The Book Bag: Everything We Didn't Say

Showing posts with label Everything We Didn't Say. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Reading My TBR Piles ~ December 2021 Edition #TBR

YIKES!!

Look familiar? This is sometimes how my TBR piles/shelves feel to me. I have decided to make a more concerted effort to whittle down my TBR books. These will not be books from my review stack, just my own books that I want to read. So, on the first Wednesday of each month I'm going to post the physical books that I read the previous month with the goal to clear off my TBR shelves. My daughter (a librarian) has already told me she doesn't want any of my books when I'm gone. WHAT?

We'll see how this goes. Wish me luck!

Since this is my first post, and since I started thinking about this a couple of months ago, I'm posting about two months worth of books that I have now cleared off of my shelves. It feels so freeing!

See any books here that on your own TBR pile?

Speak

Laurie Halse Anderson

Finished November 18

Don't You Cry

Mary Kubica

Finished November 12

Everything We Didn't Say

Nicole Baart

Finished October 28

The Map of True Places

Brunonia Barry

Finished October 24

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Thursday, November 4, 2021

New Release! Everything We Didn't Say by Nicole Baart ~ My Thoughts #EverythingWeDidn'tSay

Congrats Nicole

on the release of

Everything We Didn't Say!

Everything We Didn't Say by Nicole Baart

Mystery Thriller, 368 pages

Published November 2, 2021 by Atria Books

From the author of Little Broken Things, a “race-to-the-finish family drama” (People) following a mother who must confront the dark summer that changed her life forever in order to reclaim the daughter she left behind.

Juniper Baker had just graduated from high school and was deep in the throes of a summer romance when Cal and Beth Murphy, a childless couple who lived on a neighboring farm, were brutally murdered. When her younger brother became the prime suspect, June’s world collapsed and everything she loved that summer fell away. She left, promising never to return to tiny Jericho, Iowa.

Until now. Officially, she’s back in town to help an ill friend manage the local library. But really, she’s returned to repair her relationship with her teenage daughter, who’s been raised by Juniper’s mother and stepfather since birth—and to solve the infamous Murphy murders once and for all. She knows the key to both lies in the darkest secret of that long-ago summer night, one that’s haunted her for nearly fifteen years.

As history begins to repeat itself and a dogged local true crime podcaster starts delving into the murders, the race to the truth puts past and present on a dangerous collision course. Juniper lands back in an all-too-familiar place with the answers to everything finally in her sights, but this time it’s her daughter’s life that hangs in the balance. Will revealing what really happened mean a fresh start? Or will the truth destroy everything Juniper loves for a second time? Baart once again brilliantly weaves mystery into family drama in this expertly-crafted novel for fans of Lisa Jewell and Megan Miranda.

My thoughts about Everything We Didn't Say ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)

First lines—"The murders took place on a hot summer night, but to Juniper it would always be winter in Jericho. Bitter and unforgiving as deep February, when frost edged the windows like salt on the rim of a glass."

Those first few lines totally drew me in—such a great description of the frost. I prepared myself for a wonderful visual journey via the author's words. And I was not disappointed, such beautiful writing.

Everything We Didn't Say is an enticing, exciting, and suspenseful story. It is told in two timelines—the present, with Juniper returning to her hometown, and the past that she is desperately trying to escape. Maybe coming home will give her some answers about what really happened there fifteen years ago. Will she finally be able to remember the events of that day and who was responsible for the murder of two of her neighbors?

I loved this story and completely devoured it as I raced to the end. Like I said, it is beautifully written, which made the reading of it so enjoyable. And then there was the interesting and exciting storyline. Nicole Baart is a new-to-me author and this book has now made her one of my must-read authors. I need to check out her other books and catch up before her next novel comes out.

Everything We Didn't Say should be added to your TBR list right now. I highly recommend it if you like thrillers. You will not be disappointed.

About the author

Nicole Baart is a New York Times bestselling author, collaborator, ghostwriter, and speaker. Her critically acclaimed novels have been featured in Southern Living, Country Woman, Book Page, Glam, and Yahoo! Lifestyle among several others. Nicole’s 2017 novel, Little Broken Things, was a PEOPLE Magazine Editor's Top Pick, a Goodreads Best Book of the Month, and featured in Library Journal. A perennial reviewer favorite, Nicole has received starred and featured reviews from Publishers Weekly, Romantic Times, Midwest Connections, and more. She is best known for her “wholly compelling” stories that are “ripe with complex emotion and vivid prose.”

Baart lives with her husband and five children in a small town in Iowa. She is the co-founder of a non-profit organization that partners with ministries in Liberia, West Africa, and a dual American/Canadian citizen. Her books range from literary to domestic suspense, but they always draw heavily from her personal experiences and her life in the Midwest. Nicole shares about her passion for travel, adoption, social justice, and bringing people together on social media. To find out more about Nicole, please visit: nicolebaart.com ~ Goodreads

Connect with Nicole

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads

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Monday, November 1, 2021

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? November 1, 2021 #IMWAYR

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!

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Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a good week.

Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading

And the Little One Said

by Elizabeth Coffey

The Secret Stealers

by Jane Healey

Narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen

What I recently finished

Cold Kiss

Cold Kiss #1

by Amy Garvey

Everything We Didn't Say

by Nicole Baart

Pub date November 2

Christmas in Tinsel Tree Village: A Holiday Novella

by Viola Shipman

Never Say Sever in Deadwood

(Deadwood #12)

by Ann Charles

Narrated by Caroline Shaffer

What I am going to read next

A Man of Honor

Emma Harte Saga #0.5

by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Pub date November 16

I loved A Woman of Substance back when it came out in 1979 (!!) (side note: it was the very first hardcover book I actually bought, I just had to have it to keep) and subsequently devoured the whole series. I'm so excited to read Blackie's back story.

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!