Review: Happy Anniversary - Sonya Bateman - April 2026 There’s something quietly haunting about anniversaries ,the way they can creep up on you, heavy with memory and meaning. In Happy Anniversary by Sonya Bateman, that emotional weight is felt from the very first page, and it wraps itself around you like a familiar, uneasy blanket you can’t quite shake off. For our protagonist, this particular date marks not one, but two devastating losses: the murder of her husband and the tragic car accident that claimed her high-school best friend. Three years on, she’s done what so many of us try to do , picked up the broken pieces and attempted to build something resembling a normal life. She has her job as a make-up artist, a circle of supportive friends, and a routine that keeps her grounded.  I found myself really connecting with her need for comfort on such a difficult day , the desire to retreat into the safety of snacks, movies, and solitude. It felt incredibly real, like sitting on the...

Review: The Reunion - Sonya Bateman - July 2025 Y'all, let me tell you about a book that had me clutching my coffee mug and triple-checking my door locks! This psychological thriller serves up everything I crave in a good revenge story – think "I Know What You Did Last Summer" meets your worst high school reunion nightmare. Our protagonist Desi was once part of the untouchable crew known as The Westgate Eight – you know the type, those impossibly cool kids who ruled the hallways like teenage royalty. But fifteen years ago, their perfect little world shattered on prom night when Flynn Bartell turned up dead and their queen bee Modesty vanished into thin air. Talk about a graduation gift nobody wanted! Here's where it gets juicy: every year since, the surviving members have been meeting up at this swanky resort (run by a former classmate, because apparently nobody can escape high school), basically having the world's most morbid book club meeting. But this year ma...