St. Martin’s Press | Book Chatter

The Breakdown
By B.A. Paris
St. Martin’s Press, 9781250122469, July 2017, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Another unputdownable read by B.A. Paris.

The Rest of It:

I’ve spent this summer reading page-turners and I have to say, it’s be a really pleasant summer for these types of reads. In The Breakdown, we meet Matthew and Cass. Newly married, they live in a large home in rural part of town. A home that backs to the woods and a road that Matthew has warned Cass not to take late at night. After an evening out with friends and the horrible storm-related traffic on the highway, Cass goes against her better judgement and takes the shortcut home. What she didn’t expect to see was a woman pulled over to the side of the road. She makes a snap decision to NOT stop to see if she needs assistance and to her horror, the woman turns up dead the next morning.

This is a fun book to read. I’ll admit, Cass has some issues and they get a little repetitive in the telling. For one, she has signs of early onset dementia, which her mother had so everything she does and knows cannot be relied upon because of her failing memory. Plus, she’s jumpy from the fact that a murderer is on the loose so there are a lot of false alarms but man, I couldn’t stop turning those pages.

I really enjoyed Behind Closed Doors so when I heard that Paris had another book out, I jumped at the chance to read it and I am glad I did. It was fun and suspenseful even though I kind of figured out what was going on. If you like quick, psychological thrillers and don’t mind an unreliable narrator (I love them!) then be sure to pick it up.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Gypsy Moth Summer
By Julia Fierro
St. Martin’s Press, Hardcover, 9781250087515, June 6, 2017, 400pp.

The Short of It:

The inhabitants of Avalon island are trapped between the here and now and what the future holds for them during one of the worst moth infestations to ever hit the island.

The Rest of It:

The story starts off innocent enough. Jules and Leslie return to the island of Avalon with dreams of restoring her family home, known by all the locals as The Castle. While living in the cottage guest house, Jules is at first unsure of the move. Is this island ready to accept an interracial marriage, no questions asked? Jules is willing to find out when he discovers the beautiful gardens attached to The Castle.

Also on the island is Maddie and her rag-tag group of friends led by Bitsy, every bit as horrible as her name implies. Maddie is constantly measuring herself against her peers. Is she pretty enough? Smart enough? Cool enough? The pressure to fit in forces her to experiment even though in her head she knows it could end with disastrous results. But then Maddie meets Brooks, the son of Leslie and Jules. Brooks is like no other boy she’s met before but will their relationship be accepted by her friends? His family? Hers?

This is not the first time I’ve read a Fierro novel. Her first novel Cutting Teeth impressed me with its raw, brutal look at “adulting” before “adulting” was even a word. In The Gypsy Moth Summer, there is a lot of racial and class tension as these island inhabitants are thrown together while the destructive Gypsy moths devour trees to the point that their chomping can actually be heard.

This constant battle of life vs. death, creation vs. destruction, love vs. hate wears these characters down and the end result is a tightly wound novel full of dysfunction (my favorite thing). It’s not shiny and pretty to look at. It’s not sandy beaches and blue, blue water but it’s a little gritty and there’s heat between some of these characters which makes it a little racy at the same time. I loved how Fierro included facts about the Gypsy moth in the story and of course these life cycle inclusions could easily be compared to the island’s inhabitants as they go about their lives.

If you haven’t read a book by this author yet, DO give her a try. She has a knack for peeling back the layers and you know me, I love a little depth in my summer reads. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Julia Fierro

For more information on the author, click here.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

This giveaway is for one copy of The Gypsy Moth Summer and is open to the US and Canada. A winner will be chosen randomly by me. The book will come directly from the publisher/tour coordinator. Only one entry per person. Giveaway closes on July 2, 2017 (pacific). I will contact the winner for his/her mailing address.