Book Review: The Last Carolina Summer by Karen White

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The Last Carolina Summer by Karen White is the story about Phoebe Manigault returning home to Mt. Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston, South Carolina, to help her sister with their ailing mother. When past memories resurface, Phoebe is thrown back into some childhood turmoil. I requested an Advanced Readers Copy ARC of The Last Carolina Summer from NetGalley, and I was ecstatic when the provided me with a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. So, a big thank you goes out to them! When I began reading this story, I just happened to be vacationing in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. I loved hearing about the different places, including streets and a bridge called the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, which I had to cross to get into Mt. Pleasant as well as Isle of Palms. It's always nice to be able to visualize the places and author writes about. With that being said, I'm not a fan of traveling over bridges, and one of the scenes of The Last Carolina Summer mentions a car going off ...
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Book Review: Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen

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Book Review: Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen
netgalley arc book review keep your friends close leah konen

Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen opens with two moms, Mary and Willa, on the playground with their sons in New York City. They become fast friends after a snarky mom makes a comment about the junk food given as a snack. Suddenly, Willa ghosts Mary for apparently no reason, but while in Woodstock, Mary spots Willa and tries to speak with her. Why is Willa pretending to be someone else?

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. I was intrigued by the synopsis and was thrilled when I found out I was receiving Keep Your Friends Close. Unfortunately, life got in the way, and I got behind in reading and reviewing the book.

The story started off a bit slow but the suspense ended building very nicely. The novel alternated between Mary and Willa as well as had alternating timelines. Because it was told from different perspectives, the reader gets a bit of insight that they wouldn't if it wasn't told this way, and it would be harder to figure out the twists and turns. However, the alternating timelines kept me guessing a little, and things weren't always what they seemed. I did figure out part of the ending but not all of it.

At times, I didn't care for Mary for a couple of reasons. There were times she seemed wishy-washy and other times seemed too needy. Overall, I did enjoy this character. As for Willa, I never really trusted her, but I really wanted to like her and had trouble with that. I'm not going into details as I don't want to give any plotlines away, but I think you'll agree with me. George and Henry were completely unlikable. I think that George could have changed if given the chance, but I think Henry was a lost cause.

All in all, I enjoyed Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen and gave it five out of five stars. I look forward to reading more novels by this author as I find myself thinking about this story days after finishing it.

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