Author: Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

Review Round Up | Finlay Donovan is Killing It, The Girls Are All So Nice Here, and The Ex-Talk

Posted May 21, 2021 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 0 Comments

In an effort to cut down on posts and burnout, my Review Roundups will feature 2-4 books I’ve read or listened to recently. Sometimes they’re newer releases and sometimes they’re all backlist titles. My ARC reviews usually get the solo treatment. Enjoy the mini reviews! This was so fun and refreshing – exactly what I needed! I’ve been intrigued by the cozy mystery genre, or at least “lighter” mysteries that focus heavily on the amateur sleuth and her personal life, but none have fully hit the mark. They’ve either been not-good in a compulsively readable way, or just straight-up not great in general. This one hit the mark for me in so many ways. Finlay is a struggling romantic suspense author and she finds herself caught up in a murder mystery, along with her babysitter-turned-roommate, Vero. They have a fun relationship – I loved how quickly Vero worked with Finlay to figure out what was happening, even getting involved with some extremely elicit activities. Like many mysteries like this, the crime/murder is a main point of the book, but you learn even more about the main character and their personal life as they try to figure out what’s going on. Finlay is dealing with her shitty ex-husband and his new perfect fiance while trying to be a single working mom of two cute kids. I enjoyed seeing how she attempted to balance it all and how Vero stepped in to help her… in more ways than one. I won’t spoil too much […]

Blog Tour Review & Cover Colors: Last Girl Lied To

Posted April 10, 2019 / Book Reviews / 3 Comments

Review I was a huuuuge fan of Flynn’s debut novel, FIRSTS, so I was super eager to find out what she’d be writing next. She started with a contemporary and then, for her sophomore novel, moved into mystery. I could totally see her knocking this kind of book out of the park, along with a new-ish pen name to match the new genre. Needless to say, I signed up for this blog tour so quickly! This book was incredibly addicting. There’s something about her writing that makes you want to keep reading until the book is over; I remember the same feeling with FIRSTS and reading it in 1-2 sittings. It also helped that the chapters were often really short and easy to breeze through, eager to see what would happen next. Fiona recounts the night Trixie supposedly walked into the ocean and various points of their friendship, while living her life in present day, trying to figure out what happened that night. I liked that the book was mostly about Fiona’s relationship with herself (and her body image issues), trying to remember who she was before and during her friendship with Trixie, in order to figure out who she actually is without any friends influencing her too much. There was a common pattern where she’d mold herself into whatever her friends needed her to be, which caused her to lose sight of things she loved (like fashion and making clothes). As I said, she’s also trying to figure out what […]

Review: Firsts

Posted January 4, 2016 / Book Reviews / 11 Comments

This book was definitely one of the ones I was most looking forward to for 2016. I saw countless early reviews of people who said “this book doesn’t sound like something I’d normally like,” but it sounded right up my alley. I like tougher topics in YA, especially if it tackles sex and slut-shaming and all that other realistic stuff. So, when I went to The Strand last week and saw an early copy on the shelf, I bought it immediately! And, of course, I read it immediately. I wanted to post this review also immediately because I figured I may as well treat it like an ARC and try to beef up the buzz for it right before it actually comes out this week. This book was everything I was hoping it would be, and more. The concept itself was really refreshing and different, and the execution was nearly perfect. A lot of things could have gone wrong with this plotline, but Flynn made it so easy to relate to this girl (that most people usually wouldn’t relate to). Mercedes’s actions made you feel more sympathetic to her than judgmental. There was definitely a sense of foreboding throughout – a sticky feeling that made you uncomfortable and nervous for when everyone inevitably finds out what she’s been doing. There were really a lot of different factors that probably impacted Mercedes into making this choice – a teaching service for virgins, to make sure their girlfriends have way better first times […]