The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

4.5/5
I'm a huge Diane Chamberlain fan. She never disappoints me so I was thrilled to see this was a 'read now' on Netgalley and snatched it right up.  Thank you Netgalley!

Now, I'm also someone who reads blind; I rarely read the synopsis.  I trust certain authors and genres, the reviews of others, ratings; I follow the buzz and I love a good cover and this doesn't always work to my advantage, as you can imagine.  To say that I was blind-sided to find out that this book was about time travel is an understatement.  I had no idea.  I can't recall ever reading a book with time travel.

"If I'd learned anything in the last day, it was that the love of a mother could make a hero out of an everyday woman."

It is 1970 when Caroline is told that her baby has a heart defect and won't live long outside of the womb.  Rightfully, she's devastated.  She just lost her husband in Vietnam and this baby was a piece of him, it would be cruel to lose them both.  Her brother-in-law, Hunter, then tells her of a way but what he explains to her is unthinkable.  Impossible.

It was a little mushy at times and I felt it stalled out once, which is ultimately what prevented me from giving it 5 stars but Diane Chamberlain is a master at story telling.

Dear Carolina by Kristy Woodson Harvey

"My belly might've reached dern near to Tennessee when I faced west, but that didn't mean that I couldn't think a boy was cute."

"Pauline came in carrying Alex, and I could tell by the way her lips were moving that she was praying harder than a sinner on his deathbed."

I rate this book 4 stars based on the fact that I was highly amused through the whole book. I thought this feel-good story was predictable which is why I couldn't give it 5 - everyone knows I don't like predictable - but I did like the characters and the story plus I chuckled throughout which is a plus.

I'm going to recommend this one to anyone who likes feel-good southern fiction.

Here is the link to my review on Goodreads.

#dearcarolina

When The Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

I first requested this book on Netgalley and never heard back from them... then I entered a contest that Mary Kubica was having on Twitter and I ended up winning an ARC - thank you, Mary!  I'm a huge fan so I was thrilled.  Then, about two weeks later, I unexpectedly heard from Netgalley that I had access to read this book.  I had to read it right away.

There's no doubt that I love Mary Kubica and once again, she did not let me down.

After Jessie's mother, Eden, passes away, she begins to build a life of her own trying to fulfill her mother's last wishes to find herself by applying to college and renting a new apartment.  It's not until she gets a call from the college (and subsequently, an online search for answers) that sends her in a tail spin not knowing what to think causing many sleepless nights in a row.  Constantly wondering who her dad is, she tries to find him, she needs to know but as her body wears down from lack of sleep, Jessie can't tell what real or just figments of her imagination leaving the reader just as vulnerable.

The story is told in alternating POV between then and now, between Jessie and Eden.  It's one that I think you'll enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ms. Kubica for the chance to read this one early!

Expected publication: September 4th 2018.