VBT Review - She Stole My Baby - Jessica Huntley - July 2026 Grab a cuppa and get comfy, because I have another one for you from an author who has fast become one of my absolute favourites  Jessica Huntley. I've had the pleasure of being part of a few of her book tours now, and every single time I come away thinking "how does she keep doing this to me?" She Stole My Baby is no exception, and honestly, it might just be one of her best yet. If you've hung around this blog for any length of time, you'll know my weakness. Found family ? Yes please. Identical twins ? Sign me up. Mistaken identity that spirals into absolute chaos? I am there. This book ticks every single one of those boxes and then wraps them up in a thriller so tense I had to keep reminding myself to breathe. We meet Poppy first,  a woman who did the thing so many of us dream of doing and quietly worry we can't: she built a career and became a mum. A one night stand left her with her daughter ...

Review: The Half Sister - Sandie Jones - June 2020 There are certain themes that will always pull me straight off the shelf, and this book had two of them: a secret sibling, and DNA testing. I'm a sucker for both, but the second one hits especially close to home. A few years ago, I did my own DNA test on a whim, never expecting it to lead anywhere. It ended up leading me to my dad's family , people we had no idea existed, uncovered after 65 years of not knowing. One test, a lot of late-night rabbit-hole searching, and suddenly a whole branch of family history opened up that had been hiding in plain sight all along. So when a novel promises a knock on the door and a DNA result that turns a family upside down, I'm already sitting down with a cup of tea, ready to be pulled in. That's exactly how The Half Sister opens. Kate and Lauren have their Sunday lunch ritual down to a comforting art , a tradition that's meant even more since losing their dad. It's the kind ...

Review: The Secrets Next Door - Sally Royer-Derr - March 2024 Happy birthday to me  and what better way to celebrate than curled up with a twisty thriller and a cup of tea? Today feels like the perfect day to share my thoughts on The Secrets Next Door by Sally Royer-Derr, because honestly, this book gave me the kind of gift only a great story can: the thrill of not seeing it coming (well, almost). There's something so unsettling and delicious about a thriller that asks, "How well do we really know the people closest to us?" That question sits at the heart of this story, and Sally Royer-Derr uses it like a scalpel. Talia thinks she knows her life inside and out , her marriage to Zach, her bond with her identical twin Tabitha, even the sprawling generosity of Tabitha and her husband, who bought Talia and Zach the house right next door. Sounds cozy, right? Like something out of a dream where family stays close and life is sweet. But then Anne moves in. Anne, a thriller wr...

Review: The Other Sister - Book #2 Family Secrets - Donna Hill - June 2020 You know how sometimes you end up reading a book completely by accident? That's exactly what happened with The Other Sister by Donna Hill – my first read of 2026! I was scrolling through my Kindle looking for another book with the same title, but when that one turned into a DNF, I just stayed on the search results page and clicked on Donna Hill's version instead. Best accidental click ever! Even though this is Book #2 in a series, you can absolutely read it as a standalone,  I had no trouble jumping right in. The story opens with Kimberly, who's just had her entire world turned upside down. Imagine discovering that your parents are actually your grandparents, your brother is really your father, and you're half Black when you've spent your whole life as a white Southern belle in high society. Talk about an identity crisis! What makes things even more complicated is Kimberly's husband, w...

Review: Got You - Erik Therme - October 2025 There's something unsettling about family dynamics we can't quite fix, and Erik Therme captures this perfectly in Got You. When I picked up this psychological thriller for the 3Ps Virtual Book Tour with Zooloos Book Tours, I wasn't prepared for how personally it would resonate. Leah has never been close to her younger half-sister Amanda , a reality that hit close to home for me as I am not close to my half-brother . Amanda's life is a chaotic tangle of poor decisions and toxic relationships, and Leah has learned to expect late-night crisis calls. But when Amanda phones frantically demanding a ride to Belmont, insisting her son is in danger, Leah is confused. Amanda doesn't have any children. Before Leah can unravel the truth, Amanda runs into traffic and is killed. What follows is a masterfully crafted descent into paranoia and grief that had me questioning everything alongside Leah. The coroner's report reveals ha...

VBT# Long Lost Sister - NL Hinkens - September 2025 Long Lost Sister by NL Hinkens explores the dangerous territory of family secrets and misplaced trust, delivering a psychological thriller that kept me turning pages even when I wasn't entirely convinced by every plot point. Piper's journey resonates on a deeply personal level with me right now. As someone who recently discovered through Ancestry.com that my father has a half-sister named Lisa Phillips, I found myself drawn into Piper's desperate search for belonging and family connection. The yearning to understand where you come from, to find that missing piece of your identity, is something that hits close to home. Like Piper, I've been reaching out to a long-lost relative (though Lisa hasn't been active on the platform for over a year), hoping to bridge decades of separation and discover new family stories. NL Hinkens crafts an intriguing premise: Piper, fresh out of prison for vigilante justice against those ...

Review: The Thinnest Air - Minka Kent - July 2018 January has been the month for thrillers and also I am finding cleaning my Kindle of the older titles that had been sitting there for a while as I am finding for certain that the older books are the ones I have been enjoying more than recent releases. One of my favorite thriller writers that I have seemed to enjoy most of her published books bar one is Minka Kent. The Thinnest Air starts with Greer's sister Meredith falling in love with a wealthier man Andrew. Greer has never really liked him. Meredith is also Andrew's second wife and we do see that Andrew has got a bit of a temper and controlling spirit, but Meredith loves him or so she thought. We also read in this book, that Meredith has a stalker and this leads her to meet the Detective and the pair strike up an affair and close relationship. One day Meredith vanishes and doesn't come home. Where has she disappeared too and why has she gone? Enter Greer who heads to th...

Review: This Might Hurt - Stephanie Wrobel - February 2022 Two sisters, Kit and Natalie Collins, are differently grieving the loss of their mother. Natalie focused on her high-power position at work, while Kit joined a six-month self-improvement program at Wisewood. Wisewood is set on a remote island with no contact with the outside world including family. Natalie receives an ominous email about Kit and goes to Wisewood to bring her home. When Natalie arrives at the island though, it looks like no one was expecting her especially not Kit, but when Natalie discovers that Kit is more invested in Wisewood, will she be able to separate her from this place and bring her back to reality, or are their more suspect things happening that will lead Natalie and Kit in danger? The other storyline in this book was a flashback of a young girl who grew up with a controlling and abusive father, she found her outlet in the art of magic and fell head over heels in love with a boy named Gabe who loved ma...

Former con artist Nikki Swift swore she'd never return to her hometown, but she made a promise to her sister and finally has a way to set things right. Henry Cavalier wants nothing to do with Nikki, especially since the last time he saw her, she skipped town with his money. But, if he wants to rescue his mom and steal his fortune back, Henry will have to put his trust in the thief who once broke his heart. Readers who enjoy second-chance, grumpy sunshine romances will want to sink their teeth into Release You by Diana A. Hicks, a steamy, small-town romantic suspense. Read Now!   Former con artist Nikki Swift swore she'd never return to her hometown. But she made a promise that is long overdue. Fifteen years after her sister went to prison for a murder she didn't commit, Nikki finally has a way to set things right. She will do whatever it takes to bring her sister home, including living in a condemned hotel with hot-as-hell Henry. Architect by day, poker player by ni...