Top 5 Wednesdays: Freebie — 5 Books I Bought Recently from Book Outlet

**Please note that this post is in no way sponsored by or associated with Book Outlet. I am merely commenting on my own experiences with them.

I’m a pretty recent convert over to using Book Outlet. I’d been hearing about it for a while through various vloggers, but was always hesitant to give it a chance because I can be picky about the condition of the books I buy. If I’m getting a new book (as in, not secondhand), I’d like it to be in as close to perfect condition as possible. It bothers me when the covers or pages are bent or torn, when the dustjacket is ripped, or when the book is very dirty. I decided to give Book Outlet a chance around Christmas because they had a great deal going on which essentially evened out to getting several books for free. I was so impressed with the quality of books that I received that I also took advantage of their recent Family Day offer of triple reward points. I was a bit disappointed to find that either their rewards system had changed or I had misunderstood it, so I got fewer points than I expected, but I still got some great books! Here is a list of 5 of the books I got recently through Book Outlet that I am most excited about!

Top 5 Wednesday is a meme created by Gingerreadslainey on Youtube, and is now hosted by Sam at ThoughtsOnTomes. The official GoodReads group with the weekly topics can be found here.

1) We Were on a Break by Lindsey Kelk

It is literally impossible for me to see this title without thinking of the infamous line from Friends, and honestly, it was the title that drew me to the book in the first place. This book is about a couple named Liv and Adam who are getting engaged, until Adam “accidentally” suggests they take a break. I’m not entirely sure how it is possible to accidentally take a break, so that alone might be interesting to see. The book follows the couple (or ex-couple?) as they try to figure out where they stand, and what exactly it means to be on a break. It is supposed to be a romantic comedy and it sounds like it could be a great read. I’ve never been a huge fan of the (irritatingly named) “chick lit” genre, but I’ve been getting into it a lot more often recently, and often really enjoying it. This book sounds like it could be very funny, but also has the potential to be very meaningful.

2) What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross

This was one of a few books that I bought as a motivation to finally get them off my TBR! I have quite a few books that have been on my list since 2015, many of which I haven’t picked up yet just because it’s been tough to find a copy. This book is a about a woman, Lucy,  who kidnaps a baby from a shopping cart and raises the child as her own. As Mia becomes an adult and discovers the truth about the only mother she’s ever known, she sets out to find her birth mother while Lucy is forced to flee. Part of the reason I added this book to my TBR in the first place is because I thought the cover art was very interesting, and it seemed very creepy. It sounds like such an interesting storyline, and I’m actually a bit surprised that I haven’t picked it up yet. I’m not entirely sure I’ll manage to fit it in this year, but I may need to shuffle things around.

3) The Guilty One by Sophie Littlefield

I actually read another book by the same title not too long ago, but this one has been on my TBR since 2015 also. It is about a woman named Maris whose daughter was murdered by her boyfriend. The young man’s father, wracked with guilty, calls Maris from the Golden Gate Bridge, where he is standing ready to jump with one question — should he jump? I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have someone’s life in my hands, so this book sounds like such an intriguing concept. It opens up all kinds of moral questions. The Goodreads reviews have been a little mixed, and one of the most common complaints seems to be that the book is often mislabeled as a thriller. Even if it is not a true thriller, it still seems like it could be a very interesting look at the relationships between the characters.

4) Your Perfect Life by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

This is the kind of book I would have been so unlikely to even try a few years ago, but after The Status of All Things by these two authors became a favourite last year, I decided I wanted to give more of their work a chance. This book is about Casey and Rachel, two childhood friends who have grown up to live very different lives. One day, the two of them wake up to discover they have switched bodies and have to live each other’s lives. This is a fairly common movie trope but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done in a book, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out on the page. I do tend to enjoy TV shows or movies where characters have to switch places, although that’s often because of getting to see the actors try to become each other’s roles. I can’t really imagine how the authors will develop the characters well enough to pull off the switch convincingly, but it sounds like it could be fun to read!

5) Daughter by Jane Shelmit

I bought this book because it was part of my whole push to try more thrillers, so I added a whole bunch of them to by TBR. I was first drawn to this one because of the kind of creepy cover. It is about a successful doctor named Jenny whose 15-year-old daughter, Naomi, does not come home after a school play. A year later, the trail has gone cold, but Jenny is still searching for answers. She soon discovers that everyone has been keeping secrets from her, especially Naomi. The synopsis for this one reminds me quite a bit of Reconstructing Amelia, which I loved. Both of the books are about a mother trying to piece together whatever information they can about their daughters, and discovering that they may not have known the girls as well as they thought. It’s another book that’s received some pretty mixed reviews, but the plot seems like something that would interest me.

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