The Fury by Alex Michaelides Genres: Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Published by Celadon Books on January 16, 2024
Format: Audiobook, eBook, Hardcover (320 pages) • Source: Book of the Month, Libby
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**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**
“Alex Michaelides hits the trifecta with his third novel, The Fury. The highly original story presents the reader with the king of all unreliable narrators, enough twists and turns to power two novels, and a host of characters that bleed right on the page. ” —David Baldacci
A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder — from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent PatientThis is a tale of murder.
Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?
Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.
I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press sensation: a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind...and a murder.
We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.
But who am I?
My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.
Unlike everyone else on the planet, I actually haven’t read THE SILENT PATIENT yet. It didn’t stop me from grabbing THE FURY in my BOTM over a year ago though – classic Lauren. I thought the premise sounded pretty good without carrying all the hype of his other book.
The story is narrated by one of the characters – Elliot – and breaks the fourth wall a lot, along with a stream of consciousness kind of narrative voice. He and his famous friends (Lana and her husband Jason and son Leo, plus their friend Kate) head to Lana’s private Greek island for a little R&R. The story kind of “unravels” from there when one of them is murdered.
The setup and format of the storytelling was interesting, but the idea was better than the execution. I think the structure of the book was meant to create tension but really it ended up being boring. I don’t feel like I can say more about how he narrated it without directly spoiling, but it was basically like “oh I told you all this now let’s go back in time to talk more about what happened first” or “I actually left a few things out that you may find important now, so here’s more details.”
I can understand why the format was like this – it’s almost like the author knew he wanted to make a very basic mystery more interested by using this kind of storytelling and then figured out what the murder mystery would actually BE after. If the story was told linearly, it would not be good at all lol.
The main character/narrator was horrible (in an obvious way) but that made it hard to want to read. The story had some good twists at the end but nothing knocked my socks off. I think I’d still be curious to read his other works but I can understand why this isn’t rated super high online.
I received this book for free (hey, thanks!) in exchange for an honest review. I promise that this does NOT affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. For real.
What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon Genres: Adult, Contemporary
Published by Penguin Group on May 6, 2025
Also by this author: Today Tonight Tomorrow, The Ex Talk, We Can't Keep Meeting Like This, Weather Girl, See You Yesterday, Business or Pleasure, Past Present Future
Format: eARC (384 pages) • Source: Publisher
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Falling in love with your husband is anything but convenient in this steamy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Business or Pleasure.
Dani Dorfman has somehow made it to her thirties without knowing what she wants to do with her life. So when an office romance ends poorly and gets her fired, she applies for a job in Amsterdam, idly dreaming of escaping the mess she’s created, but never imagining she'll actually get it.Except she does. By the end of her first week in Amsterdam, she’s never felt more adrift or alone. Then she crashes her bike into her high school ex-boyfriend—and suddenly life is blooming with new opportunities.
Wouter van Leeuwen was a Dutch exchange student Dani’s family hosted, a forbidden love that ended in a painful breakup. Years later, there’s still sizzling chemistry between them, and okay, maybe a little animosity. More importantly, Wouter needs to be married to inherit a gorgeous family home on a canal—and when Dani's job falls apart, she needs a visa. As the marriage of convenience pushes them together in unexpected ways, Dani must decide whether her new life is yet another mistake—or if it's worth taking a risk on a second chance.
Rachel Lynn Solomon, man… she does not miss. There’s something about her unique plots and writing style that just does it for me EVERY SINGLE TIME. My ranking post could use an update for 2025 because I think I’ve read three more books of hers and all of them were 4-5 stars.
This book follows Dani as she moves to Amsterdam for a job opportunity and to try something different in her life. Within the first week of moving there, she crashes her bike into her ex-boyfriend, Wouter, who lived with her family in LA back in high school as an exchange student. There’s a bit of animosity and awkwardness based on how they left things. Her job goes up in smoke and her apartment is terrible, so Wouter suggests a marriage of convenience – he needs a wife to inherit his beloved apartment building and she needs to buy time to find a new job and remain there. Naturally, this fake marriage progresses and feelings are rekindled.
It took me a little while to read the first third of the book but then I finished the final third in one sitting, which is actually pretty common with her books for me. I will stay up well into the night to finish them because I just can’t put them down.
I just love the way she writes characters and relationships. Some of it could border on cringey but she somehow does it well instead. IThe spicy scenes in this book were genuinely top-notch and potentially some of my favorites ever. I’m a sucker for second change romance though. I could FEEL their chemistry and history in every scene.
Dani was a bit frustrating at times because of how she refused to admit certain things or ask questions when she needed to. I really liked how Wouter and Dani would communicate in general though – sometimes there would be a breakdown or issue, but their relationship was pretty solid and built on trust.
The plot and story were predictable – especially at the end and the “black moment” – but it was an excellent romance with fun banter. I want my romances to be swoony and predictable so I can enjoy the happily ever after 🙂
Great setting, cute little dog, second chance romance, marriage of convenience. What more could you want?
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