarah had someone to love her, I didn’t like that it became a focal point in the plotline towards the end. I also didn’t like how Sarah was judged on her looks. It wasn’t even other people, she put herself down.

The author tied the storylines up nicely at the end of the book. I thought that the ending went on a little longer than I thought. There was no big twist. I also had questions about DCI Reid. Where did he go? There was no mention about him at the end of the book. Seeing that he was Bennett and Sarah’s nemesis, I would have thought there would have been a mention about it. I did like that the author left enough room for another book.

What I liked about The Hangman’s Secret:

The plotline. I enjoyed it
Being set in Victorian England
The end of the book

What I disliked about The Hangman’s Secret:

It dragged in spots and was slow to start
Sarah. She didn’t match the stereotype of women of that era
Sarah and Bennett’s romance

I gave The Hangman’s Secret a 3-star rating. The plotline and the mystery angle of the book was enjoyable to read. I also liked how the book was ended. But, the story was slow to start and the plotline lagged in spots. Also, I didn’t think that Sarah fit the stereotype of women of that era. I also thought that Sarah and Bennett’s romance was dysfunctional and brought no added depth to the story.

I would give The Hangman’s Secret an Adult rating. There is sex but it is not graphic. There is violence, sometimes graphic. There is no language. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I am on the fence if I would reread The Hangman’s Secret. I am also on the fence if I would recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Hangman’s Secret.

All opinions stated in the review of The Hangman’s Secret are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Game On (Aces Hockey: Book 8) by Kelly Jamieson

4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept

Date of publication: January 15th, 2019

Genre: Sports, Romance

Series: Aces Hockey

Major Misconduct—Book 1

Off Limits—Book 1.5

Icing—Book 2

Top Shelf—Book 3

Back Check—Book 4

Slap Shot—Book 5 (review here)

Playing Hurt—Book 6 (review here)

Big Stick—Book 7 (review here)

Game On—Book 8

Where you can find Game On: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Goodreads synopsis:

Cam Brickley and his pro hockey teammates bet on everything: who can win five faceoffs in a row, who can do forty pushups in less than a minute, who can eat a ghost pepper without puking. But when his buddies bet him he can’t date the same woman—like, say, the hot blonde over at the bar—for two months and not fall in love, he’ll take that bet all day. Then he’ll laugh all the way to the hockey arena, where they’ll be washing his jock straps for the rest of the season because Cam’s never giving up his bachelor lifestyle.

Olivia Lockwood, the heiress to the Lockwood Industries fortune, is used to people using her for her money and family connections. When Cam Brickley hits on her in a club, Olivia’s first instinct is to brush him off. But he couldn’t be using her for her money since he has more than enough of his own. Cam’s gorgeous and built, and it would be no hardship to go out with him . . . besides, he’d be the perfect spokesperson for the children’s charity she works with. Maybe it’s time for her to start using people.

Cam and Olivia are both in it for something. What they don’t know yet is that they’re playing for keeps.

My review:

This was a bittersweet read for me. I had come into the Aces Hockey series late in the series (Slap Shot). But, I enjoyed the series from that point on. I got to see Hallsy, Chaser, and Nick get their HEA’s. I was left wondering who was going to be the next one to fall. When I saw that it was Brick, I went “Yes!!” I liked his character and couldn’t wait to see who he fell in love with.

I thought that the bet that Brick made with his teammates was immature. I didn’t like that he could potentially be playing with someone’s feelings. So, I was a little “eh” when he went on the first couple of dates with her. I figured that everything that happened on those dates was karma for the bet. Then Brick did something that surprised me. He told Olivia about the bet. He did it early on in the book. I thought it was awesome. Olivia did react the way I figured she would (who wouldn’t have). Then, in another move that surprised me, she decided to help Brick win the bet. I was like “no way“.

Let’s talk about the first two dates they had. I thought that the location of the first one was original and made me wonder if there is such a thing. It is a great way of getting to know someone. Take them and play a board game. I did feel bad for Olivia and Brick after the date. I have been on a lot of dates Not lately, though. Been in a relationship for 15 years. I have never had someone get sick at the end of the date. I also have never gotten sick at the end of a date. I am glad that Olivia did the right thing and let Brick stay at her condo. Poor guy would have been puking all over the Uber home. The second date went about as well as the first. A walking tour of Chicago and then dinner. What happens. Brick somehow ends up cracking his head on the floor and then Olivia dumps her drink in his crotch. For the record, I have had the drink dumping happen to me. Poor Brick…lol. The ribbing he took from the guys the next day made me die laughing in bed.

I liked Olivia but she did get kind of annoying after a while. She kept bringing up that she never felt that she measured up to her brother and sister. Which caused issues with her self confidence. While I understood it hurt, it did get old after a while. I did think that her work at her nonprofit was fascinating. I wish that it was featured a bit more than a couple of scenes at her office and the celebrity appearance Brick made.

I liked Brick. I liked that he was honest with Olivia. I liked that he made sure she knew that feelings were out of the question for him. I liked that he was a goofball. But he did annoy me towards the end of the book. He handled the situation with Olivia badly. I do wish that the Ashley substory was explained earlier in the book. Because, until it was, Brick looked like a huge jerk. After that explanation, I went “Well, no wonder he didn’t seriously date anyone.” I wouldn’t have if I had been put through that.

The sexual attraction and chemistry that Olivia and Brick had. It was off the charts hot. I loved that the author kept amping it up. I also liked that Olivia and Brick didn’t have sex right away. So, when they did, that first sex scene was smoking hot.

Speaking of sex scenes, the author kept the heat on with them. I loved it. I loved that Olivia was a bit wilder than the other girls in bed. Plus the lingerie she wore. Fantastic!!

The end of the book was bittersweet. I am not going to get into it but I had tears in my eyes. The author did a great job of bringing each character in the previous books and highlighting them. What got me was what Nick said to his brother Aleks. I was also sad that this was going to be the last book in this series.

I would give Game On an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is mild violence. There is language. There are triggers. They would be mental illness.

I would reread Game On. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Game On.

All opinions stated in this review of Game On are mine.

The Perfect Liar by Thomas Christopher Greene

2 Stars

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: January 15th, 2019

Genre: mystery, thriller

Where you can find The Perfect Liar: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Goodreads synopsis:

A seemingly perfect marriage is threatened by the deadly secrets husband and wife keep from each other, for fans of B.A. Paris and Paula Hawkins.

Susannah, a young widow, and single mother has remarried well: to Max, a charismatic artist and popular speaker whose career took her and her fifteen-year-old son out of New York City and to a quiet Vermont university town. Strong-willed and attractive, Susannah expects that her life is perfectly in place again. Then one quiet morning she finds a note on her door: I KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

Max dismisses the note as a prank. But days after a neighborhood couple comes to dinner, the husband mysteriously dies in a tragic accident while on a run with Max. Soon thereafter, a second note appears on their door: DID YOU GET AWAY WITH IT?

Both Susannah and Max are keeping secrets from the world and from each other —secrets that could destroy their family and everything they have built. The Perfect Liar is a thrilling novel told through the alternating perspectives of Susannah and Max with a shocking climax that no one will expect, from the bestselling author of The Headmaster’s Wife.

My review

Susannah was a young widow living in New York City. Raising her son alone after her husband passed away, Susannah is not looking for love. Then she meets Max. Max, an up and coming artist, sweeps Susannah off her feet. They move from NYC to a quiet college town in Vermont. Life is good until Susannah finds a note. A not that says “I Know Who You Are“. That note starts off a series of events that will rock Susannah and Max’s lives. Secrets, long buried, will be revealed. Relationships will be changed. Who is sending the notes? Why is that person sending them?

I don’t like leaving negative reviews. I usually try to find something good to say about the book I am reviewing, even if I don’t like it. But there are some books that I have read that I can’t find anything nice to say about it. The Perfect Liar is such a book. Which is sad, because I was excited to read this book. It had all the earmarks of a book that I would enjoy.

I could not connect with either of the main characters. There were no endearing traits or quirks for me to focus on. Nothing that made me feel bad for the characters. They felt flat. They were also unlikeable. I couldn’t stand both Max and Susannah. They were both self-centered people who thought that they could get away with horrible things.

The plotlines dragged in The Perfect Liar also. The book started off fast enough but it started lagging by the middle of the book. There was almost a stall in the storyline towards the end of the book. I almost DNF’d the book at that point. But, I was so close to the end. So, I soldiered on.

The end of the book was anticlimactic. There were points where I was asking myself “When is the other shoe going to drop“. I was surprised at who was writing the notes. It was the last person I thought it was going to be. Why that person sent the notes was a surprise also. I was expecting what happened at the end of the book to happen. I was surprised by who. I was also surprised by who helped after the fact.

I want to end the review saying that I do think that this book has potential. I thought that the story was interesting (when stripped down to the bare bones). I couldn’t move past the characters.

I gave The Perfect Liar a 2-star rating. I didn’t like this book. I could not connect with the characters. I thought the plotlines dragged. I thought the end of the book was anticlimactic and understated. What saved this book from being a 1-star review is that I thought the book had potential. I thought that the story was interesting.

I would give The Perfect Liar an Adult rating. There is sex. There is violence. There is language. There are triggers. They would be abuse by an authority figure, mental illness and murder. I would reccomend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would not reread The Perfect Liar. I would not reccomend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Perfect Liar.

All opinions stated in this review of The Perfect Liar are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Have you read The Perfect Liar?

Love it?

Hate it?

Meh about it?

Let me know!!!

For Baby and Me (Welcome to Otter Tail: Book 4) by Margaret Watson

3 Stars

Publisher: Dragonfly Press

Date of publication: September 12th, 2018

Genre: Romance

Series: Welcome to Otter Tail

An Unlikely Setup—Book 1 (review here)

Can’t Stand the Heat—Book 2 (review here)

Life Rewritten—Book 3 (review here)

For Baby and Me—Book 4

Where you can find For Baby and Me: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Goodreads synopsis:

Nick Boone is a brilliant architect, focused completely on his job. In his personal life, he’s a serial dater, with no interest in marriage or even a long-term relationship. And fatherhood? Absolutely not. He has no idea what family even means.

But even a single-minded boss like Nick can’t abandon his employee Sierra Clark on the night her parents are killed. When her deep distress melts his professional distance, long-simmering attraction takes over and he indulges in a night of comfort and connection.

He has no idea how deep that connection is going to run.

My review:

I didn’t like For Baby and Me as much as I liked the rest of the books in the Welcome to Otter Tail series. Which made me sad because the other books were so good!!

I thought Nick was a grade A jerk in this book. He was condescending towards Sierra. I couldn’t believe that he thought that throwing money at her would take care of everything. I wanted to smack him upside the head during certain points in the book. I couldn’t believe that he didn’t understand why Sierra was so reserved with him. That whole speech in the hospital made me go “Are you effing kidding me. You put her through hell and then expect her to open her arms and let you in.” Yeah, I was kinda mad about that. But, I do understand where he was coming from. What he went through as a child traumatized him.

I felt awful for Sierra. I couldn’t imagine losing my parents that way. I have also been in her shoes when I saw that stick go pink (my oldest was unplanned). I did think that she had high expectations for what Nick’s reaction was. I also think that her expectations kept getting smashed every time she saw him. I would have acted the same way towards him.

I did find their profession fascinating. I didn’t know that there was so much planning into going into building a house. I also didn’t know that contractors would switch out materials for ones that were not as good and pocket the money. I was fooled by who the person was switching out the material. I thought it was the other guy.

I felt awful for Sierra when she fell and hurt herself. I can relate to the stress she was under at the hospital. Not to feel your baby move is frightening.

I didn’t feel much of a connection between Nick and Sierra. The whole “I don’t want to be a father” vibe killed that romance for me. I will say that they had some pretty hot sex.

I did like the end of For Baby and Me. I loved the epilogue. Love, love, loved it!!!!

I would give For Baby and Me an Adult rating. There is sex (not graphic). There is language. There is mild violence. There are triggers. They would be the death of a parent. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I am on the fence if I would reread For Baby and Me. I am also on the fence if I would recommend it to family and friends.

I would like to thank the author for allowing me to read and review For Baby and Me.

All opinions stated in this review of For Baby and Me are mine.

Life Rewritten (Welcome to Otter Creek: Book 3) by Margaret Watson

5 Stars

Publisher: Dragonfly Press

Date of publication: September 12th, 2018

Genre: Romance

Series: Welcome to Otter Tail

An Unlikely Setup—Book 1—review here

Can’t Stand the Heat—Book 2—review here

Life Rewritten—Book 3

For Baby and Me—Book 4 (review here)

Where you can find Life Rewritten—Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Goodreads synopsis:

Delaney Spencer erased every trace of Chantal – the wildly popular rocker she used to be. She’s a carpenter now. Her only connection to her old life is drumming in a local band.

Until Sam McCabe shows up in town. The sibling of her late lover and bandmate Diesel, Sam has been searching for her. For the sake of his brother’s children, he needs the unreleased songs she and Diesel created together.

Delaney wants to do the right thing and help Diesel’s adorable kids. But not if she has to reveal she’s Chantal. She won’t do it — not even for Sam.

My review:

In my experience, books later on in a series tend to kind of fizzle out. I can count on one hand how many times I have given a 5-star rating to the 3rd book in a series. Life Rewritten is among those elite few.

Be warned, have tissues nearby. This book is going to make you cry. I wasn’t expecting it and had to go scrounging for tissues. There are some pretty emotional scenes that will rip your heart out and put it back in.

The author did a fantastic job of showcasing how hard alcohol/drug addiction recovery is. You can never say that you were an addict or an alcoholic. You always are one. The fight to stay clean/sober is often exhausting. It was showcased beautifully here.

I knew that Delaney was hiding something but I wasn’t prepared to find out that she was a rock star in her former life. I was floored. Other than her singing and playing the drums, there were no clues about her past. From what was discussed in the book, Delaney’s alter ego wasn’t a very nice person when she was a rock star. Again, such a difference from the woman that I had grown to like through reading the series.

I felt for Sam. To assume guardianship of two young children when you don’t have any of your own is hard. Even harder is that those kids were damaged. I understood why he wanted those CDs. He was trying to protect the kids.

I felt for Rennie and Leo. Their mother was mentally unstable and an addict. Their father died in from an overdose. They were placed with their uncle, who they barely knew. Then they were uprooted and brought to Wisconsin. It had to of been terrifying for them. I wanted to reach through the book and hug them.

When the press found out where Delaney had been hiding, she was pissed. She had every right to be. She worked hard to keep her identity hidden. I was so mad at Jen and Maddie for their reactions. That almost sent her over the brink. Almost.

The sex scenes in Life Rewritten were emotional. Both Delaney and Sam didn’t want to fall for each other. Their sex scenes reflected that. They were some of the best written scenes that I have read to date. Not explicit but graphic enough to know what was going on.

The end of Life Rewritten was satisfying. I have never said that about the ending of a book before. I am not going to go into what exactly happened but I was thrilled with how it turned out. Let’s say that Delaney deserved it.

I would give Life Rewritten an Adult rating. There is sex (not graphic). There is language. There is mild violence. There are triggers. They would be the talk of past drug use and talk of past alcoholism.

I would reread Life Rewritten. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

Can’t Stand the Heat (Welcome to Otter Tail: Book 2) by Margaret Watson

4 Stars

Publisher: Dragonfly Press

Date of publication: September 12th, 2018

Genre: Romance

Series: Welcome to Otter Tail

An Unlikely Setup—Book 1 (review here)

Can’t Stand the Heat—Book 2

Life Rewritten—Book 3 (review here)

For Baby and Me—Book 4 (review here)

Where to find Can’t Stand the Heat: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Goodreads synopsis:

When Walker Barnes walked into Jen Summers’ catering event, all the shame, guilt and regret for what she’d done to him in high school roared back to life. As well as the feelings she’d once had for him.

But this Walker isn’t the shy, awkward geek from high school — he’s tough, successful, brilliant, confident… and sexy. And he hasn’t forgotten how she used him. Hasn’t forgiven her, either. This Walker is looking for payback.

How on earth can she be falling for him all over again?

My review:

Jen is a hardworking divorced mom of 2 who dreams of opening her own restaurant. When she sees Walker at her friend’s wedding, Jen is filled with regret and shame. What she did snowballed into something that affected 3 lives. It has haunted her for years. How can she make it right? Will there be more fallout from her actions all those years ago?

I loved this book. Honestly, I was expecting it to be a fluff book. You know, a book where the plot is forgettable and the sex is hot. Instead, I got a book with an intriguing plotline and hot sex. I was hooked from the first page.

The plotline of Can’t Stand the Heat was interesting. I thought that the author did a great job at creating a situation where paternity could be questioned. But I didn’t like how Walker made assumptions about things. He saw Nick and assumed that was his son from the first glance. All because of a grin. Then he treated Jen horribly when she got defensive when confronted. Heck, any normal woman would have acted the same way. I know I would have if an ex-fling (technically it was) came back into my life and started making claims that one of my kids were his.

I did feel for Jen. She was put in a hard situation. How does she explain to her ex that Walker might be Nick’s father? And how would she explain that to Nick? It would open up a can of worms that could backfire on her. No wonder she didn’t want to do the DNA test. I didn’t blame her one bit.

I am going to admit that I didn’t like Walker until halfway through the book. I thought he should have left well enough alone. But then came the scenes where he was looking through his mother’s album. I got teary-eyed because his regret over the past was palpable. It was at that point where I started to like him. He redeemed himself in my eyes.

I liked Jen. I thought that she was a sweetheart. Yes, she made mistakes and yes, she paid for them. But she was making an effort to try and move past them. She was a good mother. I loved the scenes where she went all mama bear on Walker. I was doing fist pumps and saying “You go, girl”.

Walker and Jen definitely had some serious chemistry going on in the book. The sexual attraction was there and was kept up until they had sex. Now, talking about the sex scenes, I was actually happy that they weren’t graphic. There is a time and a place for graphic sex scenes and I am glad the author went the less graphic route with this book.

The end of the book was emotional. I am not going to get into it. But I will say that I thought everything was handled perfectly. Also, the epilogue made me smile.

I would give Can’t Stand the Heat an Adult rating. There is sex (not graphic). There is language. There is mild violence. There are no triggers. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Can’t Stand the Heat. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank the author for allowing me to read and review Can’t Stand the Heat.

All opinions stated in this review of Can’t Stand the Heat are mine.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

An Anonymous Girl

4 Stars

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: January 8th, 2019

Genre: General Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Where you can find An Anonymous Girl: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Goodreads synopsis:

The next novel of psychological suspense and obsession from the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us

Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed.

When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding. As Jess’s paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what in her life is real, and what is one of Dr. Shields’ manipulative experiments. Caught in a web of deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly.

From the authors of the blockbuster bestseller, The Wife Between Us comes an electrifying new novel about doubt, passion, and just how much you can trust someone.

My review:

Jessica is a makeup artist who isn’t living her life to the fullest. Barely making ends meet, her days consist of running around NYC, toting her make up case. Her nights are spent hanging out with her best friends and having one night stands. When she sees a text about a study on ethics and morality that pays around $500, she decides to go and take the girl’s place. She catches the eye of the psychologist running the study, Dr. Shields. As her relationship with Dr. Shields gets more personal, Jessica realizes that she isn’t involved in a study anymore. Instead, Dr. Shields is using her in an experiment. As Dr. Shield becomes more and more demanding and obsessive, Jessica needs to find a way out. Will that happen? Will Jessica be able to end her relationship with Dr. Shields? Or will she be a casualty?

I loved how Dr. Shields side of the story progressed. It was interesting to read how she picked up on Jessica. How she singled her out of the study. The author did a great job of letting Dr. Shields crazy come out in small doses. Her obsession with Thomas and Jessica. Her ability to read Jessica’s mind and to be one step ahead of her. It was all wonderfully spaced out. I will say, though, Dr. Shields did scare me. I had no issue imagining this same scenario playing out in real life. That is what made this book so good to read. It was totally believable.

Jessica’s side of the story was as wonderfully written as Dr. Shields. The authors did a fantastic job of showing how easy someone was to manipulate. All it took was asking the right questions and creating the right atmosphere. I loved watching her transformation from an independent woman to a person who was controlled. But, what I also liked, was how Jessica took her life back. How she fought back against Dr. Shields.

I will warn, for those of you who don’t like it, that Dr. Shields part of the book was written in 2nd person. Myself, I don’t care for it. It makes the story harder to read because the reader never gets to see what is going on from the other people’s perspective. But in this book, it worked. It only worked because Jessica’s part of the book was written in 1st person. I wasn’t only reading the book in 2nd person. Another reason it worked was that we got to see Dr. Shields in two totally different lights. I thought it was fascinating how the author was able to merge the two different people who I associated with Dr. Shields into one person by the end of the book.

The main storyline with Dr. Shields and Jessica was wonderfully written. Like I mentioned above, I love reading how Jessica was manipulated by Dr. Shields. I loved how the author kept the true reason for the Dr’s social experiments under wraps until about the middle of the book. I was as shocked as Jessica when the truth was revealed.

The secondary storylines were alright. Except for April’s storyline, I didn’t get as involved with them. I did have a question about Ben and how he knew to call Jessica “Jess“. I wanted to know how much he knew about the study. The way he acted with her at the meeting made me think he knew more than he let on. It was dropped after that.

The end of An Anonymous Girl underwhelmed me. It was anti-climatic with how it was ended. I was left scratching my head and going “Huh” afterward. I should have seen what happened coming but I didn’t. The epilogue added to it.

I gave An Anonymous Girl a 4-star rating. I enjoyed reading this book. The plotlines were beautifully written and I was kept on edge the entire book. I connected with the characters. The only thing that affected my rating was the ending. It was not what I thought it would be. I was left wondering why.

I would give An Anonymous Girl an Adult rating. There is sex (not graphic). There is language. There is violence. There are triggers. They would be sexual assault and suicide. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread An Anonymous Girl. I would also recommend this book to family and friends. I would include a warning about the triggers.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review An Anonymous Girl.

All opinions expressed in this review of An Anonymous Girl are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**