How to Save a Life by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

A special thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To say that Dom is having a bad day is an understatement. And to make matters worse, he can't escape it.

Don and Mia broke up almost a decade ago and he's never gotten over her. So when he bumps into his ex-fiancée in a serendipitous meeting, he can't help but think that fate has intervened and offered him a second chance.

When Mia tragically dies on their date, Dom makes a plea to the universe to be given the opportunity to save her. The next morning, Dom wakes up and is ecstatic to learn that his wish came true—Mia is still alive! But no matter what he does, day after day, she meets the same terrible fate.

The harder Dom tries, the more obsessed he becomes with saving Mia and rekindling their relationship. Forced to take a long hard look at who he has become, Dom needs to work through his life choices in order to be a better version of himself and save Mia in the process.

How to Save a Life is modern twist on Groundhog Day that asks the question: How far are you willing to go to save the life of someone you love?

Fenton and Steinke are a powerhouse duo that are truly gifted storytellers. Over the course of the narrative, they explore several scenarios for Dom to tackle his flaws which he believes will rescue Mia. They also look at the effects of grief and extreme trauma, and juxtapose this against love and missed opportunities.

I absolutely loved it. Congratulations, Liz and Lisa!

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LIZ FENTON & LISA STEINKE are the author team of five novels, including The Two Lila Bennetts, Girls' Night Out, and the The Good Widow.

Liz and Lisa have been best friends for 30 years.

The Two Lila Bennetts by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

A special thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this intense thriller, Lila Bennett is an attorney with an insatiable hunger for success. To get to where she is, Lila has made many bad choices, and one of those choices has literally split her life in two.

In one life, after celebratory drinks, she's taken captive by a masked man who seemingly knows a lot about her. Lila is trapped in a concrete cell with her feet and hands bound. She is forced to face her unsavoury actions or be killed.

Although she manages to evade being captured in her alternate life, she is still hunted by someone who is exposing her secrets one at a time. As result, her happiness, and everything she has worked for, is slowly being chipped away.

You see, in both of these scenarios, everything is on the line—her marriage, her career, and her life. Lila must make a list of those in her past that she's wronged to determine who is responsible, before it's too late. And even if she can figure out who is behind what is happening to her, will she even survive? Which Lila Bennett will emerge? Because one thing is for certain, life as she knows it is over.

Inspired by the movie Sliding Doors, Liz and Lisa have ratcheted up the suspense in their newest novel. The story starts out as linear, but when Lila literally muses that her life "could split in two," and that the choices laid at her feet would lead her on completely different paths, the narrative actually splits into two. From here, Fenton & Steinke alternate between the two scenarios at the same point in time (each chapter is title "Captured" and "Free"). Readers are not only treated to some pretty incredible writing, but are tasked to figure out who is responsible.

Lila is a complex, layered character and the perfect unreliable narrator. She's whip-smart, but her intelligence and success are ironically part of her downfall. Also, her conscious is questionable—she gets people off for murder—yet for someone who is so bold and brazen, she actually fosters insecurities about her persona.

What is remarkable, besides the writing, is that it totally makes you start to question some of the decisions you have made in your own life, and that there are always several possibilities in every scenario. Both endings are outstanding and overall, this book is so damn clever! This ambitious narrative style could have easily gotten away from Fenton & Steinke, but it figuratively knocked my socks off.

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LIZ FENTON & LISA STEINKE are the author team of five novels, including Girls' Night Out and the The Good Widow.

Liz and Lisa have been best friends for 30 years.

Girls' Night Out by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

A special thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For estranged friends Ashley, Natalie, and Lauren, it’s time to heal the old wounds between them. Where better to repair those severed ties than on a girls’ getaway to the beautiful paradise of Tulum, Mexico? But even after they’re reunited, no one is being completely honest about the past or the secrets they’re hiding. When Ashley disappears on their girls’ night out, Natalie and Lauren have to try to piece together their hazy memories to figure out what could have happened to her, while also reconciling their feelings of guilt over their last moments together.

Was Ashley with the man she’d met only days before? Did she pack up and leave? Was she kidnapped? Or worse—could Natalie or Lauren have snapped under the weight of her own lies?

As the clock ticks, hour by hour, Natalie and Lauren’s search rushes headlong into growing suspicion and dread. Maybe their secrets run deeper and more dangerous than one of them is willing—or too afraid—to admit.

Liz and Lisa, what a ride! This book was fantastic! The writing is layered, dynamic, and oh so clever. The character depictions are detailed and fierce and I was completely captivated by the timelines and narratives.  

What Fenton and Steinke do best is conversation. Did you not feel like you were on this trip too?  Beyond the story are deeper themes of secrets, complicated relationships (at what point is a friendship obligatory?) and mystery. The brilliant aspect of this book is the juxtaposition of complex friendships against a frantic search for a loved one. Female relationships are complex, but three is never an ideal number and this ratchets the tension even further. I would highly recommend this book.

LIZ FENTON & LISA STEINKE are the author team of five novels, including Girls' Night Out and the The Good Widow.

Liz and Lisa have been best friends for 30 years.