Book Review: "The Last Sunday in May" by Kate Clark Stone

Mackenzie “Mack” Williams has always had the need for speed. In fact, her father always said she was born with her foot on the accelerator. And he should know, as he was a star in dirt track racing.

Her competitive streak compelled her to push herself as hard as she could in every race she entered. She took the motorsports world by storm, and each race she won took her closer to her ultimate goal: the Indianapolis 500.

But when she wasn’t racing, she was drinking, partying, and sleeping around, so when she became pregnant, she knew it was time for her to hang her helmet up. Now, 10 years later, she lives in rural Indiana with her daughter and her father, who requires constant care even years after an accident. She manages the family’s small dirt racetrack and fills in for drivers every now and again. And she tries not to think about what could have been.

One night, she gets a visit from her idol, Janet Joyner, who blazed a trail for women in racing. Regardless of what Mack says, Janet believes she still has the spark that could make her a winner. She offers Mack the chance to qualify for the Indy 500. It’s not going to be easy, and she’ll have to leave her father and daughter behind, but how can she pass up this chance?

Mack moves to Indianapolis and moves in with her older sister, who hasn’t been home in years. She’s determined to give everything she has to qualifying, even though it’s much harder than it was 10 years ago. Along the way, she has to deal with the stress of being away from her family, and all of the domestic dramas that come with motherhood and dealing with her daughter’s father. But she can’t let herself get distracted by anyone or anything this time.

I think I’ve only read one book about racing, and it was a rom-com, so I found this book to be a pleasant surprise. Even though I had a feeling what would happen, I was invested in the story from start to finish. This was one of Amazon’s First Reads for April.

Book Review: "Burn This Night" by Alex Kenna

“I was in my ninth week of sleeping on an air mattress in my childhood bedroom when I learned that my dad wasn’t my biological father.”

How’s THAT for an opening sentence? It definitely sets the tone for what’s to come in the book.

Kate is a private investigator who is really struggling. Her marriage is over, she’s lost custody of her daughter, and now she’s learned that the man she had always believed was her father wasn’t. And to top it off, she’s just learned she shares DNA with someone accused of murdering a young girl 20 years earlier.

The police recruit Kate to go to the small California town of Inglewood (where another distant relative lives) and see what she can find out about her relative-slash-murderer. At the same time, she takes on another case, one involving arson and murder.

Abby, an actress turned social worker, is killed in a fire that destroys part of Inglewood and leaves two others dead. The police suspect her brother, a drug addict and schizophrenic, but their parents believe he is innocent. They hope Kate finds evidence that exonerates him. But what Kate finds is a much more sinister web of secrets and lies, one that could prove deadly.

This was quite a twisty thriller! It’s a bit of a slow burn, but I liked the way Alex Kenna teased everything out and kept me guessing. The narrative shifts among several people and several timeframes, and I found that a bit disjointed, but this was still a compelling read.

Book Review: "Alternate Endings" by Ali Rosen

Beatrice is one of those people whose professional life is spectacular, yet her personal life is a mess. She loves her job and she’s great at what she does, and she loves her six-year-old son, Bash.

What she doesn’t love is being in the midst of a divorce with her ex, Lucas, who is living in the basement apartment of their townhouse so he can still be fully involved in Bash’s life. Every tweak to their custody schedule causes a fight with Lucas, and he threatens to rectify things when their divorce is finalized.

When Bea’s boss, Brigid, gets divorced, she decides to move to a castle in Ireland. (Half of the company is already based there.) Bea and the team are expected to fly to Ireland for a few days every two weeks, which causes significant tension with Lucas.

And if that’s not enough chaos, Brigid has hired a new chief technology officer for the company, and much to Bea’s surprise, it’s Jack Sander. As in the guy who utterly broke her heart in high school, and whom she’s not seen in 20 years. (And, of course, he has grown into an immensely sexy man.)

Jack’s presence upends Bea. She tries to juggle a potential promotion at work, fighting with Lucas, and alternately resenting and lusting after Jack. Their competitive banter is the same as it was in high school, and it turns out both of their lives are messy in different ways. When they finally give in to their sexual chemistry, they decide that what happens in Ireland stays in Ireland, and it’s purely a physical thing. (Yeah, ok.)

This was a fun second-chance romance with lots of steam and swoon-worthy moments, especially between Jack and Bash. It definitely sent the message that having it all—or trying to—doesn’t mean your life has to be perfect. I also really enjoyed the supporting characters, from Bea’s best friends to her colleagues, her sister-in-law, and even the manager of Brigid’s castle. Bash was simply adorable as well.