Book Review: The Loyal Wife {Natalie Barelli}

On our first 2020 trip to Michigan, you might remember that I found the most wonderful used bookstore. I could have spent HOURS in that store! I didn’t have much time that day to browse, but I did have time to find 1 book that I thought sounded great. I had read Natalie Barelli’s The Housekeeper earlier this year (you can read my review HERE) and was happy to find The Loyal Wife sitting on a shelf! **Random fact: My review of The Housekeeper continues to be one of the highest viewed blog posts I’ve ever written and I’m not entirely sure why, lol???** ANYWAY, I was so excited to discover another Natalie Barelli book and to read and review it on the blog.

The cover promises “a gripping psychological thriller with a twist”….Ummm YES please!

Goodreads Synopsis of The Loyal Wife {Natalie Barelli}:

She thought they had the perfect marriage…

Tamra never dreamed she would marry someone like Mike Mitchell: handsome, rich, a wonderful husband… until she finds out that Mike is having an affair.

But Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Mike Mitchell should have remembered that before he made a fool of her.

Because Tamra knows something about Mike. Something he did. Something evil. And she was prepared to carry the secret to her grave.

Not anymore.

To make matters worse, Mike’s daughter Madison has come to visit for a few days, and Madison doesn’t like Tamra. Well, that’s too bad, because Tamra doesn’t have time to argue. She’s too busy ruining Mike’s life while remaining, on the surface at least, the perfect, loyal wife.

But when Tamra’s plan spirals out of control, she finds that things are not what they seem.

And now, it’s too late.

My Thoughts on The Loyal Wife {Natalie Barelli}:

Do you remember a few months back when I was trying to figure out The Great WordPress Disaster (aka Block Format)? It took me weeks to understand it enough to be able to once again write and upload blog posts, it was so frustrating. Something else that was frustrating during that time was that I was reading LOTS of books and therefore am STILL behind on uploading my reviews to my blog from those few weeks! Grrrr…..

The Loyal Wife is one of the books that I was reading during that stupid, crazy time. I was so excited to read it!

So here’s the thing. It wasn’t THAT long ago and yet…I can’t really remember anything about this book, this storyline, or these characters. Not great for a book review blogger, huh?!?

I remember thinking that I LIKED this book but I didn’t LOVE this book. I also remember thinking that parts were a bit too predictable.

There are books that I read YEARS ago which have left such an impression on me that I can easily tell you details on characters, storylines, etc. A few examples would be THIS BOOK, THIS BOOK, and THIS BOOK. Clearly The Loyal Wife will not be on that list for me. The storylines and characters clearly weren’t significant enough to stick with me even just a few months later. Eh.

Bottom Line:

I’m happy that I purchased this book from a used bookstore because supporting small businesses is SO important. As for the book itself…eh…clearly not my best purchase 😉

If any local friends would like my copy, I can leave it on my front porch for you! Free to a good home 🙂 First come, first served! Maybe you’ll love it (and will remember it) more than I did?

Xo,

Jenny

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

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WWW#5…On A Tuesday {Book Coffee Happy}

I love when Book Coffee Happy is able to participate in WWW! Thanks so much to Sam from Taking on a World of Words for hosting this fun weekly post! Technically this is supposed to be posted on Wednesday but tomorrow I have: a Zoom PTO Presidents meeting, my daughter has a Zoom Show and Tell with her class, e-learning for both kids, AND a virtual Passover Seder with my family! Hence the Tuesday WWW post 🙂

The Three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

Jo Sparkes sent me a copy of her newest book and I am 100 pages in. It’s so different than the books I usually read and I’m learning so much! I’ll have a full blog review (and giveaway!) posted once I’m finished. In the meantime, check out this gorgeous cover:

Synopsis from Goodreads:

On a Caribbean dive vacation, five friends discover a centuries old shipwreck – and a karmic debt past due.
Wall Eddington has always done the correct thing. It’s part of being British, part of family tradition. Yet somehow someone drowned.
Now, half a world away, he’s diving off an old sailboat with four American friends. As a vacation it’s a bit primitive, but just what his soul craves.
Until they find a shipwreck.

Untouched and impossibly preserved, the thing bewitches with promises of gold. Their rush to claim it bogs down with odd accidents and petty arguments – and Wall is not the only one with dark dreams of pain and torture. Dreams of a captain called Sadico.
In fleeing his personal demon, Wall has run straight to its lair.
This trap was laid centuries ago, for five souls moved on to new lives and new loves. Set by the one soul they left behind.

What did you recently finish reading?

I recently finished reading this one! You can read the book synopsis as well as my full review HERE.

What do you think you’ll read next?

One of my beautiful best friends dropped this book off on my porch 2 weeks ago. She had recently finished reading it and thought I would love it! My kids and I sat on our living room couch and waved to her though the window as she placed it on my porch. Social distancing is so sad and so hard during times like that, ugh.

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Be careful who you let in.

Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.

Happy Passover to all who are celebrating!

What are you currently reading? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Xo,

Jenny

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

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The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE

Book Review: The Housekeeper {Natalie Barelli}

I so randomly found Natalie Barelli’s The Housekeeper on the library shelf and picked it up without knowing anything about it. That rarely happens to me in the “New Release” section of the library! I thought it sounded GREAT so I happily added it to my pile of books and left the library excited to start reading. I couldn’t wait to read and review this book!

And then the world shut down and suddenly I was given plenty of time with my stack of library books 🙂 Having not loved the previous book that I read, I was more than ready to start fresh with a new book!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Claire sees Hannah Wilson at an exclusive Manhattan hair salon, it’s like a knife slicing through barely healed scars. It may have been ten years since Claire last saw Hannah, but she has thought of her every day, and not in a good way. So Claire does what anyone would do in her position—she stalks her.

Hannah is now Mrs. Carter, living the charmed life that should have been Claire’s. It’s the life Claire used to have, before Hannah came along and took it all away from her.

Back then, Claire was a happy teenager with porcelain skin and long, wavy blond hair. Now she’s an overweight, lazy drunk with hair the color of compost and skin to match. Which is why when Hannah advertises for a housekeeper, Claire is confident she can apply and not be recognized. And since she has time on her hands, revenge on her mind, and a talent for acting…

Because what better way to seek retribution—and redress—than from within the beautiful Mrs. Hannah Carter’s own home?

Except that it’s not just Claire who has secrets. Everyone in that house seems to have something to hide.

And now, there’s no way out.

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

3.5 Stars

The Housekeeper was…good! It held my attention from page 1 and I read through the entire book fairly quickly. It had short chapters (MY FAVORITE) and twists (including the ending) which I didn’t see coming.

However, there were definitely elements to this book which left me feeling underwhelmed. I found the writing to be choppy and containing so many details that it was nearly impossible to keep everything straight. It severely lacked character development which again made parts of this story hard to follow.

The biggest problem that I have with this book was that parts were just so unrealistic. Like…severely unrealistic.

And here’s something which I’ve never seen before. DO NOT READ THE AUTHOR’S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AT THE END OF THE BOOK. She somehow managed to spoil the endings of her other books in this one author’s note (insert face plant emoji here)??? For someone who HATES SPOILERS, this infuriates me and unfortunately makes me now not want to read anything else she has previously written. Like…HOW did her editor allow that one sentence to go through?!?

Bottom Line:

Far from the best psychological thriller I’ve read but also far from the worst.

***If you are looking for some GREAT psychological thrillers (one of my favorite genres), check out THIS POST!***

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read this book? What did you think? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links. The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE

Book Blogging During a Quarantine

Omg you guys loved my last post! I’m so glad! That post is now officially one of the most viewed posts ever on this book blog! 🙂 I really hopes it helps those of you looking for a good book to read during this quarantined time at home. I’d love to hear which ones you read!

As for us, we are doing ok here and social distancing from the outside world. Homeschooling, playing outside, READING, and spending time as a family. This quarantine is scary…I now officially have 2 friends who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Our family is staying HOME and I hope you and your family are as well. As of now, the return date for school is May 4 but I truly don’t think that the kids will be going back this school year. Crazy.

My view from this morning. My daughter was working on a self guided coding lesson for one of her school assignments today (super cool) so I had a bit of time to start working on this post!

And my current blogging situation. Blogging under an umbrella (so I can see my computer under the sun) while sitting on my hammock as my kids are jumping on their trampoline. It’s a GORGEOUS day here today! Feels so wonderful to be outside. Our current plan is to stay out here as long as possible!

In other news, a few days ago my children set up a “library” on their bunk bed where they laid out books and I had to come and “check them out”. Once I made my selection, my daughter typed my name and the book title on her computer, handed the book to my son, and he was in charge of “swiping” my library card. They LOVED doing this and obviously I was proud that of all of the places, they created a library.My library card:

I’m currently reading this book, I’ll have a full blog review up when I finish! This was one that I had never heard of but I spotted it on the library shelf and it caught my eye. I love when that happens!

Aaaaaaaand this has nothing to do with books but TIGER KING. Have you watched??? My husband and I watched all of them over 3 days. It’s crazy and unbelievable and insane and weird and totally messed up and AWESOME. Thank you Netflix for releasing this gem at the most perfect time!

Stay safe everyone…

Xo,

Jenny

What are you currently been reading? Have you watched Tiger King?

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

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*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links. The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

WWW #4 {Book Coffee Happy}

How are you all doing today? I hope you are safe and healthy. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, reading and writing Book Coffee Happy are 2 things I can do to keep some normalcy during this most UNnormal time.

Thanks so much to Sam from Taking on a World of Words for hosting this fun weekly post!

The Three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

I’m starting this one today! It’s currently allllllll over the book blogging world and I’ve read that it’s AWESOME! Have any of you read it? If so…NO SPOILERS!!!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Orla Cadden is a budding novelist stuck in a dead-end job, writing clickbait about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Then Orla meets Floss―a striving wannabe A-lister―who comes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they dream about. So what if Orla and Floss’s methods are a little shady and sometimes people get hurt? Their legions of followers can’t be wrong.

Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow discovers a shattering secret about her past. Despite her massive popularity―twelve million loyal followers―Marlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is based on a lie, Marlow finally summons the courage to run in search of the truth, no matter the risks.

Followers traces the paths of Orla, Floss and Marlow as they wind through time toward each other, and toward a cataclysmic event that sends America into lasting upheaval. At turns wry and tender, bleak and hopeful, this darkly funny story reminds us that even if we obsess over famous people we’ll never meet, what we really crave is genuine human connection.

What did you recently finish reading?

Oh how I LOVED this book! You can read the book synopsis and my full review HERE.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I know absolutely nothing about this book but it caught my eye on the shelf at the library and I think it sounds great??? Have any of you read it? Again…NO SPOILERS if you have 😉

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Hannah is now Mrs. Carter, living the charmed life that should have been Claire’s. It’s the life Claire used to have, before Hannah came along and took it all away from her.

Because what better way to seek retribution—and redress—than from within the beautiful Mrs. Hannah Carter’s own home?

Except that it’s not just Claire who has secrets. Everyone in that house seems to have something to hide.

And now, there’s no way out.

What are you currently reading? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Xo,

Jenny

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links. The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*