Publisher: Minotaur Books

Recent Reads | The Anniversary and Rachel West and the Fallen Starlet

Posted May 27, 2026 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

Unlike many others, I enjoyed Finlay’s book last year – I know others have read and enjoyed a smattering of books from his backlist but I just kept putting off reading them for whatever reason. As I sometimes do, I requested a review copy last year for PARENTS WEEKEND to motivate me to read it. THE ANNIVERSARY was another great read and I really should prioritize his backlist now! The concept is what got me: the book follows two main characters annually on May 1st in the 1990s as they try to track down a serial killer who only strikes on that day. There are a handful of chapters set on each May 1st and the book goes in order to see what they’re doing and what the case updates are. The characters didn’t wow me but again, the concept was so interesting. I think Finlay did a good job of not making it feel like the book was just jumping ahead in time without any reason. It never felt like I “missed out” on major events from the May 2nd to April 30th in between. I liked seeing where Jules and Quinn were each year and if/when their stories overlapped on that day. I didn’t actually try to solve the mystery in this one at all so I was generally surprised by the outcome. I’m curious to see some other reviews to see if I’m just a dummy for not realizing. I’d definitely recommend this if the concept interested […]

Recent Reads | In Case I Go Missing and This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone

Posted May 14, 2026 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

Young adult mysteries are harder to win me over these days, but there was something about the premise here that got stuck in my head. I don’t like to request books on Netgalley by unfamiliar authors in genres I’m unsure of. I’m so glad I did because this book really impressed me! Fenny and her friend Sam were best friends with Sarah. When she suddenly went missing after acting weird for a while, and the two begin to unravel that Sarah was working on a new case baked into the history of the town. I liked that it was a mystery within a mystery and that the missing girl’s friends had to follow in her footsteps/investigation in order to also figure out what happened to her. I loved watching them come to realizations in the same way Sarah likely did by talking to people around town and learning what Sarah was up to, while also figuring out how her investigation made her a target. Candidly the actual characters were fine and not memorable, but they really didn’t need to be. This was exactly what I hoped it would be when I read the premise. The mystery was layered and not predictable. I liked seeing how the two mysteries (past and present) intertwined. I would definitely read more books by this author because as of now, Maureen Johnson is my only remaining YA mystery author. I’d recommend this if the premise interests you, since it delivered for me! I’ve really enjoyed this […]

Recent Reads | The Night We Met and Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line

Posted April 13, 2026 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

I’ve read every single Abby Jimenez book before its publication date (thank you to Forever Romance as always!) and this was the first one where I had to actually wait until the book came out! It was a weird experience honestly but it WAS nice to enjoy the audiobook for once. The synopsis implies a love triangle and/or potential cheating, which is such a risky trope for Abby to cover… but honestly I knew she’d kill it. Larissa met Chris and Mike at a concert one night and chose Mike (instead of Chris) to bring her home. Months later, she and Mike are dating and Chris missed his opportunity. Mike asks Chris to help him out one day and bring Larissa and her mom to a surgery appointment, and a friendship blooms between them. They accidentally rescue a dog together and start a lot of buddy reads. They have a ton in common…especially compared to her and Mike. As with all books by Abby Jimenez, there are some touchy or tough subjects covered in this one. The full trigger warnings are described at the beginning of the book. In short, Larissa is barely scraping by financially and Chris is dealing with some complex grief. I really loved the chemistry development and how the “complication” or issue happened throughout the whole book. How could these two ever be together, even if Larissa and Mike broke up? Chris and Mike are childhood best friends. There wasn’t necessarily a third act breakup because […]

Recent Reads | Bride and Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

Posted March 14, 2024 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

This book was really something. I kind of have no idea what to make of it. I had previously avoided Hazelwood’s books becuase I just didn’t think they were for me. The Reylo fanfic inspiration and the continuous use of big man/small girl are just not for me. I saw absolute rave reviews for this one and thought maybe THIS is a Hazelwood I could read and get on board with. It’s a paranormal romance with werewolf and a vampire in a world where both species coexist (kind of) with humans. It took a solid 100 pages to get interesting and less confusing but I did get more hooked after that point. The book has an arranged marriage between a werewolf groom and vampire bride to help broker peace between their people for a while. Beyond that, the MC Misery (yes that’s her name) is trying to find her best friend that went missing. So there were two main elements – a romance and a mystery – and I’ll tell ya, the mystery and political backdrop are what kept me reading. The romance absolutely gave me the creeps and thanks to Ali Hazelwood, I’ll never think of a knot the same again. It was just WEIRD. I think the politics and mystery were 20x more interesting than the romance and luckily those were at the forefront of most of the book. I was genuinely surprised by the reveals and events at the end, which is why my rating is decent […]

Review Roundup | Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, Tomorrow x3, and Lost in the Moment and Found

Posted February 2, 2023 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 2 Comments

This series has become truly one of my all-time favorites. It reminds me a lot of the time I read EVELYN HUGO and needed like a million more books just like it, but couldn’t find them. I wrote a whole post about it haha. There’s just some magical quality in Cosimano’s writing and these characters that gets me every time. I’ll be honest, I was nervous about this one a little bit. I’m not a big police gal and wasn’t jazzed up about reading about a ton of cops and a citizens police training program. I definitely didn’t love that aspect overall but it was kind of fun creating that “summer camp” or “college dorm” vibe where everyone is in one place during the story. This story did a good job of wrapping up some loose ends from the first two books while opening the door for future installments. Parts of the initial mystery seemed to be solved enough for the reader to finally get a bit of closure (and not drag the same questions out into book four), but there are lingering threads to keep it moving. Finlay and Vero were just as funny and interesting to read about as they always are. This is the kind of series I’d keep reading forever and ever, with the main characters solving whatever mystery comes up next. This is technically my least favorite book of the three but a four-star book I didn’t want to stop listening to? Can’t go wrong. Man, […]