Amateur Book Review - Please Tell Me by Mike Omer

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After a year in captivity, a kidnapped child escapes—only to reveal horrific truths that lead her psychologist on a race against time in this thriller from New York Times bestselling author Mike Omer.

When eight-year-old Kathy Stone turns up on the side of the road a year after her abduction, the world awaits her harrowing story. But Kathy doesn’t say a word. Traumatized by her ordeal, she doesn’t speak at all, not even to her own parents.

Child therapist Robin Hart is the only one who’s had success connecting with the girl. Robin has been using play therapy to help Kathy process her memories. But as their work continues, Kathy’s playtime takes a grim turn: a doll stabs another doll, a tiny figurine is chained to a plastic toy couch. All of these horrifying moments, enacted within a Victorian doll house. Every session, another toy dies.

But the most disturbing detail? Kathy seems to be playacting real unsolved murders.

Soon Robin wonders if Kathy not only holds the key to the murders of the past but if she knows something about the murders of the future. Can Robin unlock the secrets in Kathy’s brain and stop a serial killer before he strikes again? Or is Robin’s work with Kathy putting her in the killer’s sights?

Book Review: 

WOAH! I just finished Please Tell Me by Mike Omer, and I’m still reeling! This book had me hooked and I couldn’t put it down. It’s a rollercoaster of a thriller.

We jump right in with 8 year old Kathy a little girl without shoes trying to find her way home and thankfully meeting a stranger who helps. Kathy was kidnapped a year ago from her families home and somehow escaped. So is so traumatized that she can't speak so no one knows what happened to her or what she went through while gone. My heart just broke for her! 

Robin Hart is a child therapist who is hired to help Kathy process everything through play therapy. Not to try to find out what happened to her but to make her feel safe and get back to some sort of normalcy. Things get intense when Kathy starts acting out these creepy, violent scenes with her dolls that seem to connect to real murders. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how this little girl knows so much. Was it supernatural? I was excited to find out!

Omar does a great job of writing really relatable characters. Robin is such a heroin, not perfect, she’s got her own baggage (like a messy divorce and a tough relationship with her mom), but she’s so dedicated to helping Kathy, by not pushing and allowing the child to feel safe. The therapy scenes were so fascinating. I learned a lot about how therapists work with kids, and it felt authentic.   It made me root for her even more. Kathy’s mom, Claire, oh man!  Her flashbacks to the abduction had me tearing up. This is a parent's nightmare. 

The suspense in this book was incredible. I kept thinking I had the bad guy figured out, but then there’d be another twist, and I’d be like, “Nope! Wrong again!” The way Omer ties everything together at the end? Total shocker. I didn’t see it coming. I love when a book can surprise me like that. 

The COVID references were a bit heavy-handed but I agree that COVID changed everything and kids during COVID really suffered. 

This is definitely not a light read, so if you’re sensitive to child trauma, psychological trauma, blood and gore maybe check the trigger warnings first.

If you love thrillers that make your heart race pick this one up. 

Amateur Book Review: The Fall Up by Aly Martinez

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I wanted to jump.
He made me fall.

As a celebrity, I lived in the public eye, but somewhere along the way, I’d lost myself in the spotlight.

Until he found me.

Sam Rivers was a gorgeous, tattooed stranger who saved my life with nothing more than a simple conversation.

But we were both standing on that bridge for a reason the night we met. The secrets of our pasts brought us together—and then tore us apart.

Could we find a reason to hold on as life constantly pulled us down?

Or maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall in love at rock bottom—up.

My Review:

The Fall Up by Aly Martinez was a rollercoaster from the beginning. A love story with humor and heat. 

Levee, a pop star who’s lost herself in the spotlight, and Sam meet under intense circumstances on a bridge one night. 

Martinez deals with heavy topics like mental health and past trauma with care. There were moments where I was holding my breath during some of their raw, conversations that hit close to home. The tension of each of their demons and the fear of whether they’d make it through kept me reading as much as possible.

Despite the heavy moments the book is uplifting. The chemistry and witty banter between Levee and Sam is what I look for in my romance reads. Levee is relatable and real, a celebrity who’s struggling but so lovable. Their romance is a mix of steamy, sweet, and soulful and I was rooting for them the whole time. Even the secondary characters are great!

The Fall Up had some slow moments but I was invested and love a good story about healing, love, and finding someone who sees the real you, even when you are at rock bottom. 

Amateur Book Review - Rebecca by Adam Nicolai

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A voice is telling Sarah to kill her baby.

It comes to her in fevered snatches of sleep, between her daughter’s cries. It lingers in her mind when she wakes, alone and sad and scared.

She wants to love her baby, but she doesn’t know how. Suffering from her a deadly disconnect with her sexual identity, Sarah doesn’t even know how to love herself.

So the voice torments her. She will suffer. She will weep.

But she will also endure.

Unforgettable and truly unique, Rebecca takes hold of you on the first page and drags you headlong into the hellscape of a tortured young mother’s mind — a journey that will end with unspeakable horror, or the triumph of a mother’s love over darkness.

You’ll love Rebecca because it’s unlike anything you’ve read before.

Review of Rebecca by Adam J. Nicolai

This debut, self published novel by Adam J. Nicolai is a raw, emotionally charged ride that hooked me from the first few pages until the end that completely stressed me out with the  jaw dropping final scene. 

NOTE: There are some heavy themes (teen pregnancy, emerging sexuality, and the pressure of religious expectations). 

Sarah grew up in a strictly religious household who is struggling with her identity as a lesbian.  She believed that the pregnancy would “fix” her. 

The religious elements capture the judgment and guilt imposed by Sarah’s church and family. Every sermon feels and is directed at her "sin." Sarah feels alone and scared which is written perfectly. You feel all of it.

Sarah appears to be dealing with postpartum depression and has unsettling suspicions about her newborn daughter. Rebecca. Nicolai's writing kept me questioning everything. 

The standout, though, is the final fight scene that without giving spoilers was  heart-pounding and left me breathless. I stopped reading three times to catch my breath. It’s the kind of scene that sticks with you.

If you’re up for a read that’ll stress you out (in a good way!) and leave you thinking, this is it.