If you would like to see a shortened version of my other book reviews, you can find them here: Book Reviews
When I was young, my mom and I used to make up stories about the houses we would drive by, and we would try to figure out what secrets lay within the people and the home. It made long car drives much more pleasant. Every home has secrets, but the book Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold has secrets that my mom and I never even thought about in our scenarios.
Twelve Secrets had many twists and turns throughout the story. I’m usually pretty good at figuring out storylines, but not this time. I was confused in the beginning of the book, though. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and the story spans twenty years. I wish the chapters had titles that helped me each time the storyline changed. It was confusing when I couldn’t just read the whole book through, and I had to remember what had happened previously with each character.
I loved the second half of the book as it all started coming together. I had to tell my husband to leave me alone, so I could finish the book! I love when stories come together in the end, and you have to trust the author that they will clear everything up for you eventually. There are a lot of trigger warnings that could be listed for this book, so if you get triggered by topics, you might want to look it up.
This is the first time that Twelve Secrets is published in the US, and I’m glad I was able to read the first book in the Ben Harper (the main character) series. It is definitely a stand alone book, however.
I gave this book four out of five stars. I love a book with twists, but I wish it wasn’t a little confusing in the beginning.
Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Robert Gold for my free copy of this book. This is my honest review.
Book Description:
I should hate you. I should want you dead for what you did to my sweet, blue-eyed boy. But you’re the only person who can give me the answers I need. What really happened the night you killed him?
It’s twenty years since my teenage brother was murdered and my mother took her own life with a broken heart. I buried myself in writing to numb the pain, but when the police knock at my door and tell me my brother’s killer has just been found murdered, my heart stops dead: the killer had letters from my mother written just days before she died.
My mother believed someone else was there that night. As the police search my home, my head races with a million questions. Did my mother really kill herself, or did someone get to her before she could find out the truth?
Under the guise of writing an article, I press old friends and neighbours for answers. But why do they dodge my questions? What are they so afraid of? Is there anybody in this small town I can trust?
I pore over my mother’s letters late into the night until I discover a family secret that turns my blood to ice. Everything I thought I knew about the night my brother was murdered is a lie.
As I get closer to the truth, another body drops. Someone in this close-knit town will stop at nothing to keep their secrets. Can I find them before another innocent life is taken?
Author’s Bio:
Robert Gold is the Sunday Times bestselling author of the Ben Harper series, which includes Twelve Secrets, a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, Eleven Liars and Ten Seconds. Originally from Harrogate in North Yorkshire, Robert Gold began his career as an intern at the American broadcaster CNN, based in Washington DC. He returned to Yorkshire to work for the retailer ASDA, becoming the chain’s nationwide book buyer. He now works in sales for a UK publishing company. Robert now lives in Putney and his new hometown served as the inspiration for the fictional town of Haddley in his thrillers.
Author social media:
Facebook URL
https://www.facebook.com/Robert.Gold.Books
My Personal Review:
5 Stars from me!
Have you ever wondered what secrets the other members of your family hold close to their heart? As parents, you think you really know your kids, but in all honesty, do you really? You try to surround your kids with other friends and family that will have a positive impact, but of course, they hold their own secrets too. As parents, of course, you also hold your own truths that you hope are never revealed.
In the book, My Daughter’s Lies by Julia Roberts, a mother finds a note right before giving a speech for her daughter’s 18th birthday that says, “She’s not who she thinks she is.” Wouldn’t that freak you out? Who left the note? Who is the “she” in the note? Do you just act like nothing happened right before you give your speech?
The book goes back and forth between the past and the party. Roberts does a wonderful job with characterization in her book. You feel like you really know the characters well by the end, and I appreciate this in any book. There wasn’t a character that I didn’t like or that I thought was useless to the story.
I kept picturing the mother as the actress Julia Roberts while I was reading. No, she isn’t the one who wrote the book, but the image just stuck in my head. I really felt for the mother who wanted the best for her one and only child. Mothers and teenage daughters can truly butt heads, while at the same time connecting through a special bond. This book is about the bond within a family; the love between best friends, and the secrets that can tie all of them together. There is also the intrigue about that darn note!
I really enjoyed this book and gave it five stars. It held my interest from beginning to end. I would definitely recommend it.
Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley, and Julia Roberts for sharing a free copy with me. This review is based on my honest review.
Book Description:
In the middle of my beautiful daughter’s eighteenth birthday party, silence falls as I unfold my speech, my heart bursting with everything I want to say. But when I look down I see a note, and my world stops: She’s not who you think she is.
Ruby was our miracle baby. I would have done anything to become a mother, and when she finally arrived, I held her in my arms, looked in her blue eyes and swore I would never let anything harm her. Now she’s everything I could have dreamed of. I don’t even think about all the years of heartache I went through before she was born.
So when I get the strange warning at her birthday party, I ignore it, hiding it in my bag with trembling hands. Someone is simply jealous of her.
But as I watch my daughter, things I’ve been trying to ignore come flooding back to me – Ruby’s odd disappearances, her whispered arguments with her best friend, and a memory from her sixth birthday which still breaks my heart to remember.
I need to know the truth about who she really is, but digging into my daughter’s secrets might reveal my own. As the party draws to a close and the confetti is swept away, I gather my courage. I’ve spent eighteen years trying to forget my own mistakes, and it could only take a moment for everything to fall apart.
Do I risk tearing my family apart to keep my daughter safe? Because when my secrets come out, I could lose my precious girl forever…
A completely compelling and heart-wrenching read about the strength of a mother’s love for her child. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Amanda Prowse and Susan Lewis.
Author’s Bio:
Julia was born in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, and began her career as a professional singer/dancer. This enabled her to travel the world in her late teens storing up experiences she has since included in her writing.
Following roles as a hostess on The Price is Right and a member of the Beadle’s About ‘hit squad’ in the 1980s, she became a TV Presenter and filmed features for Sky Sports before launching the QVC shopping channel in 1993 where she still presents today. Having always wanted to write, she penned her first book, a memoir sold on QVC, in 2013 and has since written eleven full length novels, two novellas and several short stories.
http://www.juliarobertsauthor.com/
https://www.facebook.com/JuliaRobertsTV
https://www.instagram.com/juliagroberts/
https://twitter.com/JuliaRobertsTV
Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Julia Roberts here: https://www.bookouture.com/julia-roberts
Slide to see either the author’s picture or the book tour dates:
My Personal Review:
This book! The Stars of Our Witness by Siobhan Curham is definitely five stars from me.
I sat and read for an entire day, which I never do, but I had to find out what happened next in each chapter. I taught about the Holocaust to 8th grade students for over 20 years, so I have read A LOT of books on this topic. To be honest, I didn’t think I wanted to read any more on the topic, but I was curious about this one. I am so glad I read it.
Although the characters are fiction, each of the events in the book are based on real occurrences. After teaching about it, I was surprised to still learn so much of what happened in the Warsaw Ghetto and Auschwitz. The book focuses are three main characters, two of which are Jewish and one is Polish. I loved each of the characters, and Curham does a great job of bringing them to life. All three of the characters add to the resistance fight that is known as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943. Each of the characters showed such bravery in their own ways.
This book touched my heart, and at times, it was hard to read. It would be a great book for discussion in a high school and/or college classroom.
Book Description:
Auschwitz, 1943. Adela stuffs small cloth pouches containing the stolen gunpowder into the folds of her dress. As she joins the column of exhausted women heading back to the barracks, the guard shouts ‘Inspection!’ and her blood turns to ice…
Working in the camp’s munitions factory, Adela Rubenstein discovers the underground network fighting against the devastating cruelty all around them. Imprisoned for teaching Jewish orphans in secret for the resistance, she doesn’t hesitate to join the rebellion. Every night on the way back to her hut, she looks up at the stars, the only witness to their plan to blow up the crematoria buildings.
The women can only smuggle a teaspoonful of the gunpowder at a time. But Adela knows from her time in the Warsaw ghetto what incredible feats can be achieved with courage and patience. Thinking of home reminds her of her darling brother, Azriel, and Izabel, who was like a sister to her. She has no idea what happened to them when she was caught, if they are even still alive. But she must keep doing whatever she can to resist. She has to make them proud.
As the day of the attack draws near, Adela is utterly stunned when she comes face to face with her beloved brother. Pale and hunched, but alive. Her heart soars as she hugs him tightly. Maybe it’s a sign, and there is hope for them after all. But not if he is working in the very building they will soon destroy…
Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Nightingale and A Fire Sparkling will be swept away by this beautiful, heartbreaking read about unimaginable bravery, family ties and the power of hope when everything seems lost.
Author Bio:
Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival.
https://www.facebook.com/Siobhan-Curham-Author-398343120181969
https://www.instagram.com/siobhancurhamauthor/
https://twitter.com/SiobhanCurhamSign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Siobhan Curham here: https://www.bookouture.com/siobhan-curham
