Smokeshow by Abbi Glines

Smokeshow by Abbi Glines -- 258 pages

Set in a world where southern wealth and power comes from one source. The Family is ruled by one boss and it's time for the newer generation to step into place.

It’s a fragile thing - the whispers of truth that you hope are lies. Hughes Farm was the largest racing horse establishment in the south. The family that owned it were known to be wealthy, powerful, arrogant, and terrifying. My first encounter with them didn’t prepare me for all that was to come. I don’t think anything truly could have.

Growing up with only my father and brother hadn’t been easy but we’d had each other. Losing them was the hardest thing I’d ever faced. It had made the times we went without food, electricity, or even shelter seem insignificant in comparison. It is when a woman, claiming to have been my mother’s best friend, arrives to take me home with her that questions begin to surface. My father had rarely spoken of my mother. She’d died when I was a toddler. Having no other option, I trust this stranger and am thrown into a world of mansions, racing horses, extravagance, and him. It’s true that there is a thin line between love and hate. But there is an even thinner line between truth and lies.

The Divorce by Freida McFadden

 The Divorce by Freida McFadden-354 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What is a happily ever after really worth?

Naomi was living the quintessential love story. Boy meets girl. They fall in love, get married, buy a dream house, start a family…

Then―he kicks her out, hires the city’s best divorce lawyers, drains their accounts, and takes up with a 20-something.

It’s a brutal end to the story. Naomi should accept defeat: move into a dingy apartment, get back into the workforce, and piece together the shattered remains of her life.

Except, why should she?

Instead, Naomi fixates on her husband’s new girlfriend. What begins as cynical curiosity soon twists into obsession―and then into something far darker. As Naomi uncovers secrets she never imagined, she realizes her own life may be in danger.

But if it keeps her perfect family intact, isn’t it worth it?

Thoughts: This is right up there with The Intruder for me. I really liked this one. I saw some of the twists coming, but not all of them. McFadden is so good at leading the reader in one direction, but then going 180 degrees in the other direction and throwing readers off. McFadden's books are fast paced and so readable. I don't usually want to put them down and The Divorce was no different. 

Bleach, Vol. 1 by Tite Kubo

Bleach, Vol. 1 by Tite Kubo

Bleach #1, 192 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghosts—he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow—a malevolent lost soul—Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace.

S'more of You by Tessa Bailey

S'more of You by Tessa Bailey -- 77 pages

Senior counselor Margot Berry is finally going to tell Dean Ingram how she feels. Sure, she’s been pranking him for eight years and they’ve formed something of a rivalry. But surely that will all be set aside when she fesses up to her crush, right? Wrong. Dean assumes her confession is just another prank. Can she convince him she’s for real before the camp session ends?

Hawkeye, Volume 1: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction

Hawkeye, Volume 1: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction

Hawkeye (2012-2016) #1-5, 136 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

The breakout star of this summer's blockbuster Avengers film, Clint Barton - aka the self-made hero Hawkeye - fights for justice! With ex-Young Avenger Kate Bishop by his side, he's out to prove himself as one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes! SHIELD recruits Clint to intercept a packet of incriminating evidence - before he becomes the most wanted man in the world. You won't believe what is on The Tape! What is the Vagabond Code? Matt Fraction pens a Hawkeye thriller that spans the globe...and the darkest parts of Hawkeye's mind. Barton and Bishop mean double the Hawkeye and double the trouble...and stealing from the rich never looked so good.

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

The Rose Bargain #1, 389 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

London, 1848—For four hundred years, England has been under the control of an immortal fae queen who tricked her way onto the throne. To maintain an illusion of benevolence, Queen Mor grants each of her subjects one opportunity to bargain for their deepest desire.

As Ivy Benton prepares to make her debut, she knows that not even a deal with the queen could fix what has gone wrong: Her family’s social standing is in shambles, her sister is a shadow of her former self, and Ivy’s marriage prospects are nonexistent. So when the queen announces a competition for Prince Bram’s hand, Ivy is the first to sign her name in blood. What a bargain can’t fix, a crown certainly could.

Ivy soon finds herself a surprising front-runner—with the help of an unexpected ally: Prince Bram’s brother, the rakish Prince Emmett, who promises to help Ivy win his brother’s heart…for a price. But as the season sweeps Ivy away, with glittering balls veiling the queen’s increasingly vicious trials, Ivy realizes there’s more at stake than just a wedding. Because all faerie bargains come with a cost, and Ivy may have discovered hers too late.

Summer Staycation by Sarah Grunder Ruiz

Summer Staycation by Sarah Grunder Ruiz -- 58 pages

If you ask Beck Penrose, Florida summers aren’t relaxing so much as roller coasters of sensory overload. But her nervous system settles down with Lucas Holiday, a travel blogger who gets her like no one else does. It’s easy to say yes to living like tourists for a weekend. But it’s harder to say goodbye when that weekend comes to an end.