Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!
From my point of view things can only get better for my reading year. I am excited about the amazing books that I have read so far in 2019. And the excitement continues. I read the novel Don't Say a Word and fell in love with the amazing relationship between foster mom Bitty Callahan and her daughter, Allie. They had been through a lot and their devotion to each other was inspirational. What I did not know was that Jennifer Jaynes had written two other novels prior to Don't Say a Word featuring Allie and Bitty. I read book one, Never Smile at Strangers and now, on to book two.
Ugly Young Thing is book two in Jennifer Jaynes' Strangers trilogy. It is published by Thomas and Mercer, an Amazon imprint. In this novel of suspense we return to Grand Trespass, Louisiana and the life of Allie Seacrest. After returning from being on the run for the better part of a year, Allie has nowhere to go or no one to ask for help. When she is found in her abandoned childhood home by police, she is remanded to the home of Miss Bitty. Bitty is a local legend, having helped numerous people out of many bad situations as a life coach and foster mother. She takes a liking to Allie immediately, seeing something in the sixteen year old that most do not.
Acclimating herself back into society is hard for the Allie. She is recognized as the daughter and sister of local murderers, which leaves Allie feeling that her life will never be normal. However Allie is not alone at the Miss Bitty's home. Bitty is currently helping a man named Big Joe through some issues. Louis, Bitty's "right-hand man", helps out around Bitty's home, and tutors any foster children that may be in her care. Local handy man, Ted, works on fixing things and yard work. Allie's past with men automatically makes her not trust the trio. Men are nothing but trouble to her. As Allie begins to feel at home with Bitty, a local murder sparks terrible memories in Allie of her brother and mother's horrific deeds. The body count rises and it is apparent that Allie is being stalked. Can Allie surface from the pain and terrible memories long enough to save her own life?
Ugly Young Thing was a strong continuation of Allie's story from book one. Her character development was excellent and I saw a lot of what eventually made her the fearless mother in book three. Bitty was endearing in this story and made me love the character even more as she helped Allie with her past trauma. I applaud Jaynes for portraying the psychological damage that body shaming does to an individual. Allie was constantly struggling to break away from the hurtful things her mother said. This served her character arc well, showing how significantly Allie had begun to change. Allie gets a new friend in the form of pill-popping Hannah, Ted's step-daughter. She gave Allie a chance to decide whether she was going to regress to her old ways or continue on her preferred path. I enjoyed the first-person chapters with the killer, as I looked for clues as to his identity. Since I was given four male figures in Allie's life that may be the culprit, it was fun narrowing down the clues until I figured out who he was. His identity was a surprise to me, as was his connection to the players involved. The pacing of the story was handled well with a creepy atmosphere that was constantly shrouded in mystery and the deep darkness of the past. This novel was a lot stronger than book one, with better writing and structure than its predecessor. The build up was similar to book one, but Ugly Young Thing did a better job to hold me as a reader. And the finale was exciting and tragic.
I read Ugly Young Thing in part with the excellent narration of actress, Natalie Ross. Her presentation was clear and her accents and voices made the characters come to life. Ross had a habit of even talking off-screen to add to the illusion of two narrators. I look forward to hearing more books read by Ross. Excellent work.
In the end Ugly Young Thing was a four star read that was meatier than book one. It also served as an excellent character builder for Allie, who desperately needed guidance. I am happy that I read this trilogy, but I want more of Allie and Miss Bitty. They definitely have more story to tell. I suggest adding this series to your Summer Reading List. A little suspense at the beach can be what you need while you relax in the sun.
Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading this week.
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2019 Reading Challenge (blank version)
2019 Reading Challenge (my challenge)
Because there is always time to read,
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