Living Lies by Natalie Walters

Living Lies by Natalie Walters

Published by Revell

Synopsis:

In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name--but no one knows your secret. At least that's what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.

Lane must work with Walton's newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she'll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.

Debut novelist Natalie Walters pulls you to the edge of your seat on the first page and keeps you there until the last in this riveting story that will have you believing no one is defined by their past.

My Take:

Before I even talk about what’s inside of Living Lies, can I just say how much I appreciate the cover?  The dark greens and low hanging Spanish moss provide the perfect backdrop for the murder/mystery that the writer tells.  I couldn’t help but imagine a very tangible setting due to that cover!   Ok, onto the content!  I haven’t read a ton of inspiration fiction in my short 33 years of life but I can say that Living Lies has passed my expectations.  Where other authors excel with sweet romance (Becky Wade) and action/adventure (Susan May Warren), Natalie Walters weaves both action and romance together so flawlessly that the reader is completely entranced into the story from the very first chapter all the way to the end!

Our two main characters, Charlie and Lane are very well thought out characters.  Which is a good thing, since this story is character driven.  When we meet Lane in the first chapter, I am immediately involved.  I am Lane!  There’s so much of this character in me that I felt one of the most raw and true connections to a character that I’ve ever felt, so thank you Natalie for writing this incredible young lady.  With truths about depression and anxiety spotlighted, this story delivers powerful messages that I feel, we readers not only appreciate but crave!  Oh, did I mention Charlie?

What a swoon worthy character if there ever was one!  Charlie Lynch is my kind of small town hero… dimples and all!  I don’t consider him having dimples a spoiler but if it is, than sorry not sorry!  If I know a hero has dimples, then I am all about that story and I hope you are too.  The chemistry between the two characters was palpable and gratifying to say the least!  I really want more romance from this author; she knows her stuff!

The secondary characters were also very lovely and memorable.  Ms. Byrdie was most favorite but personalities from Lane’s sister and her son added a lot of emotion that made this story so real.  The sheriff and all of his deputies were well written. Even the villain of the story was a well thought out, developed character, so true to the wicked nature of some people out there.  Some parts definitely gave me goosebumps!  I absolutely loved Living Lies and have already pre-ordered Deadly Deceit! 

About the Author: Natalie Walters

 My world revolves around GIJOE and our three adult (or almost adult) children who keep my life anything but predictable. Our boots hit the ground wherever the Army sends us but home is when we’re all together no matter the zip code. My passion is writing stories where adventure meets love and share my belief that life rooted in purpose is a story worth telling. 

Review and Giveaway!! The Boy Next Story (Bookish Boyfriends #2)

The Boy Next Story

 by Tiffany Schmidt

Synopsis:

The second book in a series where your favorite literary characters come to life, inspired by the timeless classic, Little Women!

There’s no one better than the boy next door. At least not according to Aurora Campbell, fourteen, who has been in love with Tobias May since their very first sandbox kiss. The problem is, he’s in love with her older sister, Merrilee. And Merri is already dating one of his best friends.

Rory is learning all about pining as her class reads The Great Gatsby, a book she doesn’t find “great” at all. Also not great—her GPA, something she needs to fix, quickly, if she’d like to apply for the chance to spend a week studying art with her hero in New York City over winter break. But when Ms. Gregoire assigns her to read Little Women for extra credit, Rory discovers more than she expected—both about herself and Toby. Maybe she wasn’t in love with the boy next door. . . but the boy next story.

Love is complicated, and it’s all about to get even trickier for Rory at Reginald R. Hero Prep . . . where with the help of one quirky English teacher, students’ fantasies come true, often with surprising consequences.

My Take:

I knew that I was going to be smitten with this book as soon as I read the Booklist review, "This contemporary rom-com series starter is a fun introduction to classics... wittily making old stories new again".  I probably should have read Little Women first, since the book is loosely based off of this classic, but alas I did not.  So, I may not have been able to get some of the hints, nods or references to the original title, but even still, I was in awe of Rory and her journey. 

I admit I couldn't fully relate to Rory because of her being only 14, and I'm well, not 14, but I could totally relate to the feelings of not being seen or heard and for those reasons, I imagined myself as Rory.  I also love her relationship with art.  Though I never really appreciated it as a kid, as I've gotten older, I find it so powerful for so many different reasons and I think that also helped me to relate to Rory a bit more.  

Tobias was a wonderful character though.  One of the best young males I've read of in a long time.  I prefer my guys a little on the shy side and I totally got that with Toby.  I couldn't have asked for a better male lead.

I wasn't quite expecting so much of the sisterly bonding though that is on me, because I know Little Women and also that was explained more in the first book, which admittedly I did not read, the good news is that you don't have to read the first book to get this one!  Just that like me, you might be a bit surprised to find a lot more than what's on the back cover, and that is totally a badass quality by the way!  I thoroughly enjoyed The Boy Next Story and can't wait to see what else Tiffany has up her literary sleeves!

Favorite Quotes:

"His hand squeezed mine before he pulled away to flag down our waitress. "Could I have the check?"

"If I stayed stuck in the past, it would destroy me.  It was time to move on. It was time to let go."

"Don't decide you can't before you discover you can."

"It was an accidental declaration in all its messy glory."

"And maybe families weren't a game of balancing a seesaw but of playing Red Rover.  You held on as tight as you could and protected that bond from the forces that flew against you and tried to tear you apart."

About the Author 

Tiffany Schmidt 

Tiffany Schmidt is the author of Send Me a Sign, Bright Before Sunrise, and Hold Me Like a Breath (Once Upon a Crime Family book 1).  She’s found her happily ever after in Pennsylvania with her saintly husband, impish twin boys, and a pair of mischievous puggles. You can find out more about her and her books at: TiffanySchmidt.com, TiffanySchmidtWrites.Tumblr.com or by following her on Twitter @TiffanySchmidt.

Tour Schedule

https://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2019/04/tour-schedule-boy-next-story-bookish.html

Givewaway

Prize: Win a copy of BOOKISH BOYFRIENDS: THE BOY NEXT STORY by Tiffany Schmidt (US Only)

 Start Date: 21^st May 2019

End Date: 4^th June 2019

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d9681b86368/?

Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing

By: Delia Owens

I haven’t read many coming of age novels, but Where the Crawdads Sing was the pick for our book club for May and I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  Your heart goes out to the main character Kya right from the beginning.  Her family in disarray, her living conditions also completely pitiful but this story doesn’t focus on that.  Rather it talks about resilience.  The need to keep going to live, to thrive.  A young girl growing into adult hood and not by the help of her mother or sisters or aunts, but by nature.  You find everything from gulls to lightening bugs, fishing and digging for mussels.  The reader truly feels enveloped by the marsh and its inhabitants throughout this story. 

Kya goes on one emotional ride after the other and you can’t help but stay with her through her journeys of isolation.  How can one young person be so isolated but still have so much love in their heart?  We meet Tate early on and though we initially love him, he all people, makes his own mistakes.  I found it hard to forgive him but in the end found no other alternative.  Chase Andrews was the other guy we meet in this story, and I feel that we all have met a real life Chase at one time or another.  I absolutely hated him from the beginning to the end but loved that he was a character in this story because it needed him.  Our lives need a Chase Andrews so we can learn from them.  Most of us don’t find a perfect romance in the first love of our lives and instead we must be dealt a broken heart and learn how to put the pieces back together again and do our best to move on. 

So many other side characters in this novel, made this story so heartwarming and gut-wrenching all at the same time. Jumpin’ and Mabel are protectors I think we all wish we could have had and I don’t think I realized just how big Jumpin’s impact on Kya was until later in the story.  With touches on abandonment, isolation, survival, science, and love, Where the Crawdads Sing touched my heart in many different ways, with Kya taking a little piece of my heart along the way.