A Friend in the Dark by Samantha M. Bailey

A digital romance turns deadly...

Eden Miller’s world is crumbling. Her husband blindsided her with divorce, and her daughter barely speaks to her. In an impulsive decision to escape her present and revisit the past, she sends a friend request to her college crush, Justin Ward.

One night twenty-three years ago changed the course of her life. It closed the door on Justin and opened the door to her husband, Dave. But what if Eden could have a do-over?

Eden begins an online relationship with Justin that awakens her in ways she never thought possible, and his voice and words make her take bold risks. But something’s off. He knows too much about her and her family…he’s been following her.

Eden is forced to awaken from her fantasy and look for answers—who really is the man on the other line? The truth about Justin—and about what happened that fateful night two decades ago—puts her and her family in a fight for their lives.

Kindle Edition,  242 pages

Published March 1, 2024

by Thomas & Mercer 

4/5 stars

This is Sam Bailey’s third book and I have enjoyed each of her previous ones. I went into this book blind, which is always fun.

Recently separated, Eden Miller is still struggling with her husband leaving and add to that her daughter is away at school. What follows is an intense series of events that takes her on a journey that awakens the past and it appears someone wants to destroy her future.

A Friend in the Dark is a fast paced story with dual viewpoints and lots of twist and turns. It is dark and suspenseful, I managed to read it in a day while on a recent vacation.

This book is part of my Kindle library, however I hope one day to meet up with the author

 and get a signed copy for my shelf .

Impossible to Forget by Imogen Clark

In this poignant novel from the bestselling author of Where the Story Starts, an extraordinary final wish brings five lives together forever.

Just turned eighteen, Romany is on the cusp of taking her first steps into adulthood when tragedy strikes, and she finds herself suddenly alone without her mother, Angie, the only parent she has ever known. In her final letter, Angie has charged her four closest friends with guiding Romany through her last year of school—but is there an ulterior motive to her unusual dying wish?

Each of the four guardians possesses an outlook on life that Angie wants to give her daughter as a legacy. Three of them have known each other since university: the eternally nomadic and exotically named Tiger; the shy and practical Leon with his untapped musical genius; and Maggie, a brilliant lawyer who doesn’t know her own abilities. But the fourth guardian is a mystery to the others: they’ve never even heard of former model Hope before…

As the guardians reflect on their friendship with Angie, it becomes apparent that this unusual arrangement is as much about them as it is about Romany. Navigating their grief individually and as a group, what will all five of them learn about themselves, their pasts—and the woman who’s brought them all together?

Kindle, 384 pages

Published February 1, 2022

 by Lake Union Publishing

4/5 stars

I can’t believe that I finished this book back in February and just getting to my review now.

Impossible to Forget was a Kindle Read First pick. The cover and blurb is what grabbed my attention.

This is a story about friendship with an unlikely cast of characters and how a last wish pulls everyone together even when strangers are brought into this circle.

The story begins present day and then goes back in time as 3 university students meet. This is a character driven story, it wasn’t hard to get to know these characters, who they are and what makes them tick. Spanning a couple of decades what is mysterious at the beginning comes full circle to a story of friendship, struggles and self discovery. 

This is my first time reading a Imogen Clark book, I will be on the lookout for more.

My digital copy was obtained through Amazon as part of their Kindle First Reads program, in exchange for a honest review.