What Unbreakable Looks Like Review & Blog Tour

Author: Kate McLaughlin
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: June 23, 2020

 Buy Link: https://wednesdaybooks.com/the-real-deal/what-unbreakable-looks-like/

*A special thank you to Wednesday Books for an ARC of this book via Netgalley.  Thank you Megan Harrington for the invite to be part of the blog tour.
Read the Synopsis & Author Bio following my review.
Here's your chance to read chapter one now! What Unbreakable Looks Like - Chapter One
Review:
4 Hope-Filled Hearts
What Unbreakable Looks Like is a raw, gut-wrenching, emotional story of a young girl's long road back to "normal" after being rescued along with a few other girls from a dirty, seedy motel room - all victims of sex traffickers who kept them drugged and in sexual slavery.  Alexa spends a few weeks in rehab . . . every minute spent looking for a chance to run back to the only life she knows. She's skeptical of her aunt's offer of a home, family, and love wondering what she and her husband want in return. Alex's pimp has conditioned her to accept that she's the blame for all that happened to her, and she doesn't deserve anything better.  He broke her will and spirit.  Or did he?  

The story that unfolds is one of a survivor of human trafficking digging deep, finding the will, strength, and desire to reclaim control of her life. Through present chapters, readers see and feel Alex's struggle to cope with regular everyday life.  She doesn't know how to trust, refuses to allow herself to feel, and is betrayed once again when she finally does.  Her loss of innocence, self-blame, and frail self-esteem are evident through often-too-real scenes that broke my heart.  Through past chapters, readers experience a little of the horrifying daily life of a young girl trapped in a life of drugs, alcohol, and sex slavery often betrayed by the ones who should be their protectors.  I applaud the author for handling the subject with blunt honesty while affording these victims the care they deserve.  The way these girls are beat down and broken beyond repair is absolutely heart wrenching.  Unfortunately, most are unable to make it out alive and if they do, the road to full recovery is long, hard, and treacherous.  Many relapse to the only life they identify with or commit suicide.

What Unbreakable Looks Like is a character driven story that focuses on Alex as step by step she dares to hope, dream and finally reclaim her life.  The story is brilliantly rendered through the voice of Alex as she reacclimates to living in a safe place, attending high school, making friends - all the normal teenage things that were stolen from her.   Hopefully, this story will open some eyes to the danger lurking around young girls as well as boys - from small towns to big cities - from family friends to boyfriends to evil strangers - no one description fits all sex traffickers.  I hope this message of hope reaches those struggling to overcome their pain, grief, and addictions.  What Unbreakable Looks Like is the story of a girl who refused to be broken.  One who survived and reclaimed a full, rich life.  One who could finally look at her own face in a mirror and think, "This is what unbreakable looks like!"  While this book is dark, raw, and graphic, its message is one of hope, light, and love.  I believe all readers will benefit from reading it.  Highly Recommended.  

My Rating: 4 Hope-Filled Hearts

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥

Early Praise:"With unflinching honesty, What Unbreakable Looks Like exposes the injuries and scars we wear on our skins or in our souls. Hidden damage is tragically common, but helpful others who dared embrace hope invite Alexa to step onto the healing path. This novel may offer a springboard for a reader's own healing or foster empathy for life's walking wounded." - Liz Coley, author of international bestseller Pretty Girl-13"Raw, unflinching, and authentic, Kate McLaughlin's thoughtful What Unbreakable Looks Like carefully crafts a story exposing the vulnerability of underage trafficked girls and what it takes to begin the process of healing from sexual trauma." - Christa Desir, author, advocate, and founding member of The Voices and Faces Project“This is a powerful book about a sobering topic that I found myself thinking about for days after I completed it. It is wonderfully poignant, painfully real, and even laugh out loud funny at times. Not everyone can truly wrap their minds around the trauma these victims endure and yet somehow, despite all of it, are still just regular kids. But Kate McLaughlin gets it. ‘Lex’ is truly what unbreakable looks like and you’ll fall in love with her spirit.” - Tanya Compagnone, Trooper First Class“Sex trafficking continues to seep into all our communities. In this novel, Kate McLaughlin brings to life the trauma that transpires in youth who forced into the life of sex trafficking. Her novel is a reminder that each of us can make a difference in someone’s life.” - Dina R. St. George, MSW, Juvenile Re-Entry Unit OCPD

Synopsis:
Lex was taken – trafficked - and now she’s Poppy. Kept in a hotel with other girls, her old life is a distant memory. But when the girls are rescued, she doesn’t quite know how to be Lex again.

After she moves in with her aunt and uncle, for the first time in a long time, she knows what it is to feel truly safe. Except, she doesn’t trust it. Doesn't trust her new home. Doesn’t trust her new friend. Doesn’t trust her new life. Instead she trusts what she shouldn’t because that's what feels right. She doesn’t deserve good things. 

But when she is sexually assaulted by her so-called boyfriend and his friends, Lex is forced to reckon with what happened to her and that just because she is used to it, doesn’t mean it is okay. She’s thrust into the limelight and realizes she has the power to help others. But first she’ll have to confront the monsters of her past with the help of her family, friends, and a new love.

Kate McLaughlin’s What Unbreakable Looks Like is a gritty, ultimately hopeful novel about human trafficking through the lens of a girl who has escaped the life and learned to trust, not only others, but in herself.

Author Bio:
KATE McLAUGHLIN likes people, so much so that she spends her days making up her own. She likes writing about characters who are bent, but not broken - people who find their internal strength through friends, strife and sometimes humor. When she's not writing, she likes studying people, both real and fictional. She also likes playing board games with friends, talking and discovering new music. A proud Nova Scotian, she'll gladly tell you all about the highest tides in the world, the magical creation known as a donair, and people who have sofas in their kitchens. Currently, she lives in Connecticut with her husband and four cats. She's the author of What Unbreakable Looks Like.

Social link: https://twitter.com/alterkates

Blacktop Wasteland

Author: S.A. Cosby
Genre: Grit Lit, Southern Noir
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: July 14, 2020
Purchase Link: Amazon

5 Gritty Hearts

*A special thank you to Flatiron Books for an arc of this book.

A husband, a father, a son, a business owner…And the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi.

“Sensationally good—new, fresh, real, authentic, twisty, with characters and dilemmas that will break your heart. More than recommended.” —Lee Child

(Synopsis & Author Bio following review.)

Review:
I finished reading Blacktop Wasteland knowing I wouldn't be able to write a review that would come close to doing this amazing book justice. It's that good! To say this book's release is timely is an understatement, but the release date doesn't matter.  In my opinion, this story was destined for the best seller list the moment Cosby penned "The End".  Blacktop Wasteland is raw, graphic, and authentic.  It seeps into your heart and soul refusing to turn loose, always calling, much the same way Beauregard (Bug) Montage's ghosts whisper in his head, luring him back to a life of crime first learned at his father's side. One that fuels his need for high speed, screaming tires and motors, curvy roads - all for just one more high-octane adrenaline rush and some much needed funds. Bug's tried to go straight - to break the chains of poverty and make a good, honest living for his wife and kids, but the mortgage on his car shop is due, his mother is one day away from being kicked out of a nursing home, and his money is funny.  One more driving job will get him out of debt so he rolls the dice one more time. Will it be one time too many?  

S.A. Cosby held me in the palm of his hands from the beginning to the end of Blacktop Wasteland.  I couldn't look away or stop reading as he wrung every drop of blood, sweat, and tears out of these characters imprisoned by poverty, race, and reality. The story is emotionally draining, the anguish real, and the author doesn't pull any punches in delivering it.  With a plot line more twisted than a curvy, southern back road, readers ride shotgun in a souped up car on a trail of desolation.  Cosby nails the setting - rich with the scent of motor oil, sound of screaming tires and grinding shifters, and trails of smoke in taillights.  Bugs point of view drives home the dire situation he's facing - the hopelessness and desperation, the need and determination.  Blacktop Wasteland is a fantastic example of grit lit done right.  It will knock you down and break your heart . . . and yet somehow, leave you with a ray of hope.  A fantastic story that deserves all the attention and accolades I hope it receives.  Highly Recommended! 

My Rating: 5 Gritty Hearts

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥

Synopsis:

Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.

He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.

Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.

Like Ocean’s Eleven meets Drive, with a Southern noir twist, S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is a searing, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime.

Author Bio:

S.A. Cosby is a writer whose work has been published in numerous magazine and anthologies. His story "Slant-Six" received an honorable mention in Best Mystery Stories of 2016. His life experiences include being a retail manager, a bouncer, a forklift driver, a landscaper, a roadie, a construction worker, a mortuary attendant, and he once wore a cow suit when he worked for Chic- Fil-A. He majored in English at Christopher Newport University and now lives in Gloucester, Virginia.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blacklionkin...
Twitter: @blacklionking73

Guest Review of Circe by Madeline Miller

Join me in welcoming Eliza from An Authors Choice as this month's guest reviewer! Liza is an aspiring author who also loves to read and review books! Her review of Circe by Madeline Miller is sure to have you reaching for this book. Be sure to check out Liza's website & Instagram pages for more of her great reviews. You'll find her chatting books at: https://www.anauthorschoice.com/ https://www.instagram.com/anauthorschoice/

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Geek Mythology
Liza's Review:

At the start, probably for the first two chapters, I didn’t really ‘get’ the book but I was still drawn to it and intrigued. (Looking back now though, this could be down to the fact that I was travelling during the first part of the coronavirus outbreak and I was too worried to concentrate properly.) A lot of people were raving about this book but I wasn’t sure I would end up being one of them. Then the theme then became clear, I got to know the main character and I got into it a lot more. From there, I didn’t really put it down!

The book is quite fast paced, usually I am a slow reader and like to take my time but with Circe I felt everything was ticking along nicely. So all was going well and getting more interesting as it went on. Then it hit probably between one third and half of the book (I was going to say the chapter but thought that was too far) and boom. Everything takes a turn around and two words: girl power. I tell you what, Madeline Miller writes in such a way that you feel like you were actually there which will bring you so many feelings, from anxiety and disgust to power and freedom.

If you weren’t a feminist before this book then you sure as hell will be after. I already was a feminist but instead of equality, at the half way point I was feeling a bit like women should be ruling the World? (This is a joke, nobody take offence.) I need a few days to get over all the excitement… What an incredible way to bring up issues that still affect us in the modern day through putting twists on myths from an ancient world.

Circe is daughter of Helios, God of the Sun, she’s a misfit amongst the Gods. Sooner or later this drives her to her destiny. She is banished to her Island, Aiaia, where through practice and will she learns her witchcraft. It’s the visitors she receives that shape her future though. Genuinely, throughout the chapters you will have no idea what is going to happen or how it will end. I was surprised at every twist and turn. Miller has an excellent imagination and I’m so happy I picked up Circe.
This book is filled with so many stories all merged into one and it ends beautifully. You’ll love Circe more and more with every turned page. A novel that should be on every females list to read, if not for the incredible telling then for the way it opens your eyes to how the world is and what’s important. It will teach young girls to love themselves and believe in their own power.

I will for sure be reading this one again at some point in the future. There are stories of hundreds of lifetimes worth and with a little time I’m sure I won’t remember them all and will be able to approach this book fresh again.

All The Broken People Review

Author: Leah Konen
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons of Penguin Random House
Release Date: June 30, 2020
Purchase Link: Amazon

My Rating:  4 Twisted Hearts

*With special thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons for an arc of this book via Netgalley.

Book Synopsis & Author Bio following review.

A woman in search of a fresh start is about to get more than she bargained for in this twisty and addictive domestic thriller for fans of The Couple Next Door.
Review:
Lucy King flees Brooklyn to escape an abusive ex-boyfriend.  She tells no one where's she's headed as she attempts to vanish without a trace.  Lucy moves into a house in Woodstock hoping to settle into an unobtrusive, quiet, invisible life, but when her irresistible neighbor Vera invites her over to dinner Lucy can't seem to say no.  Soon Lucy, Vera, and her husband John are inseparable - an odd but tight-knit threesome dining and hiking together almost daily.  As Lucy remains diligent about her own security, she never stops looking over her shoulder for her ex and soon comes to realize that she's grown dependent on her neighbors.  As time passes, Lucy's surprised at how hostile the people in Woodstock are toward John.  When the couple confides in Lucy and ask for her help in staging a "Van Gogh" disappearance for John, she's hesitant but how can she say No?  When the staged accident goes awry and what was supposed to be an unsolved disappearance turns into a murder investigation, tensions rise, secrets are spilled, and Lucy finds herself on the hot seat.  What happened?

All The Broken People is one wild, crazy, delusive trip! From beginning to end, I read at a furious pace trying to keep up with everything going down in this island town.  Accusations fly, threats are hurled, betrayals uncovered, secrets kept . . . until they're not.  The setting is picture perfect and the pace is like flames chasing a fresh trail of gasoline.  The fire is hot and furious and you just know there's going  to be a big, shocking explosion when it all comes together in the end.  Konen created a unique cast of characters led by an unreliable narrator that tempts readers into a complex maize of events and possibilities - and then abandons them with the dilemma of figuring out "who done it".  It's been awhile since I've maneuvered such a curvy, twisted plotline, and I can tell you I changed directions several times before I escaped that maize by figuring out what was going on.  I was right in the end, but that fact in no way diminished the intensity of this anxiety inducing thriller.  This author's writing will keep you entranced and searching for answers until the very end.  All The Broken People is a tense, gripping, all-consuming Domestic Thriller that I highly recommend.  Fans of mystery, suspense, and thrillers (especially Domestic Thrillers) are going to love this one!

My Rating:  4 Twisted Hearts

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥

Synopsis:
Lucy King is desperate for escape: from a dangerous relationship, a city she can no longer call home, and a past she just wants to forget. Fleeing Brooklyn with little more than a suitcase and her trusty dog, she heads to rustic, charming Woodstock, New York, eager to lose herself in a quiet, anonymous life where her ex can never find her. But when she meets Vera and John, the alluring couple next door, their friendship proves impossible to resist. Just as Lucy starts to think the worst is behind her, the couple delivers a staggering bombshell: they, too, need to escape their troubles--and the only way they can begin their new life is if Lucy helps them fake John's death.Afraid to lose her newfound support system--and still panicked about her ex--Lucy reluctantly conspires with them to stage an "accidental" death on a hike nearby. It's just one little lie to the police, after all, and she knows a thing or two about the importance of fresh starts. But what begins as an elaborate ruse turns all too real when John turns up dead in the woods the morning after their hike. Now, Lucy must figure out who she can trust and who's pulling the strings of her tenuous new life . . . before she takes the fall for murder.

Leah Konen is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied journalism and English literature. "All the Broken People," releasing June 30, is her first thriller. She's also the author of several young adult novels, including "Love and Other Train Wrecks" and "The Romantics." She lives in Brooklyn and Saugerties, NY, with her husband, their daughter, Eleanor, and their dog, Farley. 

Website

http://leahkonen.com

Twitter

leahkonen

What You Wish For Review

Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Release Date: July 14, 2020
Purchase Link: Amazon

My Rating: 4 Joyful Hearts

*A special thank you to St. Martins Press for an arc of this book via Netgalley.

Synopsis & Author Bio follow my review.


Review:
What You Wish For is a heart warming story with a beautiful message of hope and joy.  Samantha Casey (Sam) is an elementary school librarian in Galveston, Texas having landed there after being forced out of a previous school by unreciprocated love.  Sam couldn't live with seeing her major crush - a happy, colorful, jokester of a man - every day with another woman.  So she relocated.  As time passed, Sam let go of her girlish fantasies and is now happy in her present job and life.  She's made good friends, becoming an intricate member of the community and school.  Life's good . . . although she's hiding a personal secret.  Soon after the sudden death of her beloved school principal, a new principal arrives.  Imagine Sam's shock when it turns out to be "the one".  The funny, colorful, beautiful man from her past who's now her new boss.  But wait a minute . . . this cold, stone faced, drab man sucking the life out of their amazing school could not be the man she knew and secretly loved!  Could he?  What happened to him over the past six years?  Where is the man she once knew and loved from afar?

What You Wish For is a fantastic story about finding joy in the small stuff - in any way you can on any given day.  It's about spreading joy to others by having the courage to laugh at yourself, be silly, be goofy, be "present".  It's a message of facing and overcoming your own personal challenges and helping others overcome theirs.  It's about facing those things you fear most, daring to take the next step, and opening yourself in defiance of your own vulnerability.  It's a story of trust, hope, love, and living life in the moment.  Center's characters are "real" - their tears, fears, laughter, and joy easily felt.  Her lyrical prose delivers a message of hope for a brighter future if you open your heart to love.  Beautifully written and delivered, What You Wish For is poignant, romantic, heart-rendering and full of possibilities.  Let's all help spread the Joy!  Highly Recommended!

My Rating:  4 Joyful Hearts

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥

_^Synopsis:
Samantha Casey loves everything about her job as an elementary school librarian on the sunny, historic island of Galveston, Texas—the goofy kids, the stately Victorian building, the butterfly garden. But when the school suddenly loses its beloved principal, it turns out his replacement will be none other than Duncan Carpenter—a former, unrequited crush of Sam’s from many years before.

When Duncan shows up as her new boss, though, he’s nothing like the sweet teacher she once swooned over. He’s become stiff, and humorless, and obsessed with school safety. Now, with Duncan determined to destroy everything Sam loves about her school in the name of security—and turn it into nothing short of a prison—Sam has to stand up for everyone she cares about before the school that’s become her home is gone for good.

Katherine Center is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away, the upcoming Things You Save in a Fire (August 2019), and five other bittersweet comic novels. Six Foot Pictures is currently adapting her fourth novel, The Lost Husband, into a feature film starring Josh Duhamel, Leslie Bibb, and Nora Dunn. Katherine has been compared to both Nora Ephron and Jane Austen, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Katherine recently gave a TEDx talk on how stories teach us empathy, and her work has appeared in USA Today, InStyle, Redbook, People, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Real Simple, Southern Living, and InTouch, among others. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her fun husband, two sweet kids, and fluffy-but-fierce dog.

The Mountains Wild Review

Author: Sarah Stewart Taylor
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: June 23, 2020
Purchase Link: Amazon

My Rating:  4 Missing Hearts

*A special thank you to Minotaur Books for an arc of the book via Netgalley. #MinotaurInfluencers

Book Synopsis & Author Bio following review.

Review:

Twenty-three years after her cousin's disappearance during a visit to Ireland, now Detective Marcy D'arcy is called back to the scene by a message from the Gardaí that new evidence has surfaced.  A bloody scarf belonging to Erin has been found, and another young woman is missing.  Marcy's frustration and anguish over her cousin's vanishing without a trace is evident as she is drawn back into the past looking for answers.  What clues are they missing?  Did her sister fall victim to a serial killer - one who's preying on young women again?  Can authorities get to the truth before anyone else dies?  Not without Det. D'arcy's help.  And she'll give it to them with or without their permission.

The Mountains Wild is a highly atmospheric, twisted read with a killer setting in the mountains of Ireland.  The author's descriptive prose denotes a scene of beauty with hints of malice, propelling a steady suspenseful pace.  Revealed through Maggie's point of view, we are privy to her thoughts both as a smart detective and profiler and as a woman recalling her youth and days gone by with her strange cousin.  Through chapters of past and present, readers become part of the original unsuccessful search in 1993 as well as the present one in 2016.  Taylor's execution of the intense plot is excellent as are the police procedural elements.  The story is riveting and best read with as few breaks as possible to maintain the flow and allow readers to follow the chain of evidence and introduction of various characters.  While I wasn't totally shocked at the big reveal in the end, the groundwork was laid and it was expertly executed.  The Mountains Wild is the study of a complex woman who must deal with the past in order to move into the future.  It's also a study of a land, its history, and people. Fans of mystery, suspense, thrillers, and police procedurals will love this beautifully written book.  Highly Recommended.

My Rating:  4 Missing Hearts

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥

Synopsis: 

Twenty-three years ago, Maggie D'arcy's family received a call from the Dublin police. Her cousin Erin has been missing for several days. Maggie herself spent weeks in Ireland, trying to track Erin's movements, working beside the police. But it was to no avail: no trace of her was ever found.

The experience inspired Maggie to become a cop. Now, back on Long Island, more than 20 years have passed. Maggie is a detective and a divorced mother of a teenager. When the Gardaí call to say that Erin's scarf has been found and another young woman has gone missing, Maggie returns to Ireland, awakening all the complicated feelings from the first trip. The despair and frustration of not knowing what happened to Erin. Her attraction to Erin's coworker, now a professor, who never fully explained their relationship. And her determination to solve the case, once and for all.

Sarah Stewart Taylor grew up on Long Island and was educated at Middlebury College and Trinity College, Dublin. She lives with her husband and three children on a farm in Vermont where they raise sheep and blueberries. Sarah is also the author of the Sweeney St. George mystery series, about an art historian who studies funerary art, "the art of death," from Minotaur Books. The first book in the series, O’ Artful Death, was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel.  Her non-fiction has been published in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and many other publications.