Book Review: Anatomy of A Scandal (Sarah Vaughan) @SimonSchusterCA @AtriaMysteryBus @SVaughanAuthor

When choosing a novel, I am typically drawn to anything involving courtroom drama or a he said/she said type storyline. When I discovered that Anatomy of a Scandal, the new novel by Sarah Vaughan, had these exact two things within its storyline, I was sold! Up to the top of my TBR pile, it went.

The novel opens with the introduction of James: loving father, Member of Parliament and accused rapist. His wife, Sophie, is shocked at the accusations and is desperate to protect her family. Kate, the lawyer hired to prosecute the case, is certain James is guilty and should pay for his crimes. As all three viewpoints collide, Vaughan weaves a tale of love, betrayal, deceit and revenge.

When I started reading, I was completely hooked from the first few pages. In fact, I flew through Anatomy of a Scandal within a couple of sittings. Vaughan’s narrative voice is completely addictive and I found myself loving the characters; I found Sophie and Kate to be extremely relatable. Vaughan did a spectacular job at making her characters jump off the pages; there was nothing superficial about them. Instead, Vaughan seemed to delve deep and I found myself completely engrossed as their stories developed. While I loved the female characters, James, on the other hand, I hated from the moment I was introduced to him. Conniving and powerful, I felt like I couldn’t trust him for a second. I loved this juxtaposition within the writing! Having characters I loved and characters I abhorred kept me on the edge of my seat!

As for twists, I felt as if the story was pretty surface. I was able to guess where it was going almost immediately but that didn’t disturb or affect my reading at all. In fact, it made me more curious to see exactly how the story was going to play out.

I think my favourite part of the novel was how relevant it was. With all that is going on in the world involving rape culture, women’s rights and Hollywood/political scandals, I felt as if Anatomy of a Scandal did an amazing job at portraying the system surrounding these issues and what needs to change.

Overall, I really enjoyed Anatomy of a Scandal. If you are looking for a character-centric, slow burn that will get you thinking and leave you feeling, then you will enjoy this one too! However, if you are looking for an extremely fast-paced, thrill ride type of novel this one will likely disappoint.

I gave it 4/5 stars.

Thanks to the author (Sarah Vaughan), the publisher (Atria/Simon and Schuster Canada) and Netgalley for copies of this novel; it was my pleasure to provide an honest review.

Obviously, #cjsreads had to make this one of our January picks!  Keep reading to see what Jessica and Chandra thought!

Book Review: The Wolves of Winter (Tyrell Johnson) @tjohnso14 @SimonSchusterCA

I am such a sucker for any sort of dystopian novel or any novel with a dystopian landscape. Usually, anything that has a Hunger Games vibe gets me; I just love it. So, when I stumbled upon The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson.

The novel sort of has a young adult vibe with the perfect blend of a young, coming of age vibe and dark, disturbing plotlines. I find this so rare when an author can accomplish this balance (especially since I struggle with any novel that feels too YA). The story opens with a society that has collapsed after facing nuclear war and spread of disease. Lynn McBride and her family are some of the only ones left. Living in the Canadian Yukon, she has learned how to hunt and trap to survive this landscape of ice and snow. However, when a stranger stumbles upon their camp setting in motion a chain of events that leads Lynn away from the life she has come to know and into great danger, she must face challenges she has never dreamed of and fulfil a destiny she never imagined.

So let’s break this book down.

Book Review: Lightning Men (Thomas Mullen) @Mullenwrites @SimonSchusterCA

Last year, I read Thomas Mullen’s “buzzed about” publication, Darktown, and I was absolutely blown away.  So, I was extremely excited to read its follow-up, Lightning Men. This book took me forever to get through. It had nothing to do with the writing (it is phenomenal) or the plot (it is completely captivating). Instead, I found myself struggling due to the completely pertinent nature of the text. It made me completely sick to my stomach to think that a plot, highlighting racial inequality and tension in the 1950s would be so relevant to 2017.   I found this historical mystery to be completely draining.

The second novel in this series picks up two years after Darktown with African American police officers, Officer Boggs and Officer Smith, in Atlanta on patrol. The characters remained just as realistic and well developed as in the first novel and Mullen’s vivid imagery, which was one of the features I loved most within Darktown, was just as apparent throughout these pages. Mullens is a master of word choice and creating an entire “scene” for the reader.

Book Review: Girl in Snow (Dayna Kukafka) @danyakukafka @SimonBooks

I read a lot of thrillers and mysteries; it is very hard for me to find any originality in texts. Enter, Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka, which felt like a breath of fresh air for me.   From the character development to the POV, I felt like this novel had something that others are lacking for me lately.

The plot opens with the discovery of a young girl (Lucinda), neck snapped, buried in the snow. From here, everything changes. Small town cop, Russ, begins to investigate while dealing with his own personal issues.   A social pariah, Jade, is irritated with the hype; she hated Lucinda. Cameron, struggling with her death, and what he knows about it, is forced to face parts of himself that he longs to keep buried.   Each character with a secret, each character seeking solace, Kukafka’s tale is weaved creating an unnerving story of love, loss and obsession. 

Book Review: Two Nights (Kathy Reichs) @SimonSchusterCA

Being a crime fiction fan, it is not easy to peruse any sort of crime shelf without seeing a book by Kathy Reichs.   When I read the synopsis for Reichs’ newest standalone thriller, Two Nights, I knew that I would have to give this one a read. As soon as I started reading Two Nights, it became very clear why all of her books do well. Reichs can weave a serious story!

Two Nights opens with the introduction of Sunday Night. Sunday is a woman with a tumultuous past, a grudge on her shoulder and some serious killer instinct. After leaving the police force after some misconduct, she is drawn back to the scene privately after a wealthy woman approaches her to look into the disappearance of her teenaged granddaughter. As Sunnie begins her investigation, she comes into more danger than she ever believed and not only fights to save the missing girl but also her own life as well.

Blog Tour: Until It Fades (K.A Tucker) @AtriaBooks @kathleenatucker @SimonSchusterCA

 I am absolutely thrilled to be on the Until It Fades blog tour today celebrating the release of K.A Tucker’s newest novel!

KA Tucker has quickly become one of my go-to authors.  Not only does she in Canada (oh hey!) but I love how her titles have a Colleen Hoover vibe with an edge.

Genre bending structure, complex characters and the perfect amount of romance and tension make me devour her novels whole.

Her newest novel, Until It Fades, brings around the softer side of Tucker and reads like a new adult or contemporary romance novel. It follows Cath Wright, a single mother and truck stop waitress, who has been doing her best to live her life under the radar. After she ended her teenage years being the talk of her small town, she wants nothing more than to blend in and move on. That is, until one foggy night, she saves a man’s life. Soon, the media is at her door and it isn’t then until Cath realizes whom she has saved: Brett Madden, a hockey icon. Their friendship is immediate and soon Cath finds her feelings developing into something more, something she is afraid of and something she feels she cannot trust.   Because how long can a man like Brett be into a woman like Cath….before the spark fades?

Book Review: Beartown (Fredrik Backman) @SimonSchusterCA

I don’t really care for hockey (I know, I know, I am a horrible Canadian) but I couldn’t help my curiosity surrounding Beartown by Fredrik Backman.  I had heard so many things about it! So, when I saw it in the bookstore, I added it to my cart. In typical fashion, I put it on my shelf and assumed I would get around to it in 2021, until my friend Chelsea (at The Suspense Is Thrilling Me) bought the same book, so, I suggested that we do this one as a buddy read.

I am so glad I didn’t wait to read this book.

At first, I didn’t know what I was getting into. As I mentioned, I don’t really care for hockey but my extended family eats, sleeps and breathes it. They spend hours at the rink. They train all year. They do not miss a game. I don’t understand this but I understand the culture. Backman captures it brilliantly within these pages: the sacrifice, the anticipation and the hope.  I initially started this one with the intention to read it slowly and when I had some time, however, after I sat down to read this novel, it demanded my full attention and I could not put it down.

Heart-wrenching, gut twisting and fast paced, I am still thinking about this book days after I completed it.

Book Review: He Will Be My Ruin (KA Tucker) @kathleenatucker @SimonSchusterCA

He Will Be My Ruin by K.A Tucker was a book that had been on my TBR list for a long time; I can’t believe I went this long without having read any of her work! Captivating, fast paced and well-developed characters made this one hard to put down.

The novel opens with a woman trapped in the trunk of a car and the reader is immediately sucked into the action. Talk about an opening! After this bang, we retreat backwards a few weeks in time where Maggie Sparkes arrives in New York to pack up the belongings of her best friend, Celine. After the police deem Celine’s death a suicide, there isn’t much to do but mourn the loss of her life and try to move on. However, when Maggie discovers a scandalous photograph hidden in Celine’s apartment and Celine’s diaries, the wheels begin to turn. Who is the man in the photograph? Why won’t the police take Maggie’s pleas seriously? What was Celine up to? As Maggie digs deeper into Celine’s last few months, she becomes closer to danger, and maybe, the same man who ruined Celine, will be Maggie’s ruin as well….

Equal parts thriller and romance, this book gave me what I felt like I was missing in some of my more recent reads. Tucker has an uncanny ability to weave both genres together effortlessly; I found myself completely sucked into the plot.   From the get go, this novel felt ominous and this was portrayed throughout the narration. Narratively, this one is told through Maggie’s present and then through Celine’s diary entries. I loved this style! Maggie’s desperation and Celine’s downfall had me on the edge.