Rednecks by Taylor Brown

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: May 14th, 2024

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adult, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Southern, Drama

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A historical drama based on the Battle of Blair Mountain, pitting a multi-ethnic army of 10,000 coal miners against mine owners, state militia, and the United States government in the largest labor uprising in American history.

Rednecks is a tour de force, big canvas historical novel that dramatizes the 1920 to 1921 events of the West Virginia Mine Wars—from the Matewan Massacre through the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed conflict on American soil since the Civil War, when some one million rounds were fired, bombs were dropped on Appalachia, and the term “redneck” would come to have an unexpected origin story.

Brimming with the high stakes drama of America’s buried history, Rednecks tells a powerful story of rebellion against oppression. In a land where the coal companies use violence and intimidation to keep miners from organizing, “Doc Moo” Muhanna, a Lebanese-American doctor (inspired by the author’s own great-grandfather), toils amid the blood and injustice of the mining camps. When Frank Hugham, a Black World War One veteran and coal miner, takes dramatic steps to lead a miners’ revolt with a band of fellow veterans, Doc Moo risks his life and career to treat sick and wounded miners, while Frank’s grandmother, Beulah, fights her own battle to save her home and grandson. Real-life historical figures burn bright among the hills: the fiery Mother Jones, an Irish-born labor organizer once known as “The Most Dangerous Woman in America,” struggles to maintain the ear of the miners (“her boys”) amid the tide of rebellion, while the sharp-shooting police chief “Smilin” Sid Hatfield dares to stand up to the “gun thugs” of the coal companies, becoming a folk hero of the mine wars.

Award-winning novelist Taylor Brown brings to life one of the most compelling events in 20th century American history, reminding us of the hard-won origins of today’s unions. Rednecks is a propulsive, character-driven tale that’s both a century old and blisteringly contemporary: a story of unexpected friendship, heroism in the face of injustice, and the power of love and community against all odds.

First Line:

Doc Moo was up at the coal camp above town, checking on an elderly patient of his, when the Baldwins came rattling up the road in a pair of tin lizzies, their rifles and shotguns prickling from the windows, like hackles and spines.

Important details about Rednecks

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (numerous characters)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Rednecks contains themes that include bullying, classism, homelessness, poverty, racism, terrorism, alcohol consumption, blood, gore, body horror, dead bodies, body parts, decapitation, dismemberment, loss of limb, medical treatment, medical procedures, mutilation, physical injuries, scars, death, grief, explosions, fire, arson, gun violence, murder, physical assault, police brutality, police violence, torture, mass murder, war themes, and military violence. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Rednecks contain moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is nongraphic sexual content in Rednecks.

Setting: Rednecks is set around Blair Mountain, West Virginia.

My Review:

The storyline of Rednecks is centered around a conflict called the West Virginia Miner Wars (1920-1921). These wars were the most significant armed conflict on American soil since the Civil War, but little is known about it because politicians and coal mining executives covered it up. I will warn you: this book is bloody, violent, and is not an easy read. But people need to read because this is a part of American history.

Another thing that I liked about this book was how the author incorporated actual events and people into the timeline. Everyone (and every event) in this book is real, except for Dr. Muhanna (Doc Moo), a Lebanese-American doctor based on the author’s great-grandfather. It made the book stand out more to me.

I do want to explain the book’s title. The miners wore red kerchiefs tied around their necks, identifying them to the police and army they were fighting against. The police and army started using this as a derogatory statement, and it has stuck to this day.

I was irritated by the end of the book. I thought people would have been up in arms over what happened (a year of war in Appalachia). But instead, people who were sympathetic to the coal miners (mainly politicians) started denouncing everything that happened. And the reason the coal miners went on strike (working conditions and wanting shorter days) was forgotten.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Taylor Brown for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Summers at the Saint. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Rednecks, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Taylor Brown

Finding Sophie by Imran Mahmood

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam

Date of publication: March 5th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Legal Thriller, Adult Fiction, Drama

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two parents, desperate to find their missing daughter, stand accused of murder. How far will they go to find the truth?

Someone is guilty.

For the last seventeen years, Harry and Zara King’s lives have revolved around their only daughter, Sophie. One day, Sophie leaves the house and doesn’t come home. Six weeks later, the police are no closer to finding her than when they started. Harry and Zara have questioned everyone who has ever had any connection to Sophie, to no avail. Except there’s one house on their block—number 210, across the street—whose occupant refuses to break his silence.

Someone knows what happened.

As the question mark over number 210 devolves into obsession, Harry and Zara are forced to examine their own lives. They realize they have grown apart, suffering in separate spheres of grief. And as they try to find their way back to each other, they must face the truth about their daughter: who she was, how she changed, and why she disappeared.

Someone will pay.

Told in the alternating perspectives of Harry and Zara, and in a dual timeline between the weeks after Sophie’s disappearance and a year later in the middle of a murder trial, Imran Mahmood’s taut yet profoundly moving novel explores how differently grief can be experienced even when shared by parents—and how hope triumphs when it springs from the kind of love that knows no bounds.

First Line:

I’ve been waiting six months for my trial but now that I’m here I can’t contain the panic blooming in my gut.
Finding Sophie by Imran Mahmood

Important details about Finding Sophie

Pace: Medium

POV: 1st person (Harry and Zara)

Trigger Warnings: Finding Sophie contains themes that include kidnapping, grief, murder, adult/minor relationship, bullying, child abuse, confinement, death, drug abuse, emotional abuse, rape, suicidal thoughts, blood, trafficking, gaslighting, injury/injury detail, stalking, grooming, and sexual harassment.

Language: Finding Sophie contains moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Finding Sophie.

Setting: Finding Sophie is set around an unnamed village in England.

My Review

Finding Sophie’s storyline focuses on Harry and Zara, their desperation to find Sophie, and their murder trial. I am not fond of alternating storylines that go from past to present and back. But, in this case, it worked. The storylines complemented each other. There was no lag when the author switched characters or storylines. Instead, he took what the previous chapter talked about and used it in the present day or in the past to explain how Harry and Zara got to the point they were at. Overall, it was a compelling, well-written story that I was engaged with. My only complaint would be the ending (and I will explain why I wasn’t a fan of it).

I liked that the author portrayed Zara and Harry as parents at the end of their rope with a rebellious child. As a mother of two teenagers, I could sympathize with the talking back, the silence, the moodiness, and even being secretive. But, I did draw the line at what they did in desperation to Sophie. When Sophie went missing, the anguish, the rage, and the self-doubt came crashing back. They weren’t likable characters, but they were sympathetic.

I was surprised at how little Zara and Harry knew about their daughter. Maybe I don’t have typical teenagers, but my kids share (and sometimes overshare) everything with my husband and me. So, when Harry and Zara found out all of this information about Sophie weeks after she went missing, it was surprising.

I initially thought Sophie’s disappearance was due to her being a rebellious teenager and to certain events that happened in the prior weeks. I was NOT expecting the twist her storyline took. I was completely surprised and shocked because it wasn’t what I thought. Of course, I did think Harry was right in doing what he did (after the murder trial).

The events leading up to the murder were disturbing. I did have sympathy for 210 in the beginning, but that sympathy waned as the book went on. Harry may have gone slightly over the top in his actions. However, Harry’s actions became borderline obsessive, and Zara started to do the same thing. So, it wasn’t a surprise when the murder happened.

The trial angle of the book was interesting to read. I can’t remember a book where the author explained how British law works. It fascinated me because while it was similar to American law, it was also so different. There were two major twists in that plotline. One I didn’t see coming and was very surprised by the reveal. I was also astonished that the confession was caught on tape, and that confession almost made me get bookish whiplash. The other twist was who the murderer was. I will say that there were only two people, so I had a 50/50 chance of getting it right. I did somewhat see it coming, but I was shocked.

Now, the end of the book was different from what I thought it would be. I did like that the author wrapped up everything with a neat little bow. But he did something that I didn’t expect. He showed the aftermath of everything. I was with him until the very last chapter. It ended on a very creepy note, and I am still trying to figure out exactly what happened and what he meant in that last paragraph.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam, NetGalley, and Imran Mahmood for allowing me to read and review an ARC of Finding Sophie. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Finding Sophie, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Imran Mahmood

The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of publication: January 2nd, 2024

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Greece, Literary Fiction, Family, Drama, Cultural, Adult Fiction, Adult

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

In present-day Greece, deep in an ancient forest, lives a family: Irini, a musician, who teaches children to read and play music; her husband, Tasso, who paints pictures of the forest, his greatest muse; and Chara, their young daughter, whose name means joy. On the fateful day that will forever alter the trajectory of their lives, flames chase fleeing birds across the sky. The wildfire that will consume their home, and their lives as they know it, races toward them.

Months later, as the village tries to rebuild, Irini stumbles upon the man who started the fire, a land speculator who had intended only a small, controlled burn to clear forestland to build on but instead ignited a catastrophe. He is dying, although the cause is unclear, and in her anger at all he took from them, Irini makes a split-second decision that will haunt her.

As the local police investigate the suspicious death, Tasso mourns his father, who has not been seen since before the fire. Tasso’s hands were burnt in the flames, leaving him unable to paint, and he struggles to cope with the overwhelming loss of his artistic voice and his beloved forest. Only his young daughter, who wants to repair the damage that’s been done, gives him hope for the future.

Gorgeously written, sweeping in scope and intimate in tone, The Book of Fire is a masterful work about the search for meaning in the wake of tragedy, as well as the universal ties that bind people together, and to the land that they call home.

First Line

This morning, I met the man who started the fire.
The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The Book of Fire had a medium-slow pace.

POV: The Book of Fire is told through Irini’s 1st person POV. The fire section of the book is told in 2nd person (it is told as a story and is broken up throughout the book).

Trigger/Content Warning: The Book of Fire has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

Fire/Fire Injury
Death
Suicide (not the actual act but after it happened. There is also a scene where someone recounts encouraging someone to kill themself by handing them a rope)
Grief
Death of a parent
Injury/Injury Detail
Xenophobia
War (was told as part of Irini and Tasso’s story; it was Irini’s great-grandfather recounting a war he had lived through as a child)
Depression
Anxiety/Anxiety Disorders
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Body Horror
Hospitalization
Medical Treatment & Procedures
Scars
Death from Exposure
Animal Injury

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in The Book of Fire.

Language: There is mild to moderate swearing in The Book of Fire. There is also language used that might offend some people.

Setting: The Book of Fire is set in Greece.

Age Range: I recommend The Book of Fire to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Irini and Tasso are living their dream in Greece. Tasso is a talented artist, and Irini is a music teacher. They live in an ancient forest with their daughter. The dream was shattered when a forest fire decimated their village and the forest their house bordered. Now, Irini is struggling with the aftereffects of the fire. So, when she finds the man responsible for so much death and destruction by an old tree, she walks away. While the police investigate, Irini must summon the inner strength and courage to get her life back on track. And that means coming to terms with what happened and trying to forgive the man who started the fire and destroyed her life. Can she do it?

Main Characters:

The main character in The Book of Fire is Irini. The book is told from her POV. Her actions (or inactions) in this book have far-reaching implications. Her character growth consisted of her growing past her anger at the man who started the fire and starting down the path to forgiveness.

My review:

This is the first book I have read by Christy Lefteri, and I can confidently say it won’t be my last. After I finished The Book of Fire, I added all her books to my TBR on Goodreads.

The Book of Fire’s storyline centers around Irini, her family, their healing (emotional and physical) from the fire, and Irini’s book that she wrote called….The Book of Fire (which recounts the fire and the days after). The storyline was well-written, and I could connect emotionally to the characters. More than once, I broke down into tears because of what happened and what Irini was going through in the book.

What got me the most was The Book of Fire segments. I was horrified by what Irini, Chara, and Rosalie (the dog) went through and how close to death they all came. Chara’s injury was horrific. I also admired Irini’s outward calmness. If she hadn’t been calm and given into the turmoil in her mind (over her husband and father-in-law), I think the outcome would have been different.

This book gave what I thought was a realistic look into the trauma after an event like that. Irini and her family didn’t get off scot-free and only had a house burnt down. No, Tasso’s career as an artist was threatened by the severe burns to his fingers. And Chara’s burn on her back was horrific (as I stated above). Tasso’s father is presumed dead, one of the hundred killed when the fire ripped through the village. The trauma ran deep in this book, and there were times that I wondered if they would be able to start the healing process.

When Irini found the man who started the fire, she went through his belongings and walked away. She did feel guilty and called the police, but still. The path to forgiveness and understanding it was a tragic accident was laid during her interviews with the police. But, there is a twist in this storyline that, even though I saw it coming, still surprised and unnerved me.

The end of The Book of Fire signified hope for me. I won’t go into it because of spoilers, but I did like how the author got Irini to that point. I believe the start was the healing of the jackal pup, and it just went from there.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and Christy Lefteri for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Book of Fire. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Book of Fire, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Christy Lefteri:

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: June 6th, 2023

Series: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary, Coming of Age, Drama, Adult, Adult Fiction

Trigger Warnings: Sexual Assualt (on-page, non-graphic), Rape (on and off page, non-graphic), Drug use (on-page, semi-graphic), Suicide (off and on page, remembered, semi-graphic), Abortion (off-page, remembered, non-graphic), Infidelity (on-page, semi-graphic)

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

“That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me.”

Rachel has been in love with Alistair for fifteen years. Even though she’s now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her.

Rachel and Alistair’s summer love affair on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island has consumed her since she was seventeen, obliterating everything in its wake. But as Rachel becomes increasingly obsessed with reliving the events of so long ago, she reconnects with the other girls who were similarly drawn to life on the island, where the nights were long, the alcohol was free-flowing and everyone acted in ways they never would at home. And as she does so, dark and deeply suppressed secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, as well as the truth about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man, who controlled so much more than she could have ever realized.

Joining a post #MeToo discourse, The Girls of Summer grapples with themes of power, sex, and consent, as it explores the complicated nature of memory and trauma––and what it takes to reframe, and reclaim, your own story.

First Line:

It’s too hot to be outside for long. Sweat is starting to dampen my scalp, thickening in the roots of my hair and pooling in the crevices of my collarbone.
The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop

Rachel has always remembered her first love, Alistair. Having met him on a Greek island while on a summer holiday with her best friend, he took over her world. So much so that she decided to stay in Greece with him, working at a local bar and living with many other girls. But things aren’t what they seem on that island, and Rachel returns to England to pick up the pieces of her life. Fifteen years later, she is married and has returned to that Greek island with her husband to relive her past. But as Rachel reconnects with her former housemates and Alistair, she starts remembering things she suppressed. She also slowly realizes that her time in Greece wasn’t as carefree as she tells people. Can Rachel shake off her past? Will she do the right thing when asked? Or will she continue defending the man who consumed her during that Greek summer?

I was drawn to the cover when I got invited to review The Girls of Summer. The white-bleached building with a view of the ocean was stunning. Then I read the blurb and knew I needed to read this book. I had followed the #MeToo movement with interest and also kinship. Because I, too, experienced sexual harassment at a job and, when reported, was told to keep my mouth shut (FYI: I told that HR person to shove it where the sun didn’t shine and immediately quit. My mother didn’t raise someone who dealt with that crap.) I figured that this book would be something like that. What I read, instead, was something that made me angry for those girls and what was done to them.

There are trigger warnings in The Girls of Summer. They are:

Sexual Assault—Rachel is sexually assaulted by Harry, the wealthy man she works for. The sexual assault happens on a page (at his house) but is relatively nongraphic.
Rape—Rachel is raped by an American in London (at a party thrown by Alistair at Harry’s London penthouse). Her rape is semi-graphic. Keira is raped off-page in Greece at a party in Harry’s house.
Drug Use—There is recreational drug use displayed in The Girls of Summer. The girls and Rachel use pot and cocaine. Rachel and the girls are roofied while in Greece and London. They are raped while roofied. The drug use is semi-graphic.
Suicide—Keira commits suicide in Greece. The actual act of her suicide is non-graphic, but the scene where Rachel and the girls find her body isn’t. Harry commits suicide towards the end of the book. That is nongraphic. Rachel is told by Helena when she visits her.
Abortion—Rachel aborts Alistair’s child. The author doesn’t go into details, but Rachel suffers from guilt, regret, and sadness about the abortion throughout the book.
Infidelity —Rachel cheats on her husband with Alistair throughout the “Now” parts of the book. As far as I know, her husband never finds out.

If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. I am not easily triggered and wish I had seen a trigger warning before reading.

The Girls of Summer is a medium to fast-paced book. The pacing of the book suited the storyline. There was some lag towards the end of the book. I didn’t mind it because it was the end of the book.

The Girls of Summer takes place on an unnamed island in Greece during the “Then” part of the book. The “Now” part of the book takes place in London. Both places (Greece and London) have been my personal places to visit bucket list. I have wanted to visit since forever.

The main storyline of The Girls of Summer is split into two parts, “Now” and “Then,” and both parts follow Rachel. The “Now” parts of the book follow Rachel and the downward spiral in her life. The “Then” parts of the book follow Rachel and what happened in Greece. Both parts of the book were well-written and could keep my attention. I will admit that I wasn’t initially a fan of the split storyline. But as I read the book and got to know the characters, it worked, and I liked it.

Rachel wasn’t the book’s most likable or reliable narrator. She was mean to her husband. Who leads their husband on when he wants to have a baby and thinks it’s a fertility issue (fun fact, it wasn’t)? And as soon as she got Alistair’s number, she was back in bed with him. Her husband didn’t deserve that. And when she got together with Helena, Priya, and Agnes to discuss what happened fifteen years ago? She was a colossal jerk. I have never wanted to smack an adult more than I wanted to hit Rachel in the “Now” section. Rachel, in the “Then” section, I liked her better. She was naive and thought the best of everyone. Rachel was also head over heels in love with Alistair (gag) and would do anything for him.

I wasn’t sure if I should count Alistair as a main character. But, seeing how his actions and lies influenced the Rachel of the future, I decided to include him. I hated him. He knew what was happening in Harry’s house. He helped procure the girls for him. He disgusted me, and I was stunned when he and Rachel hooked back up. I will say that he got what he deserved at the end of the book.

The secondary characters and storylines add extra depth to the main characters and storylines.

The drama angle of the book was well written. The author wrote it so well and kept it classy. It never descended into catfights. Instead, the author wrapped it in Rachel’s angst and let it fly.

The mystery angle of the book consumed me. While I knew what would happen (I guessed reasonably early in the book), it still surprised me. I was also kept on pins and needles, wondering when Rachel would get her head out of her butt and remember that things weren’t perfect in Greece.

The end of The Girls of Summer seemed rushed. The author was able to wrap everything up in a way that satisfied me as a reader. I still wasn’t a fan of Rachel, but I liked seeing where she was after the dust settled.

I recommend The Girls of Summer to anyone over 21. There is language, sexual situations, and violence. Also, see my trigger warnings list.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Katie Bishop for allowing me to read and review The Girls of Summer. All opinions expressed in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of The Girls of Summer, then you will enjoy reading these books:

The New Mother by Nora Murphy

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: May 30th, 2023

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Adult, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Drama

Trigger Warnings: Murder, Post Partum Depression, Post Partum Psychosis

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A relatable and nerve-wracking, sympathetic and bone-chilling story — a fresh new twist on motherhood and murder in suburbia.

Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It’s hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it’s murder.

Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be.

Enter Paul, the neighbor.

Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest.

But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?

First Line:

It wasn’t the sort of neighborhood for murder. It was exactly th sort of neighborhood that is comprised the majority of Patuxent County.
The New Mother by Nora Murphy

Natalie is having a hard time adjusting to motherhood. She can’t sleep because Oliver, her son, only wants her and screams if anyone else touches him. Then she meets her next-door neighbor, Paul, and he seems to have the magic touch with Oliver. Soon, they have a close friendship. But things are different from what they seem with Paul. His befriending Natalie wasn’t a coincidence. Paul is setting Natalie up for a crime he committed. What crime did Paul commit? Will Natalie take the fall for it?

Reading this book took me back to my seventeen-year-old daughter’s birth and the months shortly after. I thought I was prepared for her birth and everything after. I wasn’t. I dealt with a horrible birth experience and a newborn/infant who screamed constantly. Unlike Natalie, I thankfully had my family and friends that watched out for PPD. But it was challenging and draining. And, like Natalie, it was a sense of relief when I got answers for why my daughter (Miss B) screamed all the time. She had colic and went nine months with an undiagnosed milk allergy. It took me switching doctors to get that diagnosis. So, yes, I related to this book.

The New Mother is a fast-paced book with dual points of view. The points of view went between the first person (Natalie) and 3rd person (Paul). I wasn’t a massive fan of that, I wouldn’t say I like it when it changes POV, but I did like that I got to see how Paul formulated his plan and how Natalie figured out what he was doing. The pacing for this book fits it perfectly.

The storyline for The New Mother was interesting. It centers around Natalie and her life after having Oliver. Natalie was one of those Facebook-perfect mothers at the beginning of The New Mother. She was going to do everything organic, exclusively breastfeeding and babywearing. I did get a good giggle at how the author initially wrote her. But Oliver wasn’t your typical baby. He had colic and screamed all the time. He hated the sling. And breastfeeding was an awful experience for Natalie. Plus, she started getting depressed and not allowing anyone to hold Oliver but her. In the middle of the book, Natalie is having a rough time. Then Paul swoops in like an angel and helps Natalie. She can sleep and feel like she is her old self around him. But Paul, well, his friendship with Natalie had sinister motives, and the author clarified those motives around the time their friendship deepened. I did call what happened next and everything else after.

As I said above, Natalie was a Facebook-perfect mother. She was one of those mothers who did everything perfectly. I was rolling my eyes whenever she yelled at her husband for bringing nonorganic food into the house. The scene where he bought the swing was a perfect example also. But at the same time, I did feel bad for her. She was struggling. Breastfeeding was hard for her, and she wasn’t expecting it to be painful. Oliver was a difficult baby, and she made it worse by holding him constantly. I called because she had PPD long before it was mentioned in the book. Natalie also wasn’t sleeping, and it was starting to mess with her. I was also a little irritated that no one, mainly her husband, caught on that she was depressed. It was so obvious (well, to me, it was). And it made it easy for Paul to prey on her.

I didn’t like Paul from the beginning. I have nothing against stay-at-home dads (actually, it’s excellent), but how he became one was awful. He had nothing nice to say about his wife, and that was a huge red flag to me when he started bad-mouthing her to Natalie. He just got skeevier and skeevier as the book went on. Poor Natalie didn’t know which end was up with him. The night of the Halloween party and the confrontation after were his doing. He was just a nasty man who did get what was coming to him.

I found the thriller/suspense angle of The New Mother interesting. I liked that the author kept the bad guy (Paul) first and foremost in the book. I loved that I got to see the planning that he did to frame Natalie. Some of it was genius. But, at the same time, I loved it when Natalie figured out what was happening and how she turned everything around on Paul.

The end of The New Mother didn’t quite gel with the rest of the book. The author fast-forwarded a few months and then explained what was happening. I wish that she hadn’t done that. I would have loved to see what she explained written out. I was left feeling meh about it. There was a humorous part of the ending where Natalie’s husband asked if they could have another baby, and she was like, “No, I’ll kill you.” I thought, “You’re having another one, lady.” I said the same thing after Miss B turned one, and then I went on to have two more children.

I would recommend The New Mother to anyone over 21. There is language, violence, and nongraphic sexual situations.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Nora Murphy for allowing me to read and review The New Mother. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of The New Mother, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Other books by Nora Murphy:

Fairytale by Danielle Steel

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Date of publication: October 10th 2017

Genre: Women’s Fiction, Romance, Drama

Format Read In: eBook

Where Did I Get Fairytale: Library via Overdrive

Trigger Warning: Mild violence, attempted sexual assault, death of a parent, grief, cancer

Goodreads Synopsis:

Camille Lammenais has grown up in the beauty of the Napa Valley, surrounded by acres of her family’s vineyards. Her parents, Christophe and Joy, still deeply in love after two decades of marriage, have built a renowned winery and château modeled after Christophe’s ancient family estate in his native Bordeaux. Camille has had a perfect childhood, safe in her parents’ love. After graduating from Stanford, she returns to help manage Château Joy, her lifetime goal. But their fairytale ends suddenly with her mother’s death from cancer.

Six months after losing his wife, the devastated Christophe is easy prey for a mysterious, charming Frenchwoman visiting the valley. The Countess de Pantin is the essence of Parisian seductiveness and sophistication. Within weeks they are a clandestine couple, making love like teenagers, glowing with their secret. Camille, still grieving for her mother, is shocked by the news that her father intends to remarry. Then she begins to see past the alluring looks, designer clothes, and elegant manners of the countess, while her innocent father is trapped in her web.

When tragedy strikes again, Camille is at her stepmother’s mercy, and that of the two evil stepbrothers who appear. Camille needs to fight—first for her legacy, and then for her very life. But as she grapples with the plots being carried out against her, the countess’s elderly, kind, clever mother becomes her only ally, and a childhood friend emerges as a prince worthy of any fairytale.

First Impressions:

When I was browsing my library (virtually, of course) and saw that Fairytale was available for takeout, I was excited. My grandmother introduced me to Danielle Steel when I was a tween. She had a vast collection of her early works and was more than happy to share them with me. So, I had to take this book out and read it.

I was a little taken aback by the lack of dialogue in the first half of the book. While it was beautifully written, I wanted to see some verbal interactions between Camille, Christophe, and Joy.

The characters came across as flat. I couldn’t connect to Joy, Christophe, or Camille. That frustrated me because I wanted to connect but couldn’t.

Going into the middle of the book, I got bored and put the book down for 2-3 days. I debated on continuing. I decided since I had already read 1/2 the book, then I will continue reading it.

Mid-Book Impressions:

The middle of the books starts with Christophe meeting Maxine. I knew what she was the minute she came into the picture. A gold digger and I knew her true colors would come out as soon as they got married.

They did, oh boy, did they. Maxine dropped her act with Camille as soon as she said her vows. She was trying to separate and alienate Christophe from Camille, and it almost worked.

I will say that the book did get better when Maxine brought her mother over from France. I loved her!! She brought much-needed laughter and light to an otherwise depressing part of the book.

I wish that Camille had more of a backbone. She let her stepbrothers, Maxine and Cesar, run rampant all over her. There were parts of the book where I was shaking my head in disbelief. Of course, it only amped up after Christophe died and left Camille his sole heir.

There was a lag in the middle of the book, and it almost derailed it. I also found that there was a lot of unnecessary repeating of events. I wouldn’t say I liked that there was an emphasis on how evil and bad Maxine’s sons were. It kept being driven home. After the 4th or 5th time, I was like, “Stop; I get it. They’re evil jerks.”

End of Book Impressions:

The last half of Fairytale was challenging for me to finish. I will admit, I skimmed over some parts. I couldn’t wrap my head around a woman being pushed around the way Camille was. I mean, she was forced out of her house and into a freaking horse barn, and she allowed it!!!! I wanted to reach through the book, shake her, and tell her to be assertive. Uggh.

The Cinderella angle of the book came into play during the last half of the book. I was looking forward to seeing how that played out. I was sorely disappointed. There were 3-4 (maybe a couple of more) chapters with Camille in the Cinderella role. Such a disappointment!!

The end of Fairytale was predictable and boring. The minute that Camille decided to go to the Harvest Ball, I figured something would happen. I also figured who was involved. But I didn’t figure the surprise twist. That took me by surprise because it came out of nowhere.

My Overall Thoughts on Fairytale:

While I am a fan of Danielle Steel, I was not too fond of this book. The book seemed hastily written with a lot of repeating of unnecessary scenes/dialogue. The characters came across as flat and two-dimensional. They got into predictable situations that had predictable outcomes. The Cinderella angle of the book was short and kept to only a few chapters.

I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book. There is sex but it isn’t graphic. There is an attempted sexual assault (not graphic) and talk of elder abuse.

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