This was a good book with unexpected twists and turns! I couldn’t put it down.

The story takes place in a small village in Ireland. Ciara is the perfect Instagram influencer and she wears her crown proudly among their social circle. She rules it. Her best friend is Mishti, a meek Indian woman who is more of a sounding board for Ciara than anything. Lauren is the next door neighbor who has lived in the village her whole life and been ridiculed by the girls. As an adult she still encounters this but wraps her life around her family.

When Ciara winds up dead, you will think someone else did it. I loved that part because I couldn’t have guessed. Good book!

I have no idea why it took me so long to read this book because I absolutely loved it. It was such a good story, I guess I didn’t want it to end.

Marnie is a gift buyer. She offers this service for wealthy people who are too busy or who don’t know what to gift the people in her life. For years she has been trying to buy the building that once housed her grandfather’s shoe store. It has been burned by a fire and, even though she is family, her uncle will not sell it to her and it goes up for auction.

In the process of being so busy trying to figure out how she can come up with enough money to purchase the building, gifts for a wealthy client’s wife and mistress are accidentally given to the wrong person. Marnie also falls in love with the client’s son which presents another whole problem.

I loved this story, how the problems were solved, and how the book ended. I highly recommend!

Since living in West Africa, I have found some of my favorite reads to be by authors from the region. This was a tough but good book to read.

The story of two very different sisters. The older sister, Cheta, is tough and outspoken, while Zam, the younger sister, is more meek and preferred by her mother. Their mother is very domineering and abusive. Zam tries to stay under the radar where her mom and sister are involved. Dad is just there. He stays uninvolved and is probably beaten down by the mother. Ultimately, Zam has the good fortune to move in with her wealthy aunt and her family. Of course this causes further conflict between the girls.

The story is rough but good and I look forward to being able to read this author’s next book.

I think the cover of the book is kind of scary. The story, though, was good.

I liked Georgina a lot. I wanted her to end up happy. The way she got there? The “lifestyle”, not so much. Seems an odd way to solve a marriage problem.

But, this was a good book and I liked it.

I enjoyed this debut novel about a former street child, Rakhi, who has grown up. While she holds a job in the office of a social justice law firm, her boss takes every moment to let her know how “less than” she is. But Rahki, who still lives in a large slum, is strong and never gives up. She has hopes of a better life in the hotel industry.

Rakhi is underestimated and despite having to jump through all kinds of hoops, she never gives up. This was a good book and I look forward to reading another from this author.