Book Review: Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3) by Heather Vogel Frederick

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Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3)  by Heather Vogel Frederick  is the third book in a middle grade book series that is being rereleased. Chaos erupts in this third installment as the daughters in the book club get themselves into trouble. Each of the girls have big changes in their lives:  Jess is going to boarding school; Megan's grandmother comes to live with her; Emma starts a campaign against school uniforms; Cassidy has a lot of unexpected change coming to her family. Will the mother daughter book club stay together? I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Dear Pen Pal  by Heather Vogel Frederick with it's upcoming rerelease to the public. I always love a good book that involves books, even if its target audience is children between the ages of eight and twelve. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized that it...
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Book Review: Heartbreak Bay (Stillhouse Lake, #5) by Rachel Caine

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book review heartbreak bay rachel caine

In Heartbreak Bay (Stillhouse Lake, #5) by Rachel Caine, a car is found submerged in a pond with twin girls still strapped in their car seats and their mother nowhere to be found. Detective Kezia Claremont of Norton requests the help of private investigator Gwen Proctor, who has recently moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. As the threats mount against both women, they know they have to fight to the end to save their families.

I absolutely loved this most recent installment in the Stillhouse Lake book series, and it makes me extremely sad that this is the last book since the author passed away from cancer late last year. With that being said, I wonder if she had help with writing Heartbreak Bay because there were a couple of times a sentence didn't quite sound like her writing style. However, even with those few lines, the writing still felt like Rachel Caine wrote it, so I guess it could have been the editing.

The character development with Laney, Connor, and Kezia was remarkable. Even Vee had some growth, which was nice to see. It's also gratifying to see a book series with several strong women characters, not just one. And, I love the fact that they're shown in a good light.

I tried to take my time reading the story instead of rushing through it like I did with the other books in the series. But it was so hard to do so because I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time. I kind of figured out who the bad guy was, but there was a twist with the identity that I didn't see coming, which is why I say I kind of figured out who it was. I won't say more as to not ruin it for everyone.

You can read this book as a stand alone, but I highly recommend reading the other books in the series first. I gave Heartbreak Bay (Stillhouse Lake, #5) by Rachel Caine five out of five stars.


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