Blog Tour and Giveaway: Girl of Lies: Charles Sheehan-Miles
Girl of LiesRachel's Peril #1
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Andrea Thompson is smart, assertive and beautiful. She’s also desperately lonely. Raised in Europe by her grandmother, she struggles knowing neither of her parents wanted her, and she has no idea why.
When Andrea receives an urgent call from her older sister Carrie, she agrees to fly to the United States to help. Carrie’s newborn daughter Rachel needs a bone marrow transplant.
What Andrea doesn’t know is that her return to the United States will launch a chain of events that will uncover secrets hidden for decades. Secrets which will rock the Thompson family and ignite a political firestorm.
What Andrea doesn’t know is that her return to the United States will launch a chain of events that will uncover secrets hidden for decades. Secrets which will rock the Thompson family and ignite a political firestorm.
Secrets that some will kill to protect.
This is the first book in a brand new series that spins off from his Thompson Sisters Series and begins after The Last Hour:
A Song for Julia(#1): Goodreads/Amazon/B&N/Kim's 5 star Review
Falling Stars (#1.5): Add to Goodreads/Amazon/B&N/Kim's 4.5 star review
Falling Stars (#1.5): Add to Goodreads/Amazon/B&N/Kim's 4.5 star review
Just Remember to Breathe(#2): Goodreads/Amazon/B&N/Kim's 4 star Review
The Last Hour(#3): Goodreads /Amazon/B&N/Kim's 5 star Review
This book brings us some of our favorite characters from Charles' Thompson Sisters series, but it is a definitely a different type of book. This one is not romance based, but is more about politics, suspense, and intrigue. It starts after the timeline of The Last Hour and focuses on the youngest Thompson sister, Andrea. She is sixteen and has been raised by her Grandmother in Spain away from her sisters. She is called home by her sister Carrie to see if she is a match for a bone marrow transplant for Carrie's infant daughter.
But a simple trip to the US becomes a dangerous International incident that has long reaching implications and multiple parties involved. Their father has secrets and there are many people willing to do anything to keep them from coming out.
The Last Hour(#3): Goodreads /Amazon/B&N/Kim's 5 star Review
This book brings us some of our favorite characters from Charles' Thompson Sisters series, but it is a definitely a different type of book. This one is not romance based, but is more about politics, suspense, and intrigue. It starts after the timeline of The Last Hour and focuses on the youngest Thompson sister, Andrea. She is sixteen and has been raised by her Grandmother in Spain away from her sisters. She is called home by her sister Carrie to see if she is a match for a bone marrow transplant for Carrie's infant daughter.But a simple trip to the US becomes a dangerous International incident that has long reaching implications and multiple parties involved. Their father has secrets and there are many people willing to do anything to keep them from coming out.
This book moved at a fast pace and was told in multiple points of view (probably the most I have seen in any book). I will admit that at times I had difficulty keeping the people and agencies straight (I was thankful that Charles provided a character cheat sheet in the beginning and had the points of view clearly labeled by name and time). This was more of a suspenseful political intrigue thriller with the Thompson family in the center of it. We do get to see updates on the sisters' lives and their ongoing issues. We see them all struggling from loss and grief after the events from the last book. We are privy to the fact that none of their lives are picture perfect and they all have their problems and secrets to deal with. We learn more about their parents' past and their relationship. But all of the personal relationship drama is just a part of the story. This is also about the underlying political and personal ramifications of the secrets that their parents and others have kept hidden. So there is mystery, suspense, intrigue, tension, action, and danger and it affects the entire family.
Just when I thought I had figured it out there would be another plot twist changing my view. There were so many involved and so many intricate connections. Determining who was good and who was bad became difficult. And it all comes down to a frantic pulse pounding climax that leaves you wanting more. Yes, we get some answers, but there are still questions and unresolved issues.
Even though you could technically read this as a stand alone since it is a spin off series and he does explain many of the events from the past books, I would still recommend reading A Song for Julia, Just Remember to Breathe, and The Last Hour first. It really gives this story more depth and this book answers some questions that we have been wondering about during the previous books. And they are really such beautiful, poignant, emotional, heartfelt books that I never hesitate to recommend them anyway. And it was in that series, that I fell in love with each of the Thompson sisters and their mates. I look forward to seeing where he takes the rest of this trilogy since he definitely left me needing more and also for the twins Sarah and Jessica Thompson to get their own stories
Even though you could technically read this as a stand alone since it is a spin off series and he does explain many of the events from the past books, I would still recommend reading A Song for Julia, Just Remember to Breathe, and The Last Hour first. It really gives this story more depth and this book answers some questions that we have been wondering about during the previous books. And they are really such beautiful, poignant, emotional, heartfelt books that I never hesitate to recommend them anyway. And it was in that series, that I fell in love with each of the Thompson sisters and their mates. I look forward to seeing where he takes the rest of this trilogy since he definitely left me needing more and also for the twins Sarah and Jessica Thompson to get their own stories
Thanks to Charles Sheehan-Miles for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Having just finished the original Thompson Sisters books, I was excited to continue their stories and learn what was to come of all the girls after The Last Hour, and Girl of Lies did not disappoint. Girl of Lies picks up after the birth of Carrie's daughter, Rachel. When the family learns Rachel has a genetic disorder which requires a bone marrow transplant, each of Carrie's sisters rush to her side and the hospital to find out if they are a match, including Andrea. Andrea has lived in Spain with her grandmother since she was quite young. She feels apart from her sisters and disconnected from the family in general. Within minutes of arriving in the United States, Andrea is kidnapped and this adventure begins.
Note, this is not a romantic story, as the original series was. Andrea is at the center of a lot of the action and suspense of this story, but there is no love interest as an active part of the story -- she is only 16 after all, and returning to a country she has not stepped foot in since she was a child. No, not a romance, but this book is so full of political intrigue and plots there is really no place for a romance.
From several of the family members to a handful of the new characters introduced for this series, Girl of Lies is narrated by a rotating cast of characters during a mix of present day and past events. There are really only a few days of present day activity for such a rich story. There is so much detail included in this that the sections are time stamped to keep the entire timeline clear from start to finish. This wide variety of voices in the story actually kept it moving at a faster pace than would have been possible if it were narrated by only one or two characters. There were times that some of the relationships and political affiliations were confusing to keep track of, with so may different security agencies involved in the storyline, but the connections and crossovers have to be a little on the foggy side in order for this story to work.
I knew it was going to be a cliffhanger, but when I reached that last page I kept flicking my finger across my screen trying to get to that next part. The ending leaves readers at a pretty high emotional peak, and I will say it is a bit maddening to not know how the characters are going to come out of their present situations, especially Dylan and Andrea.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I was so sucked in to the events, especially learning about how Adelina and Robert met and married, and the hints of what else went down early in Robert's career to put the girls in danger nearly 30 years later. Charles Sheehan-Miles has set up the beginning of a story that is sure to have so many twists and turns along that way that I don't even want to predict what will happen to the Thompson sisters, the people surrounding them, and little Rachel, who seems to have set off this whole string of events as a tiny infant in need of medical care, but I can't wait to have more of their stories.
Thanks to Charles Sheehan-Miles for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Charles Sheehan-Miles has been a soldier, computer programmer, short-order cook and non-profit executive, and is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including the indie bestsellers Just Remember to Breathe and Republic: A Novel of America's Future.
(3 signed paperbacks of Just Remember to Breathe):
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