Source: Libby

Recent Reads | Parents Weekend and One Golden Summer

Posted June 9, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

I’ve had books by Alex Finlay on my TBR for a long time – I don’t know why this one is the one I finally read but I think it maybe gave me a good sense for his writing and overall style. I’m definitely interested in reading more books by him now! This was good. The story follows a parents weekend at a college in California. Five students (of parents attending the weekend) go missing and a newly relocated FBI agent, Keller (I guess she’s from some of his other books), is on the case. Many of them are rich and powerful so there are theories about why these kids were taken, by who, how, and – most important – where they are. A few things kinda bugged me (lots of red herrings and plot points that didn’t do anything) but overall I liked the format and writing. I did predict whodunnit. The more middling reviews I read, the more I think I should have lowered my rating to the 3.5 range… but honestly it kept me engaged the whole time. I was curious to read more and thought the multiple POVs were decent, albeit a little confusing. I’ll be especially curious to read more books featuring Keller! Carley Fortune is soooo good. I was really craving a summer read like this thanks to a conversation with my friend Jackie, and this totally hit the spot. I wrote a TTT about this and a summer bucket list within the last week […]

Recent Reads | The Fury and What Happens in Amsterdam

Posted May 22, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

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 […]

Recent Reads | Insignificant Others and The Measure

Posted May 14, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

My reading slump is slowly getting busted by really addicting, fun reads! This was no exception. It’s been a long time since I was this engaged in a book/romance where I just wanted to keep reading. I added this to my TBR completely on a whim when I saw it involved my favorite topic – parallel/time loop/Groundhog Day kind of things, then requested both formats on Libby. When Lena and her boyfriend break up instead of getting engaged, she heads back to visit her aunt off the coast of Seattle, falling asleep in her guest house. When she wakes up, she’s in Paris with a man claiming to be her husband. The next day, the same thing – new city, new husband. She recognizes all of these men from casual encounters at parties or on a train or from high school so she quickly realizes that this is a taste of what her life would be like if she had taken a different path or gone out on that date she declined. I would say that this is a bit more on the literary side because the romance part is honestly kind of minimal despite what the plot may suggest. There wasn’t enough time to get to know each man or feel much chemistry, though some days were better than others. She learned a lesson from each dude and then moved on the next morning to the next person, trying to find a way back to her life. The moral […]

Recent Reads | The Maid’s Secret and Great Big Beautiful Life

Posted April 29, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

This series is a really fun time. Molly the Maid has solved now 3.5 mysteries around the Regency Grand Hotel and I thinkkk this may be her final one? Not sure if other books have been announced but this really feels like a last book. This was another generally enjoyable installment in this series, but definitely my least favorite. The story alternates between Molly’s daily life/the overall mystery and her gran’s diary entries. Unfortunately I wasn’t super invested in either timeline, but I especially didn’t enjoy the diary entries. I thought they were so boring. Yes, it helps move the story along in some ways, but I wasn’t at all invested. I think the main mystery was a little lame as well. I never felt like the stakes were really high and the story was just kind of plodding along. I think the series has run its course from a plot perspective but I have to be honest – I would read additional books if they were to come out. As I’ve said a hundred times before, there are a few authors where I am ANXIOUSLY awaiting their next release and can guarantee I’ll read them during pub week (or early enough if I get an egalley). These days that includes Emily Henry, Christina Lauren, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Carley Fortune, and Abby Jimenez. Typically these authors (for the most part) get fairly rave reviews but Henry and Jimenez always do…especially for me. 2025 has been weirdly polarizing for those two […]

Recent Reads | Swept Away and Magpie Murders

Posted April 23, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

I’ve loved quite a few of O’Leary’s books but actually DNFed her last release – for whatever reason the story just wasn’t clicking for me and I haven’t felt pulled to start it again. I was really hoping to get back on track with her for this novel and I’m happy to report that happened! The story follows Zeke and Lexi as they deal with the aftermath of a one-night stand. They realize when they wake up in the morning that the houseboat they were using has somehow gotten untied and was swept out to see. They don’t have power, they’re running out of food, and – to top it all off – they literally don’t know each other at all. Obviously the premise alludes to a bit of a survival story but for some reason I didn’t realize how intense it would be! I kind of just assumed they’d get rescued in a few days but there was actually a lot of peril and accidents to deal with. Some early reviews had folks unprepared for this and it affected their enjoyment, but I still really enjoyed it. It’s just not a straightforward fluffy romance. The ending had some twists that I didn’t see coming (which makes me feel like an idiot because maybe they were obvious?). It took a little while to get on board with those reveals but I was pretty pleased by the end of the book with how everything turned out. This was a super emotional […]

Recent Reads | The Searcher and The Lodge

Posted April 7, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

My book club is really getting me out of my comfort zone at times but so far it hasn’t been a successful endeavor lol. I guess I just know what I like, and this kind of book is not it. The books that were already on my TBR when we selected them have generally worked out pretty well, and the two books I’ve read ONLY because of the club… not so much. Why do we need to read about annoying men? This book follows Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago cop who moves to Ireland to fix up an old house and live quietly post-divorce. When a young boy approaches him one day and asks for help looking for his missing brother, Cal can’t resist helping him out. Unfortunately, this was SO INCREDIBLY BORING. I could truly sum up the plot in three sentences (just add one to the paragraph above that describes the ending) and yet I had to read almost 500 pages. Even the reveal at the end was incredibly obvious. Most reviews were surprised by it but I thought it was pretty glaring who was involved. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I just don’t like reading about men. Or cops / ex-cops. Or guns and hunting. Unfortunately all three of these things were present in spades. Tana French wrote Cal Hooper in a way that a lot of men write women – stereotypically and frustratingly. Did we really need to hear about him adjusting […]

Recent Reads | Onyx Storm and Beautiful Ugly

Posted February 6, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

If you thought IRON FLAME was a slog to get through with all of the filler and unnecessary fighting, allow me to introduce you to ONYX STORM! Also a slog with even more filler and (at least) less fighting. This book would be boring for 100 pages and then offer 50 pages of intrigue and then keep repeating until the end of the book. I’m starting to question the sanity of myself and others who continue to read the series – I genuinely don’t get it. FOURTH WING was a comparatively fun ride, especially for those nostalgic for old school YA fantasy, aged up into romantasy with sex scenes. I still didn’t really understand the five star reviews of that book because of the horrible, repetitive romance and writing style but at least I could understand why the experience was fun for folks. This book and its predecessor brought to the table a whole lot of nothing except for at the very end. And this one doesn’t have me itching to pick up the next book like IRON FLAME did. I’m wondering if this is where me and my FOMO part ways with this series… We’ll see how I feel when the next one comes out but as of now I’m mostly frustrated and confused. I’m gonna go read some theories because this book pretty much answered nothing that was brought up in the previous two books. If it’s true that this was originally a trilogy and got pushed to […]

Holiday Review: The Holiday Honeymoon Switch

Posted January 1, 2025 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Story If you’re a fan of THE HOLIDAY (people switching houses around the holidays) and strong friendship stories, this could be a good Christmassy read for you. Holly and Ivy (lol yes they discuss how funny their names are together) are best friends. When Holly gets broken up with the day before her wedding, she can’t bear the idea of still going on her Hawaiian honeymoon but still needs an escape. Ivy had planned to head to an eco-friendly cabin in NY for her annual two-week art retreat during the same timeframe, so they end up switching places. Naturally some romance occurs in each location for the two main characters. I can’t decide if I didn’t love the characters themselves or if I just didn’t like how the author wrote them (like her writing style for them?). I didn’t feel overly connected to them and thought the writing style was just not great? The concept was good, the friendship vibes were strong, and the third act “breakups” / miscommunication were minimal, which is a plus. Wintery Setting & Holiday Feels The story alternates between a very Christmassy setting in upstate New York and a not-so-wintery Kauai. Both places had nice Christmas vibes though. It was fun because I’ve actually been to both settings in this book! I liked how they made holiday traditions in both settings even though one of them had warm, beachy weather. The small town in New York was really cute and holiday-ish, especially with the parade […]

Holiday Reviews: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year and A Winter Wish

Posted December 25, 2024 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 0 Comments

Story I’ve been an Ally Carter stan since I was a preteen so you know I’m going to be here for anything she puts out. I didn’t love her previous adult mystery/romance and was really hoping this one would be better for me. I’m thrilled to report that it was! Maggie and Ethan are rival mystery book authors (according to Maggie at least). They’re both heading out on a mysterious Christmas trip, no clue that they were invited by the Agatha Christie of their time (Eleanor Ashley). They, along with members of Eleanor’s family, were brought to her huge mansion/castle in the English countryside for some reason. When Eleanor goes missing a few days before Christmas, Maggie and Ethan use their crime, poison, and general mystery trope knowledge to try to figure out what happened and where she is. I really enjoyed the romance between these two and the setting was incredible. Only one bed, enemies-to-lovers, he-fell-first… all the good tropes! The fact that there was also a mystery in the backdrop made this book even better. Carter did a great job balancing both genres IMO but I do wish there was a liiiittle more of the mystery. I think the Knives Out plus holiday rom-com comparison was perfect for this book, which also means additional puzzles, riddles, and time with other characters would have been welcome. Wintery Setting & Holiday Feels The book is set at a snowy castle on 20,000 acres in England with no phone signal, plus […]

Holiday Reviews: I’ll Be Gone for Christmas and Spectacular

Posted December 11, 2024 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 0 Comments

Story I’m a sucker for THE HOLIDAY and any book that promises that kind of “holiday house swap” will certainly make it on my TBR. I went and requested a bunch of Christmas books a few weeks ago and this was the first one that came in on Libby, so I ended up making it my first holiday book of the year! Clover and her ex-fiance, Knox, are still living on the same property, working the family farm after her mom passes away. Bee is living in San Francisco and looking to escape her twin sister, Beth, after she made some mistakes with their shared company. Luckily Bee’s friend invented a house swap app and the two gals end up leaving their lives behind for the holiday season. The book saw Clover start to fall for Bee’s sister and Bee begin to fall for Knox – as expected. The story itself was absolutely a cute, drama-free, slow burn romance with practically zero spice. It certainly is a more diverse version of THE HOLIDAY and exactly what I wanted in that regard. There were a lot of character names for no real reason (one of them was named Dee and another was Bee, which should be illegal) and I got a little confused when trying to keep two plotlines straight. Wintery Setting & Holiday Feels The premise of following a holiday season in the city along with one in a “Christmas-obsessed” small town in Ohio sounded like the best of both […]