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The Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla – Review by Debi Kircher

The Kitty Committee: A Novel of SuspenseThe Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla

5 Stars

I’ve read most of this authors books and she always has a way of getting me hooked early…This one took a bit and I wasn’t sure whether I understood what was going on till somewhere around the middle of the book. I knew she was building up to something I was just trying to keep myself on track to know what that was.

Even before understanding what the secret was I was pulled in and could not put this book down. Now I think back and wonder what took me so long.

This was an awesome story, and the ending floored me…I was so totally off base and had no idea who was behind the yearly reminders that someone obviously knew the secret that only 3 people should have known.

I couldn’t help but feel so very sorry for Grace through most of this book, I loved her and I really loved Maggie, although a few times throughout I just wanted to bang their heads together and wake them up.

I love this author, and she always finds a way to surprise me with her stories, you never know what your going to dive into when you pick up one of her books, Im a forever fan and will be watching for what comes next. I highly recommend this book, but pay attention and don’t give up if it takes you a bit like it did me, you won’t be sorry you hung in there.

Loved It!!

Review by @debikircher

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The Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla – Review by Heather Bahm

The Kitty Committee: A Novel of SuspenseThe Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kathryn Berla’s The Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense is a thrilling mystery. The author does a firm job of nailing the suspense and mystery within this story. The scenes in the story are well told and the method in which the author uses to progress from now versus then is done seamlessly as if it was yourself in the present and recalling memories of the past. It’s not always easy for an author to handle storytelling within the past/present without providing too many or too few details, that was not a problem. The story easily maintained my interest and I found this to be a good read.

Reviewed by @hbahm

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The Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla – Review by Angela Hayes

The Kitty Committee: A Novel of SuspenseThe Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

The Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla is full of secrets, suspense, mystery, manipulation, haunted memories, torment, and fear. It had a Pretty Little Liars vibe to it.
Grace has been haunted by her past, never fully ‘living, always looking back, worrying, wondering, remembering. Every year she gets a reminder that someone else out there knows what happened, too- and won’t ever let her forget. It’s 20 years on- but she’s stuck in the past. What happened you may ask? What is the burden that she’s carried for all these years? Who knows her secret and sends the yearly reminders? What, and who are The Kitty Committee? All these answers can be found in this suspenseful tale.
I have read all of Ms. Berla’s books now and was really excited to see she had written a suspenseful novel. I love a great suspense, so I quickly snatched up a copy to jump into. The story had a good pace, although it was somewhat slow to get going. The story switches back and forth from past and present perspectives. I spent a good majority of the time torn between needing to know what the secret was, thinking how the dialog didn’t really seem to suit a teenager, absolutely detesting Carly and wondering how no one saw through her, and feeling like the story just wasn’t meshing as well as I had hoped for. And when the big ‘reveal’ came, it felt rushed and wasn’t as detailed as I would have liked, or had expected from Ms. Berla.
This isn’t my most favourite read of hers, which pains me because I normally rally love her work, but I will keep a lookout for her next release.

Thank you, Ms. Berla!

Reviewed by @angelahayes
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The Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla ~ Review by Liz Vrchota

The Kitty Committee: A Novel of SuspenseThe Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, so this is a difficult review for me to write because I normally adore, absolutely adore, Katheryn Berla’s novels and the words for the reviews just flow freely for me. Unfortunately, when it comes to The Kitty Committee, things just continuously fell short for me. The plot was there, and it was strong. Immediately upon reading the blurb and knowing the author I was sold and ready to dive into this novel. However, when I got a good 25% in I was so completely frustrated. I saw where Berla was going with Grace, but there was nothing about her that was connectable. I kept waiting for this big explosive event or ta-da moment and it just really wasn’t ever there for me. She really seemed like unnecessary filler to me. Then there were those lovely time jumps. Out of NOWHERE. It just completely threw me off guard, tossed me around, and then confused the holy crap out of me. Quite frankly, it lost me, made it near impossible to want to finish, yet I did, and I truly don’t know what for. What happened here??? So with that all said, Katheryn Berla usually writes with a message behind her novels. A strong plot that usually has a mission to make you think long and hard, yet you don’t even know realize that you are doing so. I will say that I can see where this was trying to go. Women are mean ya’ll. We are. We love fiercely and we can sometimes love so fierce it can cause pain unintentionally. I believe that is was she was trying to portray here. I may be wrong. Anyways, on to the next adventure, and awaiting the next one with Katheryn at the helm! Happy reading!

Review by @lizaileen
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The Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla – Review by Jenni Bishop

The Kitty Committee: A Novel of SuspenseThe Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Kitty Committee A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla is an interesting read. ​It is a story of mean girls and lifelong regrets. I found it hard to get in to the flow and rhythm of this book and the two and fro of the past and the present. I also felt that sometimes less would have been more, the story could have been told with fewer words. Having said that I could not put the book down, I had to know what happened and why and I definitely didn’t see the twist at the end coming.

Reviewed by @jennadb

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The Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla – Review by Jana Teppih

The Kitty Committee: A Novel of SuspenseThe Kitty Committee: A Novel of Suspense by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Kitty Committee is a suspense novel by Kathryn Berla AND it is her first novel written for adult readers. I have read her YA story “Going Places” and I absolutely fell in love with her writing so when The Kitty Committee popped up on my radar then I went … hmmm, let’s see how she is when writing to adult readers …
She did not disappoint me! Her writing was good as ever … she has given us a story that shows us what far reaching consequences might our decisions have that we take as teenagers, influenced by our friends and loyalties at the time … unfortunately, the decisions and actions of this group of girls, oh my, they have disastrous consequences and the shadow the lives of so many people …
I loved how the timeframe kept changing as it kept me sharp and on my toes … I liked that at no point did the writer fall into the ‘language’ of teenagers … I have to say though that at times I had hard time to relate/feel for Grace as I felt that she never really found her feet as a person in her own rights … on the other hand, one could really feel the lasting impact that the act of her youth had on the rest of her life … The writer forces us to think and feel and to understand why we think and feel the way we do … The story is really worth while reading …

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Going Places by Kathryn Berla – Review by Jenni Bishop

Going PlacesGoing Places by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Going Places by Kathryn Berla ​is a story of a young man who finds his first love but is that love reciprocated? It is also about finding friends in unlikely places and where age is no barrier. The book is told in the main character, Hudson’s, point of view, which you don’t see too often.

The story is well thought out and well written and gives us a look at a young man who is navigating his way between being a teenager and becoming a man and knowing what he wants but coming to the realisation that we don’t always get what we want.

Reviewed by @jennadb

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Going Places by Kathryn Berla – Review by Angela Hayes

Going PlacesGoing Places by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Going Places by Kathryn Berla is a great YA novel with a coming of age/teenage angst, love, loss, living up to expectation, responsibility, believing in yourself, friendship, and also touches on some sensitive issues in a caring, but realistic way.
We follow Hudson, who really is a lot smarter and capable than I think he gave himself credit for. I enjoyed watching him develop and grow as the story progressed. He was a better, more confident version of himself by the end.
I have read several of Ms. Berla’s books now and liked them all, and this is one of my favourites of the them all, so far! I really appreciate how Ms. Berla writes such realistic and believable characters, and stories. With each book, she takes us on a journey of discovery, not only for her characters, but also for us, the readers.
As I have come to expect from Ms. Berla, the story is well written, with a great pace, a smooth flow, and is very easy to read. I thought the story was quite touching, and I loved how it focused on the relationships between the characters, and the complexities within them. The characters really make this story. There were parts of the story that were also quite thought provoking, insightful and poignant.
A really lovely story!

Thank you, Ms. Berla!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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The House at 758 by Kathryn Berla – Review by Jenni Bishop

The House at 758The House at 758 by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The House at 758 by Kathryn Berla is a story about a young girl Krista who has been struggling with living since the death of her mother. As anyone knows dealing with grief is hard to deal with at any time but being a teenager and struggling to know who you are on top of that is a double whammy.

Everyone seems to have moved on but Krista doesn’t know how and the one person in her life who is supposed to understand her is the one person she no longer knows how to communicate with. She finds herself with an obsession she can seem to get past, one that could see her land in hot water. When her grandpa comes to visit she starts to see things in a different light. Learning to reconnect with him is helping her reconnect to life.

It’s a quick and easy read. It is about second chances and finally find that inner peace that allows you to move on.

Reviewed by @jennadb

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Dream Me by Kathryn Berla – Review by Angela Shirley

Dream MeDream Me by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dream me is a story about a girl called Babe who dreams at night of a boy called Zat, but each dream she has feels like they are becoming real.

Babe is a girl who is constantly the new girl, he father is a golf pro and travels around the country finding jobs in Country Clubs to support his family. Babe has never real seen the outside world other that through the eyes of the Country Clubs she has been a part of. She is a strong character and makes friends easily.

Zat is none is his world as a dreamer, instead of wanting to space travel like the majority of people on his planet, he has always been fascinated with the world of time travel. His Uncle with his family are all set to space travel but Zat is awaiting his date.

This story is written in quite a few per of the main characters which sometimes becomes a bit confusing. You will have a chapter where Babe is writing her blog, then you get a point of view of them together in the dream state, then you get Zat’s point of view. I really like the idea of the time traveller and him being attracted to Babe and her experiences but I thought it did not gel together very well. Although this was a distraction from the book I enjoyed the premise of the book and that the idea was intriguing which made me read on through the book.

Review by @ashirley

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12 Hours in Paradise by Kathryn Berla – Review by Sheri Schrader

12 Hours in Paradise12 Hours in Paradise by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

12 Hours in Paradise by Kathryn Berla is a young adult romance. This is my first time reading this author and it was a pleasant surprise. This is the story of Dorothy Patmont and Arash Atkinson. Both are in Hawaii and bump into one another thanks to Chester, Dorothy’s brother. It is Dorothy’s last day in Hawaii and Arash is there for a school trip. Her and Arash decide to sneak out of their rooms and meet up to talk and have a romantic adventure.
This is a sweet story of two good teens. They both understand that by sneaking out they are risking getting in trouble. The longer the evening goes the greater the risk of being caught. The two decide to use an app that promises love if they answer thirty-six questions together. The challenge will they finish the questions before getting caught.
The two of them are cute, sweet, and young. The story reminds us you never know when you will meet your love. Also, that one should be open minded. Arash was not the first boy she spotted, but he was the friend. We might not see someone as being perfect for us at the beginning but once the layers are stripped down and we get to know the real person everything can change.
I would recommend this to anyone who needs an uplifting story. I enjoyed the story and longed to find out if the two will finish the questions or will be caught out.

review by @sherimichelle1

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12 Hours in Paradise by Kathryn Berla – Review by Debi Kircher

12 Hours in Paradise12 Hours in Paradise by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

12 Hours In Paradise, written by Kathryn Berla. I’m giving 5 stars and that is only because they won’t let me give more.
This is my first book by this author, and the first thing I did when I finished was pop her name in google so that I could look up all her other books to read. This is a standalone novel which had me wrapped from word one. Arash and Dorothy are two young adults (under 18) that have a chance encounter on Dorothy’s last day of a family vacation in Hawaii, thanks to Dorothy’s little brother Chester who embarrasses Dorothy in front of a group of guys in a cookie store. A good deed after this encounter brings Arash who is in Hawaii for a high school band competition, to Dorothy’s hotel where he accompanies Dorothy and Chester to the hotels Happy Hour for virgin drinks and snacks. It would seem the night would end there but as Dorothy settles in for the night sharing a room with her granny she receives a text, “Come out and play” which has her sneaking out of her hotel and meeting Arash for an adventure that is all their own. They start on a journey of 36 questions that is supposed to have them falling in love at the end of the last question. Both of them knowing their time is limited and could get them both in so much trouble for sneaking out they embark on their journey “in for a penny in for a pound”. This author’s writing style is amazing, her words flowed so beautifully that every word just felt right. How she brought these two characters to life in my mind had me falling in love with both of them. What happened to these two during the 36 questions was not only them getting to know each other but getting to know themselves. The adventures that they encountered along the way really made me want to go on an adventure just like this with my husband of 36 years. The only negative I can give about this book is that it was only 150 pages, I didn’t want it to end. Actually I was scared of how it would end all the way through as I fell in love with both of them. Is 12 hours and 36 questions enough for two teens to fall in love, and what happens when the night ends? Will they both get caught sneaking out? You have to read this book! I can not say enough about it or this author…This is going in my will read again over and over file.

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12 Hours in Paradise by Kathryn Berla – Review by Jenni Bishop

12 Hours in Paradise12 Hours in Paradise by Kathryn Berla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dorothy Patmont is on a holiday in Hawaii with her family, where the sun is shining and the place is beautiful but tomorrow she is returning home to Reno, where it is cold with snow, not her favourite. Chester her younger brother drive her crazy and he loves anything free, so Dorothy finds herself in a shop where he wants to eat all the cookies despite Dorothy telling him they are samples and he can only have one. After embarrassing Dorothy she drags him out to return to the hotel.

Arash Atkinson is in Waikiki for a high school band competition. Arash decides to leave his friends where he meets Dorothy and her brother. Arash decides to sneak out and take her on an adventure of a lifetime and one that she won’t ever forget. Arash shows Dorothy a night of discovery, romance and fun in just Twelve hours in paradise. They each run the risk of being discovered but when Arash discovers an app that claims people will fall in love after answering thirty-six questions in each other’s presence, that is a risk they are willing to take. That risk to discover each other and find out if true love exists for them. Arash and Dorothy have found someone and something special only people dream of.

Is what Arash and Dorothy have found something that only comes along once in a lifetime? But what does that mean when they both return to their real lives? What does it mean for them if they get caught?

This is a short but sweet coming of age, Young Adult romance. It is a story that is sad and happy,charming and funny and makes you believe anything is possible in just twelve hours. I enjoyed story and the characters as well and who doesn’t love the setting on a beautiful beach in Hawaii?

Reviewed by @jennadb

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