Always the Bridesmaid by Lindsey Kelk

Have you read anything by Lindsey Kelk yet? Because if you haven't, you definitely need to get to it!

From Goodreads: Everyone loves a bridesmaid.
Except Maddie, who’s perpetually asked to be one.
Everyone loves a wedding.
Except Maddie’s best friend, who’s getting divorced.
And everyone loves the way Maddie’s so happy backstage.
Except Maddie herself.
One best friend is in wedding countdown while the other heads for marriage meltdown. And as Maddie juggles her best chance at promotion in years with bridezilla texts and late-night counselling sessions, she starts to wonder – is it time to stop being the bridesmaid?

My thoughts: Kelk is definitely on her game in this new book! If you've read Kelk then you already know that her books are funny, but this one was hilarious. Definitely the funniest book I've read in a while. What I like about her books is that, while funny, they're also real. Her characters are certainly flawed, but in a way that you or I are flawed.

Maddie is sick and tired of being walked on by her friends, family, and work, but is too nice to speak up and say much about it until she's had enough. I found her family to be really frustrating, her sister especially. I can't even remember her name because I was so annoyed with her. The only one who had any sort of redeeming quality was her brother, and even he was a bit of a wanker. Side note, Kelk's books always make me start using British slang. This is not a bad thing.

Maddie's best friends, Sarah and Lauren were also frustrating, but to a lesser degree. I really liked Sarah and her situation made me really sad because who wants to go through a divorce in your early 30s?  She was cynical (obviously) and sarcastic, and I always appreciate good sarcasm. I'd like to read a book with Sarah as the main character. I didn't like Lauren as much because I found her selfish and spoiled, but we all have friends like that. Unless you are that friend, in which case you probably don't even know it. Now you're wondering if you're that friend.

There is, of course, romance in this book. Maddie has a one night stand with Will, which turns into lots of one night stands with him. She can't get him to commit to anything more than bedroom fun, and naturally, can't see the other guy who would be perfect for her. I liked the romance in the book, but it wasn't my favourite part.

Maddie is an events assistant for a large PR firm and has been in the same position for the last 10 years. Her boss is an absolute nightmare and even Satan wouldn't want to work for her. An opportunity for a promotion comes up at work, and Maddie is forced into applying. This is where things got really fun because Maddie is put in full charge of planning a baby welcoming party for a gay couple with extravagant requests. As you can imagine, things don't go so well. This was one of my favourite scenes, and had me laughing like a moron alone on my balcony:

There was a lot of growth for Maddie in the book, and I was excited when she finally started to stick up for herself and refuse to make everyone else happy. It's hard to always be on for everyone else, especially when they don't appreciate it. It was refreshing to see her argue with her friends and finally tell them off because they really needed to hear it.

I loved the very end with all the IMs, emails, and texts, and wished those had been scattered throughout the entire book. I love when authors add little things like that to a story.

If you're looking for something hilarious and light, but with real, flawed characters, check out any of Lindsey Kelk's books. I'm still making my way through her books because I don't want to run out of them. 5 out of 5 stars!

Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight

Disclaimer: I did receive an ARC of this novel (as part of HarperCollins Canada's newly relaunched HCC First Look program) in exchange for a review, but that has not altered my opinion at all.

Synopsis:
At the end of a long winter in well-to-do Ridgedale, New Jersey, the body of an infant is discovered in the woods near the town's prestigious university campus. No one knows who the baby is, or how her body ended up out there. But there is no shortage of opinions.

When freelance journalist, and recent Ridgedale transplant, Molly Anderson is unexpectedly called upon to cover the story for the Ridgedale Reader, it's a risk, given the severe depression that followed the loss of her own baby. But the bigger threat comes when Molly unearths some of Ridgedale's darkest secrets, including a string of unreported sexual assaults going back twenty years. Meanwhile, Sandy, a high school dropout, searches for her volatile and now missing mother, and PTA president Barbara struggles to help her young son, who's suddenly having disturbing outbursts.

Told from the perspectives of Molly, Barbara, and Sandy, Kimberly McCreight's taut and profoundly moving novel unwinds the tangled truth about the baby's death, revealing that these three women have far more in common than they realized. That the very worst crimes are committed against those we love. And that—sooner or later—the past catches up to all of us.

My thoughts:
I've said it before, but I love thrillers, especially those that are a little psychological and play with your mind. If you've read Kimberly McCreight's massively popular Reconstructing Amelia than you're familiar with how fantastic McCreight's writing is. She is able to weave a fascinatingly creepy story about a small, wealthy town and the secrets surrounding it. This book had me up beyond my bedtime.

Where They Found Her kept me guessing. I hate 'thriller's that are easy to figure out. That was not a problem with this book at all. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has some sort of motive. While this book was creepy, it was also sad. Molly is still struggling with the loss of her own infant daughter, Sandy can't find her mother and assumes the worst, and Barbara is trying to cope with her son who everyone thinks is becoming crazy. I liked this aspect of the book, though, because it's far from that notion of the idyllic college town. It's real life, and real life is scary.

The pacing was excellent. It gripped me right away and kept me interested the whole time, without any major lack. The characters were creepy because they were both relatable and different. You can probably find yourself in one of the characters, and that always makes a thriller seem more real and scary. Like I said, real life is scary.

I rated this a 4 out of 5 because I did have a very slight issue with the ending. I won't say what it is because it's a spoiler, but I just felt like the resolution to one issue was inconsistent with the characters previous actions, and it made me sad for that character.

Where They Found Her is on sale today, and is definitely the perfect book to curl up on the couch with during a rainy April.

Waiting on Wednesday: Where They Found Her

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine and is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming book releases.

I read Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight in December of 2013, and I still think about it from time to time. McCreight's upcoming release, Where They Found Her is due out April 14th, 2015 from HarperCollins.

Love this cover!

From Goodreads, "An idyllic suburban town. A devastating discovery. Shocking revelations that will change three lives forever.

At the end of a long winter in well-to-do Ridgedale, New Jersey, the body of a newborn is found in the woods fringing the campus of the town's prestigious university. No one knows the identity of the baby, what ended her very short life, or how she wound up among the fallen leaves. But among the residents of Ridgedale, there is no shortage of opinions.

When freelance journalist, and recent Ridgedale transplant, Molly Anderson is unexpectedly called upon to cover the disturbing news for the Ridgedale Reader—the town's local paper—she has good reason to hesitate. A severe depression followed the loss of her own baby, and this assignment could unearth memories she has tried so hard to bury. But the history Molly uncovers is not her own. Her investigation unravels a decades-old trail of dark secrets hiding behind Ridgedale's white picket fences.

Told from the perspectives of three Ridgedale women, Kimberly McCreight's taut and profoundly moving novel unwinds the tangled truth behind the tragedy, revealing that these women have far more in common than they could have ever known. That the very worst crimes are committed against those we love. And that—sooner or later—the past catches up to all of us."

Also, check out this awesome book trailer from HarperBooks YouTube channel:

How can you NOT want to read that?! Come on, April!