Beautiful Affliction by Lene Fogelberg

Beautiful Affliction by Lene Fogelberg

She Writes Press

There are not many things that go straight to my heart like a story of a mother that struggles with health issues, and the thought of losing her children due to an unexpected death. Beautiful Affliction is that story. It is a memoir, but reads like you were sitting across the table from Lene. If you are a fan of memoirs, add this one to your TBR. It is not going to give you any comedic relief, and it is an open, raw, honest look at what happens when confronted with what could be the end.

Synopsis
Lene Fogelberg is dying―she is sure of it―but no doctor in Sweden, her home country, believes her. Love stories enfold her, with her husband, her two precious daughters, her enchanting surroundings, but the question she has carried in her heart since childhood―Will I die young?―is threatening all she holds dear, even her sanity. When her young family moves to the US, an answer, a diagnosis, is finally found: she is in the last stages of a fatal congenital heart disease. But is it too late?
Unflinchingly honest and often harrowing, Beautiful Affliction is an inspiring account of growing up and living on the verge of death―and of the beauty, harshness, loneliness, and, ultimately, unbending love that can be found there.

Happy Reading!

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter 

 Harper Collins/William Morrow

Hello my name is Melody, and I am a recent convert to the suspense genre. I am addicted, and I cannot tell you how much I am loving these new books. In what seemed like a long stretch of books that left me wanting more, this has been a breath of fresh air! I'll admit that at the beginning the simultaneous story lines forced me to focus, and it definitely was not my typical story, but overall this story was a great one. Once the two sister's story lines converged and you found their connection, you knew you must find the answers. How were the deaths connected? A true page-turning read. Darkly wonderful, but frightening. I was in!

Synopsis
More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that's cruelly ripped open when Claire's husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

Happy reading!

The Medea Complex

The Medea Complex by Rachel Florence Roberts

The Medea Complex-derived from Greek definition meaning "a murderous hatred by a mother for her child(ren), driven by the desire for revenge on her husband; it is a reference to Medea of Greek mythology, who kills her children." That alone would entice the reader to delve in to this novel, but then you read the synopsis and you are further driven to read this book. Inspired by true events that occurred during the Victorian era, and peppered with experiences a new mother has in the days following birth, Rachel Florence Roberts writes a thriller unlike any other. What possesses us, and what is the line between madness and sanity, and evil and illness? 

Synopsis
1885. Anne Stanbury wakes up in a strange bed, having been kidnapped from her home. As the panic settles in, she realizes she has been committed to a lunatic asylum, deemed insane and therefore unfit to stand trial for an unspeakable crime. But all is not as it seems….

Edgar Stanbury, her husband as well as a grieving father, is torn between helping his confined wife recover her sanity and seeking revenge for his ruined life. But Anne’s future rests wholly in the hands of Dr. George Savage, chief medical officer of Bethlem Royal Hospital.

The Medea Complex is the darkly compelling story of a lunatic, a lie, and a shocking revelation that elucidates the difference between madness and evil….

With the historical tie and the thriller behind the story, readers will be unable to remain on one side in this new novel. Being a mother myself, and remembering the period post-baby, I truly became engrossed and could not wait to approach the resolution. I have a copy of The Medea Complex to give away as well. Please visit my Instagram (@lilmommareader) to be entered for a chance to win! Good luck. 

Happy reading!

Wednesday #wanttoread List-The Worrier's Guide to Life

Made you laugh edition!

The Worrier's Guide to Life by Gemma Correll

"If you're floundering in life, striking out in love, struggling to pay the rent, and worried about it all -- you're in luck! World Champion Worrier and Expert Insomniac Gemma Correll is here to assure you that it could be much, much worse."

The growing genre of adult "comic" books has been a wonderful addition to my reading repertoire. From The Oatmeal to Allie Brosch, I have enjoyed many belly laughs thanks to their work. Their honest portrayal of adult concepts in a whimsical, cartoonish way. This book was read thanks to an early copy I received via Netgalley, and it was incredibly hilarious!

I read it in a flash, and you will as well. It gave me a bely laugh when I desperately needed one. I'll leave you with this image from the book. It was hilarious!

I wish we still got stickers for doing hard things like getting waxed and not crying. Or how about "I Did My Taxes?" 

justfashionnews.com

Ten Things You Didn't Know About Becky Monson

Becky Monson's book Thirty-Two Going on Spinster will be featured on my blog on Thursday, but I wanted to give you a preview of her personality by featuring a "Ten Things You Didn't Know About Me" post. I truly enjoy learning about people, and if you were wondering whether or not you'd like Becky's writing, all you have to do is read some of her answers. I know you'll be as charmed with her as I was.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Becky Monson (in random order)

1. If I was stranded on a deserted island I would be happy for the rest of my life with cantaloupe and Hot Tamales (the candy).

2. I hate shredded coconut and I tell people I am allergic to it so I don’t have to eat it. (me, too!-MS)

3. Growing up my dad was a radio personality and because of that I got to meet many famous people that no one really cares about.

4. In the 6th grade I got my ears pierced and then pretended like they got infected so I could get attention.

5. I love math and wish I was better at it.

6. Throughout my life I have attempted to play the violin, the cello, the bass violin, the clarinet, the piano, the guitar, the ukulele, the drums, and the electric bass. I stuck with guitar the longest, but probably haven’t picked up my guitar in about 3 years (sad).

7. I have had way too many different kinds of jobs in my life – I get bored easily.

8. I love to sing and once sang back-up on an album for an up-and-coming rap artist in Boulder, Colorado. I have never heard of him since.

9. I consider myself a fairly sane person, but in the middle of the night when I’m woken up by my kids, I’m as crazy as they come.

10. I have always wanted to have magical powers – thus my love for Sabrina the Teenage Witch reruns and Harry Potter.

I'd like to thank Becky for agreeing to be interviewed for the blog! Don't forget to check back on Thursday for my review of Thirty-Two Going on Spinster.