Review: The Woman in the Water (DS Imogen Grey #6) by Katerina Diamond

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Teacher and Truth or Die is back with a new twisty crime thriller

I’m alive. But I can’t be saved . . .

When a woman’s body is found submerged in icy water, police are shocked to find she is alive. But she won’t disclose her name, or what happened to her – even when a second body is discovered. And then she disappears from her hospital bed.

Detectives Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey follow their only lead to the home of Reece Corrigan, and when his wife Angela walks in, they immediately recognise her. She’s the woman from the river, with her injuries carefully masked.

The more they dig into the couple, the less they understand about them.

Why have people in their past been hurt, or vanished?

And why doesn’t Angela want to be saved?

Smart, shocking and twisty – perfect for fans of Cara Hunter and Karin Slaughter.

Praise for Katerina Diamond:

‘All hail the new Queen of Crime’ Heat

‘Deliciously dark . . . Keeps her readers guessing throughout, as she leads us on a very secretive, VERY twisted journey’ Lisa Hall, author of The Party

‘Packed with twists until the last page’ Closer

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.

Woman in the Water will be available November 11, 2019. 

I very eagerly anticipated the release of Truth or Die earlier this year and thought it would be another year before the next book in the series came out. I was super happy to discover that Woman in the Water was also publishing this year. While I did enjoy it, I have some mixed feelings about it, as well.

I don’t know if it’s because the book was maybe rushed to release this year or if it’s because of a new editor (in the Acknowledgments the author mentions a former editor, so I’m assuming the editor of this book was different than the others), but the quality didn’t seem quite as good as the other books in the series. The dialogue felt a little awkward sometimes, there was a lot of repetition, and the mystery left a little to be desired.

That said, I love Adrian and Imogen and I was just happy to spend time with them. I knew since they finally got together in the previous book that there would have to be something to throw a wrench into their relationship this time around. And there is. First, Adrian loses his head a bit during the investigation, as it brings up a lot of bad memories from his childhood. Then, he ends up having something very traumatic happen to him. It’s hard to talk about without having spoilers, but it was very hard to read and most the rest of the book focuses on him trying to come to terms with it. In true Adrian fashion, he deals with it in the least emotionally healthy way possible, which includes lying to Imogen and pushing her away. While that was frustrating, I do think Adrian’s reactions were authentic and it is definitely an important topic.

I thought the mystery was intriguing and had a lot of potential, but it kind of failed to reach it. We’re told over and over how evil Reece is and I kept expecting something big to be revealed, but he was kind of your run of the mill bad guy. We never really get the motivation behind his particular brand of villainy and the big reveal at the end seemed tacked on for shock value instead of being a satisfying or shocking twist.

Overall, I loved spending more time with Adrian and Imogen, but Woman in the Water was not my favorite book of the series. The subject matter of what happened with Adrian is important and I thought it was pretty well done, but I wish a little more development went into the central mystery. The story ends with some big changes going forward and I’m eager to see how those develop. Though I didn’t enjoy this book as much I hoped to, I’m still a big Katerina Diamond fan and can’t wait to read more from her.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 3.5 Stars

Review: Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

Synopsis from Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners and the “delectable, moving” (Entertainment Weekly) My Favorite Half-Night Stand comes a modern love story about what happens when your first love reenters your life when you least expect it…

Sam Brandis was Tate Jones’s first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak.

During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.

Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason… and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice.

With Christina Lauren’s signature “beautifully written and remarkably compelling” (Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author) prose and perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner, Twice in a Blue Moon is an unforgettable and moving novel of young love and second chances.

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.

Twice in a Blue Moon will be available October 22, 2019. 

Twice in a Blue Moon was cute and compulsively readable, which is what I expect when I pick up a Christina Lauren book.

The story starts out fourteen years in the past with 18-year-old Tate on a trip to London with her grandmother. They run into a couple of other American tourists and Tate falls into insta-lust with Sam. She ends up telling him things about herself she’s never told anyone, including her relationship with her super famous father. Their relationship ends abruptly when he ghosts her after selling her story to the press. Fast forward to the present and Tate is now a famous actor herself and is set to star in a much buzzed about movie with her father. She’s thrown for a loop when she arrives on set and discovers the screenwriter is Sam.

To be perfectly honest, it took me a long time to get on board this ship. Tate and Sam’s relationship was really insta-lovey. They were only together for a couple of weeks and I never really bought into it as something real. I understand how fourteen years later the trauma of the betrayal may still affect them, but the puppy love surviving was a bit of a stretch for me. The whole second chance aspect of it wasn’t done as effectively as I thought it could have been, either. While I’m all for forgiveness, I felt like Sam was let off the hook a little too easily. He basically sold her out because his family needed money and going to the tabloids was the most expedient way to get it. He also says he would do it all over again if had to because what the money did for his family was worth it. But he felt really bad about it, so it’s all ok. I had a hard time rooting for him.

That said, as the story went on, they did grow on me. There were some cute moments I enjoyed. I also enjoyed several of the supporting characters, including Tate’s Manager, Marco, and her co-star, Nick. I could’ve used a little more of them, actually.

Overall, Twice in a Blue Moon was enjoyable, but not my favorite book by this duo. Christina Lauren’s writing was as addictive as always, though, and I look forward to reading more from them.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 3 Stars