The Heiresses by Sara Shepard

 ARC provided by the Publisher via Edelweiss

Author: Sara Shepard
Genre: Adult | Mystery
Series: The Heiresses
Book: 1
Release Date: May 20th 2014
Publisher: Harper
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Read: April 9th, 2014

Synopsis
The series follows one of the most prestigious and wealthy families on the Upper East Side who have built their entire fortune on the business of diamonds.

Due to a clause the grandfather placed in his will, only his granddaughters are set to inherit his massive fortune…these are the heiresses. After the death of their cousin, the remaining heiresses try to figure out if the family curse is real or not, and if not, who killed their cousin, and more importantly, which one of them is next on the hit list?

My Thoughts
In a nutshell, this book was more like an adult version of Pretty Little Liars, only the mystery wasn't dragged out as it was in PLL.

After have read more than 20 books from Sara Shepard, it wasn't that difficult to identify the trend and guess where this book was going. However, for some reasons, I found this book very entertaining.

The story was told in third person multiple point of view on the lives of the rich and famous Saybrook family. To be honest, it was extremely hard to follow the story at first as there were so many characters being thrown in almost all at once. Later on, though, it got better when the book started to focus on those who played significant roles in the story.

To me, Sara Shepard books have always been addictive. Likewise, I loved the character developments and the storyline of this book. There were 5 heiresses, Corrine, Aster, Poppy, Rowan and Natasha. Getting to know their personalities and mistakes they had made were what I liked about this book. So far, Aster is my favorite.

I enjoyed the twists and turns in this book. How they came to the conclusion who the killer was and how each dirty secret was revealed were well-done. Even it did share a lot of resemblance with Pretty Little Liars, this book was still very unpredictable and amazing in its own way.

Overall, it was a wonderful read for me. I just hope it isn't going to be a big series as Pretty Little Liars. 

A Husband's Regret by Natasha Anders

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Author: Natasha Anders
Genre: Adult | Contemporary
Series: Unwanted
Book: 2
Release Date: April 29th 2014
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Read: March 26, 2014

Synopsis
Tall and thin, twenty-eight-year-old Bronwyn Palmer has become positively gaunt, a ghost of her former self. That self was—and still is—the wife of a rich, handsome executive with an ocean-view house and his own security staff.

It was in that house, two years ago, that Bryce Palmer learned Bronwyn was pregnant with their first child. But Bryce’s rage over his impending fatherhood touched off a chain reaction of emotional and physical traumas that wounded them both. For Bronwyn, it meant fleeing the perfect marriage to start over with nothing but a precocious daughter named Kayla to care for. For Bryce, it meant a tortuous two years spent blaming his wife for deserting him, and living with the pain of not knowing his child. Now a chance encounter has brought Bronwyn back into Bryce’s life, both bearing scars...and neither knowing the whole truth of that fateful night that drove them apart.

My Thoughts
A companion book in Unwanted series, so it can be read a standalone. However, I really do recommend The Unwanted Wife to anyone who loves groveling heroes. Anyway, Theresa from the first installment appears in a few scenes, so reading book 1 might help you grasping the story even better.

First off, when it comes to groveling, begging for forgiveness, very few authors are able to pull it off and make the heroes who have once been such a complete jerks redeem themselves. And Natasha Anders is one of those few. After I finished The Unwanted Wife last week, I was completely in love with her writing and couldn't wait to read the next one. I'm glad I was given this chance to read this book before the release date. It was simply amazing.

One thing I love about this book (and book 1) was that there was no obscene language. So many other adult books, even some young adult books, it isn't a surprise to find obscenity, such as f-words. This book on the other hand, while there were some intimate scenes, obscenity was kept to the limit.

As for the story, in a nutshell it was very well-thought-out. It was heartbreaking and so romantic. Both Bryce and Bronwyn were quite a pair. The book started out with anger, misunderstanding and devastation with two people who loved each other, but couldn't find a way to work everything out. While it might not sound very original, it was an emotional ride.

If you are like me, enjoying reading second chance romance and love groveling heroes, I believe you will enjoy this book.