"I Was A Bitch" by Emily Ruben

When Lacey Jones wakes up after a horrific accident, she realizes that she’s lost all memory of the last two years. In this time, she has turned from a wallflower into the gorgeous and popular Queen Bee of her high school. Adding to the confusion, she is confronted with two guys who claim to love her; her football star boyfriend and the mysterious and attractive Finn.

Now Lacey has to figure out who she can trust as she starts to put her life back together and slowly discovers what really happened on the night of the accident.

Will she be able to resist her developing feelings for Finn and stay loyal to her boyfriend? ~taken from Amazon

What a fun read! I was gifted this ebook by the author to read and give my honest review. I was told to read it when I could fit it into my reading lineup... and then completely forgotten about it! Horrible on my part, I know. I have since reformatted my organizational ways! I started this book one evening and was finished by the next. It was a fast read!

Despite what my children think, it wasn't that long ago I too was a high school student. I remember how it felt to be a teenage girl, zigzagging my way through the halls, worrying about what everyone thought of me. Wondering what clique I actually fit in to. 

Lacey, the main character, wakes from a coma. Although she was only unconscious for a few months, her memory has been reeled back to 2 years prior. She has no memory of her current friends. She has no idea how she became the queen bee, or queen bitch, at school. She is not sure she likes what she has turned in to.

Then there is Finn. Sexy, funny Finn. She has no idea who is he or what the relationship between them is. Friends? Best friends? Gay best friend? Boyfriend? His entire existence in her life is a mystery to her.

As Lacy starts to unravel the bits and pieces of her past she realizes she was, no IS a bitch. She doesn't like it, but isn't sure how to change it. Her amnesia seems like a way to start new again, but for some reason she feels she must keep her amnesia a secret from all except her immediate family. 

Will Lacy ever remember how she ended up having a horrific accident that left her memories in pieces? Will she revert back to her old ways, or change her attitude towards her friends and life? Will Finn be more than a friend?

This was the perfect mix of mystery and romance, all wrapped up into a delightful YA story line. 

Thanks to author Emily Ruben for allowing me a copy of "I Was A Bitch" . It was a 4 star read! 

Happy Reading!

My Husband's Wife: A Novel by Jane Corry

When young lawyer Lily marries Ed, she’s determined to make a fresh start. To leave the secrets of the past behind. But then she takes on her first murder case and meets Joe. A convicted murderer whom Lily is strangely drawn to. For whom she will soon be willing to risk almost anything. 

But Lily is not the only one with secrets. Her next-door neighbor Carla may be only nine, but she has already learned that secrets are powerful things. That they can get her whatever she wants. 

When Lily finds Carla on her doorstep sixteen years later, a chain of events is set in motion that can end only one way. ~taken from Amazon

Lily and Ed's marriage starts out exactly how new marriages should never start- shrouded in secrets and lies. They married quick, after just a brief dating period and are still trying to get the hang to life together. They agree to watch the neighbor's little girl, Carla, while her mother works on the weekends. At first it seems like a blessing, distracting them from the issues going on between the couple, but soon turns into an annoyance. Little do they know Carla will influence their futures more than they ever imagined.

Meanwhile, Lily has taken on her first big case. A man who is in prison for murdering his girlfriend has new evidence to offer to the case, stating it proves he is innocent. Against her better judgement, Lily gets too personally involved in the case. This involvement will change her life forever. 

This book is wonderfully written. I enjoyed the authors alternating points of view, giving me a first account glimpse into the different plots of the story. 

The pace was perfect, leaving me engulfed in the story line and hinting at just enough mystery to keep me turning the pages with utter intrigue. It is a novel full of suspense, sadness, spite, jealousy, hatred, and at times, twisted. 

I really enjoyed reading My Husband's Wife. It was a book that has been on my TBR list for quite some time. I am glad I finally sat down to read it! It is a quick read that took me about 3 or 4 days to finish. 

I give it a solid 4 stars!

Happy Reading! 

"My Last Lament" by James William Brown

A poignant and evocative novel of one Greek woman's story of her own and her nation's epic struggle in the aftermath of World War II.

Aliki is one of the last of her kind, a lamenter who mourns and celebrates the passing of life. She is part of an evolving Greece, one moving steadily away from its rural traditions. To capture the fading folk art of lamenting, an American researcher asks Aliki to record her laments, but in response, Aliki sings her own story...

It begins in a village in northeast Greece, where Aliki witnesses the occupying Nazi soldiers execute her father for stealing squash. Taken in by her friend Takis's mother, Aliki is joined by a Jewish refugee and her son, Stelios. When the village is torched and its people massacred, Aliki, Takis and Stelios are able to escape just as the war is ending.

Fleeing across the chaotic landscape of a post-war Greece, the three become a makeshift family. They are bound by friendship and grief, but torn apart by betrayal, madness and heartbreak.

Through Aliki's powerful voice, an unforgettable one that blends light and dark with wry humor, My Last Lament delivers a fitting eulogy to a way of life and provides a vivid portrait of a timeless Greek woman, whose story of love and loss is an eternal one. ~taken from Goodreads

This was such a heart wrenching story. I LOVE LOVE LOVE historical fiction, which all my blog followers probably know by now. This was by far the most emotionally draining piece I've read lately. 

As a young girl, Aliki, witnesses her father's murder during WWII. From there she tells her story about the struggles of war. Death, poverty, hunger, and time of pure fear gripped me with every page I turned. 

The author does an amazing job at making it feel like the story is being told directly to the reader. This story is told via "cassette tapes" which gave it a real feel of being captured for historical purposes. Very descriptive writing. I had no problem imagining every little detail of the story. I liked the little bits of dark humor added throughout the storytelling. 

The characters are very unique and quite interesting, though appealing is not a word I would use to describe most. You definitely will not forget them. This is a book to be read slowly so that you can take in every little word. It is a view of WWII from Greece, a point of view not often seen in historical fiction writing, which I enjoyed. 

My Last Lament is available now. It is not for light reading. Be ready to be overwhelmed with emotions. A 4 star read for me! 

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me to read and give my honest review.

Happy Reading!