Pretty Baby + Giveaway!

Title: Pretty Baby
Author: Mary Kubica
Published: July 28, 2015 by MIRA
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher via BEA
Rating: 4.5/5
Goodreads

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head...

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.

My review.......

Wow, Kubica has done it again! After reading The Good Girl (see my review here), I am always a bit trepidacious about an author's sophomore novel. No worries here, this one is another winner! I love the way the author sucks you into the story with well fleshed out characters, a stunning plot, and a few twists (even though in this one I thought they were easier to see coming). This one is told in alternating chapters from Heidi, her husband Chris, and Willow (the homeless girl with the baby that Heidi brings home). Each of them has a backstory, and we are taken back through that (especially in Willow's case). The story was mesmerizing, and the way Kubica writes, the words just flow across the page.

After all that gushing, why didn't I give it 5 stars? Had I not read her previous novel, I would have. I loved The Good Girl so much that I just couldn't rate this one the same without feeling that I was taking something away from that book. However, I know several people who have liked this one better, so there you have it.

Do not hesitate to read this one, and if you haven't read her previous novel, be sure to pick that one up as well. You will not be sorry. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

This book is part of the BookSparks summer reading challenge. You can read more about this by visiting their Facebook page here.

I met Mary at BEA more than once, and therefore I have an extra advanced reader copy of this book that is signed by the author! Enter via the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win it. Open to US residents only.

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