What Alice Forgot

This was a book club pick that I read as an audiobook. 

The premise is fascinating. A woman sustains a head injury and believes she's ten years younger with all the hopes and dreams of the future that carries. What she faces is a hard dose of reality of how those ten years turned out. And it's not so happily ever after. 

A great novel of discovery as we see through Alice's eyes what she's prioritized and how, without her memories, she chooses to prioritize her life moving forward. There are plenty of heartwrenching moments, like not recognizing her children, the failure of her marriage, and the mystery around Gina that the author breaks up with the humor that losing ten years of your life would ensue. 

What was most important to me was that Alice learned and grew through this experience. Thank you Ms. Moriarty for succeeding on this point. The other plot point I had my hopes pinned on was the reconcilation of the marriage. You'll have to read the book to see if this aspect was a success or failure. 

This novel is well written and worth the read/listen. It will have you reflecting on how you might want to reprioritize your life.

AMAZON 

Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child. So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! She HATES the gym) and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over—she’s getting divorced, she has three kids, and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes. Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over...

The Maid

This was a book club pick or otherwise I would've missed out on this excellent read. 

Please note that I listened to this as an audiobook and though the narrator was spot on. She excellently conveyed the tone and thoughts of our heroine, who has some interesting quirks to her thoughts, language, and personality. 

Important background was sprinkled throughout the story, but there were still some smaller mysteries left to the reader at the conclusion of the book that required one's own intellect to solve. Or your friend might have a different defendable opinion. 

Very satisfying read. 

AMAZON

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

Fresh Starts

Ms. Krey crafts a great romantic suspense with all the feels. 

We get second chance romance, heartache, fear, worry, and then she sticks her heroine and hero together on an apple orchard where all they can do is have their emotional walls smashed down. 

I very much enjoyed the pacing and the secondary characters. Lots of fun. 

AMAZON

Bree's stalker is out of prison.
It's Greyson's job to protect her on the family's apple orchard.
Danger & romance unite in this fun escape!

When Bree’s stalker is released from prison, she heads to a remote orchard to hide away. Joining her is Greyson Law, a former bodyguard who had a crush on her in their school years. Soon sparks ignite between them, and Bree feels she and Greyson might have a future.
But could it all be destroyed by the stalker from her past?

After being stalked for several years, Bree Fox helped put her stalker behind bars.
But now the time has come for his release. To test the stalker-infested waters, her brother, Braden, purchased an orchard house where Bree can hide away. And though she must leave her kids with her ex-husband for a time, Bree feels certain the plan will keep her family safe. She only wishes Braden hadn’t hired his friend and former bodyguard, Greyson Law, to watch over her.

After leaving his training center in capable hands, Greyson is back in his hometown to stay. So when Braden Fox asks for a favor, the timing is just right. Plus, working as a personal protector once more has an appeal all its own. Trouble is, Bree Fox never liked him much back in school, and he hasn’t seen the woman much since. Still, just thinking about the hard-to-get girl from his school days has Greyson wondering if the timing is right in more ways than one. But just how dangerous is this man from her past?