Fiction by Christina Suzann Nelson
Faith Byrne is a mother of two teenaged daughters who is still reeling from her unexpected divorce at the beginning of this story. A former investigative reporter, Faith does a podcast about people who recover from tragedy called “What Happens Next.” Now she has been contacted by someone from her past about featuring a cold case disappearance, and there are some surprises in store.
I really liked this book and will look for more by this author.
Fiction by Heather Gudenkauf
Five people are competing in a reality show called "One Lucky Winner," each hoping to win a prize of ten million dollars. But this competition is long on hype and short on details; no one knows what exactly the competitors will be required to do or how they have been chosen. And the challenges will be streamed live at unexpected times, not recorded and aired on a schedule.
Supposedly these things are meant to make the show different and exciting, but also they serve to keep everyone guessing and the contestants off-balance. But it quickly becomes clear that there is something strange going on behind the scenes....
This was a fast-paced an exciting story, but the plot was WAY over the top. I couldn't help but think it stretched the reader's willing suspension of disbelief to the breaking point. And I felt like the characters were less likeable and believable than they could have been. Still, it was pretty fun to read.
I also read by this author: This is How I Lied
Fiction by Catherine Ryan Howard
Social media influencer Natalie O'Connor suspects that her husband Mike is hiding something from her after she finds a charge on his credit card for Shanamore Cottages, a seaside resort in western Ireland. He claims to have never heard of the place, but Natalie is unconvinced and sets out to go there herself on the spur of the moment.
Meanwhile, Mike has no idea where Natalie has gone and eventually files a missing persons report. That report gets the attention of a small-time internet reporter named Audrey, who runs with the story. Will Audrey find Natalie alive? Or is it already too late?
This was an exciting mystery thriller with several surprises!
I also read recently by this author: The Nothing Man
Nonfiction by Shari Franke
Family vlogger Ruby Franke was big news a couple of years ago when she and her best friend Jodi Hildebrand were convicted of neglecting and abusing Ruby's four minor children. No charges were brought up concerning the two oldest kids, Shari and Chad, because the two of them had already left home.
In this story Shari tells her own story of how Ruby's abuse of her children started long before she met up with Jodi, and how the support and validation Jodi gave her escalated everything exponentially.
This was an honest memoir and very interesting, but it was also extremely sad.
Fiction by Scott Meyer
Youtube-style videographer Amber has always been a fan of late-night talk radio host Jack Owens. So when she gets a chance to take Jack's show "That's Not Right" to internet video, she's all for it. It's a great idea, she thinks. But it turns out Jack Owens doesn't agree.
This was a funny little set of stories that tied together well. I enjoyed it.
I also listened to by this author: Spell or High Water
Fiction by Jennifer Weiner
This was a fun little romance that turned into a mystery. The main character is an Instagram "influencer" with a page on plus-size fashion and also one for her dog Bingo. (The dog has more followers.) The story is mostly about her love/hate relationship with her longtime friend Drue Cavanaugh, beautiful rich girl.
This was an interesting story with some surprises.
I also read by this author: Golden Hills
Amazon Prime Kindle Fiction by Charlie Donlea
In 2007 on the island of St Lucia, American vacationer Julian Christ was murdered. His girlfriend Grace Sebold was quickly charged with and convicted of the crime, and sentenced to life imprisonment despite her protestations of innocence. But now, ten years later, true-crime documentary filmmaker Sidney Ryan is looking into the case.
Was Grace wrongly convicted or did the St. Lucia police have it right all along? What will be uncovered through the documentary filming?
This was an interesting story with surprises; I'm not sure about the ending. Maybe it's a setup for a sequel?
I also read by this author: Some Choose Darkness
I also read (for free!) by Amazon Prime Kindle: The Couple Across the Street
Fiction by Deborah Willis
I can't decide whether to categorize this novel as "futuristic" or "contemporary." Basically it's something that really could happen now, but I think it's set in the future. I labeled it both ways, because it's kind of futuristically contemporary.
Okay, maybe that's not important.
Here's the idea: There's a bazillionaire who wants to colonize Mars, so he's funding a mission to send two humans there to live FOREVER. Seriously, they can't come back; the mission is to dump them there with (ostensibly) all the supplies they need to survive. They are supposed make a colony and set things up all nice, and then they send back reports of how fabulous it all is on the Red Planet so the next group of colonists can come join them. You know, in the future. Whenever that's feasible.
So how to get someone to want to volunteer for this quasi-suicide mission? Well, you make it a competition of course! And hey, let's offset some of the cost and monetize the whole thing by making it a reality show! It's going to be called... wait for it... Mars Now!
Enter our protagonist Amber Kivinen, a 32-year-old Canadian who (allegedly) sells home-grown cannabis with her boyfriend Kevin. She might look like a loser on paper, but she's got enough charm and ambition to go all the way! Maybe. At least she's one of the 24 international finalists.
This story follows Amber and Kevin, as she tries to win a ridiculous TV popularity contest in front of billions of people on the Mars Now! show, and he sits at home on the couch growing (and smoking) weed.
This story was both hysterically funny and super sad. I really loved it!
Audible Original Fiction by Benjamin Stevenson
Fiction by Kate Staymen-London
This story has an interesting premise: What if the "Bachelorette" was a plus-sized woman?
Bea Schumacher is the woman in question, a popular fashion blogger and attractive person. Still, the fact of her dress size makes casting her pretty controversial.
This was a fun story.
Fiction by Lindsey Kelk
Fiction by Hank Green
https://www.barnesandnoble.com
April is walking home at two in the morning in New York City when she sees... an absolutely remarkable thing. It's like a giant statue, but it seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Since April is a student of art, she decides to document this interesting find with --what else?-- a YouTube video!
What follows is the really remarkable thing. The mysterious statue was not just in New York; there are sixty-odd of them around the world in prominent places, all appearing at the same time. Since April was the first to name and explain this strange statue to the world in her video, she becomes an overnight celebrity. And then...
Well, you have to read it and see!
This story kind of defies explanation, but it was very interesting to read. I enjoyed it a lot.
