Book Review: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

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Mad Mabel  by Sally Hepworth  is a domestic thriller about the youngest person convicted of murder in Australia, Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick. Now 81 years old, Elsie is living on Kenny Lane and has been for the past sixty years. When a mother named Roxanne moves into Mabel's neighborhood with her seven year old daughter, an unlikely friendship forms between Elsie and the seven year old child named Persephone. As Elsie's secrets come to light, her world comes crashing down.  Having read quite a few novels by Sally Hepworth, I requested an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Mad Mabel  without reading the synopsis of the story. I was thrilled when NetGalley and St. Martin's Press approved my request. The expected publication date of the book is April 21, 2026. Not knowing anything about the storyline before I started reading Mad Mabel  made the story much more interesting to me as I had no preconceived ideas. The tale was told from Mabel's perspective in alternating timeli...
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Book Review: The Dilemma by B. A. Paris

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the dilemma ba paris book review
Have you heard of the website Goodreads.com? It's a free website community where you can track the books you want to read, books you're currently reading, and books that you've read. The other AMAZING thing about this site is that they have Goodreads Giveaways where you can enter to win free books, including Advanced Readers Copies (ARC).

I was fortunate enough to win one of those giveaways on Goodreads.com for The Dilemma by B. A. Paris. There were 5,986 people who entered the giveaway, and 100 people where chosen to receive an ARC. When I received the email stating that I was one of the winners, I let out a happy squeal. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I'd be lucky enough to win. I received The Dilemma by B. A. Paris for free in exchange for my honest review. What made it even better is that B. A. Paris is fast becoming one of my favorite authors, and she did not disappoint with her latest installment.

The Dilemma by B. A. Paris is about Livia's fortieth birthday party that she has been planning for quite some time. The only person that will be missing is her daughter Marnie. Livia is relieved about that though because she has a secret about Marnie and is dreading telling her husband Adam about it. Then, Adam receives some horrific news and isn't sure what to do.

Have you ever been on pins and needles waiting on some news? Well, this is how I was for the entirety of The Dilemma. I came so close to flipping to the end of the book just to see what happened, but I am glad that I restrained myself from doing that. I don't know how B. A. Paris keeps churning out novels that are so engaging that you want to stay up all night long to finish the book.

The chapters alternated between Livia and Adam, and I loved that about this book. B. A. Paris did a phenomenal job with the alternating story lines. Sometimes I think this takes away from the story, but that wasn't the case with this novel. Another great thing about The Dilemma was the family dynamics. It definitely shows how different Livia's and Adam's parents are when it comes to their situation . . . I won't go into too detail because it's a great backstory to read about. It definitely makes me glad that I have supportive parents and makes you think how not everyone has that in their life.

After all the secrets were revealed, I wasn't sure how the author would wrap up the book, but she did a phenomenal job in doing so. It was just the right amount of tying up the loose ends. I definitely recommend giving this book a read and gave it five out of five stars.

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