Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

Audio ARC Review: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave

Posted March 13, 2025 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I’ve loved this series, even when it goes off the rails a little bit. These are cozy mysteries with a slight edge compared to others I’ve read. I think this book specifically is more on the cozy side than the others and a bit more grounded than a couple of the previous ones. I was happy to encounter a new mystery instead of a continuation of the other plot that had run its course. The first four books each had individual mysteries that get resolved in each book, but there was a larger mystery and thread throughout all of those. It got a little tiring. All of that to say – this book follows a new mystery based in Finlay’s neighborhood. It was set up at the end of book 4 when a body is found in Mrs. Haggarty’s yard. Finlay and Vero spend this installment trying to figure out who murdered this dude and buried them in the yard, since her ex-husband is the one implicated in the crime. Finlay believes, as much as Steven sucks, that he isn’t responsible for it. I will say that I love how this book brought the series back to its roots, as I touched on before. There’s a new storyline to follow that kind of reads like a standalone story. The humor and heart of these books get met every time and keep me reading. I know that a lot of people are sick of the antics or thought the books veered […]

Recent Reads | Only If You’re Lucky and Lost Man’s Lane

Posted January 16, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

I’ve been meaning to read this author forever and I’m pleased that I think I’ll enjoy her other books – maybe even more than this one based on reviews! This story follows Margot at the end of her freshman year of college – she lost her best friend Eliza before school and is just trying to get through the year. When enigmatic Lucy randomly invites Margot to live with her and her two friends, she jumps at the chance to forge some real friendships again. The book flashes “before” and “after” – in the after, Lucy is missing and a frat boy from Margot’s hometown is dead. How is everything connected? The author did a great job of making me wonder that the entire story, but my biggest complaint is around pacing. The story starts and builds pretty slow. There’s a lot of “privileged kids getting drunk and doing drugs” to build up the friendship dynamics, which made sense, but it didn’t feel like a mystery/thriller for the bulk of it. Don’t get me wrong: the college setting was super fun and I want more books there… but the beginning felt like a YA contemporary. However! Once the twists started, I was enthralled. There were a number of reveals I absolutely didn’t see coming, though there were a couple I had predicted. The ending was really surprising and enjoyable. I feel like some pieces were unbelievable but I didn’t really care – it was well-plotted in many ways. Willingham will […]

Summerween Reviews | Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies and Summers End

Posted July 18, 2024 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Summerween is a readathon hosted by GabbyReads that runs in early July each year. This year’s readathon was hosted July 5th through 11th with the following prompts: read a book in the dark, read a thriller or horror book, read a book with a night sky on the cover, read a book with 5 words in the title, and read a book set during the summer. For more information click HERE. Okay, this was really fun for me! I can absolutely see this as a polarizing book and the low-ish rating doesn’t surprise me. I think you have to be in the mood for something a little different, where the narrator breaks the third wall and involves the reader in the story. There are a couple of other reasons people don’t love this one but I’ll get into that shortly. This book follows Eleanor, bestselling author of the Vacation Mysteries series, as she travels on a “book tour” kind of giveaway event in Italy. Along for the ride are a few other authors (including her ex), the man who inspired her first book, her sister (slash person who manages her entire life), and some fans who won a giveaway to join them. Connor, the hero-turned-nemesis, thinks someone is trying to kill him and the group spends the book trying to figure out who’s doing it, if he’s the real target, and more. I haven’t yet read EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE but from what I understand about the narrative style, […]