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 ...

Book Review: The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

The Business Trip
by Jessie Garcia is about two women from Madison who are completely different from one another and are on an airplane bound for Denver, Colorado. Jasmine is a waitress and is escaping an abusive relationship. Stephanie is a news director for a local news station headed to a news conference. Friends and family of both women receive texts that they've met a man named Trent. Then, both women disappear. Panic starts to set in with loved ones. Who is Trent, and what has he done to them?

I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) that they sent to me for free in exchange for my honest review. The synopsis of The Business Trip intrigued me, and I was excited to dive into the book.

The story hooked me from the very beginning. I was rooting for Jasmine to escape her boyfriend and live happily ever after. I was also rooting for Stephanie to find the happiness she was looking for. Then, the book took a very disturbing turn, and I ended up loathing Jasmine. The supporting characters are a mixed bag when it comes to likability. Trent, Raven, and Glenn are absolutely despicable for various reasons. However, Robert and Lucy are absolutely lovely; everyone needs people like them in their lives.

Jessie Garcia had me guessing through a good portion of the book as to both women's connection to Trent. The next big twist was if the culprit was going to get away with their plan and shocked the readers with yet another twist, albeit a bit of a far fetched one. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the story, but when I found out who the culprit was and what the character was doing, I spent the rest of the book feeling extremely anxious.

Overall, I really enjoyed this debut novel, The Business Trip, by Jessie Garcia. The expected publication date is January 14, 2025. Four out of five stars is what I rated it, and I look forward to seeing what other stories this author will write.

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