No One Crosses the Wolf by Lisa Nikolidakis

This is a memoir about a troubled childhood full of abuse and neglect. It’s not an easy read and I wasn’t looking for one. It follows her growing up years with her brother and parents and all the trauma you can imagine.

Her father is a piece of crap, to put it lightly. He is an alcoholic that spends most of his at-home hours terrorizing his family. When he isn’t home, they dread his coming home so they are never truly free of him. After reading her recollections of him, I can understand that fear.

And her mother isn’t much better in comparison. She doesn’t abuse the kids but she doesn’t stop the abuse either. She puts her head in the clouds and pretends that everything is just fine. Domestic violence doesn’t go away because you want it to, you have to stop it! Her mother failed them all.

When her father finally snaps, I expected more somehow. More untangling the emotional threads of her life. More in-depth onion peeling. I wanted to see her do the hard work to undo all the lessons that her upbringing taught at such high prices. But she did none of it. She drank, slept around, and went to Greece. I’m healed!!! The end. What?? Yeah, I’m confused too.

My first inclination was to give this a 2-star review. I mulled it over though, for several days I might add. Three is as high as I can go. She writes well. She knows how to create an atmosphere and add texture and shade to a story but in the end, there’s no story. There’s no healing final chapter. There’s no Oprah “Aha!” moment. And that is a true letdown.

⭐⭐⭐ /⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Brothers Best Friend by Natasha L. Black

ARC REVIEW

Cole left behind his family money and became a self made man. He worked hard and established his own good name. He started two businesses and rehabbed a old Victorian. He has a loyal best friend and life is good good for him until…

His sister Susie chose a different path and it took her down some dark corridors. Her decisions didn’t just affect her though. She had a darling little girl named Millie. Unfortunately she dragged her along in her more perilous pursuits. When Cole is forced to stand in as a parent, life changes fast for everyone involved.

Millie might be a little girl but she’s seen more than most and bears the scars. She bursts on the scene and wraps everyone around her little finger in record time. She’s a big personality stuffed into a tiny body and makes her presence felt on nearly every page.

Layla has a cozy life with her students and her dog. She’s close to her family and has good friends. Her life is a perfect except that she hasn’t moved on from a personal tragedy. She’s moving forward but not really. Her best friend thinks she knows why, but does Layla?

Lance is Layla’s older brother and best friends with Cole. They are as close as he is with Layla. They have always been there for each other through everything. As adults, that hasn’t changed. He steps up to the plate when Cole needs him but is shocked when Lance reveals something that will change the dynamics of their relationship to each other and to Layla.

This is an ARC so even though I found some minor errors I won’t be detracting points or detailing them here. It will be further polished before publishing I’m sure. I did find some other issues however and will be discussing them below.

The story starts off a bit slow but rolls along in a pleasurable enough way to keep reading. There isn’t a ton of angst and drama so you really shouldn’t read it for that. It’s a lighthearted read despite some of the heavier stuff in the book.

It has broad appeal. I mean, a sexy man, a cute little girl, an overprotective brother, a somewhat clueless woman, a meddling family and two Dachshunds. What more can you ask for in a book?

My major complaint is simple. I haven’t verified this by going back to the book but I would say up to about 60% of the book Layla comes off almost prudish. (You’d expect that from a schoolteacher of small children so cool, right?) After that point she becomes some sort of a femme fatale and is like a foul mouthed bombshell. (She’s had two chaste kisses and suddenly she’s asking for shower sex as a first time between them?) It felt rushed, and very uncharacteristic and threw me out of the story.

I never really bought this new side of her character so I enjoyed the last part of the book less than the beginning. The whole thing with Holly and all that follows just made me read it to get done, not because I was actually rooting for them anymore. That honestly breaks my heart. (Yes, I have one!)

As for the sex. it wasn’t unnecessarily acrobatic and it didn’t make me giggle but it definitely didn’t make my Kindle catch on fire either. More’s the pity.

Can I recommend this book? My first inclination was three stars. However, after some thought as to the subject matter and careful consideration of the whole story, I had to give it four.

Remember #PleaseReview. Authors love feedback.

Her Name Was Bitter: A Memoir by Mara D. Johnson

She was raised in chaos. Her father raised her and her brother in the same house as his rape victims. He did drug deals, beat his domestic partners and even allegedly killed a man while being hunted by the police. He taught them to hustle and they never forget it. It wasn’t the traditional childhood, even after they go to live with family. It only changed geography, nothing more. She was sexually abused and neglected and had no one to stand up for her. She grew into an adult and chaos followed. This is the story of the chaos that was both thrust upon her and that she caused to befall herself.

I have no doubt that being raised in that kind of environment warps your sense of right and wrong. I believe that you do the best you can with the skills you have and make many mistakes along the way. Most of us learn from those mistakes and never make them again.

Sadly, that is not the case for the author. Instead, she is proud of her mistakes and brags about them in bold terms. The book is chock full of self congratulation and brags, both humble and otherwise.

Spoiler Alert

She starts the book by way of an apology to the daughter she gave up for adoption at 13 after being abused by her cousin. It seems entirely sincere and makes the reader think that she is writing in an effort to make true amends. This is nothing more than a lie that she tells both herself and reader. The adoption allowed for some contact and she claims that the book is her way of doing it since she has never before been able to find the right words. Already I was confused. She could write to her daughter about anything but foregoes that opportunity over and over again.

She will become pregnant a total of 5 times in the course of the book. After the adoption of the first one, the others were her way of trying to keep a man. We all know how that goes in real life.

Speaking of opportunity, she never misses an opportunity to do the wrong thing. Never, not once. She writes about making good grades in school, her intelligence, her ability to make money, how caring she is toward those she loves but never hesitates to break the law, use drugs, get drunk, She gets legitimate jobs but never stays in them.

She also manipulates those around her with money. I have no illusions that she would argue against that but she definitely does it. She complains about her family and boyfriends/husband using her but as long as they need her money she gets to come off a sweet, caring person. Really, what she is doing is manipulating them into continuing to need her.

In the end, she finds God. I’m shocked I tell you! Shocked!! She then proceeds to preach at the reader in a rambling fashion, claiming that God is using her to spread the word. Unbelievably, she uses God as an excuse for telling a woman that she had been having sex with the woman’s boyfriend. I wouldn’t want to stand next to this woman in a lightning storm!

Can I recommend this book? Ummmm…No. It gets 1 egg because I don’t have an image with zero. It’s filled with errors in punctuation, language misuse and badly needed an editor to keep on target.

High Achiever: The Shocking True Story of One Addict’s Double Life by Tiffany Jenkins

The author is probably best known for her blog Juggling the Jenkins. Most do not know about her criminal past that includes 27 felonies or her lengthy stay in jail. She was a drug addict and willing to go to any lengths to get them. Even if that meant betraying her live in boyfriend who happened to be a Sherriff’s Deputy. And she did.

Tiffany had a somewhat tumultuous childhood but she still became the captain of her high school cheerleading squad and student body president. No one expected to her life to take a downward spiral. She seemed on top of the world but she hit rock bottom.

The story is as promised. It’s scary to see how far one person will go to get drugs. It’s also stunning that she was able to fool her boyfriend. He knew that she had already completed rehab once but he overlooked so many instances that could have revealed her truth. She holds nothing back. She talks about lesbian affairs and jail fights. She talks openly about withdrawal and performing sexual favors and making a sex tape. But she doesn’t give us enough.

The story lacked some important features. She talks about the drug abuse for 98 percent of the book. She talks about recovery for a very short period at the end. She doesn’t give us the lead up. What caused her to turn to drugs? Did she sustain an injury? Did she try it once and like it immediately? What was life like after her second stint in rehab? How did she cope with all the changes and stay sober? I wanted to know how she repaired the relationship with her sister. Did she make amends with her ex?

I realize the title clearly states it’s about her double life but I needed more backstory. I needed to feel empathy and eventually joy when she got clean. It was sadly absent. This was her attempt to clean the slate. It’s admirable and absolutely should be applauded. However, it feels incomplete. An open book should have all the chapters, not just a chunk of the middle.

Can I recommend this book? Yes, with the understanding it’s not so much a tell all book as a tell some.

Remember #PleaseReview. Authors love feedback!

Beautiful Lies (The Beautiful Series) by Emery Rose

In Brief

Ava Christensen grew up loved and safe. She had close friends and always knew where she fit. When she started high school all that changed. She fell in love with a sweet boy and was then forced to watch from from the sidelines as he destroyed his life to feed an ever growing addiction. It broke her. It broke him more. She knew that and tried to fix him. She wanted to heal him and make him see what she had always known – that she loved him, even when it hurt.

Connor Vincent grew up in the shadow of his older brother. They grew up close because of an abusive, alcoholic father and an absent mother. Killian took on both roles for Connor. When he turned to drugs, Killian tried desperately to get him clean. It never worked, until Connor was doing it for the right reasons. Now Connor feels immeasurable guilt because of his past choices and deeds. He’s working through it and wants a life with Ava. He’s willing to do the work to repair their broken foundation while he works the steps of his program. He’s changed and has to make her see that.

They’ve both grown up a bit and are still very much in each others orbit. They want to try again. Can they invite the pain? Can they get through it together? Will family issues, mysteries and drama bring them together or rip them apart forever? In the end, is love enough?

Nutbarn Notes

Before I start my review, I just want to say this one will be slightly different. I was gifted an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of this story. I may make note of technical issues but they do not affect my overall rating.

The Writing

This story is very full. There are new characters introduced, subplots being threaded throughout, tons of emotional angst, and growth for the main characters. It’s a rollercoaster with enough highs and lows to make you feel drunk. It’s hard to read after becoming emotionally invested in these characters. You want them to have a HEA without any effort. You simply want them to be happy NOW. The push/pull is happy torture.

Maybe you couldn’t choose the person you fell in love with. Over the years, I’d tried so many times to steel my heart against Connor, but he always came in like a wrecking ball. He knocked down all the walls, destroyed the foundation, and left me with the rubble. Our brand of love would never make an after-school special. It was ugly and gritty and soul-destroying.

Technically Speaking

Each chapter is written from either Ava or Connor’s POV. That gives us a much richer, more in depth understanding of the characters and their strengths and weaknesses. I really love that.

I didn’t find any problems with punctuation, grammar, etc. Continuity was maintained throughout in regards to names, physical descriptions, etc.

These characters haven’t had easy lives. They each have battle scars. Some very heavy topics are discussed and are not in any way limited to alcoholism, abuse, sexual assault, drug use and abuse, and murder.

The Sex

Sex is also prominently featured. Rightly so! It’s sweet, unkinky, and perfect. It’s more about rediscovery than orgasm. I wouldn’t change a word. It’s handled in mature language without crude descriptors.

Cons

My only issue with the book (and it’s most likely unique to me and would never bother another single, solitary soul) is that there are flashbacks and memories peppered throughout the story. I found them a tiny bit distracting from the current storyline. They added to the it in the end, but it was distracting.

Overall

This IS a standalone, but I highly recommend that you read the first one, Beneath Your Beautiful, so that you get the entire arc of the characters and fall in love with each one of them as much as possible. You can do that on Amazon, or your favorite bookseller. It’s currently free in Kindle Unlimited.

Rating

Can I recommend this book? Yes. It’s has all the right elements and characters that I loved.

Pre-order your copy today!

Remember #PleaseReview! Authors love feedback.

#BeautifulLies

#TheBeautifulSeries

#EmeryRose