The Friends We Keep by Susan Mallery

THE FRIENDS WE KEEP
Susan Mallery
4 stars MILD

Teen pregnancy, divorce, marriage struggles, and adoption are just some topics touched on by Susan Mallery in this highly original and fascinating page turner you may lose sleep over. Mallery brings our inner lives to the surface and evokes deep emotions from her readers. You will fall in love with the Girls of Mischief Bay.

SUMMARY: Gabby, a stay-at-home mom of twins and a teen step-daughter, Hayley, whose heart's desire is to be a mom, and Nicole, recently divorced mom, band together to battle lifes obstacles. Gabby wants to go back to work when an unexpected turn takes place; Hayley's husband wants her to stop risking her life with miscarriages; and Nicole has an unexpected mystery man enter her life. "The best things in life aren't safe. What moves up, what we want the most, always means taking a risk. Isn't that what makes things worthwhile?"

(Mira, February 2016, 416 pages, $12.55

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ISBN: 978-0778318729

REVIEWED FOR RT BOOK REVIEWS

The Devil You Know by KJ Parker

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
K.J. Parker
4 stars

Parker writes a short, twisted, action packed book full of questions and deceit that keeps your mind activated and confused all the way, with clues thrown in to shift your thinking until the very end. It is written in the first person, with point of view changing between scenes keeping the reader engaged and thinking, however confusion is evoked in some beginning head-hopping scenes. I would recommend this book to fans of twisted, realistic science fiction.

SUMMARY: Saloninus, the greatest philosopher of all time, signs his life away to the devil in order to become twenty five again and receive twenty immortal years to finish some experiment he is working on. To the one assigned his contract, something does not seem right and there must be some underlying reason Saloninus would sell his pure soul for an afterlife in hell.

(Tor, March 2016, 128 pages, $10.99)

ISBN: 978-0765387899

Reviewed for RT Book Reviews