
Member Reviews

WILLOW ROSE
SAY IT ISN'T SO (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 12)
Pub Date 09 Nov 2022
Buoy Media
Mystery & Thrillers
5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Description
It is a dream come true for ten-year-old Becky when her parents take her and her younger sister on a cruise to the Bahamas. But nothing is how it is supposed to be when her parents can’t stop fighting, and soon the trip turns out to be a true nightmare. When she and her sister disappear as the ship is about to dock in Coco Cay, it also becomes a puzzling mystery.
How do you disappear on a cruise ship? Why can’t they be found? Could they have fallen overboard? FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas is flown in to assist on this bizarre but very time-sensitive case. The parents both claim to know what happened to their children. Each of them blames the other for kidnapping them. Who is telling the truth? Meanwhile, the passengers are not allowed to leave the ship as the search continues, causing the tension to rise onboard. It becomes a race against time as a frustrated Eva Rae Thomas tries to find out what happened in the hours up until the disappearance of the two children. When one of the children is found dead, she realizes this is more than a simple case of a parental dispute.
🚨🚨🚨My Review🚨🚨🚨
Dream vacation turns into every parents worst nightmare . Wow
this was a totally gripping psychological thriller with one jaw-dropping twist after another. I
Started and finished all in one day. I found this story extremely addictive. The end of every chapter leaves you wanting more. As the story progresses you get to know the parents along with one of the maids and her brother. Before you know it you become interested in their story as well. Nothing on this ship is as it seems. After they found the youngest daughter dead in a suitcase my heart broke in a millon places. I never did connect with either of the parents but I had to know what happened to the girls and why. Now that there’s a killer onboard and time is ticking will they find their oldest daughter alive ? At the end of the story i was blew away with not 1 but 2 huge plot twist that not only did i not see them coming but they had my mouth hanging open.
This makes the second book I've read by this author and I must say I will be looking up and adding more of her books to my tbr list.
#SAYITISNTSO #NetGalley.

I e enjoyed most of this series but this one was a little flat for me, not as good as some of the others. I usually enjoy the everyday life of Eva Rae and this one was missing that…..it felt a bit rushed . I’ll still read the next in series hoping it has more of what I love in this series.
I voluntarily received a free copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

Loved the cover of this book, loved the premise of the story.
Very soon into reading it, though, I found myself distracted and not feeling immersed in the story. I think much more could’ve been done to create intrigue, etc.
There were interesting enough characters, and the setting was interesting and, like I said, even the premise of the story seemed enticing, but the execution just kind of fell flat for me.
I have not read anything else by this author yet, and she has a series of books and so because I don’t usually give up after one try I will try another book by this author, but I wouldn’t say that I would recommend this book at this point.
Thankyou Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
🌸📚🤗 Charlene @lastnownext
Thankyou to

I loved this book as I really enjoy books whose settings are on ships or islands this one was excellent and with so many twists and thrills it kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time with an ending I never expected!!!! I highly recommend this great book!
Much thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC
All thoughts and opinions are my own

A family takes a cruise to the Bahamas with their two young children, and something horrible happens. Their two young children go missing, and until they are found, no one - both employees and passengers - can leave the ship. This creates a lot of ill feeling on the ship as it is hard on both the ship's employees who are supposed to work shifts, and for the passengers, around 2500 people. All of the off-ship activities are cancelled as no one can leave the ship until the two girls are found so there are a lot of bored, resentful passengers. As each day goes by, the danger of a mutiny rises.
Eva Rae Thomas is an FBI profiler who is flown to the ship to investigate. The FBI began background checks on everyone on board, but that can also be slow. Eva must interview the parents, the other passengers, and the employees, while they are waiting to find the children, find the bodies, or receive ransom notes. The ship was searched from top to bottom, and also the surrounding sea in case one or both of the sisters fell overboard. While this is going on, the parents are blaming each other for their children's disappearance.
There is another mystery going on also. Two siblings, one who works on the ship, and her brother, are two of the other main characters. Her brother has gambling debts that he can't pay to some dangerous people, and is desperate for money. He also gambled while on the ship, and is desperately dodging people he lost money to. But was he desperate enough to be involved in the disappearance of the children?
I enjoyed reading this thriller, and never guessed the outcome. I received a review copy of this book from publisher Buoy Media via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

This book is definitely a good suspenseful mystery, and it keep you on the edge of your seat. I do not think I would read this if i was on a cruise ship, but it is definitely a great vacation read

Pace:
The pacing didn't feel rushed even when you're thrown into the middle of a person's character, the flashbacks of Bryan and Tina really helped with getting to know them more in depth. While it left me wondering more about Travis and Elena, it did show more of who they are in their conversations throughout the book so I really appreciate that Willow didn't just info dump them. The ending was wonderfully wrapped up.
Characters:
Bryan
He is a professional football player who's rich and famous. I must say that he was an engaging character to me and honestly i felt bad for him especially when you know his past and how he is now and what he is dealing with in the present, buuut I will not say more so you have to read to find out more about him :)
Tina
She is the wife of Bryan and oh boy is she an interesting character, she isn't really made to be likable but her past was really really interesting so I found her to be a unique character so in that sense I really like her as a character. Her past self is honestly a very concerning character and a character you would find in real life and that is honestly pretty scary
Travis
While I dislike him, I somewhat feel bad for him to an extent because he did grow up in a rough place but either way it does not excuse what he has done. Desperate people do desperate things
Elena
She is Travis' sister and she is the only character I truly feel bad for in this book. She has gone through so much and Travis doesn't make it easier for her even though she loves him
Liked:
As I previously mentioned before, I do like that we find out more about Bryan and Tina in the form of flashbacks, and we learn more about Travis and Elena in their conversations instead of Willow info dumping or not letting us get to know the characters more. I do like how interesting some of the characters are and it sure fooled me on who the true villain was so I really loved that. This book was just really engaging for me and it kept me hooked to the end
Disliked:
Overall, I didn't really dislike anything about this book, but I just wish that we found out more about what happened to Travis and Elena, more specifically how Elena is dealing with everything that had happened.
Overall Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book and I was debating whether to give this a five star rating or a four star rating due to it not feeling fully complete for me, but this book had kept me invested and on the edge of my seat trying to find out what will happen next and it did wrap up the main story in a unexpected way so overall this is a 5 star book for me. It was also heartbreaking at some points and I was certainly worried about Becky's safety throughout the book. So this is up there as one of my favorite reads.
Recommendation:
I definitely recommend this to those who love this genre and are wondering if they should give this a read, even if you don't end up liking it as much this is certainly a fun and engaging book.

Say It Isn't So is about two children who disappear on a cruise ship. The parents are fighting all the time and both of them have accused the other one of somehow kidnapping them. But when you find out more is involved it becomes much more than an accusation. I don't want to give anything away so you'll have to read this for yourself! It will definitely keep you guessing!

Not at all what I was expecting based on a cover that screams "summer light vibes". This was a fast paced - ♥️ very short chapters- psychological domestic thriller set aboard a luxury cruise. TW: a very young child is found murdered inside a suitcase, readers should know in advance. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This is the 12th book in the Eva Rae Thomas series. It was a difficult read since there were children involved. Nevertheless, I would recommend as it was a good mystery.
Former FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas is once again asked by the FBI to assist in a case. Two children have disappeared while on a cruise ship with their parents. The mother is also missing. The father is a famous football player & claims he is innocent of any wrongdoing. What happened?
After a tragic discovery, the search is even more frantic. Is there a chance that that Eva Rae can find the girls alive?

Say It Isn’t So by Willow Rose I understand this is one in a series but can be considered a stand alone. I did not enjoy this novel and skipped to the end after reading a fourth of the book. The dialogue in particular was difficult to read and the characters not very likable.. Thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read this book.

I feel sorry for the children. What a toxic environment. The endless fighting is sad. But who do you believe would kill the girls? And how can there be so many possibilities? The cruise ship setting is a good one. The story is full of twists and turns and that ending was a total surprise. Loved this one!

This was a twisty tale with lots of red herrings. Kept me guessing about what I thought I knew. I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

Wow! What a crazy read! Geez and then to find out some of this is based on a true story?! Omg! This book had suspense, intrigue, murder, lizard people lol, and many crazy twists and turns! The storyline was so very interesting and crazy! But it kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Wow! Some really crazy twists! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I rarely say this, but this book should have been longer.
The characters should have been more developed. The cruise ship should have played more of a role in development.
The end was such a shock, there was no preamble to even think that the person who was "nabbed" as the killer as to why. There was just no set up.
I liked the premise, it was a fast paced novel. Just needed MORE depth of the characters, more depth to the story, and more depth to the motive.
OVerall not a bad thriller/mystery book, it just could have been EXTRAORDINARY!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this read in exchange for an honest opinion.
Although a book in a series, this can be read as a stand-alone as I was not behind/confused over not knowing the detective. I would also classify this read more as YA than Adult Fiction. The whole premise was a bit mind boggling, nonetheless, I powered through to determine who the killer was. That was a surprise but it all closed out in the final two pages making for a lackluster ending. Ultimately, this was not my favorite read. My first read in this series and probably my last.

<b>Note:</b> I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley.
It is a dream come true for ten-year-old Becky when her parents take her and her younger sister on a cruise to the Bahamas. But nothing is how it is supposed to be when her parents can’t stop fighting, and soon the trip turns out to be a true nightmare. It becomes a puzzling mystery when she and her sister disappear as the ship is about to dock in Coco Cay.
FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas is flown in to assist on this bizarre but very time-sensitive case. The parents both claim to know what happened to their children. Each of them blames the other for kidnapping them. Meanwhile, the passengers are not allowed to leave the ship as the search continues, causing the tension to rise onboard. It becomes a race against time as a frustrated Eva Rae Thomas tries to find out what happened in the hours up until the disappearance of the two children.
This was a thought-provoking take on a whose-who of lying and scheming. I really enjoyed getting the different perspectives and backstories of the characters. I really thought I knew what was happening and the author did an excellent job of navigating the reader through the labyrinth of hectic activity. This book was a fast-paced read with a lot going on, keeping the reader enthralled for every part of the story.

Not my favorite book. I found it hard to get into, especially at first. The writing seemed chaotic and not really well thought out. The formatting hurt - I don’t like having the chapters separated by only a line or two. I don’t know if that’s how the formatting is or how it just came up on my kindle. I also kept seeing “Willow Rose” pop up randomly on some pages which I saw mentioned in other reviews.
There’s a mystery aspect to this book, which is interesting but unrealistic and with the seemingly non-existent development of the characters, this book wasn’t one I could really get into.

I want to start by saying I really enjoyed this book, however when I first started it I got confused as to whether it was written for children or for adults. Once I got past the first chapter it all became clear and a I settled in for a very enjoyable read.
I loved the cruise ship setting, the different characters, the mystery and the twists. The flashbacks were entertaining and I loved the different layers/storylines which all came together. Well written and entertaining.
It was such a great book and can't wait to read more from this author.

Wow. Lots of twists and turns in the storyline. Did not end like I thought it would...a real surprise ending. Great characters throughout the book.