The Apartment by K.L. Slaughter

Meet Freya and her young daughter, Skye. They've been through the wringer since Skye's dad left for another woman--Freya's friend who lives down the road, no less--and then died in an accident. No longer able to afford the home they live in, Freya pops into a cafe and happens to meet an older gentleman who is looking to fill a vacant apartment in his mansion for next to nothing and it's available right now! Too good to be true? We shall see.

So Freya, who bounced from foster home to foster home throughout her childhood and teen years, decides why not? She and Skye fall in love with the house, the gardens, the location and so it's settled. How strange, though, that the front door is kept locked and there is no buzzer for friends to visit. How strange that the Marsdens, the presumed owners of the house, are overheard by Skye talking about a previous tenant when Mr. Marsden specifically told Freya there was no previous tenant. How strange that they want to install a security camera INSIDE her apartment.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the strangeness of the place. Yet even with her doubts, Freya maintains their residence, chalking all these things up to eccentricities and coincidences.

It's here where I had problems with this story. I highly doubt a woman who has trust issues and has a hard time making friends because of her childhood would allow herself to be taken in by these odd people and the other tenants. Eventually, of course, she decides to make a run for it, but in my opinion, it was too little, too late.

Freya's weakness and naivete were not believable enough, making this a 3-star book, rather than 4-star. That's too bad, too, because I loved the author's writing style (and lack of editing errors, truth be told). I would definitely pick up more works by K.L. Slater; it's just unfortunate this one wasn't all I wanted it to be.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Read this review on Goodreads or on Amazon.

Stable by Kate Gemma

3.5 stars rounded up
TW: kidnap/abduction, minor incidences of torture

Stable is the story of four childhood best friends who as tweens were kidnapped and held captive for three days before being rescued. But it's also the story of the ties that bind us together and what lengths we'll go to to keep our friends safe.

Both Maura and Charlie were raised by a kindly neighborhood grandma, who eventually takes in each of the children, thus tightening their bonds. At the age of 12 or so the four kids were kidnapped when they ran into an abandoned barn for cover from a storm. There they were kept for three days with minimal water and food and when two of the four tried to escape, at different times, they were tortured. Eventually, they are rescued by the town cop and the property owner is sent to prison for the crimes.

Years later, when the children have grown and gone their separate ways, they are called back to town when one of them dies. Mystery surrounds the death and before long there is a disappearance. Maura, our protagonist, is hell-bent on finding her friend and joins the new sheriff in that task.

I enjoyed the story very much and the characters were well fleshed out. Maura is most memorable because she's written as a tough as nails, not gonna take any shit from anyone kind of gal. She sticks up for her guy friends when the sheriff's son, Boyd, bullies them. I loved that about her then, and I loved that she didn't change as an adult.

I subtracted a star because I had the whodunit figured out very quickly and I wasn't terribly fond of the epilogue. Not every story needs to be tidied up so nicely at the end, in my opinion.

Many thanks to the author and Reedsy/Discovery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Buy this book here. Read this review on Goodreads.