She can't help but remember how she and Charlie were best friends.. always getting in trouble together. There were also secrets ... secrets that only the two of them knew.. now down to one. Cat starts receiving letters and messages that refer to this deep,dark secret.. now she worries that her secret will be exposed. Of course,” Delalieu says. The fear in his voice stings me a little; I dismiss it. “Yes, sir,” he says, “we do think we know where he might’ve gone—and we have reason to believe that Private Kent and the—and the girl—well, with Private Kishimoto having run off as well—we have reason to believe that they are all together, sir.” Catherine Bayntun, a recently separated mother, is horrified to see a police sketch of what looks exactly like her, down to the mole on her cheek, on the evening news. She is being sought after a woman, Charlie, is found murdered. Catherine and Charlie were school friends but she hasn't seen her in over 17 years. I build walls until they begin to crumble, and then I force another set to take their place. I build and build and remain unmoving until my mind is clear, uncontaminated, containing nothing but a small white room. A single light hanging from the ceiling. My skin is cold and clammy; I’m making a herculean effort to breathe. Torture is roaring through my right arm and making it difficult for me to focus. I have to squeeze my eyes shut, grit my teeth, and force myself to pay attention.

What is it?” I use my left arm to steady myself against the mattress and force myself upright. It takes every ounce of energy I have left, and I’m clinging to the bed frame. I wave away Delalieu’s effort to help; I close my eyes against the pain and dizziness. “Tell me what’s happened,” I say to him. “There’s no point in prolonging bad news.” My hand shakes as I reach for the little blue bottle I was given this morning. I place two of the square-shaped pills on my tongue and allow them to dissolve. I’m not sure what they do; I only know they help replenish the blood I’ve lost. So I lean against the wall until my head clears and I feel stronger on my feet. This novella-length digital original bridges the gap between Shatter Me and Unravel Me from the perspective of the villain we all love to hate, Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.He is in a difficult position being his father’s son, hating him so much but having to follow his path. In a way he is a prisoner to his world, the way Juliette is to hers. They don’t have much of a choice, do they, but they have so much in common. Good to see you’re all right, sir.” His voice is a nervous, shaky thing. “Good to see you’re all right.” Cat is a soon to be divorced mother of a 5 year old. Her son is just beginning school in a school with a good reputation. Since her photo has been linked to this recent murder, Cat is apprehensive to be seen in public. When another mother befriends her, she is unsure of her intentions. While at her house for a play date, Cat meets her husband, Luke. Cat already knows Luke......how does he fit into this murder investigation? The less good things are that even though the book was short, there was still some unnecessary padding. The main character's constant gripes about her appearance were grating. To me it was obvious that the 'bad guy' had to be one of two characters so there wasn't much in the way of surprise there. I mentioned before that a big positive of the book was that you felt the danger for the main character, but I found it a bit hard to care when it becomes increasingly obvious that she's actually a dreadful person who deserves all she gets and then some.

Destroy Me by Karen Cole is a thrilling tale of a mother trying to return her life to normal, while it seems someone is hellbent on serving her a heaping plate of "karma". Cole does an excellent job of keeping readers intrigued, of crafting the character Catherine to be relatable and understandable while ensure the reader never guesses the actual culprit. In the end, I hadn't guessed who could have been involved so overall the mystery was never broken, though I will advise readers that there can be lulls in interest as the novel tends to slow as the discussion begins to focus on Cat's destroyed love life (which is still interesting, but the pacing feels a bit rushed in their separation and his leap to start a new life). His is my second visit this morning. The first was from my medics, who confirmed that the surgery went well. They said that as long as I stay in bed this week, the new drugs they’ve given me should accelerate my healing process. They also said that I should be fit to resume daily activities fairly soon, but I’ll be required to wear a sling for at least a month. They shift at once, dropping their left hands and instead placing their right fists on their chests. A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.The book ends with a rehashing of a previous entry where Catherine was remembering the night she hit Daisy. She tells Charlie that her phone battery is dead but it wasn't. She could have called an ambulance but chose not to to save her own life. Cat panics when she sees a photofit of a murder suspect flash up on the news. It looks exactly like her, and to make matters worse, the victim is her childhood best friend, Charlie. It's not my favourite book from this author but it was certainly an enjoyable one. Fast-paced, straight to the story, intriguing from the get go, and a scarily intense plot, this book had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

God, how different these voices can be: Warner and Juliette. I love what the author did here, how she could bring to life such fleshed-out characters, so different but so well defined. This is exactly what I like about an author: to be able to convince me that I’m reading the character’s words and not her/his own. From the perspective of Warner, the readers of Destroy Me will learn about his upbringing. When you explore his mind, you start to understand the motives that drive his behaviors. The author is not portraying a pure bad guy but dissecting the character’s fears, desires and vulnerabilities in the depth of his heart. That leads to the collision of different book readers’ points of view, because he seems deserving of some sympathy, but also condemnation. Unlikable MC...she was relatable in few instances, but as we got to know more about her and some of her actions, it was difficult to feel bad for her. Cat is a recently divorced mother, who sees herself on the TV on day in the news. She is the suspect in the murder investigation of her old high school friend, and has few friends now who she can turn to. The police don't believe her, her mother wants to pretend it's not happening, her ex-husband isn't exactly helpful, and the parents at her son's school are very suspicious of her. That's not what newly separated mother Catherine Bayntun does in this fast-paced thriller though, because it just so happens that the murder victim is a former close friend, whom she hasn't seen since they parted company on leaving school sharing a dark secret that nobody knows about but themselves - or do they?Cat is amazed to see her picture in the newspaper. A woman was murdered and this woman was seen in close proximity. It looks just like her .. even down to a mole on her face. And then she's really concerned when the victim is identified ... and it turns out to be her childhood best friend, Charlie. There were so many instances where our MC acted rashly, and her actions did not make much sense...but I can get past that given her mental state at that time. Few instances felt quite convenient ...like Cat trying to reach Charlie's husband knowing that her face is plastered all over the media, and she is a big suspect for murder. And he did not recognise her as the main suspect from the media. Cat's mom and her views on her daughter's marriage really infuriated me... I know this is somewhat a reality in many places, still it was tough to read about. And Poor Delilah!(her dog)...was that really necessary😰! Catherine Bayntun is a soon-to-be divorced mother of 5 years old Dylan. Separated from her husband when he cheated on her with another woman, she is just getting past her anxiety and body issues. Suddenly, one day she gets the news that her childhood best friend has been murdered, and she is the prime suspect. Looks like someone is out there to frame her... Is her past finally coming to catch on with her? Or is this something else? I loved your beautiful writing in the beginning, but now I love you as an author, because if you can write such different characters with such different voices, then you deserve all the hype and then some more. He still spends the majority of his time in my presence cowering in fear, but somehow he has no interest in overthrowing my position. I can feel it, though I don’t understand it. He’s likely the only person in this building who’s pleased that I’m not dead.