4 stars
I really enjoyed this book. Syd is a complex, complicated character with so much going on in her life it’s incredible she can get out of bed in the morning. The author does a fantastic job of integrating Native American history, culture, and issues into the story without it feeling like a history or civic lesson.
Continue reading “Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie”
This is an action-packed mystery/thriller set in the wilds of Alaska. This is book 5 in the series, but it’s a standalone mystery that can be read without reading the other books. There was also enough backstory that I didn’t feel too lost.
The MC, Beth Rivers, is a gory mystery author that moved to Alaska after suffering a brutal kidnapping in Missouri. She’s trying to make a new life, heal, and gain distance from her kidnapper and the upcoming trial. Her long-lost father moved to Alaska to be near her after spending time on the run in Mexico. Their relationship is fragile, but she’s trying to let him back into her life.
Continue reading “Lost Hours (Alaska Wild, #5) by Paige Shelton”
If you like historical fiction romances, you need to get this book now. It’s the second book in The Matchmakers book series, but can be read as a stand-alone.
This book is a delightful read. The banter between the two MCs, Adelaide and Gideon, is absolutely wonderful and reminds of the whip smart, fast talking dialogue in Kathryn Hepburn movies likes Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story. Their conversations jumped off the page and had me smiling and chuckling the entire book. It’s the best kind of flirting that happens at the beginning of a new relationship that gives you that “I’ve got a new partner” glow.
Continue reading “To Spark a Match (The Matchmakers, #2) by Jen Turano”
This is a great historical fiction mystery featuring Emily Dickinson and her maid Willa in 1856 Amhurst. This is book two in the series, but can be read as a stand-alone. I haven’t read the first book, but didn’t feel like I was missing much because of it.
Continue reading “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died (An Emily Dickinson Mystery, #2) by Amanda Flower”
This is a really cute YA contemporary romance that is a quick and easy read. It’s the quintessential regular person/famous person doppelganger switch story. Red just graduated high school in Iowa. She lives on a farm with her large family and intends to attend college and come back and run the family farm. Zay Zay is a young global pop star that is uber famous and seemingly has a charmed life. When Red is taped singing and pretending to be Zay Zay, the video goes viral, and Zay Zay’s plan to sneak away from her life for a week is hatched. Red only needs to fly to LA, attend a few red carpets, and a date with Zay’s hot famous fake boyfriend. What could possibly go wrong?
Continue reading “Fake Famous by Dana L. Davis”
My book club chose this book to read, so of course I read it. I always go into overly hyped books with trepidation because I’ve been let down before. Sadly, this book is another popular book that I didn’t love as much as everyone else. It did provide for lively discussions at our meeting, however, especially since there are several lawyers in our group that all had different opinions about the legal side of the story.
Mother Olivia leaves her abusive husband, taking her son Asher with her. They return to her childhood home town and Olivia takes over her father’s beekeeping business. The business starts doing well and Asher is flourishing in school, until he’s arrested and accused of killing his girlfriend Lily. While Olivia doesn’t believe Asher is guilty, deep down she worries that he’s just like his father.
There are a lot of moving parts in this book. The chapters alternate between several characters, often depicting the same scenario but from different viewpoints. Initially this was helpful to build out the characters and storyline, but after awhile became repetitious and annoying. Things look bad for Asher when he’s first arrested, but as we learn more about the months leading up to the murder, we realize several people had motives for killing Lily.
This book was way too long and really dragged in the middle. A lot of fluff could have been eliminated without destroying the story. The pacing was a bit off, with the story focusing way too much on some things, and way too little on others. The ending, for example, was pretty abrupt.
All in all, this book was just ok for me. I’m not mad at my book club for choosing this book. It wouldn’t have been my choice, but several members liked it so that’s good. If you are a Picoult or Boylan fan, you will probably like this one, so definitely check it out for yourself.
4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this book and series. I read this series and The Winston Brothers series backwards, but I still loved both of them, so no big deal. Plus, it’s a great excuse to read them all again! This series is set in Chicago and revolves around 7 women that are in the same knitting group. Janie doesn’t knit, but she likes to drink and dish with the other women every week. The women are either roommates or co-workers of each other, but eventually become one unified force of bad-assery, and I’m there for all of it. I wish I had a circle of friends as loyal and tenacious as this group.
Continue reading “Neanderthal Seeks Human (Knitting in the City, #1) by Penny Reid”
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
I had the pleasure of reading 𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙈𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 by 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗻. It’s the last book in the Being a Jane Austen Mystery series, but can be read as a standalone. I haven’t read the previous books but I didn’t feel lost in the book or that I was missing anything. This Jane Austen inspired historical mystery was a pleasure to read. The comfort of reading Austen- like writing was like cuddling with a warm blanket in front of a fire.
Continue reading “Jane and the Final Mystery ( Being a Jane Austen Mystery Book 15) by Stephanie Barron”
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