Book Review: Before We Were Yours

Title: Before We Were Yours

Author: Lisa Wingate

Format: Hardcover

Published: 2017

 

A co-worker lent me this book and I am so glad she did!  This is not a book I would pick up on my own if a trusted colleague told me this was a good read, I am taking their word for it…and this book drew out a few tears from me!

The basic synopsis of the story is based off a true life scandal which is absolutely heart wrenching.  Five siblings are living on the river with their parents.  Their mother is pregnant and goes to the hospital with their father and while they are gone, people come and take the kids, saying their parents sent for them.  They take the children into a home and place them for adoption with wealthy families.

Yes, these people stole children, ended up finding the parents and having them sign over their rights, and then sold the children to make a profit.  Disgusting.  We follow their lives through the adoption agency (where they aren’t treated nicely) and when they get adopted out (and what eventually happens to the agency).

The book is told from 2 perspectives; 12 year old Rill going through the process of being stolen and adopted in the late 1930s/early 1940s and present day Avery Stafford, a born into wealth and privilege woman with a budding career in politics.  Avery starts to suspect something may be off with her grandmother and starts to do some investigative work.  I don’t want to say much more because that will ruin the surprise of the story.

I will add there is the perfect touch of romance in this story.

This is a 4 star read for me.   It is a gut punching, sad, true life read that you can’t help but end up smiling at the end.  Despite the horrible events that happen surrounding children, it still makes you feel good with the present day ending.  Some family secrets are scandalous, and this certainly is one, but, in the end it is one of pure happiness.  You won’t regret picking this book up for yourself!

 

Book Review: Rapid Falls

Title: Rapid Falls

Author: Amber Cowie

Format: Hardcover

Published: 2018

This book landed in my lap thanks to my co-worker.  She is obsessed with buying all the newest releases on Amazon and since she shares, I reap the benefits and get to read them right after her!

This is a tale of 2 sisters who went through a very traumatic event in high school.  On the night of Cara’s high school graduation party, her boyfriend Jesse dies in a horrific accident while her sister, Anna, is driving.  Anna gets put in prison  and Cara goes on living her life.

Anna is never the same again.  She has money problems and a drug and alcohol problem.  Cara is always there to save the day, often putting her own family on hold while she runs to rescue her sister.  As the story goes on we start to learn why Cara is so eager to help her sister and details of what happened the night Jesse die come to light.

This was a twisted, twisted read.  Things are not always as they appear.  The ending?  Wow.  I hate to say it, but, the bad guy wins in the end.  This book will have you reading right up until that point though.  Some of you will hate the ending and it will make you want to throw this book and others of you won’t mind.

Personally, this book was a quick read and while I was not necessarily a fan of the ending of the book, it was still a thrilling, enthralling read and for that I am giving it 4 stars.  It is a great book to read if you are short on time and are looking fora quick, mind twisting read.  Trust me when I say you will almost feel betrayed by some of the characters in the book.  Let me know what you think if you pick this one up!  Next week I will be reviewing Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate!

Book Review: Bad Blood

Title: Bad Blood

Author: John Carreyrou

Format: Hardcover

Published: 2018

 

I heard a lot about this book and I kept seeing it on Instagram so I purchased myself a copy.  I honestly thought this was a thriller written about a woman who duped millions, made millions, and had no bit of remorse; I had no idea this is a TRUE STORY.

This is THE story of Theranos, the failed blood test company founded by Elizabeth Holmes.  John Carreyrou is a writer for The Wall Street Journal and happened to have this story land on his lap through some whistle blowers.  We learn about Theranos from start to eventual finish through the words of former and current Theranos employees and those closest to them.  My blood was boiling by the time I was done with chapter 1.

The investigative reporting that was done is remarkable.  No stone was left unturned and every bit of information was verified before it was written.  The fact that Carreyrou is what helped stopped this monster is mind blowing.  This story is written like a thriller and is one that will hold your interest.

With each chapter I grew angrier and angrier.  I would yell at the books during points in time.  How someone could so easily dupe the public on SERIOUS, LIFE CHANGING blood tests blows my mind.  Holmes was warned time and time again that her invention was not quite working and was given options to better improve it; those employees were fired.  If you did not do what she said or liked, you were gone.

This case is still on going.  I made sure to wait until the end before I looked up what is happening now.  I can honestly say I hope this woman burns for what she has done and wanted to do.  It makes me sick to my stomach to think what would have happened if whistle blowers did not step up to the plate.  How she treats people in general is just disgusting.  Ugh.  I am mad again all over just THINKING about this book!

5 stars.  This is a solid 5 star read.  You can tell years went into this book and into all the investigating that Carreyrou did.  I feel so, so, so sorry for the friends and families of those that worked at Theranos and those that ever took their blood test.  I saw red the whole time I read this book.  If you have read it, we need to talk.  I still need to get some angst out about this one!!  Tune in next week for my review of Rapid Falls by Amber Cowie.

Book Review: Believe Me

Title: Believe Me

Author: JP Delaney

Format: Hardcover

Published: 2018

 

Costco.  Costco always sucks you in and lets you leave with things you didn’t really need.  For me that was another book, Believe Me.

We meet our protagonist Claire, a struggling actor who has made her way to America from Great Britian.  She is here in not the greatest of legal terms, so her work is fairly limited.  To make ends meet she ends up taking a job with a firm of divorce lawyers and she goes out and acts as an interested woman to see if the husbands will cheat.  Let’s make it clear, she never acts beyond meeting them in a public place.

Everything is going ok for Claire until the woman of her last decoy attempt is murdered in her hotel room.  Claire immediately becomes a suspect.  After several grueling hours she is set free and ends up working with the police to try and frame her husband.  She goes through psychological testing and training to catch who Dr. Latham, a forensic psychologist, calls a serial killer.  We go through the months of Claire of getting close to a possible killer, trying to draw out a confession, if at all.

I felt this book was written from the get go with the ending in mind. It felt rushed and the ending was quick in climatic action and then just ended. The book kept my interest but the writing in the middle of the book fell flat to me. Granted, I did not see the ending coming, it did surprise me, however, it felt very far fetched and just happened. Again, it felt like the twist ending was planned before the beginning and middle of the book.

The book is also written in a screenplay-type format too. It was a little weird at first but I guess since Claire is an actress, it fits the bill.

I am giving Believe Me a 3-star rating. This was also a re-release, it was originally published in 2002 with the title The Decoy by Tony Strong. If someone lends you this book go ahead and read it, you’ll be entertained. If you have something else on your to be read list, read that first. Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I felt this book had a lot of hype around it that I just didn’t see. At least I managed to be surprised with the ending! Tune in next week for my review of Bad Blood by John Carreyrou.