Where I Left Her by Amber Garza

 Where I Left Her by Amber Garza - 304 pages

 From the author of When I Was You comes a spine-tingling new thriller about a mother’s worst nightmare come true, when her teenage daughter goes to a sleepover and doesn’t come back.

Whitney had some misgivings when she dropped her increasingly moody teenage daughter, Amelia, off at Lauren’s house. She’d never met the parents, and usually she’d go in, but Amelia clearly wasn’t going to let something so humiliating happen, so instead Whitney waved to her daughter before pulling away from the little house with the roses in front.

But when she goes back the next day, an elderly couple answers the door—Amelia and Lauren aren’t there, and this couple swears they never were, that she’s at the wrong house. As Whitney searches for Amelia, she uncovers a trail of lies her daughter has told her—from the Finsta account to rumors of a secret relationship. Does she really even know this girl she’s raised? And Amelia’s not the only one with secrets. Could Whitney’s own demons have something to do with her daughter’s disappearance, and can Whitney find her before it’s too late?

I had never read this author before, but I really liked her writing style. The main character Whitney (the mom) got on my nerves because she was your typical helicopter parent. However, as the book went on I started relating to her. I honestly thought I had the book predicted until the very last page and then I couldn't pick my jaw up off the floor.  The last page had me in such a shock I am not sure if I liked it or not honestly. On the other hand, the psychological thriller book lover in me would recommend this book to others, but I would also caution that there are triggers with this book that may affect people.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover - 384 pages

Ok, where to start with this one.  Last year I read Verity by Colleen Hoover and it was a 5-star book for me, so I was excited to try another book by her. This one?  I wanted to throw this book against the wall.  My book club picked this for our June read, and oh boy, did we have some opinions.

The plot here sounds intriguing: a woman who grew up witnessing domestic violence in her home swears she will never allow herself to be in the same awful position her mother once was. 

And then guess what? Just guess where this story could possibly be going. If you guessed that she ends up in an abusive relationship with the perfect guy, bingo, you've guessed correctly!  Again, this could have still been an interesting storyline, but the execution missed the mark.  By a long shot.  

I didn't feel that one single character in this book had any redeeming qualities. Not one. They were annoying, one-dimensional, and I couldn't stand any of them.  The dialogue really got on my nerves. It seemed so unnatural, there was no flow between characters - it felt painful to get through.  

Our main character, Lily, shows us her past through journal entries.  Not a bad story building tactic, I think journals can be a great way to show a character's past.  Except here.  All her journal entries are written to Ellen DeGeneres because Lily was obsessed with the Ellen Show.  And it annoyed the living daylights out of me.  

I could go on and on about my many disappointmens with this book.  But most of all, it was just SO PREDICTIBLE.  Some of the ladies in my book club really enjoyed this read, and I'm glad they did!  The majority of the group was overall very unimpressed, and this definitely was not a book for me.