Hi,

Fair warning

I’m in one of my “moods”

I yell, shout, and fight the shower curtain.

The floor is just a little too cold for my liking and I have a bone to pick with Mother Nature for throwing a wrench in my plans with this flood!!!!

Yes, that kind of mood.

How do I fix it, you ask?

I go sniff my books.

Just kidding, I read..

I picked up one of my favorite books, poured a cup of coffee and took my bra off for the day.

It’s called an adult time out and it’s almost as nice as an adult spankin’.

Burn It All

Seriously? This is a debut? Someone must be punking me.

Maggie Auffarth, has entered the book circuit and if I have anything to say about it, she’ll be here to stay.

This book is down right thrilling and will have you anxiously awaiting what comes next. I was immediately consumed and devoured this book in one sitting.

Check out this teaser :

This propulsive debut psychological thriller set in small-town Georgia explores rage, redemption, and the many layers of toxic friendship, perfect for fans of Andrea Bartz and Rachel Hawkins.

Marley Henderson is having the worst year of her life. First, a drunken mistake costs her everything, including her engagement and her closest friend, Thea. Then, a series of cruel rumors make her an outcast in the small, Georgia community she calls home. Finally, a string of vicious arsons rip through town, leaving unchecked destruction—and Thea’s body—in their wake.

To the police, the case is cut-and-dry. Thea Wright was an unstable woman with a troubled history, and, with no evidence to suggest otherwise, it seems clear that she was responsible—not only for her own death but for dozens of arsons in the months preceding it. To Marley, though, the truth is less obvious.

Reeling from the loss, Marley teams up with her ex-fiancé to uncover the truth, but the deeper she digs into the night of Thea’s death, the murkier the truth becomes, not just about the fires that have been raging through town all summer, but about the woman she thought she knew. To get to the truth, Marley will have to face Thea’s lies, as well as the darkness she thought she put behind her long ago.

Told in alternating POVs and dual timelines, Burn It All will have suspense fans flying through each twist and turn to reach the stunning conclusion.

Burn It All is a hometown mystery with dual POV’s and a then/now timeline. Although you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, I was immediately drawn in by the outward appearance, title & synopsis. I use reading as an escape from reality, but the heavy, depressing tone of this book took some of the enjoyment out of the reading experience. The twists were relatively predictable, and the unlikeable characters made this book hard to get into. Overall, interesting storyline that didn’t quite live up to its potential.

3 ⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I love a good hometown mystery, but this one left me feeling less suspense and more sadness. The dual timelines really didn't work for me here. While the present-day one might have held my attention, the jump back in time really lost me. And both felt so heavy, that I was focused more on that than on trying to solve the mystery.

This book is about a young woman named Marley and her path to determine what happened to her former best friend, Thea, after her body was found in a home suspected of being the latest of many arsons around town. Thea’s stepbrother-also Marleys ex fiancé Austen-team up together to take on the case hoping to find out what actually happened because they don’t believe it was Thea’s accidental arson attempt.

As Marley and Austen dig deeper into the mystery, they uncover a few of Thea’s hidden secrets and a whole new world of suspects.

The book switches back and forth between Marleys perspective, and Thea’s perspective-as well as through the past and present version of events. As the story unravels-you learn everyone has deep dark secrets and nothing is quite as it seems.

This is my first book by this author and I’m glad I came across it. It keeps you on your toes throughout and I would definitely recommend it to others.

Thea Wright and Marley Henderson have been best friends since childhood. Austen, Thea’s step-brother made up the third member of their trio and eventually he and Marley got engaged, however they recently broke off the engagement and now Marley and Thea aren’t speaking.

When the novel opens Riverside has a serial arsonist burning down abandoned houses. Marley has cheated on Austen ending their relationship. Then the arsonist claims a life…Thea’s. Thea is then accused of the arson and Austen and Marley try to clear her name.

Love, love, oh, sweet, love. Most readers will see the “twist” coming a mile away, but that doesn’t make this a bad book, just a fairly predictable one.

A thrilling wild ride through toxic friendships and the marks they leave on our lives and the decisions we make. Couldn’t put it down.

I found the cover design and the synopsis appealing immediately. The dual POVs and then/now timelines worked for me, although it might have been helpful to label each chapter to make the time changes more apparent. Sometimes, it took me a minute to realize we'd change between timelines.

The book was entertaining enough to be easy to read in a short time frame.

I didn't love or dislike this book. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me overall. While there are several reasons, the main one is that every character is a rather awful human being, and the book's overall tone is depressing. I'm okay with dark books, so long as there is some undertone of hope, and this book lacked that for me.

2.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis (From Netgalley, the provider of the book to review)
*******************************************************

This propulsive debut psychological thriller set in small-town Georgia explores rage, redemption, and the many layers of toxic friendship, perfect for fans of Andrea Bartz and Rachel Hawkins.

Marley Henderson is having the worst year of her life. First, a drunken mistake costs her everything, including her engagement and her closest friend, Thea. Then, a series of cruel rumors make her an outcast in the small, Georgia community she calls home. Finally, a string of vicious arsons rip through town, leaving unchecked destruction—and Thea’s body—in their wake.

To the police, the case is cut-and-dry. Thea Wright was an unstable woman with a troubled history, and, with no evidence to suggest otherwise, it seems clear that she was responsible—not only for her own death but for dozens of arsons in the months preceding it. To Marley, though, the truth is less obvious.

Reeling from the loss, Marley teams up with her ex-fiancé to uncover the truth, but the deeper she digs into the night of Thea’s death, the murkier the truth becomes, not just about the fires that have been raging through town all summer, but about the woman she thought she knew. To get to the truth, Marley will have to face Thea’s lies, as well as the darkness she thought she put behind her long ago.

Told in alternating POVs and dual timelines, Burn It All will have suspense fans flying through each twist and turn to reach the stunning conclusion.

Now that is an extensive summation and I cannot say much beyond that except to beg you to read this book – it is expertly crafted and utterly READABLE. I could barely put it down. Highly recommended to friends, family, patrons and book clubs alike.

#shortbutsweetreviews

The plot was very intriguing and I did feel initially drawn into the plot but I did fid it hard to follow at points. I'd still read more by the author in future as there were points I enjoyed.

The dual pov's didn't work for my liking but I did enjoy the story that Maggie was trying to craft. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Three stars. Not my favorite book ever but still a good one.