Three words:  Phoned. it. in.

That's what this book appears to be.  Something Andrews - an author whose books I've always enjoyed - phone in.  Huge continuity errors, like an off-stage character that dies in WWII, first over Iwo Jima, then over Germany.  A fragmented sentence ended with a period that is truly a fragment - just cut off half way through; I can't even guess what it was supposed to have conveyed.  Monster gaps in the timeline, and I don't just mean time passes, but time passes where plot-important stuff happens and it's just ... gone.  Like maybe it used to be there and someone went all highlight-and-delete happy without turning Track Changes on.  The first half of the book is like a time warp, without the narrative overlay.  

There's supposedly a romance in here too, one that gets exactly two scenes.  Normally this would be fine; this story isn't about the MC's romantic life.  Except the story starts with Brooke being a single mom because she didn't tell the boy's father she got pregnant the night before he left for a 3 year research trip to Alaska, then continued not telling him.  During the course of this story he comes back, hoping to start back up, having no idea he's a father.  Even after he meets the boy.  All of this ... baggage; seems like it would call for more than 2 scenes.

The most unfortunate part of this is that The High Tide Club is, at its core, a really great story about extraordinarily strong women, friendships that span a century, and a ripping good murder mystery.  It's genuinely lovely; with a lot of heart and, at the same time, a delightfully brilliant mystery.   The American South setting is something Andrews excels at, even, apparently, when she's phoning it in, and the characters are all fully realised.  

If St. Martin's and Andrews hadn't been so short-sighted as to publish the raw manuscript, instead of a finished, edited work, this might have been one of her best.   As it is, I think I'll just re-read Hissy Fit.

My first book of summer and I loved it.     Mary Kay Andrews stepped out of her normal writing style and did an amazing job.    The mystery, the family, the friendships, and the Southern Charm are all amazing.  The dual timelines of 1941 and the present time come together perfectly.   The two different eras tell the story of amazing characters learning about their history and of their future while making friendships that will last forever.   

The story is narrated by many different characters, which could cause some confusion, but Mary Kay Andrews did an amazing job in keeping the reader in line and aware of who was telling the story.    I enjoyed knowing the different perspectives of the characters.   This allowed me to get the true feelings and emotions of those who are telling the story, those who are living the events, and those who are hearing the story for the first time.    

While Josephine is the character that starts this story it is truly The High Tide Club members that bring the story to life.      As with most groups, there is one person who seems more in charge, in the know than the rest of the group.  Josephine is that person.   With her all-knowing personality came so many secrets of her own and others that she kept for her entire life that as her life was coming to an end (she is 99) she knew she needed to share the secrets with those who deserve to know them.    I felt like the fact that she kept the secrets for so long proved what a good friend she was.

This is an amazing book.    Everything about it was written in a way to pull the reader in and never let them go.    From the first page to the last I could not stop reading.    If you are new to Mary Kay Andrews or a long time fan this is a book of hers that you cannot pass up.    

Ahhh, just finished yet another great MKA book. Looking for a good, fun book? You can't go wrong with MKA!!

This one was a little different than her most recent books. If you've been an MKA fan in the past, then you know she started out as a mystery writer and then went onto rom com/women's fiction. In this one, there are several mysteries to be solved. The biggest one being who killed Russell Strickland? Now, while I was very interested in who this could be it certainly wasn't because I felt anything but loathing for this man. I was just curious who on the island could have done it. My favorite part in the whole book? When someone, (oh, your not hearing who from me) showed Russell "what a good shot they were". I LOVED that line. 

The story starts with four friends right before the start of World War II. It goes back from 1941 and forth to present day. In present day, one of the 4 friends knows that she is dying and wants to look up these women before she passes. Brooke Trappnell is the lawyer she insists must do her biding. What Brook doesn't know is that she is getting more than what she bargained for with this elder, cantankerous woman. Josephine Bettendorf Warrick summons her and without any explanation as to what she is wanting tells her to be at her home on a remote island nearby. This home sets on 12,000 acres and has not had anything done other than minor repairs since 1966. The history in this house is magnificent.

While Brooke gets more than she bargained for, the story is very engaging, entertaining and downright laugh out loud funny at times. Also for your added enjoyment is some suspense with a lot of mystery involved.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and, as usual, sped right through it. Any of MKA's books would make a GREAT beach read.

Thanks both to Erica Martirano and Jordon Hanley from St. Martin's Press, as well as the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for providing me an advanced reader in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. I LOVED IT!!!!

So I managed to get through a lot of books this month. I read 38 books. I had a few duds, okay a lot of duds, but did have some really good 5 and 4 star reads. 

My favorite I think is going to go towards "Children of Blood and Bone." My least favorite is going to go to that Mary Alice Monroe book, "The High Tide Club."It is tied though with "Burn Bright" by Patricia Briggs. So there you go, I had two least favorite reads this month. 

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

DNF

I managed to finish my 52 Weeks challenge for The (Mostly) Dead Writer's Society. And I managed to get some books towards the Horror Aficionados Public Domain Challenge.