Run Away by Harlan Coben - 5 Stars

 "You've lost your daughter. She's addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found.

Then, by chance, you see her playing guitar in Central Park. But she's not the girl you remember. This woman is living on the edge, frightened, and clearly in trouble.

You don't stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home.

She runs. And you do the only thing a parent can do: you follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed. Before you know it, both your family and your life are on the line. And in order to protect your daughter from the evils of that world, you must face them head on."

This book had more twists than a ball of yarn...and I loved it! So unexpected throughout the whole storyline. Nothing like I thought it would be, and I mean that in a good way. I've enjoyed almost all the books that I've read by him. Great author!

Phantom Limb by Lucinda Berry - 3 1/2 Stars

 Emily and Elizabeth spend their childhood locked in a bedroom and terrorized by a mother who drinks too much and disappears for days. The identical twins are rescued by a family determined to be their saviors.

But there’s some horrors love can’t erase…

Elizabeth wakes in a hospital, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak. The last thing she remembers is finding Emily’s body in their bathroom. Days before, she was falling in love and starting college. Now, she’s surrounded by men who talk to themselves and women who pull out their eyebrows.

As she delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Emily’s death, she discovers shocking secrets and holes in her memory that force her to remember what she’s worked so hard to forget—the beatings, the blood, the special friends. Her life spins out of control at a terrifying speed as she desperately tries to unravel the psychological puzzle of her past before it’s too late.

~~~~~~~~~~~

So, the last couple of chapters saved this one from being a really low rating. It started out so slow and didn't really pick up like I thought it would. I honestly almost gave up, but after one of the plot twists I wanted to see what was going to happen. The major twist helped me give it the extra 1/2 star (to be rounded up on GR). This is my 3rd book by her. 

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Sutanto - 5 Stars

 "When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It's the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—"Don't leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!"—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie's perfect buttercream flowers.

But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy's great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?"

This was such a fun read! It had me laughing through most of the book. A little over half way it really picked up and I was zooming through it, dying to see how it was going to turn out. I can't wait to read the next one that she's got out. 

#Murderfunding by Gretchen McNeil - 4 Stars

 In the sequel to #Murdertrending, there's a new reality game show being launched call Who Wants to be a Paniac? But this time, no one is going to die. Or are they?

Becca is recovering from the death of her mother when a strange girl shows up and tells her that her mother was the notorious Paniac, Molly Mauler. Soon Becca finds herself caught up in the drama of Who Wants to be a Paniac trying to discover who her mom really was. 

I enjoyed this sequel. It was fast paced and kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. There's one more book in the series, but not sure if I want to read that one or not. 

If I Had Your Face by Francis Cha - 3 Stars

 "Kyuri is an achingly beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a Seoul “room salon,” an exclusive underground bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake threatens her livelihood.

Kyuri’s roommate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the heir to one of the country’s biggest conglomerates.

Down the hall in their building lives Ara, a hairstylist whose two preoccupations sustain her: an obsession with a boy-band pop star, and a best friend who is saving up for the extreme plastic surgery that she hopes will change her life.

And Wonna, one floor below, is a newlywed trying to have a baby that she and her husband have no idea how they can afford to raise in Korea’s brutal economy.

Together, their stories tell a gripping tale at once unfamiliar and unmistakably universal, in which their tentative friendships may turn out to be the thing that ultimately saves them."

I had high hopes for this one, but was let down. The story is told from 4 different perspectives and took a while to figure out who was who and how they played into the story. But I really didn't see an outright plot. To me it was just following a few months out of the character's lives. I didn't see a point to the story. 

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner-3 Stars

 "One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose - selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate - and not everyone will survive."

I was really wanting some type of major plot twist that didn't happen. It was a good book, but just didn't meet my expectations.

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris - 4 Stars

 Book 9 of the Sookie Stackhouse series

The vamps have been outed for some time and now the weres and shapeshifters have decided to reveal themselves as well. But when someone close to Sookie is murdered in a violent way, she fears it's backlash. She also finds herself in danger when she becomes a pawn in the battle between yet another non-human race.

I enjoyed this book in the series, but then I've enjoyed all of them. LOL! It was fun and quick to read (if I hadn't been trying to move in the middle of reading I could have finished it faster. LOL)