Mercer Girls by Libbie Hawker

Description
"It’s 1864 in downtrodden Lowell, Massachusetts. The Civil War has taken its toll on the town—leaving the economy in ruin and its women in dire straits. That is, until Asa Mercer arrives on a peculiar, but providential, errand: he seeks high-minded women who can exert an elevating influence in Seattle, where there are ten men for every woman. Mail-order brides, yes, but of a certain caliber.

Schoolmarmish Josephine, tough-as-nails Dovey, and pious perfectionist Sophronia see their chance to exchange their bleak prospects for new lives. But the very troubles that sent them running from Lowell follow them to the muddy streets of Seattle, and the friendships forged on the cross-country trek are tested at every turn.

Just when the journey seems to lead only to ruin, an encounter with a famous suffragist could be their salvation. But to survive both an untamed new landscape and their pasts, they’ll need all their strength—and one another."

A group of women seeking a better life make the arduous trip from Lowell to Seattle. Among them are Dovey, only 16 years old and running away from her father's intention to force her into marriage. Sophronia, who feels strongly that a woman's only hope in life is to marry and raise children, though she has never been able to find a man who can meet her strict and stringent expectations, and  Josephine, who has no intention of marrying and has a secret reason for wanting to run off to Seattle. The women face a long journey on carts, a train and ships, they deal with  sea sickness and illness, and at last arrive to an unwelcoming committee who considers them to be women of low moral character. As they set out to prove themselves they each take very different paths but manage to stay friends.
I love historical fiction and this was an engaging read, and a fantastic glimpse of what life was like in the earliest days of women's suffrage, when it was unsafe and unheard of for a woman to be out alone after dark and the excitement of going to hear Susan B Anthony speak.

I received an advance copy for review

Blaming the Wind by Alessandra Harris

Description
Sophia Douglas can’t shake the fear that she’s in over her head. A spontaneous elopement and a layoff from her high-paying job are stressful enough, but a plus sign on her pregnancy test sends her into a panic. Fearing her husband, Terrence, might leave like her father did, Sophia confides her insecurities to Tara, her friend and mom of three.

Though Tara Fisher encourages Sophia to trust Terrence, she’s hiding her own secret: a handsome attorney is pursuing her, and she’s questioning her commitment to Josh, her husband of ten years. After a devastating career-ending accident, Josh has changed and so have Tara’s feelings for him.

When a crisis arises that threatens to destroy Sophia and Terrence’s young marriage, Sophia must either overcome her fear of abandonment or lose everything she never knew she wanted. Meanwhile, as Tara is torn between responsibility and passion, her imperfectly put together life starts to unravel, and ghosts from her past resurface to haunt her.

As these two couples grapple with secrets, temptation, and illness, only time will tell if their vows are strong enough to hold them together.

Two couples, Sophia and Terrence Douglas, and Tara and Josh Fisher, are neighbors and best friends, though on the surface they don't appear to have a lot in common. The Fishers have been married a decade, are raising 3 children, and Tara is the sole bread winner in the family since Josh had a work injury and became a stay at home dad.

Next door at the Douglas household, there are no children, Sophia and Terrence are still in the honeymoon stage and it's Terrence who is the sole provider ever since Sophia lost her job.

What they do all seem to have in common is a lack of communication and a fear of confiding in their spouses.  This book was juicier than a soap opera and had more jaw dropping moments than an episode of Jerry Springer. It is a story of betrayal, mental illness, insecurities, and secrets hidden in dark pasts. It was a quick read but even so I literally had to put it down twice just so I could go hug my husband out of sheer relief that our lives are nothing like this. Blaming The Wind is one of those delicious guilty pleasures that you won't be able to put down...except to go and hug your husband!
I received a complimentary copy for review

Resthaven By Erik Therme

Description
The last thing Kaylee wants to do is participate in a childish scavenger hunt--especially inside the abandoned retirement home on the edge of town. When she finds a bruised, deaf boy hiding inside one of the rooms, she vows to lead him to safety . . . only to discover the front doors are now padlocked, and her friends are nowhere to be found. Kaylee is about to learn that not everything that goes 'bump in the night' is imaginary, and sometimes there are worse things to fear than ghosts.


Kaylee is the new girl in town, and slightly miffed at being so. She has been uprooted due to her parents splitting up and is not too thrilled to have left her former life behind.
When Kaylee is invited by Anna, a girl in her building, to go to a gathering at a friends house her mom pretty much forces her to attend. When she finds out that this gathering is actually a scavenger hunt in an abandoned rest home she is less than impressed.
Jamie, a "mean girl type" rich girl passes out digital cameras and promises $100 to the winner of the scavenger hunt. Reluctantly joining in, Kaylee and the other girls are trapped inside when Jaimie disappears, seemingly locking them inside. They find however, that they are not the only inhabitants in this spooky old building and have a harrowing time attempting to get out.
This was an enjoyable read, and I think it would do quite well with a younger audience. It is fast paced and suspenseful, and I would highly recommend it for any fans of R.L. Stine's Fear Street series.

I received a complimentary copy for review

The Binding:by Nicholas Wolff

Description
When a rare mental disorder begins to consume his small-town neighbors, a young psychiatrist digs up the past for clues to the epidemic’s bone-chilling source in this brilliant supernatural horror debut, written in the bestselling tradition of Peter Straub.

Convinced that evil spirits have overtaken his daughter, a desperate father introduces her to Nat Thayer, a young psychiatrist in their sleepy blue-blooded Massachusetts college town. Thayer quickly diagnoses the girl with Cotard Delusion, an obscure condition sometimes described as “walking corpse syndrome.” But Thayer soon realizes his patient—and many of the local families—are actually being targeted by a malignant force resurrected from the town's wicked history. Thayer must discover the source of the spreading plague…before there is no one left to save.

Something horrifying is going on in this picturesque town in MA. The dead are not at peace. Bodies in the morgue are rearranging themselves or disappearing altogether, Meanwhile a living breathing girl insists that she is indeed dead. A little boy who can not speak is drawing pictures of his only friend, a demonic looking being he calls The Magician. All is this and more ties this community to something horrible that happened long ago and far away. I love horror stories that are set right here in New England so I was already looking forward to reading this book, and it did not disappoint me.

I received an advance copy for review